Expiring December 1st

Expiring January 1st

After animating the smash hit Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya television series in 2006 then following it with the equally successful Lucky Star television series the following year, the rapidly ascending Kyoto Animation production studio did what came naturally: a third consecutive anime series revolving around the daily lives of cute high school girls. The 2009 K-On! television series became a massive sensation in Japan, creating a legion of devoted fans, setting sales records, and even contributing to invigorated sales of affiliated products like guitars and high-fidelity headphones. After an excruciating two year wait, the beloved K-On! anime series is finally coming to America, courtesy of Bandai Entertainment. For eager fans, the wait will be rewarded. For the uninitiated, the event will allow an opportunity to see, and hear, what the fuss is all about.

The anime adaptation of Kakifly’s manga illustrates the high school lives of Yui, Ritsu, Mio, and Mugi, the freshman girls and aspiring musicians that make up their high school’s light music (pop music) club. The anime series follows the initial formation of the club, the induction of a new member, the formation of the girls’ band and their first live performance, and, eventually in the show’s second season, the girls’ high school graduation. Although ostensibly about a fresh faced girls’ rock band, much of the narrative revolves around slice-of-life situational humor, and the girls spending their time chatting and eating snacks instead of practicing their performances. So the degree to which individual viewers will appreciate the show depends heavily upon the expectations brought to the show. K-On! is a lighthearted comedy that excels at characterization and subtle charm. Viewers willing to let the show work its magic will find themselves irresistably pulled into the show’s whimsical pace, starting from the very first episode.

Each of the four starring girls has a unique and complimentary personality. Protagonist Yui is ditzy, easily distracted, and naturally optomistic. Ritsu is a slightly egomaniacal tomboy, an aggressive, outgoing girl that leads those around her by pure momentum. Her best friend, Mio, is reserved and responsible, serving as a perfect foil to Ritsu. Mugi is a wide-eyed ingenue who serves as a sort of ego mediating between Ritsu’s id and Mio’s superego. The show gives each girl plenty of screen time and development, frequently using subtle illustration and contrast to reveal and reinforce each girl’s personality. Contrasting scene pacing at the beginning of the first episode characterizes Yui without ever saying a word. Juxtaposing Ritsu, Mio, and Mugi’s feet solidly on the ground with Yui’s dancing feet at the end of the first episode further silently suggests Yui’s flighty and capricious nature. The animation also exhibits subtle character through the exploitation of subtle satire. Scenes like Ritsu begging Mio to join the light music club and literal illustration of Yui’s clumsiness lovingly evoke anime conventions that give the show itself character and personality. Wildly varied background music also subtely contributes to the show’s tone, effectively suggesting character and influencing the viewer’s perception of characters and situations. Viewers that demand overt action and clearly deliniated conflict may find K-On! pointless and dull, but viewers that approach the show receptively will find it immediately engaging, playful, and affecting.

The first domestic DVD includes the series’s opening four episodes, a ten-minute interview with voice actress Stephanie Sheh, the English voice of Yui, and trailers for Bandai’s forthcoming releases of The Girl Who Leapt Through Space, Tales of the Abyss, and The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya. The DVD menu is static and silent, which allows for fast loading and easy navigation but also seems a bit lifeless in relation to such a playful show. The episodes are presented in anamorphic widescreen, either with English spoken dialogue and slates, or Japanese dialogue with subtitles and slates. The subtitles include karaoke lyrics for the original Japanese opening and ending theme songs, kept intact on both the English and Japanese audio tracks. Purists will find that the honorific “-chan” is romanized in the subtitles while “-san” is translated as “Miss.” The Japanese terms “NEET” and “sensei” appear in the subtitles once each without any translation or definition. Observant subtitle viewers will appreciate that Mugi’s formal speech is conveyed through slightly more formal phrasing in her subtitled dialogue. On-screen Japanese text throughout, including the opening credits, title logo, and episode titles, are left in Japanese and captioned. On a standard definition television, the DVD color was warm and crisp with no sign of compression artifacting or ghosting. The Dolby stereo Japanese audio sounds fine, however, the English audio mix may be just a little off, as the English language dialogue track often seems to be just a bit drowned by the original sound effects and BGM. I encountered playback glitches at 10:22 into the first episode and in the next episode preview following episode two, but since I wasn’t able to replicate the glitches, my DVD player, rather than the DVD, may have been to blame. I’m not a proponent of dubbing, thus I’m not an objective critic of English dubs. I’ll give credit to Bang Zoom Entertainment for selecting English language voices that distinctly replicate the timbre and tone of the original Japanese performances, but Sheh’s leading performance as Yui seemed weakest to me, sounding timid and whispered rather than capricious.

K-On! is a long awaited American premiere with a large fan following and a new American audience that remains to be seen. The show won’t appeal to everyone. Viewers with a preference for action and adventure will be immediately disengaged by the leisurely development of K-On! But viewers who appreciate the engaging and immersive power of substantial characterization and natural, believable character relationships will find K-On! charming, endearing, and fun. Bandai’s DVD release does a fine job of presenting the original show in a solo spotlight, allowing it to win over viewers with its own attributes. To quote the Sakurakou K-On Bu, “Please don’t say ‘You are lazy’.” Consider picking up the K-On! volume one DVD or Blu-ray.

The folks at Aniplex USA kindly sent me a DVD sample of their upcoming domestic Durarara!! DVD release. I was eager to critique it until my anticipation waned slightly upon discovering that that sample disc included only the English dub. Rather than be a snob, I sampled the screener in the company of some friends that are more partial to dubbed anime than I am.

