Remember last year when we wrote about the (then upcoming) Halo Legends anime? This is a series of 7 animated shorts that pay homage to the Halo franchise of video games, and are animated by some of the hottest anime studios, including BONES, Production I.G., Studio 4C, and Toei, and with notable project participants including Shinji Aramaki and Mamoru Oshii. Like another famous anime/pop culture tie-in, The Animatrix, Halo Legends expands on the Halo universe, filling in backstory, etc.
Well, at the time of release, Warner Bros., who is the US distributor, promised a release on both DVD and Blu-Ray sometime in “early 2010.” Well, they’ve delivered! Halo Legends is available TODAY, on DVD in both a single-disc “bare-bones” basic edition, a 2-disc special edition, and on Blu-ray (which I would wager looks simply awesome).
First, there was the story of the increased popularity of the Washimiya, Saitama area of Japan (and in particular the Washinomiya Shrine located there) because of the fact that much of the anime “Lucky Star” is based in that area. Now comes word of the latest real-life-spot-turned-otaku-mecca, Toyosato High School in Shiga Prefecture.
What? Not familiar to you? Then you must not be a K-ON! fan. For this humble school building, and its surrounding areas, were used in large part in that work.
According to the translation provided by the kind commenters over at this YouTube video, the school building, which might be some sort of historical building/landmark, was apparently scheduled for demolition 8 years ago to make way for a new school facility; however, instead they decided not to demolish it and instead built a new school facility opposite the old one. In appreciation for saving the building, the author of the K-ON! manga used the building along with parts of the surrounding area as scenes for his work.
This part at least is true. The resemblance is uncanny, particularly the auditorium where the K-ON! girls held their concerts, the look of the hallways, the music room itself, and even the brass animal figures on the stair bannisters. (Not sure if there is a real life analogue to that statue that the students in K-ON! are always putting funny hats/outfits on tho… I didn’t see one in the video)
Anyway, the building is still being used for some functions (at least I believe the library is being used still – hmm, I wonder if they have the K-ON! manga on their shelves? That would be pretty meta!) And the school is cashing in on the building’s otaku street cred, as they are apparently holding concerts in the style of K-ON! in the auditorium, and the music room is decorated with K-ON! pictures as well as sweets and tea on the tables! (I really hope those are plastic models! Or that they change them daily, but that would be kind of cost-prohibitive…) And the otaku are indeed flocking to the location, as is evidenced by the huge collection of itasha (otaku cars decorated with anime decals, figures, etc. – literally means “painmobile” as in “too painful [for non-otaku] to look at”) parked in the parking lot – not to mention the cosplayers taking photos in front of the building and various landmarks. Sure hope that all of this attention isn’t disturbing the students too much!
Boxee is one of my favorite media center applications. Available for the Mac, Windows, Linux, and AppleTV, Boxee presents an excellent “10-foot interface” ideal for use on a Media Center computer – that is, a computer hooked up to a large-screen TV, projector, etc. It makes it really easy to watch/listen to your movies, TV shows, photos, and music, both from your computer/local area network as well as from various sources online (TV networks that stream their own content, Hulu, Netflix, etc.). It also brings a unique social aspect to your media consumption – you can follow other Boxee users and see what they’ve been watching and what they recommend.
Even if you don’t have a Media Center PC, Boxee might still be a good program to have, since it can automatically retrieve metadata on your video files (album/cover art, titles, actors/directors/etc.) and will organize your movies and TV shows (TV shows organized by season and episode number, etc.). It can also decode practically every video, audio, and image format under the sun.
Well, this must have happened sometime a while ago, as I haven’t been paying much attention to Boxee. Recently they released a new beta (now freely available to anyone who signs up at the Boxee website – their beta used to be invite-only but is now open to the public). And when I went into the Boxee App Catalog, I discovered to my delight that everyone’s favorite streaming anime site Crunchyroll is now easily watchable through Boxee – a Crunchyroll app is now available in the Boxee app catalog!! You can watch any of the publicly-available streams, or, if you have one, you can log in to your Crunchyroll account to watch any of the non-free videos you have access to – including HD streams!
Want to get in on the action? Head on over to the Boxee website to sign up for a free account and download the free Boxee software. Then, from within Boxee, go to the App catalog (the “Apps” icon, duh) and download the (also free) Crunchyroll app!
BTW, if you are a Boxee user, please feel free to follow me – I’m “dburr” on Boxee.
Little did I know, but the folks over at Anime TV, Revision3’s new anime show, paid a visit to the recently-held Anime Los Angeles 6 held last month. Either they hired uber leet invisible ninja cameramen, or I simply did not notice them thanks to my oblivious-to-the-world nature. More likely the latter. Anyway they highlighted some of the cosplay gathering action as well as a look at the dealer’s room and Artist’s Alley, and a brief interview with Guest of Honor Kyle Hebert.
You can download the video or subscribe to the podcast through the website, or watch the embedded version below. The Anime LA segment starts 8 minutes into the video. They also review the series Rental Magica.
Psst! Hey… wanna go to Japan? I know you do! So listen up!
