PSotD - Boku no Invitation

Title: Boku no Invitation

Artist: JP
Year: 2012

Notes: The opening song to the ongoing anime Shirokuma Cafe (Polar bear cafe).

A catchy and upbeat tune to begin a hilarious slice-of-life anime centered around a polar bear, a panda and a penguin.

DDL: here

Uta no Prince sama Live Event 2012 @ Yuubouto Hall

As our dedicated readers will know, I'm a die-hard fan of Uta no Prince sama. I was brimming with happiness tonight when I found a download link for the live event held in Japan earlier this year. Sure, the video quality isn't great, but I get to see and hear the amazing voices of my dearest Masato and Natsuki, my cute Syo, sexy Ren, hot Tokiya, and a somewhat annoying Ittoki. Unfortunately, this video is not English subbed. So please enjoy 2.5 hours worth of magic from the link below.

Download: http://www.mediafire.com/?ii1sf96lrzqzp#myfiles

Ps. To the kind-hearted soul who uploaded this, I, and other fangirls, are forever grateful and indebted to you.

Kyary Pamyu Pamyu unleashes PV for “Fashion Monster”

The PV for Kyary Pamyu Pamyu’s upcoming single, “Fashion Monster“, has been revealed through Warner Music Japan’s official YouTube channel!

“Fashion Monster” is Kyary’s 3rd single, and it’s scheduled for release on October 17th. This electronic rock number is written and composed by Nakata Yasutaka (capsule), and it serves as the CM song for apparel brand, ‘g.u.‘.

Source: TH

Check out the PV below!

Btooom! Survival Action Anime's TV Ads Streamed

The anime music production unit Flying Dog began streaming three commercials for the Btooom! survival action television anime series on Friday. The anime's main character Ryōta Sakamoto (as voiced by Kanata Hongou) narrates the 30-second commercial and the first 15-second commercial.

Junya Inoue's original manga centers around Sakamoto, a NEET (Not in Education, Employment, or Training) young man and a top-ranked player in the online combat game Btooom! One day, he wakes up on a tropical island without remembering how he got there. He sees a figure in the distance and asks for help. However, the figure responds by throwing something at Ryūta — a "BIM" bomb.

The anime from the studio MADHOUSE will begin airing in Japan on October 4, after streaming on the niconico (formerly Nico Nico Douga) video service beginning on October 8.

Source: ANN

Raise Hatsune Miku Into a Star in New Sega iOS/Android Game

Sega announced at Tokyo Game Show 2012 on Thursday that it will release Hatsune Miku Live Stage Producer, an Autumn 2012 iOS/Android game in which the player raises the Vocaloid idol Hatsune Miku and trains her to be a star. In the raising simulation game, the player assumes the role of a concert venue manager.

The player can select the set lists, stage design, and character design modules for Miku's special live concerts, roughly similar to Namco Bandai Games' The IDOLM@STER franchise. The player can also train Miku to build up her singing, dancing, and even her onstage chatting. When Miku wins contests, she can receive new character design modules and accessory items.

The single-player game will be free to download, although there will be items with fees.

Source: AppBank via Hachima Kikō

K-ON! Portable GPS Car Navigator Revealed

The Japanese company RWC unveiled its portable GPS car navigation system with a K-ON! anime theme on Tuesday. The voices of the entire Ho-Kago Tea Time high school band — Yui (Aki Toyosaki), Ritsu (Satomi Satou), Mio (Yōko Hikasa), Mugi (Minako Kotobuki), and Azusa (Ayana Taketatsu) — guide the users to their destinations. The cast recorded 984 words in total for the device.

The system starts up with an image of a cassette tape with the words, “Ho-Kago Tea Time Navi” scribbled on it. A stylus in the shape of the neck of Yui's Guitar Gita is included, along with an original clear holder case (shaped like a cassette tape), detachable stand with cap, cigarette lighter DC plug, AC adapter, USB cable, manual, and quick-start guide. The map service is provided by Zenrin Chizu.

