Chuck's Anime Shrine Blog

Ghost In The Shell: S.A.C. 2nd GIG Motoko Kusanagi 1/7 Scale PVC

2008-05-15T11:00:00.003-04:00

Finally out in the states is Alter and Vice's Motoko Kusanagi figure. This 1/7 scale figure really looks identical to Motoko in Ghost In The Shell 2nd GIG. Runs about $80 though but I wouldn't mind having it in my collection. Here's her offical description:

"Major "Motoko Kusanagi" is a fictional Japanese character in Masamune Shirow's Ghost in the Shell anime and manga series. She is a cyborg in the employ of 'Public Security Section 9', a fictional division of the real Japanese National Public Safety Commission, as the squad leader. 'Motoko Kusanagi' is a 1/7 scale (8 1/2" tall) PVC figure and comes in a window box with a custom base for display. This is the first collaboration project between the well known production company, 'Alter' and "Vice.'"

Popopure Maid Cafe Lets You Dub Anime

2008-05-14T08:15:00.006-04:00

Many have heard of the Maid Cafes in the otaku shopping district of Akihabara but none like this. Popopure Cafe has food served to hungry otaku by cute little maids but while you chow down on some yummy food, you might notice their big 50" TV with non-stop anime and the assorted anime framed pictures. Definitely artwork you'd rather view compared to the weird European "what-the-hell-am-I-looking-at" so-called artwork littered in the diners and restaurants here.
These items are normal in all Maid Cafes except here you can dub your own scenes in an anime.! The name of the anime is "Popo no Bōken" (The Adventures of Popo). Yes, funny name but an awesome idea. It's for only a few minutes and the anime has three character roles to fill in. If there are not enough people with you to play the parts, the maids will take the roles. After you finish dubbing, they give you a complementary DVD with all your performances.
Yet again, more otaku news that makes me wish I was not living in New York.

Via Anime News Network.

First Picture of Justin Chatwin as Goku

2008-05-12T13:54:00.003-04:00

Well, here it is..the first picture of Justin Chatwin as Goku. I don't know what to say about the Live action DBZ movie in the works... I really hope it doesn't suck.

Thanks to Anime News Network.

Gundam SEED Destiny 2: Lunamaria Hawke Figure

2008-05-11T12:00:00.000-04:00

Here's another Gundam figure that came out last week. This is one for the sexy anime girl fans and gundam fans alike. This figure of Lunamaria Hawke from Gundam Seed is part of Bandai's Excellent Model series and as the name states, its an excellent figure. It's a 1/8th scale figure so it stands roughly 5-6 inches tall. I might add this one to my collection as well. Didn't think Bandai did the whole cute anime girl thing but they do and like the Gundam figures, they do it well.

Sengoku Rance: Suzume 1/8 Scale PVC Figure

2008-05-10T10:40:00.003-04:00

Not too long ago, this simply gorgeous figure of Sengoku Rance's Suzume went for pre-order and she is definitely going to be part of my personal collection. Made by the masters at Kotobukiya, this 1/8 scale figure also is a bit of a cast-off too. Won't be out in the US till late October so I guess I got myself an early birthday present. Check out the pics below and you'll see why this figure is a must have.

Sony-Created Fuel Cell

2008-05-09T19:00:00.000-04:00

Looks as if Sony has created a fuel cell system that is currently still in the prototype phase but looks very promising for future mobile devices. Check out more of this at Engadget.

Next Mortal Kombat to Feature Batman and Superman?

2008-05-09T18:08:00.003-04:00

This looks pretty kool actually. Ed Boon, creator of the Mortal Kombat series recently showed that one of the changes in the series will be to have Batman and Superman in the next game. I would assume this is to compete with Soul Calibur 4's inclusion of Yoda and Darth Vader. Don't expect to do any fatalities though since they might not have them!!!
...Damn, looks like I won't have the honor of decapitating Superman with Scorpion and hear the words "You Suck!"

Check out the interview with Ed Boon on CNN.

Gundam 00: Fix Figuration Exia Gundam Figure

2008-05-09T12:00:00.000-04:00

Just released last week in the US is this Exia Gundam by Bandai. This work of art is a 1/144th scale figure of the famous Gundam from Japan's top series as of this posting date. Like others in this Bandai line figures, you also get different weapon and hand configurations to pose the gundam in lots of cool ways. Not bad for a $40 Gundam.

