Tag Archive

Loot Anime Death Box – Unboxing


Posted on July 7, 2017 by Rae Michelle Richards

What awaits us beyond the world of the living? No one truly knows but the folks at LootCrate put together a curated box of anime inspired goodies themed around the end of life itself. Featuring items from Parasyte, Death Note, Mob Psych 100 and other series – this unboxing might just send shivers down your spine by simply thinking about it… actually the more I write this post the more I am reminded of Halloween *shrug*.

Featured Items:

  • Parasyte Omnibus Manga Vol 1
  • Psycho Mob 100 Shirt
  • Exclusive Snap Back Hat
  • Death Note Glow In The Dark Mug
  • Phone Charm

While we’re talking about anime, here are a few suggestions for series to check out over on Crunchyroll (Grab a free 14 day trial by clicking that link) that directly involve death either as a major plot point or as a facet of the characters themselves.

#3 – Bleach

  

Ichigo Kurosaki is an average high school student until he encounters Shinigami Rukia Kuchiki, when she is injured in combat it is up to Ichigo to awaken his latent powers and become a god of death himself. Along the way he’ll face various foes, build relationships with an interesting cast of characters and go through more story arcs than can be recounted in this simple article. Seriously the manga has been running 2001 and only ended last year – it was adapted into an Anime that spanned 366 episodes and will be released as a live-action feature film sometime next year.

#2 – Death Note

Yet another anime suggestion starring a male high school student? Here me out – Death Note is an interesting character study on what kind of person would use the power of the Shinigami to craft what they consider a “perfect world”. Where does the line between the god-like personification of a mysterious serial killer begin and the psyche of high school student Light Yagami end? Death Note features one of the most interesting mental chess matches in all of anime – between Light and the investigator known as “L” over the course of its 37 episodes.

#1- Psycho Pass

In the future Japanese society is transformed into a dystopian police state thanks to the introduction of the Sybil system. This intricate automated surveillance system is not only capable of monitor private and public elements of every citizens life but also able to assess in real time the probability of an individual to commit a crime. Depending on a person’s “crime coefficient” the Sybil system is able to judge whether that person must be detained for the rest of their life, rehabilitatable or killed outright. It is a frightening thought and as a viewer, you learn the secrets and depths of this automated society alongside new Inspector Akane Tsunemori as she joins Unit 1 of the Public Safety Bureau.

Loot Anime does send us these boxes free of charge for promotional and content creation purposes. We do not receive any kind of payment or incentive for referring readers or viewers to their service.


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Tanto Cuore – Deck Building Card Game Unboxing


Posted on July 6, 2017 by Les Major

Tanto Unboxing

What’s better than anime girls? Anime maids! Japanime Games has you covered with the deck building card game Tanto Cuore! While we were at Anime North this year a friend of mine introduced me to Japanime’s products and it really stuck with me. Thankfully those folks were nice enough to set us up with some materials so we can check out the game and share some brand new videos with you!

As I’m sure you know, we’re relatively new to promoting physical game media like this. It is something we’re passionate about however and we’re happy to finally be bringing content like this to you. The video below features yours truly opening up the core box set of Tanto Cuore. That doesn’t mean there are booster packs. Instead, everything to play the game is included in the main box. There are expansions to the game, but those come in their own full box sets.

We also have a more tactical board game from Japanime Games to check out as well. So stay tuned for that as well as my coverage of actually playing Tanto Cuore! I was surprised to see such a reaction from many of my friends in Toronto. They love the game to pieces so I’m certainly eager to dive in and see what we can do. If all goes well we may even be lucky enough to have some celebrities from our animation joining in for the video!


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Attack On Titan Season 2 Kicks Off With A Cliffhanger


Posted on April 2, 2017 by Rae Michelle Richards

Shonen Jump’s popular Attack On Titan anime adaptation has finally returned with brand new episodes after a crushing 3 year wait. Fans have waited patiently for the show’s return after it was announced nearly a year ago that production delays would mean that the series wouldn’t meet its original Summer 2016 release window.

