The most recent issue of Media Factory’s monthly magazine, Comic Alive, revealed that the Non Non Biyori staff and the theme song artist, nano.RIPE, are returning to working together on season two of the anime, Non Non Biyori Repeat! As of yet, there have been no announced voice cast changes. nano.RIPE will perform the opening song.
The main cast from the first season includes:
Kotori Koiwai (Utsu-tsu from Gatchaman Crowds) as Miyauchi Renge
Rie Murakawa (Kurata Yui from Trinity Seven) as Ichijou Hotaru
Ayane Sakura (Shimakaze and numerous others from Kantai Collection) as Koshigaya Natsumi
Non Non Biyori is a comedy slice of life manga written and illustrated by Atto. The manga began in 2009 and was published in Media Factory’s Monthly Comic Alive magazine. To date, there a total of 7 volumes that have been produced, with the 8th volume scheduled to release on March 23rd next year. An anime adaptation of the series was made during the Fall 2013 anime season. The adaptation was produced by Silver Link (Strike the Blood, Kokoro Connect) with Shinya Kawatsura (Kokoro Connect) directing. To date the manga has sold over 1 million copies in Japan. A key visual has been released for Non Non Biyori Repeat, along with a homepage background update on the official website.
The official website of the anime adaptation of Ichiei Ishibumi and Miyama-Zero’s High School DxD light novel series has revealed that the anime’s third season will be airing for a total of 12 episodes. The season itself will premiere from April 4th at 11:00pm JST on AT-X.
The anime’s website has revealed the first details about the Blu-ray and DVD releases of the anime, where it showed that the final volume will contain episodes 11 and 12. All the volumes will contain two episodes each as well as a special digipack, clear case, illustration card, a special booklet and a code for the High School DxD card game. The Blu-ray releases will cost ￥7,000 (~ $58.75 USD) and the DVD is going for ￥6,000 (~ $50.50 USD) each without tax.
The release dates of the volumes are as follows:
Volume 1 – July 24th
Volume 2 – August 26th
Volume 3 – September 25th
Volume 4 – October 28th
Volume 5 – November 25th
Volume 6 – December 25th
The site has also revealed a poster that will come for fans who pre-order the first volume early.
The website also revealed the Opening theme song for the upcoming anime. It was earlier revealed that Japanese female singer ChouCho will be performing the OP. The name of the song will be “BLESS YoUr NAME” and will be available in stores from April 15th. Four-member voice actress unit StylipS will sing the ending theme song titled, “Give Me Secret,” and will ship on a single on May 27.
In addition to this, the site also revealed character information for the upcoming series and subsequently revealing the new cast members and characters for High School DxD BorN:
Ai Kakuma (Isuzu Sento from Amagi Brilliant Park) as Rossweisse
Yuichi Nakamura (Tomoya Okazaki from Clannad) as Sairaorg
Minami Takahashi (Midoriko from Selector Infected WIXOSS) as Kuroka
High School DxD is a light novel series written by Ichiei Ishibumi and illustrated by Miyama-Zero. The series began serialization in 2008 in Fujimi Shobo’s Dragon Magazine, before being published in their Fujimi Fantasia Bunko imprint. To date, there has been 18 compiled volumes. Three manga adaptation of the series have been published in 2010, 2012 and 2013, all of which have been written by Ishibumi. An anime adaptation was produced in 2012. It was animated by TNK (School Days) and directed by Tetsuya Yanagisawa (Sora no Otoshimono: Tokeijikake no Angeloid, Kyoshiro to Towa no Sora). Two OADs were then released, and were then followed by the second season of the anime in 2013. A Nintendo 3DS game was also released later that year.
Issei Hyodo is your average perverted high school student whose one wish in life is to have his own harem, but he’s got to be one of the unluckiest guys around. He goes on his first date with a girl only to get brutally attacked and killed when it turns out the girl is really a vicious fallen angel. To top it all off, he’s later reincarnated as a devil by his gorgeous senpai who tells him that she is also a devil and now his master! One thing’s for sure, his peaceful days are over. In a battle between devils and angels, who will win?
A new science visual novel named Anonymous;Code has been announced today, true to the March 1 teaser speculations by Chiyomaru Shikura, executive director of 5pb. The game will be developed by 5pb. and Mages.
The story is set in Tokyo’s Nakano district in the year 2037 in which the protagonist named Poron Takaoka can basically “hack god” to loop with his save&load abilities, a hacking trigger is used to intervene before a disaster occurs. The name of the heroine is Momo Aizaki.
Anonymous;Code synopsis:
The story begins on February 6, 2037 at 06:28:15, when an important place in Tokyo is destroyed due to a problem in 2037 when computers went on a rampage.
A bigger problem is predicted to occur in 2038, the super computer Gaia with the Earth simulation program creates another Earth that would confirm what would happen in 2038, even though no humans were born in that simulation, when an “Arecibo message” was sent to this simulation, humanity came into existence. Even though the researchers were overjoyed, the people living in the Earth simulation also create a computer of their own, and an Earth simulation now exists inside the Earth simulation. The researchers now question their own existence.
