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AKB0048 Part Two Review

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April 1, 2014

AKB0048 Part Two
Studio: Satelight
Publisher: Hanabee
Format: DVD
Release Date: March 5, 2014
Price: $59.99 – Available Here

Overview
Being an idol in AKB0048 must be rough. Not only do you have to deal with corporate management, crazy fans and the whole business of not being allowed to date anyone, but it’s technically illegal to perform music in this universe. Part 1 saw a group of aspiring young girls break free from normality and begin training as “undergraduate” idols for the underground pop group AKB0048.

Part 2, titled Next Stage, promises more drama amongst the girls as their idol roles grow but so does danger as forces opposed to the notion of entertainment increase their attacks. Is this pop idol extravaganza worth the price of admission?

Story
After being left with a rousing performance and an acceptance by Nagisa’s parents of her choice to become an idol, the girls still have a long way to go before they reach their goal. Next Stage begins with the General Elections, a vote-based system where undergraduate idols get voted in by the fans to the big league, so to speak. If you’ve grown to love the legion of characters in this show (personally I’ve struggled to remember all of them) you would get an emotional kick out this aspect.

The anime does a remarkable job in simulating the idol business (minus the interstellar travel), from the rabid fans supporting their favourites to the idols bawling on stage every time they make a speech. Interestingly, there’s also corruption and conflict of interest referenced with Chieri’s father initially using his influence to boost her popularity before the elections.

The big crux with the second half of AKB0048 is the revered and long-lost Centre Nova position which is pretty much the leader spot of the group which shines brighter than the rest. This position was lost along with the legendary idol Atsuko Maeda, or Acchan, who disappeared and is almost always talked about. Who exactly would succeed her is the big question during the later episodes, but it’s fairly obvious when the show has a heroine.

What AKB0048 does differently is inject a huge amount of back story into its universe, separating itself from other idol anime that tend to focus just on girls in an everyday setting. While I can see where they’ve been going with the whole thing I can’t help but feel the action scenes, while not bad, are out of place. It gets a little too ridiculous, even for anime, when the girls sing and dance their way out of a potentially deadly confrontation.

The anti-entertainment force is more determined than ever to stop AKB0048 performing and viewers are treated (or forced to sit through) constant attacks and attempts of sabotage by the DES. Not only do they have to contend with authorities but deception from within as even the fans turn on the idols at some stage. The ending is somewhat predictable but heart-warming nonetheless and at the core of the narrative is the struggle to overcome obstacles as one pursues their dream.

Visuals
AKB0048 is a bright and colourful ride, using more pinks, blues and greens than I’ve seen in recent years. Naturally, this fits with the pop idol theme and leads to some cute but also stunning character designs. Dance choreography is wonderful while even the battles with anti-entertainment forces have a good amount of attention paid to, despite not being the focus. It’s impressive how much detail was put into the background universe of what’s traditionally a simple genre.

The use of CGI seen in the first half is continued in Next Stage, with character models receiving a 3D upgrade during concerts to bring out the extra impact. Visually, you won’t have too many complaints about AKB0048 especially if you’re familiar with Satelight’s other work such as the extravagant Aquarion Evol mecha series.

Audio
Being an idol anime, music should be a key highlight and it is, to an extent, though probably not as much as I would have liked. When you have so much going on, like battles and drama, it’s inevitable that some things won’t feature as much. What we do hear is though is good and certainly on the same level as real idol music, with happy and uplifting songs mixed with ones with attitude.

The Japanese voice track sounds as you’d expect from a show full of singing and often bickering girls, and they really shine during songs since the voice actresses are actual idols themselves. The English dub falls a little short during normal voice work but surprisingly localise some of the songs well into English. Only occasionally do we hear the English versions, for example when the characters practice, and the original Japanese songs play the majority of the time during concerts.

Extras
Included on the discs are clean opening and endings songs (which sound really good, by the way)…and that’s about it. You won’t find anything fancy with your copy of AKB0048.

