#Core Gundam 2 Plus

[reversemoon255]

PFF-X7II+ Core Gundam II+ / PFF-X7II+/P9 Plutine Gundam

Let us return to Gundam Build Metaverse! Which I have rewatched again recently, as I went back and rewatched all of Gundam Build during a two-week period where I was sick and couldn't go to work.

I actually really like Hiroto's depiction in GBM, as it does feel like he's post series. He's more outwardly positive, and willing to work with other people. My one minor thing, and this is just as someone who's favorite Gundam is Re:Rise, is that I wish they used the new "New Gunpla Budget" that was used on F-Kunoichi and Avatar Fumina to give either Freddy (preferred) or Hinata their first Gunpla. Both of them are members of the team, and it would have been nice to see that evolution. Granted, nobody really got that, but it would have been nice.

The Kit: It isn't much different from the other Core Gundams, but the Core itself does have a few minor differences in a new head and wings. The tolerances are also a bit better. The Plutine's new parts are pretty neat, too. I would say it's probably my second favorite armor, next to the Nepteight.

The Details: On the original set of Cores, I did everything in metallic green, but here I chose to use standard black panel lining, and white on the black armored parts to match the other Gunpla I'd done from the series. There's also a bit of added metallic green for the eyes, cameras, and what could fit underneath the translucent elements. A pretty simple once-over.

Overall, it's a good kit, and having unique parts for both the armor and Core helps make it feel like a better purchase over some of the other Cores that double up with different armors. It also just looks cool, and is very solid compared to some of the other Metaverse offerings. Whether you've handed a Core or not, it's worth checking out.

[over-the-time-flow]

Time for Chapter 2! But first,

Pre-Chapter 2 Upgrades:

Excellence Cosmodriver

HP: 3800 -> 3990 Armor: 950 -> 997 Weapons: 0 -> 1

We enter Chapter 2 with 6500 left over, as i didn't really feel like spending more just yet.

I also gave everyone a Repair Kit (as we had 4), Amuro and Raul a Propellant Tank (recovers all EN, given to them even though both have ways of recovering EN otherwise since the Fairies and the Mega Beam Cannon are important to have online often), and Bright and Kayra get the 2 Cartidges (recovers all Ammo).

Making mecha designer small talk with Mizuho, Amuro asks about the Excellence and its modular nature. Mizuho says that she went with that type of design since as a test machine, they couldn't really produce it in bulk; but by giving it various frames, that single unit would have a lot of versatility. From one designer to another, Amuro admits he'd like her opinion on his designs for the v Gundam, the next Gundam unit, and one made especially for his personal use.

Changing the topic, it seems Astonaige finally noticed that the Excellence's cockpit can separate and turn into a fighter. Hey, doesn't the very first Gundam also do that? Of course, Amuro points out, those "Mazinger" robots also ended up using a similar concept.

Elsewhere in the hangar, Raul and Raj check up on the Excellence. The Timeflow engine is doing fine, but Raj worries; even if things are fine for now, with how uncertain their future is, if Raul gets the core block of the Excellence seriously damaged, who knows if they'll even be able to arrange for a facility where they can do extensive repairs. Raul says that, worst case scenario, they have a spare Argent Fighter, but it's not smart for them to let their guard down just because of that; the core of the Excellence is far harder to maintain than the frames.

Suddenly, Kayra barges into the hangar; everyone is to head for the bridge immediately. Yes, even the Excellence trio.

Due to an emergency, there's been a change in the Ra Cailum's flight plan; instead of heading to Von Braun for supplies, they're heading to Fifth Luna, an asteroid used for mining operations. Neo Zeon is about to repeat a historical tragedy; they're going to drop it onto the Earth, much like the Colony Drops of the One Year War.

They reason their plan is to use repeated strikes on the Earth with celestial bodies to trigger a new ice age, as a longstanding theory of why the ice age came about was due to meteors striking the Earth. Isn't that what killed the dinosaurs?

Amuro: "No, the dinosaurs' extinction was due to Getter radiation. It's just that the meteor impacts happened at around the same timeframe, so people often confuse them."

this line belongs in the srw hall of fame. simply remarkable.

In any case, the Londo Bell's response is late due to the New UNE's lack of prudence. This is an emergency. As such, Bright asks the Excellence crew if they can rely on their assistance for this operation. Mizuho goes ahead and accepts for us, but Raj isn't as enthusiastic, and wants to remind everyone that the Excellence is just a test machine... but Bright reiterates that right now, the Londo Bell needs any help they can get their hands on.

Mizuho and Raj muse that they certainly didn't expect for the Excellence to be deployed in live combat so quickly. Well, the Moon base incident was live combat too, in a way, though definitely not an ideal debut.

Above all though, Raul sees that incident as an opportunity. Thanks to it, now they're about to face actual combat, on the frontlines of the war! If they do well here, it'll be an achievement no mock battle could offer them. Plus, it'll be great for testing if any parts of the Excellence's design don't hold up to the scrutiny of real combat. Raul's enthusiasm is firing up even Mizuho!

Raul: "Alright. We're going to build up the Excellence's resume."

The team's confidence renewed, Raul heads off to the strategy meeting.

Fifth Luna isn't usually a mobile station; for the purposes of their asteroid drop operation, they've installed nuclear pulse engines on it. As a result, those are the team's real target. If we can make it lose its momentum before it reaches the Earth's gravitational pull, it's nothing but a big rock floating in space. Of course, since the other side also knows this, their defenses will likely be at their thickest around said engines.

In short, our goal is to get within range of the thrusters in time, destroy them, and get out. If we take too long, even with the thrusters destroyed, the inertia combined with the Earth's pull will cause it to hit the earth regardless.

In the middle of the meeting, however, news reaches the Ra Cailum; there's been a coup d'etat at the Amaterasu Colony! What's more, the people behind the coup aren't with Neo Zeon. They're part of a wholly new insurrectionist group... the Martian Successors. What's more, many people within the ranks of the UNE have defected to their cause. As a result, we'll be even more shorthanded during our assault on Fifth Luna than we thought!

Amuro thinks this is fishy. The timing on these incidents... is it really just a bad coincidence? Raul reasons that coincidence or conspiracy, there isn't much they can personally do about it. All that matters is that they've got to stop that asteroid.

[emonewtype]

Top 5 non-big three mecha (Gundam, Getter, Mazinger)

oh shit I forgot to answer this in a timely manner! Assuming you mean shows/games as a whole, not individual mechs? If thats not what you meant just tell me and I'll try and make a list of those as well. Anyways:

5) Martian Successor Nadesico: one of the first mecha I ever watched, and something I'll always respect for its ability to run both comedic and dramatic stories so intertwined without much unintended whiplash for the viewer. I ended up never finishing it due to IRL circumstances

4) Armored Core: While the settings are universally pretty dark by my standards, FromSoft's usual storytelling leaves things vague enough for me to tolerate it. Gen 2 AC greatly influenced how I feel a mech "should" move in a 3d space when I imagine one.

3) Patlabor: Like Nadesico, is a fascinating premise able to run both comedic and dramatic storylines, though Patlabor keeps them largely separated. A lot of the designs have that elusive "just unrealistic enough to be fun" quality to them that makes me find Real Robots so interesting. The soundtrack has quite a few hits as well. Didn't finish the TV series due to streaming services changing, but love the OVA and first 2 movies.

2) Macross Plus: A part of me wants to put the whole franchise here, but considering how variable the musical style, animation quality, and overall tone can get between different entries, I chose the one I'm most familiar with. Its mysteriously nostalgic to me, something about the music, something about that late 90's early 2000s era its from, I'm not fully sure.

1) Super Robot Wars Original Generations (Games, Not Shows): It almost feels like cheating, putting this here. SRW OG has a little of everything the mecha genre has to offer while remaining both legally and tonally distinct from all of it. But an aspect I love it for that I rarely hear talked about is how well it Gradually Escalates from a reasonably grounded (for a sci-fi) setting to the Rule Of Cool Shenanigans its more well known for without the player really feeling a big disconnect until more than a few games into the saga. And for something that is still technically a crossover, that is no small feat. Also the soundtrack is consistently incredible, especially comparing the GBA versions to other games on the system.

(Honorable mentions to the Front Mission series and Dai Guard, FM doesnt make the list because every game I've played has some irksome mechanic that annoys me, Dai Guard doesn't make the list because I've only watched like 3 episodes so far)

[yakdeculture]

Macross Frontier Review

This was so fucking peak. So far this is the only Macross thing I've seen that actually has a good love triangle. To be fair to Macross 7 they basically didn't even try Basara never cared like that and Gamlin is a loser but in Macross 1 and 2 are just really mid because of good ol misogyny so you probably aren't really going to be rooting for anything etiher way because they're all losing, and then in Macross Plus Guld is a creep. That being said it's not like having a non interesting love triangle made the other series worse but having a good love triangle really makes Frontier hit so good. The romance is always an important plot element in all the series but this show does the intersection of romance and music really well, yes all the shows are like a montage of love songs but this one just hits okay. Now granted some of the side character romances are stupid, actually like all of them except for Ozma and Cathy, but that's okay. I appreciate this show only being 25 episodes. Like I said in my  Macross 7 review, I don't have a problem with shows being 50something episodes, but I think you mechafans don't seem to understand that 50ish episodes is not the standard show length that should be aimed for. Could the writers have thought of things to do and ways to make this 50 episodes? Probably. But if you're going to add episodes just for the sake of something being longer and having more of it I think that is a mistake. A lot of times in these shows, espicallys one that are often driven by the relationships characters share with each other, you end up having moments basically repeated because you can't change the core idea of their relationship too much from what you want it to be but also you need things to change at least a little bit for things to stay interesting. Let's use Rain and Domon from G Gundam as an example. Their relationship follows a very clear line where the feelings that share for each other essentially exist from the beginning but they have to go through some things to both realize this and vocalize them. And it's great it makes for a really engaging and satisfying storyline. However, it is hurt a bit by the fact that the show is like 48 episodes so Domon has to learn the "his feelings of love he shares with Rain are his strongest source of power" like 3 different times, and sure each time he understands what's going on a little bit more, but generally he spends the whole show getting more emotionally intelligent, until all of a sudden that thing where Allenby gets kidnapped makes him immediately turn back into a gremlin and be basically tells Rain to go die in a hole and he haters and she's a big fat meanie poopoo head and it's like so obnoxiously over the top and because the show is so long it kind of feels like Domon really should know better than to not overreact that seriously. It's fine that he got mad it's understandable and it kind of had to happen for the story to do what it wanted to but because it's so long but with that core storyline being relatively short the final inciting incident of Domon making Rain all emo happens way too late resulting in a moment where Domon has to act even worse than a similar episode earlier in the show. Like he wasn't even that much of a dickhead in the episode with Rain's ex yuou know what I mean.