Japan's Child Population Low 27th Year Straight

2008-05-08T12:00:00.000-04:00

As per breitbart.com, for the 27th year in a row, Japan's population younger than 14 years old is very very low. The site mentions a total of young kids is only about 15 million throughout the entire country. This is mainly due to people just being too darn busy with their lives for relationships and child bearing. We see it here in America too. The baby boomers are far more in size than generation X's which are more than people like me in generation Y and so on to the Milleniols (kids born 2000 and later). Cost of living has gone up and unfortunately school teachers and colleges only teach people to end up in so called "good jobs" which sad to say is a failing system since there are only 24 hours in a day to make money. I'm not saying don't go to college but don't stop at getting a job. Getting a good job is only the first of four steps. School barely mentions step 2 which is to run your own company. Step 3 and 4 (having your company work for you, then having your money work for you whether you are there or not) are not even hinted at in even the highest business colleges while the wealthiest people in the world who actually do those steps never finished or stepped foot in college! People need to own their life back or continue to work so hard they can't have a family or life anymore. I'd rather sit an watch anime with my future kids than worrying if my boss will fire me today. The low child population in the US will destroy Medicare and Social Security and I don't even want to know what will happen to Japan if this continues.
Don't mean to be so negative in this post but I feel I got to say something because my companies are bringing back my family time and money while phasing out my job. Being an A student all my life, I feel I was scammed into an out of date and failed system that sadly is still seen as the status-quo.

6.8 Magnitude Earthquake Rattles Tokyo

2008-05-07T22:34:00.005-04:00

Earlier in the day there was a 6.8 Magnitude Earthquake that rattled parts of Tokyo. Luckily the quake was centered 100 miles off the coast but it a few people got hurt from falling furniture. A 5.3 magnitude aftershock also occurred not too long after. Check out the full story via CNN. Hope my fiancee's aunt, uncle and cousins are ok. Any accounts or other info you can comment below.

Great Anime Gifs Site

2008-05-07T19:00:00.000-04:00

Ever look at the bottom right of my pages and wonder what those little anime clips are? Well back when I first started the site back in 2002 I had them on the top left as just some amusement. I kept them on there because, well, I like them. Every time you refresh you'll see a different anime gif. I added a few more to the mix not to long ago so I hope you like them. Many people use them as their avatars on the forums and blogs so snag use them if you'd like. A great site for a whole slew of them is at otakugifs.com. I also would like to make a section full of them too, but until then, I recommend checking out that site. Once I fix the blog to show user's avatars in the comments, I'll hopefuly be able to see some interesting ones.

AT&T & Starbucks Delete Their Free Internet for iPhoners

2008-05-07T08:00:00.003-04:00

In not so shocking news, AT&T cut their free wireless internet service they had for their iPhone customers. It apparently was easy to hack into if you knew a friend's iPhone number. The phone companies won't be able to stop the future when everything everywhere is wireless. Europe is already leagues ahead of the us with this. I feel in the next decade we will look back at our old phone rates and laugh at why we paid so much for so little, much like how we now can laugh at AOL's old CDs granting you 600 hours online. More info and picture thanks to gizmodo.

Candy Boy Romantic Anime Now Streaming Online

2008-05-06T08:00:00.001-04:00

If anyone hasn't gotten a chance to see some of this new anime, take a look at the clip below. Candy Boy is another romantic school comedy centering around twin sisters Kanade and Yukino Sakurai. Just after watching the first few clips I started to get hooked. Some people are getting their panties in a bundle over the fact that there is a slight bit of comedic incest and lesbianism. If you take it for face value and drop the religious idiocies, this series is a pleasure to watch. As per Anime News Network, the site, Nico Nico Douga started also streaming some clips of it.

Crunchyroll to Host Anime Innovation Tokyo Works

2008-05-05T12:00:00.001-04:00

This is great news on many levels. First off is that the Anime Innovation Tokyo event is coming soon. It's an event held by both THINK (Neko Rahmen, Synthesisa) and Tokyo Metropolitan Government that allows new talent in the anime world to be seen. Secondly, THINK is letting Crunchyroll.com host the event online. If some of you didn't know, crunchyroll used to get a bad rap like many of us that stream anime content online. To see them work with the industry this close comes to show that anime sites like here at Chuck's Anime Shrine and others are now finally being seen by the industry as viable sources of free advertisement that help grow the anime business, not hurt it as they originally thought. In other words, AMV creators can feel a bit less criminal since they are exposing great anime to fans without the companies spending a dime. Now as for the music industry getting into the 21st century...that's another story.

Thanks to Anime News Network for the info.

Macgyver Film In the Works

2008-05-05T08:00:00.001-04:00

Back in the late 80's when I was no more than 7 years old, Macgyver, was one of the shows I used to watch in-between Atari 2600 and NES sessions. I do remember there being a full length feature back in the day but it looks like there actually will be a high budget movie in the next year or so. It would be cool to see Richard Dean Anderson play the part again after all these years.
For those of you that might not be old enough to remember this show; it was joked about briefly in Family Guy with Peter giving Anderson a letter with a paper clip straw and a rubber band. More on gizmodo.

