Singer and Seiyuu Aya Hirano has revealed that she will return to voice Haruhi Suzuimya in the Haruhi Hunting Campaign. She has also confirmed that the campaign is a setup for a Haruhi Pachinko machine, which she will also narrate and perform in as Haruhi.
Hirano confirmed that she will be voicing on a video for the Haruhi Pachinko machine, which is due in July. She commented that it was fun returning to the role after a long time and how the Haruhi Hunting campaign is a wonderful project that everyone in Japan can participate in. She also teases that she is also recording to voice in a unannounced game. More information will be followed up soon.
The promotional video for the Haruhi Hunting website released a couple days ago. The campaign involves people hunting down 707 images of Haruhi and co, all around Japan. If a person has found an illustration they must navigate to this page and upload a photo of the illustration. You can also take the photo and upload it from your computer. The campaign itself is a collaboration between Newtype magazine and Pachinko manufacturer Sankyo.
The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya is a light novel series written by Nagaru Tanigawa and illustrated by Noizi Ito. The novels began in 2003 and were originally published as short stories in Kadokawa Shoten’s The Sneaker magazine. Since then the short stories have been compiled into 11 light novel volumes, with the latest releasing in May 2011 (which was translated in November 2013). There has been many manga based on the series since its release. An anime adaptation from Kyoto Animation aired in 2006 and in 2009. The series was followed by the animated film The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya in early 2010. In conjunction with the anime series, two online mini-series were also released: Nyoron Churuya-san and The Melancholy of Haruhi-chan Suzumiya. In December last year it was announced that an anime adaptation of The Disappearance of Nagato Yuki-chan is currently in production.
Aya Hirano is returning to voice the iconic Haruhi Suzumiya for the Haruhi Hunting campaign and pachinko machines. The unannounced game could be Haruhi related. More information will be out soon.
A new video has released for the anime Kuroshitsuji: Book of Circus. The video is a TV spot/commercial for the adaptation of Yana Toboso’s manga Kuroshitsuji (Black Butler). The anime will be adapting the Noah’s Ark Circus Arc from the manga. In addition to Book of Circus, an OVA titled Book of Murder was announced earlier in the year. The anime will be directed by Noriyuki Abe (Bleach, Gakkou no Kaidan) with Hiroyuki Yoshino (Strike the Blood, Accel World) handling the series composition and Minako Shiba (Black Butler, Madlax) designing the characters. The series will once again be animated by A-1 Pictures (Fairy Tail, Sword Art Online).
Synopsis for Kuroshitsuji: Book of Circus from Haruhichan.
A new Kuroshitsuji animated project.
The TV series is subtitled Book of Circus and will air July 2014 in the Animeism block. It will adapt the Noah’s Ark Circus Arc, picking the manga story back up from the point at which they diverged.
This arc immediately follows the Curry Contest Arc in the manga, which ended at episode 15 in the first season of the anime.
A brand new commercial has released for the upcoming anime adaptation of Sui Ishida’s manga Tokyo Ghoul. The video itself demonstrates the combat and fighting in the series. The series will be produced by Studio Pierrot (Naruto Shippuden, Bleach) and will be directed by Shuhei Morita (Kakurenbo). The cast features Natsuki Hanae (Hikari Sakishima in Nagi no Asukara) as Ken Kaneki, Sora Amamiya (Liliana from Log Horizon) as Touka Kirishima and Kana Hanazawa (Ruri Gokou from Oreimo). The series will air this July.
Here is a synopsis of the series 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.
When it comes to Blu-ray releases they generally have higher quality than the original TV release. This is due to have a more lax time restraint and no longer needing to abide by TV rules and regulations. They may redraw scenes, add new ones, include flashier effects or just make it less sucky. Unfortunately for some Blu-ray releases it isn’t always a step up, case in point with the Wake Up, Girls! blu-rays. Of course, other reasons for having better blu-ray releases include having uncensored content, such as in Pupa and Saikin, Imouto no Yousu ga Chotto Okashiinda ga.
With the recent releases of the Non Non Biyori blu-ray set why don’t we take a look at the comparisons between the TV release and the Blu-ray? And with the second season recently announced, what better time too!
All the images below are from the 5th volume, which cover episodes 9 and 10. So if you haven’t caught up with the series, these are
Spoilers for episode 9 & 10!
Click on the images for the full resolution. The images on the left are the TV version and the images on the right are from the Blu-ray release
Here is a synopsis of the anime from Haruhichan:
Elementary school student Hotaru Ichijou has moved with her parents from Tokyo to the middle of the country. Now she must adapt to her new school, where there are a total of 5 students in the same class who range through elementary and middle school ages. Join their everyday adventures in the countryside.
All the images above are from Non Non Biyori volume 5. You can purchase the release from Amazon Japan, which will set you back ¥5,594 (~ $59.94 USD) for episodes 9 and 10 (expensive I know). The second season of Non Non Biyori will be out later this year.
At the beginning of March, it was rumored that Buddy Complex would be a split cour anime. At the end of episode 13, it was confirmed that it will continue. It was mentioned that detailed information will follow at a later time.
Today information was released on the official site and Twitter, the sequel will be a two-part special to air on TV, not a second season. It will be called “Buddy Complex Final Chapter” and it is scheduled to air this Fall.
— 「バディ・コンプレックス」公式アカウント (@buddycomplex) June 1, 2014
In celebration of the announcement of Buddy complex Final chapter (Buddy Complex: Kanketsu-hen – Ano Sora ni Kaeru Mirai de) to be animated, the official site distributed twitter icons.
Synopsis for Buddy Complex from Haruhichan.
On the first day back after summer break, high-school student Aoba is attacked by a giant robot that appears out of the sky. As he’s pursued through the city, his classmate Hina appears in a robot of her own. She rescues him, and tells him cryptically that “Dio is waiting for you”, before she disappears. This begins Aoba’s new life as the pilot of the Free Treaty Alliance against the Great Zogiria Republic.