The system will go on sale in Japan on Saturday.
Source: ANN

Hatsune Miku Song 'Senbonzakura' Inspires Novel

Japanese publisher ASCII Media Works has announced that it will be publishing a novel adaptation of the Hatsune Miku song "Senbonzakura" (One Thousand Cherry Blossoms) written and composed by Kurousa-P.

In an interview about the new novel, ASCII Media Works editor-in-chief Takayasu Hatano noted that he cannot yet divulge the details of the novel's story, but he did note that because the original song is loved by so many, the staff is making sure that the original mood of the song is not harmed, and the novel will contain the same characteristics of the original song.

Hatano did reveal that the novel will feature Hatsune Miku, Kagamine Rin and Kagamine Len attending school, and the trio will wear the uniforms featured in Ittomaru's designs in the original music video. Ittomaru is also in charge of the character design and the original story for the upcoming novel.

When the original "Senbonzakura" music video was uploaded to Nico Nico Douga, it received more than 4.3 million views in less than a year. The song was also the second-most used song in Joysound's karaoke rankings for the first half of 2012. 

The novel is due out this winter.

Source: ANN

Life-Size Gundam Bust Made of Flowers, Shot on Camera

The self-described "Gundam videographer" darwinfish posted a video of "Flower Gundam," the life-size topiary bust of the title robot from the Mobile Suit Gundam anime. The topiary stands about 7 meters (about 23 feet) tall next to the full-length, life-size Gundam statue erected at the Diver City Tokyo plaza on Odaiba island.

The topiary will be on display from September 29 through October 28 to celebrate the "29th National Urban Greenery Fair Tokyo" event.

Source: ANN

PSotD - Magenta Another Sky

Title: Magenta Another Sky

Artist: Hitomi Harada
Year: 2012

Notes: The opening song to Arcana Famiglia.
An exciting rock song which totally suits the theme of the anime. I really like this artist, her voice sounds powerful. I'll keep an eye out for her from now on.

DDL: here.

Anime Review (v.P): La Storia Della Arcana Famiglia

The anime was well presented, but it could be better.
After watching the anime, I wouldn't mind playing the original game to understand the storyline better.

Synopsis: (from myanimelist.net)

Things are NOT going well for Felicitá. For years, the island of Regalo, has been protected by her father's "organization," the Arcana Tarroco, whose success is due in no small part to the members' unusual skills with Tarot Cards, not to mention the usual guns and knives. But now, unexpectedly, her father has decided to retire and, while the fact that his position will be filled by the winner of a series of duels doesn't worry Felicitiá, the fact that he's decided to throw HER into the contest as part of the prize certainly does! Especially since some of the contestants are her cousins, which is keeping things WAY too much in the family! Fortunately, our lady shark has two aces up her sleeve: as the head of the Swords division, she's eligible to compete for herself, and with her favored Card, The Lovers, she can snoop into the minds of her would be suitors/rivals! It's just too bad they have their own card tricks!

Review:

[STORY]

The idea of the main character growing up in a mafia family is neither new nor unique. Nevertheless, I didn't feel this story to be too mundane or boring. Certainly, the first five episodes felt really slow because they had to introduce each of the 11+ main/semi-main characters one by one. After spending almost half the amount of episodes acquainting the audience with the various roles, they add in what I felt like "filler" episodes. In the sense that these intermediate episodes didn't help with answering questions posed at the start of the story, rather they piled on even more questions about past events and the relationships between each of the characters. In the end, these questions were not answered in the anime very clearly, if at all! Finally, in the last episode, where it reaches the climax of the story, they totally ruined it by squeezing mediocre explanations and rushing the ending. It's meant to be a showdown between all the main and secondary characters, but they cut all the fight scenes down to:

Voice: "It's a match between _character A_ and _character B_"
*flash of swords clashing for two seconds*
Voice: "And _character A_ wins. Onto the next match!"