Anyways to actually talk about the show I love it. The core characters of Alto, Ranka and Sharon are just so good. Their dynamic together is just great. And you know the story kind of gets a little Metal Gear Solid in the second half and its like pretty crazy but it was so fun. Like I said I don't love some of the side characters, most of the SMS crew is good, but Luca is just kind of there and he kind of turns into a creep because at least from what I remember he never confessed or started going out with the purple girl but he still acted like they were together in the hospital scenes while she was unconcious which is like really weird man. And also I don't like Michael but honestly he never stood a chance with me you can't be the oh I'm like a playboy because I'm scared of commitment or whatever and also share a voice actor with Shinji Fate/Stay Night it just can't happen man. The music in this one is great, Ranka and Sharon have some amazing songs. I like all of Ranka's songs pretty much about the same, I love her cover of Do You Remember Love, and Sharon's Northern Cross is an all time banger. I highly recommended this to anyone interested in an Idol-Mecha-Romance Drama show. I encourage you to check out all of Macross but honestly I don't think it really matters that much where you start, sure they reference stuff that has happened in older shit but most of the time its just "I like Minmay Songs" "I like Fire Bomber" " I want to fuck a Zentradi baddy while she's not a Micron"

[midnightactual]

I feel like there are a lot of parallels between Armored Core VI's Coral, and Gundam: The Witch From Mercury's Permet, as like Permet, Coral can be used for data transfer and used to augment pilots. Got some thinky thoughts about Yoruichi's specific backstory. It's funny though that in AC6, Human PLUS from AC1/2 is the bare minimum standard, not exceptional. (I don't think AC6 is related to the AC1/2, AC3, or AC4/5 timelines currently, though that may change... a lot of parts are very much recreations of AC3 part designs though.)

[smlpodcast]

The SML Podcast - Episode 890: Feral Petrucci

Download Episode 890 -- 

We've got a return visit from a good friend and a first time visit from composer Alexander Brandon, so let's rock!

The show kicks off with Jacob Garner & Aki on hand to welcome legendary composer Alexander Brandon to the show alongside Erik "Viking Guitar" Peabody and Dan "chunkstyle" Taylor to chat all about their recent collaboration, a seven minute long metal medley honoring the game Tyrian that Alex was the composer for! We also chat about mixing fan musicians with the source composers, meeting up at VGMCon and MAGFest, a friend who found a friggin RADIO SHACK in the wild, Alex's new album Omegaforce, and tons more!

After the guys head out, it's time for news of the week as we discuss the news that Xbox is sunsetting Games with Gold and Xbox Live Gold in general in favor of the newly unveiled Game Pass Core, the latest additions and departures for Xbox Game Pass, the latest news on the Microsoft/Activision/FTC situation, Gundam Evolution shutting down in its first year of existence, and Major Nelson stepping down from Xbox. Plus reviews featuring a visit from Grant "Stemage" Henry!

0:00 - Intro/Music Chatter w/ Viking Guitar, Chunkstyle, and Alexander Brandon 1:14:18 - News of the Week 1:35:44 - EXOPRIMAL - CAPCOM (Aki) 1:46:57 - Risky Woods (QUByte Classics) - PIKO Interactive, QUByte Interactive (Jacob) 1:52:48 - Maquette - Graceful Decay, Annapurna Interactive (Aki) 2:01:07 - Viewfinder - Sad Owl Studios, Thunderful Publishing (Grant)

The show ends with the previously mentioned Tyrian medley from Viking Guitar Live and Alexander Brandon! ROCK!

2:12:27 - Viking Guitar Live feat. Alexander Brandon - Siren Song (Tyrian)

https://www.funkyrustic.net/ https://www.vikingguitar.com/ http://www.chunkstyle.net/ https://www.exoprimal.com/ https://www.capcom.com/ https://www.pikointeractive.com/ https://www.qubyteinteractive.com/ https://gracefuldecay.com/ https://annapurnainteractive.com/ https://www.sos.games/ https://thunderfulgames.com/ https://vikingguitar.bandcamp.com/ https://alexanderbrandon.bandcamp.com/ https://www.keymailer.co/ https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-sml-podcast/id826998112 https://open.spotify.com/show/6KQpzHeLsoyVy6Ln2ebNwK https://twitter.com/theSMLpodcast/ https://www.facebook.com/theSMLpodcast/ https://store.streamelements.com/thesmlpodcast ALL REVIEWED GAMES HAVE BEEN PROVIDED FOR FREE FOR THE PURPOSE OF ANY COVERAGE ON THE SHOW #PS5 #Xbox #Switch #Keymailer

[kabopple]

There's so many good ones I love:

AQUA AQUA

Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu

Berserk 

Bujingai: The Forsaken City

Castle Shikigami 2

Champions of Norrath: Realms of EverQuest 

Champions: Return to Arms

Disney's Kim Possible: What's the Switch

DREAMMIX TV: WORLD FIGHTERS 

Ehrgeiz

Full Metal Alchemist: Dream Carnival 

Gitaroo Man

God Hand - Gamestop

Graffiti Kingdom

Grim Grimoire

Guilty Gear XX Accent Core Plus

Gundam battle assault

Gundam battle assault 2

GunGriffon Blaze

Heavenly Guardian

Ibara 

Katamari Damacy

Killer 7

Klonoa 2: Lunatea's Veil

Klonoa: Door to Phantomile

MAGIC PENGEL: THE QUEST FOR COLOR

Melty Blood: Actress Again 

Mojib Ribbon 

Neo geo battle coliseum

Oni

Rozen Maiden: Gebetgarten

Street Fighter Anniversary Collection

Teen Titans

The Incredible Hulk Ultimate Destruction

The Incredibles Rise of the Underminer

The Red Star

The Rumble Fish  

Transformers

Twinkle Star Sprites La petite princesse 

X men legends

X-men legends 2

old people of the earth: what are some good ps2 games? i’m getting katamari damacy, and chulip, and want more games across genres to explore.

[gundamfight]

[siphersaysstuff]

So I'm (slowly) rewatching Transformers: Victory...

And Zod have mercy, I'm having to power through it.

See, when I did the pictures of the Dinoforce toys for @tfwiki, I saw how their fiction sections were massively empty, and I thought to myself "self, these guys are major characters in Japanese canon who are VERY VERY LIKELY going to get new toys soon (the Legacy Core Class Dinobots are blatantly Dinoking pretools), and they pretty much always appear as a big group, you can do a lot of copy-paste once you get team leader Goryu's section done, plugging another big hole that's been on the wiki for nearly two decades." So I dug up a subtitled run of Victory and...

It's incredibly, suffocatingly dry.

It's in this kind of awful middle ground where it's too simple and repetitive to be GOOD, but that lack of ambition means it never dips into the depths of ludicrously ridiculous/poor/careless writing that would make it BAD. It's just... there. A workmanlike product, inoffensive but also largely uninteresting.

The first six episodes are all basically the same story: Decepticons (mostly Dinoforce) attack a place, extended carnage and a few scenes of Kakuryu bungling, oh no some humans are in danger, Autobots show up, extruded fight sequences which typically lead up to a combiner sequence, Star Saber shows up to basically no-sell and win the day by just being super-powerful. It's only come episode seven that the formula changes. The stories don't necessarily get more complex, but they are at least different.

The Autobots are incredibly rigid and formal and it's hard to tell what most of them have got for personalities. It's not helping that, not being familiar with Japanese accents, they all sound incredibly similar and characters' faceplates don't move when they talk, meaning sometimes I literally can't tell who's talking. The Decepticons fare slightly better, thanks mainly to Leozack and Hellbat being super-duplicitous assholes and Goryu being a big proud lug, but the rest of Dinoforce are mostly childish idiots and the rest of Breastforce (yes, yes) are as flat as any Autobot, only evil.

Things do start changing up and getting slightly more character-driven after a while but really, it's all so rote. Also, six of the thirty-eight episodes are clip shows with no framing device whatsoever. The NINTH episode is a clip show, followed by another at episode 13. Yikes.

And stock footage. So, so, so much stock footage.

Supposedly, after the weirdness that was the Masterforce anime, Takara wanted to get "back to the roots" of Transformers, which had taken Japan by storm when it first released there in 1985. But by all accounts, a hefty part of what made TF so appealing o'er there to the point where re-releases of toys that had been on the market two years prior (in Diaclone and Microchange) suddenly sold like deep-fried crack was how it was so different from other "mecha" shows. It had a real goody-dumb to downright chaotic charm a lot of the time. But Victory is incredibly straight-laced, even to the point where the comedy relief bits are super predictable.