In the recent issue of Jump Square magazine, it was announced that an anime adaptation of Yasuhiro Nightow’s manga Kekkai Sensen is currently in production. Further information on the anime adaptation will release in forthcoming issues of Jump Square and Jump SQ.19. magazines.
Kekkai Sensen (Blood Blockade Battlefront) is a manga from Yasuhiro Nightow that began in 2008 as a one shot series. Nightow is most known for this other manga Trigun, which ended that year with Trigun Maximum, which also had a . Kekkai Sensen was published in Shueisha’s Jump Square magazine, with a 3 part special releasing in 2009. Since then the manga became a regular series in 2010 instead being published in Shueisha’s Jump SQ.19 magazine. To date the series has 8 volumes with the 9th volume releasing on June 4.
Here is a synopsis of the series from Haruhichan:
Kekkai Sensen, Blood World War’s main characters are Klaus Rineberts, Frau Jane and Gilbert, the strange mummy-butler. Jane is an invisible werewolf, while Klaus is a redeemed vampire “Fang Hunter” (Kibagari) who uses holy relics. They war against vampires and occasionally help bystanders who get caught up in things.
Additional information about the anime adaptation of Kekkai Sensen has not been released. More news will be out in future issues of Jump SQ.19. and Jump Square magazines.
A few character designs have released for the upcoming YuruYuri OVA, titled YuruYuri: Nachuyachumi! The OVA will feature updated designs from the 2011 and 2012 anime series, since it will be animated by another studio, TYO Animations (Shinryaku! Ika Musume, Plastic Nee-san). They will be replacing animation studio Dogakobo (GJ-bu, Mikakunin de Shinkoukei). The OVA is set to air this Winter.
Above are the updated designs of the series’ main characters for Nachuyachumi!. They are illustrated by Motohiro Taniguchi (Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, Strike Witches) who is also the key animator. A comparison image of the new OVA designs and the character designs from the two anime series was also released. The designs on the left are from the 2011 and 2012 anime, designed by Chiaki Nakajima (Love Lab), and the ones on the right are from Taniguchi.
YuruYuri, is a manga series created by Namori that released in June 2008 and is still running. The manga has a total of 11 volumes thus far and has sold over 1 million copies as of December 2011. Namori has also created two more manga series alongside YuruYuri: YuruYuri Reset!, which is currently on hiatus, and YuruYuri Ohmuroke a web manga that started in July 2012. The series also received an anime adaptation in July 2011 by animation studio Dogakobo. The second season of the anime titled YuruYuri♪♪ aired in 2012, also in July.
Here is a synopsis of the series from Haruhichan:
Right after starting middle school, Akari Akaza joins the Amusement Club which is composed solely by her two childhood friends, Kyouko Toshinou and Yui Funami. Chinatsu Yoshikawa, Akaza’s classmate, becomes a member after finding out about the dissolution of the Tea Club.
The Amusement Club, situated at the tea room facility since the Tea Club disbanded, has no clear purpose, being free for the girls to do whatever they want.
YuruYuri: Nachuyachumi! will be releasing this Winter anime season in Japanese theatres followed by a physical release. The OVA will be directed by Hiroyuki Hata (Saikin, Imouto no Yousu ga Chotto Okashiinda ga.) with Michiko Yokote (Gintama, Shinryaku! Ika Musume) writing the script. More information on Nachuyachumi! will release at a later date.
The official website of the YuruYuri anime can be viewed here.
For the first time, ladies and gentlemen, Haruhichan presents to you a con review! That’s right, myself as well as several several other bloggers went to visit Anime North, one of the largest anime conventions in North America, spanning across three days of almost non-stop anime, gaming, and general Japanese pop-culture mayhem! It’s safe to say this is one of the most exciting events of the year as nearly every otaku within a thousand mile radius descends upon this convention. Guests from the homeland of anime itself make appearances regularly and so many different events take place that it’s impossible to catch them all at once – fortunately when picking up one’s ticket, a guidebook is handed out as well as a mini map, so you know what’s going on and when! There’s the dealer’s room, where businesses sell their anime/Japanese pop-culture related wares, or the various panels where different topics are discussed, ranging from mainstream shows such as Fairy Tail or Bleach to ones that don’t necessarily come to mind initially such as “Horrors of Hentai” panel, or perhaps even some informative ones such as the “How To Run An Anime Club” panel.
There are signings by big time guest voice actors – in this year’s case, the three most popular being Mai Goto , Yumi Hara, and Hidekatsu Shibata, and there are various other attractions such as the artist’s alley or crafter’s corner where one can admire the work of local artists as well buy their prints or commission custom prints in their art style! There’s even a large manga library you can visit (with special 18+ section – if you know what I mean) or various video game, table top game, or live action roleplay panels you can check out or try or learn about new games/variants in. Dance events, contests, a maid café and even late night raves that take the weaboo fun deep into the night (and even into the next morning) riddle the weekend long ride that is Anime North. But the one thing that’s most prevalent… the one thing almost everyone is there to see or do… Cosplayers!
Attack On Titan Photoshoot – Anime North 2014
It’s safe to say that there were a lot of them. Thousands, in fact – and this year it seemed like more than half of them were in scout regiment gear! One would be pressed to fear a titan attack at any given moment because of it – and there weren’t even any large walls. That’s an exaggeration of course, as in reality the mix spanned across hundreds of different shows, games, pop-culture icons, and even popular Canadian coffee shop Tim Horton’s!
That’s right, the physical manifestation of Tim Horton himself… Presumably.
But for those of you who are perverts and only wish to see “kawaii girl cosplayers”, have no fear. Plenty of those around as well! Due to a recent crackdown on rights and what not however, if you’re a con goer please remember to always ask for permission before photos are taken as it can get one in a lot of trouble otherwise – especially in North America. Something we fortunately did not have to learn the hard way but might be useful for others who are inexperienced with anime conventions. No need to be shy when asking – most appreciate it and even pose!
Don’t worry Rikka, you’re not alone. Pretty much everyone at Anime North is going through chuunibyou!