It left me feeling rather disappointed as I'm a big fan of action.
As I alluded to above, many questions were raised but only a few were answered. This was a big let down for me.
Another aspect was that keeping in mind that this is a "reverse harem" anime, meaning that it's an anime designed to focus on relationships between the main female lead with all other male (and female) personnel, I think the connections and bonds between characters weren't well portrayed or adequately developed throughout this anime. I think it was too much for the producers to completely cover both emotional and physical (special powers) growth of all the characters.

Rating: 6

[ART] 

This anime caught my interest mainly because of the bishies. So the art category gets a tick. I would say the art is typical "reverse harem" bijins (*pretty people). As well as all the males, I think mama was really pretty and I really liked her. The backgrounds were moderately detailed; the production company certainly weren't low on funding or time. The colouring scheme of the characters' clothing and background were chosen reasonably and logically.

Rating: 7.5

[SOUND]

I absolutely loved the opening and ending songs. The OP song was one of the reasons why I decided to keep watching this anime. I think this song managed to capture the action and excitement of this anime. The opening scenes also matched the changing phrases of the OP song. The ED song was sung by some of my favourite seiyuus, who makes an appearance in the anime, so it definitely has my vote. However, I didn't really notice much of the background music. I thought the seiyuus were able to capture the distinctive traits of each character, especially the older males: Debito, Pace, Luca, Dante and Jolly.

Rating: 8

[CHARACTER]

Art wise, the character designs were good. Each character had their own unique styles, be it clothing, hair, weapon or habits.
In terms of developing the personalities of each of the characters, 12 episodes is simply not enough time to let the audience understand and bond with so many characters. Unfortunately, they weren't able to explain clearly the development of the bonds between the main female character and the main male characters. One thing that annoyed me was the hesitant personality of the female lead.

Rating: 5

[ENJOYMENT]

If you don't mind having questions unanswered or poorly answered then this anime is enjoyable, with the superb voice acting and beautiful art. I relished in my big dose of bishies, swords and guns.

Rating: 7

[OVERALL] 

The way that this story was setup, I thought that it had a lot of potential for an exciting adventure. It's a shame that the story was rushed and left incomplete in the anime. 12 episodes is too short for the audience to develop a deep relationship with all the characters. Especially in the case with reverse harems, the main point is to have meaningful developments with all your potential (male) partners. Perhaps this problem is fixed in the original game. I certainly hope so, and the game reviews are definitely positive. I wouldn't mind a second series to answer the remaining questions, but I highly doubt there will be one.

Rating: 6.5

Shoujo Jidai (Girls Generation) releases “Oh!” PV

After releasing the preview, Shoujo Jidai has unveiled the PV of “Oh!”, which will be the title of their next Japanese single that’s scheduled for release on September 26th.
“Oh!” is the title track off of Shoujo Jidai’s 2nd album which was released in Korea back in January of 2010. Its cute lyrics describe the feelings of a woman in love, and the video became a hit with the members dancing in cheer leading outfits.

Check out the PV below!


Source: tokyohive

Anime Chart Fall 2012 (Japan)

The list of animes airing in Fall 2012 (Japan; ie. September, October and November 2012) has been released.

Which of these animes will be on your 'to watch list'?

Download for larger view.

The following are some of the animes which I am looking forward to:

• Bakuman 3 (been waiting for this for a long time now; highly recommended! Be sure to watch the first two seasons first.)
• Jormungand (this looks interesting)
• Robotics;Notes (I think I've mentioned quite a lot about this anime previously)
• Psycho-Pass (Character designs by Amano Akira - author of Katekyo Hitman Reborn!)
• Ixion Saga DT
• Magi
• Busou Shinki
• Chousoku Henkei Gyrozetter
• Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun
• Suki-tte Ii na yo.
• Zetsuen no Tempest
• Code:Breaker
• Chuunibyou demo Koi ga Shitai!
• Shin Sekai Yori
• Girls und Panzer
• K
• 009 Re:Cyborg

Source: squidoo

ONE OK ROCK to sing theme song for movie, ‘GOOD MORNING EVERYONE!’

