A PS Vita exclusive, the game will be released in Japan this coming Thursday, while a Chinese/English version will be released in late May. For English screenshots, browse through the gallery below.

11:10 Koji Masunari (Magi), Toshifumi Akai (Magi), Tomohiko Ito (SAO), Shingo Adachi (SAO)

14:41 Yui Ishikawa, Kyoji Asano, Tetsuya Nakatake, Tesuya Kinoshita (Attack on Titan)

17:58 MINT

19:11 ELISA

32:13 Angelic Pretty: maki, RinRin Doll

35:50 Hiroshi Nagahama

The Premium Edition will retail for $249.99 and will include all seventy episodes on Blu-ray along with a 76-page hardcover art book, clean openings and endings and a collectible slip case. The standard edition will ship in three four-DVD volumes for $59.99 each.

NIS describes the story:

Ten-year-old Sakura lives a pretty normal life with her older brother, Toya, and widowed father, Fujitaka. At least she did, until the day she returned home from school to discover a glowing book in her father's study. After opening the book and releasing the cards within, Sakura is tasked with collecting each of these magical cards, while trying to live the life of a normal fourth grader. In the monumental task of collecting all the cards, Sakura must rely on her friends and family, and decide what she finds most important in life.

Previously released and heavily edited on Kids WB as the series Cardcaptors, Geneon Entertainment had previously released the series on DVD and VHS with subtitles although it had been halted in 2007.

Tracklisting on the "Rising Hope" single includes:

1. Rising Hope
2. Poker Face
3. Ashiato Compass
4. Rising Hope (Instrumental Version)

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About LiSA

LiSA first came to prominence through the hit anime TV series, "Angel Beats!" in 2010 where her vocal abilities shone through her role as the 2nd generation vocalist for the band within the series, "Girls Dead Monster." Subsequent releases under the band's name ranked high on the Oricon charts, steadily growing in popularity and fame.

The following year, LiSA made her debut as a solo artist with a mini-album in 2011 and enjoyed further success in chart performance. Her next releases included major tie-ups with anime series, including the iconic "oath sign" for the series "Fate/Zero" and "crossing field" for the hugely popular "Sword Art Online" series, strengthening her popularity in both the anime and pop rock world.

LiSA's fanbase continues to grow exponentially in and outside of Japan, thanks to her infectious, energetic live performances, friendly, down-to-earth disposition, and cute sense of fashion. All eyes are on this definite artist to watch!

LiSA's official website (Japanese): http://www.lxixsxa.com/

LiSA's official English website: http://www.aniplexusa.com/lisa/

Overseas iTunes link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/rising-hope/id863042904

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 The Guests of Honor list includes:

Kazuki Nakashima (Original Story and Script Writer)
SUSHIO (Character Designer and Chief Animation Director)
Ami Koshimizu (the voice of Ryuko Matoi)
Ryoka Yuzuki (the voice of Satsuki Kiryuin)
Yousuke Toba (Producer)

Tickets for the event will go on sale starting 9:00pm PST on 5/12 for AX Premiere fans and starting May 15th at 9:00 PM PST for the general public. For ticket information visit:Tickets.Anime-Expo.org

For more information on KILL la KILL www.KilllaKill.com

Imagine, if you would, a concert hall with golden cream colored walls and an array of glass tiles hanging from the ceiling like crystal wings. Multiple tiers, three in number including the orchestra floor, hold thousands of seats. A stage in the heart of the hall holds a deep crimson piano, a DJ's setup, and a half-dozen chairs. A multitude of people mill about before being led by ushers to their seats.

"These aren't our usual concert-goers," remarks one of the staff. She's right. Wealthy socialites in evening gowns now sit alongside girls in colored wigs wearing lolita fashion. The age range is decidedly younger than usual; most of tonight's guests have probably never stepped foot in a concert hall and I'll admit that I've only been on a handful of occasions. My usual haunts are the mosh pits and the press of the crowd at heavy metal shows like those of X Japan.

It's a packed house with only a few seats available. The orchestra is filled to the brim and the upper tiers are not far behind. There are no bad seats in the house tonight; Davies Hall usually plays host to the San Francisco Symphony so its acoustics are top tier. A few lucky guests sit on the terrace to the sides of Yoshiki and company. While technically behind the performers these seats are the closest to Yoshiki. Wherever your seat might be you have a commanding view of the stage.

As the lights dim a group of musicians file on stage and take their seats. There are six in total and each holds a violin, viola, and for one, the cello. A video begins to play on the screen behind the stage introducing Yoshiki. For many in this room there is no need for introduction; his name is the sole reason they've entered the hall. They wait patiently as the opening notes of the song "Forever Love" begin to fill the room. Soon a man walks on stage and takes his place at the head of the piano. The moment he enters is the moment the crowd erupts.

This is definitely not your usual concert.

The set list spans many years and many albums. Yoshiki's opening song "Forever Love" is a X Japan classic. This was followed by the one song that a large number of Americans have heard whether they knew its origin or not: The 2012 Golden Globe Awards theme. Yoshiki's side project Violet UK makes its appearance with the song "Rosa" accompanied by a woman whose voice rivals the angels.

Toshi, one of Yoshiki's bandmates and vocalist for X Japan, appears on stage during "IV." For some this is not a surprise; the April 25 stop in Costa Mesa had Sugizo appear and lend his violin talents and word of Toshi's guest appearance was leaked as well. A short exchange between Yoshiki and Toshi occurs:

"What are you doing here?" asks Yoshiki.
"I wanted to see you," Toshi replies.
"What song do you want to do?"
"Well, we only practiced one song."

That song was "Tears," a song Yoshiki originally wrote for his father who had died. Following this Yoshiki spoke about X Japan's breakup and how lead guitarist Hide died not too long after. X Japan has faced many tragedies over the years and they took their toll on the group. Yoshiki entered a deep funk and was only roused from this slumber by his homeland, Japan. The tenth anniversary of the Emperor's reign was nigh and Yoshiki was asked to compose a song. This song would come to be known as "Anniversary."

Something more unique to this stop was "The Birthday Song." "Happy Birthday to you." Yes, that birthday song. One of Yoshiki's friends and his family are in the very front row of the concert. The clan matriarch's birthday is very near and what better way to celebrate it than a special serenade? How many people can boast that they've been sung to by an international superstar?

