Speaking of the rampant success that is Bakemonogatari, SHAFT recently released the thirteenth episode of the popular series on the official website. After initially being set for an October 28th release, that never happened (due to SHAFT saying they had certain encoding issues to overcome) and they delayed the release until November 2nd. Now unlike many streaming websites out there, the video is not restricted to any specific region, which means that you can go watch it right now. Granted, there are no subtitles, but I sincerely doubt that's going to keep most of you from watching it.

Two more episodes will be distributed this way in the future, although release dates are unknown. A nice bonus is that we get to see a short trailer for Katanagatari, another anime base on a story by Nisio Isin.

Also, in another side note, greetings! I'm the new intern at Japanator, Ben (mostly known as Roody). You might have seen me around a bit before, and now I'm here to make your life even worse -- er, bring you the best quality anime and manga news.

The above image may look pretty cool as is, but wait until you see it as an animated image on Pink Tentacle. Wow.

This and many others are 3D stereoviews photographed back in the late 19th and early 20th century by Japanese photographer T. Enami. You'd normally need a stereoscope to see these pictures spring to life, but the power of the internet revives them. 

You'll see views of everyday life in the Meiji period, originally captured in tinted silver print. They look fantastic for 110-year old photos, even when not moving. When moving, they're spectacular.

Check them all out. I love the campfire one.

It's an important and popular fact that the second day of an anime convention always brings better cosplay... and Saboten-con was no exception. Without a doubt, Saturday was dominated by the Hatsune Miku cosplayers, of which there were four (for a con as small as Saboten, that's a lot). My favorite two are pictured above; this photo was shot after they had just finished an impromptu dancing session.

Saturday's highlights also included a kilt-wearing stormtrooper (who was doubling as a security guard for the maid cafe), Captain America, Darth Nihilus, a black Krillin, and an absolutely ADORABLE female Naruto and Sasuke couple. Check out those photos and more in the gallery below!

If you missed the Friday cosplay post, it can be found here. Look for the final installment tomorrow!

We told you about the anime Princess Robot Bubblegum in The Ballad of Gay Tony, the latest part of the Grand Theft Auto franchise. Well, Destructoid's Conrad Zimmerman was kind enough to record the entire thing so that we could take a moment to enjoy and discuss the piece. Clocking in at around 11 minutes, the show does what GTA has been known for in its more recent iterations: lampooning culture.

Except, in the case of Princess Robot Bubblegum, it's about fifteen years late, when it comes to the tropes in anime itself.

It's all the things people tend to think of anime when they have no real concept of it, and all these jokes have a strong basis in the series from the 80s and 90s, but for the most part, a lot of these jokes really don't apply to a lot of the modern stuff. Ignoring the flying panties, of course.

They nailed some of the culture stuff down, though, especially at the end -- the heavy merchandising, the types of products (Queens Blade and figures, anyone?), and whatnot. Oh, and weeaboos. So, they got a few things right that still apply, but I can't say I'm really happy about them picking on outdated jokes. People throw a hissyfit when they say games are "just for kids" or "all about that Mario stuff,"  so why can't I get huffy over some tentacle rape?

There's always one bad apple in the group, and in the course of reviewing all the titles up for grabs over at SigIKKI.com, Shunju Aono's I'll Give It My All... Tomorrow fell utterly flat with me.

The story is a comedy based around a 40-year-old man living with his father and high-school aged daughter who decided to quit his job and find himself as a manga artist. The father is belligerent, the daughter works at what appears to be a whorehouse for extra money, and the main character says that he'll really do his best... tomorrow.

I actually had high hopes going into this story. I was hoping that it would be something along the lines of About Schmidt or any other series that picks on older people having a sudden change in life -- a really easy topic to write about -- but it just came off as belligerent and sad. The father's advice and criticisms are straightforward and true, and the main character has no redeeming qualities about him.

I was at least hoping the Dad would go a bit off the wall.

Comedy really is one of those subjective things, so I may be missing something here. It's worth it to go check out the title, but unless you enjoy watching a grown man get disrespected time and time again while he just takes it like a lying dog, then this series will be a pass for you.

Deb Aoki passed along this article, saying, "Scanlators, just insert 'anime and manga' everywhere you see 'movies and music' in this article." Take a moment to read it, and see what I mean. Currently, there are multi-national talks about a trade agreement that will allow content creators to sue ISPs for failing to stop people from pirating their content.

This would be a big change from what was traditionally held after Zeran v. AOL back in 1998, which immunized ISPs from the actions of its users. Now it looks like all of that will be changing.

As big as the fansub and scanlation market is, and as useful as it might be in finding new things to watch/read, I've got to admit that if this passes, I really won't mind in the least. The biggest problem for the anime/manga companies here in the US are the fans that download but don't bother to buy what they like. It's being selfish, and saying that you're too good to be an adult and actually pay for what you enjoy.

This isn't going to bring in some 1984-style setting for browsing the Internet, don't you worry. It's just going to bring things under control. I know a lot of you aren't going to like this, but it's the way things were going to go eventually. What do you think about it?

Now that he's retired, I suppose former President George W. Bush can finally go and have some fun while he's over in Japan.

Accompanied by former Prime Minister Junichiro (The Lion) Koizumi, Bush threw out the ceremonial first pitch before Game 3 of the Japan Series match between the Yomiuri Giants and the Nippon Ham Fighters. He wasn't quite able to make it to the batter's box, but he did his best.

So does this mean Koizumi, or possibly even Abe, Aso or Fukuda will throw out the first pitch at this last Yankees vs. Phillies game? I'm hoping for a surprise visit, but for some reason, I don't think the American public much cares for former Prime Ministers.

Adam Sheehan is the conventioneering man. He's always out there on the show floor at con after con after con after con. I'm amazed that he manages to do it all and still have the will to live. Frequently armed with his (not-so-trusty) MacBook, Adam runs trailer-filled presentations and pumps people up about the latest shows from FUNimation.

Needless to say, he's living the dream.

And that's why the Wall Street Journal published a profile on the man from FUNimation. Sadly, Adam didn't get his own stipple art, but it's still great to see him talk about how he got to his current position. The key thing is to be dedicated and really get into what you do.

Congratulations, Adam. You're one of the hardest-working people we see at conventions every year, and you deserve the attention. We look forward to seeing you and your presentations over the next con year, even though by the time we reach Otakon, we can recite it from memory.

[Image via WSJ]

Britian's Got Talent, sure, but it has no place in anime. We'll let this one slide, mostly because it's hilarious.

Surely you've heard of Susan Boyle. Most of the world fell in love with this ugly duckling story when she rocked television show Britian's Got Talent with her beautiful voice. How the transition to anime came about is unclear, but it's totally happening, and it's going to be great.

You'd think Boyle would do music for something dramatic and arty, but she's the opening act for gag anime Eagle Talon (Himitsu Kessha Taka no Tsume). Boyle will be performing the opening theme for the upcoming third movie. The song pick? "I Dreamed a Dream." Seriously. Jerky, crazy Flash animation with symphony-backed ballads? Amazing.

[via ANN]