As we continue to wait patiently for Eva 4.0's possible completion, a Studio Khara ends up going through a major turn of event. It turns out that they're suing Gainax for not fulfilling their deal to pay Khara royalty fees of the ...
Time for some relief, European otaku: You'll get Persona 5 - and more - in your neck of the woods. Atlus and Sega have found a new partner for European publishing. The agreement comes in the wake of NIS America cutting its ties with At...
It felt like it was only yesterday that I was looking forward to the 2D platformer game known as Lynn and the Spirits of Inao. As of now, my hopes for seeing this game get made are shattered as the title's Kickstarter campaign is officially...
Deaths may be a fact of life, but it's always sad when someone is taken too soon. That's the case for Japanese voice actress Yuko Mizutani, a veteran of Japan's voice acting scene who was best known for playing Sakiko Sakura, from the long-...
I think we can all agree that youths need protection from creeps and other predators, but what's happening at this year's Anime Expo in the name of protecting the children seems to be a bit...undesirable. Last week, the Society for the...
One of the more common pieces of fan mail we get comes in the form of inquiries from fans looking to break into anime creation. It's not an uncommon impulse, to want to try your hand at making what you love to watch, but impulses tend to ru...
It's been a long time since it has truly sucked to be a European gamer, but this latest development certainly qualifies, particularly for Europeans and residents of Australia and Oceania that are fans of Atlus' games. NIS America (a.k.a. NI...
It looks like it's almost officially A Thing now: After weeks of rumblings and rumors regarding its existence swirled, more concrete (though still unconfirmed) information has emerged around supposed plans by Sony to produce and sell an upg...
It's time for a moment of silence, as Kouji Wada, the guy who sang most of the themes from the Digimon franchise, has left our world on April 3 at the age of 42. The cause of his passing was due to cancer in his upper pharynx. Originally, i...
One of the sadder events in recent memory for gamers was the passing of former Nintendo President Satoru Iwata. Aged 55, he played a key role at Nintendo for many years, contributing to the development of games like Balloon Fight, Earthbou...
This article comes a week late, but I think better late than never and better a little late than very late. I wanted to do something for International Women's day and thought why not reflect on a couple of female characters and creators wh...
Sad news, everyone; it turns out that the great creature illustrator Yasushi Nirasawa passed away at the age of 52 on Feb. 2. According to his Twitter page, his passing was caused by kidney failure. In case this is your first time hearing a...
Ladies and gentlemen; it pains me to tell you all that Masayuki Izumi passed away on July 28. Sadly, the guy left to the other side at 35, which was too soon for someone at that age. The cause of his death was an undisclosed condition that ...
It looks like a number of rumors swirling around the internet have just been confirmed: The legendary production house Studio Ghibli - they of a large proportion of anime films worth watching - might shutting down. The announcement comes by...
I love the story of Chroma Squad, a little indie game from Brazilian outfit Behold Studios. They took something they loved - tokusatsu and Super Sentai - and made it into a unique game concept - putting players in the shoes of a producer ma...
Fanboys and girls rejoice, for the corporations you've pledged your loyalty to have given you some extra ammo to use in your eternal conflict. It seems consumer electronics giant and PlayStation maker Sony has decided to offload all of the ...
Buried in the midst of Reddit's Ask Me Anything section, TokyoPop founder Stu Levy popped in for two hours to answer questions from fans about the company, the industry, and manga in general. One of the more interesting questions (for me, a...
Yen Press and Square Enix just announced a partnership to put eBook versions of 175 manga titles online, giving the English-language versions of Square Enix's manga worldwide reach. Starting April 8, you'll be able to access some of Yen Pre...
It's actually funny: For as much access as North American anime fans have to Japan's pop culture output these days, there really are some things that are still difficult to find over there. For example, it's easy to get your eyeballs on lic...
In case you didn't know, the PS4 has just launched in Glorious Nippon, three months after its North American and European debuts, and the numbers are in for the new platform's first two days of Japanese sales: The console has sold 322,083 ...
