On October 2nd the 380th episode of Naruto Shippuuden titled “The Day Naruto was Born” will air, it will be the 600th episode of the series (The original Naruto TV anime has 220 episodes).
The series celebrates with a new opening and ending theme. Japanese rock band KANA-BOON will be performing the 16th opening theme and it will be titled “Silhouette” while the cute and innocent Shiori Tomita will be performing the 31st ending theme titled “Dame Dame da”.
Naruto Shippuuden is an anime series adapted from Part II of the Naruto manga series by Masashi Kishimoto. The series is directed by Hayato Date and produced by Studio Pierrot and TV Tokyo. Naruto Shippuuden is a continuation of the Naruto manga, and continues the same storyline after the passing of two and a half years in the Naruto universe. It began broadcasting on TV Tokyo on February 15, 2007.
Genres: Action, Horror, Psychological, Supernatural, Drama
Episodes: 12
One of the many shows folks were looking forward to this summer was Studio Pierrot’s adaptation of the popular horror manga Tokyo Ghoul. The manga being known for its disturbing, tragic story as it follows the tale of ordinary college student Ken Kaneki as he transitions from human to a man-eating, supernatural being known as a “ghoul”. While this may sound generic, the manga draws its appeal from being unabashedly gory and surreal. Unlike the archetypical anime protagonist, Ken Kaneki suffers. A lot.
It seems like a tall order for an anime to live up to the expectations of an audience who has come to love the manga and thus has generated hype for it. Does this dark tale live up to the hype?
Story:
As the title of the anime suggests, the story takes place in Tokyo. There exists a race of beings known as “ghouls” who look and behave like humans for the most part, but change their form and take on unique abilities as their eyes redden. They are a menacing looking bunch for sure! While during day to day life one cannot tell if a person is a ghoul or not, they do have one trait that stands out dramatically. This of course, is that they eat humans.
Our protagonist – the young Ken Kaneki is a typical college “nerd”. He’s shy, polite, and enjoys reading. His life takes a downward spiral however when through the course of a freak accident he becomes part ghoul. This creates an interesting dynamic as our relatively boring hero is now turned into a monster – one that is feared and loathed by the general public. Over the span of the anime we see the trials and tribulations Ken goes through and we are faced with themes such as the loss of innocence, injustice in society, having to come to terms with unfortunate circumstances and making the best of it, as well as the justification of both sides – humans and ghouls.
A twist of fate causes Kaneki to become part ghoul.
The plot certainly has its fair share of emotional scenes as it is just as much a drama as it is an action show, and by the end of it one would have developed some sort of connection with Ken, even if he isn’t the most likeable person at first. His character suffers from having to be portrayed as overly weak – this leaves audiences impatient and constantly wishing for him to take a stand. When he finally does however, it’s worth it!
What the story suffers from in this adaptation is the pacing of the show. It starts fairly strong but there are lulls in between where either nothing consequential happens, or one is left thinking “how is this relevant to the actual story?” In a show where there are only a total of 12 episodes, each episode counts and while the finale makes it worth it, some may have to trudge through an episode or two they might find boring or useless.
Another unfortunate product of having such a short course for an adaptation is having to either rush or completely skip certain details. The cast of characters are richly developed in their own ways in the manga, however the anime fails to capture much of it, and we are only given shadows of characters who are a lot deeper than they seem. If one hasn’t read the manga, perhaps it can be overlooked but it is still a desire left unfulfilled.
On the whole, the story manages to do its job when it comes to delivering a grim personal story, and ultimately showing the development of a character. The more prominent side characters are quite likeable as well – in fact, arguably more so than Ken himself.
What one should look for and understand when watching this is that it’s about the development of Ken – how he progresses as a character, his internal strife, how he comes to terms with his situation and becomes who he is. If one knows that this is the focus of the show, perhaps they won’t be disappointed by other factors that aren’t as strong.
Visuals and Animation:
In terms of visuals, Tokyo Ghoul looks beautifully grim – and that’s exactly what they were shooting for. The dark backgrounds with colorful characters and foregrounds contrasts nicely, leaving the right impression for a show of this genre. While the characters look sharp and aesthetically appealing, there is still a sense of impending horror and a constant feeling of despair because of the settings and backgrounds. This is most applicable during fight scenes, as most take place in either during the night, evening, or indoors (and by indoors we mean places like underground torture chambers or abandoned dilapidated buildings… They take their atmospheres seriously at Studio Pierrot) CGI animation is used sparingly enough that it’s not “in your face” or irritating.
The urban scenes on the other hand are vibrant and beautiful. There are always many people shown on screen during those scenes, as well as the colorful filters used to layer the streetscapes making the city feel alive. It puts the “Tokyo” in Tokyo Ghoul!
There’s more to a nice looking anime than just a nice art style though. The animation is important as well – how smoothly it runs during action sequences, if it looks sharp and well put-together, whether or not CGI is used appropriately, etc. In this regard, Tokyo Ghoul delivers excellently. Excellent creative vision by the animators helped make some great looking action sequences, where the motions of the characters flowed nice yet tightly, and interesting effects were used to emphasize certain sequences – especially the gorier ones. Gore is one thing the show does not skimp out on in the least.