Though the laws and morality of cosplay photography is something of a debated topic, as well as the fact that several incidents in which cosplayers have been verbally or physically harassed (usually a misunderstanding of some sort) there exist panels at Anime North such as the “Cosplay Is Not Consent” panel in which the issue is debated and conclusions are reached. All in all, cosplay is something people do for fun and in most if not all cases, cosplayers enjoy being seen, given attention and photographed. So once again, have no fear in approaching and having a chat with a cosplayer and keep your eyes open for interesting ones. Sometimes one can even find interesting crossovers like we had the good fortune of coming across!
Behold; Deadpool the Keyblade wielder.
Cosplay however is just only one of the many attractions Anime North holds for fans. One of the bigger attractions for most is the area known as the “Dealer’s Room”. This is a large hall in which hundreds of businesses, big and small set up shop to advertise and sell their products. Manga, anime DVDs or Blu-Ray discs, figures, plushes – you name it, you’ll be able to find it in the dealer’s room. Prices aren’t always fair and some may try to rip you off or sell you a bootleg but those booths usually are spotted early on and reported or simply don’t do well. For the most part one is safe, however it does pay to have an experienced con-shopper by your side. The dealer’s room is known for its variety, as quite literally anything anime/manga or Japanese pop-culture related can be found here. On Sunday (final day of con) one can visit the room for massive deals as the booths are now trying to sell off the last of their products. Well worth visiting and most certainly can not be covered in just a day!
Anime North 2014 – Dealer’s Room
Incredibly crowded all three days, it certainly isn’t for the faint of heart as casually browsing takes quite some doing. However, it is well worth it as you get to see many different kinds of products as well as the cosplayers we all love to see so much. In addition to this is the Artist’s Alley, in a room next to it. Although it is called an “alley”, the room is equally as big and just as crowded. It is worth a visit though, as hundreds of artists have come together to show off and sell their prints and artistic expertise. Those who have visited the con in previous years say that the quality of art available has improved substantially which of course is great. When commissioning pieces there may be a wait, as artist’s have a line of them to do. A wait could be as short as immediate or as long as “come back tomorrow morning”. It depends on the popularity of that artist’s style, so be prepared to remember the booth number and come back the next day. They are very fairly priced on the other hand and one is guaranteed to get their money’s worth.
What really would catch the interest of a tight fisted otaku is an event called “Nominoichi”. This is an event in which a room (only slightly smaller than the dealer’s room) opens for a day and all the booths and sellers are normal people like you and I. No businesses or corporate greed here. These are people who have a ton of anime/gaming goodies at home they want to get rid of and come here to do so. Extremely fair prices and arguably the best deals you’ll see at a convention. While of course there won’t be the variety or cherry-picking capabilities of the dealer’s room – if you find something you like, buy it immediately because if you don’t, someone else will. The prices are just that good. It is only on for 3 hours of one of the days though and gets insanely crowded, so beware, be quick, and bring cash!
Outdoor events like photoshoots or some of the more spontaneous events like a band showing up and bursting into song, or a cosplay LARP battle occurring (both of which happened, by the way) don’t require one to get into any lines – just fight the waves of photographers that gather! But there is a flip side. When it came to panels, signings or any of the other activities that took place indoors, you would most likely have to suffer through a long line. Like any large event, this is an unfortunate inevitability, but on the bright side, since everyone around you is in the same predicament you can easily swivel around and chat up the person behind you – make some new friends! As everyone shares interests during conventions, it’s quite easy to talk to people and make new friends who live in the same area. For most, it’s likely the one time a year they leave their rooms and get off the internet. Make it count!
An example of the lines one has to stand in during cons.
One of the many events, dances, competitions, fashions shows and panels we got to visit was an event called the Maid Café. Much like the maid cafés shown in anime, it is a small portion of one of the four venues the convention is spanned across in which a small indoor café is arranged and guests pay to enter, being given the complete maid experience. The maids bow when you enter, ask your name and call you by it (adding the right honorific) and do little interactive moe dances and performances for you. Some find it awkward, but in a cute, endearing way and it is certainly a unique experience. The proceeds of this event go to a charity organization and I had the good fortune of even interviewing one of the maids – one who went by the name of Shiori. The cute looking young girl dressed in the maid outfit said that it was her first time but she truly enjoys the experience and even wished that actual maid cafés opened in North America. Well, we certainly would not mind! Unfortunately however since it is an event one must pay specifically for and is funded by a third party, digital photographs aren’t allowed to be taken inside. Fortunately though, part of the package includes a polaroid photo of you with your maid!
As one delves deeper into the night, the dealer’s room closes and the cosplayers slowly begin to return to their hotel rooms to take a load off. The streets outside grow less and less crowded but the noise has far from died down. Why, you ask? One word. Rave. That’s right ladies and gentlemen, Anime North is host to several late night dance parties and even raves. From ballroom dances to an indoor club atmosphere to an outdoor concert/festival-like mood, the party absolutely does not stop until the early morning. There’s a separate event for K-Pop and even live performances from J-Rock or J-Pop bands – this year’s fan favorite being Daizystripper.
Indoor Rave – Anime North 2014
If by chance loud electronic remixes of popular anime or J-Pop tunes aren’t your cup of tea, this isn’t the only set of late night activities one can pursue. In one of the hotels that hosts the event not a five minute walk from the rave hub there are a set of rooms solely for gaming purposes. From tabletops like D&D or Magic to online games such as League of Legends, the place is hooked up and filled with gamers of all sizes, ages and skill levels for you to play with or against.
For all flavors of party, Anime North is your place. Three days of ultimate otaku heaven! While there is much yet to experience, it is impossible for one person (or even several people) to experience all of what Anime North has to bring, even in the weekend long time span. All that is left to say is that it’s an incredibly fun joyride and whether going for just one day or all three, you’re guaranteed to get your money’s worth. We genuinely look forward to returning next year!
