For hobby enthusiasts, developing a passion and devotion to an industry takes time, and while it can be visually measured with how much you own (thus bringing in the materialism and consumerism aspect). There is more to the limited examples for what was presented in Tokyopop’s search for the Greatest Otaku. Otaku can be defined as being loving all things Japanese anime, or obsessive introverts, but to be a devoted fan really is have the knowledge and sincere passion for it. Similar to uncovering the layers of an onion are identities and fandoms of this niche cultures that is worth exploring and considering. Before getting to the list, I have to mention that some of the labels I have used is an approximation of how a certain fandom treats aspects of the anime hobby. Read more…
Posted by Michael Sacco on Mar 6, 2011 in Videogames
Okay, technically I don’t know for certain whether it’s actually the world’s smallest, but this laser-cut acrylic Space Invaders cabinet is pretty darn small at five inches tall. There’s even a little in-progress game on it! If you’re keen on making your own out of 3mm acrylic, you can grab the pattern for it, but bear in mind you do need a laser cutter to do it. Though, admittedly, it’s easier to get a laser cutter than it is to get an actual Space Invaders cabinet, use a shrink ray to make it five inches tall, and convert it to acrylic at the molecular level. Ostensibly, anyway. Read more…
Alcon Entertainment, an investment group owned by Warner Brothers, recently acquired the rights to create new Blade Runner films, though it appears the films must be prequels or sequels, thus ruling out unnecessary remakes. This could be good news for fans of the original Blade Runner, or it could put you into a state of abject terror. Sequels to older movies generally don’t work that well. The good news is, there’s still a lot of time for popular opinion to coalesce — it doesn’t appear that the rights-owners have the slightest idea what kind of film they want to make right now, what material it would feature, anything like that. It’s almost comforting that no one involved with the project has yet piped up and said “I was thinking the best way to make this movie would be to add GIANT REPLICANTS. Squid replicants, dinosaur replicants. Transforming car replicants. That’s Blade Runner, man.” Read more…
Han Solo has already shown us the results of crossing bounty hunters and galactic crime lords, but now we finally know what happens to those who cross Shawna, the manager at Jo-Ann Fabrics. Xanadoodle created this 16-inch throw pillow, which is a fairly faithful (as yarn goes) recreation of Han Solo’s famous carbonite imprisonment. At least this Han looks comfortable. Well, comfortable to lounge on, anyway. His face tells a slightly different story. Read more…
Posted by Michael Sacco on Mar 4, 2011 in Pulp Fiction
The next book in George R. R. Martin’s much-loved A Song of Ice and Fire series, A Dance with Dragons, has been due for quite a while. It’s had release dates from 2007 all the way through this year! But fans of the series can now rejoice — a hard release date of July 12th, 2011 has been set for Dance. Judging by Martin’s rate of producing work, it’ll be some time before you get the next book in the series, so you should enjoy this one while it lasts. And at 900+ pages, that should be quite a while. Read more…
Got anywhere to be eleven-and-a-half months from now? I hope so, because that’s when Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace is returning to theaters in 3D. Specifically, it’s scheduled for theatrical release on February 10th, 2012. The good news is that you can avoid the whole thing by just holing yourself up in a secluded cabin that weekend and throwing your cell phone and laptop into the ocean so none of your friends can get a hold of you and convince you to go see it out of some misguided notion that it was “still an okay movie, just not a good Star Wars movie.” On the other hand, Lucasfilm does say that the 3D conversion is “meticulous”… Read more…
It’s still far from a confirmation, but during his 2011 Game Developers Conference panel, Sega producer Yu Suzuki shocked everyone by stating that he believes Sega will finally let him finish the Shenmue saga with the third and final installment of the trilogy. While the original titles were considered ground breaking both terms of gameplay and aesthetics, a number of factors ultimately led Sega to the cancel their plans for a third entry in the series. Read more…
Piracy is an issue that plagues most of media entertainment on the net. In manga publishing, piracy is known as scanlations, and with the boom of digital publishing becoming more popular, a viable solution must be found soon. Recently the tweets of two mangaka creators (Ken Akamatsu & Kazumi Tojo) were translated about their feelings on the issue against internet manga piracy. This all boils down to the issue of are there viable solutions and attempts being done?