Unfortunately however, the gore was censored due to it being too graphic to be aired on television and thus the completely unedited version would only be available once the DVD or Blu-Ray copies are released for purchase. This is something that turned many fans off, as even the censoring wasn’t cleverly done. Nothing more than a dark shadow was cast over the frame in the area that was to be censored, with no real context. In scenes where the focus was on the violence, this made no sense and the screen was almost completely dark. This is one of the few major turn offs the show hosts, but on the bright side if one waits and purchases a copy they’d have access to the uncensored version.
Sound and Music:
Sound is one of Tokyo Ghoul‘s stronger suits. The sound design, editing and effects are top notch, giving one a sense of immersion in several different kinds of environments. From the more open, densely populated urban ones to the shady, damp back alleys, the sound effects coincide with the visuals nicely.
What really brings it over the top in terms of sound are the voice actors though. Natsuki Hanae (Inaho – Aldnoah.Zero, Hikari – Nagi no Asukara, Haruichi – Diamond no Ace) lends his voice as Ken Kaneki. This is brilliantly done as Hanae’s acting during scenes are agony and despair are absolutely heart wrenching. It truly brings out the character and makes one feel for him. The ending of the first episode being the most prominent display of this.
Not to be left behind however, Kana Hanazawa (Kanade – Angel Beats, Manaka – Nagi no Asukara, Kosaki – Nisekoi, Kuroneko – OreImo) voices Rize, another important character. She transitions masterfully from a seductive, girly tone to creepy, maniacal laughter in a split second. It’s truly admirable and makes her character that much more menacing. A scene to display this would of course be this one from the first episode. Of course in addition to these two, Sora Amamiya (Kaori – One Week Friends, Akame – Akame ga Kill, Asseylum – Aldnoah.Zero) as well as a slew of other voice actors deliver their performances wonderfully.
One of the best aspects however was the music – namely the opening theme. This has been regarded by many as one of the best openings from this season. The song (Unravel – TK) as well as the video are both beautiful, capturing the essence of this show perfectly. But what’s the point in talking about it when you can just hear it for yourself!
The soundtrack – while not memorable, sets the tone of the show, especially during the darker scenes. Perhaps one of the reasons one doesn’t notice is there is because one is so immersed as a result of it – in that sense it is perhaps a good thing that it isn’t noticed. All in all, the sound quality for both voice acting and music is great and the opening theme itself is a track worth listening to even if one isn’t into the anime!
Final Verdict:
Tokyo Ghoul is not without its flaws. Uneven pacing, a multitude of underdeveloped side characters, a promising start and great ending with a wobbly middle, and censored gore all gather together to beat at the otherwise great experience of watching this anime.
However, it tells a gripping story of internal conflict, shows a war on a certain kind from more than one perspective (there can be bad humans and good ghouls too), is beautiful to watch if one can handle the grim tone, and sounds amazing on all fronts. Keeping these in mind, it is an enjoyable anime and with a second season coming along it is well worth watching as soon as possible.
Did you watch Tokyo Ghoul this season? Did you enjoy it or were you disappointed? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below! Until next time, Hamza “Tomoki” Khattak (aka the Toronto Ghoul) signing out!
The first commercial has released for Kyoto Animation’s Kyoukai no Kanata Movie, which was announced this July. Not much is known about the movie so far. The film will be based on Nagomu Torii and Tomoyo Kamoi’s light novel series of the same name, where an anime adaptation was produced last year. It was produced by Kyoto Animation (K-ON!, Free!) and directed by Taichi Ishidate (Debut director role).
Here is a synopsis of the series from Haruhichan:
The dark fantasy follows a high school sophomore named Akihito Kanbara. Although the boy appears human, he is half youmu and invulnerable to wounds because he can heal quickly. One day, Akihito meets freshman Mirai Kuriyama when it seems she is about to jump from the school rooftop. Mirai is isolated because of her ability to manipulate blood, which is unique even among members of the spirit world. Disturbing events begin to unfold after Akihito saves Mirai.
The Kyoukai no Kanata Movie is scheduled to be released in Japan in Spring 2015.
The official website of the Sora no Method anime has released the third promotional video. The anime will be airing this October during the Fall/Autumn 2014 anime season.
Sora no Method Promotional Video 2.5:
Sora no Method Promotional Video 2:
Sora no Method Promotional Video 1:
The revealed cast with their characters’ designs are as follows:
Shiina Natsukawa (Michiru Kurosawa in Aikatsu!, first major role) will voice Nonoka Komiya, the main heroine who returns to her home town
Inori Minase (Chino Kafuu in Gochuumon wa Usagi Desu ka?) will be voicing the innocent yet mysterious girl, Noel
Aki Toyosaki (Yui Hirasawa from K-ON!) voices Yuzuki Mizusaka
Kaito Ishikawa (Ledo in Suisei no Gargantia) will be voicing Souta Mizusaka, Yuzuki’s twin brother
Haruka Yoshimura (Kouko Kaminaga in Akuma no Riddle, first major role) is voicing Koharu Shiihara
Mikako Komatsu (Neko from K) will voice Shione Togawa
Sora no Method is an original anime series that is being written by Naoki Hisaya, the creator and lead writer for the visual novel Kanon. The series will be produced by the newly opened Studio 3HZ and will be helmed by director Masayuki Sakoi (Strawberry Panic, Sono Hanabira ni Kuchizuke wo: Anata to Koibito Tsunagi), with the character designs from QP:flapper (Lucky Chance!). Jin Aketagawa (AnoHana, Nagi no Asukara) will be the sound director of the anime.
