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Jan 20 – Anime - Posted By Hisaishi
Anime News of the Week (1/13-1/20)
The Wind Rises Scores An Academy Nomination
After a defeat at the Golden Globes, Hayao Miyazaki’s The Wind Rises finds a second chance in the Best Animated Feature category at the Oscars. In a very strong category this year, the film joins all three Golden Globe nominees for Animated Feature, including the winner Frozen and the Cannes/Cesar award winner Ernest and Celestine. All nominees can be seen below.
The Songs of The Scouts
After 20 years, Sailor Moon has once again become the talk of the anime world. To celebrate further, ten musical acts, including Tommy heavenly6; Halko Mamoi; and the voice of Sailor Galaxia, Mitsuko Horie, will pay tribute to the songs of the iconic shoujo series. The album is released January 29.
Cry Havoc, Bears of Despair
Scenario supervisor Kazutaka Kodaka has revealed that the 2013 series Danganronpa had fifteen minutes of additional footage that never made it to broadcast. This footage will be included in the final DVD and Blu-Ray of the series. Kodoka promised this will change the outlook for the series, which announced a second season in 2013. The final volume will be released on February 26th.
http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2014-01-16/danganronpa-blu-ray/dvd-expands-finale-by-14-minutes
Say Hello To The Latest Vocaloid
Announced by software developer Internet Co., Ltd., the latest Vocaloid, dubbed Kokone (meaning "heart sound") will boast one of the largest vocal ranges of any character, as well as improved dictation. Kokone was designed by illustrator AkkeyJin and hits shelves on Valentine’s Day. Below is her first vocal demo.
The Kagamines Got Game
In other Vocaloid news, peripheral creator Hori has designed a new controller for the upcoming Project Diva Desu F 2nd. The controller features twins Rin and Len Kagamine and all the aspects of a regular Dual Shock 3 controller. The merch drops the same day as the game, being March 6th. Link
Science Fiction Legacy Ends in April
The Cyborg 009 franchise, created by the late Shotaro Ishimori in 1964, will complete its final manga incarnation in April with the closure of the serialization magazine Club Sunday. The current title, Cyborg 009 Kanketsu-hen, launched in 2010 and was created by Masato Hayase and Sugar Satō. The manga told of nine cyborgs that, though designed for world war, turn on their masters to defend their human targets. Link
Ikebukuro Is Back in Business
Light novelist Ryohgo Narita has announced the newest chapter in his smash hit Durarara!!. The first arc ended with the most recent 13th volume, and Narita says Chapter 14 will pose a two-year time-skip and will have the new title of Durarara!! SH. In addition, the series is preparing to celebrate the 10th anniversary this April. More information on the events is to follow.
Link
The Salmon of Doubt…and Merchandise
In perhaps their oddest move thus far, merchandising company Sanrio has released a new character…a salmon filet. Kirimi-chan is the result of an online poll that posed 20 possible characters based on food and asked fans to vote for their favorite. Her merchandise line, which includes plushes, tote bags, and plates, hits stores on February 16. Link
Video Game Industry Posts Numbers
The statistics regarding the U.S. sales of hardware/software for December 2013 have been released, revealing interesting trends. The entirety of the industry’s profits fell 2% compared to 2012, the Xbox One won the Christmas console wars, the 3DS was the highest selling hardware, and Grand Theft Auto V was the highest selling game of the year.
Link
The Samurai Legend Returns
At the 2014 Basara Festival, which celebrates the Sengoku Basara video game franchise, it was announced that a new anime has begun production. The series previously spawned two anime series and a film. Also announced was a CAPCOM DLC in which players could use a Dante skin from the Devil May Cry franchise for main character Date Masamune. Link
Just Another Reason To Visit Japan
With the trend of anime pilgrimages on the rise, fans can now look for all their favorites with Anime Tours: A Holy Land Pilgrimage Guide. This book features 150 anime from recent memory that have settings based on real places in Japan. Recommended are the Ghibli Tour and the sites of Shinjuku. Links
Join The Military, Desu!
In what seems to be a truly interesting trend, the forces of the Japanese Self-Defense Force are beginning to see a jump in the number of applying reserve troops. This is attributed to the work of Humikane Shimada (Strike Witches, Girls und Panzer), who designed mascots for each branch of the military and used them in a recruiting campaign. Link
Anime Premieres
- Inari Kon Kon
- Maken-ki! Season 2
Anime Releases
- Digimon: Digital Monsters – The Official Second Season Vol. 5 DVD (English)
- Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic – Set 1 DVD (English)
- Naruto Shippūden Box 17 DVD (English)
- One Piece Season 5 Part 5 DVD (English)
- Unico Double Feature – Film Blu-Ray (English)
- Yu-Gi-Oh! – Season 3 Volume 1 DVD (English)
- Yu-Gi-Oh! – Season 3 Volume 2 DVD (English)
- Yu-Gi-Oh! – The Official Third Season DVD (English)
- Sword Art Online – Vol. 2: Aincrad Part 2 DVD/Blu-Ray (Australia Release)
- Taisho Baseball Girls – Complete Collection Blu-Ray (Japanese)
Manga Releases
- 07-Ghost Volume 8
- Blade of the Immortal – Raining Chaos Volume 28
- Case Closed Volume 49
- Excel Saga Volume 27
- His Favorite Volume 6
- Missions of Love Volume 6
- Sherlock Bones Volume 3
- Trigun Maximum [Omnibus] Volume 2
- Wandering Son Volume 6
- Wolfsmund Volume 3
Video Game Releases
- AeternoBlade (3DS) (USA)
- Age of Zombies (VITA) (USA/EU/AUS)
- Assassin's Creed 3 Liberation HD (360/PS3/PC) (USA/EU/AUS)
- Basement Crawl (PS4) (EU/AUS)
- Doodle Devil (VITA) (USA/EU)
- Dr. Luigi (WIIU) (USA/EU/AUS)
- Europa Universalis IV: Conquest of Paradise (PC) (USA/EU/AUS)
- Loren The Amazon Princess (PC) (USA)
- Loren The Amazon Princess: The Castle of N'Mar (PC) (USA)
- Masyu by Nikoli (3DS) (USA/EU/AUS)
- Muramasa Rebirth: Fishy Tales of the Nekomata (VITA) (AUS)
- Next Car Game: Early Access (PC) (USA)
- RaiderZ (PC) (USA/EU/AUS)
- SpellForce 2: Demons of the Past (PC) (USA)
- Steam Bandits: Outpost (PC) (USA/EU)
- The Banner Saga (PC) (USA/EU/AUS)
- The Raven - Legacy of a Master Thief (PS3) (USA/EU/AUS)