I was talking about it with @therobotmonster and he looked up what else was on "kids" TV in Japan (1989), and... whoof. Dragon Ball Z was ramping up to the first big fight with Vegeta. SD Gundam. Ranma 1/2 was hitting its stride. Never mind what was going on in the realm of Super Sentai and Masked Rider style action shows. And apparently, while Victory toys sold well, the show basically bombed.

Can't say that's surprising.

It's just kind of impressive the dull thud it's landing with, given I very distinctly remember the early days of online TF fandom in the 90s, when people swore up and down how amazing the anime were, especially Victory. Of course, by and large, nobody saying that actually understood Japanese and subtitles were out of the question, plus simply seeing the show was an endeavor all its own. You got a 9th-generation VHS copy from someone you didn't know on super-long-running speed (aka "worst fidelity") and just guessed at what was being said.

Ah well, I'm'a keep with it. I can't say I'm having fun with it, but well, it IS the wiki's purpose to catalog all this stuff, and Victory, dry as the cartoon is, DOES have nostalgia behind it and IS pretty much "The" Japanese Transformers Show.

And really, there are so many pieces of TF media that are so underwhelming compared to the toys they exist to advertise, and honestly, most of those are harder to watch than even the worst of Victory (looking at you, Prime Wars/War For Cybertron trilogies).

[gear-project]

Guilty Gear and... Capcom’s History Gaps

Lately I’ve come across people who seem to think that just because they’ve played on the competitive end of Guilty Gear for a while, that they know all there is to know about its history.

They also seem to think that things like the Dustloop combo are all that kept the game alive in an era when Fighting games (and FG content) weren’t coming out as frequently as they are today.

The “dark history” that people frequently refer to is mostly the dry period between Capcom’s Street Fighter games, particularly after Third Strike leading in to Street Fighter IV.

Which, if you can believe it, happened around the very “start” of the BlazBlue franchise.

Now, I’m not one to criticize too harshly if I can help it, but, the issue I have with this perspective some fighting game historians have is that it is heavily “Capcom-centric”.

Let’s rewind the clock a bit, to the year 1998.

Guilty Gear... was just one of MANY fighting games to come out in that very busy year.  Street Fighter Alpha 3 arrived just at the tail end of that same year as well.

But, there were a ton of other fighting games just coming out there around that time: Tekken 3, Real Bout Fatal Fury 2, Tobal No.1, Super Smash Bros, Ehrgeiz, Soul Calibur, SNK Gals’ Fighters, Dead or Alive 2, Mortal Kombat 4, Battle Arena Toshinden, Tekken Tag Tournament, Mortal Kombat Trilogy, Fighters Megamix, Dragonball Z Hyperdimension, KOF ‘98, Virtua Fighter 3, Sonic the Fighters, Fighting Vipers and I haven’t even mentioned Capcom versus SNK or Marvel Super Heroes or the X-Men Versus games.

From around 1996-2001 we had all these great games that WEREN’T made by Capcom.  And by the time 2002 rolled around Guilty Gear XX had just “invented” said Dust Loop.

But was Guilty Gear the only fighting game in existence in 2002?

Gundam Battle Assault 2, Virtua Fighter 4, Bloody Roar 3, Smash Bros Melee, Twisted Metal Black (if you like fighting games with cars in them), Tekken 4, Legaia 2: Duel Saga (if you like fighting in your RPGs), Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance, Dragonball Z Budokai, Soul Calibur II, Cyber Troopers Virtua-On MARZ, Zone of the Enders 2nd Runner (if you enjoy hidden versus mech battles).

 2004 you had Sonic Battle, TMNT2: Battle Nexus, Dead or Alive Ultimate, Godzilla: Save the Earth, Dragonball Z Budokai 3.

2005 had Darkstalkers Chronicles: The Chaos Tower, InuYasha Feudal Combat,Soul Calibur III,  Dead or Alive 4, Tekken 5.  ‘06 had Samurai Shodown V, Final Fight: Streetwise, Rumble Roses XX, Fight Night Round 3 (for a change of pace), 2007 had Odinsphere (if you like action beatemup games with a flair for combos), Bleach: Heat the Soul, Virtua Fighter 5, 2007 had Soul Calibur IV, Smash Bros Brawl, Battle Fantasia, and YES, Guilty Gear 2 Overture came out in 2008, infamous as it was.

Even if games like Castlevania Judgement aren’t your cup of tea, they came out in 2008, but so did Dissidia: Final Fantasy, in case you hadn’t noticed.

So yes, by the time 2009 rolled around and everybody in mainstream leapt on board with Street Fighter IV (breathing a collective false sigh of relief that fighting games had been “reborn” according to their false notions), meanwhile, they neglected games like Guilty Gear XX Accent Core Plus on the PSP, Punch-Out!! on the Wii, Garou: Mark of the Wolves on XBox Live Arcade... oh and did I mention BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger that came out that exact same year?  KOFXII, Soul Calibur Broken Destiny, TMNT: Smash-Up on the Wii, Samurai Shodown Sen, NeoGeo Battle Coliseum,  later Arcana Heart 3, Dissidia Duodecim 012 as well... with Ultimate Marvel VS Capcom 3 just on the horizon.

Look... the point I’m trying to make here is that maybe those Blue and Yellow Capcom Lenses you wear aren’t showing you what’s really out there.  What good games exist out there don’t always begin with the words “Street” and “Fighter” in their titles, or “Marvel” in them either for that matter.

While it’s true there was a gap between GG2 Overture and GGXrd, that “gap” had a ton of games in it: beatemups, action games, action-RPGs, and other cross-genre novelty games that you might have missed if all you were worried about was the “death of your game scene”.

But a single combo like Dustloop, or whatever mechanics you think Street Fighter was the progenitor of, do not define the era.

The so-called “dark history” of fighting games, was only dark if you looked at it through Capcom’s lenses.  Even PC fan-made doujin fighting games were making strides back then, in case you weren’t paying attention.  Melty Blood in 2002, Big Bang Beat in 2007, The Rumble Fish in 2005.  I could list a whole lot more here, but I’ll let you do the digging.  Heck, M.U.G.E.N. came out in 1999 and is still active to this VERY DAY.

As much as I tout and support ARC System Works games, and Guilty Gear in particular... that has allowed me to see more clearly what “REAL” good games have existed out there.

GG has always been a niche fighting game, but it’s not the only niche game in existence... but playing such a series has truly been an eye-opener about what games I’ve missed out on over the years.

I’m sure there’s plenty more I haven’t mentioned... but fundamentally, as much as people like to say Street Fighter was the progenitor of modern fighting games, and as much as they love to compare it to other games... I will perpetually state that Street Fighter isn’t everything... it does not DEFINE everything.

I mean, whatever happened to games like Double Dragon and Yie Ar Kung Fu?  Do people mentally forget those games existed on purpose?  In fact, the beat-em-up genre is closely tied to fighting games... one only need look.  Action games, Action RPGs, Action Strategy games... all of these are connected in that huge family tree of games.  Even Tetris is a versus battle game nowadays.

So, if you’ve learned anything from this long rant... it’s to look at all the games you’ve missed out on.  Don’t just play the games you like just because you like them.  Check out other stuff too!

[kenkamishiro]

Ishida’s Q&A comments from YJ compilation, Part 7

More of Ishida being snarky, plus that time he got hit by a car.

For anyone who doesn’t know about the relevant Questions to Ishida contest, please read here. You can start from Part 1 here.

The recent set of zakki:re and interview translations take a lot of time and effort, so if you enjoyed it please reblog or leave a like. Thank you!

2015

No. 1

What was the most unexpected thing that happened to you this year?

When I asked my friend, “Did anything unexpected happen to me?”, he suddenly handed me 6 mini four-wheel drives, which I was not expecting.

It was made by all the staff members.

No. 2

What present did you get from Santa that you were happy with?

DQ, probably. I feel like it was both my Christmas and birthday present wrapped in one.

I was in despair that time I got a mysterious transformers toy.

[T/N: DQ is the short form for Dragon Quest.]

No. 3

Sensei, what do you think is the face of 2014?

Jibanyan.

Gave a random answer for that one.

No. 4-5

December 24th is Christmas Eve! Now then, please share with us a gift that you want now as an adult!

Nothing since I’m an adult.

Like hell you’re an adult.

No. 6-7

Who or what are you most anticipating for 2015?

I’d be thankful if a 64-bit version of SAI was released.

It never came out! But I ended up going back to SAI in the end.

No. 8

Please share with us your goals for 2015.

I want to start oil painting.

I dabbled in it a bit in 2017.

No. 9

A hero that you admired when you were a kid?

The Jedi.

I still admire them.

No. 10

What’s a fictional vehicle you want to ride?

The Millennium Falcon.

Doraemon’s time machine.

No. 11

Who has had the greatest aura up to now?

The Kanou sisters.

They’ve stood in the countrysides of Fukuoka.

No. 12

Please share with us a person or character you think will be popular.

I think Iseya Yuusuke is really cool.

I don’t concern myself with those kind of things.

No. 13

What do you want to graduate in?

Excessive sleep.

I’m already giving up.

No. 14

Please tell us about the 18th time you went to karaoke.

This and that...I like to sing.

I do like to sing.

No. 15

What would you most like to receive right now?

Chicken.

Wouldn’t that be a hassle though, receiving chicken out of nowhere...

No. 16

What is your favourite CM?

I haven’t watched any CMs recently.

Even now I haven’t watched any.

