Hajimeashite!, I’m Shadowsofsilver, you can called me Silver-chan. I will be reviewing manga for OtakuDan, all types. Yep, that includes everything from echii to yaoi. I read everything, even though the naughty stuff makes me blush. A little about me?I’m a college student working hard for that degree. I’m a anime watching‘, manga reading’, cosplay lovin’ girl. I have been watching anime for several years now. My sizes are…I probably shouldn’t put that here.Fav Anime.Tenpou Ibun Ayakashi Ayashi, Black Blood Brothers, Rosario + Vampire, Junjou Romantica, Shonen Onmyouji, Ghost Hunt, Natsume Yujin-Cho, Mushi-Shi, Devil May Cry, to name a few.Some of the manga I love and own.Kekkishi, XXXHolic, Bleach, Princess Princess, Ouran High School Host Club, Fruits Basket, Pet Shop Of Horrors, Junjou Romantica, Trinity Blood and Yamato Nadeshiko Shichi Henge.My anime planet profile has a lot more, though I’m still not finished updating it. Bad me!. I am also on OtakuDan’s IRC chat run by marmar04 from time to time. Come and chat with us! I don’t bite…hard.<script type="text/javascript">tweetmeme_url = '<data:post.url/>';</script><script type="text/javascript" src="http://tweetmeme.com/i/scripts/button.js"> </script>
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How many anime and manga series can you think of, off the top of your head, that feature a guy who physically turns into a girl? I can list... Ranma 1/2 Kashimashi Maze Your and My Secret Pretty Face Cheeky Angel Fushigi Yuugi Genbu Kaiden Gacha Gacha: The Next Revolution Vampire Doll (sort of) Plus innumerable stories featuring guys who need to pass as girls (normally out of some craaaazy circumstance rather than gender identity), like I My Me! Strawberry Eggs, Otome wa Boku ni Koishiteru, Maria Holic, Princess Princess, and W Juliet. Kämpfer doesn't break any new ground as a gender bender series, and it probably never will, but it manages to be a fairly entertaining mindless piece of B-movie crap without falling to the bottom of the heap. (*cough*Maze*cough*) The show begins promisingly enough, with one girl trying to shoot our hero(ine), Senou Natsuru, until Natsuru runs up to the top of a skyscraper (nice), acts surprised when she sees that the building has an edge, and then falls off of it. Cue the theme song. Then Elmo Harakiri Tiger, a stuffed animal with its organs hanging out (I need me one of those) explains how Natsuru needs to use a blue bracelet to fight as a "Kämpfer", for whatever reason. Naturally, Natsuru freaks out. Not only is he now a busty girl, but his fugly bracelet somehow made him change his underwear and grow longer, perfectly styled hair. Lucky for Natsuru, it was all a dream. (Or was it?) He runs to school that morning and we meet the wholesome girl-next-door Kaede Sakura, Natsuru's schoolmate/crush who gave him that delightful little tiger. The same redheaded girl who we saw shooting at Natsuru in the very beginning shows up again, Natsuru changes into a girl and shoots fire out of his hand, and s/he saves Sakura from the gun-toting redhead. Later on we learn that Sakura really, really likes the mysterious blue-haired woman who saved her and wants Natsuru to introduce them. The rom-com shenanigans continue in the second episode, when Natsuru saves Sakura from being shot by the redhead (Akane; now his ally), who thought Sakura was another Kämpfer trying to attack them in the school library. But she's wrong, of course. The mysterious attacker leaves once the class bell begins to ring, and Akane leaves Natsuru to take care of the now-unconscious Sakura. (Pretty stupid considering that she likes him.) Sakura later asks Natsuru to set her up with the female Natsuru, and Natsuru asks the wimpy, non-Kämpfer version of Akane to come to his house, where he merely asks her for advice regarding Sakura (much to her disappointment). What ensues is one of the funniest conversations I have ever witnessed in a bad anime. Harakiri Tiger and Seppuku Bunny (Akane's talking, similarly disemboweled, Tamura Yukari-voiced stuffed animal) advise Natsuru to agree to meet Sakura as a female, but to make her hate female-Natsuru by jumping her. Akane reacts by (eerily) saying the exact same thing that I was amusedly thinking, but gladly agrees to help Natsuru make Sakura hate female-Natsuru. Sakura wastes no time in asking female-Natsuru to go out with her. Props to Sakura! (^_^)b Natsuru runs away to ask Kämpfer-Akane for advice, and returns with his unique plan to make Sakura hate him/her. I know more than a few girls who would find that dance nerdishly adorable, but okay... But he finds that he wasn't making a buffoon out of himself in front of Sakura. It's the student council president, Sangou Shizuku, who- surprise!