Yoshiki again spoke of the dearly departed X Japan members Hide and Taiji, in addition to his father. This time he had a message: "Before it's too late, please give your love to someone you care for." We often take the presence of others for granted and any reminder to open up and give a bit of thanks is welcome. This led into the 2006 tribute song "Without You" which played alongside video from the days showcasing some of X's highest points.

Following this was a seamless transition to "Art of Life." The effects board and laptop that had been next to him all night came into play with an overdub style as he took a section of piano playing, warped it, and played it back just to play on top of it. The original "Art of Life" is almost thirty minutes and is something all fans should listen to if they have not. This abbreviated version starts at about the midway point in the song and clocks in at ten minutes. I started to headbang a little when Yoshiki begins his piano solo. Not full headbanging, more of just a nod, but it really gets to you. Powerful stuff.

Now nearing the end of the concert, Yoshiki introduced his accompaniment. Unofficially, they are the "Yoshiki Sextet." He added his thoughts: "Sextet? Am I hearing things correctly? *laugh* I really like that name." It was at this point that he announced a X Japan show in the heart of New York entertainment, Madison Square Garden. Although this won't be the first time that X Japan will have played in the arena, you can be sure that come October 11th, they will not disappoint.

The night was finished off by "Endless Rain," a sorrowful power ballad about lost love. One part of the song spoke of a dream being over. Just like that the entrancing night ended and normal lives resumed. There were many bouquets thrown onstage and even a US flag bearing San Francisco upon it which Yoshiki picked up and held aloft. Toshi returned onstage and the two of them stood flanking the flag. Yoshiki may have been born in Japan, but he calls the United States home all the same. The customary cry of "We are X!" reverberated throughout the crowd as we rose our hands crossed above our heads. I'm sure some of the newly minted fans were a little confused at the sight.

As people streamed out into the lobby there were many well-wishes from the crowd and selfies to prove "I was there." Groups took photos of each other with Yoshiki's trademark grand piano in the background. Certainly a true mark of a metal concert, or in this case, a metal-turned-classical concert. A lot of the venues I have been in are clubs or the odd ballroom; none have been quite as nice as this was.

Of course, there's one other thing that was on my mind and I had the chance to ask the man himself. "Will you return to San Francisco in support of X Japan's new album?" He replied "We'll definitely try." Yoshiki, I'm holding you to that.

Many thanks to Yaz Noya and Chase Wang for making this all possible.

The full set list:

Forever Love (X)
Golden Globes Theme
Rosa (Violet UK)
IV (X)
Tears
Anniversary
(Intermission)
Amethyst
Swan Lake
Birthday Song
HERO
Without You (X)
Kurenai (X)
Art of Life (X)
Endless Rain (X)

Here's the full list of concert dates:

April 25 (F), USA - Costa Mesa - Segerstrom Center of the Arts
April 28 (M), USA - San Francisco - Davies Symphony Hall
May 3 (Sa), MX - Mexico City - Blackberry Auditorium
May 21 (W), RU - Moscow - Crocus City Hall
May 23 (F), DE - Berlin - Tempodrom
May 26 (M), FR - Paris - Le Trianon
May 29 (Th), UK - London - Royal Festival Hall
June 6 (F), CH - Beijing - Beijing Exhibition Center
June 8 (Su), CH - Shanghai - Oriental Arts
June 10 (Tu), TH - Bangkok - Royal Jubilee Hall
June 13 (F), CH - Taipei - NK101 Taipei
June 16 (M), JP - Tokyo - Metropolitan Theater
June 17 (Tu), JP - Osaka - The Symphony Hall

Please check out yoshiki.net for more info and to buy tickets.

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Sekai Project's description of the story:

After 60 years of peace, the mana crafting civilization Ruzenheid came to an end. An unknown enemy attacked, and destroyed, Ruzenheid Castle. Princess Selfine was able to escape the burning ruins with the help of Ritona, her childhood friend, who created a teleportation craft.

However, instead of finding salvation, they found themselves deep in a strange forest.

This is their story – a story of strangers in a strange realm trying to make it back home.

Alice in Dissonance is currently working on Fault Milestone Two.

Centering around the protagonist Okabe Rintaro, whom has a classic case of chuunbiyo or 'delusions' that he's a mad scientist, he along with the seven other members of the Future Gadget Club discover a way to send text messages, called "D-mails," into the past using real-world items: a microwave and an old IBN-5100 computer. Along the way, the audience learns about the hopes, fears and dreams of the eight members who attempt to change their past. We have Okabe's childhood friend Mayuri Shiina, the neuroscience protege Kurisu Mikase, the moe-loving otaku Daru, the mysterious texter Moeka Kiryu, male "trap" Ruka Urushibara, feline-waitress Faris Nyannyan and the energetic shop girl Suzuha Amane. By utilizing the game's somewhat cumbersome cell phone texting "gameplay" system, players can navigate to other 'timelines' and endings, although they mostly intersect with the game's linear storyline. And while most of them are just two to three hour arcs in length, each of the game's individual endings add something to the overall impact of the story. Just be sure to follow a walkthrough as getting to these endings require players to send the right text.

Par for the course with most time travel tales, the butterfly effect kicks in after the members start sending texts to the past and it begins to string together a perpetuating loop of despair that entraps Okabe, including everything from being chased by CERN to trying to prevent the death of a certain character. Those of you who've seen the series know exactly what I'm talking about and since the visual novel is told from the first-person view of Okabe, the ability to read his thoughts as he tries to escape different world lines, while retaining his past memories, adds an extra layer of tension and hopelessness that simply can't be translated on-screen. When Okabe, or more or less the player, is forced to make tough decisions during the second half of the game, this sort of introspective look into his mind makes everything that much more devastating and emotional.

As great as the time loop story and characters are, one thing that separates Steins;Gate from other time travel stories is that the writer Naotaka Hayashi (Bravely Default) wove an insane amount of real-world science and phenomenons into the story. For example, in the first half of the game Okabe is receiving messages from a time traveler by the name of John Titor; a "real" world figure who appeared on several internet bulletin boards between the year 2000 and 2001. As MAGES President Shikura Chiyomaru wrote to his new overseas audiences, "this realism creates fear, which lets us empathize with the characters."

