Hastune Miku's Singapore Concert Streamed Live on NicoNico

On November 11th, a Singapore will host a live Hatune Miku concert. Video site NicoNico will be streaming the concert live as a Pay Per View. The concert begins Nov 11 at 7PM Singapore time, or 3AM PST here in the states. Tickets cost $11.00. And if you are unable to watch such an early concert, NicoNico will continue to host the timeshift version of the concert until Nov 27th. Tickets can be purchased at the NicoNico website HERE.



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The Last Unicorn in Theaters

Conlan Press has announced beginning next year and running through 2013 that there will be more than 80 special digital screenings of The Last Unicorn through out America, Canada, Great Britain, and Germany. The book's author, Peter S. Beagle, will be attending each of these screenings to do Q&A sessions with the audience and sign autographs. 

In addition to those screenings five million dollars has been set aside to digitally overhaul the film. The money will be used to go back and smooth out animation, upgrade special effects and sound, and finish background art that was never completed. Also 5 to 8 minutes of additional footage will be added. Once finished this updated version of the film will see a worldwide theatrical release in both 2D and 3D for it's 30th anniversary.

I'm personally looking forward to the theatrical re-release, and wish more classic films would be shown in theaters. Hopefully, one of 80 special screenings will be shown near where I live, but I doubt it. Anyone else looking forward to this?

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Oreimo Complete Series

 I got my preorder of ore no imouto ga konnani kawaii wake ga nai (My Little Sister Can't Be This Cute), or Oreimo for short in from Right Stuf this weekend. Oreimo is a fun series about a brother (Kyousuke) and sister (Kirino) that don't get along to well. Kirino is a straight A student, the popular girl at school, and also works part time as a model. But she secretly hides the fact that she's actually an otaku who likes anime, collecting figures, and playing eroge (erotic video games). When Kyousuke accidentally finds out about her hobby and becomes the only person she can talk to about it. Over the coarse of the series he helps her find friends who share her interests as well as coping with her parents and best friend finding out.  The episodes are English subtitled, but I highly recommend this series if you haven't seen it yet.

More pictures after the jump......

The complete series comes with an art book, a double sides poster, 16 postcards and box to keep them in.

Poster Side A Kuroneko and Kirino

Poster Side B Kirino and Kyousuke

And here are the 16 post cards that come with the set. Now if only the manga would get a English release. Anyone else a fan of this series?

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The Avengers Trailer is Out

Apple Trailers has the Avengers Trailer up for viewing. I can't wait for next May. Read more On "The Avengers Trailer is Out"!

Persona 4 the Animation on Hulu

Hulu is streaming Persona 4: The Animation with English subtitles. Episode one is already up. I loved the Persona 4 PS2 game, and the first episode of the anime adaptation was pretty good. Can't wait to see the rest of it. Hopefully they kept a lot of the humor from the game like the camping trip and beauty pageant. What do you think of the show so far?


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New Books and Dark Souls

Picked up Dark Souls for the 360 from Gamestop this week, since Best Buy sold my Collector's Edition I ordered from them. Having played Demon Souls the starting areas of the game where fairly easy since I knew the controls and attack patterns of the basic enemies. I'm currently past the Boar in the Undead Parish and it's getting a bit harder. Preparing for the fight with the Belfry Gargoyles.  Anyone else playing Dark Souls? How are you enjoying it?

Also got some new books. The new Percy Jackson book is out "The Son of Neptune". I got 5 of the "New 52" DC Comics consisting of Wonder Woman #1, Superman #1, Green Lantern Corps #1, The Flash #1, and Teen Titans #1. And two new manga volumes, Negima 31, and Higurashi: Eye Opening Arc 3. I liked the way Teen Titans started with their #1 issue. It was the only one to open in an origin story style with the Teen Titans not having been formed yet. What's everyone else take on the "New 52"? Read more On "New Books and Dark Souls"!

