SGcafe Anime News For Otaku Apr 2013 Issue by VR Media Pte. Ltd.

April 4th, 2013

Published by: VR-Zone

SGCafe : Cosplay | Vocaloid | Otaku | Pop Culture A daily publication about Cosplay, Vocaloid, Otaku and Japanese Pop Culture

Amuse announces their 35th Anniversary concert Source: http://sgcafe.com/2013/04/amuse-announces-35th-anniversaryconcert/ By bj0rN on April 4th, 2013

came up with the analogy for BBQ, “(B) Bokura no, (B) Beat wo, (Q) Kurae Kora!”. Regarding the event, Porno Graffitti’s Okano Akihito commented, “With so many wonderful musicians, I wish to celebrate the 35 years with everyone.” Shindo added, “The forest in Tsumagoi is a great location to match music, so I want to enjoy it together with everybody!” FLOW also commented, “We feel that our stage performances will be a lot more exciting since we will be able to do it together with our seniors and juniors and we’re looking forward to it.” Finally, the ladies of Perfume said, “It’s hosted every year by our most senior Porno Graffiti. Getting to BBQ with our seniors and friends of the same generation whom we love, our relationship will gradually get stronger.” The event will be held on July 13th and 14th. Source: Oricon

Capcom to Release Geist Crusher for Nintendo 3DS Source: http://sgcafe.com/2013/04/capcom-release-geist-crushernintendo-3ds/ By Kai on April 4th, 2013

To celebrate their 35th anniversary, Amuse will be holding a live event called “Amuse 35th Anniversary BBQ in Tsumagoi Bokura no Beat wo Kurae Kora!~“ in July at Tsumagoi, Shizuoka. Popular artistes such as Porno Graffiti, Perfume, ONE OK ROCK, NICO Touches the Walls, flumpool, WEAVER, Takahashi Yu will come together for the celebration.

Interested in playing a new series for kids? For the first time in five years, Capcom is back with a new game developed specifically for children. The game company has recently announced that they would like to start a new series called Geist Crusher.

Every year, Amuse holds a BBQ party hosted by Porno Graffitti. Since they will be celebrating a turning point this year, it will be held as a big open-air event. The event’s title was suggested by Porno Graffitti’s Shindo Haruichi, who 1

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The cross-media series is scheduled to have a 3DS game, a manga, an anime series, and a special line of toys from Bandai (called Gaimetal). With a terrific story line, superb fighting gear and special attacks, the 3DS game will instantly remind you of the Mega Man and Monster Hunter series. The Geist Crusher game for Nintendo 3DS will be released in Japan in Winter this year. And if you fancy watching shounen anime, then you will also love Geist Crusher’s animated series. Thanks to the brilliant Studio Pierrot, gamers and anime lovers all over the world will better appreciate the beautiful world of Geist Crusher. The entire storyline revolves around deep friendship, sorrow and exciting rivalry as each charming character’s personalities unravel before your eyes. Personally, who wouldn’t want to play another game that requires you to banish evil monsters and go through a lot of levels? I’d love to arm myself with some “Geist gear” like “Flame Fenrir”, and even watch the entire anime series and buy a few Geist Crusher goodies from Bandai. Source: 4Gamer

Little Battlers eXperience starts its broadcast on OKTO Source: http://sgcafe.com/2013/04/battlers-experience-starts-broadcastokto/ By bj0rN on April 4th, 2013

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Battler eXperience). Yamano Ban, a young boy who desires to become an LBX Fighter like his friends, is forbidden by his mother from owning an LBX as his father was taken from them in an accident relating to LBX years ago. One day a mysterious woman approaches Ban with a suitcase and tells him the hopes and fears of humanity lie inside it, and when Ban opens it, he finds a strange new LBX Robot. He is soon attacked by organizations who want the data inside this robot, and Ban and his friends are dragged into a corporation war that spreads all the way up to the highest political positions of power in Japan, and the true origins behind LBX Battling which could change the entire political structure of Japan. It also has a decent voice cast with notable seiyuus such as Marina Inoue (Yozora Mikazuki from Haganai) playing as Ami Kawamura and Daisuke Namikawa (Waver Valvet from Fate/Zero) as Kazuya Aoshima. Megumi Kobuta is playing her first debut major role as Yamano Ban. The series has a cult following among Japanese primary school kids for the past couple of years, much like Digimon in the yesteryears.

Kali Class Arrives in Dragon Nest SEA Source: http://sgcafe.com/2013/04/kali-class-arrives-dragon-nest-sea/ By bj0rN on April 4th, 2013

Dragon Nest SEA will be introducing a new spiritual fighter into its current 5-class line-up (Warrior, Cleric, Sorceress, Archer & Academic). Players will be able to experience new skills and further unravel the lore of Dragon Nest SEA with Kali!

Little Battlers eXperience is a science fiction Japanese anime television series based on the Little Battlers eXperience roleplaying video game by Level-5 started its run on OKTO last night at 7:30pm on OKTO. Danball Senki tells the story of a world where kids battle one another using little robot figures called LBX (Little 2

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Born under the Prophet’s Shadow Star, Kali’s destiny had been foretold by the Great Sage Arno when he visited the elusive Hermit’s Village many years ago. Back then, the Great Sage Arno told the villagers of Hermit’s Village that a special baby would be born into the village. The fate of this child would be to aid and guide the Prophet of Lagendia after the village is blazed to the ground. Great Sage Arno then passed on the battle skills and knowledge of the Ancients to the villagers of Hermit’s Village so they could be entrusted to the child in turn.

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As Kali levels to 15, players can choose to progress her into a Screamer with powerful long-ranged dark spiritual magical attacks, or a Dancer who unleashes short ranged havoc in battle with her chakram and spiritual attack combo. Come level 45, players can further fine-tune her specialties to create a formidable character in battle. A Screamer can progress into a Soul Eater who places nasty curses and debuffs on enemies to strengthen her own attacks, or a Dark Summoner who can heal herself with every attack delivered. For players who chose the Dancer route in level 15, they can now progress to Spirit Dancer who specializes in devastating AOE (Area of Effect) attacks with the help of various dead spirits, or the Blade Dancer who deals powerful short-ranged combo attacks on the battlefield.

Years passed, and true enough, a baby girl was born just as Great Sage Arno predicted. Following Arno’s instructions, the villagers named the child Kali, which meant the “Watcher”. Kali’s life journey as the Prophet’s Shadow Star was meant to be a tough one, with her mother’s death following her birth. An androgynous stranger named Gaharam in the village adopted the infant Kali and taught her the battle skills she would require in future.

Kali deals damage to her opponents using twin fans which complement her graceful combat style. Her mesmerizing dance-like moves can prove fatal to her enemies as her twin fans unleash a devastating force to knock down enemies. Harnessing her supernatural prowess, Kali can also summon the power of spirits to aid her in combat or provide support for her allies.

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April 4th, 2013

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Kyoto Animation announces anime ‘Kyokai no Kanata’ Source: http://sgcafe.com/2013/04/kyoto-animation-announces-animekyokai-kanata/ By SunSoftware on April 4th, 2013

Source: Kyokai no Kanata website

Disney to close LucasArts, cancels all related projects Source: http://sgcafe.com/2013/04/disney-close-lucasarts-cancelsrelated-projects/ By sentinel011 on April 3rd, 2013

Kyoto Animation, the studio behind hits like K-ON! and Tamako Market, is working on a new anime. It’s not related to the swimming commercial, but it still looks exciting. The anime, titled “Kyokai no Kanata” (Beyond the Boundary), is an adaptation of the light novel series of the same name. The story is a dark fantasy in which humans called Ikaishi fight creatures called Yomu. The protagonist, Akihito Kanbara, is a high school boy who meets the girl Mirai Kuriyama when she is about to jump off the school roof. Akihito is a half-Yomu who recovers from wounds quickly, whereas Mirai has the rare ability to manipulate blood. As Akihito decides to save the lonely girl, ominous events occur around them. The novel series, written by Nagomu Torii and illustrated by Chise Kamoi, received an honorable mention in the second Kyoto Animation Awards in 2011. The first volume was released last June, and was accompanied by this animated commercial. While you wait for the anime to be aired, you can visit Kyokai no Kanata’s official website, where you can see the main characters. Along with Akihito and Mirai, there are Mitsuki and Hiromi Nase, siblings from a family of Ikaishi.

It came as a shock among the gaming industry when Kotaku reported their decision to shut down LucasArts earlier today. The sister company to LucasFilms, practically all of its 150strong staff were laid off, with the studio’s projects Star Wars: First Assault and Star Wars 1313 canned. While there is a chance where the projects might be picked up by another publisher, Kotaku’s sources thought that this route was “unlikely”. It was really unfortunate too, especially when Star Wars 1313 looked spectacular in its E3 trailer release last year. How would the staff survive? Who would hire them now? SGCafe lists down the routes that they can potentially take from here on: 1. Teach - Probably the safest and most common decision. Most of the game illustrators, designers and 5

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programmers in the studio would have had high quality degrees or portfolio behind them. Most universities would be glad to accept them into their roles into future game developers.

Published by: VR-Zone By sentinel011 on April 3rd, 2013

2. Join – The second alternative that comes to mind. Joining other studios with similar backgrounds. Programmers, designers and the marketing department may have an easier trying to dive back into the gaming industry, but the illustrators and concept artists might have slightly more difficult time finding a job they would be satisfied working in due to the difference in art direction. A few developers and studios we felt would be most suitable are probably Rockstar games. 3. East – It might be a good time to spice up the Japanese gaming industry with their presence and experience. But the catch would be to quell these gaming companies and their strict rules on hiring foreigners. However, we remembered that Kojima Productions is looking to hire senior gaming programmers and designers. Heck, maybe even the mobile gaming side would be interesting to tap into their talents. 4. Write – Journalism would be a great way to tap onto their industry network, especially its marketing department. Or vent off steam on their predicament like how Gametrailers’ Annoyed Gamer does it. 5. Switch – There’s a chance that some of its employees are looking for a chance to quit their jobs and do their dream jobs, yet can’t bear to leave due to whatever reasons. Well, here’s a very good chance for them to do a completely different job that they are used to, perhaps starting their own business or something. 6. Recharge – Holidaying seems like a good pick-meup after you’ve been told to bugger off. Recharge and re-think your options, not before you contact your industry buddies if there are any openings within their company. 7. Solo – Start your own gaming firm with your colleagues, just like many other gaming studios out there who have done the same thing. A great chance to start producing their own My Little Pony third person adventure game, perhaps? (we kid.) What do you think LucasArts staff should do from here on? Which company should they join, and what sort of new projects do you think they can create? Source: Kotaku

Perfume to perform at Ultra Music Festival 2013 in South Korea Source: http://sgcafe.com/2013/04/perfume-perform-ultra-musicfestival-2013-south-korea/

The electropop trio pull no stops at global domination. The official website has announced the girls’ involvement with this year’s Ultra Music Festival. For those who are clueless about this music festival, UMF originated in Miami, USA as an event to celebrate electronic music and DJs. Think of it as a global scale Zoukout, for those residing in Singapore. Big names such as Afrojack and Carl Cox will be performing this year’s Festival in South Korea. Fans of the electronic music genre will surely know Ultra Music Festival. Big name DJs and electronic artistes from all over the world will perform at the two-day festival, held in South Korea this year. The event, titled “Ultra Korea”, will be held at Jamsil Olympic Complex come 14 and 15 June 2013. The first two phases of ticket sales have already sold out. It is a big deal for Perfume to be among the global performers, as the majority of Perfume’s songs are quite different from the rest of the invited performing artistes in the list. Aside from the few “heavy” tracks like GAME, One Room Disco, edge and FAKE IT, most other tracks are targeted towards mainstream pop audiences. However, it is still a feat for the ladies to be able to perform at a global scale event. Perhaps one day they can be invited to perform at Singapore’s very own Zoukout? We shall see. Perfume is scheduled to perform on Friday, 14 June 2013. Source: UMFKorea, Perfume Official Site

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YUI returns to singing career with new band ‘Flower Flower’ Source: http://sgcafe.com/2013/04/yui-returns-singing-career-bandflower-flower/ By SunSoftware on April 3rd, 2013

Published by: VR-Zone

YUI has been performing for nine years, and many of her singles have ranked number one on Oricon’s charts. Anime fans may recognize her for her songs “Rolling Star” and “Life” from Bleach and “Again” from Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood. When YUI announced her hiatus near the end of last year, she posted a hand-written message on her website saying, “I am searching for a new challenge. For that reason, I am taking a break.” If you’re excited to see YUI making a comeback, you can follow her band’s official website. Although it’s currently empty, it will be more active after their debut performance, so be sure to show your support in the future. Source: Natalie, Mantan-Web

KAT-TUN’s 21st Single FACE to Face details released Source: http://sgcafe.com/2013/04/kat-tuns-21st-single-face-facedetails-released/ By Crest on April 2nd, 2013

J-pop fans should be familiar with YUI, the star who went on hiatus last year. Now, she’s back in the music business, and she has friends. YUI is now the lead vocalist of the four-man band Flower Flower, who have held secret performances across the country during the last month. The band will make their formal debut at Japan Jam 2013 in Shinkiba’s Studio Coast on May 4, followed by the Tokyo Metropolitan Rock Festival 2013 in Shinkiba Park on May 26. As you can tell from this picture, YUI has also cut her hair short and dyed it blonde. KAT-TUN, through the official Johnny’s and J-STORM websites, has released information about their upcoming single titled FACE to Face. FACE to Face will be released on May 15, 3 months after Expose, their 20th single. Their previous single maintained KAT-TUN’s unbroken streak of consecutive number one singles, a record that is shared by fellow Johnnys’ Kinki Kids.

As for Flower Flower, she formed the band with artists that she respects. As she says, “I thought I could feel pure enjoyment if I listened to these members. I can also grow naturally, since with each idea and performance, I get another insight or possible song.” About the name of the band, she says, “I wanted a name that sounds natural and not arrogant. I had a desire to freely express something powerful and interesting.”

FACE to Face contains the titular song FACE to Face which is the theme song to the movie, Ore Ore, that features Kamenashi Kazuya in a leading role. Besides FACE to Face, the single contains DRAMATIC which is the theme song for NTV’s Dramatic Game 1844 where Kamenashi Kazuya is a recurring guest on it. The last named song in the single, FLASH is a solo by Junnosuke Taguchi. This continues a trend where KAT-TUN singles feature a solo by one of the members. The PV to FLASH will be included in the first print of the regular edition. There will be three versions of the single, the limited edition first print which will include the PV to FACE to Face and two untitled songs. The first print of the regular print includes a special video. The regular edition 7

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is the only edition that includes DRAMATIC and two other untitled songs.

(Kirishima Kaito from Ano Natsu de Matteru, Tanaka Taichi from Tari Tari)

Credits: J-STORM

AIC is a company known to create exceptional animation productions, and with Director Keitaro Motonaga helming this series, Date A Live is set to be a series enjoyed by teenagers and young adults. Given that the source material and setting exudes the typical harem rom-com vibes, it would definitely be exciting to see how AIC+ and Keitaro Motonaga tackle this issue.

SGCafe’s top 5 series picks – Upcoming Spring Anime 2013 Source: http://sgcafe.com/2013/04/sgcafes-top-5-series-picksupcoming-spring-anime-2013/ By bj0rN on April 2nd, 2013

The voice cast have veteran voice actress Marina Inoue, who recently reprised her role in Boku ha Tomodachi ga Sukunai. She is also known for her role as gutsy sniper Yoko Rittner from Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann. As for Nobunaga Shimazaki, his role as Shidou Itsuka will probably be his first harem lead role, but voiced a couple of memorable male characters such as Ryou Sakurai from Kuroko’s Basketball and Kirishima Kaito from Ano Natsu de Matteru. If you yearn for an enjoyable romantic comedy anime series with a touch of sci-fi this season, Date A Live might just be the series for you.

You know Spring is here when Sakura trees bloom. Of course, that also means that Spring 2013 anime season is coming up, and SGCafe picks the top 5 series which you are likely to watch.

Date A Live Many light novels have been adapted into anime series these days, and it doesn’t take long for Date A Live to be adapted into one. The rom-com (short for romantic comedy) takes place thirty years after the story’s setting, whereby a strange phenomena called a “spacequake”, that devastated the center of Eurasia, taking the lives of about 150 million people. These spacequakes continue to happen throughout the world on a irregular basis, but on a much smaller scale. The male protaganist Shidou Itsuka, comes across a mysterious girl at the ground zero of a spacequake and learns from his sister Kotori that this mysterious girl is actually one of the “Spirits” who manifest themselves in this world, causing the spacequakes. He also learns that Kotori is the captain of the airship Ratatoskr and recruits him to make use of his mysterious ability to seal the Spirits’ powers and stop them from being a threat to mankind. To do so, he has to seal a Spirit; by making her fall in love with him. Animation by: AIC+ Directed by: Keitaro Motonaga (School Days, Jormangand) Voice CastTohka Yatogami - Marina Inoue (Mikazuki Yozora from Boku ha Tomodachi ga Sukunai, Laura Bodewig from Infinite Stratos)Shidou Itsuka - Nobunaga Shimazaki

Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet The Human Galactic Alliance has been constantly fighting for its survival against a grotesque race of beings called “Hidiaasu.” During an intense battle, the young lieutenant Red and his humanoid mobile weapon Chamber are swallowed up into a distortion of time and space. After waking up from a long artificially induced hibernation, he finds himself trapped on a planet, with human residents talking in an unknown form of language and using inferior technologies. Red realizes that he has arrived on Earth, the planet on the lost frontier. On this planet that was completely flooded by the seas, people live in fleets of giant ships, salvaging relics from the seas’ depths in order to survive. Red arrives on one of the fleets called Gargantia with no knowledge of the planet’s history or culture. Under unforeseen circumstances, he is forced to live alongside Amy, a 15-year-old girl who serves as a messenger aboard the Gargantia fleet. In the midst of an unknown environment and a language he doesn’t understand, he starts communicating with the people of Gargantia in order to survive, and slowly he begins to have a change of heart. Animation by: Production I.G 8

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Directed by: Kazuya Murata (Fullmetal Alchemist: The Sacred Star of Milos) Script by: Urobochi Gen (Madoka Magica, Fate/Zero, PSYCHO PASS) Voice Cast Red - Ishikawa Kaito Amy - Kanemoto Kisako (Ika Musume from Ika Musume, Asteria Lizamarie De Roschefall from Rinne no Lagrange) The fact that Urobuchi Gen is doing the script for this series is a very huge draw considering his previous works such as Fate/Zero and PSYCHO PASS were well recieved. C0nsidering his involvement, this series would probably take a very nice twist in terms of plot somewhere in the middle of the story. The show could easily lure us in with something that looks peaceful and then throws us into a wild roller coaster ride.

Ore no Imouto ga Konnani Kawaii Wake ga Nai (Season 2) The second season of Oreimo will take continue off the end of Season 1. Kosaka Kyousuke lives a very normal life and is like any normal person. One day he finds out that his sister, Kosaka Kirino, apart from being smart, pretty, and popular, is also actually an obsessive consumer of anime and eroge, which predominately feature little sister characters in them. Kirino pleads for him to not to reveal her hobby. Along the way, many other trials comes along as Kyousuke tries to look after his sister and assures her that this secret will be keep discreet while Kirino faces several problems herselfs, as she tries to keep the appearances and balance her exemplar school life with her hobbies. Unaware, Kyousuke didn’t expect that the whole situation would eventually suck him into Kirino’s world. Animation by: A1 Pictures Directed by: Hiroyuki Kanbe (Strike Wtiches Movie)Voice Cast Kousaka Kyousuke - Nakamura Yuuichi (Okazaki Tomoya from CLANNAD, Oreki Houtaro from Hyouka) Kousaka Kirino - Ayana Taketatsu (Leafa from Sword Art Online, Nakano Azusa from K-ON!)Gokou Ruri (Kuroneko) – Kana Hanazawa (Akane Tsunemori from PSYCHO PASS, Hasegawa Kobato from Haganai) Season 2 is brought to you by another production company A1 Pictures instead of AIC Build and continuing the story

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off from Season 1 of Oreimo. Long awaited by many, it has finally returned after two and a half years to complete the story. Season 2 will continue off the “True End” route left off and is expected to bring an end to the series, following the story up to the last volume of the light novel at Volume 12 This upcoming season will have more development outside of Kirino and Kyousuke. To many Kuroneko fans out there, Kuroneko willl also start to have more character development with Kyousuke. With about 12 episodes to wrap up the series, hopefully they are able to pace it out nicely from start to end. At the very least, this is what most Oreimo fans have been looking for to.

Youto Yokodera is just like every teenage boy, with perversion is in his nature. However, in his case, every time he does something perverted, it somehow gets turned around and misunderstood as something positive for the community. Sick of being so perverted, he tries to shake free of it by going to a special part of town. On top of a hill, away from the town and at the foot of a large tree, there is a wooden sculpture of a beckoning cat that is said to have special powers. Instead of bringing a wish to the user like a typical beckoning cat, it takes something from the user, and, in Youto’s case, his perversion. Still doubtful, he uses the beckoning cat thinking that it couldn’t hurt to try, but, little does he know, his life is about to make a turn to the unexpected. As the rumors suggest, by wishing upon the statue and giving an offering, one can wish to remove a personality trait from yourself that you do not wish to have anymore. What they do not realize at the time is that it will remove the unwanted trait and give it upon to someone who does need it. As he’s making his offering to the statue, a girl, Tsukiko Tsutsukakushi, arrives at the same place. Tsukiko also hearing of the rumors of the beckoning cat, was there to make her wish. She wishes to be able to be more like an adult and not show her emotions so easily. To their surprise the next day at school, Youto is unable to tell a single lie, and Tsukiko is unable to show any sign of emotion. After realizing that they do not like the change that happened, they work together to try and find out who has received their trait that was taken away in order to get it back. Animation by: J.C Staff Directed by: Youhei Suzuki (Toradora)Voice Cast Youta Yokodera - Yuuki Kaji (Haruyuki Arita/Silver Crow from Accel World, Alibaba Saluja from Magi – The Labyrith of Magic, Subaru Hasegawa from Ro-Kyu-Bu!,) Tsukiko Tsutsukakushi – Yui Ogura (Takenaka Hanbee from Oda Nobuna no Yabou, Alice from Kamisama no Memochou, Hinata hakamada from Ro-Kyu-Bu! ) 9

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This is Suzuki Youhei’s first time as a full director and so I suppose fans of the light novel will be wondering how well the show will adapted. The theme of personality swapping makes it rather interesting with some romantic comedy elements. Considering how J.C. Staff did Sakurasou no Pet na Kanojo, this show should be able to show very strong personality of the individuals. Apart fromthat Sakurasou no Pet na Kanojo just happened to have ended just before Hentai Ouji to Warawanai Neko begins, so fans who likes their romantic comedy will have something to look forward to.

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Of course, there are other noteworthy series like Ketsuigatakun, which is a popular 4-panel manga about blood type character stereotypes and their reactions towards certain situations; and of course there are some series catered to the young ladies like Uta no Prince-Sama. We reckon there will be a few dark horse titles as time goes by, when each series fleshes out with each passing episode.

Valvrave The Liberator In an era where the development of space cities, also known as “Dyson Sphere”, have seen over 70% of the human race migrate to space. The world was split into two major powers, the Dorushia Military Alliance, a power which grew out of a military alliance, and the Atlantic Ring United States (ARUS), which grew in power as it expanded its trade agreements. In between the two powers lies Jiouru, a neutral and prosperous country home to high school student Tokishima Haruto. With the sudden invasion of the Dorushia military however, Tokishima finds his life thrown into chaos. Ultimately, a sequence of events leads him to the discovery of a humanoid weapon known as “Valvrave,” which may hold the key to the nation’s liberation. Animation by: Sunrise Directed by: Kou Matsuo (Rozen Maiden)Voice Cast Haruto Tokishima – Ryota Osaka (Akito Himenokouji from Onii-chan Dakedo Ai Sae Areba Kankei Nai yo ne, Eita Kidou from Ore no Kanojo to Osananajimi ga Shuraba Sugiru) L-elf – Ryohei Kimura (Kodaka Hasegawa from Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai, Kaito Yashio from Robotics;Notes) Shouko Sashinami – Asami Seto (Lan from Rinne no Lagrange, Konatsu Miyamoto from Tari Tari) Saki Rukino – Haruka Tomatsu (Asuna from Sword Art Online, Morgiana from Magi – The Labyrinth of Magic) So from the studio that brings you Gundam and Code Geass, now brings you another sci-fi and mecha series for the fans. Having produced countless mecha related series since their founding, Sunrise has proved to have a forte in doing mecha series and also leads to making Valvrave worth watching due to its reputation. Not too sure if it is going to be another “stumble upon a mecha” type of anime somewhat like Gundam or a more deeper type like Code Geass type of show. Regardless, mecha fans should keep a lookout and check this out. ====== 10

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SGCafe : Cosplay | Vocaloid | Otaku | Pop Culture A daily publication about Cosplay, Vocaloid, Otaku and Japanese Pop Culture

GRANRODEO

10) Hideaki Takatori 11) Hiromi Sato

Nana Mizuki added to Yamato 2199’s Singer Lineup “Dream Team”

12) Ichiro Mizuki

Source: http://sgcafe.com/2013/04/nana-mizuki-added-yamato-2199ssinger-lineup-dream-team/ By Ryo on April 9th, 2013

15) Kenichi Suzumura

13) Isao Sasaki 14) JAM Project (Hironobu Kageyama, Masaaki Endo, Hiroshi Kitadani, Masami Okui, Yoshiki Fukuyama) 16) Kenta Harada from Rey 17) Maon Kurosaki 18) Minami Kuribayashi 19) Minori Chihara 20) Mitsuko Horie 21) Miyuki Hashimoto 22) Natsuko Aso 23) Sayaka Sasaki 24) Shoko Nagakawa 25) Shuhei Kita 26) Takayoshi Tanimoto 27) Yoko Ishida 28) yozuca* 29) Yui from Yousei Teikoku 30) ZAQ

Initially announced with only 11 members, 24 others were added onto Space Battleship Yamato 2199’s singer lineup, and amongst those 24 was Nana Mizuki. Aside from being part of the “dream team”, Nana Mizuki was also specially requested by the creators to sing the ending theme for the seventh and final installment of Yamato 2199’s film. The other 34 singers include: 1)

Aira Yuki

Aki Misato

Chiaki Ishikawa

Chihiro Yonekura

Choucho

CooRie

Eir Aoi

Faylan 1

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Published by: VR-Zone By Ryo on April 9th, 2013

In this upcoming, action-packed Jetstream DLC set to be released later today for the XBOX and PS3, we get to play as Samuel Rodriguez, a cyborg, codenamed “Jetstream”, involved with the Desperado PMSC group as well as a nemesis to Raiden in Metal Gear Rising.

