Kamen Rider GIRLS Unveiled!

We have reported back then that DJ HurryKen posted in his Twitter account that they are having auditions for a new idol group called, Kamen Rider GIRLS. After weeks of speculating about former Rider actresses returning for the idol group, just yesterday, the members of the group are revealed!

Kamen Rider GIRLS is a new idol group made up of new girls selected for this group. The GIRLS don't have any relation to any Kamen Rider series so far, besides the costumes and Rider Belts they wear. According this article, they Kamen Rider personifications, similar to Rider-tan Fanarts that can be found online (Ukiya: If you are not familiar with Rider-tan Fanarts, just use the Google Image Search Function).

According to another article, that the girls are part of the 40th anniversary of the Kamen Rider franchise (Ukiya: I smell Rider GIRLS based from Showa Era Riders! BLACK-tan anyone?) and they plan to add more members as time goes on. And their songs are slated to be available on cellphone music downloads starting December 15. There is no current information about a CD release.

Kamen Rider GIRLS are made up of:

• Yurika Hirokawa (廣川由里香), age 20, Ryuki
• Hitomi Isaka (井坂仁美), age 18, OOO
• Erika Yoshisumi (住絵里加), age 18, Den-O
• Kaori Nakura (名倉かおり), age 19, Kiva
• Nao Yoshida (安田奈央), age 20, Blade

Kamen Rider GIRLS will soon be releasing their first single entitled Koi no Rider Kick! which also includes ♡ no Henshin Belt as B-side. You can check them out at their official website that will open on December 15.

Special thanks to nerefir for the news!

English Miku Project Update!

Testing 1, 2, 3... testing.

For Vocaloid fans out there, most especially, Hatsune Miku fans out there, on Miku's official fanpage, they made a status update regarding the upcoming English Miku Project. Here's the complete status update (by complete, no edits):

♪Official information of English Miku♪
Regarding "English Miku" project, we've already done a brief recording
last week.
Now we are checking the pronunciation etc.
Those voices are very kawaii you should like them!
...I hope we'll show you a demo soon.
But please understand it takes time.
I'll keep you informedanything new for this project.
Thanks for supporting us.

The English Miku Project started after Hatsune Miku's Official Facebook Fanpage reached over 39, 390 fans. Number 39 is a pun for the Japanese pronunciation of the numbers 3 (san) and 9 (kyu) and the Enlish phrase, thank you. Hence, 39, 390 means "Thank You! Thank You!"

If Toei Pulled Out the Budget for KR BLACK...

We all love BLACK along with his epic pose, and everything epic that he did. But even with those facts, newer fans tend to bash BLACK's costume as pretty dull or ugly, if I will give you this situation. What if Toei decreased the budget for BLACK and decided to place more of it to Super Sentai? Here are the possible and at the same time, hilarious results.

For the opening sequence!

For the ending sequence!

For the first episode!

Kudos to SuperLowBudgetFilms for this hilarious attempt in recreating childhood!

Every Anime Opening Ever Made... Ever.

Not actually every anime opening made ever, but according to the creator's description, he noticed a lot of similarities of most anime opening themes, and so, he decided to create a mash up of all the opening themes he likes to put in his video!

This is the only time I ever noticed that they liked running, seeing some random scenery, birds, more running...

Otaku's Verdict 2010 - The Nominees are Out!

Yesterday at 6pm, the members of Zen Otaku Honbu has just posted the list of nominees of the annual Otaku's Verdict which started five years ago. To those who never heard about it, OV is a yearly poll which asks the Pinoy anime community about the best things that happened in the anime scene here in the Philippines from the best TV stations to the best titles that aired here. With no further ado, here are the nominees!

