Dengeki Daisy, Volume 4
Tuesday, March 29th, 2011
Author: Kyousuke Motomi
Publisher: Viz Media
American release date: April 5, 2011
Format/Genre/Length: Manga/Shojo/200 pages
Publisher/Industry Age Rating: Older Teen/T+
Overall Personal Rating: A
Similar series or titles to check out: Hot Gimmick; Butterflies, Flowers
Teru knows the truth about Daisy, but she can’t let him know she knows! Are things going to change between her and Kurosaki? Will she be able to keep him from learning that she knows the truth, that he is Daisy?
Synopsis:
The Secret of the Urn
Wednesday, March 23rd, 2011
Director/Studio/Authors: Hideo Gosha/Toei Co Inc./Hideo Gosha and Kei Tasaka
Distributor: AnimEigo
American release date: April 12, 2011
Format/Genre/Length: DVD/Samurai/91 minutes
Publisher/Industry Age Rating: Not rated/contains violence, treachery and pottery
Overall Personal Rating: A
Similar series or titles to check out: Samurai Vendetta
Detroit Metal City, Volume 8
Sunday, March 6th, 2011
Author: Kiminori Wakasugi
Publisher: Viz Signature
American release date: March 8, 2011
Format/Genre/Length: Manga/Comedy/200 pages
Publisher/Industry Age Rating: M/Mature/Explicit Content
Overall Personal Rating: A
The band thinks that the Boss has been a little tense lately (how can they tell?) and they decide to do something nice for her, to help her to relax. So now DMC and the Boss are on a road trip to Izu, to a bed and breakfast with a hot spring. Um, does anyone see potential for disaster here?
The Unwritten, Volume 1: Tommy Taylor and the Bogus Identity
Thursday, March 3rd, 2011The Unwritten, Volume 1: Tommy Taylor and the Bogus Identity 
Author/Artist: Mike Carey/Peter Gross
Publisher: Vertigo
American release date: January 12, 2010
Format/Genre/Length: Graphic Novel/Fantasy/144 pages
Publisher/Industry Age Rating: Suggested for Mature readers
Overall Personal Rating: A+
Similar series or titles to check out: Sandman, Lucifer, Hellblazer
Tom Taylor has lived in Tommy Taylor’s shadow all of his life. Everyone thinks it must be great to be the living inspiration for his father’s best selling character, but Tom hates it, he’d rather be himself. He’s sick to death of Tommy and his two faithful companions, Sue and Peter, and their arch nemesis Count Ambrosio. Maybe now that his dad is dead, and there will be no more Tommy Taylor stories, Tom can live his own life.
V.B. Rose, Volume 11
Sunday, February 27th, 2011
Author: Banri Hidaka
Publisher: Tokyopop
American release date: December 28, 2010
Format/Genre: Manga/Romance
Publisher/Industry Age Rating: Teen/13+
Overall Personal Rating: A
Similar series or titles to check out: Hot Gimmick; Butterflies, Flowers
Ageha innocently asks Kuromine and Arisaka, “So how long have you two been together?” She doesn’t mean it like it sounds, but the question seems to annoy Yukari and amuses Kuromine as we begin Volume 11 of V.B. Rose.
Synopsis:
Butterflies, Flowers Volume 6
Tuesday, February 22nd, 2011Butterflies, Flowers, Volume 6 
Author: Yuki Yoshihara
Publisher: Viz Media
American release date: March 1, 2011
Format, Genre and length: Manga/Shojo/200 pages
Publisher/Industry Age Rating: M/Explicit Content
Overall Personal Rating: A+
Similar series or titles to check out: Hot Gimmick, Dengeki Daisy
There’s good news and bad news for Choko and Masayuki. The good news is that at last the house of Choko’s parents, which was destroyed in an accidental fire caused by the neighbors, has been rebuilt. The bad news is that now she is moving back, and out of the home she has been sharing with Masayuki.
Sleepy Eyes of Death: Collector’s Set Volume 2
Sunday, February 20th, 2011Sleepy Eyes of Death, Collector’s Set Volume 2 
Directors: Tokuzo Tanaka, Kenji Misumi, Kimiyoshi Yasuda, Akira Inoue
Distributor: AnimEigo
American release date: Feb 1, 2011
Format, Genre and length: DVD/Samurai/321 minutes
Publisher/Industry Age Rating: 18+/Contains Violence, Nudity & Nihilism
Overall Personal Rating: A
Similar series or titles to check out: Ultimate Miyamoto Musashi
Can a man conceived from the rape of a Japanese woman by a crazed Christian missionary during a Black Mass find true happiness? Or is Nemuri Kyoshiro doomed to wander forever, with no direction of his own?