Overall
As a complete package of part one and two, AKB0048 ties in with a common story about growth. How someone unremarkable can achieve something great with hard work and effort. It just so happens that that someone is part of an idol group, so we get plenty of fun, drama and music along the way. However, the narrative isn’t all that complex, despite some interesting twists in Next Stage, and to really enjoy it you’d have to grow attached to the characters. Also, the villains are portrayed fairly cheesily so it’s hard to take the threat seriously especially in an innocent show such as this.

While it owes a lot to the popularity of mega idol group AKB48 and its legion of fans, it still manages to stand on it’s own as a well done series. If you’re a fan of Japanese idols, this is a perfect anime accompaniment to your other hobby, and for everyone else this might be a great way to get acquainted with the phenomenon. The heart is there but it just lacks in lasting power for the majority of viewers.

Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.

Appleseed XIII: Tartaros & Ouranos Review

Simon Wolfe

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April 1, 2014

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Appleseed XIII: Tartaros & Ouranos Review

Appleseed XIII: Tartaros & Ouranos
Studio: Production I.G
Publisher: FUNimation
Release Date: February 25th, 2014
Format: DVD/Blu-Ray Combo
Price: $34.98 – Available Here

Overview
Deunan and Briareos are back again, but anyone that has already seen the thirteen episodes of Appleseed XIII, may not find exactly what they expect. While condensing down a full anime series to a movie or two, so there is a better focus on the main plot or provide a simplified experience for the viewers, is not a new idea; more often than not studios will have an OVA to top off an anime series or provide a final hurrah from somewhere during the main story. Appleseed XIII however gets the condensed plot two movie treatment with Tartaros and Ouranos. What aspects of the story will be saved for the movies and what will hit the cutting room floor to keep these movies down to a reasonable length? Let’s take a look at what Tartaros and Ouranos have to offer.

Story
Kicking things off with a little bit of backstory to prime what is going on in the world of Appleseed XIII, Tartaros opens up a little bit different than the original series. Where the series kicked off with a much more direct focus on the Human Liberation Front and what they were trying to accomplish, the movie treats it as a small part of the atmosphere to focus much more on the main antagonist for the show. Thusly, the action that kicks off is not the original dust up from the series, but actually from the second episode focused on Deunan and Briareos saving the Augean Stables plane, which makes more sense as it ties much more closely to the plot than anything related to the Human Liberation Front.

While Tartaros does a great job covering the vast majority of the first seven episodes of the series, it still ends up cutting entire episodes worth of material. In some ways it isn’t very missed as these episodes were more world building than anything else, giving an idea of what the rest of the world is like and what the people are up to outside of Deunan, Briareos, and the bioroids. There is just the right amount of action here, coupled with varied amounts of character development that knows really how to focus on the correct characters for the ultimate effect. The movie culminates exactly as it should with the final reveal of the true antagonist that the duo having been secretly facing and tease just enough to give interest for the remaining plot in Ouranos.

This time opening up on a primer of what had happened in Tartaros, Ouranos can get right in a main antagonist already revealed and a better understanding of what they have been after all along. Ouranos keeps up the pace of Tartaros‘ clear focus on the ever deepening plot, without shying away from the conflict of a main antagonist in plain sight. Which basically comes down to Deunan and Briareos having to try their best to circumvent the plans of the antagonist.

In some ways the second movie moves much faster, cutting a lot more of the other episodes and focusing more on just a few. This works very well as in the series many of the episodes became very repetitive; meet a character, try to protect them, etc. but for the movie this is limited to just two of these characters, with no need to explore the others as they would take too long and more than likely not add enough to the story to be relevant. By cutting a lot in terms of the other episodes’ content, Ouranos is able to fit in more of the action and allow the viewer a satisfying experience. Even with all the cut content, the story is able to build towards it final goal and still make sense in the end.

