Image from the official FUNimation site.

First, let me get my obligatory plugs out of the way – One Piece starts an all-new, Oda-penned short story this weekend, as the anime and manga both start telling the tale of the Gold Lion before Luffy and friends face him in December’s One Piece movie.

Meanwhile, InuYasha: The Final Act seems to have found its groove again, so if you were a fan of the first series, it’s time to pick it back up!

In more personal recommendations, I just finished watching the latest episode of Darker than Black: Ryuusei no Gemini. It had the most emotional cake-eating scene I’ve ever seen, and I don’t even mean that sarcastically.

I highly suggest that you go back and watch the whole Darker than Black first season, which is available online from FUNimation. It has everything – superspy action, shadowy politics, an incredible soundtrack, great cinematography, and just enough comic relief to keep the show from being utterly gloomy. The only problem is that it leaves behind a lot of unanswered questions, so hopefully the second series will start answering those. It’s a pretty big time investment, but it’s definitely worth the watch.