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Vocaloid Night 2013 – Presented by SMASH! Announced

June 23, 2013

Moments ago, one of the bigger Anime conventions here in Australia, SMASH! announced that they will be hosting an Anime dance party themed on the popular Vocaloid music selection inside of Japan. This party will be held in Sydney and is open to all Anime (and non) fans aged 18 and over.

The dance party itself will be host to a wide variety of music from the immensely popular virtual Vocaloid popstar, Hatsune Miku, and will have renown Japanese DJ Hachioji P (8#Prince) providing mixes. Also at the event is another popular DJ, Kz, from the group Livetune.

The Press Release goes into great detail about the careers of both of the DJ’s. We have reproduced the most relevant and interesting sections below –

Hachioji P spearheaded his career in music creation with the Vocaloid program featuring the vocals of Hatsune Miku. With a view count of over 8million, his most famous works include “Sweet Devil” and “Electric Love”, made in collaboration with MMD (Miku Miku Dance) producer Wakamura P. These music videos feature electric sounds with a dance music base, and high quality video taking him instantly into the Vocaloid Music World’s hall of fame. Ranking high with his music releases, he has gained the attention of audiences around the world with features from NHK’s Weekly News, and tie-up theme song titled “Fukayomi feat. Hatsune Miku” which was used as the theme song for the show attracting over half a million views in just 5 days.
Hachioji P has also collaborated with famous creators such as kz of livetune for the Playstation Vita software “Hatsune Miku – Project DIVA – f” with the split release of “Weekender Gir” and “fake doll”. More recently, he has been involved in producing work for real vocalists such as Shouko Nakagawa, Hikari Shiina. He has also done arrangement work for Kikkawa Yuu, Watanabe Mayu (AKB48) and Hirano Aya.
New Album ViViD WAVE will be released under his new record label Toy’s Factory on the 17th of July.
Kz (livetune) famous for his album and single releases using the Vocaloid software and featured vocals of Hatsune Miku, first made his major debut with “Re: package” in August 2008 ranking 5th on the weekly charts in Japan. Kz has contributed to the world wide success of Hatsune Miku with his hit song “Redial” where the music video was created in collaboration with world famous designer creator Takashi Murakami. His best known work so far is undoubtedly the song “Tell Your World” that brought Hatsune Miku to theadvertising campaign in Japan for Google Chrome web browser. This song received over 1million views in the first week, and is currently at over 6.6million views.
More recently, he has collaborated with various famous artists and commercial tie-ups, composing songs for KOTOKO, ClariS, Maon Kurosaki, Ryo of Supercell, Hachioji P, Nakajima Megumi,TM Revolution, Zedd and much much more.
In June 2013 he released “Take Your Way” which includes vocals from the hit band SEKAI NO OWARI his latest work.

Vocaloid Night 2013 will be held at the Pontoon Bar in Sydney at Darling Harbour on the 10th of August. Be sure to check out the official website for ticketing and more info.

vocaloid-night-presented-by-smash-001 — Click for full size.

Hanabee Licenses Lupin The Third: A Woman Called Mine Fujiko

Frank Inglese

June 23, 2013

Hanabee Licenses Lupin The Third: A Woman Called Mine Fujiko

Just this afternoon at this years Sydney Supanova we got word from Hanabee that they have scored the license for the series; Lupin The Third: A Woman Called Mine Fujiko. There has been some great news that came out of Hanabee in the past couple days and this sweet release is just the icing on the cake that is awesome anime releases. The series is thirteen episodes long and will be released in two separate parts; part one will be released on the 16th of October and part two will be released on the 20th of November. The release is to mark the 40th Anniversary of this huge series and what a great one it is. There will be a limited edition combo pack and hardcover book that will be released along side the standard editions. The animation studio behind it is the same that did both Baccano and Knight Rayearth.

