As a crazed fan of Kill La Kill I am very excited to bring you news of the Anime’s next piece of merchandise and this time, well…it’s a big one! Kill La Kill has become mighty popular and for every hater out there I guarantee there’s at least 100 people who are absolutely loving it and with good reason too! It’s quirky, it’s comedic and it’s full of hardcore action!
Well it seems as though the folks over at “Phat!” (a merchandise manufacturer) and “Good Smile Company” (a merchandise distributor) have revealed that they are going to be selling a big piece of Kill La Kill merchandise starting up for pre-order next April and the figure will be of Ryuko Matoi (the main character) wearing Senketsu while in a battle pose, as you can see from the pictures within the article it is looking absolutely amazing and really is a must-have for fans of the series. The figure gets an actual release in June of next year (2014) but it goes up for pre-order in April, the figure will sell for about 8,800yen or US$84 so it’s fairly pricey but hopefully it is worth it.
Blood Lad fans will be happy to know that series creator Yuki Kodama will be involved in another anime project, however this time not an adaptation of one of Kodama’s manga series like Blood Lad, but rather one that features Kodama’s design work.
The series is Hamatora, which is planned to be a mixed-media franchise, which began with a manga in November. It will continue with the anime series starting in Winter 2014. The series follows a gaggle of super-power people called ‘Minimum Holders’ all of whom contain the ‘Minor Miracle’ power.
It looks to be one hell of an anime series. You can see for yourself in the Hamatora trailer below.
It has just been confirmed through Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump in Japan that two more series’ have been added to the all-star line up for the up and coming Namco Bandai brawler game J-Stars Victory Vs and of those two series’ comes one new playable characters and one new support character the likes of which fans of the Shonen genre and fans of Shonen Jump alike shall know very well.
Seiya of the series Saint Seiya will hit the battlefield as a brand-new playable character, he’s the Pegasus Saint and he’s ready to throw down with the rest of the tough roster, so far his moveset hasn’t been detailed but we’ve heard is that one of his attacks will be the “Pegasus Meteor Fist” though I’m sure fans of the series will already be imagining and speculating on how the character will play.
The second character to be added and the character that will serve as a brand new support type is Allen Walker the exorcist from the D.Gray-Man series, literally nothing has been said about what he will do as a support type but, once again, fans of the series will probably already be guessing. it has also been confirmed that up to four players can battle at the same time within the game, two people playing locally can search for players within the country who are also playing locally together and battle them.
The game is set for a releae in Japan on the 19th of March and, although Namco Bandai have said nothing about localising it in Australia or North America, I’m sure we’ll be seeing it in a local game store sooner or later, just keep hoping that it happens!
A trailer for the upcoming Winter 2014 anime series Buddy Complex has been released. The trailer details the anime’s plot and introduces the colourful cast of characters set to star in it. Oh and it also has robots fighting things of course.
Buddy Complex is a new mecha anime series from the creator’s of 2013 Anime of the Year nominee Valvrave the Liberator. The production is being handled by Sunrise studio with the series premiering on January 5th, 2014.
The series follows high school athlete Watase Aoba as he attempts to coerce his cute classmate Hina into doing a sexy promo video for his swim club. She agrees but with one condition – Aoba must pilot a mech and fight invading aliens.
You can check out the trailer below for a glimpse at what looks to be one of the standout anime of Winter 2014. Let us know what you think in the comments section below.
Ren and Stimpy first hit the air in 1991, it sported off-colour comedy which was mixed with a wacky and sometimes vulgar animation style, audiences loved it to a fair degree but I don’t believe it really hit its stride until later on in the life of the series where it became something along the lines of a “cult classic”. It has inspired a great deal of the cartoons that we’ve seen in recent years and you can tell that it has simply by watching it, it seems as though it is one of those series’ that works better as a source of inspiration rather than a full series in itself and while people continue to have a sense of love for this series, even to this day and age, the question is still: Does it still hold up as a great series even now? I guess we’ll get to that soon.
