AnimeVice Site Mashup

Mahjong and Saki: Stuff They Really Should Have Told Us

John_Martone — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 03:00:00 -0800

Saki is slightly unlike the normal Shonen series. Whereas most series about "anything" will beat us in the face with information about everything about series, they've left us mostly to our own devices about Mahjong... freaking Mahjong

In Kaiji we got an entire episode devoted to explaining rock, paper, scissors, yet Saki cannot form the words to actually tell us what a winning hand is, or how scoring works.

To this effect I decided to put together an off hand glossary to terms and concepts that go on in Saki. Enjoy.

Basics

Meld = sets of one particular character, or a run of 3

Pung = Three of a kind
Kong = Four of a kind
Shuntsu = 3 in a row, of the same suit (1, 2, 3 of stones, etc.)

Winning the game

A Winning hand is one that consists of 3 melds and one pair. This is referred to as a mahjong.

Tsumo - completing your hand off of a random tile draw
Ron - completing your hand off of another players discard
Tempai - Being one tile away from victory

A player who is Tempai may reveal this to the other players by declaring Richi. Calling Richi (when they throw the sticks in) declares they are one away, and obligates them to discard any tile they draw that does not immediately win the game. Winning while Richi gets a bonus, and losing enforces a penalty.

Saki Excitedly revealing her winning hand

Flow of play/Winds:

Dice are rolled to figure out who is starting player/dealer. A round is over when all players finish being the East wind/dealer

Special rule about the East wind: The Wind only passes when the East wind loses. As long as he or she wins, the number of hands they play continues to lengthen. Thus, the concept of momentum and the importance of the East wind come out.

Each turn players draw a tile, then choose to discard one. Players may take a discarded tile out of turn, if it forms a Pung, Kong, or the pair neccessary to win a hand. They discard normally afterwards, and play continues to the right of the player who stole the tile (which could easily result in skipping players)

If mulitple players call the same discard, they reveal what it was for, and the hand of largest importance (Pung vs Kong vs winning hand). In particular, if a player calls Kong with a discard, but another player can use the tile to win, it is referred to as "Robbing the Kong" and often connotates bonus points.

Special rule about Kong : If a player calls a kong, he or she then immediately takes a tile and discards as normal. That tile, however, comes from a particular part of the remaining pool, and they have no say over which they take.

Her classic Tsumo after Kong. But now you know what that means.

Vice To-Do List: Upcoming Projects + Green Screen!

John_Martone — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 02:00:00 -0800

Weekend check in: What's up?

Personally I've just been trying to chug through (as Gia points out) the xxxHolic guide, but I'm also trying to squeeze in the DVDs of Claymore and Dragonaut, Well, that and Saki. Normally its totally okay to fall behind a few days, but Saki ends Thursday... so I kinda want to be there.

Anyhoo, green screen is pretty cool, I wonder what else we can figure out to do with such strange and exciting technology.

What are/were you up to this weekend?

A Saki a Day: Episode 21 of 25

gia — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 01:00:00 -0800

Need to Catch Up?

Today's Episode

Well, it was nice to have a little break, and it's nice to see the girls bond and all, but I'm ready to get back in the action. Let's get into the individual tournament, shall we?

Tegami Bachi: Letter Bee - Ep 6 - The Letter to Jiggy Pepper

ethan — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 22:06:21 -0800

Click To Watch Video

Lag and Niche run after Nelli to get their crossing pass back, however Nelli is found out as an impostor and is going to be punished! Lag and Niche come up to save Nelli, but just then the letter Nelli's late brother Nello wrote to Jiggy Pepper flies away. Lag stretches out his arm with all his might trying to save the letter, and suddenly a shindan flies out from his hand!

Videos from the Vault: God Len's Top 10 Cool Anime Characters

John_Martone — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 06:00:00 -0800

Since its Len's birthday, I thought it would be fun to take the way back machine for a spin. Back in 2007, when Len and I were writing for Japanator, he had this feature loving called the God Len's top 10. While situations invariably led to change, It didn't change the fact that he did some rock'n work.

Granted, the evolved God Len of today could have made it 10x quicker and full of high definitions, but I was proud then, and still am.

Fun facts about 2007:
Gurren Lagann, Darker than Black, Lucky Star, and Claymore all premiered that year.
George W. Bush was President of the United States
High Definition was a pipe dream, and they said that only the 7 richest kings of Europe would be able to afford it.

HAPPY FREAK'N BIRTHDAY GOD LEN!

