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Showing posts from June, 2021

Yuruyuri Manga Author Provides Character Visual for Singer amatsuuni's New Project "unichan"

    Japanese manga author Namori , best known for her yuri comedy series Yuruyuri , announced on Twitter on June 30 that she has provided a character visual for singer amatsuuni 's second chapter project, unichan .   According to the official profile on Teichiku Entertainment, amatsuuni is "a new artist with 100,000 followers from all over the world, even before her debut. 80% of her fans on Instagram are from Asian countries such as Indonesia and Thailand." Her major debut single song "silent days" was featured as the OP theme for the 2019 TV anime Joshi Kausei , and she also voiced Blue wildebeest in Kemono Friends 2 in the same year.   unichan's Twiiter profile writes, "A magical girl who can be strengthened by someone's tears of joy. I want to find my last hope with you." She explains in her first Twitter post, "I will be working as 'unichan," a character designed by Namori-sensei, in the second chapter project of ama

Love Live! Sunshine!! VA Unit Aqours Plans Their Next Dome Concerts in February & March 2022

    The official website for the Love Live! franchise has announced that the Love Live! Sunshine!! series' nine-member VA unit Aqours will hold their live concerts at Vantelin Dome Nagoya in Aichi on February 12 and 13, 2022, and at MetLife Dome in Saitama on March 5 and 6, 2022, under the title "Aqours 6th LoveLive!." You can apply for the fastest advance lottery for the ticket by using the URL and serial code written on the ticket application coupon enclosed in the "Fantastic Departure!" CD single released on July 22, 2020. Further details will be announced at a later date.   As reported, Aquors' recent two concert tours, "Love Live! Sunshine!! Aqours 6th LoveLive! ~DOME TOUR 2020~" and "Love Live! Sunshine!! Aqours 5th Anniversary LoveLive! ~LET'S GO WONDER TRIP~" were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Let's hope that the pandemic will be under control in Japan by then next year.   Also in the latest announceme

Atlus Reveals Updates Persona Sales Numbers, Franchise Has Sold 15 Million Copies Worldwide

  It seems no matter where you go these days, the Phantom Thieves are there, hiding in the shadows ready to save the world again. Of course, this makes sense considering the Persona 5 branch of the Persona franchise continues to be the best-selling branch of the entire franchise, with the Persona 4 branch not too far behind.   Game devs Atlus released their fiscal results summary for the year ending March 31, 2021, which looks at the figures of the company from April 2020 to March 2021 – the Japanese business financial year. These updates came with the new sales figures for the latest Persona games and confirmed that not only have all the games exceeded their sales forecasts in Japan but also around the world.   The updated version of the base  Persona 5 game, Persona 5 Royal , continues to lead the charge with 1.8 million copies sold on just the PlayStation 4 (which is backwards compatible with the PlayStation 5), with Persona 5 Strikers at 1 .5 million copies sold on P

Voice Actress Kana Hanazawa Moves to Pony Canyon, Releases New Single "Moonlight Magic" on September 29

    Popular anime voice actress Kana Hanazawa (Kuroneko in Oreimo , Ichika Nakano in The Quintessential Quintuplets ) announced on July 1 that she will move her artist label to Pony Canyon. Her voice actress activities will continue to be managed by Office Osawa.   She made her solo singer debut from Aniplex in April 2012, then moved SACRA MUSIC in April 2017. While working as one of the most popular anime voice actresses, she has released 13 singles and five original albums so far.   Her first single from Pony Canyon, "Moonlight Magic" is already set to be released on September 29, 2021. It will her first single in three years since her previous 13th single "Daijoubu" released in July 2018. The lyrics of the song are written by herself. The CD single will also include a coupling song "Minato no Mieru Oka" ( A hill with a harbor view ), also written by herself, as well as the Chinese lyric version of the two songs.     Message from Kana Hanaza

Watch 20-minute Digest of PriPara VA Idol Unit i☆Ris' Final Concert with Original Six Members

