According to the New York Times, Sam Raimi is set to direct a film based on World of Warcraft.  Or at least based on the Warcraft franchise, since there were other games in the series besides WoW.

The success of the Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter movies has caused Warner Brothers to look for more money in fantasy film genre.  Of course, this is the first post-LotR fantasy film to come out based on a video game series rather than a book series.  With Sam Raimi at the helm, there’s a good chance this will be a fun film.  Unless the studio gets too involved, then we could have another Spider-Man 3.

Source: New York Times

The Castlevania movie has been in the works for awhile now. It has been said that the movie was being handled by Paul W. S. Anderson. Paul has handled other movies such as Aliens VS Predator and the original Resident Evil. Because of this, there were quite a few people who weren’t too happy with Mr. Anderson’s inclusion as head of the films direction. Now, any nay-sayers have a reason to celebrate.

Rumor has it that the Castlevania film has been axed, and shows no signs of coming back. The movie has been in development hell for quite some time, and I guess the powers that be just decided to finally squash the film.

Source: http://www.bloody-disgusting.com/news/16302

In my previous editorial I may have sounded harsh towards towards the people Japan defines as ‘Otaku‘. I referred to them as vile, scum-sucking pedophiles, or something along those lines. But what I didn’t touch on is what defines an otaku. If you were to ask a Japanese, they might use words such as disgusting, idiotic, pathetic, and fanatical. One Japanese woman referred to them as “ningen janai” (not human). This societal contempt is very real, and I would go as far as to say in Japan there is even a mini McCarthyism against otaku. Otaku are very real, but they don’t dare ‘come out’, instead meeting in dark, small rooms where they can build model Gundam and play Melty Blood in peace.

When I first came to Miyazaki, I was unable to find any other gamers. With no other choice, I put aside my comfortable nerdy traits and socialized like a normal person. It’s not so bad, though there are a considerable less amount of fireballs involved. Little did I know, the otaku were among me; they just couldn’t show it in public for fear of being ostracized. Then I met Isamu, the head of the international club. A veterinary student, nearly fluent in English and extremely intelligent, with spiky hair which reportedly took him an hour to prepare every morning. He was quite popular, and never gave the slightest indication that he liked nerdy things. Finally, as we were leaving club one day the subject of anime somehow came up and I was asked what anime I liked. After listing the norms, I let slip that I liked Genshiken. The floodgates were open. Isamu practically flipped out and threw a barrage of otaku questions at me.

He told me after he graduates veterinary school he wants to study overseas and that his grandfather (in typical Japanese tradition) forbids it, insisting Isamu get married and live in Miyazaki his whole life. To ‘appease’ his grandfather, Isamu sent him a letter saying he agreed and to marry and that enclosed was a picture of his girlfriend. Enclosed was a picture of Saber from Fate/Stay Night. I was not surprised to hear that the grandfather called Isamu’s parents in a rage asking how he turned out so poorly, to which they could only reply “we don’t know”. It’s enough to make me wish my grandpa was a less understanding man, just so I could of pissed him off in hilarious ways.

Isamu’s apparent joy of finding a gaijin otaku, had him outing me personally to the other international club members. He told the girl members too, “Get this! Mikku likes Genshiken!” “Mikku is an otaku, haha! “, to which the girl members did not respond favorably. They never do *sigh*. Isamu and I aren’t fanatics, or even socially awkward, and the idea of someone holding prejudice against me or anyone because of what entertainment they enjoy dumbfounds (unless it’s Dr. Phil. If you like Dr. Phil you are a bad person). The situation is not unlike American high school cliques, except that shunning nerds continues on into adulthood in Japan whereas in America nerdy hobbies are if anything gaining in acceptance and popularity.

The future of otaku in Japan is grim. To my dismay I am forced to keep my hobbies to myself. Perhaps with greater language skills I could find social groups more accepting, but until then I remain a closet otaku. Well, at least my Japanese friends like Wii Sports. God Damn Wii Sports.

