Episode 96: Comic book review of Batman Death Mask issues 1 and 2 by Yoshinori Natsume. Published by DC and CMX, $2.99 each, unflipped in black and white.

Yoshinori Natsume, artist and writer of the Japanese manga Togari, tries his hand with an American icon with these first two issues of the four issue Batman: Death Mask. Bruce Wayne is having a bit of a mid-life crisis as he wonders who he really is. Is he Bruce Wayne masquerading as Batman or vice versa? Then he meets an employee of a Japanese corporation holding an art and culture exhibition in Gotham that reminds him of a girl he met 20 years ago in Japan. He was there for martial arts training, but he also encountered the malevolent spirit of a long dead warrior who threatened to possess him. Now the same spirit seems to be running around the city cutting off people's faces!

My Grade for issues 1 and 2: B+

Podcast Anime Review Episode 95: 5 Centimeters Per Second. Written and directed by Makoto Shinkai. ADV Films, $29.98.

Takaki and Akari have been friends since they were young kids but when Akari moves away, their relationship gets a bit strained simply because of the physical distance between them. Now in high school, Takaki finds out he too is moving and he will probably never see Akari again. So he makes a desperate try to reach her via train on a night when heavy snow is making such a trip nigh impossible. Even though 5 Centimeters is packaged as a single movie, it can also be broken down into 3 distinct segments chronicling the continuing breakdown of the love between Takaki and Akari. Well, more accurately, the failure of Takaki to move on with his life when he realizes he will never be with Akari. The second segment offers a bit of hope as a classmate of Takaki's is just dying to tell him that she loves him, but will Takaki even notice?

My Grade: A+

Manga Podcast Review of Kashimashi: Girl Meets Girl Volume 5. Story by Satoru Akahori. Art by Yukimaru Katsura. Translated by Adrienne Beck. Adapted by Janet Houck. Originally published in Japan by Media Works. Published in US by Seven Seas under their Strawberry imprint, Rated 16+, $10.99.

In this concluding volume, Hazumu's life grains are running out, leaving her 30 days to make peace with her friends and decide whether she is going to declare her love for Tomari or Yasuna, or neither of them. Hazumu is trying to work out a plan whereby nobody's feelings will get hurt. But is that even possible in a love triangle? Meanwhile, Tomari and Yasuna are wrestling equally with the only way they can save Hazumu's life. Namely that of sharing their own life grains with Hazumu and sharing her fate for the rest of their lives, knowing that the day they stop loving Hazumu, she will die.

Grade for this Volume: A-

Grade for the series: B+

Kashimashi: Girl Meets Girl Volume 4. Story by Satoru Akahori. Art by Yukimaru Katsura. Originally published by Media Works in Japan. Published in US by Seven Seas, Rated Older Teen 16+, $10.99.

Kashimashi has rapidly changed from a pseudo yuri title to that of a tragic dying soulmate triangle in the space of one volume. In the third installment, we learned that Hazumu's life will end in 30 days due to the fact that her "life grains" have run out. In fact, she was supposed to have died the day he/she was crushed by an alien spaceship. Changing Hazumu into a girl only delayed the inevitable. Her temporary reprieve is over and now she is going to have make peace with her friends and herself. Volume 4 chronicles the different ways that Tomari, Yasuna, Ayuki, and Asuta deal with the news that they are going to lose their best friend, or in some cases, their true love in 30 days. While Yasuna resigns herself and tries to make Hazumu's last days on Earth full of happiness and memories, Tomari reacts with anger at the news. She can't figure out how everybody is taking it so well and remaining calm about the whole tragedy. There is one hope to save Hazumu. If someone wishes strong enough and purely enough to share Hazumu's life and fate, then that person will be able to share some of their own life grains with her. But the day the person puts themselves first without thinking of Hazumu, she will die.

Wow, how easily this book transformed from a light comedy or even light drama to a title that almost seems brooding with the ominous nature of Hazumu's impending death. I agree with Tomari that Hazumu's friends seem to be taking it a little too well. It just seems like no matter what your good intentions, if someone you loved was going to die, you would still be haunted by it at certain moments and would not be able to focus as much on making happy memories. The fact that nobody knows how Hazumu is fated to die also seems a bit cruel. Is she going to die without pain or is it going to be a horrible torturous death? Still, the writing is pretty good and is still able to keep a certain pastoral and gentle tone thanks to Katsura's graceful artwork. I'm looking forward to the conclusion of Kashimashi, hoping that Hazumu will be able to change her fate.

