Boku no Hero Academia Character Designs

http://heroaca.com/sp/config.html

Noragami Character Designs by Kawamoto Toshiro

Character Designs for Noragami Aragoto


Character Designs for the Yomi (Underground) Arc 

Taiyou no Ie Author Begins Serialization on a New Manga

Taiyou no Ie (House of the Sun) mangaka, Taamo, will begin serialization on a new manga, Koi Shitemita kara Wakarunda (I Know Because I Tried to Love) in Kodansha's Dessert magazine in November. 

A Review/Rant regarding Taiyou no Ie: 

Personally, I didn't like Taiyou no Ie; to say that it was cliche and boring would be flattering, I feel. Although it tried to incorporate themes such as the importance of family, loss, loneliness and isolation and the misunderstandings that result from bad communication, the execution of the manga was so poor that it felt like the author was continually spelling out these ideas for us week after week after week. The dialogue was boring as hell, which isn't surprising because it came from extremely one-dimensional characters. I thought that the coincidental misunderstanding regarding the true identity of the phone novel author was a terrible and agonizingly painful plot construction that was so unbelievable that it broke my immersion with the story, not even mentioning that it lasted for a good half of the manga's run. The other half being the collection of the male protagonist's family of course; just like checking off items on a grocery list. My main issue was just the characters and the dialogue. I didn't like how throughout the whole manga the protagonist's only thoughts were about how indebted she was to that guy. So indebted that it was the focus of her every action, her every thought. The reason why she got a job, would attempt to cook, was so set on getting his sister to live with him, basically it was the reason why she liked him. I wish she would have a life outside of that relationship and think about something else for once. It's a shoujo manga, you have to have likable characters. ugh. 

It was bad. Even though the art for this new series looks so promising, I can't bring myself to be excited for it. I know I'll read it anyways tho . . .

Reference: 

http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2015-10-24/taiyo-no-ie-taamo-launches-new-manga-in-november/.94459

Miitomo

Nintendo announced the release of a new mobile app: Miitomo, a communication app featuring Miis. Like the Miis you create on other Nintendo consoles, this Mii is fully customizable and will sync to the newly developed My Nintendo account which will store all purchase records, play records and your member profile. The My Nintendo account will be accessible from Facebook, Twitter, and Google in addition to traditional username and password. This will allow users to purchase Nintendo titles from a phone or computer for later download onto a Wii U or 3DS.  
  

Users will only be able to communicate and share personal information with "friends". Information to personal questions such as "What is your hobby?" will automatically be shared between friends. Nintendo calls these, 'friendly communication starters' meant to facilitate conversations for those who are less willing to send messages. 

Along with the introduction of their first app, Nintendo has also announced that they will be introducing a point system that will allow content and coupons to be purchased through points gained by playing and purchasing Nintendo games. 

This will be the first smart-phone app released by Nintendo, although they also announced the upcoming release of 5 additional smart-phone titles by March 2017. Nintendo's first app might not have been what any of us were hoping for, but it seems to be the foundation for a bigger Nintendo universe. 

Reference: 
http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2015-10-29/nintendo-launches-1st-smartphone-game-miitomo-in-march-2016/.94763

Shin Megami Tensei X Fire Emblem: Genei Ibun Roku #FE

Genei Ibun Roku #FE (Illusory Revelations #FE) is an upcoming J-RPG for the Wii U. The game is developed by Atlus (Etrian Odyssey, Persona, Megami Tensei) and incorporates characters from Nintendo's Fire Emblem franchise. Set in modern Japan, the story follows a group of teenagers associated with the Fortuna Entertainment talent agency, each having their own unique aspirations and challenges. 

 E3 Trailer:

The turn-based gameplay revolves around the Mirage Masters, children chosen by destiny who were given the ability to summon "Mirages" during battle. Each child is has only one Mirage partner whose character are crossovers from Fire Emblem: Awakening. Unlike typical Shin Megami Tensei gameplay, this game is not built upon the demon acquisition system, focusing instead on the joining of Mirage Masters with their Mirage partners. The gameplay features battle mechanics from both games, such as the weapon triangle from Fire Emblem as well as the elemental characteristics of particular weapons from Shin Megami Tensei. Certain skills can trigger Session Attacks which chains the attacks of all the party members together. 

Overworld gameplay is similar to that of Shin Megami Tensei. Players can interact with certain items in the overworld, indicated by green exclamation marks, and can choose whether or not to engage in combat. Preemptive attacks are another Shin Megami Tensei feature that makes an appearance in this game. 

Gameplay Video: 

The game is expected to be released in 2016 overseas. 