It’s been revealed that ONE OK ROCK will be providing their song, “the same as…“, for the upcoming movie, ‘GOOD MORNING EVERYONE!‘.

‘GOOD MORNING EVERYONE!’ portrays the bond of a complicated family, and it’s scheduled to open in theaters on December 15th. Besides Aso Kumiko and Oizumi Yo as the lead roles, the movie stars Takemura Akira (SNAIL RAMP), MAH (SHAKALABBITS), and Tsuchiya Anna.

Source: tokyohive

Gunslinger Girl Manga Confirmed to End Next Month

Yu Aida's action manga Gunslinger Girl will end in its 100th installment in the November issue of ASCII Media Works' Monthly Comic Dengeki Daioh magazine on September 27. The Japanese retailer Mangaoh already listed the 15th book volume of the manga as the final volume.

Source: Comic Natalie, ANN

Bakuman. 3's Theme Songs Performed by nano.RIPE, Sphere

This year's 40th issue of Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump magazine is revealing on Monday that the guitar rock band nano.RIPE is contributing the opening theme song to the third season of Bakuman., while the voice actress group Sphere is contributing the ending theme. The new season will premiere in Japan on October 6.

Source: ANN

Robotics;Notes' 2nd Promo Video Reveals Theme Songs

The official website for the Robotics;Notes television anime series began streaming its second promotional video on Saturday. The video reveals singer fumika's ending theme song "Umikaze no Brave" and the female band Zwei's opening theme "Junjō Spectra." It also confirms the premiere date of October 11 in Fuji TV's Noitamina programming block.

Zwei already performed "Kakuchou Place," the opening theme for the original Robotics;Notes game that shipped in June.

The third "science adventure game" (after Chaos;HEAd and Steins;Gate) is set in an alternate future world after Tokyo's Shibuya district was destroyed in 2009, followed by the destruction of the Radio Kaikan building in Tokyo's Akihabara a year later. The world is immersed in realistic augmented reality technology in 2019, but a high school robotics club in danger of being disbanded after shrinking to just two members. The club's revival is tied to the robot it is building.

The game and anime's shared cast includes Ryohei Kimura (Kaito Yashio), Yoshino Nanjou (Akiho Senomiya), Rie Kugimiya (Airi),Kaori Nazuka (Frau Koujiro), Yoshimasa Hosoya (Subaru Hidaka), and Sora Tokui (Junna Daitoku). Kazuya Nomura (Sengoku Basara 2) is directing the anime at Production I.G. Jukki Hanada (My Ordinary Life, sola, Steins;Gate) is in charge of the series scripts under the supervision of the game's Tatsuya Matsubara and Naotaka Hayashi. Chikashi Kubota (Shikabane Hime: Aka, From the New World) is adapting Tomonori Fukuda's original game character designs for the anime. The original game's Takeshi Abo is scoring the music with television composer Yūki Hayashi.

Source: ANN

PSotD - 流行曲 (Pop Songs)

Title: 流行曲 (Pop Songs)

Artist: 林海峰 (Jan Lamb)

Year: 2011

Notes: I was on my way home when this song was playing in the car.
I laughed so much because of its lyrics.

It pretty much made fun of all the "typical" elements of a successful pop song.
You have to make a 'smooth tune', make sure you 'repeat and keep repeating' phrases, must add 'falsetto and harmonies', after the chorus you keep moving up the tones/scale of the song, then finally you have a section of 'triplets'.

Random Miku picture.

DDL: 

Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn Trailer Previews Limit Breaks

Square Enix began streaming a new "Limit Break Trailer" for its massive multiplayer online roleplaying game (MMORPG) Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn on Saturday. A Realm Reborn's upcoming overhaul will introduce a new version of the franchise's signature Limit Break system, and "heroes of Eorzea unite to defeat a dragon" in this trailer made from in-game footage.

