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Pictures of the new Gundam Arcade game, Gundam Extreme Versus, is out and it looking impressive. The specification based on the Playstation 3 console, system 347.

In additional to that, there will be a stand alone monitor unit to view lives and replays of the last 100 games of the machines with split screens up to 4 players.

The monitor unit can also be used by players to edit their game data.

Some of the new units available for the first time are

Gundam Seed Astray -- RED FRAME, Crossbone Gundam -- Crossbone Gundam X-1, Gundam MS Igloo -- Zudah…

The game is looking good already.

Gundam Extreme Versus will be in arcades, Autumn 2010(October to December). Well in Japan they will… … And since this game is built on a Playstation 3 based system… The game might be coming to Playstation 3 too!

This game system, is made by Bandai Namco.

Popularity: 5% [?]

The latest version Vocaloid, Hatsune Miku Append ver is not just a figurine but a new software pack. An update over the Vocaloid 2, released by Cryptron Future Media INC, named “MIKU APPEND” to be released on April 30th.

This software pack, give the Hatsune Miku, the face of the vocaloid line, more emotions like being happy, sad, dark or basically emotions.

With this, the feel of Miku’s sound will be further improved, and may sooth the critics main complain of the sound being too machine like.

The people at Crypton is offering a DEMO album for download online over at HearJapan. The album consist of 6 songs, to demonstrate the effect and changes brought about by the new patch.

The downloadable demo is free, but you need to have an (Free)account with HearJapan to download them.

Of  cos you can also find the demo bits over at the “MIKU Append” site for online streaming.

[Related: HearJapan.com | MIKU Append]

Another look at the figure… ….

Aww… …

About HearJapan.com, some might have heard about them, for me this is the first time… I have, as expected sign-up for an account and downloaded a few of the demos, and also did some reconnaissance of the site.

I found out that the design and the content available on the site is not very impressive… but it’s a start. Since it’s one of the few place where you can buy digital Japanese music and songs legally online.

Since Singapore have no Itunes, it’s an addition plus for me. But, like I mentioned, there is really not much of a chance to go legal… Digitally…

Do take note thou, if you find something like the Anime Collection Album Volume 1 – 38, It’s not sung by the original artist… It’s a cover and it’s legal.

Now for a Press release from HearJapan. Since they so happily sent us a copy.

===========================

Yokohama, Japan – April 28, 2010 – HearJapan is proud to bring the world this exclusive first look at the new voice of Hatsune Miku!

It’s a brand new day for Vocaloid fans and producers around the world. The newest Vocaloid addition, called Hatsune Miku Append, has just been released. It adds six new emotions to Miku’s voice: solid, soft, sweet, vivid, dark and light. These new options not only sound more natural, but allow Miku to add a variety of moods to the music.

To celebrate, HearJapan is offering an exclusice free music sampler featuring the Append sounds! You’ll hear all six of Miku’s new emotions, each adding new depth to Miku’s range while still maintaining her signature voice. The musical styles also cover a wide spectrum, from acoustic folk, to 8bit chiptune, gentle Shibuya-kei and even some upbeat rock. Each track lists the various emotions used, so you can spot the differences as you listen.

There’s a little something for everyone packed into these six songs, not to mention a new universe to explore for long-time Hatsune Miku fans. Head on over to the download page now and see what the future of Hatsune Miku music will sound like!

======

Links:

Free Miku Append Demo Album
http://www.hearjapan.com/store/album_info/Miku_Append_Demo_songs

whoo
http://www.hearjapan.com/store/member_info/whoo

negoto
http://www.hearjapan.com/store/member_info/negoto

kous
http://www.hearjapan.com/store/member_info/kous

k-shi
http://www.hearjapan.com/store/member_info/kshi

Chiquewa
http://www.hearjapan.com/store/member_info/Chiquewa

mojoP
http://www.hearjapan.com/store/member_info/mojoP

All Vocaloid Albums at HearJapan (over 200!)
http://www.hearjapan.com/store/genre/1/74/vocaloid

======

HearJapan is the largest and fastest-growing place on the web to purchase Japanese music of all genres. Featuring over 3000 artist profiles in English with 40-second samples of all songs. Over 100 releases are added every week to the currently-available 25,000+ songs in the 100% DRM free catalog. HearJapan is a great place to find the hard to find and to explore the unexplored in the world of Japanese music.

======

Popularity: 21% [?]

Many thanks to May’n wiki for the tweet.

Here’s the promo PV for May’n Live blu ray and DVD.