Sora no Method synopsis from Haruhichan:
The story begins one winter day when the wish of a few girls was realized with a miracle, changing the landscape of a town. “In the skies above this town, a disc is always there.”
The first commercial has launched for the upcoming anime adaptation of Shoji Gatoh’s light novel Amagi Brilliant Park from Kyoto Animation. The commercial and promotional video previews the Opening theme of the anime: Extra Magic Hours from AKINO and bless4. The anime will be airing this October during the Fall/Autumn 2014 anime season.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jm6pRBiO4E0
Amagi Brilliant Park promotional video 1:
Key Visual:
The anime adaptation of Shoji Gatoh’s light novel series Amagi Brilliant Park will be directed by Yasuhiro Takemoto, who directed Hyouka and Full Metal Panic? Fumoffu – the latter is another anime based on Gatoh’s works. Shoji Gatoh is most known for his popular light novel series Full Metal Panic!, which received an anime adaptation by Kyoto Animation and another by Gonzo. Amagi Brilliant Park began in February 2013 and currently has 4 volumes released. The light novels are illustrated by Yuka Nakajima, who did the character designs for the 2012 anime Papa no Iukoto wo Kikinasai! (Listen to Me, Girls. I Am Your Father!). In addition to the light novel, Gatoh is also producing the manga adaptation of the series, which started earlier this year.
Amagi Brilliant Park synopsis from Haruhichan:
The story centers around high school student Seiya Kanie, a self proclaimed genius with looks, intellect, and athletic ability. On a Sunday, a mysterious transfer student who carries a musket gun takes him to an old and deserted amusement park, Amagi Brilliant Park. He is told that if the park can’t attract 100,000 visitors in the next two weeks, it will be closed immediately. And thus the business comedy, Amagi Brilliant Park, begins!
With the last episode of Hunter x Hunter 2011 ending on the final episode 148 on the September 24 2014. Animation director Takahiko Abiru has tweeted his last words for Hunter x Hunter final episode.
Title (English): Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun Title (Japanese): 月刊少女野崎くん (Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun) Animation Studio: Dogakobo Genres: Comedy, Romance, School, Slice of life Episodes: 12
Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun was not an anime likely to be on people’s radar this summer season. With the rom-com / school /slice of life genre being done to death, there has to be something special about one in order for it to stand out in the crowd. A couple of episodes in, I think we found something in Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun that we could love.
Story:
Chiyo Sakura has a problem. She’s in love with Umetarou Nozaki, a boy in another class. When she attempts to confess her feelings to him, he misinterprets her confession as a statement that she likes the shoujo manga he writes. A few more misunderstandings later, she becomes his assistant in drawing the manga. Through being Nozaki’s assistant, Chiyo learns how Nozaki draws inspiration for his manga based on his school life. The other characters act as characters in the manga with different names. The story follows Chiyo and Nozaki’s daily school and after school life.
Not quite what she had hoped for.
The story doesn’t seem too different than standard rom-com school anime and it really isn’t. However, with the focus of the anime truly being on comedy, the story doesn’t matter too much. In fact, I kind of forgot the anime was a romance after the first episode. Each episode reminds you that it is, but it takes a back seat to the humour. That being said, the underlying story is still good as it deals with unrequited love as Chiyo tries to find ways to show Nozaki that she likes him as more than just a fan of his work.
With an anime that focuses more on comedy than romance, the ending turns out exactly like how you would expect it would. In other words, it’s not the best ending. However, the journey up to this point was still well worth it.
Characters:
As with any slice of life anime that doesn’t rely on story, the characters have to be the standout reason to keep watching. Thankfully, the strongest point of Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun is its characters. There’s a great diversity of characters in this anime, and they each have their own unique quirks and relationships to each other. Watching the anime for long enough is sure to yield a favourite character at some point. There’s the shy but down-to-earth Chiyo, the oblivious Nozaki, the ‘cool’ Mikoshiba, the mean Yuzuki, the ‘prince’ Kashima, the controlling Hori-senpai, and the goody-two-shoes Wakamatsu. The way all of these characters relate to each other makes for some interesting interactions, most often in hilarious ways. Since all of these characters behave in their own way, there is a lot of diversity in the way the humour is presented.
From left: Mikoshiba, Chiyo, Suzuki, Nozaki, Hori, Kashima, Wakamatsu.
Although Nozaki and Chiyo are the clear protagonists, they aren’t always in the spotlight. There are times when Chiyo or Nozaki only appear briefly in one half of an episode or are missing entirely, as they focus on the other characters. In this way every character gets development, further increasing your chances of finding a favourite character. Each character feels important, and they all of their own stories that are unrelated to the main story. In this way, it makes it much easier to relate to these characters, and they feel special and not just accessories to the protagonists.
Art and Animation:
I haven’t watched a whole lot of Dogakobo anime but this is a significant step up from GJ-Bu, which aired last year. The animation was good, and the art was also great. Some of my enjoyment of this anime stemmed from the art and animation which was well presented here. Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun isn’t breaking any new ground in terms of animation, but it’s art is the standout.
