The Casual Geek

On the Horizon

2009-05-07T17:39:00.002-05:00

Hey boys and girls sitting there reading this poor excuse of a blog, prepare for a podcast that's even worst. It's name Casual Geek, it's purpose to bore you to tears with everything under the geeky sun. So look out for this podcast coming in the near future.

Wolverine

2009-05-03T19:36:00.000-05:00

OK before I say anything I thought the movie could have been better than it was, but I still enjoyed the movie. I felt that it stayed as close as it could to the origins of Wolverine, but you also have to take into account that Logan's origin has changed a lot. And I also think that they handled the other characters very well, after all the movie was about Wolverine not Deadpool or the Blob so they aren't going to be totally true them. Speaking of Deadpool I think they did a great job with him, I think they really captured him really loving his job. So overall I really enjoyed the movie, but they could have done better, and I think that Marvel will continue to get better with there movies.

You Can Assassinate Me Any Time

2009-04-22T19:26:00.002-05:00

Who doesn't love assassins, they can sneak up behind you snap your neck then have a sandwich in the deli down the street. And we all know how the video game industry feels about them just look at Ubisoft's 2007 hit Assassin's Creed. So it was no surprise to me when I heard about Velvet Assassin, and I wasn't surprised about the main character being a woman. I mean come on it was only a matter of time. But I was surprised to see how they are treating the main character. For those of you who aren't in the 'know' Velvet Assassin is an upcoming World War 2 stealth-action game in which you play as Violette Summer, who is based on real life WWII secret agent Violette Szabo. Anyways the game takes place in a hospital, but really you will be playing through flashbacks of Violette's memories of being a secret agent. So now that we got people up to speed let's get back to why Violette's treatment pleasantly surprised me. I was shocked because she isn't wearing some tight skimpy outfit, she actually wears proper clothing and seems like a very strong character. Also her breast aren't huge melons. This gives me hope that there will be more strong realistic lead women characters in video games. If you need more proof check out this video:

Hello World!!!

2009-03-13T22:18:00.002-05:00

Hello Internet!!! I'm the Casual Geek, and I'm here to take you with unnecessarily brutal force. So prepare to be bombarded with unwanted and unneeded blog posts about video games, anime, tech, and anything else that I decide is note worthy. So prepare for the end of the Internet and it's tubes!

YOU JUST GOT SERVED!!

2008-12-22T17:37:00.002-06:00

Zune, Did You Do Something to To Your Hair?

2008-09-20T14:27:00.002-05:00

Hi everybody it's your friendly neighborhood blogger NightRoad! Now I know I haven't posted anything lately, but don't blame me blame school.

Now lets get down to what this post is really about, lets talk Zunes. If you own a Zune you might have noticed some changes. Like the fact that you can use it to summon a DRAGON!!!! Sadly this is not true, but there are some pretty awesome changes. For example you can now tag songs on your FM radio so you can later buy it in the Zune Market Place. You can also use wireless hotspots to access the Market Place. You can buy songs, share changes with friends, and update channels. Speaking of channels they are customized playlists that are made by people like DJs, celebrities, and music experts. But the best new feature of them all is the ability for the Zune to play games. Yes you read right, you can now play games on your Zune. Now so far I haven't found anything on the Market Place where I can buy games, but the upgrade to your comes with the two games, Hexic and Texas Hold'em. I haven't really played Texas Hold'em, but I have played Hexic and it's a good little time waster.

And that folks is the Zune 3.0 upgrade, I hope that kinda persuades some people to at least try the Zune.

Live Action Blood

2008-08-14T08:54:00.002-05:00

Reportedly Universal Studios will be releasing Chris Nahon's live-action film adaption of the Blood: The Last Vampire anime film in North America. They plan on releasing it on 2,000 screens in North America next March.

The Ultimate ULITIMATE Gaming Rig

2008-08-06T16:06:00.002-05:00

While searching the interwebs I came across the ultimate gaming rig. So this guy who wants to remain nameless, is a PC installer, and helped build it for a goverment office. But after building it he did what any gamer would do, he played some Bioshock and World of Warcraft. All I gotta say is, 'Can you build me one?'

FUNimation Talks Finances

2008-08-05T17:49:00.002-05:00

During an August 4th conference call with investors, Navarre CEO Cary L. Deacon revealed that Afro Samurai generated $4.5 million at wholesale, about $9 million retail, for FUNimation. FUNimation also expects its distribution of former Geneon & AD Vision titles to earn $15 to $20 million in sales, or $7 to $10 million at wholesale cost. Navarre expects FUNimation’s sales to increase by a double digit percentage in the forthcoming financial year.

Rock Band The Tour?

2008-08-04T01:55:00.002-05:00

Yes you heard me right there will be an official Rock Band Tour. Now when I first heard about this I was a little bit against it. But once I found out you will actually be able to get up on stage and rock out on Rock Band I had a change of heart. And the line up isn't that bad either, you got Panic at the Disco, Dashboard Confessional, Plain White Ts, and The Cab. But before you start saying, 'I'm going to be able to rock out with Panic!' You will have to compete for it. The competitions will be local held by the radio stations, so be ready to bring your A game.

Tour Dates:

» 10/5 - San Diego, CA @ San Diego Sports Arena
» 10/8 - Glendale, AZ @ Jobing.com Arena
» 10/9 - Las Vegas, NV @ Hard Rock Outdoors
» 10/10 - Los Angeles, CA @ Staples Center
» 10/11 - San Jose, CA @ San Jose State Event Center Arena
» 10/12 - Sacramento, CA @ Arco Arena
» 10/14 - Everett, WA @ Everett Events Center
» 10/16 - Salt Lake City, UT @ The E Center
» 10/17 - Denver, CO @ Broomfield Events Center
» 10/18 - Lincoln, NE @ Pershing Auditorium
» 10/19 - St. Louis, MO @ Scottrade Center
» 10/21 - Minneapolis, MN @ Target Center
» 10/22 - Chicago, IL @ Allstate Arena
» 10/23 - Ypsilanti, MI @ EMU Convocation Center
» 10/24 - Toronto, ON @ Arrow Hall
» 10/28 - Bridgeport, CT @ Arena at Harbor Yard
» 10/29 - Lowell, MA @ Tsongas Arena
» 10/31 - Washington, DC @ Patriot Center
» 11/1 - Philadelphia, PA @ Wachovia Spectrum
» 11/2 - Newark, NJ @ Prudential Center
» 11/4 - Atlanta, GA @ Gwinnett Center
» 11/6 - Tampa, FL @ USF Sun Dome
» 11/7 - Miami, FL @ Bank United Center
» 11/8 - Gainesville, FL @ University of Florida O'Connell Center
» 11/9 - Orlando, FL @ UCF Arena
» 11/11 - Bossier City, LA @ CenturyTel Center
» 11/12 - Dallas, TX @ Nokia Theatre
» 11/13 - Austin, TX @ Frank Erwin Center
» 11/14 - Houston, TX @ Reliant Arena

Bonen no Xamdou: First Look!

2008-07-18T16:35:00.002-05:00

Let me begin by saying I am a mega-huge fan of the BONES animation studio. In my mind, they have been constantly been delivering some of the best anime to date, and they are breaking ground in amazing and engaging sci-fi series. So, imagine my enthusiasm when I heard they were putting out a new series! With character designs like those in Eureka Seven (which is one of my favourite shows), robots, mysterious girls, possible explosions... Well. I nearly wet my pants. As of now, I can't wait for episode two!!

Bonen no Xamdou (or Xam'd: Lost Memories) is a feast of heavenly proportions for me. Everything about it is stunning, interesting. The animation is slick, in my preferred style and design. The story struck a chord with me right off of the bat. It left me desiring more. Desperately desiring.

The story goes like this. (And, because I feel lazy and my stomach is full of Subway, big thanks to MAL for the synopsis.) "Sentan Island is a small island surrounded by the Yuden Sea. It exists in a state of dreamlike tranquility, cut off from the war between the Northern Government and the Southern Continent Free Zone. Our hero, Akiyuki Takehara, lives on Sentain Island along with his mother Fusa. He is currently separated from his father, the town doctor Ryuzo, but the bond between father and son remains. One day, after taking Ryuzo the lunch that Fusa has made for him as usual, Akiyuki arrives at school, where he is caught up in an explosion along with his friends, Haru and Furuichi. The explosion produces a mysterious light, which enters Akiyuki's arm, causing him excruciating pain. He's given no time to understand it, however, as the white-haired girl who rode on the bus with him guides him to a power unlike anything he's ever known." It will apparently be twenty-six episodes long, which is a little bit of a shame. And yet... I'm in love!

The opening and ending animation has English themes playing along with it, which I find an interesting touch. Basic rock with guitar melody, a techno grove, echoing singing that makes your foot tap and makes you want to wave you r hands in the air, wave a cigarette lighter, or break out your rave gear. It's already making my head bob. The music playing during scenes instantly stole my heart away. Time to start hoarding money again for another soundtrack...

I am so ecstatic and excited for Xam'd. It has great potential to be one of the best shows of the season, or maybe the year, and I will be along with it every step of the way. I have the feeling Bandai Entertainment will want to pick it up... And I will buy it if things keep going this strongly. Totally.

So, if you are interested, well... America is getting this series two months before Japan. Go download it on your Sony PlayStation in high definition for $3.75, or standard quality for $2.82. It is reportedly the most-downloaded item on the American Sony store so far! It has Japanese audio and English subs.

I highly recommend this. Very highly. Uber-high. Go buy it now. Please.

Miss M ;D

E3: Activision and Konami

2008-07-16T18:34:00.002-05:00

Here's the last two events

P.S.
Activision isn't technically apart of E3.

The IPhone is hood

2008-07-15T22:50:00.002-05:00

E3: Ubisoft and Capcom

2008-07-15T22:32:00.002-05:00

Here's all two events

E3: Sony

2008-07-15T15:08:00.002-05:00

Sony's Press Conference wasn't everything I hoped for, but it was better than Nintendo's bore fest. But anyway lets jump right into it.

First off lets start with the big announcement that the earlier games for the PS3 will get a price drop to 29.99. And there will be a Batman Lego PS2 bundle pack for $149, and there will be a Ratchet and Clank Size Matters PSP entertainment pack.

Speaking of Ratchet and Clank, there will be a PSN RC game called Quest for Booty. It follows what happens after the disappearance of Clank. And it will be available for $14.

There will also be a Resistance game on the PSP called Retribution. There was also gameplay footage of Resistance 2.

Also there were trailers for Infamous and God of War 3 that seem to be awesome games.

But on the online side of things there were trailers for to new online games for the PS3. DC Universe Online and MAG(Massive Action Game), both two excellent game.

And that was pretty much it.

E3: Nintendo

2008-07-15T12:12:00.002-05:00

Today they had the Nintendo Press Conference, and to tell you the truth it was disappointing. I actually got a headache just watching. But lets forget about that and focus on the announcements.