No. 17

Who’s a person from the same generation as you whom you respect?

She’s younger actually, but Ooima Yoshitoki.

I think there are a lot of amazing people younger than me.

[T/N: The mangaka of A Silent Voice/Koe no Katachi.]

No. 18

Do you have a school uniform or some other kind of uniform you want to wear?

A military uniform.

The one from McDonald’s.

No. 19

Any memorable stories that take place in a school setting?

Lesson of the Evil.

Battle Royale.

No. 20

Is there a hairstyle you want to try once to challenge yourself?

I want to dye my hair an ash colour.

Yeah, I understand.

No. 21-22

What volume would you recommend to children?

“The Gentle Lion.”

It would depend on the nature of the child reading it.

No. 23

What ghosts or monsters would you never want to encounter?

Deidarabotchi.

Actually, just all ghosts in general.

No. 24

It’s that time of year when the May blues start showing up, but Sensei, what do you do to cheer yourself up?

I’ve been eating hanpen recently.

What’s “It’s that time of year when the May blues start showing up” supposed to mean...

No. 25

Are there any penalty games you want to try?

I don’t want to try any.

I can’t even think of any penalty games in the first place.

No. 26

Which famous person would you be happy with if they lived next door to you?

Robert Knepper.

If a famous person lived next door to me it’d be such a hassle.

[T/N: Ishida did a sketch of him a few years back on his twitter.]

No. 27

What robot would you like to pilot?

The White Glint.

A Gundam.

[T/N: White Glint is from Armored Core.]

No. 28

What song do you listen to when you’re reading your own manga?

For instance, you can listen to Ling Tosite Sigure, People In The Box, the cabs, österreich, and amazarashi.

That’s right.

No. 29

What fictional city or house would you like to live in?

Pallet Town.

But that town is like, empty.

No. 30

Who would you say is the ideal father?

Darth Vader.

How?

No. 31

What nickname do you want to call yourself?

The hikikomori of Hakata.

God.

No. 32

What wish did you write on your Tanabata slip a long time ago?

I don’t remember.

“I hope to live forever.”

No. 33

If you had a side job besides being a mangaka what would it be?

Being a ghost writer.

Just how much are you planning to work?

No. 34

Sensei, please tell us about a letter that you remember!

I don’t remember any, but I like getting letters.

It’s hard to remember just one because I get so many.

No. 35

Please tell us about any person or thing that’s greatly flourishing around you recently!

Ginger ale.

Music player I use for running.

No. 36-37

Sensei, please share with us one of your old memories.

I slammed my face into the slide.

Oh, so that explains things.

No. 38

Please share with us a memory of you when you were back in grade school during the summer.

I was writing a manuscript.

Probably when we painted our bodies and danced half-naked deep inside the mountains of Kurume.

No. 39

Please share with us a special dessert!

Tapioca coconut milk.

Brulee.

No. 40

Now then, what would you do if the world ended tomorrow?

Sleep.

Get flustered.

No. 41

Please share with us a “taste of autumn” that you’d like to eat this fall!

Japanese pear.

Pacific saury, probably.

No. 42

Please tell us one character that you’d like to house-share with!

Umaru-chan.

Why Umaru-chan?

No. 43

Please share with us one subject you weren’t good at in school!

Nothing in particular.

I wasn’t really interested in social studies, but now when I study it now it’s interesting.

No. 44

It’s time to change clothes for the season! Sensei, please share with us what you usually wear!

Going barefoot.

Going barefoot...?

No. 45

It’s Reader Autumn! Please share with us a volume you want to read this fall!

March Comes In Like A Lion.

Putin: A Diplomatic Study. I’ve been fascinated with Russia recently.

No. 46

Please share with us a memory of a trip you’ll never forget!

The trip to Oita I went to the day before an exam.

Ah, I remember that.

No. 47

Please share with us one famous person’s future you’re watching out for!

Morohoshi Sumire-san.

I wonder if she’s doing well.

[T/N: Aka Hinami’s voice actress!]

No. 48

Please share with us a memory of you related to cars!

When I was in 2nd grade of elementary school, I was hit by a car.

I don’t really have any memories of those few following days after I was hit.

No. 49

Please share with us one TV program that you want to or wanted to appear in!

Terrace House.

I really wanna appear in it.

No. 50

Please share with us a flavour that you’ll never forget!

An onigiri that was given to me.

The squid from the sushi that was given to me to eat before my serialization was delicious. And that was how I became able to eat sushi.

No. 51

Please share with us something you want to learn how to do now?

Play the drums.

Drawing, learning English.

No. 52

Please share with us one of your favourite writing utensils!

A ballpen.

At the time I was addicted to drawing rough sketches with a ballpen. Now I use a mechanical pencil.

previous || next

[twilightvolt]

My Favorite Anime OPs and EDs from 2010-2019

No one asked for this, but i’m doin’ it anyway cuz there’s so many songs out there that i’ve never heard anyone talk about. like, y’all sleep on Yu-Gi-Oh! apparently. lmao

Going by release year, here’s all the OPs and EDs i can remember that i luv (and still do to this day). i may or may not have gotten all the years right. hell, i’m not even sure i got the OP and ED numbers right.

It’ll go by: Song Name - Artist (Name of Anime and Which OP/ED it is) an asterisk means i REALLY like it above the rest.

Hopefully this’ll help introduce you to some new jams you missed out on! ^  ^

2010

Going My Way! ~Road to Tomorrow~ - Masaaki Endoh (Yu-Gi-Oh! 5Ds OP5)*

Close to You - ALvino (Yu-Gi-Oh! 5Ds ED4)

Future Colors - Plastic Tree (Yu-Gi-Oh! 5Ds ED5)

Gravity 0 - Aqua Timez (Star Driver OP)*

Never Give Up! - Sonar Pocket (Digimon Xros Wars OP)*

Period - Chemistry (Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood OP4)*

Rain - SID (Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood OP5)* THE. FEELS.

Uragiri no Yuuyake - THEATRE BROOK (Durarara!! OP)* Y’all remember this one? Lmao

Trust Me - Yuya Matsushita (Durarara!! ED)

Ice Cream Syndrome - Sukima Switch (Pokemon Zoroark: Master of Illusions ED)*

My Soul, Your Beats! - Lia (Angel Beats OP) WAIT HOLD ON, ANGEL BEATS WAS THIS DECADE? I THOUGHT THAT WAS 2009 OR SOMETHING. DAHEQ?

ChAngE - Miwa (BLEACH OP12)

Calling - FLOW (Heroman ED)*

SHIVER - the GazettE (Black Butler II OP)

2011

Samurai Heart (Some Like it Hot!) - SPYAIR (Gintama ED17)* And on this day I realized….SPYAIR is lit.

New World - Twill (Digimon Xros Wars OP2)

Masterpiece - Mihimaru GT (Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL OP)

Boku Quest - Golden Bomber (Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL ED)* I luv watching the actual ending sequence. It fits my cyber aesthetic to a T.

BRAVING! - KANAN (Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL OP2)

Setsubou no Freesia (Longing Freesia) - Daizystripper (Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL ED2)* I’ll be completely honest, this song has been my favorite anime theme over most, if not all others, ever since. It’s kinda held a special place in my heart as it’s got memories of what transpired during 2012 that i don’t think i’ll ever forget. From the summer trip we took down south to me creating my very first OCs, Takuya and his Charmander partner Drake, on paper, i’ll luv this song with all my heart. ^  ^

Lovers - 7!! (Seven Oops) (Naruto Shippuden OP)

Counter Identity - UNISON SQUARE GARDEN (Soul Eater Repeat Show OP)*

Ai Ga Hoshii Yo - Shion Tsuji (Soul Eater Repeat Show OP2)* WANTCHU WANTCHU, I WANT CHUU~

SHINING STAR - 9nine (Star Driver OP2)*

Crossover - 9nine (Star Driver ED2)

Sky's the Limit - Shihoko Hirata (Persona 4 the Animation OP)

We’re Not Alone - coldrain (Rainbow Nisha Rokubou no Shichinin OP)

One Reason - Fade (Deadman Wonderland OP) I can bet you right now half of y’all forgot about this show. I mean i did. Lol

Mayonaka no Orchestra - Aqua Timez (Naruto Shippuden ED16)

Hacking to the Gate - Kanako Itou (Steins;Gate OP)* THIS SONG CLEARED MY SKIN AND RAISED MY GRADES.

Ranbu no Melody - SID (BLEACH OP13)* That main chorus tho. N o i c e .

LISTEN TO THE STEREO!! - GOING UNDERGROUND (Katekyo Hitman Reborn OP8)*

Core Pride - UVERworld (Blue Exorcist OP)

2012

Mask - Aqua Timez (BLEACH ED30?)

Soul Drive - Color Bottle (Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL OP3)*

Wild Child - Moumoon (Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL ED3)* Whenever I hear this song, I either think of school shenanigans or, if school isn't a thing in their world, a high school AU. Lmao

Unbreakable Heart - Hideaki Takatori (Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL OP4)

Artist - Vistlip (Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL ED4)*

Stand By Me - Stereopony (Eureka Seven AO ED)* Ok I know some people don't wanna remember AO, but hear me out here. Lmao 

Brave Blue - FLOW (Eureka Seven AO OP2)*

Key Plus Words - Shihoko Hirata & Yumi Kawamura (Persona 4 the Animation OP2)

Harukaze - SCANDAL (BLEACH OP15)*

Crossing Field - LiSA (Sword Art Online OP) I like making SAO jokes as much as the next guy, but let's be real here. Crossing Field was still a pretty good song.

STAND UP! - Twill (Digimon Xros Wars Hunters OP)* Hunters sucked, but the OP slaps.