My Grade: A-

Tweeny Witches Volume 1 Anime DVD Podcast review. Episodes 1-7. Directed by Yoshiharu Ashino. Script Writer: Shinji Obara. Anime Works, $24.98, Rated Ages 13+.

11 year old Arusu is bored with our little planet. The only thing that keeps her interested is her belief in magic. Unfortunately, magic is nonfunctional in our world. Her dream comes true when she is transported to a magical forest in the midst of a fairy roundup by some apprentice witches about her own age. The fairies are needed for magic to be worked but Arusu sees them simply as victims of exploitation. She sets out to change this alternate world for the better, and see that magic is only used to bring happiness, never for aggression or fear. When she sets free all of the 100 fairy specimens the witches have collected, Arusu, along with the uptight discipline officer Sheila and her cute friend Eva are sent to gather them up again.

My Grade: A+

Ok, I grew up and still live in the South, so trust me, I know all about rednecks, but my experience at Best Buy tonight took the prize. I had went there to buy the boxed set of Noein that was on sale for half price, and picked it up and was browsing the other anime dvds. These two guys with hick accents (its ok, I can say that, since I have a hick accent), came down the aisle and one chuckled and said "Hey, look, it's aniporn!" as he looked at the anime dvds. The other guy, in a similar hick accent replied "Huh? What du ya mean? Are those videogames or something?" Then Hick #1 says back "Nah, these are like porn stuff, they're aniporn". Then they walked off.

Suffice it to say I was amused by the whole thing, and actually ticked off. It was funny because they were such dumbasses. The thing that pissed me off was the fact that even after all these years, there are people out there that still think all Japanese cartoons and manga involve pornography. And I mean, come on, does anyone really think that Best Buy is going to be carrying porn of any kind? I'll have to do an dramatic reenactment of the conversation on my next podcast.

Best Buy is selling the box sets of the following series for half price through 4/5/08:

Complete Series Box Sets

Tokko $12.49

Elfen Lied  $15.99

Noein  $17.49

Mars Daybreak  $19.99

Evangelion Platinum  $28.99

Robotech $37.49

Samurai Deeper Kyo $29.99 (also includes GBA game)

Dragonball Z Season 4 $19.99

Fullmetal Alchemist Season 2 Part 2  $19.99

Elfen Lied is a great show and Fullmetal Alchemist is as well. I would definitely recommend those two.

Air TV Volume 4. Directed by Tatsuya Ishihara. Series Composition by Fumihiko Shimo. ADV Films, $29.98.

The true finale of Air TV, which took place on Volume 3 as Misuzu fell dead into the arms of her adopted mother was pretty painful to watch. This last volume opens with a recap episode of her short life and ends, again, with her death. The other two episodes on the disc go back to the middle story arc in which the winged girl, Kanna, along with her handmaiden, Uraha, and her warrior guard, Ryuya, are trying to make their way to Kanna's mother while being pursued by soldiers from the temple where Kanna was confined. These two episodes are entirely new and fill out the relationships and adventures the three have, focusing more on the comedic side of things.

While the first episode was a waste of space, as are all recap episodes unless you haven't watched a series for a while (does anyone remember the one ripoff volume of Wolf's Rain which was entirely FILLED with recap episodes?!), the last two episodes were really enjoyable. Air TV was always a series that took itself too seriously, suffering from the bipolarity of being a moe comedy at one point, then shifting to a magical girl historical drama, then to a pathological torture session of Misuzu intended to make an otaku weep. The two episodes that close Volume 4 injected something much needed by the series as a whole: a little lightheartedness, a little more comedy, to take the edge off of the tragic hardships most of the characters go through. The final arc focusing on Misuzu's slow decay was especially hard to watch and seemed to have no point. In fact, Air TV had one of the worst endings that I've seen in a long time, even though it doesn't reach the depths of the aforementioned Wolf's Rain in terms of "Uh, what just happened so you're telling me this whole show was for nothing and that the characters are just going to have to repeat their struggles till infinity over and over..." but it comes pretty close. The landscapes of the Japanese countryside and the town are beautiful even though the female characters with their plate sized luminescent blue eyes seem a bit creepy at times. Overall, this series is worth watching, but don't expect to get a satisfactory conclusion. I'll probably be watching the movie version sometime soon.

My Volume 4 Rating: B+

My Overall Series Rating: C

Manga Review: The Law of Ueki Volume 9 by Tsubasa Fukuchi. Translated and adapted by Yoshiko Tokuhara. Originally published by Shogakukan in Japan. Published by Viz, $9.99, Rated T for Teen.