Square Enix announced on Thursday that alpha testing will begin this winter, and Square Enix is already recruiting testers on Windows PCs.

The current incarnation of Final Fantasy XIV will go offline on November 11 with plans to migrate players over to the new game. Producer Naoki Yoshida had revealed at Germany's GamesCom event on August 15 that the game will undergo server-load tests this fall and enter a beta test period this winter.

Source: Game Watch via Hachima Kikou (link 2)

New Single: UVERworld - The Over

Another amazing and inspiring single by JRock band UVERworld gets released today!

The single titled The Over contains three tracks: 1) The Over, 2) The Song and 3) Massive.

Give these songs a try by downloading here.

Also, enjoy the PV for The Over below!

Samsung loses in Apple trial, ordered to pay $1 billion in damages

In what will no doubt be a precedent for the tech industry, a jury has found Samsung infringed on Apple’s patents in the Apple and Samsung trial. 

A nine person Jury is still reading the verdict. So far, Samsung has been found in violation of 4 patents for most of the devices in question. Samsung has also been found guilty of willful infringement for most patents in question for most of the company’s devices, except for the Galaxy Tab. All of Apple’s patents were found valid as well, another big blow to Samsung. As far as damages, the jury has awarded Apple $1.051 billion for Samsung’s infringements. 

Samsung’s claims against Apple are all turning out to be found in Apple’s favor…

Source: bgr.com

Yet another reason to leave Facebook?

Facebook purges Cosplayers’ accounts, gamers likely to be targeted next

If you’re a cosplayer who goes under an alias on your Facebook profile, it might be a good idea to go to your Account Settings – right now – and click on “Download a copy of your Facebook data”.Also, try to avoid common words in your username.  It might potentially save you from a lot of trouble and heartache. 

Several cosplayers found themselves in for a rude shock when they accessed the popular social network service Facebook earlier this week, only to discover that their user accounts – along with years of accumulated personal data including photos, videos, and hundreds if not thousands of contacts – had been deleted.

According to news site Examiner.com, their accounts were deleted due to a mass purge Facebook performed on Monday that targeted usernames containing the word “cosplay“, in an attempt to clamp down on “duplicate” or “fake” accounts that go by an alias rather than the users’ real names.

These “duplicate accounts” were said to comprise approximately 8.7 percent of Facebook’s monthly active users.

When the social network revealed this 8.7 percent figure in a regulatory filing made earlier in August, the information did not sit well with investors and caused a dip in the publicly traded company’s stock price. This might have been the prompt for the mass account purge on Monday, in an attempt to dwindle the figures and restore investor confidence.

It is unclear, however, why Facebook has chosen to target specifically user accounts with the word “cosplay” in it.

Oddly enough, it would seem that users who had the word “cos” – a term that many Japanese cosplayers include in their cos names – were not affected at all.

It could very well be that the term “Cosplay” is simply the most frequent term employed in Facebook usernames (possibly the sole silver lining to this gloomy story: “cosplay” could be the most popular term included in Facebook usernames).

Examiner.com postulates that other common terms found in user account like “photography”, “gamer”, and “sports”, are likely to be targeted next.

Our hearts go out to cosplayers affected by Facebook’s thoughtless, extremist measure.

Source: Examiner.com, New.com.au, sgcafe.com

PSotD - Make My Day!

Title: Make My Day!

Artist: Piko
Year: 2012

Notes: Another freakin' awesome song from Piko!
This is the opening song to the anime Binbougami ga! I highly recommend this comedy anime. 

DDL: Full single here

ONE OK ROCK releases PV for "The Beginning"

On Tuesday, JRock band ONE OK ROCK released the full official PV on their YouTube channel for the new single "The Beginning". This single is the theme song for the movie Ruroushin Kenshin.

