Cartoon Network and Toonami have announced that December will be something of a movie month for the programming block. Well, at least movies from FUNimation that is. While that is interesting news in its own right, what fans of Toonami will be interested in hearing is the fact that the first two weeks of December will include the final two episodes of Hellsing Ultimate, which were previously not planned to be shown on Toonami but apparently those plans have changed.
The movies and episodes planned throughout December can be found below:
December 6th – Hellsing Ultimate 9 and Summer Wars
December 13th – Hellsing Ultimate 10 and Fullmetal Alchemist: The Sacred Star of Milos
December 20th – Dragonball Z: Broly – The Legendary Super Saiyan and Akira
December 27th – Evangelion 1.11 and Evangelion 2.22
Last month Square Enix released Final Fantasy XIII on the PC through Steam and now the company has revealed that Final Fantasy XIII-2 will be following its predecessor as it too will be released on Steam on December 11th.
This PC release will include all of the downloadable content released for the console versions of the game, run at 60 frames per second, feature customizable rendering options, and include both the English and Japanese voice tracks. The company also stated that the aforementioned Final Fantasy XIII PC release will be updated in December to implement customizable rendering.
Fans that have been taking advantage of the insanity that is Just Cause 2 will be happy to hear that today Square Enix has revealed that Just Cause 3 is on its way. The title is being developed by Avalanche Studios and will be released sometime in 2015 for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC.
Apparently early information leaks of Just Cause 3 pointed towards the title being a free to play game, but this announcement assures fans that it will be a full title and that it will feature improved parachute and grappling mechanics as well as a brand new wingsuit to allow players full freedom on a new Mediterranean archipelago.
The time many visual novel fans have been waiting for has arrived. Sekai Project has launched the Kickstarter campaign for Clannad with a goal of $140,000. At the time of this writing the goal has already been reached, which means that fans of the game can expect not only a proper English localization for the title, but an hopeful Steam for PC as well.
Sekai Project has turned to Kickstarter explaining that a majority of the costs will go into licensing the original voice track for the game and completely translating and editing the title. Currently you can pledge $40 to secure yourself a digital copy of Clannad once it is released or if you choose to pledge $50 then a physical copy of Clannad will be delivered. Additional higher tiers of pledging include reward such as an eighty page Clannad fanbook, the Clannad Mabinogi Arrange Album, T-shirts, and more. Check out the full details for the Kickstarter here.
Takahiro Baba also has written a message for fans of Key and supporters of their games and it can be read below:
The clock is winding down on 2014 and although we know that Telltale Games is working on a Game of Thrones series, we have yet to see more than a few teasers here and there. Well in an update today, it appears that the first episode will be debuting quite soon.
Additionally Telltale has revealed that this first episode, titled “Iron From Ice” will be the first of six planned episodes that will be released over the course of the series. At the moment, these episodes have only been announced for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PC.
The second season of Vikings has landed across my living room table. My first encounter with the Vikings television series was well documented with the Northmen (and women) leaving a largely positive impression. The series aims to bring life to the long dead culture of the Vikings in fairly accurate, but entertaining, detail. Venturing off of the relative high that was last season, does the second season carry on the name with honour or does it bring shame? Read on, dear reader, read on.
Story
Once again the series mixes together history and fiction to create a narrative which has a basis in real historical events. The story focuses once more upon the trials and feats of Ragnar Lothbruk (Travis Fimmel), which is based upon the Viking saga of Ragnar Lodbruk, as he now rules as the Jarl of Kattegat. Alongside his new authority comes new responsibilities as he works to earn the favour of the Viking King Horik (Donal Logue). After Ragnar’s brother betrays him, his efforts to resolve a dispute between King Horik and Jarl Borg (Thorbjorn Harr) lead to violence at the start of the season. After his brother has change of heart, Ragnar is able to reach a resolution for all parties to go raiding westward together.
Trouble brews on the home front as well, as Rollo (Clive Standen) has to deal with the repercussions of betraying his brother and Ragnar has to answer to Lagertha (Kethern Winnick) for his philandering with princess Aslaug… and this is just within the first two episodes. This season is largely about ratcheting up the tension in the narrative while providing small releases here and there throughout the story. Similar to last season; after each problem is resolved, a new one arises to take its place and to keep the audience captivated.
The focus is also more diverse as we see secondary characters become more developed through their own arcs. Floki (Gustaf Skarsgard) and Athelstan (George Blagden) are particularly interesting as characters who go through their own inner turmoil as the world around them changes. Floki wrestless with his own oscillating and unstable emotions as he deals with what appears to be a case of bipolar disorder. Skarsgard’s portrayal of the manic highs and depressed lows create a believable character who is in a constant state of flux between emotional states. Athelstan suffers a crisis of faith since converting to Norse Paganism and deals with the guilt of turning his back on his previous god. The personal crises of both these characters helps to create some very interesting sub-plots to hold your attention while the main, historical events unfold around them.
One thing I previously criticised in the first season was the lacklustre narrative of these personal dramas, but this time around I find them to be much more interesting. I’m not sure whether that’s because the stakes have been raised significantly for these personal dramas, meaning that the consequences are far greater for the main story; because I’ve become invested in these characters; or because the stories themselves are more interesting. The end result remains the same and I was rarely indifferent towards the action onscreen. I give kudos to the writers for accomplishing this feat!