Sound:
Like I’m finding with a lot of slice of life anime, Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun does not have a standout soundtrack. The exceptions are the opening and the ending. The opening 「君じゃなきゃダメみたい」(Kimi Janakya Dame Mitai) is one of the “grooviest” songs I’ve heard in a long time, and I can’t believe I’m saying that about a Japanese song. The ending 「ウラオモテ・フォーチュン」(Uraomote Fortune) took a while to get used to for me, but I ended up really liking it by the end. I usually do end up liking character songs, or rather, songs that are sung by the cast of the anime.
The voice acting cast also deserves mention. Big names like Yuuichi Nakamura (Nozaki), Miyuki Sawashiro (Yuzuki), Nobuhiko Okamoto (Mikoshiba), and Mai Nakahara (Kashima) help balance out the relatively smaller voice actors. I initially though that Mai Nakahara would be miscast voicing Kashima, but she actually does an admirable job. The one voice actor who really surprised me was Ari Ozawa (Chiyo), who played her first main role in this anime. Listening to her voice acting, you wouldn’t know this is her first main role.
Enjoyment:
While my anime watching was rather light this season, I looked forward to every Sunday knowing there would be a new episode of this. It consistently made my day with its great humour, characters, and overall quirkiness. The characters’ reactions to the actions of another plays off really well, and it’s always fun to see how these characters will react a lot of the time. The anime remained consistently fun week after week, and I couldn’t ever miss an episode.
Overall:
While the premise is nothing we haven’t seen before, the way Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun presents its characters and its humour isn’t something you see every day. Even though it’s small, character development is a plus across the board, and the characters all feel like they have a role to play. Art was really good, and the sound was spot-on. Overall, if you like to laugh and want to have great characters, this is for you. Hopefully, we will have the chance to see more of this anime in the future.
Happy ever after?
+ Great characters
+ Voice acting was fantastic
+ Very good OP and ED
+ Hilarious
+ Good art
– No real conclusion
What did you guys think of Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun? Let me know in the comments!
During Tokyo Game Show 2014, foreign media outlets were able to interview Yozo Sakagami, a producer for Bandai Namco Games, about The iDOLM@STER and where the series was heading. One interviewer questioned if there would be an extension to the PS3 The iDOLM@STER game, The iDOLM@STER: One For All, would be released. His response was:
If it were an extension of the game that launched for PlayStation 3, then the PlayStation 4 version would have been out already.
His statement in a way confirmed that this new The iDOLM@STER game will be different from The iDOLM@STER: One For All, the PS3 game and be the first PS4 The iDOLM@STER game in the series.
His statement about the PS4 The iDOLM@STER game was simply: “Development has just begun.”
When asked about The iDOLM@STER Shiny Festa, which recently received an iOS version, he commented that there were no plans in porting it to any other platforms like the Playstation Vita. However, he confirmed a plan to localize the game for the English and Chinese market.
The eighth commercial for the upcoming TV anime adaptation of Nakaba Suzuki’s manga The Seven Deadly Sins has recently been uploaded. The anime series will debut this October and air throughout the fall 2014 anime season. The cast for the anime series can be viewed here.
The eighth commercial features the ending theme “7 -seven-” which is performed by FLOW x GRANRODEO.
The Seven Deadly Sins (Nanatsu no Taizai) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Nakaba Suzuki. It has been serialized in Kodansha’s Weekly Shounen Magazine since October 2012, with the chapters collected into ten tankōbon volumes as of June 17, 2014. The manga features a setting similar to the European Middle Ages, with its titular group of knights representing the seven deadly sins.
As of August 2014, The Seven Deadly Sins had over 5 million copies in circulation. It is currently being adapted into a television anime by A-1 Pictures that will debut on October 5, 2014. The manga has been licensed by Kodansha Comics USA for English publication in North America, while the chapters are released digitally by Crunchyroll in over 170 countries as they are published in Japan. The Seven Deadly Sin anime will debut this October, during the 2014 Fall/Autumn anime season.
The Seven Deadly Sins synopsis from Haruhichan:
The “Seven Deadly Sins,” a group of evil knights who conspired to overthrow the kingdom of Britannia, were said to have been eradicated by the Holy Knights, although some claim that they still live. Ten years later, the Holy Knights have staged a Coup d’état and assassinated the king, becoming the new, tyrannical rulers of the kingdom. Elizabeth, the king’s only daughter, sets out on a journey to find the “Seven Deadly Sins,” and to enlist their help in taking back the kingdom.
Yesterday we reported on how Tokyo Ghoul season 2 was listed on a Chinese anime distributors website, we’re sad to announce that it has been removed from the site and no news about a second season of Tokyo Ghoul has been reported from any Japanese outlets (Young Jump or the official Tokyo Ghoul website).
Tokyo Ghoul is a manga series by Sui Ishida. It was serialized in Shueisha’s seinen manga magazine Weekly Young Jump between September 2011 and September 2014 and has been collected in thirteen tankōbon volumes as of August 2014. A prequel titled Tokyo Ghoul: JACK is running online on Jump Live and a 12-episode anime television series adaptation by studio Pierrot aired on Tokyo MX between July and September 2014. A second season has been announced.
The suspense horror/dark fantasy story is set in Tokyo, which is haunted by mysterious “ghouls” who are devouring humans. People are gripped by the fear of these ghouls whose identities are masked in mystery. An ordinary college student named Kaneki encounters Rize, a girl who is an avid reader like him, at the café he frequents. Little does he realize that his fate will change overnight.
