Nijidama Drama

The Fall 2008 Anime Preview Guide
The fall anime season has begun, and Anime News Network's famous 24-7 preview guide returns! Check back daily over the next two weeks for our critics' takes on the latest shows from Japan!

Reviews Available Now:
Hokuto no Ken Raoh Gaiden
Earl and Fairy
Kurozuka
Kemeko DX episode 2
To Aru Majutsu no Index episode 2
Clannad ~After Story episode 2
Hyakko episode 2
Casshern Sins episode 2
Chaos;HEAd
Nodame Cantabile Paris Chapter
Toradora! Episode 2
Vampire Knight Guilty
Kemeko DX
Bihada Ichizoku
Yozakura Quartet
Shikabane-hime: Aka
Ga-Rei Zero
ef - A Tale of Melodies
Tales of the Abyss episode 2
Kuroshitsuji
Macademi Wasshoi
Kyo no Go no Ni
Gundam 00 Season 2
Kannagi
Linebarrels of Iron
Akane-iro ni Somaru Saka!
2008-10-04

Shelf Life - Ghost Hunters
With Halloween right around the corner, the ghouls have come out to play. Luckily, all you need is a chainsaw and some talismans.
- Dead Space: Downfall
- Ghost Hunt s.1 p.1
- Joe vs. Joe v.2
- xxxHolic v.6
2008-10-13

The Click - October 11th - 17th
The Click shows up once again in its own sort of cool, laconic way, tossing aside the premiere of the second Naruto movie with a kind of devil-may-care attitude and detached air of understanding. Or maybe there are some lame jokes as usual. Who knows?!? I guess you'll have to read it. 2008-10-11

Hey, Answerman!
Answerman returns even though he's way too busy for this stuff! This week: "Sudden Girlfriend" anime, why some anime are more popular than others, repeat-visit anime series and your answers to the last Hey, Answerfans question! 2008-10-10

Kitchen Princess GN 7
This series takes the hoariest elements of the romance/drama/cooking genres and still manages to come up with something greater than the sum of its parts.

XXXHOLiC DVD 5
The best thing about the grab bag of episodes on this disc is that there's probably something to suit most personal tastes—whether that taste runs from to intense philosophical drama to ... comical snowball fights.

Strawberry Marshmallow GN 5
If the moe phenomenon is so maligned, it's probably because there are very few titles that get it right. Strawberry Marshmallow is one that does.

The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya GN 1
But if the anime adaptation of The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya is crack, then, alas, the manga adaptation is like the mother of all hangovers—sans the high.

Strawberry Panic Sub.DVD 4
It casts no new light on, nor redeems, the uneven, often impressively idiotic content preceding it, however at times during this volume, Strawberry Panic is damned near a good series. Amazing.

Don't Blame Me GN 1-2
Even though it is one of her earliest, Don't Blame Me, nearly ten years later, continues to be one of Yugi Yamada's best. Highly recommended to anyone who likes slice-of-life manga…particularly to those who do not normally read BL. Yamada stretches the genre to its limits, and the results are simply not to be missed.

Short-Tempered Melancholic GN
An unflinching dose of cute, designed to awaken the heart-fluttering schoolkid in all of us ... just don't expect too much.

Galaxy Angel AA DVD 1-4
The Angel Brigade is back for another round of 27 half-episode stories. Despite the occasional serious episode, it generally remains a delightfully and consistently funny piece of fluff which requires no long-term commitment or prior familiarity.

Bleach DVD 12
This volume can only be described as down-time, but it's pretty good down-time for all that. Just beware the extended flashback at the end.

Astro Boy 1&2 GN
Read Astro Boy for fun or for history—not for philosophical enlightenment packaged as classic manga.

Animation on DVD
For the typical anime fan, the book fails in two aspects, but it still provides a wide selection of information that many will find useful.