There aren't really that many note worthy announcements. They really just focused on sales and casual gaming. First off they showed how they used the balance board for Shaun White Snowboarding. The board seemed very intuitive to your movements, in fact there are a couple more games that use the balance board. Like the new Rayman Raving Rabbits game where, from what they showed, you hold the Wiimote and Nunchuck as handlebars and you sit on the board to direct the rabbit. You also use the board in Nintendo's big game Wii Music. In this game use over 50 instruments to play music all with the Wiimote and balance board. Now unlike normal music games you don't have to cue up your button presses with the notes. Actually there are no notes at all. There's also a new Wii Sports game called Wii Sports Resort. In this game you play a lot of summer activities with the Wii. But the big thing about this game is the fact that it comes with Wiimotion Plus. Now Wiimotion is an add on to your Wiimote that enhances the response of your movements. Another game that uses a new feature is Animal Crossing: City Folk. What really makes this game special is the fact that it uses a mic called Wii Speak. It's not a headset, it's an open room mic. I really hope they use this one with Super Smash Bros Brawl, so that I can trash talk some seven year old kid in front of his mom. Also another game I'm sorta excited for is Star Wars Clone Wars. This game doesn't have a light saber controller, but it seems that you really use the controllers as if were a real saber.

Now for the DS. The only game note worthy on the DS is Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars. A GTA game for the DS not much is known about it yet.

So that's pretty much it not much else.

EA Press Conference

2008-07-14T23:10:00.002-05:00

Here's the full version of EA's Press Conference.

E3: Microsoft Part 2

2008-07-14T16:24:00.002-05:00

Now it's time for part 2. In this post I'll be talking about the upgrades to the 360, and the new partners of Xbox live.

First lets start out with the upgrades. When I first saw these I almost screamed in joy. The upgrades includes a sleeker version of the dashboard, a new gamers card, and new avatars. Now the avatars are basically upgraded versions of the Miis. You will have more options available to you. The upgraded system is very smooth you can go from chat to stream photos to playing a game.

Now lets get to the new partnerships. The first big partnership is NBC and Universal. But the one I'm most excited for is the partnership with Netflix. This new partnership will allow you to watch Netflix movies directly on your 360 at no extra charge.

These announcements make me happy that I own a 360.

E3: Microsoft Part 1

2008-07-14T14:08:00.002-05:00

Since the Microsoft Spotlight was filled with so much goodness this post is a two parter. This post will be all about the game, and the second will be about the upgrades.

Okay lets start off with the Fallout 3 demo. It was awesome it met all of my expectations and more. It was so amazing to watch body parts flying in the air. I have no complaints for this game so far.

Now lets sink our teeth into the Resident Evil 5 demo. The demo really showed off the the co-op element of the game. Since I've never played a Resident Evil game, I can't say much else that would give it the credit it deserves so here's the demo.

Next up the infamous Fable 2. The demo looked great, I loved the the fact that you can walk up to one of your friends and invite them into your world. But I don't plan on playing this game. It's just not my type of game.

Now it's time for a heavy hitter Gears of War 2. This demo was simply wonderful, the graphics were amazing. The combat was mind blowing, and the sheer chaos of it was tempting. I'm definitely pre-ordering this one.

Now with new upgrades comes new features, and one of those features is a new game. This game is called Primetime it's a game where your avatar can star in a game show such as 1 vs. 100.

Now lets move on to the new games in the Arcade.

First off we got Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2. This Geometry Wars still has all the fast paced action and seizure inducing graphics we've come to know and love.

Next we got a 'true' sequel of Galaga which basically looks like a rip off of Geometry Wars.

They've also announced a South Park game on the Arcade.

But the game that made me giggle with glee is Portal: Still Alive. At E3 the game was announced by everybodys favorite homicidal AI GLaDOS. This game is said to have new levels and achievements.

Also there will be an exclusive Grand Theft Auto 4 episode on Xbox Live. And on the new Viva Pinata game you will be able too use your Pinata trading cards to put Pinatas in the game. Guitar Hero World Tour will ship with more than 85 games, and Metallica put have there whole album up for download on the game. But on the other side of the coin Rock Band will exclusively premiere on the Xbox 360.

Speaking of music games Microsoft answer to Sony's Singster is Lips. Lips is a singing game where you can use your own music collection to sing to. I'm looking forward to this one.

Another party game is You're in the Movies. In this game you use the camera they provide you with to do little mini games like dancing. Then the game compiles these games to create a little movie. But if you don't want to just sit back let the game make the movie you can take over, and make it yourself.

Since we got that stuff over with lets get to Microsoft's big announcement. Final Fantasy 13 will be released on the 360. Now I know how major this is, but let me dip into why I think Microsoft made this there big announcement. I think they did it to say 'Look Sony we're taking all your big titles.' I mean they have Guitar Hero, Madden, and now Final Fantasy. Microsoft is not to be fucked with.

E3.....What else do you want me to say?

2008-07-13T02:31:00.002-05:00

Since E3 is Monday I felt it was my obligation as a gamer to write something about it. But what can I say that hasn't already been said by everybody else. But for those of you that don't know what E3 is let me explain, E3 is a trade show for the computer and video games industry. It's where the 'Big Three'(Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo) gather to show off the fruits the developers labor. It's a place where developers can hype up a game through the roof. So by now your probably thinking I might want to go to this E3. And there lies the problem you can't, cause as of 2007 E3 is invitation only. And if my information is correct it's so hard to get one you'd be better off not going. In my opinion they shouldn't make it so hard to get in cause there getting free publicity out of it.

Anyway I'll be giving a play by play of everything of interest at E3, so stay tuned.

P.S.
No I'm not going I'm going to watch it on G4.

Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni Review

2008-07-11T19:44:00.002-05:00

Higurashi no Naku Koro ni

“Y’all know slaughter can’t be spelled without laughter!”

Summary:
Cute girls wielding bloody hatchets? Insanity, paranoia, and intrigue to boot? Sign me up! I honestly knew little of what I was getting into when I started Higurashi. The first episode is rather normal stereotypical moe: New guy, Keiichi Maebara, moves to Hinamizawa, joins the after school club, goes insane, kills his friends, and claws his own throat out.

Wait, that’s not right…

Well that didn’t work. Hit the cosmic reset button Oyashiro-sama, and let’s see if it works out the 2nd time around…

Plot:
Out of all the different crime shows, anime, and literature, Higurashi really stands out. Nothing in this show is spoon-fed to the viewers or makes use of cheap CSI like clichés (e.i. We need to find a bullet casing! You mean just like the one over there?). Based off a series of amateur doujin games (visual novels) Higurashi makes good use of the so called “cosmic reset button”.

In other words, the show is split into separate arcs, each telling a self contained story with the familiar backdrop of Hinamizawa, while playing a bigger part in the entire story. Keiichi Maebara is new to the area and attends the local school with the other kids of the town. Many of these characters will help shape and weave together the story that is Higurashi.

Before Keiichi moved to Hinamizawa, a few years prior, the government had decided to create a dam near Hinamizawa, though it would require it’s residence to relocate, so the area could become flooded. The Three Head Families of Hinamizawa fought against the government trying to convince them not to go through with the dam project. Apparently there was a murder that took place where someone (a dam worker?) was dismembered. Five of the murderers were caught, while it is said the sixth underwent Onikakushi, other wise know as being spirited away by Oyashiro-sama never to be seen again. The dam project was apparently forgotten about for the time being.

According to the locals, every year, for the past four years ever since the dam incident, on the night of the Watanagashi Festival, one person dies, while one person undergoes Onikakushi. This has been regarded to as “Oyashiro-sama’s Curse”.
Higurashi no Naku Koro ni is only the first season, and explains much of what is going on within Hinamizawa, but by the end of it, not everything is completely clear. Is it a parasite, a curse, a person’s contagious insanity, or aliens (I shit you not, this is an actual theory)? To truly understand this bizarre series, look for the next season, Higurashi Naku Koro ni Kai.

Okay, another content warning… Higurashi is EXTREMELY VIOLENT! Even though things are not always explicitly shown, they are still highly disturbing. I am not kidding when I say this either. In one scene, a girl takes a knife, places it against a wall, and beats her head against it until she dies. Stuff like that. Defiantly not for those with a weak stomach.

Animation:
I was actually fairly surprised to find out that Studio DEEN was the company that adapted the game in anime form. I saw their rendition of Vampire Knight (the animation in that was terrible) and there is no real comparison. During the normal first episode, animation was okay nothing really special, but during violent scenes (there are many of these) or points when the face is the focal point, usually used to show a character isn’t exactly sane, animation is very well done. Frankly, they did their job when it came down to scaring the crap out of me. Those expressions will haunt me in my dreams… Just take a look:

But it does go without saying that a few of the “insane” faces to tend to look less than terrifying. But I’m willing to forgive. Backgrounds and settings were fleshed out and very detailed. With such a strong story driving it and better than average animation, Higurashi is Studio DEEN’s masterpiece.

Music:
The opening music is one of my favorite anime openings of all time. “メイン・テーマ” (the name of the song is the same as the series, I’ll use Japanese characters to differentiate) uses a lot of techno sounding effects, while retaining a creepy overtone. Vocals and lyrics both add a beautiful, haunting melody that reflects the style of Higurashi very well. The ending on the other hand, fell flat on its face. Maybe I just don’t enjoy a song sung be a Japanese singer in Engrish (if the previous statement made any sense go give yourself a cookie). It just didn’t sound natural. I guess if you don’t mind Engrish, you may like it.

Voice Acting (Japanese):
Being able to laugh manically, scream in rage and insanity, and still pull off a cute voice when the character is acting normal is no easy feat, and I applaud the voice actors and actresses for a job well done. They pulled off their roles flawlessly. I still get shivers every time I hear one of the Sonozaki sisters laugh in insanity. The only thing I have an issue with, and this is my nitpicky self coming through, but when Keiichi cries it sounds like he’s being strangled. That only happens once or twice though throught the entire series, so it probably won’t bother anyone else that much.

Overall:
Higurashi no Naku Koro ni is one of my favorite series. I like shows such as CSI or Without a Trace, but those tend to get very formulaic after a while and Higurashi is a wonderful change of pace that will keep you guessing until the very end. The arc form of story telling may be confusing at first, but after a while, you learn to expect it. If you have a strong stomach and are looking for a good mystery series that doesn’t treat the viewer like a baby and spoon feed everything to them, give Higurashi a whirl.

Final Score: 5/5
-Midori

Kingdom Hearts The Stupid Files

2008-07-07T02:42:00.002-05:00

Hello again folks this is your pal Jiraiya. And i am reviewing Kingdom Hearts The Stupid Files.
Well I'll tell you this it is the most random stuff ever you can search all over. But you will not ever find a video i mean video's like these. I believe you will be like Wtf and Lmao and much more.
I love it it's just because of ech and every random scene . The video is of stupid file no.5 and it is pretty hilarious.