Vampire Knight, Volume 2
Thursday, February 17th, 2011
Author: Matsuri Hino
Publisher: Viz Media/Shojo Beat
American release date: May 1, 2007
Format/Genre/Length: Manga/Shojo/208 pages
Publisher/Industry Age Rating: Older Teen
Overall Personal Rating: B+
Similar series or titles to check out: Wild Ones, Millennium Snow, Ouran High School Host Club
The Day Class is unaware of Zero’s secret—he is a vampire, and has been turning more and more so over the past four years. If they knew the truth, would they be so quick to embrace him as the rising star of their class? And how will the knowledge of what he is becoming affect his relationship with Yuki?
Ouran High School Host Club, Volume 1
Monday, February 14th, 2011Ouran High School Host Club, Volume 1 
Author: Bisco Hatori
Publisher: Shojo Beat/Viz Media
American release date: July 5, 2005
Format/Genre/Length: Manga/Shojo/184 pages
Publisher/Industry Age Rating: Teen
Overall Personal Rating: A
Similar series or titles to check out: Vampire Knight, Otomen
Samurai Spy
Sunday, January 2nd, 2011
Samurai Spy
Director/Studio/Author: Masahiro Shinoda/Criterion/Koji Nakada, Yoshiuka Fukuda
Distributor: AnimEigo
American release date: October 25, 2005
Format, Genre and length: DVD/Samurai/99 minutes
Publisher/Industry Age Rating: Not Rated
Overall Personal Rating: A
“Seal your lips tight.”
Fourteen years have passed since the Tokugawa clan were victorious at the Battle of Sekigahara, but that does not mean that there are still not factions which oppose the new regime. Battle lines are drawn between the supporters of Tokugawa and the supporters of Toyotomi. In broad geographical terms, the Kanto region, which contains the city of Edo, is pro Tokugawa, while those in the Kansai, where Osaka can be found are in favor of Toyotomi. Not everyone has chosen a side. One of these is Sasuke Sarutobi, who belongs to the Sanada clan. He believes that wars are good for no one.
The Heroes of Olympus: The Lost Hero
Saturday, December 25th, 2010The Heroes of Olympus: The Lost Hero 
Author: Rick Riordan
Publisher: Hyperion Books
American release date: October 12, 2010
Format, Genre and length: Novel/Fantasy/557 pages
Publisher/Industry Age Rating: Teens
Overall Personal Rating: A
Similar series or titles to check out: Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Harry Potter
You know you’re having a bad day when you find yourself sitting in the back of a school bus, surrounded by strangers who act as if they know you, but when you think about it, you have no idea who you are! That is where Jason finds himself, sitting between a girl named Piper and a guy named Leo. Embarrassingly, Piper is holding his hand like she has a right to! Does she? He really wishes he knew, ‘cause frankly, she’s kinda cute.
V.B. Rose, Volume 10
Wednesday, December 15th, 2010
Author: Banri Hidaka
Publisher: Tokyopop
American release date: November 2, 2010
Format/Genre: Manga/Romance
Publisher/Industry Age Rating: Teen/13+
Overall Personal Rating: A
Similar series or titles to check out: Hot Gimmick; Butterflies, Flowers
Arisaka’s mother has been out of his life for eighteen years, and now she suddenly reappears? Not only that, she mistakes Yukari’s little brother for him, and then mistakes Arisaka for his late father Aoi. Talk about your ditzes! But more importantly, what the heck does she want after all this time?
Synopsis:
Dengeki Daisy, Volume 3
Tuesday, December 14th, 2010
Author: Kyousuke Motomi
Publisher: Viz Media
American release date: December 28, 2010
Format/Genre/Length: Manga/Shojo/200 pages
Publisher/Industry Age Rating: Older Teen/T+
Overall Personal Rating: A
Similar series or titles to check out: Hot Gimmick; Butterflies, Flowers
Summer vacation starts tomorrow, and Teru is about to move into an apartment with Riko – a move that is both exciting and sad, as it means leaving Kurosaki’s side. She’s conflicted about the move, but thinks it is surely what he wants, to have her out of his hair. In that case, she’ll just have to make the most out of their last night together!
