Direct from Canada, Cathy Weseluck joined us in the Korner. With her awesome ability to voice younger males, you’ve probably heard her in such popular things as Death Note and My Little Pony! Check it out for yourself!

How to stalk Cathy Weseluck
Official site
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We’ve come quite a ways since this 13 Days of Halloween countdown started, and I’ll admit Day 9 has been giving me a whole lot of trouble. I considered using Satoshi Kon’s psychological thriller Perfect Blue, but I’ve sort of covered that before and I wanted something new. I considered another personal favorite, the little known Mononoke, but MollyBibbles covered that once already too. I also considered a few other titles that popped into mind but going over them again found them either less impressive than I had remembered, or more inappropriate than I remembered, so in either case got cut from the list. I was actually pretty dead set on using Boogie Pop Phantom for a while but it has been years since I last saw it and didn’t have the patience to rewatch the whole thing. I considered Koji Yamamura’s Franz Kafka A Country Doctor short film for a moment, but that wasn’t so much a horror as it was just bizarre. (Still an absolutely amazing piece though, go watch it!) None of this would have been a problem had I been able to find a copy of GeGeGe no Kitaro to use for day 2, but I couldn’t and so I had to shift everything from day 3 to day 10 down a slot. Finally though, I came to a decision. Day 9′s title is a wonderfully diverse and intriguing 2009 title by Madhouse Studio titled, Aoi Bungaku. (Lit. “Blue Literature“)

The 12 episode anime series actually covers six different stories, all originally written by four famous Japanese authors, Dazai Osamu, Akutagawa Ryuunosuke, Souseki Natsume, and Sakaguchi Ango. Some are based on novels and some on short stories, covering mysteries, psychological thrillers, and at least one supernatural story. As if the idea of tackling actual respectable literature in the form of anime wasn’t interesting enough, the six stories are split between three character designers of well known anime fame, Obata Takeshi (artist of Death Note, Bakuman, and Hikaru no Go), Konomi Takeshi (Artist and author of Prince of Tennis), and Tite Kubo (Author/artist of Bleach) with each of them designing two of the six stories.

The very first story is Ningen Shikkaku (Lit. “Disqualified from Being Human” aka “No Longer Human“), based on the novel by Dazai Osamu, which tells the story of a socially distant young man and the distance he methodically places between himself and other people throughout his life. Like a Japanese J.D. Salinger, he used No Longer Human to turn a mirror on post war Japan and show contemporary society through the eyes of an estranged child and the common doubts and fears of a man questioning his own humanity and purpose.

To be a little clearer about it, the main character, Ouba Youzou, finds that he cannot emotionally connect, sympathize, or empathize with other people because of his methodical and perhaps neurotic way of thinking. He is not noticeably ill however and can easily masquerade as a normal person and does so while yearning for attention and human recognition. When he is forced to make decisions between his own well being and his friends or loved ones, he has no problem with choosing himself over others without a second thought and without any remorse. Although he has no trouble heartlessly abandoning, using, or even killing other people he does eventually find himself bothered by the fact that he isn’t bothered.

Knowing that he can only blend in with society by consciously making the effort to do so, he questions if he is human at all, or if he ever was, or ever can be, and he contemplates what it is that makes a person human and what it is that sets him apart and why, hence the title No Longer Human. Interestingly enough, Dazai was only ten years older than J.D. Salinger and published No Longer Human just three years before Salinger published The Catcher in the Rye so the two wrote very similar novels around the same time and roughly the same age (39 and 32, respectively).

The character designs for No Longer Human were done by Obata Takeshi and directed by Morio Asaka, director of CLAMP’s Chobits, Card Captor Sakura, CLAMP in Wonderland, Galaxy Angel, Gunslinger Girl,FFVII Last Order, and weirdly enough one of the seven credited directors of the U.S. Street Fighter cartoon. Music for the four episodes of No Longer Human was composed by Hideki Taniuchi, the same music artist that did the soundtrack for the Death Note, Kaiji, and Akagi anime.

The art and direction are well done, with a very dark and somewhat faded color scheme that works really well with the 1940s setting. Dazai is of course a well respected international author and No Longer Human is considered his master piece, and is one of the best selling novels in Japan and as such has seen several other adaptations as manga and live action films. Occasionally, it even shows up in the hands of other anime characters as a sign of a contemplative, anti-social, but highly intellectual character: Itoshiki Nozomu of Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei and Ootori Kyouya of Ouran High School Host Club in particular comes to mind. I must confess that the story itself is not so horror oriented, but the direction certainly paints it like one, although the ending turns out to be much more cathartic than terrifying. These first four episodes were also re-edited into a feature length film that premiered on its own the same year the TV series was aired.

Sakura no Mori Mankai no Shita (Lit. “In the Forest Under the Cherries in Full Bloom“) is the next title worth mentioning, if only briefly. Technically a horror novel by author Sakaguchi Ango, the Aoi Bungaku adaptation is a bizarrely comical and almost musical interpretation of the normally chilling story of a man possessed by a woman’s beauty to commit acts of murder. The character design is by Tite Kubo and the overall mood of the strangely liberal adaptation of the original script is actually very well complimented by his art style. Still, the element of horror is greatly diminished and quite frankly the 1975 live action film of the same name played the story straight and to greater effect. Still, the source material is worth noting, as Sakaguchi was a great writer, although it is arguable that he left more impact on Japan through his essays than his novels.