Project 760 Productions, the group behind many otaku-centric events in the San Francisco Bay area including JTAF, is teaming up with Pop Japan Travel to offer you a chance to travel to Japan to attend the 2010 Tokyo International Anime Fair, one of the largest anime trade fairs in the world! You’ll get to take a sneak peek at the latest anime projects and series scheduled for the Spring and Summer TV seasons in Japan.
In addition, the tour will include visits to famous otaku landmarks, including Akihabara, the so-called “Electric Town,” a major shopping area for electronics and consumer goods, and now a hotbed of otaku activity, with many anime and manga shops, maid and cosplay cafés, and the like; Nakano Broadway, a ginormous building chock full of otaku-worthy shops — arcades, manga, anime, idol, music, toy, etc.; the Ghibli Museum, shrine of all things Studio Ghibli; a dinner at a cosplay café, a picnic by the sakura (cherry blossoms), a visit to an animation studio, and more!
This 9 day tour will take place between March 24 – April 1, and will run you $1,985, which includes all costs including round-trip airfare from Los Angeles, transportation, interpreters/tour guides, entrance fees, etc. You’ll also get a customized guidebook created exclusively for the tour. If you like, you can arrange your own travel plans to Japan, which drops the price to $1,360.
If there’s enough interest, they will also make several tour extensions available, including a tour of the port city of Yokohama and the history-filled city of Kamakura; and a tour of Studio Pierrot. (Tour extension is contingent on whether or not there is enough interest in it, and will incur an extra charge.)
Also, to commemorate the Studio Pierrot Tour, Pop Japan Travel is hosting a special contest through their YouTube channel.
The fan that submits the best video with a question for Studio Pierrot will receive their choice of three books courtesy of Digital Manga, Inc. and will get to visit Studio Pierrot free if they take the tour. Winners will receive a PJT credit towards a future tour if they cannot attend the TAF tour. The contest concludes on February 14, 2010.
Attention Gundam fans! In honor of the impending Mobile Suit Gundam UC (Unicorn) Blu-ray release, everybody’s favorite streaming anime provider Crunchyroll is not only streaming Unicorn, but is also streaming the original Mobile Suit Gundam series! This stream is available free to anyone in the US, Canada, Europe (excluding select countries) and Russia.
Not familiar with the Gundamverse? (Where have you been??!) Here’s a brief synopsis describing the series. You can also check out the Wikipedia entry on Gundam (but beware – there be spoilers here!)
“U.C. 0079. The rebel space colonies of the Principality of Zeon launch a war of independence against the Earth Federation, using humanoid fighting vehicles called mobile suits to overwhelm the Federation Forces and conquer half of Earth’s surface.
Months later, the Federation has finally developed its own prototype mobile suits at a remote space colony. But when the colony suffers a Zeon surprise attack, these new weapons fall into the hands of a motley crew of civilians and cadets, and fate places a youth named Amuro Ray at the controls of the white mobile suit Gundam…”
And here’s the synopsis for Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn:
“The year is U.C. 0096. Three years have passed since the end of the Second Neo Zeon War.
It is said that the Vist Foundation manipulates the Earth Federation and Anaheim Electronics from behind the scenes. Hoping to create a new world, the Foundation attempts to hand over a certain secret to the Neo Zeon remnants known as the Sleeves. This will mean the opening of Laplace’s Box, which holds a great secret tied to the origins of the Universal Century.
The exchange between the Vist Foundation and the Sleeves is to take place at the manufacturing colony Industrial 7. This is the home of the student Banagher Links, who rescues a girl he sees falling through the colony’s zero gravity area. The girl gives her name as Audrey Burne and says she wants to prevent a war, spurring Banagher to step into the conflict surrounding Laplace’s Box—almost as if he is drawn in by his own bloodline.
Based on a story by author Harutoshi Fukui, the newest Gundam work dynamically unfolds against the backdrop of the Universal Century. It all begins with this first shocking episode.”
Well, I didn’t get any angry e-mails or death threats, so I’m assuming that you folks liked our first videocast (or were at the very least willing to tolerate it). So we’re back with another. In this, our second installment in the Sushi series, we’ll be talking about how to make maki sushi, or rolled sushi. We’ll be making two of the most popular examples of this – kappa maki, or cucumber roll; and the infamous California Roll.
(To those of you wondering when Anime on the Cheap Part 2 is coming, the answer is – “sometime, hopefully soon.” I’m taking a break from audio podcasting mostly because I’m procrastinating, and also because I have fun new toys [video camera, mic, sushi making equipment, knives, etc.] to play with )
Links to some of the products mentioned in this video:
Welcome to our first ever videocast. Okay, technically this is our second videocast, but since the first one was an Anime LA highlights video I put together over 9000 years ago, it doesn’t really count. In this first videocast, we take a brief journey away from anime, and into the kitchen, and I teach you how to make Inari Sushi, a tasty treat perfect for munching on during anime watching parties. (I mentioned this in Anime on the Cheap part 1) And no raw fish is involved!
This is really an experiment for me. I won’t do these videocasts very often – maybe one every few months at best – so don’t worry, your bandwidth won’t be choked up with huge downloads every week.