Johannes Cabal the Detective
Wednesday, December 8th, 2010
Author: Jonathan L. Howard
Publisher: Doubleday
American release date: July 13, 2010
Format/Genre/Length: Novel/Fantasy/288 pages
Publisher/Industry Age Rating: None given, I find it suitable for all from
teen up
Overall Personal Rating: A-
Similar series or titles to check out: Something Wicked This Way Comes
Millennium Snow, Volume 1
Saturday, December 4th, 2010
Author: Bisco Hatori
Publisher: Viz Media/Shojo Beat
American release date: April 3, 2007
Format, Genre and length: Manga/Shojo/200 pages
Publisher/Industry Age Rating: Teen
Overall Personal Rating: B+
Similar series or titles to check out: Ouran High School Host Club, Vampire’s Portrait, Vampire Knight
From the time that Chiyuki was born, the doctors have been predicting her death, due to her congenital heart condition. She spends a lot of time going in and out of the hospital. Now she is seventeen, and all that she wants, is to live long enough to see the next snow. And then she meets Toya, a young vampire – and life will never be the same again.
Butterflies, Flowers Volume 5
Friday, November 26th, 2010Butterflies, Flowers, Volume 5 
Author: Yuki Yoshihara
Publisher: Viz Media
American release date: December 7, 2010
Format, Genre and length: Manga/Shojo/200 pages
Publisher/Industry Age Rating: M/Explicit Content
Overall Personal Rating: A+
Similar series or titles to check out: Hot Gimmick, Dengeki Daisy
A few days have passed since Masayuki asked Choko to live with him, and he is strangely silent on the subject, even though Choko has told him of her desire to move in with him. And another strange thing – they haven’t been intimate since then!
Synopsis:
Butterflies, Flowers Volume 4
Thursday, November 25th, 2010Butterflies, Flowers, Volume 4 
Author: Yuki Yoshihara
Publisher: Viz Media
American release date: September 7, 2010
Format, Genre and length: Manga/Shojo/200 pages
Publisher/Industry Age Rating: M/Explicit Content
Overall Personal Rating: A+
Similar series or titles to check out: Hot Gimmick, Dengeki Daisy
It’s business as usual for Masayuki and Choko – or should I say funny business? Choko Is working overtime, and so is he – at getting her to have second time sex with him! Good thing they are alone in the office!
Synopsis:
Vampire Knight, Volume 1
Friday, November 5th, 2010
Author: Matsuri Hino
Publisher: Viz Media/Shojo Beat
American release date: January 9, 2007
Format/Genre/Length: Manga/Shojo/208 pages
Publisher/Industry Age Rating: Older Teen
Overall Personal Rating: B+
Similar series or titles to check out: Wild Ones, Millennium Snow, Ouran High School Host Club
Shinsengumi Chronicles: I Want to Die a Samurai
Saturday, October 23rd, 2010Shinsengumi Chronicles: I Want to Die a Samurai 
Director/Studio/Author: Kenji Misumi/Kadokawa Pictures/Seiji Hoshikawa
Distributor: AnimEigo
American release date: November 9, 2010
Format, Genre and length: DVD/Samurai/93 minutes
Publisher/Industry Age Rating: 18+/Violence
Overall Personal Rating: A
Similar series or titles to check out: Shinsengumi: Assassins of Honor
Susumu Yamakazi (Raizo Ichikawa, Sleepy Eyes of Death) is an idealistic young man who wishes to be a samurai, and to uphold the honor inherent in following the Bushido. The time is 1863, the third year of the Bunkyu Period, and the Tokugawa Shogunate is dying. Will the samurai way of life go with it?
Butterflies, Flowers Volume 3
Thursday, October 14th, 2010Butterflies, Flowers, Volume 3 
Author: Yuki Yoshihara
Publisher: Viz Media
American release date: June 1, 2010
Format, Genre and length: Manga/Shojo/200 pages
Publisher/Industry Age Rating: M/Explicit Content
Overall Personal Rating: A+
Similar series or titles to check out: Hot Gimmick, Dengeki Daisy
Choko’s memories of her childhood expand as she remembers another young boy who worked alongside the adults, a pretty boy whose name she cannot recall. When she asks Masayuki about him, her employer/boyfriend says he does not recall him. He then deflects her by asking about whether she has had her period since the ill-fated night upon which their relationship was not consummated due to technical difficulties. Is he being thoughtful, or sneaky?