Taking a real-world approach to their stories is something that Nitro+ and 5pb are renown for and when it works, as it does in Steins;Gate, mixes in an extra layer of uniqueness and makes the story that much more special. Additionally, since there is a wide amount of real world science and theories in the story, a fully translated glossary of terms allows the reader to dive into the scientific world behind Steins;Gate without having explanations becoming overbearing by inscribing everything into the game's written narrative. It also provides a translation of the net and otaku terms that people may or may not otherwise be familiar with, so prepare to use the glossary quite a bit.

Art wise, Huke's (Black Rock Shooter) unique designs look great in the game's native widescreen 720p resolution screen. Rather than relying on simple fills and gradients as with most visual novel sprites, Huke's designs are textured with noise and filters that gives the characters a gritty feel, something akin to the animated series Gankatsuo. Their one-of-a-kind character sprites are fantastic even when set to fill a 1080p screen and never get old even after hours of reading.

Additionally, the soundtrack by Takeshi Abo does more than an adequate job providing appropriate ambient noise for each scene. Although it may not be as strong as his previous endeavors with KID's Infinity series, some of the songs are memorable including the opening theme, "Gate of Steiner" and its more tender counterpart "believe me." For fans of Japanese animation, the game's Japanese-only dub features some of the biggest names in the industry including Kana Hanazawa, Halko Mamoi and Mamoru Miyano all of whom do a fantastic job handling the emotional complexities of the various characters.

As a fan of the time travel genre, with Chrono Trigger and most of Kotaro Uchikoshi's Ever 17 taking root as two of my top video games of all-time, I've always been fascinated with people facing overwhelming odds against time to try and achieve the impossible or try to prevent a dystopic future. Knowing that there's an inevitable fate out there for our heroes and watch them fight to change it has always been a beautiful concerto of destiny, determination and ingenuity that typically results in a cathartic release that is quite simply powerful.

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If you love anime, time travel or just fantastically written stories that pack an emotional punch, this game is for you. Highly, highly recommended.

What I Loved:

● tightly-packed time travel story that doesn't succumb to breaking its own established rules

● amazing character interaction

● agonizing watching Okabe make hard choices

● the fragility of human interactions and the butterfly effect

● powerful and emotional decisions and choices

What I Hated:

● seemingly trivial choices affect the game's endings

● walkthrough reading is required to reach the game's true ending

● feels more linear than some other visual novels

VIZ Media

• Blood the Lad dub cast:

The dubbed version of the series will run on VIZ Media's Neon Alley streaming service. Chris Cason wrote the English script while the dub was directed by Kirk Thornton.

Bryce Papenbrook as Staz Charlie Blood; Xanthe Huynh as Fuyumi Yanagi; Kira Buckland as Hydra Bell; Cristina Vee as Mamejiro; Ben Diskin as Wolf; Johnny Yong Bosch as Braz D. Blood; Jason Baker as Yoshida the Mimic; Lucien Dodge as Akim Papradon; Patrick Seitz as Franken; Erik Scott Kimerer as Hydra Knell; Wendee Lee as Neyn; Keith Silverstein as Hydra Heads; Richard Epcar as Wolf Daddy; Ben Pronsky as Chief Goyle; Julie Ann Taylor as Officer Beros; Taylor Henry as ONIQLO Store Manger; Derek Stephen Prince as Sabao; Caitlin Chang as Mayu; Kyle Hebert as Dek; Brian Beacock as Shamkid; Matthew Mercer as Sam; Erica Mendez as Jasmine; Todd Stone as Roy

Sailor Moon:

• Sailor Moon classic series will be released as uncut blu rays with a new dub as well as subtitles (and is also currently being streamed online at VIZ's Neon Alley Online page). The story, characters, and names will not be changed from the original Japanese version.
• Season 1 part 1 (ep 1-23) will be released in the fall and contain dual language tracks.
• The dub cast has been approved by Naoko Takeuchi, Sailor Moon's creator.
• VIZ Media plans to stream on Monday on Neon Alley and Hulu) 2 eps per week Plans for Limited edition BD/DVD combo pack and standard edition have been made. The newly announced Sailor Moon Crystal will be streamed on Hulu and Neon Alley. More Sailor Moon announcements will occur at AX, including the announcement of the dubbed cast/staff.

Crunchyroll

• Crunchyroll is still working on building manga library with collaboration from Kodansha and Cork.
• A stimulpub of manga The Tenth Prism by Masahito Soda was announced.
• The films Princess and the Pilot, The Ring of Curse, Ichi 1: Orign will be added soon to Crunchyroll.

FUNimation

• The English dub case for the bouncy-ninja action series Senran Kagura was announced.

ASUKA – Felecia Angella; KATSURAGI – Brittney Karbowski; IKARUGA – Alexis Tipton; HIBARI – Megan Shipman; YAGYU – Bryn Apprill; HOMURA – Monica Rial; HARUKA – Teri Rogers; MIRAI – Lara Woodhull; HIKAGE – Kara Edwards; YOMI – Trina Nishimura; ADR DIRECTOR – Jerry Jewell; ADR ENGINEER – Cris George

The series will be available July 29, 2014.

• HAL movie dub cast

HAL – Chris Burnett (Romeo x Juliet's Romeo, Shiki's Toru Muto); KURUMI – Bryn Apprill; RYU – Todd Haberkorn; ADR DIRECTOR – Mike McFarland; ADR ENGINEER – Kenneth Thompson

The movie will available Fall 2014.

• Hellsing Ultimate vol. 9 and 10 are coming Fall 2014.

Aniplex

• The English dub cast for Kill la Kill, production staff and physical release announcements will occur during May 28th Aniplex Live Show.
• Exclusive figures will coming soon to the Aniplex store.
• Monogatari season 2 comes out this summer (June 24th).
• The Servant x Service complete DVD set is coming soon.
• The English dub for Magi 2 is currently in the works with open auditions being held at Anime Expo 2014.
• A Sword Art Online II premiere event will occur at Anime Expo 2014 and will feature author Reki Kawahara and character designer abec.