A CD will be released for the new version of the theme song, and a percentage of the sales will be taken to help regions that were affected by the earthquake and tsunami in March 2011. Space Battleship Yamato 2199 is now being aired in Japan as an anime series as of 7th April (or 6th, for those who own Family Gekijo, a Japanese cable TV station), replacing Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic in the 5:00 p.m. slot in MBS/ TBS. The latest fifth installment of Yamato 2199, featuring Hironobu Kageyama as the singer of the ending theme, will premiere in theatres in Japan on Saturday, 13th April. The Blu-ray and DVD will subsequently be released on 28th May. Source: Daily Sports Online

Metal Gear Rising: Samuel’s past to be revealed in Jetstream DLC Source: http://sgcafe.com/2013/04/metal-gear-rising-samuels-revealedjetstream-dlc/

The DLC appears to take place in Denver, Colorado (and Sam’s hometown?), where players would be able to explore past locations, learn about Sam’s origins, and perhaps recapping some of Raiden’s events from the core game. Jetstream will also feature around 5 VR Missions; however, there was only a short preview of this in the trailer. Whether or not they are all side-scrolling missions, that is something we have to find out. In case you have forgotten about the second DLC Bladewolf, fret not, we are here to remind you. Following Jetstream, you will take control of the titular AI bot equipped with a rail gun and even a chainsaw on its back. Oh, not forgetting the spring-loaded HF knives and claws. Any updates on that? Sadly, not yet. But we are sure that it will definitely be as interesting and action-packed as Jetstream, so be sure to look forward to it! Below is a trailer for Jetstream: Jetstream and Bladewolf DLC will be priced around $6.99 for both the XBOX and PS3. However release date for the latter has not been confirmed yet.

April 9th, 2013

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Souce: famitsu

Nationwide Kalafina LIVE TOUR 2013 & “Consolation” album info Source: http://sgcafe.com/2013/04/release-event-held-kalafinas-newestalbum-consolation/ By Ryo on April 8th, 2013

During its first week of release, Consolation has already snatched the third position on the Oricon Weekly Albums chart (3/18 – 3/24), selling a total of 19,578 copies. Want to lay your hands on their album? You can order them from CD Japan right now, choosing from the three different editions that they provide. Type A of the limited edition is priced at 3, 800 yen while Type B is priced at 4, 000 yen (both including tax). Both editions contains the audio CD, postcard(s), a booklet, a second disc with a PV for “Yume no Daichi” as well as a documentary featuring Kalafina’s visit at Animagic 2012. The only difference between Type A and B is the disc type – Type A is your standard DVD disc, while Type B is for those who prefer to enjoy the PV and more in a Blue-ray disc. The standard edition, which only includes the CD, is priced at 3, 000 yen (tax included).

Just 2 days ago on the 6th of April at the Tokyo Dome City Hall, Kalafina held a commemorative release event for their fourth album titled “Consolation”. However, this performance was only limited to the audience in Japan; what about their overseas fans? Sadly, there has not been any news regarding a worldwide concert. Starting on the 8th of June, Kalafina will begin their live tour over 9 different cities of Japan with over fifteen performances for their album Consolation, starting with the Tohoku region. If you’re currently residing or planning to go Japan, this is certainly not something to be missed out! Kalafina was produced by the talented Kajiura Yuki, many of their singles were well-known anime tie-ins, including “to the beginning” as well as “Hikari Furu”, both which are part of Consolation. Don’t recall which anime it was featured in but sounds familiar? The answer is Fate/Zero as well Puella Magi Madoka Magica the Movie Part II: Eternal . “to the beginning” was used as Fate/Zero’s second season, while “Hikari Furu” was featured in the second anime movie for Puella Magi Madoka Magica.

Below is the song list for the audio CD: 1. al fine 2. consolation 3. moonfesta~ムムムムムムム~ 4. Door 5. ムム (MIRAI) 6. ムム (HANATABA) 7. signal 8. obbligato 9. ムムムムムム (KIICHIGO NO SHIGEMI NI) 10. ムム (MANTEN) 11. to the beginning 12. ムムムムム (HIKARI FURU) 13. ムムムム

Arina Tanemura and other artists pay tribute to Black Jack and Pinoko Source: http://sgcafe.com/2013/04/arina-tanemura-artists-pay-tributeblack-jack-pinoko/

April 9th, 2013

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By SunSoftware on April 8th, 2013

The next four issues of Princess are scheduled to feature more tributes to Black Jack from several different artists. It has been forty years since Osamu Tezuka, the pioneer of manga, created the classic series Black Jack, and some of today’s mangaka pay homage to the manga and its bubbly heroine, Pinoko. The monthly magazine Princess has started a series of tributes to Black Jack. In the recently published May issue, Arina Tanemura (Full Moon wo Sagashite), Sawa Sakura (Manmakoto), Yumi Unita (Usagi Drop), and Hiko Yamanaka (Oujisama to Haiiro no Hibi) have all drawn the character Pinoko. The original Black Jack, a series about a mysterious doctor who deals with strange medical cases, may feel out of place in a shoujo magazine like Princess, but the artists have done a great job of depicting the doctor’s little sidekick. Tanemura and Sakura have each drawn a short manga featuring Pinoko, while Unita and Yamanaka have drawn an illustration of her with one of their own characters.

Fans of Black Jack should also check out Black Jack Sousaku Hiwa, the manga that gives authentic production stories told by people who worked with Tezuka, as well as the prequel Young Black Jack by Yoshiaki Tabata and Yuugo Okuma, which tells the story of Black Jack while he was still in medical school. Source: Natalie, Akita Shoten

New information released for Pokemon X and Y – Could it be Mewthree? Source: http://sgcafe.com/2013/04/information-released-pokemonmewthree/ By Ryo on April 8th, 2013

Here is a glimpse of Tanemura’s short manga, “Pinoko no Kekkonshiki” (Pinoko’s Wedding Ceremony).

This panel is from Sakura’s short manga, “Kimi no Te Boku no Te, Mizu no Naka” (Your Hand, My Hand, in Water).

April 9th, 2013

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If you are not satisfied with just a new Mew-like Pokemon, two additional legendaries – Xerneas and Yveltal, are also set to appear in X and Y. Figured out why they are called Xerneas and Yveltal yet? Here’s a hint: look at the starting letter for their names.

In case you haven’t been keeping yourself up to date and you’re a big Pokemon fan, here’s the latest news about the upcoming game Pokemon X and Y, which is set to be released worldwide in October 2013 for the Nintendo 3DS. Just yesterday on TV Tokyo, an update was released on Pokemon Smash!. Fans of the long-running Pokemon series will surely find the resemblance between the new Pokemon (Mewthree, perhaps?) and the well-known iconic Mewtwo; sharing similar body structure as well as color scheme, this newest addition may or may not surpass the psychic prowess of the Mew duo.

The white, horned Pokemon above on the left is Xerneas, while the red, winged Pokemon on the right is Yveltal. If you own a 3DS and is prepared to add X and Y to your Pokemon collection, be sure to catch them all and not miss out on these three exciting new additions!

Segakawaii to release Dreamcast-themed backpack Source: http://sgcafe.com/2013/04/segakawaii-release-dreamcastthemed-backpack/ By SunSoftware on April 6th, 2013

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The Japanese like their video games and fashion, and Sega has combined them into one with Segakawaii. Sega has created the new brand Segakawaii to make merchandise aimed at woman based on Sega’s licenses. For their first product lineup, they are working with the popular apparel brand “galaxxxy” to produce this snazzy backpack based on Sega’s swan song.

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The T-shirt and tank top will each cost 4,725 yen. All three products will be released on April 25. In honor of Segakawaii’s debut, galaxxxy’s Shibuya store will hold a Segakawaii exhibit from April 25 to May 6. Of course, there are plans for more Segakawaii items in the future. Are there any Sega-themed merchandise you want to see? Source: Dengeki

Kyary Pamyu Pamyu’s first large-scale outfit exhibition to tour around Japan Source: http://sgcafe.com/2013/04/kyary-pamyu-pamyus-large-scaleoutfit-exhibition-tour-japan/ By slayedoll on April 6th, 2013

Just in case you don’t recognize it, this backpack’s design is based on the controller for the Sega Dreamcast, the game console Sega created in 1998. Many of you probably have fond memories of the controller and its miniature screen, even though the way the wire stuck out between your legs may have been annoying. The backpack is scheduled to come in three different colors and cost 13,860 yen. Along with the backpack, Segakawaii’s first lineup will include a short T-shirt with a nice, simple drawing of the Dreamcast, as well as a tank top themed on the Mega Drive (aka Sega Genesis) with the words “16-bit”, for those who want to go even more retro.

Despite the ongoing world tour, J-pop star Kyary Pamyu Pamyu continues spreading Japan’s kawaii culture actively, 6

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this time through a national tour of her phenomenal costumes!

Location：Nagoya Parco：Parco Gallery

Previously in Roppongi Hills, the Kyary Pamyu Pamuseum pop-up exhibition gathered about 20,000 people over a span of 3 weeks and has been very well-received. This spring, Kyary Pamyu Pamyu’s first large-scale outfit exhibition, ‘Kyary Pamyu Pamuseum’ would be making a tour around Japan, starting with Osaka and Nagoya.

Exhibition Period：5/16(Thursday)： 2100hrs(Last entry at 2030hrs)

TBC

1000hrs：

Entrance Free：600yen/Audio guide 500yen(Includes tax) For enquiries：Parco Gallery 2100hrs)

052-264-8370 (1000hrs：

For more information: Kyary Museum Homepage Source: Fashionsnap.com, barks.jp

Makai Wars Live event coming this summer Source: http://sgcafe.com/2013/04/nis-holding-makai-wars-livesummer/ By SunSoftware on April 5th, 2013

On display are costumes worn in Yasutaka Nakata produced music videos such as “Fashion Monster”, “Tsukema Tsukeru”, “Furisodeshon”, the gigantic costume worn at Kohaku Uta Gassen which generated immense hype, and even stage sets of Kyary’s one-girl live shows. Audio guides with Kyary’s recorded voice in the form of headsets attached with big ribbons(also known as ‘MoshiMoshi’) enhance the tour experience and allow both the young and old to immerse themselves into the charm of Kyary’s unique and exciting world. With the increasing awareness and interest of Singaporeans towards Harajuku fashion, let’s hope that one day, we will see this exhibition right on our shores! Kyary Pamyu Pamuseum ム Osaka Venue ム Location: Hotel New Otani Osaka Exhibition Period: 4/28(Sunday) to 1200hrs~2000hrs(Last entry at 1900hrs)

Remember how on April Fool’s Day, NIS teased the game Makai Wars coming this summer? Well, it wasn’t a joke — no, the game still isn’t coming out, but there will be a concert featuring NIS’s biggest stars. Nippon Ichi Software, the developer responsible for the massively popular strategy-RPG series Disgaea, will hold the concert ”Makai Wars Live episode1: Asagi’s Counterattack” on July 13 at Yokohama BLITZ. As the name implies, this event is themed around Asagi, the hero of the game Makai Wars.

5/6(Monday)

Entrance Fee：Advance booking 600yen/On the day 800yen/Audio Guide 500yen(Includes tax) For Enquires：Hotel New Otani Osaka (1000hrs：1900hrs) ム Nagoya Venue ム

0570-00-2345

NIS first revealed a teaser of Makai Wars in the summer of 2004, but it was never released, and Asagi, still waiting for her game, has appeared as an unlockable character 7

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in eighteen different games since then (getting a little less patient each time). However, that will all change this summer, when Asagi makes her move and finally secures her own game. How she will do that, we will have to wait and see.

Published by: VR-Zone By bj0rN on April 5th, 2013

Also, the event will feature some of the best musicians from NIS’s works, such as these: • Tenpei Sato (music composer of the entire Disgaea series, plus other games) and his band, MissKiss • Yousei Teikoku (performed the opening theme of The Guided Fate Paradox) • Maria Kawamura (voice actress of Kururu from Little Princess: Doll Princess of Marl Kingdom 2) • Suzuko Mimori (voice actress of Asagi in Disgaea D2) • Ultra-Prism (dressed up as Asagi and performed in last year’s Asagi’s National Tour)

Danny Choo, producer of the worldwide TV series “Culture Japan” and Director of Mirai.inc, has announced his collaboration with Japanese hobby maker Good Smile Company to release “Moekanji” – a set of 87 illustrated cards to help individuals learn first grade Japanese Kanji which include the “On” and “Kun” readings written in Hiragana.

Makai Wars Live episode1: Asagi’s Counterattack is part of NIS’s 20th anniversary celebration. Earlier this year, they released the games The Guided Fate Paradox (KamiPara) and Disgaea D2. With all of the work they have been doing, who knows what NIS will do next? Asagi has been on a roll, as well. Last year, NIS collaborated with the vocalist of Ultra-Prism, Usagi Tsukimiya, to hold “Asagi’s National Tour” in Okinawa and Fukuoka, and Asagi was voted the most popular female NIS character by readers of Dengeki Online. With a massive fanbase on her side, will Asagi finally get her own game this summer? Asagi fans, keep your hopes up! Source: Nippon Ichi Software homepage

Moekanji is the second product in the “Moe” learning series and follows on from the hit product “Moekana” which teaches individuals the basic Japanese syllabary Hiragana. Even though Moekana was aimed at non Japanese to learn Hiragana, Moekana became the 2nd best selling anime product in the Amazon Japan sales rankings.

Culture Japan & Good Smile Company releases Japanese Kanji Learning cards “Moekanji” Source: http://sgcafe.com/2013/04/culture-japan-good-smile-companyreleases-japanese-kanji-learning-cards-moekanji/

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The Moekanji cards feature the mascots of Culture Japan which include “Mirai Suenaga” and characters of the TV show and website “Culture Japan” and are illustrated by the Japanese illustrator Ikkyuu. Moekanji also has collaboration cards which include the Nitroplus mascot character Super Sonico. Pre-orders are open for Moekanji which retails for 2500 yen and is due to be released at the end of May 2013. Danny is also collaborating with Japanese online Hobby Retailer AmiAmi where a Kanji Wallscroll will be given away with all pre-orders taken at AmiAmi.

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AKB48 Lineup announced for Tokyo Auto Salon Singapore 2013 Source: http://sgcafe.com/2013/04/akb48-lineup-announced-tokyoauto-salon-singapore-2013/ By bj0rN on April 5th, 2013

The list of the 16 members of Japanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s number one girl group, AKB48 that will be performing and meeting their fans at the Tokyo Auto Salon Singapore 2013 have been announced. The 16 members from AKB48 are: 1. Maria Abe 2. Sayaka Akimoto 3. Rina Chikano 4. Nana Fujita 5. Rina Kawaei 10

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6. Ayaka Kikuchi 7. Ami Maeda 8. Natsumi Matsubara 9. Sakiko Matsui 10. Tomomi Nakatsuka 11. Amina Sato 12. Sumire Sato 13. Haruka Shimada 14. Shihori Suzuki 15. Juri Takahashi 16. Yuuka Tano Also the time schedule for the Meet & Greet Session and the Live Performance have also been announced. They will all be held at the Performance Stage at Tokyo Auto Salon Singapore 2013. Here are the details as followed: AKB48 Meet & Greet Session 12 Apr 2013 | 1515hrs 13 Apr 2013 | 1630hrs AKB48 One Hour “Live” Performance 13 Apr 2013 | 1800hrs Do remember that fans are entitled to watch AKB48′s performance with any purchase of the Tokyo Auto Salon Singapore tickets. 500 passes available each day on a first come first serve basis for those who are keen to get to the priority area/mosh pit area to get up close with AKB48. To be amongst the 500 people with these passes, each attendee must bring along their online purchase confirmation email to the redemption booth inside the event hall. Redemption of the passes are only valid for that day only. Sale for the online ticket purchase will close on 8 April 2013 at 2359hrs. The organizers have also included that attendees are not allowed to redeem Saturday’s live performance priority area/moshpit pass on Friday, 12 April 2013. For more past details to check out our previous post here and here.

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SGCafe : Cosplay | Vocaloid | Otaku | Pop Culture A daily publication about Cosplay, Vocaloid, Otaku and Japanese Pop Culture

More details on the T.M.Revolution and Nana Mizuki collaboration revealed Source: http://sgcafe.com/2013/04/details-t-m-revolution-nana-mizukicollaboration-revealed-draft/ By Az on April 11th, 2013

image and news source: natalie

Gatchaman live action movie: watch the first trailer Source: http://sgcafe.com/2013/04/gatchaman-live-action-movie-watchtrailer/ By ellehaym on April 11th, 2013

T.M.Revolution and Mizuki Nana has just opened a special website for their collaboration single, “Preserved Roses”, to be released in May 15. The CD jacket of the single and the artwork that comes with it has also been revealed. This powerful collaboration single is the opening theme for the anime “Kakumeiki VALVRAVE”, which is aired today, April 11, by MBS and TBS broadcast stations. The TV SPOT for the collaboration single “Preserved Roses” and the promotional video for “Kakumeiki VALVRAVE” can also be watched in the site. It has been decided that new content will be uploaded to the site, so fans of this collaboration should definitely check it out. The said website is here.

If you’ve been watching anime since you were little, you probably had the chance to watch the TV series Kagaku Ninjatai Gatchaman. This year, fans of the franchise will be able to watch a live action adaptation of this sci-fi action anime on the big screen. 1

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Gatchaman’s live action film was confirmed last year. Now, the official movie website has revealed its first trailer and a new image.

The upcoming Gatchaman movie is set in a futuristic Tokyo, where the world faces a new nemesis called the “Galactor”. This technologically advanced terrorist group has seized control of half of the world. Nambu Kouzaburou, a scientist, decides fight against mankind’s new threat by forming the Science Ninja Team Gatchaman. The group consists of five young heroes with excellent ninjutsu skills. They are dressed in costumes called G Suits. Cast: • Tori Matsuzaka as Owashi no Ken • Go Ayano as Condor no Joe

Published by: VR-Zone By Xak on April 11th, 2013

7th Dragon 2020-II is the sequel to the game released in 2011 that has you create a team to hunt the dragons that threaten humanity’s survival. It was notable for Hatsune Miku singing the OP and appearing in the game, and for the vast array of voice actors that you could choose for creating each character in your team; it had a total of 30 different voices to choose from, 15 for male characters and 15 for female characters.

• Ayame Gouriki as Shiratori no Jun • Tatsuomi Hamada as Tsubakuro no Jinpei • Ryohei Suzuki as Mimizuku no Ryu • Goro Kishitani as Dr. Nambu KozaburoMitsuishi Ken as Dr. Kirkland • Eriko Hatsune as Naomi • Shido Nakamura as Iriya The G Suits are something noteworthy in this movie production. According Matsuzaka, these costumes fit them perfectly. It was also revealed that the suits were designed to withstand the harsh demands of the movie’s action scenes. Of course, this comes with a price. All in all, the suits cost 20 million yen (that’s 248,424 SGD!). On top of that, the creation of the suits took more than one year. The live action movie is directed by Toya Sato, with its screenplay written by Yusuke Watanabe. Gatchaman is slated to premiere on August 24 in Japan. Sources: JEFusion and tokyohive

What’s New In 7th Dragon 2020-II Source: http://sgcafe.com/2013/04/w/

So what is actually new about 7th Dragon 2020-II? First off, they’ve expanded on that the already-impressive seiyuu cast to a total of 40 different voices, and many of the names they’ve added are very notable seiyuus too.

Abe Ono SakuraiNakamura Itoue Sawashiro Tange Hikasa AtsushiDaisukeTakahiro YuuichiKanae Miyuki Sakura Youko Ishida Kaji Shimono Hirata Katou Taketatsu ChiharaHorie Akira Yuuki Hiro HiroakiEmiri Ayana Minori Yui Egawa KamiyaSugita Fukuyama Kuwashima TanakaToyoguchi Mizuki Hisao HiroshiTomokazu Jun Houko Atsuko MegumiNana OotsukaKimuraTakeuchi Miki Saitou TanakaToyosaki Yuuki Akio RyouheiRyouta Shinichirou Chiwa Rie Aki Aoi Okamoto KurodaNakai MiyanoSatou TamuraHanazawa Yukana Nobuhiko Takaya Kazuya Mamoru Rina Yukari Kana Secondly, there’s a new character class you can choose when making a character: the Idol. Idols have S rank charisma, use

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megaphones and speakers in battle, and can use ‘orders’ to buff and control your party. Other than choosing your character’s class, you can also choose the model used for the character. And 7th Dragon 2020-II has two new additions for this. The first one is that there is a new, non-human model available called Lucier. They are a race that sacrificed themselves to stop the first Dragon invasion 12000 years ago in Atlantis, and are revived in Tokyo in 2021. The other new addition for character creation is that you can now choose from 3 different colour variations of the models for your characters, giving you more choices, and making it easier to visually recognise the characters in your party, especially when they all have the same model, as this video shows. The last couple of items that are new about 7th Dragon 2020II both involve Hatsune Miku. Firstly, she will be appearing in the game as the NPC “Hatsune Miku TYPE 2021″.

7th Dragon 2020-II is scheduled to release on 18th April for the PSP, and has a price of 6279yen for the UMD version, and 5600yen for the download version.

Make music on your 3DS with KORG M01D Source: http://sgcafe.com/2013/04/music-3ds-korg-m01d/ By SunSoftware on April 11th, 2013

Have you ever wanted to make music, preferably on a portable device with software that cost less than $100? Then you’ll want to read about this robust music workstation built for your 3DS. KORG M01D is the 3DS version of the popular music workstation M1, which you probably never heard of unless you’ve already produced music before. M01D is a powerful music synthesizer that makes music creation easy with a touchscreen interface and the ability to save songs onto your SD card and share them through the Internet. The other piece of news is that when you meet certain conditions in the game, you will unlock the option to change the BGM mode to “DIVA Mode”, a version where Miku sings the BGM.

In case that doesn’t sound exciting in words, here’s a video that gives you a glimpse of how it works. Here are some of the features in more technical detail, for those who are music production-savvy: • 8-part multi-timbral synth with 342 sounds, for a maximum of 24 voices • Selected sounds from the 01/W 3

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• New sounds exclusive to the M01 on 3DS • Master effects: reverb and delay • 8 track step sequencer with up to 64 steps per scene and up to 99 scenes • Sound browser, mixer, and keyboard • KAOSS mode that uses the popular KAOSSilator layout so you can input notes, chords, and drums easily from the touchscreen KORG M01D will be available on Japan’s Nintendo eShop this May and in other countries this summer. It will cost 3,000 yen, which is expensive for an eShop title, but at least it’s cheaper than Logic Pro 9 for the Mac ($199) or Pro Tools 10 ($699). Just to prove that even professional musicians can work with a 3DS, here is a sample song by the duo CT+X. And to drive the point even further, here is Sano Nobuyoshi, the founder of Detune and composer who has made music for Tekken and Ridge Racer.

It has been a while since Compile Heart officially revealed their upcoming idol raising game, but now they’ve given some back story and even revealed a dedicated CD series. Hyperdimension Idol Neptunia PP is a PS Vita spin-off of the popular Hyperdimension Neptunia RPG series. Like the previous games, the story takes place in the world of Gamindustri, which is guarded by cute, game console-based goddesses. However, this game is set in a parallel universe where an idol boom has risen, and one idol group named MOB48 (isn’t there another idol group that ends in “48″?) is taking shares, putting the goddesses in danger of bankruptcy. In order to fight against MOB48, the goddesses form their own idol unit. The game lets you control Neptune, Noire, Blanc, and Vert, while their younger sisters have not been confirmed as playable characters. When you perform in concerts, you earn Stage Points, and your audience will have a different number of fans and haters who are divided into categories like “guts” and “stress”. You can customize the goddesses’ costumes, and they can transform during performances, which obviously changes their appearance and voices.

Source: Create Digital Music

Hyperdimension Idol Neptunia PP — details on story and CD series Source: http://sgcafe.com/2013/04/hyperdimension-idol-neptunia-ppdetails-story-cd-series/ By SunSoftware on April 11th, 2013

Idol Neptunia PP will be released on June 20, but the goddesses’ conquest of the idol world won’t stop there. Compile Heart has also announced a CD series titled “Hyperdimension Idol Neptunia PP: Complete Bundle Processor”. These CDs will feature dance arrangements of songs from the game, as well as codes that let you download the songs to use in the game. Here is a list of the CDs currently scheduled to be released: Hyperdimension Idol Neptunia PP Complete Bundle Processor vol.1 ~Neptune x Purple Heart (CV: Rie Tanaka)~ 1. Fly High! (idol dance ver.) 2. with confidence (idol dance ver.) 3. HP∞L♡VE Power (idol dance ver.) 4. Dear… every day (idol dance ver.) 4

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5. Fly High!

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6. Purple Energy Hyperdimension Idol Neptunia PP Complete Bundle Processor vol.2 ~Vert x Green Heart (CV: Rina Satou)~ 1. Fly High! (idol dance ver.) 2. with confidence (idol dance ver.) 3. HP∞L♡VE Power (idol dance ver.) 4. Dear… every day (idol dance ver.) 5. HP∞L♡VE Power 6. Koi wa U la ♡ LOVE 2

A new TV anime adaptation of Yozakura Quartet has been announced last week.

Hyperdimension Idol Neptunia PP Complete Bundle Processor vol.3 ~Noire x Black Heart (CV: Asami Imai)~ 1. Fly High! (idol dance ver.) 2. with confidence (idol dance ver.) 3. HP∞L♡VE Power (idol dance ver.)