Did you go to Anime North? Or have you been to any anime cons in general? Please let us know your thoughts in the comments section below!
Special thanks to our proud sponsor Shoukochan for collaborating with us and designing the custom shirts!
Input by fellow bloggers “Big Sister” Rii and marilleo
At the time of writing the post about the website going online, only 4 of the 707 illustrations had been spotted and uploaded. Today, 70 of the 707 illustrations (Also known as ‘fragments’) have been hunted.
Kyoto Animation have produced and uploaded a video to the website and YouTube to promote the Haruhi Hunting (Hunting Suzumiya) campaign to celebrate the launch of pachinko “Fever The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya” which can be seen below. If you visit the website where the Haruhi Hunting is going on, you can hear Lost My Music by Aya Hirano being played as it flicks through the currently found/yet to be found pictures (The not found pictures aren’t shown). When it flicks through pictures that have not yet been found, the sound and image is distorted.
Illustrations (fragments) can be found on outdoor advertising, in convenience stores, magazines, or on Japanese websites.
When a new illustration (fragment) is found and uploaded, the video is also updated on the website.
You are also able to flick through the current/not found illustrations frame numbers on their website. It will display who the hunter was, the hunting spot, frame no, rank and date.
The Haruhi Hunting video is produced by Kyoto Animation. The animation is very similar to the movie The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya and the series The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya:
Hopefully there will be some more good news once all Illustrations are found. If you click the hint button you are redirected to SANKYO’s Facebook page which is advertising pachinko.
Here is an example of what the illustrations (fragments) look like, so if you live in Japan get hunting!
We’re back once again with E2046, and this time with Blue Rose who is also known as Karina Lyle from the series Tiger & Bunny.
As always, the figure is well packed and secure. E2046 aren’t just known for having awesome pre-painted figures and garage kits, they’re also known for their packaging.
The first thing you notice is the level of detail, especially the facial features. Just take a moment to admire the paint job that has gone into this and the different usage of materials that are used for this figure. Not to mention the different types of color blends used in her hair. I personally like the painting job of her lips and different materials used to make her dress with the glossy touch overall which replicates the one from the anime series spot on.
From a side view, you can really appreciate the striking pose she is in, along with the detail of her boots/thigh highs. Just look at the different shades due to all the creases, you can tell they don’t mess around when it comes to professionally pre-painted figures. Even her weapons have amazing detail. You wouldn’t want to run into her in Sternbild City, would you?
From behind, you can see the level of detail which have gone into the boots/thigh highs as mentioned above. The level of detail that has gone into just the sole of her boots amazes me, fine craftsmen ship right there. It’s really the little things that count, they even included the bullets that are on her thigh highs in the series. Also not to mention that ass. The shading that has gone into her whole body structure is crazy. Look at the cheeks of her ass, shoulder blades and thighs. It must have taken a good amount of years practicing to even come close to this level of painting a garage kit.
“My price may be a little cold, but your wallet has been put completely on hold!” – Just make sure you have enough funds to purchase this beauty.
Extra care service: Carried in extra package box, safety enhanced
Includes display base as shown
The pre-painted version costs $151.99 (without sales/offers).
For the Garage Kit, or ‘Do It Yourself’ (DIY) Kit which can be found here;
Height: 25.00 cm
Weight: 0.44 kg
As expected from the garage kit version:
Includes clear parts
Assembly Required
Painting Required
Instructions Provided
Extra care service: Carried in extra package box, safety enhanced
No display base is included, you might wish to purchase from Display Base
Currently the Pre-painted version is 20% off in price and the DIY GK Kit is 25% off in price. Why not take this opportunity to have the beautiful Blue Rose on your shelf?
The opening theme will be performed by Eir Aoi (Sword Art Online – Second Opening theme, Uchuu Senkan Yamato 2199 – First Opening theme, Kill la Kill – First Opening theme, Fate/Zero – Ending theme) and titled ‘IGNITE’. Additionally, new footage for the second season of Sword Art OnlineII is shown in the opening preview.
The second season will once again be produced by A-1 Pictures and will feature the same cast as the first season. It will also be streamed on various licensed sites worldwide. The series will begin airing on July 5, with a Japanese advance screening of the first episode on June 29th.
Synopsis from Haruhichan.
1 year after the SAO incident, Kirito is approached by Seijiro Kikuoka from Japan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications Department “VR Division” with a rather peculiar request.That was an investigation on the “Death Gun” incident that occurred in the gun and steel filled VRMMO called Gun Gale Online (GGO). “Players who are shot by a mysterious avatar with a jet black gun lose their lives even in the real world…” Failing to turn down Kikuoka’s bizarre request, Kirito logs in to GGO even though he is not completely convinced that the virtual world could physically affect the real world.Kirito wanders in an unfamiliar world in order to gain any clues about the “Death Gun.” Then, a female sniper named Sinon who owns a gigantic “Hecate II” rifle extends Kirito a helping hand. With Sinon’s help, Kirito decides to enter the “Bullet of Bullets,” a large tournament to choose the most powerful gunner within the realm of GGO, in hopes to become the target of the “Death Gun” and make direct contact with the mysterious avatar.
Earlier this week, Premium Bandai teased us with this image of Gon from Hunter x Hunter. After the airing of Hunter x Hunter episode 131, they finally released the figure which is expected to ship this September and retails for ¥3,178.
The figure is 430mm (1.41 ft/16.92″) tall. Most of it is hair, in fact; about 300mm (0.98 ft/11.8″) of it is hair. Making it one of the most unique figures that would put Goku’s SSJ3 form to shame.
Please note that the images below are spoilers. If you do not wish to spoil the show if you haven’t seen/caught up yet, do not continue reading this since there are images shown without spoiler thumbnails once you scroll further down.
This figure is a very ‘powered-up’ Gon, which explains his looks and ultra-long hair.
Of course, due to this the internet is going crazy about the latest episode and Gon’s new look, resulting in the internet photoshopping the figure in weird scenarios.