A new commercial titled “Terra Formars commercial version 1″ has been uploaded for the TV anime adaptation of Yu Sasuga and Kenichi Tachibana’s manga Terra Formars. The commercial is focused on the the main character Shokichi Komachi who is is Japanese, despite disliking conflict, has a strong sense of justice. When he was 15 years old, he saw Nanao’s stepfather abusing her and killed the man with his bare hands to protect her. After being released from juvenile prison, he underwent the B.U.G.S. procedure to follow after Nanao.
The anime will air on September 27 and air throughout the Fall/Autumn 2014 anime season.
Terra Formers Commercial 1:
In addition to the TV anime, two Terra Formars OVAs will also be coming out later this year. The Terra Formars OVAs will cover the first arc of the series, the Bugs 2 Arc, and will be bundled with the 10th and 11th volumes of the manga. They will be out in August and November respectively and will cost ¥1,980 (~ $19.80 USD). The televised anime itself will cover the Annex 1 Arc, which is set 20 years after the OVA.
The production crew of the anime is the same as the Terra Formars OVAs and consists of:
Series Composition: Shougo Yasukawa (Choujigen Game Neptune: The Animation, Rokujouma no Shinryakusha!?)
Main Character Designer: Masanori Shino (Black Lagoon)
Character Designer: Satoshi Kimura (Buddy Complex)
Animation Studio: Liden Films (Miss Monochrome, Senyuu)
The cast of the Terra Formars OVAs has also been announced, though whether they will reprise their roles in the anime has not been announced. The cast of the OVA is as follows:
Hidenobu Kiuchi (Hei in Darker Than Black) will voice the lead character Shokichi Komachi
Tomokazu Sugita (Gintoki Sakata from Gintama) voices Ichiro Hiruma
Ayako Kawasumi (Saber from Fate/Zero, Fate/stay night) as Nanao Akita
Tomohisa Hashizume (Bertolt Hoover in Attack on Titan) plays as Thien
Rikiya Koyama (Kiritsugu Emiya in Fate/Zero, Fate/stay night) voices Donatello K. Davis
Ayahi Takagaki (Henrietta in Log Horizon) voicing Zhang Ming-Ming
Kenjiro Tsuda (Mikoto Suoh in K) will voice God Lee
Nana Mizuki (Hinata Hyuuga from Naruto Shippuuden) as Maria Viren
Ami Koshimizu (Ryuuko Matoi from Kill la Kill) voices Victoria Wood
Hiroshi Yanaka (Nobuhiko Tokiwa in Tamako Market) as Akira Honda
A teaser video for the anime released back in March:
Terra Formars OVA trailer:
Terra Formars OVA visual:
Terra Formars is an original manga written by Yu Sasuga and illustrated by Kenichi Tachibana. The series was first published in 2011 in Shueisha’s Weekly Young Jump magazine. To date the series has 8 volumes published with the 9th volume releasing on May 19th. The manga ranked 1st in Kono Manga ga Sugoi! Top 20 Manga for Male Readers guidebook, with over 6 million copies in print. A TV anime and OVA were announced in February this year. The OVA will handle the first arc in the series, the Bugs 2 Arc, and the anime series will continue with the Annex 1 arc.
Terra Formars synopsis from Haruhichan:
With the space program attempting to travel to Mars, 21st century scientists were tasked with warming up the planet so that humans could survive on its surface. They came up with an efficient and cost-effective plan of sending cockroaches and mold to the surface so that the mold would absorb the sunlight and the insect corpses would serve as a food source for the mold.
It is now the year 2577 and the first manned ship to Mars has landed on the planet and the six crew members are ready for their mission. But what they find are giant mutated humanoid cockroaches with incredible physical strength. The crew members are easily wiped out, but not before sending a transmission back to Earth. Now, humanity will send elite warriors to exterminate the mutated bugs and claim back Mars.
The sixth commercial for ufotable’s Fate/stay night (2014) has been released and it features the young Teutonic aristocrat, Illyasviel von Einzbern and also previews the anime’s Opening theme Ideal White from Mashiro Ayane. The series will be adapting the Unlimited Blade Works route. The series will be directed by Takahiro Miura (storyboard for Fate/Zero, first directing role) and will first launch this October during the Fall/Autumn 2014 anime season followed by the second cour which will air next April, during the Spring 2015 anime season.
Fate/Stay Night (2014) – Commercial 6:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5r_k18_5R34
Fate/Stay Night (2014) – Commercial 5:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3YQ-KG0kEM
Fate/Stay Night (2014) – Commercial 4:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UzoRddWX9oo
Fate/Stay Night (2014) – Commercial 3:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J1euJhZyewQ
Fate/Stay Night (2014) – Commercial 2:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=taFUXv-cmA8
Fate/Stay Night (2014) – Commercial 1:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oa4E7HCYFHc
Here is the latest visual for the anime:
Fate/stay night is a Japanese visual novel developed by Type-Moon, which was originally released as an adult game for Windows. A version of Fate/stay night rated for ages 15 and up titled Fate/stay night Réalta Nua (Irish for “new stars”), which features the Japanese voice actors from the anime series, was released for the PlayStation 2 and later for download on Windows as a trilogy covering the three main story lines. Réalta Nua is also ported to the PlayStation Vita. On October 28, 2005, Type-Moon released a sequel to Fate/stay night, titled Fate/hollow ataraxia. Its plot is set half a year after the events of Fate/stay night.