Here are a few pictures that were revealed with the video:
She’s wearing the sexy skimpy devil outfit that she was seen wearing during the eighth episode of Oregairu. Her glamorous body and sexy curves are shown off nicely by the tight outfit, while her hair has been let down for a slightly different look to her normally tied-up hair. The expression on her face is a huge cheerful smile showing that she is ready to be added to your collection today.
The anime Isuca is going to have its own blu-ray discs, and if you’re going to buy them, I’m pretty sure you will love this news: you won’t have to see these solid black lines covering some explicit parts of the female body.
If you already ended up watching the anime, you probably noticed that it is full of fan service and highly censored, but as you can see below, there is a huge difference with the Blu-ray version!
Note: There are spoilers for the Isuca anime.
The left side of the images are from the Blu-ray release, and the right side is from the TV broadcast. Click on the images for the full resolution to take a closer look.
Isuca is a Japanese action manga series by Osamu Takahashi. It has been serialized in Kadokawa Shoten’s seinen manga magazine Young Ace since 2009, and has been collected in six tankobon volumes as of March 2015. An anime adaptation by Arms started to air in January 2015.
Isuca synopsis from Haruhichan:
Shinichirou decides to look for a job in order to pay his rent, and his teacher suggests that he work for someone at their house doing housekeeping; however, the person who hired him was Sakuya, a girl who is the 37th head of the Shimazu family, and her job is to exorcise and eliminate unwanted creatures. Shinichirou accidentally releases one of the creatures that Sakuya captures and they cooperate to catch it. A story of comedic creature hunting begins!
In some crazy alternative Tokyo where differences are settled by fighting and rapping in tandem, the Tribes of Tokyo have been enjoying peace following riots in Shibuya. Tokyo is more or less ruled by Buppa – the morbidly obese, pansexual Yakuza crime lord with the right pinch of sadism, a penchant for shooting guns immediately following fellatio, and kidnapping random street kids for his son as furniture.
In addition to Buppa, smaller gangs – tribes, if you will – also square off in turf wars that comprise of two things: spittin’ verses and kickin’ asses (in no particular order). That is until two members of the Musashino Saru gang head over to Wu-Ronz territory for a brothel. After a brief confrontation (which ends in someone dying, so I won’t give that away), the stage is set for the biggest turf war Tokyo’s ever seen.
Tokyo Tribes sports a few familiar faces – Yosuke Kubozuka (Peco in the live action Ping Pong, Ikebukuro West Gate Park), Shota Sometani (live action Parasyte, Kimihiro in the live action XxxHolic), and even Shoko Nakagawa (TTGL opening, general Shokotan hijinks) to name a few. Even Japanese rapper Young Dais (alongside multiple other well known Japanese rappers) starred as main character Kai Deguchi.
Sion Sono (of Suicide Circle fame) was clearly born to make this movie, if nothing else. You’ll find yourself at a loss trying to quickly describe this movie in a recommendation. It’s…well, a Japanese rap musical. Tokyo Tribes is – to say the least – the weirdest movie I have every seen. To say the most, I don’t think I’ve had this much fun watching a movie in a long, long time. Between the incredible rapping, weirdly vivid cinematography, well choreographed, ultra violent fight scenes, gratuitious nudity and upskirt shots (I mean if you cartwheel kick a dude in the face wearing a skirt, it’s bound to happen)…
I debated whether or not it would be going overboard by saying this movie has everything, because this movie literally has everything. Weird painted furniture people, crazy violent kung-fu fighting, insane rap battles, some of the best beatboxing I’ve heard, a tank that blows up the infamous Shibuya 109, smooth choreography, Shokotan donning a Kill Bill suit and nunchucking shit, people getting killed with swords, people getting killed with giant fans, people getting killed with gattling guns, naked women, naked men, and a dude with a jersey and and afro – and probably one of most heart-warming, timeless lessons: we’re in this life together.
While the movie, in its all-inclusive glory, is a guaranteed cult classic, its not without its flaws. Often the drama that made Tokyo Tribes a hit manga, gets lost between rap battles (which are plenty). The story sticks pretty true to the manga, omitting some parts while dragging out others. At a modest two hours long, it seems to be over just as you’re getting into it. If you’re not on the up and up with Japanese rap (or Japanese music in general) a lot of it is going to sound super weird (admittedly Shota Sometani’s narration raps were pretty low key and monotone compared to the other rappers).
Check out the trailer below if you’re still not sold. Torrents are pretty scarce, and subs/SRTs are even scarcer, but its likely Viz or Funi will pick this up for DVD or BD. If you get around to it, enjoy – it is one hell of a weird ride. If you’re just here to see if GOOSH GOOSH made it into the live action movie, I’ll save you the trouble: He didn’t.
A sequel to the popular anime and visual novel Steins;Gate has been announced and green-lit by Chiyomaru Shikura, titled Steins;Gate 0, along with Chaos;Child, a sequel of Chaos;Head.