    The official website for the voice actress idol unit i☆Ris has posted a 20-minute digest clip of their upcoming live DVD/Blu-ray "i☆Ris LIVE 2021 ~storiez~."     The concert was held at Pacifico Yokohama in Kanagawa Prefecture on March 28, 2021, as their first concert with an audience in 16 months since "i☆Ris 7th Anniversary Live - Shichifuku Manrai"  at the same venue in November 2019. It was also their last concert with Azuki Shibuya , who left the unit as of March 31, 2021.   i☆Ris was formed by the six winners of the 1st Anison Vocal Audition in July 2012, and has been active as one the most successful anime VA units for nine years. However, Shibuya, best known as Dorothy West in the PriPara series, decided to leave the unit to focus on her own solo career. After April 1, 2021, i☆Ris has started its activities with five members - Akaneya Himika, Yu Serizawa, Miyu Kubota, Saki Yamakita, and Yuuki Wakai.   The DVD and Blu-ray of their final concert

Super Chorogons, fhána Members Gather in Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid 1st Season OP Theme New MV

    To celebrate the forthcoming premiere of its long-awaited seasons season in Japan, the official website for the TV anime Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid has posted the Super Chorogons version music video for its first season's OP theme "Aozora no Rhapsody" ( Blue Sky Rhapsody ).   "Aozora no Rhapsody" was originally performed by the four-member unit fhána . Its CD single was released as their 10th single on January 25, 2017, and has become their top-selling single in their career.   Super Chorogons is a dragon unit that performs the second season's ED theme song "Maid With Dragons."  The unit consists of Yuuki Kuwahara as Tohru, Maria Naganawa as Kanna, Yuuki Takada as Elma, Minami Takahashi as Lucoa, and Tomomi Mineuchi as Ilulu. In the music video, the protagonist Kobayashi's VA Mutsumi Tamura and the four members of fhána also make a guest appearance.     "Aozora no Rhapsody" Super Chorogons version MV:

LiSA Releases Playful Animated MV "Non Non," Written by Yuzu's Yujin Kitagawa

    The official YouTube channel for anison singer LiSA has posted a full music video for "Non Non," another song from her latest mini-album "LADYBUG," . Yo celebrate the tenth-anniversary of her solo singer debut, the seven-song was released in Japan on May 19, 2021, then ranked second in Oricon's weekly album sales charts.   "Non Non," which has a catchy melody and lyrics with play on words, were co-written by LiSA herself Yujin Kitagawa , a member of Japanese pop duo Yuzu . Kitagawa also serves as the composer of the song. The playful music video expresses the world of the song through full-animation.     "Non Non"" MV:       Music videos from "LADYBUG"     "Another Great Day!!" :     "Letters to ME" :     "Surprise" :     Standard edition CD jacket:     LiSA artist photo:     Source: SACRA MUSIC press release   © SACRA MUSIC   Source: Latest in

Godzilla and Hamtaro Collab Again for Mighty Cute Crossover Goods

  Back in 2001, two very different movies were premiering in Japan at the same time:  Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack  and Hamtaro: Adventures in Ham-Ham Land . The films joined forces for mash-up advertising under the name "Godziham-kun," and it worked. Twenty years later, they're bringing back the line back with new goods and variants.   Prominently featured are the gold and silver Godziham-kun plushies, originally sold to celebrate 2002's  Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla . The red, green, and blue variants will be back as well:     The plushies include removable Godzilla hoods, so you can see Hamtaro's adorable ears:     If you can't get enough of those Mecha-Godziham toys, you can also get them as banks:     Godziham-kun has his own shirts now, too — including one featuring  kaiju  comic book artist  Matt Frank 's realistic take on the mascot. The piece was originally posted on the  collaboration's off

