Character Sketches

Review: Final Fantasy XIII-2
"Rather than reinvent its predecessor, Final Fantasy XIII-2 just improves its ideas in smaller ways. It's more casually enjoyable than Final Fantasy XIII, but it's still unsatisfying in the long run." Check out Todd Ciolek's verdict on the latest in the long-running franchise now. 2012-02-12

Shelf Life - Vanilla ICE
Erin talks CG soldiers and an island running amok with mafia.
- Dirty Pair OVA
- Fairy Tail pt 2
- ICE complete
2012-02-13

The Mike Toole Show - A Tale of Two Dubs
Mike roots around in the long and very strange history of anime that's been dubbed more than once (or three or four times). 2012-02-12

Hey, Answerman! - ACTA Aghast-a
This week, Brian flips his chair around dramatically in order to GET REAL, with questions about Artist Alley, self-publishing, and the legal cluster$%& that is ACTA! 2012-02-10

ANNCast - S-E-X-X-I-S-M
Bamboo Dong, Lauren Orsini and Courtney Kraft stop by the podcast to chat about sexism in anime and anime fandom, and the results are EXPLOSIVE! ...or are they? 2012-02-10

B Gata H Kei: Yamada's First Time Blu-Ray + DVD
Yamada's First Time goes out of its way to make viewers laugh with its crude, over-the-top jokes and an impressive variety of euphemisms. Is it a bit tasteless? You bet. But it is also a surprisingly clean, very funny show about one girl's realization that sex and emotion aren't totally divorced from each other.

Final Fantasy XIII-2
Rather than reinvent its predecessor, Final Fantasy XIII-2 just improves its ideas in smaller ways. It's more casually enjoyable than Final Fantasy XIII, but it's still unsatisfying in the long run.

Only Serious About You GN 2
The strength of Only Serious About You lies in its depiction of not just two men coming together, but in the formation of a family.

Tenjo Tenge GN 4
There's plenty of visual flourish to keep fans interested, with over-the-top action poses and superhuman fighting moves every few pages. Now if only the plot could catch up to that level of accomplishment.

Ouran High School Host Club GN 17
There is but one volume remaining to Ouran High School Host Club, and it has been a fun ride. While this book doesn't quite live up the earlier ones in terms of pure, lighthearted enjoyment, it is still solidly entertaining.

Cage of Eden GN 2 & 3
Cage of Eden has all of the elements of a classic survival epic – monsters, diseases, an unfriendly wilderness with no perceived escape, and our own ability as humans to lie. While it can be laid on a bit thick at times, and the fanservice or treatment of the adult female characters may be objectionable to some, Yamada's story is an engrossing one.

Heaven's Lost Property Blu-Ray + DVD
A perverted young man becomes the master to a sexy, emotionally stunted, angel-like android with frightening power in this 2009 harem series. Though occasionally good, the series much more often wallows in crass stupidity.

Blue Exorcist DVD 2
Nothing here shakes up the series the way parts of the last volume did, but it's consummate entertainment nonetheless: slick and effortlessly propulsive, yet still respectful of its audience and characters.

Berserk Golden Age Arc I: Egg of the Supreme Ruler
This concise and well-adapted story is an exciting, intense action tale full of intriguing characters and drama. Unfortunately, the decision to heavily utilize 3D CG throughout the movie drags the overall production down.

Hetalia World Series DVD
Just like real world history, this one has its ups and downs—only with brighter colors and more super-deformed characters.

Metropolis DVD
Metropolis upholds the idea that Japanese animation produces great stories.