Crunchyroll to simulcast 'Digimon Xros Wars'

Another UK addition to this seasons simulcast lineup has been announced as Crunchyroll will be streaming Digimon Xros War: The Young Hunters Who Leapt Through Time. This is a sequel to previous Xros Wars series that aired in Japan from the summer of 2010 through to September of this year and is the seventh series in the Digimon franchise.

The plot follows from a year on from where the previous season left of. Team Xros (the lead groups of protagonists) have now formed a basketball team. One of the members of the team finds a place between the human and digital worlds known as DigiQuartz. It is here that Digimon hunters appear. They are trying to capture Digimon that are corrupted thanks to their presence being compromised by the human and digital worlds. A hunter has the potential to make these corrupted Digimon stronger by using them in conjunction with their current Digimon. Team Xros decide to get involved in the hunt and the adventure begins with the main goal being to protect their world from these corrupted Digimon and the other groups of hunters present in DigiQuartz.

Although the series has not yet begun simulcasting on Crunchyroll, the series began airing in October. You can watch the opening credits to sample some of this series below -


Once the series begins on Crunchyroll you can watch each episode HERE.

Anime On Demand & Crunchyroll updates, plus Manga UK license Angel Beats

Following on from our "Big streaming Anime update as Crunchyroll & Anime On Demand reveal lots of new titles!" post, Crunchyroll have added another title to their already staked lineup.

* Sekai-Ichi Hatsukoi - Season 2, streaming at Crunchyroll, air date: Every Friday from 5.35pm GMT
The series translate into English as World's Greatest First Love'.

"Ritsu Onodera quit working for his father’s company and transferred to work at the publishing company, Marukawa Shoten. To his dismay, he's assigned to edit shojo manga in which he has no interest or experience. He works with a strict boss, Takano, that he has trouble getting along with from the beginning. But, Onodera later discovers that he knows Takano from his past..."
The series started yesterday (October 7th) at Crunchyroll.

*From the Anime On Demand camp, the first episode of Persona 4: The Animation is available to view now HERE.

*Manga Entertainment UK confirmed late this week they have acquired the licensing rights or 'Angel Beats'. ANN describe the plot as being set "In a world after death, angels fight for their fate and their future. Yuri, the leader of the Shinda Sekai Sensen, rebels against the god who destined her to have an unreasonable life. On the otherhand, Tenshi, the chairperson of the student council for the world after death, battles against the SSS members. SSS members utilize armed weaponry to battle it out against the angels harnessing supernatural powers."

Expect more information regarding this release to be made available soon. Perhaps at London Expo later this month!

Big streaming Anime update as Crunchyroll & Anime On Demand reveal lots of new titles!

Since our last post about Anime on Demand (AOD for short) announcing they would be streaming 'Mirai Nikki - Future Diary' on their site a whole host of titles from not only AOD but Crunchyroll have been revealed. This post will bring you up to speed on what is set to be available to the UK stemming from these announcements. It's going to be a very busy season of simulcasts as you'll see from the listings below.

Before we go any further we have a brief update to our previous news item on 'Miriai Nikki - Future Diary'.
AOD revealed that this series will begin streaming from Sunday 9th October and will run across both the Autumn and Winter seasons.

Here are the titles available to the UK as part of this new streaming season from both Anime On Demand and Crunchroll -


-Mirai Nikki - Future Diary, Streaming from Anime On Demand, start date: Sunday 9th October
"Mirai Nikki sees high school 2nd year, Amano Yukiteru, is a boy who has problem making friends. He thinks of himself as a bystander and will always write down everything he sees in a cell phone diary. Tormented by solitude, Yukiteru began to imagine things like a friend called Deus Ex Machina who is apparently the Lord of Time & Space. Seeing Yukiteru's miserable state, Deus gives him a new ability. His diary will now record events that will happen in the near future. Yukiteru is then forced to participate in a game which the winner will become Deus' successor."

- Un-Go, streaming from Anime On Demand, start date TBC
"Un-Go Private detectives have been out of fashion for many years, but that's how Shinjurou Yuuki identifies himself. With his superior deductive powers, Shinjurou solves various challenging cases. Meanwhile, Inga, an attractive young lad, serves as Shinjurou's “buddy”. But contrary to his cute appearance, he's a sharp, arrogant rogue. Why Inga sticks with Shinjurou is not immediately appparent.

The setting of the story is a post-war Tokyo of the future, one that still bears the scars of war. Ruling the land is Media King Rinroku Kaishou, who has the communications infrastructure under his thumb, giving him great power over both politics and industry. Kaishou is renowned for his use of logic and the massive amount of information at his fingertips to solve a great number of mysteries. But unbeknownst to the public at large, most of those discoveries have been the work of Shinjurou Yuuki, "the Last Great Detective." (The public, in fact, regards Shinjurou as a loser, and gives him the nickname, "Defeated Detective".) Still, Shinjurou, together with Inga, can't help but search for the truth."

