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As a note, one of the reasons I haven't picked up one yet is due to the system's region lock. I do own an American PSP and a Japanese NDS Lite, both with a range of game I've purchased imported. Being region locked, that also limits my selection on 3DS colors/themes. (I purchased an Ice Blue NDS Lite overseas before it was made into a bundle for the American market).

Upcoming Games

Bravely Default: Flying Fairy

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I have been quoted on numerous occasions that I would purchase a 3DS when they decide to localize Bravely Default. The game has been recently announced to be released next year.

The game has a gorgeous visual art style along with an awesome scenario written by Naotaka Hayashi who worked on the hit science fiction visual novel, Steins;Gate. Gate.
Looking forward to the classic Final Fantasy style turn based combat and exploration.

Pokemon X / Pokemon Y

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No question, Pokemon has been around well over a decade
Pokemon X and Y will be the first 3DS exclusive release (Pokemon Black 2 and White 2 released back in 2012 were still NDS games) and I am quite interested in some of the new features including a graphical bump with the game fully rendered in 3D.

Ace Attorney 5

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The last true Ace Attorney game was released back in 2008 in the United States and did not feature the series' protagonist, Phoenix Wright. After spawning several spinoffs and a live action movie, Phoenix Wright is finally back for a fifth installment for more crime scene investigating and epic court duels with full 3D graphics.

Currently slated to be released on July 2013 in Japan with no release date currently for the US yet but Capcom has stated they are planning on releasing it Stateside.

Project X Zone

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Historically, crossover RPGs tend to end up with lukewarm responses, but I am looking forward to playing some of my favorite characters such as Sakura from Sakura Wars, Kos-mos from Xenosaga, and Riela from Valkyria Chronicles. One of my concerns is that the game doesn't really appear to take full advantage of the 3DS's graphical power.

Already Released Games

Fire Emblem: Awakening

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Definitely one of the defining game that lead many gamers to purchase a 3DS recently, the Fire Emblem series is filled with a rich cast of characters. Fire Emblem has gotten more attention in the last few years thanks to Smash Brothers featuring several Fire Emblem characters. This latest installment also features character designs from one of my favorite artists, Yusuke Kozake who's also known for his character designs in No More Heroes.

Import Games

Super Robot Taisen UX

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A major exclusive for Nintendo, the Super Robot Taisen series pits some of the most iconic mecha robots through the ages and stick them all into super deluxe game. Gameplay consists of turn based grid mechanics similar to Disgaea or Final Fantasy Tactics.

Due to licensing problems from all the different franchises, this will probably never be localized sadly.

What 3DS games are your must haves or you are most excited for?

Press Release Below:

April 26th, 2013--We at MangaGamer are proud to announce that Tick Tack! is now on sale!

Rin, Nerine, Mayumi, and Itsuki are thrown back in time into the World of the Devils, right before Forbesii and Sage get engaged, and manage to mess up the timeline! Will you put things back in order, or make them worse?! Will you fix the broken timeline, or will you be too busy enjoying the girls around you?! It's up to you in this brand new game from Navel in the Shuffle universe!

Just like any other modern-day ninja story, the first things you can expect in Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor’s Edge are: over-the-top boss battles and a pretentious, cheesy plot that would have Akira Kurosawa rolling in his grave. The game starts off in France where Ryu Hayabusa (Troy Baker) is preparing to fight off a terrorist threat known as the “Lord of Alchemy” who is hellbent on world domination. Joint by British Japanese JSDF agent Mizuki McCloud, the two have seven days to fight against the terrorist threat before they destroy the world. All the while, poor Ryu Hayabusa’s right arm gets cursed, à laPrincess Mononoke-style, by all of souls he killed in the two previous games.

Despite the B-film inspired plot, the game is more story-centric than its predecessors, and easily has the best written Ninja Gaiden characters to date. Unlike a lot of the series’ other femme fatale leads, Mizuki McCloud is a breath of fresh air that seems to be much more along the lines of a realistic video game character. Unlike her other female counterparts, she is able to retain her femininity without having a hyper-sexualized attire, a breath of fresh air amidst Team Ninja’s heavy-set roster. Aside from Ayane, she’s become my favorite female from the series and I really hope that this represents a new, more subdued direction for Team Ninja. I would be doing a disservice to male gamers everywhere if I didn’t state that my wrists have strengthened substantially thanks to the game’s sixaxis “feature,” which is usable with nearly every female character you come across in the game.

