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  The manga creator behind influential and groundbreaking series such as  Ranma ½ ,  Urusei Yatsura , and  Inuyasha , Rumiko Takahashi , has finally opened a Twitter account. The account is run by her editorial staff and will focus on releasing news to do with  Takahashi's work, such as the currently serialized  MAO , as well as behind-the-scenes information.    Takahashi drew an image of Lum from  Urusei Yatsura (and the yokai Amabie, who is said to ward off pandemics) to celebrate the opening of the account alongside a message from her and the editorial staff.     高橋留美子からのお知らせ pic.twitter.com/cDTaPk6ttX — 高橋留美子情報 (@rumicworld1010) June 1, 2021     The above message says that the editorial staff has opened the account for  Takahashi , as she isn't very good with the Internet. A Peing account was also opened for fans to ask  Takahashi questions, which is linked to the Twitter ac...

    The official website for the Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon franchise has revealed a main visual, main cast, and performance schedule for its forthcoming new musical show Kaguya-hime no Koibito (The Lover of Princess Kaguya) .   The show as originally slated for the summer of 2020 but has been postponed due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Now it is newly set to be performed at The Galaxy Theater in Tokyo from September 3 to 12, 2021. After advance sales for the official fan club members from June 11 to 30, general sales of the tickets will begin on August 7.   The new musical show is based on the 1994 film Sailor Moon S: The Movie , whose manga edition drawn by Naoko Takeuchi was also published in the same year under the title Kaguya-hime no Koibito . It was a popular episode among fans and told a sad love story between Usagi Tsukino's partner, Luna, and a young astronomer named Kakeru Ohzora, who saved her. Sailor Saturn, who didn't appear in the or...

Today on June 1, 2021, KADOKAWA announced the establishment of Studio KADAN , KADOKAWA Group's first production company that handles both 3DCG animation and VFX. KADOKAWA Group has already owned two animation production companies - ENGI ( Uzaki-chan Wants to Hang Out! ), a hybrid digital animation production studio that combines digital drawing and 3DCG, and KINEMA CITRUS ( Made in Abyss ), a company that produces internationally acclaimed hand-drawn animation.   Studio KADAN is a production studio based around Hiroyuki Seshita , one of Japan's leading 3DCG animation directors, who has worked on the anime TV series Knights of Sidonia and the anime film BLAME! The main features of the studio are that it has an environment that makes the participation of various creators easy and the latest knowledge in CG development by using director Seshita's know-how and production process in the field of CG.   In addition to the production of various digital entertainment, suc...

    Finally, Rurouni Kenshin: The Final , the first part of the two-part "Final Chapter"  live-action film series inspired by Nobuhiro Watsuki's action jidaigeki manga, reached No.1 in the Japanese box office for the first time in its sixth weekend.   The 138-minute film starring Takeru Sato as Kenshin Himura was released in Japan on April 23, 2021, and ranked second in its opening weekend with the first two-day gross of 535 million yen (4.89 million USD). While it was the No.1 opening weekend gross for a Japanese live-action film of this year, it had not been able to win first place in the weekend ranking so far due to other films. The film's total domestic gross has reached 3.1 billion yen (28.3 million USD), becoming the fourth top-grossing film of this year in Japan. The second and final part Rurouni Kenshin: The Beginning  is set to be released this Friday, June 4.   In its seventh weekend, the Detective Conan anime franchise's 24th feature...

  Diablo may not feel like he has any social skills, but he's got plenty of girls head-over-heels in love for him. Shera and Rem, the elf and catgirl stars of  How NOT to Summon a Demon Lord , are the subject of a beautiful new pair of figures in bridal dresses from F:NEX.     The two 1/7 scale figures, sold separately but designed to display together, are based on one of the illustrations from the first season's ending sequence. The red and gold base was newly designed by F:NEX.     Both Rem and Shera wear lovely wedding dresses and headpieces, and (of course) sport their accidental slave collars. They can each be displayed on their own, but their cushion bases are designed to allow them to sit together.     The  Shera figure  and  Rem figure  are available for pre-order on the F:NEX website. Each figure is 19,800 yen (about $180). Figures will be released starting  August 4 .   Source: Anime!...

