The long awaited release of the new Slayers anime, Slayers Revolution, after an 11 year hiatus, is heating up with the start of the manga version, being serialised in Dragon Age – see here for some more detail. Whilst it would probably be an exaggeration to say the manga adaptations of Slayers have ever been highly regarded in comparison to the excellent anime and novels, it is heartening to see Lina Inverse and company back in action after such a long gap – who can doubt that Megumi Hayashibara will reprise her role with as much gusto as ever?
More Details on クロスエッジ / Cross Edge / XEdge, the newly announced PS3 mixed franchise RPG are provided here by Famitsu. When I first heard of this game, I was sceptical, and seeing those screens (which look distinctly PS2 in calibre), and also hearing the somewhat mixed reception in the Japanese blogosphere has done nothing to allay my concerns, even if it does include Etna.
Including a bunch of popular characters from a variety of games and then letting the player dress them up might cut it for a dojin game, but my suspicion is that such a pastiche of characters will not result in a rewarding story. Perhaps it could more accurately be thought of as charcter goods. Still, it remains to be seen how this will turn out; the developers involved can hardly be keen for their characters to be involved in a licensing debacle (or can they?).
Those familiar with eroge and novels will know the two often intersect, with relatively frequent novelisations of erotic games being a feature of the genre; so it was with interest that I read a very firm rebuttal of the worry voiced that these conversions are slipping. Half Moon Diary provides a revealing graph, showing that novel releases are roughly stable at around 60 per year from two of the major publishers, and an impressive grand total of 540 titles since publishing got started in 1996. “官能小説 / sensual novels” are certainly popular in Japan, though I’m not sure these numbers comprise much more than a small fraction of the market, to say nothing of light novels and the like.
A renter is suing his landlord based on the fact he was not told the property is supposedly haunted, for ¥5,000,000 ($50,000 – not insignificant by the paltry standards of Japanese settlements). He apparently rented the property ignorant of the alleged supernatural presence, opened an eatery there, and after being told by a friend of the ghostly presence, he claims to have witnessed spectral apparitions and heard strange noises. Now he wants his key money back, as well as some compensation to make up for the undead onslaught.
This sort of thing actually has a whole body of legislation and jurisprudence surrounding it – it is called “stigmatised property”, and frequently there is a duty to disclose such circumstances, though the actual existence of spectres is not something the courts care to deal with. Though usually this applies to not being able to resell a property, rather than merely being an inconvenienced renter. On the other hand, these properties can be made into valuable investment opportunities. Via Itainews.
It is being reported that three arrests have been made by Kyoto police for unauthorised distribution of copyrighted material (Gundam anime is mentioned) using anonymous P2P network Share, abortive successor to Winny, and these are the first arrests for using this network. Such reports do deserve critical reception, however, as they are inevitably presented such as to further the interests of law enforcement and copyright concerns, so some more careful analysis is required.
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The recently announced らき☆すた/Lucky Star OVA has attracted much attention, and now details on the story for the OVA (and confirmation of a summer drama CD) have emerged in Newtype; it seems it will be based on the rivalry (actually I am struggling to describe this relationship) between Konata and the Animate store manager (“アニメ店長/Anime Tenchou”) – source here.
Forbes identifies Japan’s richest man as former Nintendo boss Hiroshi Yamauchi, in their list of the top 40 richest Japanese – naturally his appearance is due largely to the colossal success of the Nintendo Wii. I kept an eye open for anime/manga concerns in the list, but I didn’t see any (unless you count Eva themed pachinko machines); I presume these concerns are all subsumed into big media and publishing groups, and so their founders and bosses are just humdrum media moguls. There are, however, plenty of game related concerns in there.
The list makes interesting reading; leaving aside the numerous internet entrepreneurs, there are some familiar companies contributing their founders and managers: at number 25, we find Enix founder and Final Fantasy kingpin Yasuhiro Fukushima, with just over a billion dollars to his name, at 34 we find Konami founder Kagemasa Kozuki, with $790 million, close on his heels at 36 with $760 million is Sega Sammy boss Hajime Satomi, and Koei founders and Nobunaga’s Ambition creators Keiko and Yoichi Erikawa just squeeze onto the list at 39 with $720 million. Well done to them all.
Looks like the inevitable stream of ToLOVEる/To Love-Ru games is getting started. The title is given as “To LOVEる – とらぶる – ワクワク！ 林間学校編”, “To Love-Ru – Wakuwaku! Outdoor School Story”. It is to be an adventure game for the Nintendo DS with 3D stylus probing action reminiscent of a certain witch fondling game. Screens and source at Famitsu. No word on just how raunchy things will get; with To Love-Ru we seem to have quite a wide range of ecchiness, but being on a Nintendo system I would wager it will be on the tamer side.