TERRESTRIAL TV (LOCAL TV)

ANIME OF THE YEAR: Platinum Category

* SOUL EATER (ABS-CBN Channel 02)

* GINTAMA (ABS-CBN Channel 02)

* FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST: BROTHERHOOD (TV5)

* MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM 00 (TV5)

ANIME OF THE YEAR: Gold Category

* KATEKYO HITMAN REBORN! – SEASON 03 (ABS-CBN Channel 02)

* NARUTO SHIPPUDEN – SEASON 03 (ABS-CBN Channel 02)

* D.GRAY-MAN (TV5)

* GOLGO 13 (TV5)

* CASSHERN SINS (TV5)

ANIME OF THE YEAR: Silver Category

* BUSOU RENKIN (ABS-CBN Channel 02)

* METAL FIGHT BEYBLADE (ABS-CBN Channel 02)

* BATTLE SPIRITS (TV5)

* KEKKAISHI (GMA Channel 07)

* HAJIME NO IPPO: NEW CHALLENGER (GMA Channel 07)

* SHIN MAZINGER EDITION Z (GMA Channel 07)

* IDATEN JUMP (Q Channel 11)

* GUNPARADE MARCH (Studio 23)

* MY BRIDE IS A MERMAID (Studio 23)

* GALLERY FAKE (Studio 23)

* BAKEGYAMON (Studio 23)

ANIME OF THE YEAR: Bronze Category

* MASTER OF EPIC: THE ANIMATION AGE (ABS-CBN Channel 02)

* PRINCE MACKAROO (TV5)

* HAMTARO (TV5)

* MAKI BAOH (TV5)

* TWIN PRINCESS OF WONDER PLANET (Q Channel 11)

* KITERETSU (Q Channel 11)

* SARU GETCHU (Q Channel 11)

TEEN / DRAMA ANIME OF THE YEAR

* TORADORA (TV5)

* LUCKY STAR (TV5)

* CLANNAD (TV5)

* ARIA THE ANIMATION (Q Channel 11)

* NEGIMA!? (Studio 23)

TOKUSATSU / LIVE ACTION SERIES OF THE YEAR

* MASKED RIDER HIBIKI (TV5)

* KAMEN RIDER: DRAGON KNIGHT (SOLARtv)

* POWER RANGERS: MYSTIC FORCE (Studio 23)

* POWER RANGERS: OPERATION OVERDRIVE (Studio 23)

* ULTRAMAN MAX (Studio 23)

ANIME RERUN PICK: ABS-CBN Channel 02 / Studio 23

* NARUTO SHIPPUDEN – SEASON 02 (ABS-CBN Channel 02)

* HANA YORI DANGO (ABS-CBN Channel 02)

* TRANSFORMERS: CYBERTRON (Studio 23)

* DIGIMON SAVERS (Studio 23)

* GETBACKERS (Studio 23)

* DEAR BOYS (Studio 23)

* EUREKA SEVEN (Studio 23)

* COOKING MASTER BOY (Studio 23)

* BLOOD+ (Studio 23)

* BLUE DRAGON (Studio 23)

ANIME RERUN PICK: TV5

* MAKI BAOH

* SPECIAL A

* YAMATO NADESHIKO: THE WALLFLOWER

ANIME RERUN PICK: GMA Channel 07 / Q Channel 11

* SUPER YOYO (GMA Channel 07)

* CARDCAPTOR SAKURA (Q Channel 11)

* ASHITA NO NADJA (Q Channel 11)

* HAYATE THE COMBAT BUTLER (Q Channel 11)

CHANNEL OF THE YEAR: Terrestrial TV

* ABS-CBN Channel 02

* TV5

* GMA Channel 07

* Q Channel 11

* Studio 23

CABLE / SATELLITE TV

ANIME OF THE YEAR: Platinum Category

* SOUL EATER (HEROtv)

* K-ON! / K-ON!! (ANIMAX Philippines)

* INUYASHA: THE FINAL ACT (ANIMAX Philippines)

* FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST: BROTHERHOOD (ANIMAX Philippines)

* MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM 00 (HEROtv and Cartoon Network Philippines)

ANIME OF THE YEAR: Gold Category

* SAMURAI CHAMPLOO (ANIMAX Philippines)

* ROMEOxJULIET (ANIMAX Philippines)

* STIGMA OF THE WIND (ANIMAX Philippines)

* INUYASHA (ANIMAX Philippines)

* BLASSREITER (ANIMAX Philippines)

* FAIRY TAIL (ANIMAX Philippines)

