Nintendo of America announced today that Bravely Second: End Layer is headed to North America on April 15, 2016, along with details on its Collector’s Edition version.
Read Bravely Second Launches In North America On April 15, Collector’s Edition Details on Siliconera!
AlainmendezMysterious Heroine X!
Mysterious Heroine X!
Mysterious Heroine X!
Japanese publisher Shogakukan has released the "Urusei Yatsura Perfect Color Edition", a 2 volume book set totalling more than 600 pages that reproduces all of the full color pages of Rumiko Takahashi's classic sci-fi romantic comedy, Urusei Yatsura, as they originally appeared in issues of Weekly Shōnen Sunday from 1978 to 1987.
The first volume ("Ue") is 312 pages long, while the second volume ("Shita") is 320 pages long, and each volume retails for 2000 yen ($17.05 US) including tax. The collection also includes a new interview with manga author Rumiko Takahashi. The Urusei Yatsura manga originally ran for 34 volumes total, and it was also adapted into a highly popular anime.
Urusei Yatsura follows the adventures of Ataru Moroboshi, a luckless and lecherous lad who accidentally becomes engaged to Lum Invader, an alien princess from the planet Oni. Their relationship isn't exactly a peaceful one, since annoying aliens as well as bizarre creatures from Japanese folklore constantly show up, and Lum tends to punish Ataru's attempts at infidelity with powerful electric shocks.
Source: Comic Natalie
Paul Chapman is the host of The Greatest Movie EVER! Podcast and GME! Anime Fun Time.
AlainmendezHuh. I never knew Fresh PreCure! was that successful. I thought it was a good iteration but I generally assumed it was neither particularly well received nor any sort of bomb.
I guess it is a show that western fandom mostly ignores but got a good deal of attention in Japan.
Amazon Japan has listed a novel adaptation of the 6th PreCure TV series, Fresh PreCure!, for a March 16 release. It will be the third PreCure novel from Kodansha's Character Bunko imprint following the previous two based on the 1st series Futari wa PreCure and 7th HeartCatch PreCure! published simultaneously on September 16, 2015.
Fresh PreCure! was aired for 50 episodes from February 2009 to January 2010, and has been considered as one of the most commercially and critically successful installments in the franchise.
Unlike the first two which were the retelling of the original TV anime stories, according to the revealed synopsis, the Fresh PreCure! novel written by the TV anime's original series composition writer Jun Maekawa is set one year after the TV anime ended, when the protagonist girls have become the third
grade junior high students.
While other girls have studied hard for their forthcoming high school entrance examinations, the protagonist
Love Momozono (Cure Peach) have not yet decided her future. Then a mysterious black mantle man Maphisto
suddenly appears and starts attacking the town using his monsters named "Fushiawaase." The four girls once
again decide to transform into PreCure with Linkrun. In addition to their fairies Tart and Chiffon, Westar and
Soular, the two main villains who fought with the girls against the leader of Labyrinth, Moebius, in the end of
the TV story, are also expected to return.
DVD 1st and 16th volume jackets
Source: Amazon Japan
(C) ABC, Toei Animation
You might remember that last Spring's Uta no☆Prince-sama♪ Maji Love Revolution ended with Hikaru Midorikawa, Daisuke Ono, Tsubasa Yonaga, Yuma Uchida, Hidenori Takahashi, Ryohei Kimura, and Daiki Yamashita's rival group HE★VENS and a teaser for more anime to come. Social media reports from this weekend's "MagiLOVELIVE 5th Stage" event say that the fourth season of anime has been scheduled for fall 2016.
From the Revolution ending...
------
Scott Green is editor and reporter for anime and manga at geek entertainment site Ain't It Cool News. Follow him on Twitter at @aicnanime.
AlainmendezPanzer IV Ausf. D "H-Spec" is sort of amazingly crazy.
Also why is there no Fate/Zero Rider figma with a chariot?
The line-up of Love Live! figma poseable figures is down to its penultimate μ's school idol with the launch of pre-orders for Nozomi Tojo (line is still waiting to close out on Nico). Additionally, distributor Good Smile Company has previewed a Girls und Panzer Anko Team set, a special offer for next month's Wonder Festival event.
