Continuing a tradition started with the original season and it’s OVA episodes, the second season of OreImo will stream the DVD only episodes and conclusion internationally.

Fans of OreImo (My Little Sister Can’t Be This Cute) will be happy to hear that you won’t have to buy the DVDs and Blu-Rays to see the conclusion of the anime’s second season. With rights to broadcast on websites and mobile devices, there should be plenty of options for fans of the show.

Starting August 18 at 1 PM JST, the final three episodes of the second season, episodes 14, 15, and 16, will make their way to several websites for viewing in Japan and internationally. The official site for OreImo, Nico Nico Douga, and d Anime Store (a service on Docomo phones) will have it available for fans of the show who wish to watch it without subtitles.

If you prefer to watch it with, however, the episodes will be streaming at the same time regardless of country. This is so fans all over the world will have a chance to have fun together during the show’s finale. For fans who wish to watch it with English subtitles, it will be available on Crunchyroll in the Americas. Fans in China will be able to view it on LeTV, while those in Singapore can view it through their cable television providers.

The creators of OreImo are looking for everyone to feel the same happiness as fans of the show in Japan, and are certainly on the right path.

Source: AnimeAnime

Spike Chunsoft has been teasing Danganronpa’s arrival on the PS Vita for a while, but the latest issue of Weekly Famitsu has officially revealed a PS Vita port of the murder mystery series, titled Danganronpa 1 & 2 Reload.

Danganronpa: Kibou no Gakuen to Zetsubou no Koukousei is set in Kibogamine Academy, a school occupied by a group of incredibly talented super-students who each have a title such as “Super High School Level Baseball Player” or “SHSL Gambler”, the only exception being Makoto, an ordinary student who entered by winning a lottery.

However, the only way to graduate from this school is to kill someone without getting caught!  As if that doesn’t sound bad enough, every time someone is killed, all students have to enter a trial where either the culprit gets caught and sentenced to death, or everyone else dies!

The second game, Super Danganronpa 2: Sayonara Zetsubou Gakuen, takes a similar premise, but sets it on a deserted island, and it sold over 69,000 copies in its first week.

Danganronpa 1 & 2 Reload will feature high-resolution graphics for both PSP games and use the Vita’s touchscreen and rear touch pad. In addition, there will be new dialogue for dating and socializing parts, the Island Mode from the second game will be renamed School Mode, and you will have the option to adjust the difficulty settings for mini-games in the School Trial Mode.

Along with the port being announced, the animation studio Lerche has revealed a preview of the ending theme of Danganronpa the Animation. The song, titled Zetsubousei: Hero Chiryouyaku (Despair: The Hero Remedy), is performed by Suzume, a composer famous for his Vocaloid songs, and Soraru, an artist known for singing cover songs on Nico Nico Douga. You can listen to a preview of their wild ending theme below:

Suzumu and Soraru’s ending single will be released on August 7, and a limited edition will include a DVD with the full music video.

In case you haven’t seen the trailer from Anime Contents Expo, you can watch it below and see all fifteen students accompanied by the games’ main theme composed by Masafumi Takada.

Danganronpa the Animation will start airing on July 4, while no date has been given for the PS Vita port yet. Whether you’re a fan of Danganronpa or you’ve never heard of it, you have a lot to look forward to.

Source: Yaraon, Otakomu

Saika Totsuka, at first glance, you could say that the character is a pretty girl that you just have to protect, right? Well, there is some good news and some bad news, the good news is that according to their twitter account, the ‘Yahari Ore no Seishun Love Com Wa Machigatteiru’ PS Vita game will indeed have a Saika route… the bad news is that Saika is a boy.

Saika is quite popular as a trap as several twitter accounts have added the #totsukawaii hashtag in support of the character. Certainly, some people will really be happy with the news, while some people however… not so much I’m afraid.

The new ‘Onegairu’ PS Vita game will be released summer 2013 in Japan. The scenarios for the game are supervised by the original light novel author himself, Watari Wataru. The game will also come bundled with an OVA BluRay disc.

Meanwhile, yesterday was June 18, which means that yesterday was not only a certain ‘Kuroko no Basket’ character’s birthday, but also one of ‘Onegairu‘s main heroines. Yes, June 18 is also “Nice Girl” Yui Yuigahama’s birthday, and to celebrate the occasion, a fan-made birthday cake was baked and decorated for her.

Source: Yaraon

Japan’s controversial Child Pornography Law is gathering even more opposition. This news comes as one half of the Fujiko Fujio duo responsible for the classic comedy manga ‘Doraemon’ issued a statement against the law.

Renowned manga artist Fujiko Fujio A, one half of the Fujiko Fujio duo who wrote classics like ‘Doraemon’ and ‘Mojako’, has said that the bill will “lead to a decline of Japan’s manga culture”.  He also added that the bill will “take away the mangaka’s freedom to deploy creative activities under free thinking and freedom of expression”.