-Persona 4: The Animation, streaming from Anime On Demand, air date: TBC (but will air every Friday once started)
Director Seiji Kishi (Angel Beats!, My Bride is a Mermaid) and the anime studio AIC ASTA adapted the Persona 4 PlayStation 2 role-playing game from Atlus. The story begins in the rural country town of Inaba, where mysterious murders and kidnappings sweep the countryside. A group of teenagers try to solve the mystery, which is connected to the local weather patterns and a strange video game world which the teenagers and the killer can all enter.

Persona concept designer Kazuma Kaneko, original character designer Shigenori Soejima, and musical composer Shoji Meguro are reprising their respective roles from the game for the anime. Cast members Daisuke Namikawa (Yu Narukami), Showtaro Morikubo (Yōsuke Hanamura), Yui Horie (Chie Satonaka), and Ami Koshimizu (Yukiko Amagi), Tomokazu Seki (Kanji Tatsumi), Kappei Yamaguchi (Kuma), Unshou Ishizuka (Ryōtarō Dōjima), Akemi Kanda (Nanako Dōjima), Mitsuaki Madono (Tōru Adachi), and Romi Park (Naoto Shirogane) are all returning from the game to play their respective characters.

Shihoko Hirata, the original Persona 4 game's theme song singer, will sing the anime's opening theme, "sky's the limit."


-Hunter X Hunter, streaming at Crunchyroll, new episode every Sunday at 4.30am GMT
A reboot of the popular Anime series from the late 90's tells the story of "Gon, a young boy who lives on Whale Island, dreams of becoming a Hunter like his father, who left when Gon was still young. Abundant riches, hidden treasures, fearsome monsters, and exotic creatures are scattered around the world... Gon departs on a journey to become a Pro Hunter who risks his life in search of the unknown. Along the way, he meets other applicants for the Hunter exam: Kurapika, Leorio, and Killua. Can Gon pass the rigorous challenges of the Hunter exam and become the best Hunter in the world!? His wild and epic journey is about to begin!! "
Episode 1 is available now.

-You and Me., streaming from Crunchyroll, air date: every Monday from 6pm GMT
"Friends since kindergarten and seemingly like blood brothers, You and Me follows the lives of Yuta and Yuki Asaba, Shun Matsuokan and Kaname Tsukahara; as well as transfer student Chizuru Tachibana who joins the circle of friends. Together we will watch as they laugh, dance, cry and share the memories of growing up together in everyday life.”

-Chihayafaru, streaming from Crunchyroll, every Tuesday from 6.30pm GMT
"Ayase Chihaya is a sixth grader whose dream is for her older sister to become the top model in Japan. But one day, a transfer student, Wataya Arata, tells her that her dream should be about herself. Arata's dream is to become a famous competitive Karuta player. Chihaya is somewhat shocked when she sees how intense the normally reserved Arata gets about the card game. Eventually, she and her childhood friend Mashima Taichi find themselves being captivated by Karuta. Arata is thrilled by Chihaya's talent and extraordinary hearing, as well as the fact that he has friends to play Karuta with now, but they are forced to go their separate ways after graduating from grade school.

Four years later, Chihaya enters high school and discovers that Arata, who returned to Fukui, no longer plays Karuta. However, she believes that if she continues to play, they will one day be reunited. And so, she and Taichi start a Karuta club at Mizusawa High School."

-Waganari!! season 2, streaming from Crunchyroll, air date: every Saturday (starting October 8th) at 5pm GMT
“The family restaurant WAGNARIA stands by itself in Hokkaido. One day Sota Takanashi, who loves all things small, meets tiny little Popura, who offers him a job working part time at the restaurant. Attracted to her petite stature, Sota accepts her offer. To his surprise, the restaurant is filled with eccentric characters. Get ready to dish up some wacky comedy together with Sota and his coworkers!”

-Fate/Zero, streaming from Crunchyroll, air date: every Saturday (starting from 8th October) at 5pm GMT.
[This is the new prequel series to the popular 'Fate/Stay Night' anime.]
“Ten years prior to the events of FATE/STAY NIGHT, the War of the Holy Grail is a contest in which seven magi summon seven Heroic Spirits to compete to obtain the power of the “Holy Grail,” which grants a miracle. After three inconclusive wars for the elusive Holy Grail, the Fourth War commences.

Kiritsugu finds himself deeply torn between family and duty – obtaining the Holy Grail. However, his greatest opponent appears in the form of Kirei Kotomine, a priest who cannot find any sense of fulfillment in his life and sets his sights on Kiritsugu as the possible answer to the emptiness he feels.”

Expect more announcements to be revealed in the coming days.

Music: new single by FLOW, 'HEY!!!'

One of our favourite Japanese bands FLOW recently unveiled the video for their (ridiculously catchy and infectious) song 'HEY!!!'.
Watch it below and prepare to rock out!



Despite the fact this song isn't released until August 31st in Japan, the band have already performed it live and it's been featured as the 3rd opening song to the anime 'Beelzebub'. Here is the opening sequence -

[NOTE - May contain spoilers]


Crunchyroll are currently streaming Beelzebub. You head over to their site and watch it HERE.

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!

