We ran a similar article a while ago, but keep in mind it was more about the teaser and the reactions it gathered as opposed to an actual piece on the trailer itself. Well, the actual honest to God trailer is finally out and fans have made themselves heard!

I take everything back

I think that I was optimistic at one point during the last article on Dragon Age’s “Dawn of the Seeker” anime; boy has that changed or what? This new trailer did a number on my expectations, and by that I mean that it serves less like a trailer and more as a “how not to do this kind of thing” visual guide.

We have the sped up editing switching wildly from partial fight scene to angry close-ups, the angry shouting that I’m pretty sure at this point looks bad in any anime other than Gurren Lagann, the heroic leaps, gratuitous blood and so many other cliches that we could name the trailer “Anime from the late 90’s in a nutshell.” My only source of solace comes from the fact that it looks nice, yes it might be crazy but I believe it looks good.

It dares to look different…

Cell-shading is a tricky thing, most people either love it or hate it without any middle-ground, but here it looks damn nice. Whoever says it looks like a crappy PS1 cut-scene clearly doesn’t remember the PS1 all that well, and to be honest some of the characters are more akin to what a western audience might like, rather than say, spiky haired teen in belt buckles # 152.

But it still looks bad

Either Ferelden has been flooded by molasses or the animation is painfully slow. It’s hard to tell when it’s made in “Slow-mo” and when it’s just the animation being clunky, not to mention that it’s packed with really poor looking blood and is so over the top that we can only hope it’s cheesy enough to be fun.

Seriously, hoping that this thing turns out to be super cheesy in an “80’s movie kinda way” is its best shot at being anything more than a failed experiment.

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We know that this isn’t strictly anime-related (hell, is it even related in a tangible manner?) but gaming and anime overlap so well that it’s not unusual to see the two go hand in hand to make a perfect match, so here it is.

Drink up

Earlier this week (or late last week depending on when this goes up) it was announced that the Osaka-based videogame publisher Capcom would be opening a bar in Shinjuku. The bar will be open to the public around January 25th and will serve beverages and food items styled after many of Capcom’s various properties, which means that we have a very real possibility of seeing a “Jill Sandwich” and more likely than not a few Monster Hunter themed items (if they do the later they would be shovelling money for years).

The concept for the bar itself seems to be aimed at serving as a nice PR front for the company, as it will host public events and serve as a nice gathering place for fans of fine food, drink and games that are looking for a comfy place to find it all under a single roof.

You can view the original teaser on our facebook page here. The new trailer has been out for a couple of days and it already seems to be getting some hate on youtube, but does it really deserve it?

It’s an incarnation of the capital sins of anime

Said sins being the adaptation of a western source, one that’s so western it basically has every fantasy trope in it, followed by the use of CGI instead of the usual animation techniques, the fact that it’s geared towards Western audiences and finally, the inclusion of a setting that won’t suit itself well to cheap fan-service. Sure, there can be fan-service involved but I doubt we’ll see a damned beach episode…so, it’s like an anime made to be some sort of un-anime, right?

Count me in to love it as crappy or campy as it might turn out. I mean it. Why? Because I love the look and feel the few frames present in the trailer have, sure they look like cheap cell-shaded graphics for a budget game, but they still look crisp and fresh, not to mention that it brings me back to some of my favourite shows from the 90’s. Besides, it would be good to see a modern anime that didn’t spend half an episode focusing on panty-shots.

I’ll give this a chance

And so should you. Some western sources haven’t meshed with anime, but others have been a lot of fun; an example of this is the Halo-based anime titles, which were all good and fun (save for the crappy samurai themed one). So why shouldn’t this be more of that? Go to our FB site and hit the youtube link so you can voice your opinion on whether or not you like it!

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Tonight we would like to post a fun little blurb. Sure, there are some news worth reporting but our site hits took a mighty dive when we begun dedicating ourselves to news and that’s something we would rather avoid for the time being. So let’s go and talk about videogames for a bit shall we?

Game on

We have a dedicated gaming forum within our categories, but it could sure use some new blood. I’m taking this chance to write to you all, as it’s no secret that most anime fans tend to be gamers as well, so what do you play?