The director for this two episode segment was Tatsuro Araki, the man who directed Death Note, Guilty Crown, and High School of the Dead. Soundtrack once again by Taniuchi Hideki, composer of the original Death Note soundtrack. Even putting the quirky direction aside, the original core premise of fearing the entrancing and nearly hypnotic properties of beauty and likening it to lonely cherry blossoms in the woods is a little too abstract for a Western audience, so even with its small helpings of moderately creepy scenes I really can’t speak for it as a horror.

Moving right along, the last piece I really want to touch on is Kokoro (Lit. “[The] Heart“), originally written by Soseki Natsume and featuring more character designs by Obata Takeshi. Kokoro is retold in two different chapters, both following a young man and his friend studying at a university and their romance with the daughter of the owner of the house he is renting his room at. The main character’s friend is a pious monk, and out of friendly generosity, the main character offers to let his friend room with him. The romance becomes a high tension love triangle as the three young adults living under the same room together are forced to hide their true feelings from one another. Who does the young lady of house love? Has there been an affair, or are the two men simply paranoid? Has one of the two friends chosen to steal away the girl from under the nose of his friend? Just who is lying to who and for what reasons? Jealousy, paranoia, and suspicions are pushed to their limits once the mother of the house begins pitting the two young men against one another over her daughter, and the relationship between the two friends only gets worse.

Even with practically no violence throughout this particular story, the tension and sense of dread is bone chilling. It becomes clear very soon in the story that the main main character does not trust the people around him, and you get very easily drawn into his own sense of paranoia. There is after all something very distinctly unsettling about distrusting the people you share a home with. Even if it begins with simple suspicion over something frivolous, the inability to address the issue openly can quickly drive the problem out of control. The two episodes each tell the same story, but from the perspectives of different characters. It really is a great little psychological thriller and easily my favorite story in the series.

Finally the last two stories start with Kumo no Ito (Lit. “The Spider’s Thread“), the story of a criminal died and gone to hell, but offered a thin thread of salvation as reward for the one good thing he did in life. But his sins outweigh the good he’s done and when he must fight against the rest of the damned to try and escape and . Akutagawa Ryuunosuke’s original short story is a wonderfully typical macabre piece of uniquely Japanese taste, but the particular directorial approach taken in Aoi Bungaku is somehow lacking. Frankly Kubo’s designs and the over all style of the story really weren’t very flattering to the mood of the intended mood of the whole story, and the strangely unique fantasy world, and intentionally trippy direction in the latter half of the episode was really more distracting than attractive. It felt very unnatural and gave off the impression of trying too hard to being bizarre, and ultimately to no real benefit.

The final story, Jigokuhen (Lit. “Hell Screen” aka “Panorama of Hell“) also by Akutagawa Ryuunosuke, was also somewhat sloppily handled. Like with The Spider’s Thread there were simply too many arbitrary artistic liberties for what should have been a fairly simplistic story. The plot was originally straight forward enough: a man is tasked with painting an emperor’s kingdom on the wall of a room, and instead of the beautiful and prosperous kingdom the emperor expects, the man leaves behind a ghastly portrait of the living hell he sees the kingdom as. The direction and art not only simply failed to compliment the story, but actively drew away from the actual subject of the story. Also worth pointing out is that episodes 11 and 12 were run back to back in an hour long special and despite being different stories, director Ishizuka Atsuko for some reason chose to unite the two in the same awkward fantasy world.

That covers five of the six stories, which have various different degrees and elements of horror to them. The one missing story was Hashire, Melos! (Lit. “Hurry, Melos!“) till, putting aside the slightly anticlimactic final episodes, Aoi Bungaku really is a wonderfully well conceived collection of short animated stories with a strong sense of horror and the macabre permeating most of the stories. For whatever reason though, this fantastic little collection has only been released outside of Japan in France so far, although it has been licensed for Chinese distribution. Either way I strongly encourage you to dig up this title if you can and give it a go, paying special attention to the stories featuring Obata Takeshi’s character design.

Kana and Chris Britton have a neat little chat about not just Soichiro Yagami, better known as Light’s dad, from Death Note, but his work in the Silent Hill movie and loads of other cool stuff! Check it out now!

How to stalk Chris Britton
Wikipedia
IMDB

I recently came to the conclusion that online forums are like RPG dungeons. You gotta fight through the trolls and muck to find treasures of insight. One day I found some guy hawking his book titled King of RPGs. One diplomacy roll later, I found myself 20 copper pieces poorer with said book in my inventory.

First off, I must commend the authors for picking a great sounding title. King of RPGs is the perfect combination of serious and silly while still feeling dramatic and cool. What you actually get when you buy the thing is a “manga” about “RPGs.” When I say “RPGs” I mean tabletop Role Playing Games like Dungeons and Dragons (or Pathfinder, GURPS, and Hackmaster) and not a MMORPG like World of Warcraft. When I say “manga” I meant done in manga style instead of being created by a Japanese person. Honestly, it doesn’t strike me as manga, but when you get published by Del Ray, I guess you count. It seems that the author Jason Thompson also wrote Manga: The Complete Guide. I guess that provides a skill synergy bonus.