- is also a Kämpfer. Long story short, Natsuru and Akane defeat the kaichou, Natsuru makes Shizuku agree to leave Sakura alone, and the next day at school Shizuku-kaichou calls Akane and Natsuru to her office and informs them that she is transferring Natsuru to the girls' section of their school (yes, the male and female students at their school are relegated to different sections), which he will attend as a girl. A very good question. The episode ends, and the preview turns out to be the best part of the entire show at this point. Kämpfer is obviously intended to be fluffy, mindless wish fulfillment for boys, and it doesn't pretend or strive to be anything else. It is absolutely silly and clichéd, but it's decently entertaining if one approaches it with realistic expectations and a healthy sense of sarcasm. Unless you're exactly who this series was intended for- for example, I have a college-aged guy friend in Japan who unabashedly enjoys this series since he's a seiyuu fan (especially of Tamura Yukari) and is studying German. We all have silly, crappy shows that we enjoy, and there's nothing wrong with that. The best part of the show for me is the dark sense of humor that went into the stuffed animal character designs and names, the unintentionally funny bits, and the fact that Noto Mamiko is going to voice one of the mangled-looking stuffed animals. (Yes, I'm as bad as my friend. lol) The character designs are about as bland and forgettable as they come, but the animation is surprisingly solid. (I'm pretty surprised that Kämpfer's fight scenes look more consistently well-animated than Book of Bantorra's- if not as inventive-, even though Book of Bantorra is a better series.) Definitely not the best this season, but definitely not the worst either. Story: C- Art: C Overall: C-
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Seiyuu of the Month:Jun FukuyamaAs we celebrate the month when Code Geass ended (September 28), let us meet the man who gave life to Lelouch Lamperouge.Jun Fukuyama 福山 潤 was born on November 26, 1978 in Fukuyama-shi, Hiroshima-ken but he grew up in Osaka, Japan.He has voiced a lot of characters that we love and some of them are:Kidou Tenshi Angelic Layer - Kotarou KobayashiRockman.EXE Axess - SearchmanTsubasa Chronicles/xxxHoLic - Kimihiro WatanukiKin'iro no Corda - Keiichi ShimizuCode Geass - Lelouch Lamperouge/ZeroBusou Renkin - Kazuki MutouPrincess Princess - Touru KounoRenta Magica - Itsuki IbaAmatsuki - Tokidoki RikugoVampire Knight - Aidou HanabusaSpice and Wolf - Kraft LawrenceSpecial A - Kei TakishimaValkyria Chronicles - MaximillianPandora Hearts - Vincent Nightray07-Ghost - Hakuren OakFor his complete list, you can visit his ANN profile here.Fukuyama has also won as Best Actor in the first Seiiyu Awards (2007) for his role as Lelouch Lamperouge in Code Geass. He also won Best Seiiyu at the 2007 Animage’s Anime Grand Prix.In the third Seiyu Awards, he won for “Overseas Fan’s Choice Award” due to his role as Lelouch Lamperouge. In the 8th Tokyo Anime Awards held in March 2009 he also won Individual Category (Best Voice Actor) for his role in Code Geass Lelouch of the Rebellion R2.One of my most favorite seiiyu, Jun Fukuyama always amuses me whenever I watch one of his shows. I guess his biggest break was when he voiced for Lelouch in the series Code Geass. Many (including me!!!) loved the way he voiced Lelouch. Even now that I hear characters that he voices for, I can always see a similarity to Lelouch's voice. I guess I was again geassed to always remember Code Geass over and over and over and over again.
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That title is pretty misleading, actually. Princess Princess is not particularly yaoi-y. The man kissing scenes consist of the male characters doing it to troll. Rather, it’s more of a delicious trap anime. The main characters are forced by their all-boys school into becoming delicious traps because well, the school does [...]
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I have just discovered that I am a compulsive liar =P. I was going to stop after the yaoi review but I got too bored so here’s another episode review! This time the spotlight is on Princess Princess also affectionately known as Pri-Pri. I’m a pretty big fan of Mikiyo Tsuda/ Zaou Taishi so when [...]