If you have no idea what Lupin The Third: A Woman Called Mine Fujiko is then keep on reading because you’re about to find out. It is a series directed by Sato Yamamoto who did Redline, Eureka Seven, Samurai Champloo and much more. The music of the series will be done by none other than Shinichiro Watanabe himself who directed Cowboy Bebop, Samurai Champloo and Kids On The Slope which is another great Hanabee release.

The official Hanabee series synopsis is as follows:

Behind every great man, there is a great woman. A cult has become the target of Lupin III’s latest heist but he might not be the only one after the treasures that their leader has kept hidden. It seems the alluring lover of the cult leader may just be a thief herself and more than capable to handle Lupin in the race for the treasure. But in this chase to outsmart the other, this little game takes a twist for the unexpected when Lupin has set his sights beyond the cult’s treasure to the female thief herself. Her name, Fujiko Mine, and Lupin may just be a little infatuated with this femme fatale beauty. What he doesn’t know is that behind her wily charms lies a greater tragedy at hand.
This is the story of how Lupin III, the greatest thief of his generation, met his match in Fujiko Mine.

Once again Part one of Lupin The Third: A Woman Called Mine Fujiko will be released on the 16th of October so keep an eye out and start getting excited. Also don’t forget to hit up our comments section below to drop us a line.

Chris Claremont’s X-cellent Supanova Seminar

Matthew Vella

June 23, 2013

Chris Claremont’s X-cellent Supanova Seminar

Even if you’ve never heard the name Chris Claremont before, you’re most likely aware of his work with comics, especially the X-Men. All the X-Men movies are largely based on his work, especially X-2 which takes influences from God Loves, Man Kills, and X-Men: The Last Stand which draws inspiration from the classic Dark Phoenix Saga. If that’s not enough for you, he’s created about 500 comic book characters and even co-wrote the best-selling comic book of all time. Today at Supanova 2013 Claremont held a seminar discussing his work, where fans were eager to ask questions and learn more about the legendary writer.

A major focus during the seminar was The Dark Phoenix Saga, where he spoke of killing off Jean Grey. When asked what he thought about other writers bringing her back from the dead, he said “I’ve been in better moods.” In fact, when he first heard it was going to happen while eating dinner at a pub, he ran down to the office enraged, only to find out it was locked and walked all the way back to the pub to finish his dinner.

Yet another character he was asked about was Captain Britain. Stan Lee said they needed a new character to appeal to the British market and Claremont put his hand up excited, stating his thoughts were along the lines of “Hey it’s a gig! $12 dollars a page? That’s $120! That’s rent for the month!” With this in mind, he wasn’t upset about other writers who later on changed the character. While ten issues were published, Claremont revealed he actually wrote eleven. The first issue was apparently “trashed” because it didn’t have an origin. He suggested the second issue could tell the origin story, but Stan Lee said that idea was “stupid”.

When asked about his Wolverine collaboration with Frank Miller, Claremont told the audience a story about how he was giving Miller a three and a half hour lift in his car. Claremont said that Miller originally didn’t want to do Wolverine because he thought the character just snarled and killed things, but Claremont convinced him there was a lot of depth to the character. The plot for the debut issue was 20 pages long, single spaced in 12 point font with excruciating detail. Details included the color of the water and the breed of bear Wolverine fought. However soon after this, Claremont realised Miller had the same idea for the texture and just needed the action to pencil. So Claremont then learned to “shut up” and by the fourth issue the plot was done within just a 20 minute phone call. He also joked that the reason Wolverine is popular is because “he is Hugh Jackman” and in the next film he would like to seem him do a dance number with Anne Hathaway. But then said he thinks the character is popular because he has lots of mystery, and the worst thing a writer can do is to reveal Wolverine’s personal secrets.

When asked what his favourite X-Men was, he struggled to think of one but eventually settled on saying Kitty Pryde. He said he spent 5 years fighting to get Kitty but then the “son of a gun” Joss Whedon killed her off by sending her away in a “giant space bullet” which he thinks was cheesy. That being said, he concluded with “…but I like Joss. I saw The Avengers four times!”