Streaming details are as follows:

Sword Art Online II takes place one year after the events of Sword Art Online, Kirito is approached by the Japanese Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communication Department "VR Division" to investigate an incident known as the "Death Gun" in a VRMMO called Gun Gale Online (GGO). Rumor has it that if a player is shot by a mysterious avatar wielding a jet black gun that they would lose their life in the real world. He joins forces with a mysterious sniper named Sinon and enter a tournament known as the "Bullet of Bullets" to try and attract the attention of "Death Gun."

Fore more details about Sword Art Online II, please visit:

http://www.swordart-onlineusa.com/

https://www.facebook.com/SwordArtOnlineUSA

Details below:

Gurren Lagann the Movies: -Childhood's End- and –the Lights in the Sky are Stars- will be released in a double feature Blu-ray set on July 15th. The box set will include both movies on two Blu-ray discs, each with their own key visuals of the movies. The films will be digitally re-mastered. More details can be found at: http://www.gurrenlagannthemovieusa.com/

Puella Magi Madoka Movies Part 1 –Beginnings- and Part 2 –Eternal- will be available on Blu-ray and DVD on July 15th. As a retelling of the original television series, the films will be available in a DVD/Blu-ray set (4 discs total) and contain trailers, TV CM collections and textless openings and endings. Both movies will also be available as individual DVD releases. More information about the upcoming release can be found at: http://www.madokamagicausa.com/

For fans of Anohana, Aniplex will be releasing its film adaptation Anohana –the Flower We Saw That Day the Movie- in three different editions: a Collector's Edition set, standard Blu-ray and standard DVD. All three sets will feature the original Japanese language track, along with both English and Spanish subtitles, textless openings, trailers and TV commercial collections. The CE will also have a compilation music CD, post cards, a Menma poster and deluxe booklet. For more details, visit: http://www.aniplexusa.com/anohanamovie

Lastly, Hiromu Arakawa's Silver Spoon will be available in a complete DVD set on July 15th with eleven episodes featuring original Japanese audio with English subtitles on 3 DVD discs. Bonus material will include textless openings and ending in addition to trailers and commercials. For more information on the upcoming Silver Spoon DVD set, visit: http://www.aniplexusa.com/silverspoon

The main premise of the game revolves around the idea that Metallia, the self-styled Great Swamp Witch, wishes to cover the world in swampy glory and wishes to subjugate it. In order to do so, she summons a terrifying familiar called the Hundred Knight. In reality, it's just really the player, who takes up the role of an adorable squeaking blob of darkness armed with an oversized helm and a foraged sword. Your job is quite simple: invade various lands and reach the gigantic pillars at the end of each stage to make them bloom. However, a journey is not a journey without various enemies to stand in your way as each pillar has its own guardian that is enchanted with the pillar's magic in order to protect it. In addition, there are also various other witches in existence that try to thwart your plans. Once these pillars are bloomed, the land will be covered in swamp and The Great Swamp Witch Metallia is one step closer to world domination.

The story though is a major downside to The Witch and the Hundred Knight: It's a predictable storyline and unfortunately follows a very linear formula in the game. Traversing through each level and defeating the bosses, the story is slowly revealed through very lengthy cut scenes. There are a lot of these cut scenes to sit through, making it difficult to tell the story in a way that flows cohesively without interrupting gameplay.

The characters presented in the game are rather one-dimensional and expected if you've played previous NIS games such as the Disgaea series or even Mugen Souls. There is always the big bad boss in charge that wants to take over the world or prove themselves (Metallia), the ever-obedient servant or butler (Arlecchino), and so on and so forth. This does not stop these characters in being cheeky and fun to watch, but it can get a little bit predictable.

In my opinion, The Witch and the Hundred Knight has an amazingly addictive base battle system at its core. The game has typical hack and slash gameplay for an action RPG but also adds several elements to shake things up from time to time.

The first thing is that as Metallia's minion, you are bound in contract to her and you essentially cannot live withou

t depending on her. If you leave your master's side for too long, you'll die. So because of this fact, you are forced to think carefully about your GigaCal usage. GigaCals are used up in a myriad of different ways, particularly by walking. If you use your stamina bar for attacking and running, it only replenishes if you have GigaCals to sacrifice as well. The GigaCal monitoring system strikes a delicate balance between fighting off enemies and conserving your GigaCals.

Thankfully, there are ways to replenish your GigaCals by either mapping out destinations or consuming enemies. You can also use either your Grade Points or teleporting when you reach min-pillars that are unlocked throughout the dungeon. Oftentimes, I found myself just teleporting back to base to "bank" my experience points and items and refuel up totally on GigaCals.

Like any NIS game there's a lot of customization to be had with both your attacks and your equipped weapon. Each weapon also has a different attack pattern and special effect so there's a lot of fun to be had in figuring out what combinations to use in different situations. For example, hammers can break defenses while spears have a wide, arcing range, so choose what's best for taking out your enemies.

Besides this, there are also other quick-time events in battle such as dodging at the right time that allow you to beat up on opponents in slow motion or by using attack skills. I found skill casting was cumbersome due to the cast times or damage output. In the end I was content to just pummel mindlessly away at enemies with my default attacks and dodges.

Boss battles are handled a little bit differently than most games. While you still have your different boss patterns, there's also a special bar that indicates their guard defense. During battle, this bar will constantly fluctuate, so you'll need to time your attacks carefully. With this said, I found the bosses to be a very welcome challenge as there are a variety of different attack patterns and monster behaviors.

With the amount of systems that are presented in the game, it is also very annoying to see that there is very little explanation of the systems or they simply go unexplained such as using AP to trigger a strong attack or how your "stomach inventory" works.

Both long strategic turn-based battles and the usual beautiful 2D sprites that are standard NIS fare are no more. The Witch and the Hundred Knight is an almost fully 3D-made title. The only real 2D art you'll see are the wonderfully made drawn sprites of the characters made by Takehito Harada. The 3D models aren't too bad of quality as they are more anime-esque in feel, but I still personally prefer the rich 2D visual experience that NIS is well known for. The art direction is fairly straightforward yet offers a lot of unique character designs and overall setting. However, the dungeon designs are a little bit sparse looking at times which is a change from the tightly-packed and artistically well-made SRPG maps that I'm used to seeing from the developers.

