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The World God Only Knows
Anime Review by Karen Gellender
 In general, The World God Only Knows, based on the manga by Tamiki Wakaki, is a series that parodies the conventions of Japanese dating simulation games. As a parody of those types of games, it's very successful, albeit targeted towards a niche audience. Fortunately, the show spoofs plenty of anime as well, meaning there's humor there for more than just the dating sim crowd. However, the show does provoke a nagging question: are we supposed to take any of this seriously? The obvious answer is no- it's a farce, and often a very funny one. Still it's hard to watch a show about a young man who's completely given up on real life in lieu of video games and not see some attempt at social commentary there, and that's where it becomes difficult to parse what the show may be trying to say in between all the jokes.
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Bunny Drop
Anime Review by Karen Gellender
 The story of Daikichi, a true everyman the likes of which we rarely see, and Rin, the mysterious six-year-old girl he suddenly adopts, is so different from usual anime fare, it's hard to recommend it; not because it isn't good, but the opposite- it's more a place you visit than an anime. We inhabit the small house the two main characters share, and while very little happens by anime standards, we found we didn't want to leave.
Mild-mannered men adopting little girls seems to have become something of a sub-genre lately, with the most popular example being Kiyohiko Azuma's Yotsuba!& manga. However, while Yotsuba's story is about the sheer wonder of discovery that is childhood, without ever crossing the line into sappiness, Usagi Drop, based on the manga by Yumi Umita, is more about the harsh realities of childhood for both children, and the adults who must raise them. Read More...
Eden of the East: Paradise Lost
Anime Review by Brian Cirulnick
 The exciting conclusion to Mr. Outside's game awaits you. Along with many plot twists and turns we are introduced to a few new characters (as well as seeing what a living, breathing Juiz might be), and we even find out the identity of Mr. Outside himself, although the secret of how he obtained his fortune is left to the viewer to guess.
The series concludes while also setting itself up for some kind of sequel, but the whole thing raises more questions than it answers, much like the hit TV show LOST. Of interest is that the whole thing revolves around NEETs versus Japan's "Greatest Generation", i.e., those that fought WWII, and then built Japan into an industrial powerhouse and one of the strongest economies in the world (rivaling the USA in the 1980s), and, given our own financial instability in this day and age, as well as a faltering global economy, it does make this reviewer wonder if we don't need a real savior. I also have to wonder what our "Greatest Generation" thinks of how the USA has lost its way, sold out, and has it own generation of NEETs. Read More...
Lupin III: Strange Psychokinetic Strategy
Japanese Cinema Review by Brian Cirulnick
 If you're a fan of the campy 60's BATMAN TV series, or the hijinks of the Pink Panther Movies, or Lupin III in general, then guess what, you get all three in this live-action romp across the Lupin Universe, created *between* the first and second animated TV series', which puts it somewhere squarely in the mid-70's (gee and Lupin is dressed as Saturday Night Fever's John Travolta)...
It starts out with Lupin meeting a cute girl (Fujiko), who's on her way to being locked up. Lupin busts her out, only to be knocked out before he gets to knock her up. He then is introduced to Daisuke Jigen, who desperately wants Lupin to rebuild the "Lupin Empire" (started by Lupin II). But Fujiko has her eyes on a jewelry heist, and requires Lupin's services in exchange for hers. Read More...
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My Japanese Coach
Videogame Review
 My Japanese Coach for the Nintendo DS makes the process of learning Japanese Language into a fun game. While the writing portion of the product suffers some problems, the spoken-word component is stellar in that you learn about 10 new words in each lesson and then play mini-games that then re-enforce the words learned as you combine them with other words from previous lessons. Read More...
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The Art of Naruto: Uzumaki
Anime Art Book Review by Linda Yau
 With an extremely popular series, Japanese fans expect to see the appearance of an art book. Prior to the art book's existence, the artists are allotted or budgeted for color pages in a monthly issue. This goes over a period of time, and with the frequency of a manga being published in Japan, the amount of color pages drawn collects over chapters. Then they appear again in art books for fans who want an archival copy of the images. So it is no surprise that Nauto has its own art book in Japanese and to then know that Viz re-released it in English as a present for Naruto fans.
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Cute Yummy Time
Japanese Cooking Book Review by Linda Yau
 The topic of Charaben and Kawaii should be familiar to foodies for Japanese cuisine. So what happens when your pantry doesn't have any particular ingredients or utensils for creating these cute lunch boxes? Improvising, creativity and attempting should be the next step then. La Carmina is a well known Canadian blogger, Coolhunter, CNN TV Host, and Journalist who provides a book that should be a clear solution for those with a non Asian pantry in Cute Yummy Time. Her website is at lacarmina.com.
This is a step by step recipe cookbook, for anyone interested in making cute food, and then eating it. Many of these recipes are appropriate for a non-Japanese family to serve as food/treats for young kids, or between friends who want to exchange cute foods. Read More...
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