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Why Yakuza 3 is blatantly better than Final Fantasy XIII
by Edward Baylon, 03/10/2010
Why Yakuza 3 is blatantly better than Final Fantasy XIII photo

This week, one of the most anticipated Japanese Role-Playing Games just came out in the western market, and that game is Final Fantasy XIII. I'm sure many of you out there are going to get (or already have) this latest installment of a beloved franchise but did you also know that another JRPG also came out this week? That game is Yakuza 3, from the wildly popular Yakuza video game series in Japan.

I've only recently discovered the Yakuza series and the games amazingly blend traditional JRPG elements with an action brawler set in a modern day Japan. The Yakuza games puts you in the role of Kazuma Kiriyu, a badass Yakuza who is nowhere near like the usual brooding, effeminate trap that have become the staple in many JRPGs.

The Yakuza games haven't enjoyed the same success in the west than it did in Japan. Many would say that Yakuza 3 is being sent to die to be released alongside one of the most anticipated games in the last decade. So I'm here to prove to you how Yakuza 3 blatantly better than Final Fantasy XIII.

Hit the jump to find out why Yakuza 3 is the new JRPG hotness!


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  14 comments Latest by SourGr8pes
"OK, I'm sold. I want to be a Yakuza badass. Do I need to play the other two to get a good grasp of whats going on?"...read more



 HearJapan wants you to win Vocaloid figures for Miku day
by Josh Tolentino, 03/10/2010
HearJapan wants you to win Vocaloid figures for Miku day photo

Actually, it's a little late for Miku day itself, which was yesterday, but HearJapan's "Miku Treasure Hunt" contest is still running, and you might just win some adorable Vocaloid figurines and store credit.

To hunt for the musical treasure that is Miku, just hit up HearJapan's contest page, sign in, and download a free album, which is loaded with ten untitled, untagged Vocaloid songs. Your job will be to identify the songs by browsing their Vocaloid library and listening to the various 30 second samples. The winners will be selected from the correct entries, and notified on April 9th.

The first place winner gets the awesome Good Smile Miku Nendoroid, a calendar, and 5000 yen in HearJapan store credit. Placers 2nd through 4th can choose the Kagamine Len, Kagamine Rin, or Megurine Luka Nendoroids and will also score 2000 yen in store credit. Even the 5th through 8th placers can claim a cute 2010 calenda. The last two winners will make a cool 500 yen in store credit, enough to get a couple of Miku songs for their trouble.

Anyone planning to enter? I could certainly use a Nendoroid, though I think I'd prefer a Luka figurine rather than one of Miku. She's 20, and thus is less likely to fall afoul of the law.

 

 

  4 comments Latest by nortonantivirus
"After brute forcing a hell of alot of albums I have, I found out I was wrong. At least one isn't a remix. I know, I found it. :P"...read more



 Chiaki Kuriyama debuts new song at MTV Iggy
by Danica Davidson, 03/10/2010
Chiaki Kuriyama debuts new song at MTV Iggy photo

They say MTV is no longer about the music, but MTV Iggy still has some musical stuff going on. This site gives itself the headline "Breakthrough Music and Pop Culture from around the Globe" and has information on entertainment from the UK, Israel, India, Brazil . . . all over the place, really . . . and yes, Japan.

In fact, this week it was MTV Iggy that debuted Chiaki Kuriyama's single Ryusei No Namida, the theme song for Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn. There's even a page dedicated to this stylish singer.

Take a look at the video below and let us people here at Japanator know what you think. The song itself starts about twenty-five seconds into the video.


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  4 comments Latest by matty
"Crazy, I was *just* thinking about her earlier today and what she was doing. Looks like I got my answer in a smexy way."...read more



 FUNi considering uncensored DVDs for Vampire Bund
by Brad Rice, 03/10/2010
FUNi considering uncensored DVDs for Vampire Bund photo

For all your worrying about FUNimation editing Dance in the Vampire Bund, they've made an update to their stance when it comes to the show. The full statement is down below, but the short of it is that they're going to keep the online streams and TV broadcasts (if someone like adult swim picks it up) censored, so that nobody gets in trouble, but are considering an uncut version on DVD and Blu-ray.

Of course, they're waiting until the remainder of the episodes are aired before they make their final decision -- in case Shaft takes some of the scenes to graphic extremes. There are a few things that come to mind, but we'll just have to wait and see.

Personally, I think this is totally within their prerogative, and a smart decision considering what happened with Handley; FUNi doesn't want to get itself caught up in that business and create undue risk for itself. Plus, if they do end up releasing edited DVDs, I'd just say go for the manga anyways -- the art is better, I prefer the storytelling, and things are a bit more coherent without the excuse of memory loss in it.

Expect a bit more livelier discussion on Japanator AM, when it's recorded tomorrow! 


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  17 comments Latest by Yaku
"Ok censoring the TV and online streams but not the DVDs, that's reasonable."...read more



 Sega & Watami to give away Yakuza 4 beer jugs
by Tim Sheehy, 03/10/2010
Sega & Watami to give away Yakuza 4 beer jugs photo

Sega has teamed up with the Japanese restaurant chain, Watami, in order to promote its upcoming release of Yakuza 4 in Japan by giving away a hundred "legendary beer jugs." While that number seems rather small, it's not like they're just handing them out. Patrons who want to get their hands on the jugs will need to visit the restaurants starting tomorrow and will receive fliers with a code needed to enter a raffle. While the pairing might seem a bit random, players can actually visit Watami restaurants in game to dine and recover health. Pretty cool, right?