If you’re curious, a tabletop RPG is quite different from an MMORPG. It’s like a raid when a group of people agree to meet in the same time and place. However, the norm is that the group assembles in the same physical area and not just on the same website or server. They all play together, usually on a table (hence, tabletop). The game is run by a person called a Dungeon Master (or a DM) who controls all the NPCs, monsters, and the entire world the Player Characters (or PCs) adventure in. The DM has the ability to customize the game and improvise as the situation demands. Playing a tabletop RPG utilizes books, paper, pens, cards, more books, maps, miniatures, markers, counters, even more books and a place to put them all. Above all, the two most important things are a powerful imagination and the ability to play well with a group.

Yu-Gi-OH! summed up in two panels

Second, I must commend the author for having lots of ranks in Knowledge (Gaming) and Knowledge (Anime). I get the feeling that I’m missing half of all the references and in jokes that have been crammed in there. I do recognize all the gaming character arch types. There’s a rules lawyer, the business man, the person who’s way into the story, the writer wanna be, and even an otaku. By the way, his name is Mike and he would make a nice audience surrogate for those of you who know the differences between moe and mecha. The author really does know gaming culture.

I do have a problem with the general tone of the work though. It seems that everyone is either a sociopath or a giant jerk (The author really does know gaming). The “protagonist” has an “Ichigo” style evil alter ego that regularly posses him and the Dungeon Master has a “Kira” complex. The author wanted to make a “demented dark comedy adventure” and he got the dark part right. However, the story is not about amoral asinine agents. (Admittedly, agents isn’t the best word to use but RPG writing demands the use of alteration whenever possible!)

Amazingly enough, almost everyone is developed well enough to explain their motivations (and those who haven’t been developed will most likely be developed later). Even the main villain of the first book is sympathetic to some degree (some light spoilers ahead). He does rip people off and cheat during games but he does that in order to claw his way out of teenage homelessness into college. Heck, the only reason he has a vendetta against the “protagonist” is due to the fact that said protagonist stole his car and wrecked all of his stuff! If someone did that to me, I would have a vendetta against them too! (end of spoilers)

New York Times Bestseller? I would like to roll "Sense Motive" please!

I also have issues with the art. I rate it as functional. It does the job but sometimes it seems like it just needed more time to be refined. Recently, it occurred to me that the occasional sloppiness may be completely intentional. The art style is much better when it’s being used to depict a game world. All the weak art occur when the story is in the real world. Since King of RPGs is all about gaming, it would make sense to focus on making the game world cool looking and the real world lame looking. I assume that was completely intentional instead of accidental.

I disagree with the comedy description as well. The “dark” and “funny” combination feels like what you get when you go wizard 10/cleric 10 in 3.5 (In case you don’t know, that’s a bad combination). For Gygax’s sake, one character literally says, “Please. I’ve mopped this floor enough, I know how not to leave bloodstains.” It can be a bit hard to laugh when you realize just how brutal life can be for the characters. I only laughed three times throughout the two books that have been put out so far. Then again, when I laughed, I LAUGHED! The joke was so good I stopped reading and just straight out laughed for a minute. I was laughing so hard I was overcome by how funny it was. I found those moments to be unbelievably funny. I’ll admit that the story is proficient in comedy.

There may be a lot of things about it that I am criticizing but I don’t want you to think that’s a bad book. King of RPGs is a story that will grab you by the D20s and not let go! There’s more dramatic showdowns then you can fit into a giant floating fortress of doom! However, I’m not sure I can recommend that you buy it. Quality isn’t the issue here. I wouldn’t recommend it to you in the same way I wouldn’t recommend Final Fantasy VIII to most people. It’s good stuff but I know it won’t be suited for everyone’s taste. Tell you what; roll a D20 and buy the book if the result is 16 or higher. Add +2 to your roll if you understood all the gaming references I made, another +2 if you have no problems with “dark” stories, and one more +2 if reading this article made you curious about King of RPGs. On a personal note, I will totally buy the third book if it is about the edition wars (it’s as heated as the sub versus dub debates in anime). As much as I hate to admit it, what drives King of RPGs (and RPGs in general) most is conflict.

Today, Microsoft releases its own manga, FanimeCon is STILL announcing guests, and piracy – it’ll make a hole in your wallet.

Sources:
• Story 1
• Story 2
• Story 3

Yo Fanatics! Welcome to another edition of the News Jumble. I am your humble host, Jubilee, and this past week I went on an easter egg hunt. What did I find? News. No eggs…just news. I figured I would share, as I hoped one of you found some Cadbury eggs to share with me. Anyways, I was able to crack open everything from chart topping jutsu, to holy crap the rumors were true! You’re intrigued now…I can smell it! *Sniffs*…no wait…that was just carrots.

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Earlier this week, the 55th and latest volume of the Naruto manga became the 11th volume from the series to rank #1 on the Oricon weekly charts. The volume, which went on sale on April 21st, sold 650,587 copies in its first week of sales. The manga has been running since 1999, and is currently up to the 51st volume in North America. BELIEVE IT!

Just in case any of you missed the news from earlier this week, Funimation is now simulcasting the Aria the Scarlet Ammo anime. Funimation announced the news of the simulcast right last weekend at Anime Boston, and simulcasted the first episode this past Tuesday at 10:00 a.m. CST (which will also be the air dates for episodes to come). The story focuses on a high school where armed detectives, or “Butei,” are trained to use various weapons. Sounds interesting, no? Plus, it is free simulcasting! What is not to love?!

According to the official website of CLAMP, the Gate 7manga will be published in the United States in a compiled book form later this summer. The release will be concurrent with releases this year in South Korea, France, Taiwan, and Hong Kong. The story centers around a high school boy who visits a shrine and encounters three people with strange powers. Sounds interesting enough, and as always with CLAMP, the artwork looks fantastic!

