At the San Diego Comic Con Marvel studios has revealed the next 4 movies to come out for the next 2 years.
Iron Man 3 – May 3, 2013
Thor: The Dark World – November 8, 2013
Captain America: The Winter Soldier – April 4, 2014
Guardians of the Galaxy – August 1, 2014′
There is still no word on the second Wolverine film or the Deadpool film. The plots for the 4 marvel films is still a mystery, but it could be safe to say that Captain America 2 will feature The Winter Soldier who was the originally Bucky (Captain Americas sidekick). More detailes should be released about the films in the coming months, but which film are you most excited to see?
At the San Diego Comic Con Mortal Kombat Legacy director Kevin Tancharoen released a video announcing what we can expect in the second season of Mortal Kombat Legacy. The story will now take us to the Mortal Kombat Tournament, and will see many of the characters from last season reappear – as well as some new faces.
For those of you who have yet to see Mortal Kombat Legacy you can check out the first season here. There is no word yet on when season 2 will start, but you can expect some epic fights.
Today at San Diego Comic Con, Activision has announced that High Moon Studios the people who brought us Transformers War for Cybertron and Fall of Cybetron are hard at work on there next title starring everybody’s favorite Merc with the mouth Wade Wilson aka Deadpool.
Deadpool’s first video game appearance was in X-men Legends 2, and most recently in Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3; where he was played by Nolan North. It would appear that North will be reprising the role for the Deadpool game. Deadpool the game is scheduled for release in 2013, but no platforms have been announced at this point. Enjoy the trailer, and tell us what you think about the Deadpool game?
Were you at SMASH! 2012? Chances are a big part of your day was the Cosplay Competition, which took over the main hall for a good chunk of the afternoon. Following on from the charity auction, the place was packed out for arguably the biggest draw of the entire convention.
Clocking in at over two hours long, the event had dozens of cosplayers showing off a huge range of costumes, with some even performing musical numbers or skits to wow the three judges. From Black Butler to the Avengers, Inuyasha to Ponyo, there were dozens of beautiful, highly detailed costumes on display.
Some were first time cosplayers, making their debut on the SMASH! stage, others had been together as groups for years, so there was a great mixture of experience on display. A remote control shark balloon named Bruce almost stole the latter half of the show after making off into the crowd as part of a rib tickling Fujimoto (Ponyo)skit, which went on to win the award for best skit at the end of the night.
Several groups put on excellent performances, with choreographed battle sequences and dance numbers alike. The detail put into some of these costumes was incredible, with many participants revealing lengthy construction times that no doubt reflect the dedication needed to get some of these beautiful costumes up to standard. One Black Butler cosplayer even had some Earl Grey tea to hand, apparently having been told that Lipton just wasn’t quite right.
If you’ve never attended one of these events before then the above gives you a great idea of the work that goes into some of these costumes. The rules state that to be eligible to win any prizes participants must have made their own costume, so take a look at some of the photos below and imagine constructing some of the more intricate pieces.
It was an amazing day at SMASH! this weekend. There was a large variety of events to participate and interact with, as well as some amazing panels. One of the highlights of the convention though, was the popular Maid Cafe. This was so popular that you had to actually book a session to even get into the cafe. The bookings were for a High Tea session that involved cakes, tea and interaction with the maids at the event.
Fortunately, as media, we were able to take a quick look at the cafe and get some photos with the staff. From what we could tell, the Maid Cafe was a raging success and that it was set-up quite well. The staff handling the cafe were very friendly and I’m sure that those who were able to book a seat had a delightful time.
This weekend at the SMASH! convention us here at Capsule Computers were given the opportunity to have an interview with the CEO and Founder of Hanabee – Eric Cherry. Hanabee is a new startup company over here in Australia that is aiming to bring over new Anime licenses.
During the interview, we discuss a wide variety of topics that are both interesting and informative. In the interview, we find out what Hanabee is, what they aim to accomplish and about some of their upcoming releases. We also have some fairly decent banter and have built an amazing rapport with Eric.
Hanabee is looking like a promising startup and we can’t wait to see where they go. You can check out there Facebook and Twitter hereand here, respectively.
Be sure to check out the video embedded below for the full interview. Be sure to check out the official SMASH! website and our SMASH! 2012 section here on Capsule.
Zelda Motion have started work on a web based Anime based on The Legend of Zelda Link to the Past manga by Akira Himekawa. The anime features the voice talents of Vic Mignogna (Full Metal Achemist, Dragonball Z), Kira Buckland (Castle Crashers), Todd Haberkorn (D-Grayman), and Kent Williams Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood).
Thus far, all of this voice work has already been recorded and is now being synchronized with the animation. The Legend of Zelda Link to the Past anime is also being distributed by Aeipathy Industries. Nintendo is not involved with the project in any form or fashion, but it’s nice to see a fanmade project come to life. A trailer is set to be released in the coming weeks, so stay tuned, as a sneak peak of this anime is on the way.
SMASH! : Sydney Manga and Anime Show. Held at the Sydney Exhibition and Conference Centre at Darling Harbour, this pop culture extravaganza has been growing every year since it’s inception in 2007. From a modest 1400 attendees in a small university hall, SMASH! has grown to fill ever larger venues, boasting attendance figures of over 5000 people last year.