From the anime series 'LoveLive!' comes a figma of the brains of the μ's group - Nozomi Tojo!
From the anime series 'Girls und Panzer' comes a figma set of the five members of the Ankou team - Miho Nishizumi, Yukari Akiyama, Saori Takebe, Hana Isuzu and Mako Reizei!
From the popular anime series Girls und Panzer comes a 1/12th scale figure of the Ankou Team's tank, the Panzer IV Ausf. D upgraded into to its H-Spec - also known as the Mk.IV Special! The tank is fully assembled and also comes equipped with twin motors allowing it to drive it forward! The model is based on the latest 3DCG data used in the Girls und Panzer movie, ensuring the proportions and details are all faithfully included.
The turret can be rotated and the main battery can be moved up and down allowing the tank to take careful aim. Various hatches around the tank can also be manually opened and closed. You can even easily display figma Miho Nishizumi and the other members of the Ankou Team riding inside the tank!
------
Scott Green is editor and reporter for anime and manga at geek entertainment site Ain't It Cool News. Follow him on Twitter at @aicnanime.
AlainmendezThe main interesting part of this (to Type-Moon fans) is that Merlin and Bedivere now have official voice actors.
Merlin has had a leaked character design from Fate/Grand Order but Bedivere has been in since the original game but I don't think he ever had an official voice.
Type-Moon, Ufotable and Aniplex have begun offering Fate/stay night: Garden of Avalon - glorious,after image, a drama CD and OST two disc collection based on the novel that series co-creator Kinoko Nasu wrote for last March's first Unlimited Blade Works set. Hideyuki Fukasawa provides the music.
Pre-orders are open through March 14, with the package shipping March 23 for 4,104yen.
Cast includes
Artoria - Ayako Kawasumi
Merlin: Takahiro Sakurai
Kei: Daisuke Ono
Gawain: Takahiro Mizushima
Lancelot: Ryotaro Okiayu
Mordred: Miyuki Sawashiro
Bedivere: Mamoru Miyano
BD-BOXⅠの同梱小説『Garden of Avalon』のサントラ＆ドラマCD「Garden of Avalon - glorious, after image」3月23日発売！ #fate_sn_anime pic.twitter.com/ED60HrWZVY
— Fate/stay night (@Fate_SN_Anime) January 15, 2016
＜ドラマCDキャスト＞ アルトリア：川澄綾子、マーリン：櫻井孝宏、ケイ：小野大輔、ガウェイン：水島大宙、ランスロット：置鮎龍太郎、モードレッド：沢城みゆき、ベディヴィエール：宮野真守 #fate_sn_anime pic.twitter.com/28s3DSFVxe
— Fate/stay night (@Fate_SN_Anime) January 15, 2016
こちらANIPLEX+でもご予約受付中です！奈須きのこ氏描き下ろし小説のドラマCD、是非お求めください！https://t.co/sCWW0XuOB0 https://t.co/bQYovivZDa
— アニプレックスプラス (@aniplex_plus) January 15, 2016
------
Scott Green is editor and reporter for anime and manga at geek entertainment site Ain't It Cool News. Follow him on Twitter at @aicnanime.
Tokyo MX has unleashed a blast from the past, because as of January 13, 2016, the Tokyo-based television channel has begun broadcasting Galaxy Cyclone Braiger, a science fiction mecha TV anime from the early 1980's.
Galaxy Cyclone Braiger originally aired for 39 episodes on TV Tokyo from 1981 - 1982. Galaxy Cyclone Braiger is the first in the "J9 Series", and it features a team of hotshot mercenaries using the super robot Braiger to face off against galaxy-spanning criminal organizations in the far-flung future. The series is directed by Takao Yotsuji and features animation by Kokusai Eigasha.
Tokyo MX's re-broadcast of Galaxy Cyclone Braiger airs every other Wednesday at 6:30 PM JST. For more information, please check out the official broadcast page (in Japanese) here.
Source: Net Lab
Paul Chapman is the host of The Greatest Movie EVER! Podcast and GME! Anime Fun Time.
North America will be getting a Project X Zone 2 demo shortly after one is released in Europe.