Visuals
As shouldn’t be a surprise the visuals look exactly the same as the series itself, as this is just an edited down version. But, those that didn’t watch the series can expect to see the vast majority of the movies to be computer animated, with quick shots of more vibrant Greek art to punctuate the emotions of the scene or call back to the original Greek myths that many of the elements from Appleseed XIII get their names. Even though each episode of the original series was done by a different studio, it’s hard to tell the difference scene to scene for the movies so that it doesn’t disturb the flow at all either.

Audio
Like the visuals, the audio is essentially the exact same as the series both in terms of voice acting and music. Though with so many less endings and openings, here they only utilize a different ending theme for the two movies. Those that haven’t seen the series can expect some pretty good voice acting, though the strong of the two will depend on probably their appreciation of Greek, as the English dub tends to have a better flow with the Greek names while the original Japanese seems to have a better pull of the feelings of a scene. The music is very choral and instrumental, giving a feeling of the relation the story here has to the Greek epics from which so many of its elements derive.

Extras
The special features for this release are some what lacking when compared to the release of the Appleseed XIII series. Where the series release had commentary and videos going into depth about the different studios that did each episode, the movies only have a selection of trailers and the two different textless closings. The trailers range from the previews of the movies themselves, to of course the other somewhat recent and upcoming FUNimation anime releases. While these are still okay, it would have been nice to see a little bit more included for the specific release of these movies.

Overall
Anyone that has seen the full series of Appleseed XIII and enjoyed it, but didn’t end up getting that may find a more economical option with this, while those that missed out completely wont miss out on too much by just diving into this to save time. The story does do a good job of condensing down to just three hours, a lot of that is by trimming down many of the side stories that don’t add as much to the main progression of plot. Though they did do a good job of keeping Tartaros entirely on the first half of the anime and Ouranos on the second half to keep the big bad reveal to the end of the first movie. With the same audio and visuals, this doesn’t seem to really be necessary for anyone that already has the Appleseed XIII series as it doesn’t add anything new, but those that don’t should find something they can enjoy at a cheaper cost point than the series.

Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.

Super Smash Bros. To Feature New Final Smashes

Nathan Farrugia

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April 1, 2014

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For those who love Super Smash Bros. you are probably well aware that each day the games lead developer Masahiro Sakurai gives a small tidbit of information normally revealing a new mechanic, item, stage and on rare days even a new character. Yesterday Sakurai revealed that Luigi’s final smash will be changed from the Negative Zone (which used to fill the stage with a wierd area effect around Luigi that would cause all sorts of strange effects to happen) to he’s much more famous Poltergust 5000 vacumm. While he didn’t go into specifics about how the new final smash would work, he did have a comment to go along with the picture.

Luigi might be thinking, “Who would’ve thought I’d get to show off the Poltergust in Super Smash Bros.?!” Wondering if it’s going to suck something in? Yeah, it probably will.

I imagine the device could suck people in similar to how it sucks in the ghost in Luigi’s Mansion, which would make for a very unique way of killing your enemies, or perhaps it will cause a vacumm wave to be released that causes damage and sucks you in before Luigi throws his vacumm into reverse and blows you off the stage. Either way it’s nice to see the games taking more content from source material and representing more about that character’s series.

So far three finals smashes have been revealed. Little Mac (who turns into Giga Mac), Wii Fit Trainer (whose final smash is simply called Wii Fit and unleashes a barrage of Wii Fit logos out in front of her) and now Luigi with his Poltergust. Luigi most likely won’t be the only one to get a new final smash or see changes to their existing one out of the veteran fighters on the roster. Super Smash Bros. Wii U and Super Smash Bros. 3DS are predicted to be releasing before the 2014 holidays, but based on history it is likely we will see a delay to that date. Let us know in the comments below which final smashes you would like to see changed for the existing characters, or even your own original idea for a final smash for any character.

Golden Time Episode 24 Impressions [FINAL]

James Mapley

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April 1, 2014

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Golden Time
Episode 24 – Golden Time

“I am broken, shattered, and not even close to perfect. I am always missing something, but this is who I am!”