Unlike most anime that revolve around a protagonist or small group of core characters, Durarara!! depicts a tangled and complex view of the intertwined lives of a large variety of characters all living in present day Ikebukuro, Tokyo. The cast includes school kids with dangerous secrets, a devious information broker with a fondness for inciting conflict, a pair of streetwise otaku, a short-tempered young man with preternatural strength, a Russian giant with a fondness for sushi, a research scientist with less than academic goals, and underworld doctor, opposing street gangs, a mysterious slasher that randomly attacks people in the streets, and an expatriated Irish dullahan headless ghost. The convoluted yet engaging anime adapation of Ryohgo Narita’s light novel series follows multiple characters simultaneously, revealing events from multiple perspectives and in multiple parts of Ikeburuko, slowly revealing connections, revelations, hidden conspiracies, and fortitutous coincidences. The buoyant drama incorporates action, humor, suspense, absurdism, and occasionally just a bit of horror to create an ensamble story like nothing else in anime. The earlier anime adaptation of author Ryohgo Narita’s Baccano novel series may be the closest cousin to Durarara!!’s tangled narrative web, yet the tone and approach of even Baccano is quite different from Durarara!!

On a 42″ Bravia HD television set, jaggies on character edges appeared especially prevelant and distracting. However, the jagged lines on foreground characters appeared much less noticable on a 36″ SD television. I honestly don’t know the extent to which this flaw should be blamed on hardware or the DVD. The disc may also suffer from some ghosting. The opening and ending credits and theme songs appeared in their original, unaltered Japanese. On the five-episode sample DVD provided, the second episode opening credits included hard-subbed karaoke and translated lyrics, many of which appeared and disappeared too quickly to fully read. The remaining four opening sequences and all five ending sequences did not include lyric subtitles. On-screen text throughtout the episodes appeared to be selectively hard-subbed. Only on-screen text deemed significant had on-screen translation. Messages on Celty’s smartphone were not translated, but messages she typed to use for communication were hard-subbed. Eyecatch, next-episode previews, and the “This is a work of fiction” disclaimer were included, the later two including hard-subbed text translations. The sample DVD provided did not include a disc menu.

Not having a particular ear for dubbing, the English dub sounded competent to me, although I found Masaomi Kida’s voice, provided by Bryce Papenbrook, to be a little bit grating. I also noticed an absence of the sarcastic, spiteful undertone in Izaya Orihara’s voice that was always present in Hiroshi Kamiya’s original performance. My fellow viewer suggested that Johnny Yong Bosch was a bit miscast as the villainous Orihara because his voice is too familiar and frequently associated with heroic characters. The English dialogue acknowledges the Japanese setting, generally making a respectable effort to properly pronounce the Japanese names and locations that pepper the dialogue. Simon Brezhnev continues to speak with his characteristic disjointed cadence, but the English dub also gives him a Russian accent. The dubbing attempts to emulate the youthful slang and tone of the setting and Japanese dialogue by incorporating “equivalant” American coloquial slang. Undoubtedly some viewers will find the effort immersive while others will be distracted by hearing Japanese teens occasionally uttering American expressions that they wouldn’t naturally use.

The 26 episode series will be released on American DVD in three bilingual double-disc DVD sets, each retailing at $49.98. The first volume will be available on January 25 in an exclusive digipack featuring new artwork and an exclusive set of postcards. The two discs will contain episodes 1-9 with 2.0 English and Japanese audio and anamorphic 16:9 widescreen video. Viewers that watched the series during its Crunchyroll streaming distribution will now be able to own the complete series, including its two home video exclusive episodes, in a never-before-released bilingual edition. New viewers will be able to discover this fascinating, stylish, and engrossing “urban street drama” that’s become a fan favorite for good reason.

Last year One Peace Books introduced itself to American manga readers with its English language publication of the essay manga So I Need to Lose 15 Pounds. Now the publisher deepens its relationship with its first conventional manga, the very unconventional romantic sci-fi fantasy adventure Tenken, by independent artist Yumiko Shirai. Fully ten years in development, Tenken is at once an epic and very intimate story of conviction, tradition, and the strength of humanity set in a recovering post-apocalyptic Japan. Winner of the Japanese governmental Agency for Cultural Affairs’ 2007 Japan Media Arts Festival Encouragement Prize, Tenken is a work ideal for readers seeking a manga that’s more mature and literary than conventional shounen ninja or shoujo magical girls, and an ideal graphic novel for readers attracted to sequential art but not necessarily attracted to stereotypical Japanese manga.

Tenken is set in rural Japan a number of years after a “dirty war” irradiated and scorched the country. Life – plant, animal, and human – has returned, and construction worker Manaka toils daily to rebuild and prepare for the fast approaching Tenken Festival, a celebration of renewal that harkens back to the ancient Japanese creation myth of Susano slaying the dragon Yamata no Orochi. However, the myth isn’t just an ancient fairy tail, as Manaka realizes when he learns that his young female employee Saki has been chosen as the next sacrifice to Yamata no Orochi, and her sacrifice will be much more than ceremonial. Saki struggles with a personal decision to accept or fight her fate. Manaka must face the difficult decision of either respecting tradition and ensuring his place in the social heirarchy or risking not only his job, but also his life to oppose the priests and the traditions that demand a tremendous sacrifice from one to ensure the good of all.

In just over 300 pages, Tenken tells its complete story, deftly merging a science-fiction setting with natural and traditional Japanese folk culture and mythology. The boy-meets-girl and heroic journey narratives may be well worn, but in Tenken they’re presented refreshingly free of cliché. Although Saki is young, all the the story’s characters are adults that speak and behave like adults. There’s a great deal of nuance in this story, in subtle expressions and movement, believable dialogue, and in character actions and decisions that always feel rational, justified, and believable. Unlike typical manga that are beholden to conventional routines and expectations, Tenken has the creative integrity of a genuine illustrated novel.

