Ziroc's Anime Blog

Sale: Mari Evangelion School Uniform figure

2012-11-04T04:45:00.000-08:00

Selling my Sega Mari Makinami School Uniform figure plus two Evangelion digital clocks on ebay.
Starting bid is 19.99

Your Right to Resell is in Peril

2012-10-25T14:58:00.000-07:00

October 29th, the Supreme Court is scheduled to determine if you have the right to resell your own property. Depending on how they rule it may become illegal to resell your iPhone, PC, Car or Truck, clothes, or even your home without first asking the manufacture of that product permission to do so, which they may decline to give.

Earlier this year a lower court determined that products made in other countries do not fall under the "right of first sale". The "right of first sale" is what gives you the right to resell your own property. If the Supreme Court upholds this ruling, which Obama and the Entertainment Industry is pushing them to do, then it would become illegal for consumers to do that if any part of that product was manufactured in other countries.

With pretty much every piece of electronics from TVs to iPhones being made overseas you would lose your right to resell them. A large number of cars and trucks are made overseas. Your old clothing could of been made in another countries. Your furniture. Your books. If this is upheld it would put an end to Ebay, Craiglists, even the local yard sell. It would also make it beneficial to manufactures to move all productions outside of the US, and damage our economy.

Help convince the White House and Congress to support our right to resell the things we own. Visit http://www.youvebeenowned.org to send a letter letting them know how you feel about this situation.

Harry Potter Wizard's Collection

2012-09-12T16:19:00.000-07:00

Picked up the Harry Potter Wizard's Collection last week. Back when the first few movies came out on DVD I purchased them, but realized that after the final film came out they were bound to release some complete collection with a bunch of extras. At the time I was thinking behind the scenes documentaries, outtakes, deleted scenes, and probably some kind of collector's packaging. I didn't expect the massive set of collectibles that this comes with.

More after the jump...

To say the case this came in is big is an understatement as Kuroneko, Mikuru, and Konata can attest.

It's filled with drawers and hidden compartments to hold everything.

Each movie comes in one of this book style cases. It comes with blue ray and DVD versions of each film, and special features related to each film.

The horcrux locket from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows made by Nobel Collections.

One of the art books and the cloth map of the area surrounding Hogwarts. The set also comes with a couple more art books, a blueprint of Hogwarts, some production art prints. This set was limited to only 63,000 made and comes with a numbered certificate of authenticity.

7 Days Left on Ninostarter

2012-08-23T09:39:00.000-07:00

Namco Bandai Games have been holding a pre-order campaign for the Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch Wizard Edition available from their Clube Namco online store. The campaign is called Ninostarter and is offering extra items to be included in the Wizard Edition depending on the amount of pre-orders received. So far goal #1 has been met and for reaching that goal Namco Bandai will be including 5 Ni no Kuni prints with the Wizard Edition. Goal #2 is at 48% with 7 days left in the promotion. If they reach goal #2 they will add a collectors coin to the set. The promotion ends Aug 31st 2012.

Currently the Wizard Edition includes a Drippy plush doll, a 300+ page hard cover Wizards Companion book, 2 DLC golden familiars, and the game. The Wizards Edition is 99.99.

Pop Japan Travel Returns With a Vengeance

2012-05-15T16:57:00.000-07:00

After a year long hiatus Pop Travel Japan is once again offering Japan Tours. To kick things off they've planned their biggest tour ever, The All Japan Alpha+Omega Tour. The tour runs from 8/29/12 to 9/7/12 and covers nearly everything you'd want to do while in Japan, anime, fashion, manga, cuisine, music, TV, history, theater, and tradition. The tour starts at $2490.00, but could run higher depending on any options you want to add. The cost does NOT include airfare to Japan, which is the only downside to this tour. The deadline for signing up for the tour is June 29th, 2012.