For those who managed to play through Ninja Gaiden 2, the game’s difficulty factor seems about the same, which is either a good thing or bad thing depending on how you feel about dying. More than once, I found myself dying over the most ridiculous methodologies, wanting to throw my controller into my television during boss battles. One specific example where the game’s design becomes excruciatingly painful was against a particular cybernetic t-rex [you read that right]. Most of its hits are one-hit kills despite the fact that its attacks are fairly simple to dodge. After dying about forty-five times in the span of half an hour, I admit I set the game to the lower “hero” difficulty to send Cyber-Barney back to PBS. While the auto-dodge and auto-block features did help me blaze through the rest of the ten hour game, it did bring upon a nearly non-existent challenge to the game. So it’s really only meant for casual gamers or people who want to blaze through the game for the story only.

Whether or not it was intentional, the game’s environment also often gets in the way of the action, leaving gamers frustrated as they slice their way against enemies such as fiends and super-soldiers throughout the game’s eight levels. Often, I found myself frantically searching the screen for enemies firing projectiles at me only before it was too late.

The game’s newest features are the “blood on steel” feature that lets players cut through bodies during a slow-motion sequence. In addition, the new wall climbing that makes the game’s levels slightly more vertical than its predecessors. The most interesting use of the feature were done during the game’s QTE (quick time event) sequences where you have to time your presses accurately, similar to the God of War series.

For anyone who missed the series’ famous flying limbs and decapitated heads, fear not as Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor’s Edge returns the over-the-top features that makes Ninja Gaiden what it is: the ultimate guilty pleasure. Being able to successfully unleash an obliteration technique and then watching guts splatter all over the screen is a satisfying beautiful chaotic poem in motion.

Although the player controls Ryu for most of the game, there are a few brief levels with Ayane that helps to break up some of the monotony in Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor’s Edge. Both Ryu and Ayane have their own respective skill trees that the player can level up to learn more moves, acquire stronger weapons and learn new skills giving the game more depth and replay value than the original, as it takes at least two to three playthroughs of either the story mode or Ninja Trials to unlock everything.

Similar to the other director’s cut versions of Ninja Gaiden, there are new characters to play as, in addition to Ayane. Momiji from Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword and Dead or Alive kunoichiKasumi are now playable and represent different fighting styles from Hayabusa in addition to their curiously designed attire.

Despite Razor’s Edge’s enhancements though, the core gameplay of Ninja Gaiden 3 remains the same. Meaning that it’s still a much more streamlined when compared to previous games in the series. Both projectile weapons have infinite ammo, while Ninpo can only be activated when you defeat enough enemies. So depending on how you felt about the changes in the original, you may still want to skip the director’s cut version if you found it off-putting.

While Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor’s Edge may not live up to the series’ near flawless game design when it was under Itagaki, the new additions definitely enhance the game’s experience making it the definitive version of Ninja Gaiden 3 to own. It’s a solid recommendation for anyone looking to pick up a relatively inexpensive action game, particularly for people who have yet to play the game’s original.

What I Loved:

-New enhancements makes Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor's Edge the definitive version of Ninja Gaiden 3.

-It's bloody, it's over-the-top, it's Ninja Gaiden.

-Interesting narrative for a Ninja Gaiden game.

-Best use of the PlayStation 3's sixaxis feature since Metal Gear Solid 4.

-Mizuki McCloud

What I Hated:

-The PlayStation 3 version no longer supports the PlayStation Move.

-Gameplay has been streamlined.

-Not enough chapters in story mode featuring Ayane, Kasumi or Momiji.

-No Itagaki.

Disclosure: A review copy for the PlayStation 3 was provided by the publisher.

