When I last touched this topic, I was still very angry and bitter at companies like Sentai Filmworks and Bandai for not dubbing anime titles that I personally felt deserved a dub (specifically Clannad, Hayate the Combat Butler, Kannagi, and some others). To me, it looked like these companies just “didn’t care anymore” and “weren’t [...] Related posts:JanaiBlog Editorial: The Sub-Only Debate, and Why Dub Fans are Upset Sentai Filmworks Announces Maria†Holic and Skull Man JanaiBlog Editorial: Illegal Anime Distribution
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A little bit of interesting got mixed in with a little bit of exciting today while I was away. But here is what happened today wrapped up as neatly as I can get it. Clannad Dub Premieres NEXT WEEK: When Sentai announced that they were going to dub Clannad I didn’t actually translate that into ‘we’ve [...]
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anpan in English? Fuuko with her starfish in English ? Well, you are gonna hear it soon as Clannad dubs will be coming soon. North American anime distributor Sentai Filmworks announced on Monday that the series would receive an English dub. The series will be available via broadcast, streaming and retail outlets. The first two episodes will [...]
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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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Here are today's "really cool products" that I've picked out for you, out of the 30+ new items we've added to the J-List and JBOX.com sites today. Note that some products may be "not safe for work" but that all links will allow you to redirect yourself either to the J-List or JBOX.com websites. To see all the J-List products, check out J-List or the JBOX.com updated products link. Anime Shakugan no Shana II We love Shana of the Blazing Eyes, designed as she was by Noizi Ito, who also gave us Haruhi. This just-released fan book documents everything about the Shana anime series for you. Afternoon Dec 2009 Then, I'm a huge fan of Afternoon, the elegant and super thick monthly magazine that is so cool, Oguie from Genshiken wants to draw manga for it .Enjoy a new 1000+ issue, posted to the site. Hiragana Times Feb 2009 No. 280 Read about world events or local Japanese culture in both English and Japanese with Hiragana Times, a fantastic study tool that I recommend to everyone. Kanji Practice Flashcard SALE Good news -- we're having a big SALE on the White Rabbit kanji flashcards, which are frankly the best way to learn Japanese we can think of. The Kanji Poster is included too. Monster Hunter Hunting Card Artbook Monster Hunter is the popular video game line by CAPCOM, loved by fans both for its fun gameplay as for the gorgeous art the series has always maintained. Here's a great artbook for fans. Restocked Anime Artbooks J-List has a huge stock of artbooks from Japan's top artists, and today we're restocking some of them for you. I'm a big fan of the Bakemonogatari Official Guidebook and the Pixiv Fantastia offering. Rilakkuma Deco Mouse This year has really seen a boom in "DECO" fashions, which means things decorated with bright and flashy colors. Here's a great USB computer mouse featuring Relax Bear made out of colored jewels -- awesome! Miku Hatsune Diva Miku T-shirts Restocked See fresh stock of the awesome official Miku Hatsune T-shirts from COSPA, unique shirts with beautiful designs. Make sure you get your size before they sell out. GATSBY Quick Moving Mist ~ Three Types When the commercial starring Japanese heartthrob Takuya Kimura and a cute little dog went viral on the Japan blogging scene a few days ago, we were inundated with requests for this product. We have it for you now! My Melody Lovely Mini Ring Memo For those of you wanting to spruce up your office with a little Japanese kawaii, here's a Lovely My Melody Mini Ring Memo pad, in the new design for 2010. Happy Buddha Pen Large ears are considered to be good luck among the Japanese, who believe that good luck and especially money will "flow into the ears." This is a seriously wacky pen that features the Great Buddha of Nara with ears you pull down to release the two pens inside. Japanese Fish Parody Fishing Action Strap A wacky fish keychain that opens up like a door when you pull the string. Can even be attached to your iPhone, too. Delicious Snacks from Japan Fun new snacks from Japan today. We have two new flavors of delicious Meiji Copan rusk like snacks, a positively yummy Oreo Chocolate Bar in Strawberry