And this year was no different, as thousands of anime, manga and gaming fans flocked to the city centre to spend the beautifully sunny day in the vendor packed halls of the Exhibition centre, taking in special guest panels, merchandise galore and of course the main event – the Cosplay Competition.
Also on offer was a bout of Cosplay Chess, a Maid Café (bookings essential…), Cosplay workshops covering Steampunk, leatherwork and sewing, some karaoke, and a Madman screening room. Gundam fans had the chance to build their own creation thanks to Hobby Co, and the Sydney Gaming League were on hand with several titles set up for some competitive play. There were plenty of events large and small to keep the day ticking over, guaranteeing that no pop culture stone was left unturned.
The event was certainly a slick one, bringing three international guests to Australian shores for some panels and interviews. Sakura Tange (voice actress: Cardcaptor Sakura, Dead or Alive), Yūko Miyamura (voice actress: Neon Genesis Evangelion, J-pop singer) and Shin-ichiro Miki (voice actor: Bleach, Pokemon, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood) all graced the main stage, interacting with fans and answering questions about their careers.
A charity auction raised money in support of the Fred Hollows Foundation, and was swiftly followed by the Cosplay Competition, which ran for over two hours and saw dozens of entrants take to the stage to show off their efforts. It was certainly the main event of the day, and saw the main hall packed out with fans eager to catch a glimpse of some of the best cosplays of the day.
SMASH! 2012 marked yet another successful year for Sydney’s premiere pop culture event, so make sure and check out the full coverage here at Capsule Computers. Our thanks to the lovely people at SMASH! for pulling off such a great day, and to all the attendees who helped create such a great atmosphere. Make sure and check out all the photographs of the event below, you never know where you might see yourself!
SMASH! is best known for its cosplay competition and guest stars, but slotted in between those events was a charity auction in aid of the Fred Hollows Foundation. A handful of collectible items contributed by guests and vendors managed to make a significant sum for the charity, which works with Indigenous Australians and people in developing countries and over the years has helped restore the sight of more than 1 million people worldwide.
The rules were simple: no registration – just yell! In a packed out auditorium ready and waiting for the soon to follow Cosplay Competition, extreme decibel levels, jumping, waving and yelling were often the order of the day.
First up came a series of souvenirs straight from Japan courtesy of guest Sakura Tange. All went for reasonable amounts, giving the auction a solid start – there were bigger fish to fry later, no matter how cute the cat eye mask was.
A couple of signed editions of Evangelion brought the bidding into triple digits, with a particular attendee flashing the cash to walk away with a significant haul of goodies – congratulations to ‘the man in the black shirt’. Last but by far least, a one of a kind art book with contributions from artists from throughout Australia and signed by all three international guests.
There were some beautiful pieces of artwork showcased here, and the bidding war that followed reflected the quality on offer. The going price quickly leapt up into the hundreds of dollars, with the crowd roaring along as the figure just kept soaring.
As the pages kept turning and more unique pieces were revealed the bids just kept coming.
Finally, one extremely flush fan walked away with his prize, handing over a cool four figure sum for the privilege of owning this one of a kind piece.
Congratulations to all the winners and thanks to SMASH! for supporting such a great cause. You can find out more about the work of the Fred Hollows Foundation at www.hollows.org
Out of all of the annual conventions that grace Sydney each year, SMASH is definitely the convention for Gundam fans. In addition to all of the available Gundam merch on the show floor and the Gundam Building Workshop, SMASH is also the home of the Gunpla Builders World Cup. Officially sponsored by Bandai each year, the Gunpla Builders World Cup is an annually held competition to find the best Gunpla builders from around the world. And where better to display the works of the contestants than at an anime convention?
Created to show off the works of the best builders in Australia, the Gunpla Builders World Cup was again hosted at SMASH in 2012. The competition features several categories, each with different rules and restrictions to apply to Gunpla builders of differing experience and styles. This year, there were 5 classes all up. The Junior class is available for builders under the age of 14, and the three secondary classes for those who wish to build the best stock models with no modifications. And for the best of the best, and the most creative of minds is the open class, which allows modifications of the mobile suits themselves, as well as scenery and even dioramas.
Even as a Gundam fan who has several years of experience building Gunpla model kits under my belt, I still have to say I was in awe of the skill and creativity that had been applied in all of the competition categories. Despite my own experience and skill with model kit building, I felt dwarfed by the skill of some of Australia’s best building talent. My personal favourite was a customised version of Heavyarms Custom from Gundam Wing Endless Waltz, which had been altered to show a great amount of battle damage in combat.
However, at the end of the day, only 5 winners could be chosen to receive the first place prizes. The winners of the Junior and Open classes won an all expenses paid trip to Japan for the International World Cup finals. Winners and runners up in other categories received valuable product hampers from Bandai.
All in all, this public display of Australian talent was not only contest worthy, it was downright COOL. Shelves upon shelves of professionally constructed model kits and even a few humorous dioramas, the Gunpla Builders World Cup remains a SMASH event worthy of the notice of fans. After all, an entire section of the show floor was devoted to showing off these model kits to be admired by the public, which is certainly something that I hope to do someday for myself. Maybe next year?
