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‘Slam Dunk’ is benched
in America

It seems like fans of the high school basketball series "Slam Dunk" haven't been able to catch much of a break in recent months.

The manga version was part of the weekly, then monthly, then canceled Raijin Comics anthology published by now-defunct publisher Gutsoon. A blurb in the premiere issue of Viz's Shojo Beat anthology hinted that a new publisher had been found -- possibly even Viz itself -- but no official announcement has been made yet.

Now comes word, courtesy of animeondvd.com, that Toei has suspended its release of the "Slam Dunk" anime, with Vol. 5, scheduled for release in early July, being the immediate victim. Also falling victim was "Air Master," about a gymnast-turned-street fighter, suspended as of Vol. 4.

While the suspension landed relatively early in the American run of "Slam Dunk" -- only 20 of the series' 101 episodes were released -- it's still little consolation to fans who have already invested time and money in the series, only to be left in the lurch again ...

Correcting the record

In my Aug. 1 column, I noted that one of MangaBento's upcoming meetings would be this Saturday, Aug. 20. This was incorrect; the group's next meeting is next Saturday, Aug. 27. The brain cells in my mind responsible for making that error have been sacked ...

DVD picks of the week

"My Neighbors the Yamadas" and "Pom Poko," from Disney: If you had asked me a year ago about which films from Studio Ghibli (makers of "Spirited Away," "Howl's Moving Castle" and many others) were least likely to make it over to the United States, these two films would have been high on the list. But now "Yamadas," a slice-of-life family tale, and "Pom Poko," about raccoons fighting an environmental battle, have arrived. Ghibli completists, rejoice.