Misato reads the news to you!
A new Playstation 3 program will allow Neon Genesis Evangelion heroine Misato Katsuragi to personally read the news to any Otaku willing to drop the 800 Yen a monthly subscription fee. Misato will read all types of news, including Anime Industry news, by pulling it from real world news sites and passing it through a voice synthesizer.
I suppose the key feature is that the end user is able to customize the backgrounds, music, and even Misato’s hair and clothes. I guess the next best thing to having Misato read the news is to have Misato read the news in whatever outfit you choose.
Source: Kotaku
No More Heroes 2 Trailer
A sequel to the fun beam katana brawler for the Wii finally has a trailer! Well… it had a trailer last week at E3. It looks like Travis Touchdown has gotten himself involved with the wrong group of dangerous assassins again in No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle . The humor is crude, the animation is shaky, and the dialogue is more suited for a porno… but I can’t wait to swing my Wiimote around and watch blood spray everywhere. This time the hero will be able to wield two of his trademark beam Katana as he mercilessly cuts down his foes.
Source: Kotaku
Final Fantasy XIII announced for 2010 release, will be pushed back indefinitely
Being the opposite of subtle Square-Enix has established the release goal of 2010 for the latest installment in the long running Final Fantasy series for a 124-foot tall billboard across from E3. Indeed Square officially set the year 2010 as the intended release date for the thirteenth Final Fantasy game at both the Sony and Microsoft press conferences.
But while everyone was expecting a Final Fantasy 13 announcement the audience at the Sony press conference was shocked by the announcement of Final Fantasy 13 Online. The new title will be Squares second Massive Multi-Player Online Role Playing game and at this time has been set for a 2010 release as a Play Station 3 and PC exclusive.
I’m impressed by Square’s ability to keep such a huge title a secret. The development of Final Fantasy 13 has been known since shortly before the last game was released in 2005 but no one had any knowledge that Square was working on the game and the fact that this game is nearly done is shocking. Check out the trailers for both games below.
Nagi-sama fanclub finally gets a website! Still waiting for content.
Announced at a few days ago Anniplex launched the official English fanclub for the Goddess Nagi-sama from Kannagi. Up till today it was just a black page with a number in the center but it seems they have finally launched the full website. The content on the site is currently sparse including only a notice to check back every Thursday along with a quick synopsis of the show’s premise. It’s good to see Japanese companies doing some viral marketing for the English speaking audience and not only relaying on the nearly non-existent marketing departments for the American licensing companies.
Check out the fan club’s website here and check back on Thursdays for new updates, I suppose. Hit the jump for a quick screen capture.
Core Drill necklace allows you to reach for the heavens!
Have you ever wanted to reach for the heavens? Well, Cospa has made a Sterling Silver replica of the Core Drill from Gurran Lagann! The drill section is gold coated with the base of the drill in the original silver. It also comes with a leather necklice so you can wear your drill around your neck and always be prepared to activate your pintsized mech. It will be relased in September for 13,000 yen ($137.02). SPIRAL POWER! Hit the jump for more images.
Source: Tomopop
Amazon user backlash against Lord of the Rings blu-ray preorder
Looking over at the the Amazon pre-release Blu-ray section it’s going to be a very exciting summer for geeks. Classic moves like Ghostbusters and Spaceballs will be making their way onto Blu-ray and more excitingly there is also a new page, with no release date, for the Lord of the Rings Trilogy Blu-ray edition! The problem? It’s the theatrical version. As a person who owns the Trilogy twice I’m a bit angry that New Line aren’t just going to release a complete set, like they already have on DVD, but are going to attempt to sell the movies to fans twice….. again. The Amazon community is up in arms about this and are begging the company to give us the complete product we want. It looks like this version of the movie isn’t going to stimulate the fans to spend more money on the definitive fantasy movie.
Is anyone going to even bother with this set or are we all going to wait for the Extended Edition to hit Blu-ray? Or are you not going to buy the Blu-ray at all?
Month Long Hiatus
It’s unprofessional to take such a long break after taking a two week vacation in August. But I think I had too. There have been changes in my life that I’ve had a hard time adjusting too. In the next few months I hope to resume my duties as publisher of this blog. Granted I won’t be able to publish any of the more difficult content, like videos that I produce, for a while. But news, reviews, and commentary will return as of now.
Thank you for your patience.
Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog
Joss Whedon creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Firefly used the writers strike as an opportunity to collaborate with his brothers Jed and Zack Whedon to create Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog a mock video blog about a second rate super villain who is attempting to gain control of the world and the heart of the cute girl at the laundromat. It stars Neil Patrick Harris, Felicia Day, and Nathan Fillion.
The three part Internet series is now available for free at http://www.drhorrible.com/ until June 20th but a higher quality version is available on iTunes for $1.99, or all three episode season pass for $3.99.
The first episode was surprisingly good for a shortrun side project. All the actors gave great performances and accomplished a lot with only 15 minutes to work with. Neil Patrick Harris plays the sad, desperate, but determined Dr. Horrible with a combination of meekness and determination that makes the character instantly likable. Nathan Fillion plays the over the top, self-important superhero Captain Hammer (no one knows exactly what he is a Captain of) Captain Hammer’s arrogance should make him unlikeable, but Fillion’s (purposely) campy performance makes it work perfectly.
Definitely try and check out the episodes while they are still free, but like me I’m sure after your second watch you’ll be in iTunes buying the movie.
Slayers Revolution opening
After eleven years the fourth season of Slayers will begin airing in Japans fall season. has already starting air in Japan as part of the Summer season. The story takes place after Slayers Try where Lina and Gourry have lost the sword of light and now they must search for a replacement weapon. During their quest they once again meet up with Amelia and Zelgadis but the reunion is cut short when an Inspector of the Special Investigative Unit appears. The story is party adopted from Hajime Kanzaka’s Slayers light novels but will feature an Anime only arc as well.
DVD playing Wii delayed again
Since the release of Nintendo’s popular console, the Wii, one of the chief complaints has been lack of DVD playback. The first console to support DVD playback was the Playstation 2 back when it was released in 2000 and many gamers believe that it’s unacceptable that Nintendo doesn’t include the ability to play back DVD movies in their new on. Well, those waiting for DVD playback will have to wait a bit longer. Satoru Iwata told stockholders that they will continue to focus on the current model of the console since they are still having problems keeping up with demand. Why spend time and money to develop and produce a new model when they can’t even produce enough of the old one? Nintendo won’t be losing sleep over complaints of DVD playback.