Read Project X Zone 2’s Demo Available January 26 on Siliconera!
This morning, The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences announced its nominees for the 2016 awards, commonly known as the Oscars. Representing anime will be Studio Ghibli's When Marnie Was There, which will be competing against Charlie Kaufman's Anomalisa, Alê Abreu's Boy and the World, Pete Docter and Jonas Rivera's Inside Out, and Mark Burton and Richard Starzak's Shaun the Sheep Movie for Best Animated Feature.
The 88th Awards will be presented at Dolby Theatre at the Hollywood & Highland Center on Sunday, February 28, 2016.
Hiromasa Yonebayashi's When Marnie Was There was the first Studio Ghibli movie made without the direct involvement of co-founders Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata, and currently stands as Studio Ghibli's final domestic movie, though they have contributed to Dutch-British animator Michaël Dudok de Wit's The Red Turtle.
The movie is based on Joan G. Robinson's novel of the same name.
Illustrated by Paddington Bear's Peggy Fortnum, the novel follows a girl who moves with her older foster parent to coastal Norfolk, where the lonely girl forms her first friendship with the ghostly Marnie, haunting the March House. The adaptation moves the story to Japan's northernmost main island, Hokkaido, and will feature of story of modern adolescent.
Congrats to our Animated Feature nominees #Oscars #OscarNoms pic.twitter.com/3jbkgvzRJS
— The Academy (@TheAcademy) January 14, 2016
Tremendously excited! And proud of the Oscar nomination for Best Animated Feature Film for "When Marnie Was There". @GKIDSfilms
— Studio Ghibli Int'l (@ghibli_intl) January 14, 2016
------
Scott Green is editor and reporter for anime and manga at geek entertainment site Ain't It Cool News. Follow him on Twitter at @aicnanime.
A retailer leak has suggested the Wolf Link amiibo will allow Nintendo Wii U owners access to a new area in The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD.
Read The Wolf Link amiibo Takes The Legend Of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD Players To The Twilight Cave on Siliconera!
Crunchyroll is adding more titles to its anime catalog with Princess Nine and Toward the Terra, both distributed by Nozomi Entertainment. The series will be available today for Crunchyroll members in the United States and Canada.
Princess Nine will be available for all members in those regions starting at 3:00pm Pacific Time.
Synopsis:
In the male-dominated sport of baseball, one group of high school girls is about to turn the world upside down! Ryo Hayakawa, daughter of a legendary pitcher, has been chosen to lead the "Princesses," Japan's first-ever girl's baseball team. They don't want to play in a separate league - they're taking on the boys at their own game. And their goal? None other than Koshien, the national high school baseball championship!
But for all the challenges they face on the field, the hardest battles are the ones fought behind the scenes. They'll have to overcome prejudice, endure weeks of hard training, and work their way through romantic rivalries if they ever want a chance to make it to the top!"
Toward the Terra will be available starting at 5:00pm Pacific Time.
Synopsis:
In the future, mankind's seemingly utopian society is strictly controlled by the government, and anything that threatens to disrupt the status quo is ruthlessly suppressed. When 14-year-old Jomy begins to question the way the society is run, he suddenly becomes a target for both the government and the Mu, an outcast race with extra-sensory abilities who have been fighting against the government for generations. Now, each is determined to hunt him down - one to kill him and the other to save him.
-------
Joseph Luster is the Games and Web editor at Otaku USA Magazine. You can read his new webcomic, BIG DUMB FIGHTING IDIOTS, every Thursday at subhumanzoids. Follow him on Twitter @Moldilox.
Good Smile Company's chibi Nendoroid figures are getting into the voice acting business, or at least Seiyu Life's rookie Futaba Ichinose is. The character from Futaba Ichinose and Kenjiro Hata's comedy manga and its anime adaptation is now on sale, shipping with some great alternate expressions in August.
Check out the figure, plus other recently solicited releases...
From the anime series 'Seiyu's Life!' comes a Nendoroid of Futaba Ichinose wearing casual clothes. She comes with a standard expression, a surprised expression as well as a heart-eyed expression.
