Asgard

Relive the adventures of Ban Mido and Ginji Amano as they “get back” the things people lost! Sentai Filmworks is a North American anime company that releases licensed Blu-Ray and DVD copies of great anime titles. It was announced on their official website on February 1, 2012 that they have gained the license of the famous anime that was produced by Studio DEEN and that they would be releasing the series in digital formats sometime this year.

With Ban’s “Evil Eye” ability which creates illusions in his victims mind and Ginji’s talent for harnessing the power of electricity, the GetBackers can get anything back for you, just name it. Whether it’s a top secret project, a person, a stuffed animal or even hope that is lost, the GetBackers can literally return it back to you.… Keep Reading

Anime has become so huge that some well known titles such as Dragon Ball, Blood: The Last Vampire and Speed Racer have owned live action movie counterparts. For simple movie goers who are not familiar with the anime or manga, some of these movies are passable, some would even say they’re great. But the same thing cannot be easily said for the hardcore anime fans; some would leave their mouths hanging open in shock while watching the movie or some would shake their heads in disgust. Ratings are considerably very low for these live action films with less than or equal to five stars out of ten in iM. But what happens if you take a very controversial anime and take a live action movie of it?… Keep Reading

Rurouni Kenshin celebrates its 15th anniversary in the field of anime and manga by releasing a remake of the anime’s biggest arc in a two part OVA, the Shin Kyoto Hen.

Released on December 17, 2011, the Shin Kyoto Hen focuses on the Kyoto arc of the series but is told from the point of view of Misao Makimachi. Produced by Studio DEEN and directed by Furuhashi Kazahiro, Shin Kyoto Hen resembles a reunion for everyone. The voice actors for this OVA are nearly the same except for Saito Hajime. Saito Hajime’s original voice actor, Hirotoka Suzuki, passed away due to lung cancer in the year 2006 and is replaced by Ken Narita, a known voice actor who lent his voice talent to Ryuken Ishida from Bleach and Sesshomaru from Inu Yasha.… Keep Reading

With her torquoise-colored floor length pig tails and cute appearance, Crypton Future Media’s world famous Vocaloid Hatsune Miku has become the latest model for yet another huge franchise: Hatsune Miku’s latest single “Tell Your World” has been featured in Japan’s Google Chrome ad.

The ad is simply about inspiration that leads to creativity.

Although Hatsune Miku looks like an anime character and appears as a guest on many anime and manga titles, she is not an anime character. Hatsune Miku is a singing synthesizer software in which users are able to make her sing any song imaginable just by entering the lyrics and setting the melody. She is illustrated by KEI who was tasked to draw an android diva based on Yamaha’s blue-green colors and is a popular cosplay choice.… Keep Reading

Anime themed cafes are small restaurants that are steadily gaining popularity. Many of these restaurants are “maid cafes” in which the staff are dressed as maids serving their “masters”, the customers. The first maid cafe was opened in 2001 in Akihabara, Japan but is now spreading worldwide. Maid cafes can be found in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Singapore, China and even in the Philippines.

However, the maid cafe is just one example of an Anime themed restaurant. Tea Room 2525, located in Tokyo, Japan, has recently opened the “Legends of the Galactic Heroes” themed cafe. Legends of the Galactic Heroes is a space themed novel created by Yoshiki Tanaka which inspired an anime series that lasted for 10 years.… Keep Reading

Who’s that buxom anime chick with the long brown hair with braids and clad in a school girl uniform? From what anime is she?

She has vast amounts of merchandise ranging from poseable figures to even her own curry flavor. Girls (and maybe some guys) cosplay her and even dolls dress up like her. So who is she and why is she so popular?

Those who aren’t familiar with Mirai Suenaga, as she is called, might confuse her with a lot of anime titles since she makes appearances so here’s the 101 on Mirai Suenaga.

Mirai Suenaga is the mascot and brainchild of Culture Japan host and blogger, Danny Choo. With the help of illustrator Azami Yuko, Mirai Suenaga was born on the corner of Danny Choo’s blog in 2007 and gained immense popularity since then.… Keep Reading

This most recent season of anime has shown a huge number of legalized ways to obtain the anime you want to see: both streaming through online simulcasts and licensing for DVD and Blu-Ray release.  Here’s an overview of what to find where:

(Note: All air-dates are given in Japan time.)

Natsume Yuujinchou Shi (Natsume’s Book of Friends, Season 4)
Date Aired: January 2^nd, 2012
Streaming On: Crunchyroll, Mondays, 10:00a.m. PST.  Crunchyroll also has the first 3 seasons available for streaming.
Licensed By: NIS America has just recently licensed all 4 seasons of Natsume Yuujinchou for release on home video.  There’s no news yet on the format or release dates.

Shin Tennis no Ouji-sama (The New Prince of Tennis)
(Sequel to the first Prince of Tennis anime.)
Date Aired: January 4^th, 2012
Streaming On: Crunchyroll, Wednesdays, 10:30a.m.… Keep Reading