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Kotaku EastWatch As One Piece and Fist of the North Star Battle It Out
New mega-crossover game J-Stars Victory Versus lets you battle as 52 different characters from across 32 different Shonen Jump series. But how exactly does it play? Check out our exclusive video to find out. J-Stars Victory VS was released on March 19. 2014, for the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita in Japan. There is currently…
By Richard Eisenbeis Published April 1, 2014 -
Our Reader-Run Blog Now Has an Anime Podcast
Need more anime news and reviews in your life? Well the guys over at our user-run blog, Talk Amongst Yourselves, have been working overtime to put out more anime content than ever before. The latest addition? An anime podcast with four of the most prolific Ani-TAY bloggers—and, of course, yours truly. In this episode, we…
By Richard Eisenbeis Published April 1, 2014 -
Kotaku EastA History of Shonen Jump Crossover Games
Late last month saw the release of J-Stars Victory VS, a 3D fighter where characters like Goku, Luffy, Naruto, and Kenshin all battle it out. But this is not the first Shonen Jump Magazine mega-crossover game. Rather, it’s the fifth sixth. Famicom Jump: History of Heroes The first Jump crossover game was Famicom Jump: History…
By Richard Eisenbeis Published April 1, 2014 -
Kotaku East
Witch Craft Works is a Fun Twist on Knight and Princess Tales
When I was growing up, everyone knew that boys get to be the knights and girls the princesses. But Witch Craft Works has a lot of fun turning this idea on its head. Good – Gender Role Inversion As an anime series, Witch Craft Works is a fantasy/fairy tale story built around an inversion of…
By Richard Eisenbeis Published March 28, 2014 -
Kotaku EastThe Madoka Magica PSP Game is Getting a Fan Translation
2011’s Madoka Magica is an amazing little anime that plays on your expectations of what a magical girl anime should be and blindsides you with a compelling story filled with twists and turns. The PlayStation Portable game, Madoka Magica Portable, goes a step further. It shows you the myriad of ways the tale could have…
By Richard Eisenbeis Published March 28, 2014 -
Kotaku East
I am Genuinely Surprised to See a Kinect in This Anime
Games and game systems pop up semi-frequently in anime. But given the utter failure of the Xbox 360 in Japan, I was more than a little surprised to see a Kinect in a recent episode of lesbian romantic comedy Sakura Trick In a scene in the eighth episode of Sakura Trick, sporty girl Yu is…
By Richard Eisenbeis Published March 28, 2014 -
Kotaku EastCowboy Bebop on the PS2 is a Bad 3D Brawler, But a Decent Episode
Over the past few weeks I have looked at both the series and movie of popular classic anime Cowboy Bebop. And as the PlayStation 2 game Cowboy Bebop: The Serenade of Reminiscence never left Japan, I just knew I had to play it as well. Unfortunately, it’s a pretty terrible game—though its cutscenes make for…
By Richard Eisenbeis Published March 25, 2014 -
Kotaku East
Log Horizon Makes You Really Think About Being Trapped in an MMO
Log Horizon is one of the fall season’s best anime. It’s not particularly action-filled, but it takes its sci-fi premise and runs with it—addressing the logical implications of being trapped in an MMO world The second half of the series steps it up a notch and adds war, international politics, and magic to the mix.…
By Richard Eisenbeis Published March 25, 2014 -
Kotaku EastGoku, Luffy, Kenshin, Naruto and 48 More Characters Face Off
J-Stars Victory VS, the new Shonen Jump game, is a 3D fighter that lets you pit all your favorite Shonen Jump characters in battle against one another. In fact, there are 52 characters from across 32 different series. So let’s take a closer look at the roster. Assassination Classroom: Korosensei Beelzebub: Tatsumi Oga with Baby…
By Richard Eisenbeis Published March 25, 2014 -
Kotaku EastWatch Us Play the Cowboy Bebop PS2 Game
Cowboy Bebop, the immensely popular classic anime, has had a series, a movie, and two manga—all of which have come to the West. However, there is one Cowboy Bebop story that you may not be aware of as it has never left Japan: the PlayStation 2 title Cowboy Bebop: The Serenade of Reminiscence. To see…