A manga series adaptation by Datto Nishiwaki was serialized in Kadokawa Shoten’s Shounen Ace magazine between the February 2006 and December 2012 issues. In 2007, the manga was licensed for an English-language release in North America by Tokyopop. A 24-episode anime series created by Studio Deen aired in Japan between January 6 and June 16, 2006. Sentai Filmworks has licensed the television series and re-released the series on DVD and for the first time on Blu-ray Disc. A Fate/stay night film was also created by Studio Deen and was released in Japanese theaters on January 23, 2010. A new Fate/stay night anime produced by Ufotable will premiere in October 2014. Another Fate/stay night film has also been green-lit.
A series of light novels titled Fate/Zero, set as a prequel to Fate/stay night, were produced from 2006 to 2007. Three fighting games have been released: Fate/unlimited codes for arcades and PlayStation 2, Fate/tiger colosseum and its sequel Fate/tiger colosseum Upper for PSP. A PSP RPG titled Fate/Extra was released on July 22, 2010, and a sequel and companion game, Fate/Extra CCC, was released on March 28, 2013.
Fate/stay night (2014) synopsis from Haruhichan:
New anime adaptation of Fate/stay night, following the Unlimited Blade Works route.
The official website for the second season of the Log Horizon anime has launched. And with it the website has released a new promotional video as well as revealing the anime’s cast and staff. Oh and one more thing, the anime’s Opening theme will be Database.
That’s right, the anime’s Opening will be Database by Man with a Mission featuring Takuma, once again. The upcoming anime’s Ending theme will be Wonderful Wonder World* by Yun*chi, who also performed the Ending of the first series.
The anime’s website has also revealed the cast of the upcoming anime. The main cast will return to reprise their roles and includes:
Takuma Terashima (Misaki Ayuzawa from Kaichou wa Maid-sama!) who will return to voice Shiroe
Tomoaki Maeno (Junichi Tachibana in Amagami SS) is back as Naotsugu
Emiri Kato (Kyuubey from Mahou Shoujo Madoka★Magica) reprising her role as Akatsuki
Jouji Nakata (Alucard in Hellsing) voices Nyanta
Daiki Yamashita (Sakamichi Onoda from Yowamushi Pedal) as Touya
Nao Tamura (Ayuko Uehara in Aiura) voices Minori
Eriko Matsui (Benio Yonomori in Mikakunin de Shinkoukei) as Isuzu
The anime’s staff was also revealed on the website and are as follows:
Series Composer: Toshizo Nemoto (Log Horizon, Tokyo Majin)
Character Designer: Tetsuya Kumagai (Log Horizon, Skip Beat!)
Animation Studio: Studio Deen (Log Horizon, Rurouni Kenshin)
The first promotional video of the second season of Log Horizon also released:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9S1nNqmsv9U
While the video at the moment is at a low quality, enjoy these high quality screenshots of the PV:
Log Horizon is a light novel series created by Mamare Touno in 2010, when he submitted the novel onto the community driven site Shosetsuka ni Naro. The series was then published by Enterbrain in March 2011 and features illustrations from Tetsuya Kumagai, where a total of 7 volumes has been produced since. A bunch of manga adaptations were then issued after the novel’s publication, all of which are written by Touno. An anime adaptation of the novels began in October last year by studio Satelight and Studio Deen, airing for a total of 25 episodes and covering ~5 volumes.
Here is a synopsis of the series from Haruhichan:
It was announced at the end of the final episode that Log Horizon will receive a second season airing Fall 2014.
The second season of the Log Horizon anime will be airing from October 4th on NHK E at 5:30pm JST, during the Fall/Autumn 2014 anime season. The series will also be 25 episodes long continuing onto the Winter 2014/2015 anime season.
A few weeks ago we confirmed that Aldnoah.Zero will be receiving a second season. At the the end of Aldnoah.Zero final episode that aired today, it was announced that 2nd season will start next January 2015, during the Winter 2015 anime season.
This was confirmed earlier in the Japanese sports newspaper Sports Hochi where there was an interview between the publication and two of the production staff on the anime; director Ei Aoki and producer Atsuhiro Iwakami, where they discuss the production on the anime and that it will be a split cour series.
Aldnoah.Zero is a brand new original series created by Gen Urobuchi, the writer of the Fate/Zero light novels and anime, and Mahou Shoujo Madoka★Magica. The anime is directed by Ei Aoki who directed the Fate/Zero anime – teaming up with Urobuchi once again. The series is written by the “Olympus Knights”, a group of writers from Nitro+ (known for their science adventure visual novels) that is helmed by Urobuchi. Katsuhiko Takayama (Mirai Nikki) is the series composer, managing the flow and story of the series.
The character concepts are done by Masako Matsumoto (Naruto Shippuden) and the final character designs from Takako Shimura (Aoi Hana). The series features mechs designed by I-IV and Kenji Teraoka (Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex), and the music is composed by Hiroyuki Sawano (Attack on Titan). The series is produced by A-1 Pictures (Sword Art Online, Fairy Tail) and studio TROYCA (new studio opened by Aoki).