Japan Offering Free Airfare to 10,000 Foreigners

After the recent earthquake and nuclear accident, Japan's tourism has drastically decreased. In order to help show that Japan is safe to visit The Japanese Ministry of Tourism will be offering to pay round trip airfare for 10,000 foreigners wishing to visit Japan in 2012. In return they hope these visitors will blog, and use other social media to tell what a wonderful time they had while in Japan. Applications will be taken online and people interested in applying should keep an eye on the Japanese Tourism Board website. Anyone planning a trip to Japan in 2012?

News from Culture Japan

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Don't Preorder From Best Buy

This is a warning for anyone considering ordering, or in my case preordering, anything from BestBuy.com for in store delivery. The follow situation has happened to me twice in the past year when using BestBuy.com in store delivery. The most recent happened today and involves a video game called Dark Souls. If you preordered Dark Souls you were supposed to receive the Collector's Edition (pictured above). I wanted the Collectors Edition so I preorderd over a month ago. The game came out today so I headed over to the local Best Buy after work. The game they gave me was the regular edition. I questioned them about it, and they informed me they only received one copy of the Collectors Edition (my copy) and had sold it early today. I was told the collectors edition had been under ordered, and they had several people coming in looking for it today. I doubt any of the people coming in asking for it had actually preordered it. Of coarse when I called their customer care line to lodge my complaint, I was informed that when you order something online for in store pick up it arrives at the store clearly marked with your name on it and is to be held for you. Odds are an employee saw it and bought it for his or herself thinking no one would notice if they just put the regular version of the game behind the pick up counter.

Preorder receipt from BestBuy.com

And as I said this is not the first time this has happened. I pre-ordered Valkyria Chronicles 2 last year for in store pickup. Guess what. When I arrived to pick up the game it was no where to be found. They said they only received a single copy of the game (again my copy), and that it must of got put on the shelf and sold. So a word of advice, do not use Best Buy's in store pick up. Save yourself some hassle and pay the extra money to have it shipped to your house. Or better yet, buy it some place else. Now the only way I can get the Collectors Edition Dark Souls it to pay a hundred dollars or more on Ebay.

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Live Action Ranma 1/2

Japan's NTV network will be airing a 2 hour long live action adaptation of Rumiko Takahashi's Ranma 1/2 this December. The special will feature Kento Kaku (Paradise Kiss, Gokusen) as Male Ranma Saotome, and Natsuna (Gantz) as Female Ranma Saotome.

And here's a brief synopsis of the story for those of you who might now know what I mean by Male and Female Ranma Saotome. During martial arts training in China, Ranma fell into the Spring of Drowned Girl. The spring was cursed so that who ever fell into it would take on the appearance of a girl when splashed with cold water. Hot water reverses the effect. This leads to several hilarious situations between Ranma and his friends and causes him to be the center of affection for several characters in the series, both male and female.

I hope the show is good. And if it is that someone licenses it for US release.



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Image from Deeds and Musings


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DC Universe Online Goes Free to Play

Starting in October DC Universe Online will be free to play for both PC and PS3 players. However, like any free to play MMO there will be certain parts of the game requiring a purchase. Sony is adopting a membership tier setup similar to Dungeons and Dragons Online. That being there will be 3 tiers consisting of Free, Premium, and Legendary. The tiers breakdown as follows

Free: New players will now have access to the current gameplay in DC Universe Online (including Gotham City, Metropolis, and all current raids and alerts), with the ability to create two characters, join a league and many other benefits. Free level players will be able to purchase downloadable game packs/updates, additional character slots, powers and more through microtransactions.

Premium: Any player who has spent at least $5 USD (including former paid subscribers and new players who have purchased $5 of in-game items) will qualify for the Premium access level. Premium level players will have more benefits available to them than the Free level player, including additional character slots, additional inventory slots, and higher cash limits. Downloadable adventure packs, additional character slots, and more can be purchased in-game.