Chaos;Child, as the name indicates is related to the first game in the series Chaos;Head. Chaos;Child will be set in the same world as its predecessor and in the same city of Shibuya, but after the game’s conclusion. The game’s setting are as follows:
November 6, 2009.
A local Earthquake occurred in Shibuya with a magnitude of 78.
The city of Shibuya, and the area surrounding Shibuya Station is devastated, and the final death toll is 3851 people.
It is currently the year 2015.
The story begins with the reconstruction of a post- earthquake Shibuya…??
Demo versions of Chaos;Child will debut on all three new platforms on March 30. The limited editions of the game’s new releases will include a papercraft version of the “Present Box” and a drama CD starring Mio Kunosato. Here’s the promotional video for the game:
Not much information has been revealed for Steins;Gate 0 apart from an anime adaptation has been green-lit. It also receive a follow-up game to the Steins;Gate visual novel, and a new characters will join the cast. The game is not a fan disc, but a “true sequel,” and will include stories from three of the Steins;Gate novels, as well as from some drama CDs. An anime adaptation of Steins;Gate 0 has also been green-lit.
Images of the game were also revealed:
Steins;Gate 0 synopsis:
The story of the game and the anime adaptation take place on the beta world line, where Okabe could not save his precious person, Kurisu, on July 28, and ended up returning alone. However, the trailer for the game notes that Okabe does not know that Kurisu is in fact still there.
Yarukkya Knight, the 11 volumes Nonki Miyasu‘s manga that appeared on the 1980s Weekly Shonen Jump is about to get its own live-action film adaptation.
The movie is slated to open in select theaters on May 23, and it will be streamed on Niconico the same day.
Tomoya Nakamura (Aoi Honoo, Relay & Destroy, Rampo Noir) will play the male lead Gosuke Makoto, and the model Nina Endo from the non-no magazine will play the female lead Shizuka Misaki. Reiya Misaki (Samulife, Gakko no Kaidan, All Esper Dayo!) and Elisa Yanagi (Capturing Dad, Gou Gou The Cat, Death of Donomata) will also be part of the cast.
Images:
Yarukkya Knight Synopsis:
Makoto Gousuke has just transferred to a new high school with the intention of being the toughest kid there. Little does he know that there’s an entire group of toughs who already rule the school, and they’re all girls! After being humiliated by their leader, the pretty Misaki Shizuka, he vows revenge and when he gets it starts a lengthy battle between the sexes at the school
Kadokawa has announced that the upcoming 9th volume of Nagaru Tanigawa and Puyo’s The Disappearance of Nagato Yuki-Chan (The Vanishing of Nagato Yuki-Chan) manga will be bundled with an OVA of the series’ upcoming anime adaptation. The volume itself will be releasing on October 29.
The OVA will be bundled with the limited edition release of the 9th volume of The Disappearance of Nagato Yuki-Chan releasing on Monday the 29th of October. It will come on a Blu-ray disc and contain 25 minutes of new footage. The bundle itself will cost ¥4,536 (~ $38.05 USD) and pre-orders for the bundle will open from August 16th here: http://store.kadokawa.co.jp/preorder/888800000059/
The official website of the anime also revealed the details and covers about the first upcoming Blu-ray and DVD release of the anime. The first volume will release on June 26th with the Blu-ray costing ¥6,980 (~ $60 USD) and the DVD costing ¥5,980 (~ $50 USD), and both releases will contain:
The first two episodes of the anime
A three way case with an illustrated drawn by series illustrator Puyo
A special soundtrack with a summarised edition of the radio show and a new original audio drama
A special digital jacket
An 8 page booklet
A special postcard
Videos of the anime’s Commercials, promotional videos, the OP, ED and a special greeting from the advanced screening (on the 22nd)
Audio Commentary from the staff and cast
Here is the BD cover:
And the DVD cover:
Here is the latest magazine visual of the anime that released in the recent issue of Newtype magazine:
The anime’s website has also revealed the first character design sheet of the anime’s main characters. The sheet showcases various expressions of the characters that may appear in the upcoming series. The first and newly released sheet is a gag sheet, showing all the comedic expressions:
Minori Chihara (Chiaki Minami from Minami-ke) will reprise her role as Yuki Nagato
Tomokazu Sugita (Gintoki Sakata from Gintama) will be back as Kyon
Natsuko Kuwatani (Yue Ayase from Mahou Sensei Negima!) as Ryouko Asakura
Yuki Matsuoka (Orihime Inoue from Bleach) will be back as Tsuruya
Yuko Goto (Hiro from Hidamari Sketch) voicing as Mikuru Asahina
Aya Hirano (Lucy Heartfilia in Fairy Tail) returns to voice Haruhi Suzumiya
Daisuke Ono (Sebastian Michaelis in Black Butler) will voice Itsuki Koizumi
The supporting cast characters did not have their designs updated;
Minoru Shiraishi (Minoru Shiraishi [Himeself] from Lucky☆Star) returns as Taniguchi
Megumi Matsumoto (Haruka Nanase in Free!) as Kunikida
In addition to this, The Disappearance of Nagato Yuki-Chanwas featured in the latest issue of Kadokawa Shoten’s Young Ace magazine which revealed many new staff members that will be production the anime series, they include:
The issue revealed many new staff members that will be production the anime series, they include:
A new visual was also revealed in the February issue of NewType last month, March issue of NyanType and the April issue of NyanType:
The anime adaptation of the spin-off manga was made late last year. Anime store Docomo was revealed to be streaming the upcoming series, as well as the two other spin-off shows in the Haruhi franchise, The Melancholy of Haruhi-chan Suzumiya and Nyoron Churuya-san.
