Just one week after our episode where we interviewed the fine folks at Pop Japan Travel (last year), in which I predicted that they would make their triumphant return soon… and they up and did exactly that!

So I say again: are we prophetic or what?!

(Rare is the opportunity when we are actually ahead of the curve; so you’ll have to excuse us a bit of boasting here…)

Anyhoo, yes indeedy, Pop Japan Travel is BACK! And they’ve pulled out all the stops. For their grand return, they will be offering the mother of all tours, the Amazing All-Japan Alpha+Omega Adventure Tour!.

Now, after listening to last week’s episode, you’re probably both really excited and really indecisive at the same time. After all, PJT’s offerings are many and varied. Which one to choose? Well, if you fall into this category, then the Alpha+Omega tour might be just the ticket (heh, pun) — because in this one tour, PJT has combined bits and pieces of all of their offerings! Spanning many facets of otaku culture, including anime and manga, Japanese fashion, theatre, food and traditional culture, the Alpha+Omega tour includes visits to anime and manga studios (where you can meet and interact with real manga and anime artists); a visit to the COMITIA independent manga exhibition (where you can even sell your own works at the Pop Japan Travel booth!); visits to top J-fashion hot spots including Shibuya 109 and La Foret (as well as an opportunity to work with professional photographers and produce your own J-fashion magazine); a tour of Akihabara, famed electronics mecca and now hotbed of otaku culture; an opportunity to see the famed Takarazuka Revue all-female theater troupe; a tour of Kyoto, center of Japanese traditional culture; dining experiences of all shapes and sizes, from the traditional and to the exotic; and oh so much more!

This tour is slated to run between August 29 – September 7. Unfortunately pricing details have not yet been announced. For more information, or to get on the “I’m interested” list, contact PJT today!

J-List is a peaceful island of Japanese pop culture for you

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Well you now have one more reason to go grab the app – and a pretty damn good one if you ask me. Apple is running a contest to see who downloads the 25 billionth app. If you are said lucky winner, you get yourself a $10,000 iTunes App Store gift card. That’ll buy you a hell of a lot of Angry Birds…

At the time I am writing this, the count stands at 24,793,722,846 and is rising VERY quickly. So what are you waiting for? Go grab the app today! (And by the way, did I mention that it’s free?)

(Oh, one more thing: mind rating and/or reviewing the app while you’re at it? Pretty please, with sugar on top?)

Click for J-List now!

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1. Otaku no Podcast App v2.0 is out; Android app coming soon
2. Otaku no Podcast app updated to version 2.1
3. Otaku no Podcast now supports HTML5

Mark your calendars folks – Pray for Japan: The Film will be premiering on March 14, 2011 at 7:00 PM at the following theaters:

You can check showtimes and/or order tickets online. Be sure and get your tickets early before they sell out! All proceeds will go towards the JEN NPO, a relief organization that has been on the ground in the Tohoku area since day 1 providing aid and relief, and in fact are still there to this day.

Click for J-List now!

Related posts:

1. “We Heart Performing for Japan” Charity Event to benefit Japanese disaster relief set for October 1
2. Episode #0027 – Otakuthon 2011 – Stu Levy talks about “Pray for Japan”
3. Advance Screening of Miyazaki’s “Ponyo” at New York International Children’s Film Festival this Sunday

I would like to point your attention at 3 panels in particular. (Yes, as you might have guessed, we will be running some panels of our own!)

“Otaku Podcasting for the Complete n00b,” Friday November 11 at 5 PM in LP2 (Los Angeles B) is basically the same old podcasting talk we gave at AX, Fanime, and Anime LA. If you’ve seen it already, you don’t need to come, but why not do so anyway to show your support? And if you don’t know what in blazes I’m talking about, then please come on by! If you’ve ever wanted to know how we run this dog and pony show called Otaku no Podcast, we will show you how it’s done, and you’ll learn that it is not only easy to do, but cheap as well. (which is why even weirdos like us can do it).

“Con Photography 101,” Saturday November 12 at 12 noon in LP2 (Los Angeles B) is for all you costly photographers out there. Ever come home from a day of shooting at con only to be met with pain and disappointment when you load up your pictures and look at them? Well, we’re here to help! If you’ve seen this talk before (yes, we’ve given this one before as well), you may still want to come anyway, because we’ve reorganized it somewhat. We’ll be focusing in (heh, pun) on tips and techniques for point and shoot camera owners first, but we’ll also cover what you DSLR owners can do as well (and why you point and shooters might want to upgrade). Besides, there will be swag!

And finally, Otaku no Podcast co-host and noted doll enthusiast Michelle “Ms. Geek” Klein-Hass will be putting on a Dollfie Dream/Obitsu Doll Panel on Sunday November 13 at 2 PM in Workshops (Marina).

For more information on PMX, including guests of honor and other events, check out the PMX website. Online pre-registration is still open as well. Prices are $40 for an Adult Full (Fri-Sun) membership (before Nov 5th) or $50 (after November 5); $20 for a single-day adult membership (Friday or Sunday) or $35 for Saturday; $15 for children 12 and under; and children 5 and under get in for free. (Children must be accompanied by a paying adult). A 20% group discount is also available for groups of 5 or more who register together.

Gothic & Lolita Products, magazine subscriptions from Japan

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1. Anime Expo 2011 programming schedules are now live!
2. Anime Los Angeles Day 3 Report
3. The PMX 2011 Meta-Post of Doom!

If you don’t know what in blazes I’m talking about, go back and read our post about it a couple years ago. But, for the lazy, here’s the Reader’s Digest version: basically, you e-mail your name, blog title and url, and a link to the list of anime you’ve watched (from sites such as MyAnimeList or Anime-Planet (both are free)), and the Reverse Thieves will randomly pair you up with another participant. You then look thorugh that participant’s list of anime and then suggest to them three anime that they might enjoy. Only — your identities are kept secret until the very end. The whole idea is to help get some inter-blog anime review participation going on, as well as broadening peoples’ horizons and getting them to maybe step out of their comfort zones and try something different.

We had a great deal of fun participating in years past, and with any luck we will be participating once again this year.

Unfortunately this almost slipped under my radar, and so I missed this when they announced it over a week ago. Which means that you have until the end of today (Wednesday, October 12) to respond if you’re interested in participating. Just e-mail your name, your blog’s name and url, and the link to your anime list, to secretsanta.rt@gmail.com with the subject “Secret Santa Participant” But remember, you only have until the end of today, so you better hurry!

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Related posts:

1. Otaku no Podcast will be participating in the Anime Secret Santa project
2. It’s Secret Santa time once again!
3. Here’s an opportunity to review anime – Secret Santa style!

But first, the bad news. These are only going to be released in Japan. Why they chose to do this, I have no idea. If rumors are to be believed, Sega is doing this deliberately to punish those who illegally uploaded video from the concert. (Please note that we attended Anime Expo as official members of the press and that our videos were shot from the press area with permission.) Actually, the first rumors indicated that they would not be releasing the concert footage at all. Whether these rumors are true or not, we don’t know; but the reality of the situation is that if you want ‘em, you’re gonna have to import ‘em.

And now, the good news. This is going to be a multi-media release – it’s coming out in CD, DVD and Blu-ray! Each will include all of the songs performed at the concert. In addition, the DVD and Blu-ray releases will feature some extras, including a special booklet, photo of Hatsune Miku, and a “making-of” video.

The CD will be released on November 30, at a price of ¥3,150 (about US$40) and the Blu-ray and DVD will follow on December 21, at ¥6,300 (about US$80) for the DVD and ¥7,350 (about US$95) for the Blu-ray. (Welcome to the world of Japanese media pricing.)

(Important note: the Blu-rays are region free (meaning that they will play in any Blu-ray player anywhere in the world); however the DVD release is Region 2, meaning that, unless you live in Japan, you will need a “region-free” DVD player (or a “region free” hack for your computer-based DVD player) in order to play it. Fortunately region-free DVD players can be easily obtained.)

You can pre-order them today from Play-asia (CD, DVD, Blu-ray) and CDjapan (CD, DVD, Blu-ray).

Note: We have applied to become a CDjapan affiliate. So please use the CDjapan links

Hentai PC dating-sim games at J-List

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2. Cool Find: Alice in Musicland – A Vocaloid Musical
3. Anime Expo 2011 Day 0 & 1 Report

Go take a look at it here or below the cut.

(Note that he’s actually created a separate Twitter account, @animucharts, specifically for news and discussion relating to the charts. So if you’re on Twitter, you might want to follow it for the latest and greatest.)

J-List is a peaceful island of Japanese pop culture for you

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1. Autumn 2011 Anime at a Glance
2. The Reverse Thieves announce the 2011 Anime Secret Santa project!
3. Anime Expo 2011 programming schedules are now live!

Go check it out now or take a look below the cut.

J-List is a peaceful island of Japanese pop culture for you

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2. The Reverse Thieves announce the 2011 Anime Secret Santa project!
3. Episode #0025 – Anime Expo 2011 Interviews – Peter Payne of J-List

We Heart Japan made news earlier this year when, less than 1 week after the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, they organized an event that, in spite of its hastily put together nature, managed to raise a very impressive $13,000. (OK, fine, I’ll say it…)

Well, they’re back for another go. We Heart Performing for Japan is coming to the Theatre of Arts Arena Stage, 1625 N. Las Palmas, Hollywood, CA 90028, for one night only, Saturday, October 1, from 6:00 to 8:00 pm. Headliners include Mari Iijima, known as both the acting and singing voice of Lynn Minmay from the classic Super Dimension Fortress Macross (and its American adaptation Robotech); also, the English cast of an “unannounced classic anime series” will be reuniting to perform a live reading of an episode (a little birdie landed on my shoulder and whispered in my ear that it might be Cowboy Bebop). Other guests include Beau Billingslea (BLEACH, FRANKLIN & BASH, NARUTO); Steve Blum (COWBOY BEBOP, FINAL FANTASY VII, GURREN LAGANN); Melissa Fahn (DIGIMON, FLCL, BLUE DRAGON); and Wendee Lee (BLEACH, THE MELANCHOLY OF HARUHI SUZUMIYA, MAGIC KNIGHT RAYEARTH). Prizes will be raffled off throughout the evening as well.

Tickets are $40 for general admission and $60 for premium/reserved seating (which includes an exclusive gift bag) and must be purchased online. All proceeds will go towards the Japan NGO Earthquake Relief and Recovery Fund, a joint venture between the Japan Center for International Exchange (JCIE/USA) and JCIE/Japan dedicated to supporting relief efforts in Japan.

Come out and show your support!

Hentai PC dating-sim games at J-List

Related posts:

1. “We Heart Japan” event TOMORROW to benefit victims of the Japan earthquake and tsunami
2. ChibiCast #0018 – We Heart Japan event TONIGHT to benefit victims of the earthquake and tsunami
3. How to donate to the Japan disaster relief effort — and make it count

Speaking of iOS devices, the AX staff are planning on releasing an updated app for the iPhone, and are also working on an app for Android devices as well. Keep an eye on the Anime Expo website as well as their Twitter for an announcement when those are ready.

We here at Otaku no Podcast have begun going through the schedules and have started filling out our convention schedule with events we are interested in. You can look at our convention schedule on the brand-new Con Calendar page.

Only 17 more days to go…!

Gothic & Lolita Products, magazine subscriptions from Japan

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Day 2 of FanimeCon got off to a bit of a shaky start as I didn’t make it on site until early afternoon. However it got busier from there.

Unfortunately it also started on a bit of a sour note, as once again the SJCC was being heckled to death by a group of fundamentalist Christians. This year they were equipped with a megaphone and, to be brutally honest, were really annoying. The crowd was putting them in their place though: if, for example, they would proclaim that we would all burn in Hell, the crowd would shout in unison “YEAH!! PARTY TIME!!!” or something like that. Apparently they are standing just beyond the edge of convention center property and so are avoiding legal prosecution. Or something like that. Personally, my instinct is to go up there and argue with them, but then I realize that that is exactly what they want. I think what would really get these guys is if we completely and utterly ignored them. Don’t answer them, don’t look at them, just pretend that they just don’t exist.