SPOILER WARNING FOR EVERYTHING PAST THIS PICTURE!

Episode 26 ‘The Beast Titan’ kicks right off where season 1 ended – with the reveal that inside Wall Sina was the face of a titan. Hange’s group is quick to cover up the exposed face of the Titan before morning worshippers can come see the exposed face of the monstrosity. In the intervening hours, this group of survey core members interrogate Pastor Nick, a member of the clergy, who is more than willing to die and take what knowledge he may have to the grave with him. The back half of the episode takes viewers back 12 hours and deals with a group of recruits, including Sasha & Connie, stationed in the south of the inner wall as they attempt to evacuate as many people as they can before a large group of rampaging Titans

Two moments from this week’s episode really stand out to me as ‘must watch moments’. The first being Hange’s interrogation of Pastor Nick. The shock, rage and desperation for answers within Hange is very apparent from the get-go and even as Pastor Nick is willing to accept his possible demise, there was never a doubt in my mind that Hange was only a couple of seconds away from simply tossing Nick off the wall. At then end of this initial episode Mike decides to become a distraction for the newly introduced Beast Titan so that the rest of the recruits can fan out and make their to the various villages. His demise reminds viewers just how brutal Attack On Titan is, a chilling return to form for the series after such a long hiatus.

‘The Beast Titan’ doesn’t provide any character development for the main cast, the trio actually have very little screen time in this episode. It will be interesting to see where the Anime goes with the mysteries surrounding the Best Titan, as I haven’t really read the manga at all any twists and turns involving the Beast will be completely new to me. Considering the amount of content and tension packed into this first episode ‘The Beast Titan’ doesn’t really have room for re-caps, montages or synopsis. If it has been a while since you last watched Attack On Titan considering enjoying a Season 1 refresher before tackling this brand new episode.

 


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IMPRESSIONS: Azure Striker Gunvolt (anime)


Posted on February 13, 2017 by Jason Nason

I’ll admit I haven’t had a chance to try either of Inti Creates’ Azure Striker Gunvolt games, though they’ve been on my list for some time. But nevertheless I jumped at the chance to check out their OVA (original video animation) for the series when it was released last week. The anime was originally intended to be released in 2016, but delays pushed back the release to February 9th, 2017.

Having not played either of the two games I wasn’t too sure who the characters were or what was going on exactly, but with the video’s short running time it didn’t really make the anime any less enjoyable to watch. I’m not too sure, but it feels like the anime takes place chronologically in between the two games, based on the story descriptions of the two game.

Read More


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Sailor Moon R: The Movie Getting US Theatrical Release


Posted on November 14, 2016 by Rae Michelle Richards

Sailor Moon R: The Movie- the 1993 theatrical length movie from Toei Animation – will make a limited theatrical appearance in both the original Japanese audio and an English Dub next January thanks to the folks at VIZ Media.

This coming January fans will be able to check out the uncut / unedited version of Sailor Moon R: The Movie for the first time in North America. Over 300 theaters across the United States will be taking part in this limited time theatrical run and the availability of the English Dub / JPN Subs will differ depending on the individual theater. A complete list of participating theaters and the language options offered will be available on VIZ Media’s official website soon.

If you’re a fan of the mid-90s anime staple then some of the English voice cast will be a pleasant surprise. Stephanie Sheh will be reprising her role as Usagi Tsukino alongside Robbie Daymond voicing the mysterious Tuxedo Mask.

Here is an official synopsis of the film released by VIZ:

“In the film, long before Mamoru found his destiny with Usagi, he gave a single rose in thanks to a lonely boy who helped him recover from the crash that claimed his parents. This long-forgotten friend, Fiore, has been searching the galaxy for a flower worthy of that sweet gesture long ago. The mysterious flower he finds is beautiful, but has a dark side – it has the power to take over planets. To make matters worse, the strange plant is tied to an ominous new asteroid near Earth! Faced with an enemy blooming out of control, it’s up to Sailor Moon and the Sailor Guardians to band together, stop the impending destruction and save Mamoru!”