Visuals
Once again, the series showcases beautiful cinematography and direction. The constructed sets make a return and help to create a believable sense of space for the show. It’s nice to see some variety in the set locales as well, beyond Viking halls and exterior shots of fjords as we’re shown medieval English towns and castles. The costumes and props are also similarly believable, but I’m certain there are historical enthusiasts somewhere who grind their teeth looking at the anachronistic fabrics, stitching, and metalwork evident in any of the objects onscreen.
Once again, action scenes make a blood-pumping return with lots of energy and vibrancy to them. Unfortunately, the scale of the fights have been increased so we don’t see combat with near-ballet level of grace that was evident in the first season. The focus isn’t anywhere near as wide as having the armies of Braveheart or Kingdom of Heaven with armies clashing on screen, but we certainly see that the series has been granted more support for more extras in these scenes. In my opinion, this works against the choreographic par-excellence which was evident last season.
This season also exhibits some more surrealist tones, with Athelstan suffering dramatic hallucinations of stigmata and other Christ-like imagery. These scenes were an interesting way of portraying the character’s inner turmoil, with a crisis of faith in a manner which suits a visual medium. Rather than simply having the character tell us (or another character) of this turmoil, the director chooses to show us a visual representation instead. ‘Show Don’t Tell’ at its finest. The last shot of this season especially, is proof that the talent behind Vikings knows how to create meaning beyond dialogue.
Audio
The soundtrack is significantly more pronounced this time around (or perhaps this humble reviewer has become better at noticing it) and is actually quite good. We hear a variety pieces to compliment the action from throat singing to Gregorian chanting. All of this works in conjunction with the visuals to create a sense of a place and culture which is mystical and exotic. Battle scenes are appropriately accompanied by ululating war cries to help set the scenes of medieval carnage.
Extras
Once again, since this is a historical drama, the extras include a number of interesting mini-documentaries on Viking and early medieval culture. It’s interesting to see just how well the series approximates what we know about the nature of Viking society and how this comes out in the show. Similarly, the audio commentary provided by Michael Hirst (series creator) and Gustaf Skarsgard help to provide intimate insights in the behind-the-scenes creative process. It becomes evident that a lot of planning, thought, and love goes into making this series what it is.
Overall
The Norse have come raiding again and have chosen to ‘Winter’ in your living room. Have they outstayed their welcome? Certainly not.
This series has only gotten stronger with time and it should not surprise you at this point that I’m fast becoming a fan of this historical drama. Whereas last season felt like it was setting us up in the mindset of living in a Viking society, this season felt like a complete dramatic payoff with many loose threads from last season being resolved and new, more intriguing ones appearing in their place. I feel that the combat has become less visually interesting with an increased scale, but still provides some high-adrenaline action as befits a warrior culture. I highly recommend this season to anyone who has an interest in Viking culture and to anyone who is hankering for another series with a setting that one can get lost in. The second season of Vikings is a worthy follow-up to the awesomeness of the first season.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
You may remember that back in April, Atlus USA announced that they were going to help publish Citizens of Earth, a title that failed to be Kickstarted previously. Well while the company was aiming to have Citizens of Earth released on its target platforms last month, it seems that the game will take a few more months to be ready.
Atlus USA has announced that Citizens of Earth will now be released on January 20, 2015 for the PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, Nintendo 3DS, Wii U, and PC with each version costing $15. In Citizens of Earth, players take on the role of the Vice President of the United States who falls asleep after winning a long drawn out election only to wake up and find that the world has gone mad. With the help of up to forty citizens, it is up to the Vice President to try and find out what is happening and put a stop to it.
A couple of months back Compile Heart announced that they would be remaking Hyperdimension Neptunia Victory for the PS Vita under the name Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth 3: V Century and today the company has released the first trailer for the remake alongside some new screenshots that can be found below.
As shown in the video a new form of hidden box has been added into the game and the battle system has also been modified slightly. There are a number of new events that occur throughout the story to add to each chapter and Stella’s dungeon has been improved and made more rewarding.
Compile Heart has released the first official screenshots for Hyperdimension Neptunia Victory II and in it we are given a look at Uzume, a new character who players will meet in Zero Dimension and will fight alongside Neptune and Nepgear. As you can see in the images below, it seems that Uzume may have been created as a reference to the Dreamcast, in the same vein as Vert refers to Xbox, Noire being a reference for PlayStation, and Blanc being Nintendo.
Hyperdimension Neptunia Victory II is the first game in the series to be released for the PlayStation 4 and will be released in Japan in Spring 2015. Currently no localization plans have been revealed, but the chances of Idea Factory International giving this title a shot in the West should be quite high.
The team behind the Evangelion rebuild movies will be working with Japanese singer Hikaru Utada to create a video for her latest album. The cover album entitled Utada Hikaru no Uta will feature multiple artists covering her songs, the announcement of the Eva film crews’ involvement was recently revealed on her official website.
You may be familiar with some of Utadas’ work as she provided two theme songs for the Kingdom Hearts series and also did the ending for Eva 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo. The album is being released to celebrate her 15th anniversary and will go on sale on the 9th of December.
This isn’t the first time the Eva franchise has been involved with a studio album, the manga’s author, Yoshiyuki Sadamoto, has previously illustrated two album covers for Eric Clapton. Let us know what you think by leaving a comment down below.