The Disappearance of Nagato Yuki-chan is a spin-off manga in The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya franchise, where it stars the eponymous character Yuki Nagato. The series takes place in the alternate universe established in The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya. The series is written and drawn by Puyo, which started in February 2010. To date, the series has a total of 5 volumes with the 6th volume releasing on December 26th this year.
There is very little information regarding the anime announcement of The Disappearance of Nagato Yuki-chan, including whether or no Kyoto Animation will produce it. Two other spin-off manga were also produced into anime: The Melancholy of Haruhi-chan Suzumiya and Nyoron Churuya-san.
Yuki Nagato, the shy president of the literature club, has never been very sure of herself around other people. But around Kyon, the only boy in the tiny, three-person club, Yuki finds herself faltering even more than usual. For Kyon, and for her precious club, Yuki must find her confidence and let her true personality shine! Enjoy taking a fresh look at your favorite characters in this brand-new story set in the world of The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya!
The upcoming anime adaptation of The Disappearance of Nagato Yuki-Chan will be airing from April 4th on Tokyo MX and AT-X during the Spring 2015 anime season for a total of 16 episodes. The first Blu-ray and DVD volume will release on June 26. More information about the anime will be revealed at AnimeJapan.
This is the final week for Winter 2015’s character poll! And the king and queen remains unchanged. This is Anime Trending‘s Top Character Poll and here we present you the results for Week 9!
And that’s the final results for Winter 2015 character poll! It was unexpected to have one new character in the charts! Did your favorite character deserve their rank?
Most of us are anticipating the spring anime seasons, well, most of the exciting shows are aired during this season! It’s already Spring 2015, and we got a long road ahead! Of course, we like to share our thoughts about some shows we are going to pick-up this season. To help explore more information from the official anime staff and to the fans around the world, an anime hashtag could be a useful resource. Also, if you would not want to get spoiled from a certain show, muting a hashtag is a piece of cake. (To know how to mute a hashtag, click here.)
Here is a list of the official anime hashtags, official Twitter accounts and websites that I have compiled from long-running shows, Winter leftovers and this Spring 2015 season:
Notes:
In alphabetical order
Some of these shows doesn’t have either an official hashtag, an official account or an official website
More titles and hashtags will be added without prior notice
Several shows don’t have an official hashtag, it is preferable to create your own hashtag pertaining to the anime that you are going to talk about. It is much better if you simply use the title of the show without adding symbols. (E.g.: For Naruto: Shippuuden, you can just use #narutoshippuuden).
There are over 50 new shows to air this season and quite a lot of continuing shows too! Which are your most anticipated this season?
According to the official anime website and official Twitter account of Koukou Hoshi Kageki, the promotional video for the anime will be released on the second day, of AnimeJapan 2015 to be held on Tokyo Big Sight, Tokyo, Japan. Just today, the PV for the anime was publicly released on the anime’s website.
The anime is produced by C-Station (Seikoku no Dragonar) and is slated to air this Fall 2015. The character design, cast and staff has also been released.
Cast:
Natsuki Hanae (Tokyo Ghoul‘s Ken Kaneki) as Yuuta Hoshiya*
Kensho Ono (Kuroko no Basket‘s Tetsuya Kuroko) as Tooru Nayuki
Arthur Lounsbery (Haikyuu!!‘s Watari Shinji) as Kaito Tsukikage
Yoshimasa Hosoya (Free!: Eternal Summer‘s Sousuke Yamazaki) as Shou Taigeiji
Tomoaki Maeno (Akatsuki no Yona‘s Son Hak) as Yuu Kuga
Junichi Suwabe (Kuroshitsuji‘s Undertaker) as Itsuki Ootori
Daisuke Hirakawa (Diabolik Lovers‘ Laito Sakamaki) as Tsubasa Hiiragi
Anime Visual:
Synopsis of Koukou Hoshi Kageki from MAL:
The story involves a group of high school students at Ayana Academy, a school with music as its main focus. A trio of students are called Hanasakura-kai, designating the most talented from the music department. To get in, individuals must enter through a Star Frame class. The series tells the story of Yuuta Hoshiya*, Tooru Nayuki, Kaito Tsukikage, Shou Tengeiji, and Shuu Kuga as they aim for a position in the musical department after being spotted by Ootori, one of the Hanasakura-kai members.
