This beautiful figure of Captain Hitsugaya Toshiro from Bleach is now up for pre-order. Hitsugaya is one of the coolest Bleach characters. Being the youngest Captain and having the most powerful ice Zanpakutou in all of Soul Society he is a force to be reckoned with. Don’t give me that look, you understood everything I said! Hypocrites!

The figure is a 1/8th scale production due to be released in late December for the retail price of 6,930 yen. You can pre-order the figure at Play-asia.com.

Source: Tomopop

From AnimeNewsNetwork: “The story takes place after an abominable war that foisted a “devil’s contract” upon a land. Cecily Campbell, a former noble’s daughter who joined a knighthood, encounters a man who dispatches some hoodlums with one sweep of a mysterious sword. The man possesses the power of the same “devil’s contract” that has become taboo, now that peace has been restored. Cecily has been searching for a blacksmith who can repair an old sword she inherited from her father, and that mysterious young man happens to be blacksmith named Luke Ainsworth. This encounter launches their adventures together.”

Looking at some of the images makes me want to give this show a try. However I don’t think it is going to be anything more than a generic fantasy. I hope it can surprise me. Hit the jump for more images.

Picking up where the original show left off Darker Than Black is finally back with a second season. From Wikipedia: “Ten years ago, an inscrutable and abnormal territory known as Hell’s Gate appeared in Tokyo, altering the sky and wreaking havoc on the landscape. The heavenly bodies disappeared, replaced by false stars. During this time, people who possess various special abilities emerged. Kept secret from the masses, these individuals, known as Contractors, are able to murder in cold blood. Various nations and organizations around the world use Contractors as spies and assassins, often resulting in violent battles for information. Each fake star has a corresponding Contractor, and they vibrate when their Contractor’s power is being used.”

Cnet, of all people, reports on a line of anime themed keyboards from E-Junex. With art drawn by veteran Dojinshi artists Tony Taka and Carnelian the keyboards retail for $100 each as a limited edition summer product on E-Junex’s retail website. I’d say it’s a small price to pay for such an interesting collectible art piece… if you just have to have it.

Sorry that the first video was taken down so quickly after I posted it. But that is the nature of YouTube and its content partners. They don’t want consumers to talk about or reference their work in any way unless you write them a check. Seems a little backwards to me. Anyway, here is a consolation video:

Set only two years after the first game in 1937 Valkyria Chronicles 2 involves cadets from the Galia Royal Military Academy sent to prevent a rebellion from starting in Gallia. Sega claims the games concept is to contrast the world of a military academy with actual war.

It is due to be released this Winter in Japan for the PlayStation Portable.

Source: Kotaku

Vocaloid mascot Hatsune Miku put on her first live performance at Animelo Summer Live 2009. She appeared on screen and was accompanied by a live band during her set. It is a little disheartening that a computer program stole the thunder of actual performers but I guess that proves that Japan’s Otaku and Technophiles are on an entirely different level compared to fans in the United States. Not that I wouldn’t have gone if I could….

Animelo Summer Live is Japan’s biggest annual anime themed concert and has been held ever summer since 2005.

I don’t understand why American translators feel like they have the right to alter pieces of a Japanese film. Especially a film by master animator Hayao Miyazaki. The difference between the Japanese Ponyo theme and the English version is striking.

They turned the slow, sweet song about the hero of the film into popular garbage. The “singers” use vocalizers and a rap beat as opposed to the straight singing classic Miyazaki theme.

Basically Disney is saying that the American audience is:

1) Unable to pay attention to music that is slow and melodic.
2) Hate the sound of a natural human voice.
3) Like to clap their hands.

Source: The Ghibli Blog

According to Sankaku Complex

Tatsuya Ishihara, director of Haruhi, has hinted that if a Haruhi movie were to be made the Endless Eight arc is a definite possibility.

“There are a lot of episodes from the novels which have not been animated. We’d love to hear which of those you would like to make into a movie.”

Ishihara: “Endless Eight… Can’t we do that again, adding some new extras, try some film tricks out? Or is it too much? ”

The interviews questions were, thankfully, completely hypothetical.