    It has been confirmed that two new characters - the vampire princess Ecute and her attendant Atre - will appear in the forthcoming TV anime third season Dropkick on My Devil! X , which is scheduled to premiere in Japan in 2022.   The cool, black-haired character Atre is played by Reina Hasegawa , who has worked as the official reporter for the Dropkick on My Devil! franchise for two years. She is an ex-member of the Japanese girl idol group NGT48. After leaving the group in May 2019, she made her voice actress debut in September of the year. She is currently playing Rio Amakusa in the spring 2021 TV anime Koikimo .           Meanwhile, the voice cast of Ecute, the little blonde princess who is Atre's master, will be decided in an open audition for professionals and amateurs alike. In a normal open audition, the final decision is made by a panel of judges or a committee, but in this audition, the final decision will be made ...

    The official website for the ongoing 18th PreCure TV series Tropical-Rouge! Precure announced today that Laura, the mermaid girl who has been fighting against The Witch of Delays who steals people's motivation power, along with Cure Summer, Cure Coral, Cure Papaya, and Cure Flamingo, will transform into a new Precure on the episode to be aired in Japan on June 20. Her Precure name is Cure La Mer , and her signature line is "Yurameku Ocean! ( A shimmering ocean! ) Cure La Mer!"   This is the first time in the history of the long-running Precure franchise that a mermaid character transforms into a Precure (although Cure Mermaid, a Precure with a mermaid motif, has appeared in the 12th series Go! Princess Precure ).   Laura's voice cast Rina Hidaka says, "I've been fighting as a support character, uniting with everyone, but I'm deeply moved and very happy to be able to face the enemy together with Manatsu and the others as a Precure! I've dr...

  Blue Protocol is an action-RPG from Bandai Namco Studios that's currently in the works for PC. While there's no release date yet, Bandai Namco went ahead and shared a preview of the opening theme song, which is by none other than legendary Japanese rock band L'Arc-en-Ciel .    Check out the sample of "Mirai" in the 30- and 15-second videos below.       Via Gematsu     ------- Joseph Luster is the Games and Web editor at Otaku USA Magazine . You can read his comics at subhumanzoids . Follow him on Twitter @Moldilox . Source: Latest in Anime News by Crunchyroll!

The current Need for Speed game may be in limbo at present so developer Criterion can help out with the Battlefield franchise, but Electronic Arts has announced it is sunsetting several older Need for Speed titles. Not only will the the five affected Need for Speed games no longer have access to their online features when the sunset occurs this fall, but they are also delisted from digital storefronts effective today.  According to a Reddit post from community manager Max Myrus, Need for Speed Carbon, Need for Speed Undercover, Need for Speed Shift, Need for Speed Shift 2: Unleashed, and Need for Speed: The Run are getting delisted today. After today's delisting and closure of the in-game storefronts, players can access the online components until August 31. Beginning September 1, 2021, the online servers will close and players will be restricted to the offline modes. "Decisions to retire games are never made easy, but we are now shifting gears to focus on the f...

  Thanks to the milestone of the Atelier Ryza series hitting one million shipped units, Koei Tecmo is offering up a free bonus in both the original RPG, Atelier Ryza: Ever Darkness & the Secret Hideout , and its sequel, Atelier Ryza 2: Lost Legends & the Secret Fairy .    By heading into the Changing Room, players will now be able to select the White Lily of Summer costume in Atelier Ryza and the High Summer Formal costume in Atelier Ryza 2 .    The Atelier Ryza 1 million shipped units special DLC is available today! Both -"White Lily of Summer" (For #AtelierRyza ) costume - "High Summer Formal" (For #AtelierRyza2 ) costume are FREE to download! https://t.co/6mTStPHDmt https://t.co/QP4JWVFTK0 #KTFamily . pic.twitter.com/4pq3KP5qWK — KOEI TECMO AMERICA (@KoeiTecmoUS) May 31, 2021   Source: @KoeiTecmoUS     ------- Joseph Luster is the Games and Web editor at Otaku USA Magazine . You can read his comics at subh...