Fujiko Fujio A also adds that there would be a possibility that works would “not be interesting” and he fears that “only mangas that do not get the support from readers will be mass-produced”. He then calls for the withdrawal of the amendment.

The opposition to the amendments on the Child Pornography Law is mainly directed towards a provision of the bill that calls for an investigation into the relationship of anime, manga and CG images and Human Rights violations against children.

‘Doraemon’, which was co-written by Fujiko Fujio A, can be used as a good example for this issue. It is a regarded as a children’s anime/manga and is now considered a classic, however, there are several scenes within the anime that depicts Shizuka showering naked as well as being seen bathing with Doraemon and even Nobita.

The scenes of her bathing beg the question, would this be for the “purpose of satisfying the sexual curiosity” or would this scene just merely be a simple part of the story and would be a part of the writer’s freedom of expression? Should Shizuka, a fictional character be subject to the regulations set forth by the government? Well, what is certain is that most anime and manga fans would answer the latter question with this: “The world of 3D and 2d should never mix.”

Other opposition to the law’s amendment have also been announced. The council of animation directors of Japan (日本アニメーター・演出協会) has said that the bill has a “significantly chilling effect on freedom of expression”. The statement also provides a warning that the bill has a “high risk to cause the decline of the animation culture, such as anime and manga”.

The Movie and Theater Trade Union of Japan (映画演劇労働組合連合会) also issued a call against the amendments which calls on the video industry and its stakeholders. They mentioned that the bill will “exert constraints on a world based on computer, manga and anime images where the child victim does not actually exist”.

Meanwhile, Takaichi Sanae, chairman of the Policy Research Council of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) who co-sponsored the amendments said that they do not intend to regulate anime and manga immediately and that they would only be researching the relationships between anime/manga and child pornography. It should also be noted that according to Yahoo! Japan, there is also opposition against the amendments within the LDP.

The amendments for the Child Pornography Law are co-sponsored by the LDP, the New Komeito Party and the Japan Restoration Party. The amendment would have individuals caught with possessing sexual images of children below 18 years of age would be given a one million yen fine plus less than a year’s imprisonment. And as mentioned earlier, the bill has a provision that calls for an investigation into the relationship of anime, manga and CG images and Human Rights violations against children.

Earlier this year, Japan’s Cartoonist Association issued a statement against the proposed amendment. Other manga authors have also voiced their opposition to the bill like ‘Negima?!’ and ‘Love Hina‘ manga author Ken Akamatsu, ‘Mazinger Z‘ author Go Nagai and ‘Ashita no Joe‘ author Tetsuya Chiba.

Source: Yahoo! Japan and 47 news

After a very successful collaboration concert with Maximum the Hormone yesterday night, Perfume announced their new album and Dome live concerts.

The Perfume Fes! line of concerts is a first for the ladies, collaborating with Saito Kazuyoshi, Okuda Tamio and Maximum the Hormone. A set of 2 concerts per artiste and venue, the last concert ended with Maximum the Hormone, where they made their announcement.

Titled “Level 3“, the new album is slated for a Fall 2013 release. There isn’t any specific date as of yet, but expect them to release it sometime in either October or November.

A Dome line of concerts were also revealed, with Kyocera Dome in Osaka to be held on the December 7 and 8, and Tokyo Dome on 24 and 25 of the same month. Both Domes have a capacity of 50,000 people.

[UPDATE]
Perfume has updated the date and price of the Dome concert tickets on their website. Fanclub members worldwide can enjoy advanced sales via balloting from July 5 to 12. Tickets are 6,500 yen (SGD$95) a piece, and public sales will commence on November 3.

Coincidentally, Kashiyuka’s birthday falls on December 23, one day prior to the first day of their Tokyo Dome concert. Kashiyuka is one of the three members of Perfume.

The past three months have been a bumper crop of awesome announcements for Perfume fans, with the launch of a new single, a second overseas tour, as well as their invitation to Cannes Lion Festival. Looks like Perfume will continue to be very busy in the later half of this year. Will Perfume perform songs from their new album in their Dome concerts? I certainly hope so!

Source: Perfume homepage

Last week, Sony finally revealed the Playstation 4 to the world at a pre-E3 press conference. The black rhomboid shaped console with a matte and glossy finish have caught the eyes of many fans. Others however have began to wonder what the Playstation 4 will look like in colors other then black.

Not to be left out, anime fans have decided to share how some anime themed Playstation 4 will look like.

With Sony having previously released alternate color variants for Playstation 2 and Playstation 3, it is safe to say that it is only a matter of time before Sony announces some alternate color variants for the Playstation 4.