The new series will be titled Yozakura Quartet ~Hana no Uta~

4. Dear… every day (idol dance ver.) 5. with confidence 6. goddess of victory Hyperdimension Idol Neptunia PP Complete Bundle Processor vol.4 ~Blanc x White Heart (CV: Kana Asumi)~ 1. Fly High! (idol dance ver.) 2. with confidence (idol dance ver.) 3. HP∞L♡VE Power (idol dance ver.)

This week, the official website released the new character designs by the series’s manga artist Yasuda Suzuhito.

4. Dear… every day (idol dance ver.) 5. Dear… every day 6. MY RULE The first two volumes will be released on June 26, and the third and fourth volumes on August 28. They will each cost 2,310 yen. In addition to the idol simulation game, there are two more Hyperdimension Neptunia games coming to the Vita and the anime series airing this summer. Clearly, the goddesses of Gamindustri are not slacking off. Source: Amaebi, Dengeki

New Yozakura Quartet TV Anime announced, designs revealed Source: http://sgcafe.com/2013/04/yozakura-quartet-tv-animeannounced-designs-revealed/

Yozakura Quartet is a manga by Yasuda Suzuhito currently serialized in the monthly magazine Gekkan Shounen Sirius. The manga is a supernatural series revolving around 4 teenagers with unique abilities who undertake the task of helping and protecting the inhabitants of their town who consist of humans and demons. It was previously adapted into a 12 episode TV anime in 2008. In 2010 an OVA adaptation was released consisting of 3 episodes. Volume 13 of the manga was released on the 9th of this month. Currently no other information regarding the new TV anime has been announced. Source : TV Anime Yozakura Quartet ~Hana no Uta~ Official Website

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Kyoukai Senjou no Horizon Portable AR Posters at Musashiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 8 Stations + 1 Source: http://sgcafe.com/2013/04/kyoukai-senjou-horizon-portable-arposters-musashis-8-stations-1/ By Xak on April 10th, 2013

Also, at the JR Akihabara station, which is the +1 station, limited amounts of PR cards will be given away. The PR card giveaway and posters at Akihabara will only be from 22nd April to 28th April, while the posters at the other 8 stations (Shinagawa, Fuchuu, Takao, Kokubunji, Okutama, Asakusa, Ogawa and Haijima) will be up from 22nd April to 5th May. Source: Dengeki Online

Nico Nico Super Conference 2 Source: http://sgcafe.com/2013/04/nico-nico-super-conference/ By hittokiri on April 10th, 2013

As a promotion for the Kyoukai Senjou no Horizon Portable game for the PSP that release on 25th April, Kadokawa Games will be putting up posters at 8+1 railway stations in Tokyo corresponding to the 8 ships that together make up Musashi, the giant ship where many of the main characters reside. These posters include an AR marker that will show a character suspended in mid-air when viewed with a specific app. The characters shown at each station are different, and different characters will be shown at the same station at random.

Nico Nico Super Conference makes a return this year with Nico Nico Super Conference 2. The event will be held at Makuhari Messe on the 27th and 28th of April.

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Anisong fans will not be left out as there will also be performances by Aoi Eiru, Kitadani Hiroshi and ZAQ to name but a few. Last year, Nico Nico Super Conference was attended by 92,000 on site attendees while a reported 347,000 streamed the event live vie it’s Nico Nico Douga website. Source : Nico Nico Cho Kaigi

With the concept of an event attempting to reproduce (almost) all of Nico Nico Douga’s content into real life (♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡), the event will feature Nico Nico Douga’s staple contents such dance (♡♡♡♡♡ ♡), video games (♡♡♡♡♡♡♡), vocaloids (♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡) to niched contents such as trainspotting (♡♡♡♡♡♡) and Billy Herrington (♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡)

The event will feature stage performances by idol groups such as Idoling and ♡-ute, as well as visual kei bands such as Alice Nine and ViViD.

Further details for “Steins;Gate: Linear Bounded Phenogram” announced Source: http://sgcafe.com/2013/04/details-steinsgate-linear-boundedphenogram-announced/ By Ryo on April 10th, 2013

Just earlier today, MAGES released a promotional video for the soon-to-be released Steins;Gate game, Steins;Gate Senkei Kōsoku no Phenogram, or better known as Steins;Gate: Linear Bounded Phenogram. Available on the PS3 and XBOX, the promotional video featured an alpaca wearing a superhero costume; despite this pretty hilarious opening in the video, the game isn’t as happy and comedic as you think. In two recent gameplay videos release by 5pb, you get to experience an extremely poignant moment between Rintaro Okabe as well as Kurisu Makise when playing as Mayuri Shiina. In the first scenario, Mayuri tells Okabe that he hasn’t been acting like himself recently after meeting up with him at her 7

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grandmother’s grave unexpectedly. Before that, he retorts, saying that Mayuri wasn’t a burden to him at all when she started a small talk and then wanting to bring up the topic of her a liability; in turn causing him stress.

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The Last of Us – Thoughts about the game and video log on “Wasteland Beautiful” Source: http://sgcafe.com/2013/04/thoughts-game-video-log-wastelandbeautiful/ By Ryo on April 10th, 2013

Okabe eventually requests that Mayuri should stop asking him anymore questions, and once the time is right, he promises to tell her what is necessary. Mayuri agrees reluctantly, but in an attempt to lighten the mood, she offers to go get some sweet dango; Okabe agrees after making a joke about Mayuri being a glutton, and the two leaves for the said dessert. In the second scenario, a more emotional scene compared to the first, Mayuri finds herself gathering enough courage to ask Kurisu about her and Okabe when she realizes that they were both acting strangely, and not just Okabe. Hesitantly, Kurisu explains that no matter what happens, either one of them were going to die because of the warped world line, and because Kurisu herself was destined to die in their current and original timeline, she convinced Okabe to save Mayuri instead; with a smile, she tells Mayuri to accept what is to come. Mayuri however, refuses to accept this as she did not want a world where her friend is fated to die, and she blames herself for being ignorant.

Amidst the dark, post-apocalyptic world lies a stunningly beautiful realm; despite the buildings and structures being a shadow of its previous splendor, there’s this unknown wonder about nature reclaiming its territory, especially when almost all of humankind are lost to the deadly plague. This is The Last of Us. Created by the very same team that brought you the Unchartered series, The Last of Us is an upcoming PS3exclusive game set to be released on 14th June, 2013. In case you haven’t heard about The Last of Us yet, it was unveiled during last year’s E3, and crowned as one of the most anticipated and best game of 2012.

The standard edition’s suggested retail price is 7, 140 yen for both the PS3 and XBOX, but Amazon Japan is listing it at 5, 836 yen at the moment. Both limited editions of Linear Bounded Phenogram for PS3 and XBOX will include Okabe’s cell phone; the suggested retail price is 11, 550 yen, and 9, 445 yen on Amazon Japan’s listing. Both editions will be released on April 25th. Source: 4gamer

The game tells a story of Joel and his female companion Ellie as they journey through the U.S., escaping the quarantine zones the military has kept them in to avoid any infection from a Cordyceps fungus. In order to fulfill an oath he made, Joel runs away with Ellie in an attempt to bring her to a resistance group called Fireflies, causing the military to chase after the duo. However, the military isn’t their only threat; scavengers, and even the infected will all hunt the 8

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pair down, forcing them to actively fight their way through the cities in order to survive.

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Source: 4gamer

In the latest video log recorded by the Naughty Dog team, we explore what went into design and concept of The Last of Us’s universe. Their keyword for the creation of the world is contrast – almost every aspects of the game has a counterpart, bringing the players both ends of the spectrum as they immerse themselves in the scenic world of the game, to see what we’ve built and what we’ve lost.

In addition, The Last of Us also features pretty realistic killing. And when I say realistic, I mean the sense of regret that overwhelms you almost immediately when you take a swing at the infected or even opening fire at a helpless enemy that tried to murder you seconds ago, even if it is just a virtual kill. There is no doubt that The Last of Us will not just be a game filled with adventure and survival; it will be a game with a somber tale, the dialogue deep and emotional as the player gets strung into the immersive world of The Last of Us. And you have to admit; even though The Last of Us isn’t advertised as a horror game, it can easily be passed off as one. The infected looks terrifying, and with just one glance, you know that they’re not to be trifled with.

So far all the videos and screenshots have not failed my expectations – their level designs were consistent, and you can see that both the human enemies and infected are equally threatening. But of course, the latter proves to be scarier. Who can deny that? That being said, if you’re a fan of the Unchartered series, this is not a title to be missed; or if you haven’t gotten a PS3 yet, this may be a wise time to invest into one, especially if you love survival games with a touch of horror. The Last of Us will be released on 14th June 2013 as a PS3only title.

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SGCafe : Cosplay | Vocaloid | Otaku | Pop Culture A daily publication about Cosplay, Vocaloid, Otaku and Japanese Pop Culture

Perfume to simultaneously release “Magic Of Love” single and “Perfume WORLD TOUR 1st” DVD Source: http://sgcafe.com/2013/04/perfume-simultaneously-releasemagic-love-single-perfume-world-tour-1st-dvd/ By Az on April 13th, 2013

Aside from the live footage and the documentary, Perfume WORLD TOUR 1st DVD first press edition will contain a replica sticker of the staff pass. Those who bought either regular or limited version of the single along with the world tour DVD will be able to join a lottery for a special present. More details on the special present will be announced on the official website. Source: Perfume Official Website

Miyano Mamoru’s first ever appearance on NHK’s Music Japan Source: http://sgcafe.com/2013/04/miyano-mamorus-appearance-nhksmusic-japan/ By hittokiri on April 13th, 2013

Miyano Mamoru made his first ever appearance on NHK’s music variety show Music Japan this week. Introduced as the Most Popular Ikemen Voice Actor among women, he was there to promote his latest single Kanon. The episode aired on the 11th of April also featured guests Yuusuke (遊遊), KARA and the telephones. Perfume, who has just announced a second world tour, will simultaneously release their second single for 2013, Magic Of Love, and Perfume WORLD TOUR 1st DVD (Taiwan, Hong Kong, Korea, Singapore) this coming May 22. Magic Of Love was created for the “Pure Gummy” CM, with its theme of casting the magic of love. It is a song about a girl who daydreams about starting her ideal romance and described as a song that will capture your heart with its catchy tunes and sweet singing voices. The regular version of the single will contain the title track, “Magic Of Love” and a yet untitled coupling track. Those who bought the limited version will receive a special DVD with the music video. Perfume WORLD TOUR 1st DVD will contain Singapore’s version of the concert and a documentary on the girls’ experiences on their first overseas tour. The lives for the tour were all on all-standing live houses: the type of venues Perfume performed on during their rise to fame.

In line with Japan’s current recruitment and orientation season, this week’s episode featured a segment where guests are introduced to methods to liven up parties.

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Hilarity soon ensued when the male guests were asked to try out one of the methods.

April 13th, 2013

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The official website for the Date A Live PS3 game by Compile Hearts and Sting revealed the promotional video that was shown at Anime Contents Expo a couple of weeks ago, and most importantly, a new character that was not in the original novels has been shown! Miyano Mamoru has provided the voice for numerous popular characters including Suou Tamaki from Ouran High School Host Club, Yagami Light from Death Note and Setsuna F. Seie from Kidou Senshi Gundam OO. This season he can be heard in Uta no Prince-sama as Ichinose Tokiya and in the anime Carnival as Yogi (遊遊). Music Japan is currently hosted by Perfume and Yoshida Kazutaka. Narration on the show is done by Mizuki Nana. Source : Yaraon!, Seiyu Fan

ACE Promo Video, New Character for Date A Live PS3 Game by Compile Hearts Revealed Source: http://sgcafe.com/2013/04/ace-promo-video-new-characterdate-live-ps3-game-compile-hearts-revealed/ By Xak on April 13th, 2013

Her name is Sonogami Rinne, the same Rinne that is in the subtitle of the game, Rinne Utopia. Which suggests straight off that the game will be focusing around her. From the description given, she’s a childhood friend of the protagonist, Itsuka Shidou. Since Date A Live is a story whose premise consists of a guy who ends up dating various Spirits in turn in order to save the world, there seems to be much more to this character than meets the eye, and that it is very likely that you would end up dating her at some point or another. However, not much more is known about this game, other than being described as a ‘Spirit Conquest Adventure’, which suggests that at least one aspect of the game will involve dating the various Spirits, which can lead up to scenes such as these.

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The official site for Namie Amuro’s Asia Tour 2013 has released an announcement that the Singapore leg of the tour has been cancelled due to ‘ issues concerning the local promoter’. Such ‘issues’, while not explained further in the announcement, they are likely to revolve around relatively poor ticket sales. The steep ticket prices, ranging from $138 to $268, places the cancelled concert at the price range of the more expensive acts that come to Singapore.

Date A Live: Rinne Utopia also has the same voice actresses for the various Spirits, and has Hanazawa Kana voicing Rinne, and from the promotion video it sounds like she’s going to be hard at work to steal Shido’s heart, as well as the hearts of her fans. Date A Live: Rinne Utopia is scheduled for a 27 June release for the PS3, with prices of 7140yen for the normal edition, 9240yen for the limited edition and 6300yen for the download edition.

Namie Amuro’s Asia Tour Singapore Leg cancelled Source: http://sgcafe.com/2013/04/namie-amuros-asia-tour-singaporeleg-cancelled/ By Crest on April 12th, 2013

Namie Amuro’s billing as a top Japanese artiste is beyond doubt but her local popularity may not be sufficient, in my opinion, to justify such pricing. Midas Promotions, the promoter and organizer for the Singapore leg for Namie Amuro’s tour, is not a new company and has handled many concerts in the Southeast Asia region. On a related note, they were one of the organizers for L’Arc~en~Ciel’s concert in Singapore. While we may never know the real workings of what happened, we can only hope that Singapore may be able to witness a Namie Amuro concert in the near future. At the point of writing, there is no information on the refunds of tickets on Sistic’s website but this should be rectified soon. Credits: namie amuro ASIA TOUR 2013

Grand Dengeki Bunko Exhibition opening on April 27 Source: http://sgcafe.com/2013/04/grand-dengeki-bunko-exhibitionopening-april-27/ By SunSoftware on April 12th, 2013

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• Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei • Accel World • Ore no Imouto ga Konna ni Kawaii Wake ga Nai • Golden Time • Strike The Blood • Baccano! • Shakugan no Shana • Sakurasou no Pet na Kanojo Dengeki Bunko, the publisher responsible for many of today’s hottest light novels, will be celebrating their 20th anniversary with an event that fans will not want to miss.

• Durarara!! • Spice and Wolf • Toradora!

The Grand Dengeki Bunko Exhibition will be held from April 27 to May 6 in Ikebukuro’s Sunshine City. There will be amazing features at this event, and here are some detailed descriptions from Dengeki’s official website.

• Black Bread

Artist Illustrations

• Nareru! SE

The artists of Dengeki’s novels will produce exclusive artwork to be displayed at the exhibition. The pictures will be divided into three categories: scenes — both scenes out of novels and completely original scenes — cosplay drawings, and swimsuit drawings.

• Heavy Object

• Magdala de Nemure • Seiraku Shoujo

• C3 -C Cubed• Bokusatsu Tenshi Dokuro-chan • Kantan na Monitor Desu • Shitsuren Tantei Momose • Yome ni Shiro to Semaru Osananajimi no Tame ni xx Shitemita • Idolizing! • Shinigami no Ballad • Sayonara Piano Sonata • Alice Reloaded: Hello, Mister Magnum • Ashita, Boku wa Shinu. Kimi wa Ikikaeru. • Eiko to “Tooru” to Bukatsu no Jikan. Autograph Sessions In addition, throughout the week, these popular authors and artists will come to the the exhibition in person to give their autographs to lucky attendees: • April 28: “Ore no Imouto ga Konnani Kawaii Wake ga Nai” author Tsukasa Fushimi and artist Hiro Kanzaki • April 29: “Golden Time” author Yuyuko Takemiya and artist Eeji Komatsu • May 3: “Ro-Kyu-Bu!” author Sagu Aoyama and artist Tinkuru • May 5: “Hataraku Maou-sama!” author Satoshi Wagahara and artist 029

Here is an incomplete list of titles that will be featured (yes, incomplete). How many do you recognize? • Sword Art Online • Hataraku! Maou-sama • Ro-Kyu-Bu! • To Aru Majutsu no Index

• May 6: “Sword Art Online” author Reki Kawahara and artist abec Dengeki Bunko’s 20th Anniversary Special Store As you may have guessed, there will be products on sale at the event. Here’s a preview of the some of the items which will be available nowhere else. • The Grand Dengeki Bunko Exhibition Official Book, containing some of the illustrations displayed at the 5

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exhibition, as well as posters, trading cards, and exclusive stories from Dengeki’s authors.

• Trading card set

• T-shirts Source: Dengeki

Voice actresses of The Idolm@ster Cinderella Girls want their own anime Autographed Tapestries Lastly, people who buy a ticket before April 27 can also buy these three tapestries based on light novels that you should recognize on sight. The regular price of each ticket is 1,000 yen, whereas the three tapestries cost 2,000 yen more. The best part is that these tapestries are signed by their respective author and artist, which makes them a mustbuy for fans of the series.

Source: http://sgcafe.com/2013/04/voice-actresses-idolmster-cinderellagirls-anime/ By SunSoftware on April 12th, 2013

The Grand Dengeki Bunko Exhibition will be an important event held by one of the major players in Japan’s entertainment industries, so anyone who can attend should get their tickets immediately.

The Idolm@ster CInderella Girls has become quite popular in Japan, even though the mobile game isn’t available 6

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outside of Japan. Since you can’t play the game, would you like to see the more recent idols in an anime? On April 10, there was an event in Ikebukuro’s Sunshine City to celebrate the release of The Idolm@ster’s newest single, “Onegai! Cinderella”. The voice actresses of the eleven idols featured in the CD made an appearance, including: • Ayaka Ohashi (voice of Uzuki Shimamura) • Minami Tsuda (Miho Kohinata) • Yuka Ootsubo (Kanako Mimura) • Ayaka Fukuhara (Rin Shibuya) • Ruriko Aoki (Riina Tada) • Maaya Uchida (Ranko Kanzaki) • Sayuri Hara (Mio Honda) • Haruka Yoshimura (Mika Jougasaki) • Nozomi Yamamoto (Rika Jougasaki) • Rei Matsuzaki (Kirari Moroboshi) • Hiromi Igarashi (Anzu Futaba) Just like in the game, the singers were divided into three groups: Passion, Cool, and Cute. The idols they represent are pictured below.

Those are some big wishes from the idols. Unlike the main line Idolm@ster games, Cinderella Girls focuses on “collecting” idols, who are represented by trading cards instead of 3D models, and there are over 100 idols in the game. Animating all of them would be a gargantuous project, although Namco Bandai could hold a poll to pick just a handful of idols to animate. Speaking of polls, Japan Columbia Records will hold the second official Cinderella Girl election, in which the five idols with the most votes will form a new unit. The election will be held from April 25 to May 8, and the new unit will release their debut album on May 22. Another announcement is that the first volumes of the three Cinderella Girls manga “New Generation”, “Rocking Girl”, and “Shuffle!” will be released on April 25.

With the help of manga, elections, and other feedback, maybe Namco Bandai will feature some of the Cinderella Girls in Idolm@ster 3, and then an anime. Could the Cinderella Girls become the stars of their own Cinderella Story? Source: Yaraon, Famitsu Despite the fact that the event took place in the middle of a weekday, over two thousand people came to see the idols. After several performances and talk sessions, the idols discussed the future development of the Cinderella Girls. When asked what their wishes were, the Passion group replied, “An anime!”, whereas the Cool group said, “An anime, plus individual albums, covers, and duets,” and the Cute group, “We want to perform in a huge auditorium with all of the Cinderella Girls.”

Zero no Tsukaima’s Author Yamaguchi Noboru lost battle against cancer at age 41 Source: http://sgcafe.com/2013/04/tsukaimas-author-yamaguchinoboru-passed-away-age-41/ By hittokiri on April 12th, 2013

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Zero no Tsukaima’s author, Yamaguchi Noboru has passed away on the 4th of April 2013 after a 2 year battle with cancer. He was 41 years old. His death was announced on the the Media Factory website by MF Bunko J’s chief editor. The announcement caught many by surprise as he was still updating his tweeter account on the 31st of March. Yamaguchi Noboru debuted as a writer in 2000 with Sneaker Bunko magazine. In 2004, Zero no Tsukaima started serialization in the MF Bunko magazine. It was to be his most successful work. Zero no Tsukaima spans 20 volumes with another 5 volumes of side stories. It has been adapted into 4 seasons of anime, the last of which was Zero no Tsukaima F which aired in January 2012. In July 2011, he announced on the Media Factory website that he was diagnosed with cancer following a check up done in February of that year. It was deemed inoperable at the time of diagnosis but by August of that year an operation was done after it was found that conditions had improved. He had tweeted the success of the operation at that time. His funeral was held on the 10th of April 2013.

Earlier at noon, Perfume’s official site released details on its second world tour. The ladies will be performing in Germany, UK and France come July 2013. As Amuse probably has learnt that the ladies were visibly tired spreading their first world tour throughout four Asian countries, arrangements has been made for them to perform at these 3 countries within the first week of July 2013. Not to mention that ticket sales were also made available at the point of announcement. As for every other fan out there, they have a chance to ballot for a chance to purchase General Admission tickets. Sadly, it only applies to the Japanese and World account holders. Here’s the concert details for the respective countries:

Source : Media Factory,Yaraon!,RBBToday

Perfume WORLD TOUR 2nd details released Source: http://sgcafe.com/2013/04/perfume-world-tour-2nd-detailsreleased/ By sentinel011 on April 12th, 2013

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VIP tickets are sold in the same manner as WORLD TOUR 1st, which means the first ticket holder gets to pick their perfect place first. Perfume’s management probably felt that it was a great idea to have them perform in a region where electropop is widely accepted. They have probably eyed on France, since the country is reputed for being the most Japan-centric country in Europe; just look at the guest lists of the long running Japan Expo. As for Germany, what better country than to perform in the grand-daddy of all electronic music. UK had it covered, especially when Kyary and Utada Hikaru had performed there. Source: Perfume World Tour website

Kashiwagi Yuki releases 2nd solo Live on Blu-Ray and DVD Source: http://sgcafe.com/2013/04/kashiwagi-yuki-releases-2nd-sololive-blu-ray-dvd/ By Az on April 12th, 2013

AKB48′s Kashiwagi Yuki is set to release her 2nd solo live, “2nd Solo Live Nete Mo Samete Mo Yukirin WORLD ~Muchuu Ni Sarechauzo 遊~ on DVD and Blu-ray on June 19. For her second live, which was held in Tokyo International Forum Hall A, 5000 fans have been chosen by lottery amongst approximately 70,000 that applied. She gave her all with a total of 18 songs in the live, including her debut single “Shortcake” and the acoustic version of “Sakura No Ki Ni Narou”, featuring the guitarist Oshio Kotaro, who has also played for her last December in the AKB Kouhaku and for her coupling track. During the live, Kashiwagi rode atop a 10-meter crane and expressed her gratitude to the fans while holding back her tears. The fans also cheered loudly and excitedly at Kashiwagi’s goal of going international. Aside from footage of the live itself, bonus footage consisting of live-preparation documentary and rehearsal will be included. A random special photo will also be included in the first press edition. Track List + Encore (15-18): 1. Kuchiutsushi No Chocolate 2. Enkyori Poster 3. Shonichi 4. Dragon Fruit No Tabegoro 5. GIVE ME FIVE! 6. Shortcake 7. Sakura No Ki Ni Narou Acoustic Ver. feat. Oshio Kotaro 8. Sore Demo Nakanai 9. Kazanbai 10. Jealousy Punch 11. Class-kai No Ato De 12. Miraibashi 13. Temodemo No Namida 14. Gingham Check 15. Eien Pressure 16. Iiwake Maybe

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17. Romance Privacy 18. Yokaze No Shiwaza For those not familiar with Kashiwagi Yuki, check out the short version of her debut single, “Shortcake”. 16 members of AKB48 is also set to appear on Marina Bay Sands for Tokyo Auto Salon 2013. Though Kashiwagi will not be appearing there, popular members Akimoto Sayaka and Sato Amina will appear. Check this article for the complete member list and more details.

CD only

Source: oricon

EXILE member TAKAHIRO to release his first solo single Source: http://sgcafe.com/2013/04/exile-member-takahiro-release-solosingle-time/ By ellehaym on April 12th, 2013

Track Information: CD 1. Issen Ichibyou 2. with… 3. Futsukazuki 4. Yakusoku no Sora 5. Issen Ichibyou [Instrumental] 6. with… [Instrumental] 7. Futsukazuki [Instrumental] 8. Yakusoku no Sora [Instrumental] DVD 1. Issen Ichibyou (music video) 2. Issen Ichibyou (making of the MV) Source: tokyohive

If TAKAHIRO happens to be your favorite EXILE vocalist, then you will soon hear the individual charms of his voice. The EXILE member will release his first solo single entitled Issen Ichibyou this June. The single’s title track is about a maddening love and was also described as a “forbidden love ballad”. Odake Masato (the lyricist behind EXILE’s Bloom) was the one who wrote the lyrics for Issen Ichibyou. TAKAHIRO himself also offered help in writing the lyrics of the title track. While waiting for the release of the single, here’s a short version of Issen Ichibyou streamed via Avex’s YouTube Channel: (Yep, that’s a short PV right there. It’s almost 5 minutes long, though) TAKAHIRO’s solo single will also include with…, the song currently used for the “050plus” commercial by NTT Communications. The single will be available in two editions: Single + DVD

April 16th, 2013

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SGCafe : Cosplay | Vocaloid | Otaku | Pop Culture A daily publication about Cosplay, Vocaloid, Otaku and Japanese Pop Culture

Guest cosplayers Neneko & Momo to grace Fuwa Fuwa Run Maid Cafe Source: http://sgcafe.com/2013/04/guest-cosplayers-neneko-momograce-fuwa-fuwa-run-maid-cafe/ By sentinel011 on April 16th, 2013

Their DVD-ROM collection, featuring their cosplay works in Taiwan, will also be sold at the event. To get to the Fuwa Fuwa Run Maid Cafe held at Casie & Mum’s, check out the following link.

