Yasuko HANEDORI

Now Expiring: Petite Princess Yucie (s/d)
You have until Saturday, August 6 to finish watching! Subbed version here. 2011-08-01

Jason Thompson's House of 1000 Manga - Special Guest Edition: Wish
Returning guest author Shaenon K. Garrity can't help but love the stuffing out of one of Clamp's fluffiest distractions, Wish. 2011-08-04

The X Button - Rexx Appeal
Unchainblades Rexx and a To Heart dungeon hack show up this week! Plus The King of Fighters XIII, Irem's woes, and an important question for Capcom fans 2011-08-03

RIGHT TURN ONLY!! - Black and Blue
What happens when the supernatural forces of Black Butler, Blue Exorcist and Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan meet? The reviews in this week's RTO!! have all the answers! 2011-08-02

Shelf Life - The Philsopher's Stone
Fullmetal Alchemist comes to a crazy finale, and standardized tests are now a matter of life and death! What's going on here?
- Baka & Test complete
- Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood pt 5
- Shin-chan s3 pt 1
2011-08-01

Cross Game GN 4
The series slides effortlessly between calm slices of life and fired-up baseball action ... everything about Cross Game proceeds in a smooth, flowing motion, and that's what keeps readers hooked.

Wandering Son GN 1
Wandering Son is a kind, gentle introduction to the story of two transgendered children beginning to understand themselves. Transgender is a subject that many people who are not members of the LBGTQ community struggle to comprehend, and Shimura uses a light touch to try and bring a greater understanding of it to her readers.

Spice & Wolf GN 4
Lawrence meets a pretty shepherdess and gets himself in a financial jam as this adaptation of the original novels continues. Though it has few major events, the ongoing byplay between the leads keeps the story entertaining.

TO Film: Elliptical Orbit & Symbiotic Planet DVD/Blu-Ray
Two all-CG tales of the spacefaring future are spun by the studio and director behind Vexille, with similar results: impressive visuals and animation saddled with cliché-ridden storytelling which mostly fails to impress.

Supernatural the Anime Series BLURAY
Transforms the WB live action drama into a slick anime series designed to provide something new and different to existing fans while hopefully reaching new fans as well.

A Certain Scientific Railgun GN 1
Overall this is a choppy, somewhat uncertain book. The main plot is good and could be worth reading if only Kamachi could stick to it and stop side-tracking into unimportant territory. In some ways reading this is like being told a story by someone who can't stay on topic – you know the plot's in there somewhere, if he could just get around to telling it.

Antique Bakery Sub.DVD
A nice place to hang out, made nicer by the universally nice guys who run it, and human enough that you don't really mind that the whole thing is one giant snort-worthy fantasy.

Itazura na Kiss GN 5
Despite the characters' development in this volume, Naoki is still a jerk and Kotoko is still a flake. Aspects of the tale feel overdone or hackneyed, but Tada's story is still a timeless and compelling one of boy-meets-girl that should not be missed by romance fans.

Strawberry Panic! Novel
This omnibus edition contains all three light novels, which offer a story that has as many differences in comparison to the anime version as it does similarities. Fans of the anime, yuri lovers, and fans of romantic drama should appreciate it.

Dragon Ball Z Kai Blu-Ray part 5
This block, which omits the Garlic Jr. Saga, wraps up the lingering details of the earlier arcs and then sets the stage and the early scenes for the upcoming major mid-series arc. It does not showcase the series at its best but does offer some surprises and solid short battles.

Burst Angel OVA: Infinity DVD
Avid fans of this wild, often silly, mash-up of futuristic mecha clichés, gory horror and spaghetti westerns will be glad to finally have this last episode. For everyone else its more of the same-old, just a little more boring.