Otakon 2007

Video: Otakon 2007 Exhibit Hall

The Click - July 19th - 25th
Shortly before skipping town in a flurry of hydrocephalic glee, Brian nonetheless felt a great deal of guilt to leave behind at least something Click-related for the enjoyment of all. Or at least some. So! Check out new episodes of Zatch Bell and other things that aren't superb but are content to just be good enough. 2008-07-19

Hey, Answerman!
Answerman returns with a new batch of questions about the preconceived notions old folks have about anime being a big load of violent porn, scintillating info about another website, and whiny angsty emo anime heroes. Also: some other stuff and your answers to last week's Hey, Answerfans! 2008-07-18

Buried Treasure - Windaria
Windaria is an underappreciated classic that is indescribably sad... but if you saw the dubbed VHS you might want to give it another chance. 2008-07-17

Anime News Nina! - 07-16-08
Robin's on vacation, so Myoopi fills in! 2008-07-16

The X Button - Feigned Frustration XIII
This week's column digs into some E3 news before getting angry and moving on to a new Soul Calibur character, the next big Naruto fighter, and the Kimba games that never were! 2008-07-15

Batman Gotham Knight Scavenger Hunt
View six exclusive Batman Gotham Knight video clips and win a Blu-Ray player and a copy of the Batman Gotham Knight, animated anthology animated by Studio 4°C, Production I.G, and Madhouse. 2008-07-12

Sword of the Stranger
There's little about Sword of the Stranger you haven't seen before, but it's an absurdly fun, highly enjoyable sort of film that just about anybody could enjoy, provided one likes action. It could just be the cross-over hit the genre has needed for a very long time.

Witchblade: Takeru GN
Completists will definitely want to pick Witchblade: Takeru Manga up, irrespective of its many narrative flaws. Those unfamiliar with the franchise may do so as well without many comprehension difficulties, though why they would want to remains an open question.

Pleasure Dome GN
Pleasure Dome is a pleasurable work of fiction with a flair for the astonishing that so many other examples of the BL genre lack.

Project Blue Earth SOS DVD 3
A conclusion that sometimes over-extends itself but is otherwise the same gloriously silly mash-up of borrowed Hollywood sci-fi tropes.

Strawberry Panic Sub.DVD 2
Girls do cute/pretty things and offer various hints of romance, but the plot and relationships advance little. Whatever initial impression you might have formed about this series, these episodes are unlikely to change it.

AIKa R-16: Virgin Mission DVD
Aika (and her panties) return for this prequel to the fan-service epic Agent Aika. Serves well as a cautionary tale about what happens when the plot revolves around the panty-shots rather than vice-versa.

Gurren Lagann Sub.DVD 1
Gainax's newest homage to classic mecha is utterly over-the-top, deliciously bombastic, bodacious, unapologetically sexy, and loaded with enough bravado to face down an entire herd of charging bulls. Despite an eventual tone change, it gets off to a slammin' start.

Death Note DVD 5
Death Note continues to be a good series—arguably one of the strongest to have appeared at the beginning of the 21st century—even if it does start to go rapidly downhill from here and never quite lives up to the promise of early episodes.

Honey and Clover GN 1-2
Despite many valiant attempts to recast Chica Umino's Honey and Clover, which won the 2003 Kodansha Manga Award and was nominated for several others, as heir to the shoujo manga greats of a generation ago, it is hard to see the accolades it has received as anything other than overwrought presumption…and the manga itself as anything other than overhyped pabulum.

Evangelion: 1.0 You Are [Not] Alone
In spite of all the cool fight sequences and beautiful new animation, what we basically have is Evangelion: The Boring Parts Movie.

Haré+Guu DVD 3
Two new characters are introduced in a volume which revels in its own weirdness, from which springs many a fun and funny moment. Its excellent dub, uncomplicated structure, and light-hearted spirit offer a nice comedic diversion.