:anime: Spring Anime Preview '09 - First Episode Review Pt. 1:: FMA:B, Saki, Shangri-La

With all of the anime that gets covered in the seasonal anime previews here on HardDoor, I figured it would be remiss not to provide a follow-up on their coverage. Normally, this would be difficult to do on a timely basis, but it has now been made easier due to the sheer number of companies and studios seeking out online ventures to showcase their newest works (which shows just how far digital distribution and advertisement have come). These reviews are not synopsizes or long dissertations of the episode, but my general thoughts on them (ok, well, some of them are long). This installment covers the first episodes of the series below, and I aim to have another follow-up every fifth episode. I should note that not every show covered is available through "official" means, per se, and coverage may change based on show and time availability. I intend to cover other new shows later, so be sure to keep an eye out! --HD

:boxing: Boxing Bits ::04.29.09:: Froch TKOs Taylor in Final Seconds

Both Friday and Saturday provided for some massive fight nights--and a sizable amount of surprises and upsets, as well. One such result coming from Froch-Taylor...

:boxing: Boxing Bits ::04.20.09:: Gamboa Claims Championship

Yuriorkis Gamboa claimed his first major title after only fifteen fights (more on that below) and two champions fall by the wayside.

:boxing: Boxing Bits ::04.15.09:: Willams Beats Wright, Arreola Steams Ahead

Paul Williams continued to stake his claim to fame against a returning "Winky" Wright and Arreola trudged through another heavyweight victim on his quest for a major title. Plus, one favored champion had an eventful night in the ring...

:boxing: HardDoor's Spring Boxing Preview - '09 Edition

<--To Winter 2008-09 Boxing Preview

To Summer 2009 Boxing Preview-->

The season of spring often brings about a good number of great fights, and 2009 looks to continue that trend with its own bevy of intriguing bouts. The string of match-ups, stretching into summer, feature some long in the making and others totally out-of-left-field. As always, any scheduled fight can collapse at any given moment or be moved to another date for whatever reason, so do keep that in mind. And as part of my move to make HardDoor's long features more navigable, I included bookmarked links and a bar to help making moving through the preview more easy.

:boxing: Boxing Bits ::04.06.09:: Valero, Andrade Win, Holt, Diaz Lose

April got off to a good start with a number of notable fights, with some fighters taking a step forward and few others a step back...

:anime: HardDoor's Spring Anime Preview - '09 Edition

<--To Winter 2008-09 Anime Preview

To Summer 2009 Anime Preview-->

Spring's upon us and as is often the case, with it comes a massive influx of new titles. 2009's is no exception and with 18 shows covered in both the main and "of interest" sections, and three in the "theater" section, there is quite an amount of intriguing and potentially good shows set to debut. It took over twice the length of time to prepare this preview, as there were many works that I wrote extensively on (and because there were so many, period!). Though there hasn't been a definite theme among the shows like in past seasons, there is an unusually large number of original stories and new retellings to go along with the requisite adaptations. In all, this spring may prove to be an enjoyable one with the sort of works mentioned ahead.

:anime: PN Scan's Book Bestseller List - March 22 - 28

I just received an interesting e-mail last night detailing the latest bestselling books from PN Scan, who monitors book and video sales across many genres. Here is the listing for the top sellers of the week of March 22 - March 28.