May’n 「BIG☆WAAAAVE!!　in 日本武道館」blu ray pre-order here.
May’n 「BIG☆WAAAAVE!!　in 日本武道館」DVD pre-order here.

Both BD and DVD will be released on May 26 2010.

Popularity: 4% [?]

This will be one sexy figure to own… …

The Hatsune Miku Append Version, is one sexy thing to look at… … Well the price, availability and etc will only be announce this Friday, 30th April. Some say it will be release on that date, but it’s highly unlikely… …

So for now, lets look at the pictures!

[Source: Masaki's blog Via Wcloudx (Kumo)'s Blog]

Do also drop by either one of the source to gather more information. Take note that Masaki’s blog is in Japanese, but it does have plenty of pictures…

With that I’ll go back to dreaming…

Popularity: 7% [?]

Another Century’s Episode was announced a few weeks back. Now there is a trailer and a few in game pictures to look at!

Series in the game are,

- Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion R2
- Full Metal Panic!
- Genesis of Aquarion
- Macross Zero
- Macross Frontier
- Mobile Suit Z Gundam
- Mobile Suit Gundam: Char’s Counterattack
- Mobile Suit Crossbone Gundam
- Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny
- Overman King Gainer
- Super Dimension Century Orguss
- Banpresto Originals

Now to see if you can spot who is who!

First person to get every thing wins a cookie!

Enjoy!

[Source: A.C.E: R Website Via IGN | VG Charts]

Popularity: 7% [?]

Bandai have finally moved against the Chinese Bootleggers of their popular Gunpla series and the copyrighted Gundam Toys.

Bandai thru it’s China representative brought the 2 bootleggers in front of Beijing First Intermediate People Court on April 21st.

The first company, is an electronic toy maker, maker of the brand “TT”, based in Shantou city. They have been charged by Bandai, with the illegal production of the Gunpla series of model kits and the illegal use of the user manual.

While the 2nd is an individual seller, by the surname of Huang, that is a Distributor of the toys made by the toy maker, in Beijing, China. He is charged by Bandai with undermining Bandai’s business with willful distributing of illegal products and the infringing of copyrights held by Bandai.

During the 2 plus hours trial, consist of the defendants arguing that they have no knowledge that the product is copyrighted by Bandai.

The electronic toy maker pointed out that the manufacturing of the Toys were contracted to a third party, thus claiming to not be liable for any punishment.

The 2nd company, being just a seller/distributor, denials any responsibility of copyright breach.

Bandai brought along with them 41 items for the trial, with the electronic toy maker acknowledging that only some out of the 41 is produced by them.

The judge, adjourns the court as the argument gets more complicated, without a ruling, pending it till an undisclosed date.

[Source: China Legal Publicity(Chinese) Via Ngee Khiong]

With undeniable proof and the acknowledgment of the illegal products made under “TT” brand, the 2 companies have little chance to win. Since ignorance don’t really stand high in courts…

Plus would a toy manufacturer not know that Bandai(Biggest Toy Manufacturer on earth) own the copyright of Gundam and Gunpla?

FYI, selling bootlegged stuff in china, can be prosecuted law.

Popularity: 10% [?]

It’s actually quite an unexpected Gem that I have uncovered, since I’m not quite a fan of Key’s production… Their last production that I really liked was AIR… And that’s a few years ago.

What I really liked about Key is their artwork, it all has that very polished look to it… Not so for AngelBeats! thou… since the graphics are not as polished and beautiful as AIR, Clannad or Kanon. Another different is the pace of anime itself, AIR, Clannad and Kanon all have a very slow pace to it, where AngelBeats have been moving at quite a fast pace.

However this don’t mean that AngelBeats! is not good, it has it own good.

I didn’t really read up about the link between Key and AngelBeats! before watching the show. And to tell the truth, I have almost no expectation of the show, due to it’s less then interesting title… I only picked it up because there really is nothing much to watch this season… …

First up, the concept of the story to me is quite interestingly unique, with students that will never die rebelling against GOD in his plan to allow them to complete studies before passing on to the next stage… …

Then, we have the bunch of very interesting characters, Yuri and the Angel generate the most of my interest with Iwasawa san, stealing the show in episode 3. And then Hinata in episode 4 when you think that a trend is going to be formed… The death metal pop idol like loli(Yui) pops in… …

Of cos the show has it’s own highlights, comical scenes and the music. And some will say that the style is a copy of some other animes, like Haruhi Suzumiya or something… I can safely tell you that, it is of no concern, since the genre is totally different, it has a different style of fun to it.