* JINKI:EXTEND (HEROtv)

* HEROIC AGE (HEROtv)

* CODE GEASS: LELOUCH OF THE REBELLION (HEROtv)

* KATEKYO HITMAN REBORN – SEASON 03 (HEROtv)

* SHIN MAZINGER EDITION Z (HEROtv)

* D.GRAY-MAN (HEROtv)

ANIME OF THE YEAR: Silver Category

* BAKUGAN BATTLE BRAWLERS: NEW VESTROIA (Cartoon Network Philippines)

* INAZUMA ELEVEN (Cartoon Network Philippines)

* METAL FIGHT BEYBLADE (Cartoon Network Philippines)

* COLOURCLOUD PALACE – SEASON 02 (ANIMAX Philippines)

* HAYATE THE COMBAT BUTLER – SEASON 2 (ANIMAX Philippines)

* PRINCESS RESURRECTION (HEROtv)

* BAKEGYAMON (HEROtv)

* EYESHIELD 21 – SEASON 02 (HEROtv)

* MAJOR – SEASON 04 (HEROtv)

* HAJIME NO IPPO (HEROtv)

* HUNTERxHUNTER (HEROtv)

ANIME OF THE YEAR: Bronze Category

* ZORORI (Cartoon Network Philippines)

* POKEMON DIAMOND AND PEARL (Cartoon Network Philippines)

* BLUE DRAGON (HEROtv)

* MASTER OF EPIC: THE ANIMATION AGE (HEROtv)

TEEN / DRAMA ANIME OF THE YEAR

* WELCOME TO THE N.H.K. (ANIMAX Philippines)

* KAICHOU WA MAID-SAMA! (ANIMAX Philippines)

TOKUSATSU / LIVE ACTION SERIES OF THE YEAR

* ULTRAMAN MAX (Cartoon Network Philippines)

* KAMEN RIDER: DRAGON KNIGHT (Cartoon Network Philippines)

* POWER RANGERS RPM (Cartoon Network Philippines)

CHANNEL OF THE YEAR: Cable / Satellite TV

* Cartoon Network Philippines

* ANIMAX Philippines

* HEROtv

MISCELLANEOUS

JAPAN’S NEWEST TITLE

* BAKA TO TEST TO SHOUKANJUU

* ANGEL BEATS!

* MAYOI NEKO OVERRUN

* WORKING!

* OOKAMI-SAN TO SHICHININ NO NAKATAMACHI

* BAKUMAN

* IKA MUSUME

* ORE NO IMOUTO GA KONNA NI KAWAII WAKE GA NAI!?

* NODAME CANTABILE FINALE

* KUROSHITSUJI – SEASON 2

JAPAN’S NEWSEST TOKUSATSU / LIVE ACTION TITLE

* KAMEN RIDER W

* KAMEN RIDER OOO

* TENSOU SENTAI GOSEIGER

PHILIPPINES’ MASTER OF EPIC FAIL

* PRINCESS RESSURECTION (ABS-CBN Channel 02)

* EYESHIELD 21 – SEASON 2 (ABS-CBN Channel 02)

* ONE PIECE (GMA Channel 07)

MOST IMPROVED TAGALOG-REDUBBED ANIME

* KEKKAISHI (GMA Channel 07)

* JEANIE WITH THE LIGHT BROWN HAIR (Q Channel 11)

* THE TRAPP FAMILY SINGERS (Q Channel 11)

PHILIPPINES’ MOST IMPROVED ANIME RECORD

* KATEKYO HITMAN REBORN – SEASON 03 (ABS-CBN Channel 02 and HEROtv)

* NARUTO SHIPPUDEN – SEASON 03 (ABS-CBN Channel 02 and HEROtv)

* EYESHIELD 21 – SEASON 2 (ABS-CBN Channel 02 and HEROtv)

* TORADORA! (TV5)

* FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST: BROTHERHOOD (TV5)

* HAJIME NO IPPO: NEW CHALLENGER (GMA Channel 07)

POPULARITY

MALE ANIME DUBBER OF THE YEAR

* BLAIR ARELLANO (Soul Eater, ABS-CBN and HEROtv)