John_Martone — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 04:00:00 -0800

Though he would have you believe Gods don't have birthdays, it just so happens to be the anniversary of God Len's birth. I'm pretty terrible with photoshop, but I tired to make him something he'd like. Though anyone who's got some time should give him some birthday wishes, or maybe photoshop a better picture.

Hint: He likes Gundams .

You can also give him some birthday wishes on his twitter.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

BeeTV: Tegami Bachi Episode 5

gia — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 03:00:00 -0800

Need to Catch Up?

Today's Episode

Mmm, so when we left off last week we had just met Niche and added her to our little party, along with her "pet" Steak (bwahaha). I love Niche; she's badass, but also incredibly cute in design, and I dig the no-BS attitude. What do you guys think of her?

And what do you think of Lag these days? He's certainly grown up to be kind of a nicey-nice pushover, eh? He'll have to toughen up a bit, I expect. Let's see how he fares this week!

Protip: Girls Like Gundam, Too

gia — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 02:00:00 -0800

Gundam ga Daisuki yo~~

An interesting report AnimeNation picked up recently talks about what men and women say are their favorite franchises these days. The male list is about as expected: K-On! , The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya , Lucky Star , Gundam , and Saki were the top five. Yawn, yawn, totally expected.

But women surprised Japan by bumping Gundam to the top of their list, followed by K-On!, Code Geass , Macross Frontier , and a tie between Evangelion and Toradora , all of which are generally shounen -oriented franchises. In fact, there isn't a single title on there that could really be called a " shoujo " series.

It shouldn't be all THAT huge a surprise, I suppose-- Weekly Shounen Jump is the top-selling manga anthology among women as well as among men, after all --but still. No Nodame ? Nana ? Nothin'? Very interesting! I know most of our readers dive into shoujo series, both male and female-- what's your #1 pick? (Mine: Ouran High School Host Club . <3)

A Saki a Day: Episode 20 of 25

gia — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 01:00:00 -0800

Need to Catch Up?

Saki episode 1
Saki episode 2
Saki episode 3
Saki episode 4
Saki episode 5

Saki episode 6
Saki episode 7
Saki episode 8
Saki episode 9
Saki episode 10

Saki episode 11
Saki episode 12
Saki episode 13
Saki episode 14
Saki episode 15

Saki episode 16
Saki episode 17
Saki episode 18
Saki episode 19

Today's Episode

Oh, man, I can't believe we finally made it through the team tournament! Granted, I think we all expected something along those lines for the outcome. And now I suspect episode 20 will be sort of a breather before the individual tournament begins...but can they cram the entire individual tournament into five episodes? This should be interesting.

Shugo Chara! - Party 6 - The Place Eggs Return To

ethan — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 22:06:16 -0800

Click To Watch Video

Rikka forgets about her job and spaces out in the Royal Garden, so to get her mind back in the game she's asked to get Yaya and Hikaru from the flower garden. Amu is a little worried so she has her Guardian Characters go with her, but just as expected Rikka gets distracted on the way. She runs into an X Egg, and chases after it by herself.

Vice To-Do: Ladies and Germs

John_Martone — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 15:38:31 -0800

Click To Watch Video

Delicious green screen! And delicious upcoming reviews.

Japan’s Top 10 Classic Seiyuu List

GodLen — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 09:00:00 -0800

Nobuyo Ōyama

We all know that seiyuu are popular in Japan, but it is hard to guess who is the most popular one of them all. There have been a lot of great seiyuu in the past that one doesn’t stand above the rest, so Oricon decided to ask the public who they though was a legendary seiyuu. So let us take a look at the results.

1. Nobuyo Ōyama / 大山のぶ代 (Doraemon/Doraemon)
2. Akira Kamiya / 神谷明 (Kinnikuman/Kinnikuman, Hokuto no Ken/Kenshiro)
3. Masako Nozawa / 野沢雅子 (Dragon Ball/Son Goku, Ge Ge Ge no Kitaro/Kitaro)
4. Yasuo Yamada / 山田康雄 (Lupin III/Arsène Lupin III) (RIP)
5. Minami Takayama / 高山みなみ (Detective Conan/Conan, Kiki’s Delivery Service/Kiki)
6. Kōichi Yamadera / 山寺宏一 (GitS/Togusa, Cowboy Bebop/Spike Spiegal)
7. Noriko Hidaka / 日高のり子 (Ranma ½/Akane Tendō, Inuyasha/Kikyo)
8. Mayumi Tanaka / 田中真弓 (One Piece/Luffy, Urusei Yatsura/Ryuunosuke Fujinami)
9. Megumi Hayashibara / 林原めぐみ (Evangelion/Rei Ayanami, Slayers/Lina Inverse)
10. [Joint] Keiko Toda / 戸田恵子 (Anpanman/Anpanman, Thomas the Tank Engine/Thomas)
10. [Joint] Aya Hirano / 平野綾 (Haruhi/Haruhi, Lucky Star/Konata Izumi)

