One of the few sane reasons to buy an Xbox 360 console (other than Dead or Alive Xtreme 2, of course) was ADV Films' recent announcement that they will be providing anime TV series and full-length movies for download over the Xbox Live Video Marketplace service. Now, via Gamespot, we find out that two more anime channels are teaming up with Microsoft - and they're no small fries either: FUNimation and Geneon!

"FUNimation will be releasing episodes from the epic adventure series Samurai 7 onto the network, along with other titles including Trinity Blood, Gunslinger Girl, and Basilisk. Geneon Entertainment will be adding games including the US HD debut of classic Akira, along with Gun Sword, Last Exile, Gankutsuou: The Count of Monte Cristo, and Lupin the 3rd."

A pretty decent line-up, all things considered (it could've been a lot worse!). But it definitely needs moar desu.

A recent study confirmed that no less than 92 percent of the young fifth graders in Japan are in the possesion of a videogame console, be it connected to their television set, or, why not, to some sort of portable devices. Ain't it cute? I bet most of them are little girls, and they like to have all sorts of fun using the Nintendo DS Picto Chat. Now, since I have one nice looking DS too, why not having a little fun also... certainlynotpedo will be my nickname, search me up! (if you are under 16).

If you didn’t know already, Marvelous Entertainment is working on a PS2 action/fighting game, entitled Ikkitousen: Shining Dragon, based, of course, on the overflowing ecchi Ikkitousen: Dragon Destiny. Well, Famitsu Magazine posted on their website some new screenshots, showing us how to fight and show your panties at the same time. The Japanese release for this game is summer 2007, with no word yet (at least, not that I know of) about any European version. Thinking of all the fun I had watching the original show (the second is not fully subbed yet, and my moral side doesn’t let me do illegal downloads until it is done), and of all the hankies I have wasted, this game is starting to appeal to me.

God of War, say goodbye. These chicks are more hawt than Kratos.

We have more Trading Card Games out there than little sisters, and that is bad. While some of them are good, others are better, the vast majority of TCGs fail to deliver innovations and are bound to boil forever in the soup of mediocrity. I shall not rant about which one is the best (or how much money I have spent over the years on Magic The Gathering), but instead, I’ll let you know that Score Entertainment has opened it’s official Bleach Trading Card Game website. Over there you can find some demo cards, a video (also on TVkon), plus some information about the game and about it’s rules. As time passes, even more features will be added. The game is supposed to go on sale in May.

Thanks to our fellows over at 4gamer, we find out that Bandai Visual has yet another evil scheme in mind. Working together with NTL (a Japanese gaming studio, bent on eventually taking over the world), they plan to summon forth a PC MMORPG, based on the Big Brawns Pokemons Dragon Ball series. The servers will open for you to feast upon unsuspecting noobs somewere next year, and word is that Akira Toriyama, the nice man responsible for the Dragon Ball concept and all, is closely monitoring the production process. Probably to check on every employee’s little sister/daughter.

Well, it does sound interesting enough, and I can smell many folks drawn to this. And i also smell panties.

When you run out of options, there is only one thing left to do: use moe as a pretext to make horny Japanese fanboys buy your otherwise disregarded stuff. This is the kind of strategy Sony decided to follow, in an attempt to commercialize it’s Blu-ray disk drives in Taiwan. The campaign, entitled “Be You”, promotes the said drives, accompanied by cute and, of course, underaged, anime girl characters, doing various things while playing with themselves on top (or under) the Blu-rays.


Now that’s the kind of DVD drive I’d buy. Melon-bread-eating-DVD drive.

Back on March 1st, GungHo Online Entertainment let us on a little secret: they are developing a MMORPG (oh brother, not another one), based on the old, yet famous, manga series Hokuto no Ken (Fist of The North Star). Around 3000 players are expected to join up the beta test, throw away their lives from 22nd to 26th March, and immerse themselves in this exotic world, kicking buts, grinding for XP, ninja looting, corpse camping and other constructive MMO-ish activities one has learned to take via the internets.

About Hokuto no Ken, it appeared for the first time about 24 years ago in “Weekly Shonen Jump”, and has inspired lots of alternative animes, video games and other related thinghies. I, myself, have only seen one of them, don’t really remember the title. But, boy, do I remember the carnage… Something about exploding brains and intestines, really neat.

The new Paprika trailer released by Sony Pictures has got to be this week’s most impressive (though ironically non-lolicious) trailer, revealing even more mind-bending scenes from Satoshi Kon’s latest animated movie. That would be the same guy that brought us Pefect Blue and Paranoia Agent, so… yeah, better have some joints and/or plenty of booze at hand while watching this. The premiere is set for May 25, by the way.

Paprika US trailer

And here are the rest of this week’s trailers from our imouto web-chan TVkon, including the first teaser for the Appleseed 2 (Appleseed: Ex Machina) CG animated movie sequel produced by John Woo, a new Ikkitousen Dragon Destiny trailer, and some others you might find interesting:

Gaming
- MySims Wii, DS trailer
- D.Gray-man DS trailer

Anime
- Ikkitousen Dragon Destiny trailer #2
- Moonlight Mile special preview
- Today in Class 5-2 promo AMV
- Project ICE trailer
- Aquarion OVA trailer
- Tales of Symphonia OVA trailer
- Appleseed 2 teaser
- Paprika US trailer

Following either an unexpected hype from the loving and horny fan communities, either an unexpected package of hate from the pitchforks_at_hand opposition, Rozen Maiden, the lolicious show filled with cute, yet deadly underaged dolls, is making it’s way to the PS2 in a full fledged fighting game, entitled Rozen Maiden: Geppetto Garden. On March 22nd, avid slaves of Suiseiseki and Co. will have to empty no less than 7.140 yen for the retail, regular version, while the special version, including a limited edition timepiece, will fly around 9.240 yen. We still don’t know if this game will (ever) be localized in Europe (and why not, there are certainly lots of desu freaks here too), but I, myself, am hoping for some Hina Ichigo pantsu DVD special naked edition to follow up soon. The folks over at Goo are currently hosting some screenies, if you care to take a look. Meanwhile, I shall go and desecrate someone’s Rosa Mystica, just for the sake of it, and you can do your thing watching killer desu-chan here.