* FOURTH LEE (Mobile Suit Gundam 00, TV5)

* JOJO GALVEZ (Clannad, TV5)

* BRIAN HOMECILIO (Mobile Suit Gundam 00, HEROtv)

* MARK MUÑOZ (Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion, HEROtv)

FEMALE ANIME DUBBER OF THE YEAR

* KLARIZ MAGBOO (Soul Eater, ABS-CBN and HEROtv)

* NICA ROJO (Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, TV5)

* WENDY DE LEON (Clannad, TV5)

* HAZEL HERNAN (Mobile Suit Gundam 00, TV5)

* AYEN DANGCALAN (Mobile Suit Gundam 00, HEROtv)

* SHERWIN REVISTIR (Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion, HEROtv)

* NELIZA MAGAUAY (Code Geass: Lelouch fo the Rebellion, HEROtv)

ANIME DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR

* WENDY DE LEON (Clannad, TV5)

* RODOLFO BALDONADO, JR. (Mobile Suit Gundam 00, TV5)

* ARNOLD ABAD (Soul Eater, ABS-CBN and HEROtv)

* ALEXX AGCAOILI (Mobile Suit Gundam 00, HEROtv)

* PINKY REBUCAS (Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion, HEROtv)

MALE ANIME CHARACTER OF THE YEAR

* SOUL EATER / SOUL EVANS (Soul Eater)

* EDWEARD ELRIC (Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood)

* SETSUNA F. SEIEI (Mobile Suit Gundam 00)

* ALLEN WALKER (D.Gray-man)

* SAKATA GINTOKI (Gintama)

* TOMOYA OKAZAKI (Clannad)

* TAKUMI USUI (Kaichou wa Maid-sama!)

* NATSU DRAGNEEL (Fairy Tail)

FEMALE CHARACTER OF THE YEAR

* MAKA ALBARN (Soul Eater)

* WINRY ROCKBELL (Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood)

* MARINA ISMAIL (Mobile Suit Gundam 00)

* LENALEE LEE (D.Gray-man)

* KATSURA KOTAROU (Gintama)

* YUI HIRASAWA (K-ON! / K-ON!!)

* MISAKI AYUZAWA (Kaichou wa Maid-sama!)

* LUCY HEARTFILLA (Fairy Tail)

EVENT/CONVENTION OF THE YEAR: Major Anime Events

* OZINE FEST 2010

* TOYCON 2010

* THE BEST OF ANIME 2010

* COSPLAY MANIA X

* U.P. AME – NOW PLAYING: TRACK 10

EVENT/CONVENTION OF THE YEAR: Minor Anime Events

* OTAKU EXPO 2010 / OTAKU EXPO RELOAD

* PHILIPPINE COSPLAY CONVENTION 2010

* I AI ANIME

* METRO COMIC CON 2010

* MIDORI SEKAI 2010

* HERO FACE OFF: THE ULTIMATE COSPLAY BATTLE

EVENT/CONVENTION OF THE YEAR: Gaming Conventions

* E-GAMES DOMINATION 2010

* LEVEL-UP LIVE 2010

ONLINE GAME OF THE YEAR

* GRAND CHASE: SEASAON 3

* RAN ONLINE

* DRAGONICA

* SPECIAL FORCE

ANIME THEME SONG OF THE YEAR

* “PERIOD” by Chemistry (Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood)

* “FRIENDS” by Stephanie (Mobile Suit Gundam 00)

* “TAKE THE WAVE” by Naifu (Golgo 13)

* “MY SOUL, YOUR BEATS!” by Lia (Angel Beats)

* “NO, THANK YOU!” by Youko Hikasa, Aki Toyosaki, Satomi Satou, Minako Kotobuki and Ayana Taketatsu (K-ON!!)