As Tears to Tiara has piqued my interest, and with recent details looking all the more promising, I couldn’t help but notice this comparison of the character designs for the PS3 versus those for the PC (large picture mirrored here); looking like a vast improvement in art (downloading the PC version CGs no longer looks very appealing does it?) and a promising game, even if it is a shame to lose the erotic elements of the game. Still, if that is the price to pay for the next generation reincarnation, perhaps it is worth paying…
It is confirmed – the latest Haruhi game for the Wii will be a dancing game, involving timing Haruhi and company’s dancing with the Wiimote. Some details from the scans here and here: there will be a story mode advanced by skilful dancing, a free mode in which you can freely choose costumes, music and stage, and the dancing will be accomplished with three characters, so Kyon is unlikely to feature with Haruhi, Nagato and Mikuru on hand. Apparently, there will also be a version packaged with a figure.
I’m not sure what to make of this – the Haruhi dancing is charming, and undeniably popular if we are to find a rational explanation for the sales of figma Kyon, but whether this can sustain an entire game is another question. However, compared to the usual spin-off adventure games, this may be a fresh approach. Source here.
Original “gyaru” makeover of Bandai’s MG Gyan currently up for auction. Seller is looking for at least ¥50,000, and so far is up to ¥39,000, with 5 days to go. The auction proclaims one of their female staff was inspired to give a more feminine air to the Gyan – and what an excellent job she has done. More pics at the auction, which was brought to my attention at FG. Since the pics will likely go with auction completion, I have taken the liberty of mirroring them below, along with a pic of the original.
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Korean media and censorship advocacy groups are blaming a Daegu elementary school gang rape incident on the evils of games, specifically an innocent Japanese DS game where the player is tasked with defending his school from the evils of witchcraft (which, in a nod to historical accuracy, just happens to involve probing the intimate areas of the suspected witch, deaf to her pleas of relent). I needn’t bore you with the shrill cries already arisen to ban the interwebs for the sake of the children.
All most unfortunate, I’m sure you’d agree, but what is the game called and where can you get it? The game is “どきどき魔女神判！/Dokidoki Majo Shinpan!” (Dokidoki Witch Holy Judgement), for the Nintendo DS. The game involves searching the bodies of suspected witches for the witchmark which marks all witches as a consequence of their diabolic pacts – your probing is guided by the stylus. The sequel is also due out in a month or two and can be pre-ordered now, complete with nendoroid, so you should still have time to finish the first one.
The irony of a game about hunting witches triggering an actual witchhunt has unfortunately been lost on commentators thus far – I assume that the term simply doesn’t translate in Korean? This all brought to my attention on Itainews.
Togijo no Senhime: Another Story Unexpectedly Gory
Coming of Age Day Illustrations Quite Formal
Atelier Shallie Plus Trailers Unbearably Cute
Pyramid Head’s Great Knife Replicated
Mortal Kombat X DLC More Gruesome Than Ever
Top 10 Most Anticipated Anime of Winter 2016
Splatoon “Super Play Time” Absolutely Cringe-worthy
Saijaku Muhai no Bahamut “Dragons & Mechs?”
Monster Hunter X Megaman Event Profusely Blue
Love Live! Sunshine!! MV “Will Brighten Up Your Day!”
Top 10 Best Anime Girls of 2015
Hai to Gensou no Grimgar “Has Oppai!”
Picking Up Japan Express Vol. 36 Worth a Pickup
Dimension W Out Of This World
Odin Sphere: Leifthrasir PV Certainly Nostalgic
One-Punch Man Soundtrack PV Packs A Wallop
XmasTrickStar “A White Christmas Indeed…”
Wo-Class Carrier Ero-MMD In Dire Straights
Voice Translation Tool Promotional Video “Inexcusable!”
Luck & Logic Far From Lucky
Yandere Simulator Possibly Headed to Kickstarter
Top 20 Recent Anime Most In Need Of A Sequel
Hyrule Warriors Legends PV Clashes Interminably
Akagami no Shirayukihime English Dub Surfaces
Koukaku no Pandora Really Opens That Box
Gate Season 2 Darker Than Ever
Super Sweet Sonico Bikini Figure
Top 10 Naughtiest Late Night Anime
Shoujo-tachi Mezasu Seemingly Innocent
Final Fantasy XIV Lord of Verminion Trailer Highly Adorable
Dagashi Kashi “A Total Sugar Rush!”
Legend of Zelda Ero-SFM Trailer Supremely Magical
Shingeki no Kyojin Fan Game Swoops In
Musaigen no Phantom World: “KyoAni’s Oppai Anime!?”
Hypnotize My Girlfriend Quite Entrancing
Haruchika Blows Nicely
Is The Order Omame Onahole Parody
The Asterisk War Trailer Battles Fiercely
Top 10 Anime Songs of 2015
Oni Chi Chi Refresh Beach Bikini Bonanza
To Love-Ru Darkness Absolutely Mouth-Watering
Love Live! Movie Museum “Idols Everywhere!”