Publisher Futabasha announced earlier this week that a screen adaptation of Naoyuki Ochiai’s Crime and Punishment: A Falsified Romance manga is officially in the works. It has not yet been revealed if the screen adaptation will be live-action or animated, or when it will be released. The manga ran from 2007 until this past Thursday when Futabasha published the 10th and final volume.

It was revealed this past Friday that a new Lupin III television project has been officially green-lit to air on the NTV Network in Japan this fall. The last Lupin III work came out last year, Lupin III: The Last Job, so it has been roughly a year and a half since the last airing of the anime. It is not yet confirmed what this new series title will be, but we can expect it within the next few weeks, and you can expect for me to keep you updated!

Just yesterday, police in Japan arrested Tsuyoshi Kosuga, the man who is a part of the musical group cro-magnon (which composed the soundtrack for the Hyouge Mono anime), for cannabis (or marijuana) possession. According to the public report, the musician was in possession of a plastic bag with two pieces of the plant while he was in a convenience store in Kitakyushu City around 7:55 in the morning. He did admit to be planning to smoke it later that day, and claimed that he obtained the cannabis from an acquaintance at an event earlier that day.

Some exciting news for you Death Note fans, the movie and television streaming site Netflix announced just the other day that it will be adding the series to its Instant Watch streaming library. Although, the series is only available on Netflix in subbed form, as Viz holds the North American license to the anime. However, all 37 episodes of the series are available to stream. Sounds pretty sweet!

For our North American fanatics, you may be familiar with Redbox kiosks around your local grocery stores/Wal Marts/McDonalds. For everyone else, it is basically an automated machine in which people can rent DVDs/Blu-rays for $1 a night. However, the real news here is that the company has decided to expand its test range of video game rentals from these Redboxes to over 21,000 new locations starting this June. Although they specified to have PS3, 360, and Wii titles, the genres of the titles they said they will have is to range from “top releases to popular family and kids titles.” Also, the video games will run for $2 a night instead of the $1 a night for DVDs and $1.50 a night for Blu-rays. (I think somebody is trying to bury Gamefly along with Blockbuster and Hollywood. Sadface…).

For all of you Portal 2 fans out there, Valve’s VP of marketing, Doug Lombardi, said during an interview earlier this week that some expansions for the game are currently in development. He also stated that Valve will be announcing some DLC for it the game later this summer. In addition to that, he said that more details on what the DLC will be would be released in a couple weeks or so…so, I will be on the lookout for that!

Daishi Odashima, the director of the Soul Calibur franchise, tweeted this past Tuesday that Namco Bandai is planning to announce a new entry into the series within the next month, (most likely E3). This is going to be the first new Soul Calibur game since Soul Calibur: Broken Destiny was released back in 2009. Looks like it is about time to whip people in the face with my sword!

In some good Square Enix news, the company recently announced that the 1994 title, Final Fantasy VI, will be making its way onto Japan’s PSN sometime later this month. Do not worry though, as thanks to the news of this port being leaked on the ESRB’s website, we can safely assume it will be available to us as well in due time. However, we do not know our exact release date yet. Following the announcement of Final Fantasy V just a few weeks ago, it is nice to see the trend continuing. Bring it on you damn clown!

So, this past week, Nintendo of Japan confirmed the rumors from these past couple weeks…we are going to see a new console coming in 2012! Although the name and more intricate details of the console are still unknown, they will be unveiled in June at this year’s E3. In addition to all of this, Nintendo also stated that a playable model of the new system will be available at the expo. Anyone else amazed they have a playable one already? …This news kind of came out of left field in the past couple weeks, if you know what I mean. Thoughts and concerns…I demand them!

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I, Jubilee, would like to thank all of you readers out there for checking out yet another edition of the News Jumble! I will be returning once more in a week’s time, but until then, I am off to pillage the catacombs beneath the 91.8 The Castle. Why do we have those? I dunno. What is in them? Probably zombies. I had better bring Cerulaine for protection, huh?

EagleEyes Top 50 Anime Characters:
The Top 50 Part 2 – #25 to #1

Before we continue I do apologize for the slightly rushed list. This list has been salvaged from a power surge, a black out, and, just hours before posting, a computer freeze-up. Not the smoothest of starts by any means.

This list is based on personal preference. Any questions or comments in relation to any of the characters that appear are welcome in the comment section below.

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#25 – Hina Ichigo
• Series: Rozen Maiden
• Why they have made the list: Let’s face it, everyone of the dolls (Unlike their human counterparts) in the Rozen Maiden series is likable. Each has their own appeal, but from where I stand Hina Ichigo is on top. She may not be the strongest or most featured, but for my money she is certainly the most entertaining. She is also part of one of the series saddest moments, but you will have to watch to find out.

#24 – Swim Suit Mask
• Series: Air Gear
• Why they have made the list: THIS IS OBVIOUSLY A SEPERATE CHARACTER AND IS IN NO WAY RINGO NOYAMANO IN A DISGUISE! Now that we have that out of the way, I present you with #24, Swimsuit Mask. Now if you haven’t watched Air Gear by now, shame on you. For those who have watched it, they know exactly why she is here. For those who haven’t go watch it now or you aren’t allowed to keep reading!

#23 – Agito Wanijima
• Series: Air Gear
• Why they have made the list: Now that you are up to #23, I can safely assume that you have watched Air Gear, so it is time for Agito. The crazed king of the Bloody Road secures his place for being just plain kooky.

