While things have been a bit quiet for Mugen Souls Z since NIS America announced that they would be bringing the game over to Western audiences, that doesn’t meant that the company has forgotten about the game. In fact they have released their first English trailer for the game as well as provided us with a release window for the game which is sometime in May.
The trailer highlights a number of features that the game includes, such as the ridiculous nature of the series and the insane amount of damage that players can inflict on enemies with all kinds of strange attacks. But don’t take my word for it, check out the trailer below.
A new episode of Sakura Trick is here and my oh my do I have an F based impressions post for you. Whilst watching this episode I couldn’t help but notice a few themes that revolved around that particular letter, this is entirely coincidental I do realize, but I think it’s a pretty cool one and will result in an interestingly fun impressions post this week. So without any more stalling or faffing around let’s look at the five fascinating focuses featured in this fantastic episode, brought to you by the letter F (unfortunately it’s number six in the alphabet, damn the flow was so close).
5- A: Let’s Have Tea With Onee-Chan
Festival: in episode two we saw the significance in the school closing down in relation to the athletics day, in this episode it’s the schools cultural festival that’s under the spotlight. Yuu wakes up after class to find out that Haruka has left with Ikeno and Iizuka to the local coffee shop, what she doesn’t know is that Mitsuki has also joined them in order to talk about the festival. At first Mitsuki rejects their proposal of being in their production of snow white, but then changes her mind during in the second half of the episode.
Much like in episode two the cultural festival is very important to Yuu, only this time the reason is less selfish; as it will be the final festival for first years Yuu wants to perform with her older sister while they are both at school, the importance she places on not only Haruka but also her own family shows how caring Yuu can really be. But wait there’s more, and keeping with our little theme the next story just so happens to be a Follow up.
5-B: Witches and Apples and Onee-Chan
As the cultural festival draws ever so closer the six girls are planning the roles for Snow White, surprisingly the role that’s most sought after isn’t the main princess herself but rather the witch. During this discussion Mitsuki tries to look in on Haruka and Yuu and ends up being caught by the Ikeno, who then points out to her that by participating she will be able to observe the pair without looking suspicious.
After Mitsuki agrees to be a part of the production she gets the role of Snow White, this turns out to be even more awkward for her when Haruka is playing the prince and they have to re-enact the kissing scene. This would be the part where you’d expect an almost yuri moment between Haruka and Mitsuki but thankfully this doesn’t happen (I’ll get to that reason in a bit), instead we get an ending where Yuu and Haruka are kissing underneath a cape… in class… the same room as the other four girls and most of their classmates.
Although ending with yuri is now expected this is quite a bold move as they are displaying their affecting in front of everyone, a very fearless act if you ask me. Now that both halves have been talked about it’s time to move on to what’s really important in any comedy show…
Funnies:I am happy to say that this episode has picked up in its humour; there were scenes from both the first and second story that used the girls’ interactions for its set up and resulted in some pretty funny moments. The most entertaining parts from the first story came from a conversation Yuu, Shizuko and Kotone were having whilst walking to the café, the cafe name itself… come on guys what brand do you think they’re trying to depict… and the successful hi-five moment when Ikeno and Iizuka guess’ Mitsukis’ favourite drink (which just so happens to be Yuus’ favourite too).
There’s also a suggestive wink Iizuka give to Mitsuki, almost in a black mail-ish way which is a nice call back to the events that have happened in previous episodes. In the second episode we get a great depiction of both Yuu and Shizuka acting out the role of the witch, the contrast in both performances is spot on to how they would normally behave and ends up being a great scene. We then get Mitsuki misinterpreting the scene between her and Haruka, leading to an almost yuri kiss until Yuu interrupts them in a manner that best fits the jealous side of her. The way that all girls interacted definitely made the scenes funnier, combine this with the follow up nature of the festival approaching and we get an almost enjoyable episode. Unfortunately as much as I like this one there were two major F’s that just put me off and I fear it’s going to be more frequent in the future.
Fantasies: Surely I can’t be the only one who finds Mitsukis’ imagination just plain old irritating, I get the joke: she’s having romantic thoughts about Haruka for some weird reason, but it doesn’t add anything to the show. I do realize the scenes are for comedic effect because they are the same thoughts Yuu would be having, however they originated out of nowhere and don’t seem to be leading up to anything.
If these feelings were further developed then it would be interesting as it would cause more tension between her, Haruka and especially Yuu, but I have a feeling this would be too heavy for the show and they will make it nothing more than a quick laugh. Now then, on to the other F that jiggled me the wrong way with this episode…
Fan service: Again much like Mitsukis’ weird Haruka thoughts, the fan service in this episode was only used to get a quick laugh from its audience. Now granted the show did have small traces of fan service in previous eps (and especially in the OP) but in this one they decided to increase the amount of chest close ups and jiggling, which for the most part added nothing to the jokes. There was a scene in the café where Harukas and Mituskis boobs were used as a setup, but the constant close ups made the joke a bit too obvious resulting in the punch line not being as funny as it should’ve been.
You can obviously tell they added in more fan service than usual because for the first time the show has given us an extra at the end of the episode, and it just so happens to be scenes of Shizuko washing herself, she even says the purpose of it was for fan service.