Crunchyroll updates (including Global Shinkai Day ) for this weekend

Before we go any further, following the devastation in Japan caused by the earthquake and tsunami, Crunchyroll have launched their own relief fund for those affected. If you would like to donate, you can find all of the information here.

This is just a small update following our previous report on the 'Gloabl Shinkai Day 2011' weekender over at Crunchyroll.

We originally reported (both here and on Episode 18 of our podcast) that we expected to see the the three works of Makoto Shinkai screened in Japanese with English Subtitles at Crunchyroll. And this still applies to "Voices Of A Distant Star" and "Place Promised In Our Early Days". However, "5 Centimeters Per Second" is actually available to view in either Japanese with English Subtitles or with the English dub!

We believe this is because Crunchyroll is the official distributor of "5 Centimeters Per Second" in the United States, thus having the rights to both the Japanese and English dubbed versions. Great news for those of wanting to to watch it in English!

It should also be noted that following the earthquake and tsunami devastation in Japan, any scheduled simulcasts have taken place this weekend have been postponed. This is not to say they have been cancelled. Simply postponed until a later date. You can read the announcement by Crunchyroll here.

'Global Shinkai Day 2011' this weekend at Crunchyroll

Anime streaming website Crunchyroll have announced this weekend (Saturday 12th and Sunday 13th March) they will present 'Global Shinkai Day 2011'. A celebration of some of the work of Makoto Shinkai.

The concept being they will be streaming three of Makoto Shinkai's works worldwide (excluding Japan) for free! That's right, absolutely free!

The titles are "Voices of a Distant Star", "Place Promised in our Early Days" and, "5 Centimerters Per Second". The latter being released by Manga UK nationwide this coming week! So if you enjoy watching this weekend, be sure to pick it up from next week!
(Pictured left: "5 Centimeters Per Second")

We should note, that the screenings on Crunchyroll will more than likely be in Japanese with English Subtitles. The reason we say more than likely, is because all other content on the website is subtitled.

It's a great chance to catch some of his work if you haven't experienced them already! All the details regarding this global event can be found at Crunchyroll's website.

MCM Expo Floor Plan, Dir En Grey in session on Radio 1, Durarara episode 12.5!

MCM Expo Update
The MCM Expo is fast approaching, and they've now revealed the preliminary floor plan for the weekend of October 29th-31st!



The first key thing to note (as also noted on the expo website) is that there are a total of 5 stages, with the Anime/Comic village being located in the top right corner of the map.

A fully detailed plan will be available by the time expo begins, but it's abundantly clear that the there's a lot of things happening at the expo this time around. Be it in the form of stalls, or the stages, given the record breaking attendance that the May MCM Expo saw, it looks like they've attempted to help ease the crowds by having (what appears to be) more space in general, and the extra half day on Friday!

A higher quality PDF version of the map can be downloaded from www.LondonExpo.com the official website of the MCM Expo.


Durarara Episode 12.5
On the Anime front, if you're a fan of the series 'Durarara!!' (which Beez Entertainment will be releasing here in the UK beginning in November) you might want to read this!

Included on a recent Japanese DVD release of the series, was an episode known as 'episode 12.5'. This OVA has now been made available by the great folks over at Crunchyroll for free! You can also watch episodes 1-12 of the series there as well! You can visit the dedicated page of the series at Crunchyroll's website here. But, we should also note, you can head over to our friends at www.UK-Anime.net to watch Episode 12.5 there as well!

'Durarara!!' will be released in a subtitle only form here in the UK. Something that Beez Entertainment themselves said is a risk. If you're unsure about purchasing the DVDs, this is the perfect time to check out one of Japan's most popular anime series! The DVD sales alone for the recently released Volume 8 prove it's worth! Coming in at #4 in the weekly sales rankings off the back of 11,582 copies being sold! It should also be noted that DVDs in Japan aren't cheap, and they only contain a few episodes as well!
(Source for DVD rankings/sales figures: ANN)



Dir En Grey Radio 1 session
And the final note of the day is from the world of Japanese music, in that this weeks edition of the BBC Radio 1 Rock Show (that airs every Monday on BBC Radio 1 here in the UK,) featured 3 tracks performed by Dir En Grey that were recorded at the famous Maida Vale studios in London during their recent excursion to the UK!


The three tracks from the session were 'Dozing Green' (taken from the groups most recent 'Uroboros' album), 'The Final' (from their 'Withering To Death' album), and 'Shokubeni' (a b-side included in their recent CD single of 'Hageshisa to, Kono Mune no Naka de Karamituita Shakunetsu no Yami' in Japan). The first two songs aired during the first of hour of the program, with the third track airing closer to the end of the second hour.

The program is available for streaming directly from the BBC Radio 1 website until the the next edition of the Radio 1 Rock Show has been broadcast on Monday 4th October. So be sure to listen to it before it's too late!

If you're not familiar with the band, it's a great opportunity to check them out at their best! Their performances at the Sonisphere Festival and Camden Koko in August were both stunning (I can vouch for this having attended both concerts), and this session doesn't disappoint either!

For more information on Dir En Grey, you can visit their official website at www.DirEnGrey.co.jp (There is an English version built into the site.)