By Richard Eisenbeis Published March 21, 2014 -
Kotaku East
How I Lost Weight Watching Anime
A little less than a year ago, I wrote about my success losing weight by spending an hour each morning playing Dance Dance Revolution. However, after nearly a year of this regime, I grew bored and felt the need for a change—so I decided to try watching anime on an exercise bike instead. A little…
By Richard Eisenbeis Published March 21, 2014 -
Kotaku East
The Princess and the Pilot Is Full of Aerial Adventure and Tragic Love
What happens when you mix a classic fairytale premise with World War II-style airplanes in a fantasy world setting? You get The Princess and the Pilot: a beautiful film of aerial adventure and tragic love. Good – A Straightforward Adventure While an aerial war rages above the seas of the world, the crown prince has…
By Richard Eisenbeis Published March 21, 2014 -
Kotaku East
Cowboy Bebop: The Movie is at its Best When it Connects to the Series
In the West, Cowboy Bebop is one of the most popularly acclaimed anime of the past two decades with its space western plots, intense action, and memorable soundtrack. The Cowboy Bebop movie is really just more of the same—only in widescreen and with a bigger budget. Good – Dreams and Death Cowboy Bebop: The Movie…
By Richard Eisenbeis Published March 18, 2014 -
Kotaku East
Japanese Star Wars Book Covers are Awesome
I love me some Star Wars—so much so that I have read every single post-A New Hope book that has come out (and more than a few of the comics, too). A lot of the novels have come out in Japan as well, but with one major improvement: the awesome covers. American Star Wars book…
By Richard Eisenbeis Published March 18, 2014 -
Kotaku East
Take a Virtual Tour of Cowboy Bebop‘s Iconic Ship
Ever wanted to explore the ship where Spike, Faye, Jet, Ed, and Ein spend their downtime? Back in 2005, the Cowboy Bebop video game, Cowboy Bebop: Serenade of Reminiscence, was released on the PlayStation 2—nearly seven years after the anime’s release. Set during the show’s run, the game is a 3D brawler with its own…
By Richard Eisenbeis Published March 18, 2014 -
Kotaku East
After Thirteen Years, I Gave Cowboy Bebop A Second Chance
A few weeks back, I mentioned in an article that I had started Cowboy Bebop over a decade ago and dropped it because it bored me. To anime fans, this is about the same as saying, “I really love the Bible but I am not keen on this whole God character.” However, I mentioned that…
By Richard Eisenbeis Published March 14, 2014 -
ReviewsThe BlazBlue Live-Action Play is Far Better than the Anime
BlazBlue is a fighting game series with a complex plot and many interesting characters. Late last year, the BlazBlue story was adapted into an anime—poorly. But the anime was not the only adaptation to come out recently; a live-action play ran this past weekend in Tokyo. It was excellent. Good – Streamlined As a fighting…
By Richard Eisenbeis Published March 14, 2014 -
Kotaku EastDigital Distribution Could Learn from Nintendo’s Disk Writer Kiosk
A few weeks ago, I saw the Retro Game Master movie, half of which took place in 1986 Japan. In the film, the characters are often seen visiting a game store—a store complete with one of the coolest things Nintendo ever created, the Nintendo Disk Writer Kiosk. In 1986, Nintendo released an add-on to the…
By Richard Eisenbeis Published March 14, 2014 -
Reviews
The Live-Action Silver Spoon Lacks Heart and Soul
Last year, I chose Silver Spoon as one of the best five anime of 2013—so when I heard there was a live-action adaptation in the works, I was more than a little excited. Unfortunately, I am sad to report that the live-action film is devoid of much of what makes the Silver Spoon manga and…
By Richard Eisenbeis Published March 11, 2014 -
Kotaku EastDeception IV Will Make You into a Sadistic Monster
In Deception IV: Blood Ties, the latest game in the Deception series, you play as a demon princess whose castle is constantly being invaded by various groups of heroes. Fighting them off requires the careful placement of brutally violent traps that will have you feeling like a sadistic monster in no time flat. Good –…
By Richard Eisenbeis Published March 11, 2014
Richard Eisenbeis
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