* “FALLEN ANGEL” by Aimee B (Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt)

* “PINKY JONES” by Momoiro Clover (Yosuga no Sora)

JAPANESE MV OF THE YEAR

* “SHUNKAN SENTIMENTAL” by SCANDAL (Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood)
* “RAY OF LIGHT” by Shoko Nakagawa (Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood)
* “Irony” by ClariS (Ore no Imouto ga Konna ni Kawaii Wake ga Nai!?)
* “READY GO!” by May’n (Ookami-san to Shichinin no Nakamatachi)“KIMI GA INAI MIRAI” by Do As Infinity (Inuyasha: The Final Act)
* “WISH” by Sowelu (D.Gray-man)

ANIME STATUS RATING FOR 2010

* EXCELLENT!

* VERY GOOD!

* GOOD

* STABLE

* BAD

* VERY BAD!

* CRITICALLY BAD!

You can start voting on December 5, so right now, think wisely of the choices you will pick!

Source: Otaku's Verdict Official Website

Kamen Rider Birth - The Nifty Details

Aside that we will see Birth and Accel with Akiko, more information regarding Birth's overall details has just surfaced online! So with no further ado, here are the information regarding Kamen Rider Birth!

It first appeared in the upcoming Kamen Rider film, Kamen Rider x Kamen Rider OOO and W feat. Skull: Movie Wars Core. Kiyoto Maki has a huge involvement regarding Birth. He created it by using the data of O Medals and the Greeeds as a base. It's intended to battle against Greeeds and Yummies. The system brings out all of the potential a Cell Medal holds. Its power can be comparable to the Greeeds and OOO.

Overall Statistics:

Height: 199 cm

Weight: 92 kg

Punch power: 3.5 t

Kick power: 8 t

Jump power: Up to 45 m

Speed: 100 m in 5 seconds

The belt draws its powers from Cell Medals by using a Cell Reactor. The Birth Buster is Birth's exclusive gun, that converts Cell Medals into energy bullets. It's able to change from Normal Mode to Cell Burst Mode in order to perform the special attack Cell Burst.

Birth has a special combat support system called CLAWs, an acronym for: Cannon, Leg, Arm, Wings and system. He can use multiple gadgets simultaneously, all he needs to do is use one Cell Medal to utilize a gadget.

Cutter Wings
Wings are attached to the back to allow flying at a speed of 300 km/h. The wings are as sharp as swords.

Breast Cannon
A cannon attached to the chest. Due to the size, Birth has limited mobility while it's equipped.

Shovel Arm
It's equipped on the left arm for hand-to-hand combat.

Drill Arm

Equipped on the right arm for hand-to-hand combat. The arm rotates at a high speed.

Crane Arm

Equipped on the right shoulder for medium ranged combat. The hook is attached to a wire and it's able to be used in fights.

Caterpillar Legs

It's attached on the legs for better mobility. The wheels Hayes Crawler (?) doesn't only spin at a high speed for movement, they can also be used as weapons.

For the clincher, here is a picture of young Akiko talking to someone over the phone!

Aww, isn't she cute?

Source: alternate-zer0 (For the pics), DecaEnd (For the info), DecaEnd (For kid Akiko)

Eiji Hino - Regret Nothing ~Tighten Up~

Eiji Hino - Regret Nothing ~Tighten Up~ [Single]
3 Music Tracks + Cover
Size: 20 MB (RAR) | 22 MB (Extracted)
Download via SendSpace

Get your own copy:
Eiji Hino (Shu Watanabe) - Regret Nothing ~Tighten Up~ @ CDJapan

Maki and Dinosaur Greeed Rumors!

Have you ever noticed the doll found in Maki's arm and also, do you still remember what happened to Maki when his doll fell? Well there might be an explanation about it according to the latest rumors that surfaced from 2ch.

Kiyoto Maki might be the Dinosaur Greeed, Gil. Maybe that is why he acts weird and thinks humans as specimens. And as we all know, Maki and Kazari teamed up starting the previous episode it seems that this "cooperation" might be something else. According to rumor, Maki is only manipulating Kazari.

Do you still remember the rumored Dinosaur Combo? To those who didn't, it is an extremely powerful Combo that was found in Eiji's grandpa's possessions that once he used it OOO will go berserk. Well, according to the latest rumor, Birth can handle those Medals.

