Another Saber to add your collection!! Max Factory has announced preorders for this awesome Figma Saber Alter. [...]
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Hurr…. Soranowoto going in to serious mode now at the 11th episode. Noel’s past is touched upon (The Witch of Helvetia; The Invisible Reaper sounds kinda cool). We find out that Roman = Germany in the series. And confirmation that Filicia is a raging lesbian. Oh yes. Very VERY confirmed. Poor Kureha’s so confused now. But [...]
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  <object width="640px" height="378px"> <param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/dNUEGSLr6Xk&amp;hl=en_US&amp;fs=1&amp;"> </param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"> </param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"> <embed wmode="transparent" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/dNUEGSLr6Xk&amp;hl=en_US&amp;fs=1&amp;" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640px" height="378px"> </embed></param><param value="transparent" name="wmode"></param></object> It seemed that more than a few of you readers were interested in the announcement of a Clannad dub. While feedback was mixed, it won't be long till you can hear for yourself. In their latest address, The Anime Network said that they will be featuring the first and second episode dubbed next week. Wait, next week?!?! Yes, on March 25th, the episodes go into their T.V. Video on Demand (VOD) services, and onto their online stream the next day. No comment on if the content will be for premium, registered, or unregistered users... but this is exactly what we talked about on the podcast. Basically, before I can even finish parsing the information about these things, they're already shoveling them our direction. As a result, I haven't had the chance to get distracted, and move onto something else. In all honesty though, I've heard that Clannad is a fairly touching/sad story.  Dale North professed to me how the first episode of the sequel alone (Clannad: After Story) caused him to bawl openly.  Of course, this is a Key project, so I expect the same quality and style I enjoyed in Air and Kanon. Unfortunately, I bought After Story before I bought Clannad, so now I'm petrified to move forward. Looks like next week I'll finally get a chance to sort some things out.  Plot Okazaki Tomoya is a third-year student who is labeled as a delinquent by others because of his constant tardiness. He has only one friend in the whole school - a slacker like him, Sunohara Youhei. He doesn't care about these anyways. On one of his late comings, he meets Furukawa Nagisa, a shy girl who skipped her last year due to her sickness and has to repeat last year over again - with her friends all graduated. Although Tomoya doesn't care for this girl at first, he becomes unable to leave her alone. Thus, he starts helping Nagisa with her wish, on the revival of the Drama Club. As he gets himself more involved in this, he starts to meet other people - which he - again - doesn't care at all at first, but later start to open his heart to them as he gets to know them...    Offical Statement "thingie"    
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This new 1/8 scale figure of “Misaka Mikoto” from To Aru Kagaku no Railgun, will be available this coming July 2010 by Good Smile Company for 5,800 Yen retail price. Hobby Search is taking reservations for her as of today. A must get for Mikoto fans ( ^ _ ^ ) [...]
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This new figure of “Figma Saber Alter” from Fate/Stay Night, will be available this coming June 2010 by Max Factory for 2,800 Yen retail price. Hobby Search is taking reservations for her as of today. Instant get ( ^ _ ^ )
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Hato Mori Hachiman Shrine, Sendagaya, Tokyo Info:Nikon D300 Lens: VR 18-70mm F/3.5-4.5G Focal Length: 62mm Aperture: F/4.5 Shutter Speed: 1/80 ISO Sensitivity: ISO 640 Yesterday’s Japan Photo: Tetsujin in Nakano Anime Shop
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It is probably just a coincidence that the (relatively minor side) character who desires Eternal Life so she can stay forever young and beautiful is voiced by Kikuko "Eien ni 17-sai" Inoue. Professor Layton and the Eternal Diva was kindly brought to Singapore by Encore Films and Golden Village, although I doubt GV actually knows what [...]
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What I’m about to discuss has been gestating in my head for a little while, ever since I finally caught a showing of the Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha movie a couple weeks ago.  It was my first exposure to anything Nanoha, and I was blown away, really just beside myself with excitement…  But I felt [...]
