Sunday, April 30, 2017

Tomokazu Sugita and Mayu Udono Crunch Numbers in "Kakegurui"

Two more cast members have been announced for Kakegurui, an upcoming TV anime based on the high stakes high school gambling manga written by Homura Kawamoto and illustrated by Toru Naomura. The new cast members include:

 

 

Tomikazu Sugita as Kaede Manyuuda, the accountant of the Hyakkaou Private Academy student council.

 

 

And Mayu Udono as Luna Yomozuki, an officer of the Hyakkaou Private Academy student council.

 

 

The story of Kakegurui is set in Hyakkaou Private Academy, a prestigious school where a student's social standing is determined not by academic or athletic prowess, but rather by their skill at high-stakes gambling. The student council rules Hyakkaou with an iron fist, until a mysterious and beautiful transfer student named Yumeko Jabami arrives...

 

 

The original Kakegurui manga is published in Square Enix's Monthly Gangan Joker shōnen manga magazine. An English language version of the original Kakegurui manga is available via digital distribution from Yen Press under the title Kakegurui - Compulsive Gambler. The Kakegurui TV anime is directed by Yuichiro Hayashi and features animation by MAPPA.

 

Kakegurui will begin its Japanese broadcast in the Summer season of 2017.

 

Sources:

Comic Natalie

Official Kakegurui TV anime Twitter feed (@kakegurui_anime)

 

Paul Chapman is the host of The Greatest Movie EVER! Podcast and GME! Anime Fun Time.

"Kaiji" VR Simulator Pushed Back Until July of 2017

 

Sad news for folks who want to reenact the death-defying games from Kaiji, a high stakes gambling manga and anime by Nobuyuki Fukamoto: Solid Sphere, the developer of the Kaiji: Steel Beam Crossing of Despair simulation for PlayStation VR, has announced that they have pushed back the release date of the game until July of 2017.

 

 

Kaiji: Steel Beam Crossing of Despair was originally scheduled to be released in the Winter season of 2017. In an official statement, Solid Sphere cited "various circumstances" for the game's delay and apologized to the fans for the inconvenience, reiterating that a new release date and pricing information for the game will be revealed at a later time.

 

Source: Inside-Games.jp via Otakomu

 

Paul Chapman is the host of The Greatest Movie EVER! Podcast and GME! Anime Fun Time.

"Case Closed" Gag Manga Spin-Off Stars A Beleaguered Shadow Person

Being a shadowy criminal offender isn't all its cracked up to be in a new spin-off gag manga based on Gosho Aoyama's long-running manga and anime series, Detective Conan (known in English as Case Closed).

 

 

In a new series entitled Detective Conan - Hannin no Hanzawa-san ("Case Closed - Mr. Hanzawa the Culprit"), manga author Mayuko Kanba will take a look at the humorous, everyday struggles of a "shadow person" from the Detective Conan / Case Closed series.

 

 

Detective Conan - Hannin no Hanzawa-san debuts in the July issue of Shogakukan's Shōnen Sunday Super manga magazine, which will be published in Japan on May 25, 2017.

 

Source: Comic Natalie via My Game News Flash

 

Paul Chapman is the host of The Greatest Movie EVER! Podcast and GME! Anime Fun Time.

"Yuyushiki" Author Shares "Hunter x Hunter" And "Fate/" Tributes

Comedy series Yuyushiki has a Data Processing Club event with Rumi Ōkubo, Minami Tsuda, Megumi Han, Ai Kayano, and Mana Shimizu scheduled for May 7th at Tokyo's Yomiuri Hall. Whule a countdown has featured a look at the event merchandise, manga autthor Komata Mikami hit Twitter to share tribute to Hunter x Hunter's Machi and the ladies of Fate/stay night. 

 






-----

Scott Green is editor and reporter for anime and manga at geek entertainment site Ain't It Cool News. Follow him on Twitter at @aicnanime.

Funimation Announces " KADO: The Right Answer" And "Seven Mortal Sins" English Dub Casts

Funimation is ready to introduced KADO: The Right Answer and Seven Mortal Sins to their spring 2017 SimulDub line-up on April 30th at 9:00pm and 10:30pm ET respectively. Preparing for this, they have announced English dub casts for the two anime. 