Official Twitter Account: @hstar_mu Official Hashtag: #スタミュ
Music Composer: Hiromi Mizutani (Non Non Biyori, Hell Girl)
Animation Studio: Silver Link (Non Non Biyori, Kokoro Connect)
The website also revealed the first promotional video:
The first key visual was also revealed on the website’s launch:
Gekka Uruu’s Ore ga Ojou-sama Gakkou ni “Shomin Sample” Toshite Rachirareta Ken, also known as Syomin Sample is a Japanese light novel series by Takafumi Nanatsuki. The light novel has been published by Ichijinsha since December 2011. As of July 2014, seven volumes have been published. A manga adaptation began serialization in Ichijinsha’s Comic Rex magazine in July 2012. A drama CD was released on February 20, 2013. An anime television series adaptation titled Ore ga Ojou-sama Gakkou ni “Shomin Sample” Toshite Gets♥Sareta Ken (Story in Which I Was Kidnapped by a Young Lady’s School to be a “Sample of the Common People”) by Silver Link will begin airing in 2015.
Syomin Sample synopsis from Haruhichan:
In a hidden school surrounded by mountains, young ladies of good families are taught everything a high class lady needs to know. They are also completely cut off from the outside world, keeping them sheltered and innocent; however, a problem has come up recently—more and more graduates are failing to cope with the modern world after graduation. To deal with this problem, they’ve decided to kidnap a male commoner student, and enroll him as a student. They hope that this will be a gentle way to introduce the girls to the outside world.
Kagurazaka Kimito is chosen for this dubious honor, mostly because he seems utterly average; however, the school leaders also seem to have concluded he’s a homosexual with a muscle fetish. When Kimito hears that the alternative may be castration (to protect the girls’ purity), he eagerly plays along with this misconception. Now he’ll just have to survive the attention of many high class young ladies that are completely out of touch with the world!
The official website for the Shueisha’s Jump J Books label revealed on Friday that Konohagakure Hiden, the fourth epilogue of Naruto novels is scheduled for release on May 1. It’s the fourth of six planned epilogue novels.
Shou Hinata, mostly known for the Bakuman, Hentai Kamen, and Saiki Kusuo no Psi Nan novels, will pen the fourth epilogue of Naruto.
Shueisha’s Jump J Books also adds that Gaara Hiden will be dispatched in June instead of May, and Akatsuki Hiden in July instead of April.
The website also revealed a picture of the timeline informing readers of the point in time that the said novels take place.
Masashi Kishimoto also said during an interview in November that he still has work to do concerning the Naruto franchise until summer, so he will start preparing his future non-Naruto title after being finished with this franchise.
Last month Dengeki G’s Magazine announced Love Live! Sunshine!!, a new project in the Love Live! franchise, with a visual featuring a new character. Recently, the official website of Dengeki G’s magazine has revealed a new updated visual showing 8 more new characters.
Here is the first visual
No information about Love Live! Sunshine!! was revealed in the previous issue of Dengeki G’s magazine, so here’s hoping that the upcoming issue, releasing on the 28th of this month, will have the first new information of the anime. Since the first visual, there has been speculation on who the character might be, with various fans tracing her to a possible character in the Love Live! School Idol Paradise mobile game.
Love Live! School Idol Project is an original anime produced by Sunrise studios that aired in January 2013. The conception of the anime project was started in 2010 by Dengeki G’s Magazine. The editors wanted parts of the project to be heavily influenced by fans, parts such as the costumes, hairstyles and names of the idols. While this project was taking place, a manga of the project called Love Live!, written and illustrated by Sakurako Kimino and Arumi Tokita, began serializing. An anime series soon premiered, followed by an app and an OVA. The second season titled Love Live! School Idol Project 2nd Season aired from April 6, 2014 to June 29, 2014 for a total of 13 episodes.
Love Live! School Idol Project synopsis of the series from Haruhichan:
Otonokizaka High School stands on the border of three cities: Akihabara—a pop culture mecca that’s evolving by the minute; Kanda—a conservative, cultured city where history and tradition reign supreme; and Jinbo—a quiet area reserved for a more mature, sophisticated population. Amidst this culture clash, the school now faces closure due to the enrollment of fewer and fewer students.
With the school planning to close within three years, nine female students come together with one thing in mind—form a pop idol group to revive the school’s popularity and keep it from shutting down. “In order to protect our beloved school, there’s only one thing we can do… become pop stars!”
Not much is currently known about Love Live! Sunshine!! It could be a new anime series, a new mobile card game, a PlayStation Vita title or even a banner image for a new radio. Regardless, all will be revealed in the next issue of Dengeki G’s magazine, releasing on the 28th.
Just in time for summer, figure company WAVE has released a new addition to the popular Beach Queensfigure line. This figure features a cute 1/10 scale figure of the popular character Marika Tachibana in her first scale figure and first ever Beach Queensin the line.
The first promotional video for Shinmai Maou no Testament Burst:
It was also revealed that the seventh volume of Kashiwa Miyako’s manga adaptation will bundle an original anime Blu-ray Disc on January 26, 2016. The Blu-ray will feature an unaired anime episode.