Yumiko Shirai’s art may be described as a modern incarnation of traditional Japanese sumi ink painting. Much is implied and evoked through impressionistic brush strokes, yet there’s also a degree of specific detail present in the artwork that’s uncharacteristic for sumi. The effect is striking, like a masterful hybrid of Goseki Kojima’s Lone Wolf & Cub brush strokes and the fine line work of Hiroaki Samura’s Blade of the Immortal. The visual component of the story conveys a literal sense of motion enhanced by sparing, selective use of sound effects. The art isn’t stylized enough to jettison its Japanese roots, but it is unique enough to be accessible and attractive to readers who usually dislike the typical big eyes and speed lines associated with Japanese manga. With the infrequent exception of translated captions, the artwork is untouched in One Peace Books’ publication. Sound effects are left in Japanese with translation provided nearby.

The dialogue is translated naturally and is easy to read, although about a dozen typos slipped past editorial notice throughout the 300 plus pages. They’re minor and easily overlooked. The narrative includes a little bit of profanity, used appropriately and without sensationalism. There’s no sex or nudity. Violence is depicted tastefully. Japanese cultural terms and references that are integral to the story are Romanized rather than translated, and explained in detailed, illustrated translator notes at the back of the book. The book’s print quality is outstanding. Heavy weight cream colored pages give the book a substantial heft and magnificently reproduce the beautiful artwork without any seeming loss of detail, texture, or tone.

Tenken is a commendable addition to the ranks of English translated manga, and a highly recommended addition to the bookshelf of any collector or connoisseur of fine Japanese manga art. The characters and story are engaging and respectable. Suspenseful tension gradually builds toward a surprise filled climax that brilliantly intertwines concrete science fiction with ethereal Japanese mythology. The beautiful line and ink artwork has a fascinating ability to depict much more than it literally illustrates by capturing essence and evoking impression. This acclaimed manga is absolutely one which discriminating readers should explore and experience.

Tenken is a 328 page softcover retailing at $16.95. It’s available from finer retailers now.

American readers are, by now, familiar with manga and, naturally, familiar with the personal essay. But a combination of the two is something unusual and unfamiliar. New York and Japan based One Peace Books hopes to change that situation by introducing American readers to the popular contemporary Japanese “manga format essay” with Shiho Torii’s book So I Need to Lose 15 Pounds. The “manga essay” format that’s gaining popularity in Japan isn’t strictly educational manga like Shotaro Ishinomori’s Japan, Inc.: Introduction to Japanese Economics that first saw release in America in 1988. Nor is it exactly like the conventional narrative manga that American readers are most used to. The difference, however, is subtle.

Author and artist Shiho Torii’s manga is an anecdotal account of her five month long effort to lose 15 pounds. The report is fully illustrated in manga style, including an introductory ten pages published in color. Unlike conventional manga that convey information exclusively through dialogue and visuals, this manga essay incorporates a running commentary integrated into the art. The result feels not exactly like an informal essay nor a narrative manga, but a hybrid of both. The informal tone, the author’s good natured honesty, and the manga’s visual aesthetic make the inclusion of running commentary feel completely natural and, in fact, readers that aren’t looking for the subtle differences between a manga format essay and traditional manga may not consciously notice the difference.

One Peace Books’ edition of Torii’s manga is clearly aimed at mainstream American readers, but that shouldn’t alienate veteran manga fans at all. Torii’s drawing style is simple and accessible, but surprisingly expressive. The book is completely free of koukaon (visual sound effects). I don’t know if they’ve been edited out for the American publication or if Torii doesn’t employ them, but the art works just fine without them. The consistent use of small panels and the frequent use of screen toned background highlights keeps the art vibrant and active, in effect, substituting for conventional koukaon. There’s also no translation notes nor footnotes explaining Japanese visual puns like an oni horn on a domineering book editor’s head, but the art really doesn’t need minute explanations because its visual puns are few and infrequent, and they’re never intrusive nor confusing. Although never disguising the book’s cultural origin and setting, the English translation avoids Romanized words while still feeling very respectful. The English text feels completely natural, and it really does an excellent job of expressing the author’s personality.

So I Need to Lose 15 Pounds is author Shiho Torii’s account of being approached by an editor with a plan to chronicle a five month long attempt to lose 15 pounds. During her endeavour, Torii tried 27 different weight loss activities including swimming, walking, aerobics, macrobiotic dieting, glycemic index dieting, the BOOCS diet, spa treatments, colon cleansing, and even hypnosis. Torii structures her narrative chronologically and by diet, chronicling her gradual weight and body mass loss along the way. Doubtlessly many readers will be able to empathize with Torii’s efforts, as she honestly reveals herself as a person like many of us – concerned about her weight, but unmotivated to make drastic lifestyle changes and addicted to a comfortable but not entirely healthy lifestyle. The author’s experiences are fun to read. And it doesn’t take long for the reader to become familiar with Torii, her live-in sister, and her editor (and de facto diet manager). Readers share the lighthearted thrill of her advances and the disappointments of her dieting plateaus and small weight gains.

The book details, in a casual and friendly manner, advice and details on each weight loss technique Torii tried. In a brief index, Torii summarizes and each diet and assigns each diet a subjective ranking for effectiveness and accessibility. The book isn’t a formal guide to weight loss, nor does it aspire to be one. It’s a humorous reflection on one author’s personal fitness experiment. Some of the dieting efforts Torii attempted are unhealthy and possibly even dangerous. The book also reveals some distinctive Japanese perceptions and superstitions including fear that wearing a wet bikini causes colds, and wearing a tight bra causes internal organs to sag. Readers looking for safe and formal advice on weight loss should look to a conventional guide book. Readers interested in something entertaining can look here. For dieters, the book is a sympathetic companion. For mainstream readers it’s an accessible and fun introduction to a form of illustrated narrative that’s common in Japan but not very familiar in America. For manga fans, the book provides an interesting introduction to a different type of manga. The book’s larger dimensions, excellent print quality, and satisfying heft and paper quality certainly feel worth its $12.95 cover price.