Please take these rumors as a grain of salt. Let's wait for the confirmation coming from TOEI or any official source of information such as scans and the like.

Special thanks to DecaEnd for the 2ch translations!

Nostalgia Extended: Digimon Adventure

Since Nostalgia Trilogy was over almost a year ago, and since it is a trilogy, I decided to extend it with this new series! Not sure about how long will this series be, but if I find a show from back then worth talking about, I will talk about it. For its first serve, we will go to the Digital World with Digimon Adventure!

I first watched Digimon Adventure back in the early 2000, same case with Pokemon in which the TV station that aired it here in the Philippines likes to say that Pokemon will end and stop it for a couple of months and will say that Ash and Pikachu now has new adventures! Probably seeing the success of Pokemon, its rival station decided to air a show quite similar to Pokemon that is Digimon!

Since they want to directly rival Pokemon, as I mentioned in Nostalgia Trilogy, for me to watch both shows, what I did is to press the “Return” button once the other show is on commercial break! Fun, yes. In terms of understanding the plot, I still understand it. After reading an entry about Guinness World of Records, about Pokemon causing seizures in Japan, I decided to stop watching Pokemon and focus only on Digimon… thank God, my decision in focusing on Digimon is right! Pokemon will never end!

Digimon Adventure is about seven kids who just have their summer camp but on that day, their lives will change forever. They were transported into a different world in which they meet monsters known as Digimon, the seven kids meet and we they are: Taichi (The guy will goggles), Koshiro (The geek), Yamato (The bishie), Sora (Girl 1, loves birds), Mimi (Girl 2, loves malling and has a Digimon partner who is either a girl or a boy... that punches!), Takeru (The Kid) and Joe (That guy with glasses). Takeru and Yamato are siblings and Yamato and Taichi are having problems who will lead these kids.They are later added with Taichi's sister, Hikari (Kid 2).

For starters, I got into Digimon not because of the kids, but because of the monsters! Agumon and Gabumon became my instant favorite Digimons and the fact that they return back to normal once they evolve (or what my dub calls it, changes) into a stronger species, making them much more compact compared to Pokemon! Therefore, I officially was hooked with the show.

As the show progressed, one of the reasons why I got into the show is the fact that the monsters themselves grow up as characters along with their assigned partners. We saw how Taichi and Yamato fight because of their specific responsibility; saw how Takeru grew when we saw Patamon who just evolved into Angemon who just died protecting him, and was resurrected as a DigiEgg.

For a kid’s show, those themes are something deep. Something that is rare for an anime aimed for kids. Aside from that, the first series has one of the best character developments that I saw in anime. I mean, if I will compare Satoshi (Ash) with Taichi, Satoshi barely has character development while Taichi has enough character development that lasted for a 54-episode series.

One of the best parts in the original series is when they “let go” of their specific partner Digimon, its emotional but it was partly ruined here in the Philippines when those executive bigwigs decided to air Zero Two before ending Adventure! I was like, what the heck?! What happened to Taichi and co. as they fight the boss to save Earth! But hey, seeing them how they looked like in Zero Two was fun anyway. Plus, seeing that Daisuke wears goggles, I am fine with it and since then, my mind is set that all leaders of the group is required to wear goggles… till Masaru came and ruined the tradition.

If there is an anime that I want to see on TV again, that would be Digimon Adventure. Seeing that a certain TV station likes to rerun Digimon, hope that someday, they would return Digimon Adventure on TV!

The Birth of Kamen Rider Birth Coming Soon?

On the preview of the 13th episode of Kamen Rider OOO, aside that we will see another of Kazari's Yummies in action, we saw a glimpse of the Birth Driver inside a suitcase which seems to be Maki's office.

As we all know, the rumor about Maki and Kazari joining forces is confirmed, accordingly, the first user of the Birth System for the film is not Gotou but someone else. Could that someone else be Kazari since there is an info surfaced that Maki is trying to create something for Kazari.

For more in-depth focus on the Birth System itself, you can check these previous articles:

- Kamen Rider Birth: Henshin Belt Rumors

- Kamen Rider Birth Shots + More Yummies!

