Where the American Anime Fandom Goes

An interesting insight into the nature of popularity of Anime in America.

OGIUE MANIAX

I’ve been living outside of the United States for the past few years, though funnily enough I’ve spent every 4th of July in the US. This year is an exception, but at the same time I will also be heading back home soon. So at least for the foreseeable future, this is my first and last Independence Day in Europe. What better time then to talk about America? I haven’t done that in a few years either.

Specifically, there are a bunch of thoughts related to Americans and anime fandom that have been whirling around in my head as of late, and I’m using this opportunity to try and organize them into some cohesive ideas. Not sure if I’ll succeed or not but that’s part of the entrepreneurial spirit or somesuch. AMERICA.

Two pieces of news that caught my eye over the past few weeks have been…

View original post 1,064 more words

Hey I Wrote A Thing: Naruto 648

I felt compelled to write about a not particularly compelling chapter. Check it out if you like (no one’s forcing you though). *yawns* sleepy time.

The Otaku Ascetic – Naruto 648: Fighting Dreamers

 

Namaste Nerds!

Konami reveals sexy Star Eater Mat for upcoming OTS Championships

 

Konami has revealed what winning the upcoming OTS Championship at local card shops around the country, in addition to an invitation to next year’s World Championship Qualifier, will net you. Ain’t it beautiful?

The first OTSC happens around the country on September 28th. Check with your local game shop to see if they’ll be hosting it or another one in the future.

http://www.yugioh-card.com/en/otschampionship/index.html

Da Nu’s: Pokemon Direct Reveals New Mega-Evolutions, Pokemon Bank, and More!

Nintendo and Game Freak have just wrapped up their most recent edition of Pokemon Direct and have revealed that in the story, you’ll be receiving both a Generation 6 starter Pokemon (from one of your in-game friends) and a Generation 1 starter Pokemon (from Professor Sycamore). The final forms of the Gen 1 starters are also going to be receiving Mega-Evolutions, which hints at the fact that starter Pokemon across all generations may also be getting them. Below is clear art for each of the new Mega-Evolutions (courtesy of Serebii.net), and the newest Trailer for Pokemon X and Y.

Another new feature is the Pokemon Bank, a paid cloud storage system that will allow you to both store your Pokemon and transfer them between games (and even across generations of Pokemon), using an add-on called the Poke Transporter. There was also confirmation that the previously revealed Special Edition Blue Pokemon 3DS will be released in Europe and the US on September 27th (and will have a matching Red counterpart).

 

Da Nu’s (Late Night Card Game Edition): Official YuGiOh Banlist Hits and It’s HORRIBLE.

So, uh, this is a thing. Words cannot describe the confusion that comes with this list.

http://www.yugioh-card.com/en/limited/index.html

Da Nu’s (Card Game Edition): Official OCG Banlist for YuGiOh Leaks!

Shriek and a bunch of other sources have confirmed the list that’s been floating around the internet for the past few days as the Official Forbidden & Limited List for the OCG. It’s essentially going to be the same here in the TCG (which will be released officially this upcoming Tuesday, August 20th), so we can finally breathe easy and start preparing for the upcoming format. The list and link is past the jump.

What To Watch (Card Game Edition): MTG Grand Prix Warsaw, Pokemon World Championships, YuGiOh World Finals and more

If you’ve got a little bit of time on your hands, feel free to watch any of the premier card game events happening this weekend. Links below.

Magic! The Gathering:

• Grand Prix Warsaw Day 2 (Top 8 onward), live now — http://www.twitch.tv/magic
• Star City Games Open in Salt Lake City (Top 8 onwards), live now — http://www.twitch.tv/scglive

Pokemon:

• Pokemon World Championship Finals (both TCG and VG), starts at 9 a.m. PDT/12 p.m. EDT — http://www.twitch.tv/pokemon

YuGiOh:

• YuGiOh World Championship Day 2 (Top 8 onward), starts at 9:30 a.m. PDT/12:30 p.m. EDT — http://www.yugioh-card.com/en/video/2013_YGOWorlds_live.html

If you didn’t know already, PST is Pacific Daylight Time (West Coast right now), and EDT is Eastern Daylight Time (East Coast right now).

