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The Transformers - The Movie (20th Anniversary Edition)
Anime DVD Review by Brian Cirulnick
 Let's be clear. The upcoming Transformers "live action" movie will never equal the hype that surrounded this awesome flick. From a technical standpoint alone, this Transformers movie was the highlight of the year 1986. It had a loud, brash soundtrack (which included Weird Al, still relevant today with his new hit White and Nerdy), featured some famous guest-star voices (including Orson Welles, in his last role, as a PLANET!), introduced a new character that was animated entirely in dissolves, and set an animation high-point BEFORE computers made churning out high-quality anime as easy as pushing a button.
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Avatar: The Last Airbender
Anime DVD Review by Lawrence Sufrin
 It was the time of the great unbalance. The world of man had divided into four nations representing the four elements (Earth, Air, Fire and Water). Each nation fought the other for total domination of the world.
Only the Avatar can save the world now. Regrettably, he is a twelve-year-old boy. An Airbender of great power named Aang who has been locked in ice for a century. Now, he's out and not quite ready for the challenge he must face in this bleak, desolate realm.
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Bleach
Anime DVD Review by Lawrence Sufrin
 You know, if FLCL had been less science fiction and more supernatural, it could be Bleach.
Ichigo Kurisaki has enough problems without dealing with Lovecraftian horrors. It's not enough that he's a 15 year old, high-school freshman. Whether he likes it or not he also has to be a Soul Reaper. He's got to hunt down Hollows, evil spirits who devour wayward ghosts. (The thing is, those wayward ghosts? It turns out when they get devoured by Hollows, they become Hollows. And if that isn't bad enough, if a ghost hangs out too long in the material world, it becomes a Hollow anyway. This is for all of you who didn't know that there was a "Catch-22" for ghosts.)
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Star Trek: The Animated Series
DVD Review by Lawrence Sufrin
 Just as Batman: The Animated Series became the version of Batman that adheres closest to the spirit of what "Batman" is, Filmation Studios brought the starship Enterprise back for NBC's Saturday morning line-up in 1973. (This was long before the movies or the subsequent TV incarnations.) And, like Batman, it is the version that sticks to the spirit of what Star Trek is all about. As such, it becomes one of the best animated sci-fi shows ever made.
At first glance, the show doesn't seem like much. The animation is incredibly limited, due to budget and time constraints. But the character and scenery designs were brilliant and on the mark. (You don't know how hard it was for the designers to come up with cartoon versions of Kirk and his crew without resorting to caricature.) The original cast was brought back to lend their voices to the show. William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy and DeForest Kelley reprised their roles as Capt. Kirk, Mr. Spock and Dr. McCoy.
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Hello Kitty Toaster
Anime Toy Review by Brian Cirulnick
 Nothing makes breakfast more joyful than the image of Hello Kitty burnt onto your toast. It would be like a day without Orange Juice (nobody reading this is going to get that joke!). When you bite into head, you just have to wonder... She has no mouth, so can she scream? Kitty looks better with grape jelly all over her (I just know that sentence will get me in trouble with Homeland Security).
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Wedding Peach
Manga Review
by Brian Cirulnick
 In what can only be described as "something like Sailor Moon", Wedding Peach is a shoujo manga with an excellent pedigree. Wedding Peach does have A LOT of thigs in common with Sailor Moon, but, of course, we like that about the series. Momoko is a lot like Usagi, sleeps in, klutzy, kind of a cry baby, though while Usagi dislikes all the fighting at the beginning of the series Momoko is more willing to jump into a battle and beat the bad guys.
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A.I. Love You
Manga Review
by Brian Cirulnick
 If you're a big fan of "Love Hina", then the manga series "AI Love You" is right up your alley. Ken Akamatsu's pre-Love-Hina days were spent writing and drawing this cute, episodic, slice-of-life series that also reminds us of the fan-favorite Chobits (crossed with the film "Short Circuit" (and perhaps "Weird Science" as well!).
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Space Battle Ship Yamato CD Box
Anime Soundtrack Review by Brian Cirulnick
 Dear Santa. If I had to pick one item I really want for Xmas, this would be it. This is a 10-CD set of every Yamato soundtrack. All CDs are 24-bit digitally remastered LP-STYLE slipcase versions, and sound about as good as can be (as opposed to my old recordings, so worn out, you can hear the other side of the record).
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