Posted by Michael Pinto on Jul 15, 2010 in Videogames
Nimble Strong is a new bar-tending themed game for the iPhone which combines the charm of an old school Nintendo role playing game with an otaku-friendly anime art direction style. However unlike so many Nintendo DS games where you’re challenged with a unrelated quiz at every turn (like Professor Layton) what makes the gameplay here so wonderful is that to advance in the game you have to mix a drink. And you’re not just blindly clicking on a tumbler to score points, but actually learning to bartend as you go along: Read more…
This surrealistic collection of cosplay photos shows the actual model model before and after Photoshop. At first I was sort of offended by looking at this, but then I realized that what the Photoshop artists are doing isn’t any different than what fashion magazines do with their cover models by creating a idealized version of reality that might not be so realistic: Read more…
Posted by Michael Pinto on Jul 11, 2010 in Animation
Before Robotech there was Voltron which was the ultimate Japanese robot show about robots that came together: The series featured smaller robots that came together to form a larger robot, and the show itself was create by editing two anime series together (Beast King Go-Lion and Armored Fleet Dairugger XV). Incubot is honoring this old school show with a Voltron Nekobot Flash Drive which will hold two gigs of storage and features a blazing sword. Read more…
Posted by Michael Pinto on Jun 29, 2010 in Animation
Having been President of the Star Blazers Fan Club I’m still envious to this day the attention that’s lavished on Mobile Suit Gundam. This cover of Monthly Gundam Ace which goes on sale on July 26th is crammed with all sorts of goodies: Firstly you’ve got the celebration of the 15th anniversary of Mobile Fighter G Gundam but then you’ve got those cool Gundam collector’s cards and a story on Mobile Suit Gundam Wing.
Posted by Michael Pinto on Jun 28, 2010 in Animation
Shown above is an ever so cute promotional illustration from the film Welcome to the Space Show in which five kids save the life of an alien space creature who happens to look like a cute doggie. The August issue of the Japanese publication Dengeki Daioh has an entire booklet on the show: Read more…
These are screenshots from the upcoming K-ON! videogame Tea Time After School and Live which will be released at the end of September in japan for the PSP by Sega. The game will feature the K-ON! characters as 3D models playing popular songs after school — and there will also be a special bonus sticker book as well. Read more…
I don’t want to brag but back in the day before all the new kids (who are no longer kids) discovered Ranma ½ I already knew who Rumiko Takahashi was because I had already fallen in love with Urusei Yatsura — which by the way I always felt was a much more humorous series. So when I set my eyes on this amazing sculpture of Lum needless to say I was quite smitten. I’m also impressed with the fact that this model comes in one version with green hair and another with magenta hair. This collectable figurine of Lum is designed by the ever so talented Bome who is a Japanese sculptor whose primary focus is the ladies of anime. Read more…
Some of you may know Danny Choo, he’s a pretty popular guy among otakus and fanboys alike. As such, I tend to share many of the same passions, such as Japanese anime and figures. Recently he uploaded these amazing photos to his flickr account, showing off some fantastic anime papercraft. I especially loved the Asuka he posted, as it actually looks better than some of the low-end PVC statues I’ve seen floating around. Pretty crazy considering it’s just paper. Check out his flickr stream if you want to see some more. Read more…
I recently came a across a nice series of fan videos by GoldenJellyBean on YouTube which included a few well done tutorials on creating crochet anime and videogame characters. Here’s a nice one on creating a Totoro: Read more…
Posted by Christian Liendo on May 24, 2010 in Fandom
There’s nothing like cosplay to put a bit of spring into your Spring! This photo essay shows off the fashion in action at Sakura Matsuri 2010 which was held at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden at the beginning of May: Read more…
Posted by Christian Liendo on May 20, 2010 in Fandom
Cosplay Party 2.0 was a special event held at the Japan Society in New York City last Saturday, May 15th, The event included a screening of Evangelion 1.11: You Are (Not) Alone. Here are some photographic highlights of the gala: Read more…
Posted by Michael Pinto on May 17, 2010 in Animation
Above: Lady Gaga conquers Japan — love her or hate her, you can’t ignore somebody who has a hit.