FanimeCon does a really commendable job of giving plenty of “face time” with the Guests of Honor. Each GoH had at least one focus panel, with many guests hosting two or more panels, focused on different areas of their work. In addition there were plenty of autograph opportunities (many GoHs had two or more autograph sessions as well). Also I saw many guests wandering around the con in general, and they were almost always willing to stop and chat with their fans, pose for pictures, etc. This can only happen at less corporate, more fan-oriented cons such as this.

Most of the following updates are a bit short on details. Blame that on me not taking any notes (ie: Notetaking FAIL). I did however record the panels so as soon as I get home I’ll be able to review the panels, and will summarize them when I record our inevitable FanimeCon 2011 recap podcast episode.

Our first panel of the day was Mamoru Yokota, an illustrator, character designer and producer who worked on several projects including Air (movie), Kanon, and Death Note, among others. He amazed the audience with his drawing skills, and also spoke of what it’s like working in his field.

We next caught Tohru Furuya’s panel. Mr. Furuya is a veteran voice actor and is probably best known as the voice of Amuro Ray in the original Gundam. In addition he has provided voices for Pegasus Seiya (Saint Seiya), Yamcha (Dragonball Z), Kyosuke Kasuga (Kimagure Orange Road), and Tuxedo Mask (Sailor Moon). He was really energetic and totally “clicked” with the audience, and entertained us with voices from his various roles, as well as tales of what it’s like working in the industry alongside other notable figures. The fans really loved him – the line to ask him questions was really impressively long. One fan in particular wanted to express her love of his works by offering him a hug, which he bemusedly accepted.

Seiji Mizushima’s panel was next. He directed several notable works, including Slayers Next, Shaman King, Fullmetal Alchemist, and Mobile Suit Gundam 00. He seemed a bit more reserved than the other panelists we saw today, but still informed the audience with tales of what it’s like working in the anime industry.

Then came the highlight of my evening (and I’m sure it was also the highlight of quite a few FanimeCon attendees’ evenings as well) – Momoi Halko’s panel. She is a prolific idol singer, voice actress, and self-proclaimed otaku and “Queen of Akihabara.” To see someone not only acknowledge her otaku status, but positively revel in it, is refreshing indeed. She is cheerful and energetic, and is truly grateful to her fans and makes every effort to stay in touch with her fan base, and it shows. She made every effort to answer everyones’ questions, and seemed genuinely apologetic when she had to cut peoples’ questions short on account of time.

Apparently, recently she attended a San Francisco Giants game, and they have been doing fairly good as of late. (whether those two events are related or not, I’ll leave to the audience to work out). In any case, one fan took it upon himself to give her a gift of a SF Giants jersey, which she gratefully accepted, even modeling it for the camera. (unfortunately I wasn’t able to get a shot of this – Photographer FAIL.)

When asked about her observations on the differences between anime fandom in Japan vs. here in the US, she commented that the anime convention scene between the two countries is quite different, and that in Japan, they don’t have the proliferation of fan-run events we enjoy here in the west (such as FanimeCon). This really impressed her.

We were going to try and make it to MusicFest, the big music event at FanimeCon, but weren’t able to. MusicFest was held at the San Jose Civic Center to a sellout crowd — lines to get in to the event were out the door. Musical guests FLOW and Yuya Matsushita rocked the house. I was worried that Momoi Halko would also be performing at MusicFest and that I would miss her. Fortunately my worries were unfounded, as it turned out that she would be performing in her own concert the following day.

One of the reasons why we decided not to stick around for MusicFest was that the weather had suddenly turned ugly. San Jose got hit with a sudden off-again-on-again rainstorm. Unfortunately this caught people during the busy dinner hour, and tons of cosplayers were hurriedly scrambling for the nearest awning or overhang. Sadly quite a few costumes and props were damaged in this freak phenomenon. The only consolation was that this didn’t happen on Masquerade night, so people had a chance to fix their costumes. Word to the wise cosplayer: come prepared. If you don’t have an umbrella, then at least bring something that you can use as an umbrella (large fan, shield, I dunno), as well as backup cosplay items, costume repair supplies, etc. Anime Los Angeles definitely wins in this category, as they have a staffed Costume Repair Station open during con hours where people can effect repairs in times of need.

One thing I noticed as we left the downtown San Jose area is the sheer number of congoers still out and about even at such a late hour. FanimeCon is truly a 24-hour convention: there is literally something going on at each and every hour of the day. This is one really good reason why you should really consider staying at a con hotel — the public transportation system shuts down after about 9 or 10. There were some events I really wanted to attend but the only way I could have done so would be to stay all night and beocme a con zombie (which, trust me, you really don’t want to do).

Speaking of zombies, one of the late-night events I had to miss was the “Anime Convention of the Dead.” This fan-run event is based on the highly popular manga (and now anime) Highschool of the Dead. They asked for volunteers to come get “zombified”, which consisted of receiving (free) zombie makeup as well as “Training of the Dead” – how to be an effective zombie. The zombie hordes were then turned loose on an unsuspecting convention center. Really a cool idea. If anyone was able to get pictures and/or video of this, we’d really love to link to it. Get in touch with us!

That about does it for this update. Tomorrow’s going to be a big day – not only is it the day of Momoi Halko’s concert, but it is also masquerade night. Stay tuned!

Hentai PC dating-sim games at J-List

Related posts:

1. FanimeCon 2011 Day 1 Report
2. Heads up! FanimeCon is this coming weekend!
3. Episode #0007 – FanimeCon 2009 Review

Before we go any further, I’d like to take the opportunity to commend the FanimeCon staff on their refreshingly open press policy. Their policy allows even smaller organizations such as school anime clubs and smaller, lesser known anime websites (ahem, not to mention podcasts) to gain press credentials. My feeling is that the more voices a community has, the better off it is, especially if many of those voices are from smaller, less mainstream sources.

One thing I stress constantly is that when attending an anime convention, you should definitely stay at a con hotel if at al possible. This is especially true here at FanimeCon. This is a 24/7 convention, meaning that there’s always something going on, day and night. And the hotels are set up perfectly for this. The two official con hotels, the Hilton and Marriott, are directly connected to the convention center – no need to walk outside. If you must stay off-site, there are several reasonable choices in accommodation not too far away.

But, if you must stay even farther off-site, FanimeCon is probably the best con to do so at, thanks to the excellent Bay Area public transportation system. The San Jose Convention Center is directly situated on the San Jose light rail system, just two stops away from the San Jose Caltrain and Amtrak stations. Between the light rail, Caltrain, Amtrak, BART, and a handful of buses, you can easily get here from just about anywhere in the bay area. I can’t help but compare this to certain conventions I go to in the southern California area; things are getting better there, but aren’t nearly at the level as they are in northern California.

The AMV contest this year was, in a word, epic. The number and variety of videos was really impressive. Videos were organized into four categories: Action, Comedy, Drama and Experimental (similar to the “Pro” or “AMTV” categories at other conventions). Trite as it sounds, it still holds true: the creativity and technical skill of the AMV creators just keeps getting better year after year, and continues to impress me. Alot of this is thanks to the lowering cost and ready availability of high-quality digital video editing tools.

The variety of this year’s videos was really refreshing — it wasn’t the same 5 clips from Naruto set to the same 5 Linkin Park songs. This year there was a pretty good variety, not just in the types of music used, but also in the anime that was used. There were quite a few newer/less mainstream series (Angel Beats!, Puella Magi Madoka Magica, Macross Frontier, NANA), as well as some old-school classics (Sailor Moon, Tenchi, etc.). This year there were some particularly touching entries. One video in particular that tugged at my heartstrings was a very touching tribute to the late Satoshi Kon, done by prolific AMV author (and Anime Expo Masquerade host extraordinaire) Brad deMoss. I’ll make a post as more of them start going up on the org. Winners will be announced on Sunday at 2 PM on Stage Zero in the SJCC.

Tomorrow is looking to be a busy day. Not only are most of the GoH panels scheduled for that day, but the always-excellent FanimeCon MusicFest is also happening Saturday evening. Tomorrow is also traditionally the busiest day of con, and is sure to be chock full of cosplayers as well. We’ll do our best to bring you as many pictures and audio/video as possible. For now, it’s way past bedtime.

PC dating-sim games @ J-List

Related posts:

1. FanimeCon 2011 Day 2 Report
2. Episode #0007 – FanimeCon 2009 Review
3. Anime Los Angeles Day 2 Report (Updated)

Anime Five Cities (which, as mentioned before, is only in its 2nd year) is a small fan-run convention in the San Luis Obispo area. They claim to be the central coast’s first anime convention, and I believe them. It’s being held at the Ludwick Community Center in downtown San Luis Obispo, CA on Saturday, June 18, 2011, from 11 AM till 7 PM. (Hey, I told you it’s a small convention…)

Guests of Honor include voice actress Lauren Landa, illustrator Irene Flores, and the fine guys and gals of the AniMaid Cafe. Also, even though it’s a small con, they’ll also have some traditional con favorites: some live programming, dealer’s room, artist’s alley, video screenings, and even a cosplay competition.

Pre-registration is open until June 4 and will run you $11; after that, tickets will cost you $14 at the door. Attendance is capped at 400, so don’t delay.

Some of you might blow off smaller conventions, thinking that the only cons worth going to are the big ones. And some people I know (perhaps certain Otaku no Podcast cohosts) have the exact opposite view, that the big cons are way too much trouble and the only ones worth attending are the smaller, fan-run events. Me, I see merit in both, and I have this “discussion” with that co-host in question at least two or three times every year. What I’ve said to her time and time again still stands: each has its merits, and I will continue to frequent both large and small cons. You can’t beat the large cons for the sheer star power they can attract (in terms of guests of honor, etc.), as well as the sheer awesomeness of their dealer’s room and breadth of live programming. At the same time, the smaller cons are great because you get to meet and hear from some of the lesser-known (but just as interesting) figures in the industry, and get to know your fellow fan in a more intimate setting. And you should definitely support the smaller cons too, because, well, even the big guys had to start somewhere…

Related posts:

1. Announcing the new Otaku News Central website!
2. Announcing the new Liveblog of Doom!
3. Anime Convention Alert: Anime Expo is THIS Weekend!