Sailor Moon R: The Movie originally debuted in Japan in December 1993 – making next month the film’s 13th birthday! VIZ Media will also be issuing DVD & Blu-Ray editions of the classic Sailor Moon Series as well as limited edition Sailor Moon Crystal box sets.


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Yo-Kai Watch movie in select American theatres on October 15th


Posted on October 5, 2016 by Jason Nason

If you weren’t aware the newest Yo-Kai Watch game was released last week. The sequel, fleshed out in a pair of games Yo-Kai Watch 2: Bony Spirits and Yo-Kai Watch 2: Fleshy Souls, are the latest property released in the every growing Yo-Kai Watch series. Now there is a movie on the way as well, which will be released in very limited release.

Yo-Kai Watch: The Movie, the first English-language film based on the Yo-Kai Watch, will be in select theatres in for one day only, and only in the United States. The film will be released in a limited engagement on Saturday, October 15th.

The film, based on the hit show which airs in Canada on Teletoon, follows Nate Adams and his Yo-kai friends, Whisper and Jibanyan, as they’re transported to the past to help Nate’s grandfather, Nathaniel, battle evil Yo-kai and invent the Yo-kai Watch. The film also introduces a new Yo-kai — Hovernyan, a floating blue cat who is Nathaniel’s heroic companion.

Read More


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Digimon Tri Chapter 1’Reunion’ Gets An English Dub & Theatrical Release


Posted on August 17, 2016 by Rae Michelle Richards

The DigiDestined are about to hit the big screen for the first time in 16 years thanks to the collaborative efforts of Toei Animation. Eleven Arts and Fathom Events.

A special one night only event will take place on Thursday September 15th at 7PM where 400 select theatres all across the United States will air the English dub premiere of Digimon Tri – Chapter One: Reunion”. This new dub  features Tai’s original English voice actor Joshua Seth alongside a new cast of voice actors who will help bring the original DigiDestined back to theatres for original fans as well as a whole new generation.

Digimon Tri is a continuation of the 1999 original Digimon Adventure anime series and picks up six years after the events of season 1. With the portals to the digital world closed for a number of years the DigiDestined children have matured, enrolled in high school but the bonds formed during their digital adventures still hold strong. As a new threat looms can they reunite to unravel the mysteries of strange portals to the digital world that have suddenly appeared?

Digmon_Tri_2

The original Digimon Adventure series aired from August 1999 until early 2000 in America and was dubbed by Sabban Entertainment and was distributed by Fox Kids. It was followed by a direct sequel Digimon Adventure 02 which picked up 3 years after the original series. Fox Kids released a theatrical film for the Digimon franchise in North America titled “Digimon: The Movie” – this movie was in fact a re-working of three of Toei Animation seasonal celebration shorts: ‘Digmon Adventure’, ‘Our War Game’ and ‘Digimon Hurricane Touchdown’.

For a complete listing of participating theatres check out this site.


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What Is The Pokémon Anime Like In Japanese?


Posted on August 15, 2016 by Les Major

Pokemon Japanese Version Anime

Pointed out by Kotaku earlier today, the video below shows a stark contrast between the Japanese and dubbed versions of the Pokémon anime. The biggest difference is the intensity of the battle scene shown. The English dub seems to carry a sense of mystery and adventure throughout the battle while the Japanese original is a very hard core rock rendition. Honestly I don’t know which I prefer. I’m leaning more toward the Japanese version but I also grew up on anime like VS Knights: Lamune and 40 Fire.

What do you think?

Obviously both versions have a very different feel. We know Ash as a calm and cool strategist. Seeing him yelling his commands instead like a new cast member of Dragon Ball Z preparing an Earth shattering special attack is quite different.