The price for this tour includes:

6 days, 5 nights in Tokyo; 1 day and night in Kyoto; 3 days, 2 nights in Osaka - all with fully guided tours

Full hotel accommodations

Transportation to & from tour activities

Admission and a booth at the Comitia dojinshi market

Admission to the Ghibli Museum and the Osamu Tezuka Manga Museum

Seats for a Takarazuka Revue show

A special two-hour calligraphy experience, with Japanese tea and sweets in Kyoto's Gion district

A traditional farewell banquet on the banks of the Kamo River in Kyoto

A private bus tour of Kyoto

Admission to Kinkakuji Temple, Nijo Castle, Sanjusangendo Hall, Kiyomizu Temple and Saihoji (the elusive "moss temple")

The "Pop Japan Gourmet Course" includes meals every day at culinary hot spots (optional)

Professional, bilingual tour guides

Customized tour guidebook with maps, descriptions, and Japanese phrases

Price does not include air transportation to Tokyo. We will meet you after your flight at Narita International Airport in Tokyo. We can arrange air travel for you from your closest airport. Contact go[at]popjapantravel.com.

The tour sounds really awesome, but the registration deadline is just to soon for me to get that much money together. But if anyone decides to go be sure and tell them Ziroc's Anime Blog sent you.

Ruruoni Kenshin Live Action Trailer

2012-03-27T17:24:00.000-07:00

Warner Bro's Japan has released an english subtitled trailer for their Live Action Ruruoni Kenshin movie. I have to say I like the trailer, and am looking forward to seeing this. The movie releases August 25th in Japan. It stars Takeru Sato as Kenshin Himura, Emi Takei as Kaoru Kamiya, and Munetaka Aoki as Sanosuke Sagara.

Who else is looking forward to this?

News from Animenation News Blog

Doctor Who Series 7 Trailer

2012-03-26T18:46:00.000-07:00

The BBC has posted a trailer for series 7 of Doctor Who. There will be 5 new episodes this year, plus a Christmas special introducing a new companion played by Jenna Louise Coleman. There will be 8 new episodes aired next year.

Selling Some Stuff on Ebay (Updated 5-7-12)

2012-03-26T16:38:00.000-07:00

Star Wars Micro Machine Collection 1

Starting bid 3.99

Deluxe Han Solo with Smuggler Flight Pack

Starting bid 4.99

Deluxe Crowd Control Stormtrooper

Starting bid 4.99

Electronic F/X Emperor Palpatine

Starting bid 4.00

Darth Maul Die Cast Watch

Battery is dead. Otherwise in good condition.

Starting bid 2.00

Legend of Korra Early Premiere

2012-03-22T07:48:00.001-07:00

Korra Nation has announced it will be streaming the first two episodes of the new "The Legend of Korra", sequel to "Avatar: The Last Airbender", this Saturday, March 24th.

Congrats, Korra fans! You did it!
We announced KorraNation.com on March 14th, and just 1 week later, fans have successfully reached 100,000 new likes, shares and tweets. You know what that means? We’re rewarding fans by unlocking the first TWO episodes on KorraNation.com this Saturday, March 24th, weeks before airing on Nick.
We are so excited to let the most passionate Korra fanatics watch the premiere before anyone else. Thanks for making it happen!
-Team Korra

I can't wait for this new series to start. Anyone else excited to see it?

Airbender Korra on Facebook

2012-02-22T18:55:00.000-08:00

Nickelodeon has created a Facebook page for The Last Airbender: The Legend of Korra. Not much on it yet except a sign up to be the first to see new content about the series as well as a chance to win prizes.

I loved Avatar: The Last Airbender, and really looking forward to this new series. Anyone else excited?

Taco Bell PSVita Sweeps Scam

2012-02-22T16:56:00.000-08:00

Taco Bell is currently running a promotion entitled "Unlock the Box". They are instantly giving away 5000 Playstation Vita's. All you have to do purchase one of there $5.00 meal boxes, and then enter the code on the box at either http://unlock.tacobell.com or via text message. You are then informed if you won or not. This is not the case for several winners on January 30th, 2012, including myself.

I purchased one of there meal boxes Jan 30th on the way home from work. Later that evening I entered my code and was presented with a page stating "Congratulations! You WON! (pending verification) No really, we're not kidding." Winners were supposed to receive an email within 3 days verifying their win and asking which of 3 game choices they wanted shipped with their prize. Three days came and went with no email. Upon searching I found I was not the only one in this situation and found this group, Taco Bell (No Email) Winner Group. Several events happened over the coarse of the past 3 weeks. Calls were made and emails were sent with little to no reply other than "We'll get back to you in 2-3 days". They never did. Then on Feb 13th, some people finally received an answer.

