"Ouran High School Host Club" at Funimation

This fun anime is now available subbed or dubbed at the Funimation website. It's a show that makes fun of all the "types" of male anime characters and throws in school life, gender bending, romance and comedy.

"Glass Mask" (2005)

Addicted to this anime. Melodramatic life of 15 year old actress in constant battle with another 15 year old actress for plum parts. She is unusually naturally gifted at acting and is groomed by reclusive ex-superstar actress to become worthy to play the part of a lifetime, the lead in "The Crimson Angel." "Skip Beat!" to the n-th degree.

"State of Play"

I watched "State of Play" without knowing much about it except Russell Crowe and Ben Affleck were in it. I was pleasantly surprised. At first, seeing Russell Crowe as a scraggly, slightly pudgy seasoned reporter was difficult. But, he soon disappeared into his part. It was a little hard to believe Affleck and Crowe were supposed to be about the same age, but the story and suspense wiped that away. Who was responsible for the death of a beautiful, young congressional aide? becomes the focus instead of ooh, that star is in this movie. Rachel McAdams was appealing as hungry cub reporter. Helen Mirren shines in her small role as the ball-breaking editor. Jason Bateman steals his scenes as the smarmy PR insider. I was surprised that this movie was based on some BBC production as stated in the credits. Then again, I guess it's not too surprising that an entertaining, suspenseful drama was borne out of a BBC production.

"Absolute Boyfriend" back with a special!

Just watched the special on mysoju. If you've watched the series, you kinda know what's going to happen. But it's amazing how everyone in the series looks exactly the same. Hiro looks great as Soshi too. I wonder how long it was between the making of the series and the special?

"Phantom: Requiem for the Phantom" streamed

This new spring anime is available for free streaming at the funimation website!

"Natsume Yujin-cho" (夏目友人帳)

I loved this anime all the way through both seasons. Each episode was touching and Natsume is a character you really get to like. Nyanko-sensei is also adorable as the youkai bodyguard/cute lucky cat. The whole anime is about becoming less isolated and more connected with other people (or youkai!). I hope more of this will be made!

"Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion"

"Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion" is something I have always wanted to see. And to my surprise it's now available on crunchyroll both subbed and dubbed. I tried both but I still don't know which I prefer. After watching the first 2 episodes I really like it, especially the twist endings so far.

"Ristorante Paradiso" commercial

"Eden of the East" Trailer with English subs

Watch Eden of the East Trailer - Eng Sub in Anime  |  View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com

Utada speaks

Thanks to UBlog. Great video of Utada introducing all 10 of her songs on "This Is The One." http://www.amazon.com/gp/mpd/permalink/m186P3VUYO1LVR I like how she talks about her "photoshop" lyric and her semi-British accent in "Poppin'."

New anime I may get addicted to

First, I would like to say how I really want another season of "Skip Beat!." Just when Ren realizes his feelings for Kyoko the series ends. Kyoko really starts to "find herself" over the course of the show.

I have already tried several new shows courtesy of Veoh and crunchyroll. These are the ones I've liked so far. "007-Ghost" is action packed fantasy with plenty of bishounen and a hint of shounen-ai. "Ristorante Paradiso" looks like a good josei comedy romance. All the bishounen are older gentlemen with glasses, so it's different from the normal reverse harem show. "K-ON!" is a cute shoujo slice-of-life comedy about girls forming a rock band in high school. "Eden of the East" is incredibly well drawn and detailed. The first episode was set in Washington DC and the authenticity of the actual locations looks spot on. Also, the American characters actually sounded like Americans when they spoke English, so I give props for that! The mystery of the naked guy with no memory and his relationship to the kind college graduate girl he meets in front of the White House (of all places) is something I will try to continue to watch. Am I spending too much time watching streaming anime? Yeah.

"Mei-chan" and "Toradora" end

"Mei-chan no Shitshuji" was an entertaining show that had this strange forbidden master-and-servant theme interwoven in this shoujo fantasy comedy. There was little chemistry between the Mei and her butler Rihito, but hey, it's still a little thrill to fantasize having a handsome butler serve you to the point of fighting duels for you.

"Toradora" was a very non-anime anime. I could imagine this being done in a live-action version. It's got all the makings of a good drama: unconfessed love, various high school festivals and outings, likeable characters, and no need for CGI (like mecha, elves, or aliens). Sorry to see this fun anime end.