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 A couple of recent reports on the manga industry are drawing a lot of attention right now, and I'm not talking about my Handley piece-- CNN Go reports on significant sales drops in Japan, and ICv2 offers that some manga publishers are severely curtailing their efforts-- or dropping out entirely. First, Japan: CNN Go writes up an NHK report that manga overall has seen a 6.6% drop in sales in 2009, the largest such drop in the industry's history. Not good! A significant chunk of that drop was sales of manga magazines-- the overall sales of these anthologies dropped 9.4%, presumably thanks to so many alternate forms of entertainment for train-goers, who are the stereotypical buyers of manga mags. The author, W. David Marx, suggests that since the manga industry in Japan has always been a source for bigger-scale productions like movies and live-action TV, a decrease in sales resulting in a decrease in items published might result in a lot of movies being made based on older manga-- which would be interesting. Though we're already seeing some of it: Astro Boy, Yatterman, Space Battleship Yamato... Moving on to North American publishers, ICv2's latest publisher survey suggests that manga pubs are going to release an average of 13% fewer manga volumes in 2010 than they did in 2009. The main exception to this is Yen Press, who will expand once more. But the more worrisome sentence is this: "...a number of publishers such as Aurora, Go! Comi, and Dr. Master have either pulled out or drastically curtailed their publishing efforts." Kage Kara Mamoru (anime version) I have e-mails out to each of these companies and I'm also working to acquire ICv2's document for more details, but if you want my guess, I'd say DrMaster is the one most likely to pull out of the manga market right now: I'm not sure if they've released a book in 2010, and they have their printing business to fall back on. Similarly, if Aurora shuts down, Japanese parent company Ohzora Shuppan will continue to operate. Go!Comi is the only one here without something to fall back on. More updates as events warrant! In the meantime, I am so so sad that I can't get my Kurogane Communication from Go! Comi and my Kage Kara Mamoru from DrMaster. (Aurora, by the way, still has a bunch of their titles available on the super-cheap if you want them.)      Sad to see sales dropping, of course, but it happens. Hopefully as manga grows on a global level it will make up for some of the drop-off in Japan...but it looks like that money may not come primarily from the U.S.
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Of course I managed to pick up the new Pokemon game (read: emulate). It’s been a while since I played my last Pokemon game, so my memories were shaky. But the nostalgia mixed with “lol Pokemon” mixed and resulted in a giant dose of hilarity. Of course, I played as a girl. Everyone is a girl [...]
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SEASON: 1 EPISODES: 1 – 13 GENRE: anime, action, comedy Synopsis Soul Eater sees a group of teens questing to become ultimate weapons and warriors, death scythes and death scythe wielders respectively. The teens work in teams of two, one the wielder of a powerful weapon, the other the weapon to be wielded. That probably sounds a bit strange, but the latter are able to change back and forth between human and weapon form. It’s worth noting here that the weapon and wielder must be compatible beyond “just getting along” in order ...
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Happy birthday Kanno-san!!! …today she is 16 years old
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Yes! MOAR classroom battles~ This is what I wanted out of Baka Test! The previous episodes where quite enjoyable and really worth the watch, but I find the battles part more interesting as they mow down class after class, [just two in this ep but hey, it's still fun to watch!]. Can’t wait for next [...]