Characters: 

• Itsuki Aoi
  Mirage Partner: Chrom (Fire Emblem: Awakening)

• Tsubasa Oribe
  Mirage Partner: Shiida/Caede (Fire Emblem: If)
• Toma Akagi
  Mirage Partner: Cain (Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon)

• Kiria Kurono
  Mirage Partner: Tharja (Fire Emblem: Awakening)

• Eleonora Yumizuru
  Mirage Partner: Virion (Fire Emblem: Awakening)

• Mamori Minamoto: An elementary school child actor who is famous for her childhood TV show, "Microwave Cooking Idol: Mamori"
  Mirage Partner: Draug (Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon)

• Barry Goodman: An otaku trainer who is employed at Fortuna Enterprises. 

Character designs: (some of these characters are featured in costumes based on characters from other Atlus games)

Itsuki Aoi (Main Protagonist)

Itsuki Aoi as Devil Survivor 2 protagonist

Tsubasa Oribe

Tsubasa Oribe as Rei from Persona Q

Kiria Kurono

Kiriya Kurono as the Princess from Etrian Odyssey

Toma Akagi

Toma Akagi as Walter from Shin Megami Tensei IV

Mamori Minamoto

Eleonora Yumizuru

Character designs for the "Mirages", summonable characters during battle, were also released: 

Draug

Virion (Fire Emblem: Awakening)

Tharja (Fire Emblem: Awakening)

References:

http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2015-10-25/shin-megami-tensei-x-fire-emblem-crossover-game-videos-introduce-barry-mamori/.94613

http://www.nintendo.co.jp/wiiu/asej/

The -dere Guide

Most, if not all, anime girls fall in one of these personality tropes. These tropes describe how the character acts/interacts with their romantic loved one, which is why all of these tropes are partially composed of the word "dere-dere", which means "to act lovey-dovey in front of your love interest". The names of these tropes are comprised of two Japanese words and so their meaning is a combination of these two words; for example: Tsundere is a combination of the words "Tsun-Tsun", to turn away in disgust, and "Dere-dere". 

Tsundere:

A person who initially starts out as cold and hostile but gradually warms up to the other person. This person is often embarrassed of their feelings and whose actions are a reflection of their inner struggle with pride and love. They may do something nice but then disguise it as a coincidence or make up some other motive to hide their feelings.  Generally have loud and assertive personalities. Comes from "Tsun-Tsun" which means 'to act high and mighty" (i.e. Asuka Soryu, Kirisaki Chitoge, Aisaka Taiga, Tohsaka Rin)

Yandere: Although initially nice and sweet, their love quickly turns obsessive and often times violent. These characters are often mentally unstable and have a strong possessive and controlling desire especially when they feel threatened by a love interest. Comes from "yanderu" meaning 'to be sick'. (i.e. Gasai Yuno)

Deredere: Someone who is lovey-dovey in front of their love interest and has no hesitation when expressing their affections. (i.e. Tachibana Marika)

Kuudere: A "cool" character who can sometimes be described as "emotionless", "stoic", or "impartial"; whose true feelings for their love interest are hard to detect at best. A kuudere is very calm and collected and rarely expresses their emotions. Oftentimes, they are shown being unaware of the feeling of love. Comes from the Japanese pronunciation of the English word "cool" (Mashiro Shiina, Ayanami Rei).

Dandere: An incredibly shy or antisocial character whose disposition is somewhat similar to that of the Kuudere, but whose silent and distant nature is attributed to their shyness. This shyness and tendency towards isolation often changes once they become closer to their love interest/friends. Comes from "danmari", meaning "silent". (i.e. Isla, Angel, Hyuuga Hinata)

Mayadere: starts out as and enemy trying to kill the protagonist, then switches sides after falling in love with the protagonist. The mayadere is a dangerous character. 

Goudere: a character who will do anything for her master and has somewhat of a servant and master relationship with their love interest (in their mind at least). (i.e. Matou Sakura?, Morgiana?)

Onidere: An incredibly strong and powerful character who has trouble showing her vulnerable side and doesn't want others to see as anything less than her strong and powerful self.  

Kamidere: A character who acts like a god.

Himedere: A character who acts like a princess. 

Heavy Object - Episode 1: Review

This post contains spoilers . . .

My god, I thought this this first episode was horrible. The animation, art style, and concept reminded me initially of Aldnoah.Zero; however, it appears to lack the political and romantic aspects that Aldnoah.Zero had. 

Heavy Object is set in a world where wars are frequent and can be waged over petty disputes like territory. What allows them to be like this is the invention of the Heavy Object, a massive killing machine that far surpasses and other form of military machine in both size and might. 

I felt assaulted by the slew of scientific jargon that came out of Blond Main Character 1, much like how  similar scientific jargon was utilized during Inaho's fight scenes in Aldnoah.Zero. Aldnoah.Zero's use of said scientific jargon didn't feel as out of place and utterly useless as it did in this episode because it was a byproduct of Inaho's communication with his robot (and later, with his eyeball), whereas its use in Heavy Object was the stupid blatherings of a young blond protagonist who doesn't know how to act in front of his love interest. 

