“The Radius”
Title: Bakuman Volume 10
Authors: Story By Tsugumi Ohba
Art By Takeshi Obata
Distributor: Viz/Shonen Jump
American Release Date: April 3rd, 2012
Format: Traditional Manga
Genre: Shonen, Comedy, Slice-of-life
Publisher Age Rating: T (for Teen)
Personal Review Rating: A-
Similar Series: Kingyo Used Books, Solanin, Yawara!
Synopsis:
“The Radius”:
Title: Love Hina; The Complete Collection
Artist/Author: Ken Akamatsu
Distributor: FUNimation
American release date: Nov. 15, 2011
Genre, Format and length: Comedy Shojo Anime, 4 DVDs
Publisher/Industry Age Rating:
Overall Personal Rating: B
Similar series or titles to check out: Ah My Goddess, Negima, Chobits
True love is hard to achieve when a childhood dream gets in the way.
Bigger obstacles are even harder to overcome when they come from within. Can’t you just tell your crush how you feel? No! After all-it’s a comedy, and shojo at that.
The Harimaya Bridge
Director: Aaron Woolfolk
Actors: Ben Guillory, Saki Takaoka, Misa Shimizu and Danny Glover
U.S. Distributor: FUNimation
U. S. Release Date: Oct. 18th, 2011
Original Release: (Japan) June 6th, 2009, March 12th, 2010 (United States)
Format: DVD & Blu-ray / 120 minutes
Genre: Slice of Life, Drama
Age Rating: TV-14
Overall Personal Rating: B
The seeds of hatred and distain for a entire race can run very deep when there are personal connections that jade one’s perceptions.
Synopsis:
Bamboo Blade: The Complete Season S.A.V.E.
Director: Hisashi Saitou
Studio: AIC A.S.T.A.
U.S. Distributor: FUNimation
U.S. Release date: Oct. 18th, 2011
Format: DVD/ 650 minutes / 26 episodes
Genre: Slice of Life, Comedy, Seinen
Age Rating: TV PG
Overall Personal Rating: B
Similar Titles: Yawara; Fashionable Judo Girl
Having a sheltered existence can make life difficult and also prove to be a real barrier in making friends, but when the right thing comes along, all of those barriers can just melt away.
Title: Gungrave The Complete Collection Blu-ray
Director: Toshiyuki Tsuru
Studio: Madhouse
Distributor: FUNimation
American Release Date: July 19, 2011
Format: Blu-ray
Length: 26 Episodes/ 650 Minutes/ 3 Discs
Genre: Mafia, Action, Slice-of-Life, Drama
Distributor Age Rating: 16 Up (Older Teen)
Personal Review Rating: A-
Similar Series: Baccano!, Heat Guy J
They were best friends since they were little kids in an orphanage, what went wrong?
Synopsis:
Sound of the Sky (Soro no Wata) Complete Set LE
Director: Mamoru Kanbe
Writer: Hiroyuki Yoshino
Studio: A-1 Pictures
U.S. Distributor: Nozomi / Right Stuf Entertainment
U.S. Release Date: July 5th, 2011
Format: DVD/ 12 episodes/ 355 minutes
Genre: Sci Fi, Slice of Life, Comedy, Drama
Age Rating: 16+
Personal Rating: A
Similar Titles: Air, Kanon
Sometimes our goals in life lead us to do things and impact others in way we would never expect. They also put us in situations that just might make all the difference in the world.
Title: Fruits Basket, The Complete Collection (Viridian)
Director: Akitaro Daichi (Original Story by Natsuki Takaya)
Studio: Studio Deen
Distributor: FUNimation Entertainment
American Release Date: June 14th, 2011
Format: Anime on DVD
Genre: Drama, Comedy, Slice-of-life, Supernatural
Length: 26 Episodes, 580 Minutes, on 4 Discs
Industry Age Rating: TV PG
Personal Review Rating: B
Living in a tent can be pretty great but, living in a house just can’t be beat. Even if it means living with some complete strangers! And I mean Strange!
Bakuman Volume 5
Authors: Story By Tsugumi Ohba
Art By Takeshi Obata
Distributor: Viz/Shonen Jump
American Release Date: June 7th, 2011
Format: Traditional Manga/ 192 pages
Genre: Shonen, Comedy, Slice-of-life
Publisher Age Rating: T (for Teen)
Personal Review Rating: A-
Similar Series: Kingyo Used Books, Solanin, Yawara!
It is tough to be a manga artist and even tougher when you first start. The hardest thing you could do is be a high school student and a full time manga artist at the same time. Can our young dreamers succeed where others fail so often?
“The Radius”
5 Centimeters Per Second
Director: Makoto Shinkai
Author: Makoto Shinkai
Studio: CoMix Wave Inc.
U. S. Distributor: Bandai Entrainment
U. S. Release Date: April 26th, 2011
Format: DVD/ 65 minutes
Genre: Romance, Drama, Slice of Life
Age Rating: TV 13 +
Overall Personal Rating: A
Similar Titles: Voices of a Distant Star
The speed that a Cherry Blossom Petal falls my seem short but in the heart of the young it can take an eternity fraught with plenty of regrets and longings.