Anyway, I would like to say that AngelBeats! is a very nice show and you should go take a look at it. To me it will be graded as surprisingly good, and I would really like to know more about the angel…

A few video of the music from Angelbeat! is required to let you realize how good it is.

Popularity: 3% [?]

And although most fans like us are stuck in our respective countries and states, the internet brings us a closer look at the interior of the Gundam Cafe opening today at 8:30am for the public.

First up, the Store front. You must have seen the 3D render before, you will be presently surprised that it looks exactly the same!

No longer the shiny  3D render but they did build according to specification.

Then we have the inside of the cafe, very nicely renovated to have the space feel… The inside of the store is design for 60 seats, which are  matching to the theme with some that could be said to be specially made to order.

On some walls of the cafe, you will be able to see the signatures of the famous and influential people. Information related to the Gundam universe can also be found on the big monitors/HDTVs mounted on the wall around the cafe.

Gundam model kits or Gunpla can also be seen on display inside glass cases with the main theme this year being the 30th Anniversary of the Gundam franchise. It will show the development of Gunpla, thru it’s innovation and evolution.

A great example is the RX-02, which is the first gunpla made but evolve to become better products, like the MG, PG, HGUC series.

Bandai have also announced this week that, as off march 2010, over 400 million Gunpla models have been sold around the world, since it’s founding in 1979. Amazing right?!

Even the toilet is of special design, featuring the Red Zaku II, the one used by the Red Comet, Char Aznable. The toilet is said to actually be blinking and even with sound when it’s actually used…

This is the female toilet, since it’s the only one opened for picture taking. The male toilet is expected to be the same, thou…

Chars looking at you! (That might actually turn some people on… …)

All cafe have to have waitress or service crew. In this one, they have got a few of the soldiers/clerks from the Earth Federation to serve the customers.  The waitress of the cafe will be serving in the pink federation uniform,along with a menu consisting of items like the Jaburo Coffee, Gunpla Taiyaki.

While the Dinner menu consist of interesting choices like the, Ace Pilot Menu(Pasta), Heroine Menu(Pasta and rice), Temporary non-commissioned officer menu (snack), and more…

After 5pm, the cafe will turn into a bar and start serving Alcohol beverages from the very good looking bar.

If you are too busy to enter the cafe, there is even a take-away counter outside for serving a take-out menu. If you want to get some souvenirs, the scorch is the place to go. Look below to see some of the offerings… It even will give your hand a small free gift, if you have a FeliCa phone.

Yup on the left of the feliCa machine are the Jaburo Blend beans, if you want to bring it home with you. They come from South America.

This cafe will definitely be a hit among fans of the Gundam series. And another place for foreigners like us to mark as a must visit location!

The location of the place can be found on the map below

And their normal operating time is as stated below

■CAFE TIME
（平日, Normal days）10：00～17：00

■BAR TIME
（平日, Normal days）17：00～23：00

[Source: Akibamap.net via Kotaku]

[Related Site: Gundam Cafe]

Popularity: 6% [?]

Good news to share with everyone!!!

Ok, this is very simple. Answer a survey and a chance to win fabulous goodies!

Good luck and hope you readers get a chance to win those fabulous goodies!

Credits: AFA

Popularity: 3% [?]

Remember the post I did just 2 days ago, the one about the girl sitting next to Yui. Apparently the movement have expended, especially the from the crowd at 2ch. Flexing their film investigation skills, the crew at 2ch have not only unearthed the names of the girl sitting next to Yui, which is Tachibana Himeko, but have also started on the whole class… Of 38 girls, a common consensuses among the 2ch investigators.

Currently, the investigators have already mapped out 4 names using just the first 2 episodes of the 2nd season.

Tachibana Himeko

Eri Taki

Akane

Takahashi Fuuko(Mio Megane version)

Using methodologies like the class’s name list that Yui took a peek at, the TV channel’s Close captioning, assumption and other references. Certainly as each episode airs, more names shall be revealed and the class of 3-2 will be known to us!

I must say that is a lot of work, and kudos to the investigators at 2ch. You guys are the best!

[Source: 2ch.net via Sankaku Complex(NSFW)]

Popularity: 6% [?]

A drifting life, an epic 800 page thick book that got me some questions and attention when reading it in public. A thick books is the comment i got from some and plenty of curious looking eyes, according to friends with me during my reading.