I also thought that the fan service scene where the main girl protagonist was being constrained by her belt buckles was absolutely insulting. She was being strangled to death and you couldn't help her because you didn't want to touch her boobs????? Seriously??

I apologize for not being able to remember any of the character's names, that only speaks to how little of an impression they left on me. I'm really just sick of the Coodere personality trope that the girl has (similar to Ayanami Rei, the girl from Sakurasou, and Isla from Plastic Memories), and the perverted personalities of the boys disgusts me. 

This show is just fan service for otakus that have similar mindsets and big-boob attractions as those of the main protagonists. Absolute trash.

Arslan gets a Second Season in 2016!

The promotional video literally doesn't tell us anything other than that, but yeah!!! Arslan!!! I think it's pretty strange that the anime is so far ahead of the manga, but then again, there was another manga adaptation of the original light novel series that ran from 1991 to 1996 so it's not like we're waiting for more content from the original author. 

Reference: http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2015-10-11/the-heroic-legend-of-arslan-gets-new-tv-anime-in-2016/.94079

"A true hero never stops overcoming the misfortunes in life!"

-- Napoleon Bonaparte

(Boku no Hero Academia, chapter 3)

Taken from Solanin by Inio Asano

Shin Megami Tensei IV: Final

A new installment for Shin Megami Tensei IV announced!!! Not much news on the characters or the premise of the game yet (doesn't seem to have any connection with Shin Megami Tensei IV), but we do know that it'll be on the 3DS and released in February 2016. 

OH! SO the story line of this game is going to be an alternate future of the event that created the setting for Shin Megami Tensei IV, the invasion of the demons into Tokyo. I like the character design for the main character :O.

Reference: http://www.famitsu.com/news/201510/06090028.html

Behind the Scenes of One Punch Man + First Episode Review

This post contains spoilers . . .

Here's a quick summary if you have yet to read the manga (which you totally should, it's great). One Punch Man is about Saitama, a man who's become so overpowered such that he can beat all his enemies with one punch. The manga follow's his everyday life as well as his interactions with several of his other superhero peers. 

As director Shingo Natsume stated, the goal of the One Punch Man anime adaptation is to stay true to the original manga; and that is what it did. The humor and the art of the manga was splendidly captured, in my opinion, and the personality of Saitama was brought out very well. 

The rough fight animations with its stark black lines gives the anime a feel akin to that of American comics. The use of dramatic explosions and background effects also contributes to this feel. Although the only way I can think of to describe this animation style is with "rough", I don't mean to say that the animation is not fluid. It exaggerates the movements, allowing you to see the ripple that passes through the muscles as a villain is throwing a punch, something you don't typically see in shounen anime (unless maybe like Attack on Titan). It also exaggerates the effects of these attacks, highlighting again the "ripple" or the recoil that passes through the face of one being on the receiving end; a showy throwback of the head after being punched in the face and the spit that gets flung out of the mouth. It is these details that make a fight that only lasts one punch interesting.

I think that the juxtaposition of Saitama's cool and not-cool sides is portrayed very well and "keeps it real" so to speak. I liked how they incorporated the scene of Saitama battling the challenging the opponents in his dream (as I was watching this I was so terrified, I'd thought they'd made a egregious mistake, it sounded so serious. Which, of course, is exactly why the director did this, to announce to everyone not familiar with One Punch Man that this is not going to be your typical shounen.) followed immediately by his harsh but comical reality. This juxtaposition depicts the mangaka's (ONE's) commentary of typical Shounen Jump protagonists.As Shingo Natsume points out, the unique setting of One Punch Man allows this to happen. Only through the presence of the Hero Association and with it the opportunity for Heroism as an occupation is the character Saitama able to be so carefree and lax with his view on being a hero, which allows him to say, "I am a hero for fun". 

I thought this first episode was great. 10/10. I loved being able to listen to Saitama's philosophical commentary throughout the episode (I also love his voice actor's voice btw); I feel like it really enhanced his character and gave us good insight to his unique (in terms of the manga world), yet average (in terms of the real world) personality. I look forward to what the rest of the anime has to bring.

Reference: http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2015-10-02/viz-streams-subtitled-behind-the-scenes-video-for-one-punch-man-anime/.93690

Tegami Bacchi (Letter B) Comes to an End

The last chapter of the monthly manga will be released on November 4th in Shounen Jump Square.

I just started reading Tegami Bacchi after seeing this so I'm not particularly saddened by this news. My first impressions are that the art is pretty nice (difficult from the typical shounen; looks a bit more fairy tale and kiddish, imo?) and that it seems to be geared to a younger age group than I'm interested in but it's really too early to judge.  

Reference: http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2015-10-04/tegami-bachi-manga-ends-magazine-run-on-november-4/.93786

From the Creators of Bakuman. and Death Note . . . . Platinum End!!!