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Just Deserts: More about girls than the game | review


Posted on August 12, 2016 by Fionna Schweit

Most of the time with a VN you get a great story, a set of cute characters that fit in to a single archetype. Usually you will have the various dere girls, the cute nerd, and at least one more type, sometimes shes the clumsy one, sometimes shes the super hot one. Doesn’t really matter, point is that you get a set of girls, usually introduced right away and yourself the player character who is trying to woo them. This is done via a fairly simple set of interactions that raise how much a girl likes you over time eventually leading to dates, and then the end game. Just deserts take a much less direct approach to this, for you see aliens have invaded.

The game begins with you pulled on to an unknown military base, shown to the bases commander Cornelia (who has pink hair) and briefed out on the fact that the facility you are at is in fact a secret forward operating base that’s fighting aliens. Not your standard opening to a VN, but I guess its more plausible then finding two cat girls in a box (if you don’t get that go play Nekopara). The rest of the game features 4 other girls, with hair colored Blonde(Ceceile), Black(yumi), White(Eve), and red (Jennifer) plus the commander we already met. You will spend most of the game getting small quests for these girls, and fighting turn based battles against aliens.

The Full Cast

The Full Cast

Because this is a VN im going to be talking a lot about art, and voices, and not as much about the game part itself. If you really want a gaming experience I cannot in good conscious recommend that you play a VN. Go play Overwatch or something instead. That out of the way the V part of this VN is really stellar. It features a soft art style that’s full 2D instead of the sudo 3D that many VN’s opt for.  There is no character movement in the sprites so don’t expect something like the boobs slider you get in Neko Para to make an appearance.  Backgrounds are beautifully penned, but they really do look like paintings because they are static. Everything has a soft glow that makes it sort of resemble an oil painting which feels a bit out of place in a VN about alien invasion.

The girls themselves all have different body types and styles. Each on can be dressed in a variety of different outfits that are purchasable with in game money.  You can have each on wear these clothes in various poses which you also purchase. The games CG screens (a must in any VN) are well drawn, but basic, this is also an all ages VN so don’t expect any nudity here. The game is voiced but not fully, instead you get kind of bits and pieces of what the characters are saying, which is a nice feature but id almost prefer the fully voiced Japanese standard that comes with most VN’s.

I really like the games flat UI its one the best I have ever played.

I really like the games flat UI its one the best I have ever played.

The story is the most basic of VN stories, your dropped in to a (future) harem of girls as the clueless MC, and expected to start doing things to woo these girls. Story is honestly the worst aspect of this otherwise fun VN. I know that sounds sort of backwards since the second letter literally stands for novel, but I really don’t feel like not having a story takes much away here. Bascially you’re the typical super MC who can save the world, but also there are some girls you have to woo, it’s shallow on the level of Honey pop but with less matching and more shooting aliens. As to the earlier mentioned aliens, we never find out more about them than they are invading. They simply serve as faceless antagonists to keep the game moving. The most plot we really get comes at the end of our month of time (yes this is a time limited game) where we go to the alien ship to destroy it.

This is what combat looks like

This is what combat looks like

But you didn’t really come here for the story did you? I mean I didn’t, I saw cute girls and was like lets do that! Each of the 5 girls featured has a purpose, a skill if you will in the upcoming battle with the alien menace. The relationship aspect of this game is that the more you woo a girl, the better her weapons to fight the aliens will get.  In each play through you will have 30 days to get to know each girl as much as possible , unlock all of their weapons, and go attack the alien spaceship. The game is pretty kind about those days, and there are only a few planned events during the 30 day period.

The scenes in between the combat are nice enough, you get to interact with the various girls, who slide on and off screen in a cut out sprite style. Since you have 5 different characters to woo, you can expect plenty of time will be spent choosing which one you want to “power up”. These are basically the games different routes, and you won’t be able to do all 5 in one go, so there is at least some replayability here.

dresssup

Your time is most difficult resource to manage here. Training or wooing or fighting all take time. You also have very limited money, and will need to get more to buy gifts for the girls to get them to like you better.  I don’t have much nice to say about the combat in this game, its pretty basic. I never felt like I was going to lose up until the last boss which took a major curve on difficulty in a scary way.