Tokyo Auto Salon Singapore’s highlights & observations Source: http://sgcafe.com/2013/04/tokyo-auto-salon-singaporeshighlights-observations/ By sentinel011 on April 16th, 2013

SGCafe attended last weekend’s Tokyo Auto Salon in Marina Bay Sands exhibition halls to check out itashas and hot race queens. When we were there on Friday, its opening day, the crowds were few before lunch, but it gained momentum with more people walking to the event. Hardcore AKB48 fans queued since early morning, some coming down from Changi Airport as the girls arrived only in the wee hours of that morning.

Fuwa Fuwa Run Maid Cafe, a new maid cafe concept not unlike Anime Festival Asia’s Moe Moe Kyun Maid Cafe, will be having it’s début event this coming Saturday, 20 April. According to its press release, the event “will see specially trained maids who will serve guests with different personas such as Tsundere, Gothic Lolita, Boukko, Meganekko and Chunnibyou.” Part of the proceeds from the sales of its set meals will be donated to the Singapore Children’s Society. The organizers have invited Neneko and Momo as special guests to compliment the maid cafe concept. The two bubbly and cute cosplayers who did Tamako Market and Sword Art Online photoshoots together will offer free Polaroid opportunities for all patrons at the Fuwa Fuwa Run Maid Cafe. They will also be selling exclusive glossy A4 photo prints not yet sold elsewhere, even in their home country.

The race queens at the various booths didn’t appear until noon, 2 hours after opening. Most of them were local and Malaysian, with a couple from Taiwan. Saturday and Sunday saw more race queens per booth, though, but that is to be expected since many would be unable to make it on Friday due to work commitments, and the organizers would know that.

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Tokyo Auto Salon tries to bring out the original experience from Japan, held mostly in Chiba’s Makuhari Messe. In almost every sense, the Singapore counterpart was a mere fraction of the original. Cars and custom body kits were generally less impressive, and mostly with local modding flavours. We had hoped that the Tokyo Auto Salon brand name would drive custom body kit workshops to bring out more sleek and impressive mods to the car displays. Another letdown would be the grandeur and prestige Tokyo Auto Salon is mostly known for. Booths felt tame and unexciting, a far cry from the original. It felt more like an Automotive Expo in almost every aspect. There was a lack of itashas as well, and the only one we spotted was a locally modded car spotting Miku Racing decals.

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anything to occupy their young minds with within the hall! Tokyo Auto Salon Singapore’s content caters exactly for the middle age men, of which some of them are car enthusiasts. We were surprised that the S$25 entrance ticket did little to ‘deter’ guys from the event, given that how Singaporeans typically complain about rising prices everywhere. All in all, Tokyo Auto Salon Singapore was a decent experience for local males looking to have a visual feast of cars and babes, but for practically everyone else, the show just need slightly more polish over its rough surface to attract more visitors over. Without further ado, here’s some coverage photos for you to drool over.

However, what’s great is that the organizers managed to cater to Japanese idol fanatics, especially those who came down especially for AKB48. The mosh pit pass – right in front of the main stage – had optimal viewing angle and distance. Yet there were a couple of times where the angle was too good; from our photographer’s perspective anyway. We let you guess on what we mean by this ‘too good’ angle. The short live performances by the girls were typical AKB48 flavour, as seen in the previous years back when they performed monthly at *SCAPE Warehouse. And about the cars and the various mods, we do spot a couple of great ones showcased at the event. Concept cars currently not officially in production yet were nice to ogle and drool over, not to mention spotting the beautifully painted Lamborghini Aventador, in a shade of yellow that gives off a slight aurora sheen when light reflects on it. Very nice.

Singaporeans, especially middle age men were down mostly for the babes. While the J-Girls were of similar standards to the female promoters we have spotted at last year’s Tokyo Game Show, the rest weren’t half bad either. Children below 12 years of age have to pay S$10 to enter, but there wasn’t 2

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Published by: VR-Zone By Xak on April 16th, 2013

The official website for the Hentai Ouji to Warawanai Neko anime has updated with the specials for the 1st Bluray and DVD releases, and there are 2 different special editions for the Bluray. The Delusion pack will come with a ‘Sleeping Together’ sheet of Tsutsukakushi Tsukiko, with original art drawn by the character designer Kantoku.

Henneko’s 1st Bluray Special Edition Delusion Pack Comes With Bedsheet Source: http://sgcafe.com/2013/04/hennekos-1st-bluray-special-editiondelusion-pack-bedsheet/

Both the Delusion Pack and the normal Special Edition of the Bluray will also come with a Tsukiko character song and soundtrack compilation CD, as well as a priority preorder

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ticket for a future Henneko event. Both Bluray Editions will also have a sleeve case with original art by Kantoku.

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Good Smile x Karaoke no Tetsujin Cafeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Disgaea D2 Cafe Menu and Novelty Items Revealed Source: http://sgcafe.com/2013/04/good-smile-karaoke-tetsujin-cafesdisgaea-d2-cafe-menu-novelty-items-revealed/ By Xak on April 16th, 2013

And all editions, including the DVD edition, will contain a short novel by the author of the original work, Sagara Sou, as well as a short comic done by Okomeken, the artist for the Henneko manga. Both the normal Bluray Special Edition and the DVD edition will have an illustration sheet of Tsukiko featuring original art by Kantoku. The jacket art for all editions is also an original illustration by Kantoku.

Good Smile x Karaoke no Tetsujin Cafe is having a collaboration with Disgaea D2 by Nippon Ichi, and the Disgaea D2 cafe will be running from 16th April to 6th May. And this is its special menu!

The Henneko 1st Bluray and DVD editions are scheduled to release on 26th June, with a price of 9800yen for the Bluray Delusion Pack, 6800yen for the normal Bluray Special Edition, and 4800yen for the DVD edition.

Etna Active Volcano Mapo Tofu with Mandaragora (Mandrake) Salad Set And the special main course is a fiery dish with Etnaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s name in it. Fitting for a demon with a temper like hers. To ease the pain it comes with a salad set to help soothe your taste buds. Unless you are the type that prefers them to keep burning. 7

April 16th, 2013

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And as the norm, when you order items from the special menu you will be able to get some novelty items along with the meal. And first up are these coasters of Etna, Laharl and Flonne, all returning characters from the original Disgaea.

Laharl’s Character Drink and Clione Kudzu Manjuu Dessert Laharl’s colours are blue and red, so that drink looks really good and fizzy and cooling, something you might need after Etna. And for dessert, you can have some of Clione’s Manjuu.

And next we have can badges of Barbara and Sicily, both new characters. Barbara is a challenger for the title of Overlord, while Sicily is Laharl’s little sister.

And the last item is a luncheon mat featuring Etna, Laharl and Flonne once again Source: 4Gamer.net

April 16th, 2013

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Girls und Panzer featured in DVD about tanks Source: http://sgcafe.com/2013/04/girls-und-panzer-featured-japandefense-forces-informational-dvd/ By SunSoftware on April 16th, 2013

As fans of the anime know, Yukari, voiced by Ikumi Nakagami, is a passionate tank fanatic, and in this 65-minute video, she finally gets to advocaate tanks to her heart’s content. In addition, people who buy all three Yoku Wakaru! DVDs can receive the movie “Kizuna no Kioku” and a chance to win a photograph of a Type-10 autographed by Nakagami.

It’s not every day that you hear the words “Japan Ground Self-Defense Force” associated with anime, but the military faction has managed to make the news with an unusual collaboration with Girls und Panzer. The video publisher Liverpool recently announced three new titles in the Self-Defense Force educational DVD series. Titled “Yoku Wakaru!” (Understand Well!), there are three videos for Japan’s Ground Self-Defense Force, Maritime Self-Defense Force, and Air Self-Defense Force.

Girls und Panzer, for those who don’t know, is an anime about girls who fight in tanks as a school sport. The Yoku Wakaru! titles will be available in Lawson and Sankus stores across Japan on May 13 for 1,980 yen, so fans of Girls und Panzer who are curious about real tanks should give them a try. As odd as it may seem, this isn’t the first time the military collaborated with Girls und Panzer. On March 24, the town of Ooarai (which served as a model of the characters’ home in the anime) held the Girls und Panzer Kairaku Festa, where the JGSDF brought an actual Type-74.

While you may prefer one military branch over another, the best DVD out of these three is the Ground Self-Defense Force’s — solely because it includes audio commentary by the character Yukari Akiyama from Girls und Panzer.

April 16th, 2013

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Source: MoeOtanews, Liverpool

Ikimonogakari to sing theme song for Pokemon movie, plus a new album and tour Source: http://sgcafe.com/2013/04/ikimonogakari-sing-theme-songpokemon-movie-album-tour/ By Az on April 15th, 2013

source: natalie

Kyary Pamyu Pamyu sings and dances with a crowd of 2100 in New York live Source: http://sgcafe.com/2013/04/enjoy-kyary-pamyu-pamyuattracts-2300-york-live/ By Az on April 15th, 2013

It has been decided that Ikimonogakari will sing the theme song for “Pokemon the Movie: Shinsoku no Genesect / Mewtwo Awakens”, to be shown in theaters on July 13. Furthermore, they will be releasing their sixth album on July 24 and will have a nationwide tour that will start on September. The new song for the Pokemon movie is “Egao”, a song composed and written by the guitarist Mizuno Yoshiki and arranged by music producer Kameda Seiji. The song has an emotionally moving melody with its positive and encouraging message delivered by vocalist Yoshioka Kiyoe with her bright and comforting voice. The chaku-uta version of “Egao” will be released on April 20 and will be released as the 26th single on July 10. The first press edition will contain a CD for “Pokemon Tretta”, a Pokemon arcade game. This is the first time this has been done for a single. Furthermore, Ikimonogakari will release the Calpis CM song “1 2 3~Koi Ga Hajimaru~” on June 5, making it a two-month consecutive single release with “Egao”. For more details on the June single and the CM, refer to this article. It will be the first time in Ikimonogakari’s eight years that they will release an album in summer so it is interesting to see how different it will be. And with album in hand, they will have a tour that will start in September and end in December. They will have a total of 25 performances and are expected to draw a total of 200,000 people.

Kyary Pamyu Pamyu has just held a successful live in Best Buy Theater, New York as part of her world tour, “100%KPP WORLD TOUR”. Coming fresh from her Los Angeles live last April 12, for her second US live, she has just performed in New York in front of 2100 people. She appeared in her red and white “Furisodeshon” dress and greeted the crowd, in mixed English and Japanese. “Hello! Kyary Pamyu Pamyu! Are you all having fun? ENJOY! It will only be a short live but I’ll sing many songs for you!”, says Kyary. In the middle part of the live, Kyary changes to a lavender outfit and sings song from her first album, “Kyary Pamyu Pamyu Revolution”. Right after songs from that album, she sings her new song, “Invader Invader”. Though the single is yet to be sold, the crowd was still able to the choreography because of its catchy yet easy to mimic movements. The joyful crowd dances along as one as Kyary sings. During the encore, Kyary returns to stage wearing the world tour shirt and takes a picture with the crowd, and performs “Tsukematsukeru” as the last song. The venue echoes with the Kyary and the crowd’s voices singing the 10

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song’s chorus. Kyary has captivated the New Yorkers and has had a splendid finish to her US leg of the tour. Only two performances left and the tour is done. Next stop for Kyary is Singapore’s SCAPE Warehouse! Check here for more details on the Singapore live and here for “Invader Invader”.

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Second season of Tamayura gets official title and new character Source: http://sgcafe.com/2013/04/character-kanae-revealed-tamayuraaggressive/ By SunSoftware on April 15th, 2013

Tamayura, the anime that started as an OVA series in 2010, has been described as relaxing and heartwarming, Those of you who have never watched the series will get a chance when the second season airs in July. Tamayura is about a girl named Fuu Sawatari whose father passed away five years earlier. Fuu moves to her father’s hometown, Takehara, and attends the school there, where she practices photography with the film camera he left behind. The series is directed by Junichi Satou, who is responsible for the famously peaceful Aria: The Animation. At the Tamayura promotion event held in Tokyo Dome City Hall on April 14, the staff from TYO Animations announced the official title of the second season: “Tamayura ~More Aggressive~” source: natalie

They also confirmed that the opening and ending themes will be performed by the same artists as the first season, Maaya Sakamoto and Megumi Nakajima, so fans of the series can look forward to those singers returning. In addition, they revealed a new character, Kanae Mitani, whom you can see below. The voice actress playing her will be Ai Kayano, who also played Inori from Guilty Crown and Mashiro from Pet na Kanojo.

April 16th, 2013

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What happens when Dengeki Bunko, one of the largest light novel publishers in Japan, teams up with Sega and the original character designer of Hatsune Miku? As part of Dengeki Bunko’s 20th anniversary celebration, they are joining forces with Sega and Vocaloid designer KEI to create the novel “Sega Hard Girls Story”. The novel features several goddesses themed around Sega’s past game systems, as seen below (left to right): the Dreamcast, Saturn, Mega Drive, Game Gear, and Master System.

Kanae is a Takehara resident who goes to the same school as Fuu. Like Fuu, Kanae enjoys photography, but she tends to overthink things, leading to analysis paralysis. There were a lot of fans at the event, who were all excited when Kanae was revealed. Also present were various cast members, including Ayana Taketatsu, Kana Asumi, and Yuka Iguchi. With so many people supporting Tamayura, you may want to watch the second season when it airs this July. Source: Anime!Anime!

Novel ‘Sega Hard Girls Story’ turns Sega systems into girls Source: http://sgcafe.com/2013/04/sega-hard-girls-story-turns-segasystems-goddesses/ By SunSoftware on April 15th, 2013

In the novel, these goddesses will live ordinary lives in modern Japan and share characteristics with their respective hardware, so longtime fans of Sega’s systems will be able to find a lot of inside jokes. The story will be written by Tooru Shiwasu, the author of Boku to Kanojo no Game Sensou, and include illustrations and character designs by KEI. Sega Hard Girls Story, which will be published in Dengeki Bunko Magazine starting on June 10, is the first part of the “Dengeki Bunko vs. Sega” project. As the second part of the project, Sega game centers across Japan will have illustrations of Kirino and Kuroneko from OreImo dressed in Sega costumes to promote Dengeki’s anniversary and cheer on gamers.

Dengeki has a lot more plans they haven’t revealed yet. Just recently, they announced their grand exhibition opening this month. To celebrate twenty years of producing quality novels, what will they do next? Source: Hachima Kikou

April 16th, 2013

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S.H. Figuarts to release a Sailor Moon figure this August Source: http://sgcafe.com/2013/04/s-h-figuarts-release-sailor-moonfigure-august/ By ellehaym on April 15th, 2013

The figure is priced at 4,410 JPY (55.82 SGD). North American Sailor Moon fans also have a reason to rejoice during the franchise’s 20th anniversary celebration. Bandai’s official distributor in North America, Bluefin, has confirmed the release of this figure in August/September. The U.S. MSRP will be announced soon. A special site has been opened for upcoming Sailor Moon figure. You can check it out for further updates. The 20th anniversary celebration of Sailor Moon is making 2013 a special year for fans of the franchise. Aside from the new anime adaptation of Naoko Takeuchi’s manga announced last year, a Sailor Moon figure by S.H. Figuarts is slated for release in Japan this coming August.

Now that a highly poseable Sailor Moon figure is coming this year, I’m hoping that Bandai would make things more magical in the future. A Tuxedo Mask figure, perhaps? Sources: S.H.Figuarts Natalie and Bluefin

セセセセセセセセセセセセセセセセセセセセセ,

This dynamic figure lets you recreate various poses of the popular heroine, including the pose that she executes every time she utters her signature line, “In the name of the moon I will punish you!” S.H. Figuarts’ Sailor Moon figure stands at 14 centimeters and includes the following parts: • Facial expressions (3 pieces) • Interchangeable left hands (3 pieces) • Interchangeable right hands (5 pieces) • Sailor Moon’s talking black cat, Luna • Moon Sticks (2 pieces) • Parts for the “Moon Tiara Action” attack

April 18th, 2013

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SGCafe : Cosplay | Vocaloid | Otaku | Pop Culture A daily publication about Cosplay, Vocaloid, Otaku and Japanese Pop Culture

two bands held a special session together. In this session, flumpool’s vocalist, Yamamura Ryouta, sang in Chinese for one of the songs. Check this article for more information.

flumpool to hold a Special Anniversary Live for 5th Year since debut + first BD release Source: http://sgcafe.com/2013/04/flumpool-hold-special-anniversarylive-5th-year-debut/ By Az on April 18th, 2013

flumpool is also going to release a new single (still untitled) this early summer and will their first ever blu-ray, “Special Live 2013 ‘experience’ at YOKOHAMA ARENA” on April 24. More details are to be announced in a few days so keep an eye on them. Here’s a digest for the BD. source: natalie, flumpool Official Website

Gingitsune manga to receive anime adaptation Source: http://sgcafe.com/2013/04/gingitsune-manga-receive-animeadaptation/ By ellehaym on April 18th, 2013

flumpool will be holding a 5th-year anniversary live in Nippon Budoukan for two consecutive days. The lives will be on October 1 and 2. This news was announced yesterday, April 17, in NHK Tokyo Hall during the earth day live, “TOKYO FM & JFM present EARTH x HEART LIVE 2013.” The band will be celebrating its 5th year on October 1. The band also stated why they chose Budoukan as the place for the special live. “Right after our debut, we were plunged into a completely environment. We want to stand again in that place where we, for the first time, felt that we had actually achieved or acquired something in the midst of our continuous struggles. Each and every one of the shining moments we had during these past five years, we want to give it all back to everyone in these two lives.”, says the band. Because of that, they decided to hold a live for two consecutive days in Budoukan. In EARTH x HEART LIVE,flumpool appeared with Mayday, a band from Taiwan. In the final moments of the live, the

Ultra Jump’s May issue is announcing that Sayori Ochiai’s manga, Gingitsune (Silver Fox), will be getting an anime adaptation. The staff information has been included along with the announcement. The story of the manga focuses on Makoto Saeki, a girl who was given the power to see and talk to Gintaro after her mother’s death. Gintaro is a fox spirit messenger for the gods who has been guarding the Inari temple since the Edo period. Despite the differences between the two, Makoto 1

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and Gintaro still cooperate in helping the people of their community solve their issues.

Published by: VR-Zone By Ryo on April 18th, 2013

Staff information: • Directed by Shin Misawa (Capeta) • Series Composition by Hiroshi Yamaguchi (Rosario + Vampire) • Character Design by Maiko Matsumoto, Naomi Ide (Mondaiji-tachi ga Isekai kara Kuru Sou Desu yo?) • Production Studio: Diomedea Gingitsune has a drama CD with a cast that includes Kanae Itou, Toshihiko Seki, Machiko Kawana, Umeka Shouji and Yusei Oda. However, it hasn’t been confirmed if these voice actors will be reprising their roles in the upcoming anime. Upon reading the synopsis about the manga, I was reminded of Natsume Yuujinchou (Natsume’s Book of Friends). This may be a seinen manga, but if you loved the adventures of Natsume and Nyanko-sensei, this might just be your cup of tea. Sources: オオオオ, MyAnimeList and Baka-Updates

Ace Attorney 5 pre-purchase bonus and limited edition information revealed Source: http://sgcafe.com/2013/04/ace-attorney-5-pre-purchase-bonuslimited-edition-information-revealed/

Preorders have officially started today (both special and regular editions) on the 18th April for Ace Attorney 5 in Japan, which includes several attractive bonuses and of course, the game itself. Famitsu has confirmed that the game will be available on 25th July, but if you have been on Capcom’s website before then, the release date was actually leaked some time ago before being taken down again.

April 18th, 2013

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Apollo Justice: casual outfit designed by Kazuya Nuri.

Similarly to its previous releases, there are three different editions with different bonuses you can preorder aside from the regular release. The Limited Edition, as stated earlier, will provide a 1/10 Phoenix Wright figure, a 3DS pouch, character stickers, and if you ordered from e-Capcom, they will give you not one, but all three of the special replacement jackets. The Limited Edition will go for 9, 990 yen (tax included). If you arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t such an avid collector of figurines, or choose not to have it, you can always go for the cheaper Extended Edition priced at 7, 590 yen (tax included), which includes all the bonuses of the Limited Edition, minus the figurine. Oh, but sadly, you will only get one random replacement jacket out of the three.

Kokone: sailor uniform. To sum up:

Or instead, if you want just the figurine, e-Capcom also provides a Figure Edition, which is going for 8, 990 yen. Included in it is the 1/10 Phoenix Wright scale figure, and one randomly chosen replacement jacket.

In addition to this, Phoenix Wright, Apollo Justice and Kokone Kizuki will get free, downloadable costumes for a limited period until 15th August.

LIMITED EDITION (9, 990 yen): 1)

Ace Attorney 5 catridge

1/10 Phoenix Wright scale figure

3DS pouch

Character stickers

3 replacement jackets

Phoenix Wright: his suit from Ace Attorney 3.

April 18th, 2013

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REGULAR EDITION (5, 990 yen): 1)

Ace Attorney 5 catridge

1 replacement jacket (out of the 3 available)

All four editions will be released on 25th July. Source: famitsu, e-Capcom

EXILE’s 2014 plans announced Source: http://sgcafe.com/2013/04/exiles-2014-plans-announced/ By ellehaym on April 18th, 2013

EXTENDED EDITION (7, 590 yen): 1)

Ace Attorney 5 catridge

3DS pouch

Character stickers

1 replacement jacket (out of the 3 available)

EXILE began their ‘EXILE LIVE TOUR 2013: EXILE PRIDE‘ at the Kyocera Dome Osaka last April 16. During this event, the members have revealed their 2014 plans which are collectively named ‘EXILE TRIBE PERFECT YEAR 2014’. FIGURE EDITION (8, 990 yen): 1)

Ace Attorney 5 catridge

1/10 Phoenix Wright scale figure

1 replacement jacket (out of the 3 available)

Early this month, EXILE leader Hiro has officially announced that he will be retiring from the group this 2013. He will then focus on producing live performances and events for EXILE TRIBE. Twelve projects were initially revealed and the additional plans will be announced later. Below is the list of EXILE TRIBE’s 2014 projects: • Sandaime J Soul Brothers LIVE TOUR • EXILE ATSUSHI SOLO LIVE TOUR • EXILE TRIBE PERFECT YEAR 2014 SPECIAL STAGE DJ MAKIDAI presents “CLUB EXILE” • DANCE EARTH Project Performance • EXILE TRIBE PERFECT YEAR 2014 SPECIAL STAGE “THE SURVIVAL” 10Days!! (with performances by THE SECOND from EXILE, Sandaime J Soul Brothers, GENERATIONS from EXILE TRIBE and EXILE TAKAHIRO) • VOCAL BATTLE BATTLE STAGE”

AUDITION

Presents

“VOCAL

• Gekidan EXILE Performance 4

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• Izakaya Exile • EXILE CUP 2014 • Musha Shugyou • EX SHOW 2014 • EXILE TRIBE PERFECT YEAR LIVE TOUR “TOWER OF WISH 2014” Aside from these 2014 plans, the additional tour dates for EXILE LIVE TOUR 2013: EXILE PRIDE were also announced: • September 1 and 2 – Kyocera Dome Osaka in Osaka • September 11 and 12 – Nagoya Dome in Aichi • September 21 and 22 – Fukuoka Yafuoku! Dome in Fukuoka

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Last February, the general manager of Square Enix’s figure brand, PLAY ARTS -KAI-, tweeted about the perfume inspired by Final Fantasy Versus XIII’s prince protagonist. Despite this recent teaser, nothing new was revealed about the game up until now. Are you excited for the upcoming announcement? Sources: Kotaku and Gematsu

Trailer and cast revealed for loli anime ‘Tenshi no Drop’ Source: http://sgcafe.com/2013/04/trailer-cast-revealed-loli-animetenshi-drop/ By SunSoftware on April 18th, 2013

Source: tokyohive

New info on Final Fantasy Versus XIII coming soon Source: http://sgcafe.com/2013/04/info-final-fantasy-xiii-coming/ By ellehaym on April 18th, 2013

Coming next month, between the spring and summer anime lineup, is Tenshi no Drop, a peculiar anime that describes itself as a “school yuri comedy that appeals to fetishes”.

The date has been finalised for the release of new information on Final Fantasy Versus XIII. But when is it exactly? Unfortunately, Final Fantasy Versus XIII director Tetsuya Nomura has remained silent during his recent guesting in a Square Enix radio show. However, he did point out that preparations are being made. Here’s the statement by Nomura during the said radio program: Even within the company it’s a very delicate problem. The date when we can concretely lift the ban has been decided and we are preparing for that moment. Maybe the details as to why information couldn’t be released might be touched upon at the next information announcement. I’m sorry it’s already overdue, but please wait just a little more.

The anime Tenshi no Drop is based on a web comic of the same name created by Chizuna Nakajima. The story begins with two girls named Botan and Shinobu who enter St. Asmaria Girls Academy. There, an angel named Un gives her halo to Botan, which she gladly eats(!). After consuming the halo, Botan realizes she has the power to give birth to “Angel Eggs”. That is when Un tells her that if she gives birth to 10,000 Angel Eggs, her wish will be granted! Watch the short promo below to get a peek of Botan and her friends giving birth to Angel Eggs (no, you don’t need to be 18 years or older to watch). The cast was also recently revealed, which includes: • Botan: Rei Matsuzaki (Kanon from Jewelpet Sunshine) • Shinobu: Mai Gotou (Mizuki from ef – a tale of memories) • Un: Hiromi Igarashi (Hina from Papa no Iu Koto wo Kikinasai!) • Hibachi: Yuiko Tatsumi (Mio from Little Busters) • Momoko: Sachika Misawa (Kuroyukihime from Accel World)

April 18th, 2013

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Fans of lolis and mild yuri should keep an eye on Tenshi no Drop when it airs on May 12. Source: Tenshi no Drop homepage

Battlefield 3 PC for five bucks?? Source: http://sgcafe.com/2013/04/battlefield-3-pc-bucks/ By sentinel011 on April 18th, 2013

Spotify has gained a substantial following across the Western and European song market, and finally reached Singapore’s shores, officially opening their services. Music fans from Singapore can now enjoy free on-demand access to over 20 million tracks, legally. Spotify offers a social experience with how you listen your music. You and your friends can share your playlists, similar to music.fm, just a lot more fun and intuitive.