Optional parts also include an arrow part to display her 'shot' through the heart, as well as a dubbing microphone and script that allow you to pose her recording lines as a voice actress! Her Korori-chan plushie doll is also included to keep her company! Enjoy all sorts of scenes from the series!
Check out more photos on GSC's blog post
From the popular browser game 'Millennium War Aigis' comes a Nendoroid of the princesses, Sybilla! She comes with three expressions including a standard expression, an expression for combat as well as a damaged expression.
Her sword is included and can be displayed both sheathed and drawn with different parts, allowing the Nendoroid to take all sorts of action poses from the game! Be sure to add the selfish Princess to your collection!
Please note that the serial code included as a bonus is only included with sales in Japan.
This serial code is only compatible with the Japanese version of Millennium War Aigis.
From the anime series 'Charlotte' comes a Nendoroid of the cute and innocent little sister that loves her older bother, Ayumi Otosaka! She comes with four different expressions including a smiling expression, an angry expression as well as an excited expression and blissful expression for watching her favorite band - How-Low-Hello!
Her special omelette rice filled with the Otosaka family special pizza sauce is also included, as well as a special nose bleed part to recreate her explosive blood noses! Enjoy all sorts of poses right from the series!
From the popular PC game 'DRAMAtical Murder' comes a Nendoroid of Clear! His trademark gas mask is included but can also be removed to reveal his face, and he even comes with a smaller version of the mask to hold in his hands while not wearing it!
He also comes with three different expressions for when his face is revealed including his standard expression, a disheartened expression as well as a smiling expression to respond to his 'master' Aoba! He also comes with a vinyl umbrella as an optional part. Enjoy recreating all sorts of scenes from the series!
*The first edition will include a special package background sheet.
From the popular anime series 'THE IDOLM@STER CINDERELLA GIRLS' comes a Nendoroid of the Triad Primus member, Karen Hojo! She is posed wearing her school uniform and comes with three expressions including a gentle smiling expression, a composed yet cold glaring expression as well as an feverish expression with a forced smile to show she won't give up! Her school bag is also included as an optional part.
Be sure to display her with the previously released Nendoroid Rin Shibuya and the upcoming Nendoroid Nao Kamiya to complete the Triad Primus group in Nendoroid form!
------
Scott Green is editor and reporter for anime and manga at geek entertainment site Ain't It Cool News. Follow him on Twitter at @aicnanime.
This year, the American comic industry's annual Free Comic Book Day promotional event is scheduled for May 7th (not coincidentally a day after the release of Captain America: Civil War). On it, readers can go to local comic shops serviced by Diamond Distributors for samplers of books from a host of publishers. This week, they've been previewing some of their offerings, including Viz's One-Punch Man/My Hero Academia super-hero manga double preview.
.@VIZMedia joins #FCBD2016 with ONE PUNCH MAN & MY HERO ACADEMIA! https://t.co/fLRECRj3dU! https://t.co/fLRECRj3dU pic.twitter.com/SvEheFjbnj
— Free Comic Book Day (@Freecomicbook) January 12, 2016
.@UdonEnt joins our #FCBD2016 Silver Sponsors with STREET FIGHTER V SPECIAL! https://t.co/fLRECRj3dU pic.twitter.com/FUAtLH5mBi
— Free Comic Book Day (@Freecomicbook) January 12, 2016
.@boomstudios Rolls Out Ongoing @PowerRangers Series! Interview with @thesteveorlando: https://t.co/eSeDPca1t6 pic.twitter.com/eKTEH09VpK
— PREVIEWSworld (@PREVIEWSworld) January 12, 2016
------
Scott Green is editor and reporter for anime and manga at geek entertainment site Ain't It Cool News. Follow him on Twitter at @aicnanime.
Those of you looking to get an extra little something for pre-ordering Fire Emblem Fates can do so at GameStop, as they’re giving away three character keychains to go with their pre-orders.
Read Fire Emblem: Fates Is Getting Three Character Keychains For Pre-orders At GameStop on Siliconera!
The official Twitter for Akita Shoten's Weekly Shonen Champion confirmed today that the next 22nd tankobon volume will be the last of Masahiro Anbe's Shinryaku! Ika Musume/Squid Girl comedy manga series. The latest 21st volume just hits Japanese stores today. The manga has been serialized in the magazine since July 2007, and two TV anime adaptations were produced by Diomedea in 2010 and 2011.