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Whew! At long last, the summer season preview is here! As usual, summer is big on comedies and other light-hearted fare, like GA Geijitsuka Art Design Class, Kanamemo, and Yoku Wakaru Gendai Mahou-- but that doesn't mean we have no darker shows. Keep an eye out for CANAAN, from Type-Moon (Fate/Stay Night), and Umineko no Naku Koro ni, from 07th Expansion (Higurashi no Naku Koro ni), as well as BONES' Tokyo Magnitude 8.0 if you want some drama. We're also seeing relatively few sequels compared to past summers, I think; Hetalia 2nd season, Spice and Wolf II, and Zan Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei are the only ones, really. All in all it's shaping up to be a pretty strong summer. So let's get going! <object height="285" width="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Xj9WVTORX7s&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1&amp;color1=0x402061&amp;color2=0x9461ca&amp;border=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Xj9WVTORX7s&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1&amp;color1=0x402061&amp;color2=0x9461ca&amp;border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="285" width="340"></embed></param></object>   Title:   Aoi Hana Japanese Title:  青い花 Studio:   J.C. Staff Genre:   Shoujo Airs:  Fuji TV, Thursdays at 2am, starting July 2nd. Site:   http://www.aoihana.tv Summary: Fumi and Akira, who were best friends ten years prior to the anime's beginning, reconnect in high school as very different students. The girls help each other get through the social vagaries of starting out in high school. I'm told there are at least touches of yuri in the show. Notable: Director Kenichi Kasai has made a name for himself with strong and relatively understated series: Nodame Cantabile , Honey and Clover , and KimiKiss Pure Rouge among them. Total newcomer Ai Takabe will be voicing the primary heroine, Fumi, while the relatively unknown Yuko Gibu ( Koi Koi Seven 's Akiwo) plays Akira. You may want to pay close attention to the soundtrack for this one; Vampire Knight and Vampire Knight Guilty's Takefumi Haketa has been tapped to compose. <object height="240" width="380"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/tSmyq-AgUw4&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1&amp;rel=0&amp;color1=0x402061&amp;color2=0x9461ca&amp;border=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/tSmyq-AgUw4&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1&amp;rel=0&amp;color1=0x402061&amp;color2=0x9461ca&amp;border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="240" width="380"></embed></param></object>   Title:   Bakemonogatari Japanese Title:  化物語 Studio:   Shaft Genre:  Supernatural Airs:  Tokyo MX TV, Fridays at 11pm, starting July 3rd Site:   http://www.bakemonogatari.com Summary: After surviving a vampire attack, Koyomi Araragi begins stumbling upon a wide variety of supernatural mysteries, starting with his nearly-weightless classmate Hitagi Senjougahara. Notable: The series is based on NisiOisiN's series of light novels. You may recognize his name as the author of the Death Note : Another Note and xxxHOLiC novels. There are those who theorize that he is in fact Death Note manga writer Tsugumi Ohba as well. Calling all Zetsubou-sensei fans! Hiroshi Kamiya, who voices Nozomu Itoshiki (as well as Gundam 00 's Tieria Erde and Macross Frontier 's Mihael ), is voicing Koyomi. Chiwa Saito ( ARIA 's Aika, Pani Poni Dash! 's Becky) joins him as Hitagi. Remember how I said Zetsubou fans should be interested? Here's another reason: it's a Shaft/ Akiyuki Shinbo collaboration. They've done Zetsubou and Maria+Holic . <object height="215" width="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/XjihkCCXp3o&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1&amp;rel=0&amp;color1=0x402061&amp;color2=0x9461ca&amp;border=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/XjihkCCXp3o&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1&amp;rel=0&amp;color1=0x402061&amp;color2=0x9461ca&amp;border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="215" width="340"></embed></param></object>   Title:   CANAAN Studio:  P.A. Works Genre:  Mystery Airs:  Tokyo MX TV, Saturdays at 10:30pm, starting July 4th Site:   http://www.canaan.jp Summary: A group of Tokyoites are drawn togther by a series of strange events. These include, among other things, a detective, a writer, a virus researcher, and a catgirl. Notable: Yes, the art should look familiar to you: it's from Type-Moon co-founders Kinoko