#22 – Shino Aburame
• Series: Naruto
• Why they have made the list: I like bugs…. Is that a crime?

#21 – Kallen Kozuki
• Series: Code Geass
• Why they have made the list: Joining the few characters I actually like from Code Geass is Kallen. (KILL NUNALLY). Kallen is possibly the only person from Code Geass whose actions are not driven by her own selfishness. (KILL SUZAKU). Combine that with the fact she is one of the 5 characters that do not make me want to drive a screw driver into my eye, I say she is pretty cool. (KILL SHIRLY)!

#20 – Kiri Komori
• Series: Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensei
• Why they have made the list: Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensei is one of those series that you have to have a favorite character from, just so you can brag about how awesome that character is. Kiri is the series resident hikikomori, oblivious to the goings on of the outside world. Whether it be in a locker, under a table, or in a bathroom, her appearance is the highlight of an episode.

#19 – Yuki Nagato
• Series: The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya
• Why they have made the list: Let’s face it, anyone who watches The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya doesn’t watch it for Haruhi Suzumiya. Mikuru is always popular, Kyon has his fans, and people even like Koizumi. But perhaps the most popular character of them all is Yuki. The thought of my actually liking a popular character makes me feel dirty…. and not the kind of dirty that Leviathan Mist feels when he thinks about her.

#18 – Misa Amane
• Series: Death Note
• Why they have made the list: For the only main character in the show who wasn’t some form of super genius, she is able to keep up with and even stay ahead of both Kira and L. The fact that a model can outsmart a genius makes me all warm and tingly inside.

#17 – Soi Fon
• Series: Bleach
• Why they have made the list: Soi Fon enjoys long walks on the beach and stinging her enemies to death. In her spare she can be found in Soul Society not contributing to the plot as Tite Kubo hates women.

#16 – Liz Thompson
• Series: Soul Eater
• Why they have made the list: My favorite of the Thompson sisters solely for her reactions. I am not sure what it is, but characters that over react to situations amuse me.

#15 – Isara Gunther
• Series: Valkyria Chronicles
• Why they have made the list: This character is part of the single saddest moment in anime history. It puts Clannad to shame.

#14 – Revy
• Series: Black lagoon
• Why they have made the list: I just realised if I were to quote anything Revy has ever said I will most likely never be allowed to post again. A sailor’s mouth in the body of a school girl, Revy puts many male characters to shame. With a brash attitude, and a shoot first ask questions never outlook, she has earned her spot at #14.

#13 – Tien Shinhan / Chiaotzu
• Series: Dragon Ball Z
• Why they have made the list: If you are a human character in Dragon Ball Z, it is your destiny to suck. However Tien and Chiaotzu suck slightly less than all the others. Whereas the others die in a matter of thirty seconds, it takes these two far longer and THEY go out in style. Examples of this are Tien’s Tribeam assault on Cell, and Chiaotzu’s explosive ending.

#12 – Tsumugi Kotobuki
• Series: K-ON!
• Why they have made the list: Everyone has their own favorite K-On character, there is no real science behind it. Mugi just makes me giggle.

#11 – Mimi Tachikawa
• Series: Digimon
• Why they have made the list: Mimi is whiny, moody and just plain difficult to get along with and is still the most likable character is all of Digimon. The fact that her partner is also a 20 foot tall cactus with boxing gloves doesn’t hurt either. (And Lilymon, zomg!)

#10 – Leena Tauros
• Series: Zoids New Century
• Why they have made the list: My main memories of Leena come from a VHS I had as a kid in which I would rewind and watch one seen over and over again. A character by the name of Harry Champ professes his undying love for her, only for her to turn around and launch a barrage of missile at him for standing her up on a date the episode prior. Now what did we learn? Never trust a girl piloting a giant robotic dinosaur with missile launchers.

#9 – Jessie / James “Team Rocket”
• Series: Pokemon
• Why they have made the list: Ask someone who has never sat down and watched an anime who these people are they could tell you, “Those guys from Pokémon.” Team Rocket, at least in my book, is the greatest comedic antagonist duo ever created. Even if you haven’t watched the show in year, I bet you can still say their motto word for word.

#8 – Kisame Hoshigaki
• Series: Naruto
• Why they have made the list: Unlike the rest of the Akatsuki who wear nail polish and have long girly hair, Kisame wears nail polish, has long girly hair, and owns a sword! I mean seriously, his sword shaves off people’s flesh, that is like cool and stuff….

#7 – Mashiro Kuna
• Series: Bleach
• Why they have made the list: MASHIRO KICK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

#6 – Shenhua
• Series: Black Lagoon
• Why they have made the list: Whilst not my favorite character from the show, Shenhua IS the reason you should watch Black lagoon. Words cannot do justice how amusing this character is and how she interacts with those around her. Her voice actress absolutely smashes this performance as the Taiwanese beauty, her broken English making even the most tense situation comedic. If you haven’t gotten the idea already, go watch Black Lagoon now!

#5 – Mai Valentine
• Series: Yu-Gi-Oh!
• Why they have made the list: It is hard to watch the original Yu-Gi-Oh! now after growing so accustomed the Little Kuriboh’s character voices, but the one character that blows his out of the water in every aspect, is Mai Valentine. Megan Hollingshead’s portrayal of the ever confident Valentine fits so well that words can’t really describe it. Little things such as snarls and reactions, and even her own dialogue, personify arrogance, but it is done in a way that is likable and charming. Also, the fact that Mai is the ONLY character in that show that isn’t possessed or trained by some evil ancient spirit puts her in top billing.