The main characters and cast for the first season includes:
Yuuichi Nakamura (Kyousuke Kousaka in Oreimo) will voice lead character Basara Toujou
Ayaka Asai (First major role) is voicing lead heroine Mio Naruse
Kaori Fukuhara (Tsukasa Hiiragi from Lucky☆Star) as Maria Naruse
Shinmai Maou no Testamentis a Japanese light novel series by Tetsuto Uesu with illustrations by Nekosuke Ookuma. Seven volumes have been published by Kadokawa Shoten since 2012 under their Kadokawa Sneaker Bunko imprint. A manga adaptation has been serialized in Kadokawa Shoten’s Shonen Ace magazine since May 2013. A second manga adaptation has been serialized in Hakusensha’s Young Animal Arashi magazine since February 2014. An anime adaptation started airing in January 2015.
“Hey, you said you wanted a little sister, right?” First year highschool student, Toujo Basara, was suddenly asked by his father and fell into a state of panic. On top of that, the eccentric father told him he will be getting remarried.
He then departed overseas after bringing Basara two beautiful step-sisters. But Mio and Maria’s true forms are actually the newbie Demon Lord and a succubus!? Basara was almost entered into a master and servant contract with Mio, but a “reversed” contract was formed by mistake, and Basara is now the master!? Moreover, Basara is being hit by one ecchi situation after another due to the contract, but Mio’s life is being pursued by other demon tribes and hero tribes! The most powerful contractor’s desire action drama begins!
The official website for the TV anime adaptation of Durarara!! has released preview images and the synopsis for the 11th episode ofDurarara!!x2 Shou, which airs this Saturday at 11:30pm JST on Tokyo MX, GTV, BS11 and Tochigi TV.
Episode 12 preview images:
Episode 12 will be titled “Adversity Makes a Man Strong” and here’s a synopsis from the official website:
The source of the spark that has been smoking throughout the city has turned into mayhem swallowing the city of Ikebukuro. The fight between the Dollars and Toramaru, Aoba pulling the strings from behind the scenes, Varona violently attacking her prey, Celty chasing after the kidnapped Akane, Shizuo continuing to escape, all the while Izaya is overlooking the mass confusion. And then they continue to wait. As throughout all the crisis, Mikado gives his answer…
The second and first promotional video for the second season:
This new anime is part of the 10th anniversary celebration of the Durarara!! series, which began as a light novel series in 2004 published by ASCII Media Works’ Dengeki Bunko. The original light novels ended in January this year, but the creator of the series Ryohgo Narita, has stated that he will be begin a new series of light novels titled Durarara!! SH, set two years after the original’s conclusion. The first issue will release on April 10th. The light novels received an anime adaptation in 2010 from animation studio Brains Base. In addition, two manga adaptations were also released and a few visual novels. To date the light novels has a total of 13 volumes. and are illustrated by Suzuhito Yasuda.
A manga adaptation by Akiyo Satorigi started serialization in the shounen manga magazine Monthly GFantasy on April 18, 2009. An anime adaptation began airing in Japan in January 2010. Two games based on the series for the PlayStation Portable were released, and a game for PlayStation Vita was released on June 19, 2014 in Japan.
Visual:
Here is a synopsis of the first season from Haruhichan:
In Tokyo’s downtown district of Ikebukuro, amidst many strange rumors and warnings of anonymous gangs and dangerous occupants, one urban legend stands out above the rest—the existence of a headless “Black Rider” who is said to be seen driving a jet-black motorcycle through the city streets.
Ryuugamine Mikado has always longed for the excitement of the city life, and an invitation from a childhood friend convinces him to move to Tokyo. Witnessing the Black Rider on his first day in the city, his wishes already seem to have been granted. But as supernatural events begin to occur, ordinary citizens like himself, along with Ikebukuro’s most colorful inhabitants, are mixed up in the commotion breaking out in their city.
It was announced at the recent AnimeJapan event this weekend that a new original anime film based on Wataru Watanabe’s Yowamushi Pedal manga is currently in production. The film’s official website has launched revealing that the film is currently slated for a Summer release, and also revealed the first visual and promotional video was revealed.
The film itself will be a new original film, in which the first draft of the film’s scenario will be done by Watanabe himself. The first promotional video of the upcoming video was also revealed at AnimeJapan:
Yowamushi Pedal is a manga series written and illustrated by Wataru Watanabe. The series launched in 2008 and is being published in Akita Shoten Weekly Shounen Champion magazine. To date, the manga has released a total of 39 volumes. An anime adaptation of the series began in October 2013 for a total of 38 episodes. The series was animated by TMS Entertainment (Detective Conan, D.Gray-man) and directed by Osamu Nabeshima (D.Gray-man, Hamtaro). A second season of the anime, titled Yowamushi Pedal Grande Road, was produced in the following October for a total of 24 episodes.
Otaku Sakamichi Onoda has just entered high school and plans to join the anime club. In middle school, Onoda didn’t have any friends with whom he could talk about anime, games, Akihabara and other otaku things, and he is hoping he can make such friends in the anime club, but he finds out it’s been disbanded. In order to reestablish the club he tries to find 4 other people who would like to join.Since he was a little boy, Onoda has ridden his mamachari—a bulky bicycle with a step-through frame mainly used for short rides, such as for casual fun or to pick up groceries—to go to Akihabara every week to check out or buy otaku things. Fellow freshman Shunsuke Imaizumi and bicyclist, while training, notices a boy (Onoda) riding his mamchari up a steep road.
