| News | Anime Convention Gossip! - - THE VICE PIT | Sept. 24, 2012 |
| News | Three new songs and promo video for Project Diva 2nd announced | July 15, 2010 |
| News | Super Shiny Hatsune Miku Figure | May 3, 2010 |
| News | Bing Anime Mascots Offer Digital Gifties | Jan. 19, 2010 |
| News | Quick! Preorder Black Rock Shooter! | Jan. 15, 2010 |
| News | One Liners: Sexy Pikachu, Japanese Rap, Etc | Dec. 29, 2009 |
| News | Quick Picks 12/17/09 | Dec. 17, 2009 |
| News | Vice TV: Even Sailor Moon Can be Badass | Oct. 10, 2009 |
In this blog, I will be posting the links to whatever news features or blogs that I post here on AnimeVice on a mostly-daily basis. Be sure to drop by this thread every couple of days for the latest news from trusted sources around the industry (primarily ANN and SGcafe, All Original Rights Reserved to Them).
Organized by date written, will be updated whenever new blog news entry is made:
Segment One: The Anime/Manga/Game News of July
1. JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: The Animation + Tiger and Bunny: The Beginning (2012) Updates
2. Fate/stay Night [Realta Nua] Visual Novel Ported to the PS Vita
3. New Fairy Tail: The Maiden of the Phoenix (2012) Film Trailer
4. D.C. III (Da Capo III) Visual Novel Series to Get a Anime Series
5. Type-MOON Announces New Projects at Day One of Festival
6. Cool Tech: Augmented Reality Setup Allows You to Take Vocaloid diva Hatsune Miku Out for a Walk
7. New Trailer for the Three Puella Magi Madoka Magica Films Released
8. The 27th and Final Trailer Promoting Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha: 2nd A's Released
9. Two New Animes Based Off Two Manga Series Penned by Wataru Watari Get Green Light for Production
10. CrunchyRoll Announces Streaming of Both Dog Days Seasons Plus Stream of Hakuoki Reimeiroku
11. 2nd Official Trailer for the Upcoming From the New World Anime Released
12. Fate/Kaleid Anime Series Green Lighted by SILVER LINK
13. One Piece's Own Romantic Dawn Arc Will Be Used in New RPG Game One Piece Romantic Dawn: Boken no Yoake
14. Both Muv-Luv Visual Novels (Original + Muv-Luv Alternative) to Be Ported to PS3
15. Kyoto Animation Announces Their New Anime Series Scheduled for Fall 2012 Release
16. The Team at Nippon Ichi Software Announces Anime Project Based Off One of Their Games
17. GoHands/GoRA Project Releases the 4th Official Promotion Trailer for Fall 2012 Anime Series K
18. Studio Bones and Aniplex Announce Voice Cast for Main Characters in Zetsuen no Tempest Anime
19. Docomo Announces Limited Edition Cell Phone infused with JoJo's Bizarre Adventures + Extra Features
20. Famitsu Begins Streaming the Opening of Persona 4: Arena on Their Site
21. Newest Trailer for One Piece: Pirate Warriors Released by Namco Bandai Games at Comic-Con 2012
22. New Zettai Karen Children Anime Project in the Works As Part of Anniversary For the Franchise
Impressive Tech Demo Allows You To Take a Walk With Hatsune Miku, Thanks to Augmented Reality Tech
While still a work in progress, a male user from nicovideo (sort of like Japan's Youtube) has combined the power of the Kinect-like Asus Xtion and Wrap920 VR Glasses in order to bring Hatsune Miku to "virtual life" in front of you. In the video below, he takes Japan's favorite Vocaloid singer out for a walk in the park, and then shows how you can interact with her virtual being (petting her head, smacking her head, and moving her tie) by moving your hands towards her. Link for full story can be found below the video:
Full Story Link: http://sgcafe.com/2012/07/strolls-with-miku-now-a-close-reality/
Quite impressive stuff, to be honest. What are your thoughts and how would you use such technology?
Welcome to the first entry of Japan Uncut! This series is a supplement to Japan: The Series. Videos with the "Japan Uncut" label are videos that were either too long or too shaky to include in the main series.
This video takes place on July 17th, 2010, as my brother and I explore our first Japanese arcade: Akihabara's SEGA GiGO complex. Knowing I wasn't supposed to be filming, I kept the camera at my side, resulting in the footage being very shaky. I've done everything I can to stabilize the image as much as possible, but I understand and apologize if it's not enough. I thought that some might want to see what the inside of one of these places looks like, however, so I decided to upload the video we shot in its entirety.
