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Tegami Bachi
Anime Review by John Martone
 We anime watchers tend to reward creativity. Sometimes it comes from making high-school girls gods, or adding lasers to things that would normally not. However, this time, the creativity is in an anime series solely focused on the trials and tribulations of mail carriers.
Of course, Tegami Bachi's mailmen/women are facing issues much larger than sprinklers and unleashed pets. Set in a world of perpetual night, humanity lives in caste based cities, separated by dangerous monsters. Then again, these postmen are more than capable. Armed with weapons specifically built to combat the otherwise difficult monsters, they fire bullets that are said to literally contain fragments their heart. The duality of this power is that the carriers are destined to lose their heart if they continue for too long. Read More...
High School of the Dead
Anime Review by John Martone
 Zombies... You either love 'em or hate 'em, and High School of the Dead won't even attempt to change your mind. Representing the best and worst of the genre, HSotD is exactly what it sounds like, a bunch of attractive high schoolers dealing with the zombie apocalypse.
Protagonist Takashi Komuro is your average anime kid. He'd just as soon pine for the girl next door than lead a motley crew of survivors, but c’est la vie. Thrust into a rapidly evolving struggle to survive, Takashi and Co. deal with the living dead, shortage of supplies, and other groups of survivors. Read More...
Birdy the Mighty: Decode
Anime DVD Review by Brian Cirulnick
 The first Birdy, an OVA named "Double Trouble" was spectacular, with well choreographed fight scenes and some heart-stopping animation. This new TV series actually appears cheaper despite about a decade of technological progress (i.e. I think the original was cel-painted, and this is done on computers)... I guess that's what you get when you start outsourcing anime.
Still. I really enjoyed the first Birdy, so the TV series hit familiar ground right away by killing off the male protagonist almost immediately, so that Birdy has to bond with him, and you've got two minds in the same body. Same old shtick, but at least they started to expand upon the characters and situations (Birdy has her own "Earth-Girl" career as a idol/model while Senkawa has a girlfriend), as they had a lot more time on their hands due to the longer running time of a series versus an OVA.
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Space Pirate Captain Harlock
Anime Review by Brian Cirulnick
 The coolest thing about Crunchyroll may be that, in addition to seeing some of the latest and greatest anime, we are also treated to some old-school classics. And here's the most classic-classic of them all: Space Pirate Captain Harlock, probably the most iconic, most kick-ass, and all-time coolest anime series ever.
Featuring the formula that would forever provide the direction that literally all other anime would follow, it takes place in a future time where a complacent Earth faces an enemy from another world, and a lone hero and his crew must stop them, while also avoiding the authorities, who misinterpret his actions as criminal mischief. Read More...
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Lucky Star: Konata Anime Messenger Bag
You know how, 5 minutes after you've gotten into an anime con, or any sci-fi convention, you're making a bee-line for the freebies table, where, amid the flyers for other Cons, ball-point-pens with various drug-company names on them, and other crap, you then also need to visit every booth and take whatever swag they have to offer, such as keychains, pens, flyers for their shows, catalogs, free DVD samples, CD-ROM presskits, manga samplers, Bakugan cards and other stuff?
Well, here's the bag to help you grab all that crap that we adore. And when you fill your bag and get it home, you wonder what the heck you're going to do with all that stuff, and twenty minutes later, half of it is in the trash -- but it was the thrill of the hunt that made it worthwhile!
But there amid the pile that you've decided to keep is usually one thing that made the entire trip worth it, that excellent bit of swag that you'll keep forever, like a Buckaroo Banzai headband, or a Hello Kitty Yamato keychain. And this Lucky Star Messenger Bag is the best at holding all your convention freebies and it looks great at all other activities too!
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Wild @ Heart
Manga Review
by Linda Yau
 Natsumi Ando has won a 2006 Kodansha Award for her manga, Kitchen Princess, and has written Zodiac P.I. Of both titles named, there are English releases. If you have read the other titles, what is an appropriate response to picking up this book? Why read it.
Wild @ Heart is a three volume manga series that is packaged in a nice complete omnibus. Manga series on a publication trend can become very long in Japan. With the cost of manga being cheaper there than here, Japanese publishers can afford to release on a volume by volume basics.
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Chibi Vampires Airmail
Manga Review
by Linda Yau
 For every acceptable and probably successful work, a franchise begins, and for some works, there are always going to be more publishing opportunities, until a publishing company or a mangaka decides to conclude a story.
Following the success, and conclusion in the main story of Chibi Vampire, Airmail is definitely a follow up for readers who cannot let the original story go. Read More...
Takeru Opera Susanoh Sword of the Devil
Manga Review
by Linda Yau
 Good or bad, there is a consistent appeal to reading about the power of three. Nothing can go wrong with three guys all named Takeru right? Probably, but that is a reason to turn the pages of Takeru Opera Susanoh Sword of the Devil. Treachery, drama, epic quality, and fantasy elements make up the rest of this four volume series. The manga, makes the usage of contrasting sides. It is either one or the other.
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