So we have a 5 star rating system and well you can guess what I'm gonna give this.

5 out 5 Must watch it on youtube.

Battle Angel Review

2008-07-06T15:03:00.002-05:00

Hi, my name's Midori and I'm one of the new reviewers for the Hey Hey Anime blog. I thought I'd start my work here with a review for the much acclaimed Battle Angel OVA.

Battle Angel

Zalem; a legendary floating city that overshadows the slums of Scrap Iron City- a dangerous city filled with organ theives and criminals with high bounties on their heads. Dr. Ido is a cybornetic doctor and escapee of Zalem, who one day while looking for scrap parts in a dump, stumbles upon the still living remains of a female cyborg. He rebuilds and gives her the name Gally. She takes up bounty hunting so that she can earn enough money to go to the city up above with the man she loves.

Created as a preview for the manga, this 2 episode OVA starts a worth while story that never seems to find a happy ending.

Plot:

Oh, where to begin. Being how short this OVA is, you can expect very little when it comes to plot, but given it's length they do do a good job fleshing it out. In an attempt to help flesh out the story Chirin was specifically for the OVA. Due to her creation however, their are quiet a few fan servicy type scenes involving a lot of nudity, that frankly felt unnecessary.

Yugo, portrayed as an honest hearted mechanic at first, is quickly revealed to have ulterior motives to further his goal to earn his way to Zalem.

Gally is the heroine of the OVA and quiet a cute one at that. After having her body rebuilt by Dr. Ido she takes up the job of a Hunter-Warrior (basically a bounty hunter) taking down organ thieves, so she can also travel to Zalem with Yugo.

Animation:

For 1993 it isn't bad. With how short it is, Battle Angel could afford to put a lot more detail into it's character designs and backgrounds. The problem lies in personal taste. Certain people will absolutely love the art, while some will vehemently hate it. I personally loved the characters design for Gally, but some of the other designs just looked god awful (Yugo and some of the rogue cyborgs for example).

Where the voice acting fails, the fluid animation shines. The fights between Gally and Grewcica were very fluid and well choreographed. Only occasionally did a scene ever look choppy or unnatural, but that's to be expected of something from '93.

Music:

This'll go quick, seeing as there was a definitive lack of music. There is no opening for the OVA, only a closer, Cyborg Mermaid. Nothing stellar, but not atrocious (which can't be said for many themes to come out of the mid '90s). Background music was forgettable; nothing really stood out to me. Appropriate when needed, absent when not.

Voice Acting:

Oh, God almighty... My ears hurt just thinking about the English dub for this series.

I'm going to also comment about the script here, because there were some points that really bothered me. In one scene Dr. Ido and Gally are discussing her becoming a Hunter-Warrior that had some poorly written dialogue as well as poor delivery, that frankly, killed what could have been a perfectly fine scene. Thankfully the entire script isn't as bad and the 2 main characters have decent voice actors, but there will definitely be some points where the script will make you stop and roll your eyes. Both Gally and Yugo's voices are thankfully better than that of the rest of the cast, and ironicly Amanda Winn Lee (Gally) and Spike Spencer (Yugo) would co-star later in Evangelion as Shinji and Rei. I have nothing against Spike, but Yugo's voice made me want to punch the screen at times. He just seems to get cast as the characters I tend to hate.

Amanda Winn Lee does a good job portraying the cute and bubbly Gally, while hinting at something darker about her unknown past. All in all, I think she did the best job.

The rest of the voices on the other hand, sounded very stiff and unnatural.

Overall:

Battle Angel isn't bad by any means, just dated. It's worth a nights rentaland acts well as a preview for the manga, which is the only way you are going to be able to get the rest of the story. If you do happen to be interested in the manga by the end of the OVA, be forwarned, Viz switched nearly all the names around (I think Ido's is the only one that stays the same). Again I'd suggest this title to anyone who enjoys older post apocolyptic anime looking for a good way to spend a friday evening.

Final Score: 3/5

-Midori

Ben 10 Game Creator

2008-07-03T22:09:00.002-05:00

Hi everybody it's your lovable blogger NightRoad here with a video game review for ya. If you have forgotten we have a 5-star rating system for everything we review.

So lets get started, today I'm reviewing something I think everybody should at least try. And it's Ben 10 Alien Force Game Creator. Which is a online game where you make the game, play the game, and have others play your game.

Game play:

For starters the controls are standard for your online game: up arrow key=jump, down arrow key=move down, left arrow key=move left, right arrow key=move right space bar=special move.
Now lets get down to business, the game play really depends on the game your playing. It can range from being very interesting and engulfing, to being repetitive and boring, and from being to difficult to even finish the goal at hand. Which brings me to the object of the games. The goals are as follows, it can be as simple as getting to the gate, or just defeating all the enemy's then getting to the gate, or getting all the gems then getting to the gate, or a combination of all three. Now that you know about the goals time to learn about how you go about completing those goals with the characters.

Characters:

There are a total of four characters and they each have there own special abilities.

Swampfire: Swampfire is a fire base character that shoots fire from his hands.
Jetray: Jetray is a flight base character that can fly, and can shoot lasers from his tail.
Spidermonkey: Spidermonkey is a primate type character that can jump really high, grab on to walls, and shoots webs from his tail.
Humongousaur: Humongousaur is a cross between a dinosaur and a really big man. He's very strong and can't jump very high.

Graphics:

The graphics are standard 2D. Don't really know if this is part of the graphics, but every once in awhile the game slows down which slows down your actions. But it isn't a very big problem for me. That's pretty much it.

Creating a Game:

The game takes you step by step through the process of creating a game. In total there are six steps you need to complete.

Step 1: Game starter

In this step you pick from nine platforms on which you build your game on.

Step 2: Background

In this step you pick from nine backgrounds.

Step 3: Hero

In this step you pick from four heroes you play as.

Step 4: Goal

In this step you pick from four goal.

Step 5: Level Design

In this step you pick what obstacles, gems, enemies, etc. that you want in the game.

Step 6: Test

In this step you test the game to make sure it's 'beatable'.

Now after all that the game will be finished.

Rating:

All in all it's a great game, so I give it 4 1/2 stars, but if I was judging individual games it would be much lower. But the creators of the game can't help what people make.

If you want to check it out the title of this post is a link to the game.

Posted by: NightRoad

Viacom Is Always Watching

2008-07-03T18:36:00.002-05:00

As of Wednesday a judge, who clearly doesn't respect the laws already set, ruled that Viacom has full access to all info of the members of Youtube. So if your not too sure on what that includes let me tell you. They have access to your user name, password, e-mail address, name, what videos you watch and when, and your IP address. Yeah that's right they get everything. Now they 'say' that they are just using this info to see what videos people are watching. Now if your like me your probably thinking, "Why would they need all that information just to see what videos we're watching?" The answer is they don't. All they need are the video counts. They also 'say' that they won't use this info to sue anybody.......BULLSHIT! If there not using all this info not to file lawsuits, what are they using it for. Mmmmm....Maybe world domination? Maybe, but what do I know. Anyway basically it sucks, but unless google fights back there's nothing we can do.

Posted By: NightRoad

The Anime KanoKon

2008-07-02T19:44:00.002-05:00

Hello There Anime Fans This is your newest Buddy Jiraiya ^ ^ and i am here to review Anime And The Latest Video Games With My Pal Nightroad. Now to get towards are topic today i will be reviewing the series Kanokon. Now This is a Ecchi like series so its graphic for all of you who like like Ero sennin likes it ^ ^. But its not as graphic as it sounds its a Action, Comedy,Love,Romance Series so i mean its not a Naruto, Bleach Or Dbz kinda type action. The Link I gave you is a Preview For Episode 1 With English Subs, Note: This is not a Main Stream Anime such as Naruto or Bleach or Death Note. So for Otaku's who don't like Main Stream Anime this you can watch.

Jiraiya: Yes i ask my self how can u be considered an Otaku if you don't watch all anime ether Main Stream Or Not. In my eyes your still an otaku no matter what because you love anime with a passion.

Continuing now the scenario is a normal boy falls in love with a girl named Chizuru now we all know somethin is fishy. There is always something odd am i right there is no ordinary relation ship. Little dose the boy know she is a Golden kyubi aka Fox so she try's and passes it off as cosplay. But there is a little more to that But watch episode 1 its really good the series its self goes
up to 12 episodes but who really knows.

Well all in all i give it 4 Stars: Its well worth watching and or getting

Zombies Hate 4 Person CO-OP

2008-06-30T17:29:00.002-05:00

Now I'm a very strong supporter of the zombie apocalypse, so I am very excited for Left 4 Dead. For those of you who don't know of Left 4 Dead, it's an upcoming FPS from Turtle Rock Studios. But it's not your normal run of the mill shoot em up. You actually have to 'work' with the computer to play the game. And it's just not one other player, your playin with three other players. So by now your probably thinking "NightRoad want that just slow me down." And my answer to that is surpirsly no. Cause from what I've seen it the AI is very intuitive. So they will be kicking zombie ass right along with you. But lets say you guys get separated or your group is doing something you don't want them to do. Then that's when the command circle comes in handy. Now the command circle has stuff you can pick for your character says to your group. So lets say your ready to leave the zombie infested warehouse, you can pick let's go, and your character can say something like "HURRY THE FUCK UP!" But all that shit doesn't come close to this. You can actually play as a FUCKIN ZOMBIE. That is so awesome.

So if your as excited as I am about it be sure to pick it up for the Xbox on November 4, 2008.

Posted By: NightRoad

Will Metal Gear Really Be All That We Hope For?

2008-06-09T20:11:00.002-05:00

Now I know that I'm kinda late on getting this news out , but better late than never. So if you've been keepin up with the 'Holy Grail' of the PS3, aka Guns of the Patriots, you would already know that konami has limited what reviewers can reveal about it. Such as length of cutscenes and installation time. Now I would understand not giving away spoilers or what the cutscenes are about, but what can it hurt if someone gives away the cutscene length. To me this says 'We are Konami and we don't have any faith in our product.' All I'm saying is that there is no reason not to what to reveal it, if anything it will help. Let people know what there getting into.

Posted By:
NightRoad

2008-04-06T17:41:00.002-05:00

Heres the trailer for the hot new game Mercenaries 2: World in Flames. Enjoy!

Anime News

2008-04-06T16:51:00.002-05:00

Monday March 31, 2008

FUNimation Discusses the Anime Industry

Variety Magazine now hosts an interview with FUNimation CEO Gen Fukunaga in which Fukunaga reveals that FUNimation examines the popularity of unlicensed fansubs when considering which potential anime title acquisitions appeal to American fans.
The interview also reveals that Fukunaga expects web distribution of anime to become increasingly profitable; and also reveals the rarely released sales figures that Trinity Blood sold 18,000 copies on release while Dragon Ball Z season 1 sold 55,000 copies in its first five months of release.