Story
As you can probably already imagine, Ren and Stimpy has no real connecting story throughout each episode, sometimes two or three episodes will continue off of each other but they’re usually shown back to back within a season so it’s not like you can really miss it. The overall story is very basic which isn’t bad for what it is…a cartoon. It’s about two “friends”; an idiotic cat and a seemingly know-it-all dog who, despite falling under the title of “friends” these two don’t particularly get along and it doesn’t often seem like they want to, get into a whole bunch of wacky and hallucination-like adventures which almost always end in one of the two getting seriously hurt by the other or by someone/something else that is just as equally ridiculous.
The thing I found odd but actually enjoyable about Ren and Stimpy was the way that the episodes were set out, it was almost like a cartoon talk show…let me explain a little more; some of the episodes were set out as normal, there was one full storyline and the two characters went through the usual motions but there were other episodes where there would actually be introductions are familiar lines that the characters have said before which leads the episode into what I’ll call a “segment”.
An example of that will be where Stimpy comes into the room as Ren watches TV and demands that they put it on a certain channel so that he can watch his favourite show, he then darts out of the room and puts on a costume that relates to the show, does the usually oddball routine and then the episode basically fades into a storyline similar to what they would be watching. It’s actually fairly clever and it’s different which is a huge tick in the “positive box”. Look it’s fairly basic, that’s obvious, and the fact is that it doesn’t need to be is exactly what makes it good, to have any kind of story within a cartoon such as this would be a huge mistake by the series creators, luckily Ren and Stimpy isn’t one of those cases.
Visuals
Cartoons all have their own unique styles, some do look similar to others but usually you’ll find that those particular series’ were made by the same company which seems to be the case with many Cartoon Network productions, on to my main point: Ren and Stimpy has an incredibly unique style to it and I can say with confidence that, despite what the series has inspired, no other show does what it does it as good as Ren and Stimpy… and yes, I’m looking at you, Spongebob Squarepants. It does a lot of what modern cartoons do now, the only difference is that it was the first to do so and it just so happens to do it very well.
I’m talking about things like quick-cuts and close-ups that show a grotesque and overly-detailed version of a certain characters within a scene, it’s something we see all the time and I feel as though of have to give credit to what seems as though is the originator, that’s just one of many examples but I’m sure you can see exactly what I’m getting at. It’s amazing because, for the most part, the animation holds up fairly well and while there is a certain degree of grain to the footage in the release and the animation is clearly dated it is done with enough style and finesse to keep a modern audience interested.
Audio
Usually when I watch normal cartoons I don’t seem to take much away from it auditorily, it’s just not something that usually pops out and makes an impact on me but I’ll give credit to Ren and Stimpy for being able to make even a slight impact strictly based on sound. For the most part the voice acting was great, with voice actors like Billy West (Fry from Futurama) as Stimpy who constantly made up for the voice of Ren you really can’t complain too much. Yes, there were voices that really got old very quickly and they were voiced by people who weren’t as skilled at the art as their co-stars but, as I mentioned, there were others who made up for it.
The music was great too but very typical for a cartoon of its calibre, the opening and ending themes were both very memorable and the music they used within the show was paired quite well with the actions of the characters within a scene which, yes, is actually very typical for cartoons to do and I think it is simply because they know it works and they can do it well. All the sound effects were well done and reminded me, vaguely, of the Three Stooges. Ren and Stimpy is all about slapstick comedy so pairing sounds with the actions is crucial, luckily Ren and Stimpy did a good job.
Extras
This release is most likely a dream for fans of the series because it came with a ton of on-disc extras that really delved deep into the behind-the-scenes action of the series and, honestly, it gives a certain insight into releases that normal research cannot do. A great deal of the episodes had audio commentary tracks that were recorded by members of the cast and they basically talk about what you’d imagine they’d talk about; what it was like to work on the series, favourite work stories, etc.
“Ren and Stimpy: In The Beginning” is a featurette that is exactly how it sounds, it outlines what the series was originally like, how it grew and basically how it all began. Storyboards and image galleries were also present on the discs but the most exciting extras that came with the release would have to be the unedited pilot episode and the banned episode which I can imagine a great deal of people haven’t seen and if they have seen it I’m sure they would want to own it too. I just found that the extras within this release covered as much as it could and it has really made for a great product that fans will enjoy.