As an anime fan, oftentimes you find yourself wading through a trashy, moe infested ocean of pestilence. Occasionally though, you catch sight of a golden glimmer that fills your vision and guides you back towards clear waters. An anime with qualities that make it stand apart from the humdrum we’ve become so tolerant of in the last few years. An anime like Golden Time. For 2 seasons now, Golden Time has kept up its unrelenting realism and non-stop drama and this episode saw it all come to a close. How will they tie up all the loose ends? Will Banri and Kouko find their happy ending? My mind was aflutter with a million questions as I hit play for the final time in my half-year love affair with Golden Time.

Before I go on to lavish praise onto Golden Time, it should be pointed out that it was definitely not without its problems. Aside from the occasional flourish, the art was mediocre at best and it didn’t even constitute J.C Staff’s best work which is shocking because they are not exactly renowned for their impressive artwork. The colour palette was limited, the cel shading was blotchy, and on a number of occasions you could clearly spot where they had cut corners to save money. At the start, when the story was struggling to get going, I considered the art and the barely likeable characters and I very nearly gave up on it, but clearly slow and steady won the race.

The strength of Golden Time is manifested in the unique way that it told its story. Taking on a mature fashion more typical to a shōjo or josei manga, it followed a narrative pattern atypical to the style of most mainstream anime, but never did that make it feel out of place. Typically, that entire subset of light novels and manga never get the chance to become animated because their audience is so small. Anime is primarily a vessel to advertise the source material so animation companies stick to what is popular to drive sales, but due to the success of Toradora, Golden Time was a rare, popular exception that slipped through the cracks.

However, unlike Toradora in which the focus of the main character’s affections was often questioned by the strong supporting cast, Golden Time never genuinely felt like Banri was ever going to end up with anyone other than Kouko. Instead, the tension that would otherwise come from a love rival was replaced with the lingering unease of Banri’s amnesiac relapses. Instead of questioning who he would end up with, the real thing that we all wanted to know was how he would end up with Kouko and unfortunately that is why this episode will undoubtedly be met with divided opinions.

Personally, I was more than happy with Kouko magically triggering Banri’s memories because I love sappy endings. In fact, it was the ending that I said was most likely to be how it all came to a close in my review of episode 23, but people who were looking for something innovative and new will definitely be left feeling let down. The way that Banri got his memories back was pure cheese and the way that he sprinted to catch up with Kouko – unbelievably cliché, but was it satisfying? To me, immensely so, but you would not be unreasonable for expecting more. For such a mature and well thought out series, the ending seemed a tad rushed and a lot of things were barely explained which must have irritated that section of the audience that need every aspect of a series explained in full. For instance, how was it that Linda hugged the ghost of Banri and confessed to him? Was it meant to be Banri’s past and present finally becoming one? Or was it Banri’s past finally being appeased as Linda embraced Banri and told him the words that she wished she could have said before all of this started? There was a lot of room for interpretation, something that I appreciate in an ending because everyone develops their own theories to suit their taste, however, a lot of people will be put off by that. For all that was left up to us though, the sheer force of emotion that every silly cliché, every sudden embrace, every word echoed across the bridge that knows such tragedy and such happiness, was undeniable. Raw, powerful, cheesy, but brilliant is how I would describe episode 24.

All in all, my final thoughts on Golden Time are largely positive. I would never have thought 23 weeks ago when my first review ended, “Golden Time? More like Copper Time,” that I would ever find myself tearful and smiling like a fool as the credits rolled. Just before it faded to black when a single shot of Kouko with Banri’s ring on her wedding finger came into my blurred vision, I sat in silent applause having thoroughly eaten my words. By no means is Golden Time the best romance ever made, nor is it one that will go down in history as a great. It is no Toradora and it has a number of problems with its art, its depth of character, and its pacing, but somehow despite all of that it remains a heartwrenching and incredibly well written romance that does a better job of exhibiting real life emotions than anything I have ever watched, anime or not. What I initially thought was yet another worthless copper token tossed into the well of anime turned out to be so much more. My wish was granted…

“I love the time we spend together. I love who I am, when I’m with you. Banri, I … Really love you.”