PSotD - Gangnam Style

Title: GANGNAM STYLE (강남스타일)

Artist: Psy
Year: 2012

Notes: The latest craze from Korea. 
Are you gangnam styling to this awesome beat? Don't know how? Here's 4 easy steps to get you gangnam styling.

DDL: 

Congratulations on reaching 10K hits!

Hello everyone!
The staff of this blog would like to thank everyone for your constant support. It is with your help that we have reached a great milestone of 10K hits!

Let me dedicate a song to say thank you to all you lovely stalkers readers!
It's called Thank you!! by Home Made Kazoku.

So without further ado, let us commence our party - Otaku style!

I ♥ Visualizm feat. Hatsune Miku - Album Review

Alrighty! *cue fangirl scream* This morning I found a sample of Machigerita's CD 

"I ♥ Visualizm feat. Hatsune Miku" here. As I said before, I had really high hopes for this album, especially the track with Gackupo covering for himself (Gackt)! 

So let the reviewing begin!

Track 1: 

The backing track was amazing. I'm not a huge fan of Megamasso but I still prefer their lead singer over Miku. Miku's girly voice just somehow doesn't feel right. I guess her voice is just too 'normal', it doesn't have the 'tang' of typical Visual Kei singers. For the first song of an album, I thought it didn't have enough 'pow' to draw the audience in. I guess it's a bit of anticlimactic. I was expecting so much of this album.

Track 2: 

A really cool introduction riff for a song with strong beats. Gumi's dark alto voice made me feel that she's fitting comfortably into the Visual Kei scene. I think this song is a perfect match with Gumi, in both character and vocals. The title of this song is fitting for describing Gumi - "Incomplete Sapphire".

Track 3: 

This arrangement of Vanilla made me smile so much. Adding Jazz elements, bending the notes and accentuating the syncopation, it made me shake my hips and tap my toes. Of course, no one can replace the voice of the real Gackt, but Gakupo did a decent job. Gakupo couldn't hold the long notes without sounding annoying. I could imagine Gakupo jerking around (with the Gackt-style dance moves) while singing this song with only his underwear on, and all the other Vocaloids hiding behind the sofa laughing or cringing in pain.

Track 4: 

A gentle tune that lets the audience feel the sense of longing and a hint of despair. Miku's wispy voice really suited this song and helped enhance the eerie mood.

Track 5:

Perfect. Rin's childish voice was perfect against the harsh strums of the electric guitars. I loved this song, perhaps this should've been placed as the first track rather than the middle of the album.

Track 6:

This track had an equal amount of impact as the previous song. I enjoyed how all the Vocaloids were used in this track. Especially the part where Luka and Gakupo were singing against each other - I swear they were made for each other. Their harmonies were charming. This song really gave off a 'Vocaloid family' feel. If only Kaito was here too. I'm glad though that VY2 was used. He's rarely used by Vocaloid composers.

Track 7:

There's no sign of slowing down! Yet another fast paced rock song covered by Len. I laughed out loud when Len's voice first came in. I guess I wasn't expecting that nasally voice compared to the original singer's voice. There's not much alteration or variation in the backing track when compared with the original song.

Track 8:

The flute and piano were a beautiful and calming addition to the backing music. However, at times I felt that the flute didn't really fit in and it sounded forced as it tried to merge with the other instruments. The tempo was slowed down when compared to the original song. This slow song made a contrast to the three previous fast songs. If only Luka could sing an octave lower, then it would've been perfect.

Track 9:

A medium paced song. Why does Luka's voice sound so different in this song and the previous song? Luka sounds so much nicer and normal in this track. I really want to hear Luka sing a fast song, unfortunately my wish does not appear to be granted in this album.

Track 10:

Gumi's voice is perfect for rock songs. Her dark timbre and even her image suits the role of a JRocker. And we're back with a fast paced song. I think that Machigerita should reconsider the lineup of the tracks in the album.

