This week: Star Ocean producer Shuichi Kobayashi talks sequels, scandalous attire, and Valkyrie Profile! Plus Let it Die, Nier: Automata, and a dangerous new direction for games. ― Welcome to another edition of the X Button. I must interrupt your regularly scheduled Valkyrie Profile updates for some news about Sony's new PlayStation 4. Yes, some solid rumors point to Sony releasing an upgraded versi...

review

12 comments

C³ BD+DVD

Apr 21, 11:08

12 comments

anime

C3 is a surprisingly entertaining take on some well-worn action-fanservice territory. ― Released five years ago now, C³ was one of Silver Link's earliest productions, before they were renowned for… well, making a whole lot of shows exactly like C³. The show falls in the timeless “action-fanservice adaptation themed around torture/bondage gear” subgenre, which has more recently featured the legitimate...

feature

31 comments

Why We Love Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney

Apr 20, 11:24

31 comments

anime

Fans have clamored for a Phoenix Wright anime for years - the one we finally got left a little to be desired. Jacob Chapman explains what makes the game series so special... and why the anime might not stack up. ― This spring, after over a decade of waiting and hoping, Phoenix Wright fans finally got the TV anime adaptation they always wanted. Well, sort of. After the first episode of A-1 Pictures's...

review

19 comments

Review: The Empire of Corpses

Apr 20, 10:23

19 comments

anime

In select theaters now, The Empire of Corpses succeeds as a rip-roaring adventure story, even if its philosophical pretensions aren’t quite up to snuff. ― The easy, almost foolproof way of testing your appetite for The Empire of Corpses would be to ask: are you a fan of The League of Extraordinary Gentleman (the comics, not the film)? Does that kind of turn of the century steampunk aesthetic entice y...

review

1 comments

Tokyo Ghoul Volumes 5 & 6

Apr 19, 09:43

1 comments

manga

Tokyo Ghoul may not be subtle with its "monster vs. man" themes, but it does know how to keep you reading as we start to learn more about why Kaneki exists and what levels the police will stoop to in order to stop the ghouls. ― One thing you can say for Tokyo Ghoul – once it seizes on a theme, it doesn't look back. As the story has developed, it has continued to play with the notion of the monster ve...

column

85 comments

Answerman - Are Physical Anime Releases In Danger?

Apr 18, 13:00

85 comments

anime

Common wisdom dictates that most people watch anime streaming now - are DVD and Bluray headed for the dustbin of history? Justin chimes in. ― RPGothic asks: With streaming services such as Netflix and Amazon getting exclusive rights to series and anime programming blocks, plus the recent crunchyroll/kadokawa deal, what does this mean for the home video market? I know dvds and blurays sales are on th...

column

25 comments

Shelf Life - Tonari no Seki-kun

Apr 18, 12:06

25 comments

anime

Paul kills time and goofs off with Tonari no Seki-kun, a short-form sleeper hit out on bluray now from Sentai Filmworks. PLUS: an avalanche of this week's new anime releases! ― It's rare for one single scene to sell me on an entire series, but that's exactly what happened when I watched the first episode of Flying Witch last week. Near the end of the episode, the main character wanders off into the ...

review

43 comments

REVIEW: Ajin

Apr 18, 10:13

43 comments

anime

Based on the twisted and challenging hit manga, this fully-CG anime series considers the dark side of humanity. Theron Martin reports back from his binge-watch. ― One thing should be made clear up front about this 13 episode “Netflix Original” production: it was produced by Polygon Pictures, the same studio which produced Knights of Sidonia, and uses the same kind of CG animation style. Hence if you ...

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