We've been putting up a brave resistance against posting stuff about Hatsune Miku in the last couple of months, even though there have been several stories (including one involving Gackt, which I will absolute not tackle). So you'll have to pardon me for this one slip, but I just couldn't resist.

As spotted on AkibaBlog, a few days ago in Akihabara there were three Hatsune Miku itasha (anime-pimped cars) parked on a back street, and left there for passers-by to drool over them. The coolest one was a "Miku GTO" brought all the way from Hiroshima, then there was a "Miku Camaro" pimped by Studio-R-san (more photos of it there), and finally a "Miku Levin" which - quite clearly - needs moar desu.



More photos on AkibaBlog.

- A trailer for episode 2 of Sora no Iro, Mizu no Iro - releasing on June 27 - was posted on Getchu (it's way too super duper NSFW to host here, even for our perverted selves). The first episode of this hentai OVA (also known as Color of Sky, Color of Water) appeared almost two years ago, but I still have a very, very vivid recollection of it...

- Bandai Visual USA announced that it will stream Super Robot Wars: OG - Divine Wars episode 1, followed by Galaxy Angel Rune episode 1, on its dot-anime website. "In just a few more weeks".

- This week marked the terminal edition of World Hobby Festival Ariake 18 Final, "the last WHF ever" as HD bluntly puts it. What's left behind is a looong string of photos and articles detailing the impressive figures shown at the event. As usual, HD did a great job chronicling it, so feel free to peruse his list of posts tagged 'WHF Ariake 18' (more to follow, presumably). Great stuff! Below is just a random sample... more flat than random, actually. And hardly safe for work, mind you.

Yes, yes, I realise that placing "Gundam" next to "gay" is a bit of a pleonasm, but this is just too much! If last year the multi-million yen Gundam figures were in fashion, it's now time for an uber-gay Gundam figure. Lo and behold!


Giapet writes that "apparently a staffer at Bandai was “inspired” to give the figure a more “feminine air” and is now auctioning the results off". On the bright side, this girlyfied version of Bandai's MG Gyan is a whole lot cheaper, as the seller is only trying to squeeze 50,000 yen (almost $480) from the auction (pretty pink pics inside, or here). And, truth be told, the original figure wasn't much more manlier, either.

Now, if you'll pardon me, I'll go puke my guts out.

As part of the previously-mentioned return to our once-normal schedule (umm, hopefully), our utmost priority was updating the loli of the month, along with the complementary "loli-tops". The choice was an easy one this time: we delegated Choco from Chokotto Sister to put her loliness to the test, since she's been our "mascot" for well over a year now - and it just so happens that the full Chocosis fansub was finally completed recently (yaaay, time for another booze-drenched anime session). Fuii!


Not only is Choco the best Christmas present we never got, but she is also one of the hottest lolis-in-a-box. Especially when she leaps out of the box, scantily wrapped in ribbon (cue nose-blood). Still, she can't quite compare to Aruru-in-a-box (hell, nobody can!), but on the other hand Aruru is only a fan-made loli-in-a-box, not an "out-of-the-box" loli-in-a-box... Umm, you get my drift. This debate could go on forever, anyway, so to make things a bit easier, we have a new top for your voting pleasure, aptly called "Best loli-in-a-box".

And as for the new poll, the question is pretty straightforward: "Got any favorite anime this season, so far?". Once again, sorry I couldn't be bothered to squeeze more choices in these loli-tops. Comment away if you have any other worthy additions.

Reading this story on ANN last night, about an American otaku girl gone missing in Japan, was very much like reading about our own delusional plans: get one-way tickets to Japan, burn all our IDs once we get there, and just... perish, all because of a bureaucratic misunderstanding. However, there is but one tiny detail that sets this here story apart: a suicide note.

"21-year-old Skye Lynn Budnick, a student at Central Connecticut State University and member of the university's anime club, has disappeared after traveling to Japan on a one-way ticket that she bought without informing her family. She left the United States on April 1 and was last seen on April 7 at an inn in Noboribetsu, a city on Japan's northern island of Hokkaido.

(...) Several days after she disappeared, her family logged into her email account and found her travel itinerary and a suicide note that she composed, but did not send."

Maybe her internets failed just before sending the mail... Maybe she was inspired to take the trip after watching too much Genshiken 2... We may never know. Though if you do know something about her, by some remarcable twist of fate, there's a phone number at the end of ANN's story that you can call, along with a picture of her. Naturally, we're not posting it here, since she's not a loli.