This is just a fan speculation. Let's wait for the confirmation coming from TOEI or any official source of information such as scans and the like.

Kamen Rider OOO Sagozo Combo Debut!

On the show's 12th episode called, An Eel, the World, and the Gravity Combo, after OOO fights Uva, Gamel and the Butterfly Yummy, OOO was able to grab three of Gamel's Core Medals, making him lose the armor in his legs giving way on the debut of OOO's heaviest combo, the Sagozo Combo!

Because of the attack, Uva lost his Kuwagata Core Medal... again. Also, according to neferir, Shu Watanabe posted on his blog that the name of OOO Sagozo Combo's theme song is Sun Goes Up, which just like the other Combo theme songs, a pun of the name of the said Combo. This song will be a, "heavy and powerful song just like the Combo."

The Prince of Tennis Gets an Anime Film!

For The Prince of Tennis fans out there, it was announced on Jump Square's January Issue that an anime film based on Takeshi Konomi's popular manga is on production!

The Prince of Tennis is about the adventures of Ryoma Eichizen and his school tennis club as they compete to various schools in various local and national tournaments. Just your average sports anime except it has bishie overload.

Source: Kyō mo Yarareyaku via ANN

To be honest, I am not PoT fan due to one simple reason, the amount of fangirls and their love for their Tezuka-kun's, Ryoma-chan, Momo-chan and those *insert name here*-chan things they keep on doing, making me lose interest with this title. The only thing I knew about PoT aside that it is about tennis, most current tokusatsu actors were once part of The Prince of Tennis Musicals! The pic on top of you are just a sample of tokusatsu actors that were once part of PoT Musicals.

Fate/stay night Unlimited Blade Works Movie Review

Fate/stay Night Unlimited Blade Works was based on the Unlimited Blade Works route of the original Fate/stay Night visual novel. It was released in Japanese theaters in January 23, 2010 and Studio DEEN who was also responsible in the original series’ animation is back for this film.

It has been 10 years since the previous Holy Grail War and the people of Fuyuki City are commemorating the lives of those people who died in a catastrophe unknown to them.

So basically, to those who watched the original series, the first few minutes of the film are those from Fate/stay night, except it is compressed for a few minutes to fill in the Unlimited Blade Works route coming from the visual novel source.

For the uninitiated, The Holy Grail War is a war in which seven magi will summon a Servant, which are embodiments of various Legendary Heroes and are divided in seven job classes. These Servants accompanies their respective Master in spiritual form that can be summoned if the Master will face another Master. Whoever wins the war will be the owner of the Holy Grail can use its power to grant any wish.

Aside from that, there are minor changes that followed in this route. Aside that Lancer has more screen time, Shinji; the first Master who was defeated in this series has a bigger role in this one.

This film focuses more on Archer (To those who are not familiar with the series, Unlimited Blade Works is his strongest move), Rin’s Servant and his unknown quest, which will remain unknown because it is one of the vital points in film that if I will spoil it to you, you might get pissed. For him to fulfill his personal mission, he changes allegiances if he finds it weak in some point that in one point in the film, he betrays his Master, Rin Tohsaka for another Servant, Caster because she has Saber, one of the strongest Servants around in her side.

The film also focuses on Shirou Emiya who witnesses the battle between Lancer and Archer and accidentally summons the Servant, Saber. To come into an end and try to save everyone so that the catastrophe that happened back when he was still a kid will not happen again. Will he and Rin able to stop this War?

On to the review, one of the biggest mysteries surrounding Archer back in the first series is his identity. No one knows who he is or who was he based upon. To those who don’t know, the Servants are based on a well-known historic or legendary personality. For example, the winner of the previous War, Gilgamesh an Archer class Servant was based on an Iraqi legend about a certain well, Gilgamesh! Also, Saber was based on King Arthur, hence her weapon is a sword called Excalibur.

The original series hints his identity for quite a while and most of those hints are carried in this retelling of the series which like I said, takes a different route. If I will spoil it to you, it would ruin the fun in watching the film… if you read the Wikipedia spoilers; I think you know who is Archer!