Nasu and Takashi Takeuchi and features designs by the latter. You know them best as the Fate/Stay Night and Kara no Kyoukai people. One of my favorite seiyuu and singers, Maaya Sakamoto ( Host Club 's Haruhi , Final Fantasy VII's Aeris ), will be voicing the lead, Alphard. Miyuki Sawashiro, best known for cute voices like Puchiko in Di Gi Charat or Mint in Galaxy Angel , will voice the titular Canaan. The series will be directed by Masahiro Ando , who debuted as an anime director with the recently-released BONES film Sword of the Stranger . <object height="285" width="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/DNmUjFgmQbQ&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1&amp;rel=0&amp;color1=0x402061&amp;color2=0x9461ca&amp;border=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/DNmUjFgmQbQ&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1&amp;rel=0&amp;color1=0x402061&amp;color2=0x9461ca&amp;border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="285" width="340"></embed></param></object>   Title:   Element Hunter Japanese Title:  エレメントハンター Studio:  NHK Enterprises x Hiuon Entertainment Genre:  Sci-Fi Airs:  NHK, Saturdays at 6pm starting July 4th Site:   http://elementhunters.com Summary: Set in the year 2089, sixty years after the human population has declined to a tenth of its peak after a huge natural disaster, scientists discover that the planets resources are flowing to a “Nega Earth.” A team of young children (under 13) is formed to save the world and learn the Periodic table. Yeah, I know. Notable: Edutainment it may be, but the staff's not bad: director Yoshiaki Okumura directed Antique Bakery , Bakkyuu Hit!, and episode-directed Eyeshield 21 . I'm more excited about the music, though: Chiaki Ishikawa, who I know best for the Bokurano OP “Uninstall” (but who you may recognize from a considerable amount of .Hack work) is performing the OP. I've got to say, the designs also look pretty neat; the character designs are from newcomer Daigo Okumura. <object height="285" width="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/0h8fyG51boE&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1&amp;rel=0&amp;color1=0x402061&amp;color2=0x9461ca&amp;border=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/0h8fyG51boE&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1&amp;rel=0&amp;color1=0x402061&amp;color2=0x9461ca&amp;border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="285" width="340"></embed></param></object>   Title:   Fight Ippatsu! Juuden-chan Japanese Title:  ファイト一発!充電ちゃん!! Studio:   Studio Hibari Genre:  Comedy Airs:  AT-X, Thursdays at 8am, starting June 25th Site:   http://juden-chan.jp Summary: Rather than bringing back another season of Code-E, Japan has selected a new electric-charged heroine to represent this summer. This time it's Juuden-chan, a visitor from another world sent to perk up downtrodden humans...presumably by zapping them with electricity? And nudity. Can't forget the nudity. Notable: This is another one that may look familiar to you; it's based on the manga by Bow Ditama, who also did Mahoro-Matic . Director Shinichiro Kimura , who helmed Hand Maid May , both Maburaho AND Mahoraba, and Karin, will take on this comedy. Ayahi Takagaki ( Gundam 00 's Feldt Grace , True Tears ' Noe) and Kaori Fukuhara ( Lucky Star 's Tsukasa, Macross Frontier 's Lam Hoa) are playing the two parallel-world visitors, Aresta Blanket and Plug Cryostat, respectively. They're also singing the OP theme.   Title:   GA Geijutsuka Art Design Class Japanese Title:  GA 芸術科アートデザインクラス Studio:   AICPLUS+ Genre:  Slice-of-Life Airs:  YTV, Tuesdays at 2:15am, starting July 7th Site:   http://mv.avex.jp/ga Summary: Five freshman girls start out in their high school art club. Hmm...sounds kinda familiar. Ahem, Sketchbook . The manga it's originally based on also featured a lot of art tips, so it'll be interesting to see if the anime follows suit. Notable: The anime is based on the manga by Satoko Kiyuduki, who you may recognize as the creator of Shoulder-a-Coffin Kuro. Yen Press is releasing both of these series, so if you want a real preview of GA, check out first manga volume, which came out in April. Hiroaki Sakurai , director of Cromartie High School and Kodocha (!!) is set to direct, so expect some top-notch comedy. Here are just a couple of the cast credits: Haruka Tomatsu ( Kannagi 's Nagi , To Love-Ru 's Lala ) as the lead, Kisaragi, and Kaori Nazuka ( .hack//SIGN 's Subaru , Eureka Seven 's Eureka , Code Geass ' Nunnally) as Miki Noda.   