Apart from the previously mentioned points I did overall, as usual, enjoy watching this episode. The plot is getting more focused around wanting to do things before the school shuts down, so there is genuine emotion when a decision doesn’t go according to plan, and I did get more laughs out of this one then previous episodes. I’m still holding out for another fantastically awesome scene like the veranda jump or volleyball and this episode showed me that the wait may soon be over. And now as I finally finish frantically fretting over this post, I can reserve a front row seat for the special performance in episode 6.
Sakura Trick is animated by Studio Deen and is currently being streamed, by Crunchyroll. Don’t forget to check out our Anime Impressions page to see what shows the other Capsule Computers anime crew is watching this season.
Ahead of its Spring 2014 premiere, Production I.G. have released a promo trailer for the hotly anticipated volleyball animeHaikyu!! The series is of course based upon the popular Shonen Jump volleyball manga of the same name.
The trailer while giving very little away does feature the two main protagonists briefly as they perform a combination spike. It is a stunning sight of animation and is truly of the quality that we’ve come to expect from the legendary Production I.G.
Be sure to check out the Haikyu!! anime trailer below for a glimpse of the volleyball insanity. Stay tuned for more information on this anime as it comes to light.
Today the first English trailer for Hyperdimension Neptunia Producing Perfection, or simply Hyperdimension Neptunia PP, has been released by NIS America and in it we not only get to see some new footage of the game but also get a chance to hear the English dub for the characters in event scenes. It is currently unknown whether or not the game will feature dual-audio, though it appears that the songs will remain in Japanese.
As for the story of this spin-off, the world has been at peace thanks to the power of the CPUs, but when idols start becoming more popular than the CPUS, their power-shares begin to vanish, meaning the only way for the CPUs to gain their shares back is to become idols themselves. The title will allow players to guide their CPUs idol careers as they play the manager which will help select costumes and songs for their CPU to perform on stage.
Today NIS America has announced that they will be bringing Disgaea 4: Return, the enhanced PS Vita port of Disgaea 4, to North America and Europe this Summer under the revised name of Disgaea 4: A Promise Revisited.
This Vita version not only contains the entire original game including all of the DLC released for it but also a number of new characters, cameo appearances from characters from past Disgaea titles, new scenarios, and also some more backstory to some of the players’ favorite characters. A few screenshots for the game as well as a trailer for Disgaea 4: A Promise Revisited can be found below.
At long last the Inazuma Eleven franchise sees the light of day in North America with the release of the original Inazuma Eleven game today on the Nintendo eShop.
While the series has struggled to get localized in the states for quite some time, it is finally available for 3DS owners via the eShop. It is priced at a smooth $19.99 and is ready for kick-off!
You can check out the launch trailer for the game below. If you’re in North America and have never gotten a chance to take a gander at Inazuma Eleven, now is the time to go soccer-crazy with Endo Mamoru and his soccer-loving pals.
While many of us believed that Fairy Fencer F would be making its way to the West eventually, it was up in the air for a bit but thankfully gamers can breath easy. Today NIS America has announced that they will be releasing Fairy Fencer F in North America and Europe through retail and digital outlets this year.
This game, while developed by the team behind Hyperdimension Neptunia, features a number of high profile names working alongside the development team. The story of Fairy Fencer F takes place many years after a war was fought between the Goddess and the Vile God and because they were so evenly matched, they created numerous special weapons containing the life force of a fairy.
By using these weapons, these gods fought each other until they sealed themselves away. Despite how many years have passed, their weapons remain highly sought after prizes by warriors named “Fencers” who are capable of wielding these destructive objects. When a young man named Fang suddenly pulls a “Fury,” as the weapons are called, from a stone, he becomes a Fencer and finds himself changing the course of his destiny.
With Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc only available in North America for two days at this point, and not even released yet in Europe, NIS America has announced that they will be bringing the game’s sequel to the West this fall as both a digital and retail title that is now being called Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair.
Players will once again take the role of a high school student that is taken to Jabberwock Island for a “lovey-dovey, heart-throbbing school trip” with their “super cute” teacher only for Monokuma to appear and restart the killing game. With the students trapped on the island and the only way to escape being to murder a classmate or solve the mystery of the island, players will experience new mini-games as they try to discover the truth.
Today to kick off a night of game announcements, NIS America has announced that they will be bringing Battle Princess of Arcadias to North America and Europe this year as a digital download. The game will feature Japanese audio with English subtitles and to help show off the game, they have released a trailer for the title which can be found below.
Battle Princess of Arcadias follows the story of Battle Princess Plume as she ventures out to restore peace to her kingdom named Schwert which has become overrun by monsters. Along the way Plume will find new weapons and allies that will help in her battle against monsters of all shapes and sizes.
Earlier today at the Nintendo Direct press conference, Nintendo and Monolith Soft revealed some brand new gameplay footage for the hotly anticipated spiritual successor to the Xeno series, currently known only as X.
The gameplay footage highlights the combat mechanics and the on screen display. Also featured is a plethora of monsters and characters set to be featured in X.
X is set for an exclusive release on the Wii U. No release date has been officially confirmed for a Western release of X. Be sure to check out the gameplay video for X below. Stay tuned for further information on X as it comes to light.