Overall
Ren and Stimpy: Season 1 and 2 is a fantastic release all-in-all but I feel as though many people wont really enjoy the series, it’s fairly dated and was very weird when it was first released so I can imagine it wont be taken to very well in this generation, luckily it seems as though the release was directed at the original fans of the series considering the amount of prime extras that were added into it. It’s one of the original great cartoons and for those of you out there who are into very crude humour and crazy images of a cat and a dog going on wild adventures, well…I guess Ren and Stimpy is just for you. Keep in mind; the animation is dated and the humour may be too, you have to keep a very open mind when watching this but I’m sure if you’re reading this review right now, you’re just the person that this release was made for. Happy, happy…joy, joy.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
Call of Duty: Ghosts has received a new update on all platforms. This new “Heavy Duty” game mode is available for download on Xbox One, Xbox 360, PS3, PS4, and PC.
The new game mode gives players additional HP each time they spawn, making the player a lot beefier during firefights. In addition to this new game mode, additional weapon loadouts have been added to the Infected Mode and during squad play, your squad will earn additional points during its first five level.
The update also brings about a fix to an invisibility exploit and a bug where players could activate their perks, without any limits. There are also more minor fixes that can be found here on the COD: Ghosts Forums. If you’re still on the fence about whether or not to purchase this first person shooter, check out our review of Call of Duty: Ghosts.
24 December 2013, Milan – Milestone, one of the most recognized racing videogame developers and publishers for consoles and Windows® PC, release a video-interview for MXGP – The Official Motocross Videogame. This new exciting videogame is based on the official FIM Motocross World Championship and it will be available from March 2014 on PlayStation®3, PlayStation®Vita, Xbox 360® videogame and entertainment system from Microsoft and Windows PC®.
The protagonists of the Milestone’s interview are the well-known MXGP Italian riders Tony Cairoli, David Philippaerts and Davide Guarneri, and their MX2 compatriot Alessandro Lupino. All of them had the opportunity of discovering their own virtual avatars through a one2one meeting with the MXGP – The official Motocross Videogame’s Development Team.
“The main aim of MXGP is the loyalty to the Championship and for this reason we’ve invited some riders to help us into the development of the game such as: physics, tracks and audio. The riders had the chance to try an early version of the game and to share their own feedback. It has been very interesting seeing them in action: only who actually rides onto the real tracks can test deeply the game’s loyalty”, affirms Alessandro Castrucci, Milestone’s Game Director. “Thanks to these preliminary tests the riders have revised the tracks with the artists and the physics with the programmers giving interesting points that are now part of the game. Every single rider had the chance to try for several hours the game and answer to our questions such as the riding’s feeling and the real Motocross Bike’s behavior. What did they love the most? For sure the career mode that for the first time has been included into an official Motocross Videogame”, concludes Castrucci.
This exclusive partnership between MXGP’s Official Riders and Milestone is a clear proof of the attention to details and Gamers’ Experience that Development Team has included into the game.
MXGP features all the riders, teams, bikes and rules from the official MXGP 2013 calendar including a redesigned career mode for living the feelings of Motocross.
Developed by Milestone Studio, MXGP, The Official Motocross Videogamewill be available in spring 2014 for PlayStation®3, PlayStation®Vita, Xbox 360® and Windows PC®.
“Autumn Dynasty Christmas Sales: 40% Price Drop in Blackberry World and Google Play”
Singapore – Dec. 24, 2013 –
RTS developer Touch Dimensions is having a price drop for their game Autumn Dynasty, as part of their Christmas and New Year celebrations. From 25thDecember 2013 to 4th January 2014, Autumn Dynasty will be available at the Blackberry App world and Google Play at the discounted price of USD2.99.
Featured at BlackBerry Jam Europe, the game’s intuitive control scheme seeks to capture the spirit of classical manoeuvre warfare, allowing players precise control over hundreds of soldiers as they attempt to flank their foes or block an enemy advance. Using simple brushstrokes and gestures, players can train units, construct buildings and research stratagems.
Three game modes are available for players to explore: A grand story campaign with unique scripted levels, a free form Skirmish mode against AI opponents, as well as an instant action Blitz mode. Each of these has multiple difficulty levels, with achievements to be earned and competed on Scoreloop for the BlackBerry version.
Autumn Dynasty Features:
– Full Real-Time Strategy experience: train units, construct buildings, research upgrades!
