Cecilia D'Anastasio

The Newest One Piece Film Is Huge In Japan

One Piece Film Gold, the 13th feature film based on the world’s bestselling manga, hit Japanese theaters last Saturday, grossing nearly 11 million dollars in its first two days. The movie appeared on a reported 743 screens, the largest for any Japanese movie ever. Anime News Network reports that One Piece Film Gold even bested…

Donald Trump’s Unofficial Second Life Headquarters Empty Day After Nomination

When Donald Trump accepted the Republican presidential nomination last night, his notoriety was among his first talking points. He has, he said, received nearly 14 million votes—the most GOP votes ever. That’s a lot of votes. It got me thinking: What’s up at Trump’s Second life headquarters, which, months ago, was rife with supporters? Second…

JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure will premiere on Toonami this October, Toonami announced last night. Just one week ago, Toonami began airing viral anime One-Punch Man

Final Fantasy XIV’s Exciting New Dungeon Is Not Very Exciting Yet [UPDATE]

When Final Fantasy XIV director Naoki Yoshida revealed the MMORPG’s upcoming Palace of the Dead dungeon last April, I had what I now realize was an embarrassingly romantic notion of what it would be: dungeon-crawling with friendly strangers, sneaking by traps and strategically navigating its roguelike-inspired, randomized maps to best an onslaught of challenging monsters.…

Spirited Away‘s Minecraft Reconstruction Is Still Magical

Today is the 15th birthday of acclaimed Studio Ghibli film Spirited Away. As a token of gratitude to the Japanese movie that opened up so many virgin minds to the wonderful and sometimes bad world of anime, Minecraft user Alan Becker has reconstructed the entire world of Spirited Away (and a little of My Neighbor…

Overwatch Fans Keep Finding Clues About A New Unreleased Character

Late last night, an innocuous post on the Overwatch subreddit provoked a frenzy to unearth secrets about the supposed Overwatch stealth hero Sombra, who has been teased over the last few months. “So this is complete tinfoil and I’m prepared for this post to go under the rug,” wrote redditor Colonelcactus before posting a clue…

Pokémon Go Is Bringing New Yorkers Together

I didn’t think a film about Pokémon could make me sentimental—exempting, of course, Pokémon: Mewtwo Strikes Back, which earned tears only because I was seven and fanatical. Then last Sunday, 18-year-old aspiring filmmaker Alexander Steinberg posted “Pokémon GO: Unite NYC,” a short documentary about the Pokémon trainers camping the southeastern corner of Central Park in…

Another Day, Another Alarmist Warning Against Violent Games

Today, the American Academy of Pediatrics published a powerful statement about the effects of “virtual violence” on children that media psychologists are describing as disingenuous. Arguing that U.S. children are “exposed increasingly to ‘virtual violence’ in first-person shooter games and other realistic video games,” the AAP is calling for stricter parental regulation of children’s exposure…

New Cat-Banana Anime Is Weirdly Popular

A new anime about a “strange cat” that is also a banana is proving popular among American adults. It is called Bananya and is best characterized as slice-of-life-meets-annoying-plush-toy. Bananya is a combination of the words “banana” and “nyan,” the Japanese version of the American “meow.” Originallya mascot for stationary company Q-Lia, the fruit-feline hybrid Bananya…

Tactical action game Berserk Warriors will launch this fall for PlayStation 4, Vita and PC, KOEI TECMO America announced today

EVO 2016’s Super Smash Bros. Melee Entrants Nearly Equal Smash 4‘s

Nintendo released Super Smash Bros. Melee 15 years ago on a console that sold less than its competitors, the PlayStation 2 and the Xbox. In 2001, and even in 2005, I would not have believed God if he told me that Melee will draw 2,372 entrants to this weekend’s Evolution Championship Series (EVO) 2016 in…

My Quest To Find Pokémon Trainers At Trump Tower

Yesterday, the Trump campaign finally acknowledged Pokémon Go. Finally. The Republican frontrunner’s newest anti-Clinton smear ad made a nod to Niantic’s hit app (“Crooked Hillary No!”), probably explained to him by his interns. Given Pokémon Go’s apparent resonance with the The Donald’s campaign, I wondered how popular the game was in the gilded palace of…

The Struggle To Bring More Women Into Game Development

Gary Gygax, biological determinist and creator of Dungeons & Dragons, once told a reporter for Icon magazine that “gaming in general is a male thing… Everybody who’s tried to design a game to interest a large female audience has failed. And I think that has to do with the different thinking processes of men and…

Local multiplayer human-worm wrestling game Push Me Pull You arrives on Steam today for Windows, Mac and Linux.

A Dark Theory On What Happens To Transferred Pokémon

I love Pokémon Go. It’s fun for the whole family. Cute, cute, cute. I hear that Pidgey is popular with the kids. Well, kids, Pidgey is cute, but Pidgeotto is fierce. It’s probably because he subsists off the recycled, ground-up appendages of Pidgeys past. But don’t worry about that! To evolve Pidgey into Pidgeotto, you…

Pokémon Go Can Be Depressing For Fans With Physical Disabilities

Pokémon Go is getting gamers outside, but not all gamers. Tales of trespassing, fence-jumping and brave jaunts through tough terrain to catch Pokémon have bolstered the hit mobile game’s popularity among able-bodied players. Physically handicapped fans of the Pokémon franchise, however, are struggling to love a Pokémon game in which movement is a crucial mechanic.…

GTA V Getting LGBT Pride Parade Mod

One of the least politically correct video game franchises is getting its own LGBT Pride parade, the Daily Dot reports. Yesterday, Scandinavian LGBT advocacy group Stockholm Pride released a trailer for their new unofficial “Los Santos Pride” mod for Grand Theft Auto V The trailer features exuberant LGBT folks of all races and genders celebrating…

Today, Oculus announced that all Rift pre-orders have finally shipped, a lengthy two and a half months after the HMD’s initial release. Oculus added that Rifts will now ship in two to four business days.

Mob Psycho 100‘s Debut Is The Right Kind Of Absurd

Mob Psycho 100, this summer’s soon-to-be-hit anime about a psychic middle school boy, premiered today. From the creators of One-Punch Man, Mob Psycho 100 looks as if Fooly Cooly’s flawlessly erratic animation style met Paprika levels of psychedelica, all wrapped in a One-Punch Man burrito of action/humor. The anime’s first episode is a special, confident…

Berserk‘s Heroine Just Got A Lot Whiter For Some Reason

In Berserk’s manga, TV series and full-length movies, the sword-wielding heroine Casca has traditionally been depicted with dark skin and short, black hair. Today, in Berserk’s second episode of the anime’s new rendition, she appeared extraordinarily pale. It’s gone over about as well as you’d expect. This year’s Berserk anime series has already garnered harsh…