While we're waiting for Nico Nico USA to cover more than just the Space Shuttle launch, the Japanese Nico Nico continues to get awesome stuff in the way of official channels -- the latest and greatest is from Madhouse. If you've got a NicoNico account, you can check out some of their listings, which include the likes of a trailer for the Trigun: Badlands Rumble film. It looks pretty boss, I must admit.

Of course, if you don't have an account set up for Nico Nico video (we'll walk you through how to do it one day), then you'll just have to sit tight and start adding your own line of "wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww" on YouTube annotations for the videos you're watching.

We here at Japanator can't leave you hanging, though. We've got some stuff waiting for you after the jump.

[Via AnimeAnime]

Sure, it may cost you your pride, but if you're looking to keep warm and generate a hell of a lot of fuzz, then you may as well go ahead and show your Naruto pride with this snuggie, which we see some of the Viz employees showing off theirs. According to Lex at Viz, these will be hitting stores come wintertime.

I am going to wear this thing with a vengeance. What other way can I share my love of all things Sasuke with those who come over and find themselves chilly. They'll have no choice but to accept the ninja within them and by the end of the night, they'll be painting their nails black like the Akatsuki members.

So, who else wants one? C'mon, I know you, Japanator readers.

[Via Nebs]

Macross and cosplay... two of the most awesome things in the universe. Bring them together, and what do you get? Pure, epic deculture, that's what.

This post is the result of hours spent slogging through the bowels of the intertubes, searching for Macross cosplay. After much blood, sweat, toil and tears, I invite you to enjoy the very best of what I found. Ten pictures are embedded below the break, and even more can be found in the gallery. Enjoy!

Yack deculture!

[Today's promoted story was written by Tascar, where he decided to voice his displeasure on the industry as a whole. While it doesn't necessarily reflect of the opinions of anybody in particular, I found it an interesting read that won't waste your time.  Enjoy!  ~Pedro]

After a long boring day at work, I went to my local Best Buy, walked right by Evangelion: 1.01 You Are (Not) Alone and "Dragon Ball Z: Dragon Box One," and picked up the Blu-Ray of Star Trek. Don't get me wrong: I would love to add both titles into my massive DVD/Blu-Ray collection.

However, I just can't bring myself to purchase either title at the moment because when I look at these two titles on the Best Buy anime shelf, which is essentially a fraction of the size that it used to be five years earlier, I can't help but be reminded of how the "anime industry," that is both the Japanese studios and the American distributors, collectively drove anime into the ground in the United States.

This announcement is a little belated, but what the hell.

In order to celebrate the release of the Macross Frontier film in Japan, I hereby declare today to be Macross Day on Japanator. Keep your eyes peeled for a variety of Macross-themed posts, such as the Beginner's Guide to Macross that Andres wrote, or Ben's heartfelt confession to Bobby Margot. Also, feel free to write your own Macross posts in the Community Blogs. If we spot a good one, it might find its way onto the front page!

Well, that's all for now. Yack deculture!

A couple of weeks back we asked the Japanator faithful to regale us with your stories about your first anime. Many people mentioned DBZ and Sailor Moon as gateways into the often amusing and sometimes oddball world of anime fandom, but we could only pick won winner. So without further ado, the winner is...

Bboypui Penbar Rayemantis!

Bboypui Penbar Rayemantis told us about his first time in Zambia of all places.  Follow through the jump to read his story.

For most people, Macross is a series about fighter jets that turn into planes, and somehow, singing becomes involved. While many got their first taste of De Culture with Macross Frontier, there is obviously a lot of depth to the series, spanning close to 30 years.

As part of today's Macross celebration, after the jump is a beginner's guide to Macross. You'll find a quick synopsis of each series in the franchise and some other fun things thrown in, like why you should totally hate Harmony Gold.

Follow the jump to get the full rundown on the Macross Franchise.

Earlier this week, Zac Bertschy was kind enough to invite me onto the latest episode of the ANNCast to talk about reviews: the philosophy of it, some of the best/worst experiences, and answering a lot of questions from the folks on twitter.

Joining me in the show were Mike Toole, a regular writer for Otaku USA and Clarissa Graffeo from Anime World Order, along with Bamboo and Zac, representing ANN. All of them proved to me much more well-put together and vocal on the subject, but you can occasionally hear me pipe in on the subject. I suppose I need to get back into podcasting, eh? I'll have some more practice appearing on Anime3000's podcast this Sunday.

Be sure to check out this episode and the rest of their podcast -- I've found ANNCast to be one of my regular listens, as it's got a great pool of talent and high-end guests on it that provide something new to the discussion of anime that you don't always hear from reading news articles on ANN.

It's kind of like delving into their forums, but without having to get your hands dirty.

Satoshi Kon has been working on a new film for a while, however it was kept under surprisingly tight wraps. But thanks to a heads up from our pals at twitchfilm.net, we've seen that the official website has finally been updated with the first-ever pics. The story details are currently very sparse, perhaps the most info we've gotten is from the title itself: The Dreaming Machine (Yume Miru Kikai). I must say, for a much more kid-friendly style from Kon, it looks absolutely fantastic. The style has that dramatic fluidity of movement, even in these stills. I can't wait to see how it looks in action. We'll be sure to keep you updated on any other news that shows up.

Kon has had quite a record under his belt, are you guys as excited as I am for this upcoming film? I'll be honest, my original post went like this: OMGSATOSHIKONFILMYESSSSWHOO *first pump* ALRIGHT! 

Seriously though, I'd rather have a hacking cough than go through...whatever Halls drops give you in place of it, if the vid below is any indication.

Seriously.

[Via Japan Probe]