Source : NeoGAF, Jin115

When news came out that Kingdom Hearts would be out on not only the PS4 but also the Xbox one, there was some confusion since Kingdom Hearts up until now has been exclusively published on a Nintendo or Sony console.

For that matter, Nintendo’s consoles have received a lot of the titles including 358/2 days, coded, Dream Drop Distance, and chain of memories so why are Nintendo fans being left out?

If Square Enix is going to bring Kingdom Hearts III to the Xbox One then why not the WiiU? Working off this sole question, fans have begun a petition to get Kingdom Hearts III onto the WiiU.

For those interested, click here to sign the petition to Square Enix. This is the game we’ve all been waiting for, we should all get to play it right?

If you collect figures and you like really cute girls, then hurry and pre-order this spirit from Date A Live and childhood friend from OreShura.

From the figure creator Phat! Company comes Yoshino, the cute, timid spirit from the fantasy romantic comedy Date A Live.

This 180-mm, 1/8th scale figure displays every aspect of Yoshino’s design by Tsunako, from her coat’s bunny ears to her bunny puppet Yoshinon and the round, white ball on her “tail”. Not only are her distinguishing features highlighted, but so are the fine, subtle details, such as the creases in her dress and boots, the frills of her hood, and the gold etchings on her coat.

You can pre-order Yoshino now for 7,800 yen, and she will be delivered this November. There is also a figure of Tohka being developed, so fans of Date A Live can look forward to her, as well.

Also, from the manufacturer FREEing is a 180-mm, 1/8th scale figure of Chiwa Harusaki, the cute, little childhood friend from another romantic comedy, OreShura.

Dressed in her light, pastel school uniform and her hair tied in short twintails, her design is much more simple than Yoshino’s, yet just as adorable. With a dynamic pose and cheerful smile, she appears to have no care in the world — just hope that Eita’s girlfriend, Masuzu, isn’t around!

By the way, a figure of Masuzu is in the works, so OreShura fans can look forward to that, even if Chiwa doesn’t. You can pre-order Chiwa now for 8,800 yen, and she will be standing in your room this October.

Source: Good Smile Company 1, 2

Limited Version CD Jacket

The beautiful voice actress Yoko Hikasa will release her first solo album “Glamorous Songs” in Japan on July 17th. Her first single off the album, “Utsukushiki Zankoku na Sekai” (“The Beautiful Cruel World”) came out just last month. You may know it as the heart-touching ending to the extremely popular anime Shingeki no Kyojin (“Attack on Titan”). Yoko’s second single, “Owaranai no Uta” (“Song that Doesn’t End”) met with similar success, as it was used as the ending to the anime film Hal. 

If the success of Yoko’s new album wasn’t already guaranteed by these two songs alone, this last bit of news definitely seals the deal. One of the songs on the album, “Through the Looking-Glass”, is composed by Tetsuya Komura, the talented keyboard player, producer, and composer. The song is upbeat and beautifully done – but don’t take my word for it, you can listen to the song at Yoko’s official site.

Normal Version CD Jacket

Tetsuya Komuro, also known as TK, has produced songs for Namie Amuro, TRF, Ami Suzuki, Tomomi Kahala, and hitomi, among others. TK composed nearly all the songs on Ayumi Hamasaki’s album Love Songs, and all the records ever produced by him have sold over seventy-million in Japan alone. Probably the most famous of TK’s songs is TM Network’s “Get Wild”, which was the first edition song for City Hunter. 

You may know Yoko from her roles as Mio Akiyama in K-ON! and Saki Nagatsuka in Ro-Kyu-Bu! Yoko is also part of a group of the same name, which consists of the other voice actors for the main characters: Kana Hanazawa, Yuka Iguchi, Rina Hidaka, Yui Ogura. Check out the videos for Yoko’s first two singles below, and hopefully that will hold you over until the release of “Glamorous Songs”.

Source: Crunchyroll

A little while back, we mentioned about the fourth Platina Jazz compilation album, the fourth in a series of jazz styled anime song cover albums produced by Swedish music artist Rasmus Faber and performed by his band, the RaFa Orchestra. With the album due for release soon, a music video for their jazz cover of Sailormoon’s theme song Moonlight Densetsu was uploaded onto their official Youtube channel.

Moonlight Densetsu was composed by Kanako Oda and Tetsuya Komoro as the opening theme song for the TV anime series Bishoujo Senshi Sailormoon. The Platina Jazz cover of the song was arranged by Nils Janson and featured the vocals of Douglas Unger.

Other notable songs covered in the album include CHA-LA HEAD-CHA-LA from Dragon Ball Z, Eternal Blaze from Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha A’s, Taiyou Iwaku Moeyo Chaos from Haiyore! Nyaruko-san and GO! GO! MANIAC from K-On.

Rasmus Faber presents Platina Jazz ~Anime Standards Vol. 4~ will go on sale on June 19th.

Source : Ota-suke