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Japanese image boards have been buzzing with excitement lately as some documents from studio BONES (guys behind FMA, Darker than Black, Ouran, Soul Eater) got leaked into the internet revealing that the studio is working on a second Full Metal Alchemist series as well as a sequel to Darker than Black. These are very exciting news for fans of either series although speculation on how the hell they will milk FMA after the movie ending is driving everyone insane.

Honestly I’m more excited about the continuation to Darker than Black, it has a deeper plot, music by Yoko Kanno and a talking cat. You cant top Yoko Kanno and a talking cat, its simple impossible.

Thanks Shiku!

Next month Japan Post will issue 10 stamps based on Patlabor, the iconic mecha manga and anime. This comes as the latest installment in their heroes of anime and manga series. We’ve previously covered the launch of Mario, Evangelion and Resident Evil stamps. It seems only Japan has caught on to the fact that the only people who collect stamps are obsessive freaks so you might as well cater to their tastes huh?

[Japan Post]

It’s Famitsu time again! That means we get to take a look at some upcoming games in Japan that we may or may not ever see on this side of the Pacific. It seems Namco-Bandai is trying to take some of the popularity of their iDOLM@STER arcade and Xbox 360 games and put them on what we’re sure is a more lucrative platform in Japan.

Given the oh-so-stereotypical name, Happy Dance Collection looks to be a slightly more interactive idol-music simulator game. Instead of just watching little girls dance you instead dance yourself. It also looks like your Miis can watch and fangasm at how good your avatar dances. The game is set to come out some time this year in Japan. Seeing this Stateside is likely only a pipe dream for some.

[GoNintendo]

Enterbrain’s next entry in its RPG Maker series is coming out for PC, but you’ll be able to export and publish games to an XBox 360 via the XNA Creators Club.  It may be possible to publish said games as free to play XNA Community Games as well.

This could be a boon for doujin game developers who want to gain wider exposure, and also for the fans looking to play more obscure games on 360. It’s hard to say whether this will take off or not, but knowing the persistence and ingenuity of indie developers, this should lead to the production of some quality titles.

[Siliconera]

While some parents believe that video games are nothing more than time wasting money sinks, this interesting money sink from overseas just happens to be a video game. The BankQuest piggy bank allows Japanese children to go on an adventure using the money they save. Not a bad way to invest in new gear if I do say so myself.

The game consists of a 100 floor tower with over 180 different monsters inside of it. Needless to say you can’t get all that far without first investing a little money into your character. The game boasts over 160 items which total up to 10,000 yen. For 3,990 yen it’s a steep price for a piggy bank, but I can’t help wishing I had one of these when I was a kid. I’d even take one now to replace my Cup-O’-Change.

[Impress Watch via Wired]

The 16th edition in the venerated beatmaniaIIDX series of rhythm games is hitting test locations in Japanese arcades from June 25th to July 1st, sporting this adorable new logo. As you can see, they’re really playing up the pink/girly theme in this mix for whatever reason, and that extends to the interface as well.

Many of the new songs here come from well-loved familiar faces of the Bemani stable, including L.E.D., good-cool, Zektbach, and TAKA. Some other good news is that the machines feature shiny new turntables which are supposedly more responsive than their predecessors.

[bemanistyle.com]

The many faces of street fashion in Japan never ceases to amaze, from gothic lolitas to ganguro, there’s always something exciting going on. Today we’ll see two videos about Hime Gyaru or Hime Style. A fashion trend about looking like a pseudo-Victorian princess and apparently adding as much curls and volume to your hair as possible. I guess you could also call it blond Amy Winehouse style.

These two videos deal particularly with a store that specializes in Hime Gyaru clothing called Jesus Diamante. Apparently some of the gowns in there go for over a thousand bucks. Where do these people get all that money?! I don’t really see them leading very well paid corporate jobs dressed like this. But who knows, Sanrio needs executives too I guess!

[Tokyomango]

Alongside the initial four (Ryu, Chun-Li, Casshern and Gatchaman) we now have Tekkaman: The space knight and Rival schools’ Batsu thrown into the mix!

I’m all for Batsu’s inclusion, as I was a big Rival schools fan. I’m hoping he has a super attack whereby he calls on classmates Hinata and Kyosuke to beatdown the opposition. Tekkaman looks really cool, but I’m hoping the final Tatsunoko roster are more varied in appearance. The 3 we’ve seen so far all have a penchant for white spandex and could easily be mistaken for coming from the same show. I guess that’s Japanese daytime anime’s from the 1980’s for you though. White spandex and visors were all the rage for heroes in those days.

