Hyper Japan 2011

Yesterday was the final day of Hyper Japan. The organisation was a bit better than on Saturday when they sold more tickets than they should. Like MCMExpo, Hyper Japan has its fair share of cosplayers, though participants were obviously restricted to Japanese-based characters. However it isn't a manga or comic con, though inevitably there were sections dedicated to anime sub-culture.

There were stalls set up to cater and promote all sorts of Japanese culture like sake drinking, sushi (including lessons), fashion, music as well as the latest in toilet tech and massage chairs. My body is also swarming with healthy bacteria after consuming endless amount of free Yakult... Nintendo, Konami and Namco Bandai has also set up demo areas to show off the latest video games including Dark Souls, the sequel to the fiendishly difficult Demon's Souls on PS3 and Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater on 3DS.

Charity raffles were also set up to raise money for victims of the Japan quake and tsunami. An exhibition of photographs of the quake and tsunami's aftermath was on show, as were various items found during the clean up operation. Tears were shed.

We managed to find time to attend the lolita fashion showcase, Square Enix cosplay battle and a performance by Gothic lolita J-pop idol Kanon Wakeshima.

Lulu from Final Fantasy X

Lolita fashion showcase

Rosa from Final Fantasy IV

Square-Enix cosplayers

More pictures here.

MCM Expo London Comic Con 2011

On Saturday I attended by first ever MCM Expo London Comic Con at London Excel. Before you asked, no, I wasn't a cosplayer - but I do admit part of my motivation for waking up at 6am in order to get to East London before 9am was largely due to wanting to photograph cosplayers.

Me and Jenni got there about 15 mins before the gates open. Half an hour later, Motoko, our twitter pal, arrived advance tickets in hand. We joined the queue at one of the North Event halls which resembles a massive hanger. It took us about 30 minutes before we got in - but not before being handed a 'swag bag'. Mine contained a .hack/SIGN DVD, complete with an action figurine of Mimiru.

The halls were awashed with stalls selling both licensed and unlicensed merchandises. Comic books, mangas, films, plush toys, retro video games, action figures etc - it was a geek's paradise. Nintendo, Tecmo Koei, Gamespot UK, Warner Brothers Games, THQ, Capcom and Atari had booths set up to showcase upcoming new video games such as The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D, Dynasty Warriors whatever, Gears of War 3, Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition (just how many times can Capcom re-release this game?) and a couple more. Creative Assembly also hosted a Q&A session regarding the history of the Total War series as did Square-Enix/Eidos for the upcoming Deus Ex: Human Revolution video game.

Unsurprisingly the event was awash with cosplayers. I have to admit that I found myself admiring the dedication of many of these cosplayers. The attention to detail on their costumes - most of the time home made, were simply mind blowing. Not only that, but many of the cosplayers were in character as well. The 501st Legion UK Garrison is worth a mention due to their authentic-looking Star Wars costumes. I was very impressed by the cosplay quality of Iron Man, Lenneth from Valkyrie Profile, Ghost from Call of Duty and the apes from The Planet of the Apes. Even the Duke made an appearance!

The highlight of the day was the Futurama cast panel. I have been following the Futurama series since the inception and it was a joy to see and hear Billy West (Philip J Fry, Professor Fransworth, Zapp Brannigan, Dr. Zoidberg), Phil Lamarr (Hermes Conrad, Preacherbot), Lauren Tom (Amy Wong, Inez Wong) and Maurice LaMarche (Kif Kroker, Morbo, Lrrr, Calculon) talk about the voice production and how some of the voices of the characters they play came to be. Richard Nixon's Head 'aroo', for example was inspired by Billy West's childhood experience from watching Nixon debate with John F. Kennedy where he (Billy West) feared Nixon would turn into a wear wolf.

We also caught the panel of Simon's Cat, where the creator of Simon Tofield explained the inspiration that led him to create this popular cartoon series. A Q&A session with Craig Busch (of  The Lion Man TV series) was followed by a preview of his new reality TV wildlife series surrounding the conservation of wildlife in Africa.

MCM Expo was a great fun first experience. I do have a number of complaints. First, the acoustics at the MCM Expo Theatre was horrible. You could hardly hear a thing, and even the cast of Futurama had trouble hearing themselves. Then there's the money spinning machinery. £15 for a ticket to obtain a single autograph from the stars? Plain ridiculous.

Check out my photographs of the day here.

