by Ricardo Chirinos

Last Exit Archives

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Special Spanish Edition

Ah... It's great to be here! My name is Ricardo Chirinos and I'm going to review a few sites in my native tongue, Spanish, so all of you non-Spanish otaku learn about the greatest sites in this language. I'm not going to take more of your time, so, get those mice ready for clicking and happy surfing!

anime.dreamers.com is the first site I picked. Why? Well, you will find some very good resources there, like the up-to-date transmission schedules for almost all stations and countries in Latin America (including cable and satellite networks, such as DirecTV). Aside from the schedules you'll find manga and anime reviews, downloads for your computer (pictures and midi music of the most popular series), and essays (one of my favorite sections). Also, one of the best features of the site is the search engine "Buscanime", which orders a lot of good Spanish anime links in a Yahoo!-like interface. The site also features message boards and a news service via e-mail. The navigation should be fairly easy, even if you don't speak Spanish, due to the good design and layout of the page. If you want to get the scoop on anime here in Latin America, pay anime.dreamers.com a visit. You won't regret it, for sure.

Atomix (previously known as Limit-X) is the web version of a Mexican print magazine of the same name. Although it covers anime and manga, Atomix covers a lot more than that, including console and PC videogame news, J-pop reports and downloads (by the way, great section), among others. If you want to stay in touch with the latest info on anime and games, this site is for you. If you want reviews of the latest anime movies and games you should check Atomix. One of my favorite sections of this web, aside from the J-pop reviews, is the wallpaper gallery. Each month they feature 6 original wallpapers: 2 related to the hottest console games (mostly RPGs), 2 from the PC games of today and 2 from the most popular anime and manga series. The best part is that they have an archive of all the previous backdrops, so you can check them out and grab them later if you missed them. Navigation can be difficult, but not that much. Also, the design of this page is superb... Very, very good. Overall, Atomix is one great 'zine.

This web name's translates roughly to "The Anime Scroll". This page is one big Spanish fanfiction archive. The content here is well organized, by authors (alphabetilcally, of course). Unfortunately, to enjoy this website, Spanish is a must, since all the works here are in Spanish. In El Pergamino del Anime you'll find fanfics of a great variety of series, including Dragon Ball Z, Nadesico, Evangelion, Saint Seiya and many more. Also you'll find some fan art and mangas. The web design and ease of navigation are okay, but could've been better. However, El Pergamino del Anime is a must-visit page if you like to read and speak Spanish.

The last site I'm going to review (don't panic, I'll be back!) is based on Spain. Manga.es works like most news/webzine sites in content, featuring a good European, American and Japanese news section, a review area for titles released in Europe, America and Japan, and a lot of awesome editorials and essays. Also, in Manga.es you'll find a few manga works of Spanish artists, some of which are very good (I'm reffering to Zahara's gorgeous shojo title, Queen of Clubs). Other good features of this website include Nihonjuu, a monthly colummn about Japanese culture, and J-pop, which covers all the stuff related to this popular music genre (at least among otaku). In the communications department, Manga.es harbors a nice share of resources, ranging from forums, chat and the most original, "El mercadillo" (for you "The marketplace") where otaku willing to sell, buy or exchange merchandise can post. Very awesome. If you get bored of the page, you can also check their great link selection, which features a nice search engine. Manga.es also hosts some great anime sites, but I'll cover some of them later. The design of this nice page is good and practical. If you speak Spanish, this excellent page could be your home!

Well guys, this is all for this LEBT, but I'll get you more great sites for next time. Until then, happy surfing and anime watching. I almost forgot to write this: if you have any comments, suggestions or just want to exchange a few words with me (I'd love to talk with fans from all over the world!) you can write me here!. See ya!