Better hurry though, errors like these tend to be caught and fixed rather quickly…

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• First and foremost, be very wary of any e-mails that you receive soliciting donations. Unfortunately, trying times such as these tend to bring out the best in us — but also the worst in us. The Internet is rife with con artists and tricksters trying to make a quick buck off your charity. “Phishing” emails attempting to solicit funds are quite common. They are carefully crafted to look exactly like an e-mail that, say, the Red Cross or some other legitimate organization would send you. Be VERY wary of any e-mails you may receive soliciting a donation. In particular, do NOT click on any links contained in these e-mails; instead, go to your web browser and manually type in the business’s URL (e.g. www.redcross.org) into the address bar.
• It may seem obvious, but donations made to the Japanese Red Cross go directly to Japan. (Yeah, I know, big duh.) Conversely, donating to your local country’s Red Cross organization may not be the quickest or most efficient way of getting your money to where it’s needed the most. In fact, many Red Cross organizations worldwide are being criticized for delays in sending disaster relief funds. The “send a text message to donate” services that all cell phone providers have set up are convenient, but unfortunately the carriers are also being criticized for delaying donation payouts. Also many Red Cross chapters take a rather hefty cut of donations for “administrative fees.” Fortunately, Google has set up a webpage that will let you donate directly to the Japanese Red Cross. They also have donations links for other worthy organizations, as well as other useful information on the disaster.
• This tragedy has really shown us that, contrary to popular stereotypes, the anime community is full of really decent, caring folks. There has been a tremendous groundswell of support coming from the anime community, both from fans as well as staff, voice actors/actresses, merchandisers, etc. If you’re heading to an anime convention, odds are that there will be somebody, either in the dealer’s room, or at registration, etc., taking donations. Or that they will have some other sort of fundraising event. (For example, Anime Expo recently announced that all proceeds from its yearly charity auction will go directly to the Japanese Red Cross.) Grassroots and/or local events such as the recently-held We Heart Japan are popping up left and right. Definitely keep an eye on anime news sites such as ANN and Anime-Cons as well as any other place where anime fans tend to congregate online (forums, comic/game shops, anime clubs, etc.) for announcements of these. Twitter is also a great place to look. (We will retweet any legitimate donation links, charity event announcements, etc. that we come across, so be sure and check the Otaku no Podcast twitter feed.) As with other donation methods, however, you should check to ensure that the funds will reach Japan in the most efficient manner possible (e.g. make sure that any event that you attend/donate to/etc. are sending their funds directly to the Japanese Red Cross, etc.).
• Companies such as J-List (and its work-safe sibling J-Box) are donating part of their proceeds to relief organizations. (So you can get the warm fuzzies of helping out with the relief effort while still getting the latest cool anime goods. Epic win!)
• If you’re a fan of (Western) pop music and have an iTunes account, “Songs for Japan” is a collaborative effort between many top pop artists, with all proceeds going to the Japanese Red Cross. This mega-collection features some of the hottest songs from today’s top artists, including Katy Perry, Madonna, Lady Gaga, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Rihanna, Justin Timberlake, Eminen, and more. With 38 songs in all, and costing only $9.99, this is one epic collection.
• The disaster has had a tremendous effect on the Japanese tourism industry. Traditional tourist destinations such as Asakusa are experiencing a drastic slump in tourism. Now might be a good time to take that Japan trip you’ve always dreamed of. (And before you ask, there is absolutely no danger whatsoever of radiation.) Not only would they appreciate the income from your visit, but I’m sure they would love to see a friendly face as well. It’s not as hard or as expensive as you may think. There are many tour companies out there that have pretty decent tour packages.

Graphic courtesy of J-List, used with permission. Arigatou gozaimasu!

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Related posts:

1. “We Heart Performing for Japan” Charity Event to benefit Japanese disaster relief set for October 1
2. Episode #0019 – Japan Disaster News Recap
3. “We Heart Japan” event TOMORROW to benefit victims of the Japan earthquake and tsunami

With it, you can rent and stream any of the (pretty large) anime collection that’s now available on iTunes, as well as Netflix, and you can stream any of the iTunes content that’s loaded on your PC or Mac. The problem with the latter is that you would have to transcode most of your anime collection so that it plays on iTunes — a fairly technically involved process — and you lose such niceties as subtitle support and multiple language audio tracks. Which means it isn’t really useful at all. But at only $99, it isn’t too bad price-wise.

Well, if don’t own one, you just might have a reason to buy one after reading this post. And if you already own one, you can stop tearing your hair out in frustration. Because the Apple TV is now a lot more useful to us anime fans, thanks to the wonderful piece of software I’m about to describe.

Air Video, which we’ve written about before, is an awesome video player app for the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad. It will let you stream your video files from your computer (such as that anime that you have, ahem, acquired from various sources) and play it on your iOS device. The “secret sauce” that makes this so unique is that it will automatically transcode your files in a format that your iDevice can play natively. So you don’t have to go through all that video transcoding voodoo yourself. Plus it supports all the standard subtitle formats (SRT/SSA/ASS), either as separate files or “baked in” to an MKV file. Which is really great news for us anime fans. And it’s reasonably priced as well (just $2.99).

Well, Air Video just recently added AirPlay support in its latest version. AirPlay is a new technology from Apple that will let you stream content — audio and/or video — between your devices, including iOS devices and the new Apple TV 2. So what does this mean to you? It now means that you can, using the Air Video app, stream all of your anime, including subtitles, and watch it on your Apple TV that is (presumably) hooked up to your large screen HDTV. To get this kind of functionality (streaming content from your computer) would ordinarily require a more costly and complex to set up media center box such as the Boxee Box or WD TV Live; the problem with those devices is that they tend to be kind of dodgy, and they don’t “plug in” to the iTunes ecosystem as tightly as the Apple TV does. So now you get the best of both worlds!

I’ve tested this extensively and it works wonderfully.

So what are you waiting for? Go get Air Video on the App Store today! Note that for the new AirPlay functionality, you will also need to install the latest beta version of the Air Video server – versions are available for both Windows and Mac.

Related posts:

1. Watch your downloaded anime on your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad with Air Video (Updated)
2. FUNimation Announces New “Anime at the Palace” event, where you can watch anime on the big screen!
3. Video #0010 – How to PROPERLY enable Japanese language support in Windows

Events include a silent auction featuring art from Shinichi “Nabeshin” Watanabe, Sweet Streets LA, Cathy Clark, Zane DeGaine, Kevissimo, Dekker Dreyer, Aaron Bjork, Shibuya Girls Pop, Sam Randazzo, Sawdust Bear, Sasha Palacio, Sara Tea, Patrick Smith, Eron Rauch, Pinguino, Jason Leung, Geoffrey Golden, David Mertl, Jane Dope, and more. In addition, prizes will be raffled off over the course of the night. There will be a variety of special guests in attendance including Stephanie Sheh herself, Richard Epcar, Wendee Lee, Mary Elizabeth McGlynn, Michelle Ruff, Crispin Freeman, and more. There will be autograph sessions. Music will be provided by Count Ninjula. There will be several food trucks on site, including Papas Tapas, Jogasaki Burrito, and The Boba Truck. And free drinks will be provided by Arta Tequila, Comikaze Expo and H2om Water.

Sponsors include Harmony Gold, Geneon Entertainment, Pacific Media Expo, Cosplay in America, Bandai Entertainment, Am22m, Crunchyroll, Nan Desu Kan, Sweet Streets LA, Love the Truth Clothing, and more. All proceeds will go to the Japan NGO Earthquake Relief and Recovery Fund which provides support to organizations in Japan that are taking part in the relief effort, as well as to ensure longer-term support for local organizations working hard to rebuild their communities.

For more information check out the We Heart Japan website. A printable flyer is also available, which you are encouraged to print out and distribute to friends, co-workers, anime clubs, etc.

DATE: Thursday, March 17, 2011
TIME: 8:00pm ­ 11:00pm
LOCATION: Meltdown Comics, 7522 Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90046

Come out and show your support!

J-List is a peaceful island of Japanese pop culture for you

Related posts:

1. ChibiCast #0018 – We Heart Japan event TONIGHT to benefit victims of the earthquake and tsunami
2. “We Heart Performing for Japan” Charity Event to benefit Japanese disaster relief set for October 1
3. 8.9 magnitude earthquake off the coast of Japan

Twitter is once again proving to be a great source of coverage, and once again shows the power of social networking during times of crisis. Some online streaming coverage (in English) is coming courtesy of Anime Expo Live and Yokoso News. Additional sources of coverage include the English Al Jazeera (note this is NOT the same as the Muslim Al Jazeera propaganda machine), and these two Ustream streams.

I’ll update this post with more information when I can. Our thoughts and prayers go out to everyone in Japan and elsewhere that are affected by this terrible disaster.

J-List is a peaceful island of Japanese pop culture for you

Related posts:

1. ChibiCast #0017 – 8.9 magnitude earthquake in Japan
2. “We Heart Japan” event TOMORROW to benefit victims of the Japan earthquake and tsunami
3. ChibiCast #0018 – We Heart Japan event TONIGHT to benefit victims of the earthquake and tsunami

Well, OK, I do actually have one comment. I must admit that I’m rather disappointed that Bandai is choosing to dole out K-ON! in segments. This first disk only contains 4 episodes, meaning that it will be split into a 3-disk run. I thought that kind of release schedule was a remnant of the early days of anime distribution; these days we’re used to seeing entire series come out in one box set (cf. Eden of the East, FLCL), or (for 12/13 episode series such as K-ON!) in at most two half-sets. I’m just hoping that Bandai will release these in fairly quick succession, instead of the 2-3+ months between disks that used to be common.

Still, it is K-ON!, and if past history is any guide, this release should be pretty awesome, especially the Blu-rays. So what are you waiting for, go click “buy” already!

Click for J-List now!

Related posts:

1. K-ON! Blu-ray fansubs are starting to show up in the wild (Updated)
2. Mikunopolis CD, DVD and Blu-ray releases are coming soon; pre-order today!
3. Tales of Symphonia anime coming in Spring 2010; promo video available now

The nice thing (well, one of the nice things) about Crunchyroll is that not only can you watch it on your computer (Mac or PC), but you can also watch on a variety of other devices as well, including the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad (we’ve written about these previously). You can also watch Crunchyroll on several Internet-connected TVs and set top boxes, including the Boxee Box.

Well, if you own an Android-powered smartphone or tablet, rejoice, for now you can enjoy Crunchyroll on your device, thanks to the shiny new Crunchyroll app. With this fine piece of software, you can stream any of Crunchyroll’s titles, both current and older, on either your phone’s 3G mobile data connection, or over WiFi, and naturally includes subtitle support. In my testing the app has performed beautifully.

Unfortunately this app will only work for you if you have a Crunchyroll premium membership – but at only $6.95/month, you really should have one anyway. You just can’t beat this price, and you get the warm fuzzy feeling of supporting the legitimate anime industry. Win!

The app will run on any Android device running Android 2.1 (Eclair) or later, and is available for free in the Android Marketplace. Go download it today! Or, if you have one of those newfangled barcode scanning apps on your Android phone, scan the QR code below.

Gothic & Lolita Products, magazine subscriptions from Japan

No related posts.

First things first: if you attended either of our workshops (podcasting and photography) and are looking for the notes pages for these, here they are: Photography notes, Podcasting notes.

Day 3 – the final day – of Anime LA was pretty low key. In fact I didn’t even make it to any panels. Most of the morning was spent getting much-needed rest, then frantically packing because we got up late and the hotel wasn’t granting late checkout, despite what one hotel person said to me last night when I asked. Then we waited for an hour or so before someone could come help us with our bags. I gather they had an Xbox Huge flood of people checking out at noon. Next time might I suggest that they do grant some late checkouts to some people; that way they can stagger the checkouts and not put too much load on the hotel staff.

Sunday was the most low-key day of them all, but there were still a fair number of people there. Every year, Anime LA has a special “theme day” on Sunday to try and lure people to the con who might otherwise leave after Saturday. This year’s theme was Japanese New Year. There were a few panels and workshops on various things related to Japanese New Years, which looked pretty cool.

I finally had a chance to make it to the dealer’s room. It was about the same size-wise as last year’s dealer’s room. Perhaps this is one way that the Anime LA staff manage the growth of the con. Lots of tables selling manga (whole walls of the stuff), along with character goods, plushies, a few weapons dealers, and figures (Figma, etc.). Seemed to me that there were more figures (and especially Figma type figures) this year than in years past. Maybe this is a precursor to dolls and doll parts/accessories starting to show up. (We think it’s only a matter of time.) One thing I did note however is that the guy who had a whole wall of DVD’s last year wasn’t there this year (at least I couldn’t find him). In fact I don’t recall seeing any DVDs for sale (if there were people selling DVDs, their displays were so small so as to blend in with the rest of the items for sale). Maybe this is another manifestation of the industry’s trend away from physical media. Which would be sad, because I for one still enjoy buying and watching DVDs and Blu-rays. Don’t get me wrong; streaming still has its place (and I do enjoy my Crunchyroll membership) but physical media shouldn’t be abandoned.