Bunny Drop is told through the perspective of thirty-year old Daikichi Kawachi, who becomes the guardian of his grandfather’s six year old illegitimate daughter, Rin Kaga. The two met during his grandfather’s funeral where Rin grows attached to Daikichi due to his similar appearance to his grandfather. While the rest of the family quickly shunned her after the discovery, Daikichi decided to take her in after seeing her lonely face. In spite of this new, overwhelming responsibility, Daikichi gains support and learns a lot about raising a child from the people around him. One of those people is Yukari Nitani, the divorced single mother of Kouki Nitani, who is Rin’s friend.

As the series progresses, Daikichi makes several sacrifices for Rin which includes furthering his career to to spend more time with her, Part of the charm of Bunny Drop is watching Daikichi panicking over Rin, from trying to understand her feelings to simple tasks such as buying clothes. It’s an experience of growing which is shared between the two as well as the audience.

Surprisingly, Rin’s demeanor is relatively grown up in comparison to most kids her age. She displays the occasional aptitude of an adult at times while she is with Daikichi which leads to occasional role reversals about which of them is the guardian. For example, Rin scolds Daikichi for having his elbows on the table and later, Rin asks to hold hands with him for safety and he questions if she asked because she was scared or for his own safety.

Bunny Drop was produced by Production I.G who’s well known for working on various popular shows including xxxHolic, the Ghost in the Shell series, Eden of the East, and the Blood franchise. The animation and art is minimalistic in keeping with the original manga's style. The background environments are chalked full of details, from all the items inside the department stores to the general cityscape. Apart from the backgrounds, Rin's facial expressions throughout the series are priceless; the ending preview for episode four includes a small showcase dedicated to them.

Another laurel for the series is the voice acting. Rin’s adorable voice is made possible by Ayu Matsuura, who was only ten years old during the recording. Her portrayal of all of Rin’s emotions and moods is amazing. Daichiki is voiced by Daisuke Kawachi, who has not voiced any significantly major roles so far in his career apart from voicing Perkins from the animated film Cat Shit On., He does a great job with capturing Daichiki’s aloofness and is a perfect match. The rest of the cast interestingly is voiced by a wide ranged people including Sayaka Oohara, who is well known for her role as Erza Scarlet from Fairy Tail, and surprisingly, veteran Maaya Sakamoto makes a small appearance as Rin’s biological mother.

All in all, Bunny Drop is a heartwarming series that looks at some of the real life struggles and sacrifices of parenthood. Just like raising a child, the series might seem like a sacrifice to some in the beginning, but I would highly recommend it to anyone who’s ever considered having children After watching the series, I would be delighted to one day have a child like Rin of my own.

For those interested in continuing the series with the manga, part two starts with the fifth volume and skips into Rin’s high school years. Both the Bunny Drop anime and manga are currently available in the United States and are released by NIS America and Yen Press respectively.

What I Loved:

-Rin is adorable!

-Voice acting is superb.

-An absolute gem about parenthood that everyone should watch

-Did I already say Rin was adorable?

What I Hated:

-May not be for everyone (especially if you're looking for something action orientated)

Disclosure: A review copy was provided by the distributor.

Three versions of the new single will be released: Standard Version [CD only], Limited Edition [CD + DVD (Music Video & Makings Video)], and Complete Set Edition [CD + DVD (Live Concert Video)].

The DVD in the Complete Set Edition will also include videos from Aoi Eir's first live concert.

In addition to this news, Aoi Eir will have her own game column in Dengeki Online. It is titled "Aoi Eir no Game wa Asobi Jyanai" (Aoi Eir's Games Aren't Just for Fun). Aoi Eir is a hardcore gamer since her childhood, playing genres from dark fantasy action RPG to FPS.

Aoi Eir states that video gaming is her "oasis". She hopes to connect with several other plays about the fun and charms of variety of video game while increasing her playing skills.

She has played several game titles such as Halo, Resident Evil, Dynasty Warriors, iDOLM@STER, and Monster Hunter. Her first article was on Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen and will be releasing a second half of the article some time in May.

