App News - Gundam themed iPhone GPS released in Japan!

The folks over at Andriasang have reported that iPhone users in Japan are able to purchase what could well be the start of an amazing trend of applications when it comes to the field of Satellite Navigation, otherwise more commonly referred to here in the UK as 'Sat-Nav' and 'GPS' in the USA.

Namco Bandai have unveiled the first of it's line of 'Character Navi' apps for the Apple iPhone. Which is a Sat-Nav app with the theme of an Anime. The first series to be immortalised in getting Japanese drivers from point A to point B is... Gundam!

That's right, for approximately £30.00 in Japan, granting you one year of usage, iPhone 4 and 3GS owners can have the Earth Federation or Zeon direct them to their destination. (You can choose either as your theme for the app.)

As you can see from the screenshots, your car is depicted as a mobile suit which can encounter 'battle events' where another mobile suit will appear and you have to defeat them! Now before you think you have to beat the other mobile suit otherwise you can't continue your journey, the designers have come up with a clever and super simple way of defeating said enemy mobile suit... simply drive on and you'll advance past the enemy. Meaning absolutely no interaction is needed on your part. (Yes, it really is that simple.)

It's currently unknown how often you will encounter these 'battle events'. Once would assume not as much as a game like Final Fantasy, but you never know.




It is also not known if this app (or any future apps of this kind) will be released here in the UK but we can safely say it is a brilliant idea and would make any iPhone a lot cooler. (Imagine driving to a convention like the London Expo with Amuro Ray telling you where to go.)

Video: 2 Interview with Dir En Grey talking new album

The good folks over at PunkVideosRock and Metal Assault have conducted an interview with two members of Dir En grey, Karou and Die ahead of the release of the new album 'Dum Spiro Spero' and upcoming touring cycles.

The interviews talk cover topics such as the inspiration for the new album, how the recent disaster affected the writing and recording process of the album, language barriers and more

You can view the entire interview conducted by PunkVideosRock below -




You can view the interview conducted by Metal Assault (also with Karou and Die) below -




Dir En Grey will be returning to the UK on August 12th at the Koko in Camden Town to play what will no doubt am amazing show.
Their new album Dum Spiro Spero is released on August 2nd. You can pre-order the album now at many online retailers including Play and Amazon.

Video: Article on X Japan expanding worldwide (London concert footage included)

The website Reuters have posted a video article on X Japan expanding on a worldwide level. A video that includes video recorded at the recent London concert! You can watch the video below (that also includes comments from Yoshiki) -

Hyper Japan floor plan released!

Next weekend it's Hyper Japan at Olympia in London. Some more details have been released by the fine folks over at HyperJapan.co.uk

A detailed floor plan and running order has been released in pdf format HERE.

The floor plan details that the ground floor will primarily be dedicated to food and culture, while the lower ground floor will house entertainment and bazaar companies. Interesting to not that the now discontinued Tokyopop manga publisher will have a stall on the lower ground floor and will likely be having clearance stock much like they did at London Expo.

Also set to be on the show floor as part of the 'entertainment' section of the convention, our good friends at Anime On Demand, Konami, Nintendo, Namco-Bandai Games and Square Enix products.

If you'd like a more visual look at what the event will be like, we suggest heading over to the official Hyper Japan Youtube channel where view videos like the one below -



Be sure to head over to HyperJapan.co.uk for all the information regarding the event!

New UK summer season simulcast announced

The Summer season of streaming anime simulcasts is fast approaching and a number of title have been announced for us Anime fans to indulge in. They are as follows:

*Usagi Drop
Available to the UK through Anime On Demand
Usagi Drop is the first title be announced for streaming here in the UK through the fine folks at Anime On Demand.

The series follows "Daikichi Kawachi [who is] is just a regular, 30-year-old, single guy. He returns home to attend his grandfather's funeral only to discover that his grandfather had an illegitimate daughter by an unknown woman. The child, 6-year-old Rin, is bitterly unwanted and neglected by the family. This angers Daikichi enough to adopt Rin as his own, despite having no parental experience.

The heart-warming slice of life story follows Daikichi's struggles and successes as a single parent, and Rin's passage from childhood into adolescence. The manga made us laugh, cry, and left us with smiles on our faces, so we're incredibly excited about Usagi Drop's anime debut.

Anime on Demand subscribers can tune in this Thursday [today, or depending when you're reading this July 7th] to watch the first episode of Usagi Drop at the same time as Japanese viewers."
[Series info from Anime On Demand]


*Cat God (aka Natsume Yuujinchou)
Available to the UK through Crunchyroll

Crunchyroll describe the series as follows -
"Mayu is a nekogami (cat god) who leads a life of playing games while Koyama Yuzu runs an antique shop. Mayu will be visited by many other gods whom lead a life of enjoyment.”

You can watch a preview for the series HERE.

The series is set to debut to premium members of the site on July 8th (tomorrow) and for everyone else from July 15th.