Freshman and road racing cyclist, Shokichi Naruko visits Akihabara to get some Gundam plastic models for his younger brothers and meets Onoda who catches his attention because of the his cycling skill on the mamachari and later find out they go to the same school. Later on, both Naruko and Imaizumi try to convince him to join the bicycle racing club, but will he?
The upcoming Yowamushi Pedal anime film will be releasing in Japanese theatres this Summer. More information about the movie will be revealed in the upcoming months.
It’s interesting how much one person can get a completely different perspective in a few months. When I first talked about Kantai Collection (hereby referred to as KanColle) at the beginning of the season, I knew next to nothing about it. All I knew about it was that it was an online free-to-play browser game that had Japan in its thralls. The anime was getting a lot of hype, but I didn’t know why. I actually picked up the anime on a whim, to see what all the fuss was about. After I did my second First Impressions of the anime, I picked up the game myself. Now armed with the knowledge of a player of the game, I can bring you this review without feeling like I am being ignorant of the source material. So, how does KanColle turn out in the eyes of a player of the game, and as an anime fan? Let’s find out!
Story and Characters:
Being an online free-to-play browser game, it is hard to really piece together a good story. Even in the game itself, there is not much to go on. The premise of the game/anime is that aliens called the Abyssals, have taken over the seas. The only people that can fight them are girls born with the power of ships of old. These girls are all based off of Japanese ships used during World War II, from small destroyers, to huge battleships, to powerful carriers. To take them on, the girls equip weapons based on their particular ship class. Destroyers carry small cannons alongside torpedo launchers, battleships carry huge guns, and carriers carry bows to simulate their ability to launch planes from afar. The game brings you through multiple levels all with the purpose of clearing them to move on to the next world. It’s not exactly easy to draw a story out of this premise. As such, the story of the anime is an original one.
The story of the anime follows Fubuki (the “default” starter ship) as she trains to become a better combat ship. Inspired by the fleet’s prized carrier, Akagi, Fubuki hopes to one day become worthy of being in the same fleet as Akagi. With the game not being able to provide much from a story standpoint, the creators of the anime are sort of forced to draw from references that are made in the game. Although combat is central to the game, so is the downtime in between battles. Being a free-to-play game, it relies on time to bore the player and, hopefully, extract money out of them so that players spend less time waiting around. As such, much of the anime simply has the girls doing random things in their base to help fill in the time. This turns the anime into a slice of life which may, or may not, be your cup of tea.
Oh, you thought you were getting some action this week? Nope!
In between the slice of life portions, the anime creators decided on a World War II timeline for the story. The story is based off of Operations FS, an operation laid out by the Imperial Japanese Navy to invade the South Pacific. The timeline historically goes from December 1941, with the outbreak of the war between Japan and the United States, to the Battle of Midway in June 1942. The major battles include Wake Island, Coral Sea, and Midway. In terms of historical accuracy, the anime does a decent job reenacting these battles, albeit in its own anime way. The main issue with the story here is the tone of it. It goes from being happy-go-lucky for a couple of episodes, to a serious one, to a couple more regular slice of life episodes to a serious one, etc. These jumps back and forth really jar the mood of the anime, and it adds in unnecessary tension where there shouldn’t be any. Episode 3 is the episode where they established this feeling of dread that would follow in any episode where there was a battle. In this way, it annoys the players and/or slice of life fans, since they wanted nothing more than to watch these characters go through these battles without risk of death, and it annoys action fans since there wasn’t enough action and/or character deaths. The way in-game mechanics works differently than in other games, so the scenario that happened in episode 3 makes sense from a realistic standpoint, but not from a game standpoint. In short, while the anime’s story attempts to be historically accurate and tense enough for action anime fans, it ends up pleasing neither fans of the game or action anime fans because of the way the story is told.
Speaking of the characters, they’re the reason why KanColle players were excited to watch the anime. Without a main story to follow, the characters take the spotlight in the KanColle game. There is an absurd number of ships in the game, so there was no way half of them were even going to get in the anime. Even so, 12 episodes is not enough time to fully develop every character that did appear in the anime. In the end, the only characters to really develop were Fubuki and Yuudachi. That being said, the half-English, half-Japanese Kongou also ended up becoming a fan favourite. She was already a heavy favourite from the game due to her obvious love for the admiral (the player/you). In the anime though, she was also loved for her caring and supportive personality, and probably her quirk of using random English.
Stay awesome Kongou!
The anime tried its best to include as many characters as possible, but most of them ended up regulated as background characters without a single spoken line. If they weren’t background characters, they were mentioned by name. Either way, there was only about 20 characters that ended up with some screen time outside of the main cast. If some of the characters did make it into the anime, the majority of their lines were lines from the game which may or may not have made fans happy depending on whether or not they wanted to hear something different from these characters. For example, Kirishima checks her microphone if you happen to get her in the game. In the anime, she had not one, but two of this exact same line from the game.