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 The kids and the creepers. WOW… this Tohru girl in FRUITS BASKET is so NAÏVE, she makes Pollyanna seem positively cynical. WOW again… she’s definitely not the sharpest tool in the shed in this first episode. Yes, it’s a fantasy melodrama, but it’s a lot easier to suspend my disbelief over shape-shifting zodiac creatures than it is for me to believe that a 15-year-old girl would be foolish enough to live in a tent by herself in the woods. That is just ASKING for some horrible, horrible trouble. One of the character’s even brings up that she “might run into the occasional wild animal or weirdo out there in the woods.” Gee… you think? Just maybe?  Bright eyes on a not-too-bright girl. I was getting a little creeped out by the beginning with Red Riding Hood-esque scenario of her just wandering into some strange man’s house, after being lured in with some colorful toys (the zodiac stones).  While the situation gets diffused after a while, that Yuki is a CREEPER, even as emo fantasy characters go. He makes that TWILIGHT dude seem well-adjusted. I might say it’s because the guy’s king of the glowing-eyed rats, but that really pales (pun intended) in comparison to the nasally-monotone of his voice inthis dub. If I could reach into the screen, I’d tell Tohru NOT TO LIVE WITH THIS GUY UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES! GET OUT! RUN! NOW! DON'T LOOK BACK! All that aside, it was fun to see the Chinese zodiac factor into this toon and to hear a recount of Buddha’s selection of the animals (or the Jade Emperor’s selection, depending on where you heard the story). Actually, it’s a little timely for me, given that I, myself, was born in the Year of the Tiger and, after two full rotations of the cycle, it’s my year again. But I don’t have any issues with hugging girls or turning into animals like the creepies in this show do. Anyway, check out the first episode below and see if you feel like I do. Thanks to daotherkenji for the tip, and keep these recommendations coming, everybody!     <object width="512" height="296"> <param name="movie" value="http://www.hulu.com/embed/lZXXY4yXy1Dr_3iFktpXvA"> </param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"> <embed wmode="transparent" src="http://www.hulu.com/embed/lZXXY4yXy1Dr_3iFktpXvA" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="512" height="296"> </embed></param><param value="transparent" name="wmode"></param></object>   -- Tom Pinchuk is the writer of UNIMAGINABLE for Arcana Comics and HYBRID BASTARDS! for Archaia.   Watch out for the HYBRID BASTARDS! hardcover collection this March - - available for pre-order now on Amazon.com.
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What can I say? There was a plethora of good games released this month. Final Fantasy XIII (PS3) Final Fantasy XIII Limited Edition Strategy Guide Final Fantasy XIII OST God of War III: Ultimate Edition (PS3) Battlefield Bad Company 2 (PC) FFXIII is the shiniest gem out of all the March releases. Graphics are so amazing that it’s hard [...]
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Alter is going to release the Momohime ( 百姫 ) 1/8 PVC figure from the action RPG “Muramasa: The Demon Blade​” (朧村正, Oboromuramasa) developed by Vanillaware. Will be released in July 2010. Around 210mm tall (included base), 7,800 yen. I haven’t touch my Wii for like 2 years and I... **This is a content summary only. Please visit Nekomagic for full content!**
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Good Smile Company is going to release the Misaka Mikoto ( 御坂 美琴 ) 1/8 PVC figure from the light novel/anime “A Certain Scientific Railgun” ( とある科学の超電磁砲 ). Will be released in July 2010. Around 180mm tall, 5,524 yen. The “Railgun” anime is coming to the end soon. Personally I... **This is a content summary only. Please visit Nekomagic for full content!**
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Some old relics are remembered for all times to come… An elderly man was arrested yesterday in Yanagawa City in the Fukuoka Prefecture after he stabbed three other fellow old grandies residents. Sadly, Luckily, the victims did not suffer any life-threatening injuries. Osamu Tomozoe, ripen-age of 69, stabbed fellow residents of age between 70 and 81 with [...] Related posts:He who climbs wall are very evil… Japan’s Stabbing Cases #2 Japanese Prefer Staying At Home Than Out
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It seems like twitter is not only for real people but fictional game characters too. We are about one month away from the release of Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Conviction on the Xbox 360 and ...
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25 Sakura Songs: Nirgilis - Sakura: <object data="http://www.youtube.com/v/VhVA8E7FTig" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="600" height="420"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/VhVA8E7FTig"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param></object>
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