Be sure to keep an eye on further news about Aoi Eir and her new single! Also, feel free to check out t-ono’s Concert video with Aoi Eir and Haruna and the "Related Items" article below.

Source: 

藍井エイル(Aoi Eir) Official Website

藍井エイルのゲームは遊びじゃない。 - 電撃オンライン

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"We are optimistic with the current digital content environment. It is quite promising for independent developers and we would love to work closely with them and help achieve their goals", says former NIS producer Jack Niida.

Although no projects have been announced at this time, the company has promised to take on anything that they find "interesting and awesome."

More information about acttil can be found at: http://www.acttil.com/

Describe your first role -- what was it like to go into the sound booth for the first time?

My very first role was in Good Witch of the West where I played the role of the best friend, who was also a maid, to the main character. I felt really nervous because it was my first time, so every time I went in I got a lot of directions from the director.

What were your favorite anime and manga growing up?

(Giggling) Sailor Moon, and Nakayoshi which was where the Sailor Moon manga was published.

T-ONO: How did you approach the role of Mineva Lao Zabi, what was your mindset and what did you want to convey through you work?

If you didn’t know, she appears first as a baby in Mobile Suit Gundam. She has lived through the entire history of that Gundam universe and this was something I was aware of when I took on the role. Mineva has seen most of the war almost from the start so it was a giant part of her character. The 30^th anniversary of Mobile Suit Gundam recently passed so I went back to her first appearance to understand her background and see where she was coming from. Once I felt that I understood her history, I used that as a base to build her character. I wanted to convey her serious demeanor through a lot of clipped tones, so I have to prevent my personal feelings from coming out, which is something I pay special attention to.

Did you audition for the part or were you offered the part by the production staff? Are you at the point in your career where you are offered roles?

I had to audition for the role of Mineva. One of the awesome things about my career is that sometimes I will be offered a role. Nevertheless, it is unusual for voice actors to be just offered the roles and never have to audition for roles. I don’t think that even the veteran voice actors ever have to stop auditioning for roles; there will always be auditions, though that is sometimes dependent on the role.

When you were younger, what anime characters and voices did you try to mimic?

(Excited) I definitely tried to copy voices when I was little, I remember doing Crayon Shin-chan and Doraemon. I did that for a lot of shows, because I watched many shows when I was younger.

T-ONO: You mentioned before that you went back to see the older Gundam shows to gain perspective. Which part of her history do you find to be most interesting? What do you think of her journey and maturity level at this point?

Mineva has grown a lot as a person since the war started. She really wants to stop the war and has very strong feelings about the war. Part of the motivation for her to grow was meeting Banagher in the first episode of Gundam Unicorn. She has spent most of her life being told what to do and how to act and lead as a princess. Thus, she hasn’t had a lot of time to develop her own feelings. She hasn’t given much thought as to what she wants and what she wants to do with her life. When she first meets Banagher he tells her that those are important things, but what was also important was what she wanted. He is the first person to tell her that. Before she was a princess she was a young woman, and we see a little bit of that aspect peeking out. I would not venture so far as to say that it is romance and love, but we see a little of that coming out. I think that she is learning to be more human in that regard.

Do you see yourself being cast for similar roles? Do you like having similar roles?

I think that I am most often cast in more roles that are closer to my personality. I do see that trend, though different roles will have different traits that are opposite of mine. However, I think what I have in common is being cheerful, stubborn, strong, the willingness to take a stand, and being a sore loser. I think there are a lot of roles like that I am cast into. As far as which roles I enjoy most, it’s easier to relate to characters whose personalities are closer to mine. I can always think about if I were in a character’s position, I would respond in a certain way. That’s the fall back that I use; when there are fewer constraints the lines flow and bubble up.

You have played many heroic roles, but have you ever played the villain? Would you like to have played the villain?

(Laughing) When people ask me that in interviews with regards to playing future roles, I always answer that I would very much enjoy the chance play the villain. Unfortunately I have not had the chance to play such a role. At least I don’t believe that I have. I would love to play a hopelessly waste of a character, a person with just a rotten personality.

You have played male characters in addition to your female roles, what is your approach to playing young men as opposed to women?