It's no surprise that Nintendo has become the most valued "business to consumer" brand in Japan, but to see an aging anime studio like Ghibli, and a Western studio like Disney following right behind... I'm telling you, something is rotten in the state of a thousand lolicons per square kilometer. That is, if you're willing to trust a study called "Brand Japan 2008" conducted by NiikeiBP Consulting (via Nausicaa.net, via Giapet).

One year ago, all these brands ranked below #5, and in particular Ghibli's leap through time - from #12 to #2 - is quite impressive... if not dubious. Especially since it practically swapped places with Google almighty, which stumbled from #2 last year, down to #11. That's even lower than Yahoo!, for crying out loud! Something is definitely rotten in Japan...

Anyway, here are the top 10 brands, from the total of 40. And yes, it's no mistake, Nintendo owns twice in the top 5!

1. Nintendo
2. Studio Ghibli
3. Disney
4. Sony
5. Nintendo DS
6. Nissin
7. Toyota
8. Sharp
9. Yahoo!
10. Panasonic

I'm surprised there's no sign of 2ch in that list. Probably because they were only asking people who actually get out of the house...

The legal saga of one of the anime uploaders busted back in January - the one who was charged with uploading around 5,700 episodes over a four years time frame - seems to have come to an end. At least for now. Picking up an article from the Japanese publication Kyoto Shimbun, ANN reports that the unlucky uploader was sentenced to 1 year in prison (plus a 3 years suspended sentence), for his copyright-infringing crimes against humanity.

"Judge Kouji Shibata [of Japan's Kyoto District Court] said he considered the criminal liability of the defendant to be high since Sakai [the uploader] was distributing unauthorized videos on a daily basis. Judge Shibata explained his stiff sentence (...) by saying that the crime was "terrible" since the copyright infringements "cannot be reversed"."

In other anti-news, Japan's Copyright Law is still allowing people to download pirated animes for private use. And, let's not forget, to posses any kind of virtual child porn. And my obaa-san still can't figure out why I'm dying to move there.

We always knew that the people who create such perfectly sane anime / manga / games as Higurashi (or FLCL, or... Eiken) have to be perfectly sane individuals themselves. And this here news perfectly supports that belief.

As it turns out, Ishii Meguru, a developer on the Higurashi visual novel game based on one of our all-time favorite animes, has been arrested for having committed "indecent acts" with a 15-year-old loli (artworks taken from his website, by the way). And not just once or twice, but for a total of four times, during November and December 2007. gg!

According to Canned Dogs' report of the original article, Ishii Meguru also "got a female fan who posted on his blog last September to give him money if she really liked him, and called her to a hotel and collected 150,000 yen (US$1500) from her". So like... any loli fans out there who want to express their feelings through a generous donation? And in return, we wouldn't mind expressing ours through various "indecent acts".

P.S. In other Higurashi gaming news scooped from Canned Puppies, it was revealed that Higurashi Daybreak is being developed / ported on the PSP, probably based on the doujin game of the same name. Famitsu has some pics from the PSP version.

I'm beginning to think that we should have a dedicated section for news about figures, figurines and figurettes here on Animekon. And with some positive feedback from you guys, we just might... But for now, here's another "random news" about a select few figures scheduled for release in the following months.



By unanimous decision (it only took one vote, since my comrade is busy playing with his loli dwarf in Lineage II, but I'm sure he would agree), we I quickly decided that the hottest upcoming figure is the above version of Shana (from Shakugan no Shana) offered by Griffon - more pics of it here. We first spotted it among the many other zillions of figures showcased at Wonderfest 2008 Winter, and it was PVC love at first sight. It should be released in June 2008, at a price of 6,825 yen.

Next up, (...)

 Continue reading 'Shana, Horo, Lala And More Figures'...

Do I have an obsession with Ookami to Koushinryou? You bet! And a perfectly well justified obsession it is, if I may say so myself. Still, one of the things missing after the anime, doujin and figure, was an Ookami to Koushinryou cafe. But missing it shall be no more, soon enough!

Once the anime series' first first DVD volume comes out at the beginning of April, the Spice and Wolf cafe shall open its neko-mimi gates in Akihabara, at Toranoana's "Cafe with Cat". The yummy menu will include an apple tart with ice cream (600 yen), grape juice (500 yen), and a "meal for a traveler" (1,000 yen) - which is basically a set of butter rice, hot soup, and chicken cooked with spices. Presumably served by spicy chicks.

There will also be some sort of event with gifts for avid fans who meet certain requirements detailed on AkibaBlog, but the bad news is that the whole charade will only last for a couple of days, between April 4-6.