*Yuri Yuri
Available to the UK through Crunchyroll

Our good friends at UK-Anime describe this series as follows -
YuruYuri, an adaptation of a comedy manga, featuring staff working on the project which includes both the director and writer of Mitsudomoe and Minami-ke's first season, about a group of female friends who take over a former clubroom at their school to use for their own amusement.

The first episode is available to watch now at Crunchyroll with the a new episode to be added every Tuesday.


*Kamisama Dolls
Available to the UK through Crunchyroll
UK-Anime describe the series as follows: Brain's Base supernatural action-drama manga adaptation which the trials and tribulations of a college student named Kyouhei, who moves away from Tokyo to escape from some unspecified issues there only to find himself caught up in a bloody murder that appears to have been carried out by an old friend of his sister's and his decidedly spooky "doll".

If you are a premium member of the site, you can watch the first episode now with the next episode set be available from July 12th. If you're not a premium member, the launch of the first episode will be from July 12th.


*Natsume Yujincho
Available to the UK through Crunchyroll
Finally, we come to Natsume Yujincho. A series that Crunchyroll has previously been streaming but never available to us here in the UK. Well the third season will be part of their lineup to the UK along with the previous two seasons!
Crunchyroll describe the series as "Natsume Takashi has the ability to see spirits, which he has long kept secret. However, once he inherits a strange book that belonged to his deceased grandmother, Reiko, he discovers the reason why spirits surround him."

Episodes 1-27 are available to view now with the episode 28 (the first of the new season) set to be available to premium members from July 11th.

We will be sure to keep you up to date on other developments involving the summer season for UK streaming Anime!

Manga UK present unique Voice Acting video project!

Manga Entertainment UK have released a little video project that saw renowned cosplayer Linda Le (who is often known as 'Vampy Bit Me',) travel to Bang Zoom! Entertainment in Los Angeles to embark on some voice acting training and ultimately record a voice over to be used in one of the video blogs that Manga have been releasing via their website and youtube channels in recent months.

Below is a brief preview clip of the entire video of Linda Le at Bang Zoom! Entertainment -


(This preview video was also showcased at the recent Anime Expo convention in the USA by Bang Zoom! Entertainment.)
The very insightful complete ten minute video of Linda Le at Bang Zoom! Entertainment studios can be viewed at MangaUK.com through their inbuilt video player on the front page.

Below you can view the video blog for the release of Evangelion 2.22 that she recorded the voice over for:



Be you someone who is looking to head into voice acting as a career or just an Anime fan in general, these are definitely worth checking out to give a very unique opportunity to see how the process all comes together!

Hyper Japan weekender from July 22nd-24th in London!

Hi everyone. We just wanted to bring to your attention an event that we'll be attending on July 22nd known as 'Hyper Japan'.

In short, it's a convention held in London that focuses on different aspects of Japanese culture such as delicacies like Sushi, to the 2011 cosplay awards there is defeintely something for everyone when it comes to Japanese culture.

Here's the info direct from Hyper Japan themselves -
"HYPER JAPAN 2011 will be held on Friday 22 July, Saturday 23 and Sunday 24 July 2011 at Olympia Two in London. HYPER JAPAN is all about cuisine, culture and cool: everything that’s creative, cute and crazy about contemporary Japan, and we’ll be updating this section with details of what you can expect to see: exhibitors, sponsors, stage events, attractions and more."

For all the information on what will be available at Hyper Japan, please visit their website HERE. Tickets are available now inlcuding day tickets for a discounted price of £8 for a limited time! (Be sure to be quick if you want a day ticket as this offer is only on a limited number of tickets before they are raised back to the regular price of £12.)

Some of the performance based events over the weekend will include one of J-Pop’s most exciting stars,Kanon Wakeshima performing two charity concerts! This cellist and singer is managed by visual-kei and fashion icon MANA and will also be available for a signing on Saturday 23rd June at the Wasabi Records booth.
You can view her song "Lolitawork Libretto" below -


Also in attendance will be one of Japan’s leading young comedy duos, JARUJARU, who will be appearing at HYPER JAPAN on Friday 22 July at 10.30am.
JARUJARU are a hugely popular, multi-award winning young manzai comedy duo, comprising Junpei Kondo (left) and Shusuke Fukutoku (right). JARUJARU were formed in April 2004, and the pair was soon snapped up by Yoshimoto Kogyo, Japan's top entertainment company. Today, JARUJARU regularly perform at Base Yoshimoto, a comedy theatre in Osaka. They also make regular appearances on various TV shows and radio stations.

This is the second time that JARUJARU have appeared in London: they previously visited the city to make a one night only appearance at Lost Theatre, the DVD of which is now available in Japan.
“JARUJARU are not only popular but they also have very high quality stories, and are known as the next generation of great skit comedians”.

It's going to be a great weekend at the Olympia so be sure to head there if you can. We'll be at the event and will be sure to give you a full report on our experience there!
For more information on Hyper Japan, visit there website at hyperjapan.co.uk