Co-Op Fantasy RPG Mitrasphere Launches Globally on Mobile

  The latest from Crunchyroll Games is officially here with the global launch of RPG Mitrasphere . Published in partnership with developer Bank of Innovation, Inc. and liveops manager JetSynthesys , the co-op fantasy RPG is now available to download on iOS and Android devices .   Thanks to over 100,000 pre-registrants signing up in advance, some fantastic player rewards have been unlocked, including 800 Sea Crystals , a 4 ☆ Magic Device "Heroic Upa” , and a free special 10-pull with a guaranteed 4 ☆ weapon .   Dive into the expansive world in the trailer below:     Synopsis:   A world where a massive sea blankets the skies: Mitrasphere.   Two worlds exist, straddling the ocean sky from below and above. Golden crystals rain down from an enormous tree floating in the ocean above. The miraculous power these crystals possess alter the lives of everyone and everything. Those the crystals fall upon meet one of two fates: a life of endless riches, or inimitable sufferin

The Quiet Strength Of The Crow In Destiny 2: Season Of The Splicer

From Uldren to the Crow, this isn't the first time we've reflected on the reincarnation of Cayde-6's killer, and it won't be the last, but as the current season's story careens towards its close, we can't help but to reflect on something truly beautiful about this character. Back in March during Destiny 2's Season of the Chosen, I wrote a lengthy feature about how I hated Bungie for making me love this character as much as I did. I'm sad to report that my love has only grown stronger and is bordering on character study obsession. Them's the breaks, but I am happy to see that the trajectory I spoke of is relevant to The Crow's current standing. This week's mission for Season of the Splicer has only solidified him as one of the most humbly strong characters in the current Destiny 2 universe. The Crow was a center point in Season of the Chosen - the season that proceeded what's going on now with Splicer. There is one moment during a quest

Microsoft’s Phil Spencer Says Studio Acquisitions Are A Good Thing

Acquisitions aren’t necessarily a new trend in the video games industry, but recently many studios have been parented by large conglomerates. For instance, EA recently forged a partnership with Dirt developers Codemasters , Sony has added Housemarque (and potentially Bluepoint) to their expansive list of in-house studios , and Microsoft’s multi-billion dollar purchase of Bethesda still has the community reeling, especially with the announcement of Starfield as an Xbox exclusive. Of course, some consumers have voiced concern over the surge of acquisitions, calling consolidation a negative aspect of the industry. Phil Spencer, however, feels otherwise; he thinks acquisitions are a good thing. In an interview with IGN , Spencer talked about the highs and lows of the industry’s recent shift to expanding their brands. Spencer notes the difficulty that comes with starting small businesses and turnover. When hardships do occur, Spencer stated that simply not selling can be short-sighted:

Square-Enix To Delist Final Fantasy V and VI PC Ports On Steam In Late July - UPDATED

  UPDATE: The Steam page for the Pixel Remaster has been published, the series will launch on Steam on July 28th with Final Fantasy and Final Fantasy II launching on the same day. The original article follows below.   Square-Enix has quietly updated the Steam product pages for the PC ports of Final Fantasy V and VI with the following notice as of earlier this week:   **************************************** This game will no longer be available for purchase after July 27, 2021. Instead, please purchase the pixelated remaster version of "FINAL FANTASY VI," coming soon. ****************************************   While Square-Enix previously announced the Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster  during the online-only E3 event, the developer and publisher has yet to confirm a firm release date and release pattern for the new series of ground-up remasters of the RPG franchise. The delisting does not affect the 3D versions of the games and they will remain available alongs

Free PS Plus July 2021 Free Games Revealed, Including A Plague Tale For PS5

Microsoft just revealed  its Xbox Games With Gold lineup  for July, and now it's time for PlayStation to show off what it's got. Where Xbox is leaning into that Conker love, PlayStation is going in a different direction with WWE, some Call of Duty action, and rats. Lots of rats.  Just like every month, the new lineup is yours to keep as long as a PlayStation Plus membership is active.  Free PS Plus July 2021 Free Games  A Plague Tale: Innocence Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 WWE 2K Battlegrounds Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 is about what you'd expect from a Call of Duty experience with the exception that the Zombies portion is so much more immersive. It also includes Blackout, which is the battle royale portion of the shooter.  WWE 2K Battlegrounds is arcade-inspired, blending Superstars and Legends together into an experience filled with interactive environments alongside a new story mode. Kick your friends' butts, become the Superstar you were always meant to be,

QUIZ: How Well Do You Know Todoroki From My Hero Academia?