Do you fancy Japanese games such as the Persona series, Valkyria Chronicles or Disagea? This could be a given as most of these tend to blend the animation and style of anime in most of the frames, or it could be the other kind of JRPG’s or even fancy and weird games such as Catherine. I fancy myself more of a western gamer, and this generation has been a blessing.

I used to be a Nintendo kid and still keep a Wii for the few titles that catch my attention, such as the first party titles. It all changed with the first Playstation and Sony has been my dark master ever since; especially now, with the PSN providing many a good deal and nice titles. But I ain’t no fanboy, and as a matter of fact most of my friends rely on the Xbox 360 to be our party console since most of them have it.

MMOS are also some of my favourite things to play, and for a while World of Warcraft was my poison, to the point where I could navigate zones blindfolded and even tell the class and level of characters by the sound they made fighting, to the point of knowing zones! But it all changed with Cataclysm’s redesigned terrain. Nowadays I stick to free to play titles and go back to WoW when I can’t scratch my itch off.

Those of you who wish to talk about games are more than welcomed to do so, be it Call of Duty, Assassin’s Creed, Red Dead Redemption or even indie gems like From Dust, you are welcomed to do so in our forum. Hell you are even welcomed to help me boost my damn “Abstergo Employee of the Month” Trophy!

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Fans of the Resident Evil game series are sure to have enjoyed the last CGI installment. The reason for that being that it didn’t butcher the games as badly as the live-action films. Those left craving for more “decent” or even “good” Resident Evil movies are in luck. A sequel to the amazing (by comparison to the other films) “Resident Evil: Degeneration” has been green-lit.

Degeneratively Good

Fans of the Resident Evil canon are sure to cringe awkwardly during the live-actions films, which for a time where our only real source for movies outside of the games’ cut scenes. All of this changed on December 26, 2008. That date marked the day when Resident Evil: Degeneration made its debut on Japanese cinemas, and was met with enough success to be carried ‘round the world for all the fans of the series to enjoy its CGI goodness.

Degeneration was set within the same universe as the games and followed Leon S. Kennedy and Claire Redfield through what’s probably the best adaptation of the franchise to date. But now there may be a contender in the way. No, it’s not the newest live-action film since hell would have to freeze over before those were anything more than campy-fun, (and, hell may very well be a ski-resort since Duke Nukem forever was announced) we are talking about a new film in the same vein as Degeneration.

Damn Good?

The new CGI film in question has been christened “Resident Evil: Damnation” and so far it has been confirmed to star Leon S. Kennedy and to open in Japanese theaters in full 3D sometime around 2012.

If its predecessor’s success is of any indication, we can be sure to look forward to a 2013 release of the film in the western world. Unless the Mayans were right, in which case getting to watch a movie would be the least of your worries.

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Here’s some good news coming from the anime world’s rumor mill: prepare yourselves for some flashy big robot action in the nearby future! Super Robot Wars is getting another anime adaptation, read on to get in on the scoop.

Satoshi Kubo, the man behind shows such as Fullmetal Alchemist and Eureka Seven, has let his tongue slip on Mixi (a Japanese social networking site) about his decision not to join the staff behind a new anime rendition of the Super Robot Wars franchise. The reason why? The participation of a certain staff member. Kubo later clarified that he was indeed referring to a new anime adaptation, due to the fact that the comment section on his Mixi profile was filled with inquires regarding this matter.

Here is a little background information for those unfamiliar with Super Robot Wars (shame on you!) Super Robot Wars consists of a 19 year old franchise that began as a tactical RPG. The games were brought to us by Banpresto, a division of Namco Bandai, and it’s worth noting that the franchise’s rise to fame is due to the fact that it brings together various Mechs from popular anime and manga (such as Gundam and Evangelion). The games became as popular as to spawn various anime adaptations over the years including (in a way) the 90’s anime Cybuster.

Fans of Mechs now have something good to look forward to in the nearby future if the show ever gets released in the west!

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It’s a trap! It really is! School Days is an anime that at first seems to be family friendly and light hearted only to grow darker and come to a conclusion that will bring many fans that were misguided into thinking it was “cute” to tears. In fact, School Days may indeed feel at home on a shelf next to Elfen Lied.