Mega-Pokemon Officially Revealed for X and Y in New Trailer

As detailed in Da Nu’s yesterday, Mega-Pokemon are going to be a new feature in Pokemon X and Y. We now have an official trailer that hints at how our new Super-Saiyan overlords exist and function in the game world. At first glance it looks to be through a held item called the Mega Stone, and as noted in the CoroCoro leaks yesterday only the appearance and Abilities of the Pokemon themselves change. There are more details about these Mega-Pokemon in the trailer below so give it a look-see.

Da Nu’s (Video Gaming Edition): Mega-Evolution in Pokemon X/Y, MLG drops SC2 from Columbus, HiRez Studios shafts the Tribes Community (again), and more!

Reignbeauxdash here with some of the top stories this week in news from the video gaming world.

• Leaks from the upcoming issue of CoroCoro magazine have indicated that there will be a new form of evolution for select Pokemon in X and Y dubbed “Mega-Evolution”. It doesn’t seem to be a new type of evolution entirely, but instead a way of changing the looks and Abilities of existing Pokemon temporarily. — http://serebii.net/index2.shtml
• Sundance DiGiovanni, the founder of Major League Gaming, unceremoniously dropped a bombshell on Twitter earlier today: there will be no Starcraft 2 at MLG Columbus this November. It’s sad to hear about, but not entirely unexpected. — https://twitter.com/MLGSundance/status/365456087677284355
• HiRez Studios has decided to shift community discussion for Tribes Ascend from their own forums to other platforms, reddit in particular. They did so with only a days notice (and have subsequently deleted their own forums), and without informing the reddit community beforehand. Understandably, the community for the game (or what’s left of it after HiRez gave up on the game and moved entirely to Smite) is frustrated. — http://www.reddit.com/r/SubredditDrama/comments/1jt5o7/games_developer_hirez_with_a_less_than_stellar/
• The International 3 DOTA 2 Championships, the largest eSports event to date, got underway yesterday. Give it a look-see. — http://www.dota2.com/international/home/overview/
• King of Fighters 13 will be coming to PC through Steam sometime in the future. It was leaked through a trailer that is currently unavailable on Steam. — http://www.eventhubs.com/news/2013/aug/07/king-fighters-13-making-its-way-pc-trailer-leaked-steam/
• Lastly, here’s something to crush your hope in humanity. Snoop Lion’s Snoopify app has a sticker that looks like weed selling for 100 dollars. People are actually buying it. — http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2013/08/06/snoopify-app-sells-99-99-digital-sticker-people-actually-buy-it/

From the Vault: Twenty Full List Revealed

From the Vault: Twenty Full List Revealed

Wizards has finally released the entire list for FTV: 20 and it’s … a Jace reprint cleverly disguised as 20 years of Magic history! Good luck getting one at MSRP ($39.99) when it releases on the 23rd of August. Other cards of note include Dark Ritual, Thran Dynamo, and Gilded Lotus. The entire list is below, in order of year relevant to Magic’s history:

1. Dark Ritual (1993)
2. Swords to Plowshares
3. Hymn To Tourach
4. Fyndhorn Elves
5. Impulse
6. Wall of Blossoms
7. Thran Dynamo
8. Tangle Wire
9. Fact or Fiction
10. Chainer’s Edict
11. Akroma’s Vengeance
12. Gilded Lotus
13. Ink-Eyes, Servant of Oni
14. Char
15. Venser, Shaper Savant
16. Chameleon Colossus
17. Cruel Ultimatum
18. Jace, The Mind Sculptor
19. Green Sun’s Zenith
20. Kessig Wolf Run (2012)