Artist’s Alley looked quite lively. Unfortunately I didn’t have time to do anything other than quickly glance through the door. Pity, as I wanted to meet up with Cosplay in America again.

Overall Sunday as a whole definitely felt like a “relax-a-con.” Lots of people relaxing and socializing. More so than other days I thought. And a nice, relaxing end to yet another really nice Anime LA.

It’s amazing to me that, even at a smaller con like this, there was still way too much to see and do. Gaming, karaoke, fighting/martial arts/weapons demos, panels/workshops, concerts… I am also amazed, and glad, to see that, even in times of economic hardship such as we are in now, people (a lot of people, in fact) are still able to come to events like this and enjoy themselves — and that the organizers are able to successfully put on a large scale event such as this.

Of course we’ll be getting together soon to record our thoughts on Anime LA 2011. Expect that episode to hit the podcast feed within the next week or 2.

Finally, let’s talk winners. (Below the cut)

The AMV winners have been posted.  They are as follows:

Audience Favorite: Running Desperado
Best Produced: Curtain Call
Creators’ Choice: Crimson Rhapsody
Staff’s Pick: A Host’s “Special” Kind of Girl

I’ve updated the day 1 report with these, and I’m continuing to update that post as I find links to where you can view/download all the finalists.

And the Masquerade winners: (now we know why the judges took so long, there were over 9000 awards to give out )

Most Humorous Presentation Open and Props Award Workmanship - S Doki Doki Kawaii Academy Its not like I like you or anything cosplay
Best Song Routine Open and Best Stage Effects Workmanship Open - Sequin Moon
Best Group Performance Novice, Honorable Mention Workmanship Novice - Haru and the Baron
Best in Class Novice - World of Warcraft Alliance
Judges Workmanship Open - Ahza
Excellence Workmanship - A No Life King Cosplay Esther Blanchett
Honorable Mention Workmanship – Lulu
Best Design Interpretation Workmanship Novice - S Pokemon Panic The Sacred Tree
Best Individual Novice Presentation - Socal Host Club Special
Best in Show Overall - Kitties go Meow Broccoli goes Moo XD Cosplay DX
Best Walkon Novice, Most Beautiful Workmanship Novice - Sakura Hime
Most Beautiful Open - Hoshikage Foxy Lady
Judges Choice Performance, Best in Class Workmanship - Prince of Pick Up Lines Were Not Twins Cosplay
Best in Class Presentation Novice, Excellence in Workmanship Novice - Four Tail Kyuubi
Best Characterization Novice - The Deformed Diva
Best Characterization Open, Best in Class Workmanship Open - Jojos Fabulous Masquerade
Excellence Workmanship Novice - Sora and Riku
Excellence in Engineering Workmanship Open - Ultimecia
Best in Class Performance Open - Id Like To Move Your Castle

Related posts:

1. A Winner is You! Behold the Anime LA 2010 AMV and Masquerade Winners
2. Anime Los Angeles Day 2 Report (Updated)
3. Anime Los Angeles Day 1 Report (Updated)

Well, Day 2 of Anime Los Angeles has ended.  There were definitely more people here today than yesterday.  I still could not begin to hazard a guess as to how many.  Last year’s Anime LA was capped at 3200 and I’d say that there were at least that many people here today.  Perhaps more.

The day started out on kind of a sour note for me.  It seems that there were some mix-ups regarding some of the cosplay gatherings.  At least I couldn’t find them at the times and places they were supposed to occur at. There were two in particular that I was really looking forward to, the Angel Beats! and K-ON! gatherings. According to Condroyd (which got its data from the cosplay.com forums) there was supposed to be an Angel Beats! gathering at 10:30 AM, and a K-ON! gathering at 2:30 PM, both on the pool deck.  But I was there at both times, and saw neither hide nor hair of them.  Very sad.  At least at the K-ON! gathering, K-ON! Violinist Dude showed up and serenaded us with renditions of “Don’t Say ‘lazy’” and other songs from the series.  So at least K-ON! was representin’.  Sort of.

After the failed Angel Beats! cosplay meet, I sat in on a panel titled “Buying anime and manga from Japan.” Unfortunately this did not live up to my expectations; it didn’t even come close.  It basically consisted of the panelist sitting in front of the room, mumbling out a few seemingly obvious places to go (Amazon.jp?  CDjapan? etc.) and picking the audience’s brain for ideas on other ideas of where and how to order products from Japan. The panel was informative all right, but mostly thanks to the great audience.  He promised to post the results of said brain-picking to his website.  Unfortunately I don’t have that information. I did manage to get up the energy to find him on google. See what I do for you guys?!  I was using my digital recorder at the time, so I thought I didn’t have to write it down.  Unfortunately the digital recorder was set to the wrong input channel, resulting in it recording about an hour’s worth of silence.  Oh well, like I said, you didn’t miss much.

The next session we went to, on the other hand, was like the polar opposite of the above.  Courtney Kraft, a journalist at G4 TV, gave a wonderful, dynamic, and informative panel on “How to Interact with Anime Industry Professionals.”  Not only was the panel immensely informative, but it was delivered in a clear, concise manner, and with plenty of humor and liveliness.  I’d say this was probably the best panel of the con so far. Fortunately, by this time, I had figured out that my digital recorder was set wrong, so I actually captured this session, which I will do a more in depth write up on later.

After a quick bite of lunch, I then headed into “Your First Trip to Japan,” presented by Helen McCarthy, Tim Eldred, Walter Amos and Todd Allis. A very informative panel – these folks have traveled in and around Japan many a time, and had a lot of knowledge to share. Plus they had pretty pictures. Alot of the information was stuff I already knew, either thanks to our trip to Japan in 2004, or through the TJX guys who talked about many times before on their show. But there was a lot of information I wasn’t aware of before today. Again, a writeup is forthcoming. Updated 1/9/11: Turns out that the guy that did the “Buying anime and manga from Japan” panel (whose name is Todd Allis) was also one of the presenters at this panel, and he had some really good information here, so I’m happy now. Also, it turns out that the convention staff didn’t provide him with a mic and sound system during his earlier panel, but at this one, they had a full sound setup going. Properly equipped, I could hear and understand him clearly.

And then it was time to prepare for and then deliver our podcasting workshop. Which… well, let’s just say it didn’t exactly go according to plan. A complete failure to get our Internet connection going scrubbed our Skype demo, and taking the time to try and get the Internet connection going caused me to start late, which meant that there wasn’t enough time to do the live demos and leave enough time for Q&A. Fortunately I had anticipated something ike this long ago, and had a second set of slides with static screenshots of how the audio editor, Skype, etc. look and work. I feel personally responsible for not being able to do a right and proper demo and for that I apologize. At least the audience seemed to still get some useful information from the panel. In fact, it turns out that one of the people attending the panel was a panelist on the Anime TV video podcast I wrote about earlier this year. It was bugging me all evening: I was sitting on stage and kept thinking “gee, that voice sounds awfully familiar…”

Unfortunately, in the process of getting dinner before masquerade, we learned of the shooting of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, and this news cast a grim pall over the rest of the evening. Our hearts and sincere condolences go out to the congresswoman and her family, as well as the families of Federal Judge John Roll and the others killed and wounded in this horrific act.

We were a bit late to masquerade as a result, but fortunately they were a few minutes late themselves; the hotel had apparently forgotten to set up chairs in the back half of the room, and this needed to be done in order to provide enough seating to everyone. Still, they got started fairly quickly, and the event went off with only one minor lighting glitch. It sounds tired and old, but it still is true: the creativity and craftsmanship of the cosplayers continues to amaze us year after year. This year’s skits in particular were quite entertaining. Poor Beep is probably afraid that I’ll be pestering her with bad ninja stand-up comedy routines for months to come. All told, there were some 30-plus acts; quite a collection. Unfortunately we missed choice photographer seating, but I was still able to get a few good shots, which I will try and sort through and post before Anime LA 2012 rolls around.

During the halftime show, the lovely ladies and gents of the AniMaid Cafe entertained us with various dance numbers. They also announced the AMV winners during the masquerade halftime show, and replayed them for our enjoyment. Unfortunately I spazzed and didn’t have anything to write these down with.  I suppose they’re posted online somewhere by now but I’m too lazy and/or tired to look.  Tomorrow. I did however start finding some of the AMV’s on the org and have linked to them in the AMV list I presented in our day 1 report. I’ll continue to update these as more of the videos come online.

We also didn’t stick around to hear who won masquerade.  The judges were taking an inordinately long amount of time rendering a verdict.  Perhaps that says something about the quality of the costumes and acts this year. Who knows. Anyway, in addition to the AniMaid halftime show (which was excellent btw), they pretty much re-ran the entire AMV contest from last night.  We decided to leave after that, before Tadao-san launched into one of his corny stories.  I suppose the masquerade winners will be posted somewhere as well.  Again, too tired/lazy to look that up.  Tomorrow…

it is now 2 AM on Sunday morning and there is still lots of life in the con, judging by the noise level of the hotel. Part of me wishes I was out there among the masses, taking more cosplay photos or maybe even (gasp!) socializing with people. But my body didn’t like that idea one bit. Yes, I am having to face the fact that I ain’t no spring chicken any more. The phrase that I use pretty much every time a con comes around and I try and promise you guys some actual reporting, “the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak” is turning out to apply more and more as the months and years go by. In any case, it’s time to drag these tired old bones off to bed. Tomorrow we head home, back to life, back to reality. Which means of course that we have to pack up all our crap and store it (either at the hotel desk or in the car) after checking out. A big ordeal. And maybe get a few last minute photos and maybe even some panels. Either way, Anime LA Day 2 was a bit of a mixed bag, but still fun overall. Oyasumi nasai.

J-List is a peaceful island of Japanese pop culture for you

Related posts:

1. Anime Los Angeles Day 1 Report (Updated)
2. Anime Los Angeles Day 3 Report
3. Anime LA Day 2 mid-day convention report

Day 1 of Anime Los Angeles has drawn to a close.  Unfortunately, as luck (and Murphy) would have it, we spent most of the morning and mid afternoon on the road.  We barely got here in time for our first of two panels (but fortunately, we made it – barely).  The panel went well, and although attendance wasn’t quite up to our previous benchmark, there were still a respectable number of people present.  Unfortunately the only time slot available was a 1-hour one, and our workshop was originally written to run 1-1/2 hours, so some judicious editing needed to be done on my part.  Even with the editing, it still ran kind of long, and I had to rush things a bit at the end.  But I think people still got a lot out of it.  The notes from the first version of our workshop are up; I’ll update them within the next day or 2 with the new and/or updated material (which isn’t very much).

We didn’t really get to see much else of the convention, as right after giving our workshop, we needed to take a breather.  (rushing around late into the night last night getting ready for con means we didn’t get enough sleep last night).  But we did make it to the AMV contest, and while wandering around, a few other things occurred to us to comment on.

Anime LA has been held at the LAX Airport Marriott for the past few years, and it seems as though the con and the hotel have a very good working relationship.  The hotel staff have always been friendly and courteous in the past, and this year was no exception.  And to top it off, we found a nice surprise waiting for us in our room: a really nice letter from the hotel management.  It’s obvious that an actual human (perhaps the manager himself, definitely at least one of his staff) wrote this, and that the hotel really enjoys the con’s presence here.  Which is good, because the facilities seem perfectly sized to fit Anime LA, even though it has grown somewhat.  There’s reasonable choices for food and other accomodations nearby as well, and the con negotiated a reasonable discount on the hotel rates as well as parking.

Anime LA has definitely grown, though at a measured rate.  It’s clear that A-LA staff are managing the growth rate well.  I couldn’t even hazard a guess as to the attendance.  I’d say at least a thousand, maybe two or three. Tomorrow of course will be the real test (Saturday being the traditionally busiest day of a 3-day con, and also the day of masquerade).  But it still doesn’t feel crowded or oppressive.