Just got a flyer for the upcoming local anime convention, Chibi Chibi Con. Figured I’d post it here…

You can find more information about it here…

http://chibichibicon.wordpress.com/

One week ago, Asura and I decided to take a nice Sunday drive up to Tacoma, taking the back roads of Dupont for a nice drive around the bay. After some good lunch and window shopping around the area, we decided it was time to head back to Olympia. However, there was one stop we wanted to hit before making it home. A place we had only seen online and were curious about, Animeniacs.

No, not these guys.

Actually, Animeniacs (cleverly using an E instead of an A in the name) is an anime store, that while online for a while, has a storefront which has popped up within last year or so. Being a fan of all geeky stores in the Puget Sound area, from the O.C.C. all the way up to Pink Godzilla, we had to check it out. Unfortunately, the Google map we had printed up lead us here:

Why would an anime store be here?

After a couple back and forth trips down the road, we concluded that no one was selling bootleg anime out of their garage on this street, and retreated home in failure and confusion.  Thinking something was awry, we checked the Animeniacs website and realized we should have taken their map rather than GISing our own.

It turns out that we should have been looking for a Subway and not into peoples houses. Not yet defeated, we vowed another trip to find this mythical place.

Enter today, the last day of January. After some kickass Mexican food, we decided the time was right to mount another expedition. This time, we were prepared, actually having bothered to remember the map on their website. After a quick trek up I-5, down 512 and into Parkland, we finally found that legendary Subway. The place we had been seeking the whole time was right around back.

What could be hiding behind this humble exterior?

We held our breath and pushed through the front doors, unsure of what to expect. We had been burned in the past by many mall anime outlets, and were unsure if we had stumbled into another Hello Kitty store, where the newest anime related merchandise was Sailor Moon and Dragon Ball stationary, and $20 starter sets of Pokemon.

But no! This was actual, honest to God anime store. And a pretty good one at that.

Otaku and wall scrolls, like peanut butter and jelly.

Merchandise ran the gamut of dvds, including used and foreign, for the price conscious shopper. There was plenty of manga, musics CDs and artbooks to go around, as well as figures from popular anime and video games. Throw in some Japanese food and candy, and you’re ready to throw a hyperactive otaku bender.

Try explaining the bikini-clad Rei Ayanami on your computer to your friends and family.
Bonus points for covering its importance in storyline canon.

Content that the had not been wasted trying to find this place a second time, Asura and I left content in our discovery, with slightly emptier wallets.

But what was this? On our way in to Animeniacs, we discovered that it was located right next to another geeky store, Northwest-Toyz.  Hot damn, we’re on a roll today, lets go and check it out. Our first indicator of what was in store for us was a car parked outside.

Whelp, let’s head inside shall we?

…

..

.

Oh, holy SHIT!

Expecting just a regular comic shop or hobby store, I was surprised. It turned to mostly be a toy and card shop, featuring Star Wars, GI Joe and Halo action figures, as well as a selection of Magic singles and various card games. But what was the best thing that we found was the food selection, a venerable smörgåsbord of delights.

Hell yeah, that’s what I’m talking about. All the essentials at your fingertips.

Walking into this store was like walking into a heated gladiatorial tournament, where men were competing for dominance in the field Magic The Gathering and Yu-Gi-Oh. My fiance, Asura, commented later that she felt transparent in this den of manliness. These are truly competitors with their eye on the prize.

Fighting the good fight.

We bid farewell to both of our new discoveries, content in solving a week long mystery of nerdy proportions. To Animeniacs and Northwest-Toyz, keep up the good work with providing another geeky hotspot for the residents of Puget Sound. The trip was well worth these two discoveries.

A while ago, Blinky’s R Us found reports that a live action Cowboy Bebop movie was in the works [link].  It looks a like an actor has beein picked for the role of Spike Spiegel.   Playing the martial artist cowboy will be none other than Ted Theodore Logan himself, Keanu Reeves.

Source: E! Online

MTV Movies have just posted the English-language version of the trailer for February’s new “Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li. You can check it it out below…

The movie is set to release February 27, 2009.

Tom Fulp of Newgrounds recently put together a collection of music that was featured in The Behemoth game, Castle Crashers. The collection of music was composed by various users of Newgrounds, and is actually quite good.