We have received your inquiry and determined that you are not a valid winner. This was determined by checking the information (i.e. code, email address, cell phone, name, etc.) you gave us with your inquiry to the data in our system's records.
Please note that ANY ATTEMPT TO UNDERMINE THE LEGITIMATE OPERATION OF THIS PROMOTION AND SWEEPSTAKES IS A VIOLATION OF CRIMINAL AND CIVIL LAWS AND WE RESERVE THE RIGHT TO SEEK DAMAGES FOR SUCH ACTIONS TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW.
The decisions of the judges are final.

This baffled several members of the Facebook group, especially those who had entered by Text Message and had the winning message directly from Taco Bell still on their phones

Note: This is not my phone, but a pic from the Facebook group.

After more phone calls people who received this letter were told it was sent out in error, and some were even told they should of gotten the winning email.

During all of this news sites were contacted. Articles were written. A segment even aired on a local CBS affiliate in Sacramento, Ca.

The above segment aired on Feb 21, 2012. The following day a mass email was sent out to everyone who had given their information as Jan 30th winners to Taco Bell. The email stated,

Thank you again for contacting Taco Bell regarding your entry in the Unlock the Box Promotion and voicing your concern. A thorough investigation was initiated since our last contact with you.

We learned that during a period of time on January 30, 2012 some people entering the promotion erroneously viewed a message suggesting they had won a PlayStation Vita, pending verification.

After a thorough investigation, and an additional review by the independent company administering the promotion, it was confirmed that these entrants viewed these messages or accessed them directly as a result of technical issues created by outside attempts by others to gain illegal entry and defraud the system. Unfortunately, these entrants were not valid winners.

Taco Bell designed this sweepstakes to be fun for consumers and knows you are a disappointed fan. We are therefore giving you and other consumers who may have viewed these erroneous messages on January 30 an additional chance to win. You will be automatically entered into a separate drawing to win a PlayStation Vita. The drawing will take place on March 21, 2012. All winners will be notified directly by the week of March 27, 2012

Thank you for your understanding and participation. The issue that occurred on January 30 has been resolved and the Unlock the Box promotion will continue to run through March 11, 2012.

Sincerely,

Ventura Associates

They say some how people using bot programs to enter random codes to try and win a Vita for the user of the bot, somehow caused random people to get winning screens when they really didn't win. I don't see the logic in that. The only way I can figure someone could cause tons of random people to get these screens is if someone hacked their system. But their own F.A.Q.s says they were not hacked. If someone knows how this could happen besides hacking, please elaborate.

So from beginning to end, Taco Bell told us we were winners. Then accidentally told some us we were not winners. Then back to we are winners, and now telling us all we are really not winners. Oh, but to make it up they are going to have a random drawing for a couple of Vita's.

Of coarse this is just one of the problems they have had with this promotion. Taco Bell's own Facebook page there is daily mention of people buying the box and then being told their code has already been used. There is iPhone/Android game you can play and win a Vita as well. Some people have received winning messages only to get the message that they must be connected to the internet to submit the form despite being connected via 3G or WiFi. The promotion agency in charge of this sweepstakes, Ventura Associates, has done a poor job of handling this from the start.

So that's whats happened up until now. Whats your take on the situation. Is Taco Bell in the right? Or should people who entered a legitimate code, and even have proof (I kept my box), that got a winning screen be awarded the prize they thought they won?

Cinemark's Star Wars Bait and Switch

2012-02-10T01:53:00.000-08:00

Cinemark Theaters advertised limited edition Darth Maul 3D glasses to the "first Star Wars: Episode 1 - The Phantom Menace RealD 3D ticketholders, in line, at the theatre." I attended the midnight showing at my local Cinemark which cost 11.75 and was told they were not giving out the Darth Maul glasses to the midnight showing. They would be giving them out during the second screening when they opened back up later today. That showings ticket cost was only 8.50. So they advertise collectible glasses to the first in line tricking you into purchasing the more expensive ticket, and then give them out to the second group of people to watch the movie who paid less. The guy who took my ticket stub even suggested I come back and watch it again tomorrow to get the glasses if I really wanted them. This is false advertising and borderline fraud, since it was suggested I watch the movie a second time later today to get the glasses.