– Convenience: Intuitive gesture controls allows for ease of gameplay
– Grand story campaign: Uncover the secrets of the White Devil Rebellion!
– Unlock unique special abilities: Use them in combination to turn the tide of battle!
– Beautiful, oriental style painted maps: Thousands of soldiers fighting onscreen!
Ace of Diamond Episode 10 – Hone Your Moving Fastball
From the very beginning of Ace of Diamond the anime has driven it home to viewers that there is something special about Eijun. While it has time and time again shown that he still has a long way to go, there are glimpses here and there of a greatness within him waiting to shine. Now that he has convinced Chris to mentor him, Eijun is now tasked with the challenge of honing his talents, in particular his unique moving fastball.
Eijun proves to be a challenging student for Chris in many ways and after the complete failure he suffered last week, Eijun is in dire need of a comeback. With the final spots on the first string hanging above him like a carrot, Eijun has a fire lit beneath him to get this right. Interestingly enough, while Chris may be the one molding him into an ace, it is Coach Kataoka who proves to be the one to give Eijun the push in the right direction here.
The Coach teaches him about towel training and gets him to practice his pitches in hope of honing the moving fastball that is unique to him. It is an interesting development to say the least to see Coach Kataoka coming to Eijun with advice. Up until this point he has taken a backseat role in regards to Eijun’s progress as a player, but there was always a hint that he saw something in Eijun. This episode we see that not only does he see something in him, but he wants to help him bring it out.
The character development in this one episode of Ace of Diamond is simply incredible. We see the cast grow in natural ways under the pressure that is applied upon them as they prepare to enter their first big tournament. Eijun, Furuya and Haruichi are desperately looking to impress the Coach and secure a spot on the first string. Chris is continuing to struggle with his inner desire to play more with his friends, despite his injury. Not only that we see that Chris and Tanba actually have quite an interesting friendship, one that is somewhat reminiscent of Eijun and Furuya’s friendly rivalry.
Of course the real development in this episode comes from Coach Kataoka, for the first time we see that he truly does believe in Eijun, so much so that he is willing to help him hone that skill in time for the big game. It is a quiet moment that has a big pay off for a student-teacher relationship that’s been built the whole series to this point.
Well with this episode the chips are truly down now. Eijun and friends are in the hot seat and are in a make or break situation. Right as we are heading into the game, there is a moment that feels very important. Eijun asks for Chris to play as his catcher and form a battery with him. Eijun’s respect for Chris is overflowing in this moment and it is a complete 180 of what we saw when he first learned he would be mentored by Chris. Where he once wanted nothing to do with him, he now sees him as a man worthy of his respect, someone he admires, someone he hopes to become.
It goes without saying that Chris has the heart of an ace, within him is the ability to unite an entire team, but with only months until his graduation, his time in the sun is nearing an end. If there is any last will of Chris for Seidou, it looks to be the teachings he is passing down to Eijun. He is passing the torch to Eijun, a diamond in the rough no doubt, but an ace at heart. With that one can only hope that we get to see Chris on the field for one last hurrah, he deserves a swan song and if it could be on field with Eijun that would just be gravy.
Last Exile: Fam, The Silver Wing Part 1 Studio:Gonzo Publisher: Madman Format: DVD (reviewed), Blu-ray Release Date: November 20, 2013 Price:$59.99 – Available Here
Overview
A number of years ago, the original Last Exile captivated us with its steam punk setting, airships bristling with cannons, compelling characters and a story that was quite literally out of this world. After a long absence the series returns as Fam, The Silver Wing, offering a sequel with a new cast of characters as well as some familiar faces.
Two years after the show originally aired in Japan, Madman brings the second season over with a fresh take on the Last Exile universe. Does Fam, The Silver Wing live up to fan expectations while staying accessible for newcomers?
Story
For those new to the series, Last Exile: Fam, The Silverwing comes with an extensive back story. Several years after the climactic conclusion of Last Exile, the planet is once again clean and fertile. A vast portion of humanity has returned to the surface from orbit, after escaping on colossal ships known as Exiles. The plot centres on the young sky pirate, Fam, and her good friend and navigator Giselle as they roam the skies in their speedy Vanship searching for larger airships to snag and plunder.