The most important thing is to approach the feelings of the character first, gender is not the most important thing. The feelings come first, but there are technical aspects like not trying to sound too feminine. If it comes to challenging someone with your voice you want to avoid that. It happens occasionally on my first try for a new role, but I don’t think I have one single approach to it. I mix it up a lot because there are different tones to all the character voices, male and female.

What is it like going from a smaller production like TV to a large project like Gundam Unicorn?

The budget doesn’t really affect VAs, but it does, I think, affect the rest of the staff like PR. Budget affects the limits of what they can do with their resources to implement a vision: creative freedom when animating, public events, and venues are affected by budget, but in my experience it doesn’t really affect voice actors that all.

Is this your first time in America and at a US anime convention? Is there anything you want to see?

This is my first time in the U.S., so I had a lot fun shopping around Seattle. I found some really good seafood like salmon and scallops. I also found this really nice hand lotion and a lot of other things. I am having a lot of fun here.

T-ONO: Out of your entire career, which character would you say you identify with the most? Which is your favorite role?

I really love all my roles, but one that comes to mind was from Ika Musume (Squid Girl); Eiko. I think Eiko treats Ika like her little sister, and this was how I approached the role. I also have a little sister so there was that kind of view point I could use. So a lot of my warm feelings for my own family came through. How Eiko thinks and reacts to Ika has a lot in common with my own experiences. I was surprised by how close I felt in sync with Eiko; I felt that I have a lot in common with Eiko. I think that really comes through in the final product.

What do you think of American fans? What differences do you notice between Western audiences and Japanese audiences?

That is a little difficult to answer. There are similarities and differences between the two groups as you cannot say that both groups are completely the same or different, but what I think is the same is that we love the works that we see. One thing that I have noticed is that some American fans are still a little bit shy about expressing their love for anime. However, you also see more people who are more open and cheerful about their affection. They use it as a means to express their creativity. When I see the American fan I see a lot more openness. They go up to one another and strike up conversations, whereas in Japan you would probably see fans doing a lot more standing around not talking to one another as much. I think that everyone came here under the assumption that they were going to enjoy the convention and enjoy the company of their fellows. Lastly, there is also a giant sense of freedom at this convention that I am enjoying as well.

What projects can you discuss that your fans can look forward to?

What I can talk to you about is that I am playing Haruka, one of the operators in Rinne no Lagrange. I am also playing Striker in Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet (Suisei no Gargantia). Of course there is also the final episode of Gundam Unicorn.

T-ONO: Do you have any special moments with your fans that you could share with us?

Yesterday I had a chance to eat dinner with fans at the guest reception. That was actually my first time sitting down and eating a meal with anime fans, and even though I could not converse in English it is still a precious memory for me. I was not completely sure they enjoyed it as well but I hope they did. I know that I enjoyed it as well and it is something that I will remember.

In 2006 you got your first major role as Karada in Asatte no Houkou, how was your first taste of experiencing the role of a lead voice actress?

That role as Karada was my first role as a main character in a show and I am kind of a little embarrassed when watching it. I was still developing as a voice actress at that time, but on the other hand I think there are some roles and performances that you can only give at a certain point in one’s career. Thinking back, I would have approached it differently now, but I don’t think my performance would have been as engaging as it was then. Of course you can say that someone is a good performer or a bad performer, but really it is a mix of both that results in a level of engagement you would not otherwise get. It was the first time I was called on to work harder on a role and put a lot more time into the character. It was my first experience in spending so much time figuring out a character and understanding a character in depth.

You have done some projects outside of anime, one of them being Fi in Skyward Sword. Could you describe the differences between playing that role and something more verbose like what you usually do?

That role was really interesting because, as you know, Fi doesn’t have actual lines in a real language; they’re mostly sounds strung together almost like sound effects. So this was really an unusual role. One aspect that was difficult was that normally lines are recognizable sentences with recognizable words that have clear meaning. There were no words to convey the meaning to the player. I had to completely depend on a feeling. There were no lines to fall back on, it was a different experience, but well worth it.

Did you discover Gundam when you studied for the role, or did you watch it growing up?