The battle system it self is turn based and most resembles something like an early JRPG. You attack, use items, or special abilities. Enemies are only encountered while on patrol , and on each patrol you can bring one girl, who can also use a special ability. , you can buy new weapons (which all have limited use) and armor, as well as training to increase stats and to increase attack or survivability. This is basically all it is in a nutshell, with just a few more mechanics that I haven’t touched on.

Combat suffer from being almost too simple, but really it’s a VN im here for the cute, not the combat, so I cant fault the game too much. I do have one complaint, enemy diversity is basically 0. Here is the enemy list: a cube,  a fire cube, an acid cube, a grass cube, a hexagon, a diamond, and a sun. That’s it. The other “game” part of this is of course the dating sim, which is pretty good actually. The UI is fantastic, I really liked how slick and modern it looked.  Just like most VN’s you will be spending your time here buying things for girls, wooing girls, giving them things, and talking to them. Each thing you do will earn you love points, and as those grow you will eventually go on a date.  After you complete a set number of dates, you fall in love, and well win.

Overall I really enjoyed Just Deserts. It mixes up the usual VN formula of just dates with just enough combat. The combat is boring after a while sure, but its still way better than it would be if you just didnt have any at all. With the tiny price tag its totally worth it.


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VIZ Media to develop RWBY titles with Rooster Teeth


Posted on July 29, 2016 by Fionna Schweit

RWBY has been a run away success, with millions of eager Anime Fans devouring the series as fast as Rooster Teeth can make it.  RWBY still holds a record for being the first (and only) Western animated show to ever be dubbed in Japanese and distributed in Japan. The partnership Kicks Off With Publication of RWBY Manga Title In 2017, With Other Books Based On The Smash Hit Animated Series Forthcoming

VIZ Media, a premier company in the fields of publishing, animation distribution, and global entertainment licensing, has announced a partnership with Rooster Teeth. Rooster Teeth is an Austin, TX-based entertainment and media company behind the globally acclaimed animated series RWBY, the first western anime series to be distributed to Japan.

The Girls of RWBY

The Girls of RWBY

RWB what now?

RWBY is Rooster Teeth’s award-winning anime series that tells the story of four different girls brought together for one legendary purpose. Ruby, Weiss, Blake, and Yang are students at Beacon Academy, an ancient school designed to train the monster-slayers knows as Hunters and Huntresses. Unfortunately, monsters aren’t the only threat in the world of Remnant, and if these girls want to graduate, they’ll have to learn to work together  both on the battlefield and in the classroom. So basically its a classic highschool super powers anime.  Only its not really an anime since its not made in Japan, but its at least as good as most of the anime coming out of Japan.

So its gonna be a manga now?

Pretty much yah. Beth Kawasaki Editoral director of VIZ said in the press release. “The Rooster Teeth-VIZ Media partnership will showcase the strong creative vision and production expertise between our two entertainment companies to expand the vivid and exciting world of RWBY globally in bold new ways that fans will love,”

While Head of Rooster Teeth Animation Gray G. Haddock also expressed interest saying ““We are thrilled to be working with VIZ Media to bring such beautiful books to RWBY’s audience.”

The new books will go more in to back story of the RWBY world, and work to expand whats already there. If you are a fan these manga and possibly light novels are for sure worth checking out.


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Just Deserts Deploys on Steam


Posted on July 25, 2016 by Fionna Schweit

Sekai is teaming with Vifth Floor to bring military dating sim action to all of you! If you like fighting aliens, cute girls or VN’s your going to want to check out this all new release.

Love is just a sand dune away, but first it is time to give these alien invaders their “Just Deserts!” Sekai Project, a publisher and licenser of Japanese new media and electronic entertainment, in partnership with Vifth Floor, today announced the military-themed action dating sim, Just Deserts is now available on Steam for Windows, Mac, and Linux. This game is really mostly about getting cute girls to love you. It does have some plot and a little action, but its a VN through and through.