Milk flavor, plus a limited flavor of Choco Ball from Morinaga. Soup Curry FURIKAKE (Sapporo) ~ Japanese Food Furikake The boom in furikake (powered food you sprinkle over rice) continues, and J-List has restocked several flavors for you to sample. Metal Mode Stylish Bento Set Here's an elegant bento lunchbox with a top made of stainless steel, for a super modern look that you will really love carrying with you. Remove the metal lid and it's a standard bento box that's microwave safe. 950ml Volume Lacquered Bento Box Set Need a bento box that looks great and has the volume for heavier eaters to be satisfied with? Then enjoy this great offering from Hakoya which we restocked today. Awesome Japanese Sandwich Makers Remember when you were a kid when you hated eating bread crusts? The Japanese feel your pain, and have developed amazing sandwich cutters which remove the crusts and "seal" your sandwich for you. Several types restocked. Kinchaku Bento Bags by Sanrio Wow, these Hello Kitty, My Melody and Little Twin Stars cloth printed bento bags are great -- carrying your lunch has never been so much fun. All new designs for 2010. Hello Kitty Special BENTO Making Set Then: get the most popular Hello Kitty bento accessories ever with this handy set. You get the Hello Kitty onigiri shaper, furikake sprinkling bottle, vegetable cutter, boiled egg shaper and more. Restocked today. More Totoro Bento Boxes Another day at J-List, another opportunity to type the magic words "Totoro bento boxes" which always makes me happy. Both of the new "Totoro in Flower Garden" bento boxes are restocked. Mousse-chan Fuwa-Fuwa Paper Clay Set When we started carrying the Mousse-chan kami-nendo ("paper clay") fun toy sets, we had no idea they’d be this popular. You take the included molds and make different things, like jewelry or little cakes, which you can dry and display. Several mold sets and clay refills have been posted to the site today. Lucky Cat, Lucky Frog Display Items Increase your personal good luck with the Lucky Cat and Lucky Frog Family decorations that we've restocked today. So cute and so lucky! Restocked Anime Games for PSP, DS Also: fresh stock of the popular Clannad visual novel, compatible with every PSP in the world. Plus, Acquarian Age ~ Perpetual Period for DS owners. Restocked Traditional Things from Japan J-List always stocks cool traditional items from Japan that you never expected to find. Today see the Sushi Non-slip Chopsticks, Green Hello Kitty 3D Kimono Frame Picture, Hand Carved Boxtree Ear Cleaner, and beautiful "Maiko" style decorated combs. Fun Good Luck Charms from Japan Also, got some great authentic omamori good luck charms in red and blue, plus the "Make a Wish Temple Bell" phone strap that's just like those bells you ring before praying for good luck at a Shinto shrine. Money of the Edo Period Also, the gold coins used in the Edo Period were oval shaped, called koban, and we've restocked two different replicas that are really great. Evangelion, One Piece iPhone Screen Protectors Here's a cool item: iPhone screen protectors with awesome Evangelion and One Piece art etched into the protective sheet. Several types you can preorder now. Misao Minakami 1/8 Figure ~ Asura Cryin' *Preorder* We've also posted this incredibly cute figure to the site, based on a popular light novel and new anime. She's a ghost so she can go through walls. Awesome Restocked J-Snacks Finally, enjoy some of our most popular Japanese snacks restocked, including Doritos Tuna and Mayonnaise and Wasabi Mayonnaise, Japanese Kit Kat, Fuwarinka Rose Essence Gum, Kompeito traditional 5 color candy, Meiji Sushi Gummy, Baked Toppo plus Morinaga's awesome caramels in Green Tea and Okinawa Black Sugar. Dengeki Hime Apr 2010 Dengeki Hime (Electronic Shock Princess) focuses to the genre of dating sims and related anime games, always bringing you the most beautiful visual content from the newest titles. Awesome pencil board included free inside! Rrestocked Stress Relief Toys See some amazing toys for taking the edge off after a hard day at work, including Bible Black hole toys, Pepee Lotion and the amazing "Meiki" hole that simulates her first time. Uncho Kanu 1/7 Figure Black Maid Costume *Preorder* This is one of the most amazing anime figures we've ever seen, featuring the hot Kanu from Ikki Tousen / Dragon Destiny in a gorgeous goth-loli outfit...and nothing on underneath. Sengoku Rance Got an excellent new import game for you on our Visual Novels from Japan page, Sengoku Rance by Alice Soft. Preorder it now.