Legendary: Maximum features and benefits are included at this level. Loaded with enhanced additional features, Legendary access will be available for a $14.99 USD monthly fee and includes all DLC packs at no cost, more than 15 character slots, more than 80 inventory slots, the ability to form unrestricted-sized leagues, and many other benefits.

I'll probably be trying the game out once it switches over. Anyone else planning to check it out?

News from G4's The Feed

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New Books and Used Games

 Picked up some new books this month. Finally got around to getting The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya. I had ordered it back in February at Books A Million, but wasn't able to go pick it up due to a broken ankle. I've got The Rampage of Haruhi Suzumiya ordered. It should be here next week. While at Books A Million I also picked up Dungeons and Dragons: Forgotten Realms Classics, which collects Issues 1-8 of the DC comics from 1989. And let's not forget Higurashi: Eye Opening Arc volumes 1 and 2.

Decided to stop by the local comic book store. Hadn't been there in years since I've been more into reading manga than comics. I went because a friend had told the new IDW Dungeons and Dragons comic was pretty good and I wanted to check it out. While I was there I got Red Sonja issue 2, Transformers issue 25, and Dungeons and Dragons issue 10.

Gamestop was running a Buy 2 Get 2 Free sale on used Playstation 2 games. I've wanted to pick up the Fatal Frame series for a long time, but wasn't to keen on paying 30 bucks a piece on them. But with the sale I could buy 2 of them and get the 3rd + another game free. Got Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne as my extra game. And was also able to find a copy of Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days. That's all for now.

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Disgaea 4 Premium Edition

My Disgaea 4 Premium Edition came in the mail yesterday from the NIS America Store. It comes with the Limited Edition version of the game,  and the "Complete" 9 figure Disgaea 4 figure set. I say "Complete", but more on that later.

More after the jump....

The limited edition of the game includes a Fuka figure, and art book. The artbook has art for the main characters, the various unit classes, and monsters. It also contains some comments from the voice actors for the each of the main characters. I like the background for Fuka. She was supposed to be a Prinny, but they ran out of Prinny skin. All she got was a Prinny hat. She's also convinced she isn't dead and this is all a dream.

The figures come packaged like Trading Figures. But the website advertised as "Complete Disgaea 4 Nine Figure Set ($72 value)" That makes one assume you will receive all 9 unique figures. Add in the Fuka figure that comes with the limited edition of the game and there should be 10 unique figures.

If you look you may notice there are only 9 figures pictured above. That's because my set is missing the Fallen Angel Flonne figure. Instead I got an extra Final Boss Nominee Desco (figure in top right next to the Prinny, and behind Archangel Flonne). I've not seen anyone else mention this problem, and the few other blogs and Youtube unboxing videos I've found showing off the Premium set have all had the complete figure set. 

Because of this I am assuming my receiving 2 Desco figures is a mistake, and have emailed NIS America. And before anyone says, "But, the package says Trading Figures, so they are probably randomly inserted." That is not what was advertised. What was advertised is a complete set of 9 figures. Not 9 randomly inserted figures. Plus so far I seem to be the only one in this situation. Anyone else not get the complete set? 

Other than the missing figure the set is very nice. The figures and bases are magnetized so the figures mostly stay standing. Prinny due to his size and tiny legs does tend to fall over if the base is bumped. Also the individual bases connect together as you see in the picture above. I'll get some individual pics of each figure up soon. And will post when I hear back from NIS America on my missing figure.

UPDATE: I got a reply back from NISA and they said they will mail me the figure I'm missing. Now I just have to wait for it to get here. Thanks NISA for taking care of this.

Feel free to comment.

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MangaGamer and J-List Join Forces

English Visual Novel producer, Manga Gamer, has partnered with J-list to offer packaged versions of some of their titles. Manga Gamer started in 2008 as a download only producer of English translated visual novels. Earlier this year they released their first retail box, with the Da Capo Limited Edition. On July 19th, 2011, J-List announced it had partnered with Manga Gamer to release more titles as packaged games. The first five games currently available from this partnership are:

Da Capo 2 Limited Edition (18+)
Guilty The_SiN (18+)
Higurashi When They Cry (All Ages)
Higurashi When They Cry Kai (All Ages)
Kira Kira (All Ages)

This is great news for people who prefer to own an actual box and DVD (like myself). And hopefully this will get more exposure for Manga Gamer so they can continue translating new titles to English.