Another major theme of the seminar is the future of his works. In regards to The Wolverine and X-Men: Days of Future Past, he said he’ll be just as surprised as we will be as he doesn’t know anything about them. He said he doesn’t know what WILL happen, just what SHOULD happen as he wrote the source material. When asked about Days of Future Past being set in 2013 (it was published in 1981), he defended himself by stating “I didn’t think we’d make it to 2013…we were on the brink of nuclear war!”

Bugs vs Tanks, Luigi, and More hit the eShop

Dustin Spencer

June 23, 2013

Bugs vs Tanks, Luigi, and More hit the eShop

After a good showing at E3, Nintendo have came out swinging with this week’s showing in the eShop, with an update that includes both new and old. The big-hitter this week is none other than New Super Luigi U, which retools over 80 stages of New Super Mario Bros. U for the brother in green. Now, keep in mind that in August, this title will receive a stand-alone disc for the platform, but those wanting the pack as DLC should definitely consider giving this bro a go.

Game and Wario also debuts this week on June 23rd, and looks like a brand new type of Wario mini game fun to be had, featuring 16 games that take full advantage of the Gamepad controller.

As for the Virtual Console, Wii U owners can now find Wrecking Crew and Mario Bros., both selling for $4.99 each. The 3DS version of the service is going blue this week, with several Sega Game Gear titles seeing a release, such as Tails’ Adventure ($4.99), Sonic Blast ($3.99), and Defenders of Oasis ($3.99). The Blue Bomber can also be found in Mega Man 6, bringing yet another classic installment to the 3DS at $4.99.

The big title to talk about this week is Keiji Inafune’s oddball action romp titled Bugs vs Tanks. As part of the Guild series, this game can be purchased for $7.99 and offers some interesting combat mechanics with a full Streetpass feature as well some co-op. The music software tool Rhythm Core Alpha 2 has also come available for $9.99, while Farming Simulator 3D does what is promised at the same price point.

Finally, those looking for a nice sale should invest in Little Inferno for just $4.99 (until June 26th), and also take a gander at Super Little Acorns 3D Turbo while it is marked down to $3.99 for the time being.

And there you have it! A huge week with a lot to talk about. What are you going for?

HEXODIUS Escapes onto Steam, Still on Way to XBLA

Simon Wolfe

June 23, 2013

HEXODIUS Escapes onto Steam, Still on Way to XBLA

Indie developer Brain Slap Studios and publisher Namco Bandai Games Europe have just put out the new twin-stick shooter HEXODIUS. The game tasks players to explore, equip, and escape from six different worlds through levels varying in objectives from survival, destruction, and defense. Players better watch out though as additional enemies are added throughout the game for a total of 25 enemy droid types, each with there own powers.

HEXODIUS doesn’t leave the player drone completely outmatched however and provides more than 40 customization upgrades and items that can be mixed and matched to create the plenty of combinations to try out. With all that on their side, players stand a chance against all the enemies and bosses to be able to reach the end, plus each difficulty also has its own ending.

Players wanting to see HEXODIUS in action can check out the trailer embedded below, while those wanting to download the game on PC can find it on Steam. Those that prefer console will also be able to enjoy HEXODIUS when it releases this Autumn for XBLA.

Nintendo’s Supanova Booth Is A Gamers Dreamland!

Frank Inglese

June 23, 2013

That’s no exaggeration either! The Sydney Supanova Pop Culture Expo, much like a great deal of the expos out there, is just filled to the brim with eager fans and crazy cosplayers not to mention the tons of big, bulky booths that we all move around throughout the day. Nintendo decided to go with something a little bit different this year and by “a little” I mean “something damn smart, and damn awesome”! Basically the thought that must’ve went through the minds of the people organising the Nintendo booth was: “Let’s make this a Nintendo Gamer chill out paradise” and they pretty much did that.

