Hatsune Miku is back, with over 170 songs and customizable outfits. Does the Vocaloid gang still bring the charm in this PC game release?― With how much a certain blue hedgehog and a would-be reformed Japanese gangster dominate Sega's limelight, you'd be forgiven for forgetting that Sega also plays host to the video game exploits of Hatsune Miku, the famed digital singing platform musicians have use...
The Darkstalkers OVA series gets a new Blu-Ray treatment, but beneath the polished look it’s much the same as it was in the 1990s: nicely animated but too darned serious for its own good.― Adapting the Darkstalkers games into an animated series is harder than it seems. True, the games are largely plot-free cavalcades of marvelously animated monsters sparring with each other, but therein lies the cha...
A female-only village of ninja may have met its match when its young kunoichi in training become aware of a terrifying yet titillating concept: men.― A female-only village of ninja may have met its match when its young kunoichi in training become aware of a terrifying yet titillating concept: men. This series is streaming on Crunchyroll Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by the participan...
Manga has been on hiatus since November 2018― Yoshihiro Togashi created a Twitter account and teased on Tuesday that his Hunter x Hunter manga would return from its current hiatus. He posted a picture with a manuscript with the number "6" and stated that there were four more chapters "for now." Togashi commented in Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump magazine that he has finished the rough drafts for 10 c...
Film opens in Japan on August 6― The official YouTube channel for the upcoming One Piece Film Red anime film posted a new video on Wednesday showing the film's character designs for the Marine and World Government characters. The film will open in Japan on August 6. The film will center on a new character named Uta (seen right), Shanks' daughter. Goro Taniguchi (Code Geass, One Piece: Defeat The Pir...
Junya Enoki, Minami Tanaka, Rumi Okubo, Ayaka Suwa star in anime by studio A-CAT― The official website for the television anime adaptation of Shobonnu's Nōmin Kanren no Skill Bakka Agetetara Nazeka Tsuyoku Natta. (I've Somehow Gotten Stronger When I Improved My Farm-Related Skills.) light novel series unveiled a teaser trailer and visual for the anime on Wednesday. The teaser reveals the anime's mai...
Film serves as finale for story― The Eiga Gotōbun no Hanayome (The Quintessential Quintuplets the Movie) sequel anime film sold approximately 290,000 tickets to earn 390 million yen (about US$3.06 million) in its first three days at the box office in Japan. The film debuted at #2 for the weekend of May 21-22. The Quintessential Quintuplets the Movie opened on Friday, and its runtime exceeds 130 minu...
Part of the joy of this series is the realization that people are people no matter where and when they live. How does this second adaptation of Mari Yamazaki's manga bring Roman and Japanese bathing culture together?― Japanese bathing culture, writes Garrett G. Fagan in his exhaustive 1999 text Bathing in Public in the Roman World, “bear[s] resemblance…to documented Ancient Roman practice.” Since th...
We spoke to the manga's editor Shihei Lin about his collaboration with manga creator Tatsuya Endō, and how they worked together to bring this manga to the world.― SPY×FAMILY's goofy and heartwarming tale of found family has captured hearts the world over. We spoke to the manga's editor Shihei Lin about his collaboration with manga creator Tatsuya Endo, and how they worked together to bring this mang...
Jacki, James, and Lynzee check out Netflix's newest anime from fan-favorite studio WIT! Can the studio behind Attack on Titan and Ranking of Kings turn out another anime masterpiece?― Is Vampire in the Garden Anime Any Good? Jacki, James, and Lynzee check out Netflix's newest anime from fan-favorite studio WIT! Can the studio behind Attack on Titan and Ranking of Kings turn out another anime master...
Cotton Fantasy serves up a complete course of the “cute-‘em-up” flavor of 2-D shooting game, and it turns out light and breezy yet surprisingly filling.― The Cotton series is nothing if not a survivor. First appearing in 1991, Cotton introduced the horizontal shooter genre to a cute little witch with a cuter, littler fairy sidekick, and it never wavered from that. The 1990s brought sequels and ports...
Netflix's new five-episode anime series from Studio Wit takes the typical "vampire-human" war angle and crafts a love story. It's not reinventing the wheel, but it's a very, very good looking one.― Netflix's new five-episode anime series from Studio Wit takes the typical "vampire-human" war angle and crafts a love story. It's not reinventing the wheel, but it's a very, very good looking one. This s...
Noted yuri scholar Erica Friedman explores the origins of women loving women in Japanese media from its roots in literary girls' fiction to the acknowledgement of yuri as a genre.― Whether you call it yuri or GL, the genre of women loving women in anime and manga hasn't always been understood or appreciated. Erica Friedman's new book By Your Side: The First 100 Years of Yuri Anime and Manga is a maj...
One Piece and Kaguya-sama are in a very tight race for their fans' love! Find out how your favorite shows performed in our weekly user rankings!― Let's have a look at what ANN readers consider the best (and worst) of the season, based on the polls you can find in our Daily Streaming Reviews and on the Your Score page with the latest simulcasts. Keep in mind that these rankings are based on how peop...
Jean-Karlo shares his collection of virtual pets, the handheld toys that have quietly held out since their heyday in the late '90s. Relive the joy (and tragedy!) of keeping your pixelated pet alive.― A thing I've noticed about some of the Japanese media I've consumed is how enduring it is. Pokémon was labeled as “just a fad” when it came out, but here we are, the better part of 30 years out from its...
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