Shelf Life

Venti Drama with Extra Sauce

Shelf Worthy

Story of Saiunkoku DVD 1

Rental

Kashimashi DVD 1, 2

Peach Girl DVD 3

Perishable

Aoi & Mutsuki 2-Disc DVD

I am traumatized for life. Here is how it happened. I was walking out of Starbucks, happily sipping on my unsweetened, venti blueberry white iced tea. A little bitter, with a twinge of fruity flavor, and altogether quite refreshing—I considered myself a fan. As I was nearing the end, I suddenly felt something swirl into my mouth. I pulled it out, fearing the worst, not knowing that my fears had indeed been confirmed. There was no mistaking what it was—a 2”, crinkly, coarse, black pube.

I really can't think about it anymore. I think I'm going to go cry myself to sleep before I continue writing.

Welcome to Shelf Life.

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Of course, there's “unreal,” and then there's… surreal. Though, perhaps I just have such rigid standards for reality that I can't accept anything that boggles my fragile mind. I will believe anything that Chris Carter tells me is true, but when it comes to pansy boys turning into pretty little girls? Well, maybe if Mulder and Scully were involved.

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When I think about my first introduction to anime, I trace it all back to my best friend, whose father owned, and still owns, a video and anime rental store in my hometown of Fort Collins, CO called The Village Vidiot. She was the one who tirelessly fed me copious amounts of anime, starting with my gateway drug, Fushigi Yuugi. Over a decade has ed since then, but that one title still has a special place in my heart. It was that title that cemented my love for anime, and it was the only nerdy subject I dared mention when I toasted her at her wedding reception. Maybe that's where I get my affinity for shows set in ancient China.

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I'm a little sad I didn't stop after I watched Saiunkoku. That I had to end my week on a sour note was disappointing, though probably unavoidable.

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And now you're at the end of the column. Are you a little bit sad? Don't be; I'll see you soon.

This week's wonderous shelf comes by way of Cori Leydon, who boasts a collection of over 400 volumes of manga, "most" of the issues of Zoids model kits. And apparently a billion posters, too. Cori is so well endowed in the manga sector that her shelf has become the de facto manga library for the town, with around 50 volumes circulating about at any given town.

Quaintly, her last question in her email was, "Is this shelf obsessed enough?" What does everyone else think?

Think you've got an awesome collection of stuff? Send your jpgs to shelflife at animenewsnetwork dot com!