 

KADO: The Right Answer

Premieres 4/30/2017 at 9:00pm ET

The fate of the world lies in the hands of one negotiator when a commercial jet is abducted into a massive, unknown structure. Inside, a strange being appears claiming he will intervene in Japan’s internal affairs. That’s when Shindou Kojirou, a Japanese official onboard the plane, steps forth to greet him, spearheading the communications that will dictate the future of mankind.

 

CHARACTER CAST
Shindo Ian Mead Moore
Hanamori Kyle Igneczi
Shinawa Tabitha Ray
Mifune Kenny Green
Ubuka Michael Johnson
Natsume Kristy Sims
Asano Clay Wheeler
Yaha-Kui ZaShunina E. Jason Lieberecht
 
Episode 1  
Osakabe Randy Pearlman
Igarashi Jim White
Sasauchi Sonny Strait
   
CREW  
ADR Director Tyler Walker
ADR Engineer Domonique French
Mix Engineer Neal Malley
Script Blair Rowan

 

Seven Mortal Sins

Premieres 4/30/2017 at 10:30pm ET

Before Lucifer’s fall, Hell was ruled by seven demon lordss, known as the Seven Mortal Sins. These beautiful and tempting devils seek complete corruption of the world, but everything is about to change when Lucifer is cast down to their realm of Hell, and takes up arms with an Earth girl named Maria. Whose corruption will rule Hell and the hearts of mankind?

CHARACTER CAST
Lucifer Nicole Endicott
Leviathan Brittany Lauda
Belial Elizabeth Maxwell
Maria Madeleine Morris
Satan Dawn M. Bennett
Beelzebub Arielle O’Neal
Mammon Annabel Thorne
Belphegor Ella Davis
Asmodeus Morgan Garrett
 
Episode 1  
Mina Caitlin Glass
Gnosis Brad Smeaton
Archangel Michael Kristen Sutton
 
CREW  
ADR Director Dave Trosko
ADR Engineer Nick Hernandez
Mixing Engineer Gino Palencia

-----

Scott Green is editor and reporter for anime and manga at geek entertainment site Ain't It Cool News. Follow him on Twitter at @aicnanime.

Celebrate Gendo Ikari's 50th Birthday With A Special Preview Of Dark Horse's "Evangelion: Legend Of The Piko Piko Middle School Students"

Happy 50th birthday to Evangelion's Gendo Ikari (born 04/29/1967 - he shares April 29th with voice actor Fumihiko Tachiki).  We have something special to celebrate. On May 10th, manga, comic and art book publisher Dark Horse will be releasing their English edition of Neon Genesis Evangelion: Legend Of The Piko Piko Middle School Students, an Eva meets video game comedy from Yushi Kawata (Fist of the North Star: Taste Of Strawberry) and Yukito.

 

Get a preview here!

 

NEON GENESIS EVANGELION: LEGEND OF THE PIKO PIKO MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS VOLUME 1 TPB

Mysterious invaders are threatening Earth . . . so recruit a group of elite school kids to play video games that secretly train them for the real fight that lies ahead! Does this plan sound familiar? Well, they’d better get a new plan, because the elite school kids are Shinji, Rei, Asuka, and Kaworu, and they’re too busy playing games to ever get in the fricking robot!

* Full of video game parodies—it’s Evangelion meets Let’s Play!

* The most famous anime franchise of the last 20 years!

 

CREATORS

Writer:
Yushi Kawata
Artist:
Yukito
Cover Artist:
Yukito
Genre: Humor, Manga
Publication Date:
May 10, 2017
Format:
b&w, 152 pages; TPB, 5 1/8'' x 7 1/4''
Price:
$11.99
Age range:
14
ISBN-10:
1-50670-151-5
ISBN-13:
978-1-50670-151-6

 

 

 

-----

Scott Green is editor and reporter for anime and manga at geek entertainment site Ain't It Cool News. Follow him on Twitter at @aicnanime.

This "Sailor Moon" Wallet Is Elegant And Stylish For A Price

Sailor Moon fans, rejoice! It seems like every week after the next there's a new Sailor Moon accessory, and this week is no different.

 

There's a brand new wallet with a gorgeous pink design on it including flower petals, crescent moons and more. There's even an adorable Sailor Moon brooch on the wallet. It includes a gorgeous mini Silver Crystal as well and can hold all your money!

 

There will only be 2,000 of this wallet sold for about 19,800 yen. It's a very high quality wallet, so if you want one you'll have to be very creative about your methods of procuring one.

