Direct Star

Jason Thompson's House of 1000 Manga - Fullmetal Alchemist
It cost Jason an arm and a leg to write this column. 2013-06-06

Astro Toy - Cu-Poche Kirino
Just in time for the series' light novel conclusion in Japan, David checks out a new Kirino figure. 2013-06-09

The List - 7 Mafia Princesses
You can't choose your parents, even when those parents turn out be shady mobsters. 2013-06-08

Hey, Answerman! - Hen-Time
This week on Hey, Answerman! IT'S TIME FOR HENTAI! Brian disputes the legitimacy of a somewhat legally dubious hentai portal! Then: some questions and thoughts on Pony Canyon's anime contest, and some more pithy words of anger about Toonami! 2013-06-07

ANNCast - That's FUNi, You're FUNi
Adam Sheehan and Lance Heiskell from Funimation return to ANNCast for our twice-yearly update! Find out what's been selling well, what hasn't, what the plans for the future are and more! 2013-06-07

Jormungand GN 11
The ending of Jormungand has something important to say ... but never figures out the actual message.

Sunny GN 1
Sunny is an interesting glimpse into the lives of children who feel that the world has forsaken them and how they manage to cope with the help of an old car and a little imagination.

Missions of Love GN 2
Ultimately Missions of Love still reads like a sexy book for middle schoolers. Yukina is far from a likeable heroine, neither Shigure nor Akira come off as particularly desirable male leads, and the less savory elements of the story detract from its romance components.

Dengeki Daisy GN 11
Dengeki Daisy began as a romance with some computer crimes thrown in and has morphed into an action story with some romance thrown in. What remains true, however, is that Kyousuke Motomi has created an interesting, fun story with memorable characters who do their best, whether it's for good or ill.

Limit GN 4
The addition of a murder-mystery twists the series into something more than just a survival thriller: this volume casts doubt on whether any of the characters, and even the storyline itself, can be trusted.

Strobe Edge GN 2 & 3
Strobe Edge continues to be a thoughtful manga about a girl discovering what it means to grow up. Featuring actual nice guys (at least so far), both a heroine and a rival who are sympathetic, and attention to detail, this is a series that romance fans and those borderline sick of romance should enjoy.

Girl Friends GN 2
More than a successful yuri story, Girl Friends is a successful love story. By taking into account the girls' friendship, and therefore their genuine fondness for each other's personalities, Morinaga gives us a story with characters in a relationship that is both more believable and easier to get behind than in many a romance manga.

Demon Love Spell GN 2
Demon Love Spell may not be quite as unusual as it began, at least within the catalog of Mayu Shinjo, but it is still a fun story that lacks many of the things that can make her work distasteful.

Stepping on Roses GN 8 & 9
If Stepping on Roses got too melodramatic for you a while back or you could never quite come to terms with Sumi's personality, the ending might not thrill you. But those readers who have been enjoying Ueda's ode to the 19th century melodrama with a shoujo sensibility will find the majority of the conclusion to be downright satisfactory, if not a little better.

GTO: 14 Days in Shonan GN 7
It may look like a silly, lowbrow action series on the outside, but once again, it surpasses expectations on the inside.

Shin Chan DVD Season 1 Part 1 (Dub)
Funimation's pop-culture-heavy, meticulously un-PC “reversioning” of Shin Chan is doubtless the most ambitious comic redubbing of a series since ADV's Ghost Stories, and fortunately the ambition pays off.