But like plot?

YAh its got a plot, in case your not just here for the cute girl. Sekai says

“In Just Deserts players will step into the combat boots of a soldier who must defend Aquarine City, after the neighboring city of Quentine was obliterated by a mysterious race of alien invaders. Assigned to a troop of highly-skilled and dangerously captivating girls, players will set out to save humankind and maybe even capture the heart of their dream girl(s) in the process.”

The plot is about aliens invading earth, and of course there are some cute girls to fight them off, and you need to do things for the cute girls.

girls

You said fighting aliens?

Honestly I give exactly 0 craps about what the game is about, I am literally just here for the cute girls.  In case you really do care, here is a list of features. With a wide spectrum of fun activities to engage in, a robust management system, hundreds of in-game items to use and collect, turn-based battles, and more, Just Desertswill keep players enlisted and engaged for countless hours.

Just Deserts Features:

  • 5 unique heroines with different personalities and interests
  • Full English voice acting for each heroine
  • 3 in-game languages (English, Indonesian, and Japanese)
  • 7 different endings, based on your status with each of the heroines
  • Interactive and engaging turn-based battles with the invading aliens
  • List of activities which can be done alone or together with your favorite heroine
  • Management system with energy, health, money, day/night time, and love status
  • Hundreds of items to use as gifts, food, or aide in battle
  • Mini-map that allows players to travel across the desert area and within the city
  • A beautiful soundtrack composed by Ecky from the Vesuvia Circle
  • Steam Trading Cards and Achievements

So get out there and date the cute girls, because in celebration of the highly-anticipated release, Just Deserts will be 10% off of its regularly listed price of $9.99 for the first week!


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Hideki Anno Apologizes For Evangelion 3.0 + 1.0’s Radio Silence


Posted on July 21, 2016 by Rae Michelle Richards

Neon Gensis Evangelion is my absolutely favorite anime series despite its disconnected narrative and massive plot threads / teases the end up going absolutely nowhere and fans have been waiting for an entire decade to see the alternate vision of director Hideki Anno‘s classic 90s mecha series make its way from beginning to end. It has been four years since the last film, 2012’s Evangelion 3.0: You Can (NOT) Advance made its’ Japanese theatrical debut and now Hideki Anno has offered an apology to fans. 

Here is a partial translated quote from Kotaku in regards to Anno’s apology: 

“To all the Evangelion fans, I’m really, really keeping you all waiting …  Evangelion can only be described as my soul. It’s a work that chips off parts of me.” 

Further in the original article Kotaku quotes Anno as explaining that producing Evangelion can be draining to his mental health and like many creatives he needs time to recuperate. It won’t be surprising to learn for long time fans that during the production of Evangelion 3.0 Anno wasn’t even sure if he wanted to complete the tetrilogy given these costs. Thankfully it looks his work on the upcoming Godzila film has recharged him enough to finish work on the Eva film series that began production back in 2006.

Did you enjoy any of the Rebuild series that has been released thus far? Let us know in the comments! As soon as more information on Evangelion 3.0 + 1.0 becomes available we will bring it to you.


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One Punch Man to air on Toonami


Posted on July 7, 2016 by Fionna Schweit

If you havent seen One Punch Man yet, read my reivew first, then scream with childish excitment. Why? Becuase Toonami, that revived block of anime and awesome on Saturday nights, is bringing it to you. Leave it to my own beloved Viz media to take this amazing show to the masses. VIZ Media and Adult Swim’s Toonami team made the announcement before a packed audience of fans at the nation’s largest anime convention Anime Expo held this past weekend in Los Angeles.

If you Missed AX dont worry, its mostly jsut news and famous people. If you missed One Punch Man this is a great time to catch up on it!

One-Punch Man is a one of a kind show and we’re excited to have it join our Toonami line-up,” said Jason DeMarco, senior vice president and creative director, on-air for Adult Swim. “We know our viewers have been hoping this would happen for a while, and we’re thrilled to have been able to make it happen!”