One of last season’s most popular anime was Nisekoi. It’s based off the extremely popular manga of the same name. For the first time, I got caught up in the hype for an anime, since a lot of people I knew were talking about it like it was a big deal. It’s within my usual comedy/school genre so I figured I might as well give it a shot and see how I like it. I only watch anime, so I had no knowledge of the manga going into this.
Story:
Nisekoi’s story revolves around Raku Ichijo, the heir to a yakuza gang. One spring day, he gets tackled by Chitoge Kirisaki and he loses his prized pendant. A girl had given it to him ten years prior to the start of the anime as part of a promise, to meet again in the future and unlock the lock on the pendant together. Raku forces Chitoge to help him look for the pendant and the two of them clearly do not mix well together. After finding it, Raku goes home and realizes that his gang is about to enter war with a rival gang that had just moved into town. His father and the rival gang’s leader would prefer to avoid a gang war, and they propose that Raku go out with the rival gang leader’s daughter so the gang would avoid conflict. Raku agrees… until he learns that the rival gang’s daughter is Chitoge. However, they both realize that it would be bad if there was a gang war in town, so they agree to fake their love for each other. However, Raku has a crush on his classmate, Kosaki Onodera, which complicates things for him since they must pretend to be a couple full time to deceive any gang members that might be watching. Kosaki also carries a key that she had carried around with her for the past ten years and she believes Raku is the boy she made the promise with. However, Raku does not remember anything about the girl he made the promise with.
Which girl is it, Raku?
The story doesn’t seem too bad at first. The fake love part, and the promise that Raku seemingly made with Kosaki all those years ago, make for an interesting premise as the three of them try to figure out the situation they’ve been placed in. Raku has to pretend to date Chitoge, but he also wants to get closer to Kosaki since she is his longtime crush. This leads to hilarious situations as misunderstandings happen all the time. However, after the pace of the story slows down, they introduce more girls to spice things up. After this happens, the plot devolves in a typical harem fashion where all the girls fall in love with Raku, and he has to split his time between them. After a while, the plot becomes more slice of life-like than anything as he gets put into different scenarios with the girls. In addition, the plot loses a lot of relevance around the halfway point. The story is almost negligible by the end of the anime.
Nisekoi does nothing to break the traditional harem story formula. It feels like a literal copy and paste from any harem story ever told in anime. The story had a great premise at the beginning, but it ultimately fades into the background. It’s a shame, because I was really hooked on it at the start.
Story: 6.0/10
Characters:
In most harems, the story is usually already considered a write-off so you have to hope for good characters to back up the plot. My feelings for the characters of Nisekoi are mixed. The females of Nisekoi feel like they were taken out of an anime cliche textbook. Think of every single female archetype in anime. Now take the basic traits of those characters, and apply them to the girls in Nisekoi and there you have your leads. You have your tsundere lead heroine (Chitoge Kirisaki), incredibly shy childhood friend (Kosaki Onodera), cool tomboy (Seishirou Tsugumi), and yandere-like rich girl (Marika Tachibana). These have to be anime’s biggest female character cliches, and it’s as if the writer made all these characters this cliche on purpose.
From left: Serishirou, Chitoge, Kosaki, Marika
Thankfully, these girls are done better than most other cliches of this type. All of the girls get proper backstories, and they all relate to the past and how Raku met them ten years prior to the beginning of the anime. The girls develop fairly well, and they’re all fairly believable. You’re bound to have a favourite by the time the anime is over. However, while the girls are done well, Raku feels like he’s just there to be the girls’ romance interest. All Raku is, is your stereotypical nice guy that somehow manages to get girls to like him. This wouldn’t be so bad, if he wasn’t as dumb as a brick. There is nothing special or interesting about Raku to make you feel anything for him, except perhaps frustration as he can’t find a way to get with any girl. In my opinion, Chitoge Kirisaki is the best character to come out of this anime. She is the only character that really develops, like a tsundere should. The supporting cast, namely Shu Maiko and Ruri Miyamoto, help keep thing humourous, and they also help push the characters closer together on occasion.
The characters of Nisekoi are the embodiment of cliche characters. Despite that, they still manage to find a place in your heart because of the way they’re presented and developed.
Characters: 8.0/10
Art and Animation:
The art of Nisekoi is very appealing to me. They use a lot of over exaggerated facial expressions for the characters’ reactions, and it helps make the jokes even funnier. As for the art style during regular scenes, it’s a slight departure from Shaft’s typical style. Admittedly, I haven’t watched many Shaft anime, but it’s different from the ones I have seen. They put in a ton of blushing scenes of the girls to help you get attached to them, and the way they portray them is funny and endearing at the same time.
Ah… the headtilt… A telltale sign that you’re watching a Shaft anime.
The animation is more of what you would expect from Shaft, head-tilts included. The animation quality is pretty high as is expected from Shaft. However, sometimes it seems like the characters mouths are moving faster than the words that are coming out of them and it can be a little distracting. Other than that, there are no problems.
Art and Animation: 8.5/10
Sound:
The voice acting and music of Nisekoi is its strongest point for me. Put in some of my favourite anime voice actresses, alongside my favourite Japanese music group doing the openings, and you got me hooked right away. Part of the reason why I started Nisekoi was because of this. Kana Hanazawa playing Kosaki Onodera, and Kana Asumi doing the voice for Marika Tachibana got me in almost off that alone – she’s been one of my favorite voice actresses ever since I heard her voice in the game Fire Emblem: Awakening. Put in ClariS doing the opening songs, and I was in. It’s bittersweet knowing that this is going to be the last anime that ClariS is going to do songs for…
The talent of Kana Hanazawa to create absolutely adorable girls shines through again. She truly makes Kosaki Onodera. I feel Kana Hanazawa was the perfect fit for Kosaki. Nao Touyama playing Chitoge Kirisaki deserves attention, and I hope she becomes more popular because of this anime. I already liked her performance of Chiho Sasaki from Hataraku Maou-sama!, and I would like to hear more from her in the future. Kouki Uchiyama as Raku Ichijo is a rising star, and he did a nice job with his character. Finally ,I would also have liked to hear more from Mikako Komatsu as Seishirou Tsugumi because she is starting to really emerge as a good voice actress.