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Yotsuba and !

Purchased some new manga this week. Got Yotsuba&! volumes 8 and 9. I really love this manga. The entire managa is about seeing the world through Yotsuba's eyes. How many of you were like Yotsuba when you were her age?

My other manga acquisitions were Negima! 29 (NEWS: There is a new anime to be released this year), Higurashi: Beyond Midnight Arc 2, and K-on! volume 2.

I also picked up Percy Jackson and the Olympians: Battle of the Labyrinth. Fox totally messed up when they made their movie adaptation. If they had stuck more to the book, instead of butchering it, they probably would of had a good 5 movie franchise on their hands.


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Hatsune Miku to Perform at Anime Expo 2011

The Miku-Fes 2011 Committee will be hosting a live Hatsune Miku concert at this years Anime Expo. The concert will take place in the NOKIA Theater on July 2nd, and will be sponsored by Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A. The concert will be based off the "Miku's Day Thanksgiving" which took place March 9th, 2010 in Tokyo. More information can be found at http://mikufes.com/

In other Hatsune Miku news Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A. is featuring her in some of their commercials to promote the 2011 Corolla




Hatsune Miku - World is Mine Live

Image from The Banzai Effect
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R.I.P Sara Jane Smith

Actress Elisabeth Sladen passed away from Cancer Tue April 19th, 2011. Sladen was probably best know for her role as Sara Jane Smith on Doctor Who from 1973-1976. She later reprised the role role in 1983's The Five Doctor's and guest appearances in the current Doctor Who series starting in 2006. She also portrayed Sara Jane Smith in Doctor Who spin off series The Sara Jane Adventures.


Goodbye, Sara Jane.

Image from The Guardian
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R.I.P Tokyopop

Just found out that Tokyopop is closing it's North American publishing operations on May 31s, 2011. Tokyopop has brought some great titles to the US, such as Love Hina, Ai Yori Aoshi, and Fruits Basket. They were also the first publish manga in it's original right to left format. It's disheartening to see such a leader in the US manga industry have to close it's doors. But, it seems the loss of their Kodansha licenses was just to much for them to come back from.

Tokyopop, you will be missed.

News source Ain't It Cool News
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Bandai 2011 Spring Clearance Sale

Just thought I'd pass along that Bandai is having a clearance sale at their store. You can pick up a lot of their titles for 50% off.

Bandai Clearance Sale
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In a Hole in the Ground There Lived a Hobbit

Peter Jackson has posted his first video blog from the set of the Hobbit. The video shows the reconstructed Bag End and Rivendale, as well as the orc caves where Bilbo has a fateful encounter. I really can't wait for The Hobbit part 1, but these videos should help make the wait a little more bearable.



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TRON and an Eroge

Picked up TRON Legacy this week, and as a big fan of the original I had to get The Ultimate TRON Experience.

This 5 disc set comes in this collectible case shaped like an Identity Disc, which lights up. The 5 discs it comes with are TRON Legacy 3D Bluray (in case I ever get a 3D TV), TRON Legacy Bluray, TRON Legacy DVD, TRON Legacy Digital copy, and the original TRON on Bluray.

I also got the English language version of Da Capo, which is Mangagamer's first retail release of an eroge they have translated. It came with a soundtrack and art book. I'll probably play through it once I finish Dragon Age 2.



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Mortal Kombat Legacy Premiers Next Week

The live action Mortal Kombat Legacy web series will premier April 12th on Machinima.com.

Original short film that got the series a green light


I liked the first Mortal Kombat movie, the second wasn't quite as good, so I'm looking forward to watching this. Anyone else planning to watch?