Thinking on means and ways to purchase an A-list game title for less than 10 bucks? EA just revealed their Mystery Deal title up recently on their Origin store. The title is none other than Battlefield 3, going for just five bucks. You can grab the digital copy over at Origin store starting from 12PM tomorrow, 19 April. The promotion lasts for 12 hours, so get your e-wallets ready! Unfortunately, this deal does not include the five DLCs, but hey, one can’t complain too much on such a sweet price, no?

Spotify launches services in Singapore Source: http://sgcafe.com/2013/04/spotify-launches-services-singapore/ By sentinel011 on April 18th, 2013

The free Spotify service offers the free service on your computer, but it comes with both visual and audio ads. The audio ads behaves very much like radio advertisements. The paid service, Spotify Premium, charges SGD$9.90 per month. Here’s what you get for your membership: - Download music and listen offline on all your devices – PC, iPhone, iPad, android devices and tablets, as well as music players - no advertisements SGCafe tested Spotify to see if their playlist has Japanese Pop and Anison titles and artistes. I have created an account and tried searching for the following artistes: - T.M. Revolution - Perfume - L`arc~en~Ciel - KOTOKO - Sphere - FLOW - Kurosaki Maon - LUNA SEA - Namie Amuro - Ayumi Hamasaki - AKB48

April 18th, 2013

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all the way to Reina’s hometown, Fukuoka. The live and live-viewing is under the title “Morning Musume Concert Tour 2013 Spring, MICHISHIGEオELEVEN SOUL ~Tanaka Reina Graduation Day~ in Nippon Budoukan”. It will be shown in 15 areas, 18 theaters all over Japan. Unfortunately, Spotify does not cater to Japanese music fans, and not many titles or albums were present in their song list. Even popular mainstream artistes like T.M Revolution, Namie Amuro, LUNA SEA and Ayumi Hamasaki did not appear in their title list. We hope the list of Japanese music titles and artistes would grow in Spotify’s title lists.

Below are pictures from the release event along with the CD jackets of the single. The single will have seven editions: five limited and two regular. The limited editions will contain a second disk with different videos each edition.

Tanaka Reina’s last Morning Musume song skyrockets to rank 1 in the Oricon + graduation concert Source: http://sgcafe.com/2013/04/tanaka-reinas-morning-musumesong-skyrockets-1-oricon-graduation-concert/ By Az on April 17th, 2013

Idol group Morning Musume has held a special release event for their latest single, “Brainstorming / Kimi Sae Ireba Nanimo Iranai”, in Ikebukuro, Tokyo just yesterday. It is in this event that Morning Musume’s current leader Michishige Sayumi announced that their latest single has just acquired the top spot in the Oricon Daily Ranking Charts in its first day. This news was met with loud cheering from the 2000 people who attended. 6th generation member Tanaka Reina’s graduation will be at Nippon Budoukan on May 21. “This will be my last single with the group so I thought that this will be more of a ‘spreading my wings’ kind of song, but it’s actually a very cool song that fits the current Morning Musume. In addition to that, this single is a special double-A. I’m very happy to have this single as my last and to graduate with it.” comments Reina about the single. Furthermore, Michishige announced that the graduation concert at Nippon Budoukan will be relayed live to theaters all around Japan. The concert will be shown from Hokkaido, 7

April 18th, 2013

Published by: VR-Zone

submitting receipt numbers on their special website. When you submit the receipt numbers, you gain points which you can use to enter a drawing to win several prizes. 200 people who collect 20 points will win a ticket to the Idolm@ster Million Liveâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s special event in LiveGate Tokyo on August 11, featuring the voice actresses of Idolm@ster. More details on the event are yet to come.

source: natalie, Oricon

50 people who collect 10 points will win a 3D poster of Emily Stewart signed by the idol herself (actually, by her voice actress Yuu Kahara). 500 people who collect 5 points will win a cute figure of Yayoi produced by MegaHouse, available nowhere else.

The Idolm@ster holding prize campaign with Lawson Source: http://sgcafe.com/2013/04/idolmster-holding-prize-campaignlawson/ By SunSoftware on April 17th, 2013

3,000 people who collect 1 point will win a set of three cell phone straps modeled after the idols Hinata Kinoshita, Emily Stewart, and Matsuri Tokugawa. Finally, the first 1,000 people to collect twenty points and donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t manage to win tickets to the event will get a consolation prize of a file with an illustration of Emily on one side and a group shot of all of the Million Live idols on the other.

The Idolm@ster is starting a campaign with the convenience store Lawson in which customers can get a variety of prizes, ranging from magnets to tickets to an upcoming concert in Tokyo. The Idolm@ster Million Live campaign will run from April 23 to May 27. If you live in Japan, you can participate in their receipt program by buying select Kirin drinks at Lawson and 8

April 18th, 2013

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As if that wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t enough, players of the Million Live social game who obtain the magnets will also have a chance to win an in-game item.

Furthermore, if you buy a Kirin brand cola, milk, or coffee at Lawson, you will get a special magnet sheet with a total of 48 magnets featuring the idols of Million Live.

The Idolm@ster and Lawson have even more surprises planned for their campaign, so get ready to buy a lot of drinks. Source: Lawson

April 22nd, 2013

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SGCafe : Cosplay | Vocaloid | Otaku | Pop Culture A daily publication about Cosplay, Vocaloid, Otaku and Japanese Pop Culture

Spring 2013 anime titles: The Dark Horses Source: http://sgcafe.com/2013/04/spring-2013-anime-titles-darkhorses/ By sentinel011 on April 22nd, 2013

first couple of episodes present itself, the music arrangement is also top notch, highlighting key moments of tragedy and drama. Also worthy of mention is the fantastic voice cast, with Yuki Kaji (Silver Crow/Haruyuki from Accel World) as protaganist Eren Jaeger, newcomer Ishikawa Yui as adoptive sister Mikasa Ackerman, and Marina Inoue (Yoko Littner from Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann) as Armin Arlelt. Other great voice actors include Saki Fujita (Hatsune Miku from the Vocaloid series) as a manly female Ymir, Yuu Kobayashi as Sasha “Potato Girl” Braus and Shiori Mikami (Akari Akaza from Yuruyuri) as the petite beauty Christa Renz. Although the source material has currently about 50 chapters of material, it does not seem to end any time soon. The anime is tentatively slated for a 2-cour 25 episode run, which could mean two things: a likely season 2, or an animeoriginal ending.

Most series have already aired, and we have listed a couple that you should be looking out for. Here are two series that missed our radar that you should absolutely catch.

Red Data Girl

Shingeki no Kyojin

The award winning manga finally made its first anime adaptation since its first serialization in Bessatsu Shōnen Magazine. Set in a fictional world where the human population had to live within 3 huge walls protected against the Titans, who devours any human on sight. The story revolves around Eren Jaeger, who vowed revenge against the Titans after the appearance of a colossal Titan that destroyed the wall in his district, causing the loss of his home and mother to a Titan. Also known as Attack on Titan, the medieval fantasy story has impeccable pacing, and while the art isn’t fantastic, the engaging plot makes up for it. Moreover, the anime heightens the manga experience. With Production I.G. aiding Wit Studio’s first full fledged anime series production, Tetsuro Araki heading the direction (who is involved with Highschool of the Dead‘s direction as well, so you can count on having fabulous action angles) and Sawako Hiroyuki (Episode 6 of Gundam Unicorn) handling the musical arrangement, one can expect great action sequences. As the

The series’ production involves P.A. Works and Kishida Mel’s line art, which has spelt a lesser than stellar reception among anime viewers, probably due to the source material not translating into anime as seamlessly as it was thought out to be. However, Red Data Girl is looking to be a great series, with the rise in pacing and character development from the third episode onwards. Voicing the meek but strong willed female protagonist Suzuhara Izumiko is Hayami Saori, well known for voicing soft spoken characters such as Bakuman‘s Miho Azuki. The male lead, Miyuki Sagara, is voiced by “harem king” Uchiyama Kouki. Uchiyama’s first role is IS -Infinite Stratos- male protagonist, Ichika Orimura, who is in a typical harem setting flanked by beautiful ladies vying for his attention and love.

April 22nd, 2013

Published by: VR-Zone

The series is currently at episode six in niconico, a three episode head start from its television broadcast, and is expected to be a 1-cour series.

• Original Creator: Izuru Yumizuru

Infinite Stratos — season 2 and BD box set announced

• Mechanical Design: Takeshi Takakura, CHOCO (Busou Shinki)

Source: http://sgcafe.com/2013/04/infinite-stratos-season-2-bd-box-setannounced/ By SunSoftware on April 22nd, 2013

• Director: Yasuhito Kikuchi • Character Design: Kumi Horii (Seitokai no Ichizon)

• Music Composition: Hikaru Nanase • Studio: 8-Bit The date for the second season is yet to be announced. On a related note, a complete Blu-ray box set of the first season will be released on August 28.

For fans of the first season, the box set will feature: • All 12 episodes Rumors have spread for a while, but fans of Infinite Stratos will be happy to hear that a second season of the sci-fi romantic comedy has been officially announced. IS <Infinite Stratos> is set in the future, when women are trained to pilot mechs called Infinite Stratos (IS). A boy named Ichika Orimura becomes the first male in history to be capable of piloting an IS, and is forced to enter Infinite Stratos Academy, a high school filled with girls from all over the world training to use IS.

• The OVA “IS <Infinite Stratos> Encore: Koi ni Kogareru Sextet” • Footage from the One-Off Festival from August 2011 • Over five hours of bonus footage • An exclusive novel by the original author Izuru Yumizuru • A 300-page document booklet

Along with the announcement of the second season, the studio 8-bit also revealed this short promo video.

• A pamphlet and photo collection of the One-Off Festival

Fans of the series will have noticed two new characters, Tatenashi and Kanzaki Sarashiki. The other characters will be played by the same cast members as the previous season. • Ichika Orimura: Kouki Uchiyama (Roxas from Kingdom Hearts 2)

Finally, the light novel series will be published by Overlap starting on April 25, after the first seven volumes were released by Media Factory from 2009 to 2011. Overlap has also released this commercial to promote the reboot of the series. The world of Infinite Stratos is growing, so fans of the series can rejoice.

• Houki Shinonono: Youko Hikasa (Mio from K-ON!)

Source: IS homepage, Amazon

• Cecilia Alcott: Yukana (Shirahoshi from One Piece) • Huang Lingyin: Asami Shimoda (Ami and Mami from The Idolm@ster) • Charlotte Dunois: Kana Hanazawa (Kuroneko from OreImo) • Laura Bodewig: Marina Inoue (Yozora from Haganai)

Rozen Maiden anime 2013: original cast members return for the new adaptation Source: http://sgcafe.com/2013/04/original-anime-cast-membersreturn-anime-adaptation-rozen-maiden/

The staff is almost the same as in the first season. This time, the character designer has changed, and CHOCO will contribute to mecha designs.

April 22nd, 2013 By ellehaym on April 21st, 2013

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If you were following the previous series, then I’m sure Ali Project’s “neoclassical darkwave” songs grew on you. Fortunately, we will once again hear them perform an opening song for Rozen Maiden. Aside from the new adaptation, an adventure game adaptation of the manga will be released by 5pb. following the anime’s premiere this July. The game is planned for the PS3 and PS Vita. Source: やややや!

Gin no Saji TV Anime Official Web Site Reveals Character Designs Source: http://sgcafe.com/2013/04/gin-saji-tv-anime-official-web-sitereveals-character-designs/ By hittokiri on April 21st, 2013

Last month, it was revealed that a new adaptation of PeachPit’s Rozen Maiden will premiere this summer in Japan. Now, the 21st and 22nd combined issue of Weekly Young Jump published by Shueisha is revealing the character designs along with the cast and staff of the upcoming anime.

Following the recent announcement of it’s scheduled July airing, Gin no Saji TV Anime’s official website has started to reveal the character designs of it’s main characters.

The original cast members are returning for this new adaptation, with the addition of Ryota Ohsaka and Chiemi Chiba. Cast Info: • Ryota Ohsaka as Jun Sakurada • Asami Sanada as Jun Sakurada (middle school) • Rie Tanaka as Suigintou • Yumi Shimura as Kanaria • Natsuko Kuwatani as Suiseiseki • Rika Morinaga as Souseiseki • Miyuki Sawashiro as Shinku • Sakura Nogawa as Hinaichigo • Chiemi Chiba as Kirakishou Staff Info: • Director: Mamoru Hatakeyama (Sankarea) • Script Supervision: Tomomi Mochizuki (Fancy Lala) • Character Designer and Chief Animation Director: Kyuta Sakai (Higurashi no Naku Koro ni) • Music Composition: Shinkichi Mitsumune (the composer behind the previous Rozen Maiden series) • Animation Production: Studio DEEN

April 22nd, 2013

Characters whose designs have been revealed so far are Hachiken Yugo (やややや), the main protagonist of the manga. Mikage Aki (やややや), a cheerful first year equestrian club member who is very enthusiastic about horses. Komaba Ichirou (やややや), a skilled baseball player who wishes to become a professional ball player. Tokiwa Keiji (やややや), Yugo’s close friend who has a tendency to get himself into trouble. Inada Tamako (ややややや), a rich classmate whose family runs a large industrial farm. Aikawa Shinnosuke (ややややや), Yugo’s friend who wishes to become a veterinarian. Gin no Saji TV Anime will begin airing in July on Fuji TV’s noitamina time slot. Source : Yaraon!, Gin no Saji Anime

Danshi Koukousei no Nichijou to get Live Action Movie Source: http://sgcafe.com/2013/04/danshi-koukousei-nichijou-liveaction-movie/ By hittokiri on April 21st, 2013

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The movie will star Suda Masaki (やややや) as Tadakuni, Nomura Shuhei (やややや) as Yoshitake and Yoshizawa Ryou (ややや) as Hidenori.

Other cast members include Okamoto Anri (やややや), Yamamoto Mitsuki (やややや), Taiga (やや), Kakuta Akihiro (やややや), Higashimukai Koushirou (ややややや), Kurihara Rui (ややや), Uema Mio (やややや), Miura Touko (やややや), Yamaya Kasumi (やややや), Shiratori Kumiko (ややややや), Takatsuki Sara (やややや), Koike Yui (ややや), Okuno Eita (やややや) and Satou Jirou (やややや). Danshi Koukousei no Nichijou is a manga series by Yamauchi Yasunobu. It was serialized on Square Enix’s online magazine Gangan Online from May 2009 to September 2012. The manga has been compiled into 7 volumes. It was previously adapted into a 12 episode TV anime by Sunrise Studios and aired from January 2012 to March 2012. The current live action adaptation movie is scheduled to premiere in October 2013. Source : Seiyu Fan, Eiga.com, dannichi-movie.com

Mizuki Nana to be guest on Shin Domoto Kyoudai Source: http://sgcafe.com/2013/04/mizuki-nana-guest-shin-domotokyoudai/ By hittokiri on April 21st, 2013

A live action adaptation of the popular gag manga Danshi Koukousei no Nichijou has been announced. The live action movie will be directed by Matsui Daigo (やややや).

Mizuki Nana will be a guest on Shin Domoto Kyoudai, a music variety show hosted by KinKi Kids. Her appearance 4

April 22nd, 2013

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on the show was confirmed by the blog entries of the variety show’s producer. The episode will air on April 28th at 11.15 p.m. Japan Standard Time. She will be a guest on the show together with Sada Masashi.

This is her second guest appearance on the show. During a talk session in her previous guest appearance, it was mentioned that she was classmates with one of the hosts during high school. This time round, she will be performing a duet with Sada Masashi singing the song Cosmos (やや). Shin Domoto Kyoudai is a weekly music variety show aired on Fuji TV. It debuted in October 2004. The show is hosted by the KinKi Kids together with other guest hosts. KinKi Kids is a duo consisting of Domoto Koichi and Domoto Tsuyoshi who are under the talent agency Johnny & Associates. The name of their group is derived from the fact that both members are from the Kinki region in Japan. The 2 members are not related to each other even though they share the same family name. Source : Seiyu Fan, Otogumi

New Evangelion: 3.33 You Can (NOT) Redo trailer to promote BD/DVD release Source: http://sgcafe.com/2013/04/evangelion-3-33-trailer-promotebddvd-release/ By hittokiri on April 21st, 2013

A new Evangelion: 3.33 You Can (NOT) Redo trailer has been released to promote the upcoming Blu-ray and DVD.

April 22nd, 2013

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Evangelion: 3.33 You Can (Not) Redo is the title for the home media release of the third movie in the Rebuild of Evangelion tetralogy. The movie had it’s theatrical release in Japan last year in November. As previously reported, the upcoming Blu-ray and DVD release will include extras such as the special 10 minute short Kyoshinhei Tokyo ni Awareru, an Evangelion: 3.33 documentary, teasers, trailers, television commercials and the 3.33 version of the dialogue recording script. First print editions will also include an Original Soundtrack CD. The Blu-ray and DVD are due out on the 24th of April. Source : Seiyu Fan

Yui Ogura and Kaori Ishihara graduate from Stylips Source: http://sgcafe.com/2013/04/yui-ogura-kaori-ishihara-graduatestylips/ By SunSoftware on April 21st, 2013

Just before the release of their best-of album, Yui Ogura and Kaori Ishihara have left the voice actress unit StylipS. According to an announcement from Lantis, Yui Ogura and Kaori Ishihara have graduated from StylipS due to schoolwork and schedule constraints. As for their future plans, StylipS is preparing to restart with new members, while retaining their slogan, “A seiyuu unit for our generation, seeking to fulfill dreams together”. 6

April 22nd, 2013

Published by: VR-Zone

travel to a parallel world labeled the “Deranged World”. In the Deranged World, they can fight monsters by summoning MINDs, creatures that are manifestations of their, well, minds. The story may sound a lot like Persona, but Acquire describes the game as a dark, stylish RPG. You can judge for yourself by watching the short, 40-second version of Mindや0′s opening movie, featuring the song “Bousou Machine, Mindや0 Ver.”, performed by yucat, the artist who became famous through Twitter and creates gothic, steampunk-inspired music from the darkness of her heart. Anime fans should recognize StylipS, who performed the opening theme of Kono Naka ni Hitori, Imouto ga Iru. Their first best-of album, The Lightning Celebration, will be released on April 24. Ogura and Ishihara have voiced characters in many different anime, including the currently airing Hentai Ouji to Warawanai Neko. In addition, they have their own duo named YuiKaori, and have released seven singles together.

In case the movie isn’t stylish enough for you, here are some illustrations of the main characters. Kei Takanashi

Although they are going their separate ways, Ogura and Ishihara will maintain their good relationship with the other members of StylipS, Arisa Noto and Maho Matsunaga. This is sad news, but StylipS, Ogura, and Ishihara will all keep working hard and eventually make a comeback, so those of you who are fans should keep supporting them. Source: Lantis

Dark and stylish preview of MIND≒0 now live

Sana Chikage

Source: http://sgcafe.com/2013/04/dark-stylish-preview-mind %E2%89%920-live/ By SunSoftware on April 20th, 2013

Leo Asahina

Acquire’s upcoming RPG is about intense battles and dark, stylish art, which you can get a peek of in the game’s opening movie. Mindや0 is the latest PS Vita game from Acquire (Akiba’s Trip) and ZeroDiv (Class of Heroes). The story is centered around several teenagers called “MIND users” who can

Here are some battle screenshots, as well. As you can see, sound effects pop up visually like in a comic book. If you’re 7

April 22nd, 2013

sold by MINDや0′s style, you can pick up the game on August 1.

Published by: VR-Zone

The information on the new anime will be streamed via Nico Nico Live on April 26 at 22:00 JST.

Source: Famitsu

KyoAni announcement countdown: new anime information with two silhouettes as a clue Source: http://sgcafe.com/2013/04/kyoani-announcement-countdownanime-information-silhouettes-clue/ By ellehaym on April 20th, 2013

Based on the two silhouettes teased by KyoAni on their official site, can you guess what the new anime is?

Since the start of the countdown, fans are already trying to guess what the announcement is about on the 26th. Is it the return of an existing KyoAni title (like Suzumiya Haruhi or Hyouka)? Is it a brand new series? Or maybe that swimming anime? Let’s just hope for the best. 8

April 24th, 2013

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SGCafe : Cosplay | Vocaloid | Otaku | Pop Culture A daily publication about Cosplay, Vocaloid, Otaku and Japanese Pop Culture

Building Master Grade style kits: Providence Gundam Source: http://sgcafe.com/2013/04/building-master-grade-style-kitsprovidence-gundam/ By sentinel011 on April 24th, 2013

The tutorial assumes that the kit builders know basic modification skills, and has adequate tools for the job. We list down the tools for the job: 1. Craft Knife 2. Sandpaper of various grits (#400 – #1000) 3. Nipper 4. Tweezers 5. 0.15mm scriber/engraving tool 6. 0.3mm plastic sheet 7. Tamiya masking tape 8. Scissors 9. Plastic cement And of course, the painting and detailing materials: 1. Airbrush 2. Compressor 3. Surfacer (grit #1000 – grey) 4. Lacquer paint 5. Lacquer thinner 6. Enamel paint (grey/brown) 7. Enamel thinner 8. Decals (Gundam Decal Strike Noir) 9. Mr Mark Setter 10. Topcoat (flat) Following the full article presented by gundam.info, we also would like to highlight certain tips and tricks to make your kit looking spiffy. • Practice your sanding and scribing skills by clipping off the flat plastic areas of each gate, and sand it accordingly. These can be used as plastic sheets for future modification purposes, such as filling up gaps and holes of various areas.

Many kit builders lament on not having their favourite Mobile Suits getting the Master Grade treatment. Gundam.info (via bandai-hobby.net) teaches you simple methods to modify existing model kits into its Master Grade variants. Here, the tutorial shows how to make the 1/100 scale Providence Gundam from Gundam SEED series into a ‘Master Grade’ version. By using a Master Grade Sword Impulse Gundam, one can make their own Master Grade version of Providence Gundam.

• Your nipper is good for removing all the excess plastic. To make it more presentable, lightly trim off the excess areas with your craft knife and sanding block. • Some sink holes do not need putty if they aren’t too deep. Level them by using #400 grit sandpaper via a circular motion. Be sure to do this lightly, as it might cause the surface to be uneven due to over-sanding. Source: Gundam.info

April 24th, 2013

Shingeki no Kyojin’s Production Studio Hiring Animators

Published by: VR-Zone By hittokiri on April 24th, 2013

Source: http://sgcafe.com/2013/04/shingeki-kyojins-production-studiohiring-animators/ By hittokiri on April 24th, 2013

TV anime Shingeki no Kyojin’s character designer Asano Kyoji (## ## ) recently made a tweeter post seeking assistance from animators. Voice actress Tomatsu Haruka will be guest starring in the 11th episode of Jyuden Sentai Kyouryujya. She will be acting the role of an idol named after herself.

In the tweeter post, Asano asked if there were any animators interested in the anime Shingeki no Kyojin. Animators interested in the series are invited to contact WIT Studio, the production company animating the series. The animators assistance are much needed. The link provided in the post leads to WIT Studio’s contact page. Shingeki no Kyojin is WIT Studio’s maiden anime production. The studio is an off-shoot of Production I.G., the studio best known for the Ghost in the Shell anime franchise and the Blood anime franchise. The staff at the studio were previously involved with Production I.G.’s Sengoku BASARA.

She is an existing cast member of the series as she voices the role of Canderrilla, a general in the Deboss Army, an organization intending to invade earth.

Shingeki no Kyojin is a manga by Isayama Hajime (## #). It won an award in Kodansha’s Manga Grand Prix in 2006. It is currently being serialized in Kodansha’s monthly magazine, Bessatsu Shounen Magazine. It is currently up to volume 10. The anime adaptation of the manga premiered in early April with episode 3 being it’s most recent episode. A live action adaptation of the manga is currently in production and is expected to release in Japanese theaters in 2014. Source : @jin115, Yaraon!

Tomatsu Haruka to guest star in Jyuden Sentai Kyouryujya Source: http://sgcafe.com/2013/04/tomatsu-haruka-guess-star-jyudensentai-kyouryujya/

April 24th, 2013

Published by: VR-Zone

Teasers for the upcoming episode reveals that her character will be on stage performing to a live crowd. Tomatsu Haruka is a member of Sphere. Notable voice acting roles by her include Asuna Yuki from Sword Art Online, Morgiana from Magi : The Labyrinth of Magic, Lala Satalin Deviluke from To Love-Ru and Ichika Takatsuki from Ano Natsu de Matteru. Jyuden Sentai Kyouryujya is the 37th Super Sentai Series. It is the third series to use the dinosaur motif. Episode 11 of Jyuden Sentai Kyouryujya will air on the 28th of April 2013. Source : Yaraon!

Artist management agency RAMS closed down Source: http://sgcafe.com/2013/04/artist-management-agency-ramsclosed/ By hittokiri on April 24th, 2013

The company’s office has also been closed down and the office space is currently empty. Nogawa Sakura is a veteran voice actress who debuted in 1999. She is best known for her role as Asakura Nemu from D.C. ~Da Capo~. Miyazaki Ui is a voice actress who debuted in 2005. She gain popularity that same year when she voiced the role of Aishia in D.C.S.S. ~Da Capo Second Season~. Her most recent anime role was Yoshino Syaruru in D.C. III ~Da Capo III~

Artist management agency RAMS has closed down. RAMS which manages voice actresses Nogawa Sakura and Miyazaki Ui ceased operations on the 31st of March.