The openings of the anime, CLICK and STEP, were both done by ClariS. ClariS is my all-time favourite Japanese group. Clara and Alice, the singers of ClariS, have great voices and they’re both talented. You probably would have never have guessed these girls are in high school if you listened to any of their songs. Both songs are composed by livetune, and both songs are done very well. STEP is probably my favourite opening this season based off the anime I am currently watching. STEP may even be my favourite ClariS song, which makes me even more depressed that Alice is “graduating” from ClariS. The endings are all character songs, done by all of the female leads. “Heart Pattern” by Chitoge Kirisaki, and “リカバーデコレーション” (Recover Decoration) by Kosaki Onodera are the longer running ending songs, followed by “TRICK BOX” by Seishirou Tsugumi and “はなごのみ” (Hanagonomi) by Marika Tachibana. I like all of them, with Heart Pattern probably being my favourite.
The background music contains a couple of good tracks, but otherwise doesn’t stand out much. Overall, the music and voice acting is very well done.
Sound: 9.0/10
Enjoyment:
Nisekoi was a very enjoyable anime for me, despite the cliche story and characters. The humour of the anime kept it extremely enjoyable, and you always looked forward to the next uncomfortable situation or misunderstanding. The characters’ reactions are really funny and their facial expressions just make it even better.
I always looked forward to each new episode every week, and I would try to watch it as soon as I possibly could, because I knew I was going to get some great comedy. As I also mentioned before, the characters were also a big part of what makes the anime so enjoyable. They’re predictable, but it all works together.
Enjoyment: 9.0/10
Overall:
If anyone ever wonders what a basic anime rom-com is like, you might as well point them in Nisekoi’s direction. It contains a ridiculous amount of rom-com cliches from its overall story, to its characters. However, it still manages to shine, despite all the blatant stereotypes. The story starts off interesting enough to get you hooked, its characters are endearing, sound is great, Shaft’s quality comes through, and it delivers on comedy. If you can handle the predictability of the anime, and knowing pretty much everything that’s going to happen when it comes to story and characters, then give it a watch.
+ Interesting story at the beginning
+ Openings, endings and the voice acting were very well done
+ Great humour
+ Good female leads
+/- Story and characters are extremely cliche, but done better than most
– Story takes a severe downturn in the second half
– Raku Ichijo (seriously, pick a girl already!)
Overall: 8.0/10
So, what did you guys think of Nisekoi? Comment below and let’s get a discussion going!
According to various Japanese news blogs, it has been announced that the anime adaptation of Takahiro and Tetsuya Tashiro’s manga Akame ga Kill! will be a 2 cour series, lasting two seasons. Akame ga Kill! will begin airing from July 7.
Do note that no official news about the series being 2 cour has been released so far, so take it with a grain of salt. The tweet mentions that the news was announced in the recent issue of Square Enix’s Gangan Joker magazine. In related news, the cast and crew of the anime were revealed earlier in the week.
The cast is as follows:
Sora Amamiya (Liliana from Log Horizon) will be voicing the main heroine and titular character Akame, a member of Night Raid (division of the Revolutionary Army) who wields the katana Teigu (mysterious powerful relics) Murasame
Souma Saito (Tadashi Yamaguchi in Haikyuu!!) will voice Tatsumi, a new young warrior set out to become a member of the Revolutionary Army
Yukari Tamura (Nui Harime in Kill la Kill) is playing as Mein, a member of Night Raid that wields the gun Teigu Pumpkin
Yuu Asakawa (Rider from Fate/stay night) voices Leone, a member of Night Raid with the belt Teigu Lionelle
Mamiko Noto (Feel Nilvalen from No Game, No Life) will voice Schere, Night Raid member who has the scissor Teigu Ecstasy
Yoshitsugu Matsuoka (Kirito from Sword Art Online) plays as Rabac, part of the Night Raid who wields the gloves Teigu Cross Tail
Katsuyuki Konishi (Luxus Dreher in Fairy Tail) will be voicing Braht, Night Raid member that uses the armour Teigu Incursio
Risa Mizuno (Sayori Wakaba in Vampire Knight) voices Najenda, a member of Night Raid that has a secret Teigu
Satomi Akesaka (Henriette Mystere from Tantei Opera Milky Holmes) will voice Esdese, a high-ranking officer of the Empire and leader of the group Jaegers, Night Raid’s enemy. She has the Teigu Demon’s Extract that allows her to manipulate ice
Kanami Satou (Ashlynn in Log Horizon) will voice Aria, a new friend of Tatsumi
Mikako Komatsu (Seishirou Tsugumi from Nisekoi) will be voicing Sayo, a childhood friend of Tatsumi
Kouji Takahashi (Ash Blake in Seikoku no Dragonar) will be voicing Ieyasu, another childhood friend of Tatsumi
The anime will feature an Opening theme from Sora Amamiya, Akame’s VA, and the Ending theme will be sung by Miku Sawai, who performed Ending theme of Kill la Kill. The anime’s production crew is as follows:
Animation Studio: White Fox (Steins;Gate, Gochuumon wa Usagi Desu ka?)
Akame ga Kill! is an original manga written by Takahiro and illustrated by Tetsuya Tashiro. The manga is a dark action fantasy that launched in 2010 and is published in Square Enix’s monthly Gangan Joker magazine. To date there are 9 volumes of the manga complied. The manga has sold relatively well, with the eighth volume selling over 37,000 copies in its first week. Additionally, a prequel manga titled Akame ga Kill! Zero started serialization in October last year. It is once again written by Takahiro, but features Kei Toru as the artist.