Digital Manga Guild is a solution that Digital Manga Publishing came up with last year, as a way to link fans, scanlators, creators and digital publishing. As a manga publisher Digital Manga has been releasing manga, or novels under several publishing imprints. DMP, Juné, DokiDoki, and 801Media. DMP is for their general manga releases, with Hellsing, Trigun, and Antique Bakery as examples of what past English adaptations. The other three imprints I have mention are Digital Manga boys love publishing imprints varying by degrees of how explicit a story could be. Read more…
I’m not sure why it bothers me so much to see those vans with those family decals stuck on their rear-view windows. Something about having to advertise the fact that your family shares a mini-van just seems a little much. If, on the other hand, your family owns the Millennium Falcon, I think I’d be okay with it. That’s why I love this design by artist Steve Thomas. I don’t think you’ll be able to find the sticker, but you can head over to TeeFury and pick up this nifty design on a custom tee of your own. Like every other design that gets featured on the site, it’ll only be available for 24 hours, or until it sells out — whichever comes first. Read more…
It’s been nearly six years since TheElder Scrolls IV: Oblivion blew us away with its vast world filled with rich open-ended content and seemingly unparalleled visuals — at least, for its time. Those visuals were quickly dated, but kept fresh thanks to a large community bent on modding the game to meet their standards. Now, we’re finally getting our first look at the in-game engine for the upcoming sequel, Skyrim. Read more…
If you’re a fan of the Trek and also happen to enjoy the occasional comic, you might want to check out GIT Corp’s Star Trek: The Complete Comic Book Collection. Produced back in 2008, this digital collection covers over 500 issues from 1967 through 2002. That said, the title might be a bit misleading — I’d hardly call it a definitive or complete collection — but it’s certainly a lot of content. To top it off, Amazon is currently offering the collection for 90% off its list price. Rather than paying the full $30, you can snag this collection for only $7. At that price, it’s practically stealing. Check the Amazon listing for a detailed list of comics included in this package.
A while back I came across an interesting iPhone app called Bijin Tokei. I had no idea what it was at first, but I knew enough Japanese to figure out it had something to do with beautiful girls. That said, I didn’t know what to expect, especially considering Apple keeps their app store relatively clean. Turns out it’s simply a clock app that simply displays pictures of beautiful Japanese girls holding up the time. I can’t say my mind was blown, but I have to admit it’s entertaing enough to keep me coming back and tame enough to not feel creepy. Read more…
When it comes to otaku clothing, I’ve always found finding fashionable items to be a challenge. Sure there’s some gems out there, but generally speaking, it’s kind of hard to look sharp when you’re sporting a lounge shirt with your favorite Dragon Ball character printed all over it. These gloves, on the other hand, are hardly such an eyesore. Not only do they sport a slick NERV logo, they’re also utilitarian, making them perfect for your Vespa, motorcycle, or piloting your very own Evangelion unit. J-List has them for $60 before shipping but you can probably snag them cheaper elsewhere. Read more…
To honor the return of the anime series Gin Tama to the air Bandai created a limited line of desserts to celebrate the occasion. There are 25 desserts in all which will be sold at Namco Namja in Japan. Here are a few of the clever designs: Read more…
Posted by Linda Yau on Feb 28, 2011 in Comic Books
Initially released in 1968 at Japan, Shonen Jump is a still running manga magazine that targets the interests of young Japanese male readers. This is not to be confused with Shonen Sunday, which is another long running rival magazine that targets late teens to early twenties males. Now what does this got to do with the United States? Shonen Sunday and Shonen Jump, while rival publications abroad are both published in English by Viz Media. The premises of a Shonen Jump story has an easy to follow theme of a male protagonist, with a journey, conflict or antagonist to triumph over. This win is the result of morals, perseverance, loyalty, and friendship. Stories created from these concepts sold millions. Read more…
Posted by Michael Sacco on Feb 27, 2011 in Animation
Cartoon Network has granted viewers sight beyond sight with a trailer for the upcoming Thundercats reboot! Check out your favorite cat-dudes and their mummy-dude adversary in their new anime-inspired incarnations. It looks like the gang’s all here, more or less, and Snarf is, dare I say, pretty cute! It’s a brave new world where I can speak his name and the tone isn’t murderous, and I like it. Studio 4oC has done a great job putting their own twist on this established (and admittedly pretty weird) universe, so let’s hope the show itself holds up as well as the art does. Read more…