Kyomu Densen - ALI PROJECT (Another OP) This show gave me a temporary fear of umbrellas, but this OP is good.

Complication - ROOKiEZ is PUNK’D (Durarara!! OP2)

Light My Fire - KOTOKO (Shakugan no Shana III Final OP)

Mite Mite Kochichi - Memoiro Clover Z (Pokemon Best Wishes ED3)

2013

Dualism of Mirrors - Petite Milady (Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL OP5)

GO WAY GO WAY - FoZZtone (Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL ED5)

Challenge the GAME - REDMAN (Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL ED6)* I swear to god, this should’ve been the final OP rather than Wonder Wings. I really don’t like that song.

Oh, and if you wanna hear more of the lead singer's voice, he's the lead singer of GIRUGAMESH. They didn't do any anime songs while they were still active afaik, but totally check it out if you like J-Rock.

Sakura Mitsutsuki & Genjyou Destruction - SPYAIR (Gintama OP13 and Gintama: The Final Chapter OP)*

After Cherry Blossoms (all quartets lead to the?) - UNISON SQUARE GARDEN (Yozakura Quartet: Hana no Uta OP)*

Non-Fiction Compass - UNISON SQUARE GARDEN (Yozakura Quartet: Tsuki ni Naku OP)

Sayonara Memory - 7!! (Seven Oops) (Naruto Shippuden ED)

BLOODY STREAM - Coda (Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: Battle tendency OP)* I mean, how could i NOT put this song on here? Lmao

Be An Arrow! - Rica Matsumoto (Pokemon Best Wishes! OP2)

Natsumeku Sakamichi (Summerly Slope) - Daisuke (Pokemon Best Wishes DA! OP)* While the Black & White series was absolutely terrible, I can thank it for spawning some nice OPs.

Egao - Ikimono-gakari (Pokemon Genesect and the Legend Awakened ED)

Take Your Way - Livetune adding Fukase (From SEKAI NO OWARI) (Devil Survivor 2 the Animation OP)* I swear I will never get tired of this song.

Be - Song Riders (Devil Survivor 2 the Animation ED)*

Watashi no Bara wo Kaminasai - ALI PROJECT (Rozen Maiden 2013 OP)

Moshimo - Daisuke (Naruto Shippuden OP)

Burn My Dread ~Spring of Birth~ & More Than One Heart - Yumi Kawamura (Persona 3 the Movie #1 Spring of Birth OP and ED)*

Eden - Aqua Timez (Magi: the Kingdom of Magic ED)*

Out of Control - Nothing’s Carved in Stone (Psycho Pass OP2)*

HERO -Kibou no Uta- - FLOW (Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods ED)

2014

Silhouette - KANA BOON (Naruto Shippuden OP16)* Everyone rise for the weeb national anthem.

BelievexBelieve - Bulletrain (Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V OP)

ENAMEL - SID (Black Butler: Book of Circus OP)

Masayume Chasing - BoA (Fairy Tail OP15)

STRIKE BACK - BACK-ON (Fairy Tail OP16)*

Burn! - Bulletrain (Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V OP2)

DAYxDAY - BLUE ENCOUNT (Gintama OP)* Before Polaris, there was this. lol

Goya no Machiawase - Hello Sleepwalkers (Noragami OP)* I swear Noragami has great taste in OPs. lmao

Fate is in Our Hands - Lotus Juice (Persona 3 the Movie #2 Midsummer Knight's Dream OP)* Y'all know Lotus Juice makes EVERYTHING badass.

One Hand, One Heartbeat - Yumi Kawamura (Persona 3 the Movie #2 Midsummer Knight's Dream ED)* I swear I literally feel like crying every time I hear this song. It's just that powerful.

Unravel - TK from Ling Tosite Sigure (Tokyo Ghoul OP) Ok, lemme explain. I used to hate this song cuz I thought TK's singing voice was whiny as hell. But after a long, LOOOOONG time, it finally started to grow on me. I think it's because of all the song covers I've listened to and, after understanding the meaning behind the lyrics, I appreciate this song a bit more nowadays. 

V (VOLT) and MEGA V (MEGA VOLT) - Yusuke (Pokemon XY OPs 1&2)*

daze - Jin ft. MARiA from GARNiDELiA (Mekakucity Actors OP)

Monochrome - Dancing Dolls (Soul Eater NOT! OP)

2015

Saigo Made ii - Aqua Timez (Gintama ED15 i think?)

Kyouran Hey Kids! - THE ORAL CIGARETTES (Noragami Aragoto OP)* IN THIS HOUSE, WE JUST WANNA HOLD YOUR HAAAAAAND~

Getta Ban Ban (Mad-Paced Getter) - Tomohisa Sako (Pokemon XY OP3)*

XY&Z - Rica Matsumoto (Pokemon XY&Z OP)*

Raise Your Flag - MAN WITH A MISSION (Gundam Iron Blooded Orphans OP)*

Hello, World! - BUMP OF CHICKEN (Kekkai Sensen OP)*

Sugar Song and Bitter Step AKA the song everyone makes fan animated parodies of it’s opening sequence - UNISON SQUARE GARDEN (Kekkai Sensen ED)

Kirifuda (Trump Card) - Cinema Staff (Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V OP4)

Speaking - MRS. GREEN APPLE (Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V ED4)* before Great Escape from Attack on Titan and Inferno from Fire Force, there was this OP and ED. both of which i feel are better songs. lmao

Tweedia - Rei Yasuda (Pokemon Hoopa and the Clash of Ages ED)*

Diver - KANA-BOON (The Last: Naruto the Movie ED)*

Butter-Fly 2015 - Kouji Wada (Digimon Adventure Tri. OP)

Sono Chi no Kioku ~End of the World~ - JO☆STARS ~TOMMY, Coda, JIN~ (Jojo's Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders OP2)

Lapis Lazuli - Eir Aoi (Arslan Senki ED)*

Clattanoia - OxT (Overlord OP)*

L.L.L. - MYTH & ROID (Overlord ED)

Nazo 2015 - La PomPon (Detective Conan OP41)* Hearing this brought back memories of hearing the original during my childhood back when Cased Closed was still a thing.

Just Fly Away - EDGE of LIFE (Gundam Build Fighters Try OP2)

Flyers - BRADIO (Death Parade OP) Like Another, this was one of those where i wouldn’t have touched the show itself if my anime club didn’t watch it.

X.U. - Hiroyuki Sawano (Seraph of the End OP)*

Hikari - ViViD (Magi: the Kingdom of Magic OP2)

2016

DiVE!! - Amatsuki (Digimon Universe: Applimonsters OP)*

Ai - Ami Wajima (Digimon Universe: Applimonsters ED2)

The Day - Porno Graffitti (My Hero Academia OP)

HEROES - Brian the Sun (My Hero academia ED)

RAGE OF DUST - SPYAIR (Gundam Iron Blooded Orphans OP2)*

Believe in Myself - EDGE of LIFE (Fairy Tail OP21)*

CRAZY NOISY BIZARRE TOWN - THE DU (Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: Diamond is Unbreakable OP)

Chase - batta (Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: Diamond is Unbreakable OP2)* Screw the haters. This song is a bop.

Great Days - Karen Aoki & Daisuke Hasegawa (Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: Diamond is Unbreakable OP3) As you can see, i luv all of Jojo Part 4’s OPs. lmao

Kaze no Uta - FLOW (Tales of Zestiria the X OP)* Zestiria may have been the most uninteresting experience i’ve had in the Tales series, but at least it’s OPs are straight fire.

Dream Lantern, ZenZenZense, Sparkle and Nandemonaiya - RADWIMPS (Various themes from Your Name) I'm still miffed that they didn't kiss at the end. >:v

Re:Re: - ASIAN KUNGFU GENERATION (Erased OP)

Brave Shine - Aimer (Fate/Stay Night Unlimited Blade Works OP)*

Starting Over - Mr. Children (The Boy and the Beast ED)* Mamoru Hosoda never ceases to make me smile and/or cry, huh?

GO - BUMP OF CHICKEN (GRANBLUE FANTASY the Animation OP)

KINGS - angela (K Project OP) i don’t even know how i remembered this one. I watched K at my local anime club years ago cuz one of my friends suggested it. I barely remember what it was about, though. ^  ^’

Vision - Kusou Linkai (Yu-Gi-Oh ARC-V ED5)

Light of Hope - Unknown Number (Yu-Gi-Oh ARC-V OP5)

Pendulum Beat! - SUPER DRAGON (Yu-Gi-Oh ARC-V OP6)*

2017

Peace Sign - Kenshi Yonezu (My Hero Academia OP2)* SURE IT’S POPULAR, BUT IT’S POPULAR FOR A REASON.

Datte Atashi no Hero - LiSA (My Hero Academia ED3)

Little Pi - Ange☆Reve (Digimon Universe: Applimonsters ED3)

Perfect World - Traffic Light (Digimon Universe: Applimonsters ED4)*

With the Wind - Hiroaki “TOMMY” Tominaga (Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS OP)* I’ll be honest, this one took some getting used to, but now i luv it!

Fake Town Baby - UNISON SQUARE GARDEN (Kekkai Sensen and Beyond OP)

Tonari Au - THE ORAL CIGARETTES (Sakurada Reset ED)*

Rain - SEKAI NO OWARI (Mary and the Witch's Flower ED)* I really liked the movie and I just luved the fantasy vibes given off by the instrumentals in this song.

Baton Road - KANA BOON (Boruto: Naruto Next Generations OP)* Y'all say Boruto is trash, but at least the theme songs still boppin'.