Last Exile has a truly wonderful setting, combining steam punk with science fiction elements that fans of space operas and political crises would love. Just replace space with sky and spaceships with intricate airships instead. Fam, The Silverwing retains this originality from its predecessor but with notable changes. Technology has improved and so weapons and vehicles now look different. Gone are the more archaic airships with musket-wielding linesmen, replaced with sleeker but more heavily armed ships. This makes the series more realistic, as it only makes sense for a sequel set several years in the future to feature newer technology.
It doesn’t take long for Fam and Giselle to become caught up in a larger-than-life conflict, as the dominating Ades Federation, led by Luscinia, declares war on the smaller kingdom of Turan before swiftly annihilating it. Turan’s king is on his deathbed and so responsibility passes to two young princesses, one of which is captured almost instantly. Straight away you’re hooked in the plot, loving the chemistry between Fam and Giselle while trying to figure out the motives behind some really mysterious (almost alien) characters. Luscinia is a pragmatic and cold man, but he’s not a maniac. What is he trying to accomplish by reducing the world’s population, thinking that the planet isn’t ready to sustain the returnees? With Princess Millia representing the last bastion of Turan, she is an obvious target for the sweeping Ades Federation.
Part 1 establishes most of the relationships and narrative of the series, and it’s filled with intrigue from the second episode onwards. The plot becomes even grander when more nations are placed on the chessboard, including the Russian-speaking Glacies and the Anatoray Kingdom. Those who love strategy and tactical battles will savour every grand ship battle in this series.
Returning fans will be glad to see several familiar faces, including Tatiana, Dio and even little Alvis, who is voiced by a different voice actress. Fam is your typical optimistic and stubborn, yet empathetic main character. She is dedicated to Millia and to see Turan rise again little by little, even if it starts from a small room on a ship.
Visuals
While earning something of a mixed reputation, Gonzo has done a great job with the Last Exile series and Fam, The Silver Wing is no exception. Range Murata’s character designs are beautifully animated and make you feel for the people in the show, despite being perhaps not as compellingly presented as the characters from the original Last Exile which felt tighter and more focused.
The interesting steam punk setting means that there’s always something new to see, as the world of the Last Exile borrows much from ours yet is incredibly foreign. CG is used heavily for ships and aerial battles but it presents an awesome spectacle rather than getting in the way and jarring the audience.
Audio
The highlight in the audio department is most definitely the sound track, with its classical folk-inspired strings, flutes and acoustic guitars making for a fantastical experience that puts you in a dramatic fairytale, whether it’s a fast-paced scene or a laid back episode.
The voice work is also handled well, but returning characters from the original series are voiced by different people in the English dub, as it’s been almost a decade since FUNimation released Last Exile. While most of the characters sound fine, Dio’s English misses the mark.
A great, exotic touch is the inclusion of Russian for the people of Glacies. Unfortunately, there is only one native speaker who voices Viola and sounds perfect, but the others sound completely garbled which is a shame. It’s still a worthy effort and it’s always a pleasure hearing other languages in anime.
Extras
Surprisingly, there are plenty of extras in Last Exile: Fam, The Silver Wing Part 1. Episode commentaries, textless openings and endings and trailers aside, buyers get a whole lot more such as Anime Expo 2011: Part 1, Fam Event Opening Movie and the spinoff anime CM series “Friday Night”, episodes 1 to 7 known as Kinyo no Yoru. This huge line up makes up for the relatively short first half of the series.
Overall
Part 1 of Fam, The Silver Wing launches what is surely an epic tale of political intrigue, war strategies and a fun, well-developed cast of characters. The turmoil and grand scale of events will have you on the edge of your seat but you will also be left feeling a little confused if you haven’t seen the original Last Exile. Being a sequel, it’s highly recommended to go back and watch it first. After seeing Part 1 it seems like Fam, The Silver Wing might not reach the lofty heights of its predecessor, but it’s still great when considering its fresh story and setting.
The pacing does suffer, however, as the odd number of 11 episodes and an unnecessary flashback episode causes the narrative to jump a little at the start of some episodes. There is even time for a bit of filler in some scenes, as Fam takes a break from the action to bond with her comrades. That being said, the intriguing mystique of the main villain, his plans for the world and the spectacular aerial battles will have you wanting to see more.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
A trailer for the upcoming Winter 2014 