SEGA GiGO is a six-story complex full of arcade machines, claw games, and capsule dispensers. The first couple of floors are filled with these last two, where players can win trinkets, figurines, stuffed toys, and body pillows of various anime characters, with the music of Hatsune Miku nearly drowning out whatever sounds these machines would make. The third floor and up are where the actual arcade games began. (I have a detailed list of the machines at the bottom of this post.)
It was the third floor where I discovered Pokémon Battrio, the first Pokémon arcade game ever made. I didn't even know it existed (I had to create its wiki page on Giant Bomb) and decided to make it my first Japanese arcade game. And for my first time playing an arcade game in a language I didn't know, I didn't do too bad! I actually won a match, somehow, and it wasn't until reading about the game later that I realized just how clueless I was. It turns out there are pog-like items that you purchase separately and then position on the grids near the buttons (I was wondering what they were for...) and a bunch of other mechanics I had no hope of figuring out. It was at this machine where a nice Japanese lady walked over and made a giant 'X' symbol with her arms, politely telling us we weren't allowed to film there.
After failing Chimchar and the rest of my Pokémon squad, I decided to try one of GiGO's many claw games. A slime from Dragon Quest caught my eye, so I tried my luck, receiving five tries for 500 yen. My mom took the fun out of these games when she told me the operator of the machine simply sets how often the claw will actually grasp something, so I didn't bother wasting more money when I didn't win.
Exiting the escalator on the fourth floor, my brother and I were greeted by eight massive P.O.D.s (panoramic optical displays), which, after a little examining, were for Kidō Senshi Gundam: Senjō no Kizuna (Mobile Suit Gundam: Bonds of the Battlefield). Near the P.O.D.s were two "pilot terminals" in which you could watch the games being played on an LCD screen or buy game cards to save your own progress. A bit too intimidating for me, I opted to play the Tekken 5 machine in the back (I unknowingly passed Street Fighter IV). As I sat down at the cabinet, I remembered a 2008 Giant Bombcast I heard during the Tokyo Game Show in which the crew discussed the difference in setups between Japanese and American arcades. In America (in my experiences, at least), a fighting game like Tekken 5 would be played side-by-side with your opponent on the same cabinet, with a player needing two out of three wins to be declared victor. In Japan, each player gets their own cabinet, which is placed back-to-back with their opponent's, and the winner isn't decided until a player nets three out of five wins. I prefer the Japanese way since you get your own screen, don't have to acknowledge your opponent, and get to play longer. It's like playing online, except there's no lag and way more cigarette smoke! Speaking of which, each cabinet had its own ashtray (I thought they were to hold 100 yen coins, at first). No one seemed to actually be smoking there, thankfully.
After warming up with the familiar, my brother and I headed to the fifth floor to find something a bit more ... foreign. While we passed by eight Border Breaks, an interesting-looking mech-based action game that supports up to 20 players via network connectivity, we decided to skip it since it looked too complicated. The fact that there were four "GiGO Border Break Rookie Guides" laying on a table didn't encourage us. So we went up to the sixth and final floor and found another mech game called Cyber Troopers Virtual-On Force. Attracted by its 4-player setup, I played as a lolita robot against my brother and a random Japanese dude. I won the second round, but I never grasped the controls and was merely haphazardly mashing buttons and wiggling the joystick around. Eventually losing and seeing everything GiGO had to offer, my brother and I descended the complex and left.
It was nice to exit an arcade without thinking, "Man, that employee was an asshole," or "I wish that machine had actually worked." GiGO was a place full of people there to have fun and play games. It was a place with employees on each floor willing to politely assist if needed. It was clean, every machine worked as it was supposed to, and it had the latest releases. It even had a designated area to trade cards and read guide books for the more complicated games! GiGO represented what an arcade was supposed to be, something I hadn't experienced for a quite a while prior to my visit. I knew the best was yet to come, however, so my brother and I went to further explore Akihabara.
Here's a list of everything I took notes on in the arcade:
B1 - Caffe Pasta Restaurant
First Floor - Various claw games and capsule dispensers
Second Floor - More claw games: pillows with anime characters, anime figurines, slimes, stuffed Rilakkumas etc.