Another thing to note is that the original soundtrack is also composed by a long-time veteran of NIS, Tanpei Sato. The melodies are composed in a similar vein to flagship games such as the Disgaea series in a whimsical way, which suits the game just fine. In terms of voice acting, the English cast does a fine job of portraying their characters. In particular, there are some hilarious moments as the voice over for Metallia has several choice words bleeped out and censored due to their profanity. One feature that I did appreciate was the fact The Witch and the Hundred Knight has dual audio tracks for both English and Japanese. Huzzah.

The Witch and the Hundred Knight is a really interesting game in the fact t's something new and familiar at the same time in the sense that they chose to explore new a new battle system, but there's the trademarks of familiarity for an NIS title. There's a large amount of customization that is typical for the title along with the dark humor that the developers are known for. The music and art all but scream Nippon Ichi. With the fact that this is a new foray into a different gameplay type, there are sadly quite a lot of things that could be improved on. Some systems are sadly not explored to their full potential or feel under-developed, and the way that the story is executed seems to falter in an action-based game as this.

Overall though, if you over look the blunders with story and character, The Witch and the Hundred Knight is still fun once you get into it and offers a decent gameplay experience that should satisfy fans of action-rpg games.

Pros:

● addictive action-combat

● customization for weapon combos

● art direction

● familiarity as a NIS game

● dual audio

● Metallia is hilarious

● Many different gameplay systems

● Raiding villages / taking over houses rewards you with items.

● Bosses are a challenge.

Cons:

● Faltering storyline.

● GigaCalorie counting is annoying.

● Some systems are rarely used or have little impact on gameplay.

● Spells can seem useless.

● Fun can wear off as the action-combat system begins to be monotonous in later stages.

● Lack of instructions on several systems / bit of a learning curve.

Guests for Fanime this year included Japanese industry guests from GAINAX Takami Akai,, Noir and Hiroyuki Yamaga, director and character illustrator Hiroyuki Kanbe (Oreimo, Devil Survivor 2); English voice actors J. Michael Tatum and Chantal Strand; musicians Raj Ramayya and Home Made Kazoku; popular voice actress and cosplayer Kira Buckland and finally, returning Guest of Honor Giles Poitras. Aside from the ever popular Guest of Honor panels and MusicFest, you could catch a number of the guests for autographs.

Rounding out the fan experience, Fanime included something for everyone with providing useful workshops, cosplay gatherings, a gaming area for people to relax and enjoy, various video rooms and of course, both the Dealer's Hall and Artist Alley to provide the means for proving one's loyalty to their fandom of choice. With the newly renovated convention space, most of these things were centrally located within the convention center halls but alas, not everything was as smooth as it could've been.

In 2013, the Fairmount hotel became the unfortunate host of "Registrationageddon" as attendees waiting to pick up their badges were forced to shuffle between rooms at the hotel for several hours due to both problems with computers as well as loss of space at the convention center from the renovations. With the completion of the renovations to the convention center however, FanimeCon was able to utilize the San Carlos Grotto as the new and improved Registration area. With easily marked areas, registration took minutes rather than the hours it did in the previous year. Also improved for the fan experience were the meeting areas for both cosplay gatherings and photo areas, since again, areas that were under construction were open once more. Finally, there were more sitting areas for people to relax throughout the convention center. Unfortunately, the use of space now created some perplexing choices as well.

Rather than Guest of Honor panels being held in Marriot as usual and autographs being in the Hilton, this year, the Marriot was host to solely speed dating, autographs and the manga lounge while the Hilton was used for FanimeCon staff purposes. Panels this year were held at the Fairmont instead, leaving the dances to be in the convention center itself while the Black & White Ball was held next to the Tech Museum. Another curious choice was the utilization of Halls 1 and 2, with Hall 1 being closed off and connected to Hall 2 for use as the Artist Gallery and food court (which in reality, was mostly just one food stand); the other use of the space in Hall 1 was for two charity bounce houses. Artist Alley, which was relegated to an outside tent in 2013 was back in the convention center but unfortunately, it was now located in the cramped Grand Ballroom; with no windows and just two doors for access, the room was more than a little unbearable when filled to capacity. Hall 3 was used once again for gaming but this time, to make use of the space, it seemed that FanimeCon staff chose to use have far more tables and chairs to utilize it as a rest area versus it being used as tabletop gaming as intended. The number of arcade machines seemed to be the same while the console and PC gaming area was expanded a tiny bit. Finally, despite the expanded walkways within the convention center itself, due to Stage Zero as well as constant stoppages in traffic flow to accommodate for photo taking, getting to Point A to Point B seemed to take more work than usual. As an attendee, I can appreciate the lengths that FanimeCon went to try to improve making the convention center as the central hub but at the same time, it was quite frustrating just maneuvering around all the bodies as well as shaking my head at the inefficiently-used spaces.

If there were things I could change about the convention this year, it would solely go towards building upon what strides were made this year. On the attendee end, registration was wonderful as far as I could tell, but I would definitely re-purpose the space once the initial rush of attendees passes through; you could easily cut the room's space in half for registration while using it for possibly other things. Hall 1's activities would've been better suited where the dances were located this year while the dances themselves should've been held in the Fairmont. Artist Alley would've been ideally suited for Hall 1's location and you can still open up the Dealer's Hall as it was used this year. Hall 3 is traditionally for gaming, but there are lots of wasted spaces solely to create a 'large' space; condensing the arcade area a bit would allow for either a bit more flow or possibly another use. Stage Zero, despite being a very popular hub on the main concourse, should literally be moved to the Grand Ballroom itself, which is also centrally located. In moving Stage Zero, traffic on the concourse should flow as well as allow for all the photos you want. Panels would be better suited for the Marriot but I can see why the Fairmont was used. All of FanimeCon's operations would actually be great if it used the operation areas that can be seen in Hall 3, since the glass can give a clear view of what's going on below.

As for being entertained, more guests are welcomed, particularly those on higher-profile projects as they can always be a big draw for fans that are on the fence about attending. The video rooms are nice, but are all of the rooms actually needed to show movies/anime episodes non-stop? The bigger rooms used to pull double-duty during off-hours in previous years, so there's no reason as to why they cannot do that once again.