The first time I watched any Gundam was after I was selected for Mineva Zabi. Frankly, I had always thought that it was a show mostly for boys and I did not think that there was anything that was going to draw me in. However, I thought that this was a series with a long history so I needed to study it for the role. I was really surprised by how good the story was -- it made me think that I should have watched this before. It is a classic similar to what I think of when studying the craft of acting. The animation is not as refined as it now, but the human story is very well put together and there is a lot of overflowing emotion in the lines. There is a lot of depth in the show because if you watched this as a kid you would have a different reaction than you would have as an adult.

When you are not voice acting, what are your hobbies?

(Laughing) I really love watching Nico Nico Douga, and I am a fan of vocaloid so I like listening to a lot of songs as well. I also have a cat so I spend a lot of time with my cat

You mentioned that you loved Sailor Moon growing up, so who is your favorite Sailor Scout and why?

(Excited) Way back when, I really liked Usagi-chan. I always liked the protagonist of whatever show I was watching when I was growing up. Now when I go back I really like Rei, who I thought of as mean to Usagi in my youth. I realize as an adult that the teasing was how she showed affection to Usagi, and now I see that she really is a kind character. I can appreciate more fully the tsundere aspect of Rei’s character, which is kind of cute. I really like her uniform because it’s red, and I think that she is the only Sailor Scout that wears high heels. I think that having beautiful legs like those and wearing heels is really cool.

Internally, it appears that nothing will change, as the XSEED President and CEO Shinichi Suzuki will continue to hold the same title and their offices and team will remain in Torrance, California. Marvelous AQL has been making several moves to expand their market, especially with the acquisition of the Atlus' online division earlier this year and their transformation into Marvelous Online.  With Marvelous USA and Marvelous Online both under an unified global brand, AQL now has market coverage within the console, PC, mobile and online social gaming markets.

But that's not all, Ken Kutaragi, also known as the Father of PlayStation and former chairman and CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment, has been invited as a company director at Marvelous AQL. Marvelous AQL has stated that they hope to use Kutaragi's knowledge of the industry to further accelerate and develop their business in Japan and around the world.

Full track listing:

1. al fine

2. consolation

3. moonfesta

4. Door

5. Mirai (opening song for "Puella Magi Madoka Magica part 1 Hajimari no Monogatari")

6. Hanataba

7. signal

8. obbligato

9. kiichigo no shigemi ni

10. Manten (ending theme song for "Fate/Zero 2nd season" episode 18 and 19)

11. to the beginning (the opening theme song for "Fate/Zero 2nd season")

12. hikari furu (theme song for "Puella Magi Madoka Magica part 2 Eien no Monogatari")

13. yume no daichi

Click HERE for iTunes link

Click HERE for Amazon link

With an emphasis on providing "(an) original artist friendly convention," guests included Marvel's former president and chairman Stan Lee, American comic book artists J. Scott Campbell and Neal Adams and La Blue Girl creator Toshio Maeda. There were plenty of opportunities for fans to connect with their favorite artists and creators that large events usually can't provide. Guests were more than willing to take pictures with their fans and do custom commissions; all within a relaxed atmosphere that was friendly for both attendees and guests. I myself got a chance to get a custom commission of Saya from JAST USA's recently released visual novel the Song of Saya ~ Saya no Uta from Hyperbooster's Studio artist and CEO Bordin Mavsinkul.

As a first time con attendee, what impressed me the most was the scope of their convention and the friendliness of their staff. Although the convention was limited mostly to the eastern portion of the San Jose Convention Center (Hall 3), there were still plenty of things to do including a large dealer's hall, an artist alley, costume contest, panels on subjects such as how to break into the animation industry and an archery gallery and coloring station for kids and those who are kids at heart.

Based on the success of the Attack on Titan manga, CCG and video game maker Konami announced last year that they had plans to create a mobile, digital card game on the Mobage platform in Japan. The social card game is based on the story's premise where mankind must make their last stand against a species of giants known as the titans. Players are tasked with investigating the titans, collecting and strengthening their armies and doing battle. The cards feature some very interesting character redesigns from creator Hajime Isayama's interest in MMA. Based on the company's track record with Yu-Gi-Oh!, fans can rest knowing that it's in safe hands.