Copper Time? What was I thinking? Looking out of my window, admiring my home in the garden of England as it erupts into life as Spring arrives, I am right back where we started in episode 1. The Golden Time is just beginning… It has been a pleasure and, as always, until next time.

Catch the final episode of Golden Time over on Crunchyroll where every episode can now be found and watched on mobile devices, consoles, smart TVs and of course on PC.

For more impressions of winter’s best and worst and our Spring recommendations, head over to our Anime Impressions page.

Check out more Golden Time impressions HERE.

One Piece Unlimited World Red Receives All-New Content In Preparation For Release

Chris Chu

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April 1, 2014

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NAMCO BANDAI Games America Inc. announced today that they have all-new content planned for the big release of One Piece Unlimited World Red this year in the Americas.

Luffy and his companions will stir up trouble as they battle dynamic boss battles in beautiful graphics. Also, a Coliseum Mode will be available for the first time ever in this title, allowing the pirates to fight for glory and prestige as they try to best their opponents. With this title set for release this year, NAMCO BANDAI has also announced that they’ll be releasing a physical retail version of the game for the PlayStation Vita, which can be purchased at GameStop and EB Games Canada. The title will also be available for the PlayStation 3, Nintendo 3DS, and a digital-only version for the Wii U.

Make sure to keep an eye out for this exciting One Piece title in the near future, and stay tuned for more information!

WIN – Captain America: The Winter Soldier Themed Prize Pack

Zac Elawar

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April 1, 2014

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Courtesy of Marvel Australia and New Zealand, we have a patriotic Captain America: The Winter Soldier themed prize pack to give away! The action packed Captain America: The Winter Soldier is in cinemas April 3 and is rated M for Mature Audiences. Look for our review by the end of the week. Below is a list of the items included in the prize pack, which can also be seen above:

• 1 x Adult T-shirt $19.95
• 1 x Cap $19.95
• 1 x iPod Sports Band $25.95
• 1 x Headphones $39.95
• 1 x Notebook $9.95
• 1 x Coaster Set $12.95
• 1 x Ice Cube Tray $9.95
• 1x Set of Stickers $5.95

To enter, please answer the following question in our comments section below.

If we had a Captain Australia, or Captain New Zealand, what would their costume look like and what would be their signature weapon/move?

This competition will close on April 9th. Make sure you use a valid email when you register with Disqus before posting your comment so we can email you if you are one of our winners. If you choose to enter by logging in with your Facebook account, your email is not required.

Our thanks to the fine folks at Marvel Australia and New Zealand for enabling this competition, and good luck to everybody!

**SPECIAL NOTE**

Competition is open to AU/NZ Residents only.

Follow us on :

Twitter | FACEBOOK | YouTube | Google Plus | RSS

Check out our other Competitions here.

Nosgoth Founders’ Packs available now

Press Releases

Philip Federico

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March 31, 2014

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Nosgoth Founders’ Packs available now

48 hours remain for first week discount

Square Enix is thrilled to announce Nosgoth Founder Packs are now available for the ongoing Closed Beta phase of Nosgoth, the ultimate battle for survival in a war between Humans and Vampires.

Designed to offer players a multitude of options as to how they first enter Nosgoth and give access to exclusive content such as character and weapon skins, early access to advanced classes, plus bundles of extras such as friend invites and boosters, all Founder Packs of course include immediate access to the closed beta.

An early bird promotion offering 10% discount on a number of the packs will run until Wednesday 2^nd April (04:00 PDT / 07:00 EDT / 11:00 UTC / 12.00 BST / 13:00 CEST).

For detailed information on each of the six Founders’ Packs on offer, please visit:http://www.nosgoth.com/webstore/founders_packs.

Nosgoth will be updated continually throughout Closed Beta, with new classes, maps, modes, abilities, weapons, controller and e-sport support, challenges, a league ranking system and much much more!