Track 11:

I'm sorry Miku, you are just not suited to be a VK singer. Her voice seems to take away the element in VK music that makes you want to head-bang.

Track 12: 

A beautiful and heavy song. Let's just repeat what I said in Track 5. Rin's voice is well suited to those 'spooky' themed music. It was a really good idea for Machigerita to include piano accompaniment as it complements Rin's vocals.

Track 13:

A slower paced song. Len, I love your voice. It's very calming. The feeling this song creates in me is one where you are about to say goodbye to someone you love and you have tears brimming your eyes.

Track 14:

Finally VY2 gets to sing! A rather fast paced song that gives off a futuristic feeling. It's a very cheerful song and VY2 sounds like a carefree character. 

Track 15:

While I think Len did a good job covering this song, being able to fully express the sadness of the lyrics, I didn't think that this was the right song to finish off the album. I would've preferred to have Track 14 as the final track. This is the slowest song of the whole album. This song sounds like a hymn - I wonder who died. It's too bad that Machigerita removed the drums that were present in the original song.

Overall: 

I praise Machigerita for this wonderful compilation album. His rearrangement of the backing tracks were beautifully composed. He really understood what elements make VK music awesome and incorporated them into his songs. I look forward to his future works!

Japan Develops Fully Functional Human Piloted Mecha Robots

Japan has taken robotics to the next level. Suidobashi Heavy Industry has developed a fully functional mecha robot named Kuratas that can shoot rockets and 6,000 bullets per minute.

The mecha unit was debuted at Wonder Fest 2012 in Tokyo. It is about 4 meters high, weighs 4,500 kg and cost about $1.4 million USD.

Kuratas can be controlled by stepping into the one-man cockpit or on a smartphone using a 3G connection.

Pilots have a choice of 2 different weapons to use. The first is the LOHAS launcher which shoots rockets at its target. The second is a set of gatling guns capable of firing 6,000 rounds of ammunition every minute. The weapons system can lock on to targets and be activate by smiling.

Despite its limitations, Kuratas is another step towards the creation of futuristic war machines found in popular anime series such as Gundam. Japanese politicians have already stated that they would like to develop such machines.

Check out a video demonstration of Kuratas below:

Source: JPA

Mr. Bean makes an appearance at the opening ceremony of the London 2012 Olympics

Much loved family classic British comedian "Mr. Bean" (Rowan Atkinson) appeared during last night's opening ceremony of the London 2012 Olympics. His short 4 minute skit involved accompanying the orchestra on keyboard, playing the song Chariots of Fire.

Rewatch this hilarious act here!

Voice actress Taketatsu Ayana to release her 2nd single in September

On July 21st, it was announced that voice actress Taketatsu Ayana, who is known for the voice of “Nakano Azusa” from popular anime "K-ON!", will be releasing her 2nd single titled “♪ (pronounced as ‘Onpu’) no Kuni no Alice“, on September 12th.

It will be a piano-rock song written by Suemitsu Atsushi, who also composed/arranged Kimura Kaela’s “Butterfly“. Also, Suzuki Shunsuke, who has participated in many artists’ live concerts, will be taking charge as the guitarist.

Reportedly, Taketatsu did not have confidence in her activities as a singer after she released her debut single, “Sinfonia! Sinfonia!!!” back in April. However, she was encouraged by the positive lyrics of the new song, as she commented, “Since many great people are participating (in this upcoming single), I sang this song thinking ‘I would not lose to myself’. This song includes my growth in it.”

Source: Tokyohive

Studio Ghibli’s “Princess Mononoke” to get stage play adaptation in London

It was announced that anime film “Princess Mononoke“, which Studio Ghibli released in 1997, will be getting a stage play adaptation in London.

“Princess Mononoke” was written and directed by Miyazaki Hayao, and it was the first animation film to receive the Best Picture of the Japan Academy Awards.