 

 

[via Tokyo Otaku Mode]

-------

Fueled by horror, rainbow-sugar-pixel-rushes, and video games, Brittany is a freelancer who thrives on surrealism and ultraviolence. Follow her on Twitter @MolotovCupcake and check out her portfolio for more.

Sample "Guilty Gear Xrd REV 2" in North American Demo on May 1

PlayStation Plus members in North America will get a chance to kick off next week with a sample of Guilty Gear Xrd REV 2 on PS4. Aksys Games and Arc System Works announced plans to release a free demo on May 1, which is almost a full month before the new version launches in the region. 

 

 

Key Features

Full Featured Preview
Two new characters, Baiken and Answer are playable from the get-go! New stages, moves and motions are just the beginning of new content to explore in this demo!

Get Schooled On How To Rock
New to the Guilty Gear series or fighting games in general? Veterans and beginners alike will enjoy this in-depth and fun exploration of Guilty Gear’s deep system mechanics.

Rock Alone or With A Friend
Play alone or duke it out with a friend with any of the 25 characters and their re-balanced abilities in Versus Mode and then shake off the salt by spending countless hours perfecting your combos in Training Mode.


Guilty Gear Xrd REV 2 hits PS4, PS3, and PC in Japan on May 25, followed by North America and Europe on May 26, and will be available either as an upgrade to Revelator or a standalone release. 

 

-------

Joseph Luster is the Games and Web editor at Otaku USA Magazine. You can read his webcomic, BIG DUMB FIGHTING IDIOTS, every week at subhumanzoids. Follow him on Twitter @Moldilox.

FEATURE: Anime vs. Real Life – “Tsukigakirei” [Part 2]

I’m always over the moon when the ever popular class trip episode in an anime is finally upon us, as those do not only result into some major romantic plot development most of the time, but also entail a lot of new and interesting locations for me to cover. And all of that holds true for the latest episode of Tsukigakirei, in which Kotarou’s and Akane’s class heads to Kyoto! These first four episodes of Tsukigakirei have been very charming and relatable, while at the same time extremely nerve-racking as well, as I was not expecting the relationship of our soon-to-be couple to take off so fast. But I couldn’t be happier with how things have been progressing so far, and can’t wait to find out what’s still in store for us with a lot more episodes to go.

 

*Unmarked images were all taken with GOOGLE STREET VIEW (images I shot myself, or my travel buddy in this case, will be marked ‘WD’)

 

1WD

 

First things first, there are still a couple of shots from the third episode that I want to get out of the way, before we finally head to Kyoto. I already extensively covered the show’s main location, which is Kawagoe, in another article, but there were still a couple of new shots in the third episode. The picture above shows the entrance to Kawagoe Kumano Shrine, where Kotarou seems to be working part-time. It’s also the shrine where Kotarou mustered up the courage to ask Akane out, and I’m not going to lie, I squealed like a little kid during that scene. 

 

2WD

 

Kotarou rinses his hands and mouth at the water basin of Kumano Shrine’s temizuya water pavilion, to purify his body and mind. 

 

3WD

 

Washing your money in this pond will grant you even greater wealth, probably.

 

4

 

Chinatsu is running across Takazawa Bridge here. The shrine in the background is the Motomachi-Mutsuzuka Inari Shrine.

 

5

6

 

Now that all the leftover Kawagoe locations are out of the way, let’s finally move on to the class trip in episode four. They meet up at the famous Tokyo Station, which you’ve probably already seen countless time in other anime, from where they take the Shinkansen to Kyoto. The image above shows the station’s historic brick-built western side façade, which is also called the Marunochi Side.

 

7

 

Only quite recently ago, Google also implemented Street View inside a large number of Japan’s major train stations. 

 

8WD

 

With the Shinkansen it shouldn’t take them all too long to get from Tokyo to Kyoto. Kyoto Station was opened to the public 20 years ago, and stands in stark contrast to the historic image of the city, due to its contemporary design and modern architecture. The station’s roof is called the Matrix, and represents the city’s grid street plan.

 

9a

10ab

 

Just across from Kyoto Station stands the 131 meters tall Kyoto Tower, which, just like Kyoto Station, has also been depicted in numerus other anime already. 

 

10

 

The first tourist destination the class heads to is one of Kyoto’s most famous ones, the beautiful Kiyomizudera Temple, located in the hills east of Kyoto.

 

12WD

 

The iconic view of Kyoto, including Kiyomizudera’s wooden veranda that juts out from its main hall.