Seirei no Moribito to Hit Cartoon Network

Media Blasters CEO John Sirabella has revealed that the Cartoon Network has independently secured broadcast rights to Production IG’s 2007 fantasy anime television series Seirei no Moribito.

Life of Guskou Budori Anime Film Announced

The Group TAC anime production studio (Miami Guns, Gensomaden Saiyuki) has announced plans to develop an anime feature film adaptation of Kenji Miyazawa’s 1932 children’s novel The Life of Guskou Budori (Guskou Budori no Denki). The anime film will be written by Sadayuki Murai (Kino’s Journey, Millennium Actress) and directed by Gisaburo Sugii, who also directed the 1985 anime film Night on the Galactic Railroad, also based on a Miyazawa novel.
Life of Guskou Budori is a fantasy biography of a scientist studying the effects of volcanos on the earth’s atmosphere. Like the previous Kenji Miyazawa based anime Night on the Galactic Railroad and Kenji’s Spring, the anime version of Life of Guskou Budori will again portray human characters as anthropomorphic cats. The film is scheduled for Japanese release next spring.

Additional Negima OVAs Announced

Shaft, the anime studio that produced the Negima!? Spring and Summer OVAs and the second Maho Sensei Negima television series will animate a series of three new Negima OVAs.
The first OVA will be released on July 17th, bundled with the limited edition version of Negima manga volume 23, and will adapt manga chapters 176 & 177.
The second OVA will be released with the limited edition volume 24 manga on October 17th and adapt manga chapters 178 to 180.
The third and final OVA will be released with the limited edition volume 25 manga on January 17, 2009 and will adapt manga chapters 182 & 183.

Noramimi, Hayate no Gotoku, and Kojika to Get Second Series

The official Hayate no Gotoku ~ Hayate the Combat Butler anime series homepage has announced that the popular TV show will get a second series.
The official Noramimi anime series homepage has announced that the show will get a second series.
The official Kodomo no Jikan anime series has announced development of a second television series. The confirmation of a second season comes despite several Japanese television networks refusing to broadcast the first season, and the first season being broadcast on Japanese television and internet only in a heavily censored format.

Tuesday April 1, 2008

New Anime Trailers Online

The official homepage for the upcoming Monochrome Factor bishonen supernatural action television series now hosts a new streaming trailer. The series is scheduled to premier on the 7th.
The official homepage for Production IG’s upcoming sci-fi television series RD Senno Chosashitsu now hosts a new streaming trailer. The series is scheduled to premier on the 8th.
The official Sekirei homepage now links to a streaming trailer available in 500kbs and 1mbs speeds. The Sekirei television series is scheduled to premier this summer.

Gonzo Announces Open Pricing for Anime Downloads

Gonzo has formally announced plans to institute a trial “open-pricing model” through the Crunchyroll website for the distribution of its Tower of Druaga -The Aegis of URUK- and BLASSREITER anime television series. Tower of Druaga and BLASSREITER will be released internationally online via YouTube, Bost TV, and Crunchyroll on the same day episodes are broadcast on Japanese television. Crunchyroll will offer downloadable high video quality episodes, and downloaders will be urged to pay whatever amount they consider fair in exchange for the downloads. “By allowing the users to determine the value of the product and make their voices be heard, GDH derives valuable feedback directly from consumers.”
“Crunchyroll aims to offer to its community a legal alternative to illegal file-sharing and downloading,” despite the fact that the site continues to support illegal file-sharing.
The Tower of Druaga will premier on April 4th. BLASSREITER is scheduled to premier on April 5th.

Wensday April 2, 2008

New Anime Series Websites Opened

The official Japanese website devoted to the upcoming Negima! Shiroi Tsubasa ~ Ala Alba OVA series is now open.
The official Japanese website for the upcoming Space Adventure Cobra OVA series, titled “Cobra: The Animation,” is now online.

Mission-E Trailer Online

The official homepage for the upcoming Mission-E television series, the sequel to the July 2007 television series Code-E, now hosts a streaming trailer. The Mission-E anime is scheduled to premier in July.

Kyoran Kazoku Nikki Trailer Online

The official homepage for the upcoming Kyoran Kazoku Nikki (Frenzied Family Diary) television series now hosts a 4 minute long streaming trailer in 500kbs and 1mbs bandwidth streams. The sci-fi comedy series will debut on April 12.

Ani Kuri Season Three Online

Japanese television network NHK has now uploaded the third season of its Ani Kuri (”Anime Creator”) series of minute long short films by 15 of Japan’s most talented animators. The third season includes shorts directed by Satoshi Kon, Makoto Shinkai, Michael Arias, Mahiro Maeda, and Shoji Kawamori.
All 15 Ani Kuri films are now available on NHK’s Ani Kuri homepage. French animation fan site Catsuka also mirrors the third season films with Romanized labels identifying their creators.

Thursday April 3, 2008

X Japan Announces First American Performance

The newly reunited X Japan rock band has announced plans for its first American concert performance, to be held at the Madison Square Garden arena in New York City on September 13.

AnimEigo Solicits Yawara

AnimEigo is now accepting pre-orders for its summer release of its first subtitled Yawara! A Fashionable Judo Girl DVD boxed set. The set will contain the first 40 episodes of the 124 episode television series from 1989, plus supplemental features. The DVD release is tentatively planned to be available exclusively from publisher AnimEigo.

Toradora! Anime Announced

Japanese publisher MediaWorks has revealed that Yuyuko Takemiya’s award winning romantic comedy novel series “Toradora!” will be adapted into anime. The series about two “outsider” high school students whose similar social status creates an antagonistic love between them has seven novels so far, and an ongoing manga adaptation.

Library War Trailers Online

The official Toshokan Sensou (”Library War”) anime television series homepage now hosts a streaming 15 second TV commercial and a 2:43 trailer. The series will premier on the 10th.

Friday April 4, 2008

Viz Acquires Zelda Manga

GoNintendo reports that Viz has announced an October 7th release for its first English translated Legend of Zelda manga. The series is apparently one of the numerous Legend of Zelda manga series created by the artist duo “Akira Himekawa.” Precisely which Zelda manga series Viz will release has not been revealed yet.

Mushrambo Movies Announced

Toei Animation has revealed plans to revive the Mushrambo sci-fi action anime television series originally broadcast in 2000. The series was broadcast on American television in 2001 under the title “Shinzo.” The original TV series will be “renewed” under the direction of Kenji Nakamura (director of the Mononoke TV series) and released as two 90 minute feature films later this year.

Second RosaVam Series Announced

The current issue of Jump Square Magazine has revealed plans for a second Rosario + Vampire television series. The tentatively titled “Rosario + Vampire Capu2″ series is scheduled to debut in October.

Posted By: Nightroad

Death Note

2008-03-28T22:41:00.002-05:00

Here it is another amazing and insightful review from your friends at Hey Hey Anime. Now if your new to HHA then I will explain our rating system. We have a 5 star system:

1 star: SHIT

2 star: POLISHED SHIT

3 star: WOULDN'T BUY IT, BUT IF YOU KNOW SOMEONE WHO HAS IT CHECK IT OUT.

4 star: THIS SOME GOOD SHIT

5 star: FUCKIN AWESOME

Death Note is a very dark and intelligent anime. Most people I've talked to find it to creepy to watch, but I really like it. Death Note is about a boy named Light Yagami, he's very intelligent but is very bored. So after the Shinigami (Death God) Ryuk, who is also very bored, drops his Death Note in the human world Light just happens upon it. Now before I get to far ahead of myself a Death Note is what a Death God uses to take people lives. So you mix that type of power with a boy who is a genius with a god complex you get a psychopath. So after Ryuk explains to him the many rules of the Death Note, he goes on a killing spree killing every criminal he knew of, in hopes of creating a perfect world. But all these sudden killings caught the eye of law enforcement and this famous super detective who goes by the name of L. Now L is a very strange person who only communicates to the outside world through his assistant Watari. And from there it's just a game of chess between Light and L. I highly recommend this anime to anyone who is into things that will really work your mind. I give it a FUCKIN AWESOME rating.

Notes:

http://deathnote.viz.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_Note

http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=6592

Posted By: Nightroad

Cera Cast As 'Scott Pilgrim'

2008-03-23T20:12:00.002-05:00

Michael Cera has been cast as Scott Pilgrim in the film version of the graphic novel, Scott Pilgrim's Little Life, to be directed by Edgar Wright (Shawn of the Dead, Hot Fuzz), about a 23 year-old who falls in love with a girl, and then has to defeat her seven ex-boyfriends before he can have her.

Ubisoft Buys Tom Clancy's Name

2008-03-23T19:50:00.002-05:00

Ubisoft has purchased all of the rights to author Tom Clancy's name for videogames and related books, movies and merchandise. The undisclosed sum allows Ubi to make games, movies or whatever called Tom Clancy's Whatever as long as they like, without providing royalties. It's likely a tremendous amount of money.
Ubisoft CEO Ives Guillemot said in a statement, "The future of our industry lies in our capacity to create and develop brands that captivate consumers and that present a myriad of opportunities for the full spectrum of entertainment, be it video games, books, movies or other media."

Posted By: Nightroad

20 New Grand Theft Auto 4 Images Released

2008-03-23T18:57:00.002-05:00

Rockstar has released 20 new Grand Theft Auto IV images Friday morning, as well as info on two new radio stations and the word on the final GTA 4 trailer!
The trailer will come out on Thursday and is entitled: "Good Lord, What Are You Doing" aka "Everyone's a Rat."
The radio stations:
WKTT, a hysterical-seeming parody of Right Wing radio.
K109: A disco station.
The gallery.

Posted By: Nightroad

The First 15 Minutes of 'Dark Sector'

2008-03-23T18:51:00.002-05:00

G4's the Feed has the first 15 minutes of the upcoming game the Dark Sector. I think from what I've seen its awsome.

Anime News

2008-03-23T18:23:00.002-05:00

Tuesday March 18th, 2008

Soul Eater Trailer Online
The homepage for the upcoming Soul Eater anime television series, based on the popular supernatural action manga by Atsushi Ohkubo, now hosts a 3:30 streaming trailer. The series is scheduled to premier on April 7th.

Code Geass to Premier on Adult Swim on April 26th
Bandai Entertainment has formally announced that the 2006 Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion (pronounced "gee-S") anime television series will premier on Adult Swim on April 26th at 1:30AM pacific. Weekly episodes, including the premier episode, will debut on the adultswim.com website the night before their TV broadcast.Apparently the series will be released on domestic DVD later this year, after the television broadcast.

