Quick Anime/Manga resources for YA librarians.

Especially perhaps to you new YA librarians who don't know much about Manga/Anime and who don't have teenage children to tell you, there are a couple of Podcasts out there that I find enhance my enjoyment as an otaku of these art forms.

First and foremost, you definitely want to familiarize yourself with Anime News Network, and their related podcast ANNcast. Chock full of valuable news and opinion about new and even classic anime. These guys definitely know their stuff. I don't always agree with them but I do respect their vast knowledge and well informed opinions.

A bit more edgy and controversial than ANNCast is the Anime World Order podcast, hosted by OtakuUSA magazine contributor Daryl Surat and others.

Speaking of, as many of you know, Shonen Jump is no longer in print and has gone 100% digital subscription. I know serials area pain in the arse in library land, I really do get that. But your patrons will love you forever if you are willing to spend the coin and replace or augment your Shonen Jump subscription with a print subscription to OtakuUSA. Trust me, the kids still want the physical media for this. Good ol' OtakuUSA is the last man standing, the last English language print serial publication devoted to Anime and Manga in North America. You are doing your YA patrons a disservice if you fail to subscribe to this periodical.

If you have an iPhone, you may want to download the Ani.me "app", which is a mobile application affiliated with the main Anim.me news website...you can browse new news articles daily via your iPhone at lunch, say. Always good to get breaking news on new releases, new licensing agreements, voice cast announcements, etc.

If you really like the English dubs and want to know more about the voice actors behind the shows, there's no better place to look than the "That Anime Show" podcast hosted by voice actor (and sometime ADR director and script writer) J. Michael Tatum and ADR director (and sometime voice actress) Terri Doty. About once a month, they interview their fellow English language voice actors, mostly FUNImation regulars but on occasion actors up from Houston that record more often with Sentai Filmworks. It's fun to listen to all the behind-the-scenes banter and backstory, and it's nice to know that many of the voice actors involved are also close personal friends in real life, with funny, sometimes embarrassing stories and always interesting opinions on life, culture, art, and sometimes politics as well. I finally got caught up on all the back episodes of TAS and I can say they definitely made my morning and evening commutes to and from my library workplace all the more livelier and interesting...there are many, many laugh-out-loud moments listening to this show. Not unlike the same reason I love the Rooster Teeth Podcast (aka "The Drunk Tank"), I feel like I'm back in High School or College staying up really late with my best friends cracking jokes and telling stories when I listen to this show.

Rooster Teeth are the geniuses behind the hit "Red versus Blue" action / comedy animation series based on pre-gen animation using the HALO game system on the XBOX. They also do comedic shorts, game reviews, etc. But I especially love their weekly podcast and the hilarious interaction between all the hosts, who are also all the voice actors for the principle characters of the RvB series. While these guys only touch on Anime/Manga tangentially, they are a good source for general gamer nerd culture, and there is indeed some cross-over. Their podcast so often makes me LOL and ROFL and ROFLMAO.

Lastly, Meetup.com; There is probably a local Anime/Manga meetup or club in your area, and if you are a YA librarian, it might behoove you to attend, to get a feel for the vibe and pulse of local Anime/Manga otaku culture. Get to know your patrons and potential patrons. Get the lowdown on what's hot, what's not, etc.