#4 – Misty
• Series: Pokemon
• Why they have made the list: Nostalgia time. The Cerulean gym leader finds her way in at number 4 mostly for the characters impact on my childhood, but also partially out of guilt that she never did receive her new bike. The original trio of Pokémon had such a good chemistry together that could never truly be replicated, thus it hasn’t been the same since Misty’s departure from the group.

#3 – Lotton The Wizard
• Series: Black Lagoon
• Why they have made the list:” I am here to take your life! But who you ask is the specter that stands before you? The name is Wizard, Lotton the Wizard and while I bare no grudge against you!” When Lotton is first introduced, quite honestly, he doesn’t seem all that special, that is until his first fight scene. When he appears to combat the protagonist, we learn that he may very well be the single most egocentric character ever created. He may not be a very good fighter but wins #3 for personality.

Tied #1 – Ringo “Crazy Apple” Noyamano
• Series: Air Gear
• Why they have made the list: Ahhh Ringo, the apple of my eye. Miss Noyamano has quickly become one of my favorite characters, with her quirkiness and charm catapulting her above the rest. When I first purchased Air Gear, I had no idea what the series was about, nor did I have any idea the lasting effect the characters would have. Whilst Ringo plays the role of the girl hopelessly in love with the protagonist, a role hated by many, she redefines the character type. Whilst her hopeless crush is a running gag of the series, she does not restrict herself to the role, actually outperforming the protagonist anytime the two ride together. Ringo even goes as far as to physically attack both her love interest, as well as his team mates, during the series…now that is true love!
  
  Not only that, but she hates Simca and let’s face it who doesn’t hate that pink haired poser?

Tied #1 – Shizune
• Series: Naruto
• Why they have made the list: The reason so many Naruto characters have made this list is because it was the series that got me heavily into anime. This is the character, however, that made me love the series. When Naruto went off to learn the Rasengan, you knew something awesome was going to happen, just not that that something was a girl holding a pig.
  
  With a familiar voice, and drastic over reactions, her proclamation of “Ayyieeeeeeee” made the character stand out for me, but it wasn’t until her first and only fight scene that she really began to shine. She dropped her comedic persona and started dishing out throat stabbings.

And so ends Part 2! If you would like to ask a question or leave a comment, please do so below or send me a message on the forums right here at 918TheFan.com

EagleEyes, out!

Today, Pokemon does a quick rewind, Death Note to go in a Black direction, and look what SHAFT’s got cookin’!

Sources:
• Story 1
• Story 2
• Story 3

DYNAMIC ENTRY! Hello Fanatics, it is I, the one and only Jubilee, and I am here, as always, to recap this last week’s news just for you! It may be snowing like crazy outside, but it is nice and toasty warm in the Jumble this week with stories ranging from iTunes goodies (aside from 91.8 the Fan), to speedy sellers. Now, without further adu…LET’S GET DANSEN!

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This past Monday, Funimation announced that they would be releasing the Gainax anime series FLCL on the iTune’s store in the United States this week. The six-episode series is currently on sale for $14.95 for high definition, $9.95 for standard, or $2.99 per episode. Funimation announced last year that they had obtained the rights to the series, and have already announced to us that a box set is due for release on February 8th.

Also in relation with this, Viz Media marked the debut of Vampire Knight Guilty and Buso Renkin on iTunes by allowing people to download the first episode of the series for free until February 1st. The remaining episodes of these series are available for $1.99 per episode, or $.99 for rental. If you would like Vampire Knight Guilty in its high definition entirety, it will cost $22.99. Buso Renkin’s twenty-six episode series is currently $19.99.

This past weekend, a seller known by the name of “euf02us” placed a real life guitar replica of the one used by Yui in the K-ON!! anime on Yahoo! Japan. The guitar, signed by the 5 cast members who supplied the voices for the Ho-kago Tea Time band, received a bid for 9,999,999,999 yen. That is about $120 million. The guitar is from a promotional campaign by LAWSON, a Japanese convenience store. The guitar is one of five, and was the campaign’s highest level prize. Mostly in part to the questionable bid received, the seller has decided to cancel the auction and re-offer the guitar at a later time.

Announced for November, a live-action film adaptation of Hiroshi Tanaka’s manga Bakugyaku Kazoku will be opening in theaters. The series ran for ten years from 1994 to 2004, and followed a group of (previously) teenage delinquents who had banded together and grown up as a family. The movie will be directed by Kazuyoshi Kumakiri, and the main character, Tetsu, will be played by Yoshimi Toku.

It was recently revealed that Warner Bros. Entertainment hired Shane Black to direct a new, live-action movies based on the Death Note series. Mr. Black is probably best known for his help writing the Lethal Weapon movies. It was also revealed that Anthony Bagarozzi and Charles Mondry will write the script for the movie. Warner Bros. acquired the rights to the film in 2009 from the previous owners, Vertigo Entertainment. There have been rumors circulating that actor Zac Efron will star in the film, however, this has not been confirmed. Always makes a great discussion point though.