Basically the setup was in a rectangular shape, there were no doors, no walls, nothing to get in your way. The place was decked out with tables of Nintendo 3DS XLs that were constantly on charge and constantly being played. There were, let’s say, three different sections: One was a table where players could bring their own consoles to sit and link up with others, another was a few tables where 3DS consoles were already set up with particular games so you could try them out and the third was the Pokemon-themed area which basically had beanbags and chairs so trainers could get comfy and battle their rivals. Did I mention the Wii Us that were set up in between? Because they were getting just about as much attention as everything else.

The staff working at the booth were incredibly helpful, they made sure everyone was comfortable and that they were all connected and having fun, they were easy going and didn’t shy away from anyone. They really made it so that everyone felt comfortable and believe me they looked comfortable too.

Nintendo, through the Supanova site, encouraged all gamers to bring along their consoles and a bunch of the new released games like Animal Crossing: New Leaf, Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate, Fire Emblem: Awakening, Pokemon Black and White 2 and so many more. I feel it’s safe to say that the crowd favourite was definitely Animal Crossing: New Leaf.

The Nintendo Lounge/Booth will be at both the Sydney Supanova and the Perth Supanova so if you’re around I suggest you go in and take a load off while chilling out and playing some games…We did so you should to!

Lauren Tom: the Futurama is Now at Supanova

Zac Elawar

June 23, 2013

Lauren Tom is a consumate professional. Everybody loves her and her work, especially on Futurama. Now, it getting cancelled may seem to contradict that, but there are more factors at play on that decision, some of which were discussed in her panel Q&A session at the Supanova Pop Culture Expo 2013.

Amy Wong is just one of the beloved cast of the animated series Futurama, but Lauren also voiced her mother Inez on the show; one of two mother-daughter combos she has voiced in television – the other being Minh & Connie Souphanousinphone in King of the Kill, her first big, recurring, long-form V.O. job in the business. Expectedly so, one attendee asked how similar she is to Amy;

I’m not as slutty, I’ll say that! At least I hope not. […] She was really kickass and that’s just not my energy. I think Matt Groening just really loved my laugh and so he took me in on that.

Lauren also featured on 6 episodes across two seasons of the popular series Supernatural as Mrs. Linda Tran. She recalled what it was like working with co-stars (and faces of the show) Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki;

He’s so hard to look at, isn’t he?! [Jensen]. He’s just so ugly! […] Jared was like a prankster; they were like my kids because they were so goofy.

A bit of a spoiler ahead, but when asked if we might see her character return in the upcoming 9th season, Lauren said;

I was gonna ask you that! I really don’t know. The fan base has always told me that Crowley [a main demon on the show] is a notorious liar so I hope I can still come back.

It’s funny that Lauren played such a badass character in Mrs. Tran because she is so polite and unassuming. She even said that attitude was drawn out of her from that shoot and that she got into an argument over a parking spot and did not back down! Now that’s tough. Street tough. What brought her back down to reality for a moment was someone mentioning her role on The Cosby Show way back when;

Oh my God, you remember that? You’re not old enough to remember that! That was really fun. Bill was great. They had me on The Tonight Show; he was the guest before me and he talked so long that I got bumped!

Things took a bit more of a serious turn when Lauren was asked if her nationality ever got in the way of landing a gig, or presented any limitations of any kind;

On the on-camera side of things, it’s been a gradual process. It’s definitely been a challenge, but it’s gradually getting better. […] With voice acting, what’s good about it is that I could be an old Jewish broad [does accents] or a little boy and it doesn’t matter what age or race I am.

Another point of interest was the level of involvement that Matt Groening actually had with Futurama. Lauren was also asked about her experience working and being around John DiMaggio (voice of Bender);

On Groening: Matt woud be there every single week. But he also really relied on David [X. Cohen] and the writers they chose. He didn’t come to the records, but he had massive input.
On DiMaggio: John was in a tattoo parlour at 2 o’clock in the morning one time and asked the tattoo artist “has anyone ever asked for a Bender tattoo?” and the guy was like “yeah, this dude here is getting one right now”. So he went over and signed the guy’s neck below the Bender tattoo, which the man then got tattooed as well.