Third Floor - More claw games and capsule dispensers. One Piece, Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA Arcade, World Club Champion Football, Pokémon Battrio, Dragon Quest: Monster Battle Road II Legends
Fourth Floor - Kidō Senshi Gundam: Senjō no Kizuna (8 P.O.D.s), Tekken 5, Street Fighter IV
Fifth Floor - Border Break (8), Sangokushi Taisen 3 WAR BEGINS
Sixth Floor - Cyber Troopers Virtual-On Force (12), DVS (6), MJ4 Evolution (11 - Mahjong), Shining Force Cross (8)
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Some Quick Background Information
Produced by the designers of MAX FACTORY and licensed by Crypton Future Media Inc, the 1/7th Scale PVC VOCALOID Hatsune Miku figure was released in Japan and was made available for sale in December 2009 for roughly 8,800 Yen (including taxes). It was sculpted by famed figure designer Kenichi Tsumura for MAX FACTORY. Analysis of Figure
Standing roughly 22 Cm tall, Hatsune Miku comes with a stamped black oval base that bears the Japanese logo for Hatsune Miku. The great amount of detail that both MAX FACTORY and sculptor Kenichi Tsumura have put into this figure is quite amazing, from the small details of her entire outfit to the outstanding blue/green color of her long hair. Unlike my 1/7th Scale Selvaria Bles figure, there are no additional pieces for Hatsune Miku that can be swapped in/out and nothing on the figure is removable. 
My Opinions
Hatsune Miku was the first figure that I purchased to start my humble anime figure collection this past May, and it was mostly by luck that I came across her. Back in April 2010, one of my friends from the Anime Gamer Clan (by the name of Ben Mailey, who lives in the United Kingdom), made the offer to anyone who was interested in purchasing the 1/7th Scale Hatsune Miku figure that his friend had decided to get rid of. Intrigued by the offer and the chance to get a good deal on her, I took up his offer and came into contact via Playfire with his friend Duncan of Lockerbie, Scotland in mid-May. He looked forward to sending me his Hatsune Miku figure, so long as I was willing to pay him roughly $120 for her (that included the international shipping and handling fees). I spent a week thinking it over, since at the time, the same figure on Play-Asia was running around $150 (before S&H fees). After 8 days, I contacted him and agreed to pay him the $120 via PayPal for the Hatsune Miku figure, and roughly 6 days later, on June 5th, 2010, she arrived in a well-worn Royal Mail box covered in United Kingdom and United States customs stickers. Ever since, she has been on the bookshelf on display for all who enter my room.
Final Scores
1/7th Scale VOCALOID Hatsune Miku PVC Figure (2009 GoodSmile/MAX FACTORY)
Price: 8,800 Yen (Roughly $95-$96 USD)Availability: Limited (Currently Out of Stock/Print on Play-Asia)
Detail: 5/5
Quality: 5/5
Would I Recommend it to Others?: Yes
( I am being called otaku, and I`m being harassed by some guy who hates anime.)
I made this push earlier this month, I began taking AMV`s seriously, but thats nothing, THEN! I went tro my local EB (think gamestop), And used my diplomatic prowess and charismatic ability to obtain an already ordered copy of Record of Agarest War: The really naughty edition. (the guy hadnt some in for a while and wasnt answering the phone),
Next! I pre-ordered V5 of Lucky Star (the Manga) and was excited to get it... (I havent finished yet... taking it slow... Wanna enjoy my fav manga...)
I then proceeded on by going through great lengths to order a Gundam Figure (I consider this tough cuz many online sites for stuff like that dont ship to Canada). Now if that doesnt proove enough that im Otaku, then here is my last card, I have completely tricked out my Desktop, it covered in anime related apps including a Miku pic thaat sings along with the songs, so I`m happy about that, I also have a lil Konata icon that tells my how well my computer is running, and another one of Konata dressed as Haruhi that indicates my computers power level, I got a clock thing with Mr. Anizawa on the inside (manager from Lucky star).... all of this has been thrown onto a big background of Haruhi!
Please lemme know if you would consider me at all Otaku.
Niconico Technology Club is attending a campaign of JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency), namely " Your message to Venus at Dawn" to reserve one of the plates covering Akatsuki (Dawn) - a probe vehicle which will be landing on Venus to recieve climate information on the planet - entirely for Hatsune Miku. If they can collect even more signs than 10000, they'll even be able to reserve more plates~ Also, your Name-Nickname-Stagename and your message for Venus will accompany her in this journey to Venus! Cool huh? Well, so help the Diva's voice ring throughout the galaxy!