Title: Bakuman Volume 4
Authors: Story By Tsugumi Ohba
Art By Takeshi Obata
Distributor: Viz/Shonen Jump
American Release Date: April 5th, 2011
Format: Traditional Manga
Genre: Shonen, Comedy, Slice-of-life
Publisher Age Rating: T (for Teen)
Personal Review Rating: B
Similar Series: Kingyo Used Books, Solanin, Yawara!
Can our young mangaka survive the trial and tribulation of their own expectations of each other and make it through their first real competition with the hopes of getting a series while they are still in High School?
Synopsis:
Title: Bakuman Volume 3
Authors: Story By Tsugumi Ohba
Art By Takeshi Obata
Distributor: Viz/Shonen Jump
American Release Date: February 1, 2011
Format: Traditional Manga
Genre: Shonen, Comedy, Slice-of-life
Publisher Age Rating: T (for Teen)
Personal Review Rating: A
Similar Series: Kingyo Used Books, Solanin, Yawara!
Have you and your best friend ever get into a fight, or drifted apart some? Has it ever jeopardized your dreams for your future? Well, Mashiro and Takagi are going to find out the hard way that too much of a good thing can go sour quickly.
Title: Kaleido Star, Season 2
Director: Yoshimasa Hiraike (Season 2)
Studio: Gonzo
Distributor: FUNimation Entertainment
American Release Date: Dec. 28th, 2010
Format: DVD Season
Genre: Drama, Comedy, Action, Slice-of-life
Length: 26 Episodes, 650 Minutes, 2 OVA, on 4 Discs
Industry Age Rating: TV 14
Personal Review Rating: B-
Sora was able to do the Legendary Great Maneuver, so, now what will she perfect?
Synopsis:
Season 2
Title: Kaleido Star, Season 1
Director: Junichi Sato (Season 1)
Studio: Gonzo
Distributor: FUNimation Entertainment
American Release Date: November 23, 2010
Format: Anime DVD Season
Genre: Drama, Comedy, Action, Slice-of-life
Length: 26 Episodes, 650 Minutes, on 4 Discs
Industry Age Rating: TV 14
Personal Review Rating: B
Sora has always been entranced by the performance of Kaleido Stage in America. Shortly after her parents died, she started taking Gymnastics with the hopes of one day being a Kaleido Star!
Synopsis:
Title: Otomen
Manga Author: Aya Kanno (Hakusensha)
American Publisher: Viz Media
American Release Date: November 2, 2010
Age Rating: T
Format and length: Manga, 4 chapters
Genres: Comedy, Romance, Satire, Slice-of-life, Shojo
Overall Personal Rating: A-
Titles in the Radius:I My Me! Strawberry Eggs, Ouran High School Host Club, Sayonara, Zetsubo Sensei
Title: Bakuman Volume 2
Authors: Story By Tsugumi Ohba
Art By Takeshi Obata
Distributor: Viz/Shonen Jump
American Release Date: November 2, 2010
Format: Traditional Manga
Genre: Shonen, Comedy, Slice-of-life
Publisher Age Rating: T (for Teen)
Personal Review Rating: A
Similar Series: Kingyo Used Books, Solanin, Yawara!
Becoming a Manga Pro is tough to do, so when you know that what you want to be, then the sooner you start, the better! That’s why when Mashiro Moritaka and Takagi Akito decided to become a manga artist and writer, they didn’t wait until they were out of high school.
Title: Saving Life
Manga Author: Mario Kaneda (Kadokawa Shoten)
American Publisher: TokyoPop
American Release Date: November 2, 2010
Age Rating: M
Format and length: Manga, 6 chapters
Genres: Comedy, Harem, Romance, Shonen
Overall Personal Rating: B
Titles in the Radius: Hayate the Combat Butler, Maid Sama, Maid War Chronicle, Rosario + Vampire, Samurai Harem
How much is freedom really worth? Would you be willing to live in the poorest, most dangerous section of town, worrying every day if you can scrape together enough cash, checking coin returns to see if someone forgot a nickle if instead there was a chance to live in luxury, never needing to worry about how much something costs, but under someone else’s rules? For Haruhiko, it is worth that much.
Title: Suzuka
Director: Hiroshi Fukutomi (Studio Comet, Marvelous Entertainment)
Original Story: Kouji Seo (Kodansha)
American Publisher: FUNimation
American Release Date: June 22, 2010
Age Rating: TV PG
Format and length: DVD, 26 episodes
Genres: Comedy, Romance, Shonen, Slice-of-life, Sports
Overall Personal Rating: B
Titles in the Radius: Ai Yori Aoshi, Maison Ikkoku
Losing a loved one is a tragic occurrence no matter who it is, but when the death is an untimely one caused by an accident it can be much worse. Suzuka Asahina of Suzuka lives on as she copes with the grief of the loss of a beloved sempai who she was unable to confess her feelings for and now is confronted with another teenager, Yamato Akitsuki, who is remarkably similar.
