The more I browse Internet sites in search of gaming and loli enlightenment, the more jealous I get. Really, all those wonderful Japanese games that are constantly being released make me cry a little inside and make me curse the fact that big badass publishers are refusing, on a daily basis, to release most of the said games in Europe. Or, if they somehow, by unknown and unforetold means, do it, it happens years after the game came out. But enough ranting.

Platinum Games (a studio formed in 2007, after the merging of ODD and Seeds) and Sega are planning yet another role-playing title for the Nintendo DS, namely Mugen Kouro - Infinite Space, which will supposedly find its way into stores somewhere next spring. For the game to be a big hit or, most likely, for the audience to know what the hell they are buying, the ladies at GONZO and Production I.G. will be working their asses, producing short animation movies to promote this sci-fi space butt-spanking experience. The first movie will premiere at Tokyo Game Show (yet another space-time continuum that we will be unable to attend, due to financial issues) on October 9, while the official game site will air it starting October 17.


While the game's story is quite a simple one, a Mass Effect-ish space saga, featuring a dude named Yuri and his quest to wipe the universe clean of all the renegade non-loli lovers, we are, for the moment, more interested in the visual quality of the movies. You know, since they are made by GONZO and the likes. Also, for those interested, there are some game screenshots over at IGN.

ANN scoop.

Strike Witches is teh yummy. The awesome quantity of panties on square inch was so overwhelming, that each and every decent otaku hurried recently to Akihabara, to witness the commemorative event held there, after the DVD edition was released to the public. And, as any other event of such apocalyptic standards that wants to make a difference, this one featured the whole cast on the stage, plus several interesting announcements that left the audience drolling.

The bad news is that no second season was yet linked to the press. With emphasis on YET. But, knowing how things work in this lolicious industry, I am willing to bet half of my loli idol DVDs that such an announcement will be coming soon to... ease the pressure on our hands.


The good news is that Strike Witches is getting a brand new video game, specially designed for Nintendo DS and PS2 - and while the DS version may provide us with some interesting content, mostly due to the intelligent use of the touch pen (poking little girls in various places IS fun), the PS2 one will probably stick to being a classic action adventure. Not that we have too many action adventure games on the PS2, no Sir.

Not too many details emerged so far, but we will keep you posted if any screenshots of naked and horny witches come out.

Thanks Sankaku for ze scoop.

MMO games can surely cover quite a few genders. From strategy to RPGs, from FPS to military warfare... I myself indulge in such casual activities now and then (read: more than often, or more than I should be), although restricting myself to the good ol' classic fantasy universe of World of Warcraft.

 (...)

 Continue reading 'D.A.T.E. Online, Korean Wanking MMO'...

What do we know about anime series? Well, first of all, anime series must contain lolis, lots of them, if they do not want to suck incredible amounts of ass. Second, and this seems to me just as natural as going to Japan and visiting the first kindergarden, an anime series must be successful. In Japan. Well, this seems not to be the case of Bakugan Battle Brawlers, whose immense popularity was somehow diverted towards the North-American fandom, and which, according to AnimeNation, is cleverly receiving a sequel for the same anime-addicted English speaking people.



We have here one big badass coalition, with the Canadian animation studio Nelvana Enterprises, Sega Toys Ltd., Spin Master Ltd. (another toy company), and TMS Entertainment joining hand in hand to produce this show. TMS will take care of the long and excruciating animation process, while the show will debut in North America next spring. Nothing so far about a Japanese release.

Akane-iro ni Somaru Saka, the eroge-to-anime adaptation we mentioned at some point in our self-glorified history, will premiere online for free one day before its October 2 TV debut. That's the good news. Now, the bad news is only the first episode will enjoy this hot streaming treatment, stripped naked of its opening & ending animations. Aaand only the first 10,000 viewers will be allowed to enjoy the episode: first-come, first-served. If that's the case, the "service" had better be good!

So then, set your alarms for October 1 (Japan time), and make sure you have a Nico Nico Douga account before you start mashing that Refresh button, once the link goes public, cause that's where Episode 1 will be streaming. We still have that registration process walkthrough for Nico, by the way.

Veteran anime studio Ghibli is teaming up with game developer Level-5 (Dragon Quest VIII, Rogue Galaxy) for a new Nintendo DS game going by the name of Ni no Kuni: The Another World, or simply Ninokuni. It seems like a pretty cute-, albeit childish-looking fantasy RPG - as can be seen below - and it's scheduled for release in Japan during 2009.