(For anime fans who might be confused, this is in no relation to the anime, The Guyver)

Viz and Naruto Mangas Top Sales in The US

2008-05-05T02:00:00.001-04:00

Kudos to Viz for nabbing 16 of the top 20 spots for the sales of manga in the US. No surprise Naruto being the top seller. The manga is leagues ahead in the story (and less childish) than the edited episodes being played on Cartoon Network which can somewhat explain the spike in sales. For us hard core fans its a bit annoying to wait so long for the episodes to match up with the manga, but in the end its great business for their creators. At least there are uncut English versions of Naruto on DVD. Companies here finally realize the grave mistakes that they did when they watered down great anime in the past like DBZ, Sailor Moon and more recently One Piece. Check more out at Anime News Network. Above you can see the Naruto Shadow Box Manga set. This crazy bundle includes 27 books..lots of reading indeed.

End of April 08 Anime DVD Rankings

2008-05-04T19:00:00.001-04:00

Check out the recent list of top anime DVDs at Anime News Network. Looks as if Evangelion: 1.0 You Are [Not] Alone took the top spot with Mobile Suit Gundam 00 taking second place. Some other titles on the list include the Naruto Shippuden movie which of course none of the series is here yet in America. Cartoon Network is still airing the filler episodes before Shippuden unless I'm mistaken.

Haruhi Suzumiya: Figma Mikuru Asahina Figure

2008-05-04T12:18:00.005-04:00

If you thought the Yuki Nagato Figma figure was great, here's some pics of my personal favorite of the three Suzumiya girls, Mikuru. the figure I believe is already out in Japan or going to be in the next month or so. Here in the states though we have to wait till August or September. The Figma figures are just great the way they can be posed in many different cool poses. Even funnier when you pair them up with the other figures as you can see with Mikuru. She's definitely being added to my computer desktop here.

Xbox 360 Blu-ray Coming in September 08

2008-05-04T08:00:00.000-04:00

Since the HD DVD wars are over with Sony being the obvious winner, Microsoft will be coming out with a Blu-ray integrated Xbox 360. This might make the videogame wars a bit interesting.. well the battle between Xbox 360 and PS3. Sony wins both ways though since Blu-ray is their technology. I still like my xbox 360 the way it is. I'll have a PS3 soon anyways so my Blu-ray needs will be taken care of. Of course this is great news for anyone without a 360. More on Engadget.

Valkyrie Profile: The Accused One; For the DS

2008-05-03T16:43:00.002-04:00

If you are like me and are a fan of Valkyrie Profile; you'll be glad to hear that there is going to be one made for the Nintendo DS. The title for this one I believe is "The Accused One" Square-Enix provided a page for it here. As of this posting, the trailer is there but there will be more added. Can't wait.

Final Fantasy IV Sequel: The After: Return of the Moon

2008-05-03T14:26:00.003-04:00

You're not reading the title wrong. There is currently a sequel to Final Fantasy IV. Here's the catch though...its only in Japan. Despite an expected huge surge of sales currently in Japan; Square-Enix is most likely not going to release it here in the states. Would love to see it here but I'll admit I need to play IV first then this one. The story revolves around the son of Cecil and Rosa, Ceodore. More at Square Enix.

Second Generation 3G iPhone

2008-04-29T12:00:00.001-04:00

Looks as if the 3G iPhone is only a few months away from being in the stores. Not only will i be 3G but its GPS will be better and also looks like Apple dropped the whole metal back thing. I guess I'm glad I have yet to buy an iPhone. Check out its specs at Engadget. (Picture also thanks to Engadget)

Ikki Tousen: Cerberus Ryomou Shimei Black Maid Outfit

2008-04-29T07:00:00.000-04:00

Uart does an amazing job with this 1/7th scale figure of Ryomou Shimei. Scheduled to arrive at my dealer's on Friday, I'll probably snag a few of them. Hopefully the paint job on the mass productions are just as good looking as the pics here. Uart has a good track record and their figures tend to be just as good as Good Smile Company's. She'll probably go right next to my Fighting Sonsaku piece.

Vocaloid: Miku Hatsune 1/8 Scale PVC Figure

2008-04-28T20:00:00.001-04:00

Set to arrive in the US in November 08 is the beautiful Miku Hatsune figure by none other than Good Smile Company. If I'm not mistaken, pre-orders of this figure in japan has sold out and for all good reason. Miku is at the moment one of the most popular anime characters in Japan and she's found in many different commercials, specials and the like. Provided are some images from my product dealer. I'll be sure to keep one for my self along with the Nendoroid version too ^_^.

Playstation 3 Laptop

2008-04-28T10:30:00.003-04:00

In case you haven't already heard; expert computer engineer Ben Heck created a laptop made out of a Playstation 3 unit. Lots of work was obviously put into it. Weighs over 16 pounds so it might be a bit tough to carry around. Check out more of this masterpiece in computer moding here at the Engadget page. Also check Ben's site for more of his work.