2011 is truly the year of superheroes, from the salvo of superhero moves being launched from Hollywood to the several superhero TV shows either being planned or already on TV. And now cable is getting its own shot at the genre — FX has ordered a pilot of Brian Michael Bendis’ comic series Powers. The series, starring an ex-superhero who works as a police officer in a department that investigates superhero-related homicides, is a great fit for a TV-MA channel like FX, so let’s hope that they handle the IP with the respect it deserves. Read more…
Posted by Michael Sacco on Feb 26, 2011 in Television
Firefly fans just can’t seem to let the show go, even this many years after it was canceled. Nathan Fillion mused that he’d like to buy the rights to the show and make more of it. But right now, the closest you’ll come to the starship Serenity is an absolutely enormous wall sticker of it! 48 inches diagonal, in fact. It’s made by Quantum Mechanix, and it’s based on the original 3D model of the ship from the film of the same name. You can even peel it off of one enormous wall and re-stick it onto another wall. You might call it Verse-atile. Yeah, I went there. Read more…
Fans of Doctor Who may be quite pleased to hear that a free-to-play MMO based on the Doctor’s exploits is in development! Called Words in Time, it’s set to be a “fun and easy” online game for fans of all ages in which you assist you the Time Lord himself, going on missions and vanquishing classic foes. Those with software engineering skills may be even more interested in the game, because its developer, Three Rings, is hiring! The catch is that you have to live in Madison, Wisconsin. Maybe it’s not as bad as it sounds, though — their office is pretty darn cool. Read more…
Ivan Reitman’s been dangling a possible Ghostbusters 3 in front of us for years now, and now that there’s a completed script, it’s only a matter of time before it starts production, right? Well, almost. There’s one problem, and his name is Bill Murray. See, there’s a special arrangement in place that says that no new Ghostbusters production can move forward without the consent of all of its original stars/creators. And Bill Murray is notoriously picky about his projects (except for Garfield, I guess). He told Howard Stern that he had received the script some time ago but hadn’t read it yet because it just “isn’t the foremost thing in [his] mind.” That’s fair. But it’s foremost in my mind! Read the damn script, Bill! Read more…
Last Tuesday, Netflix reached a landmark deal with CBS to stream what no other service has streamed before — at least, without charging an arm and a leg for individual episodes. By now you’ve probably guessed it, but they’ve secured the license to stream every Star Trek series in their entirety, along with a whole catalog of classics like Cheers, Family Ties, and one of my personal favorites, The Twilight Zone. As far as Star Trek is concerned, this may be a first as I don’t recall any other service to date offering all six shows — that’s assuming they’ll be getting access to the animated series with this deal.
Ever since the first trailers for Marvel’s Captain America: The First Avenger hit the net, fans have been gearing up for what could be Marvel’s most anticipated film since 2008’s Iron Man. Given the excitement surrounding the film, many true believers have had to make due with comics and games, but I know there are those of you out there who like to burn holes in your wallets. My suggestion? Take a gander at Sideshow Collectibles’ Captain America premium format figure. This limited edition statue stands over two feet tall and features an incredibly detailed sculpt. Unfortunately that’s not the only thing incredible about it. Seeing as they’re only making 1,000 of them, the price tag stands at a hefty $290 not including tax and shipping, though at that price I can’t imagine they’d charge for it. Still, it’s mighty impressive and, if you’re a big enough fan, worth every penny. Read more…
I was already a little iffy about the next Superman film after director Zack Snyder announced his plans to cast English actor Henry Cavill as our beloved Clark Kent, and now we’re hearing that Kevin Costner has been cast as Kent’s adopted father. As much as I’d like to give Costner credit for his storied acting career, many of the major films he’s starred in have tanked at the box office. To be honest, I’m not really sure how much of that is his fault — after all, he’s not a bad actor — but if the naysayers are to be believed, his involvement may as well serve as an omen. I hope both him, and his co-star prove me wrong. Besides, it’s not like he’s the star of the film.
I don’t know why I thought Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga would be the last in the series of Star Wars and Lego crossovers. Maybe I just thought Lego was planning on sticking with film franchises they knew they’d be able to cash in on — Indiana Jones, and Harry Potter for example. Turns out I was wrong. Today marked the release of the official demo for the latest title in the series, Lego Star Wars III: The Clone Wars. As you’ve probably guessed, the plot of the game will follow the Cartoon Network animated series with a number of cameos from both the show and original films.