In the end, FanimeCon has proven why it's one of the top anime conventions as it continually creates an experience that lives by their motto of being "by fans, for fans". To many, it's also the convention that marks the start of the heavy-hitting summer convention scene so lots of people use it as their testing ground in meeting friends new and old. As FanimeCon continues to try to deliver the best fan experience it possibly can, a few changes can certainly go a long way.

Here's to another twenty years, FanimeCon.

When they first started the event there were no sessions for LGBT folks, but this year they were finally able to fully book their own event. Straight folks also turned out in droves and it seems that yet again they had to turn people away due to the lack of space. Unlike last year, the Fanime staff finally moved the event to a less traveled part of the convention and mixed it in near the autograph lines at the Marriott. This long overdue change probably did a lot to negate the hostile attitudes that build up during the long waits. Last year was especially bad since having people lined up by the elevators invited a small number of people passing by making insults and mocking the people in line. In fact last year was so awful that I was treated with suspicion when requesting an interview. Apparently the staffers assumed I was some disgruntled fiend plotting to cause them physical harm. I wish I was lying when I say that even during the interview one staffer was hovering behind me ready to stage a heroic intervention. They had never heard of our humble outlet, but thought it reasonable to assume that I was some kind of malevolent madman. It was more believable to them that a random rogue would create a whole set of fake business cards for the express purpose of storming their event.

Luckily this year the atmosphere was much more jovial. Not only were there no insults exchanged, the people in line were able to look out the windows and take in the sights. If one was so lucky to have been in the line for the last session on Saturday they would have had an excellent vantage point to witness a local bigoted protestor get harangued by folks expressing same sex affection and staging a counter protest of sorts (mostly in the form of exposing the wisdom of Raptor Jesus). While the line is a big part of the event, it is by no means the only part.

Once you get registered they put you in a room with about nineteen other folks. The rules are simple: you don't have to give out your name, you have five minutes to hold a conversation (you get a warning at the 2.5 minute mark), and you can only choose three different people. Should any of the three people you list have you listed in their top three then the Fanime staff will send you each other's contact information. If this sounds a bit off from commercial speed dating it is. Their mission statement seems to aim towards helping people find the ONE instead of playing the numbers game. This may or may not be a good thing on the account that both parties will know that it is unlikely that the other person is seeing anyone else from the event, but on the other hand dating has always been a numbers game. Restricting the number of matches to three means you can play up the serendipity factor if you do hit it off with someone, but if not well considering the fact that people come from all over means that the odds of a lasting relationship are bit slimmer.

In terms of demographics the event essentially caters to the college age crowd which considering the crowd that they service, hardly comes as a surprise. This just means that if you are still in school, you can make a connection based solely on shared interests and physical attraction. If however you are farther removed from your days in academia your chances are even slimmer. Still the mere act of advertising your single status might even net you a connection from someone who isn't a participant. In fact one gentleman in my group was actually approached after the event. So if you are looking for a connection and have time to spare it is be worth looking into Fanime speed dating, the odds are long but at least you can claim the fickle finger of fate given how the rule of three is in play.

For those unfamiliar with the election, fans voted for who is going to appear on the Senbatsu (concerts, performances, events, etc.) for AKB's 37th single, while the 17th to 32nd members joined the Undergirls for the B-side track. The 33rd to 48th place members join the Next Girls for the 2nd-B side track, while the 49th-64th will be featured as the Future Girls on the 3rd B-track. Lastly, the 65th to 80th place girls will join the Upcoming Girls for the 4th B-side track.   

Check out the results below:

[Center 1st]

1. Watanabe Mayu - AKB48 Team B : 159,854 votes

[Senbatsu 2nd-16th]

2. Sashihara Rino - HKT48 Team H : 141,954 votes
3. Kashiwagi Yuki - AKB48 Team B/NMB48 Team N : 104,364 votes
4. Matsui Jurina - SKE48 Team S/AKB48 Team K : 90,910 votes
5. Matsui Rena - SKE48 Team E/Nogizaka46 : 69,790 votes
6. Yamamoto Sayaka - NMB48 Team N/AKB48 Team K : 67,916 votes
7. Shimazaki Haruka - AKB48 Team A : 67,591 votes
8. Kojima Haruna - AKB48 Team A : 62,899 votes
9. Takahashi Minami - AKB48 Team A : 57,388 votes
10. Suda Akari - SKE48 Team E : 48,182 votes
11. Miyawaki Sakura - HKT48 Team KIV/AKB48 Team A : 45,538 votes
12. Miyazawa Sae - SNH48 Team SII/SKE48 Team S : 44,749 votes
13. Yokoyama Yui - AKB48 Team K : 40,232 votes
14. Ikoma Rina - Nogizaka46/AKB48 Team B : 40,089 votes
15. Shibata Aya - SKE48 Team E : 39,264 votes
16. Kawaei Rina - AKB48 Team A : 39,120 votes

[Under Girls 17th-32nd]

17. Matsumura Kaori - SKE48 Kenkyuusei : 37,967 votes
18. Watanabe Miyuki - NMB48 Team BII/SKE48 Team S : 36,108 votes
19. Kitahara Rie - AKB48 Team K : 34,666 votes
20. Iriyama Anna - AKB48 Team A : 34,002 votes
21. Kodama Haruka - HKT48 Team H/AKB48 Team K : 33,545 votes
22. Minegishi Minami - AKB48 Team 4 : 33,162 votes
23. Kizaki Yuria - AKB48 Team 4 : 30,154 votes
24. Muto Tomu - AKB48 Team A : 30,097 votes
25. Moriyasu Madoka - HKT48 Team KIV : 27,054 votes
26. Takajo Aki - AKB48 Team B : 24,415 votes
27. Tomonaga Mio - HKT48 Team KIV/AKB48 Team B : 23,766 votes
28. Takahashi Juri - AKB48 Team B : 23,612 votes
29. Yamada Nana - NMB48 Team M/SKE48 Team KII : 23,299 votes
30. Oya Masana - SKE48 Team S : 21,984 votes
31. Takayanagi Akane : SKE48 Team KII/NMB48 Team BII : 21,972 votes
32. Kato Rena - AKB48 Team 4 : 21,877 votes