I just read yet another blog entry on how illegal fan subtitled shows are killing anime, which I think misses the point. Anime is yet another branch of the entertainment business, and despite how much we fans pride ourselves on how different we are the cruel fact is that the only thing that really matters at the end of the day is that only the hits count. Now some economists will all harp about “the long tail” effect, but the harsh reality is that show business is a popularity contest (just like high school). And even in an industry that has been worse hit by piracy like the music industry you still have the likes of a Lady Gaga who is pulling in the moolah — and is thus a success. Read more…
This beautifully crafted One Piece human/reindeer hybrid figurine is from a Japanese company called Plex. I’m particularly impressed with the high level of detail of the paint job shown in the photos, it shows a nice level of craftsmanship. The cast of the manga is being released one at a time and Tony Tony Chopper who is shown here is set to come out in June. Read more…
As any good Pokefan knows, the next Pokemon generation– Pokemon Black and White –has been announced, along with the requisite end of the current anime (presumably to be replaced with a new one), and with images of the new Pokemon. Read more…
I don’t want to date myself too badly, but I had the pleasure of seeing Macross before it was Robotech and the one thing that I loved about the show right away was the mecha design. And apparently I’m not the only one who felt that way — shown here is a Lego recreation of the Valkyrie VF-1S by the talented Eric Druon who goes by the name BaronSat. His Robotech as Lego tribute gallery is here — and his beautiful website is here. I personally think that it’s amazing that a fictional fighter robot which was designed by the talented folks at Studio Nue in 1982 would inspire someone to tackle this tribute 28 years later — which is all the more amazing considering that the show was originally set in the futuristic year of 2009. Read more…
So I found myself at my local Asian grocery store and looking in the corner of the ice cream section I spotted a pile of GeGeGe no Kitaro ices. I went ahead and tried the iced bar and after doing a bit of research it seems that it was actually “milk flavored” — although it wasn’t ice cream, but more like an Italian ice. It also turns out that in Japan there is a soda flavored version as well. Here is the entire package design: Read more…
Bandai is releasing a limited edition of 100 official Luffy straw hats. Now these aren’t just any old hats made to make a quick yen — these hand made hats will be crafted fourth generation milliners who live by the Inland Sea in Japan. The hats will be shipping in mid-June and sell for ¥4980 each, although my guess is that the competition will be pretty stuff from the many other One Piece fans. Read more…
Feast your eyes on these wicked new chopsticks from Kotobukiya. Fans of the Sengoku Basara anime series, as well as Japanese history buffs like myself, might recognize the designs. Believe it or not, they’re actually fashioned after the swords and blades supposedly carried by the likes of Masamune Date, Keiji Meada and Yukimura Sanada — warriors who fought during Japan’s Sengoku era — with some amount of historical accuracy. I’ve always had a fascination with Samurais, so these are right up my alley. The chopsticks, estimated to cost about $9 a pair, won’t be hitting stores and online retailers until sometime in July. For more information, check out Kotobukiya’s US website. Read more…
For Lotte’s latest commercial for their ACUO brand of gum they’re featuring an animated Haruhi Suzumiya (and her friends) interacting with live action actor Toma Ikuta. As much as I love Haruhi I think the cutest part of the advert is when he runs out side and the three street cats that are looking at him transform into cat girls: Read more…
At long last there’s an answer to the classic problem is that you’re an aspiring j-pop guitar player but you don’t want to disturb your neighbors. VOX is introducing a line of K-on! themed headphone guitar amplifiers so you can practice your chords in private. These goodies will be hitting music stores in japan in late April and come in three editions — one for Yui Hirasawa, another for Azuka Nakano and a bass guitar one for Mio Akiyama. Read more…
Astronaut Soichi Noguchi (seen on the left) grew up watching Space Battleship Yamato which is well known to American fans as Star Blazers. And here he is on International Space Station making us Earth bound retro anime fans very proud. Here’s the official caption for the photo from NASA which sadly omits the fanboy reference: Read more…
Posted by Michael Pinto on Apr 10, 2010 in Animation
Rail thin blond ladies and killer mecha, yup we got that! This beautiful fan made video from Japan combines Leiji Matsumoto animation with Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody. My thanks to Evan Minto of Ani-Gamers for finding this gem!
If you’re lucky enough to be in Japan on April 25th there will be an amazing handshake session with Go Nagai at the Go Nagai Wonderland Museum. The day starts off with a Talk Show which traces the career of Go Nagai and then is followed up with the pre-release of the Soul of Chogokin Mazinger Z GX-45C color comic version collectable shown above and below. The collectable robot will be released in a limited edition of 100 and will set you back 6,800 yen: Read more…