【お知らせ】週刊少年チャンピオン本誌にて大好評連載中の『侵略！イカ娘』ですが、次巻の２２巻が最終巻となります！！最後までみなさんお付き合いよろしくお願いします！！本日発売の２１巻もよろしくでゲソ！！ pic.twitter.com/RerVheYMuQ
— 週刊少年チャンピオン編集部 (@Weekly_Champion) January 8, 2016
The manga author Anbe also posted a comment on his official Twitter, "Though I have so many things
to say, I have to finish everything properly first."
いろいろ言いたい事あるけど、とりあえずちゃんと全部終わらせてから。
— 安部真弘 ⑳巻発売中 (@masahiro_lemon) January 8, 2016
via: Netlabo
AlainmendezI live, I die, I live again!!
Sadly Sailor Moon Crystal does not stay dead.
The 20th anniversary project site for the Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon franchise today announced that the third season of the Sailor Moon Crystal reboot web anime is set for a premiere in Japan this spring. It will be based on the manga's Death Busters arc told in the fifth and sixth volume of the perfect edition. The 26-episode first two seasons were streamed biweekly from July 2014 to July 2015, then aired on TV weekly from April to September 2015.
In place of the first two seasons' Munehisa Sakai, Chiaki Kon serves as series director for the third season. She is best known as the director of the TV anime adaptations of Shungiku Nakamura's popular boys love manga series, Junjo Romantica (2008-2015) and Sekai-ichi Hatsukoi (2011-2014). Akira Takahashi, whose most known works are character designs for two PreCure series, Suite PreCure♪ (2011-2012) and Dokidoki PreCure! (2013-2014), works on character designs, previously helmed by Yukie Sakou. Yuji Kobayashi stays as series composition writer. Toei Animation continues
to work on anime production.
The voice actresses for the newly joined three outer solar system soldiers, Sailor Uranus, Sailor Neptune
and Sailor Saturn, will be revealed in the live-broadcast program on Nico Nico Live to be streamed at 20:00
on January 27 (JST). January 27 is the birthday of Haruka Tenou/Sailor Uranus.
【更新】アニメ『美少女戦士セーラームーンCrystal』第3期 ＜デス・バスターズ編＞今春スタート！キャスト発表は1/27にニコ生で！https://t.co/Mh08svZB5e キャラデザは高橋晃氏、監督は今千秋氏が担当します！ pic.twitter.com/b0ijRzc5Zb
— セーラームーン20th公式 (@sailormoon_20th) January 8, 2016
Source: "Sailor Moon" 20th anniversary project site
(c) Naoko Takeuchi, PNP, Kodansha, Toei Animation
FUNimation has introduced new branding and announced the launch of FunimationNow, their new anime streaming service. This rolls out in February with new Apps and expansion to the UK.
Their timeline features:
------
Scott Green is editor and reporter for anime and manga at geek entertainment site Ain't It Cool News. Follow him on Twitter at @aicnanime.
Days, a sports manga by Tsuyoshi Yasuda that is published in Kodansha's Weekly Shōnen Magazine, is going to be adapted into a TV anime. The announcement was made on the cover of the issue of Weekly Shōnen Magazine that will be released on January 13, 2016.
Days centers around Tsukushi and Jin, a pair of high school students who become unlikely friends. Jin is a soccer prodigy while Tsukushi is talentless at sports but harbors a passionate heart. Together they learn and grow as they navigate the world of high school club sports.
Sources:
Paul Chapman is the host of The Greatest Movie EVER! Podcast and GME! Anime Fun Time.
There's good news and bad news about The Japan Animator Expo showcase of shorts presented by Dwango and Evangelion creator Hideaki Anno's Studio Khara. For the New Year, the first two seasons, with anime such as the much talked about "Me!Me!Me!," are back online for a limited time. The bad news is that when they "close" again at the end of January, season 3 will also be going back offline.