Reported on Friday, Korean civilians have been more frequently expressing their anger about the K-Pop Boom manga. The manga depicts former K-pop stars as hostesses who are revealing “dirty” secrets about the Korean entertainment industry. The manga goes so far as to actually depict the K-pop groups Girls’ Generation and KARA by their names/trademark outfits. The agency of Girls’ Generation is discussing “strong countermeasures” with lawyers in Japan, due to the scenes of the manga featuring terms such as “sex-for-favors” and “corruption.”

Announced yesterday, a new Pokemon manga is set to release in Shogakukan’s Weekly Shonen Sunday starting in March. Although this is not the first Pokemon manga to run in the magazine, it is aiming at a bit older of an audience than previous mangas. Nothing about the core story has been released, other than the fact that it is, like stated before, based on the newest Pokemon video games. I am excited to see what this one is all about.

In book-ish news, Tokyopop recently revealed that they had signed a distribution agreement with Diamond Book Distributors, a company who handles novel sales to bookstores. Tokyopop and their soon to be previous distributor, HarperCollins, have been together since 2006. Although moving to a new distributor, HarperCollins and Tokyopop do plan to continue publishing together. Diamond Book Distributors will be taking over on July 1st, and already distribute for some big name companies, such as: Dark Horse Comics, Bandai Entertainment, and Udon Entertainment.

As was confirmed last month, Sega is planning to release a Dreamcast Collection sometime in February for the PC and Xbox 360. The collection will feature four classic Dreamcast games including: Crazy Taxi, Sonic Adventure, Sega Bass Fishing, and my personal favorite, Space Channel 5: Part 2. I think this is a pretty good collection of four classics…but I don’t quite get the Sega Bass Fishing choice. I mean, if they wanted to go with a fish choice, Seaman seems more like a real Sega Dreamcast classic.

So, in news that made me laugh, MGE (Merv Griffin Entertainment) is currently intending to create a new North American reality show based on the Namco classic Pac Man. Apparently, this will not be the first attempt at a television series based on the game, as one was produced for ABC back in 1982. We will have to wait to hear more about what exactly the TV show will entail, (other than the description that it will “be like the world’s biggest game of tag”), but nonetheless…the idea that this could be on primetime television gets a thumbs up from me.

In continuing 3DS coverage, a new rumor has surfaced that the new device will be region coded. This will mean that each system will contain a specific code for the region it is in, which will make games imported from other countries unplayable. Quite honestly, I never understood the reason this was done for game systems, as the systems were made to play games. Why limit them just because of their region? There are some really good games that only come out in Japan, or other countries, that we will never be able to play unless we purchase a game system with the specific region code. Let’s hope that this rumor turns out to be just that, a rumor…and nothing else.

So, FINALLY, we have a teensy bit of information about Silicon Knight’s new game, X-Men: Destiny. It has been revealed so far that the game will take place in a time period where human hatred of mutants is at a high, and the X-Men have recently suffered a significant loss. Gambit, Magneto, Quicksilver, and Surge are all confirmed to make appearances. The game will feature X-Genes, which will allow you to build/customize your character with the powers of other mutants. There will be a choice/consequence system.

Although this is not too much to go on at this point, it is something. I am excited for this game, and cannot wait until some more information is leaked about it. All I know now…is that my character will be able to shoot fireworks. Or at least, they better be able to!

In World of Warcraft news, (Wait, wait…I put it last…see…I am nice) World of Warcraft: Cataclysm officially became the fastest selling PC game of all time, with 4.7 million copies selling since its December 7th release date last year. Not surprisingly, the old title holder was World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King. Nonetheless, the numbers of the game’s popularity really put into prospective the amount of moolah Blizzard is raking in. Just think, $40 x 4.7…then, add that to 4.7x$15(x 12 months for a full year). I expect Diablo III to melt my eyeballs out of their sockets with awesomeness. That is all.

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Well, there you have it folks! Another week past, another week of news in the books. It is still snowing outside, but I shall venture forth to claim all of next week’s news in the name of the Jumblies! Are you staring at my Jumblies…? I hope so. I am off to team up with a group of Night Elves and explore the Tower of Azora, for I am the noble Thunderhawkx, defender of the Alliance.

Oh look…another week of news! HEY! Wake-up out of that candy coma feelin like P. Diddy! We only have 3 weeks to prepare for a turkey hangover! This week in the jumble, I have compiled everything from Officer Jenny bustin criminals, to G4 getting dropped. Also, a special shout-out to last week’s contest winner, ToyNN! I loved all the submissions, so you are the lucky person who was drawn out of my hat! Congrats! Your candy will be in the mail soon, and on its way to you!(I’ll shoot you a PM on the forums). As for this week though, let’s get to some awesome news!

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Makoto Sekiguchi, a 27 year-old man from Yokohama, was arrested on Tuesday by Chikusei City police for posting images of characters from the newest Pokemon games. Sekiguchi is accused of copyright infringement for posting six images of three different characters from the new game on the Internet via his mobile phone. Sekiguchi was also reported to have said that he “thought I would show everyone the characters that haven’t been made public yet.” Police are still investigating how and where Sekiguchi obtained the images.

For all of you iPad owners out there, (I’m not the only one am I? o.o), Viz Media now has a new downloadable manga app available. Sadly, the app is only available on iPad, but the app itself is free for download. However, the six initial launch titles, Bleach, Death Note, Dragon Ball, Naruto, One Piece, and Bakugan, will cost $4.99 per volume. For a limited time though, the first volume of Death Note is available for free download. Viz has also reported that they plan to add Ouran High School Host Club, D. Grey-man, Rurouni Kenshin, and Vampire Knight in the near future.

