2009 TV Series (episodes 1-24). Director: Tsutomo Mizushima. 600 minutes. DVD, bilingual, $69.98. Distributor: Funimation.

xxxHolic

Watanuki isn’t your average teenage boy. Spirits have been haunting him since birth; it’s been one disruption after another. But today these meddlesome visions might have actually done some good. They’ve dragged him to the doorstep of Yuko, a mystical witch whose decadence dangerously overshadows the depths of her insight. She’ll quell Watanuki’s visions, if he works in her shop of dreams and wishes.

Bleach Season 4

After Ichigo’s epic battle with Byakuya and the release of Rukia, the substitute Soul Reaper and friends return to the world of the living to reclaim their normal lives. But when Orihime is abducted, followed by Chad, Ichigo, Renji, and the usual Soul Reaper suspects are ultimately drawn into conflict with the mysterious Bount.

CLANNAD

A limited-edition lithograph from the anime series CLANNAD will be available on April 6, 2010. Depicting the characters Nagisa, Fuko, Tomoyo, Kotomi and Kyou, this artwork was chosen by fans via public vote.

Gundemonium

Yes, Sony and Rockin’ Android are collaborating as we speak to bring you doujin, or Japanese-style indie games, for the PlayStation®Network. Up first, Gundemonium Recollection, GundeadliGne, and Hitogata Happa.

Initial D

In the world of illegal street racing, Takumi is an expert in downhill courses, and his skills are only getting better. Upon joining the project D racing crew, who travel Japan challenging other teams and posting results online, Takumi’s reputation is growing. With each new course, new techniques are born, for Takumi believes he was born to race!

Corpse Princess

Surprisingly, when Makina Hoshimura was murdered she didn’t actually die. Stuck on earth as a living corpse, she’s now one of the shikabane hime charged with hunting down the evil undead. Armed with two submachine guns and the help of a secret society of Buddhist monks, Makina must kill 108 undead souls in order to gain entry into heaven. 

2009 TV Series (episodes 1-13). Director: Akira Mano. 315 minutes. DVD, bilingual, $59.98. Distributor: Funimation.

Gunslinger Girl Il Teatrino

A quiet war still rages on the streets of Italy between the government and a terrorist group known as the FRF. The front lines of this conflict, however, are not filled with the glaring stares of brutish soldiers, but the pig-tailed cuteness of little girls. The tender remnants of former lives, these cybernetic assassins are manipulated by the Social Welfare Agency, a covert anti-terrorist and intelligence outfit. And though killers they may be, they’re still little girls in those awkward stages of growing up.

FUNimation Entertainment officially announced the acquisition of four new titles: Tetsuwan Birdy Decode, Sekirei, Full Metal Panic!, and Full Metal Panic? FUMOFFU.

Ichi

Ichi is the latest reimagining of the familiar Zatoichi story. Yet, from one glimpse of the box art your assumptions will immediately stumble. The blind swordsman is now a beautiful young woman that trudges the countryside as a poor musician. On this path she searches for her place in the world and the blind sensei that long ago taught her swordplay. However, this journey is obstructed by a town bled by extortionists, their ominous leader, and a failing samurai in need of inspiration. With each step and accurate slash, Ichi will both find what she seeks and what she truly cannot see.

Dante's Inferno

Ah, Dante’s Divine Comedy. As a trained Classicist, albeit a Hellenist, I do know Latin Epic poetry.  And Dante’s allegorically Christian reworking of Latin Epic in the Tuscan dialect is as familiar as the grooves of my tsuka. For better or worse, however, Dante’s Inferno: An Animated Epic isn’t quite the faithful adaptation. Instead of recounting Dante’s spiritual crisis in the 14^th century, in which Vergil ultimately aids him through an illuminated necromancy, this epic is all blood and mayhem.