I for one am incredibly excited to see one of my favorite shows on Toonami on saturday nights! Its one of the only reasons I still have cable!


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Do you Love VN’s? Now you can make your own with VN Maker!


Posted on July 1, 2016 by Fionna Schweit

If you know me, you know I am no stranger to Visual Novels (VN’s). I write news about them. I review them. My steam is full of them! So obviously I love VN’s.  I am obviously not the only one who is an admirer of the medium. Degica has decided to bring the experience of creating Visual Novels to Steam this summer.

capsule_616x353

 

The Makers

Degica is no stranger to maker games, being responsible for the massive RPG maker series so loved by amateur game programmers. So i makes sense that they would publish a similar tool for Visual Novels. Degica describes the new game as “their latest installment to the ‘Maker’ series of game development tools”. Now as far as I know this is one of only two of their tools, but hopefully its a step in a direction towards a world where Degica has a ton of maker tools. I would love to see FPS maker 2016, or similar things.  Now this Tokyo-based publisher specializing in localizing Japanese games for the global market is expanding to allow you to make your own!

VNSS_01

The tool

Visual Novel Maker is Degica’s answer to the new, exploding demand for VN content from the US. According to Degica, it features:

  • Beautiful, free to use assets to get you started.
  • Dynamic creation tools aimed for artists and writers.
  • Scripting and Extension for user-integrated functionality.
  • Live2D and voice sync support.
  • Multiple resolution support.
  • Multiple exporting options.
  • Easy Game Localization tool.

The game will launch this Autumn on Steam, and fans can expect it to cost around 20USD$.

I hope that this tool is as easy to use as RPG maker, ill be reaching out to Degica in the coming weeks to see if we can get our hands on a review copy, which I am sure I will want to play with extensively, and then bring you a review!


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VIZ Media to parther with OverDrive to provide digital manga titles at participating libraries in the U.S. and Canada.


Posted on June 24, 2016 by Fionna Schweit

lovers of manga who were alive in the 90s and early 00’s, will remember when you could walk in to a Barns and Nobel, or a Borders, and find shelves and shelves of manga. Most of this manga was readable in store. I can remember spending long hours waiting in the stacks of those book stores wishing I had the money to take some of that manga home. Kids of today have a better option. Services like OverDrive bring digital titles to libraries across the United States and Canada, and now VIZ media has announced that they will be joining OverDrive.

VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), the largest publisher, distributor and licensor of manga and anime in North America, has announced an agreement with OverDrive to provide a wide variety of its most popular digital manga (graphic novel) titles at  participating libraries in the U.S. and Canada.

What is overdrive?

OverDrive is a leading digital distribution platform, supplying the industry’s largest catalog of eBooks, audiobooks, streaming video and periodicals to 34,000 libraries, schools and retailers worldwide, including 90 percent of all public libraries in the U.S. “OverDrive’s digital platform offers an innovative, cloud-based and fully scalable channel to offer a diverse selection of age-appropriate digital manga content to library patrons and our partnership with the company will ensure that users have access to some of the most popular titles from the VIZ Media catalog,” says Kevin Hamric, Senior Director, Publishing Sales & Marketing, VIZ Media.

What about the manga?

Viz will begin offering through the Overdrive service  several popular and award-winning VIZ Media titles such as NARUTO, DEADMAN WONDERLAND, VAMPIRE KNIGHT, and NEON GENESIS EVANGELION. Viz is placing these titles  in digital collections at libraries around the country for young readers to check out. Viz plans to keep adding more titles as the year goes on with many more already planned. If you are interested you can review the full list at  www.overdrive.com/publishers/vizmedia

“VIZ Media is a proven leader in manga publishing and we are very excited to add some of their most popular series to our service,” says Karen Estrovich, Director, Collection Development at OverDrive. “OverDrive delivers a large catalog  combined with intuitive, easy to use eReading apps. Manga continues to be one of the most popular categories at libraries and we invite readers to discover all of the exciting new VIZ Media titles with our service.”


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