Oh, the English project page~
http://kanmisikou.net/lab/venus/en/
Tokyo, JP July 15, 2009- There is a musical revolution taking Japan by storm. It's not happening in any clubs or live houses, but on the computers of thousands of amateur track creators. This revolution utilizes vocaloid software which can be programmed to have characters sing the way they are programmed, sounding exactly like a human. While artists worldwide use this software, Japan has created a unique subculture for it by revolving this world around vocaloid based characters.
These characters each have their own unique voice and are visualized in an anime style. Such imaginary characters as Hatsune Miku and Kagamine Rin have started to rival some of the biggest names in the music industry. These characters aren't only fictional, but can also be based on real people. The visual kei/pop star, Gackt has his own character called Gackpoid. Gackt allowed his voice to be used for the character and as a result when track makers use Gackpoid their songs sound as if Gackt himself is singing them.
HearJapan president, Nathan Reaven became aware of the Vocaloid scene brewing in Japan in 2008 but decided to finally check it out for himself in 2009. "There was a lot of chatter about it but I had no idea how popular it was until I went to a convention of vocaloid track makers and doujin manga artists. The convention hall was so packed that I had to wait in line for three hours just to get in to a completely packed hall. Once in, I saw the creativity and depth that has attracted throngs of fans in Japan. I knew immediately that this was something that had to be shared with the world."
As a result, HearJapan is now bringing this music worldwide through their mp3 store for the first time. Starting with the label KarenT, which owns the licenses to all of the big name characters including Vocaloid's Hatsune Miku and Gackpoid's Kammui Gakupo. HearJapan released their entire catalog online today. All tracks are in mp3 format, and can be purchased and downloaded regardless of a users' country. Full albums are heavily discounted at 900 yen ($9.50, €7) and come with the anime styled artwork.
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Pokemon Black and White Looks Delicious in Motion
First video of a Pokemon battle in Black and White. |
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Comment & Win: One Piece Vol. 52, 53
Time for a giveaway folks! Now, act civil, we don't want anyone to get hurt in the mad rush to win. |
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Beginner's Guide to FLCL
Gainax's madcap, surrealist anime, broken down for new viewers. |
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Ballz Deep
Steve gets intimately close to Dragon Ball Z, for science! |
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Top 3 Awful Anime Dubs
Grit your teeth and get your ear plugs ready cause this week we're taking on the three most amazingly bad dubs of all time! |
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TOP 5 Greatest Anime Detectives
Get out your thinkin' caps, 'cause this week we're counting down the five best detectives in all of anime! |
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MAGI #18 - - Watch & Learn
Sinbad knows how to get it done. Oh yes, he does. |
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Anime Caption Contest! -- 5/23/13 -- AV MOD MATERIAL
It's caption time! This week we have fascinating fingers, girls in aprons... and rubber ducks? |
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ARATA THE LEGEND -- A Great New Anime Show?
A smart and engaging new show. Each episode offers another glimpse into the Hayagami mythology, peeling away pieces of the mystery at a satisfying pace. |
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GARGANTIA #3 - - Watch & Learn
Whoa... these guys have watched a LOT of mecha. |
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ONE PIECE #596 - - Special Review
Could he could any creepier? Seriously... |
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ATTACK ON TITAN #3 - - Watch & Learn
Giants are nothing compared to a crotch-cranking harness. |
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AV MOD MATERIAL: NARUTO Ch. 630 Review
Even the Fourth Hokage can't save us now from this insanity. |
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TOP 5 Greatest Anime Detectives
Get out your thinkin' caps, 'cause this week we're counting down the five best detectives in all of anime! |
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AV MOD MATERIAL: NARUTO Ch. 630 Review
Even the Fourth Hokage can't save us now from this insanity. |
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MAGI #18 - - Watch & Learn
Sinbad knows how to get it done. Oh yes, he does. |
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ATTACK ON TITAN #3 - - Watch & Learn
Giants are nothing compared to a crotch-cranking harness. |
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ONE PIECE #596 - - Special Review
Could he could any creepier? Seriously... |
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Anime Caption Contest! -- 5/23/13 -- AV MOD MATERIAL
It's caption time! This week we have fascinating fingers, girls in aprons... and rubber ducks? |
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ARATA THE LEGEND -- A Great New Anime Show?
A smart and engaging new show. Each episode offers another glimpse into the Hayagami mythology, peeling away pieces of the mystery at a satisfying pace. |
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GARGANTIA #3 - - Watch & Learn
Whoa... these guys have watched a LOT of mecha. |
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ChromeDokuroChan
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- ShadowKnight508 119 points
- YagamiClan 51 points