Both the manga format essay and manga aimed at average, mainstream readers are unfamiliar concepts here in America, which may cause consumers to eye So I Need to Lose 15 Pounds with suspicion or dismiss it without greater examination. That would be unfortunate as this book, and this type of book, deserve some appreciation and circulation in America. Dieters and readers interested in an unconventional approach to weight loss literature will certainly enjoy reading this manga. Readers who aren’t motivated by dieting but are interested in the unique diversity of Japanese manga, or just want an enjoyable, unconventional read should also seriously consider giving So I Need to Lose 15 Pounds a shot.

The Akiba is evenly divided between an informative short manga and conventional guides to the Akihabara district and its signature locations. The short, self-contained manga illustrates the story of Yoko Minamoto, a young woman who ventures into the unfamiliar wilderness of Akihabara in search of her boyfriend who visited the district but didn’t return home. (Don’t worry. Although the manga story does include a brush with danger, no harm befalls the characters, and Akihabara is typically perfectly safe for tourist visitors.) Readers used to the most popular manga titles in America may be briefly put off by illustrator Makoto Nakajima’s relatively realistic drawing style, which even incorporates occasional photo backgrounds – fitting for a manga story designed to introduce a real life location. While it’s not conventionally attractive, the manga art is practical and effective, and the story and characters engaging enough to keep readers interested.

The manga traces Yoko’s journey through Akihabara, pointing out locations of interest and introducing aspects of “Akiba” culture, although the illustrated story depicts, but doesn’t address the Japanese etiquette of bowing. To its credit, the manga story expands its focus beyond just the conventional anime and manga core of modern Akihabara, introducing readers to the district’s music scene, local police station, office buildings, electronics stores, and even a bit of the district’s history. For manga purists, the panels are arranged in Western style left to right, but sound effects are retained in original Japanese. References and Japanese jargon is extensively annotated by helpful footnotes. Although there’s a typo on the back cover (“servise” is spelled wrong), the interior translaton is natural and easy to read.

The rear half of The Akiba consists of a useful annotated map, an interesting brief but thorough summarized history of the Akihabara neighborhood, and full color illustrated thumbnail introductions to Akihabara area maid cafes, large retail stores, restaurants, computer and computer game stores, audio equipment stores, doujinshi retailers, cosplay specialty shops, collectible figure stores, video game arcades, and more. Each entry is provided by the retailer and structured to the consistent format of The Akiba book, which allows the entries to focus precisely on the individual strengths and specialties of each business. Furthermore, because The Akiba was composed in Japan and assembled from Japanese entries, it covers countless establishments that foreign visitors might easily overlook.

The fascinating entries briefly and concisely deliver a whirlwind tour of Akihabara. Casual readers will be amazed at the variety of establishments covered, and their unique services and characteristics. Tourists planning to visit Akihabara will appreciate the useful pointers toward businesses and stores to visit while touring the area. Because the book is so recent, current as of 2008, it’s especially relevant and useful to contemporary readers. The Akiba is a thoughtfully assembled visual guide to Tokyo’s Akihabara district, the world’s otaku mecca, that’s informative and enjoyable for any reader interested in otaku pop culture.

Anime DVD
01. Cowboy Bebop Remix Complete Collection
America just can’t get enough of those crazy space cowboys. One of the best anime series ever earns its position as our best selling DVD release of the year. The Cowboy Bebop Remix DVD Complete Collection delivers all 26 episodes complete with remastered 5.1 audio, perfect for grooving to the show’s amazing soundtrack.

02. FLCL Ultimate Edition
Just like Cowboy Bebop is a one-of-a-kind sci-fi action adventure, there’s no other comedy quite like FLCL, and the extras-packed Ultimate Edition is the ideal way to own this especially fun show.

03. Slayers TV season sets
Like a fine wine getting better with age, Slayers is more popular now than ever before! Slayers Next, the second season, slightly edges out Slayers and Slayers Try in sales, but all three seasons are among our most popular sellers.

04. Full Metal Panic! Second Raid Complete Collection
Few sequels outshine their predecessors, but the Full Metal Panic Second Raid Complete Series delivers even more intense action, absorbing drama, and exceptional animation than the original.

05. Ah! My Goddess 2 volume 6: Love Will Keep Us Together
The final volume of the Ah! My Goddess television series keeps getting togther with fans that can’t get enough of the sweet and sometimes silly daily lives of a boy and his goddess.

06. Martian Successor Nadesico Perfect Collection
As Ruri says, you’d have to be a “baka” to overlook the satirical sci-fi epic Nadesico, now available in a thinpack free of the digital overlays imposed on the original edited American release.

07. Outlaw Star Anime Legends Complete Collection
Maybe it’s nostalgia for its early Cartoon Network broadcast, or maybe it’s just because the Outlaw Star series is a rockin’ sci-fi action show that fans continue to make this one of our fastest sellers.

08. Eureka Seven volume 11
The complex twists and turns of the acclaimed Eureka Seven plot gracefully intersect in the penultimate volume of this under-appreciated gem.

09. Gundam Seed Destiny volume 12
Fans can’t resist seeing how the epic Gundam Seed story wraps up in this final volume of the saga.

10. Sorcerer Hunters Complete Collection
The fantasy fun of Sorcerer Hunters has cast its spell over AnimeNation customers, making the complete TV and OVA series thinpack one of our most popular items.

Adult Anime DVD
01. Night When Evil Falls
Honestly, is it really any surprise that Night When Evil Falls volume 1 has been our most popular H anime DVD of the year? It’s more fun than Urotsukidoji or Cambrian, and not as gruesome as Sexy Magical Girl Ai. With plenty of cute, gothic gals and plenty of tentacle titilation, it’s got just the right amount of thrills and fantastic fantasy. Volume 2 and volume 3 wrap up the story.

02. Invisible Stud
If you’re a guy and you’ve never imagined the lusty fun of being an invisible man, you’re not being honest with yourself. How can any adult anime fan not be interested in the erotic adventures of an Invisible Stud?

02. Taboo Charming Mother
Tied with the Invisible Stud for sales is the saga of the family that stays together by laying together. Every kind of kinky sex gets screentime in this incestuous story of a housewife in lust with her own son. Volume 1 starts off a little slow, but volume 2 and volume 3 heat up the story. Volume 4 adds an aunt to the mix while volume 5 and volume 6 bring the series to a stunning climax.