RAMS was also the management agency for PSYCHIC LOVER, an anime and tokusatsu song duo. They sang the opening song for Tokusousentai Deka Ranger and Samurai Sentai Shinkenjya. Other then artist management, RAMS also ran a voice acting school named RAMS Professional Education. Nanjou Yoshino of fripSide is a graduate from this school. Since it’s closing, most of the voice actors and actresses who were previously under them have became freelancers. A few like PSYCHIC LOVER and Miyazaki Ui has managed to transfer to other artist management agencies. Source : @jin115, Yaraon!

The company’s official website currently only states that it is under maintenance. No other information has been provided.

Perfume WORLD TOUR 1st DVD Cover revealed + update on upcoming London live Source: http://sgcafe.com/2013/04/perfume-world-tour-1st-dvd-coverrevealed-update-upcoming-london-live/

April 24th, 2013

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By Az on April 23rd, 2013

Dream Fighter PTA Corner FAKE IT Nee Chocolate Disco Polyrhythm =ENCORE= Perfume has just revealed the DVD covers for “Perfume WORLD TOUR 1st”, which is to be released on May 22 alongside “Magic Of Love“. As previously written, the footage to be used for the DVD will be Singapore’s in SCAPE Warehouse. The Singapore live is the only one with Doraemon and the only one with three encore songs with MY COLOR as the addition, so expect an extra-special performance from the girls! Here’s the DVD content:

Spring of Life Kokoro no Sports MY COLOR + WORLD TOUR 1st MAKING ========= There is also news concerning Perfume WORLD TOUR 2nd. It has been announced that there will be a change in venue for the London live. It was changed from O2 Academy Islington to O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire. The London part of the tour will be on July 5th. The venue change could be attributed to the people who want to see the live being larger than expected as the tickets for the London live was quickly sold out. Compared to the previous one, the new venue can accommodate around a thousand more people. For more details on the tour, check here. source: Perfume Official Website

These Vocaloid goodies can now be pre-ordered: earphone jack accessories and Lamp Miku feat. Nekozakana figure Source: http://sgcafe.com/2013/04/vocaloid-goodies-pre-ordered-

=Live Footage=

earphone-jack-accessories-lamp-miku-feat-nekozakana-figure/ By ellehaym on April 23rd, 2013

OPENING NIGHT FLIGHT computer city ELECTRO WORLD laser beam (album mix) Spending all my time love the world Butterfly edge secret secret 4

April 24th, 2013

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Small cute things is what best describes these Vocaloid goodies that are now available for pre-order. A total of six earphone jacks featuring Hatsune Miku and the Kagamine twins are being offered by Good Smile Company. On the other hand, the Miku Lamp figure inspired by the illustration of Nekozakana is being offered by Alphamax.

Character Vocal Series: Earphone Jack Accessories Do you have an iPhone? If you’re a big fan of Crypton Future Media’s virtual idols then you might want to have one of these earphone jack accessories. The designs are inspired by the illustrations of Y-Oji, Souno and Putidevil. Each of these accessories is placed inside a box. And here’s the catch: you won’t know what’s inside the box until you open it. So if you don’t really mind which character you’ll get, you can pre-order a single box at 500 JPY (6.29 SGD). But if you’re worried about getting the same design, there’s always an option to purchase a set of 6 earphone jack accessories. Each earphone jack accessory has its own holder, allowing you to safely store it when not in use. See all the designs below:

You can place an order at the Good Smile Online Shop from April 23 until May 22. These accessories are also available via Good Smile Company’s partner shops and other hobby stores. The Character Vocal Series: Earphone Jack Accessories are slated for release in August.

Character Vocal Series 01 Miku Hatsune – Lamp Miku feat. Nekozakana Alphamax’s upcoming Miku figure wears a gothic Lolita dress with an adorable facial expression. The non-scale prepainted figure was inspired by a pixiv illustration created by user Nekozakana. It stands 15 cm high (with its base included). See the Lamp Miku figure at various angles:

April 24th, 2013

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The historically renowned Metal Gear franchise is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, and Konami has dropped a bombshell by announcing a collection of eight of its greatest games. Metal Gear Solid: The Legacy Collection will be released for the PS3 in North and South America this June. The collection will include the games that have defined Solid Snake’s career: • Metal Gear Solid • Metal Gear Solid: VR Missions • Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty You can get this figure for 3,800 JPY (47.76 SGD). It is slated for a late October release. Sources: Good Smile Company, Mikatan’s Blog (English Version), AmiAmi

‘Metal Gear Solid: The Legacy Collection’ coming to PS3

• Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater HD Edition (includes the original versions of Metal Gear and Metal Gear 2) • Metal Gear Solid 4: Trophy Edition • Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker HD Edition In addition, the collection will include two digital graphic novels by the artist Ashley Wood.

Source: http://sgcafe.com/2013/04/metal-gear-solid-legacy-collectioncoming-ps3/ By SunSoftware on April 23rd, 2013

This is a huge package that you should buy if you’re a Metal Gear Solid fan who has missed out on one or more of the 6

April 24th, 2013

Published by: VR-Zone

above games. As the president of Konami, Tomoyuki Tsuboi, said about the collection: We wanted to give Metal Gear Solid fans the opportunity to experience the series from beginning to end, all on one console. With the collection’s multiple titles, players can truly see how Metal Gear Solid evolved into the critically acclaimed and beloved franchise it is today. Konami also recently announced that the Metal Gear franchise has sold over 33 million copies. With The Legacy Collection coming this summer and Metal Gear Solid V coming sometime later, it is going to sell a lot, lot more. Source: PlayStation LifeStyle

Listen to this group image song by the girls of Tamako Market Source: http://sgcafe.com/2013/04/listen-group-image-song-girlstamako-market/ By ellehaym on April 23rd, 2013

The PV for Kitto Ne, Zutto Ne, Yoroshiku Ne won’t be up forever. It will only be available online until the end of April. So if I were you, start watching the video now and enjoy it while it’s up. Or purchase the character song album which was already launched last February. You can get the CD for 2200 JPY (27.66 SGD).

25th April is a day of Japanese console game releases Source: http://sgcafe.com/2013/04/25th-april-day-japanese-consolegame-releases/ By Xak on April 23rd, 2013

It’s been known for Japanese game releases to bunch up in the same month, and sometimes even the same day, and 25th April 2013 is one of those occasions, with 4 notable game releases going on sale on that date.

Before that big announcement by Kyoto Animation happening on Friday, here’s a little something for your enjoyment. You’ve seen the cuteness of the female characters in Tamako Market, but have you heard them all sing together? If you haven’t, go ahead and watch the PV of the group character song entitled Kitto Ne, Zutto Ne, Yoroshiku Ne streamed by KyoAni via their official YouTube channel. This group image song was performed by voice actresses Aya Suzaki (as Tamako Kitashirakawa), Rina Hidaka (as Anko Kitashirakawa), Yuki Kaneko (as Midori Tokiwa), Juri Nagatsuma (as Kanna Makino), Yurie Yamashita (as Shiori Asagiri) and Yuri Yamaoka (as Choi Mochimazzui). Kōichi Fujimoto (the one who wrote the lyrics for the OP song Dramatic Market Ride) is the composer, arranger and lyricist behind this cheerful song.

First up we have Photo Kano Kiss, a dating simulation game. Photo Kano Kiss is an enhanced version of the game Photokano for the Playstation Vita, and the game currently has an anime adaptation airing, with the voice actors from the game reprising the roles. The player is a 2nd year high school student who receives a digital camera from his father and starts taking pictures in school, and naturally, those pictures are of various beauties in the school.

This song is the last track included on the “Tamako Market Character Song Album twinkle ride CD”. 7

April 24th, 2013

The main part of the gameplay consists of choosing where to go during your breaks in the day, and the choice you make will lead to various story and free events. When you go to locations that aren’t shown on the guide, you can get an encounter with one of the heroines, where if you make the right choices, you will be able to start a photo session with them in an outfit other than their normal school uniform, such as swimsuits or gym outfits.

As for the photo session, Photo Kano Kiss adds two new methods for taking photos, making full use of the Vita’s capabilities compared to the PSP’s. Other than the original Finder mode, where you controlled the camera with the analog stick, there is now a Touch mode and Gyro mode. Touch mode allows you to control the camera with the touch screen, making it easy to zoom and change angle with touch actions, while Gyro mode works like a real digital camera, where you move the Vita to change the angle for the photo. Photo Kano Kiss also gives you more freedom in the angles for taking your photos, making low and high angle shots possible.

But don’t forget, even with all this fun photo-taking, this is still a dating simulation, so the aim should be to get to a confession with the heroine you like the most. That would the end, the goal that you should aim for. However, Photo Kano Kiss adds an extra week of events after the confession entitled Love Love Days, with new events for you to enjoy, up to the Sunday date where you will get a new ending with that heroine! What’s more, during this week’s photo sessions, you can actually touch the heroine and take pictures of their reactions!

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And for the heroines, we have 7 of them, and from left to right they are Niimi Haruka (voiced by Itou Kanae), Muroto Aki (voiced by Nakahara Mai), Sakura Mai (voiced by Kanemoto Hisako), Sanehara Hikari (voiced by Mizuhashi Kaori), Masaki Nonoka (voiced by Saitou Chiwa), Yunoki Rina (voiced by Oogawa Asuka) and Misumi Tomoe (voiced by Sawashiro Miyuki).

Photo Kano Kiss releases on the 25th of April for the Playstation Vita, and costs 7140yen for the package version, and 5800yen for the download version.

The next game on the list is the sequel to the hit science adventure story game of Steins;Gate, entitled Steins;Gate Phenogram of Linear Restraint. Unlike the first game, where we saw everything from the viewpoint of the main character Okabe Rintarou, this time there are 10 different stories told from 10 different viewpoints. So this game, rather than necessarily being a sequel in terms of story, is probably more for filling in gaps and fleshing out the original story and characters.

April 24th, 2013

Published by: VR-Zone

an obvious hint that in this arc, Kurisu will be responsible for saving somebody, possibly Okabe or Mayuri. This story takes place when Okabe has grown despondent of saving Mayuri, and Kurisu manages to get him to explain what is happening. But despite her efforts, and even with the influence of Feyris’ father behind her, Mayuri still died, and Kurisu was overwhelmed by the pain at her death, and her own helplessness in stopping it. And at this point, her phone rings, and it’s from Doctor Nakabashi, her father. What happens from here on is left a mystery that will only be answered in the game itself. The first story is entitled ‘Dr. Jekyll on lines’, and is told from Okabe Rintarou’s point of view. In it, he is a hero of justice who protects the peace of Akihabara as ‘Alpaca Man’. Using D Mails and the Time Leap Machines, any case is easily solved. His true identity is known only to Shiina Mayuri, who made his Alpaca Man suit by hand. One day, a Makise Kurisu in grave clothes appears, and although her appearance was shocking, the words she said to him would ring the bells of warning.

Next is Hashida Itaru’s story, ‘Bird Singing in Cage’, which covers a part of his story that was rather shrouded in mystery in the anime. We know that Amane Suzuha is his daughter from the future, and that he will have a wife named Amane Yuuko, but we didn’t know how they met. This is their story, and it seems to have been a rather eventful meeting, from his first meeting with the ‘Chopstick Girl’ leading to mysterious memos and codes, and ending with some hacking and Lab Member teamwork, and from the screenshots, including Suzuha kicking ass. So the daughter might have played a part in saving the mother? That is one fun part of Steins;Gate: How you can end up with such interesting developments.

The next character is the one who looks to be taking a prime role in the upcoming Steins;Gate movie, Makise Kurisu. And her story is titled ‘Vermilion Sooteer’. Sooteer is ## ### in Japanese, and probably refers to ‘Soter’, a word with Greek origins meaning a saviour, a deliverer. Which is

Falling squarely in the ‘fun possibilities’ section is Amane Suzuha’s story. And as the picture above, it does end up with her, herself, and herself yet again, in an interestinglytitled ‘Ghosting Rendezvous’. After the Time Machine had broken from the rains after it had appeared at the Radio Kaikan building, Suzuha was in shock over not being able to go back further into the past. With that, her purpose was completely lost, and it was at this point that ‘that’ appeared before her. ‘That’ being another 2 Suzuhas, that is. One of them wore a military uniform and was calm and collected, while the other was a very relaxed and in a maid uniform. Are these two memories from other world lines, or are they just a delusion created by Suzuha’s imagination? Nobody knows. But with help from these 2 and cooperation from Hashida Itaru, Suzuha manages to start on the goal of fixing the Time machine, and with that, she becomes more involved with the Lab Members, including her fater, Hashida Itaru.

On a more mellow note, Tennouji Yuugo’s story ‘A Strange Building Filled Of Love’, paints a picture of a father who worried about whether the house he provides for his dearly loved daughter Nae is truly a good enough place for her. With those feelings in mind, he comes into a windfall of 300 million yen and after some thought, decided to renovate the building. But 1 year later, with the new building finished, Nae’s face is dark. Filled with regrets for the construction, Tennouji ends up going to Okabe with the idea of sending

April 24th, 2013

Published by: VR-Zone

a D-Mail to fix the situation. Just what is it that Nae wants, that will satisfy her?

And next, for Feyris’ story ‘Super hero Chat-noir’, it starts with Feyris hearing some rumours of some Occult-tic incidents happening in Akihabara. And naturally, she can’t let some rumours of her beloved town go unnoticed, so she starts investigating the incidents together with Suzuha as the Guardian Warriors who protect the justice of Akihabara ‘Chat-noir’, dressed in outfits made by Mayuri. However, as the investigation progresses, she finds out that the shopping street had planned and executed this, entirely without any consultation with Feyris, who held the shadowy reigns of influence over the town, and Feyris was shocked by this. And Suzuha even ends up warning her to leave Akihabara. Exactly what will she do?

Urushibara Ruka’s story is aptly named ‘Hermaphroditus in Labyrinth’, and seems to be set in the part of the story where Ruka is female, due to the D-Mail that he had sent. Ruka has been deeply hurt by the sight of Mayuri dying before her eyes, and what runs through her heart are the memories of the fun times she had with Mayuri, as well as the words Okabe said to her. “You were actually…a boy”. And that she was a female because of the D-Mail her self in another world line had sent, and that the various changes ended up causing Mayuri to die too. When Okabe Rintarou feels that he was responsible for Mayuri dying, Ruka declares that there is no need for him to worry. But Ruka wishes to at least fulfil Mayuri’s wish of seeing her cosplaying, and so she requests to Time Slip.

And now, for the viewpoint of the one who is deeply at the heart of the entire story. Mayuri’s story is entitled ‘Eternal Polaris’, and seems to be one of the more serious and painful storylines. In this story, Mayuri feels that both Okabe and Kurisu have been acting weirdly of late, and because of the painful faces they make from their worrying, Mayuri comes to worry about them too. So she gathers her determination and tails Kurisu and eventually talks to her. From that, she learns of how Okabe has to move to a timeline in which Kurisu will have to die in order to save Mayuri. And Kurisu has come to face that and has prepared to sacrifice herself. But after Mayuri has heard the truth, she cannot endure the fact that Kurisu will have to be sacrificed. And so, Mayuri hardens her determination. What does she do? Once more, you’ll have to play the game to find out. But Mayuri is truly one to feel for others; the picture above is of her tears and reaction upon learning of how Okabe has kept jumping from timeline to timeline, trying to save her.

This promises to be a very interesting storyline, where we get to see the story from the point of the character most painted as the villain, Kiryuu Moeka. Her story is called ‘Quantum excited in Coma’, and tells of how she came to the Future Gadget Laboratory upon the orders of her superior and mother-figure, FB. It started with just observing them, but it progressed to her joining the Lab Members after she reported that the Handphone Microwave might be a time machine. But with her interaction with the Lab Members, especially with the warmth from Kurisu and Mayuri, she starts to have some misgivings. But before those feelings have a chance to take root, FB’s orders start to escalate, and it finally ends with the meetup with the active team at the Future Gadget Laboratory, and the orders to kill the Lab Members.

April 24th, 2013

Published by: VR-Zone

The new protagonist is named Silma (voiced by Misawa Sachika), and her class is that of a “Final God”. And the first irrationality about her is that the coffin beside her serves as her bed and always travels with her. And she also has some irrationally appealing fanservice scenes.

And the last storyline is once again told from Okabe Rintarou’s viewpoint, and this one is titled ‘Three Contrapasso About The Abduction’. When he can’t find Mayuri nor contact her, he sends a D-Mail to himself of the past to not let her go out. The timeline changes, and after confirming that she’s fine, she ends up causing a fire in the lab. Okabe sends a mail to the past to stop that, and once again the timeline changes. This time, there wasn’t a fire at the Lab, but there are numerous bloodstains on the bed at the Lab. And Okabe, fearing the worst, decides to Time Leap. While searching to find out who those bloodstains came from, Okabe is accosted by a man in a black cloak, and once again loses sight of Mayuri. 3 different world lines with their own dangers, but even with the repeated changes in the world line they all congregate at one point. This is probably an exposition of how Okabe was when he started on his desperate quest to save Mayuri.

The protagonist of the previous game, Shu-Shu also returns in this game, but due to an accident, she gets turned into a tiny version of herself, and her class changes accordingly from “Absolute God” to “Palmtop Absolute God”.

Steins;Gate Phenogram of Linear Restraint releases on the 25th of April for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 platforms, at the price of 6800yen for the regular edition and 11000yen for the limited edition.

Next up, from the makers of the ‘overwhelming’ game comes Attouteki Yuugi Mugen Souls Z. While it’s predecessor’s theme was of being overwhelming in many ways, Mugen Souls Z has a theme of being ‘irrational’, from the new protagonist to the various worlds the game takes place in.

Of course, there are other new characters in the story, including a hero on a journey to find the legendary weapons, a mysterious boy who is aiming for Silma’s life, as well as various Final Gods of the 12 worlds in this game.

April 24th, 2013

Published by: VR-Zone

If the pose succeeds, the coffin will open up and suck in the enemy as a “Sample”, and you can use the energy of that Sample to attack the enemy and get various different effects.

Actually, that coffin can suck in just about anything, be it from planets or even your own comrades. Which leads to some rather entertaining and exciting scenes.

And speaking of worlds, just like the first game, Mugen Souls Z involves taking over each of the worlds present in the game. However, the first game only had 7 worlds, based on the elements that are also present in the names for each day. Mugen Souls Z has 12 different worlds, and they correspond to the 12 signs of the zodiac, and are associated with colours.

The coffin can also release that energy in an ability called “Final God Soul”, which enlarges Shu-Shu from the normal palmtop size to enormous levels, where she will then absolutely obliterate your enemies. But this ability has a chance of going berserk, and hitting your own allies as well.

As for Silma, she also has quite a few irrational abilities, such as this game’s equivalent of the “Moe Kill” ability of the previous game. Called “Charm Captive”, the first step has Silma display a “Fetish Pose” to the enemy. How effective each pose depends on what the enemy’s weak point is. And like the first game, Silma’s personality also affects how effective the pose will be.

And the mothership battles from the first game are also back! But this time, your G-Castle has been upgraded, and it now looks like a super robot! With new types of commands added to the game, and the ability to upgrade your G-Castle with parts that you find, this promises to be an interesting part of the gameplay. Attouteki Yuugi Mugen Souls Z releases on 25th April for the PS3 at a price of 9429yen for the Limited Edition, 7329yen for the Normal Edition and 6300yen for the download edition.

April 24th, 2013

Published by: VR-Zone

White Magician, Black Magician, Shrine Maiden, Alchemist, Knight, Hand-to-Hand Fighter, Samurai, Ninja, Worker and Swimsuit. Swimsuit isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t a Style that can be chosen normally, but changes the outfit of the character when they have the Swimsuit item, and will allow for special events. Each Style has their strengths, and have their own different set of Skills, and not all Skills are meant for combat. The last game on this list is Kyoukai Senjou no Horizon Portable. It covers the timeline that occurred during the 2 seasons of the anime, but there are original voiced scenarios written by Kawakami Minoru, the author of the original light novels, added for the Adventure part of the game.

As the game progresses, the character you set as the commander will develop and deepen their relationships with the other characters, which will lead to various conversations. Also, if they have reached a certain level of trust with the commander, you will unlock a special event for that character!

During missions, your characters will appear in a cute graphig form, but how they look also depends on what style you selected for them. Styles in this game are like classes, and there are a total of 11 different Styles. Shown below, from left to right and top down, are the Student, Carouser,

You can also create your own â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;mobâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; character, with a name of your choosing, once you fulfil certain conditions. To be able to create a male mob character, you need to clear the game one time. To be able to create a female mob character, you need to upgrade the ship Musashi to the superior Frame. Mob characters have balanced parameters, and can also change their Styles just like the story characters.

At each location that Musashi stops at, you will be able to undertake Missions. There are 3 types of missions, namely Combat, Negotiation and Harvesting, and while some are based on the anime, there are also original missions, with a total of about 1200 different missions. The party of characters undertaking the mission can consist of up to 4 characters (3 main + 1 helper) of your choice. With the large number of characters in this game, that makes for about 1500 different possible parties.

April 24th, 2013

Published by: VR-Zone

into it’s HP, there’s an option to spend time and money to restore Musashi and recover it’s HP, so that you will be able to leave and continue the story.

Other than the missions, you will also have to manage Musashi itself, deploying people to work in various parts of the ship, upgrading it and repairing it. As mentioned earlier, not all Skills are meant for combat, as some of them are meant to help you boost various capabilities of Musashi, such as gaining food every turn or reducing the difficulty of certain kinds of missions. These sort of effects require a character with the right Skill to be deployed to a certain part of Musashi. As Musashi is upgraded, the bonuses can increase and/or change, and your resource limits will increase, something that is required for the later part of the game, as higher level characters also consume a higher amount of resources for missions.

Kyoukai Senjou no Horizon Portable releases on 25th April for the PSP, and is priced at 10479yen for the Limited Edition and 6279yen for the Normal Edition.

Perfume to release new single “Magic of Love” Source: http://sgcafe.com/2013/04/perfume-release-single-magiclove-22-may/ By sentinel011 on April 23rd, 2013

Also, there are two different types of Frames you can upgrade Musashi to. When upgraded to a higher rank of the normal Frame, the number of positions you can deploy characters to in Musashi will increase, as well as the revenue rate. The other Frame you can upgrade to is the Financial Frame. As expected, it has different bonuses from the normal Frame, with a greater focus on boosting gathering as compared to combat. Changing Frames costs a lot though, so it’s best to choose the Frame that suits your playing style best.

Musashi has it’s own HP, and it goes down with every mission you perform. As at each place you dock, you have a deadline that you have to leave by, and travelling will also eat 14

April 24th, 2013

Published by: VR-Zone

Perfume’s official page released additional information regarding its latest single, “Magic of Love”. The single will be on sale at all major Japanese music stores come 22 May 2013, and has revealed its limited edition and regular edition CD covers. Here’s the information obtained from the official site: Limited Edition

(CD+DVD) 1,500 yen Regular Edition

(CD only) 1,000 yen [CD] 1.Magic of Love *Kanro’s [Pure Gummy] Commercial theme song *Japanese TV variety show [Sukkiri!!] May theme song 2.Handy Man 3.Magic of Love -Original Instrumental4.Handy Man -Original Instrumental[DVD] 1.Magic of Love -Video ClipJapanese retailers will bundle a free poster of the single, while stocks last. Some E-tailers like CDJapan tend to follow this trend as well, fortunately for overseas fans.

April 26th, 2013

Published by: VR-Zone

SGCafe : Cosplay | Vocaloid | Otaku | Pop Culture A daily publication about Cosplay, Vocaloid, Otaku and Japanese Pop Culture

SIAM SHADE to do a nationwide tour after 12 years since their last Source: http://sgcafe.com/2013/04/siam-shade-nationwide-tour-12years/ By Az on April 26th, 2013

SIAM SHADE LIVE TOUR 2013~SIAMSHADE HEART OF ROCK 7~ October 27, 2013 – Saitama Super ArenaNovember 11, 2013 – Zepp Nagoya November 17, 2013 – Zepp Namba === There has been no announcement on what the band is planning after the tour. The band just wants to give their all in mind and spirit in challenging a tour once again. For those not familiar with SIAM SHADE, they are a visualkei band that has garnered much attention after their hit song, 1/3 No Junjou Na Kanjou, Rurouni Kenshin’s 6th ED song. It is also the song that they are known for. This song has also been covered by rock band FLOW with a single release of their own version. source: natalie

It has been revealed that visual-kei band SIAM SHADE will be having “SIAM SHADE LIVE TOUR 2013~SIAMSHADE HEART OF ROCK 7~” tour this autumn. It has been around 12 years since their last tour.

New information on Gyrozetter’s Albatross mech Source: http://sgcafe.com/2013/04/information-gyrozetters-albatrossmech/ By Zenko on April 25th, 2013

They have officially disbanded in March, 2002, but the band still had activities back in 2007 and 2011. In 2007, they had a live in paying respects and tribute to their manager, Takamura Shinichi. In 2011, they had charity lives to help the victims of the March 11, 2011 Tohoku Earthquake. Other than that, the band has stopped and stayed silent. Facing their manager, Takamura’s, 7th death anniversary, SIAM SHADE will be having the tour for the fans that still love their songs and still support them passionately. All 5 that comprise SIAM SHADE want to answer to those enthusiastic cheers, and change those thoughts into reality. Below are the dates and venues for the tour. ===

Famitsu has revealed more information on Square Enix’s Chosoku Henkei Gyrozetter RPG for the 3DS. The official release date of the game has now been revealed to be June 13 under the title “Chosoku Henkei Gyrozetter: Wings of the Albatross.” The game will take place in Japan in the year 2053, the same year as the anime, and details about the titular Albatross have finally been released.

As previously seen in the trailer, this Gyrozetter will act as the main antagonist. It was previously unknown who the 1

April 26th, 2013

pilot would be, as well as what element it would utilize in battle. Hiroto, whose character design has also been revealed, will be acting as the pilot for the Zenon-made mech. Its main element attacks will be sound, while its standard car form will be a sports car.