The results are nothing short of predictable for a person living in Japan. Of course a never-ending show like Doraemon or classic anime like Dragon Ball are the bread and butter of anime culture, so of course they will make it on this list. Just like how Bugs Bunny or Homer Simpson’s voice actor would make it on our list if it was held here. This also shows us that this was more of a poll for the everyday anime viewer, rather than the otaku crowd.

I am saddened. Where is Norio Wakamoto ? He rightfully should have the number one, two, and three spot on this list, yet he is no where to be found. Instead we have Aya Hirano taking up the list. Sad days indeed.

[Via Nebs ]

Seraphim Digital Studios (ADV) Working on Halo Legends

John_Martone — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 08:00:00 -0800

Toei&squot;s off-canon "Odd One Out" piece.

Ever wanted to see original Japanese animations out of the Halo universe, but were too afraid of reading subtitles? Well no worries, Warner Home Video has tapped Seraphim Digital Studios to handle the English adaptation and voice direction. Most of you might recognize Seraphim as the artist formally known as ADV. That said, I couldn't be happier to see a major release like this going their way. There's a .01% chance of finanical failure for Halo: Legends, and Seraphim/ADV/Sentai FIlmworks/Switchblade could use a boost in the arm.

(Via SXAniMedia)

Meet the Next Generation: The Bakugan Kids

gia — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 07:00:00 -0800

I've said before, in several forums, that I tend to personally classify people into rough 'generations' of American anime fans (just for my convenience). There are the oldest generation who got into Speed Racer and Astro Boy . Quite some time after that came those who got into Star Blazers and Robotech in the late '70s through the '80s, moving into two generations that came around the same time: Akira and Ghost in the Shell fans (who were mostly slightly-older sci-fi/fantasy nerds already) and Sailor Moon and Dragon Ball Z fans (who were somewhat younger and not necessarily as well-versed in geekdom). And then, finally, the Pokemon generation, which fed into and overlaps heavily with the Naruto generation.

Whew. But what's the next big thing, the next show that'll draw in a new generation of viewers? Well, Cartoon Network seems willing to bet that it'll be Bakugan Battle Brawlers , since it's going to start airing Bakugan between Yu-Gi-Oh! and Hot Wheels on Saturday evenings (a prime slot) instead of its usual slot, weekday mornings at 8am.

Like some popular titles-- Yu-Gi-Oh! and Pokemon come to mind --Bakugan bega primarily as a merchandise franchise, with a wide variety of toys and games already available in Japan. A manga, published by Del Rey , is also already being released in the US, and Activision just released a Bakugan video game for pretty much every system ever.

The story, such as it is, is about kids playing Bakugan as a game (which also came out from Sega in 2006, prior to the anime's release), only to find out, of course, that it's much more than a game, with Dan Kuso and Dragon, his guardian Bakugan, as our heroes.

Has anyone here watched any Bakugan? Do you think it'll start to pick up more heavily as the exposure increases?

Videos too Cool to Miss: Rinpa Eshidan "Cube"

John_Martone — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 06:00:00 -0800

Rinpa Eshidan amazes me. Despite the fact that I can't find a link to any articles, I clearly remember discussing them on Vice, but their latest creation "Cube" just came onto the internet.

The group is based in Japan, but for a word on their style I will refer directly to them.

The Rinpa Eshidan is a team of artists brought together by a common creative expression...
-The group's main activities are performing in live-art events and creating videos of art in action. Instead of focusing on the finished project, we believe the process of creation itself is where art comes to life and our videos aim to engage our audience in that process.

How super awesome nerdy is that? As a theatre major I can tell you that my attraction to stage performances comes from that same sentiment. "Cube," is actually a bit different, rotating the cube gives them new canvasses. Thus, a lot of the play comes from being able to intersperse the other works they were creating into the current one. So cool.

Under the precaution you are not familiar with their works, I've included the gateway drug, a project where they encapsulated a weeks worth of painting and repainting at a Japanese street corner.