Plans for the series first volume on Blu-ray, shipping July 17th in Japan, will include a 64-page prototype manga that Hajime Isayama created when he was 19 as well as a sleeve case by Kyoji Asano, an illustrated card by Flower of Evil's Shuzo Oshimi, and a 12-page color booklet. The most intriguing features to me however will be the mini-visual novels by Saya no Uta and Steins;Gate creator Nitroplus that will be included on volumes 3 and 6 with Isayama supervising and Namaniku ATK providing character artwork. The first visual novel, packaged with volume three, will feature Mikasa's background story featured in the episode "Lost in a Cruel World" and a prologue to Gan Saaku's Levi and Erwin story "A Choice with No Regrets." Volume three will be released on September 18th. Volume six will be released on December 18th and feature Jin Haganeya's story about the characters and Hiroshi Seko's story about Annie. So far, none of these bonuses have been announced for the inevitable FUNimation English release, so we can only keep our titan fingers crossed.

Attack on Titan can currently be seen on FUNimation's website and on Crunchyroll.

Source Moe Ota-News Sokuho via Crunchyroll

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The anime is directed by Itamura Tomoyuki, with the series directed by Shinbou Akiyuki, and characters designed by Akio Watanabe. The voice acting cast has remained the same since Nisemonogatari, but no further news about new characters or casts are available at this time.

The series will be running for two seasons (a span of six months), covering the Nekomonogatari (White), Kabukimonogatari, Hanamonogatari, Otorimonogatari, Onimonogatari and Koimonogatari story arcs. Several lines from each arcs also said by the characters according to the recent trailer.

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In addition to this great news, Luna Haruna (Sword Art Online, Fate/Zero) will also be singing the ending theme song. The new song is titled "AIWOUTAE" (「アイヲウタエ」). This new tune will be different compared to Haruna's previous songs. It will be composed by Jin (also known as Shizen no Teki-P). He is a popular producer and received a novel and manga adaptation that connects all of his songs, called Kagerou Project. The new single will be released on July 24, 2013 in Japan. 

Let's begin with a bit of backstory. You play as Sakisaka Fuminori, whom after a car accident loses his family and wakes up seeing the world in a whole different way. However, not in the typical "cherish every day and be thankful" way. He wakes up in a hospital and actually sees the world as a decaying, gut-infested nightmare where he sees all humans as mutant creatures and anything remotely pleasant looks like it crawled out of a H.P. Lovecraft novel. Even his best friends Tsukuba Yoh (who has a crush on Fuminori), Tonoh Koji (his male friend), and Takahata Omi (Koji's girlfriend) look and sound like mutant creatures to him. Fuminori tries to act normal and doesn't let anyone know about his condition, especially Tanba Ryoko (his chief physician) as he fears of likely being locked up in an insane asylum. The only person who he sees as a normal human being, is a mysterious girl named Saya whom he grows to depend on.

Fuminori is living in a world similar to what you would see in Silent Hill mixed with Hell. His only solace is Saya, who is a seemingly cute and innocent girl that Fuminori gets to know since she is the only human being he sees that doesn't look like a star-spawn of Cthulhu. He befriends her and soon he asks her to move in with him since he's been living in isolation. He begins to discover that she is hiding something, but at the same time he starts to fall deeply in love with her. He finds out that she has been looking for her lost father and decides to help her. However, the deeper he searches, the more questions he uncovers. Plus his friends are worried about him and begin to pry into his private life. He just wants to be left alone with Saya and become disassociated with society as the world he knew has become an alien-infested world. The more he lives with Saya, the more he discovers that she is not what she appears to be and that she is not human. Nonetheless, he loves her and she loves him, and Saya would do anything for Fuminori.

