Man, Gainax and their sexy 14 yr olds. But thanks to them, Evangelion thrives beyond a decade and I managed to enjoy my 1st ep of Gurren Lagann. Yoko was awesome (love girls with humongous erm… weapons) but Kamina was near unbearable. It’s just that I’ve heard so much about him being GAR and [...]
(Read the rest of this entry) (Entry meta)

Ah, it’s Father’s Day over here, so here are some good and not so good anime dads. I tried to highlight fathers in recent series, because we can’t keep milking Evangelion for inspiration. It’s surprising how few have much of a role in anime series. Most of the time they are just [...]
(Read the rest of this entry) (Entry meta)

Alright, so I stole this idea from absolute0 from here. Azumanga 05 Dennou Coil 10 Darker than Black 09 Rebuild of Evangelion Honey and Clover 13 I haven’t seen Higurashi either, anyway. Eva’s is the most ominous with the longest chirp, and I think, in the case of DtB, that is the only time we hear cicadas. I may update this [...]
(Read the rest of this entry) (Entry meta)

First anime DVD purchase (from The Right Stuf International, who else? :P) for this year. In contrast to my 2007 purchases, this batch consists of shows that first aired back in the ancient times: 1995 (Slayers, Evangelion), 1996 (Nadesico, Slayers Next) and 1997 (Slayers Try). This wave of nostalgia was very much promoted by recent [...]
(Read the rest of this entry) (Entry meta)

The hugely popular Neon Genesis Evangelion Asuka/Rei rearing/kyouiku games have just received another iteration, under the title of 新世紀エヴァンゲリオン 綾波育成計画DS with アスカ補完計画 / Shinseiki Evangelion Ayanami Rearing Plan DS with Asuka Supplementary Plan, due for release on August 28th, starting out at ¥5,000. It looks as though the game will follow the pattern of previous games [...]
(Read the rest of this entry) (Entry meta)

After I bought the Evangelion 1.01 DVD and got the non-Ayanami Rei film strip, I did the unthinkable!…I enter the dark realm of japanese auctions and actually bid on one Ayanami Rei film strip!….Oh, the humanity! There are many things I learnt over there. Japanese Otaku has TONS of money to spend. Imagine someone buying a [...]
(Read the rest of this entry) (Entry meta)

The Evangelion 1.01 DVD introductory booklet finally arrived in the mail together with a replacement DVD for my faulty one. Tested and it works. Scene 6 is able to go over to scene 7 smoothly without any problems.The introductory booklet (in red) isn’t very interesting. It’s a wordy read. I only managed to read through the first few pages where the film markers explained the concept of the new Eva movies and also introduction of the characters. Beyond that it starts to get boring with technical details on how the movie is made.Anyway now that I have a new DVD, I will like to give away my faulty one. The DVD is region code 3. The only issue is that when scene 6 ends it will go back to the main menu instead of to scene 7. You must manually select scene 7 to continue watching the movie. Other than this small glitch, everything else is OK.So if your DVD player or PC is able to play code 3 discs and you are ok with the bug, please drop a comment here with your e-mail address in this format xxx [at] xxx [dot] com. In case more that one person is interested, please select a random number from 1 to 20. The one whose number is the same or closest as to what I have in mind will win. Closing date is this Sunday 22th June.PS: Only the DVD will be given. No box. ^^
(Read the rest of this entry) (Entry meta)

Utada Hikari - Prisoner of Love (27.3MB, PSP/Quicktime format) I first heard Utada Hikaru when she sang Hikari/Simple and Clean, the main theme for SquareEnix's/Disney's PS2 game, Kingdom Hearts. I thought the song was fantastic whether it was in English, Japanese, or instrumental. I found out back then that Utada was born in New York to Japanese parents but moved to Tokyo in late 1998. Her birth name is actually 「宇多田光」(her first name written in Kanji instead of Katakana as usually seen in her official performance name). Despite this, I don't pay much attention to her other songs just like I don't pay much attention to songs by other singers unless they really catch my attention. Fast forward summer 2007, Rebuild of Evangelion was released and the film came with a main theme, Beautiful World. I think that song is pretty good and sounds like a representation of what the characters in the movie should feel about their life. Despite this, I don't think the song was memorable as a stand-alone song.
(Read the rest of this entry) (Entry meta)