 

13WD

 

Beneath the main hall is the Otowa waterfall, which gets divided into three different streams. Each of the three streams is believed to have a different effect, such as longevity, success, or love. You’re only supposed to drink from one of the three streams though, since you’d be considered greedy otherwise. I drank from the one on the right, but unfortunately forgot which one was which, so I’ll just have to assume at this point that I got the one that grants longevity. The temple also gets its name from this waterfall, as Kiyomizudera literally means “Pure Water Temple”.

 

14

15WD

 

Right behind Kiyomizudera’s main hall is Jishu Shrine, which is dedicated to the deity of love and matchmaking.

 

16WD

 

These schoolgirls are gushing over the relationship stone located within Jishu Shrine’s compound. There are actually two of these stones located there, and if I recall correctly, you’re supposed to safely navigate from one stone to the other with your eyes closed, which’ll bring you luck in finding love. They say love is blind and always finds a way, but it’s nearly impossible to complete the challenge without trampling down a dozen of other tourists.

 

17

 

Akane and her friends buy some romance fortunes at Jishu Shrine, and she actually manages to get one with excellent luck. I only bought a road safety charm for our car, and that one worked out great so far, so no complaints there.

 

18

 

In the background to the right is Kiyomizudera’s impressive entrance gate.

 

19

20

 

Matsubara Street is lined with all kinds of souvenir shops and restaurants, and leads right up to Kiyomizudera Temple. 

 

21

22

 

You should recognize the green roofing if you’ve been following The Eccentric Family 2 this season. These run along the eastern part of the famous Shijo Street, located across the Kamo River towards Yasaka Shrine, which is mainly lined by a lot of smaller shops selling local specialty foods and crafts.

 

23Rakuten Travel

 

The class stays in the Shogoin Gotenso, a traditional Japanese ryokan, which used to be a temporary imperial residence. The image above is taken from the online accommodation booking site Rakuten Travel. 

 

24

 

That’s Sanjo Bridge, but viewed from Shijo Bridge. 

 

24WD

 

Akane and her friends take a break at the famous Yasaka Shrine, which was founded as early as 656, and is known for the popular Gion festival.  

 

26WD

26a

 

Kotarou luckily still manages to tell Akane to meet up with him in front of Doimaru Department Store, just before his phone gets confiscated by one of the teachers. Doimaru Department Store is of course based on the Daimaru Department Store along Shijo Street in real life. 

 

27

28

29

 

Even though Kotarou was the one that told Akane to meet up with him in front of the department store, he somehow thinks it’s a good idea to check all the side entrances first. 

 

30

30

 

The Daikokuya pawnshop got changed to Daikakuya in the anime.

 

32

 

Luckily he finds Chinatsu just outside of Nishiki Market, a narrow shopping arcade specialized in all things food related, located right behind the Daimaru Department Store. 

 

3x

34

 

Thanks to Chinatsu’s phone, Kotarou is able to call Akane and explain the situation to her. However, instead of telling her to wait right where she is, which was like a maximum of two minutes away from him, he tells her to meet up with him at Honnoji Temple now, which should be a 15-20 minutes walk from where he currently is. 

 

35

 

Hannoji Temple entrance. 

 

36CC Wikipedia

 

The main hall of Honnoji Temple.

 

37Photo Sphere

34

 

My first thought was that Kotarou, that sly womanizer, deliberately changed their meet-up location to a quiet temple, as that seems like a more appropriate date spot for those two, than some bustling department store where they wouldn’t even hear each other's voice. But on second thought, Hannoji Temple is actually the very place where the legendary daimyo, Oda Nobunaga, met his demise in 1582. During what’s called the Honnoji incident, he was attacked at the temple by the forces of one of his trusted generals, Akechi Mitsuhide, and was forced to commit seppuku. Now, I don’t want to read too much into this, but I just really hope that’s not the direction this story is headed in.

 

38

40

 

And with only a measly tree still putting some distance between our two love birds, everything seems to have worked out quite well this episode. I really hope that they’ll stay in Kyoto for another episode, and that we’ll maybe get to see a little date between Kotarou and Akane. 

 

40

 

As promised, I updated the map with all the new locations. Please let me know if there are any missing.

 

 

Tsukigakirei has rapidly turned into my favorite show this season, and I’d kindly like to urge all of you to give this charming and highly relatable show a try! What have been your thoughts about the show so far, and have you maybe been to some of these locations yourself? Sound off in the comments below!

---

You can follow Wilhelm on Twitter @Surwill.