Witchblade anime review

It took some time, but I finally got through my backlog of Witchblade anime. Now I have heard awful stuff about the anime, mainly from fans of the original American comic who decried the Anime-sation of their favourite comic. I can't blame them, the art direction for one is completely different - being anime and all. But one pet complaint I heard from them is pretty unsubstantiated, that being that the anime series somehow borders on softcore. Which is all bollocks if they actually watched the anime in the first place. Sure, fan service do occur plenty, but I would consider Witchblade to be pretty mild. At most I would compare Witchblade's ecchi level to that of a censored Ghost in the Shell. And it isn't like the American Witchblade had no boobies. Regardless, what is it with people who hates skins but loves violence?


The anime does start out rather slowly. We are introduced to Masane Amaha and her daughter Rihoku, who are running away from a child welfare organisation who are seeking to remove Rihoku from Masane's custody because she does not have the capabilities to raise a daughter. Eventually succeeding in keeping her daughter, Masane is hired by Reiji Takayama of Douji Group Industries, a weapons manufacture, to combat malfunctioned 'Ex-cons', a group of weapons made of human corpse. This is because she has the power of the Witchblade, whom she came to possess some six years earlier when an earthquake destroyed Tokyo. The Wicthblade has the power to provide the bearer with superhuman abilities, and Masane's reappearance has ignited a rivalry between the Douji Group and NSFW, an origination researching into creating Witchblade clones dubbed the Cloneblades wielder.


A number of important characters were established early on, but their back story weren't explained much. Many came off as two-dimensional particularly Yuusuke Tozawa, a freelance photographer, whom initially came off as someone who would do anything for a scoop, including exposing the Witchblade project. As the series progress eventually he is shown to have a deeper understanding with Masane and her daughter. The producers of the series seems to realise that the time spent working on Masane's relationship with secondary characters would do well and even dedicated an entire episode for the purpose when Masane gets a day off. Masane's relationship with her daughter is also tested when Rihoku is proven to be not her biological son and that her real mother was revealed to be a rival Cloneblade.


Disappointing to a series like this however are the action sequences themselves. Typically of any Japanese anime, these are bland and as a result we are not accustomed to seeing fast action. Fortunately fight scenes rarely occur, and even then those that do occur brief. Most of the time, the anime focuses on a number of storyline like Masane's relationship with Rihoku, Douji's internal office politics and NSFW's research into human cloning. This is why I actually continued watching Witchblade because the story keeps getting better as back story of important characters are explored further and new plotlines emerging. Towards the end it would be challenging not to feel sorry for some of the main characters. Even Masane's enemies are often portrayed in a kindly way and their deaths are usually a form of release from a terrible burden.


The quality of the animations isn't the best. I would rate it as pretty average, certainly no where near on par with The Melancholy of Haruhi Suziyama or Nana. But as a TV anime, I would say it is good enough to enjoy, though no where near the details of Top Cow's Witchblade comics and Witchblade Takeru mangas. Voice over are another matter though with the cast of Japanese voice actors giving their absolute finest here.

You can preorder a limited edition Witchblade boxset here or get the first volume here.

Figure Review: Ikki Tousen's Ryomou Shimei Blue Nurse version

Ikki Tousen isn't exactly the best manga ever drawn, not even close. In fact the English translation (Battle Vixens) is pretty poor. The anime is much better in that respect and is what I would recommend getting into, at least until TOKYOPOP set things right by ordering a complete retranslation. The plot deserves better than pretentious wise-crack rapper dialogue.

Yuji Shiozaki (the creator and manga writer) does seem to have very little imagination when it comes to female character design. They differ only in hair style and all tend to have massive boobs and exploding shirts... But he does know his female form.

One of the few characters that interest me is the Toushi known as Ryomou Shimei (呂蒙 子明) - the girl with a fetish for weird fashion and less than orthodox combat methods. If there was ever a figurine to own it would be Shimei's. Personally I have always found her to be one of the much better character design from the series (she is based on the Three Kingdoms Lu Meng). Shimei specialises in grappling moves, which is particularly effective given her weapon of choice - the handcuffs.


Unfortunately 99% of all Ikki Tousen related figures, including those of Ryomou Shimei, sucks - so I never had an opportunity to even consider getting one. Just because the manga is well known for its excessive ecchi content and fan service does not mean we want to have figurines with boobs and other kinky materials displayed in the living room!


Wani Book's Ryomou Shimei Blue Nurse version figure, sculptured by Yasuhiro Utajima, is by far one of two figurines based on the franchise that have caught my eyes (the other being the cheerful Sonsaku Hakufu, but I didn't fancy the pose). And with good reasons too. No exploding clothes makes this a very conservative 1/7 scale PVC figure which we can proudly display on our Cargo manga bookcase without upsetting too many guests.