Wednesday March 19th, 2008

Haruka Episode 1 Available Free Online
Bandai Visual USA now hosts a free streaming version of Haruka: Beyond the Stream of Time – A Tale of the Eight Guardians episode 1. The episode is accessible for viewers in the US and Canada only. The first DVD volume of Haruka will hit store shelves on April 22.

4Kids Acquires Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's
4Kids Entertainment has revealed its acquisition of domestic distribution and merchandizing rights to the upcoming Japanese Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's anime television series. Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's will premier in Japan next month, and will debut on American TV this fall.The plot of the new series revolves around the quest to collect five all-powerful dragon cards. The Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's name stands for Yu-Gi-Oh! Five Duel Scoop.

Title for New Slayers Anime Revealed
The May issue of publisher Fujimi Shobo's Japanese Dragon Magazine has revealed that the title of the upcoming new Slayers television series will be "Slayers Revolution."

TOKYOPOP Secures Director for Lament of the Lamb Movie
According to the Hollywood Reporter, TOKYOPOP CEO Stuart Levy has secured Takahiko Akiyama, director of the Japanese children's film Hinokio, to direct a feature length live action adaptation of Kei Toume's horror manga Hitsuji no Uta ("Lament of the Lamb"). Plans call for the film to have a budget of less than $6 million and be filmed for 3D digital projection.

Thursday March 20th, 2008

Bandai Visual USA Delays Titles
Bandai Visual USA has indefinitely delayed the planned North American release of the Shigofumi: Letters from the Departed, true tears, and sola anime television series. All other Bandai Visual USA scheduled releases will be released as previously announced.Bandai Visual USA President Tatsunori Konno has explained that, "Bandai Visual (Japan) and Bandai Visual USA are now rushing to reschedule all future releases, focusing on Blu-Ray. Due to the recent quiet market, we will postpone standard single DVDs for TV series. We are assuming that the market does not prefer that format."

Digital Manga Acquires Five Yaoi Novels
Digital Manga has announced its acquisition of translation rights to five Japanese yaoi novels.Passion - Forbidden Lovers, by Shinobu Gotoh and Shoko Takaku; The Guilty, by Katsura Izumi and Hinako Takanaga; and All You Need is Love, by Jinko Fuyuno and Noboru Takatsuki, will be released on October 21.Hikaru Yura and Hirotaka Kisaragi's novel Dark Walker will be released on November 18.Secret Moon, by Siira Gou and Sato Tomoe, will go on sale on December 2.

Anime About Kidnapped Japanese Girl to Produced
The Sankei Newspaper has reported that the Japanese government's Headquarters for the Abduction Issue is developing a half-hour anime film about Megumi Yokota, a 13 year old Japanese girl who was kidnapped by agents of the North Korean government in 1977. Yokota was one of at least 13 Japanese citizens kidnapped by North Korea during the 1970s and 80s to be used as subjects to train North Korean operatives in acting Japanese. North Korean officials have claimed that Megumi Yokota is now deceased, but this claim has never been verified.The planned anime will be based on the manga series "Megumi," created in 2004 by artist Souichi Moto in collaboration with Megumi Yokota's parents. The anime will be released on DVD, and will be released free online in languages including Japanese, English, Chinese, and Korean.

Chi's Sweet Home Clip Online
Kodansha's official Japanese homepage for Kanata Konami's manga series Chi's Sweet Home now hosts a short clip from the anime TV series adaptation of the manga. The TV series is scheduled to premier on March 31st.

Allison & Lillia Trailer Online
The official Allison to Lillia anime series homepage now hosts a streaming trailer for the upcoming adaptation of author Keiichi Sigsawa's Allison and Lillia & Treize light novel series. The anime will premier on April 3rd.

Jigoku Shoujo Third Series Title Announced
The official Japanese Jigoku Shoujo anime series homepage has announced that the franchise's third anime series will be titled "Jigoku Shoujo Mitsuganae."

Complete Mamoru-kun TV Series Available Free Online
The complete 24 episode Mamoru-kun ni Megami no Shukufuku wo! romantic action comedy television series from 2006 is now available on YouTube, for a limited time, as part of a promotional initiative from Japanese publisher Kadokawa Shoten. As the promotional effort is targeted primarily at Japanese audiences, the episodes are available in untranslated Japanese language.

Shakariki! Live Action Adaptation Announced
The 1992 high-school bicycle-racing manga Shakariki!, the first manga series by artist Masahito Soda (Firefighter!: Daigo of Fire Company M, Capeta), will reportedly be adapted into a live action feature film for Japanese release in September.

Friday March 21st, 2008

Gonzo to Release New Anime Simultaneously Worldwide
Gonzo Digimation Holdings has formally announced that two new Gonzo anime television series productions will be made available online for viewers overseas simultaneously with their Japanese television broadcast. YouTube, Crunchyroll, and BOST TV will offer English subtitled episodes of The Tower of DRUAGA -the Aegis of URUK- and BLASSREITER the same day the episodes are broadcast on Japanese television, in methods ranging from free streaming to fee-based download of high-resolution movie files. GDH’s decision to provide its content globally in parallel with Japanese broadcast is an effort to offer equal accessibility and new viewing opportunities to fans around the world, while at the same time showcasing a legal online alternative to illegal file-sharing and downloading.The Tower of DRUAGA is scheduled to premier on April 4th. BLASSREITER is scheduled to premier on April 5th.

FUNimation Reveals New License
FUNimation has confirmed its acquisition of domestic distribution rights to the 2006 Negima!? Spring and Summer OVAs animated by Shaft. FUNimation announced its acquisition of distribution rights to Shaft's Negima!? television series last year.

Appleseed: Ex Machina Producer Interview Online
ICv2 now hosts a lengthy interview with Joseph Chou, one of the producers behind the Appleseed: Ex Machina motion picture.

Japan to Get Highlander Director's Cut
The Nikkan Sports newspaper reports that Yoshiaki Kawajiri's director's cut of the Highlander: Search for Vengeance anime movie will be released in Japan this summer, including a Japanese langauge dub staring Shun Oguri (Shinichi Kudo in the live action Detective Conan, Rui Hanazawa in the live action Hana Yori Dango). While Highlander: The Search for Vengeance was released in America last year, the film has not yet been released in Japan.In June 2007 Highlander anime movie producer Galen Walker revealed plans for an eventual American release of a director's cut of the film.

Posted By: Nightroad

Vampire Knight Anime's Promo Video Posted Online

2008-03-23T18:05:00.002-05:00

The official Japanese website for the Vampire Knight anime series has posted a pre-broadcast promotional video on March 22. The video showcases the character designs, but no actual animation footage. The anime adapts Matsuri Hino's original manga about Cross Academy, a school where the student body is divided into the "regular" Day Class and the "elite" Night Class. Yuki Cross, the adopted daughter of the headmaster, is one of the few people in the entire school who knows that the Night Class students are vampires. Viz Media has been publishing the manga in North America since last year, and the anime premieres in Japan's TV Tokyo broadcasting station on April 7.

Posted By: Nightroad

Live-Action Dragonball Film Wraps Shooting in Mexico

2008-03-23T18:00:00.002-05:00

The personal blog of actress Emmy Rossum confirms that principal photography on James Wong's live-action Dragonball movie ended in Mexico on Friday. Rossum plays the heroine Bulma in this adaptation of Akira Toriyama's fighting manga. The official website of James Marsters (Piccolo) had announced his work wrapped in mid-March, but he left earlier than Rossum to attend a Buffy the Vampire Slayer Reunion in Los Angeles on Thursday evening. Twentieth Century Fox initially scheduled the film for an August 15 opening, but it has reportedly delayed the opening.

Posted By: Nightroad

Blade of the Immortal TV Anime Confirmed for Summer

2008-03-23T17:10:00.002-05:00

The May issue (on sale on March 25) of Kodansha's Monthly Afternoon magazine will confirm that a television anime version of Hiroaki Samura's Blade of the Immortal manga will premiere this summer in Japan. Tomokazu Seki (Escaflowne's Van, Gungrave's Beyond the Grave) will voice the main character Manji — a rōnin swordsman condemned to immortality unless he kills a thousand evil men for all the good men he killed. Rina Satou (Negima!'s Negi, Bamboo Blade's Satori) will play Manji's fellow traveler Rin. Hirofumi Nojima (Kagehisa Anotsu), Kazuya Nakai (Taito Magatsu), Masashi Ebara (Sabato Kurui), Katsuyuki Konishi (Eikū Shizuma), Daisuke Namikawa (Araya Kawakami), Mamiko Noto (Makie), Megumi Toyoguchi (Hyakurin), Toshiyuki Morikawa (Giichi), Shinichiro Miki (Shira), and Maaya Sakamoto (Machi) complete the cast.
Koichi Mashimo will direct the animators on Bee Train as he did for the .hack// franchise and Noir. Hiroyuki Kawasaki (The Irresponsible Captain Tylor, Sorcerer Hunters) will oversee the scripts, and Yoshimitsu Yamashita (Murder Princess, and Samurai Champloo animation director) will design the characters. Kō Ōtani (Ayakashi Ayashi, Mobile Suit Gundam Wing) will compose the music.
Dark Horse Comics publishes the manga in North America.

Japanese Anime TV Ranking: March 10–16

2008-03-23T17:04:00.002-05:00

Title
Station
Date
Time
Length
Average Household Rating
Sazae-san
Fuji TV
March 16 (Sun)
18:30
30 min.
18.7
Chibi Maruko-chan
Fuji TV
March 16 (Sun)
18:00
30 min.
13.1
Crayon Shin-chan
TV Asahi
March 14 (Fri)
19:30
24 min.
11.4
Doraemon:
TV Asahi
March 14 (Fri)
19:00
30 min.
10.3
Yatterman
NTV
March 10 (Mon)
19:00
30 min.
9.3
Detective Conan
NTV
March 10 (Mon)
19:30
30 min.
8.5
Gegege no Kitaro
Fuji TV
March 16 (Sun)
09:00
30 min.
8.5
One Piece
Fuji TV
March 16 (Sun)
09:30
30 min.
8.5
Pocket Monsters: Diamond & Pearl
TV Tokyo
March 13 (Thurs)
19:00
30 min.
7.2
Yes! Precure 5 GoGo!
TV Asahi
March 16 (Sun)
08:30
30 min.
6.6

Posted By: Nightroad

Anime Collectible Firm's Head Convicted of Tax Evasion

2008-03-23T17:00:00.002-05:00

The Tokyo District Court has convicted Kyōko Ōkubo, the founder and president of the Cominica manufacturer of anime collectibles, of tax evasion. She was charged last November with concealing about 198 million yen (about US$1.9 million) so that her company would not have to pay 57 million yen (US$570,000) in additional taxes. Her company was best known for making figurines for the award-winning Studio Ghibli films. Ōkubo has been sentenced to a one-year prison term, suspended for three years, and Cominica was fined 14 million yen (US$140,000). The company's former legal advisor Takanobu Takehara has also been convicted and sentenced to a ten-month prison term, suspended for three years.
Cominica's website is still active, but most stores have since sold out of its products. It began in 1985 as a design firm and manufacturer of collectibles for other companies, and has worked on toys and collectibles for Zyu Ranger (adapted as the first Power Rangers series), The Nightmare before Christmas, Snoopy, and Metropolis. It also created the three-dimensional Doraemon model that was used a sample for character goods and contributed to the Ghibli Museum and Doraemon Museum's displays.