I have to admit that I'm really jealous that Japan gets all these cool promo items, but when its a game that's as Japanese as this, you probably won't be seeing Yakuza 3 happy meal toys at your local McDonalds any time soon. And, while I'm still a little ticked about them cutting some content from the upcoming US release of Yakuza 3, I've come to grips with the fact that we're lucky they even decided to bring it over in the first place. On second thought, Sega you can keep your beer jugs, just bring Yakuza 4 over instead.

[via andriasang]

  2 comments Latest by undyingstorm
"Aww Japan gets EVERYTHING cool :( *grumbles*"...read more

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Spend a dollar, get a Yoshitoshi ABe comic on Kindle
by Josh Tolentino, 03/10/2010
Spend a dollar, get a Yoshitoshi ABe comic on Kindle photo

Like some Yoshitoshi ABe? He's one of the guys behind Serial Experiments Lain, NieA_7, Texhnolyze and Haibane Renmei. You can have his new doujinshi, I Am An Alien, I Have A Question for more than free but less than $1.01. Yes, it costs one dollar. And in English!

What's the catch? You'll need to own an Amazon Kindle, that crazy combination book-reader device/pickpocketing target. There is no catch, besides needing something that supports Kindle, be it the Kindle client (free on PC), the Kindle iPhone app, or the Kindle device itself. That costs $259, so it's considerably less economical if you don't own one but still want it on that particular platform.

But if you DO own a Kindle (or Kindle-supporting thing) and have hidden it well enough not to be mugged over it, you can fork over a Washington to get it right here.

[Thanks to Ko for the tip, and Jeff for the update!]


  3 comments Latest by bahamut
"I absolutely hate the concept of the Kindle (paper FTW!), but this is pretty neat."...read more



 Yotsuba & Magma
by Ben Huber, 03/10/2010
Yotsuba & Magma photo


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  11 comments Latest by AQua ng
"Yeah, I seriously cannot believe that she compared Fullmetal Alchemist to Baccano!"...read more

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A second Disney Rocks album hits Japan
by Tim Sheehy, 03/10/2010
A second Disney Rocks album hits Japan photo

Disney is really fond of releasing these arrangement albums overseas. Some of them are terrible, some are tolerable and some are actually half-way decent, but given that I haven't heard every track of their latest attempt, Disney Rocks!!, I wouldn't be able to tell you which category it falls into. 

I'm sure it can't be any worst than the last Disney Rocks album they shilled to the Japanese market. Despite having the best arrangements on the entire album, Sokabe Keiichi and The Telephones alone couldn't save it, and that says a lot considering I love both of them so much. That said, Keiichi's mellow rendition of the Japanese "It's a Small World" was really cute and might be worth your time to track down. Perhaps this latest album will be better, though.

I haven't heard many tracks from Disney Rocks!! yet, but the ones I have heard aren't that terrible. Oceanline's arrangement of "Beauty and the Beast" for example is light on the Engrish, and by that I mean you can actually understand what he's singing quite easily. I'm looking forward to hearing ohashiTrio's rendition of "Winnie the Pooh" as well. The last thing I heard from them was their single, "Winterland," back in November and I remember it being pretty incredible. As for Disney Rocks!!, you can hear Oceanline's cover of "Beauty and the Beast" after the jump.


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 Lolis to be censored (or not) in Japan by March 30th
by Josh Tolentino, 03/10/2010
Lolis to be censored (or not) in Japan by March 30th photo

The time has come. The "Youth Nurturing and Protection Ordinance," a proposal to essentially censor images of "childlike" characters in media, is set to enter committee on March 18th. Should the bill move through that, it will be placed before the Diet for a vote on March 30th, taking effect as early as October.

Mangaka Yoshitoshi ABe had this to say on his blog:

Simply put, even for characters of a story who do not actually exist, and even those who are portrayed not as minors but as adult figures, sales of works in which the panties of these characters can be seen can be restricted if you have a hunch that they appear childlike, for one thing; and more generally, it is an unconstitutional and ridiculous piece of legislation. I’m not talking about children’s books. I mean mass market publications, anime, games, and all manners of works. Both Doraemon and Sazae-san are right out!

The full post was translated by Shii of welcome datacomp, and is available for reading there. I strongly suggest that you go and read up, because it's a doozy. 


  24 comments Latest by Yaku
"@0216332 A couple of years later that won't be viable too, since it would exploit the poor defenseless elderly population."...read more



 The Artistry of Miyazaki event going on tonight in SF
by Brad Rice, 03/10/2010
The Artistry of Miyazaki event going on tonight in SF photo

Not part of the GDC crowd, but looking to get out tonight? Well, why not haul yourself over to the Viz Cinema tonight down in San Francisco and go to see what's sure to be an interesting talk, entitled "The Artistry of Anime Legend Hayao Miyazaki."

There'll be a number of guests, including Fred Schodt and Beth Carey, talking about Miyazaki's artistry and their personal experiences with the man -- both of them translated the collection of his essays published by Viz. The show starts at 7pm, although they're giving out gift bags earlier, so you might want to get there a little bit beforehand.

And if you're going to be staying around in the Bay Area through the weekend, be sure to check out Destructoid's 4th Anniversary party. It will be, as the kids call it, "hopping." Be sure to get there early, too, because it's a first-come-first-serve sort of operation.

[Via Deb Aoki]


  1 comments Latest by Papasan
"I am only just now hearing of this today. At 6:08 PM. I am now, as the kids call it, "hopping" mad. This would have been cool to check out. Oh well."...read more






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