Do you know of a site that's about to go down? Does it have information that should be preserved on the web? Let us know, and we'll save what we can!

You can also help us out by keeping your eyes open for any anime-related events or articles. Clubs and convention-goers -- don't forget our events calendar page! If your organisation has something up and coming, let us know!

• July 2

  Good news! The search function for the Cafe Encyclopaedia is now back online! The bad news, the move to a Linux server has knocked out our form scripts (yes including the contest entry form). Apparently, our forms and the last update have been down for the past week or so. For now, please use e-mail to send in your contest entries for the July/Aug contest and I hope to get the form scripts back up and running in a few days.

  As the forms will be taking my attention for the next while, the Fan Art contest will be slightly delayed in opening. The contest will follow the previous contest with respect to time constraints; specifically it will be open from July 15-Sept 15, and the winner will now be announced on Sept 30.

  Cafe bios have been added for: Erin, Kevin Herold, Rosalyn Hunter, Roy Kurano, Roger Powell and Jessica Rauscher to the About the Cafe section. These are the moderators on the Cafe Forum and along with Jay Dee Archer and Jonathan Wu (administrators) have been absolutely indispensible in helping out with the smooth running of the various boards. Thank you guys!

  Monthly picks for the month of June how now been updated. It's a first impressions month this time around. Also updated are some anime and manga releases. Lastly, a new review for Hikaru no Go episode 2 has now been posted so take a look!

  Next up: form updates, APGA reviews and trivia.





• June 19

  A new review is now up for episode 1 of Hikaru no Go; an anime based on the Japanese game of Go. This series is proving to be rather interesting and is showing some good promise. Also up are more additions to the New Releases page. Congratulations go to Pamela McKee who is our winner in the March/April contest! Lastly, a link has now been added to our general links section to Aurorean a website that looks at mythology and symbolism seen in anime.

  For manga lovers and those interested in the amateur comic (doujinshi) scene in Japan, Comiket will be happening in Tokyo August 11 & 12. If you're interested in attending from North America, there's an organised tour being organised by JTEC here. They also have a tour to the Tokyo Game Show (Sept 20-22) here.

  As requested (and as promised in the Forum), we will be hosting a fan art contest during the months of July/August with the winner to be announced Sept. 15. This will be a judged contest similar to the one held last summer. Rules and prize(s) to be announced July 1 (approx., it's a national holiday so information may be delayed until the 2nd).





• June 11

  Updates throughout the "What's New" areas specifically more new releases for both anime and manga for June/July as well as an update to the Monthly Picks (seasonal picks for this year??). Also updated is the calendar of events and a link has been added to Anime Info in the Links section.





• May 22

  Finally! Starting in on the Parent's Guide to Anime reviews. Up with this update are two new reviews for the original Macross TV series (vs Robotech) and Sakura Diaries, as well as an update to Rurouni Kenshin OAV. There are a number to be put up over the next several weeks so please bear with us. Also up are more new releases for both anime and manga. As we've started listed North American manga titles in the release section, titles are colour coded by release region as seen in the Anime section.

  Also updated this time was the front page illustration for a more summer-like atmosphere. Unfortunately, with still more snow today, things at the Cafe are anything but summery...





• May 1

  A review is now up for the first episode of Kenpu Denki Berserk, soon to be released from the folks at the Anime Works division of Media Blasters. Special thanks to the folks from Media Blasters for the screener for this first episode!

  Congratulations goes to Monica Chase of WA who was the winner of the Cafe contest for Jan / Feb. Mar / April's contest winner's name is to be drawn shortly once we have a chance to finish going through the errors reported.

  Coming in the next update will (finally!) be updates to the Parent's Guide as well as a updates to the monthly picks section. Spring has finally sprung (although continuing snow would suggest otherwise...). Hopefully this means that we'll finally catch up after the much busier beginnings to this year.





• April 16

  A review for the Crusher Joe graphic novel story 3 is now up. As always, our thanks to the folks at Studio IronCat for the review copy for this graphic novel!

  Also up in the calendar is the date for Anime Festival Orlando 3 which will be held Aug 16 - 18.

  Up next will be a review for Berserk anime ep 1. This anime is being released by Media Blaster under their "Anime Works" label at the end of this month. Our thanks to the folks at Media Blasters for the screener for this anime!

  Lastly, still no word from the winner from the previous contest. Hopefully, we'll be able to reach them. If not, a new winner will be drawn from the entries.





• April 10

  A couple of gremlins introduced in yesterday's update have been squashed. Otherwise, a touch late, but a spring-ish background for the homepage was also added.





• April 9

  A new review is now up in the manga reviews section for Crusher Joe story 2. Once again our thanks to the folks at Studio Ironcat for the review copy!

  The new releases sections for both anime and manga have also been updated so take a look!





• April 2

  A new review is now up in the manga reviews section for Crusher Joe story 1. Special thanks to the folks at Studio Ironcat for the review copy! Reviews for Crusher Joe stories 2 and 3 will follow shortly.

  Also up are updates to the new releases sections for both anime and manga so take a look!

  Lastly, for fans of popular fantasy/horror novelist Ono Fuyumi (Akuryou ga Ippai/Ghost Hunt series, Jyuni Kokki series, Shiki), NHK is now airing a new anime series for her Jyuni Kokki fantasy novel series. The story looks like it will be about the adventures of Nakajima Yohko (Tsuki no Kage, Kage no Umi) and could be a most intriguing epic fantasy adventure. If you're in Japan, it may well be worth a look!





• March 3

  Manga release dates have now been updated for March as well as titles for Hakusensha for April so take a look. Elsewhere, Metropolis' theatre run has been extended. For those living in Calgary, it's playing until Thursday at Sunridge, while in Edmonton it's playing at Eaton Centre Cinemas. Lastly, for those who follow the shonen manga "Tenshi na Konamaiki," it appears an anime version is to start airing in April. This could be an intriguing, comedic series depending on how it is treated.





• February 28

  Real world needs are taking precedence at the moment, and until things let up, updates will be slow. Particularly behind is the Parent's Guide. However, up this time are updates for anime releases as well as information on the upcoming North American release of Metropolis. Manga releases to be posted soon. Otherwise, up in the Cafe is a review for Detective Conan movie 5: Tengoku he no Countdown as well as a first episode review for Fruits Basket whose rights have been picked up by Funimation. Graphics have also been posted for both "Fruba" and Conan as well as some trivia questions for Fruits Basket.

  As mentioned the Parent's Guide is seriously backlogged at the moment. However, there is an update to the review for Perfect Blue so take a look!





• February 4

  February already! Where does the time go? Up this week are manga reviews for Weiss Kreuz, and Ghost Hunt as well as a first episode review for Crest of the Stars (Seikai no Monshou). Also up are the monthly picks for January as well as some upcoming release updates for Japanese R2 DVD releases so take a look!

  Coming next will be more Parent's Guide reviews.





• January 24

  And it's time to get back into the grind again. Some new reviews have been added to the Parent's Guide to Anime including: Initial D, Tenchi Muyo Movie 2, and Tenshi ni Narumon as well as additions to X/1999 and Tenchi Muyo. Several more reviews are still waiting to be processed particularly those dating from before our latest system change. Please be patient as we work to getting everything caught up. Also up are updates for release dates for manga and anime both.

  Elsewhere, many people are undoubtedly eagerly awaiting the theatrical open of Metropolis tomorrow in select cities. If you're one of the lucky ones it may well be worth a look!