A court in Amsterdam recently ordered the halt of the sale of items based upon Sanrio’s Kathy character from Hello Kitty, due to being too similar to a Dutch character, Miffy. The cease-and-desist order applied for 3 countries, Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg. If Sanrio is to continue selling the goods, the court will apply a fine of 25,000 Euros (~$35,000) a day.

Kathy & Miffy

Announced on Wednesday, Anthony LaMolinara will be heading the live-action adaptation of the Bubblegum Crisis anime franchise, Bubblegum Crisis – Knight Sabers. You might know LaMolinara for his work as animation director in several films such as Spider-Man, Spider-Man 2, and Hollow Man The movie itself is, of course, based off of the Bubblegum Crisis series which follows 4 women who fight with powered armor to protect a future, cybernetic Tokyo. As of now, the film is set to start shooting next May at China’s Hengdian World Studios.

This past week, 5,000 school children in Kyoto, Japan were issued a manga about the life of Shigenobu Nagamori, a famous entrepreneur, and founder of Nidec, an electric motor company. The manga was published by the aforementioned company, and Nagamori stated his intention as trying to inspire the young people with his own life story of going from being a farmer’s son, to the 13th wealthiest man in Japan. The manga is titled Taiyo yori mo Atsui Otoko, which means “the man who is hotter than even the sun.”

This past Sunday at Italy’s Lucca Comics and Game Festival, Jiro Taniguchi, creator of manga such as Benkei in New York, The Walking Man, and A Distant Neighborhood, received the honor of “La Giuria dei Premi Gran Guinigi 2010 assegna il riconoscimento come Maestro del fumetto,” (gasp, gasp) or “Master of Comics” this past Sunday. It is the highest honor/award given at the festival, which has been running since 1966. Taniguchi previously won an award for Best Long Story, for his aforementioned A Distant Neighborhood, in 2003. Congrats, and keep up the awesome work!

Viz Media recently announced that they had acquired the license to the Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s, which will begin to be released in the English Shonen Jump in early January. Also confirmed was the license for Psyren, which is also set to first appear in January. So, relating back to an earlier story, I wouldn’t be surprised to see these become available on the new iPad app within the next year or so.

Announced on Wednesday by the Japanese government, manga and anime creator Leiji Matsumoto will be awarded with The Order of the Rising Sun, along with 4,173 other people this fall. This is the second most prestigious decoration in Japan, after the Order of the Chrysanthemum (which is generally only awarded to politicians, military leaders, and royalty). Matsumoto is best known for creating Space Pirate Captain Harlock and Galaxy Express 999. Matsumoto is not the first manga/anime creator to receive this honor, with people such as Studio Ghibli composer Joe Hisaishi and Square Enix chairman Yasuhiro Fukushima winning honors last year; however, it is quite the honor nonetheless.

Confirmed earlier this week, the latest film by Makoto Shinkai, Hoshi o Ou Kodomo: Children who Chase Lost Voices from Deep Below, is set to open in 2011. Shinkai is best known for his other various films including: 5 Centimeters Per Second, The Place Promised in Our Early Days, and Voices of a Distant Star. The newest film centers on a young girl who spends her days listening to mysterious music that comes from a crystal radio that she received from her father as a memento. She then goes on an adventure to meet a boy again, and through this comes to discover the beauty and cruelty of the world. Also, the Yahoo! Movies Japan website will be hosting teaser footage from the project starting on November 9th at noon.

Also in new movie news, and slightly transitioning to video game news, the newest movie in the Silent Hill franchise, Silent Hill: Revelation, has been announced, and will be filmed in 3D. Personally, I thought the first Silent Hill movies was pretty darn good, but with the addition of 3D, it seems to be taking advantage of the fad. We will have to see…the summary of the movie is listed as:

“For years, Heather Mason and her father have been on the run, always one step ahead of dangerous forces that she doesn’t fully understand. Now on the eve of her 18th birthday, plagued by terrifying nightmares and the disappearance of her father, Heather discovers she’s not who she thinks she is. The revelation leads her deeper into a demonic world that threatens to trap her in Silent Hill forever.”

Gaming company Electronic Arts (EA) recently announced that they will be starting a new partnership with online social-networking site, Facebook. I am not sure what exactly this new partnership will bring, aside from the fact that Facebook credits will become the official currency for all EA games that will be on Facebook. I expect people will be glued to Facebook more than ever now…

This past week, satellite television provider, Direct TV, announced that they would be dropping G4 from their network line-up. A Direct TV spokesperson reported their reasoning for dropping the channel as:

“Since G4 is among the lowest rated networks based on the latest Nielsen data, we decided that it made sense to focus on preserving programming that is more relevant to our larger customer base.”

Naturally, G4 is not pleased with the provider’s decision, rebutting that Direct TV will be “denying G4 fans the only network that focuses on the popular gaming lifestyle.” (I lol’d). As a gamer myself, I have got to say that The Goonies, Red Dawn, and Ninja Warrior do not accurately portray my lifestyle…maybe it is just me. All in favor for a G4 TV 2…all video games, all the time? (Oh wait…that never works).

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Another week of news has passed, but, as always, do not worry! I will be back next week with all the awesome news for all of you awesome-er fanatics! Make sure you wear a jacket, so you do not catch a cold; also, do not forget to bring in your plants so they do not freeze! (Ice > Plants > Zombies). And always remember, that is a magical leopluradon Charlie!