Boku wa Hashiri Tsuzukeru - Melofloat (Boruto: Naruto Next Generations ED3)

FEED THE FIRE - coldrain (King’s Game OP)* Thank you Fire Force for introducing me to this wonderful band. ;w;

2018

PAiNT it BLACK - BiSH (Black Clover OP2)* Never thought I'd ever find a band actually named bish. Lmao

Black Rover - Vickeblanka (Black Clover OP3)

Guess Who is Back - Kumi Koda (Black Clover OP4)* Now, if this ain't a bop fit for a triumphant return like "SURPRISE BISH I'M BACK." then idk what is. Lmao

Gamushara & Tenge Tenjou - Miyuna (Black Clover OP&ED5)* i’m mainly referring to Gamushara, but i luv Tenge Tenjou too.

ODD FUTURE - UVERworld (My Hero Academia OP4)*

Make my story - Lenny code fiction (My Hero Academia OP5)*

The Future is Now - Straightener (Digimon ReArise OP)* Yes, I know I'm cheating cuz it's a video game, but it's an opening sequence much like an anime, so yeah.

Breath - Porno Graffitti (Pokemon the Power of Us ED)

Katharsis - TK from Ling Tosite Sigure (Tokyo Ghoul OP3?)*

Here - JUNNA (The Ancient Magus Bride OP)

Renai Circulation - Kana Hanazawa (Bakemonogatari OP4) Imma be honest, i found this song through those Coldplay mashups and other memes. Lmao

I Wanna Be - SPYAIR (Gintama Shirogane no Tamashii Hen OP)

Hana Ichi Monme - BURNOUT SYNDROMES (Gintama Shirogane no Tamashii Hen ED)*

2019

Hana ga Saku Michi - THE CHARM PARK (Black Clover ED7)* I SWEAR NO ONE’S COVERED THIS SONG YET AND I’M SAD. I LUV THIS SONG.

Inferno - MRS. GREEN APPLE (Fire Force OP)

Veil - Keina Suda (Fire Force ED)* This ED gives me feels and i luv it. ;w;

MAYDAY - coldrain (Fire Force OP2)* This sounds like a song i’d hear at Hot Topic and i feel blessed. lmao

Nounai - Lenny code fiction (Fire Force ED2) I swear this anime doesn’t have a single song i don’t like. I’m not kidding. lmao

WILD SIDE - ALI (BEASTARS OP)* IN THIS HOUSE, WE DO NOT SKIP THIS OPENING I STG.

Le Zoo - YURiKA (BEASTARS ED)

Nemureru Honou (Sleeping Instincts) - YURiKA (BEASTARS ED2)*

Kawaki no Ameku - Minami (Domestic Na Kanojo OP)

Polaris - BLUE ENCOUNT (My Hero Academia OP6)* THIS IS THE BIGGEST BOP SINCE PEACE SIGN OML

Touch Off - UVERworld (The Promised Neverland OP)* This show was too creepy for me to continue, but I luv it for what it is. Also NAA NANANANANANAA NANANAAAA~

Sangenshoku - PELICAN FANCLUB (Dr. Stone OP2)* Sorry, but Good Morning World didn’t totally do it for me. I luv this OP way more tbh.

Suisou - Megumi Nakajima (Hoshiai no Sora OP)* The bits before the chorus are just so good.

1•2•3 - After the Rain (Pocket Monsters 2019 OP)

Dark Crow - MAN WITH A MISSION (Vinland Saga OP2)

MOTOR CITY - Kenichi Asai (No Guns Life OP)

Game Over - DATS (No Guns Life ED)

[final-mazin-blade]

12. What monster would be your Deckmaster? What would it’s effect be? 13. What monster deserves an evolution and what would it be?

12: Junk Gardna because it’s a free attack stopper each turn and I assume it’s effect would work on both players’ turns. Plus it’s an underrated card and was very helpful to the good guys in Bonds Beyond Time. I’m guessing the effect would remain the same and if it was altered at all, it would be a Scrap Iron Scarecrow on my opponent’s turns only I wouldn’t need to play it on the field.13. Junk Warrior -> Junk CoreDescription - Junk Warrior’s main torso covered in rusted orange plating until it resembles a spherical shape with Junk Warrior’s eyes and faceplate being the only recognizable features left of it. Arms are present, folding out of the spherical body. The Scrap Fist hand is still present, yet heavily modified and the left arm has been rehauled entirely to resemble a gun hand like the Gouf’s in Mobile Suit Gundam.11/2500/3000Synchro, Warrior, effectAll ‘Junk’ and ‘Scrap’ cards you control cannot be destroyed by battle or card effects, including set cards. If a monster card you control would be affected by an opponent’s card effect, you can, once per turn (quick effect), send a’Junk’ or ‘Warrior’ monster from you deck to the GY to negate that effect. Once per turn, if you control a Tuner monster, you can Special Summon a ‘Scrap Token’ (Lvl 2/ATK: 800/ Def: 1000). If used for the Summon of a Synchro ‘Warrior’ or ‘Junk’ monster, you can increase the level of the ‘Scrap Token’ by up to three.

[charredasperity]

Animes with little to no female sexualization/objectification:

I know there's a lot of people who swear off anime as a whole because of sexualization/fanservice that gives it a bad rep to outsiders, so here's a few anime recommendations spanning different genres with little to none.

1. Princess Principal (Action) 

 While the "cute" character designs might set off some people's fight or flight response, this is not at all a moe anime, this is a serious spy thriller set in an art deco version of Europe. It's dark to its core without ever being creepy about it.  There are only two scenes of a woman showing off her body in the show, and it's only to cause a distraction so the rest of the gang can get the jump on a target, as well as being very tame.

2. Yuru Camp (Slice of life) 

 A totally innocent anime about a bunch of girls who love camping, no sexual scenes whatsoever. You could watch this anime with your grandmother (provided she's willing to read subtitles)

3. Love Live! (Musical) 

Basically a series about a bunch of pop idol enthusiasts who learn to sing and dance to become idols themselves, no sexualization. Plus it’s got some hella catchy tunes!

4. Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood (Action/Supernatural thriller) 

One of, if not the best anime of all time. This follows two boys who lost their bodies attempting to save their dead mother and end up in the middle of a war. There's multiple female supporting characters and they're all treated as powerful and with respect, it helps that the series was written by a woman.

5. G Gundam (Mecha/Action) 

If Gurren Lagann's constant sexualization of its female lead put you off, this has all the over the top action without the creep factor. True, the women wear skintight suits, but so do all of the men. Partial nudity is only shown in the final episode.

6. Little Witch Academia (Adventure/Comedy) 

This follows a young girl enrolling in a school for witches and trying to make it through despite having little to no magical ability. It's basically Harry Potter meets Sabrina. While the OVAs are better, the series ain't bad either! This is a fun show the whole family can enjoy.

7. Fate Zero (Action/Drama) 

The prequel to the popular Fate series is also its crowning achievement. This series is set in a global war for the legendary Holy Grail, fought by the reincarnations of ancient heroes, and boasts some of the best 2d animation ever put on screen. (Just try to ignore the source material)

8. Amanchu! (Feel-good/Slice of life) 

While you'd think an anime about girls swimming all day would be excuse for a bunch of perversion, I assure you this is not Free! with girls. This is completely innocent story about two girls and their friends learning to safely enjoy their hobby, which happens to be diving! The art and soundtrack make this the perfect anime to chill out watching, and it also has a (canon!) wlw love story tucked away in it.

9. Re:Creators (Sci-fi?) 

This show answers what every writer has asked in their minds "What would happen if what I created was real and met me face to face?" This is a mish-mash of several different genres, and every character is given respect. (The two most powerful characters are women!)

10. Mitsuboshi Colors (Comedy) 

Again, don't let the art style put you off. This is a cute show about three terrible children who see themselves as the defenders of a town, and go around solving self-appointed cases, often making things worse in the process.

11. Pop Team Epic (???) 

This is what I could only describe as "Anime Eric Andre" It's basically very short comedy sketches that are completely absurdist and off the wall. If that's your bag, you'll probably enjoy this.

12. Nichijou (Comedy) 

Another absurdist comedy but a bit more grounded, this follows the life of three highschool girls and an unrelated child genius and her robot caretaker who overreact to situations in their absolute extremes. Just watch the Coffee bit to see what I mean.

13. Mob Psycho 100 (Comedy/Action/Supernatural) 

The story of the daily life of an incredibly powerful psychic child who wishes he was normal, and his deeply flawed mentor who helps him find a place in the world. This is full of laughs and has a completely unique animation style.

14. Kemono Friends (Adventure) 

While obviously meant for kids, this anime builds a world and characters in a way so unique that it's even entertaining for adults. Don't be put off by its low budget animation, this show's full of heart and will leave you smiling.

15. Puella Magi Madoka Magica (Psychological Horror) 

Another key example of "Dark as hell without sexual violence" This anime shows what happens when theprotagonists lose and give into despair. Though not to say this show is devoid of light. What makes this show is it’s surrealist visuals which change from episode to episode.

16.  Sailor Moon (Action) 

On the polar opposite side of things we have the Grandmother of the modern Magical Girl show. This follows 5 girls who use their magic powers to kick monster butt while balancing a normal life. Basically anime power rangers, this was the original Girl Power anime.

17. Aggretsuko (Agressive Retsuko)

This is an adult anime, but not in the way you’d think hearing that. It centers around a 26 year old woman trapped in a stress-filled office job struggling with overwork, dating, friendships, and troublesome peers, just like any 20-something would, but she relieves stress by singing death metal. This is a hilarious show that young adults will absolutely relate to without resorting to being crass or offensive. Also it’s by the people who made Hello Kitty, believe it or not!

18. Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken!

This is an anime about animation! The series focuses around a girl with a hyperactive imagination, her no-nonsense wealth-chasing best friend, and an actress trying to live simply who start a 3-person animation studio behind their school and find art inspiration in anything and everything in their surroundings. The art in this show is lovely and it really gets you in the mood to draw up something yourself!

There's plenty more, but those are just the ones I could think of right off of the top of my head. You shouldn't disregard an entire entertainment medium because of a couple bad apples. For anime fans, if you have other recommendations, please add onto the list!

[recentanimenews]

The History of Japan's Greatest Video Game Brawler Franchises

If there’s one video game genre that’s pretty easy to describe, it’s brawlers. You’ve just gotta beat up a bunch of enemies. Simple! They’ve certainly evolved throughout the last three decades as hardware advanced and design philosophies changed. From the series beginnings with games such as Kung-Fu Master, Bruce Lee, and Karateka to modern brawlers such as Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game, Yakuza, and even Saints Row IV’s parody, the genre has thrived over the past thirty years. In honor of the upcoming SENRAN KAGURA SHINOVI MASTER series, it’s time to take a look at some of the best brawler game franchises to come out of Japan. That also means we’re not talking about every game with brawler gameplay or series because you’d be here reading it all the way through next week.

Final Fight

Capcom’s perennial brawler is the Final Fight series. Originally developed as a sequel to Street Fighter and shown at trade shows prior to release as Street Fighter ‘89, Final Fight has become an iconic game in the brawler genre. The first game in the series was released in 1989 in arcades running on Capcom’s CPS hardware, but perhaps the more famous version is the Super Nintendo release that came out a year later in Japan and in 1991 in North America. This would be most people's first experience with the game as they would get to know Cody and the greatest mayor of our time, Mike Haggar. Guy was cut from the SNES release and would eventually show up in a re-release titled Final Fight Guy. For most game fans of the ‘90s, you’re either a Final Fight person or a Streets of Rage person considering they were on the rival consoles of the early ‘90s. Final Fight spawned a few sequels over the years, with the last iteration of the series coming in 2006 with Final Fight: Streetwise, a 3D brawler for the PlayStation 2. Most people are going to know the series from the first game which has been released in so many places that it’s hard to not find it. In fact, the arcade version was just recently released as part of the Capcom Beat ‘Em Up Bundle. If you’re looking for a version that’s not the arcade or SNES port, check out the Sega CD port, or at least just the intro which is simply amazing.

Streets of Rage

If you grew up with a Sega Genesis in the ‘90s, you were probably a Streets of Rage fan. Unlike Final Fight, Streets of Rage was created by Sega for consoles first and would later come to arcades—the inverse of other games in the genre. All three games in the series were released between 1991 and 1994 for the Genesis. The trilogy is also another case of the games being released pretty much everywhere, so it’s not hard to track these games down individually or in a collection. You’ll be able to hit the streets in whatever way you want, beat up some folks, and listen to the amazing soundtrack by Yuzo Koshiro. If you’re going to play any game out of the three, you should probably play Streets of Rage 2, as that opening level is a perfect mix of action and fantastic music. Plus, there’s a new Streets of Rage coming soon with Streets of Rage 4. Who knew it’d take over 20 years for there to be rage in the streets again?

Sailor Moon

You might be looking at this and thinking, wait Sailor Moon? Yes! There were in fact 4 Sailor Moon games in the brawler genre during the ‘90s. Sailor Moon games run the gambit of genres in video games, from fighting games, to puzzle games, to quiz games. The Sailor Moon franchise liked the brawler genre so much that there are three games titled “Sailor Moon” that play in that way, but are all different. The first of these Sailor Moon games to be released was on the Super Famicom in 1993. Developed by Arc Systems Works—who also worked on the Super Famicom sequel Sailor Moon R—the game recreated the first season of the TV anime, allowing you to play as all five Sailor Guardians. A port of this game would come to the Sega Mega Drive a year later, but developed by a team at Bandai called Ma-Ba. While still utilizing the same story, this version would feature new music, stages, and visuals, making it a completely different experience. An arcade game that wasn’t related to either of the previous two versions was released in 1995 for some international regions and featured better visuals and animation compared to the home console counterparts. Following the arcade release, Sailor Moon would leave the brawler genre to explore different ways for players to enjoy the franchise. While most of these games weren’t brought over from Japan, if you can find a way to play them, they’re well worth checking out.

Double Dragon

Before Final Fight and Streets of Rage, there was Double Dragon. First released in 1987 by Technos for arcades and a year later with the more well known NES port in 1988, Double Dragon allowed the brawler genre to really take off in a way it hadn’t before. The main four games in the series follow the same format of gameplay, but the franchise did spin out into different styles such as a fighting game in Double Dragon V. The naming of the games also gets pretty confusing considering V came out in 1994 and Double Dragon IV was released in 2017. Double Dragon is also unique in the fact that the NES versions of the games are the ones most people remember, yet those ports are fairly different from their arcade counterparts. That boils down to differences in gameplay and also story, due to the NES hardware limitations. This means NES players missed out on the rawest opening to a video game ever in Double Dragon II. Luckily though, there are ways to play all the different versions of Double Dragon from the Virtual Console, NES Classic, and Nintendo Switch Online having some ofthe NES versions, along with Hamster’s Arcade Archives series preserving the arcade originals, and there was even a smartphone version. You’re probably not going to be able to easily find the Atari 2600 port though.

Kunio-Kun/River City Ransom

Double Dragon wasn’t the only brawler series that Technos was working on as their Kunio-Kun series was more popular in Japan than other regions. One game did come over in the form of River City Ransom (Downtown Nekketsu Monogatari), the third game in the Kunio-Kun franchise. When it was brought over, River City Ransom was Americanized and replaced the Japanese names, but kept the core gameplay intact. The Kunio-Kun games were different in the fact that they combined brawler gameplay with RPG and open-world mechanics. Similarly to other games in this genre we’ve talked about, Kunio-Kun expanded out to puzzle and sports games. Most of the earlier games in the series didn’t make their way over to English regions outside of River City Ransom, but Kunio-Kun games have started to come back with some of the more recent releases in the series. There’s also Kunio-Kun: The World Classics Collection coming to Japan in December which brings together fifteen games from the Famicom-era which hopefully will get localized to allow people to play some of those games for the first time.

Dynasty Warriors

As video games moved from 2D graphics to 3D, the brawler genre underwent a change. Moving to the third dimension meant that developers weren’t restrained to just side-scrolling. One franchise that thrived in this environment was Koei Tecmo and Omega Force’s Musou games—specifically the Dynasty Warriors series. Yet, Dynasty Warriors started off as a fighting game, and it wasn’t until Dynasty Warriors 2 for the PlayStation 2 where the series goes completely into the brawler genre. In the 18 years since 2, there have been eight more mainline Dynasty Warriors games and multiple spinoff franchises including Samurai Warriors, Warriors Orochi, Dynasty Warriors: Gundam, Hyrule Warriors, and Fire Emblem Warriors. In fact, it wouldn’t be tough to argue that Musou is now a genre itself. Whether it’s attempting to pursue Lu Bu across a battlefield of thousands of soldiers, flying through space in a mobile suit, or rolling through Hyrule as Link, the Musou games stick to their formula and try to have something for everyone.

Senran Kagura

The newest franchise out of the ones we are featuring, Senran Kagura debuted in 2011 for the Nintendo 3DS as a 3D side-scrolling brawler. Senran Kagura wouldn’t make its English debut until 2013 when the first and second games were released together on 3DS. Compared to other games discussed so far, Senran Kagura took a more “adult” route with how the characters are presented. The mainline games fall into the brawler genre, but that hasn’t stopped the franchise from having rhythm, water gun action, card, and pinball games. The difference in genre doesn’t change the style of Senran Kagura so for example, clothes will fly off characters in the cooking rhythm game Senran Kagura Bon Appetit. Along with the games there was the first anime adaptation from 2013 and now the forthcoming second season. With the new anime, it wouldn’t be surprising to see more games in the future from the franchise.

Yakuza

It’s easy to say that the Yakuza games have brawler aspects to them which make up the main story of the game, but nailing them down to a single genre? Impossible. With the staggering amount of mini-games and activities that are available, they branch out into social sim, fishing, tower defense, rhythm, management, and many others. Which makes sense for a game with brawler mechanics since most franchises don’t stick to just beat ‘em up gameplay. The Yakuza games have continuously improved upon their brawler mechanics to create games that not only play great and are fun, but have so much depth to them. Combined with the wonderful stories throughout the 7 mainline games has made for a series that’s become one of the hottest in all of games. They are the brawler games to play currently.

There are certainly other brawler games that are missing from here, but that’s where you come in! What are some of your favorite brawler games or franchises or what would you like to see become an anime? Let us know down in the comments below!

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Jared Clemons is a writer and podcaster for Seasonal Anime Checkup. He can be found on Twitter @ragbag.

By: news+feed@crunchyroll.com

[tokupedia]

How to invest in Tokusatsu Part 2: The List

Toei Co. LTD

Ticker #: TYO 9605

Dividend (Late 2017): 0.45 USD per share

Dividend Yield (Late 2017): 0.05%

Price: $105-106 USD (Late 2017)

Licenses: Super Sentai, Kamen Rider, Metal Heroes, various heroes created by Shotaro Ishinomori, Sailor Moon, Pretty Cure.