We did realize something as we were working our way through badge pickup and checking in to our panel: A-LA does not have a disabled services division.  We mentioned this to several staff, and it turns out that they are considering this, and the people we talked to promised that they would bring it up in staff meetings.  This is a welcome development, as with A-LA’s increasing attendance, there are bound to be more and more attendees that need special assistance.

Now on to what you’ve been waiting for, the AMV contest.  It started more or less on time, and there was only one minor (and easily corrected) technical glitch.  We noted approvingly that the videos were being played back on a Mac (please, no “my OS is better than yours” flame wars, or if you feel the need, please do it in email).  This year they were more strict in terms of what file formats/codecs they would accept, which went a long way towards the relative smoothness of things.

I have to admit though that tonight’s AMV contest was… odd.  The videos were definitely really well done from a technical standpoint – there are some great editors out there.  And, thankfully, we didn’t have the case of over 9000 videos using the same old Linkin Park song or the same Naruto fight scene.  No, what one of our cohosts found odd was that there weren’t any recent examples of anime being featured in this current crop of AMVs.  Aside from long-running series that started a while ago but are still going on today (e.g. Naruto), the most recent shows we saw were The Girl who Leapt through Time (2006) and Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann (2007).  You would think that with the popularity of more recent shows such as Durarara!!, Angel Beats!, K-ON!, To Aru Majursu no Index and To Aru Kagaku no Railgun, to name a few, that we would see some videos using these.

The comedy category was also odd.  There were a few good entries, but they were much more subdued humor wise than they have been in past years.  And the rest of them… well, to be perfectly honest, they just weren’t funny.  (Or maybe they were inside jokes and would be funny if we were appropriately clued in.  I don’t know.)  Of course humor is highly subjective and differs from person to person, but we did notice that the audience, which is usually rip roaringly raucous during this segment of the contest (comedy being the traditional fan favorite category) remained largely silent during this round of entries.

The finalists in the four categories are as follows.  I’ll update this with links as I find places where you can view or download these online.  (Updated 01/11/11 with the list of winners!)

Action:

Beat of the Rising Sun
Illusion Breaker
Final Fantasy Heroes
Explosive Soul
Hell Jump
Time to Let it Go
Dragonball Evolution

Drama:

Running Desperado (Winner – Audience Favorite)
You’re Not Alone
Princess of the Red
If Everyone Cared
The Love of a Hero
Naruto’s Hope
Over and Over

Comedy:

Kiss Me
I Love the Anime World
AMG in a Nutshell
Thunderbusted
Be a Man Conrad!
Thunder Cats
A Hosts “Special” Kind of Girl (WInner – Staff’s Pick)

Pro:

Your Own Miracle
To the Future
Tomo’s Gonna
Curtain Call (Winner – Best Produced)
Building Steam
Crimson Rhapsody (Winner – Creators’ Choice)
Spinning Infinity

In any case, it’s late and we have a long day ahead of us tomorrow.  No cosplay photos today; sorry.  I’ll definitely try and get some tomorrow (that is almost a certainty since tomorrow night is Masquerade, if nothing else I will get some shots from that).  And of course we will be giving our Podcasting workshop (4 PM, in LP3/Imperial A).  And there is also the distinct possibility that we may livestream or do other such things during the day.  So keep an eye on our Twitter feed as well as the Livestream page.  Goodnight for now…

PC dating-sim games @ J-List

Related posts:

1. Anime Los Angeles Day 2 Report (Updated)
2. Anime Los Angeles Day 3 Report
3. Anime LA (draft) schedules are up (Updated)

For last year’s Anime Expo, the staff did what I believe to be the first ever anime convention schedule smartphone app.  Their iPhone app was indeed pretty cool, and there was much to like about it.  Unfortunately their charging $1.99 for it (on top of all the other fee hikes associated with the convention) prevented me from giving a wholly glowing endorsement of it.

Well, if you’re the proud owner of an Android smartphone or tablet, and will be attending Anime Los Angeles this weekend, there’s an app for THAT as well.  The ConDroyd for ALA 2011 app, to be precise.  This app contains a full copy of the Anime LA schedule as well as the scheduled cosplay gatherings (something the official Anime LA program grid does not list).  You can “star” any events that you are interested in seeing, and the app can be configured so that it alerts you any number of minutes before an event you’re interested in.

It doesn’t have all the bells and whistles of the AX iPhone app (no maps, dealer’s room listings, etc.) but one thing that it does have over the AX app is price – completely free.

So go check it out today!  It’s available in the Android Marketplace; just search for “ConDroyd.”

Gothic & Lolita Products, magazine subscriptions from Japan

Related posts:

1. Crunchyroll app now available for Android devices
2. Otaku no Podcast App v2.0 is out; Android app coming soon
3. My Anime Los Angeles schedule

Winter may have finally come to us, but that doesn’t mean that anime convention season is over yet.  This coming weekend, November 12-14, the Pacific Media Expo (or “PMX” as the cool kids call it) will be blowing into the Hilton Pasadena Hotel in Pasadena (duh).  Online registration for the event is still open (and will remain open during the convention – no need to stand in long registration lines!) and will run you $40 for a full weekend pass, or $20 for Friday or Sunday only, $25 for Saturday only, or $15 for children age 12 and under (children age 5 and under can get in for free).  There’s also a 20% group discount, so if a whole bunch of you will be going, that’ll help you out.

PMX is different from your typical anime convention in that, besides anime, they also focus on other aspects of Asian pop culture, including Asian live-action movies, fashion, music, martial arts, and (my favorite) food.  Of course you’ll find the usual anime convention fare as well, including a dealer’s hall, artist’s alley, cosplay masquerade, video and film rooms, karaoke, panels, and the like.  Guests of honor include Korean actor Jang Dong-gun, writer Sngmoo Lee, Alice and the Pirates head fashion designer Miki Nohmoto, lolita fashion brand Baby, the Stars Shine Bright; Amy Okuda, actress on The Guild; Hiromi Kato, animator on various works including Revolutionary Girl Utena, Tenshi ni Naurmon (I’m Going to Be an Angel), and Di Gi Charat Nyo; Yumi Fujiwara, designer of fashion label Innocent World; and musical guests Dig Jelly, Lemon Drop Kick, and Tanuki Suit Riot.

PMX is still a fairly new convention (only in its 7th year now) but has really made a name for itself.  I’ve been wanting to go for quite some time now but never was able to… until now.  Yes, you read correctly, we will be attending this year’s PMX.  I won’t make any promises, but I’ll try to get some coverage of the event for you folks (at the very least some pretty pictures to look at, whenever I can get around to editing them and posting to the website that is ).

A schedule of events and hotel map are available for download.

Gothic & Lolita Products, magazine subscriptions from Japan

Related posts:

1. Heads up! FanimeCon is this coming weekend!
2. Pacific Media Expo (PMX) is THIS weekend!
3. Reminder: PMX is this coming weekend!

Yup, that’s right, once again the Reverse Thieves are organizing a Secret Santa event. The idea is basically to get together a bunch of Anime Bloggers and have them exchange the names of Anime to review. The catch is you don’t know who you’re swapping with. (Read my post from last year for a better description. I’m posting this from my phone so can’t really express myself too well.)  The idea is to get people to step outside their comfort zones if you will, and watch and review shows they may not have considered before.

Once again Otaku no Podcast will be participating. And you can too! Just shoot an email off to the Reverse Thieves with your name, blog, and a link to the list of Anime you’ve seen (using a site such as MyAnimeList or Anime-Planet; They’re free).  But you better hurry; the deadline to respond is next Wednesday the 13th!

This was a really fun event last year, and I am really looking forward to having more fun with it this year as well.

J-List is a peaceful island of Japanese pop culture for you

Related posts:

1. The Reverse Thieves announce the 2011 Anime Secret Santa project!
2. Here’s an opportunity to review anime – Secret Santa style!
3. Otaku no Podcast will be participating in the Anime Secret Santa project

The anime and manga (and related) industries have always had an uneasy relationship with fansubbers — the people that take their works and release fan-made translations of them in non-Japanese languages.  While technically illegal, most companies have traditionally turned a blind eye toward these groups, realizing that their actions help spread the popularity of their product.  Some companies have even openly acknowledged (but not necessarily gave their support to) the efforts of fansubbers; for example, in the promotional video for The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, Kadokawa and Bandai specifically thanked fansub watchers and asked them to purchase the official release.  Unfortunately, as of late, there are an increasing number of companies that have gone the opposite route, decrying and vilifying the fansub community, actively monitoring the activities of fansubbers and people who download fansubs and sending them takedown notices.  Some have even gone so far as to take legal action against fansubbers.  We talked at great length about this in a recent episode of the podcast.

Well, one company has taken a rather unique and (IMHO) refreshing approach to the matter — actually working with the pirates!!! (Shocking, I know.)  Minori, the Japanese visual novel company famous for such titles as Wind – A Breath of Heart and Ef: A Fairy Tale of the Two (both of which have been adapted into rather successful anime franchises), discovered that the fansub group No Name Losers (NNL) was working on an unauthorized translation of Ef.  Like most tales, this one started with them sending out a cease and desist letter.  But unlike most C&D’s, Minori added an interesting little “extra” at the end of theirs:

If you wish to obtain an official license from us, handle the ratings issue, follow our requested procedures and sell and/or distribute [our software] within English-speaking circles, then there is the possibility of your visiting our office and discussing with us a license agreement. We would look forward to people following the proper procedure for getting things done.

Well, it must have worked, because on July 14, Minori posted the following on their website:

Starting on July 14, 2010, we at minori have started constructive negotiations with the people at NO NAME LOSERS. We don’t know what will result from this, but we would like to report our results to everyone in the not-too-distant future. For now, please wait for the time being. Thanks.

They apparently sent a proposal to NNL on July 17, with a response deadline of July 21; however, NNL sent their response ahead of the deadline.

Unfortunately, as one report points out, it’s highly unlikely that NNL could come up with the money to pay the (no doubt large) licensing fee; however, it’s still encouraging to see a company that is willing to sit down with “the little guy” instead of squashing him under their bootheels.  Really, both sides here deserve a lot of credit; Minori, for being willing to face their sworn enemies and work with them, instead of taking the usual knee-jerk legal action; and NNL, for being willing to sit down with “The Man(TM)” and work things out, instead of being idiots and mouthing off at them. (They also took their website down and have apparently ceased distributing their fan translation, in compliance with the C&D letter.)

Here’s hoping that other companies sit up and take notice!

Gothic & Lolita Products, magazine subscriptions from Japan

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I really, really hate the vuvuzela.  The noise that those cursed “instruments” make sounds to me like a cross between a pair of yaks mating, and a pair of yaks dying an excruciatingly painful death.  As I wrote previously, those abominations were all over the LA Convention Center during Anime Expo, and it seemed to me that practically every few seconds, the center was filled with that abominable noise.  Really distracting, and even worse, a potential medical liability for those especially close to the offensive noisemaker.

Now before you soccer (or football, as it’s known in places outside of the US) fans get your knickers in a bunch, fear not.  I have absolutely no problem with the vuvuzela, in its proper context — i.e. during the World Cup.  What I don’t agree with, however, is its use outside of said venue — more specifically, at Anime Expo (really, any anime convention).  Because the correlation factor between anime conventions and the World Cup is precisely 0.00.  (yes, even if you’re cosplaying as someone from Captain Tsubasa.  There ain’t no vuvuzelas in that work…)

Well, great news for all you Baltimoreans: in a shocking display of sanity and common sense, Otakon has banned the vuvuzela.  Their announcement on the matter is short and sweet:

Absolutely no vuvuzelas or similar loud noisemakers are permitted within Otakon. Vuvuzelas and other noisemakers within convention buildings are subject to confiscation. Blowing a vuvuzela or similar noisemaker may lead to ejection from the convention.

