Yin and Yang: The forces of good and evil battle it out inside the very bodies of Kikyo and Naraku...and ultimately the Shikon Jewel itself! In the aftermath, a beloved friend of Inuyasha is tragically lost...forever

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We've got a double-blast of Naruto Shippuden for you this week as Naruto begins his fearsome training to learn the Sage Jutsu! You can bet that toads and weird happenings will ensue! Plus, you get a nice little katakana lesson as Naruto and his comrades decode Jiraiya's final message! Who says that you don't learn anything watching anime?

Catch the latest episodes and more in the Naruto Shippuden section.

Episode 154: Decryption
Naruto and his friends successfully decipher the code Jiraiya left behind with the help of some information Naruto has. The crew immediately calls Fukasaku over, but the message is not enough to solve the mystery of Pain.

Episode 155: The First Challenge
At Mount Myoboku, Naruto begins his Sage Jutsu training under Fukasaku. The first challenge is “Don’t move.” Fukasaku explains that an extensive amount of time is necessary in order to take in nature energy.

As the Pro Exams approach the grand finale, everyone is gunning for Hikaru... even when they don't play him! In this week's fresh episodes of Hikaru no Go, we bid a sad farewell to a few competitors as the field gets cut down. As with everything, there are winners and losers, and you have to be a hard-hearted person not to feel a bit for Tsubaki when he gives Hikaru that final ride on his motorcycle in episode 42. Still, it's not how you win or lose, it's how you play the game, and we're going to miss Tsubaki's, er, unusual approach to Go.

Check out these episodes and more in the Hikaru no Go section!

Episode 41: Three Weeks isn't Enough!
Determined to get his game back on track, Isumi takes on Ochi with a vengeance. But Ochi is more concerned with his final opponent: Hikaru.

Episode 42: The First to Pass
Now that the Pro Exam is winding down, the stronger players are beginning to distinguish themselves from the weaker ones…

As the current One Piece manga editor, this series has been ruling my life during the last few months. I'm sure you've heard already that VIZ Media is releasing a megaton of One Piece manga during the first six months of 2010. We’re going all the way up to volume 54 by July and we’ll be very close to where the anime is, especially if you are reading the series in SHONEN JUMP magazine. So be sure to check out your local bookstore and get your pirate fix!

I’m actually not that familiar with the anime version of the series, so I’d love to hear comments from the fans that follow both versions. I’ve watched the first 30~40 episodes, but that was way back in 2003 or so. I do remember that I loved the intro/outro songs. From what I see online, the anime is done very well. I don’t catch many people complaining about the filler episodes, and it just seems to me that the anime team at Toei does a great job keeping the anime as amazing as the original manga version.

One recent promotion that really got me hyped was a chapter that ran in the last Japanese Weekly Shonen Jump issue of 2009. The chapter was called “Chapter 0: Strong World” and set up all the back-story for the latest One Piece movie which is also called Strong World. The movie hit Japan over the holidays (if you’re in Japan, check it out and tell me what it’s like!). It’s so cool that the One Piece franchise can intertwine the manga and animated versions in this way and it made me really want to see the movie!

Usually theatrical versions of popular anime shows have nothing to do with the main story… but this new Strong World movie has roots in the manga story and looks like it could be an awesome experience. Hopefully we see in it the US soon!

-- Alexis Kirsch (Editor of the One Piece manga)