04. Hentaipalooza volume 1
The only thing better than a bargain is a hentai bargain! Hentaipalooza volume 1 delivers two episodes of otaku eroticism in Akiba Girls episodes 1 & 2, and supernatural ninja intercourse in Immorality parts 1 & 2.

05. It’s a Family Affair
It looks like sisters are almost as sexy as mothers since It’s a Family Affair volume 1 and volume 2 rank just behind Taboo Charming Mother on the popularity scale.

06. All Sex Hentai
Let’s face it. Hentai offers up all the fun of sex without the hassles of actual interpersonal relationships. All Sex Hentai volume 1 & volume 2 offer up all the sex without all that unnecessary story.

07. Bible Black
Maybe the Bible Black series doesn’t rank higher because so many collectors already have it. If any adult anime series deserves to be in every collection, Bible Black is the one. Bible Black introduces the story that continues in Second Sacrament and Revelations. Bible Black Origins reveals the events that occured ten years prior to the story while Bible Black New Testament First Scripture and Second Sacrament continue the story years later. Bible Black Only offers up only amazing new sex scenes.

08. After Class Lesson
This hot and hardcore series may not have a high profile, but obviously our customers know how to pick high quality erotica. The popular After Class Lesson DVD Collection adds up to extra credit in schoolgirl erotica!

09. Boobalicious
How can you go wrong with a name like Boobalicious? It tells you exactly what to expect in volume 1 & volume 2, and it lives up to its billing!

10. Harumi’s Bad Play
Harumi’s play may be bad, but plenty of our customers seem to enjoy discovering exactly what she is good at! It sure seems like Harumi’s Bad Play is still worth the price of admission.

I’m not a cosplayer myself, but even I’m impressed by the debut volume of Cosmode USA. Despite being solicited as a domestic magazine, the premier volume of Cosmode USA is actually an archival photo collection and reference manual – 200 glossy full color pages in hardcover edition that will last a lifetime! If you’ve ever wanted to see what anime characters would look like if they were real people, an extensive photo gallery of Japan’s best costumers will show you. These folks get every detail exact, from the hair to the shoes, including even colored contact lenses! Photos profile costumers representing Gurren Lagann, Five Star Stories, Violinst of Hameln, Code Geass, Tsubasa Chronicle, Dino Crisis, Dragon Quest, Odin Sphere, and more!

But don’t feel left out! American cosplayers also get photographs and profiles. And aspiring & active cosplayers will appreciate this volume’s extensive illustrated guides to designing anime character wigs and hair styles, patterns and guides for creating anime footwear and form-fitting bodysuits, and even detailed instructions for the proper way to put on a traditional Japanese kimono!

This is a lot more than a mere monthly magazine. Cosmode volume 1 is a stunning, archival book that you’ll appreciate having on your shelf for years and years!

One of the pleasant perks of working for an anime store is always being surrounded by cool and fun stuff. But occasional something turns up that’s especially nice, and deserving of extra special mention. The new Okami Official Complete Works book from Udon is one such item that just arrived in stock yesterday.

When the original Japanese Okami Complete Works book, devoted to Clover Studio’s celebrated PS2 action game, hit the Japanese market in September 2006 it sold out almost immediately and became a sort of frustrating holy grail import for Americans collectors to chase after, mostly unsuccessfully. Albeit after some delays, the Capcom friendly folks from American publisher Udon have localized the gorgeous Japanese illustration book into a stunning 288 page English language edition.

Virtually identical to the original Japanese version in every way, including authentic Japanese right-to-left publishing and a similar retail price, the English translated Okami Complete Works book is a massive and lovingly created volume. I’ll tell you, this book is weighty! I wouldn’t want to drop it on my bare toes! Its full color contents consist almost entirely of amazing contemporary traditional looking Japanese illustrations and art including characters, monsters, and backgrounds used in the award winning game. This is no strategy guide. This is a genuine art collection that introduces and archives the gorgeous artwork and creativity that went into creating the revolutionary Okami game. As a result, this wonderful book is ideal for not just fans of the game, but literally anyone that appreciates contemporary Japanese fine art.

All of the abundant artist commentary on the art is fully translated into English. Original Japanese language notations in the artworks are annotated with English translations. The mythological references are illustrated and explained. The book also features sheet music for its theme with a composer introduction, a gallery of rarely seen Okami promotional art used only in Japan, and afterwards from Inaba Atsushi and Kamiya Hideki, the lead creators of Okami.

Yes, this book costs a bit more than an average translated manga, but I promise you that it delivers more than your money’s worth of value and enjoyment. If you’re debating with yourself over purchasing a copy of this amazing book, don’t think about it any longer; just buy it. You won’t regret the decision.

It’s lamentable that the 2006 American television broadcast of Sav! the World Productions and Hal Film Maker’s 26 episode Oban Star Racers animated series earned the respect of only a small cult following rather than the significant success and popularity it deserves. Now, hopefully, the release of the complete series on a pair of admirably crafted American DVD sets will bring more attention to this excellent show.

With Western and Japanese animation co-productions on the rise, Oban Star Racers stands as an example of the quality and integrity that all co-productions should aspire to. It’s also partially for that reason that animation fans should consider Oban Star Racers mandatory viewing – both as an example of a Western and Eastern co-production that elevates the work of both sides, and as a thrilling and addicting pleasure.