Toei is massive in terms of what cards it has on the table. Name a popular anime in the past 10-20 years and there is roughly a 7 out of 10 chance it came from this studio’s animation department.  Even Gen X American childhood favorites like Muppet Babies came from this studio’s animation department. Aside from that, they are the film and TV production company of Super Sentai, the original source material for Saban’s Power Rangers series, as well as Super Sentai’s older sister series Kamen Rider. Both are beloved staples of Japanese pop culture that make Toei some serious bank. If not for people like Shotaro Ishinomori, this company would not be known as the crown jewel of Japanese superhero media.

The downside is Toei isn’t cheap for some, 105 bucks is a lot to ask for. But it is justified as it is one of the most successful international animation studios outside of Disney and has made cult live action hits like Battle Royale.

The company as a whole has: Real estate, animation and live action film and television production, movie theaters, home video distribution (V-Cinemas and Hyper Battle Videos being an example), internet streaming content distribution, film studios for developing movies for clients, a high tech film R&D department, a Feudal Japan theme park (which many period piece shows or scenes use for filming). They also hold art exhibitions, stage shows and have a global marketing firm so people like Mr. Saban can get Toei licensed properties for international television.

Toho Co. LTD.

Ticker #: TYO 9602

Dividend (Late 2017): 0.11 USD per share

Dividend Yield (Late 2017): 0.73%

Price: 33 USD (Late 2017)

Product: Godzilla, Mothra and various popular Kaiju characters. The now defunct Chouseishin series.

The House of Godzilla is a proud company that dates back to the early 20th century and one of the most respected Japanese film studios in Hollywood thanks to being one of the studios that supported the projects of film legend Akira Kurosawa.

As far as what it does, Toho has its own chain of movie theaters, an animation studio division that makes popular hits like My Hero Academia, a TV production company, Real estate, a movie studio, a theatrical play production studio and film production and special effects studios. They also hold the film distribution rights to many popular anime such as the globally beloved Pokemon series which gives them a slight edge on the competition. In recent years, Toho is adapting to the times in a good way by reviving Godzilla on the big screen and expanding into the market of online streaming/sales distribution. This has resulted in great financial growth in the past 2 years that could go on if Godzilla’s box office takes for both the Japanese and US film series continue and further expansion into the internet through digital distribution and partnerships with licensing to companies like Netflix. Proof that the King of Monsters can still pack a mighty roar!

Bandai Namco Group

Ticker #: TYO 7832 

Dividend (Late 2017): 0.11 USD per share

Dividend Yield (Late 2017): 0.62%

Price (Late 2017): 34-35 USD per share Lowest price in 2017 was 27 USD

Owns: Digimon and various video game franchises, has partial ownership of Ishimori Productions though absorbing a large money sharehold of that company in 2007 (Ishimori Pro is still family operated though through Akira Onodera). 

Toy Licenses: Seemingly Almost EVERYTHING UNDER THE SUN. Star Trek, Marvel, DC, Ultraman, WWE, Dragon Ball Z, Kamen Rider, Super Sentai, Metal Heroes, Sailor Moon, Gundam etc.

Easily the largest behemoth in Japan’s toy industry and now owner of the company that made Pac-Man among other things, Bandai is only spared from being compared to a maniacal corporate super villain in terms of power by having its global competitors live in harmony with it. 

It produces in toy manufacturing of various types including model kits, DX toys, card games, premium collectibles, stuffed animals, Sofubi, electronic toys and video games. It also owns a few theme parks, manufactures arcade game cabinets, makes movies, TV and music, owns a trucking company, has a bakery to sell seasonal food stuffs online to customers, gashapon vending machines, clothing...They also own the famed animation studio Sunrise and have their own media distribution network. Yeah, Bandai is scary big! 

However, that large amount of corporate product diversity and business means potentially that Bandai is stable and safe in most situations. If one falters, another could spring Bandai’s finances back on its feet. Bandai has recently expanded its global operations by opening a Premium website in the USA to sell adult collectible toys directly to customers online. So there is definitely growth potential!

Tohokushinsha Film Corporation

Ticker #: TYO 2329

Dividend (Late 2017): 0.14 USD per share

Dividend Yield (Late 2017): 2.52%

Price (Late 2017): 6.79 USD

Product: The Garo Series

Tohokushinsha Film Corporation or TFC for short is the distributor of the Garo Series. While Garo creator Keita Amemiya has his own studio, Crowd Inc., to produce the show, it is a private company with no stock investments. So the best way to invest in Garo is to support TFC. While Garo is the thing they are most proud of, TFC’s core business is being a film dubbing house for Hollywood movies, taking the dialogue and translating it so the moviegoers in Japan can understand what the heck people like Harrison Ford are saying in their own language. Its other core business is film archiving and storage.

Owning TFC includes these sectors: TV/film production, special effects studios, Marketing firms, TV commercial ad companies, Cable TV (red flag!), Supermarkets, a furniture store chain, a beauty salon chain, a brewery, anime production, moichandising sales and home video sales. They also have a licensing firm in Los Angeles, CA called Cente Service (which presumably is how Kraken Releasing got the rights to those shiny Blu-Rays of Garo Season 1!). 

TFC is cheap compared to the others. But cheaper stocks below $10 always have higher risk in some capacity depending on company performance, so be careful!

Shochiku LTD.

Ticker #:TYO 9601

Dividend: 0.26 USD per share  (Does not make payments quarterly)

Dividend Yield: 0.35%

Price: 150 USD

What you are Toku investing in: Ultraman films

Shochiku is the toughest of the film studios in Japan, as it has been around since 1895!  Don’t believe me? This one Kabuki theater company turned film studio has survived the following: the end of the Meiji Era, World War II, US occupation, several earthquakes, changing technology, and stared down a near bankruptcy without even flinching. You know you have something special when a 122 year old company is still profitable and still growing. While they now focus on movies and media, Shochiku did not abandon their heritage as the Kabuki theater company that built it is still in operation, now expanded to doing other stage plays. Their core film business is Samurai movies, dramas and action/crime dramas

Shochiku owns movie theaters, a music record company, a film studio, an anime production unit, several stage theater companies including a costume department, real estate, restaurants, home video distribution, TV broadcasting etc. They also hold the rights to film distribution of the Ultraman movies.

Stock is a bit pricier, but it has had decent growth the past 3 years. 

Takara Tomy Co.

Ticker #: TYO 7867

Dividend: 0.12 USD per share

Dividend Yield: 0.72%

Price: 16 USD per share

Owns: The Tomica Hero series, Transformers (co-partnership with Hasbro), Tomica toy cars

Takara Tomy is a famed toy brand thanks to the popularity of its products like Transformers and Beyblade. Recently, the company threw their hats back into the TV tokusatsu ring by making the magical girl series Idol x Warriors Miracle Tunes to compete with Bandai/Toei’s Pretty Cure Series.

While beloved, the grim shadow of Japan’s declining birth rate is making investors wary of Takara Tomy as their target demographic is younger kids. This leaves them in a very vulnerable position if Japan’s birth rate screeches to a complete halt, as no new babies means no future toddlers or preschoolers to ask parents to buy their products like PlaRail. Another blow to them recently is the loss of their long running Pokemon toy license to a rival company which will start selling their own toys in 2018. 

Some meanspirited money men are even speculating Hasbro will just buy out Takara’s ownership of Transformers and ditch the remains if they sink. However, not all is gloom and doom as things seem to be doing better this year. Time will tell if this toy company, one half of which is one of the oldest toy manufacturers in Japan, will endure. In the meantime, give it some love so maybe we can get the Tomica Hero series back! (holding a large amount of stocks gives you voting power over who leads the company after all!)

Takara Tomy’s main business is of course toy manufacturing. It also deals in the making of baby products, children’s books, video games, gashapon toys, candies and various other youth marketed goods and apparel. 

Sony

NYSE Ticker: SNE

Price: $44.81 per share (11/4/17)

Dividend: 9 cents USD

Yield: 0.40%

Owns: Funimation, therefore indirectly owns the distribution rights to the Garo anime.

Now, I know what you are thinking. Sony? Well, yeah. Given a very recent event, this counts. See just a week ago, Sony officially bought Funimation. And Funimation had a deal with MAPPA to buy the streaming rights to the Garo animes. Plus, Funimation was in the middle of simulcasting Infini-T Force when it happened! In addition, the company is a major partner with Bandai and Ishimori Pro in making Kamen Rider video games for its Playstation family of game consoles like the hotly anticipated Climax Fighters game.

The company is often overlooked for bigger tech stocks like Apple, but they are so much more than a video game company. In addition to consumer electronics, the Sony corporation has a movie studio (which is debated in merit due to the quality of some of their productions) a TV studio in LA that produces shows and beloved TV game show staples Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy, an animation studio and that is just the visual media part. 

They have semiconductor manufacturing plants, record labels and music distribution, Networking, medical firms, insurance, banking, telecommunications, advertising....In short, Sony is one of the most diverse businesses in the entire world and a worthy addition to a portfolio.

And now one NOT to invest in...

Fields Corp.

Ticker #:TYO 2767

Dividend: ???

Yield: 2.62%

Owns: Part of Tsuburaya Productions, the company that makes Ultraman. Also has a stake in HEROS, the manga magazine that distributes the Infini-T force, ULTRAMAN and Kamen Rider Kuuga manga.

As of this year...this stock is not worth your time. Fields is in trouble right now as the reports of its financials indicate a hard time. The company has lost a big chunk of its yearly income. It is in the negative in terms of debt in some areas and it is reporting major losses. Its primary business is Pachinko machines.

Figures, a company that invests on gambling would go down this year!

So there you have it, places you can support tokusatsu in the world of finance!

I know this was probably boring, but I promise the next post will be fun! 

Note: This data is from November of 2017 and may not reflect future financial data.