AM2 announces Animaid Cafe

AM2 has announced another aspect to their convention on July 1-3 this year at the Anaheim Convention Center. They will be hosting an Animaid Cafe. The cafe will feature of 50 maids. At a maid cafe, maids serve food and drinks and they also dance on stage to Asian pop songs. There are also games that guests can play against the maids. Win three times and you can win a personalized picture. Maid Cafes are really fun for all ages and all genders. AM2 representative Chase Wang states, “The Animaid Café is an amazing event and is exclusive only to AM2. Only here can you truly experience what a maid café is like in Akihabra, Japan. Come and join the fun and have the time of your life!”

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Interview: CrunchyRoll Brand Manager, Keith Kawamura

GamingAngels recently had a chance to catch up with CrunchyRoll, a website dedicated to bringing anime and Eastern television shows to Western audiences. Keith Kawamura, the brand manager of the site was more than happy to answer our questions for subscribers. GamingAngels: What inspired you to create a streaming site for Anime/Eastern Drama? Keith Kawamura: This Crunchyroll community is amazingly passionate about their interest in anime and Asian entertainment. Our continued goal is to bring fans all over the world together, strengthen the community and create a way to make the physical world as we know it, a little smaller and intimate through the legal distribution of anime and Asian content. In doing so, perhaps we can develop a greater sense of understanding and awareness throughout. How did you guys get started? What were some of the first shows streamed on the site? Crunchyroll began its operation in 2006 and

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Japan’s Anti-Anime Law

Coming up on the political scene over in Tokyo, there is a strong possibility that an unpopular law could get passed. Called Bill 156, the “Anti-Anime” bill has been backed by a governor named Shintaro Ishihara. Seen as an embarrassment by some, there is an influence to clean up anime. Its place in Japanese media, can cause cultural misunderstandings when anime is often seen as sexually promiscuous and degrading towards women. What they really want to get rid of are the ones that sexualize underage young girls. Criticism has come about now due to the vagueness of how the bill was written. An over broad description of what is taboo could mean that anime in general could have to become more censored. Ishihara and the new law are feared to be a ticket to anime’s demise. Like video games in the USA which are trashed by people who never play

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Pucca Kisses on Wii Ware Valentines Day

Just in time for Valentines Day, Pucca Kisses is coming out on Wii Ware. Pucca is an adorable cartoon character who is after one thing. She wants to kiss her sweet heart Garu, who is a the little Ninja. He is completely oblivious to her attempts and usually manages to get away. Pucca is always determined to try and get her kiss. This young lady is in love and is stubborn in her pursuit of Garu. The fun-filled and interactive cartoon, Pucca’s kisses game, will enable gamers using the Wii Remote. Pucca faces obstacles in pursuit of her loved one, Garu. At the end of each sprint, Garu must be found again, who attempts, to hide before being kissed.

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“Forgotten Japanese Spirit”

In a long winter like this one it isn’t easy to keep one’s spirits up. On a trip to return soda bottles we accidentally found a little Japanese jewel. Intrigued by the title I brought it home to learn more about it. The Bunraku “Nihonjin No Wasuremono” or the “Forgotten Japanese Spirit” is a fine natural Yamahai Junmai Saké. It feels as though a precious genie is in the bottle that I don’t want to let out. More than just being about getting drunk, the making of rice wine is still an almost sacred, and revered process. It involves the purest of cool water as it comes from the mountains. This one was made in the Saitama Prefecture. It is a Yamahai, which means that the brewer uses native yeasts, those just floating in the air of the brewery. It is a very tricky process which not many modern brewers

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Tomodachi – Friendship

This town is where Portuguese fishermen fished some Japanese sailors out of the ocean, leading to the opening of Japan. Every other year a Japanese festival takes place here, while on alternating years the festival is held in the sister city in Japan. There are walking tours commemorating all this passing by the house where I’m in, daily. The festival commemorates the bond between Capt. William Whitfield and John Manjiro of Japan, which was formed when Capt. Whitfield rescued Manjiro in 1841. Mr. Manjiro eventually returned to Japan and served an important role as an interpreter and adviser as relations between Japan and the United States were established. This is a festival year in October if you are planning a trip to the Commonwealth. My love for all things Japanese began in 1998 when I became a Reiki Master. It was completely by chance or kismet that I landed here,

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Comikaze brings hope to LA Comic fans

Comikaze expo is hoping to bring LA some hope when it comes to comic book conventions in Los Angeles. Few have tried, but nothing seems to be able to compete with San Diego. Comikaze hopes to have an expo that covers sci-fi, fantasy, horror and cult, gaming, anime and of course comics for Los Angeles fans. The exciting part is they are reaching out to the community to find out what you want from a comic book convention. Here, they list that they want to know what you want to see. This may help them tailor their tournaments, panels and special guests. The convention is slated for November 5 & 6, 2011 at the Los Angeles convention center. You can continue to visit comikazeexpo.com to view upcoming events. I’ve been a San Diego Comic Con fan for 13 years. But I have been yearning for a comic book convention that

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Koihime†Muso Complete Collection, now on sale

Section23 Films is pleased to announce the release of the hit series Koihime†Muso. All 12 episodes plus 2 OVA’s in one complete collection now on sale. Among the ashes of the Han Dynasty a sisterhood of steel has been forged…. Before Hua Mulan, before Wu Zetian, China bore another great hero, one whose true name was lost to history… until now. Swearing vengeance after bandits destroy her family and village, a girl named Aisha takes the name Kan’u and sets forth on a journey that will take her across the ruins of a great nation, living not as a woman “should,” but by the strength of her own sword and the steel of her own will. And as she travels, her courage and example become a beacon to other kindred souls: women who dare to shatter the shackles of their own traditions and take up arms, to become a force

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A Look at: Talesweaver

MMORPGs have become widely popular both in a casual and competitive circles and there are always new and interesting ones being developed and released. A new MMO being published by game&game (http://www.gamengame.com), Talesweaver, created by the Korean Softmax, is poised to become a hit with MMO fans. The game aims to combine everything that RPG fans love into a unique online experience. Talesweaver focuses more on the combined efforts of players to move the story and the game forward. One of the most unique features of the game is the possibility for players to change the development of the story like one is usually only able to in console games. This definitely caught my eye, as I’ve personally not experienced this in other MMOs.  The story is based on the Korean novel “Children of the Rune” and has 8 episodes.  Each episode in Talesweaver changes based on which of the

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Viz Media releases new manga app for iPad

Viz Media has announced that their new free-to-download manga app is now available for the iPad. Vampire Knight, Ouran High School Club, Otomen and Rurouni Kenshin are all available for the iPad now. The episodes are $4.99 per volume but the app is free. There are free chapter 1 previews on the app and the download library will be growing. Previously available were Bleach, Bakuman, Death Note, Dragon Ball, Naruto and One Piece. I highly recommend Vampire Knight or Ouran High School Club!

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