Finally, a voice of sanity!  Good on you, Otakon.

Hentai PC dating-sim games at J-List

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Once again, Japanator comes through with another one of their fantastic 30,000 foot overviews of the coming anime landscape.  Same routine as before – capsule description, studio and key staff involved, air date, and a shiny happy picture for you to look at.  You can read all about it in their four part overview – part 1, part 2, part 3, and part 4.

Here’s what’s catching my eye this time around.

Amagami SS:  Animated by Studio AIC, who did, among others, Ah! My Goddess and Nyan Koi, and directed by Hiraike Yoshimasa, who also was involved with both Working! and Solty Rei, two series that I really ended up liking a lot.  This is starting to sound good.  Based on a PS2 visual novel, this looks to be your typical romantic comedy, which is fine by me — I’m all for a romantic comedy if done right.  What sets this show apart is its art style – it appears that the staff is attempting to pull off this subject matter while attempting to mimimize the to-be-expected moe factor.  Pretty daring of them to do that in the current climate of moe maximization, and that’ll make a certain critical panelist of ours (…To Aru Kuritikaru no Panerisuto… heh) happy.  (Me, I personally don’t mind the moe, so long as it isn’t the be-all-and-end-all of the show.)  You can check out a preview if you like.

Black Butler:  Otherwise known as Kuroshitsuji.  This series comes highly recommended by one of my fellow panelists, and I figure it’s high time for me to get off my duff and check it out. Unfortunately Season 2 (which started this past week on July 1) departs somewhat from Season 1, in that the main characters (butler and master) are different.  (I believe that the director, and possibly some other staff, has changed as well)  This worries me, as there have been plenty of instances (in both Japanese and Western media) where a cast change, or a “spunky new character inserted to liven things up” has spelled the doom (or at least the start of a downard spiral to eventual suckage) of a property.  Still, the theme is the same, and a cool one at that — a demonic butler who is bound to serve his young master.  Fun shoujo black comedy stuff.  Also I believe at least some of the characters from the first season will appear in the second.  So I’ll give it a shot.  FUNimation announced in March that they licensed Season 1, but there is as of yet no hint of a release date.  However, they will be simulcasting Season 2 on their streaming service.

Highschool of the Dead:  C’mon, admit it, we all love zombies.  I forget the exact quote, but I remember once hearing someone say something to the effect of “Zombies are the chicken of the horror universe.”  Or something like that.  In other words, they’re that tasty treat that we just love to eat.  (I meant that figuratively, not literally!)  According to Japanator, the manga that this is based on is chock full of American horror references; I really, really hope that the anime writers follow suit.  And there are quite a few big names involved in this, so it might actually turn out to be decent, perhaps even good.  And, okay, I’ll admit it, they had me at “busty high school students.”  (I’m a guy, gimme a break!)

The Legend of the Legendary Heroes:  Very little (if anything) original here.  We have your typical “boy is the last great hope to end a legendary war” type stuff.  Yawn.  Instead, what caught my eye (in a rather negative way — barring sudden miraculous plot development, I’m not planning on following this series) is its name.  What a redundantly redundant title!  I mean, c’mon, if you’re telling a story that’s a LEGEND, you kind of expect the heroes that are spoken of in it to be LEGENDARY (how many legends have you heard or read where the protagonists are boring clods?), so stating that is blindingly obvious.  (If this were not true, then the logical fabric of the universe would have completely broken down, and this universe will likely explode.)  But I suppose “The Legendary Heroes” or “The Legend of the Heroes” was too plain sounding for them.  Whatever.  Redundancy FTW!

Nurarihyon no Mago:  Sounds vaguely like an Inuyasha derivative (at least the part-human, part-demon bit), but this is another series with a pretty impressive cast and crew, so it might be something to keep an eye on.

Ookami-san and his Seven Friends:  A high school comedy/romance.  Yawn.  But wait!  Apparently the show will be parodying various classic fairy tales and lore, both Eastern and Western.  Might be interesting after all.  And with veteran voice talent like Horie Yui and Kugimiya Rie, it can’t be all that bad.

Seikimatsu Occult School:  This is the latest in the “Power of Anime” series.  You know, the same series that brought you So-Ra-No-Wo-To and Senkou no Night Raid.  It seems that I’m in the minority in that I actually sorta, kinda liked those shows.  They weren’t masterpieces, mind you, and they certainly could have been better, but still, they were a lot better than some of the other crap that’s out there.  The material admittedly doesn’t sound terribly original (schools of the occult, time travelers, etc.), but there is some fresh talent thrown in — Tomohiko Ito, a relative newcomer to directing, but who worked as assistant director on The Girl who Leapt through Time), so there is hope.  I’ll give it at least an episode or three.

Strike Witches:  As one Japanator commenter put it, this show is a guilty pleasure. and one that I fell for when the original OAV came out.  Now they’re back with a second TV season.  Magical girls — with guns — and WWII-ish planes.  Nuff said.  Yes, there’s moe, dammit, but in this case I just don’t care.  Unfortunately Gonzo is no longer handling the production, which makes me sad, since there won’t be any CG plane animation a la other Gonzo staples such as Last Exile.

Sekirei: Pure Engagement:  Another guilty pleasure.  Admittedly (again) not a terribly original storyline — a shadowy organization inciting scores of powerful (and scantily dressed, not to mention well-endowed) women to battle each other (and in the process rip most of their already scant clothing off of each other) towards eventual world domination.  (Did I mention they were well-endowed?)  I got sucked into Season 1 purely for the eye candy, and was thoroughly disgusted at its lame not-so-much-of-an-ending.  (I suppose I am a fool for expecting anything better than what I got.)  To me that not-ending just screamed “sequel!” and apparently I was right.  I’ll freely admit that I’ll be watching this purely for the nosebleed factor.

Shi Ki:  Wow.  When I read that this show is the latest member of the highly-pedigreed noitaminA time slot (the one that brought us such wonderful gems as Eden of the East, Tokyo Magnitude 8.0, House of Five Leaves, and The Tatami Galaxy), I was instantly salivating.  Add to that a veteran director — Tetsuro Amino, who helmed Macross 7 and Zeta Gundam — and you’ve sold me.  The fact that Japanese rocker Gackt will be making his debut as a regular voice actor cast member is icing on the cake.  The story is even a relatively interesting one — a mysterious town plagued by a series of murders that turn out to be the work of some dark force.

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3. TOKYOPOP announces its 2010 Digital Media Production and Marketing Summer Internship!

Well, if you act quickly, you can pre-register now for a full 4-day pass, for the amazingly low price of $45!  Considering that this year’s regular pre-reg price for a 4-day pass was $75, and at-the-door pricing was a whopping $85, that’s quite a savings.  But you only have until this Friday, July 9 to get this special pricing.  So hurry up and reg, why don’tcha?!  (Operators are standing by…)

Next year’s AX is sure to be even more awesome than usual, because it’s their 20th anniversary!  Who knows what cool guests and other surprises they’ll pull out for this special occasion?  I for one am dying to find out.  The next 365 days are going to be unbearable…

Hentai PC dating-sim games at J-List

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Still, it would seem that even the mere notion of such a plot line is too hot to handle for some.  The anime’s production committee recently posted a report to B Gata H Kei’s official website stating that they have received multiple threatening letters, asking for changes in the anime’s content and presentation, lest unspecified harmful things happen to the studio and/or writers.  The production committee has chosen to brazenly ignore these threats and have notified local authorities.

What I want to know is why these warriors of virtue have chosen to single out B Gata, when there is much more salacious material out there.  I’m not even talking hentai, I’m talking another series in the Spring 2010 lineup: Kiss x sis.  There’s much more naughtiness going on here than B Gata.  (Choco Banana, anyone?) In fact I’m surprised that this isn’t even listed as downright hentai.  There have been episodes of KxS that have made me blush and feel uncomfortable — and believe me, I’m not exactly the prudish sort.  (Of course, I can’t help but keep watching either…)

Of course, for all we know, maybe these defenders of morality have also contacted the Kiss x sis staff, who have chosen to remain silent and ignore these whiners as they should.

Hentai PC dating-sim games at J-List

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Well great news – the Crunchyroll app for the iPad is finally here!

This one kinda slipped in under my radar, mostly because I’ve been busy with other things, but also because, rather than updating the already-existing iPhone app to add iPad support (which I would have noticed – I’m pretty obsessive about checking my apps for updates), they chose to release a completely separate app for the iPad (it’s impossible to keep up to date with the latest and greatest app submissions).

And what an app it is.  Video looks beautiful, and scrolling through the large movie poster-style thumbnails of the various shows is fun.  Unfortunately the app is still plagued with smaller-than-ideal subtitle size, but they are working on it.

The app, like their iPhone app, is of course free.  Go grab your copy today!

J-List is a peaceful island of Japanese pop culture for you

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Mr. Macek is best known, of course, for producing the 1980s hit Robotech – an English dubbed and edited compilation of three seemingly unrelated Japanese anime series: The Super Dimension Fortress Macross, The Super Dimension Cavalry Southern Cross, and Genesis Climber Mospeada. Many an American anime fan started down the path of fandom thanks to this show — myself included.

Besides his involvement in Robotech, Macek and his company Streamline Pictures was also involved with quite a few other anime titles, including Captain Harlock and Queen Millennia (released as “Captain Harlock and the Queen of a Thousand Years”) all the way to more recent projects including Bleach and Naruto. Unfortunately his involvement with the American anime fandom was not without its share of controversy, but even his detractors would be hard pressed to deny him his legacy I think.

Mr. Macek, you will be missed.

J-List is a peaceful island of Japanese pop culture for you

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In brief, the iPad is Apple’s answer to the tablet and netbook. Based on the iPhone OS, it’s a tablet computer that Apple is positioning to fill a perceived gap in functionality between a smartphone and a laptop computer. Since it’s based on the iPhone OS, and uses similar (though scaled-up) hardware, it has many features similar to the iPhone and iPod touch; however many user interface elements have been designed to take advantage of the much larger screen (a 9.7-inch (25 cm) LED backlit multi-touch display at 1024×768). And at $499 for the base model, the price is really quite reasonable considering the power and capabilities of what you get (IMHO of course).

Of course, reaction on the Internet to the device is bitterly divided. (Kind of like American politics. Sigh.) The true fanboys are lauding it as the best thing since sliced bread, while the haters are calling it “just a giant iPod touch.” But I think that the detractors are missing the point here. Yes, it IS a giant iPod touch. And that giantness is what makes the device work. There are things that you just can’t do (or you can do, but very poorly) on the iPhone or iPod touch because of its limited screen size. The larger screen of the iPad makes these applications possible. (Yes, she was right when she said “size matters.”) Here is why you, the otaku, should get really fired up about this device.

The first, and most obvious, is video playback. Sure, you can play video on your iPhone and iPod touch (or even video iPod). But you’ll probably lose your eyesight trying to watch it on that tiny screen. There are, of course, dedicated video players with bigger screens such as the Archos. But even those pale in comparison to the iPad’s generous 9.7 incher.

Where do you get video content then? Well, the iTunes Store has a fairly decent selection of anime titles, and at $1.99 per episode or roughly $35 for a full season, the prices are pretty reasonable. (Insert standard disclaimer about how different regions have different content in their respective iTunes stores.) Of course, you could always convert your own DVD’s into H.264 video files and load them on yourself, using tools such as HandBrake, RipIt, and AnyDVD. (Insert standard disclaimer about how, technically speaking, this is against the law thanks to the DMCA, but unless you’re planning on selling them, you probably won’t get caught, but it’s still technically illegal, and how you should only do this with DVD’s that you honest-to-God own.)