To anyone who attended a midnight showing and did not receive their Darth Maul glasses. I suggest taking your ticket stub back prior to the next screening today, and demand your glasses. The above advertisement from the Cinemark website says first ticketholders in line. It doesn't mention first ticketholders for X:XX showtime. So just be there first holding your ticket when they open back up. Demand to see the manager if you have to. If you can't make it back up to your theater, then write letters of complaint to Cinemark, and the Offical Star Wars Blog. I couldn't find anything but a mailing address for Lucasfilms.

[UPDATE] I was asked for the name and location of the theater I attended the screening at. The manager of that theater then emailed me and said he will hold a pair of glasses for me at the theater along with 2 free admission tickets.

END POST

Matthew Broderick's Day Off

2012-02-04T14:15:00.000-08:00

This years Super Bowl ad from Honda features Matthew Broderick recreating several scenes from his 1986 movie Ferris Bueller's Day Off. The ad successfully recreates the fell of the movie, and actually had me wanting to re-watch the film.

Also Volkswagen posted this tease for their Super Bowl spot. It features a course of dogs barking "The Imperial March" from Star Wars.

This week they posted their actual commercial featuring an overweight dog. What does this have to do with Star Wars? Watch until the end to find out.

Image from IMDb

END POST

Dark Crystal Returns to Comics

2012-01-29T19:18:00.000-08:00

It's been awhile since I've done a blog post, but I had to post about this. Went to Books-a-Million today and picked up The Dark Crystal: Creation Myths, and A Game of Thrones. This is the second time a prequel comic has been made for the Dark Crystal in the last few years. The first, Legends of the Dark Crystal, was published by Tokyopop and only ran for 2 volumes. Unfortunately it was never finished due to Tokyopop shutting down their manga publication business in the US.

The story in Legend of the Dark Crystal took place shortly after the Crystal was broken and corrupted. This new comic from Archaia takes place prior to the Crystal becoming corrupted. Archaia also has a Jim Henson's The Storyteller comic. It seemed to be a collection of stories by different artists. I'll probably pick it up next paycheck.

I've been hearing a lot about A Game of Thrones, so decided to pick it up. Any book that can spawn a TV show, two video games, and a board game must be good right? Plus I have a friend who's read it and said it was a good read.

END POST

Hastune Miku's Singapore Concert Streamed Live on NicoNico

2011-11-03T17:36:00.000-07:00

On November 11th, a Singapore will host a live Hatune Miku concert. Video site NicoNico will be streaming the concert live as a Pay Per View. The concert begins Nov 11 at 7PM Singapore time, or 3AM PST here in the states. Tickets cost $11.00. And if you are unable to watch such an early concert, NicoNico will continue to host the timeshift version of the concert until Nov 27th. Tickets can be purchased at the NicoNico website HERE.

News and Picture from Anime News Network

The Last Unicorn in Theaters

2011-10-22T10:01:00.000-07:00

Conlan Press has announced beginning next year and running through 2013 that there will be more than 80 special digital screenings of The Last Unicorn through out America, Canada, Great Britain, and Germany. The book's author, Peter S. Beagle, will be attending each of these screenings to do Q&A sessions with the audience and sign autographs.

In addition to those screenings five million dollars has been set aside to digitally overhaul the film. The money will be used to go back and smooth out animation, upgrade special effects and sound, and finish background art that was never completed. Also 5 to 8 minutes of additional footage will be added. Once finished this updated version of the film will see a worldwide theatrical release in both 2D and 3D for it's 30th anniversary.

I'm personally looking forward to the theatrical re-release, and wish more classic films would be shown in theaters. Hopefully, one of 80 special screenings will be shown near where I live, but I doubt it. Anyone else looking forward to this?