Title:   Hetalia Axis Powers Second Season Japanese Title:  ヘタリア Axis Powers 第2期 Studio:   Studio Deen Genre:  Comedy Airs:  Mobile Animate, Fridays at 4pm, starting July 24th Site:   http://hetalia.com Summary: Oh, Hetalia: a strange little series of animated short based on a manga which pits personified countries against one another in a school setting-- and every single nation is a cute boy. Notable: The first season of Hetalia was originally scheduled to air on TV, but South Korea was reportedly unhappy with its character and protested. The series was pulled from broadcast and aired online instead...and now the second season is online, too. I wonder if their characterization of Japan is a wuss? Looks like no cast or staff changes. Did you know that the director's name is Bob? Bob Shirohata. He's best known for directing Diamond Daydreams and series-directing the popular yaoi series Gravitation . Heh. <object height="215" width="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/QgZ-Xim5Yps&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1&amp;rel=0&amp;color1=0x402061&amp;color2=0x9461ca&amp;border=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/QgZ-Xim5Yps&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1&amp;rel=0&amp;color1=0x402061&amp;color2=0x9461ca&amp;border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="215" width="340"></embed></param></object>   Title:   Kanamemo Japanese Title:  かなめも Studio:   feel. Genre:  Comedy Airs:  TV Tokyo, Mondays at 1:30am, starting July 6th Site:   http://www.starchild.co.jp/special/kanamemo Summary: An orphan winds up working at a newspaper delivery office, where she also lives, surrounded by strong and beautiful women. Sounds like heaven to me...the PV here is actually an ad for the manga. (There isn't one for the anime yet, as far as I can tell.) Notable: The anime is based on a 4koma comic strip manga by Shouko Iwami, who also created Suzunari!, which is being released by Yen Press. Top-notch voice cast here: Aki Toyosaki ( Shugo Chara! 's Suu ) will voice Kana. And the strong women around her? Aya Endo ( Macross Frontier 's Sheryl Nome , Lucky Star 's Miyuki ), Eri Kitamura ( Kodomo no Jikan 's Rin , Blood+ 's Saya Otonashi ); Kaoru Mizuhara (Lucky Star's Kasukabe, Ga-Rei 's Saki); Rie Kugimiya ( Fullmetal Alchemist 's Al , Combat Butler Hayate 's Nagi ); Ryou Hirohashi ( ARIA 's Alice, Clannad 's Kyou Fujibayashi ); and Yui Horie ( Love Hina 's Naru , Vampire Knight 's Yuuki ). Yeah.   Title:   Kuruneko Japanese Title:  くるねこ Studio:  Studio Dachs Genre:  Comedy Airs:  Kansai TV, Sundays at 8:55am, starting July 5th Site:   http://kuruneko.fc.yahoo.co.jp Summary: It's the crazy cat lady, anime-style! Actually, Kuruneko focuses on a main character with TWO obsessions: cats, and sake. Because nothing is more entertaining than alcoholics with obsessive-compulsive pet collecting disorders. Notable: This anime is based not just on a manga, but on a web-manga, by creator Yamato. It's reportedly the most popular blog manga in Japan. The series has one voice actor, and one alone: Satomi Kobayashi, who will provide all voices. I couldn't find any other credits for her, although it seems she has done some concept design work in the past. Director Akitaro Daichi is pretty used to the unusual, having helmed Animation Runner Kuromi, Gag Manga Biyori, and Kodocha (which had three directors).   Title:   NEEDLESS Studio:   Madhouse Genre:  Sci-Fi Airs:  Tokyo MX TV, Fridays at 1:30am, starting July 3rd Site:   http://needless.jp Summary: Set in Japan in the year 2130, NEEDLESS is the tale of the unnecessary: the world is split into the city, and the outside of the city. Those who live outside the city have developed unique abilities and powers, and are known as the “Needless.” Notable: This series is such a pain to search for because the word “needless” is so common in English. Needless to say. This show will be a fun reunion for Emiri Katou ( Lucky Star 's Kagami ) and Aya Endou (Lucky Star's Miyuki ). Endou is voicing lead Cruz Shild, and Katou will voice Disc. Director Masayuki Sakoi has worked all over the place, from the recent Kamen no Maid Guy to Princess Resurrection to Strawberry Panic! . <object height="285" width="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/QvPNay6U7n8&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1&amp;rel=0&amp;color1=0x402061&amp;color2=0x9461ca&amp;border=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/QvPNay6U7n8&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1&amp;rel=0&amp;color1=0x402061&amp;color2=0x9461ca&amp;border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="285" width="340"></embed></param></object>   