Aldnoah.Zero synopsis from Haruhichan:
In 1972, the Apollo 17 mission found a hypergate to Mars on the surface of the moon. Upon landing, astronauts discovered a enchanted utility later referred to as ‘Aldnoah’, giving the astronauts a status of superiority. Soon, many humans have relocated to Mars, and have adapted to the name ‘Martians’. After Princess Asseylum, a royal Martian princess, descends onto Earth in an attempt to create a treaty between both planets, a war breaks out between Earth and Mars, and Martian soldiers begin to descend from the sky, riding steel giants, intent on exterminating humanity.
A brand new trailer has released for Shingeki no Kyojin: Hangeki no Tsubasa Chain from the 2014 Tokyo Game Show. The game is an updated release of Shingeki no Kyojin: Hangeki no Tsubasa Chain, which released on the Nintendo 3DS in December last year. The trailer showcases all the new content in the game, such as the new missions, online multiplayer and more playable characters stages and levels. The action adventure game is developed and published by Spike Chunsoft that follows the events of the anime, where you can play as the main characters of the series.
Shingeki no Kyojin: Hangeki no Tsubasa will be releasing on the Nintendo 3DS in Japan on December 4th. There has been no announcements for any localisation.
Next weeks issue which will be the 43rd issue of Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump magazine will be announcing on Monday that Naoshi Komi’s 16th Nisekoi manga volume will also bundle an original video anime (OVA). The 25-minute OVA will adapt two chapters from the manga: chapter 65 “Henbou” (in the manga’s eighth volume) about the heroines during the New Year’s holiday, and chapter 71 “Oshigoto” (in the eighth volume) about Marika’s part-time job at a family restaurant.
Chief director Akiyuki Shinbo, director Naoyuki Tatsuwa, character designer Nobuhiro Sugiyama, the anime studio SHAFT, and the main cast are all returning for the OVA after working on the television anime.
The bundle will ship for 3,400 yen (about US$31) plus tax on February 4, 2015. The bundle will include a book jacket with an exclusive illustration, a new Weiss Schwarz PR card of Nisekoi, and a limited promotional Nisekoi trading card from MOVIC. The 14th manga volume will also bundle an original video anime which will adapt two chapters from the manga into an OVA: Chapter 58 “Funshitsu” and chapter 64 “Mikosan”, The bundle will be out on October 3, 2014.
Nisekoi OVA synopsis from Haruhichan:
Bundled with the 14th and 16th volumes of the Nisekoi manga.
Vol. 1: Adapts chapter 58 “Funshitsu” and chapter 64 “Mikosan.”
Vol. 2: Adapts chapter 65 “Henbou” and chapter 71 “Oshigoto.”
We only have 2 Weeks left of Anime Trending’s weekly charts before their Anime Recognition Awards, these include the extra polls available for voting such as the character, soundtrack and genre results. This is also the last week Kuroshitsuji: Book of Circus,Love Stage!! and Fate/Kaleid Liner Prisma☆Illya 2wei!will be featured in Anime Trending‘s weekly chart of Summer 2014 but is still open for voting until the end of the season.
There is nothing official from Japan yet but according to a listing on a Chinese anime distributors website, Tokyo Ghoul season 2 is scheduled for January 2015.
Key Visual:
Tokyo Ghoul is a manga series by Sui Ishida. It was serialized in Shueisha’s seinen manga magazine Weekly Young Jump between September 2011 and September 2014 and has been collected in thirteen tankōbon volumes as of August 2014. A prequel titled Tokyo Ghoul: JACK is running online on Jump Live and a 12-episode anime television series adaptation by studio Pierrot aired on Tokyo MX between July and September 2014. A second season has been announced.
Tokyo Ghoul synopsis from Haruhichan:
The suspense horror/dark fantasy story is set in Tokyo, which is haunted by mysterious “ghouls” who are devouring humans. People are gripped by the fear of these ghouls whose identities are masked in mystery. An ordinary college student named Kaneki encounters Rize, a girl who is an avid reader like him, at the café he frequents. Little does he realize that his fate will change overnight.
The second promotional video for the upcoming Fall 2014 anime Cross Ange: Tenshi to Ryuu no Rondo has been uploaded. The series will be animated by Sunrise with a total of 25 episodes. The first episode will be previewed at a special event held at Shinjuku Milano on September 23, 2014. Regular broadcasting begins October 5, 2014.
The opening theme will be titled “Kindan no Resistance (禁断のレジスタンス)” and performed by Nana Mizuki while the ending theme will be titled “Rinrei (凛麗)” and performed by Eri Kitamura.
Cross Ange: Tenshi to Ryuu no Rondo promotional video 1:
The cast includes:
Nana Mizuki as Ange
Eri Kitamura as Salia
Yukari Tamura as Hilda
Houko Kuwashima as Vivian
Kaori Ishihara as Rosalie
Ami Koshimizu as Arsha
Yui Ogura as Chris
Sumire Uesaka as Momoka
Mamoru Miyano as Tasuku
Yui Horie as Sarah
Yukana as Emma
Mai Fuchigami as Mei
Megumi Toyoguchi as Maggy
Sakiko Tamagawa as Jasmine
Michiko Neya as Zola
Kousuke Toriumi as Julio
Nao Toyama as Sylvia
Yukana as Riza
Mariya Ise as Misty
The production crew that will be working on the Cross Ange: Tenshi to Ryuu no Rondo anime:
Director: Ashino Yoshiharu (First Squad: The Moment of Truth, Mahou Shoujo Tai Arusu)
Series Composition: Higuchi Tatsuto (Bakumatsu Gijinden Roman, Sora wo Kakeru Shoujo)
Cross Ange: Tenshi to Ryuu no Rondo is a Japanese mecha anime television series produced by Sunrise. It is scheduled to air from October 2014. The opening theme will be performed by Nana Mizuki, and the ending theme will be performed by Eri Kitamura.
