News

Japanese pop culture discussion in San Francisco

The X Button - Gear Protection
This week, Todd checks out The Starship Damrey, Black Rock Shooter, and the latest Guilty Gear! Plus the new Xbox, some DS leftovers, and yet more Guilty Gear. 2013-05-22

RIGHT TURN ONLY!! - Holding Out For a Heroman
Want to know about the newest, freshest manga? Sure you do! Heroman, Is This a Zombie?, and Rurouni Kenshin: Restoration are just some of the many choices in store! 2013-05-21

Stephanie Sheh Personalized Autograph Experience
Get a personalized autograph from Stephanie Sheh, even if you can't make it to one of her convention appearances (Or don't want to wait in line for a chance for her autograph even when you can make it to a convention). 2013-05-21

Shelf Life - Rose Garden
We look at the classic Rose of Versailles, as well as two spin-offs.
- A Certain Scientific Railgun s1 pt 1
- The Rose of Versailles pt 1
- Tenchi Muyo! War on Geminar pt 1
2013-05-20

Hakuōki: A Memory of Snow Flowers DVD 1-2
This six-episode OVA story fills in a time gap in the first series by looking at certain incidents from multiple different angles. Though hardly crucial viewing, fans of the franchise should find this satisfying.

Attack on Titan episodes 1-6
A young man tries to battle back against giant humanoids who feast on humans in this graphic, visceral, and fantastically intense action/horror story. Its great strengths overcome writing and production value inconsistencies.

Pokémon the Movie: Kyurem VS. The Sword of Justice Dub.DVD
If this film causes more permanent damage than most Pokémon outings, that's wholly the fault of its main character, Keldeo.

Blood-C BD+DVD
... either one of the most brilliantly shocking horror series ever created, or one of the biggest practical jokes ever played on an anime-viewing audience.

Mikunopolis in Los Angeles Blu-Ray
The lively music, flashy visuals, and digitally-generated performers result in a form of entertainment unlike any other.

Berserk: The Golden Age Arc II: The Battle for Doldrey
On the whole, The Battle for Doldrey is a mixed bag of strengths and weaknesses. While that may be true of most things, there are few places where those lines are so clearly drawn as in this film.

InuYasha Movie Blu-ray Complete Collection
Four movies, all so rigidly formulaic that they could be sequential remakes. This is an entertaining set all told, but you can get the same experience (or better) by watching the first film four times.

K-ON! The Movie Blu-Ray
The movie finishes what the TV series began, with a story that goes beyond a typical episode, but stops short of being an epic, life-changing experience.

Sailor Moon GN 8 -10
The fourth story arc of Naoko Takeuchi's Sailor Moon saga, known to many fans as “Sailor Moon SuperS,” may have a reputation from the anime as being one of the weakest arcs, but the two and a half volumes that make it up in the manga are among the best the series has to offer.

Kids on the Slope Blu-Ray
Jazz music is much the stars as the main cast in this story about teens who become friends in late 1960s Japan. Great sounds and good character development bolster what is otherwise a fairly pedestrian character drama.

Papillon GN 1
A shoujo manga series about an insecure but otherwise ordinary girl whose love life is being sabotaged by a super-popular pretty girl? And her only recourse for assistance against this inexplicably cruel creature is an off-beat, black-haired boy? Must be Peach Girl, right? Wrong. More's the pity.