Title:   Princess Lover! Japanese Title:  プリンセスラバー��� Studio:  GoHand Genre:  Romantic Comedy Airs:  Chiba TV, Mondays at 12:30am, starting July 6th. Site:   http://www.prilover.tv Summary: After his parents die, Teppei is due to inherit a shit-ton of money from his grandfather. In order to inherit, though , he has to graduate from a super-elite prep school full of super-elite hot chicks. Notable: Based, of course, on the Ricotta-made eroge, Princess Lover will doubtless be full of fanservice. The designs are nice though. Director Hiromitsu Kanazawa directed Macross Frontier , if that piques your interest-- we know a few things about how he handles multiple women after the same guy. Relative newcomer to the seiyuu world Takuma Terashima, best known for playing Wataru in Princess Princess , Kaname in Shigofumi , and Jin in Sisters of Wellber , will play the lead here. <object height="215" width="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/d74SRTJ55uk&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1&amp;rel=0&amp;color1=0x402061&amp;color2=0x9461ca&amp;border=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/d74SRTJ55uk&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1&amp;rel=0&amp;color1=0x402061&amp;color2=0x9461ca&amp;border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="215" width="340"></embed></param></object>   Title:   Sora no ManiMani Japanese Title:  宙のまにまに Studio:  Studio Comet Genre:  Drama Airs:  AT-X, Tuesdays at 10:30am, starting July 7th Site:   http://www.mmv.co.jp/special/soramani Summary: Are you ready for some star-gazing? And probably some navel-gazing, too. Sora no Mani Mani tells the tale of a high school boy named Saku Ooyagi who, after seven years, returns to his hometown. He tries to be friends with his childhood pal Mihoshi, but their last encounter was disastrous and it's awkward. But Mihoshi also wants to restore their friendship, so she drags Saku into her astronomy club. Notable: I'm actually really excited for this series, and for one primary reason: Kanae Itou, who voices Amu-chan in Shugo Chara! (and wonderfully), is voicing Mihoshi. I like her style a lot, with her naturally pleasant voice that doesn't sound saccharine like so many other seiyuu who play young females. Joining Itou is Tomoaki Maeno as Saku. Some of you may remember him as Atsushi Doujou in the anime of Toshokan Sensou (Library Wars), or as Tooru in Ga-Rei -Zero- . I think a lot of you are familiar with director Shinji Takamatsu 's work, such as School Rumble and Gintama . <object height="215" width="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Plle67SzqN4&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1&amp;rel=0&amp;color1=0x402061&amp;color2=0x9461ca&amp;border=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Plle67SzqN4&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1&amp;rel=0&amp;color1=0x402061&amp;color2=0x9461ca&amp;border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="215" width="340"></embed></param></object>   Title:   Spice and Wolf II Japanese Title:  狼と香辛料II Studio:  Brains Base Genre:  Fantasy/Drama Airs:  TV Kanagawa, Thursdays at 1:15am, starting July 9th Site:   http://www.spicy-wolf.com Summary: Probably the show I'm most excited about this season, Spice and Wolf is set in a medieval Europe-style fantasy world full of trade and barter-- and also full of gods, like Holo, the Wise Wolf goddess. Holo will continue her adventures with the wandering merchant Craft Lawrence. Notable: Joining the stellar leads, Ami Koshimizu ( Geass 's Kallen ) as Holo and Jun Fukuyama (Geass's Lelouch) as Lawrence, is another seiyuu superstar: Romi Paku ( Fullmetal Alchemist 's Ed ), as a new character, Abe, who appears in the novel series. ROCKY CHACK, the artist who blew many of us away with the awesomeness of the first season Spice and Wolf ED “Ringo Biyori ~The Wolf Whistling Song~,” is back again with a new ED for the sequel: “Perfect World.” If you were curious, director Takeo Takahashi from the first season is helming the second, as are screenwriter Naruhisa Arakawa and music composer Yuuji Yoshino. So expect similar quality to the first season. v<object height="215" width="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/HsR9h2VLzdc&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1&amp;rel=0&amp;color1=0x402061&amp;color2=0x9461ca&amp;border=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/HsR9h2VLzdc&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1&amp;rel=0&amp;color1=0x402061&amp;color2=0x9461ca&amp;border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="215" width="340"></embed></param></object>   Title:   Taishou Yakyuu Musume. Japanese Title:  大正野球娘。 