This adaptation is the collaboration between Studio Ghibli and theater company, Whole Hog Theatre. Reportedly, the plan was already made a couple of years ago, but it took over a year to make a theatrical adaptation. Though the details on the play have not been revealed yet, the music for the play will be newly written. Moreover, as the story tells the disharmony between civilization and nature that raises an environmental issue, giant puppets made from recycled materials will make appearances in the play.

This play will be presented at New Diorama Theatre in London during April 2nd ~ 6th 2013, and there is no plan on bringing it to Japan at this moment. Also, all the tickets for the play have already been sold out.

More information can be found here.

Source: Tokyohive

2013 Doraemon Anime Film Revealed in 1st Trailer

The official website for the Doraemon anime films began streaming the first 92-second trailer for next year's film entry, Eiga Doraemon: Nobita no Himitsu Dōgu Museum (Doraemon the Movie: Nobita's Secret Gadget Museum), on Friday.

In the film, a mysterious entity steals the bell that Doraemon, the robot cat from the future, wears around his neck. Doraemon, his hapless owner Nobita, and their friends track down the thief and arrive at a magnificent secret gadget museum.

This latest film inspired by Hiroshi Fujimoto and Motoo Abiko's manga will open during Japan's annual spring vacation next March.

Source: ANN

New Costumes from Hatsune Miku Project Diva F Previewed

Recent magazine scans have revealed new modules (costumes) that will be featured in the upcoming Hatsune Miku -Project Diva- F PlayStation Vita rhythm game. "Agitation," "General," and "Bad Boy" modules designed by Nagimiso, "Guilty," "Innocent," and "Amour" modules designed by Ichiyou Moka, as well as swimwear modules were previewed in the pages. The swimwear modules were also shown in a recent preview video for the song "Summer Idol" by Oster Project.

A video previewing eight new songs was posted last month. The game will feature an AR mode that uses the PS Vita's camera to superimpose Hatsune Miku in the real world.

Sony will release a PlayStation Vita Hatsune Miku Limited Edition in Crystal White as a bundle with the game on August 30. Regular editions of the game will also ship on the same day. 

The PS Vita Card version will cost 7,329 yen (about US$92), and the downloadable version will cost 6,600 yen (US$83).

Source: ANN

5pb.'s Robotics;Notes TV Anime Promo Streamed

The official website for the Robotics;Notes television anime opened on Saturday with a new promotional video as well as the anime's staff and cast lists. Chiyomaru Shikura, the head of the original game's developer 5pb. (MAGES), also confirmed on Saturday that the anime is slated for two quarters of a year (kūru/cours).

The third "science adventure game" (after Chaos;HEAd and Steins;Gate) is set in an alternate future world after Tokyo's Shibuya district was destroyed in 2009, followed by the destruction of the Radio Kaikan building in Tokyo's Akihabara a year later. The world is immersed in realistic augmented reality technology in 2019, but a high school robotics club in danger of being disbanded after shrinking to just two members. The club's revival is tied to the robot it is building.

The game and anime's shared cast includes Ryohei Kimura (Kaito Yashio), Yoshino Nanjou (Akiho Senomiya), Rie Kugimiya (Airi), Kaori Nazuka (Frau Koujiro), Yoshimasa Hosoya (Subaru Hidaka), Sora Tokui (Junna Daitoku). Kazuya Nomura (Sengoku Basara 2) is directing the anime at Production I.G. Jukki Hanada (My Ordinary Life, sola, Steins;Gate) is in charge of the series scripts under the supervision of the game's Tatsuya Matsubara and Naotaka Hayashi. Chikashi Kubota (Shikabane Hime: Aka, From the New World) is adapting Tomonori Fukuda's original game character designs for the anime. The original game's Takeshi Abo is scoring the music with television composer Yūki Hayashi.

The series will premiere in Fuji TV's late-night Noitamina programming block this October. The game already shipped in Japan last month.

Source: ANN