Saying too much about the plot of Oban Star Racers ruins part of the fun of anticipating the show’s twists and turns, and its unfolding narrative that gets better and better as it continues to develop. The sci-fi racing adventure series delivers satisfyingly on multiple fronts, and benefits from both its French and Japanese creative backgrounds. The character design is unique and instantly appealing with a simplicity that evokes warmth, and allows for a great deal of expression through movement and expression. The varied design of the show’s many alien races is wonderfully diverse. The integration of 3D CG and 2D hand drawn animation is handled especially well because the color design employed throughout the show aids in blending the two animation styles seemlessly. The show’s racing scenes are masterfully shot, using frequent tracking shots and cuts to create a sense of speed, danger, and excitement. Oban Star Racers’ racing scenes may be the best turned out by a Japanese studio since Initial D, making them better than anime including eX-Driver, Monkey Turn, and Wangan Midnight.

Unlike conventional episodic American cartoons, Oban Star Racer draws inspiration from anime by featuring a providing a progressively developing narrative. This linear continuity allows the show to introduce multiple simultaneous plot threads, and gives the show plenty of opportunity to gradually reveal its characters and allow them to face and overcome conflicts, personal tragedies, and both failures and successes. Oban Star Racers also draws inspiration from anime by treating both itself and its viewers with intelligence and respect. Like some of the best Japanese animation, Oban Star Racers is more accurately described as “suitable for all viewers” than “children’s animation.” The show creates dramatic empathy for its characters, and uses both dialogue and body language to establish individual characterizations for all of its characters – even supporting and background characters. Anime fans that are tired of rehashed romantic comedies, shows that pander to obsessive, cultish instincts, and programs that feel uninspired and unoriginal would be well served to spend some time watching Oban Star Racers.

Consumers that do decide to spend their money on this deserving show will be well rewarded. The entire series is delivered on two double-disc DVD sets. On my standard definition 36 inch television, the episodes sound robust, and look crisp, bright and flawless. While I’m personally somewhat disappointed that the American DVD release doesn’t include multiple, selectable dialogue languages such as the French and Japanese dialogue tracks, the English dialogue is performed believably, by actors that feel natural in their roles. Perhaps in an attempt to appeal to the anime market, the DVD release features the Japanese opening and ending animation sequences with English language credits rather than the English language theme song used during the original American television broadcast. While the original American “Never Say Never” theme wasn’t bad, the Yoko Kanno composed Japanese theme songs do a better job of evoking the show’s atmosphere.

Supplemental materials included on the American DVDs include fascinating monochrome image galleries of concept design art, character profiles, the show’s MIPCOM trade convention promotional trailer, and most importantly, an extensive, thorough, and revealing two-part “Making Of” featurette presented in its original French and Japanese language with permanent English subtitles. The behind-the-scenes shorts are a fantastic inclusion for anime fans because they provide a rare, thorough outsider’s perspective on the inner workings of a Japanese anime production studio – a view that most international anime fans will never see otherwise. The “making of” shorts also reveal the admirable philosophy that went into the production of the Oban Star Racers animation. It’s clear from listening to the annecdotes of the production staff that their priorities were on creativity, uniquness, and telling a compelling story rather than creating a cheap but profitable piece of pop culture kitsch. Unfortunately, however, the “making of” shorts appear to be direct conversions from the French PAL format Oban Star Racer DVDs rather than new NTSC format encodes because the image quality of the “making of” specials is noticably softer and granier than the sharp clarity of the animated episodes. Regrettably, the DVDs don’t include the original French CG animated “Molly Star Racer” conceptual animation short. The similarities and differences between the original “pilot” and the finished show are intriguing to compare and contrast, but ultimately the absence of the pilot video doesn’t diminish the quality of the material that is included.

Finally, the domestic DVDs feature attractive animated menus and menu transitions, gorgeous picture discs, and handsome double-sided DVD sleeves with colorful chapter list inlays. At a retail price of a mere $20 for 13 episodes plus bonus features on each DVD set, these releases are an absolute bargain!

Allowing the impression that Oban Star Racers is a kids’ show or not a full-fledged anime to discourage you from watching the series is a tremendous disservice. While Oban Star Racers never strays from being suitable for viewers of all ages, it delivers enough excitment, tension, character and story development to entertain any animation fan. Oban Star Racers easily matches and even surpasses the integrity and quality of many current anime titles. Oban Star Racers is a thoroughly appealing and satisfying sci-fi adventure series, and it handily earns my highest recommendation.

Fans that are familiar with the Night Shift Nurses franchise know that the show concentrates on nubile nurses being sexually used, abused, and humiliated, bringing out either homicidal tendencies, or more frequently a Stockholm Syndrome style affectionate masochism. The first “kranke” episode, true to its subtitle, focuses primarily on series’ recurring character Hikaru Kodama while introducing her younger sister, Ai, who becomes the focal character of the second “kranke” episode. Since the “kranke” series is set well into the Night Shift Nurses story, it completely skips over introductions to primary characters Hikaru and Doctor Hirasaka, which may leave new viewers somewhat in the dark, but the primary appeal of the Night Shift Nurses franchise is supplied in satisfying abundance, making this episode excellent for both long time fans and new viewers.

Befitting its status as one of Adult Source Media’s marque titles, the American DVD presentation of Night Shift Nurses kranke 1 fares better than many of ASM’s releases. The video in uncut and uncensored throughout, including an intact original Japanese title card and unaltered Japanese credits. While ASM continues its policy of not providing English translated production credits, “kranke 1″ breaks the mold somewhat by providing highlight Japanese production credits on the DVD packaging. However, unlike some of ASM’s other DVD releases, Night Shift Nurses kranke 1 does not have a reversible DVD cover.

Also unlike typical ASM titles, “kranke 1″ features literal subtitles. Based upon my novice understanding of Japanese language I’m convinced that the subtitles are not completely thorough, but unlike many other ASM titles, “kranke 1″ is not dubtitled. The subtitles are based on an accurate, literal translation of the spoken Japanese dialogue. The optional English dub is typical of English dubs in the respect that it takes liberties with the original script, most notably changing tentative, embarrassed, or even unwilling girls in the original Japanese dialogue to insatiable porn queens in the dub.