After some pretentious twit tried to hold a lecture over what makes a successful show and why Futurama was cancelled – as if Lauren or the actual people involved in making the show have no idea how the business works – Lauren mentioned that the DVD sales are what initially brought it back from the brink the first time, imploring us to go buys some more! She then wrapped it all up with a point on working with Aaron Sorkin on The Newsroom and how people have differing approaches to a script or filming in general;

For The Newsroom, the script must be followed to the tee. But Aaron is an amazing writer. I added the word “so” because it felt so natural to me and really smoothed over the scene for me, but we had to do another take and it was a long scene so I felt guilty and bad for the rest of the cast and crew who had to redo their perfect deliveries/work.

And that was all the time we had with the sweet and down to Earth Lauren Tom. If you’re a fan of Futurama by the way, never give up on supporting it; every little bit helps. Stay tuned to Capsule Computers for more Supanova coverage.

David Hasselhoff: The Hoff Abides at Supanova

Zac Elawar

June 22, 2013

The Hoff is an interesting character. I am unsure half the time whether he is completely genuine, or a chauvinistic, self-promoter. Honestly, I think after today, I have come to understand that he is a man that loves the entertainment industry and feels blessed to be a part of it, and that means a lot.

At the Supanova Pop Culture Expo 2013, Hasselhoff came out singing, before expressing his love for Australia and equating his point of view in life to ours. Obviously we have Bondi Beach too – Hoff did say “if it were nice outside, nobody would be here. I’d be at the beach!”. Thanks Hoff… he was just kidding (I hope?). Another thing I learned about Hoff is that he is very candid. He at one point stated;

My life has been a series of ups and downs. The only person that knocks me down is me. And I do a pretty good job of that. When you wake up in a hospital in Berlin, and have no idea why, you know you’re in trouble!

Hoff showed his good sense of humour, although some of his jokes/stories almost crossed the PG/M rated line. He felt it important to get “the obvious” out of the way early;

Did I sleep with Pamela Anderson? …The answer is, yes! However, I am a chronic liar! No, we didn’t and we’re great friends. When everyone was being sexist and starting those rumours, Pamela and I were laughing all the way to the bank.

Hoff gave us a rundown of his upcoming projects (some were inquired about, others he felt we needed to know). A show called ‘Hoff Presents: We love the 80s and 90s’ will be touring soon, showcasing classic rock bands from those eras. He will also be opening up a resort/restaurant in Bali called ‘Hoff’s Hideaway’. And, we received an update on the planned Baywatch musical, which is going to be in the West End and is completely financed. There’s even a Knight Rider film in early pre-production that he thinks is being turned into a comedy. “Go figure!”.

He also has a film coming up that he is producing called ‘Killing Hasselhoff’. It’s about some college guys that have a death pool. One takes a job to kill the star for money. Hoff explains that he would just “triple whatever he was paid with royalties from Baywatch”. Somebody in attendance inquired about possible outtakes during the filming of Baywatch, possibly of the cast tripping or falling over whilst running…yes, that specific. Hoff responded with “no, we weren’t drunk!”

He did explain the story behind the slow motion used in the show. As most would know, the show was cancelled before it even really hit the ground, but Hoff proceeded to procure the rights to the show for just a single dollar! After putting his house on hoc, Hoff and the producers self-financed the show and brought it back. They developed the first new episode, but were 8 minutes short. So, a scantily clad lady caught their attention (naturally) and they had the bright idea of filming her and putting it in slow motion. They added her into the show simply to fill the time gap. So it wasn’t a stylistic choice, but one borne of necessity/desperation as they had run out of money to shoot something entirely new and substantial. The effect was an easy solution, so it was then placed in the opening credits.