From the outside this seems like a daunting journey to jump on, but once you have started the first page, one will be easily absorbed by the history and the strangeness of how Manga was defined, compared to how it is like today.

It’s in this story that, Hiroshi Katsumi, goes from doing non-related 4 panel gag mangas to his own version of Gekiga or the predecessor of the current mangas with a story themed for adults. It can be considered a revolution by itself as the whole point of view at that time is to be changed, displacing gradually with Gekiga, then the War between publishers as the short story bloom dies down. An epic for all manga historians, depicting the most importance age for manga, for without it, Manga might be nothing more than 4 panels instead of the current full spread, moving panels and etc that brings the story alive.

This manga is something like or is an Omnibus, with the main theme being the story of Hiroshi Katsumi. With many real life references, the story can be divided into 3 parts. His Childhood, when he discover Manga in the manga magazines. His professional career, where he begins drawing manga as an career, his rise, then him moving away from shadow and his first home publisher, and the establishment of the Gekiga, after he finished high-school. And the beginning of the end, when the short story bloom got out of control, and the end of Gekiga Workshop, an establishment he and fellow artist started.

Art style wise,the art is not what you would expect, if you are never into classics like Astro boy or Doraemon. It’s a lot simpler, and not as beautiful nor complicated like the works for modern artist like Kubo Tite or Hatori Bisco. But it nonetheless works, enough to tell a convincing story.

Translation wise, the translator, Taro Nettleton, did an awesome job at making it easy to understand and not breaking the flow of the story. It even includes an appendix, to explain the text not translated due to spacing.

Printing, Drawn and Quarterly did an similarly good job on it, although it’s just a paper back production. Not defect prints have been found on my copy of the manga, not only that small texts are readable and the quality of paper is not yellow.

Verdict, is something that I cannot give, but this book, A drifting life by Yoshihiro Tatsumi is a master piece. And I’m glad I bought the book.

This book is now retailing Kinokuniya main store, for SG$51.24.

[Related Sites: Kinokuniya | Drawn and Quarterly | Yoshihiro Tatsumi Wikipedia]

Popularity: 3% [?]

Today at the dawn of the day, when I have no access to a proper post writing computer… Sunrise announced Code Geass Gaiden, Boukoku No Akito. With the characters designed by CLAMP, this might be the Code Geass anime that Sunrise had announced to be making, December last year.

Why the might? Because, this is announce in a trailer found on the Blu-ray version of the event Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion Kiseki no Birthday and the format is unknown.

The only tidbits that was given with regards to the story said,

In this broken world, we still dream
a.t.b.2017
The hellish European front.
A small squad infiltrates enemy territory to save their allies.
That squadron’s Nightmare Devicers/Pilot are boys and girls from Area 11.
The mission’s chance of success is only 5%.
Why do they fight?

[Source: ANN | @cowboybibimbop | Moetron]

And indeed the story is weird… Are the boys and girls geass users? And this a sick experiment to prove the power of it’s users, or are this Devicers nothing more then a game for the royalties?

The location of the story might be in Scandinavian, the land of Dracula. Since the castle featured in the trailer is of a typical one often featured in old Dracula films. Interested already?

Btw, Area 11 is Japan, and Britainia just conquered it 7 years ago… In fact there might even be Suzaku reference in this Gaiden(Side Story)…

Indeed, Why do they fight?

Popularity: 7% [?]

Loh-tee also known as bread. Is a fluffy most of the time white produce by mixing flour, water and yeast. And then baked to perfection in a mold.

The side crust or skin of the bread is usually the best part of the bread thanks to it’s chewiness.

That is not be confused with a dog named Loti, that liked to eat the crust of bread. And hangs out with the children of the sneaky kids club, in the 4 column online s-comix named LOTI by Troy Chin.

The story is primary about this primary 2 kid named Shu Wen, and his merry friends along with this very special dog, Loti. This dog really knows how to hide, runs fast and friendly.

This online s-comix is updated everyday with new a strip, bringing along with it daily fun of a primary two’ers. Allowing everyone to relieve the childhood, or for parents, when their ward is younger.

It has been a source of fun and laughter for me, everyday since discovery

The published version of the s-comix is now retailing at around $17.90, in Kinokuniya Main Store(Takashimaya) and Books Actually, and includes 2 specials which talks about being environmental friendly and being gentlemanly, Shu Wen’s style.

So if you need to read something daily, do include this as 1.

Related site: Drearyweary | Today’s Loti | Kinokuniya | Books Actually

Popularity: 3% [?]