Posted By: Nightroad

Blu-ray prices going up, not down

2008-03-15T20:50:00.002-05:00

Now that HD DVD's on the way out, it looks like Blu-ray manufacturers and retailers are feeling free to jack up prices. Meanwhile, prices for HD DVD decks and combo players are plummeting.The editors of TG Daily (by way of Audioholics) have been scouring the Web for Blu-ray and HD DVD player prices, and can you guess what they found? That's right: Since Toshiba gave up on HD DVD in mid-February, Blu-ray prices—which had been showing some modest declines back in December—have spiked. Take, for example, Sony's entry-level BDP-S300, a Blu-ray player that doesn't even have the latest Blu-ray profile (it's stuck with the bare-bones 1.0 spec). Back in December, the S300 (which originally sold for a whopping $600) actually fell to about $270 on Amazon; now, according to TG Daily, average prices for the player have swelled to $403. Then there's Samsung's BD-P1400, one of the first Blu-ray players to sink below $400. On January 10, the P1400 skimmed the $300 mark, according to TG Daily; now it's back up to an average price of $374.Meanwhile, prices for HD DVD decks have, unsurprisingly, been tumbling. Toshiba's mid-range, 1080p-capable HD-A30, which originally sold for $400, began the year with an average price of $254; now, it's selling for a mere $134, TG Daily reports. The entry-level HD-A3 1080i player can be had for a song: just $101, on average.Also, combo Blu-ray/HD DVD players have been showing steep price drops. As I noted in a previous post, the Samsung BD-UP5000, originally listed north of $1,000, is on sale for about $500, while TG Daily has the average price for the LG BH200 pegged at $699, down from its original $999.So, what's going on here? Didn't Sony just promise that we'd be seeing $200 Blu-ray players by next year? Maybe so, but as Chris pointed out in his post, Sony and the Blu-ray Disc Association are holding out on licensing Blu-ray technology to Chinese manufacturers, who'd more than likely flood the market with cheap (or cheaper, at any rate) players.Well, we wouldn't want that, now—would we?

Posted By: Nightroad

New Street Fighter Character

2008-03-15T20:11:00.002-05:00

Looks like there is a new character for Street Fighter 4. And may I say he looks pretty bad ass. And his name is 'El Fuerte'.

Posted By: Nightroad

Anime News

2008-03-15T16:15:00.002-05:00

Tuesday March 11th, 2008

Crystal Blaze Trailer Online
The official Japanese homepage for the upcoming Crystal Blaze action anime television series now links to a streaming trailer. The series is scheduled to premier next month.

New Tower of Druaga Trailer Online
The official Japanese homepage for Gonzo's upcoming Tower of Druaga: The Aegis of Uruk anime television series now hosts a new, second promotional video. Click the "PV2" button to watch the new trailer. The fantasy anime series will premier on Japanese TV and Gyao website (for Japanese viewers only) on April 4th.

New Amuri Trailer Released
The official website for the long in development CG anime OVA series Hoshi no Umi no Amuri ~ Amuri in Star Ocean now hosts a streaming trailer in high and low resolution. Promotional footage from the bishoujo sci-fi adventure created by Yoshitomo Yonetani, the director of Gaogaiger & Betterman, first appeared online in September 2007. The first Amuri in Star Ocean OVA is scheduled for Japanese release on May 23.Amuri in Star Ocean is not related to Square Enix's series of Star Ocean RPGs in any way. The similarity of the titles is entirely coincidental.

Gotham Knight Website Opened
The official homepage for the upcoming American/Japanese Batman: Gotham Knight animated anthology film is now open. Japanese directors Shojiro Nishimi, Futoshi Higashide, Hiroshi Morioka, Yasuhiro Aoki and Toshiyuki Kubooka from anime studios 4°C, Production I.G., and Madhouse all contribute to the production. The Batman: Gotham Knight movie will be released on July 8th.

DrMaster Acquires New Titles
DrMaster has formally announced its acquisition of translation rights to Rei Kusakabe's supernatural manga series Nephylym and Haruka Shouji's Feng Shui Academy manga, based on Midori Natsu's Fuu Sui Gakuen novels. The first volume of Nephylym will be released in September. Feng Shui Academy will debut next year.

Viz Reveals New Acquisitions
Viz Media has scheduled the domestic release of three manga titles not previously announced.Akihisa Ikeda's Rosario + Vampire supernatural romantic comedy will debut on May 13th and retail at $9.99.Youzaburou Kanari's action/adventure manga series Gimmick! will debut on June 10th and retail at $9.99.Kazuo Umezu's classic horror manga series Cat Eyed Boy will debut on June 17th in a $24.99 volume.

Moyoco Anno Halts Work
Best selling manga artist Moyoco Anno, the creator of titles including Flowers and Bees, Happy Mania, Sugar Sugar Rune, and Hataraki Man, has announced that she'll be taking an extended break from active work as an artist due to concerns about her health. Anno states that she still wants to draw manga and hopes her readers will follow her work if or when she returns.

Wednesday March 12th, 2008

TOKYOPOP Acquires Castlevania Manga
TOKYOPOP has revealed plans to publish an English translation of Kou Sasakura's two volume "Castlevania: Curse of Darkness" manga series adaptation of Konami's popular video game franchise. The first volume will be released in September.

Crunchyroll Secures 4 Million Dollar Investment by Illegally Distributing Anime
Websites including Dealipedia and the Private Equity Hub have reported that Venture capital firm Venrock has invested $4.05 million into the San-Francisco based Crunchyroll, Inc. video streaming website. The management of the Crunchyroll site uploads and provides a large amount of subtitled anime and Asian live action programing without authorization from the legal copyright owners of the programing or the consent of the translators responsible for subtitling the programing. Crunchyroll's video programing is accessible free in low quality. The site charges membership fees for access to high quality video streams.Crunchyroll reportedly does host a small amount of Asian video programing with official authorization from copyright owners and reportedly "intends to work directly with 'a select number of Japanese firms' to acquire content legally."

Thursday March 13th, 2008

Real Drive Trailer Online
The official Japanese homepage for the upcoming RD Senno Chosashitsu anime television series, commonly known as "Real Drive," now hosts a streaming trailer. The futuristic mystery series is a co-creation from Production IG and manga artist Masamune Shirow. The series premieres in Japan on April 8.

TOKYOPOP Acquires Phantom Dream, Offers Fruits Basket Free Online
TOKYOPOP has acquired the domestic translation rights to Fruits Basket creator Natsuki Takaya's first published manga series "Phantom Dream" ("Geneimuso").To promote next week's official domestic release of Fruits Basket manga volume 19, the TOKYOPOP website will release the entire book online for free tomorrow evening. The catch is that the book will be available online for only 19 minutes beginning at 19:19 ET (7:19 PM Eastern Time).

Live Action Adaptation of Cat Street Announced
Bessatsu Margaret Magazine has formally announced the development of a live action television series adaptation of Yoko Kamio's 2005 dramatic school life manga series Cat Street. The television series will air on the NHK television network this summer."The story revolves around Keito Aoyama, a 16-year-old former child actress who stopped acting after a traumatic incident. She has closed herself off from the rest of the world for years — until she enters a school for 'stray cats,' or outsiders like herself."

Friday March 14th, 2008

Monochrome Factor Teaser Trailer Online
The official Japanese homepage for the upcoming Monochrome Factor anime television series, based on Kaili Sorano's supernatural action manga series, now hosts a short streaming teaser trailer. The anime series is scheduled to premier on April 7th.

Fist of the North Star 25th Anniversary Projects Announced
To commemorate this year's 25th anniversary of the beloved Hokuto no Ken (Fist of the North Star) franchise, three new projects have been announced.An official website has opened to announce the Hokuto no Ken: Raoh Gaiden ~ Ten no Haoh (Fist of the North Star: Raoh Side Story ~ King of Heaven) anime television series. The new anime will debut this fall, along with the "Kenshiro Densetsu" motion picture - the final film of the "New Saviour Legend" anime series that began in 2006. The "Ten no Haoh" anime will be based on Youkow Osada's 2006 manga series spin-off from Buronson and Tetsuo Hara's original Hokuto no Ken manga. Ten no Haoh details the early life of popular Fist of the North Star antagonist Raoh.Satoshi Fumihara and the other creators behind The World of GOLDEN EGGS anime series will collaborate on the production of DD Hokuto no Ken, a super deformed "gag anime" parody of Hokuto no Ken.The Muscle Musical performance art group inspired by Hokuto no Ken will also collaborate on a project to commemorate the Hokuto no Ken franchise's anniversary.

Bus Gamer Teaser Trailer Online
Animate.tv now hosts a short streaming trailer for the new Bus Gamer anime television series based on Kazuya Minekura's manga. The trailer, available for narrowband and broadband connections, does not contain any footage from the anime TV series, which is scheduled to premier on the 14th.

TOKYOPOP Acquires Goth
TOKYOPOP has acquired distribution rights to Otsu-ichi's mystery novel Goth and its one-volume manga adaptation created by Kendi Ohishi. Fox Atomic has hired video game writer J.T. Petty to adapt and direct an American live action film adaptation of the Goth novel about two "goth" teens that partner to solve six murders in their hometown.The Goth manga adaptation will hit shelves in September with an 18+ age rating and a $10.99 retail price. The original novel will retail at $12.99 beginning in October.

Posted By: Nightroad

Boy Dies Trying A Move From Naruto

2008-03-15T16:06:00.002-05:00

Boy dies in hospital
According to KOMO-TV, the ABC affiliate in Seattle, Washington, 10-year-old Codey Porter died at 3:35 p.m PST today. The boy was hospitalized on Saturday after suffering respiratory failure when he was buried, headfirst, in a sandbox. He had reportedly asked his playmates to bury him in order to recreate the attacks used by the fictional ninja from the Naruto anime's fictional Village Hidden in the Sand.
Porter had been resuscitated with CPR and taken to an Everett hospital and later transferred to the Children's Hospital in Seattle where he died.
A memorial fund has been set up for Porter on the Gold Creek Community Church's Web site.

I think this is a very depressing incident, but I think a lot of people who will believe that its the shows fault will try to get it out of the U.S.