Sex is frequent, graphic, and intense throughout the episode, with nearly all of it occurring between only Hikaru and Hirasaka. Viewers will see bondage, domination, water sports, facials, anal, masturbation, enemas, vomit, a bit of blood, and some depraved use of food products. As typical for the Night Shift Nurses franchise, this episode exhibits typically attractive character designs, serviceable background art, and adequate animation quality, although observant viewers will notice occasional brief lapses in character art and animation quality.

The Night Shift Nurses episode contained on the DVD alone is satisfying enough to justify the cost of the disc, but the DVD also includes the 22 minute long bonus anime “University Girls Special Counselling” (Joshidai Ecchi Soudanshitsu) which sports amateur quality animation and permanent English subtitles. But at least it delivers plenty of kinky sex and has enough limited animation to legitimately qualify as anime, unlike other ASM DVD bonus shorts that are better described as enhanced slide shows.

Devoted fans of the Night Shift Nurses franchise may notice that the Kranke Kodama Hikaru” episode is slightly tame compared to the Night Shift Nurses series’ most extreme, gratuitous, and outright nasty episodes. While there’s plenty of B&D in this episode, the scatological content typical of the series is minimal in this episode. As a result, long time Night Shift Nurses fans can enjoy this episode as a gratifying episode that adds to the series’ narrative. Viewers unfamiliar with the Night Shift Nurses series may find this episode to be a good entry point that introduces the series’ characters and concepts and hints at the series’ most extreme elements without being egregiously disgusting. Even among adult viewers, the Night Shift Nurses series is not for everyone, but viewers with a taste for fetishistic sex and dominant/submissive themes should give Night Shift Nurses kranke 1 a shot.

Like the previous ASM titles I’ve watched, Harvest Night volume 1 is dubtitled. (I’m beginning to apprehend a characteristic trend here.) However, since Harvest Night is a former NuTech title that was “license rescued” and re-released by ASM, the translation served up seems to fall a bit below the standards of ASM’s original work. Obvious liberties were taken with the translation of the Japanese script into English, including a lengthy English narration and periodic dialogue that appear in the English dub, and consequently the subtitles, but not in the original Japanese audio track. Furthermore, since the subtitles transcribe the spoken English dialogue, occasional subtitles don’t precisely match the timing of the spoken Japanese dialogue. Viewers watching the OVA in English probably won’t notice any discrepancies. The differences may be enough to perturb some viewers watching the original audio version, but shouldn’t totally ruin the viewing experience.

The video footage is totally unaltered, which is both a blessing and a curse. While American consumers do get the original Japanese title card and ending credits, the DVD includes no English translated credits or credits for the localization. The disc includes the same 28 minute bonus short included on the first Dyogrammaton DVD, but unlike the version included with Dyogrammaton, the version on the Harvest Night DVD has no English translation.

Harvest Night feels like a very conflicted anime. In some respects it’s admirable. In other areas it’s, well, not so much bad as simply mystifying. The first of two episodes is a literally and figuratively dark story. Set in a dilapidated metropolitan slum, Harvest Night is a story about young thugs acting like young thugs. Apart from some distractingly obvious digital background pans used early in the episode, the background art throughout is more evocative and detailed than average for adult anime. And the character designs are a step above the norm for erotic anime. The first episode is grim and violent, including scenes of rape, sexual torture and sexual violence along with conventional brutal violence. Inexplicably, the OVA creates the distinct feeling that important parts of its story development are missing. The episode includes numerous allusions to unexplained events, and seemingly important characters that aren’t introduced or given any context. Astute viewers can piece together the outline of the story, but many of the details remain unclear.

A similar sense of ambiguity affects the video. While viewers typically expect adult movies to linger on their most explicit shots, the first episode of Harvest Night seems to take care to keep its most graphic shots brief or partially obscured, as if the anime is embarrassed about being too graphic. Sex occurs frequently throughout the first episode in variations including rape, consensual, and girl on girl, but the sex scenes are consistently brief.

The first episode of Harvest Night feels very conflicted because it seems hesitant to marry its gang conflict story with graphic sex, but the gang conflict story seems very incomplete, and the sex is too plentiful and organic to the story to feel superfluous. The first Harvest Night OVA isn’t ideal for viewers hoping for quick titillation. It’s much more of a dark and disturbing sexually explicit drama than cheap thrill. Viewers interested in challenging and possibly shocking adult entertainment may find Harvest Night satisfying, although a bit confusing.

Sorry for the boring title. I couldn’t think of anything that would make a pun with the word “Dyogrammaton.”

The second of the sample ero-anime DVDs provided by Adult Source Media that I selected to watch was the first episode of Dyogrammaton, another title that’s quite popular among AnimeNation customers. To be honest and fair, this OVA is difficult to critique because there’s not a lot to discuss. The OVA only runs 20 minutes, and it ends practically before it really gets started. In brief, the first episode of Dyogrammaton provides some mild entertainment for viewers willing to overlook its weak production values, but the episode’s biggest problem is not actually its poor animation, but rather the fact that it ends practically before it even begins to build any narrative momentum.

Dyogrammaton’s most obvious weakness is its amateur quality design and animation. Character designs are unremarkable. Backgrounds are minimal. The use of color does little to evoke atmosphere or set a tone. The animation quality is minimal and makes use of a lot of still frames, loops, and recycled animation. The extensive CG is undetailed and poorly implemented. In short, the entire production looks cheap and amateurish, but limited resources put into animation don’t necessarily make the anime bad. On the positive side, possibly because there’s so little story provided in the first episode, the episode isn’t as condescending or dumb as many other adult anime OVAs featuring better animation quality. But unfortunately, the amount of story that viewers are given is minimal, and reduced even further by the fact that the on-screen Japanese text during the opening animation sequence – text that explains the story setting and background – is not translated on the domestic DVD. What is translated throughout the primary OVA is dubtitled. There are minor variations between the subtitles and the spoken English dialogue, but the subtitles do adhere to the English dub more faithful than they translate the original Japanese script. This divergence is nowhere more apparant than during the sex scenes. The Hikari & Kyosuke sex scenes attempt to romantic in the original Japanese while the subtitles and English dubbing come across far more explicit and crude. Japanese phrases of demure embarassment such as “Hazukashii” and “Minaide!” are translated as “Take a good look!” – exactly the opposite of the original Japanese dialogue. The changes are even more egregious when “Sona! Hazukashii” (“Oh no! I’m embarassed!”) is translated as, “Stick your finger in. Lick my throbbing *****.” The changes in the translation are again quite obvious during a brief rape sequence in which the victim, in Japanese, is cleary under duress while the subtitles and her English dialogue make her sound like an eager masochist.