The “Cute” Side of Things

I’ll mention right off the bat that School Days is based off of an erotic light novel by the same name, but if any of you feel this is the sole selling point behind it don’t bother pick it up because there’s no real use of gratuitous nudity and most of the scenes are handled with great taste and restraint. It still deals with mild sexual content but you never get to see a full view of it as it’s mostly suggestive.

School Days comes from an eponymous “eroge” made by 0verflow. The game contained a variety of scenarios and routes that could lead to a potential 21 endings (which were expanded to 25 for the PS2 port) some of them being great, some completely disastrous. Again, those that aren’t fans of the most perverted parts of anime won’t have to look away in disgust (well eventually they might have, but for another reason) since most of the hot and heavy scenes take place behind fade to blacks or awkward camera angles.

The show starts off us with Makoto Ito, an average guy who has a crush on Kotonoha Katsura who is a cute girl he sees on the train on his way to school. Sadly for him, he’s a spineless coward and lacks the nerve to really do something about it until his childhood friend Sekai Saionji edges him forward to man up and take a stand, all while harboring a secret crush on him (you see where this is going). After a while Sekai manages to get the two lovebirds together. They share awkward yet relaxed afternoons of idle chatter and promises of love until the very force that drew them together gets in between.

Sekai starts abusing her position as a “counselor” and exploits Makoto’s backed up lust by enthralling him with “practice exercises” meant to help him with Kotonoha. Naturally, this serves to confuse his feelings towards the girls even further and all hell breaks loose as he realizes his popularity with the girls and becomes a raging…well, somewhat unreasonable and crazed horn dog.

School Days has a somewhat simple romantic plot which introduces us to the first half of the show where the characters are so overtly adorable and friendly that you would expect rainbows to shoot out if they got cut (you’ll be saying “WHY COULDN’T IT BE RAINBOWS!?” later on) but this is only a charade. A build up towards the crude reality of the show and what lead many to see it in a light of infamy and add it up as one of the most disturbing and dark animes they have ever seen.

Spoilers are ahead so beware.

School’s Out Forever!

Once you pick up the show and get used to the amazingly ironic intro, the quirky comedy relief and cute characters, you’ll be more than ready to get surprised. As it turns out, a girl who has been a socially awkward shut in, a guy who has just discovered he can get a cute girl to treat him nicely and another one to treat him nicer, and a girl with conflicted feelings and a disposition to do anything for the guy she loves, are all a bad mix.

Makoto turns into a mayor playboy, realizing that Kotonoha isn’t the only girl and that he can have all he wanted. He turns cold and cynical, abandoning the love struck Kotonoha who has to cope with the rest of the school bullying her for no longer having a boyfriend and losing what little happiness she had found. Sekai, on the other hand, doesn’t do too well, becoming an slave of Makoto’s body and wishes but not his heart; she slowly starts to break down. In a way, the whole cast slowly degenerates into a twisted version of their former selves, showing how fragile or horrible their real personality was.

Sekai goes from a strong willed and happy girl to become a sad wretch that attempts to win Makoto’s affection with lust but ends up as another notch on his bed post. Kotonoha is left completely alone, betrayed by who she thought her best friend and abandoned by her “one true love” and so she turns to denial in a way that turns her from a shy awkward girl into what could be best described as a doll.

School Days is infamous for its ending sequence. I won’t spoil it and those who read this far more than likely now feel the urge to go take a look at the ending shouldn’t do that either. The ending of School Days serves as a climax to a play full of emotion and despair that delivers is shock not from the visuals but from the actions that take place. The anime, however, deserves praise for its visuals as well. Those that like to call themselves observant will notice that the colors and the lighting used in the show will grow darker as the plot reaches its end. The design of the cast is nothing out of the ordinary but they manage to become individuals that would feel at home inside a newspaper story.

School Days takes the simple formula of the romance anime and adds an element of such psychological and emotional horror that it could be best achieved by throwing Elfen Lied and Clannad in a blender.

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The movie will not see the light dubbed in English anytime soon, but in the mean time you may take solace in knowing that its strong sales performance (over 300, 000 sales from the DVD and Blu-ray combined) and its positive reception by fans and critics alike are a sure sign that it will soon be adapted for western audiences. Not to mention that its prequel has been available in the market for quite a bit and that the film itself was screened in Hawaii during the late half of 2009.