A manga adaptation of the series started publication in August 2014 in the Japanese ComicWalker website.
Cross Ange: Tenshi to Ryuu no Rondo synopsis from Haruhichan:
Due to humanity obtaining the data technology that has evolved to a great amount—called “Mana”—the human race is able to subjugate all wars, starvation, pollution, and other problems on Earth by using its power, which is similar to magic. Earth has obtained the utopia of complete peace and no wants.
First princess of the Misurugi Empire, Angelize. As with everyone else, she also had no wants or worries. She was celebrated by the people of the empire, and was supposed to wear the crown. However, she realizes the shocking truth that she is a Norma. “Norma”: An irregular existence that cannot use Mana, and are treated as heretics and as “things” rather than people. Having everything stolen from her, she isolates herself on a remote island.
What was waiting for her there was a fateful meeting with a group of Norma girls who know nothing but battle. The girls spend their days riding humanoid robot weapons called “Barameiru” hunting giant dragons that have come from another dimension to invade. Having her name taken from her, what will soldier Ange see at the end of the fight? What can she believe in? What will she obtain? The story of a single girl’s fortitude starts now.
The official website for the anime adaptation of Kenji Saitou’s Trinity Seven manga series has released the third promotional video, the anime will air this October during the Fall/Autumn 2014 anime season.
The opening theme will be titled “Seven Doors” and performed by ZAQ while the ending theme will have multiple ending themes performed by the cast: “BEAUTIFUL≒SENTENCE” by Magus Two (メイガス・トゥー) [Lilith Asami (CV: Yumi Hara), Arin Kannazuki (CV:Aya Uchida)], “ReSTART “THE WORLD”” by Security Politti [Mira Yamana (CV: Yoko Hikasa), Akio Fudou (CV: Ryoka Yuzuki)], “SHaVaDaVa in AMAZING♪” by Yui Levi♡ (ユイレヴィ♡)[Levi Kazama (CV: Ayane Sakura), Yui Kurata (CV: Rie Murakawa), “TRINITY×SEVENTH＋HEAVEN” by TWINKle MAGIC [Liselotte Sherlock (CV: Nao Touyama), Serina Sherlock (CV: Aya Suzaki)].
Trinity Seven Promotional Video 2:
Trinity Seven Promotional Video 1:
The cast includes:
Yumi Hara (Takane Shijou from The iDOLM@STER) as Lilith Asami
Aya Uchida (Mai from Ai Mai Mi) as Arin Kannazuki
Ayane Sakura (Yozora Mikazuki from Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai) as Revi Kazama
Yoko Hikasa (Rias Gremory from High School DxD) as Mira Yamana
Ryoka Yuzuki (Satsuki Kiryuuin from Kill la Kill) as Akio Fudo
Rie Murakawa (Hotaru Ichijou from Non Non Biyori) as Yui Kurata
Nao Toyama (Chitoge Kirisaki from Nisekoi) as Liselotte Sherlock
Yoshitsugu Matsuoka (Aoba Watase from Buddy Complex) as Arata Kasuga
Ayaka Suwa (Ikumi Suzuki from Jinsei) as Hijiri Kasuga
Aya Suzaki (Tamako Kitashirakawa from Tamako Market) as Selina Sherlock
Shinichiro Miki (Toshizou Hijikata from Hakuouki) as Biblia Academy Principal
Rie Kugimiya (Taiga Aisaka from Toradora!) as Sora
The production crew that will be working on the Trinity Seven anime:
Director: Hiroshi Nishikiori (Azumanga Daioh, Toaru Majutsu no Index)
Series Composer: Hiroyuki Yoshino (Accel World, Guilty Crown)
Animation Director and Character Designer: Tomooka Shinpei (Sekirei, Inukami!)
Music Composer: TECHNOBOYS PULCRAFT GREEN-FUND (Akikan!)
Trinity Seven’s website also released a bunch of visuals from the manga a few months ago:
Trinity Seven: 7-nin no Masho Tsukai is a manga series written by Kenji Saitou and illustrated by Akinari Nao. The series launched in 2010 in Fujimi Shobo’s Monthly Dragon Age magazine and to date has a total of 8 volumes. The series received a drama CD adaptation in 2012. To date the manga has sold over 500,000 copies.
Trinity Seven synopsis from Haruhichan:
Everyday is a normal day in the small town where Kasuga Arata lives. However, everything changed on the day of the Black Sun, and following it, a magician appears before him. The Black Sun caused the Breakdown Phenomenon which destroyed the town where he lives. Because of this, his normal life was artificially reconstructed by a Grimoire that his childhood friend had left. Just what is the purpose of the magician coming to the town? What will he do with the Grimoire’s keepsake?
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