Y'know it feels like an age since I had a Saturday to chill out with. It's been a pretty busy few weeks, and it isn't going to ease up any time soon, so here I sit in an oasis of calm, watching Kerrang!, sorting out the huge pile of review copies that came in this week and adding some reviews to the site.

Why so busy? Well, work is pretty damn hectic right now - more websites and projects to manage than ever before (my new Mailshot platform and a massive country-wide IT project to facilitate chief amongst them) and my company year end in 3 days which has led to a massive spending spree to get the corporation tax bill down. Lots of shiny stuff fills the apartment, and my IT is just plain sexy these days. Not a bad thing, but it all takes time, and with the marketing companies now getting pretty tight on reviews, it makes me appreciate the quiet periods. Like this one.

So here I sit, catching up. There's been some interesting movements in the anime world of late - the main one affecting me is Viz using marketing company The Associates, which means that true to form, I'm getting large parcels packed with manga arriving (they are very good at getting product to reviewers!). Tanoshimi have been great at getting books to me too, but with Viz entering so aggressively (7 volumes this week alone) it's getting fierce. Interestingly, most of the younger anime fans I know are more into manga than anime, so this new trend seems to reflect the market.

The news also filtered in that MVM may be lowering their profile due to lack of purchasable licenses - the demise of Geneon has hit them quite hard, and with Funimation moving to Revelation, we may soon lose one of the labels that has been key in driving the market over the last few years, which would be very sad indeed - here's hoping that they find some new product when Shana finishes it's run (starting in May - buy it, it's awesome!)

Finally, a quick observation - I managed to chill out with God of War for the PSP last night, and very good it is too. I haven't played any of the PS2 games, but one thing certainly raised an eyebrow - a sex minigame on the first level. It took me about 4 attempts to get it right, so I guess art does imitate life... ^^;

'Til next time...

Ross, Ed.