Then there’s always streaming video. Two major streaming video providers have already tossed their hat in the ring. Netflix, the uber-popular DVD-rental-by-mail outfit, has been offering streaming video to go along with its rental service for several years now; and yes, they do have some decent anime content. Not a whole lot, but it’s growing day by day. They now have an iPad app (free even!) that will let you stream any of Netflix’s streaming titles to your device. The best part is, if you start watching something on your computer, and then have to leave the house or something, you can pick up on your iPad right from where you left off, and vice versa.

And everybody’s anime streaming site Crunchyroll has also committed to creating an iPad app. Currently they have an app for the iPhone and iPod touch (also free!) that will let you watch any of their streaming titles; this app should work on the iPad’s compatibility mode, so you can get your Crunchyroll on until they finish their iPad-native app.

Also, it is rumored that Hulu will be making an iPad app too.

Of course, there are plenty of other sites out there that stream anime, legally or otherwise, including the websites of most (all?) of the big anime licensors (FUNimation, Bandai, etc.). The problem with these, of course, is that they use Adobe’s Flash, which the iPad will not support. But this won’t always be the case. The web is moving in its own slow, ponderous way to adopt the HTML 5 standard, which includes built-in support for streaming video, obviating the need for Flash. And the iPad supports HTML 5 perfectly. I suspect that once the iPad hits the masses, there will be a flurry of websites converting over to HTML 5. In fact, some of the big players have already done just that.

Are you into manga? Well then you’ve got reason to sit up and take notice too. Manga is definitely something that does NOT work well on an iPhone or similarly sized device. The screen is just too darn small. Either you have to squint and try to read micro-print on a full-page display, or you can zoom in and be faced with the prospect of having to scroll around to read everything. This is probably why those very few manga/comics forays on the iPhone failed so miserably. Of course there are e-readers such as the Amazon Kindle and Barnes and Noble Nook. Sure, they have bigger screens; but they are (so far anyway) only black and white, and the weird “flashing” effect when the e-ink screens refresh is off-putting to some.

Well, there are some exciting things afoot. Marvel Comics has released an iPad app (free!) based on the Comixology technology. And it looks really awesome. In portrait mode, you get the full page, though at about 80% of the size of a traditional comics page. Even so, text and graphics are crisp and easily readable thanks to the iPad’s excellent screen technology. But turn the unit on its side (in landscape mode), and a new viewing mode becomes available. You zoom into each panel of a strip, and tapping on the screen brings you to the next panel in logical order, all the while highlighting moments of dialogue or action. This is a fantastic way of viewing comics, and Andy Ihnatko, beloved tech pundit and well-known comics fan, really likes it. I’m sure that manga publishers will soon sit up and take notice.

If you’re an artist, you have cause to celebrate as well. Using the giant iPad screen and touch surface as an artist’s canvas is only natural, and with programs such as SketchBook Pro and Brushes, it’s really quite simple yet powerful. Several months back, an artist made a big splash in both the tech and art community, by creating a New Yorker cover using an iPhone. Imagine what you can do with an iPad! I wonder when we’ll start seeing people sitting at Artists’ Alley not with paintbrush or pen, but with an iPad instead.

And finally, with its large screen and native PDF support, the iPad makes an excellent PDF reader. When you consider that many anime conventions make their schedules, program guidebooks, etc. available in PDF format, this can be quite a handy thing to have. It’s admittedly a small thing, and wouldn’t make sense as the sole reason to buy an iPad; but if you bought one for any of the reasons above (or other reasons of your own, perhaps) it’s a nice extra.

Tablet computers are certainly nothing new – Microsoft has been trying to market them for years. But they have always failed miserably in the common consumer market. One possible reason why is because they were trying to extend the desktop computer metaphor onto the tablet, by using standard desktop operating systems (i.e. Windows). In taking their already-successful mobile iPhone OS and scaling it up to tablet size, Apple has done what Microsoft and countless other companies have failed to do — deliver a compelling tablet experience that just works.

Exciting times are upon us!

J-List is a peaceful island of Japanese pop culture for you

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After reviewing things, here’s what I’ll be keeping my eye on in particular:

Angel Beats: written by Jun Maeda of Key – the same folks who put out one of my all-time favorites, Kanon. ‘Nuff said. I’m willing to give anything associated with Key a shot. Besides, the premise of “[a] group of students [...] leading a war against God for what he’s done to them [...]with guns” sounds interesting. And violent. Yeah! EDIT 2010-03-28: found this promo video on YouTube. I’m definitely interested now. Interestingly enough, it appears that some of the main characters(?) are part of a band… Gee, I wonder where they got that idea from… Still, I’ll give it a spin.

Arakawa Under the Bridge: Sounds rather nutty and interesting.

Black Rock Shooter OVA: There’s been a lot of buzz surrounding this show, most of which surrounding the fact that it’s based on a character designed by Huke, the same guy who designed the Vocaloid Hatsune Miku who is one of the illustrators associated with the Vocaloid music group “supercell“ (thanks polymetrica for the correction). If nothing else, the artwork definitely looks interesting. Dark and moody and stuff.

Heroman: An anime… created by veteran comic book Stan Lee. Innnnnnnteresting… Yes, I know there have been other cases of “East-meets-West” style collaboration between Japanese and Western comic styles, but c’mon, STAN FREAKIN’ LEE. Whether it’ll be good or not… well, we’ll see. The old “boy finds a robot and uses it to save the world” plot has been around the block more than a few times.

House of Five Leaves: The art style on this one is definitely intriguing. And it’s being animated by Manglobe, the studio who did Ergo Proxy, which definitely had its own unique art style. And I’m always up for a samurai period piece.

Kaichou wa Maid-sama: Sounds a lot vaguely like Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu. Straight-laced student president type has a secret double life working at a maid cafe, and someone finds out about it. But still, I’m always a sucker for the old closet-otaku’s-secret-gets-exposed storyline. Not expecting anything terribly original tho. (again, Nogizaka…)

Kiss x Sis: Maybe I’m crazy, but after hearing the Anime TV panelists talking about it on their most recent show (it’s in the first “hima time” segment) I’m morbidly curious. (Their reaction wasn’t terribly favorable, btw). The Anime TV panelists were pretty spot on when they called it a “sexier version of ‘Please Twins’” (that’s me paraphrasing, I forget their exact words). That’s exactly what it sounds like to me. Still, there’ll be at least some nosebleed-worthy scenes to look at, I’m sure. So it ain’t all bad.

Senko no Night Raid: Set in the 1930s, in the Japanese-occupied city of Shanghai, China, it details the exploits of a supposed secret organization of Japanese spies, the “Sakurai Kikan,” that possess special abilities and were involved in various covert missions, so secret that they were buried in history. Anime history lessons FTW! (How much of this is actually history, exaggerated history, or outright made-up stuff, I have no idea. Neither Google nor Wikipedia comes up with anything useful other than links to stories about this anime.) But still, anime and spies… I’m game. This show is the second show to be introduced through The Power of Anime programming block – the first title to come out of it was So-Ra-No-Wo-To. This may send up warning bells to some of you. Let us hope that the people involved with Night Raid don’t fall into the same moe trap (no, not that kind of trap) that So-Ra-No-Wo-To fell into. (Not that the moe-ness killed it for me; unlike many of the angry reviewers out there, I still enjoyed So-Ra; I will however concede that, without the distractions of moe, it probably could have been an even better show.)

Working!!: At first blush, this seems like yet another moe fluff piece. But after checking out the preview episode, I’m not so sure I’d be willing to give it that summary judgment. There’s quite a bit of moe, for sure — Japanator called it “[like] K-ON!, but with food” — but unlike other series that people complain about, it doesn’t seem to me like they are using moe as a crutch. In other words, behind the moe, there appears to be a fairly decent, sometimes humorous slice-of-life piece, that I’m willing to devote at least several episodes’ worth of attention to. Besides, how can you go wrong when you’ve got a waitress that wields a katana? (Although in all honesty I would’ve picked a better name for their restaurant than “Wagnaria.” I wouldn’t want to eat somewhere with a name that sounds like an infectious disease, one that causes you to hallucinate that you are a German composer or something.)

Yojo-han Shinwa Taikei: Based on a novel about the “nonsense campus life of a self-conscious but dull university student,” this doesn’t sound terribly exciting. But when you consider that it’s being helmed by Masaaki Yuasa, who also brought us Mind Game (which, by the way, is oh so deserving of its title – it’s a real head trip), the excitement-o-meter is starting to swing toward the positive. It also comes to us through Fuji TV’s noitamina (that’s “animation” spelled backwards, get it?) programming block, which is known for its unique and distinctive titles, so it has a good pedigree. Check out the trailer and see for yourself.

And finally…

K-ON! Season 2: This one should go without saying. MIO!!!!!!!!111

(EDIT 2010-03-28: added Part 4 (the final part) of Japanator’s Spring 2010 Preview, along with my reactions to it.)

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1. Yet Another Spring 2010 Anime Lineup
2. Tales of Symphonia anime coming in Spring 2010; promo video available now
3. Quick, set your DVRs: Spike TV to show exclusive Halo Legends preview tomorrow night!

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).

PC dating-sim games @ J-List

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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!

Video below. (EDIT 2010-03-24: the original video has been taken down from YouTube for terms-of-use violations. Grrr… However I found not one, not two, but THREE!! fan-made videos of trips to the K-ON school that shows some additional footage of interest (e.g. the guitar shop that the K-ON girls bought their instruments at, the fast food restaurant where the girls often meet and where Mugi-chan got a job (apparently based on a McDonald’s), other views of the surrounding town, etc. And apparently the statue with the funny hats/clothes is actually based on a real-life statue of the man who built the school. Be sure and check out some of the “related videos” too!) (EDIT 2010-03-25: found another video!)

J-List is a peaceful island of Japanese pop culture for you

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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.

Hentai PC dating-sim games at J-List

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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.

For more information, visit the Pop Japan Travel website or email popj...@gmail.com for more information. Mention Project 760 and get a $50 discount.

Better hurry – all applications are due by February 23, 2010

Hentai PC dating-sim games at J-List

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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.”

J-List is a peaceful island of Japanese pop culture for you

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Sorry if this message seems a bit terse to you. I’m typing it on my iPod touch.

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Why would you want to do this?  Besides the obvious Halo goodness, Spike TV will be teasing us with a preview of some scenes from the “The Babysitter” short, part of the Japanese-animated Halo Legends anthology, animated by BONES, Casio Entertainment, Production I.G., Studio 4C, and Toei.  This was of course one of Microsoft’s big announcements at San Diego Comic-Con this year.  Shinji Aramaki, who you might know as the creator and director of Appleseed and Appleseed Ex Machina, serves as the project’s creative director.  Famed director Mamoru Oshii is also involved.

Halo Legends is a collection of 7 short films based on the Halo universe — a la Animatrix style.  The Animatrix parallel is particularly apt for two reasons: Halo Legends expands on the Halo universe, filling in backstory, etc., similar to how The Animatrix expanded on and filled in backstory for the Matrix universe; but also because one of the participants, Studio 4C, was in fact responsible for the Animatrix.  Either way, this should be some pretty good stuff.

“The Babysitter,” the short which Spike TV will be showing parts of, follows the Spartan super-soldiers as well as the ODST (Orbital Drop Shock Troops), “when an all-or-nothing opportunity to strike at the heart of Covenant leadership arises.”

Fans can look forward to the DVD and Blu-ray releases of this anime, coming from Warner Bros., sometime in early 2010.

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This technology is now starting to see its way onto the so-called smartphones many people are now carrying in their pockets.  Phones based on the Google Android OS have had this capability for a while, and now with the recent releases of the iPhone 3Gs and iPhone OS 3.1, that device is starting to see applications of augmented reality technology as well.