The story of why Robert has such a low opinion of humanity opens up Volume 9 of The Law of Ueki. His treatment by the inhabitants of the town where he grew up as a an orphan explains why he wants to destroy the world if he wins the tournament. It explains WHY but it still does not make it right. The relationship between Ueki and Robert is very similar to that of Naruto and Gaara. Naruto felt a lot of sympathy for Gaara simply because to him, the Sand ninja represented a possibility of what Naruto himself could have become if he had been left to his own devices. Ueki understands why Robert feels the way he does, but he is also disgusted that he let an incident in his childhood cloud his whole future and turned to evil. Ueki always looks for the good in others, a way to change situations to the positive, and to redeem those that have fallen into darkness. In fact, he says that his law of justice has to do with conquering the weakness within ourselves. Big items on that list are: never betraying his friends, never giving up, and respecting all life. But Robert is not agreeable to any of these ideas, so Ueki is going to beat his ideals into him! Ironically, Robert's power is to change ideals into reality. Ueki is going to have to level up a bit more if he hopes to win this battle and also save the lives of his friends.

I am a really big fan of this manga, and of Ueki especially. The dude just never gives up, no matter how big the challenge before him. Even if the battle with Robert takes up most of this ninth volume, the action never gets boring or excessively silly. It's all done with good taste. The reader feels that all the fighting will be worth something in the end, that it has a higher metaphorical meaning than that of kids beating each other with goofy powers. Fukuchi always offers the hope that the bad guys can be turned around, if not through reason, then by the purification of battle. The art by Fukuchi is not anything great, but is attractive and is very easy to follow, especially during the battle scenes. The manga is a great read, especially now that the anime is on hiatus due to the collapse of Geneon.

My Grade: A

Monkey High Volume 1 by Shouko Akira manga podcast review. Translated and adapted by Mai Ihara. Originally published by Shogakukan in Japan. Published in the US by Viz Shojo Beat, $8.99, Rated T for Teen.

Haruna Aizawa has just transferred from the elite K Academy to Kita High School. Why? Because her politician father was arrested on corruption charges and when her friends at K found out about it, they turned on her and started treating her like a freak. She moved to Kita in the hopes of having a fresh start but because of what happened at her old school, she has distanced herself from her peers. She even compares her fellow students to monkeys jostling and manuevering to be on top of a monkey mountain. She meets a cute boy, named Macharu, that reminds her of a baby monkey. Against her better judgement she begins to fall for him, but Macharu's friend, Atsu, the prince of the school, also has an interest in Haruna.

My Grade: C-

Area 88 Volume 1: Treacherous Skies. Episodes 1-3. ADV Films. Running Time: 75 minutes. Directed by Isamu Imakake. Screenplay by Hiroshi Ohnogi, $29.98.

Makoto Shinjo is a war photographer that shows no fear when it comes to capturing the essence of his subject, even if his life is on the line. He's come to the desert of Aslan to document the lives and battles of the mercenary pilots fighting against anti-government forces. It's pretty easy to sign up as a mercenary but very hard to get out after you agree to a 3 year tour of duty. You can break the contract early IF you pay the sum of 1.5 million dollars. Even though the pilots are paid very well for every enemy they shoot down and various missions they fly, they are also required to pay for room and board, food, weapons, and maintenence of their aircraft. So it's very hard for them to save up any amount of money. And that's just how the government forces like it. To have the mercenaries underfoot and in debt. Even if they allow them to break the contract they still get a million dollars to hire another one. Makoto is focused on one pilot in particular, Shin Kazama, the only Japanese pilot on the base, and one of the most enigmatic. He doesn't have much to say but he is possibly the best flyer of the whole group. The only things we know about him is that he is utterly miserable working for Aslan and is desperate to get back to a woman in Japan.

As is the problem for most first volume anime dvds that only contain 3 episodes, there is a shortage of material to truly judge the merit of the series. If you enjoyed movies like Top Gun or Stealth or the anime Yukikaze, you'll most likely enjoy Area 88. If dogfighting jets are not your cup of tea, then you would do best to avoid Area 88. The jets are all CG and look quite nice, if a little cold and flimsy, but they make you feel at times as if you are watching a promo video for the latest Ace Combat videogame. The main characters are not given enough space in these episodes to breath and show much individuality. That was Volume 1's main weakness. We don't learn enough about the characters to care about their dreams or hopes for the future or the extreme dangers they find themselves in. I will wait till I watch the other volumes before making an overall judgement about the series.

My Grade: C