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. Wild Flower -- Shunya Yamashita illustrations. Shunya Yamashita is the master illustrator who has created so many amazing works, and had them turned into pre-painted anime figures, too. His new artbook is in stock and ready for you to order! Japanese T-Shirt - "I Would Die for Haruhi." A great new J-List T-shirt design, this is for anyone who loves Haruhi Suzumiya, a girl bored with school who has no interest in ordinary humans, instead seeking to meet aliens, time travelers, sliders or espers. If you love Haruhi, this is a great shirt for you! Tabitha 1/8 Figure ~ Zero no Tsukaima *Preorder*. This is Tabitha, a powerful magic user from the popular anime Zero no Tsukaima, now rendered as a 1/8 scale figure that's just beautiful. She gets her name from the daughter of Samantha in Bewitched, or I'm a monkey's uncle. Our only stock of this figure is in now. Hello Kitty DX Bento Box Set ~ Natural Leaf. This is a great deluxe bento box set that comes with everything you need for a delicious Japanese boxed lunch experience: multi-tier bento box, chopsticks w/ case, carrying bag, and a cool mold for pressing your rice into a cool bento shape. My Melody Stackable Mug Cup. Wow, this is a really cool Sanrio cup, suitable either for little or big fingers. Features the super cute My Melody, the cute character that's been part of the Sanrio pantheon since 1975. Her pink lamb friend named Piano is also on the cup. Tabitha 1/8 Figure ~ Zero no Tsukaima. Wow, this is a really nice figure of Tabitha, the character from Zero no Tsukaima that combines the skill of Hermione Granger, the mysterious personality of Rei Ayanami and a great reference to the mother of all magical girls, Samantha. Swinging Popsicle - GO ON. Dig into amazing Japanese popular music with this great music CD, released in the U.S. for the enjoyment of fans. Great for fans of JPOP music. Hello Kitty Insect Repellent Patch ~ 12 pcs. Keep insects at bay this year the cute way, with these Hello Kitty patches that will keep mosquitoes from buzzing around you. Comes in a resealable envelope so the other patches won't dry out before you use them. Microwave Potato Chip Maker. Why buy store-bought potato chips when you can make your own at home, using this wacky microwave potato chip maker from Japan. Back in stock today! DECO Bento Set - Cutters for Decoration Bento. Add cute shapes to your bento with the cookie-cutter-like molds that can be used to cut food into cute shapes like rabbits, cats, cars and more. Can also make rice balls into various cute shapes. Pink Goth Style Cat Bento Box Set, More. See fresh stock of our Goth Style Cat Bento Box, complete with cool French printed on the surface, as well as the basic Hana-Nami Simple and Compact Bento Set. Also, more of those awesome soy sauce bottles! The Lone Samurai. Here's a remarkable book: a biography of Miyamoto Musashi, one of the most famous samurai swordsmen from the Edo Period, and a fascinating read for anyone interested in Japanese history. Lots of Restocked Genki Study Books. Since we love Japan and want to encourage people all over the world to study the language, J-List sells many study related items. Today we've got a massive restocking of the bestselling Genki textbook series, including all volumes of the textbook, workbook, student CDs and teacher answer keys. Enjoy! Sonic Diver "Raijin" ~ Sky Girls *Preorder*. I love the Sky Girls series -- the idea of beautiful girls piloting World War II-derived giant robots is just too cool. Here's the newest in the series, Raijin, which comes with a figure that can ride inside the vehicle. Rei Ayanami 1/7 Figure Goth-Loli ver. ~ Neon Genesis Evangelion *Preorder*. The upcoming Rei Ayanami figure is a gorgeous one, and you can preorder it now for fast shipping when it comes in this October. This figure is a large 1/7 scale so it's going to look great. Studio Ghibli Toys. Got more Studio Ghibli restocked items for you today, including one of my favorite-ever Cat Bus toys, and the very same Kiki's Delivery Service playing cards I use when I play cards with my kids. Restocked Fun Snacks from Japan. Finally, look for fresh stock of popular snack items, including Pocari Sweat Powder, Toppo Baked Chocolate Stick, Bontan Ame with a wrapper you can eat since it's made of rice, Peko-chan Milky Candy, and the very fun Save the Goldfish Game, with gummy goldfish you can save and eat. Dengeki Hime May 2008. One of the leading magazines for fans of bishoujo game and anime characters, Dengeki Hime ("Electric Shock Princess") never lets you down, with tons of pages of glossy ero goodness. Comes with a limited figure from Fortune Arterial, free. New Ero Manga. Gorgeous new "H" manga posted to the site today, including an anthology of manga stories featuring gorgeous girls in China Dresses, as well as a deep manga exploring hitozuma themes. Queen's Gate -- Iroha (Samurai Spirits). Fans of the Queen's Blade book-based combat RPG, which can be enjoyed as really excellent artbooks even if you never take up the game part, rejoice: we've gotten in fresh stock of the runaway hit Queen's Gate book featuring Iroha from Samurai Spirits.
(Read the rest of this entry) (Entry meta)

Weekly Shounen Sunday has confirmed that, after nearly 12 years, the InuYasha manga will be ending in next week's issue. I've seen a lot of discussion recently about CODE GEASS R2's relatively poor television ratings. Apparently it's on the upswing, as episode nine got a 3.3%, the highest of any R2 episode so far. The previous high was a 3.0% for the premiere episode, and the low was 1.4% for episode four. In comparison, Gundam 00 got a 4.5% when its episode nine aired last year, but the caveat to that is that Gundam 00 had an arguably superior time slot. The Japanese blog AAA~Yuukyuu no Kaze~ has the full numbers for last week along with a handy chart comparing the ratings of every major Saturday/6PM series so far with R2. The Macross Frontier soundtrack is not only good, but it's also been selling quite well, having moved over 72,000 copies and staying in the #2 or #3 spot for the past week. As the Mainichi.jp article notes, no anime soundtrack has done this well since the End of Evangelion one almost 11 years ago. The website for the upcoming Hakushaku to Yousei series has updated with staff and cast listings. Notables include Mizuki Nana and Sugita Tomokazu. The website for the upcoming Strike Witches series has updated its staff and airdates listings. (Note: this is the new television series starting in July, not the OVA from last year) The Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu website has been redesigned. TV Tokyo has posted its preliminary website for the upcoming World Destruction series. The show is set to premiere on TV Tokyo on the night of July 7th. If you find anything that you think I should mention on any particular day’s Daily Dose, please send me an email with the words “ANIME NEWS” somewhere in the subject line. Image at left courtesy of ゆうや on pixiv (account needed to access).
(Read the rest of this entry) (Entry meta)