Japanese Comic Ranking, August 26–September 1

The Spring 2009 Anime Preview Guide
The Spring 2009 anime season is officially underway! Our 24-7 preview guide begins; check back every day for new reviews from ANN's editorial team!

Latest Previews:
Marie and Gali
Polyphonica Crimson S
Hayate the Combat Butler s2 episode 2
Ristorante Paradiso episode 2
Tayutama -Kiss on my Deity-
Eden of the East
Hanasakeru Seishonen
Guin Saga
Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood
2009-04-03

The Gallery - Rebecca Barnes
An up-and-coming fantasy artist talks about the hectic world of Gaia commissions, self-study, and how to kill time in rural Michigan by picking up an art hobby. 2009-04-11

On the Set: Dragonball Evolution
Bamboo visits the set of Dragonball Evolution. Also, full transcripts from the group interviews of the cast and crew; Emmy Rossum (Bulma), Eriko Tamura (Mai), Joon Park (Yamcha), James Marsters (Piccolo), Chow Yun-Fat (Master Roshi) and a whole slew of other folks. 2009-04-10

Hey, Answerman!
Brian answers some questions about the anime in HD, novel anime ideas, birth rates, and unintentionally references octopi in response to hentai. Plus, your responses to Hey, Answerfans and many more things! 2009-04-10

Buried Garbage - Arcade Gamer Fubuki
A 4-episode punch-to-the-soul that not only drained me of my zest for my job but life in general. 2009-04-09

Menkui! GN 1-3
The manga's protagonist Kotori is much too ordinary and too unmemorable a hero or lover to be the embodiment of an untranslated Japanese word "menkui." Better—or should I say worse?—to say that Suzuki Tanaka's first multi-part series itself is “menkui,” a manga of appalling stunted scope and pinched ambitions.

Bleach GN 26
This is the average shounen-action training arc done exactly by the book, and it almost runs the entire series into the ground.

Battle Angel Alita: Last Order -Angel Goes Nova GN 10
Despite getting too ridiculous for its own good and seeming to be running short on ideas, this series still kicks butt on the artistic front and still tells a solid story. Above all, it still has Alita, and she is back, front and center, where she should be.

Love Pistols GN 1-3
Perversity in one's choice of manga reading material, if Tarako Kotobuki's Love Pistols is any indication, is a habit that, enjoyed once, may well become permanently addictive.

Baccano! DVD 2
Can a series that sometimes gets tremendously gory also be tremendously fun? This one seems intent on proving that a series can be both. Its plethora of converging story threads, combined with the ongoing antics of Isaac and Miria, make watching this an involving and highly entertaining experience.

Akihabara@DEEP GN 2
Much of volume two of Akihabara@DEEP takes place in the world of a fictionalized MMORPG world, but if you think you are merely in for a hackneyed version of .hack, you are in for the surprise of your life: One of the top manga series first published in English in 2008 is getting even better.

Ghost Slayers Ayashi DVD Part 1
A novel hybrid of adventure and education: call it a monster-bashing kanji lesson.

Psychic Power Nanaki GN 1-3
Psychic Power Nanaki is a series that you should feel safely empowered to avoid entirely.

Darker than BLACK DVD 3
It's just a shame that Tensai Okamura and his raft of talented collaborators couldn't swing something better than “good enough.”

Claymore DVD 4
Clare encounters one of the “Big Bosses” of her world and gets involved in a major multi-Claymore expedition as she continues to collect new allies and skills and steadily “level up.” The series' shonen roots are becoming more prominent, but it still looks great and still packs a lot of action punch.

Buso Renkin DVD
An ordinary Joe (surprise!) is granted super-powers to fight an evil organization in this uninspired shounen fighting series. Benefits from a strong female lead, a down 'n dirty sense of humor, and a spot-on dub, but nonetheless remains derivative to its core.