The best part of the Q&A session for me was when the Hoff started bagging out his current manager, who surely must’ve been around somewhere nearby..;

Never go to an agent. I got chewed out by my manager today! He said to “stop writing everybody back, that’s my job!” He’s taking 15% just to manage my emails, and I’m on my email all the time anyway!

Oh, and his response to a lady wearing a tiger onesie – as you do at any nerdy convention – was brilliant;

Why are you dressed like a tiger? Are you on medication? Can I have some? No seriously, I don’t drink anymore, I only do drugs, can I have some?

Oh, Hoff! Check out our gallery below of pics we took from the panel. He got pretty up close and personal…thank God he didn’t start serenading us!

Interview with Alex Saviuk

Vicky Martin

June 22, 2013

On the second day of Supanova 2013, I became acquainted with the marvellous Alex Saviuk, better known as the comic artist for Marvel’s Spiderman and The Phantom. During the autograph sign and poster sale panel, we were able to get an interview with Alex and ask him a few questions about his work and what comic characters he enjoys drawing.

CC: Which comic character do you think best suits you?

Alex: Well considering that I have been drawing Spiderman for now 26 years, I have to say Spiderman will be my main say, although I have been drawing The Phantom on and off also for about, well over 25 years fan and currently going to be working on The Phantom at least every year.

CC: That’s also your favourite comic book character, The Phantom?

Alex: Oh yes, definitely. I’ve been familiar with The Phantom even much longer than Spiderman, when I was a young child. When my dad brought home the Sunday papers and I got to see the Phantom there. Basically that was probably my first exposure to a character with a costume on and for some reason or other I just enjoyed it. He was a hero and he was a good guy. I was also a big fan of Tarzan as a little kid, so the fact that he was in a jungle and on a horse and yeah, it was just really cool.

CC: What do you think your most memorable work is? What are you best known for?

Alex: Over the 36 years that I’ve been doing comics, I am most known for drawing Spiderman, because I have been drawing him every year since 1987, so that’s 26 years. As far as my best work, I’d always like to say that my last job that I’ve done, that I turn it into my best job. Although I can honestly go through a list of favourites that I’ve had throughout the years, that I enjoyed working on. Although, I can say my last one is my best one for the time being.

CC: Thank you Alex so much for your time!

Alex: Well thanks for having me!

We want to thank Alex Saviuk for speaking to us here at Capsule Computers. You can check out all of Alex’s work on the following two websites here and here and can follow him on Twitter here.

AWF Wrestling lays the smackdown at Supanova Sydney

Luke Halliday

June 22, 2013

AWF Wrestling lays the smackdown at Supanova Sydney

It wouldn’t be a Supanova without AWF Wrestling and this year like the years that have come before it, AWF Wrestling has excited pop-culture fans with the heroes and villains butting heads within the squared circle, sometimes even with some gold on the line.

Fans in attendance were lucky enough to witness several brilliant matches during Supanova Sydney 2013, including the monstrous Massive Q taking on Concrete and Shanesaw in a two-on-one handicap match. Not only that but there was even a few title matches, including a tag-team title bout and AWF title bout.

It goes without saying that Massive Q dominated the entire card, squashing one his opponents with ease. However it was the Tag Team title bout that saw the most incident.

With interference being run by the Tasmanian team’s manager, Dean Draven sure had his hands full trying to hold onto his gold. In the end though, Draven sealed the deal with a jaw-dropping flying headbutt from the top rope, in what was easily the best bout of the day.

Interestingly enough, Massive Q has actually appeared on Capsule Computers Wrestling Podcast, CC Powerslam. You can check out his appearance on the podcast right here. Q discussed the lost art of ‘Big Men’ wrestlers and the differences between WWE and a promotion like AWF.

You can check out some awesome pictures of AWF’s shows from today’s Supanova convention. It goes without saying that AWF Wrestling truly laid the smackdown on Supanova with incredible in-ring action and compelling match-ups. AWF Wrestling is simply the premier wrestling promotion in Australia, no doubt about it.