It will be a matter of waiting for an official release to hit the States. Heres to hoping that it’s not too long a wait!

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Kawamoto is a co-founder of the anime studio, BONES, other crucial people being, Masahiko Minami and Hiroshi Osaka (who passed away on September 24, 2007 after fighting cancer). One of the first projects BONES worked on was the feature film for the Bebop series, Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door, and has since been behind such famous shows as, Ouran High School Host Club, Soul Eater and RahXephon.

Currently, Kawamoto is the chief animation director for Stan Lee’s Heroman, which has been turned into an anime and scheduled for release this spring. (Madhouse is currently working and releasing the Wolverine and Iron Man animes.)

Hiroshi Kawamoto became interested in animation due to Macross and the character designs of Yoshikazu Yasuhiko. He applied and enrolled into what was then called Tokyo Designer Gakuin College and after graduating was employed by Group Donguri. His debut work appeared in the 1986 film, Arion. It was soon after this that Kawamoto began his work on several Gundam Wing shows.

Kawamoto apparently modeled the Cowboy Bebop character, Edward, after anime and video game composer, Yoko Kanno, Spike on the famous anime character, Arsene Lupin III and Ein, the dog, after a friend’s pet!

Alongside the guest of honor, other Japanese industry professionals attending Anime Expo will be director, Shinichi Watanabe (Excel Saga and Tenchi Muyo!) as well as voice actress, Yuu Asakawa (Love Hina, Final Fantasy VII: Dirge of Cerberus, Final Fantasy XIII, Naruto: Shippuden). Musical guest to the convention will be Japanese rock band, SOPHIA.

Anime Expo takes place from July 1st through the 4th at the Los Angeles Convention Center. Between Kawamoto in California and Nobuo Uematsu in Boston (famed Final Fantasy video game composer) 2010 is shaping up to be a good year for anime conventions. Are there any readers who have already bought or are planning to get tickets for Anime Expo?

With its special powers of killing any person who’s name appears on the pages, Light decides to take justice into his own hands and begins to rid the world of criminals at his own accord. The Japanese police and a mysterious detective named, L, begin searching for the unknown killer that the public knows only as, Kira.

The popularity of this series has spread from Japan to the rest of the world, including such major countries as the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, and Australia. Death Note’s renowned manga and hit anime have sparked three live-action films with academy award nominated actors as well as five video games.

Published by Konami for the Nintendo DS was Death Note: Kira Game, which was released on February 15, 2007 in Japan. It’s a strategy game where the player takes on either the role of Kira or L and it is their job to uncover the identity of Kira, or vice versa with L.

The first phase of the game is investigating characters, the second is casting votes based on details learned and the final phase is focusing the investigation on a member of the team that the player believes to either be Kira or L.

A sequel was made and released by Konami on July 12, 2007 in Japan called, Death Note: Successors of L. This game, also for the Nintendo DS, focuses on the second half of the manga and features such characters as Mello and Near. The game has teams, Kira or L’s, and the player must either find all of Kira’s teams members and arrest them within the time limit or kill all of L’s team, respectively.

The third game for Nintendo DS by Konami, L the Prologue to Death Note: Spiraling Trap, was released in Japan on February 7, 2008. In this game, the player takes on the role of a rookie FBI agent who awakens in a strange hotel and has to escape with the help of L. The game takes place before the Kira investigations begin.

The fourth and fifth games are not solely Death Note games, but are Jump Super Stars, released on August 8, 2005 in Japan and Jump Ultimate Stars, released November 23, 2006 in Japan, which are anime based fighting games featuring characters from the Shonen Jump titles. Jump Super Stars offers the player to fight with Light, Ryuk and L. Jump Ultimate Stars brings in Misa, Mello and Near.

None of these games have been offered US or UK release dates and with some of the games going on five years old, assumptions that they may not come out of Japan isn’t far off. However, because the DS doesn’t have a region issue, like games for the Playstation, they can be bought and played on the American DS. If a player either has patience and is willing to put aside the language barrier or in fact, is familiar or fluent in Japanese, they are all highly recommended and have received high gaming scores.