America's Top Sellers: And the Surprise Is...

gia — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 05:00:00 -0800

Don't worry, kids...Naruto will never, ever leave you.

The surprise is...that there are no surprises! HA!

ICv2 has released its top 25 manga properties list for the third quarter of 2009, along with the split versions ( top 10 shounen and top 10 shoujo ). It's important to note that the shoujo list is specifically the top 10 shoujo-TYPE manga, not the top 10 best-selling manga among girls (I've seen people get confused on this elsewhere).

Anyway, you won't be surprised at all to hear that Naruto and Fruits Basket are still the top two manga overall. In fact, you have to go aaaaaall the way down to #8 to finally get a difference from the second quarter list: where Chibi Vampire , Maximum Ride, and Negima once rounded out #8, 9, and 10, it's now Maximum Ride, Negima, and Ouran Host Club . While I'm thrilled to see Ouran break the top 10 (Chibi Vampire has been relegated to #12-- it also just released its final volume int the US in September so presumably it will continue to fall off the radar.)

Newer on the list: not a lot, but Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei is a welcome addition amidst the usual suspects, and D.N. Angel is back on the list thanks to the August release of its 12th volume, after a early three-year break from US publication. The typo of VIZ 's " Otomen " to "Ottomen" is also kinda funny. (Go ahead, say it out loud. It's an "Ottomen" Empire!)

I suppose it shouldn't be surprising that there's not a lot of shift throughout the year on these things, but it makes it harder to report! The Top 10 Shonen list is even more dull; literally the only change is a swap from Yu-Gi-Oh! to D.Gray-Man and the Chibi Vampire drop from 6 to 8. While shoujo has fewer megahits than shounen, their list is pretty much the exact same 10, shuffled around slightly. The only title change is Captive Hearts is gone and D.N. Angel is on.

What one title do you love and just wish to god would make it onto this top 10 sales list someday ? I'd like to see Black Jack on here myself.

Forget SaiMoe: Meet the Moe-Boys

gia — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 04:00:00 -0800

SO MOE I COULD DIE (Artist unknown)

We all know and love-- or hate -- moe girls. Their presence in the anime world may not turn out to be eternal, exactly, but it's certainly a force to be reckoned with for the time being.

But just because moe girls are so popular doesn't mean moe boys don't exist. Probably the first boy I think of when I think of moe-boy (or moedanshi) is L from Death Note . Sure, he's brilliant, but he's also very quirky and has a sad past, even if he doesn't mope about it. It just makes you want to take him home and feed him a bowl of chicken soup, doesn't it?

"Hidden Eye Boy" (artist: Yoshimura)

Akibanana has a feature on a special book for fujoushi and other female otaku: MoeDanshi-Gatari , or Stories of Boy-Moe. The stories come from popular mangaka, like Hyouta Fujiyama (author of many DMP titles) and Kazumi Toujou (illustrator of the famous Mirage of Blaze novels), as well as from newbies to the field, and they feature the authors' favorite moe boys.

The mangakas' list of their favorite boys is pretty amusing. There's everything from sort of standard "Beaten-Up Boy" and "Scruffy-Haired Glasses Boy" to the more abstract and unique, like the "Gentle-faced Showa Era Boy," the "Single-edged Eyelid Boy," and the "Half-naked Rucksack Boy." Some of them are outright confusing ("Reptile Boy"? "Gap Boy"?), and others just a bit surprising. Not one but two mangaka liked larger boys ("Big-Boned Boy" and "Chubby Boy"), and I find the fondness for "sluggish boy" kind of amusing.

Those of you who like boys, please submit the boy you are most moe for in the comments . My boy-moe is definitely the ones who try really hard on their own, but need a bit of mothering and/or support. If that makes sense.

And for those of you who ARE boys... what kind of moe would you say YOU are? ;)

Konami Might Buy Victor Entertainment

gia — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 03:00:00 -0800

You fansub-watchers-- you know who you are --are familiar with the Japanese phrase: "kono bangumi wa Victor Entertainment to, goran no suponsaa no teikyou de, okurishimasu." This program is brought to you by Victor Entertainment .

If you're really keeping in the loop you probably also know that Victor Entertainment is primarily a music distribution company, releasing titles from stars like Maaya Sakamoto (above), Yoko Kanno , and ALI Project, as well as anime soundtracks from Akira to Code Geass to Macross Frontier to Wolf's Rain .