Here is a synopsis of the series from Haruhichan:
In a fantasy world, fighter Tatsumi sets out for the Capitol to earn money for his starving village, and finds a world of unimaginable corruption, all spreading from the depraved Prime Minister who controls the child Emperor’s ear. After nearly becoming a victim of this corruption himself, Tatsumi is recruited by Night Raid, a group of assassins dedicated to eliminating the corruption plaguing the Capitol by mercilessly killing those responsible.
The Akame ga Kill! anime will be airing for two seasons starting from July 7. We will update the article with further confirmations or denials on the news.
You can visit the anime’s official website here: http://akame.tv/
A scan from the upcoming issue of Shounen Jump‘s 27th weekly magazine issue reveals that the production of a third season of the Kuroko’s Basketball television anime has been green-lit. Broadcast times and more details will be in future issues of the magazine, which runs Tadatoshi Fujimaki‘s original manga.
The Teiko Middle School Basketball Team. The class that produced three perfect seasons in a row, with five once-in-a generation players, called “The Generation of Miracles”. There was another player who all of them respected… A legendary 6th player. An up-and-coming power player, Taiga Kagami, is just back from America. When he comes to Seirin High School, he meets the super-ordinary boy, Tetsuya Kuroko. Kagami is shocked to find that Kuroko isn’t good at basketball, in fact, he’s bad! And he’s so plain that he’s impossible to see. But Kuroko’s plainness lets him pass the ball around without the other team noticing him, and he’s none other than the sixth member of the Miracle Generation. Kuroko makes a pact with Kagami to defeat the other members of the Miracle Generation, who have all played basketball at other schools. A battle of light (Kagami) and shadow (Kuroko) begins!
When it comes to Blu-ray releases they generally have higher quality than the original TV release. This is due to have a more lax time restraint and no longer needing to abide by TV rules and regulations. While we have previously focused on the censorship differences between the TV and Blu-ray editions of Pupa and Saikin, Imouto no Yousu ga Chotto Okashiinda ga, we will be looking at quality differences.
Not all Blu-ray releases are better and with the news that the Japanese Blu-ray release of the anime Wake up, Girls has been delayed to May 27 to improve the quality, we must investigate how bad it is.
So how bad could the Blu-ray release of Wake Up, Girls! be to warrant the delay?
From the above image it doesn’t seem too bad. All the changes seem quite subtle and may or may not have been improved.
But how about we take a closer look at the atrocity that was the initial Blu-ray release of Wake Up, Girls! before the delay?
Click on the images for the full resolution. The images on the left are the TV version and the images on the right are from the Blu-ray release
It’s not great is it?
Wake Up, Girls! is an original anime series produced by animation studios Ordet (Senyuu., Black★Rock Shooter) and Tatsunoko Productions (Ping Pong The Animation, SKET Dance). The series aired from January this year for a total of 12 episodes, in conjunction with an animated prequel film Wake Up, Girls! Shichinin no Idol. The idol anime was directed by Yutaka Yamamoto (Senyuu., Miyakawa-ke no Kuufuku) with Touko Machida (Lucky Star, Amnesia) handling the series composition.
Here is a synopsis of the series from Haruhichan:
Green Leaves Entertainment is a tiny production company on the verge of going out of business in Sendai, the biggest city in Japan’s northeastern Tohoku region. The agency once managed the careers of magicians, photo idols, fortune-tellers, and other entertainers, but its last remaining client finally quit. In danger of having zero talent (literally), the president Tange hatches an idea of producing an idol group. On the brash president’s orders, the dissatisfied manager Matsuda heads out to scout raw talent. Matsuda makes a fateful encounter with a certain girl…
The first three Blu-ray volumes of Wake Up, Girls! will be available from Amazon Japan from May 27. The images above are specifically from the second volume.
Earlier this year it was announced in the 10th volume of Sui Ishida’s manga Tokyo Ghoul that an anime adaptation had been green-lit. Now, we’re revealing the characters. The anime is set to air in the summer 2014 anime line-up, this July.
PVs:
Ken Kaneki (金木 研)
The main character of the story. He was originally a human and a normal college student until his encounter with a female ghoul named Rize who was posing as a human at the time. Rize, using his crush on her as leverage, managed to lure him into an alley and tried to eat him but ended up dying when construction beams fell on top of her. Kaneki, already in a half-dead state from her attempts at killing him, ended up in a hospital and had some of Rize’s organs transplanted into his body. That resulted in him absorbing some of Rize’s powers and characteristics such as one ghoul eye, powers of regeneration and inability to further stomach human food.
Freaked out and lost, Kaneki’s life takes a pretty dramatic turn from then on as he tries to find a place for himself in the world, realizing he now belongs to neither the human or ghoul world and refusing to eat humans to sustain himself. Meeting some of other ghouls, as well as humans, makes him realize that things aren’t just black and white and that there’s more to the ghouls and humans than he originally thought.
Rize “Glutton, Binge Eater” Kamishiro (神代 利世)
Rize is a ghoul that was hanging out at Anteiku. She set her eyes on Ken Kaneki, but moments before eating him, she died in an accident and her organs were transplanted in Ken Kaneki, making him half-ghoul.
Touka Kirishima (霧嶋 董香)
Touka is a ghoul successfully posing as a human and working as a waitress at a cafe which serves as a gathering place for other ghouls, as well as a food resource.
She saves Kaneki’s life at one point and acts as a reluctant guide to him and his adaptation to the ghoul society. She doesn’t like Kaneki much and has no qualms about expressing her dislike for him. She is very serious, tough and hard-working, trying to keep their district as safe for ghouls and humans as possible. Her powers and strength are also quite great and she makes for a formidable opponent.
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.
Sakura Ayane (Yozora “Sora” Mikazuki – Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai, Kokoa “Hot Cocoa” Hoto – Gochuumon wa Usagi Desu ka?, Marii Buratei – Joshiraku, Yuiko “Eno” Enomoto – Love Lab, Arisa Ayase – Love Live! School Idol Project)
Tadokoro Azusa (Aoi Kiriya – Aikatsu!, Kotori Takatori – Gokukoku no Brynhildr, Fino Bloodstone – Yuusha ni Narenakatta Ore wa Shibushibu Shuushoku wo Ketsui Shimashita.)