In short, the story did its best with what was presented but it falls flat, and the characters were done decently. Hopefully, the newly announced second season will improve upon the story and characters. The story ends well enough for a standalone anime, but there is a set-up for the second season.
Visuals and Animation:
This is where I personally have mixed opinions on KanColle. The anime as a whole has a nice, bright feel to it with it getting darker once fight scenes hit. In that way, the art is fine. The problem comes in during some of the action scenes. The action scenes make use of 3D CG which is still in its infancy in Japanese animation. When an anime does this split between 2D and 3D, it is noticeable and I can’t help but feel like there’s always inconsistencies when they do it. I understand the reasoning for doing action scenes in 3D because it’s much smoother than 2D, but it clashes with the rest of the 2D scenes.
As for the characters themselves, the artists for the anime did a good job with taking these characters from the game into the anime. The game uses multiple different artists for their characters, but the anime uses one type of style for every character. Diomedea has always done right by me when it comes to creating cute girls and KanColle is no exception. Part of the appeal of the game is the character art, so it was important that the art was right. In my opinion, they nailed it.
D’awww, they’re so cute!
While there are problems with the anime doing a 2D/3D split, the art comes through especially if you’re a moe fan.
Sound and Music:
If you ever wanted a good example of Japanese voice acting versatility, you should look no further than KanColle. There’s about 40 or so characters in the anime, but only 15 or so voice actresses. Many voice actresses voice multiple characters, particularly if they are the same class of ship/sister ships. The voice actresses with the most roles in the anime were Ayane Sakura (Sendai, Naka, Jintsuu, Shimakaze, Nagato, Mutsu, Kuma, and Tama), Nao Touyama (Kongou, Hiei, Haruna, Kirishima, Takao, and Atago), and Aya Suzaki (Akatsuki, Hibiki, Ikazuchi, Inazuma, and Houshou). The part I really like about the voice acting here is how different these characters are from each other, and the multiple different voices these voice actresses can pull off. If you were to put Nagato and Shimakaze side by side, you would never know they were done by the same person. In this way, every voice actress impressed me with their handling of multiple characters.
The soundtrack in the anime works well enough for their respective scenes. However, big props goes out to the OP, 海色 (“Miiro”) and ED, 吹雪 (“Fubuki”). Both songs fit the anime incredibly well, and in terms of composition, make the most sense to me. I don’t watch a ton of anime, but “Miiro”is one of the best anime songs I have heard in a couple of seasons. I like “Fubuki” a lot for its lyrics, which really fit the anime in reference to the game. In the full version of the song, they use the names of all of the Fubuki-class destroyers in the song itself, which I think is a great nod to the game and the ships themselves.
Japanese voice acting versatility and a killer OP and ED help KanColle do well in the sound department.
Final Verdict:
KanColle tried its best to appeal to both the game fans and action fans. While the story didn’t really end up pleasing either audience with its melodramatic tone, I still found it relatively enjoyable. It had the appropriate number of game references alongside its good portrayal of its characters. The struggles with 2D and 3D anination split continue, but the character art helps it along. The strength of Japanese voice actresses shines through more noticeably in this anime than any other, and the opening and ending songs were simply amazing. If you’re looking for a cutesy anime with some action, this is for you. If you’re looking for an anime with a lot of action or something relaxing to watch, it’s probably best to steer clear.
I’ll end off with the meme of the season. Poi!
+ Stellar voice acting
+ OP and ED are fantastic
+ Good number of references for fans of the game
+ Very good character art
– Melodramatic tone
– Animation issues
So, any final thoughts on KanColle? Also, what do you think about the announcement of a second season? Let me know in the comments!
Swaps4 Productions and Big Bang Studio are excited to unveil the highly anticipated launch of Melody's Melon Mania, featuring Projekt Melody! This captivating, free-to-play...
Sion Sono (of Suicide Circle fame) was clearly born to make this movie, if nothing else. You’ll find yourself at a loss trying to quickly describe this movie in a recommendation. It’s…well, a Japanese rap musical. Tokyo Tribes is – to say the least – the weirdest movie I have every seen. To say the most, I don’t think I’ve had this much fun watching a movie in a long, long time. Between the incredible rapping, weirdly vivid cinematography, well choreographed, ultra violent fight scenes, gratuitious nudity and upskirt shots (I mean if you cartwheel kick a dude in the face wearing a skirt, it’s bound to happen)…
While the movie, in its all-inclusive glory, is a guaranteed cult classic, its not without its flaws. Often the drama that made Tokyo Tribes a hit manga, gets lost between rap battles (which are plenty). The story sticks pretty true to the manga, omitting some parts while dragging out others. At a modest two hours long, it seems to be over just as you’re getting into it. If you’re not on the up and up with Japanese rap (or Japanese music in general) a lot of it is going to sound super weird (admittedly Shota Sometani’s narration raps were pretty low key and monotone compared to the other rappers).
