
Anime deserving of a prime time airing on Japanese TV during “golden time” rather than the graveyard late night slot it actually received have been fastidiously ranked by fans, for once revealing a fairly pragmatic set of choices.
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Naruto mangaka Masashi Kishimoto has been busily embarrassing Narutards with his first ever TV interview, revealing that he initially planned Naruto “to be about ramen” and that “it is aimed at boys in middle school.” Read the rest of this entry »

The costumes chosen for Sengoku Basara’s upcoming TV drama adaptation “Sengoku Basara Moonlight Party” have become the subject of mass ridicule online, although some are of the opinion they are so bad the show must actually be a must-watch…
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- Author: Artefact
- Categories: Anime, News
- Date: Jul 1, 2012 02:58 JST
- Tags: AKB48, Censorship, Idol, Internet, Marketing, Otaku, Production Controversy, TV, Twitter

Major anime broadcaster Tokyo MX has been forced to make a grovelling apology after one of its bosses called the company’s involvement in the creation of an AKB anime “shameful.”
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Nadia fans have been decrying NHK’s decision to censor its rerun of the classic show’s much prized 12th episode by airbrushing out the African princess’s nipples.
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Japanese TV’s loving coverage of these charming 11-year-old fashionistas has been doing the rounds, with their precocious looks astonishing, and delighting, many – not least the TV station.
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British musician Noel Gallagher, of “Oasis” fame, has caused a storm of controversy online after his less than flattering comments about AKB48 were circulated on 2ch, enraging their notoriously dedicated fans into attack mode.
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With fuss over the content of late night anime as vociferous as ever, anime fans have been pondering the question of whether there really are any late night anime titles which are safe for family viewing, and if so, what they are.
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- Author: Artefact
- Categories: Japan, News
- Date: May 18, 2012 04:03 JST
- Tags: 2ch, AT-X, Copyright, Hacking, Mass Media, Otaku, Technology, Toshiba, TV

Japan’s “B-CAS” smart card system has been completely cracked, allowing free viewing of almost all the country’s premium satellite and cable channels.
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- Author: Artefact
- Categories: Japan, News
- Date: Apr 19, 2012 19:30 JST
- Tags: AKB48, Censorship, Food, Idol, Marketing, Politics, TV, Video Gallery, Yuri

AKB48′s notorious mouth-to-mouth feeding CM campaign has come under fire for everything from promoting the evils of female homosexuality to putting innocent children at risk of infection with horrible diseases.
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Anime fans have leapt to the defence of late night anime after Japan’s top TV watchdog published yet another complaint about the fact stations are allowed to broadcast such depraved shows, even in the middle of the night.
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Not only are almost 90% of One Piece readers adult, most of the adult readership is at or past middle-age and quickly getting older, a far cry from the kiddy image stereotypically associated with many shonen manga titles.
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