Because every web site has one! Because these sites are too cool not to visit at least 37 times a day! Because they're the sites I check most! Take a tour of some of my favorite otaku pages, if you dare.

• Improfanfic
  The definitive round-robin anime fanfic site, this is the place to go when you're in the need for something to read. Primarily centered around original stories, Improfanfic is home to such series as the Tarantino-esque Magical Girl Hunters (which follows the adventures of a team of hitmen who blow holes in sailor-type heroines for a living). GO!! GO NOW!!! I swear you won't regret it.

• Sluggy Freelance
  What do you get when you take a freelance web-designer, his demon-summoning inventor buddy, a psycho switchblade-wielding rabbit, and chronicle their adventures in an online comic? That's the premise beind Pete Abrams' hilarious strip Sluggy Freelance. This strip is so amazingly good that it's a wonder that comic syndicates haven't begged him to let them put it in newspapers. Best of all, the site allows you to read the entire run of series from its premier in 1997.

• Trailervision
  People say they liked the trailer more than they liked the movie. What if there was no movie? Trailervision addresses this question with its collection of amusing promos for movies which do not, in fact, exist. A new trailer is posted every Monday, making it one of the sites I visit most.

• Anime Web Turnpike
  What can I possibly say about this site that hasn't been said before? It's the ultimate anime link site, with leads to almost every series you could possibly be interested in. The site also features Last Exit Before Toll a monthly column by Ryan Matthews which helps sort out the more worthy pages from the 80-bazillion different sites which exist for certain series (such as Sailor Moon, for example). If you're looking for web sites about your favorite series, check here first.

• Anime Jump
  An online magazine with reviews, essays, and discussion of recent anime releases and issues. Updates are far and few between, but I still find my way back here at least once a month.

• Anime Radio
  Yet another Very Cool Idea given life through the power of the internet. A bunch of casual otaku get together and and shoot the breeze about anime for an hour every week, broadcasting around the world via the wonders of Real Audio. Who says there's nothing good on the radio anymore?

• Anime News Network
  The self-declared CNN of the anime world, this site keeps tabs on the otaku universe with headlines drawn from commercial press releases, game companies, and fan sites. Very good for keeping up-to-date.

• Barry's Temple of Godzilla
  The authoritative Godzilla web page, this site takes more time to sort out the continuity between all the many, many Tokyo-stomping films than Toho did itself. It's the place to be when you've got a question about all those radioactive freaks of nature.

• Game Software Code Creators Club
  While I personally despise the concept of cheating to win at video games, I love being able to change the rules when replaying games for the third or fourth time. It's fun being able to challenge the way the world works and finding out just how much work the programmers put into the universe. The GSCCC is THE place to go for Game Shark codes, and has far more to offer than any official site.

• RPGamer
  The direct descendant of Andrew Vestal's UnOfficial Squaresoft Homepage, this site has tons of information on almost every known console RPG, in addition to headlines from developing projects.

• GameFAQs.com
  From news to reviews to comprehensive, fan-written game guides, this free site remains one of the most useful otaku pages on the web.

• Animeigo
  The True Masters of Anime Translation, Animeigo's online catalog offers direct, discount access to every product they've produced from Bubblegum Crisis to Urusei Yatsura. Whenever possible, order from the source. It pays.

• AnimeNation
  The Online Otaku Catalog of Everything! From CD's to books to import games, this place puts all of the common stuff and quite a lot of the rare stuff right at your fingertips. And at a discount, too!

• eBay
  The net's original online auction house, eBay's a great place to hunt for anime and video game merchandise.

• Altavista's Babelfish
  While not quite as good as the Hitchhikers' legend might suggest, the Babelfish is definitely a Cool Thing. Just enter some English language text or a url, hit "Translate", and it instantly converts the input words into your choice of French, German, Italian, Portuguese or Spanish. Although it's not always 100% accurate, this site is so good that I've been able to hold online chats with people in other countries using it as an interpreter.