Tatsunoko vs. Capcom looks like it’s shaping up to be a great game. I can’t wait to see which Capcom characters make the cut and how big the final roster will end up. If Capcom’s recent string of original and successful titles are anything to go by, Tatsunoko vs. Capcom should be one to look out for. If this gets a console release, with some online play - I’ll be buying for sure.

I just love how Capcom’s throwing it back and having the classic beat ‘em up make a comeback.

[Famitsu]

For those of you who didn’t already know, it may already be a big enough bombshell to tell you that Disgaea 3 is going to implement microtransactions in the first place. The first one, already released, was a free pack that gave players access to ten playable “gentlemen.” The next one will come out June 27, and subsequent packs will be released once per month until January, each for only 100 yen!

Unfortunately there is no exact schedule available, but we can expect to see the following things: an extra character in June, a new ranking system in late summer or fall, and new scenarios in the winter. As of this time there is no US schedule or pricing information. Sounds like a great idea for expanding games that are already banking on longevity as their main selling point. Hopefully we’ll continue to see more of this kind of thing in the RPG genre.

[Siliconera]

This year is filled with great news for Tales fans. On top of the upcoming release of not one, but two Tales titles as well as the ongoing translation project of Tales of Innocence for DS, MOONPHASE reports that rumors of a Tales of the Abyss OVA have been debunked in favor a full TV run akin to Tales of Eternia’s.

The relatively unknown director Kanetsugu Kodama (a few Conan movies) will be taking the helm, and the animation will be produced by Sunrise. Whether or not the original cast will be returning to their former roles is unknown, but likely given the cast of previous Tales animations.

[MOONPHASE]

Summer’s rolling on in, and boy is it a hot one! What better of a way to cool yourself down than to take a break inside and watch some of your favorite anime? Take a look at what shows you can expect to cool off to this season; Remakes, second seasons, and fresh new shows promise to bring something for everyone!

Continue Reading »
Looking Ahead: Summer 08 Anime Preview

Oh boy those conspiracy theorists  in Japan must be throwing a fit over this new book. Titled ‘Legend Of The Original Antarctic Model: From Dutch Wife to Love Doll, a Post-War History of Sex Dolls‘ it tells the story of the original development of Japanese sex dolls.

According to the author these objects of otaku lust were originally developed to control the desires of work teams dispatched to isolated districts of Japan. What’s even creepier is that the government ‘encouraged‘ the development. And as we all know that can only mean one thing, money.

So there you have it, Japanese sex dolls are a government tool to control the desires of the frustrated, downtrodden masses.In Japan, Oni-chan is watching you.

[Tokyo Times]

MOONPHASE has reported that entering this fall’s anime lineup (Fall? We’re not even into the summer lineup yet!) is an adaptation of the light novel series ToraDora by Yuyuko Takemiya. The series chronicles the high school adventures of Ryuuji Takasu, a second year high school student born with delinquent eyes, and Taiga Aisaka, a girl who makes in temper everything she lacks in stature. It sounds kind of generic (And let’s face it: it is), but the characters have shown to be entertaining enough in what little of the manga has been translated.

No staff or cast has been announced. Judging by the character archetypes, I’m predicting Taiga will be voiced by Rie Kugimiya. I wouldn’t mind seeing Kisho Taniyama grab the role of Ryuuji, either.

[MOONPHASE]

Maybe World War 2 is starting to be a tired subject for gaming. You could drown in the sheer number of different games and franchises spanning multiple genres and platforms. The subject matter has even been given a fantasy-supernatural spin. Only in Japan, though, can World War 2 be turned into a hybrid Strategy RPG and eroge.

Moe Moe Niji Taisen Deluxe features all of your favorite aircraft and other tools of war from the battlefields of World War 2 twisted and reformed into busty anime women. Originally a hentai PC game, the particularly erotic scenes have been nixed but the rest of the racy stuff is left intact, as you can see. The game is getting both a PS2 and PSP release over in Japan, and it’s safe to say that we’ll never see this stateside.

Personally I can’t see this as much more than a quick way to cash in on the “moe” subculture. Nonetheless, if tools of destruction turned into girls are your thing, this might be worth checking out. Translation not included.

[insert credit]

DTM, makers of Vocaloid will be releasing a new version of its software that features the voice of J-Rock legend Gackt. This, supposedly, to finally bring a male voice to the vocaloid platform and to cash in on Gackt’s fame. This however is probably the first in a new trend of bringing famous voices to the Vocaloid platform. You can listen to a sample track of GACKPOID above.

If this goes well it’s easy to foresee periodic releases with the top voices of J-pop, J-rock and even voice actresses. Fanboys and fangirls would probably pay ridiculous prices for them and the Internet would in turn be filled with yet more Vocaloid videos. I think I’m much more scared than excited, what about you?

[IT Media]

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