Happy new year! Here is a small gift for you. Films of 1st & 2nd season are redistributed. Check it! https://t.co/6TkKLqvaka #animatorexpo
— 日本アニメ（ーター）見本市 (@animatorexpo) January 6, 2016
Season 1 included
Season 2 included
Season 3 include
------
Scott Green is editor and reporter for anime and manga at geek entertainment site Ain't It Cool News. Follow him on Twitter at @aicnanime.
An early look at the latest issue of Hakusensha's biweekly seinen manga magazine Young Animal has revealed that the upcoming March Comes in Like a Lion adaptation will be produced by Shaft for an NHK broadcast with Akiyuki Shinbo (the studio's Madoka Magica, Monogatari, Nisekoi, Gourmet Girl Graffiti) directing.
In September, the magazine announced that Chica Umino's (Honey & Clover, original character designs for Eden of the East) Manga Taisho, Kodansha Manga Award and Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize-winning series is set to be adapted into a live-action movie and TV anime. It follows a 17-year-old who lives the independent life of a professional shogi player following the death of his family in a traffic accident, but who begins to open up a bit after meeting three sisters from a working-class area of his city.
Volume 11 was collected September 25th.
------
Scott Green is editor and reporter for anime and manga at geek entertainment site Ain't It Cool News. Follow him on Twitter at @aicnanime.
AlainmendezThe more I hear about Destiny the more I feel it is an amazing lesson in how to succeed in spite of yourself.
AlainmendezAKA the Year Kate skips.
The zodiac would suggest that 2016 should be The Year of Monkey D. Luffy. However, going into the holidays, at the end of 2015's Jump Festa event, One Piece author Eiichiro Oda suggested that fans should expect things from a certain curly eyebrowed cook abscent for much of the long-running Dressrosa arc with the statement that 2016 will be The Year of Sanji.
Both the return of anime voice actor Hiroaki Hirata and the manga's account of the secrets of the character's birth were promised for 2016.
Hirata and company celebrating...
★今年もすっごく楽しかったぞーい！ あんなに沢山のファンがピタッとひとつになってガヤ録りしてくれたのには感動しました。 来年はサンジも活躍するそうですから、も少しだけ待ってて下さいねー。 気をつけて帰るんだよー！ メリークリスマス pic.twitter.com/ZuQCqLe6eH
— ひらたプロダクションジャパン (@hiratapro) December 20, 2015
★ジャンフェスに来られなかったサンジ贔屓の皆様へ。 おだっちからのメッセージがニュースになりましたぞ！ 来年はクソ楽しみですぞぉー！ https://t.co/DsH5QEHTg3
— ひらたプロダクションジャパン (@hiratapro) December 22, 2015
Let the manga's latest color spread inspire your speculation!
------
Scott Green is editor and reporter for anime and manga at geek entertainment site Ain't It Cool News. Follow him on Twitter at @aicnanime.
Eiichiro Oda, the author of the internationally popular One Piece manga series has posted a New Year's illustration on the franchise's official portal site ONE-PIECE.com, featuring the protagonist Monkey D. Luffy in kimono wearing a monkey hat (2015 is the year of monkey in Chinese zodiac).
ONE PIECE .com ニュース｜謹賀新年！ 尾田栄一郎先生から2016年の年賀状が到着!! https://t.co/W9NC1V41Ui pic.twitter.com/vu8fivmH6l
— ONE PIECE.com (@OPcom_info) January 4, 2016
The manga's latest 80th volume was released in Japan on December 28, 2015. As expected, it took
first place in the Oricon weekly manga chart selling 273,824 copies in its first week, which was 18.6
percent of the previous 79th volume's first week sales of 1,467,741. The reason of the difference is
that the Oricon's sales data was gathered from December 21 to 27, one day before the volume's
official release day, so the number figures only the amount of the advance sales.
ONE PIECE .com ニュース｜コミックス最新80巻、本日発売!! https://t.co/xtUy6fGwGi pic.twitter.com/5qNTddIrT1
— ONE PIECE.com (@OPcom_info) December 28, 2015
Source: One Piece.com, Oricon
© Eiichiro Oda/Shueisha
Kadokawa will release a Blu-ray box set of the 10-episode TV anime adaptation of Morohe Yoshida's love-comedy manga Inari, Konkon, Koi Iroha. in Japan on January 29. The manga author provides a newly-drawn art featuring the protagonist girl Inari Fushimi and a local god Ukano Mitama no Kami for its box.