Posted By: Nightroad

Anime News

2008-03-09T14:03:00.002-05:00

Monday March 3rd, 2008

AnimeWho Announces Ashita no Joe OVA Release
AnimeWho, a new mainstream American anime distribution label from adult anime distributor JapanAnime, has announced plans to release the 2003 "Joe vs. Joe" (Futari no Joe) OVA series on domestic DVD. The six episode boxing anime, based on the classic 1970 Ashita no Joe television series, will be released on two bilingual domestic DVDs retailing at $24.99 each. Volume 1 will go on sale April 29th.

Gurren Lagann Movie Announced
Advance details on this month's Tokyo International Anime Fair reveal that the April issue of Kadokawa Shoten's Newtype Magazine, which goes on sale in Japan on the 10th, will formally announce development of a Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann motion picture.

Hakushaku to Yosei Anime Announced
Shueisha's Cobalt Books imprint has formally announced that Mizue Tani's series of "Hakushaku to Yosei" (The Count and The Fairy) historical fantasy novels will be adapted into an anime television series.The novels follow the travels of 17 year old Lydia Carlton and young Count Edgar J.C. Ashenheart through Victorian England.

Trailer for Shina Dark Promotional DVD Online
Japanese publisher MediaWorks now hosts a webpage promoting the upcoming release of a Shina Dark anime promtional DVD. A Shina Dark music video collection DVD will be included as a limited edition premium with copies of the third volume of Bunjuro Nakayama and Yukari Higa's Shina Dark manga series, scheduled to go on sale on March 21st. The MediaWorks page hosts a streaming 90 second trailer promoting the limited edition music video DVD.An anime television series adaptation of the Shina Dark fantasy comedy manga series is now in production.

Suzuki Toshio Interview Online
Fan site Ghibli World has published a summarized transcript of a Japanese interview with Studio Ghibli producer Suzuki Toshio regarding Hayao Miyazaki's work on his upcoming film Ponyo on a Cliff.

Cartoon Network To Air Blue Dragon
Viz Media has announced that the 2007 Blue Dragon anime television series, inspired by the Xbox 360 RPG, will air on the Cartoon Network this spring.

Tuesday March 4th, 2008

Stan Lee to Co-Create New Manga
Shueisha's Jump Square Magazine has formally announced that living legend American comic book creator Stan Lee, the co-creator of Spider-Man and the X-Men, will collaborate with Shaman King creator Hiroyuki Takei on the development of an original manga short story to launch the Jump SQ.II (Jump Square Second) magazine. The first issue of Jump SQ.II will go on sale in Japan on April 18th.

Wednesday March 5th, 2008

Appleseed TV Series Announced
The homepage for this month's Tokyo International Anime Fair has revealed that a press event scheduled for March 30 at the convention will host the formal public announcement of development of Appleseed Genesis, a 3D CG anime television series to be directed by respected CG animator Romanov Higa (Catblue Dynamite, Urda). The Appleseed TV series will be Romanov Higa's second CG anime adaptation of manga by Masamune Shirow following the 2006 OVA Tank Police Dominion Tank S.W.A.T. 01.

Titania Anime Announced
Hiroaki Adachi, the manager of Wright Staff, the company that manages the business affairs of author Yoshiki Tanaka, has revealed that Tanaka's three volume series of Titania science fiction novels will be adapted into anime. Yoshiki Tanaka is the author of the Legend of the Galactic Heroes, Sohryuden, Heroic Legend of Arslan, and Ryoko's Case File novel series, all of which have been adapted into anime.

Udon Opens Street Fighter Art Contest
Udon Comics has launched a "Street Fighter Tribute" art contest to collect original fan art to commemorate the 20th anniversary of Capcom's beloved fighting game franchise. Winning submissions will be published in Udon's upcoming original "Street Fighter Tribute" art collection book, scheduled for release on July 23. Visit the Udon Blog for full submission details.

First American Death Note Movie Trailer Released
Fangoria Magazine now hosts the first trailer for the official American release of the first live action Death Note motion picture. The trailer includes English dubbed dialogue, but the film will be released in America in its original Japanese language with English subtitles. Both Death Note live action movies are presently in limited American theatrical release. An American DVD release is planned for later this year.

Thursday March 6th, 2008

IFC to Air Speed Grapher
The Speed Grapher anime television series will begin airing on the Independent Film Channel on March 7 at 11 PM Eastern.

Live Action Adaptation of Tokyo Ghost Trip Announced
An official Japanese website has opened to announce the April premier of a live action television adaptation of Hashiba Maki's supernatural manga series Tokyo Ghost Trip. The manga story revolves around two cousins, one of whom can summon spirits, and one that doesn't believe in the supernatural, who must rely on their religious/supernatural background to earn a living.

Disney to Work With Japanese Anime Studios
The Walt Disney Company has announced plans to work with Japanese anime studios to develop new animated programming for Japanese television broadcast. Disney will collaborate with Madhouse on the production of a new, original anime series titled "Stitch!", based on the Lilo and Stitch franchise.Disney is also developing "Fireball," a 3D CG sci-fi gag comedy short film, for Japanese release.The Disney-Toei produced project "Robodies," initially announced in 2006 as a television series, has reportedly developed into a short film that will air on Japan's Disney Channel this summer.

Posted By: Nightroad

Air Gear

2008-03-03T17:10:00.002-06:00

If your reading this that means your reading the first Hey Hey Anime review ever. So YAY!!!!(confetti falls to the floor) And this must really be your lucky day cuz this is a 2 in 1 review. Today I am reviewing Air Gear both the anime and manga.

Now we have a 5 star rating system it goes as follows:

1 star= SHIT

2 star= POLISHED SHIT

3 star= WOULDN'T BUY IT, BUT IF YOU KNOW SOMEONE WHO HAS IT CHECK IT OUT.

4 star= THIS SOME GOOD SHIT

5 star= FUCKIN AWESOME

So lets start with the anime. Air Gear tells the story Itsuki "Babyface" Minami a high school student who at the beginning of the series is the leader of a gang called the East Side Gunz. And he is considered very strong by his classmates, but one day he gets his ass kicked a storm rider gang called the Skull Saders. Now storm riders are people who ride these things called ATs. Which are motorized skates that allow them to pull off cool ass tricks. So after Ikki gets his ass kicked, and gets firecrackers shoved up his ass, he goes home where he lives with four girls who without out his knowledge are a big storm rider team called the Sleeping Forest. While at home he finds these tapes on storm riding and becomes smithin by it, and decides to become one. And after that the story just follows him trying to be one and making a team. Now before I go into what I think of it if you plan on watching it don't watch the sub version before the dub. Cuz you will be disappointed in the voice casting for Agito(once you watch it you'll know who I'm talking about). So this anime is one of my favorites, it has everything I enjoy in an anime action, fighting, a excellent storyline, a little drama, and hot girls. In fact I have had fantasy's of being a storm rider. But besides that it does have it's flaws. Like the fact the series just cuts off I mean the manga has way more story after that. I was VERY disappointed because of that, and because of that and Agito's voice I'm giving this a 4 star review.

Now it's time for the manga. Same basic storyline but with a little more story to it. And a feature I really like they have notes at the back of the book like AT designs and how to make a AT. I'm on volume 5 and so far I really like it. So Air Gear the manga for not just stopping and not having the annoying Agito voice it gets a 5 star review.

Show Notes:
Air Gear
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_Gear
http://www.airgeartv.com/
http://www.randomhouse.com/delrey/catalog/results.pperl?title=air%20gear
http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=6251
http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/manga.php?id=4164

Posted By: Nightroad

'Dexter' Videogame Coming

2008-03-03T17:04:00.002-06:00

According to IGN, tomorrow, Showtime will announce a multi-platform videogame version of the hit serial-killer oriented TV show Dexter. They'll be teaming with Mark Ecko, fashion designer, seemingly impressed with the runaway success of Mark Ecko's Getting Up.
"Dexter is the extremely rare TV show with enough layers of action and tension to translate perfectly into a compelling videogame," said Marc Fernandez, Vice President of Marc Ecko Entertainment. "Our game designers, writers, and artists are going to give Dexter's morally complex world the kind of interactivity that gamers will love."
No more details are available now, but we'll let you know when we know!

You Got Halo In My Lego

2008-03-03T16:11:00.002-06:00

EGM always has a April Fools day prank and it looks like this time I almost fell for it but it seems we'll never see a Halo Lego game. That's to bad cuz the screenshots were excellent.

Big Week For Gaming

2008-03-03T15:59:00.002-06:00

I'm opening up a Ice Cream Shop this week and I know Baskin Robins has 36 flavors, but I have 25 flavors of video games so whats yo flava.

Legends of Norrath: Inquisitor - PC
Rocketmen: Axis of Evil - XBox 360
Anno 1701: Dawn of Discovery - DS
Eco Creatures: Save the Forest - DS
God of War: Chains of Olympus - PSP
Ninja Reflex - WII, DS
Chicken Hunter - DS
Pet Shop - DS
Imagine Figure Skater - DS
Petz Bunnyz - DS
Mysterious Dungeon: Shiren the Wanderer - DS
MLB 08: The Show - PSP, PS3, PS2
Imperium Romanum - PC
Bully: Scholarship Edition - X360, Wii
Army of Two - X360, PS3
Silent Hill: Origins - PS2
Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War: Soulstorm - PC
Major League Baseball 2K8 - X360, PS3, PS2, Wii, PSP
Let's Ride: Friends Forever - DS
Arctic Stud Poker Run - PC
Galactic Command - Echo Squad - PC
Tom Clancy's Chronicles - PC
Field Ops - PC
Stranger - PC
Mysteryville 2 - PC

Posted By: Nightroad

Looks Like Size Does Matter

2008-03-03T15:54:00.002-06:00

According to Famitsu, Metal Gear Solid creator Hideo Kojima said the 50 Gig Blu-Ray discs that PS3 games are packed on are just too small to contain the genius of Metal Gear Solid 4.
Kojima said "There's not enough space. We always talked about where to cut and what to compress."
Other than the Japanese voice track, I wonder what we're missing.

Posted By: Nightroad

Anime News

2008-03-01T21:55:00.002-06:00

Monday February 25th, 2008

New Sky Crawlers Trailer Released
The official homepage for director Mamoru Oshii's upcoming anime film The Sky Crawlers now hosts a new, second teaser trailer. The motion picture is scheduled to open in Japan on August 2nd.

Wagaya no Oinarisama Trailer Online
The Japanese Newtype Magazine homepage now hosts a streaming Flash trailer for the "Wagaya no Revolution" promotional DVD that advertises the upcoming Wagaya no Oinarisama anime television series. The promotional video will be accessible until the 29th. The television series is scheduled to premier in April.

Tuesday February 26th, 2008

Bandai Visual USA to Release Sola
Bandai Visual USA has revealed plans for an American release of the thirteen episode 2007 television series Sola. The first DVD volume will hit American shelves on June 10th.