Speaking of Archer, one of the major improvements that I see in him in this film is that aside that him being a jerk and all has been improved, he finally! I repeat, finally, uses some arrows! Technically, it is a sword that he shoots in his bow, but still, he still shoots Berserker with it!

More on Archer, if I remember correctly, we never learn the purpose why he cooperates with Rin since a servant can betray his master if he or she feels like it, adding much to the mystery of this character. Most of the Servants have a chance to see their past to be exact, the Servants that were given proper focus in their back story was Caster and Saber while the rest were given good back stories but it was not elaborated that much. From all the Servants, only Archer’s back story was not given, until this film came along. Aside that we learned which legendary or historical figure was he based upon; we learned his purpose on why he was appeared in the current Holy Grail War.

Since this is an Archer focused film, some characters were practically ignored during the duration of the film. Aside from Rider being eliminated earlier (Well, she was eliminated here in a different way), Saber, who was one of the main focus in the original series was literally, thrown out in the sidelines. Asides that she never participated much in the battles, she was later become Caster’s Servant thanks to her Noble Phantasm, Rule Breaker. Another Servant and Master who was given less screen time and importance were Illya and Berserker.

Since Saber went on the sidelines, some characters, to be exact, Lancer were given a good spotlight. Seriously, in the original series, he is one of the characters that I want to see in the show! But, he only appeared quite briefly and as far I remember, I don’t remember much about Lancer being in the series at all. In this film, aside that he aides Shirou and Rin, he actually was given quite good amount of screen time and good amount of fight scenes! Most of my favorite parts in this film is when Lancer is involved in it. The part of the film that gave Lancer a good explanation point in his character is at the last few scenes before his death… and he was not that dead yet!

Like I mentioned earlier, the earlier parts of the film is like the original TV series except that it was compressed for it to give more space on the new material. To begin with there are some scenes that felt like they were directly lifted from the TV series! The one on top is the similar shot that came from the original TV series in which Shirou first met Saber.

One of the things that I noticed in the film is the upgrade in terms of gore. Deaths here are bloodier compared to the original TV series. Aside that we saw Gilgamesh remove someone’s organs, this series has good blood physics to begin with that in some point, the blood splatter look liked it was exaggerated for the sake of gore fans to be happy. No wonder it was released as a movie and not as a TV special!

One of the main highlights of the film is the battle between Shirou and Archer. Two characters who has the opposite ideals yet they have something in common in which they tried to ignore. Their fight was one of the best fights that I have watched in this film. The fight was a fight between their own personal beliefs about saving people. Shirou is a person who will do everything to save everyone. While Archer is someone who is the complete opposite of Shirou’s ideals about saving everyone and justifies to Shirou that you cannot save everyone.

The animation for the film has the same quality like that of the TV series except it was given some upgrades. Studio DEEN did a good job for the animation asides that they increased the amount of gore and turn most of the bloody fights of the film into a splatter show… which is both disappointing and a good thing. Disappointing because most of the deaths became quite exaggerated, good because as a fan of gore, I love seeing fountains of blood coming out from the victim and it aggravates the strength of the Servant who killed its respective victim.

The only thing that is disappointing in the film is the chant for Archer’s Unlimited Blade Works was shortened into a single phrase, “I am the bone of my sword” and that is it. His infamous chant about his body being made of steel and the rest of it is only found at the beginning of the film… and the fact the Shinji has a significant role in this film alongside with Gilgamesh redesigned overall appearance. Seriously, I prefer him wear his gold armor than his civilian clothes in battle!

Overall, Fate/stay night Unlimited Blade Works is one anime film you can enjoy whether or not you are fan of the series or not, especially if you are an Archer fan, you will definitely enjoy this one. Hey, there is a reason why the film is called Unlimited Blade Works right?

The overall theme of the film is choosing your own fate and the ability to save everyone. Archer is right, you cannot save everyone but Shirou keeps on pushing his ideals that he can save everyone if he can do it or he have the power. The theme about fate, I will let you figure it out because it is one of the vital points of the film along with Archer’s identity. The only hint I can give you is that Shirou is living with the ideals of the man who saved his life.