Yuuki Kuwahara (Rattle – Freezing Vibration)
Synopsis from Haruhichan.
Himegoto follows Hime Arikawa, a second-year student at Shimoshina High School. Forced to assume a large amount of debt from by his now-absent parents, Hime is saved by the three girls of his school’s student council after he is chased down by debt collectors. In return for paying off his debt, Hime agrees to their conditions of becoming the student council’s “dog” and spending his high school life dressed as a girl.
Set to air this July (Summer 2014 anime season), information about cast and a new Aldnoah.Zero CM has been released.
Aldnoah Zero is a brand new original series created by Gen Urobuchi, the writer of the Fate/Zero light novels and anime, Phantom: Requiem for the Phantom, Suisei no Gargantia’s script,and Puella Magi Madoka Magica. The anime will be directed by Ei Aoki who directed the Fate/Zero anime – teaming up with Urobuchi once again. The series will be 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 (Asobi ni Iku yo!, ef: A Tale of Memories., Ga-Rei: Zero, Mirai Nikki, Sasami-san@Ganbaranai) will be the series composer, managing the flow and story of the series.
The character concepts will be done by Masako Matsumoto (Naruto Shippuden) and the final character designs will be from Takako Shimura (Aoi Hana, Hourou Musuko). The series will feature mechs designed by I-IV and Kenji Teraoka (Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, .hack//Sign, .hack//Liminality, .hack//Unison), and the music will be composed by Hiroyuki Sawano (Attack on Titan, Kill La Kill, Gundam Unicorn). The series will be produced by A-1 Pictures and studio TROYCA, and will be a collaboration with Nitro+.
Staff:
Director: Ei Aoki (Ga-Rei: Zero, Girls Bravo: First Season, Girls Bravo: Second Season, Kara no Kyoukai 1: Fukan Fuukei)
Story Concept: Gen Urobuchi (Fate/Zero)
Series Composition: Katsuhiko Takayama (Asobi ni Iku yo!, ef: A Tale of Memories., Ga-Rei: Zero, Mirai Nikki, Sasami-san@Ganbaranai)
Character Design Concept: Takako Shimura (Wandering Son)
Character Design: Masako Matsumoto (Naruto Shippuden)
Mecha Design: I-IV and Kenji Teraoka (Ghost in the Shell: stand Alone Complex, Gundam 00)
Music: Hiroyuki Sawano (Attack on Titan, Kill La Kill, Gundam Unicorn)
Cast:
Inaho Kaizuka – Natsuki Hanae (Haruichi Kominato – Diamond no Ace, Shinichi Kanou – Outbreak Company, Hikari Sakishima – Nagi no Asukara, Meiga Itogami – Strike the Blood, Ken Kaneki – Tokyo Ghoul)
Slaine Troyard – Kensho Ono (Tetsuya – Kuroko no Basket, Souji Okita – Bakumatsu Rock, Hakuryuu Ren – Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic)
Asseylum Vers Allushia – Sora Amamiya (Liliana – Log Horizon, Touka Kirishima – Tokyo Ghoul, Hazuki Jin – Blade & Soul, Kaori Fujimiya – Isshuukan Friends.)
The opening theme song of the upcoming mech series will be performed by the Japanese pop band Kalafina. The group also performed the ending themes for Mahou Shoujo Madoka★Magica and its movies, opening and second ending for Fate/Zero season 2, ending theme songs for Kara no Kyoukai as well as the ending theme songs for Kuroshitsuji II and the opening . The ending song will be from Hiroyuki Sawano, the music composer of the anime, in his first theme song performance.
Mech designs by I-IV, key visuals below
Aldnoah Zero will be airing this July. The series will be premiering on Tokyo MX, BS11, Asahi Broadcasting Corporation, Tochigi TV and Gunma TV. The series will also be available on the popular Japanese livestreaming site Niconico.
Synopsis from Haruhichan:
The tag line reads “Let justice be done. Though the heavens fall.”
A few days ago there was news that a new that there was a new mystery concerning The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya. The mystery had 707 special illustrations hidden around Japan where people must take a picture of and upload to http://haruhi.com/, which has just recently gone live.
The site is titled Haruhi Hunting, after the fact that people had to hunt for 707 images of Haruhi and co. If a person has found an illustration they must navigate to this page and upload a photo of the illustration. You can also take the photo and upload it from your computer. Also, do note that the website tracks your location.
At the time of writing, there has been 4 illustrations spotted and uploaded.
The website also has small details on what the announcement would be when all illustrations are found. All the preview images on the website showcase Haruhi and her SOS Brigade with microphones and instruments. Additionally, the site has the logos of Newtype magazine, a monthly magazine covering anime and manga news, and Sankyo. Sankyo is one of Japanese largest pachinko (gambling machine) manufacturers, and have produced many anime and game themed pachinko machines under their fever lineup, such as Code Geass. Sankyo have already announced that a Haruhi pachinko is releasing in July.
One final piece of information from the site is that a video will be releasing on June 1st.
The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya is a light novel series written by Nagaru Tanigawa and illustrated by Noizi Ito. The novels began in 2003 and were originally published as short stories in Kadokawa Shoten’s The Sneaker magazine. Since then the short stories have been compiled into 11 light novel volumes, with the latest releasing in May 2011 (which was translated in November 2013). There has been many manga based on the series since its release. An anime adaptation from Kyoto Animation aired in 2006 and in 2009. The series was followed by the animated film The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya in early 2010. In conjunction with the anime series, two online mini-series were also released: Nyoron Churuya-san and The Melancholy of Haruhi-chan Suzumiya. In December last year it was announced that an anime adaptation of The Disappearance of Nagato Yuki-chan is currently in production.
A lot of speculation can be made for what happens when all 707 illustrations have been uploaded. Whether it is indeed a promotional campaign for Sankyo’s Haruhi pachinko in July or something more grand, we can only speculate.
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...