The mangaka duo that brought you Bakuman. and Death Note, Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata, have announced a new collaboration work titled Platinum End, "a story of a human and an angel". The story centers around main character Mirai Kakehashi. 

It was announced in Weekly Shounen Jump issue #44 that the new series will launch in Jump SQ on November 4th. 

Bakuman. will also be receiving a short, two-chapter prequel to commemorate the release of the Live Action Bakuman. feature film, set to open on October 3rd in Japan. Bakuman. age 13 follows the two main characters Saiko (Moritaka Mashiro) and Shujin (Akito Takagi) before their fateful meeting which begins the events of Bakuman.

Reference Links:

Platinum End

Bakuman. age 13

Kingdom Hearts HD II.8 Final Chapter Prologue & Kingdom Hearts II.9

Director: Tetsuya Nomura (Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy VII Remake)

Announced by Square Enix at the Sony Computer Entertainment Japan Asia Press Conference, the new installment in the series will feature a compilation of three Kingdom Hearts titles for the PS4

• Kingdom Hearts: Dream Drop Distance HD
• No new plot elements to be added.
• Kingdom Hearts X: Back Cover
• Features the "oldest story" in the Kingdom Hearts lore.
• Kingdom Hearts 0.2: Birth By Sleep - a fragmentary passage - 
• Kingdom Hearts III technology is being used to create part of this game, hence the release of KH II.8 on the PS4 and not on say, the New 3DS, etc.
• Nomura stated in an interview with Famitsu that Kingdom Hearts 0.2 would be a mix of Kingdom Hearts III and the original Birth by Sleep game for the PSP. 
• The story of the Kingdom Hearts 0.2 game takes place immediately after Aqua finds Cinderella's Castle in Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep Final Mix. 

Japan release is expected in 2016.

Kingdom Hearts III, which uses Unreal Engine4 technology, will be released on the PS4 and the Xbox 1. Confirmed worlds for Kingdom Hearts III include Tangled and Big Hero 6.

Reference Links:

KH II.8

Nomura Interview

Fall 2015 Anime Season

What're we Watching?

• Garo: Guren no TsukiStudio: MAPPA

  

  Sequel to the first Garo Animation

  
  Genre: Action, Shounen, Supernatural, Fantasy, Magic, Demons

Producer Masao Maruyama announced at animation studio MAPPA's Otakon panel that the second Garo: Honoo no Kokuin television anime series is slated for this October. Unlike the first Garo anime, this series will be a jidaigeki (period drama) set in the Heian period. It will have a female protagonist.

• Heavy ObjectStudio: J.C. Staff
  Genre: Action, Mecha, Sci-fi

The science-fiction war action story revolves around Objects — powerful, massive weapons that change the course of warfare — and Elite Object pilots. An odd Elite girl named Milinda meets Quenser, a student who aims to become a Object mechanic, with the soldier-in-training Heivia on a snowy battlefield.

• K: Return of Kings (K project 2)Studio: GoHands
  Genre: Action, Superpower, Supernatural

In modern Japan, where history has strangely overlapped with reality. There, seven "Kings" with great superpowers existed. Along with their clansman to whom they shared their own power with, the kings each formed clans. Order bound by blue, red flames that cause chaos, irregularities that shine in white, and reforms branched off into green. The Kings, each with their own abilities, now...

With "jungle" once again jumping back into action, the fates of the various Kings are brought together.

• Noragami Aragoto
  Sudio: Bones
  Genre: Action, Adventure, Shounen, Supernatural

Season two of Noragami which will adapt the manga's Bishamon arc.

• One Punch Man
  Studio:Madhouse
  Genre: Action, Comedy, Sci-fi, Seinen, Superpower, Supernatural

The manga revolves around the titular super hero who has trained so hard that his hair has fallen out, and who can overcome any enemy with one punch. However, because he is so strong, he has become bored and frustrated with winning all his battles so easily.

• Shingeki! Kyojin Chuugakkou
  Studio: Production I.G.
  Genre: Comedy, Parody, School, Shounen

The school comedy story is set in a junior high school and centers on the original manga's characters such as Eren and Mikasa as they battle with Titans. The spin-off incorporates gags while using Shingeki no Kyojin's story and notable scenes as its basis.

• Subete ga F ni Naru: The Perfect Insider
  Studio: A-1 Pictures
  Genre: Drama, Mystery, Seinen

The story of the original Subete ga F ni Naru novel revolves around Souhei Saikawa, a member of the Saikawa Research Lab. He goes on a vacation held by the lab, and Moe Nishinosono, the daughter of his mentor, joins the group on their vacation despite not being a part of the lab. There, the two end up finding a corpse. The two work together to solve the mysteries of what becomes a serial murder case.

The entire Fall 2015 Anime Season List