News from AnimeNation

Oreimo Complete Series

2011-10-17T17:46:00.000-07:00

I got my preorder of ore no imouto ga konnani kawaii wake ga nai (My Little Sister Can't Be This Cute), or Oreimo for short in from Right Stuf this weekend. Oreimo is a fun series about a brother (Kyousuke) and sister (Kirino) that don't get along to well. Kirino is a straight A student, the popular girl at school, and also works part time as a model. But she secretly hides the fact that she's actually an otaku who likes anime, collecting figures, and playing eroge (erotic video games). When Kyousuke accidentally finds out about her hobby and becomes the only person she can talk to about it. Over the coarse of the series he helps her find friends who share her interests as well as coping with her parents and best friend finding out. The episodes are English subtitled, but I highly recommend this series if you haven't seen it yet.

More pictures after the jump......

The complete series comes with an art book, a double sides poster, 16 postcards and box to keep them in.

Poster Side A Kuroneko and Kirino

Poster Side B Kirino and Kyousuke

And here are the 16 post cards that come with the set. Now if only the manga would get a English release. Anyone else a fan of this series?

The Avengers Trailer is Out

2011-10-11T14:29:00.000-07:00

Apple Trailers has the Avengers Trailer up for viewing. I can't wait for next May.

Persona 4 the Animation on Hulu

2011-10-10T15:34:00.000-07:00

Hulu is streaming Persona 4: The Animation with English subtitles. Episode one is already up. I loved the Persona 4 PS2 game, and the first episode of the anime adaptation was pretty good. Can't wait to see the rest of it. Hopefully they kept a lot of the humor from the game like the camping trip and beauty pageant. What do you think of the show so far?

Image from The Video Game Writers

New Books and Dark Souls

2011-10-10T08:00:00.000-07:00

Picked up Dark Souls for the 360 from Gamestop this week, since Best Buy sold my Collector's Edition I ordered from them. Having played Demon Souls the starting areas of the game where fairly easy since I knew the controls and attack patterns of the basic enemies. I'm currently past the Boar in the Undead Parish and it's getting a bit harder. Preparing for the fight with the Belfry Gargoyles. Anyone else playing Dark Souls? How are you enjoying it?

Also got some new books. The new Percy Jackson book is out "The Son of Neptune". I got 5 of the "New 52" DC Comics consisting of Wonder Woman #1, Superman #1, Green Lantern Corps #1, The Flash #1, and Teen Titans #1. And two new manga volumes, Negima 31, and Higurashi: Eye Opening Arc 3. I liked the way Teen Titans started with their #1 issue. It was the only one to open in an origin story style with the Teen Titans not having been formed yet. What's everyone else take on the "New 52"?

Japan Offering Free Airfare to 10,000 Foreigners

2011-10-10T07:23:00.000-07:00

After the recent earthquake and nuclear accident, Japan's tourism has drastically decreased. In order to help show that Japan is safe to visit The Japanese Ministry of Tourism will be offering to pay round trip airfare for 10,000 foreigners wishing to visit Japan in 2012. In return they hope these visitors will blog, and use other social media to tell what a wonderful time they had while in Japan. Applications will be taken online and people interested in applying should keep an eye on the Japanese Tourism Board website. Anyone planning a trip to Japan in 2012?

News from Culture Japan

Don't Preorder From Best Buy

2011-10-04T17:13:00.000-07:00

This is a warning for anyone considering ordering, or in my case preordering, anything from BestBuy.com for in store delivery. The follow situation has happened to me twice in the past year when using BestBuy.com in store delivery. The most recent happened today and involves a video game called Dark Souls. If you preordered Dark Souls you were supposed to receive the Collector's Edition (pictured above). I wanted the Collectors Edition so I preorderd over a month ago. The game came out today so I headed over to the local Best Buy after work. The game they gave me was the regular edition. I questioned them about it, and they informed me they only received one copy of the Collectors Edition (my copy) and had sold it early today. I was told the collectors edition had been under ordered, and they had several people coming in looking for it today. I doubt any of the people coming in asking for it had actually preordered it. Of coarse when I called their customer care line to lodge my complaint, I was informed that when you order something online for in store pick up it arrives at the store clearly marked with your name on it and is to be held for you. Odds are an employee saw it and bought it for his or herself thinking no one would notice if they just put the regular version of the game behind the pick up counter.