Greetings, and Happy New Year everyone! The Otaku no Podcast staff and I wish you all a happy, healthy, and prosperous New Year.
We started off the New Year in true Japanese fashion with a traditional cleaning of the house – or, in our case, the Otaku no Podcast website. The site has needed a redesign for quite some time, and so I switched to a new theme that offers much more flexibility without the need to go in and directly hack on the code. I’ve also installed some caching code which should (theoretically) improve performance (i.e. faster page load times).
And now, on to the financial report. People have asked me how much money I make on this, and I’m sure many others have wondered the same in silence. Well, today I am here to tell you that, including all of the income generating items on this site — Amazon affiliate links, Google ads, etc. — I have made a grand total of… drum roll please… $0.00. So no, I’m not making any money on this. No trips to Tahiti or the Bahamas, no off-shore bank accounts, etc. This is very much a hobby and labor of love for me. Still, I’m not one to turn down any additional income, so if you DO happen to click on some Google ads or Amazon product links, well, you’d have my eternal gratitude, and you’ll help keep this boat afloat, so to speak. Every little bit helps in this lousy economy. (Pro tip: you can still help us out, even if you don’t want to buy any of the products mentioned in the Amazon affiliate links. Just click through to the link, and then use Amazon’s search box to find whatever you are looking for. Any items purchased during this session (i.e. until you close your web browser or clear your cache) will be credited to us. Keep this in mind when you decide to finally purchase that 60″ plasma TV and home theater sound system. ) OK, enough begging.
Now, on to The Future(tm)…. Right now I have yet another of our famous Panel Discussions of Doom, talking about Anime Los Angeles in the pipeline, and should have that posted by the end of this week. No, I haven’t forgotten about Anime on the Cheap. Unfortunately the really hectic time I mentioned in previous posts and chibicasts is beginning – The Move of Doom(tm). Also my girlfriend and friend of the show Beep will be going in for surgery at the end of this week, and I’ll be taking a few days away from the Interwebs to visit her in the hospital and help her recover when she returns home. Please send her your best wishes for a fast recovery. So the next episode after our Anime LA recap will come… sometime. Sorry, I can’t be more specific than that.
As far as anime convention coverage, the next convention for me isn’t until July – Anime Expo. I always make it to AX, come hell or high water. No exceptions. And this year I’ll really try and actually *cover* it (i.e. actually attend events, get interviews, etc.) We MAY be going to the San Francisco Cherry Blossom Festival (which is usually around mid-April), mostly because that’s right around our anniversary time, and a trip to San Francisco is always a welcome anniversary present. If we do end up going, I will of course get some photos and video for you. Other than that, I probably won’t be at any other conventions until Anime LA 2011. Maybe MikomiCon, which is sometime in the fall (September-October-ish). I just can’t afford to take time off from work to attend anything else. Also, hotel, travel, etc. is expensive, and I’m not exactly flush with cash these days. (see the financial report above). However, I will do what I can to cover major anime conventions (Otakon, NYAF, etc.) remotely, by slogging through the torrent of news articles, blog posts, etc. that come out of these, and condensing them down into pure unadulterated anime convention-y goodness. Of course, if you, the reader/listener, happen to attend any anime conventions, we’d really appreciate your thoughts on the experience. And pictures if you’ve got ‘em. Use any of the methods on the Contact Us page to get in touch.
Also, over the next few months, I’ll be working on some other interesting projects, including some Video podcasts. And no, this isn’t because TJX recently did one of their own. (okay, that’s a lie, but I had always wanted to do some video podcasts even before TJX did theirs. Honest.)
And, of course, I’ve got quite a few anime reviews in various stages of completion as well, so look for those to trickle out in the coming months.
Finally, I would like to thank you for continuing to visit our website, and for subscribing and listening to our podcast. If you could find the time to do so, we’d really appreciate it if you could rate us and/or write a review in iTunes. Just click on the iTunes subscribe link in the left column and use the “rate this podcast” box. Also, if you’re a Zune user — or even if you’re not — please submit us to the Zune Podcast directory. (Yes, the Zune directory requires the LISTENERS to submit podcasts to their directory, rather than the podcast creators. Very odd.) Simply go to the Zune podcast directory page and click the “Submit a Podcast” link in the lower left. It will ask you for the podcast RSS feed, which is
http://otakunopodcast.com/feed/podcast/
Again, best wishes for the New Year, and we hope to see you again real soon!
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This is very much a hobby and labor of love for me. Still, I’m not one to turn down any additional income, so if you DO happen to click on some Google ads or Amazon product links, well, you’d have my eternal gratitude, and you’ll help keep this boat afloat, so to speak. Every little bit helps in this lousy economy. (Pro tip: you can still help us out, even if you don’t want to buy any of the products mentioned in the Amazon affiliate links. Just click through to the link, and then use Amazon’s search box to find whatever you are looking for. Any items purchased during this session (i.e. until you close your web browser or clear your cache) will be credited to us. Keep this in mind when you decide to finally purchase that 60″ plasma TV and home theater sound system. 
![[MyAnimeList stats]](http://myanimelist.net/signature/dburr.png)