The game and anime will be paired together, and play off of one another, allowing viewers of the anime to enjoy the game and players of the game to enjoy the anime, with the possibility of Albatross appearing in both.

Published by: VR-Zone

We’ve also embedded the shorter clip here in this story as well, for those of you who might want to go back and forth to see if anything else is changed: Set in a post-apocalyptic world where supposedly only women can operate extremely powerful yet mobile exoskeleton suits, Infinite Stratos tells the story of 15-yearold Ichika Orimura, a boy who can somehow pilot these cutting-edge suits as well (pick up the upcoming Blu-ray release if you’d like to find out why; Orimura’s ability to operate these suits is explained in a very tongue-in-cheek manner at some point in the first season). And so off he goes to an all-female military boarding school, where Orimura quickly finds himself in a harem-like situation. Partly due to the fact that he’s the only guy there, and partly due to the effect Infinite Stratos – that’s what they call the exoskeleton suits – has had on gender roles in society: females now dominate society over men. For more details on Infinite Stratos 2 the anime, hit the jump over to our previous story over here.

Source: Famitsu

[via Crunchyroll News]

Can’t wait for Infinite Stratos 2 to air? Volume 8 of the light novel series bundles a sneak peek at the anime

Online gag manga ‘Kitakubu Katsudou Kiroku’ green-lit for anime adaptation

Source: http://sgcafe.com/2013/04/wait-infinite-stratos-2-air-volume-8light-series-bundles-sneak-peek-anime/ By KarbyP on April 25th, 2013

There’s still no concrete airing date for the second season of popular harem-slash-mecha anime Infinite Stratos yet. Nevertheless, the anime’s producers over at studio 8-bit have decided to throw the fans a little bone this week in the form of a slightly longer video preview of the show that’s being bundled on DVD, alongside the release of the original light novel series’ eighth volume today.

Source: http://sgcafe.com/2013/04/online-gag-manga-kitakubukatsudou-kiroku-green-lit-anime-adaptation/ By ellehaym on April 25th, 2013

Through several recently aired TV anime series, we’ve had a peek at what Japanese high school life is like, along with what the students spend their time doing in their respective school clubs. There’s the Karuta Club (Chihayafuru), the Chorus Club (Tari Tari), the Classic Literature Club (Hyouka) and more. Then, of course, there’s the Kitakubu or “go home after school” club. A term used for students who aren’t participating in any extracurricular activities at school. Instead, they go straight home.

The full preview is about a minute longer than a previous 24second-long teaser trailer streamed on the Web. 2

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But what if, an actual “go home after school club” actually existed? Have you ever wondered about how active such a club can get?

Published by: VR-Zone By SunSoftware on April 25th, 2013

The activities of the “go home after school club” can finally be witnessed in the upcoming anime adaptation of Kitakubu Katsudou Kiroku, a school life comedy manga by Kuroha.

Kitakubu Katsudou Kiroku centers on school girls who are members of an actual “Kitakubu”. The members include: Sakura Doumyouji, the free-spirited club president;

Botan Oohagi, the successor of an ancient martial arts school;

Claire Kokonoe, an incredibly rich daughter of the Kokonoe Zaibatsu’s head;

Conception II won’t be released until this summer, but Famitsu has already revealed all of the heroines of Spike Chunsoft’s upcoming child-making RPG/dating sim. Conception II: The Seven Stars’ Guidance and the Blundering Nightmare is the sequel to last year’s Conception, a game with common RPG elements combined with dating sim elements in which you bond with girls, then use a machine to magically create children who can fight monsters. In the sequel, the girls are able to fight, as well. In our previous article, we introduced the main character (you get to choose his name) and the first girl you meet, Fuuko. Here are the other six heroines you can make children with. Who are you most interested in? Ellie

Karin Touno, a freshman who invites Natsuki to join the club; and

Ellie is a bright and cheerful freshman student. Despite her childish appearance, she can read the atmosphere and act mature at the right time. For some reason, it seems that she has known the main character for a long time.

Natsuki Andou, a new member who knows nothing about how the others spend their time in an actual Kitakubu

Kitakubu Katsudou Kiroku starts airing in Japan this July. Sources: Mantan Web and Gangan Online

Conception II — the nittygritty details on new heroines, classes, and skills Source: http://sgcafe.com/2013/04/conception-ii-heroines-classesbattle-mechanics/

April 26th, 2013

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Narika Narika is the class vice-representative who sits next to the main character. She has a shy personality, but she is kind and strong. She seems to lack self-awareness and wears relatively bold outfits.

Chloe Chloe is the younger sister of the main characterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s classmate, Krosig. Even though she is a student, she works as hard as a teacher, and her grades reflect that. On top of that, she is viewed as a kind of idol among her classmates.

Feene Feene is a diligent and polite senior student. She has a cool, reserved personality, and her fighting power is among the best in the school, but she has a girly side, as well.

April 26th, 2013

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Tohri Tohri has been raised in a laboratory ever since she was born. As a result, she lacks common sense and takes people’s words literally. Living in a closed world, she also yearns for the “sky”.

In addition to new heroines, Conception II will have new classes of Star Children. Just like in the first game, you will pair up with the heroines to produce Star Children with different classes and skills. One of the new classes this time is the Shooter, whose attack power and marksmanship makes him/her a reliable addition to your team. There are also gender-exclusive classes, such as the Magical Witch.

Serina Serina looks like a child, but she’s actually a really powerful senior student. She’s a tsundere with a kind personality that she often hides.

April 26th, 2013

Published by: VR-Zone

Of course, the battle system has expanded, as well. In this game, you have to fight with the main character, one heroine, and three teams of four Star Children. One of the new battle mechanics is the Ether Gauge. As you fight, you collect Ether Energy, which raises your Ether level on a scale from 0 to 4. When your Ether level is higher, you will be able attack faster, without waiting so much between turns. In addition, you will be able to activate Over Chain more easily, so you can gain more experience points.

Another new skill is the Seventh Bullet, a powerful attack executed by the main character and a heroine.

Sources: Famitsu, Conception II homepage

Lastly, when one of your allies is in trouble, you can guard them by intercepting an enemy’s attack. This happense randomly, but you have a higher chance of blocking an attack if you have a close bond with your Star Children, so be sure to be a responsible parent and take good care of them.

Neptune PP’s 1st promo video: The ‘why this game is hella better than Idolm@ster’ edition Source: http://sgcafe.com/2013/04/neptune-pp-opening-1st-promovideos/ By KarbyP on April 25th, 2013

We still have to wait a while before Conception II is released this summer. If you don’t want to wait to make children (magically), you can get the first Conception on the PSP right now for the low price of 1,890 yen. 6

April 26th, 2013

Published by: VR-Zone By KarbyP on April 25th, 2013

Kami Jigen Idol Neptune PP (also known as Hyperdimension Neptunia PP in the West) is a lot like Namco Bandai Games’s idol-producing simulator The Idolm@ster. Heck, one of the voice actresses is even in both franchises: Asami Imai, who plays Chihaya Kisaragi in The Idolm@ster, voices Noire in Neptune PP. That said, there are differences. And I’m not just referring to the setting and characters. There are better differences. As you’ll see in the following two-and-a-half minutes long clip – the very first promo trailer for the idol-producing sim – game progression in Neptune PP is generally quite similar to The Idolm@ster games in that at the start of any given in-game week, you schedule one of the following three activities to keep your chosen heroine busy with: Lessons, Promotion, Auditions, of Off. Most of the story progression in both games unfold through Promotional event scenes. But what’s different about Neptune PP is that in many of these event scenes you are given branching choices that may decide which other events you will unlock and be able to send the heroine you’re producing to. On top of a different style of story events that play out less like the Idolm@ster games, and more like past Neptune JRPGs, there is also a Viewer mode that allows you to, er, well, it’s in the video. You do this while the PS Vita is held sideways, which allows the Vita’s OLED touchscreen to display character models in their entirety. And while you could technically tap your finger on any portion of character model you’ve selected to “view” (nobody’s stopping you), Compile Heart advises a fair amount of user discretion: tapping on places that you shouldn’t go tapping will anger the object of your affection. Kami Jigen Idol Neptune PP for the PS Vita comes out in Japan June 20, 2013. Apart from the promo video, publisher Compile Heart has also previously posted the opening intro to the game:

‘Metal Gear Solid: The Legacy Collection’ priced in Japan, doesn’t cost a bomb Source: http://sgcafe.com/2013/04/metal-gear-solid-legacy-collectionpriced-japan-cost-bomb/

Konami were reluctant to reveal pricing details when they announced earlier this week that Metal Gear Solid: The Legacy Collection, an all-encompassing omnibus game compilation comprising pretty much every main instalment in the franchise, would be coming to America this June. But thanks to a similar announcement made today in Japan, we now know roughly how much we can expect the exquisite (not to mention definitive) MGS box set to retail for. The good news is that it doesn’t cost a bomb. Coming with pretty much the exact same games and movie content included in the US edition, except all the voices and text are obviously rendered in Japanese, the Metal Gear Solid: The Legacy Collection box set will retail in Japan on July 11, 2013, for the mere price of 7,980 yen (~US$80.50 or ~S$100). If that sounds a little pricey to you, it’s only because that’s exactly how crazy video game retail prices in Japan are – a typical blockbuster game retails for between 7,000 and 8,000 yen at launch over there. For instance, a brand new copy Tomb Raider, which is being released for the Japanese market this week in Japan (it just came out today), goes for the recommended retail price of 7,980 yen. In other words, if you don’t actually look at the numbers themselves and focus on the meaning behind those numbers, in Japan Metal Gear Solid: The Legacy Collection will actually sell at a price point similar to the new release of a blockbuster title, despite containing so much. One has to wonder if the North American (and possibly European) pricing might follow suit. In the worst case scenario, suppose Konami deems the collection to be worth more than the typical US$50 retail price of a brand new title and scales the pricing to match that of the Japanese edition, at the most we’re looking at roughly US$80, which really isn’t a lot considering you’re essentially paying for every freaking MGS game contained neatly in one package. ＜Games included＜ 7

April 26th, 2013

METAL GEAR ＜1

Published by: VR-Zone By KarbyP on April 25th, 2013

METAL GEAR2:SOLID SNAKE ＜1 METAL GEAR SOLID ＜2 METAL GEAR SOLID INTEGRAL ＜2 METAL GEAR SOLID2 SONS OF LIBERTY ＜3 METAL GEAR SOLID3 SNAKE EATER ＜3 METAL GEAR SOLID4 GUNS OF THE PATRIOTS ＜4 METAL GEAR SOLID PEACE WALKER ＜3 ＜1＜These are the MSX2 emulated versions of the game contained within＜METAL GEAR SOLID3 SNAKE EATER＜＜2＜Downloadable digitally through the PlayStation Network (under Game/PS1 Archives), via a product code ＜3＜From the “HD Edition” collection ＜4＜Supports PlayStation Trophies ＜Movies included＜ METAL GEAR SOLID BANDE DESSINÉE METAL GEAR SOLID2 BANDE DESSINÉE ＜Product information＜ Title＜METAL GEAR SOLID THE LEGACY COLLECTION Platform＜PlayStation 3 Genre＜Action No. of Players＜1 (up to 8 in ＜METAL GEAR SOLID PEACE WALKER＜) Release date: July 11, 2013 (in Japan) Price＜7,980＜＜including tax＜ Rating＜Ages 17 and above Publisher＜KONAMI Format＜On 2 Blu-ray discs Bundled with＜(Booklet) METAL GEAR SOLID THE LEGACY BOOK Source: 4Gamer

If you’re a Vocaloid fan who’s planning to make your way down to the Nico Nico Chokaigi 2 super conference at Chiba’s Makuhari Messe international convention complex this weekend, be sure to stop by the “Hatsune Miku and Piapro Exhibit booth (＜＜＜＜＜piapro＜) for a special treat the good folks at Sony Computer Entertainment Japan Asia and Crypton Future Media have in stall for you. Over the course of the two-day event on April 27 and 28, attendees who stop by the booth will be able to participate in an augmented reality or AR-assisted game of air hockey with the digital songstress, powered by the PlayStation Vita’s SmartAR technology, a form of markerless augmented reality tech developed by Sony that the Japanese tech giant claims allows for high-speed recognition and tracking of objects in 3D space. In other words, Miku Miku Hockey is essentially a special edition of the PS Vita’s AR Hockey technical demonstration app (last seen at Game Developers Conference or GDC 2012) that features Hatsune Miku as a CPU opponent that you can play against. Two versions of Miku Miku Hockey will be playable at Nico Nico Chokaigi 2 this weekend: one featuring Hatsune Miku (specifically, the “Type Lat Miku” or Lat＜＜＜ character model from freeware animation program Miku Miku Dance) as your opponent, and another that has you facing off against Miku’s shorter-limbed cousin, Mikudayo (Type Suzu or ＜＜＜＜＜＜＜＜＜, also freely available via MMD).

Take on Hatsune Miku in a game of air hockey – Miku Miku Hockey – at Nico Nico Chokaigi 2 this weekend Source: http://sgcafe.com/2013/04/miku-miku-hockey/

April 26th, 2013

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At this point there’s no word on if Sony and Crypton Future Media intends to distribute Miku Miku Hockey as a PS Vita game app for download via the PlayStation Network – the vanilla version of Air Hockey isn’t even out as a game, as it was developed entirely for technical demonstration purposes. Which typically means that it’s the sort of game you’d experience for maybe five minutes, and quickly tire of it, since technical demos rarely incorporate rewarding gameplay mechanics that keep you going. That said, our fingers are crossed. Here’s looking to the day we’d all be playing a game of air hockey with Hatsune Miku in the comforts of our living room. Source: Famitsu [via Yahoo! Japan News]

Ultimate Madoka, Akane Tsunemori, and Monomi nendroids available for preorder

Madoka also has her signature bow and arrow, so she can rid the world of evil.

Source: http://sgcafe.com/2013/04/ultimate-madoka-akane-tsunemorimonomi-nendroids-pre-order/ By SunSoftware on April 24th, 2013

Madoka’s wish is to protect everyone in the world. With this benevolent goddess in your own bedroom, you can sleep soundly at night.

Nendroid fans seeking little companions should check out the newly released Madoka nendroid, as well as two more nendroids recently announced by the manufacturer Good Smile Company.

Ultimate Madoka From the hit anime Puella Magi Madoka Magica comes the nendroid version of Madoka’s goddess form, Ultimate Madoka. This nendroid was released recently on April 23 and is available for 3,500 yen. This figure is small and cute, yet filled with divine power and magnificence. Just look at her long hair, translucent wings, three-layered dress, and the stars reflected under her skirt.

Akane Tsunemori From the futuristic crime anime Psycho-Pass, Akane has come to protect a society where computers can measure people’s personalities. This nendroid will be available for pre-order on April 25, and the release date will be posted on Good Smile Company’s website. This nendroid captures Akane’s professional demeanor with her business suit while keeping her optimistic attitude and adding some cuteness to her.

April 26th, 2013

Akane also has her Dominator, the computerized gun she uses to fight criminals. The Dominator comes in the Paralyzer Mode…

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Put both Akane and Madoka in your bedroom, and you will have double the protection.

… as well as the Lethal Eliminator Mode!

Monomi Last but not least, everyone’s favorite pink and white bear, Monomi, has jumped out of the PSP mystery adventure game Super Danganronpa 2. You can pre-order her right now for 3,000 yen, and she will be released in August.

As a bonus, Akane also comes with the chimi character expression illustrated by Yu-pon.

The instructor from Jabberwock Island will cheer you on when you’re feeling down. As Monomi herself says, “If there’s one thing I believe in, it’s you guys, so you’ll win!”. The previous two nendroids had weapons, so of course, Monomi has one too. Monomi’s tool of destruction is — wait for it — a wooden stick!

April 26th, 2013

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As you should already know, Monokuma will be starring in the Danganronpa anime airing this summer. However, Monomi probably won’t make an appearance, because the anime is based on the first Danganronpa game, and Monomi is from the sequel. Take that, Monomi.

With her wooden stick, Monomi is ready to brawl (music notes sold separately). Monomi is cute by herself, but pair her up with Monokuma (also sold separately from Good Smile Company), and you have a recipe for mayhem. Source: GoodSmileCompany

‘Hakuoki: Memories of the Shinsengumi’ for the 3DS gets a North American release Source: http://sgcafe.com/2013/04/hakuoki-memoriesshinsengumi-3ds-north-american-release/ By ellehaym on April 24th, 2013

Let’s face it. Not every female anime fan has had the chance to play an otome game. In fact, they only get a taste of it when a title receives an anime adaptation. However, you can’t really say that the experience is 100% satisfying, particularly if you’re shipping for the female protagonist x [insert bishounen character’s name other than the male lead here].

April 26th, 2013

Fortunately, there’s Aksys Games, the video game publisher behind the North American release of Hakuoki: Demon of the Fleeting Blossom for the PSP. Aksys has officially announced that Hakuoki: Memories of the Shinsengumi for the Nintendo 3DS is getting a North American release. Its launch will be revealed at a later date.

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• Original Work: Idea Factory Cast info: • Houko Kuwashima as Chizuru Yukimura • Shinichiro Miki as Toshizou Hijikata • Showtaro Morikubo as Souji Okita • Kousuke Toriumi as Hajime Saitou • Hiroyuki Yoshino as Heisuke Toudou • Koji Yusa as Sanosuke Harada • Kenjiro Tsuda as Chikage Kazama Hakuoki: Daichishou Kyoto Ranbu premieres August 24 in Japan. It looks like 2013 is a good year for fans of the Hakuoki franchise. Are you getting Hakuoki: Memories of the Shinsengumi for your 3DS? Sources: Aksys Games and JpopAsia

Aside from the main storyline, the game features six new stories which allow the player to get the insights of the other characters. This feature enlightens players about the events in the main story. Here are the other key features: • See the gorgeous warriors of the Shinsengumi in 3D. • Photo and movie galleries • Photobooth – a purikura inspired feature where players can take pictures with their favorite characters. Background and themes are available. Aksys Games’ story description for Hakuoki: Memories of the Shinsengumi. At a time when shogunate and imperial forces clashed for supremacy over Japan, Chizuru travels to Kyoto in search of her missing father. She runs into the Shinsengumi, a band of samurai warriors sworn to protect the shogun. Chizuru soon learns that they, too, are looking for her father. What awaits them is more than just your typical missing person’s case, as they face off against imperial soldiers and the supernatural! But in the midst of all this madness, will sweet and innocent Chizuru find love? In related news, Geneon recently announced the cast and staff for the first Hakuoki movie entitled Hakouki: Daichishou Kyoto Ranbu. Two movies have been set and a new story will be unveiled. The cast members and staff from the anime series are reuniting for the upcoming movie. Staff info: • Director: Osamu Yamasaki • Original Character Design: Yone Kazuki • Character Design and Chief Animation Director: Atsuko Nakajima • Script: Tsunekiyo Fujisawa and Osamu Yamasaki • Animation Production: Studio DEEN 12

April 27th, 2013

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SGCafe : Cosplay | Vocaloid | Otaku | Pop Culture A daily publication about Cosplay, Vocaloid, Otaku and Japanese Pop Culture

Yozakura Quartet ~Hana no Uta~ staff and cast announced; Shingeki no Kyojin’s studio not in need of staff Source: http://sgcafe.com/2013/04/yozakura-quartet-hana-uta-staffcast-announced-shingeki-kyojins-studio-desperate-staff/ By hittokiri on April 27th, 2013

Main cast members from the previous series has been confirmed to be reprising their roles in the upcoming new series. The site also announced that the production team has set up a twitter account for the new series. The twitter account can found here.

Yozakura Quartet’s official website was updated this past week. Details on the new series staff and cast were revealed.

The new series titled Yozakura Quartet ~Hana no Uta~ will be directed by Ryo-timo (りりりりり). He is also the chief animation director and will be doing the character designs. Suzuki Kiyotaka (りりりり) will serve as assistant director. Scripting will be done by Ishikawa Manabu (りりり). Animation production will be by Tatsunoko Production.

Earlier this week, Shingeki no Kyojin character designer Asano Kyoji (りりりり) made a twitter post seeking assistance from animators. The post resulted in fans of the series questioning if the studio in charge of the series ‘s animation was suffering from staffing issues. Concerns were also raised with regards to series animation quality which had been of the highest standards. A follow up twitter post was made stating that he had receive many contacts and all should be fine. He also apologizes for causing concern to the fans. Source : TV Anime Yozakura Quartet ~Hana no Uta~ Official Website, Yaraon!, @Jin115

May’n and Oni Musha Soul collaborate again with theme song and appearance in game Source: http://sgcafe.com/2013/04/mayn-oni-musha-soul-collaboratetheme-song-appearance-game/

April 27th, 2013

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By Xak on April 27th, 2013

May’n had also sung the first theme song for Oni Musha Soul, ‘GET TOUGH’, which is in her third album ‘Heat’. Both songs are also in the promotional videos for Oni Musha Soul, with ‘GET TOUGH’ appearing in the first video, and ‘Outrider’ appearing in the new, second video.

Saki Achiga-hen episode of side-A Portable Game for PSP Announced Source: http://sgcafe.com/2013/04/saki-achiga-hen-episode-side-aportable-game-psp-announced/ By Xak on April 26th, 2013

Oni Musha Soul, a browser game for PC and smartphones, is having another collaboration with May’n, with ‘Outrider’, the coupling track of her 7th single ‘Run Real Run’, being used as the new theme song of the game. The single also comes with a serial code to obtain the Songstress Commander May’n, with art as shown in the illustration above drawn by Joon-Ho.Jeong. ‘Run Real Run’ releases on 8th May, and the limited edition comes with a music video DVD. The normal edition (cover shown on the left below) retails for 1260yen while the limited edition (cover shown on the right below) retails for 1,890yen.

Alchemist opened a teaser site for the Saki Achiga-hen episode of side-A Portable game for the PSP, and the only information given on it is that it is scheduled to be released in Summer 2013, and will be sold in both packaged and download editions. While what sort of game it will be is unknown, Alchemist had previously released the Saki Portable game, which can be said to be a ‘moe mahjong’ game, with most of the 2

April 27th, 2013

Published by: VR-Zone

game mechanics revolving around playing mahjong, with an adventure/story section as well. And since Saki Achiga-hen episode of side-A is, like the original work it spun off from, about girls playing mahjong albeit with a nearly completely different cast than the original, the likelihood of this game being similar is pretty high. With the game adaptation of the original work having an adhoc multiplay function, making this new game able to play with it would be a sweet treat indeed.

Fate/kaleid liner Prisma☆Illya Promo Video and Cast Revealed Source: http://sgcafe.com/2013/04/fatekaleid-liner-prisma %E2%98%86illya-promo-video-cast-revealed/ By Xak on April 26th, 2013

Fate/kaleid liner PrismaりIllya, a spin-off work from Type Moon’s Fate/stay night series, and has an anime adaptation by Silver Link set to air in July 2013, but it will be shown on NicoNico Live before it airs on TV. And there now is a promo video for that anime, and though there isn’t much voice to go with it for now, it’s rather promising. We now also know of some of the staff and cast working on this show, and first off there is Oonuma Shin as Director. At Shaft, he worked often with Shinbou Akiyuki, and directed both ef anime seasons. At Silver Link, his works include Baka to Test to Shoukanjuu, C³ and most recently, he was the Chief Director for Kokoro Connect. The opening theme will be sung by ChouCho, who sung the Hyouka and Girls und Panzer opening themes, as well as the ending theme for Suisei no Gargantia.

For the cast, Kadowaki Mai, Ueda Kana and Itou Shizuka will be reprising their roles as Illyasviel von Einzbern, Tohsaka Rin and Luviagelita Edelfelt respectively, and other main character of the series, Miyu Edelfelt, is voiced by Nazuka Kaori. Illya’s Magical Stick, Magical Ruby, is voiced by Takano Naoko while Miyu’s, named Magical Sapphire, is voiced by Matsuki Miyu.

Kiki’s Delivery Service to get live action movie Source: http://sgcafe.com/2013/04/ kikis_delivery_service_live_action_movie/ By hittokiri on April 26th, 2013

April 27th, 2013

Published by: VR-Zone By Zenko on April 26th, 2013

A live action adaptation of Kiki’s Delivery Service has been confirmed. The movie will star 16 year old Koshiba Fuuka (りりりり) as the movie’s title role character. Koshiba Fuuka is a new comer who made her debut in the 2012 Fuji TV drama Ikidemo dekinai Natsu (りりりりりりり). The movie will be directed by Shimizu Takashi (りりり). He is best known as the director of the JUON (りり) series of movies.

The continuation of the Tiger and Bunny movie trilogy has received a recent update. The release date, as well as a character redesign, have recently been revealed. The movie is now slated to premier February 8, 2014 (which is part of the winter 2013 season). The delay in release from fall 2013 to winter was said to allow for adjustments to improve the quality of the movie, and to make further adjustments to the story line. The staff from the first movie is making a return for the second film.

Kotetsu T. Kaburagi (Wild Tiger) will also be getting a make over for the new film. This includes a new hairstyle and outfit, to better match the activities he will be involved in this film, a continuation from last fall’s Tiger and Bunny: The Beginning.

Known also as Majo no Takkyubin (りりりりりり), Kiki’s Delivery Service is a 1985 book by children’s literture author Eiko Kadano (りりりり). It is about a young witch who according to tradition must live alone for a year when she turns 13 years old. The book was awarded the Noma Children’s Literature Award. A total of 5 sequels were written following the first book making it a 6 volume series. The final volume was published in 2009. The book was adapted into an anime movie by Studio Ghibli in 1989. It was produced, scripted and directed by Miyazaki Hayao (りりり). The movie was a hit and became the highest grossing movie in Japan for 1989. The book was also been adapted into a musical in 1993. A revival for the musical was done in 1995 and 1996. Kiki’s Delivery Service is scheduled to make it’s theatrical release next spring. Source : Sponichi Annex

Sources: AnimeAnime!