Why bring them up all of a sudden? Because word is that game-maker Konami may take over the music subsidiary from JVC , according to Kotaku and the Daily Yomiuri -- and that Japan's music industry "will realign itself better with online distribution." Hopefully that will mean easier access to Japanese music in the US, which we've already seen some move towards thanks to JapanFiles, iTunes (those of us with Japanese accounts), and other endeavors.

What artists would you like to listen to more from, if it was easier or less expensive to import? I'd buy every Ken Hirai album ever, and I keep meaning to pick up more Orange Range someday...

Naruto Shippuden - Ep 134 - Banquet Invitation

ethan — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 22:06:03 -0800

Click To Watch Video

Sasuke arrives at one of the Akatsuki hideouts, having followed in Itachi’s footsteps. When Sasuke is about to enter the hideout alone, his older brother Itachi finally appears before him…

Gintama - Ep 182 - Screw Popularity Votes

ethan — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 22:05:47 -0800

Click To Watch Video

Character popularity results are announced to celebrate Gintama’s 182nd episode! Shinpachi is alone at the café, feeling depressed after learning that he’s still in 8th place in popularity, unchanged from the previous ranking. Yamazaki, who is in 9th place, drops by to say that boring characters such as they should aim to become the No. 1 steppingstone for others. For Shinpachi and Yamazaki, 8th and 9th place should hold the same meaning as 1st. But in reality Yamazaki can’t give up the hope of ranking higher, and runs off in tears. Shinpachi can do nothing but watch, when suddenly Yamazaki’s scream is heard in the distance!

The Vine and Vice Office Tour

gia — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 21:38:27 -0800

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Tony shows us around the new Whiskey West office!

Vice Interview: Yoshiyuki Tomino

GodLen — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 11:42:23 -0800

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Anime Vice interviews Gundam creator Yoshiyuki Tomino at New York Anime Festival 2009.

Asura Cryin' 2 - Ep 19 - The Truth Dedicated to You

ethan — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 22:05:06 -0800

Click To Watch Video

“Get out of there immediately.” Upon receiving a phone call from the missing Naotaka, Tomoharu and the others are attacked by a mysterious figure wearing a strange mask. Shuri and Kanade desperately fight back against the mysterious biker, but they cannot escape. They finally make their way into an abandoned factory, but...!

gia — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 16:34:00 -0800

Vice Interrogation: Mushishi

gia — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 15:11:47 -0800

Click To Watch Video

Gia really enjoyed the Mushishi movie.

Tegami Bachi: Letter Bee - Ep 5 - Dead-End Town

ethan — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 13:59:13 -0800

Click To Watch Video

Lag, as well as Niche and Steak, a strange animal that tags along with Niche, reaches the town of Kyrie where the bridge Bifrost connects to Yuusari. There they meet Nelli, who guides them to an inn to stay the night, and volunteers to take Lag's bag up to his room, but then suddenly disappears. Nelli's aim is actually to get Lag's crossing pass into Yuusari.

Shugo Chara! - Party 5 - Yaya's Enthusiastic Gardening!

ethan — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 13:56:02 -0800

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Yaya takes along Rikka and Hikaru to help with her job of taking care of the flower beds, but with more enthusiasm than usual because it's her first time mentoring younger students! Rikka is totally impressed, but the next day an X Egg appears and does something terrible!

Natsu No Arashi! 2 - Ep 18 - Can't Stop the Romance

ethan — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 13:50:21 -0800

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During her shift at "Hako-bune," Kanako, all of a sudden, gets dizzy and drops the salt shaker. When Kanako borrows some glasses from Arashi, she is surrounded by a bright light, transforming her into a maid warrior. Disregarding how Kanako feels, Hajime and the others, wanting to see her transform again, try to get Kanako to wear the glasses again. All of a sudden, "Hako-bune" has turned into a cos-play party for the girls.

Miracle Train - Ep 5 - Mile Marker Zero of Love

ethan — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 13:43:40 -0800

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“No way! I'm on the Miracle Train?” Noriko takes the stations by surprise with her excited outburst. Self-proclaimed train fanatic Noriko is overjoyed to find herself on the legendary Miracle Train after getting on at Shiodome station. Closet train maniac Shiodome tries to be helpful by talking to Noriko about trains, but she cannot keep up with him, leading Noriko to reveal her plan to get her revenge on her train fanatic classmate.

Vice Interrogation: X-Men

ethan — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 13:44:07 -0800

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John is horrified by Gia's lack of familiarity with X-Men characters.

Vice Interrogation: Battle League Horumo

gia — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 12:01:11 -0800

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John enjoyed Battle League HORUMOOOOOOOOOOOO!

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