You won't find much else about it on the official website, but the original announcement made in the latest Famitsu magazine does shed some light on what to expect from Ninokuni. Shameless copy-paste from Gamekyo (via AnimeNation) follows.

- The animation in the game is all by Studio Ghibli.
- Level-5's first 10th Anniversary product.
- There will be a book bundled with the game filled with information on various magic crests and spell recipes. This 'Magic Master' book is something that the main character in the game has, and the player will need to refer to from time to time while playing the game.
- There will be a console version of the game, but the hardware is not decided yet.
- They want the console version to offer something different for people that have already played the DS version, the selection of the hardware will be based on which is most suitable for this purpose.
- The exact same book will be packaged with the console version as well.

First delayed, and now cancelled... That's just great! Surely, one cancellation story wasn't enough for today. But anyway, Gia scribbled a death note from the ongoing New York Anime Festival 2008, to let us know that Bandai Entertainment has officially dropped both Sola and True Tears, after having licensed them for North America at the beginning of this year.

Cancellations make lolis sad. And pandas, too.

Update: ANN has an update on this issue, clearing things up a bit. As it stands now, Bandai only cancelled the English-language release of Sola and True Tears, but will still release them as single-DVD boxes with Japanese audio and English subtitles. No idea when, though, and still no word on Shigofumi's status.

"The sola anime will ship with all 13 television episodes and two video episodes with Japanese dialogue and English subtitles for US$44.98. The entire true tears series will ship with Japanese dialogue and English subtitles for US$39.98."

I know for sure at least one person will be pissed off by this news (and I'm fairly certain countless more will, too), but that's life in the entertainment business: you release some, you cancel some... And by the looks of it, Appleseed Genesis - the anticipated TV anime series based on Masamune Shirow's Appleseed franchise - is pretty much doomed.

The icky story was just picked up by ANN and Sankaku from AnimeAnime.jp, and they say the reason for the TV series' possible probable cancellation is a conflict that arose between production company Micott & Basara and animation studio Radix Zero. The latter had been working on the 26-episode CG anime series Appleseed Genesis, after signing an agreement with Micott back in March 2008. But production was suddenly halted by Micott in early July, and so were the payments that Radix was expecting to get.

Since the two companies aren't in the mood for group hugs, kisses and wild make-up sex (corporately speaking), they'll have to settle this whole thing in court. Which is why Radix is suing Micott, right about now. Fighto!

The story about a live-action movie based on the Yomigaeru Sora: Rescue Wings anime / manga series has been around for a few months already, ever since the official website announced that filming had begun in early July. But today ANN saw fit to bring it back to our attention, revealing a few more details in the process.

Setting aside the fact that Bandai Visual is producing the film adaptation, and Masaaki Tezuka ("Godzilla Against MechaGodzilla", "Sengoku Jieitai 1549") is directing it, the real eye-catcher is the change of perspective planned for the Rescue Wings movie. Unlike the anime's story, the movie will revolve around a female pilot named Haruka Kawashima, played by model and actress Yuuko Takayama (also photoshopped below). Oh, did I mention she's still 15?... Yeah, that's what I meant by "eye-catcher"!

"Tomokazu Miura (ALWAYS Sanchoume no Yuuhi), Yoshino Kimura (Shota no Sushi), Shuya Isaka, and Dai Watanabe will also star in the film. The Japanese Ministry of Defense, Air Self-Defence Force, and Maritime Self-Defense Force are participating in the project, so real UH-60J helicopters, F-15 fighters, and escort vessels will appear in the film. Filming began on July 7, and the movie will open in Japan in December 2009."

Last night I noticed Zepy ran a diminutive story about this, and while today did bring more elaborate reports on various websites, nobody really had anything new to say - officially, anyway. So the story is pretty simple: during the final episode of the Macross Frontier anime, which aired last night in Japan, a Macross F movie was announced.

The exact phrasing they used was "Macross F theatrical version underway", which appears to be reason enough for speculation to run wild, already, as to what shape and form this "movie" will take. Given the way Macross F ended (haven't see it yet, btw), the main concern is that the movie will be nothing more than a compilation, rather than a genuine sequel. Or prequel. Or... wait a sec; why do I even bother with such thoughts, when there are tons of Klan Klein loli pics to be enjoyed out there? Update: And now in our gallery, too.