Studio:  J.C. Staff Genre:  Comedy Airs:  TBS, Fridays at 2am, starting July 3rd Site:   http://www.tbs.co.jp/anime/taisho Summary: Is this Japan's answer to the film A League Of Their Own? Perhaps! Set in 1925, before women even got the right to vote in Japan, a pair of girls decide to form a girls' baseball team. But they don't know anything about the game... Notable: Based on Atsushi Kagurazaka's popular novel series, a manga adaptation also exists, by Shinpei Itou. If you read the description for Sora no ManiMani , you'll remember my mentioning Kanae Itou, the seiyuu who voices
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Have I teased you into thinking that second seasons of Toshokan Sensou (Library Wars) and Princess Princess are in the works?'Cause they're not!No, the fighting librarians in this case are the stars of Tatakau Shisho to Koisuru Bakudan, or Fighting Librarians and the Beloved Bomb, a novel series that Ultimatum reports is getting an anime adaptation this fall. An official splash page is set to open on July 10th, when we'll doubtless get considerably more information. Cast lists are also reportedly due soon.As for the cross-dressing boys, well, that's probably going to be more exciting than Princess Princess to some of you (and less to others, by which I mean Rathany): it's Kuroshitsuji, featuring the young and frequently frilly-dress-wearing Ciel Phantomhive. (And frequently-cosplayed, I might add!) A second season of the anime is set to go, so sayeth 2ch. Good times all aorund! I'm particularly looking forward to Tatakau Shisho-- if only in the absence of more Toshokan Sensou.
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Shiawase Kissa 3-chome © Matsuzuki Kou/Hakusensha Shi-a-wa-se~! Describes zigackly how I feel about tomorrow's m&c! releases — which includes the eighth Happy Café (Shiawase Kissa 3-chome) manga by Matsuzuki Kou-sensei. (Because, you know, the last volume only came out in March 2008, and it's not as if I couldn't live without Uru-chan or Shindou-san or Ichirou-kun for close to 15 months now,
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Glad to see a new name on the list of winners of our 2009 Spring Anime Giveaway: ScarletKittie, who has elected to take home the Go! Comi pack!Now, I haven't added new prizes in yet, but I wanted to remind you guys of what the currently-remaining prizes are:The Anime Insider  Mourning Pack. The four final issues of Wizard's anime magazine, including works by yours truly-- well worth owning and reading, I assure you.The VIZ Pack. A cloth VIZ bag with the first five volumes Yakitate!! Japan-- who wouldn't want to read what is essentially a shounen tournament series...about bread-making?The Lucky Star Pack. Features a giant school uniform tee, a ruler with the Hiiragi twins, a Tsukasa mini-fiure, and a poster, all from otaku's favorite shows about otaku.The Cute Overload Pack. A Tiny Snow Fairy Sugar artbook, volume 1 of Di Gi Charat from VIZ, a Shugo Chara! poster, and a Kyo Kara Maoh! plushie, all for the cutie in your life.The Haruhi Pack. The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya anime artbook, the first volume of the manga, and a maid Mikuru mini-figure, all just waiting for you to take home and love.The Blue Dragon Pack. Featuring the Nintendo DS game and pack of the special CCG cards.The Code Geass Pack. I can't believe I still have this! A full-on Suzaku figure (he goes with a Lelouch; it's the chessboard one-- and they don't make 'em anymore), a clear file, a notebook, and Suzaku and Kallen phone charms.The Yaoi Pack. Two print proof sheets from Eiki Eiki's Train Train and Mikiyo Tsuda's Princess Princess Plus. And they're both autographed. I'll be happy to keep these if no one claims 'em...So keep on entering the contest-- the rules and details are here!
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  Available from Amazon Available from Right Stuf Princess Princess Vol. 3: Family Secrets Released By: Media Blasters Released: 9/11/07 Reviewed: 5/6/09 Related Reviews Rated: 13+   ‘Princess Princess’ closes out with four satisfying episodes! The Story In the final four episodes to the cross dress comedy from Studio Deen, two story arcs will begin and end. In episodes nine and ten, it’s time for the annual [...]
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