The build quality isn't perfect. The knee caps are weirdly boxy and the hair isn't as detailed as my Jingai Makyo Ignis figurine. But then again Shimei only cost 4800 yen (this was a gift though). I do like the small details such as the cross on her chest (though the less than perfect paint almost ruined it). Utajima's sculpture of her facial expression pretty much captures her personality. The katana isn't as lovely as I would have preferred, though I did find the tsuka hilt to be pretty detailed.


Because of the pose, the crotch is well hidden - much to the relief of the household and guests. Speaking of poses, I love how Utajima decided to have Shimei kneeling in a battle ready position. It is far more ideal than most of the perverted poses offered on other Ikki Tousen figurines (for example this Ryofu Housen figure, which while accurately depicting Shiozaki's Ikki Tousen volume three cover, isn't something you would want on your mantelpiece.). Those who find this disappointing should not fret. Because the skirt is removable you will be able to instantly peek at underwear at your leisure.


The nurse outfit wasn't what I would have preferred. Instead I would rather have her in her trademark French maid outfit, but even then a nurse costume does highlight her penchant for bondage wares. The only thing original are her boots, eye patch, hair colour, mole, the aforementioned cross and her demur look. I kinda wished they would at least include her hand-cuffs, at the very least. On the positive side the costume isn't battle damaged.


There are currently two versions of this figure - the blue version reviewed here, and a limited edition black version coming out over the next few months. Personally I would recommend the blue version. The black uniform is pretty cool, but they also changed her hair to grey for it, which unacceptably deviates from the manga, though I do think that black would probably do better in hiding any imperfections.


Likes:
- Classic fighting pose
- Non exploding costume
- OK build quality (for the price)

Gripes:
- Lack of detail, especially in the hair
- Not in her French maid costume
- Poor paint quality (especially knee-caps)

This figure was obtained from NeonMartian.com, a Swindon based site specialising in Japanese toys and figurines. Thanks Steve.

Bleach DS Souten ni Kakeru Unmei / Bleach: The Blade of Fate review

Bleach DS is Japanese only game, but that shouldn't stop you from importing it if you are a fan of either:

1. Shonen Jump mangas
2. Saturday morning animes
3. Fighting games.

Me? I am a fan of Treasure. And that is good enough reason for me.

Treasure, the legendary developers from Japan, can always be trusted to push a system through its 2D limit and with Bleach DS they succeeded brilliantly. The sprites are wonderfully detailed and the 2D background is beautifully drawn. Sprites zooms in and out effortlessly. Characters are well designed and some of their special weapons will fill up the entire screen.

Bleach DS is a sort of the bastard child of Street Fighter II, King of Fighters, Guilty Gear and Soul Calibur. It is faster than Street Fighter II of course and the brilliant sword playing style of Soul Calibur is present. Button mashing over all the face button and shoulder buttons is a must but you can also touch the lower screen to execute special attacks and combos.



Although the game is in Japanese, it is fairly easy to start playing. You will need an English FAQ guide if you want to progress through the single player mode (and understand the story) but most are self-explanatory and a little trial and error won't harm. Get into the game quickly with the Arcade Mode or play the VS mode for CPU 2 Vs 2 or 1 Vs 3 for more frantic action.

Bleach DS also supports LAN multiplayer ad-hoc WiFi (single-cart download & multi-cart play) and Nintendo WiFi connection. Setting up online matches is pretty straight forward and won't take you long to setup random matches with good Japanese gamers. The dreaded friend code is needed if you want to organise matches with your mates (up to four players).

It isn't without its fault. The two field system needs getting used to and the card system
(which you can use in battles to increase your advantage) isn't really necessary. Gameplay can become repetitive and apart from cards and characters, there isn't much to unlock. Weapon upgrades for Ichigo would have been nice but there is nothing here, unlock wise, that equals the depth of say Mario Kart DS.



While this is the first proper fighting game for the console, Treasure has set a superb standard in 2D fighting, that other developers will find hard to emulate. And to do that on their first DS title and even more impressive - their first (update, second after the Japan only Yuu Yuu Hakusho) fighting game (Guardian Heroes and its GBA follow up are beat 'em up)!

Forget the rather uninspired (but fun) Jump Super Stars! or the unfortunate Guilty Gear: Dust Strikers, import this instead and be prepared for hours of fun.

8/10

Update: After two years SEGA has finally released this in the west as Bleach: The Blade of Fate.