You can download all of the featured songs on the collection page, which is located here…

http://www.newgrounds.com/collection/castlecrashers.html

While I wasn’t there for the inception of PAX, I have gone for the past few years. From humble beginnings, PAX has grown, yet each year has brought an awesome experience no matter the size. The PAX 10 and the good natured “nerdosity” of everyone there being what I remember most fondly.

The days leading to PAX weekend moved very fast and then suddenly it was upon me. My friends and I were excited heading up I-5 Friday morning. Everything was at a fever pitch as soon as noon hit, when members of the press were let in two hours early to the Exhibition Hall. With me being the only one of the writers lucky enough to get a press badge here at Blinky’s, I felt a little intimidated by the huge walls and booths that littered the Hall’s floor. While it certainly had a steady flow of people through the walkways (PAX staff, Exhibitors and Press), it was excessively roomy and quiet. And the perfect time to ask questions and demo games that were just sitting there, waiting to be played.

The Xbox 360 booth offered demos of games ranging from Viva Pinata: TIP and Infinite Undiscovery, to latest and future releases of their arcade games. Viva 2 picks up were the other left off, with an increase in Pinatas, plants to grow, accessories , minigames, functional co-op play, and now with downloadable cards.

Nintendo offered prominently the new Animal Crossing: City Folk, Wario Land: Shake It and Wii Music (which, I must say, got kinda old after a few days walking by the booth and hearing nothing but poor renditions of the Zelda and Mario theme). Later, they offered me and my friends Wii-mote mint gum tins as swag for playing their games. I must say that the new Wario game for the Wii is gorgeous. Not only does it have beautiful 2D animations but the controls are intuitive and the gameplay is fun. And of course, our anti-hero, Wario, is as greedy and smelling of garlic as ever. I would recommend this game to any Wii owner.

I did a demo of Hudson’s Deca Sports, Bomberman Blast, and Fishing Master World Tour. They also had Alien Crush Returns. All of them were rather amusing and entertaining. Deca Sports had a good line up of games that you don’t see on Wii Sports. Curling (which was surprisingly fun), archery, ice skating, and badminton to name a few. If you like Wii Sports, this is a great addition to your collection. Fishing Master had many places to fish around the world from the Amazon to Tokyo Bay with about as many fish and sea life to catch as well. Apart from the cheesy story, it is a relatively deep fishing game and one of the better ones out there to try. Bomberman featured classic Bomberman action with an online twist. The Wii version will have online 8-player multiplayer and the ability to play as your Mii with numerous battlefields and options.

The PAX 10 was amazing this year. Audio Surf and Schizoid along with The Maw were my personal favorites but, don’t let that discount all the rest. Here’s a list of descriptions for each from a previous article. With Audio Surf, players hook in their MP3 player and the game generates a racing/obstacle course according to the beat of the song playing. It has a neon, vector style reminiscent of Rez. Schizoid is a co-op game where you and your friend play different colored galactic bugs while helping eachother and eating enemies at the same time as solving puzzles. Teamwork is a must in this game. The Maw is a 3D platformer with a cute but hungry, giant, alien pet that you can control with your main characters leash. The humor throughout makes for a entertaining and pleasing game.

As the days wore on, the lines appeared…, from Blizzard’s Starcraft II to the new 4 player co-op zombie extravaganza Left 4 Dead. Fallout 3 had their retro Streamliner trailer hooked up outside their booth which was probably one of the coolest booth setups yet. They also had their demo on Saturday which filled up every seat and they still had people waiting to take a peak outside but were not able to get in. Free swag was passed out by everyone imaginable at this convention, and much of it (as it turns out) is worth a lot to the people who sell on ebay.

Be that as it may, I think the gossip heard around the Con for a couple years now may be too accurate to admit: We have a new E3 on our hands. PA has already admitted that PAX has already grown so large, that in about a couple of years, there will be an East Coast US PAX, separated from it’s originator here on the West Coast. What will happen to an already bulging convention? Only time (and Gabe and Tycho) can tell.

-Asura

It looks like company NESBuckle somehow thought it would be a cool idea to make an NES into a belt buckle.  Just attach it to your belt and be ready to play with it everywhere and/or be kicked by random people on the street.  If you have $300 to blow, you can order one here.  If your sane, you’ll be content with the video below.

Click here to view the embedded video.