  Japan's current state of emergency means a lot of events have been postponed or cancelled. Fortunately, new options are in play — like a pre-recorded cast talk show, debuting at theaters nationwide this week.   Fate/Grand Order THE MOVIE -Divine Realm of the Round Table Camelot- Paladin;Agateram  has been running since May 15, but live events and distribution of bonuses at participating theaters have been delayed. On  June 5 , cinema-goers will be able to watch a special screening of the film with cast discussion playing beforehand.   The video will include appearances from  Mamoru Miyano  (Bedivere),  Nobunaga Shimazaki  (Ritsuka Fujimaru),  Ayako Kawasumi  (Artoria Pendragon/Fou),  Takahiro Mizushima  (Gawain),  Miyuki Sawashiro  (Mordred),  Ryotaro Okiayu  (Lancelot),  Kouki Uchiyama  (Tristan), and  Hiroki Yasumoto  (Agravain).   Tickets are  2,300 yen  p...

  Japanese tracking website Oricon released its estimated numbers for most-sold manga and light novels earlier today for the first half of 2021, with Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba once again taking the top spot for both rankings (by series). Though not too far behind Demon Slayer is JUJUTSU KAISEN on the individual manga rankings, with the present-day series taking the top light novel slots, making for a rivalry between the two new Weekly Shonen Jump powerhouses.   As a side note, Oricon tracks the physical releases of books in Japan from the period of November 23, 2020, to May 23, 2021, and doesn't factor in digital sales.    Manga (Individual volumes sold):   25.  Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yabia Volume 18 (1,005,265) 24.  Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yabia Volume 19 (1,005,455) 23. SPY x FAMILY Volume 6 (1,086,102) 22. Attack on Titan Volume 33 (1,094,178) 21.  Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yabia Volume 22 (1,171,508) 20. JUJU...

The studio behind Two Point Hospital is ready to take us back to school according to a leak from the Microsoft Store. We largely  enjoyed Two Point Hospital when it launched in 2018, as the game harkened back to the nostalgic delights of Theme Hospital, so when the Microsoft Store leaked that Two Point Studios is gearing up to announce a university management game, I was immediately on board.  The Microsoft Store listing (now taken down) was documented by several users across various forums, including Resetera and Quarter To Three . Those users not only grabbed the screenshots from the listing, but also the text from the product description. As the name implies, Two Point Campus allows you to build a university however you want, all with the signature Two Point Studios humor.  According to the copied text from the forum users, you can build the university of your dreams, then populate it with students, faculty, and staff. Each student has a personality with...

Double Fine founder Tim Schafer used to tell people he didn't have any regrets; he's been able to make all the things he wanted to make. But as he got older, his feelings changed. In his career, Schafer both participated in and encouraged brutal periods of crunch on various game development projects. Reflecting on it now, he says he has a lot of regrets about what he put his teams through. "When it's just yourself, you can throw yourself against the task as hard as you can," Schafer says. "'All day and all night, I'm going to push this rock. Ahhh! I'm going to give it my all.' And then as I got more into a role where I was managing and designing and there were other people doing the gameplay programming stuff, now you're pushing on a soft person who's against the rock. So you can, like, squish them and kill them if you push too hard." Schafer's career began in the nascent years of the game industry; his first job was at Luc...

  Hello everyone, and welcome to Why It Works. As you may remember, last week I offered a variety of tips and tricks for finally breaking into the titanic One Piece and at last seeing what all the fuss is about. By now, I have to assume you’re all hundreds of episodes into One Piece , chugging merrily along, unaware you’re soon to be confronted with a new challenge: What do you watch after One Piece ? After enjoying the towering highs and profound range of One Piece ’s experiences, what anime could now sate your refined media palate? Well, I never guide a reader into a place I can’t guide them out of, so today I’m completing my duty and offering some choice post- One Piece recommendations. Let’s get to it!     First off, if we’re talking in terms of scale, there’s obviously not that much like One Piece . The show has been running for two decades now, and unlike most truly perennial anime, it’s actually been building in complexity and narrative scale all that t...