New School Rumble Anime Announced
Kodansha's official Japanese School Rumble website has announced that the upcoming Japanese School Rumble manga volumes 21 & 22 will be released in limited edition versions including bonus DVDs. Each DVD will contain one new School Rumble Third Year OVA.

Blood+ to Receive Increased Exposure
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has revealed plans to promote the upcoming domestic DVD release of the Blood+ anime television series by including the anime series' first episode as a bonus feature on the DVD release of hit live action vampire movie 30 Days of Night, and on the DVD edition of the live action horror film Loch Ness Terror, due out on DVD on April 15th. The Blood+ anime series will debut on American DVD on March 4th.

Wednesday February 27th, 2008

Trigun Movie Planned for 2009
According to the Japanese Moon Phase message board, the advertising "obi" on the freshly released Japanese Trigun Maximum volume 14 manga includes a confirmation that "Trigun the Movie," an original story motion picture promising "Vash vs Wolfwood!?" will hit Japanese theaters next year. The movie will be animated by Madhouse, directed by Trigun television series director Satoshi Nishimura, and written by Yasuko Kobayashi, the screenwriter of the Gilgamesh and Guyver TV series.

Infinity Studios Switching to Ebooks
Domestic manga and manhwa publisher Infinity Studios has announced plans to begin releasing all future titles in commercial ebook format beginning March 1st. Select unfinished catalog titles will be revived for continued release in ebook format. "A few titles" will also be released in printed "hard copy" book format.

Thursday February 28th, 2008

Mnemosyne Episode 2 Trailer Online
The "Outline" section of the Mnemosyne anime series homepage now hosts a 3:19 streaming trailer for the six episode series' second episode, which is scheduled to air on March 2nd. Please note that the trailer contains graphic, adult oriented imagery.

New Slayers Anime Announced
The April issue of Japan's Dragon Magazine has formally announced development of a new Slayers anime television series. The primary animators of studio J.C. Staff that developed the first three Slayers anime television series will work on the new, original story, but whether any of the characters from the previous Slayers anime will appear in the new series has not been revealed yet. The new anime is planned for two seasons (roughly 52 episodes) beginning in May.

Antique Bakery Anime to Premier in July
A 12 episode anime adaptation of Fumi Yoshinaga's romantic comedy manga series Antique Bakery (Seiyou Kotto Yougashiten) will air as part of Fuji Television's ongoing "Noitamina" series of late night anime series beginning this July. The bestselling manga about a quaint bakery run by four young men was originally published from 1999 to 2002 and was adapted into a live action television series in 2001. The manga series is distributed in English by Digital Manga.

New Anime Series Websites Opened
Official Japanese websites for the upcoming Golgo 13, Himitsu ~Top Secret~, Zettai Karin Children television series have opened. And the official xxxHOLiC anime TV series homepage has updated to promote the April premier of the xxxHOLiC Kei anime television series.

Friday February 29th, 2008

Bandai Visual to Offer Free Episodes Online
Bandai Visual has formally announced plans the launch of a promotional anime streaming service. Beginning in late March, Bandai Visual will host the entire first episode of its "Haruka: Beyond the Stream of Time - A Tale of the Eight Guardians" for free online viewing for North American viewers. Free sample episodes of True Tears, Shigofumi, and Sola are also planned for the future.

Pop Japan Travel to Help Americans Sell Doujinshi in Japan
Pop Japan Travel has announced its "Mind Over Manga" package tour of Tokyo, Japan. The guided tour will include attendance at the August Comitia doujinshi (amateur comics) convention, along with an exclusive visit to a prominent Tokyo anime production studio, the Ghibli Museum, and other Tokyo landmarks. For the first time ever, the "Mind Over Manga" tour will offer participants with the opportunity to participate in the Comitia convention as a seller. For qualifying participants, Pop Japan Travel will:Translate your book into Japanese so that the locals can understand itPrint your book and deliver it directly to the event at Tokyo Big SightHelp you sell your book and discuss it with readers at a booth at the eventThe summer Comitia convention is scheduled for August 24th. The "Mind Over Manga" tour will run from August 21 to 28.

Posted By: Nightroad

Disney's Rock Band

2008-02-27T23:48:00.002-06:00

Disney announce a new game for the Wii called Ultimate Band!. So for all you Wii owners who have been waiting for Rock Band here's your "generic" version. Disney Interactive has confirmed the opportunity to rock out on guitar, bass, drums or as the front man. BUT the game's front man/woman doesn't sing as much as pump up the crowd with dances, waves, and more. So I'm thinking that there will be a lot of shaking of the mic and/or wiimote. But none the less I'm interested in seeing how this turns out. It comes out during the 2008 holiday season for the DS and the Wii.

Posted by: Nightroad

Wii Mod-Chippers Arrested in UK

2008-02-27T23:40:00.002-06:00

Two evil-doers at Robin Park Sports Centre in Wigan in Lancashire were operating a Wii modding service and selling pre-modded consoles, but the Entertainment & Leisure Software Publishers Association (ELSPA) task force was on hand and them them arrested.
The two "chippers" will no longer be selling illegal and counterfeit Wii's and games and will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the Queen's law.

THQ: Out Of The Goverment's Cooking Pot

2008-02-27T23:34:00.002-06:00

THQ, previously under investigation by the Security and Exchange commision, is now out of the goverment's cooking pot.
THQ said the SEC's investigation into the company's practices of backdating stock options has been completed and no wrongdoing was found on the part of the company.
Congrats, THQ.

Red PSP

2008-02-27T23:25:00.002-06:00

Yesterday Sony announce the future release of a Red God Of War PSP Bundle, and I found screenshots of it on G4TV.
Also today we started a Myspace page. And you can download the podcasts from there.

Posted by: Nightroad

U.S. Spies Want to Find Terrorists in World of Warcraft

2008-02-26T20:15:00.002-06:00

Be careful who you frag. Having eliminated all terrorism in the real world, the U.S. intelligence community is working to develop software that will detect violent extremists infiltrating World of Warcraft and other massive multiplayer games, according to a data-mining report from the Director of National Intelligence.
The Reynard project will begin by profiling online gaming behavior, then potentially move on to its ultimate goal of "automatically detecting suspicious behavior and actions in the virtual world."

i got this from wired

posted by: Nightroad

Microsoft Pulls The Plug On HD DVD Players

2008-02-24T18:19:00.002-06:00

I just found this on yahoo today:

Microsoft Corp. said it will stop making HD DVD players for its Xbox 360 video game system after Toshiba Corp. ceded the high-definition video format battle to Sony Corp.'s Blu-ray. Microsoft said that they will still provide standard warranty report for all HD DVD players. And they should cause its estimated that about 300,000 people own this device. This seems bad for HD DVD Microsoft was one of there biggest backers. But I guess that Microsoft sucamed to peer pressure.

posted by: Abel Nightroad

Anime News

2008-02-24T16:55:00.002-06:00

Monday

MTAC Offers Lifetime Memberships
The Middle Tennessee Anime Convention (MTSC) is now offering a limited number of lifetime convention memberships for purchase. The $200 pass guarantees the owner admission to all future MTAC annual conventions.Advance registration for attendance to the 2008 convention, scheduled for April 25-27 in Nashville, Tennessee, is available until March 17th.
Tekkon Kinkreet Wins Japanese Academy Award
Studio 4°C's anime film Tekkon Kinkreet was recognized as best animated film at 31st annual Japan Academy Prize last Friday. The film was in competition against Evangelion: 1.0 You Are [Not] Alone, Summer Days with Coo, Piano Forest, and Detective Conan: Jolly Roger in the Deep Azure.
Quiz Magic Academy Anime Announced
Video Game developer Konami announced at last weekend's Tokyo's AOU 2008 Amusement Expo that AIC (Ah! My Goddess, Tenchi Muyo!) will produce an anime OVA series based on Konami's popular Quiz Magic Academy franchise of fantasy trivia games.
Penguin Musume Anime Announced
The April issue of Champion Red Magazine has formally announced that Tetsuya Takahashi's current manga series Penguin Musume will be adapted into an anime. The "Penguin Girl" manga is a high school life comedy starring a rich otaku girl whose eccentric behavior and obvious "otaku" characteristics surprise and bother her "normal" classmates.

Thursday

TOKYOPOP & Viz Hiring
TOKYOPOP is now accepting resumes for an entry level position as a receptionist and office assistant. The position requires a high school diploma or equivilant, 1-2 years of relevant work experience, and computer/internet literacy.Viz Media is now accepting resumes for a position as a digital media and art assets coordinator. The position requires a Bachelor's Degree or equivilant, 1-2 years of practical business experience, fluency in English and Japanese language, and Mac OSX knowledge of Photoshop, Illustrator and Adobe Acrobat.
Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's Website Online
The official Japanese homepage for the Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's trading card game now hosts an official announcement of the April 2nd premier of the Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's anime television series, and images of the new cast of characters that will appear in the upcoming fourth Yu-Gi-Oh anime television series.
Plans for Live Action Akira in Motion Again
After once acquiring the rights to produce an American live action adaptation of Katsuhiro Otomo's manga series Akira then letting those rights expire, Warner Bros. has re-acquired adaptation rights, this time in conjunction with Legendary Pictures, the studio behind 300, and Leonardo DiCaprio's film production company Appian Way. According to The Hollywood Reporter and Variety Magazine, first time feature film director Ruairi Robinson has been hired to helm the production of two live action Akira movies that will cover the first and second half of the Akira manga story. Relative newcomer screenwriter Gary Whitta will write the films. Leonardo DiCaprio will reportedly serve as one of several producers.The setting of the movies will be changed from Neo-Tokyo to "New Manhattan."The first film is tentatively scheduled for theatrical release in the summer of 2009.

Friday

Yotsunoha Trailer Online
The official Japanese homepage for the upcoming Yotsunoha OVA series now hosts a streaming trailer. The first episode of the two episode series is scheduled to go on sale on Japanese DVD on February 29th.
The official Japanese website for the 2008 Detective Conan motion picture, "Detective Conan: Full Score of Fear" (Meitantei Conan: Senritsu no Full Score) now hosts two 30 second teaser trailers and a full theatrical trailer. The movie is scheduled to open in Japanese theaters on April 19th.The Japanese Sports Hochi newspaper reports that the new film will feature the previously unreleased single "Tsubasa wo Hirogete," performed by the late vocalist ZARD (Izumi Sakai), as its theme song.
New Code Geass & Lucky Star Websites Opened
Bandai Entertainemnt has opened new websites devoted to the upcoming domestic releases of Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion and Lucky Star.Code Geass official American homepage Code Geass official MySpace page Lucky Star official American homepage Lucky Star official MySpace page
Kaz Yamashita Interview Online
Fan site Papo de Budega now hosts an English translated interview with general administration director of Toei Animation Kaz Yamashita.

All Information was found on AnimeNation News

Posted By: Abel Nightroad