News
Weekly Wrapup 4/Sep - 10/Sep
posted on by Georgia Blair
Square Enix revealed Dragon Quest X, the latest iteration in the long-running Japanese RPG series, will be the first online game in the franchise with an internet connection required past the first few hours of gameplay. The game will be released on the Nintendo Wii next year with additional USB memory and a version for the upcoming Wii U console is also in development. Dragon Quest creator Yuji Horii, composer Kōichi Sugiyama and character designer Akira Toriyama will return to work on the new title.
One hundred and twenty two manga creators, with seven major Japanese publishers, signed a letter expressing concern to Japanese stores that scan and digitise manga without authorisation. Over a hundred Japanese stores offer digital copies of manga for a small fee, without obtaining permission from the creators or publishers. The letter expresses concern that the practice may be an infringement on their copyright and asks for a response from the stores by September 16, but as the copies are claimed to be for private use, the issue lies under a grey area in Japanese law.
Taro Aso, formerly the Japanese Prime Minister, confirmed during a television interview that he does not read the Peach-Pit manga Rozen Maiden manga regularly, but once read a volume while waiting in Haneda Airport. A then-unverified report that he was seen reading the manga led to him being dubbed Rozen Aso by Japanese fans. Taro Aso is known for supporting anime and manga as a form of cultural exchange and is currently serving as an envoy to Japan specifically to promote anime.
The trailer for the K-ON theatrical film has begun streaming on the franchise's official website. Set while the characters are still in high school, the film presents a new story not featured in the television series and three new songs will be included the film, with a short segment of one song played in the trailer. The film will open in Japanese theatres on December 3.
Iron craftsman Kōgorō Kurata, known for building a life-size replica of a VOTOMS mecha in 2007, is constructing a 4-meter-tall moving robot with a human cockpit. Kurata has been developing the robot since January 2010 with the help of Wataru Yoshizaki, developer of the robotic control software V-Sido. The robot will move using hydraulics powered by a diesel engine and will weigh four tons when complete.