The TV anime adaptation was produced by Production IMS and aired for 10 episodes from January to March of 2014. In addition to the 10 episodes, the box also contains the unaired 11th episode which was originally bundled with the limited edition of the manga 8th volume released in June 2014. All of the bonus contents for the individual discs, including the drama CD for the 1st volume and the 128-page booklet for the 1st and 2nd volume, come with the box as well. The listed price is 30,240 yen.
Box art
The content of the box
TV anime PV
Source: "Inari, Konkon, Koi Iroha." TV anime official website via Comic Natalie
© 2014 Morohe Yoshida/KADOKAWA Kodokawa Shoten/ Inari Production Committee
AnimeCons.com has issued their annual report on the size of North America's 10 largest anime conventions, and, after a couple of growing, but otherwise consistent years, 2015 saw a remarkable shake up at the top.
Ten Largest North American Anime Conventions of 2015:
1. Anime Expo - approximately 86,000 warm bodies
2. Otakon - 33,929 paid attendees
3. Anime Central - 29,675 warm bodies
4. Anime North - 28,509 paid attendees
5. A-Kon - 26,377 warm bodies
6. Anime Boston - 25,493 warm bodies with 24,798 paid attendees
7. Sakura-Con - approximately 22,000 paid attendees
8. Anime Weekend Atlanta - 20,311 paid attendees
9. Anime Matsuri - 19,412 warm bodies
10. Otakuthon - 17,661 warm bodies
2013's top 10 were
1. Anime Expo - 61,000 estimated total attendance
2. Otakon - 34,892 paid attendees
3. Anime Central - 28,692 total attendance
4. Anime North - 23,952 paid attendees
5. FanimeCon - 25,542 total attendance (23,430 paid)
6. A-Kon - 22,366 total attendance
7. Anime Boston - 21825 total attendance (21,200 paid)
8. Sakura-Con - 21,000 estimated paid attendees
9/ Anime Weekend Atlanta - 18,363 total attendance
10. Anime Matsuri - 14,989 total attendance
AnimeCons.com explains the measurements
See more analysis on AnimeCons.com
------
Scott Green is editor and reporter for anime and manga at geek entertainment site Ain't It Cool News. Follow him on Twitter at @aicnanime.
A series of petite gashapon toys designed to decorate your desktop with characters from Rumiko Takahashi's classic manga and anime, Urusei Yatsura, is coming soon to capsule toy machines throughout Japan. The line-up includes:
A friendly Lum, perfect for holding down your note pads.
An angry, flying, lightning-zapping Lum that can cling to the edge of your cup.
A pen / pencil-clinging Ataru Moroboshi, complete with his typical lecherous grin.
A cup-clinging Ten, who looks a little too innocent if you ask me. He must be up to something.
And finally, robust Kotatsu Neko that can serve as a smart phone stand.
The "Urusei Yatsura - Darling Love Atop the Desk Datcha" series will be released in capsule toy machines and via the Net de Capsule online service beginning in late January of 2016. Each play of the capsule machine earns one randomly determined figure and costs 300 yen ($2.49 US).
Source: Comic Natalie
Paul Chapman is the host of The Greatest Movie EVER! Podcast and GME! Anime Fun Time.
It's time to celebrate the new year with some free games. Sony rolled out January's PlayStation Plus games lineup, with free titles for PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, and PS Vita set to be available starting on the first Tuesday of the month. PS4 leads the charge with Hardware: Rivals and a cross-platform copy of Grim Fandango Remastered, both previewed in the trailer below.
Here's the full lineup for the month:
• Dragon Age: Origins, PS3
• Grim Fandango Remastered, PS4, PS Vita
• Hardware: Rivals, PS4
• Legends of War Patton, PS Vita
• Medal of Honor Warfighter, PS3
• Nihilumbra, PS Vita
-------
Joseph Luster is the Games and Web editor at Otaku USA Magazine. You can read his new webcomic, BIG DUMB FIGHTING IDIOTS, every Thursday at subhumanzoids. Follow him on Twitter @Moldilox.