The episode’s sex consists primarily of a romantic coupling between Hikari and Kyosuke that begins in the bath then moves to the bedroom, and the very brief forementioned rape scene. While satisfactorily graphic, the sex is a bit boring due to a lacking variety and energy. The sex serves to push this sci-fi robot anime into the adults-only realm, but the sex alone just isn’t especially thrilling. The sex is uncensored, and this episode retains its original Japanese title screen, episode title, slates, and ending credits – making the entire episode uncut and uncensored. Regrettably the DVD includes no English translation for the production credits, nor any English localization credits. Adding some value to the short primary episode, the DVD includes a bonus short that’s best described as a narrated slide-show with occasional limited animation. Thankfully, unlike the case on some of ASM’s earlier DVD releases, the bonus feature included on the Dyogrammaton DVD includes accurate English subtitles.

In summation, Dyogrammaton volume 1 comes with a very qualified recommendation. The anime’s production quality is very amateurish, but that weakness can be excused as a regrettable necessity caused by a minimal production budget. Dyogrammaton may not have the means, but it does have the desire to be an entertaining anime. I’ve always considered entertainment value to be more important than running time, but unfortunately the short running time of the first episode limits its ability to be entertaining. Viewers that are hesitant about this title may find that it’s not really bad. However, viewers interested in Dyogrammaton may want to consider purchasing both episodes at once because the first episode alone is barely even an appetizer.

The folks over at Adult Source Media sent over a couple sample copies from their catalog of erotic anime for me to review. The first disc from the stack to get a spin was Night When Evil Falls volume 1. After watching it, I can’t call it flawless, but it’s not difficult to understand why it’s one of AnimeNation’s best selling adult anime titles.

Since the first episode is pretty good, I’ll start by discussing its strengths. The first episode’s animation quality may be far from fluid, but it’s adequate for mid-range adult anime. The fairly attractive character designs and good (but not outstanding) color design and backgrounds help to make the episode nice looking and enjoyable to watch. The first episode, originally titled “Ma ga Ochiru Yoru episode 1: Demonic Princess,” is fully uncensored and contains three scenes of fairly graphic sex. Ironically, while there don’t appear to be any edits within the main body of the episode, the original Japanese title card appears to have been removed. As a result, oddly, the episode doesn’t actually have a title sequence. Rather, it dives directly into its first of three sex scenes.

The first sex scene involves an un-named woman and a monster. The episode’s remaining two scenes are girl on girl. All three scenes involve some form of tentacles. Revealing the OVA’s limited budget, the sex scenes do tend to recycle a lot of animation, but keeping individual shots brief and shifting shots frequently keeps the looped footage from being too monotonous. A mere three sex scenes may not sound like much, but with each scene running several minutes, and the entire episode running only 25 minutes, the sex actually accounts for quite a bit of the episode’s run time.

Rather than concentrate attention strictly on its sex scenes, the first episode of Night When Evil Falls comes across as an enjoyable, dark, adult fantasy. This OVA is probably more likely to please viewers interested in a sexy supernatural action/adventure anime than viewers simply looking for a quick thrill. However, it’s lamentable that the first episode ends feeling like little more than a prologue. Even with some rather obvious and poorly implemented exposition, the story development feels like it’s just barely gotten started when the first episode ends.

I mentioned discussing the positives first. That naturally implies that there are also negatives – more significant ones than those already mentioned. The ASM DVD is dubtitled, which may or may not affect different viewer’s appreciation of the anime. Thankfully, most of the translation adheres fairly closely to the original Japanese dialogue. In fact, as far as I can tell with my very novice Japanese comprehension, even some of the episode’s rather silly lines of dialogue are actually straight from the original Japanese script. However, the dialogue diverges significantly during the sex scenes. Unwilling girls in the original Japanese dialogue are turned into wanton sluts by the English dialogue and subtitles. For example, when Meduna molests Shilis (translated as “Sheliss” by the subtitles), “Dame!” gets translated as “More!” and “Yamenasai!” is translated as “Do it more!”

Continuing on about the subtitles, I also noticed that “Kerberos” is consistently misspelled as “Kelderos,” but otherwise the dubtitles are free of grammar and spelling errors. They’re rather small, though, and they’re placed so close to the bottom of the television screen that if the subs were any lower, they’d partially appear below the bottom of the screen. While that’s not exactly a problem or a flaw, their placement does make the subtitles slightly difficult to spot and easily read.

The Japanophile part of me is pleased to see that the episode retains its unmolested original Japanese ending credits, but I’m slightly disappointed that the DVD doesn’t include any English translation for the production staff credits. The DVD also includes an English dub, but no credits for the English localization staff. The DVD includes a “bonus feature,” common to many of ASM’s adult anime releases, which consists of an untranslated Japanese short that’s closer to a slide show with voice acting than actual full animation. While it’s not a particularly thrilling addition, I appreciate the consideration of including it. I also respect the inclusion of a reversible DVD cover with “hardcore” and “softcore” sides, although the difference between the two is minimal.

The first episode of Night When Evil Falls doesn’t fall into the realm of top tier adult anime in either production or localization quality, but I’ve seen much, much worse. Viewers interested in a pleasant, non-taxing, light horror/tentacle hentai should find this an enjoyable and worthwhile purchase.

Adult consumers can purchase the DVD here.