  Shoto Todoroki is one of My Hero Academia ’s most complex, compelling characters. He has gone through many changes over the course of the story, and as his perspectives on what it means to be a hero change, so do ours. How well do you remember this icy/hot hero? Take our quiz below to find out!     What’s your favorite Todoroki moment? Let us know in the comments below!       David Lynn can be found obsessing over Fate/Grand Order and D4DJ Groovy Mix on Twitter @navycherub .   Do you love writing? Do you love anime? If you have an idea for a features story,  pitch it to Crunchyroll Features! Source: Latest in Anime News by Crunchyroll!

Konami Teams Up With Layers Of Fear Dev For Alleged 'Silent Hill-Related' Project

The "will they, won't they" concerning Konami and the future of Silent Hill is not even close to a new conversation, so much so it's almost a bore at this point. Still, with the Abandoned game inciting Hideo Kojima-related conspiracy theories and rumors of a new Silent Hill game having run rampant for years now, it looks like there might actually be some substance to the latest report. Konami and Bloober Team, the studio behind Layers of Fear and The Medium, issued a new press release to media talking about a fresh partnership between the two companies. Bloober knows a thing or two about horror and the Polish studio has not been shy in the past about a love for all things Silent Hill. The press release noted a "strategic partnership," a partnership that many insiders are steadfastly saying is "Silent Hill-related." Before we dive into that, a quick refresher course on Bloober and its own run-in with Silent Hill rumors of gaming past . Earlier th

The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles – New Gameplay Today

Click to watch embedded media The Ace Attorney series is about as zany as you can imagine. Part visual novel, part puzzle game that sees players gather evidence and present court cases to an equally wild cast of characters. Though the North American fanbase has seen its fair share of entries featuring Phoenix Wright and the rest of his lawyers at large, two games have always eluded them.  The Great Ace Attorney Adventures and The Great Ace Attorney 2: Resolve were released in 2013 and 2017, respectively, on Nintendo 3DS and mobile, but only for a Japanese audience. That all changes on July 27 as Phoenix Wright's ancestor, Ryunosuke Naruhodo, and the bumbling legendary detective Herlock Sholmes make their way west as Capcom is releasing these two titles as The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles collection for PlayStation 4, Switch, and PC! But what can North American fans expect from this new set of games? The titles pick up a hundred years ago at the turn of the 20th century and h

Hostess Faces the Music in Life Lessons with Uramichi Oniisan TV Anime PV

  The realities of being an adult can be a bit grim, or at least that's the theory in a new character preview video for Life Lessons with Uramichi Oniisan (known in Japan as Uramichi Oniisan ), an upcoming anime adaptation based on the dark comedy manga by Gaku Kuze about a 31 year old gymnastics coach on a popular children's TV show that secretly nurses a dark and cynical personality.   The character PV (below) focuses on Utano Tadano, aka "Utano Oneesan". Although she graduated from a prestigious musical university, Utano has had bad luck in the music business, and has already tried and failed to be an idol singer, an enka singer, and a jazz singer. She's been living with her boyfriend, a comedian, for the last six years and she despairs that they'll never actually get married.     The original Uramichi Oniisan  manga is serialized in Ichijinsha's  comic POOL  digital magazine, and an English language version is also published by Kodansha Comics

Seven Seas Licenses My Next Life as a Villainess Yuri Side Story Manga

Seven Seas Entertainment has been announcing a slew of licenses this week, and one of the latest is yuri manga anthology My Next Life as a Villainess Side Story: Girls Patch . Various creators got in on this one, and the North American release date is currently set for May 2022 in a single large-trim edition.    Here's the official synopsis: Fans already love the romantic comedy franchise about Katarina Claes, a woman from Earth reborn into an otome game and determined to avoid her villainous end. Although she’s living in a game world full of male love interests, she also develops rich relationships with the women around her--and that’s exactly what this anthology is about. Enjoy these original manga stories about Katarina and her lovely ladies setting the boys aside to explore deeper relationships with each other. This book is a special gift to the fans of this series who dreamed of more love between the women!     Seven Seas also announced plans to publish Syougo Kinuga