[Next Girls 33rd-48th]

33. Fujie Reina - NMB48 Team M : 20,956 votes
34. Futamura Haruka - SKE48 Team S : 20,881 votes
35. Umeda Ayaka - NMB48 Team BII : 20,658 votes
36. Kojima Mako - AKB48 Team K : 20,415 votes
37. Furukawa Airi - SKE48 Team KII : 19,315 votes
38. Tashima Meru - HKT48 Team H : 18,875 votes
39. Anai Chihiro - HKT48 Team H : 18,825 votes
40. Kinoshita Yukiko - SKE48 Team KII : 18,822 votes
41. Yagura Fuuko - NMB48 Team M/AKB48 Team A : 18,596 votes
42. Ota Aika - HKT48 Team KIV : 18,143 votes
43. Shiroma Miru - NMB48 Team M : 17,745 votes
44. Isohara Kyoka - SKE48 Team E : 17,616 votes
45. Tano Yuuka - AKB48 Team K : 17,608 votes
46. Iwanaga Ami - SKE48 Team E : 17,479 votes
47. Sasaki Yukari - AKB48 Team 4 : 16,726 votes
48. Motomura Aoi - HKT48 Team KIV : 16,449 votes

[Future Girls 49th-64th]

49. Iwasa Misaki - AKB48 Team K : 16,100 votes
50. Kimoto Kanon - SKE48 Team E/HKT48 Team KIV : 16,022 votes
51. Okada Nana - AKB48 Team 4 : 15,873 votes
52. Kuramochi Asuka - AKB48 Team B : 15,443 votes
53. Ichikawa Miori - NMB48 Team BII : 15,045 votes
54. Yamada Mizuho - SKE48 Team KII : 14,942 votes
55. Furuhata Nao - SKE48 Team KII/AKB48 Team A : 14,634 votes
56. Oba Mina - SKE48 Team KII : 14,555 votes
57. Ishida Haruka - AKB48 Team K : 14,358 votes
58. Jonishi Kei - NMB48 Team N : 14,194 votes
59. Yabushita Shu - NMB48 Team BII : 14,119 votes
60. Sakaguchi Riko - HKT48 Team H : 12,937 votes
61. Kotani Riho - NMB48 Team N/AKB48 Team 4 : 12,913 votes
62. Nishino Miki - AKB48 Team 4 : 12,824 votes
63. Uchiyama Natsuki - AKB48 Team B : 12,749 votes
64. Matsuoka Natsumi - HKT48 Team H : 12,569 votes

[Upcoming Girls 65th-80th]

65. Nagao Mariya -AKB48 Team K : 12,448 votes
66. Iwatate Saho : AKB48 Team 4 : 11,873 votes
67. Murashige Anna - HKT48 Team KIV/NMB48 Team N : 11,586 votes
68. Umemoto Madoka - SKE48 Team E : 11,538 votes
69. Yamauchi Suzuran - SKE48 Team S : 11,510 votes
70. Maeda Ami - AKB48 Team A : 11,117 votes
71. Tanabe Miku - AKB48 Team B : 11,041 votes
72. Yoshida Akari : NMB48 Team N : 10,982 votes
73. Yakata Miki - SKE48 Team S : 10,733 votes
74. Abiru Riho - SKE48 Team KII : 10,092 votes
75. Saito Makiko - SKE48 Team E : 10,089 votes
76. Ogasawara Mayu - AKB48 Team B : 9,946 votes
77. Kobayashi Ami - SKE48 Team E : 9,931 votes
78. Miyazaki Miho - AKB48 Team K : 9,674 votes
79. Komada Hiroka - HKT48 Team H : 9,609 votes
80. Oshima Ryoka - AKB48 Team B : 9,561 votes

Source: AKB48 Official Site

The main premise of Attack on Titan centers around the appearance of mysterious giant humanoids with a penchant for human flesh, after a century of peace, of the surviving humans forced to live behind two hundred-foot tall walls of stone. Though there are rumors of humans living beyond the walls, most of humanity has taken to living behind one of three walls: Wall Maria (the outermost one), Wall Rose (the middle one) and Wall Sina (the innermost one); the walls themselves also serve as an inadvertent divider between those who are rich and those who are less fortunate.

At the center of the story's plot is Eren Jaeger, the young son of a doctor and his wife. By Eren's side are his adoptive sister, Mikasa Ackerman, and their best friend Armin Arlert. Together, the three of them live within the walls of Wall Maria, though both Eren and Armin long to venture outside of the walls. With each passing day, Eren longs to join the Survey Corps, one of the three divisions of the Military, in order to both fight the Titans that roam the land but to also see the world beyond his stone "cage". One day, a mysterious two hundred-foot tall Titan suddenly appeared and had attacked Wall Maria, which allowed several smaller Titans to flood the town, including a Titan that was encased in armor. Once the attack commenced, Eren and Mikasa rushed home to find their mother but instead, witnessed her being devoured by a Titan. From that point, Eren had sworn vengeance to avenge his mother as well as kill every Titan in his path as he vowed to join the Training Corps and become a member of the Survey Corps. Eren's path towards the Survey Corps takes many twists and turns that will surprise even the most seasoned anime viewer.

In Part One of FUNimation's Attack on Titan collection, episodes 1-13 have been collected on two discs for both Blu-ray and DVD formats. Included as well are: dual languages (Japanese and English), Making of Attack on Titan (which is in English), Chibi Theater: Fly, Cadets, Fly! (voiced in Japanese though subtitled in English), an eyecatch gallery and textless versions of both the opening and ending themes. The collection itself also comes in three flavors: a regular edition that consists of both copies of the Blu-ray and DVD, a limited edition, which features the same discs with bonus features but also a twenty-four page digibook and lenticular art card and finally, a FUNimation exclusive collector's edition that included four pins and two necklaces on top of the items from the limited edition. Though there is a price difference between the three packages, it's nice to have choices that appeal to how much you like Attack on Titan.