1st details on KyoAni’s ‘Free!’ (formerly only known as ‘that sexy swimming anime’) Source: http://sgcafe.com/2013/04/kyoto-animations/

Tiger and Bunny: The Rising delayed to 2014 Source: http://sgcafe.com/2013/04/tiger-bunny-rising-delayed-fallwinter/

April 27th, 2013 By ellehaym on April 26th, 2013

Published by: VR-Zone

• Photography Director: Kazuya Takao • Sound Director: Yota Tsuruoka • Composer: Tatsuya Katou • Music production: Lantis • Animation production: Kyoto Animation/Animation Do The OP song, Rage On!, will performed by OLDCODEX, while the ED song will be performed by the five main cast members. Free!’s official site can be found here. Since the beginning of the countdown, I’m sure a lot of you tried to guess what KyoAni’s upcoming anime is. Did you guess right?

Remember that “sexy swimming anime” commercial revealed by Animation Do last month? It sure did create a huge uproar on the net and it even inspired a petition (by Crunchyroll) to make it into an actual TV anime. Well, it turns out that it’s not just a commercial. During the live broadcast by KyoAni, it has been revealed that the “sexy swimming anime” will premiere this July. Its official title is Free! with Nobunaga Shimazaki, Tatsuhisa Suzuki, Tsubasa Yonaga, Daisuke Hirakawa and Mamoru Miyano as the main cast members.

Staff info: • Director: Hiroko Utsumi • Series composition: Masahiro Yokotani • Character Designs: Futoshi Nishiya • Art Director: Jouji Unoguchi

via @Yuyucow, @ultimatemegax, りYouTubeりりりりりりりりりりりりりり

@Ikari_Gendo,

• Color Design: Yuuka Yoneda • Accessory Design: Seiichi Akitake 5

April 27th, 2013

Shinji Mikami’s new game – The Evil Within Source: http://sgcafe.com/2013/04/shinji-mikamis-game-evil/ By Ryo on April 26th, 2013

You may or may not have heard about it, but Resident Evil’s creator, Shinji Mikami, will be directing a new upcoming survival horror game titled The Evil Within. Also known as “Project Zwei” or “Psychobreak”, the plot revolves around a detective going by the name Sebastian, who was called out to investigate a gruesome mass murder at an asylum with two of his police companions, only to find the place littered with corpses everywhere. Sebastian was attacked and knocked unconscious; upon waking up, he finds himself in a different area infested with grotesque monsters lurking about. In order to make any sense of his situation, he is forced to fight his way through, facing his fears and going on a treacherous journey to find out what exactly is happening.

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Not convinced that he is capable of doing so? Watched the live-action trailer release just last week and make a decision for yourself. It starts off innocently enough, with Bach’s Air on G playing in the background, but as the video progresses, you start seeing images that are rather disturbing – glass shards embedded into someone’s skin, a bloodied and perhaps skinless creature crawling across a window while some ominous flashing goes on outside… It is certainly something that serves as a perfect nightmare fuel.

While the environment it is set in seems a little overused in survival horror (a dilapidated asylum), I doubt it would be what many fans of the genre or Shinji Mikami would expect. If he already wowed the horror fanbase with Resident Evil, enough to create a sub-genre out of it and serve as an inspiration for future survival horror creators, The Evil Within will certainly not be a letdown. In the development video, Shinji Mikami mentions that aside from using your typical weapons, for example axes, knives, or guns, players are also allowed to set traps to attack enemies that they might have no information whatsoever about on how their movements or attacks are like. And aside from these enigmatic enemies, they are also featuring your typical zombies in order to even them out, giving both enough scares and action for the players to immerse themselves in.

In recent years, not many decent survival horror games have been made, and expectations of games with this particular genre have been set lower. But with Shinji Mikami’s return, the bar might be raised up once more, seeing as the original Resident Evil was what defined the genre of survival horror. Even the man himself states that “survival horror has been drifting away from what makes it survival horror. And so I want to bring it back. Bring back survival horror to where it was.” 6

April 27th, 2013

So, what exactly are the enigmatic enemies you are talking about, you may ask. Well, perhaps the most memorable one in the whole trailer would be the butcher-like entity with a safe wrapped around in chains for a head and carrying a chainsaw. It may remind some Silent Hill fans of Pyramid Head, but personally I think it reminds me of the Butcher from Silent Hill: Origins even more so than the former.

Published by: VR-Zone By SunSoftware on April 26th, 2013

What happens when an otaku travels to a fantasy world filled with beatiful girls? That question will be answered by the newly revealed anime Outbreak Company. The latest issue of Weekly Shounen Magazine has announced the anime adaptation of “Outbreak Company: Moeru Shinryakusha” (Outbreak Company: Passionately Burning Invader), a light novel series written by Ichirou Sakaki and illustrated by Yuugen. The second one that strikes me the most would definitely be the four-armed (with claw-like fingers instead, but that is not surprising), blood covered long-haired creature that surfaces from a pool of blood and crawled towards the screen at the end of the live-action trailer. Creepy? Definitely. Adding on to the fact that it can crawl on horizontal surfaces as demonstrated earlier when it trailed across the window, it is certainly something that you do not want prowling around your premises.

The story revolves around a high school dropout named Shinichi Kano whose father is a light novel author and mother is an adult game artist. As a result, he considers himself a “thoroughbred otaku”, and his only distinguishing feature is his vast understanding of moe. Somehow, Shinichi is given the job of being a “moe evangelist” and traveling to the mystical Eldant Empire, where he makes friends with a half-elf maid and a beautiful, young empress. Predictably, he gets used to the world — until terrorists strike!

Sadly, The Evil Within currently has no release date yet, and perhaps only around 2014 can we get a proper release date, but Bethesda has revealed that it will be made available for the XBOX 360, PS3, and the PC. As for now, we can only pin our hopes for more trailer and gameplay releases periodically as well as frequent updates from the Tango team.

The light novel series has been running since December of 2011, and the sixth volume will be released on May 2. Ichirou Sakaki is also responsible for writing Scrapped Princess and Magician’s Academy (aka Macademi Wasshoi!). No dates or staff info have been revealed yet, but you should keep an eye on Outbreak Company if you want a fantasy anime with a twist.

Source: IGN

Fantasy moe anime ‘Outbreak Company’ announced Source: http://sgcafe.com/2013/04/fantasy-moe-anime-outbreakcompany-announced/

April 27th, 2013

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It has been decided that Kyary Pamyu Pamyu, Momoiro Clover Z, and reggae band Shōnan no Kaze will be appearing in this year’s Video Music Awards Japan, or VMAJ. The MTV VMAJ will be on June 22, in Chiba, Makuhari Messe. These artists would not only perform, but also participate in the event. Kyary Pamyu Pamyu is nominated for the awards ‘Best Pop Video’ and ‘Best Karaoke Song’ while Momoiro Clover Z is nominated for ‘Best Choreography’. It’s would be interesting to see if they win the awards. For this year’s VMAJ, the hosts are Maeda Atsuko and Kaneko Nobuaki (RIZE). Here are the list of performers. Source: Yaraon

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Kyary Pamyu Pamyu, Momoiro Clover Z, Shōnan no Kaze to appear at VMAJ 2013 Source: http://sgcafe.com/2013/04/kyary-pamyu-pamyu-momoiroclover-z-shonan-kaze-vmaj-2013/ By Az on April 26th, 2013

MTV VMAJ 2013 June 22, 2013 – Chiba, Makuhari Messe Performers: BENI / Carly Rae Jepsen / EXILE (video performance) / Fukuhara Miho / IMAGINE DRAGONS / Kato Miliyah x Shimizu Shota / Kyary Pamyu Pamyu / Momoiro Clover Z / Nishino Kana / Shōnan no Kaze / TLC / and more Presenters: AK-69 / AMIAYA / Gouriki Ayame / and more MC: Maeda Atsuko and Kaneko Nobuaki (RIZE) source: natalie

April 29th, 2013

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SGCafe : Cosplay | Vocaloid | Otaku | Pop Culture A daily publication about Cosplay, Vocaloid, Otaku and Japanese Pop Culture

Additional artists for this year’s ANIMELO announced + artist list Source: http://sgcafe.com/2013/04/additional-artists-years-animeloannounced-artist-list/ By Az on April 29th, 2013

It has been announced that there will be additional artists for anisong event “Animelo Summer Live 2013 -FLAG NINE-” . This event is going to be held on August 23 – 25 on Saitama Super Arena. Ray will be added for the performance on the 23rd, OLDCODEX and Zwei for the performance on the 24th, voice actors Komatsu Mikako and Suzumura Kenichi, and ST☆RISH for the performance on the 25th. ST☆RISH is a male voice actor unit borne from the anime “Uta No☆Princesama☆ MAJI LOVE2000☆”. The aforementioned Suzumura Kenichi is part of this group, along with Terashima Takuma, Taniyama Kishō, Miyano Mamoru, Suwabe Junichi, Shimono Hiro, and Kōsuke Toriumi. Also included are Sphere, Mizuki Nana, GRANRODEO, May’n, and many more. General ticket selling for “Animelo Summer Live 2013 FLAG NINE-” will start on June 30. Below is the artist line-up for this event. ===

“Animelo Summer Live 2013 -FLAG NINE-” August 23 – 25, Saitama Super Arena August 23 Performances: ALI PROJECT / Kushida Akira / ZAQ / Chihara Minori / ChouCho / nano.RIPE / May’n / Momoiro Clover Z / Ray / and more August 24 Performances: angela / Uesaka Sumire / OLDCODEX /Kuribayashi Minami / GRANRODEO / Zwei / T-Pistonz+KMC / Nakajima Megumi / and more August 25 Performances: Ogura Yui / Kurosaki Maon / Komatsu Mikako / Suzumura Kenichi / ST☆RISH / Sphere / Tamura Yukari / Tominaga ‘TOMMY’ Hiroaki / Mizuki Nana / Miyano Mamoru / Yui Kaori / and more All tickets at 8500 yen, tickets start selling on June 30

April 29th, 2013

source: natalie

AKB48 to have concerts on 5 major domes + new team shuffle Source: http://sgcafe.com/2013/04/akb48-concert-5-domes-teamshuffle/ By Az on April 29th, 2013

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August 7, 2013 — Kyocera Dome Osaka, Osaka August 8, 2013 — Kyocera Dome Osaka, Osaka August 16, 2013 — Nagoya Dome, Aichi August 17, 2013 — Nagoya Dome, Aichi August 22, 2013 — Tokyo Dome, Tokyo August 23, 2013 — Tokyo Dome, Tokyo August 24, 2013 — Tokyo Dome, Tokyo August 25, 2013 — Tokyo Dome, Tokyo === Also announced during the concert is a new team shuffle for this spring. This surprise is brought to the girls by AKB48 manager, Togasaki Tomonobu. The spring team shuffle is Kenkyuusei (research student) promotion and is a team shuffle mostly concerning the members who are assigned to two teams and those with activities with overseas groups. === AKB48 “Haru no Jinji” Kenkyuusei Promotions: Hirata Rina to Team K Sasaki Yukari to Team A Omori Miyu to Team B Concurrency Cancellations/Appointments: (those cancelled will stop activities with the team they have cancelled with, those appointed will be part of two teams) AKB48 Team K / SKE48 Team S Kitahara Rie concurrency cancel with SKE48 Team S AKB48 Team A / NMB48 Team N Yokoyama Yui concurrency cancel with NMB48 Team N SKE48 Team K-II / AKB48 Team B Ishida Anna concurrency cancel with AKB48 Team B NMB48 Team N / AKB48 Team A Kotani Riho concurrency cancel with AKB48 Team A AKB48 Team B Oba Mina concurrency with SKE48 Team K-II AKB48 Team B Ichikawa Miori concurrency with NMB48 Team N SKE48 Team E Furuhata Nao concurrency with AKB48 Team K NMB48 Team M Yagura Fuko concurrency with AKB48 Team A HKT48 Team H Kodama Haruka concurrency with AKB48 Team A

It has been announced that AKB48 will be having concerts on 5 major domes this summer, including Tokyo Dome. This was announced yesterday in Nippon Budoukan during the last day of their four-day special 48-group concert, ☆AKB48 Group Rinji Soukai~Shirokuro Tsukeyou Janai Ka!~☆ through a surprise VTR that left the girls in shock and left them overwhelmed. They will be having 11 performances in 5 different domes. === AKB48 5-Dome Concert (title undecided) July 20, 2013 — Fukuoka Yafuoku! Dome, Fukuoka July 21, 2013 — Fukuoka Yafuoku! Dome, Fukuoka July 31, 2013 — Sapporo Dome, Hokkaido

SNH48 Miyazawa Sae concurrency with AKB48 Team K SNH48 Suzuki Mariya concurrency with AKB48 Team A JKT48 Takajo Aki concurrency with AKB48 Team B HKT48 Sashihara Rino appointed as HKT48 Theater Manager === Before this, it has been decided that Kitahara Rie will transfer to SKE48 K-II, but apparently that will be null as she is to be assigned to AKB48 only. This also caused much confusion among the SKE48 girls. Other mention worthy members are Yokoyama Yui, Takajo Aki, Miyazawa Sae, and Sashihara Rino. Yokoyama Yui is part of NMB48′s frontline so it’s surprising that they take her out after a short while. Miyazawa Sae and Takajo Aki are high-ranking members that have been assigned overseas so members and concert audience alike rejoiced when then 2

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heard this news. On the funnier side of the announcement, while it seemed like Sashihara Rino will finally return to AKB48, she instead gets assigned as HKT48′s theater manager. No details yet as to when this shuffle would take effect. This concert was streamed live yesterday in YouTube as part of YouTube’s Japan Music Week. sources: natalie, YouTube, AKB48 Official Site image: Papico, YouTube

Girls und Panzer movie coming in 2014 Source: http://sgcafe.com/2013/04/girls-und-panzer-movieannounced-2014/ By SunSoftware on April 29th, 2013

Anchovy is the commander of Anzio High School’s tank team, whom Oarai Girls Academy fights in episode 7. However, the TV series skipped their match, and Anchovy had about seven seconds of face time. To add insult to injury, guess who is missing on the cover of GaruPan’s fifth Blu-ray disc?

Now, the match against Anzio will finally be animated, so fans who have sympathized with Anchovy can rejoice, such as the one who drew this comic:

The Girls und Panzer anime ended just last month and became a hit, but it’s not stopping there. Fans will be excited to hear that a GaruPan movie and an OVA featuring Anzio High School have been announced. The Heartful Tank Carnival took place on Sunday in Tokyo’s Differ Ariake, where the staff announced that a brand new Girls und Panzer movie is in production and scheduled to be released next year. Just like the TV series, the movie is being directed by Tsutomu Mizushima. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Girls und Panzer, the anime is centered around girls from Oarai Girls Academy who fight in tanks as a sport and compete against other schools. The anime started airing last fall, but the last two episodes were delayed until March. Although no other details were given on the movie, the staff also announced a new OVA featuring Anchovy. What’s that, you say? You watched the anime and don’t know anyone named Anchovy?

“Did I do something wrong? I worked so hard to fight against Oarai and it was all cut out… Can I go home? I want to cook pasta, chobi…” Furthermore, a fan DVD with footage of the Heartful Tank Carnival will be released in September. The event didn’t 3

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feature a real-life tank like last month’s Girls und Panzer Kairaku Festa, but the main cast members and Choucho made an appearance, so fans should look forward to that, as well.

Moe Toyota passed last year’s voice acting auditions held by Style Cube (the production company in charge of StylipS) and had minor roles in Kono Naka ni Hitori, Imouto ga Iru! and Dakara Boku wa H ga Dekinai. Her hobby is dancing and her special talents include memorization and playing the trumpet. Source: Garupan’s Official Twitter

Moe Toyota and Miku Itou join StylipS Source: http://sgcafe.com/2013/04/moe-toyota-miku-itou-join-stylips/ By SunSoftware on April 28th, 2013

Miku Itou also passed last year’s Style Cube Seiyuu Audition and voices the idol Yuriko Nanao in the social game The Idolm@ster Million Live. Her hobbies are watching anime, dancing, and the Ogura Hyakunin Isshu (the classical collection of Japanese poems), while her special talent is kendo (lowest grade). They’re not exactly high-profile voice actresses like Ogura and Ishihara, but now that they’ve joined StylipS, they may become rising stars in the near future. For those of you who aren’t familiar with StylipS, the voice actress unit performed the opening themes of NakaImo and Saki Achiga-Hen Episode of Side-A, and they released their first best-of album last Wednesday.

One week has passed since Yui Ogura and Kaori Ishihara graduated from the voice actress unit StylipS. The staff at Lantis haven’t wasted time, because they already picked two new girls to replace them. Meet the two newest members of StylipS, Moe Toyota and Miku Itou.

There are no news on the relaunched unit’s first single or performance, but even without Ogura and Ishihara, the girls will keep working hard, so fans should look forward to their next work. Source: StylipS homepage

Even more menu items added to Roppongi Hills Miku Café Source: http://sgcafe.com/2013/04/menu-items-added-roppongi-hillsmiku-cafe/

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By Zenko on April 28th, 2013

In addition to previous menu items reported at the Miku Café , more details and menu items have been revealed.

The Romeo and Cinderella Alluring Caramel Pie features the polkadotted design of Miku’s iconic camisole from the video as the top crust.

The café itself will still run until June 16th, but now has a greater variety of items and, in collaboration with the museum, a greater amount for visitors to do. A sculpture of Miku by ixima will now great visitors at the location, and stands at a 1:1 scale [158 centimeters tall]. In the art exhibit, visitors will also have a chance to demo Sony’s Portable Project by viewing movies through the “Vocaloid Cinema Party” function. This is an application that will run on the 16 tablets provided by Sony for the event, and will include it’s own special menu function. Prices for the dishes will range from 700 yen for cocktails to 1,000 yen for curry. Source: AnimeAnime

The menu has also been expanded from the 39 (Miku) Curry and levan Polkka cocktail to include a StargazeR and Neko Mimi Switch cocktails, as well as a variety of other Miku themed food.

Makers of Neptunia collaborate with Final Fantasy veterans to make fantasy RPG Source: http://sgcafe.com/2013/04/makers-neptunia-collaborate-finalfantasy-veterans-fantasy-rpg/ By SunSoftware on April 28th, 2013

This includes a Miku Fried Rice which has been colored green to match the diva’s hair.

A Milk (Miku) Tea Set for afternoon tea time.

In an unexpected union, the developers of the Hyperdimension Neptunia series have joined forces with the Final Fantasy veterans Nobuo Uematsu and Yoshitaka Amano to make a brand new RPG. 5

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On April 22, the developer Compile Heart announced that they are creating a new brand called Galapagos RPG, which they claim is targeted towards “specific Japanese customers”. Although we’re not sure what they mean by that, they announced three days later that the Neptunia Team (the team that makes the Hyperdimension Neptunia games) is collaborating with the artist Yoshitaka Amano, who has worked on the Final Fantasy series since the first FF game, and Nobuo Uematsu, one of the most famous composers in the video game industry who has also made music for the FF series since the beginning and has his own band called Earthbound Papas.

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familiar tune by Ali Project. Those of you who are fans of the original Rozen Maiden from 2004 will be filled with nostalgia when you lay your eyes on this trailer. Now that you’re filled to the brims with nostalgia, you may want to watch all of the past episodes again. Luckily for you, the anime’s website has also listed details on the two Blu-ray box sets that will be available before the anime airs. The first season box set will be released on May 24 and cost 19,950 yen. The box will contain: • A beautiful disc case illustrated by Peach-Pit • All twelve episodes of the first season

We don’t know anything else about the game, but Compile Heart also aired this teaser video:

• Audio commentary for episode 1 by the voice actresses Miyuki Sawashiro and Asami Sanada.

As the video says, the first game from Galapagos RPG will be officially revealed in the issue of Famitsu Weekly released on May 9, so we’ll find out more about it then.

• Credit-less versions of the opening and ending animations • A 12-page booklet

What do you think this game could be? And how in the world can Neptunia Team juggle this game along with three other PS Vita games coming this year? Before Compile Hearts revealed this teaser, they also released this video celebrating the birth of Galapagos RPG. It doesn’t actually have any information, but it does have a peppy march tune. Source: Galapagos RPG homepage

Rozen Maiden gets new trailer and BD box sets Source: http://sgcafe.com/2013/04/rozen-maiden-trailer-bd-box-sets/ By SunSoftware on April 28th, 2013

Not only that, but the first press run will include bonus Graphig figures of Shinku and Suigintou, so hardcore fans who want these cute figures should get their copies as quickly as possible.

Do you want a sneak peek of the upcoming Rozen Maiden? Do you want to watch the first two seasons again with Bluray quality? If the answer to either question is yes, then you’ll want to read on. A new trailer of the upcoming Rozen Maiden anime has been posted on the anime’s official website featuring all of the dolls from the previous iterations, as well as a new, yet

The second season, Rozen Maiden Träumend, will get its own Blu-ray box set on June 28 and cost 22,575 yen. It will include all 12 episodes of the anime, as well as the two episodes of the side story Rozen Maiden Ouvertüre. No picture of this box set is available, but it will contain similar bonus content as the first season box. Instead of Graphig 6

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figures, however, the first press run will include three dressup cards with their own holder.

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finally, we four can perform together once again and have a blast on our 5th year since our debut”, comments flumpool vocalist Yamamura Ryouta.

Once you’ve seen the entire series again, you’ll be ready for the next Rozen Maiden anime coming this July. If you want to check the cast and staff again, then be sure to read our previous article.

flumpool will be celebrating their 5th-year debut anniversary with a back-to-back Budoukan performance on October 1 and 2.

Source: Rozen Maiden homepage

source: natalie

flumpool’s Sakai Kazuki (G) to pause visual activities to focus on dieting

Square Enix starts closed beta for The Thousand Year Hero ~Guides Through Time~

Source: http://sgcafe.com/2013/04/flumpools-sakai-kazuki-g-pausevisual-activities-order-diet/ By Az on April 27th, 2013

Source: http://sgcafe.com/2013/04/square-enix-starts-closed-betathousand-year-hero-guides-time/ By Zenko on April 27th, 2013

flumpool’s guitarist, Sakai Kazuki, has just declared that he has decided to pause his visual activities with the band to – get this – focus on losing weight. Since their debut, Sakai has tried many different diets but has only suffered from setbacks and has just kept on rebounding. Before he knows it, he already has a “body figure unfit for a rock band”. Because of this, and also in order to really lose weight, he has hardened his resolve and boldly announced his plans. It is stated in the official site that Sakai plans to successfully diet until the end of June and to make a comeback then. Now although Sakai has decided to put a pause in his visual activities, he will still participate in the band’s songwriting, radio show, and will continue blogging. flumpool is now having a recruitment for a temporary help to fill the gap left by their guitarist. As of now, the requirements are: must look like Sakai Kazuki; must be able to wear stylish clothes for CD jackets; must be used to standing onstage. Fans of flumpool, stay tuned as they look for their temporary guitarist. “For now, I want him to finally be successful with his dieting and, in a different aspect, become a bigger person. And

Square Enix’s new browser based game The Thousand Year Hero ~ Guides Through Time~ (Sennen Yuusha ~Tokiwatari no Tomoshibito~ [☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆~]) has entered its beta phase as of April 26, 2013. As part of Yahoo’s Game service, Square Enix will begin the beta phase of Thousand Year Hero ~Guides Through Time~ and will allow 200 people to test the game. Hiroki Yokoyama of Nier fame will produce it, with Ryoma Ito [Final Fantasy Tactics Advance] heading character design.

In the game, players will face the Devil King of Darkness who has control of the world. Players will be able to embark on missions of their choosing, taking on the role of temporary village leader in their own town. They will be able to enter 7

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dungeons nearby with other players and find the way to seal the Devil King away. The hero will take on this role, as the land has fallen to evil and is being threatened with calamity.

the Kokoro Scope or Heart Scope, may help you retrieve an extra bit of detail in the witness testimonies when you’re cross-examining them.

The game will feature the same job system as past Square Enix games, allowing players to choose how they will play. The town that the player will be in charge of can be supported by other players if they choose and supports customization. Outside of this, there will also be some story elements that will take place in it.

When a witness is lying in his or testimony, or maybe just genuinely cannot quite remember something very important, Phoenix Wright and his team of hard-hitting, truth-finding attorneys can rely on the Kokoro Scope to zoom in and pick up on emotions the case’s witnesses are feeling as they describe something in their testimonies. For instance, the trailer depicts an example where a case’s witness is recounting what she experienced at the crime scene – something about concrete debris falling near her.

Source: Dengenki

New Ace Attorney/Gyakuten Saiban 5 promo shows off anime cutscenes, ‘Heart Scope’ system Source: http://sgcafe.com/2013/04/gyakuten-saiban-5-trailer/ By KarbyP on April 27th, 2013

Through the Kokoro Scope, Wright notices that the witness displays signs of shock when describing that debris was falling. That much is normal. What’s quite unnatural is, when she goes on to describe the manner in which the debris crumbled, by imitating the sound that they made, the witness actually exhibited signs of joy in addition to shock. Why would someone experience joy when describing crumbling debris? Let’s press her on that! It’s a little bit similar to the new mechanic introduced in Gyakuten Saiban 4 (also known as Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney in the West), where you’re required to pick up on unnatural body gestures in order to catch a witness lying in their testimony. Except this time around you’re looking for emotions – one of four possible types: joy, grief, anger or shock – instead of body language. Which I’m really quite relieved to learn (assuming the body gesture system doesn’t return in this Gyakuten Saiban 5), for in that game, you were actually required to pick up on – I kid you not – a particular witness sweating while in the middle of of his testimony. I had to use a guide for that part.

Gyakuten Saiban 5 for the 3DS comes out in Japan July 25. Gamers who pre-order the title in stores over there are entitled to a DLC costume pack that includes series protagonist Phoenix Wright’s suit he wore back in the first three games. An English release for the title has not yet been announced.

A new trailer for Gyakuten Saiban 5, the latest in Capcom’s popular “turnabout courtoom” adventure game series, has hit the Interwebs today. On top of running through the game’s main characters, the trailer offers a sneak peek of some of the 2D anime cutscenes you’ll see in the full game (for the first time in the series, the entire game is portrayed mostly with 3D character models instead of 2D sprites), as well as provide a “concrete” example (oh, you’ll see) as to how a new system mechanic, 8