One particular moment in the game for me that solidified Saya's love for Fuminori as genuine was when she went out of her way to perfect her skills to give Fuminori the ability to see the world as he did before his accident. She was only thinking about making him happy and never stopped to think about her own happiness. This was a true self-sacrifice in the name of love. Even if you (the player) sees Saya as a monster, this will make you stop and say that is real love. She goes to the point of putting herself in danger to save Fuminori on multiple occasions as any real person truly in love would do for their partner.

This game is not your typical eroge game as the only phrase that I can use to describe the story is "beauty is in the eye of the beholder." While it is a gory-horror game, it isn't just the images that make you uneasy. The soundtrack plays a very important role as well. The sounds that made the biggest impact on me were when you are talking to your friends at school and you are seeing them as mutant monsters. Their voices become nothing more than distorted gurgles and screeches, akin to white noise that you would hear from an old television set. So if Paranormal Activity freaked you out, you might want to wear an extra set of underwear while playing this game. The soundtrack which uses mainly distorted riffs and motifs along with the images to create the ideal ambiance that really pushes you to the edge of your seat. It left me freaked out while wanting more. The images themselves are not really revealing, as you never get to see Saya's real form, but the game makes your imagination fill in the blanks; which in some cases can be more terrifying than any image in the game. Since the game is rather graphic, there is an option to censor the game's CGs. 

The story changes point-of-views quite frequently, as it begins with you playing as Fuminori and then switches to other characters after the first of the game's rather limited choices. There are some scenes that you can replay so you can see how others see the world versus Fuminori's view. This gives the player an idea of how the perception varies from each of the characters. There is a total of three endings, but they are not your typical happy fairy-tale storybook endings. In all of them, I was left feeling cold at the end due to the events on-screen, as I just wanted to see Saya and Fuminori happy. This game is not for everyone, but it does make one think about how we see things and what we perceive as love.

This type of story was new to me as I'll admit that I'm used to "touchy-feeling" endings in games. However, as I continued to play the game I began to see and even side with the villainous decisions that Fuminori and Saya made. I felt that the love between Fuminori and Saya was sincere since he actually didn't know her true form, but still felt as though he wanted to be with her. Which was the same way Saya felt about him. Just like a love movie, I was cheering for them at more than one point. Even though this game was short at relatively, five to six hours, it still made me think after I completed it. This game combines image, story, and sound in a certain way that makes it nearly the perfect storm.

What I Loved:

- The game was short

- The voices from the creatures (Fuminori's friends as he sees them)

- The soundtrack made the game ambient feel real

- The option to censor out the gory images

- Showed multiple POV

What I Hated:

- limited paths and decision points

- The option to change the censoring can't be changed after it's installed

Disclosure: A review copy was provided by the publisher.

Silver Spoon is about Yugo Hachiken, a city boy who failed to pass the entrance exams for high school of his preference. He decides to enroll at Yezo Agriculture High School. Entering with no goal and ambition in mind, what awaited Hachiken were tears, sweat, adolescence, and animals.  

A trailer has been released earlier today!

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The cast and staff of Silver Spoon has been announced.

STAFF:
Original Works - Hiromu Arakawa
Director - Tomohiko Itou
Assistant Director - Kotomi Deai
Character Designer & Animation Director - Jun Nakai
Animation Studio - A-1 Pictures

CAST:

Yugo Hachiken - Ryohei Kimura
Aki Mikage - Marie Miyake
Ichiro Komaba - Tooru Sakurai
Tamako Inada - Ayahi Takagaki
Shinnosuke Aikawa - Nobunaga Shimazaki
Keiji Tokiwa- Masayuki Shouji

Hajime Nishikawa - Kengo Takanashi
Bepuu - Nobuyuki Kobushi
Mayumi Yoshino - Shiori Izawa
Shingo Hachiken - Katsuyuki Konishi
Yoshiyuki Sensei - Yasunori Masutani
Principle - Yuji Mitsuya
Shinichirou Inada- Yuki Ono
Ookawa Shingo - Takahiro Mizushima
Toyonishi Mika - Asami Tano
Sakuragi Sensei - Yoshihisa Kawahara
Niwatori (Chicken) Sensei- Tomohiro Nishimura
Todoroki Sensei - Kenji Utsumi