END POST.
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Three for the Price of One

Went to Best Buy this week and they had this 3 pack of PS3 games for 29.99. The included games were Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, Tomb Raider Underworld, and Mercenaries 2: World in Flames. Uncharted is 29.99 by itself, so I basically got the other two games for free. Also all proceeds from this 3 pack will be used to fund programs and opportunities for America's youth by the Entertainment Software Association Foundation. If you haven't gotten Uncharted yet, but have been considering it, I suggest seeing if your local Best Buy has this pack. Not only do you get 2 free games, but your donating to a worthy cause. More information on how the ESA uses the proceeds can be found at http://www.theesa.com/foundation.

I also picked up Tangled on Bluray which is an awesome movie. And according to The LA Times is Disney's Final Fairy Tale for the foreseeable future. They believe the target audience of young girls is to small to warrant making any more for now due to "The Princess and the Frog" not doing well. I just think the Princess and the Frog wasn't that good a movie. At least not compared to some of their other fairy tale themed movies. What are your thoughts on the subject?

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New Games and Manga

Went to Shreveport to help a friend out today, and stopped by a couple of the game stores over there before heading home. Picked up Resistance Fall of Man and Kameo at a used game store there, and 999 (9 Hours, 9 Persons, 9 Doors), and Disgaea Infinite at Gamestop. Also stoped by Books a Million to pick up Higurashi: Beyond Midnight Arc volume 1.

And for those of you not familiar with 999, but enjoy visual novels. 999 is a visual novel for the Nintendo DS by Aksys Games. It combines visual novel elements with puzzles. The story is about 9 people who are kidnapped, placed on a sinking boat, and given 9 hours to to get past 9 doors before they all drown. So it kind of has a Saw kind of story.



This new game in the Disgaea series is also a visual novel, but unlike 999 is fully voiced. You play the role of a Prinny that gets blamed for the attempted assassination of Overlord Laharl, and thus had your salary reduced to 0. But with the help of a found pocket watch that can send you back in time you can try and keep Laharl from being blown up. There is just one catch in the past your a ghost, but you can possess people and view the story from different angles to find the culprit. At certain points you can even use Mind Control to alter what a character was going to say, thus changing the outcome.

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Heart de Roomate For Free

Jast USA is having a sale. If you buy 3 games (including pre-orders) you get a copy of Heart de Roomate, one of the best games they've ever released.

Due to a number of unfortunate incidents, Yusuke is left without a place to live when he transfers to his new school. Where will he go? Then to his surprise, he runs into his childhood friend Asumi. Misunderstanding Yusuke's situation, she escorts him back to her girls' school dorm and announces to her astonished roommates that Yusuke will be living with them! It sounds like heaven for Yusuke, but it's not: the other girls make him take care of the cleaning and cooking, and he also has to wear a girl's uniform to hide their secret. Tough luck for Yusuke, but over time he starts enjoying life with his cute roommates. What he never expected was where his ever-growing passion towards these pretty girls would take him...

The game is presented in an episodic style complete with "Next time on Heart de Roomate" endings to each episode, and even a flashback episode. It's one of my favorite English released visual novels/dating sim, and I highly recommend it.

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Halo Reach Legendary Edition

Thought I'd post some pics of my Halo Reach unboxing. The box by the way is huge.

The first things in the box are the limited edition of the game, and letter from your "cousin" hoping you enjoy this scale replica of the War Monument to Noble Team.

More after the jump.....

The Noble Team statue features the five of the six members of the team and is made by McFarland Toys.

Carter and Emile

Jorge and Kat

Emile and Jun

The limited edition opens to reveal the game, but that's not all.

Underneath the game is a package labeled Confidential and a not regarding it's contents.

The pouch contains a diary.

The diary contains a patch, an id card, as well as several maps, letters, and blue prints.

The diary belonged to a scientist who was on Reach at the time of the Covenant invasion.

I haven't read it yet, but I think it has to do with the creation of Cortana and Master Chief

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