I suppose it should go without saying for some more savvy otaku, but the fan-comic industry (aka doujinshi) is pretty big in Japan. That said, not everyone knows just how big it is. Until now. A representative from Comitia, a doujinshi fest...
I'd hardly be the first guy to say that Japan's gaming industry isn't having the best time right now. In fact, the gaming industry in general is suffering creatively. But whereas western gamers have been increasingly looking for change in ...
I'm hardly in a position to say whether Japan's culture export-focused "soft power" initiative, dubbed "Cool Japan" is successful, but whatever you think of it, it's good news to see that they're still rolling along with it. After all, it l...
Back at the end of October, we heard that The Chernin Group bought a stake in Crunchyroll, boosting its valuation somewhere short of $100 million. Crunchyroll finally came out with a statement to assuage fans' concerns, and it's much of wha...
Whenever folks talk about the supposed decline of the Japanese game industry, there's always one bright light shining in the gloom and doom. Strangely enough, it's not Monster Hunter, but rather Puzzle & Dragons, the monster-collecting ...
Another great person departs from the world of the living, and it happens to be someone from Kamen Rider W. Unfortunately, it was too soon for him to leave our side. On October 10th at 11:49 pm, Tomoyuki Dan passed away at the age of 50 fro...
For those of you who haven't kept up with the drama, there's been an on-going dispute between SNK Playmore USA, and publisher Tommo Inc., who manufacture the Neo Geo X Gold portable gaming device. Earlier this month, SNK Playmore announced ...
Crunchyroll has announced today that they'll be expanding their Simulcast service to France, complete with subtitled French language support. The service will only be launching with a select number of series to start, which include Dia...
When you think of Nintendo, chances are you'll think of a name like Shigeru Miyamoto, creator of Mario and all that good stuff the Big N is known for. But there's another name you should know, one without whom good ol' Shiggy might nev...
[Update #2: Sega Sammy have confirmed their acquisition of Atlus. Sega Dreams, a new division formed by Sega, will be the ones to handle Index Holdings.] [Update #1: Sega Sammy have initially denied reports of the purcha...
In case you hadn't heard, legendary animator and all-time anime great Hayao Miyazaki is retiring. Best shed a tear, and perhaps consider opening your wallet to pick up any of his films you haven't seen yet. "But wait!" you say. "Miyazaki's ...
In case you weren't keeping up, the 84th Comic Market ("Comiket") happened in Japan a few days ago. And on the off chance you don't know what that is, it's pretty much Japan's - and possibly the world's - largest comic convention, and ...
Thing are boiling down to the important moment right now, since the auction that will determine the fate of Atlus is now receiving its bids. At the moment, there are 20 companies fighting for control of Atlus, and the bids have reached clos...
Who says good things don't get recognized in today's society, eh? A definite Good Thing, Kick-Heart, the Kickstarter-funded pro-wrestling anime affair from Masaaki Yuasa and Production I.G., has just gotten the nod from New York's Animatio...
Well this is sobering news. Ryutaro Nakamura, who directed the anime adaptations of the classics Serial Experiments Lain and Kino's Journey (as well as Sakura Wars, a series close to my heart), lost his battle with pancreatic canc...
Wow, talk about the end of an era. Seems like Initial D, the world's premier manga about never driving in a straight line, is approaching its finale, after eighteen years. 46 volumes, several anime and live-action series, videogames aplenty...
It has begun. Atlus' troubled parent company Index has just announced that it's just about ready to start selling off aspects of its operations as part of its "Civil Rehabilitation" proceedings (effectively the Japanese equivalent of bankru...
Oh my. It looks like all the epic happenings in Bleach over the last few months really are leading up to something: the end. According to a special message from author Tite Kubo in the latest issue of Weekly Shonen Jump (check out a sc...
Well, the news coming out of Atlus Japan, or rather its parent company, Index Corporation, is rather dire, but according to a statement from President and CEO Naoto Hiraoka, Atlus USA is hunky-dory: Currently, Index Digital Media, Inc. and...
[Update 2: According to their official press release (and NeoGAF mod duckroll's translation), Index realizes that the games division is the most desirable and profitable part of their business. They plan on seeking out and choosing a sponso...