Preorder receipt from BestBuy.com

And as I said this is not the first time this has happened. I pre-ordered Valkyria Chronicles 2 last year for in store pickup. Guess what. When I arrived to pick up the game it was no where to be found. They said they only received a single copy of the game (again my copy), and that it must of got put on the shelf and sold. So a word of advice, do not use Best Buy's in store pick up. Save yourself some hassle and pay the extra money to have it shipped to your house. Or better yet, buy it some place else. Now the only way I can get the Collectors Edition Dark Souls it to pay a hundred dollars or more on Ebay.

Live Action Ranma 1/2

2011-09-26T14:36:00.000-07:00

Japan's NTV network will be airing a 2 hour long live action adaptation of Rumiko Takahashi's Ranma 1/2 this December. The special will feature Kento Kaku (Paradise Kiss, Gokusen) as Male Ranma Saotome, and Natsuna (Gantz) as Female Ranma Saotome.

And here's a brief synopsis of the story for those of you who might now know what I mean by Male and Female Ranma Saotome. During martial arts training in China, Ranma fell into the Spring of Drowned Girl. The spring was cursed so that who ever fell into it would take on the appearance of a girl when splashed with cold water. Hot water reverses the effect. This leads to several hilarious situations between Ranma and his friends and causes him to be the center of affection for several characters in the series, both male and female.

I hope the show is good. And if it is that someone licenses it for US release.

News from Anime News Network
Image from Deeds and Musings

DC Universe Online Goes Free to Play

2011-09-19T15:02:00.000-07:00

Starting in October DC Universe Online will be free to play for both PC and PS3 players. However, like any free to play MMO there will be certain parts of the game requiring a purchase. Sony is adopting a membership tier setup similar to Dungeons and Dragons Online. That being there will be 3 tiers consisting of Free, Premium, and Legendary. The tiers breakdown as follows

Free: New players will now have access to the current gameplay in DC Universe Online (including Gotham City, Metropolis, and all current raids and alerts), with the ability to create two characters, join a league and many other benefits. Free level players will be able to purchase downloadable game packs/updates, additional character slots, powers and more through microtransactions.

Premium: Any player who has spent at least $5 USD (including former paid subscribers and new players who have purchased $5 of in-game items) will qualify for the Premium access level. Premium level players will have more benefits available to them than the Free level player, including additional character slots, additional inventory slots, and higher cash limits. Downloadable adventure packs, additional character slots, and more can be purchased in-game.

Legendary: Maximum features and benefits are included at this level. Loaded with enhanced additional features, Legendary access will be available for a $14.99 USD monthly fee and includes all DLC packs at no cost, more than 15 character slots, more than 80 inventory slots, the ability to form unrestricted-sized leagues, and many other benefits.

I'll probably be trying the game out once it switches over. Anyone else planning to check it out?

News from G4's The Feed

New Books and Used Games

2011-09-13T16:58:00.000-07:00

Picked up some new books this month. Finally got around to getting The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya. I had ordered it back in February at Books A Million, but wasn't able to go pick it up due to a broken ankle. I've got The Rampage of Haruhi Suzumiya ordered. It should be here next week. While at Books A Million I also picked up Dungeons and Dragons: Forgotten Realms Classics, which collects Issues 1-8 of the DC comics from 1989. And let's not forget Higurashi: Eye Opening Arc volumes 1 and 2.

Decided to stop by the local comic book store. Hadn't been there in years since I've been more into reading manga than comics. I went because a friend had told the new IDW Dungeons and Dragons comic was pretty good and I wanted to check it out. While I was there I got Red Sonja issue 2, Transformers issue 25, and Dungeons and Dragons issue 10.

Gamestop was running a Buy 2 Get 2 Free sale on used Playstation 2 games. I've wanted to pick up the Fatal Frame series for a long time, but wasn't to keen on paying 30 bucks a piece on them. But with the sale I could buy 2 of them and get the 3rd + another game free. Got Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne as my extra game. And was also able to find a copy of Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days. That's all for now.

.