Tokyo Underground (iTunes App Store link, $0.99) is one such app that recently came on the scene.  It’s a pretty useful travel companion, featuring all sorts of maps, guides to the various rail and subway lines in Tokyo, and a trip planner.  But if you hold the phone up (so that the camera is facing where you’re looking) and activate the “Your New Eye” feature – new in version 3.0 of this app – you will see a view of whatever you’re looking at, overlaid with icons to various user-selectable Points of Interest (POI’s).  Looking for a nice place to eat?  Choose the type of restaurant you want (Japanese?  Western-style?  etc.), activate “Your New Eye,” and wherever you point your phone, if a restaurant that fits your criteria is within 1 km from where you are (determined by the iPhone’s built-in GPS and compass), you’ll see an icon on your screen representing where you should go.  You can get more detailed directions if you need them, and the display updates in real-time — so as you walk toward it, you can see how far you have to go, or if you manage to drift off-course.

This is pretty cool stuff.  Granted, it’s not quite on the level of something like a VISOR or Borg implants, but it’s still pretty neat, and will definitely come in handy especially if you’ve never been to Japan before.

The app is available now for purchase in the iTunes App Store for $0.99.  While the rest of the features (mapping, route planning, etc.) will work on any iPhone (or even an iPod touch), the fancy Augmented Reality features are only available if you have the latest model iPhone, the iPhone 3GS.

More information on this app can be found at the iTunes App Store as well as the developer’s website.

Click for J-List now!

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At first blush, the recent announcement that ADV Films is shutting its doors, sounds dire indeed.  All across the Intarwebs there has been the expected wailing and gnashing of teeth among anime fans, and comparisons to other grisly anime company implosions such as Geneon and Central Park Media.

But let’s take a deeper look at things…

According to ADV’s press release, they recently concluded a flurry of transfers of various bits of ADV’s business to other companies: AEsir Holdings, LLC (“Aesir”) acquired a “subordinated interest” in selected bits of ADV’s film library, along with various intellectual properties; while SXION 23, LLC, dba “Section23 Films,” a home video distribution company, will apparently take over distribution of DVDs and other physical media; and Valkyrie Media Partners, LLC (“Valkyrie”) has acquired ADV’s Anime Network television channel. Seraphim Studios, LLC acquired Amusement Park Media, the production unit of A.D.Vision, Inc. And Sentai Filmworks also has assumed distribution of some of ADV’s titles recently as well. In their press release, ADV promises that these acquisitions and transactions will result in a “seamless delivery of home video products and television programming to customers.”

But who owns these companies?  (“Follow the money…”)  When you look at it this way, things get… interesting.

You see, Seraphim Studios, Valkyrie Media Partners and SXION 23 are all owned by the same guy – Griffin D. Vance IV, who was ADV’s senior vice president of business and legal affairs.  And, according to word on the street, most of ADV’s employees have been hired on by these various businesses.  (With the noticeable absence of ADV President John Ledford, interestingly enough…)

Clever financial reorganization?  Upper echelon power struggle?  Sneaky plot to oust the CEO?  Who knows?  Whatever the case may be, many people on the Intarwebs are calling this “ADV 2.0″ (as for me, I’m calling it “ADV: Death and Rebirth“) and are reaffirming ADV’s own statement that these acquisitions and business transfers shouldn’t affect the “seamless delivery of home video products and television programming to customers.”

We do indeed live in… interesting… times.  (in the Chinese proverb sense of the word!)

Click for J-List now!

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Bandai and NCM Fathom announced that, on September 24 at 7:30pm, they will be screening the new Eureka Seven movie, “Eureka Seven – Good Night, Sleep Tight, Young Lovers,” in various locations across the States.  Tickets are currently on sale at Fathom Events’ website as well as the ticket offices of the theatres showing the film.  A list of theatres participating in this event is available on Fathom Events’ website.

Not only will you get to see the film at this screening, but they also promise a special “behind the scenes” peek at how the film was made, as well as never-before-seen interviews with some of the English voice cast and crew.

Not too familiar with the Eureka Seven storyline, or did you fall behind in the series and need to catch up quickly?  No worries – Crunchyroll has all 50 episodes available for streaming – in both sub AND dub versions!  Now that’s what I call service!  (No, not that kind of service…)

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Anyway, if you want to catch it right now, you can do so via the fansubs.  Several fansub groups have released episodes in lower-resolution (480p and 720p) versions, and indeed the entire series (including specials) are available for viewing this way.  But two fansub groups in particular – Chihiro and CoalGuys – have upped the ante, and have started releasing fansubs based on the recently-released K-ON! Blu-ray disks.  These releases, available in both 720p and 1080p, including full uncompressed sound, look and sound truly awesome.  If you have the computing muscle to watch ‘em – any computer made in the last two years or so ought to work – then they are definitely worth a look.

The Japanese Blu-Ray releases are coming every few months, with 2 episodes per disk, so these will take a while to trickle in.  So if you’re the impatient sort, go watch the SD version.  But if you can possibly curb your enthusiasm, definitely hold out for the Blu-ray releases.  They are worth the wait.

Anyway, if you want to catch it right now, you’ll have to wait for Bandai’s forthcoming DVD or Blu-ray release. (Again, no hint of a release date. And no clue as to whether they’ll be doing DVD, Blu-ray, or both. Here’s hoping that they do indeed go with a Blu-ray release, and that it matches the quality of the Japanese Blu-rays.) Bandai only licensed Season 1, so Season 2 (confusingly enough titled “K-ON!!” — note the extra exclamation point) is still out there for the viewing. (Since it’s slice of life, you aren’t really missing much story-wise.)

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If you’re unfamiliar with Ms. Mizuno’s works, she is known for her unusual blending of childish cutesy sweetness and – blood and terror!!! This style, known as “Gothic kawaii” or “kawaii noir” can be seen in her works, including “Hell Babies, “Cinderella-chan,” and “Pure Trance.” She also draws the eyecatch art for the BBC program “Japanorama.” Her latest work, “Fluffy Little Gigolo PELU,” chronicles the story of PELU, a cute alien, as he searches for a bride on Earth.

The New People complex is located at 1746 Post St, in San Franisco’s Japantown.

J-List is a peaceful island of Japanese pop culture for you

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Avast, ye salty sea dogs! I be bringin’ good news fer all ye One Piece fans out there! FUNimation has jus’ announced that, startin’ August 29th at 9pm CST, they will resume streamin’ One Piece episodes, startin’ wi’ episode 415. Streams will go live one hour after th’ episode airs in Japan.  Shiver me timbers!

In order t’ catch up on missed episodes due t’ th’ stream`s downtime, FUNimation has also announced that ‘t begin streamin’ from episode 391, th’ start o’ th’ Amazon Lily Saga, startin’ on August 21. FUNimation will add three episodes daily startin’ at 9:00 pm CDT on th’ 21st, up until th’ simulcast o’ 415 on th’ 29th.  Y’ hear that, y’ landlubbers??!

Now grab yer straw hat an’ set a course fer th’ FUNimation video streamin’ site! Full speed ahead!

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The only problem was that its ending left… umm… much to be desired. Like most series derived from manga, it ended in the middle of the manga’s story arc (which is still running actually).

There is good news however. Recently it was announced that production on a second season of Sekirei was green-lit. Presumably this second season will finish up the manga’s story arc. Much of the cast and crew from the first Sekirei anime are returning, including director Keizou Kusakawa, writer Takao Yoshioka, character designer Shinpei Tomooka, musical composer Hiroaki Sano, and the Seven Arcs anime studio that animated it. Returning voice actors include Shinnosuke Tachibana (who voiced Minato), Saori Hayami (Musubi), Marina Inoue (Tsukiumi), and Kana Hanazawa (Kusano). No firm date (other than a rather vague “winter of 2009″) has been given for the release of this second series.

Here is the video announcing the new series.  Translation of the on-screen text: (credit goes to I Eat Anime for the translation)

“Sekirei Project – Restart” “Commentaries on a beautiful war starts again” “Miraculous love story” “Old memory will be revealed” “Each others feelings that mingle” “Pledged bond with the loved one” “it has been decided to be produce as a new anime series on TV!”

Click for J-List now!

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August 15, 2009 in San Francisco Japan Girls Nite @ J-pop Summit Festival (Japantown/ SF)

Free show /all day out door event.

12:45 Redd Bacteria Vaccuum 13:20 noodles 14:15 TsuShiMaMire 16:15 Omodaka +6%DOKIDOKI Shop Girls

Event detail/ Schedule/map August 16, 2009 in San Francisco Japan Nite Special-Girls Rock Explosion + Harajuku Kawaii Experience @ Yoshi’s 1330 Filmorest.SF. CA 94115 with: noodles/ TsuShiMaMiRe/ Red Bacteria Vacuum/ Omodaka+ 6% DOKIDOKI Shop girls

Open: 7:30 pm Start 8 pm Ticket: $16/ $20 All Ages

Tickets & Info

August 17, 2009 – Hollywood with: TsuShiMaMiRe / Red Bacteria Vacuum / OMODAKA+6%DOKIDOKI Girls opening Act: Lemon Drop Kick / Ajuku Girls Information

The Roxy Theatre 9009 Sunset Blvd. West Hollywood The Roxy Box Office (310-278-9457)

Open: 7 pm / Start 8 pm tickets: $13 / $15 *All Ages

Ticket Master

poster/flyer download

New People Grand Opening ANIME & FILM SCREENINGS, EVENTS, FESTIVALS & FAIRS, LIVE MUSIC & J- POP CONCERTS

J-POP SUMMIT Festival 2009, a pop culture-themed street fair that covers the grounds of Post Street from Webster to Buchanan to the Peace Plaza of Japantown, SF

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But you may want to make one exception in your lazy, do-nothing schedule for the day if you’re an anime fan.  Because, to celebrate the occasion, The Anime Network will be making all of its premium online content freely viewable by anyone.  Starting Midnight CDT on Sunday the 9th and ending at 11:59 PM CDT on Monday the 10th, all Anime Network premium online content will be accessible to anyone, for the amazingly low price of free.  If you’re feeling particularly generous and wish to sign up for paid access to the premium content, you will get a 50% discount on your first months’ worth. (The regular price for monthly subscriptions is $6.95/month.)

You can find the catalog of shows here.  Share And Enjoy!

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For the rest of us unlucky souls out there, we’ll just have to wait until Walt Disney officially opens the film to the rest of North America this coming Friday, August 14.

The story of Ponyo follows an ordinary boy named Sosuke (voiced by Frankie Jonas in the English dub) and his friendship with Ponyo (Noah Cyrus), an unusual goldfish from the seas.  Other cast members of the English dub include Cate Blanchett, Matt Damon, Tina Fey, Cloris Leachman, Liam Neeson, Lily Tomlin, and Betty White.  The trailer is available for streaming from both Yahoo! and Apple.

Hentai PC dating-sim games at J-List

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Our intrepid reporter Danny Barer will be there and we will be talking with him after he has come back (and has had a chance to decompress) about all that went on at Comic-Con. Look for that episode sometime next week. (I just learned that one of my other friends is going as well, so I’ll try and wrangle him onto the podcast as well).

For more information, check out the Comic-Con website.

Gothic & Lolita Products, magazine subscriptions from Japan

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News:

• Photo Op at 1:1 Scale Gundam Auctioned (direct link to the auction) (tour of giant Gundam) (another video tour of the Gundam)
• Studio Ghibli’s Next Feature Film to Open Next Year
• Twilight Manhwa by Young Kim to Be Published by Yen Press (Updated)
• Ultimo’s Stan Lee & Hiroyuki Takei at Comic-Con Int’l

Weird Japan:

• Anpanman Gets Guinness World Record for Most Characters
• Top 10 Sexiest Prefectures of Japan
• Moe Buddhism Draws Otaku Converts

Become a friend of Otaku no Podcast on Facebook

J-List is a peaceful island of Japanese pop culture for you

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