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The time has finally come! Sentai Filmworks has announced that they will be dubbing some of the titles in their catalog that were previously undubbed. And those titles are… Clannad Blue Drop Ghost Hound Legends of the Dark King ~ A Fist of the North Star Story Tears to Tiara This is great news! This is, of course, thanks to all [...] Related posts:Sentai Filmworks Announces Maria†Holic and Skull Man Anime Review: Tears to Tiara (Collection 2: Episodes 14-26) Anime Review: Tears to Tiara (Collection 1: Episodes 1-13)
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Sentai Filmworks has announced plans to dub one of its most popular titles in Clannad along with Blue Drop, Ghost Hound, Legends [Full Article]
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Another promotional video of the upcoming anime Angel Beats!, written by Maeda Jun (Clannad, Air), animated by P.A.Works (Canaan, True Tears), has been streamed on the official site. Clocking to 2:36, it shows some scenes from the anime and a bit of the opening theme song. The opening song is called My Soul, Your Beats! and is performed by magnificent, touching-crystal-voice-endowed songstress Lia (OP from Clannad AS, OP from Air).<object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/b8vKRvYXKsI&amp;hl=cs_CZ&amp;fs=1&amp;"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/b8vKRvYXKsI&amp;hl=cs_CZ&amp;fs=1&amp;" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object>I can't wait. I'm looking forward to this anime very, very much. The animation looks stunning and seems to be very detailed. The voices are quite pleasant as well. As regards the story, just knowing it's written by Maeda Jun convinces me it will be good, if not epic.
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If you can date a fictional character, or the said fictional character happened to exist in real-life, which character would you like to date? Last year I posted 10 female anime characters I want to date, and now here is the list of 10 female anime characters I want to date for 2010! XD#10 Temari from Naruto#9 Ichinose Kotomi from Clannad#8 Sengoku Nadeko from Bakemonogatari#7 Lucy Heartphilia from Fairy Tail#6 Mio from K-ON!#5 Yoko Littner from Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann#4 Jessica Ushiromiya from Umineko no Naku Koro ni#3 Anzu from Hanamaru Youchien#2 Suzumiya Haruhi#1 Izumi KonataDo you have anyone in your head? Mind sharing with me your list of male/female anime characters you want to date? XD
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Furikake (振り掛け or ふりかけ) is a dry Japanese condiment or topping used to sprinkle on top of rice to give them more of a flavour. They can consist of a variety of things - a mixture of sesame seeds, chopped seaweed, sugar, salt, and grounded meat (can be fish, beef, chicken etc). You can get them in different flavours to your liking as seen in the picture above.Furikake on top of a spoon. This one is a salmon one so you can see the pink ground salmon granules along with the sesame seeds and chopped seaweed.Furikake sprinkled on my lazily made fried rice for last night's dinner. I might have used a bit too much, but it's more than enough to show you how it looks like I suppose.Closer shot of furikake on top of my fried riceAs for anime reference, I can only think of one example right now:Ushio about to sprinkle furikake a bowl of rice, as seen in CLANNAD ~AFTER STORY~Image from Random CuriosityFurikake usually come in packages or bags, and are common in Japanese food stores and supermarkets; I can buy them quite easily in Hong Kong too. Coincidently Danny Choo has a post about it some time ago too. Have you tried furikake before, and if you do what do you think of it?
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