Asgard

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

Weekly Shonen Jump manga Hunter x Hunter has recently reached a new record in continuous serialization.  As of 2012 issue #8, scheduled to go on sale January 23^rd, the manga has been serialized in WSJ for 22 consecutive issues (starting with 2011 issue #35-36, which was put on sale August 8^th, 2011).

This is the longest Hunter x Hunter has been published continuously since its original serialization in 1998.  While very well received, Hunter x Hunter has yet to reach the level of fame as other series serialized around the same time (such as One Piece, 1997, and Naruto, 1999) because of its constant hiatuses, the longest of which lasted 79 issues, from February 2006 until October 2007.  Most of these were reportedly due to the illness of the author, Togashi Yoshihiro (also creator of Yu Yu Hakusho and Level E).… Keep Reading

Xin Nian Kuai Le! As our Chinese bretheren welcomes the Dragon on their Lunar New Year, and Cartoon Network joins in on the celebration with a Dragon Ball Z Kai Marathon.

Dragon Ball Z Kai is the updated version of the old Dragon Ball Z series. Updates include a high definition quality of the series and some scenes were cut from the original Dragon Ball Z. The story , however, remains exactly the same before it was modified. The Dragon Ball Z Kai was edited in such a way that children can also enjoy the series without showing too much violence.

The Dragon Ball Z Kai Chinese New Year Marathon begins on January 23, 2012, Monday, and ends on January 27, 2012.… Keep Reading

A tall, pretty girl loaded with spunk, Miharu Saruwatari* is one of the cosplayers known locally in the city of Cagayan de Oro, Philippines. She charmed the socks off the men with her Zatsune Miku costume and scared the bujeezus off people with her Bubble Head Maid attire. We were able to snag a few minutes of her time for this interview.

*Cosplay Stage Name

Asgard: When did you first hear about cosplay and what made you decide to join?

Miharu Saruwatari: Well, I first saw a picture on the internet of people in their cartoon costumes and I was intrigued. That curiosity led me to intensive research about what is it about and it seemed really, really, REALLY fun. I even thought it was called “dress up” at first!… Keep Reading

After rumors became solid fact, fans of the red haired samurai with the cross-shaped scar are waiting on tenterhooks for the release of the live action version of Rurouni Kenshin which will be shown on August 25, 2012.

Rurouni Kenshin or Samurai X, is a manga-turned-anime about a gentle samurai named Kenshin Himura who constantly atones for his sin of murder back when he was an assassin known as Hitokiri Battousai or Battousai the Slasher.

The cast of the live action was slowly unveiled and much to the delight of the fans, the cast are Japanese. Takeru Sato who is known for his role in Kamen Rider Den-O, takes the role of Kenshin Himura. Emi Takei, Aoki Munetaka, Yu Aoi and Taketo Tanaka make up the rest of the main characters as Kaoru Kamiya, Sanosuke Sagara, Megumi Takani and Yahiko Myojin.… Keep Reading