Watching the Blu-ray version, colors popped and the visuals were quite clear but thanks to the added clarity, one can easily see how the production budget varied from episode to episode as there were elements that were downright ugly. The translation choices of FUNimation's staff were great, as I do prefer "omnidirectional gear" when describing the 3D gear that the Military Corps uses to maneuver as well as maintaining many of the Germanic names in their correct forms. Subtitles were clear and easy to read but what was a bit curious as to how the subtitles would obscure cast names during the opening and ending animations. Sound in both Japanese and English were well done, as it was interesting to hear the characters in both languages, while also hauntingly grotesque as you could hear bones crunch and blood spattering with clarity that you wish you hadn't heard. One grievance I did have though with the English dub was the odd omission of closed captioning, as that just struck me as weird thing to cut out.

Attack on Titan itself is quite a captivating series, from the mystery of the Titans, to the trials of Eren and his friends and all of the literal gut-wrenching action in-between. The story offers many twists and turns while not shying away from the rather graphic depictions of violence – both from the humans and the Titans themselves. It's actually refreshing and hopefully the plot continues without having to rely on too many tropes. Overall, FUNimation did a commendable job with not only their English translations and dub, but also providing a good value for fans to watch. Both the limited and collector's editions will certainly appeal to more hardcore fans, but again, having a choice is nice. Visuals were clear, colors were bright as well as corrected from some of the errors during the initial airing in Japanese and the translation was solid. A few hiccups with the placement of subtitles, the weird omission of closed caption text and the rather bare-bones treatment of the regular edition set are probably the only downers in the set but in all, hopefully some of these things can be ironed out in future releases.

Pros:

• Engaging story and characters

• Solid translation and voice-work for both Japanese and English staff

• Choice in sets offered for fans – from casual to hardcore

Cons:

• Sloppy placement of some subtitles during the opening/ending visuals

• No Closed Caption text when watching English dub

• Regular edition set is very bare-bones

• Story pacing is a bit erratic

• Some parts are overacted a bit.

Disclosure: A review copy was provided by the distributor.

The proceeds from the fundraiser will help finance a special Tokyo Girls' Style TV documentary in San Francisco highlighting their debut U.S. appearance with full of Sunflowers at Union Square in San Francisco in addition to interviews and other special J-POP SUMMIT Festival appearances. The documentary will be co-produced with SPACE SHOWER TV.

For the documentary, the group will be distributing replica sunflowers to concertgoers attending their concert on Saturday evening and will ask the audience to wave them in concert when they perform the song "Himawari to Hoshikuzu" (lit. Sunflowers and Stardust). Their hope is to envelope the entire area with a sea of sunflowers and capture the grand spectacle on video.

Pledge "Seeds" start at $19.00 and Tokyo Girls' Style plans to thank their contributors with a variety of premium items including behind the scenes performance, backstage photos, DVDs of the San Francisco concert, autographed goods and more. With only eight days remaining in the campaign, the group has currently received 3,100,000 seeds with a grand goal of $4,000,000.00. Although the top two tiers are currently sold out, there is still plenty of time to donate for their middle tier of $293 which includes five candid photos of the cute idols along with an invitation into the seating lottery for the after meeting event, private mini concert and handshake/photo event.

For more information on the campaign, please visit: http://tokyogirlsupdate.com/crowd/en/single.php?project_id=286
For more information on the group, visit: http://tokyogirlsstyle.jp/tokyogirlsstyle_en
For music videos visit: http://www.youtube.com/user/TokyoGirlsStyle

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About TOKYO GIRLS' STYLE

"We want to express the joy of music by singing and dancing!"

The group was formed on Jan. 1st, 2010. 5-membered dance&vocal girls group from Avex, which hasn't produced girls group for a long while, and consisting members are Ayano Konishi, Miyu Yamabe, Hitomi Arai, Yuri Nakae, and Mei Shouji. They had a lot of experiences, and aim to become a group which is active not only in Japan but also in the entire Asian region.

They started performing periodic concerts twice a month, and their main activity is live concerts; their 1st Japan Tour was held in May, 2011. They released the 1st album. In October, the tickets of their first hall concert in Nakano Sun Plaza on December 24, 2011 were sold out. Not only their live performance earns popularity, but also they get high evaluation. For example, their 2nd album release "Limited addiction" released in Mar 2012 was nominated for the record shop grand prix. On Apr 30, 2012, they held the 2nd JAPAN TOUR in six cities across Japan. At their final live on May 20 in Hibiya open-air concert hall, they announced in front of 3,000 people that they would hold Nippon Budokan performance. They succeeded in it on Dec 22 last year and they established a record of the youngest girls' group of Nippon Budokan performance since their average age was 15.

Their 11th single "ROAD TO BUDOKAN 2012 ~ Bad Flower ~" was at the 4th of Oricon weekly ranking. From this, three singles to the 13th single "Get The Star / Last Forever", ranked in Top 10 in series. They held the 3rd JAPAN TOUR in Zepp halls from Apr of 2013. Furthermore, they started their first crown TV programs in the BS Fuji. The linked lives were held at Kobe International Hall and Shibuya Public Hall. They received a good reputation with their performance including illusions, which was different from the past.

They held their performance in Nippon Budokan on December 22 of the second consecutive year, 2013! In Budokan, they showed a more splendid and better stage than the previous year. In their 5th year of 2014, they will held their 4th national tour "Royal Mirrorball Discotheque"! They will do the performance with the remix sound source different from before! They go forward with an activity concept referred to as "We will tell you the joy of music with singing and dancing"! On the production side, they have received songs by Rock Musician and LUNA SEA bassist J, Koide Yusuke from BaseBallBear who wrote the music and lyrics for a song, and with additional contributions from Hachioji P and Kikuo from VOCALOP, they have broadened their range in music, as well as additional music activities as solo members features as vocals in Maltine Girls Wave etc.

And finally with already two movies in 2014, casting all 5 members ( A Film Directed by Yamato Yuki "Your dream in 5 seconds" In Theaters from March 8th~・ A True Horror Film "Ghost Stories at School - Curses of Kotodana" In Theaters from May 23rd) new challenges have been presented and their activities besides music is also gathering a lot of buzz and attention.

Also one of their main concepts to enter the Asian market has been fulfilled with their album released in Taipei and Hongkong. Ranking in the TOP 10 J-POP chart in France, and with additional overseas activities planned for this year, they will strive to become a group that performs from Asia to all over the world!

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Tickets can be purchased at Live Nation Concerts.