About Nosgoth
Developed by Psyonix, Nosgoth is a unique team-based player-versus-player game pitting together a variety of brutal Human and Vampire characters in a fight for survival. Created as a competitive free-to-play title in order to break down barriers between the creators and the players, Nosgoth doesn’t include weapons, items or abilities that are inherently better (aka supremacy goods). All items in the Nosgoth in-game store are side-grades not upgrades to create a fair game experience based purely on skill.

WIN – Ender’s Game and Filth on Blu-ray

Zac Elawar

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March 31, 2014

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We are pleased to have three new Icon Home Entertainment film packs to giveaway, each of which includes a copy of sci-fi epic Ender’s Game and the debaucherous and controversial Filth on Blu-ray. Please Note: Filth is rated R 18+. You have been warned! Click through the links above for our respective reviews.

To enter, please answer the following request in our comments section below.

Tell us the most horrendous, horrible, stupid or irresponsible thing you have done in your life? (Not necessarily “filthy”… let’s keep this PG. And nothing incriminating, of course….)

This competition will close on April 9th. Make sure you use a valid email when you register with Disqus before posting your comment so we can email you if you are one of our winners. If you choose to enter by logging in with your Facebook account, your email is not required.

Our thanks to the fine folks at Icon Films for enabling this competition, and good luck to everybody!

**SPECIAL NOTE**

Competition is open to AU Residents only.

Follow us on :

Twitter | FACEBOOK | YouTube | Google Plus | RSS

Check out our other Competitions here.

Alien: Isolation Stalking its Prey on October 7

Zac Elawar

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March 31, 2014

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October 7 is the date that the Alien game you’ve always wanted finally becomes a reality! SEGA Europe and Twentieth Century Fox Consumer Products have confirmed the release date of Alien: Isolation, for the Xbox One, Xbox 360, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3 and PC. Alistair Hope, Creative Lead at Creative Assembly, said;

We couldn’t be happier to finally announce a date for Alien: Isolation. The reaction we have seen so far has been simply incredible, from the screams and shrieks to the cold sweats and racing hearts. It’s the Alien game that we’ve always wanted to play and we can’t wait to let everyone get their hands on it this fall.

Alien: Isolation promises to capture the fear and tension evoked by Ridley Scott’s classic 1979 film, leaving players underpowered and underprepared as they are stalked by a huge Xenomorph. Check out the recent ‘dev diary ‘on how the developers at Creative Assembly went about creating the iconic Alien in-game.

GAME UK to Hand Out Pokemon Gifts for Easter

Kane Bugeja

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March 31, 2014

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GAME UK to Hand Out Pokemon Gifts for Easter

Pokemon-GAME-UK-Easter-Event-01 — **Isn’t it just the cutest?**

The Pokémon Company has announced an exciting Easter promotion for Pokémon X and Pokémon Y, with a special Pokémon Trading Card Game: XY expansion treat, available at GAME UK.

Starting April 4 and for a limited time only, trainers can collect two classics for their 3DS team. Those with Pokemon X can net themselves a shiny new Magmar, whilst players of Y will have access to Electabuzz. The redeemable codes for the characters will be printed on cash receipts upon request, so you don’t actually need to buy anything to acquire your new Pokepal. Thrifty.

If you’re feeling that Magmar and Electabuzz could be just that little bit cooler, each comes holding the item that will allow that to happen. With the Electirizer and Magmarizer in hand, Electabuzz and Magmar (respectively) will be able to evolve into Electivire and Magmortar once traded. Though you probably knew that already. Pokémon Trading Card Game fans can also get in on the action with a free Pokémon TCG: XY special sampling pack. Each of these packs will include a special foil Pikachu card, plus one additional card from the Pokémon TCG: XY expansion.

So head on in to GAME UK if you can and nab yourself two Pokemon that are sure to cause some serious nostalgia. Also be sure to check out the TV campaign focused on showing how TCG and video game content are part of a singular world of Pokemon. These promo spots will air from April 7th to 27th on CiTV, Cartoon Network, Disney XD and Sky Kids. So much Pokemon goodness, so little time.