20TH CENTURY BOYS 2: THE LAST HOPE released on DVD

If you remember, one of our recommendations from the Turning Japanese Holiday Guide was the 20th Century Boys films. And at the time I don’t remember finding an official release date for film #2, but we now have word from VIZ Pictures of one! For those of you unfamiliar with the series, the creator is Naoki Urusawa who is responsible for the MONSTER series and the YALSA list mention PLUTO. The 20th Century Boys films are based on the 24 volume manga series that are highly popular in Japan, having sold over 20 million copies. The film is directed by Yukihiko Tsutsumi, who has made commercials and music videos for Nihon Television and is also director of Happily Ever After (available from VIZ). Still not sure? OK, I’ll let you know the storyline: The story began in 1969 when a young boy named Kenji and his friends write “The Book

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Love and VIZ Cinema

Love is in the air as we get closer to Valentine’s Day. San Francisco’s VIZ Cinema is releasing two new movies for February. First up is Josee, The Tiger and The Fish, which is screening February 5th-18th. This movie is about a college student, Tsuneo, who meets a young woman named Kumiko, aka Josee, who embraces life with her feisty personality, even though she has cerebral palsy and a baby buggy for transportation. This movie has already won a lot of awards in Japan, and it seems to be a very sweet, feel-good kind of movie. Then there is La Maison De Himiko, showing from February 18th until March 4th. Family secrets, redemption, and the power of love in aiding to renew family bonds are explored with a father and daughter who cant understand each other and a man and woman who can’t love each other. The odd and beautiful

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Game Developers Choice Award Nominations Bring Few Surprises

Today, organizers of the tenth annual Game Developers Choice Awards announced the nominees for every award that will be handed out at the March ceremony in San Francisco (except the Ambassador and Lifetime Achievement Special Awards). The recipient of the 2010 Pioneer Award will be Gabe Newell, as reported last week. Several of the nominations are no-brainers. Naughty Dog’s Uncharted 2: Among Thieves leads the pack with seven nominations (if there was a “Movie of the Year” category, it would have eight nominations and one sure win), while one surprising title follows it with five: downloadable PSN title Flower. Assassin’s Creed II had four nominations. Even iPhone games like Flight Control got recognition. Looks like the nominees are very inclusive this year – while some of them are quite obvious, everyone seems to have gotten a fair shake. A full list of nominees follows. Best Game Design Batman: Arkham Asylum

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Review: Chocolatier Decadence by Design

Mmmmmm….. chocolate! I love chocolate. I’m one of the nine in every ten women in the world who adores the cocoa confections. You put chocolate in it, and odds are I’m all over it. Platform: PC ESRB: E Genre: Casual Strategy Number of Players: 1 Publisher: PlayFirst Release Date: Jan 2009 Official Website BUY Chocolatier: Decadence by Design is technically the fourth game in the Chocolatier series, allowing the player to discover the delicious underbelly of chocolate confectioners. Your adventure starts in Zurich, where Alex Baumeister asks you to help her by running the factory while she searches for her husband, missing after WWII. The war has taken its toll on the Baumeisters, as many of their factories were refitted to accommodate ammunition production. It is up to you to bring back the prominence that Baumeister Confections once held. In the beginning, your profits will come from creating scrumptious chocolate

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Let’s go see an “eiga”!

Thinking of going to the movies with some friends or that special someone? If you’re a San Francisco resident, there could be something for you on right now at the VIZ Cinema complex! Our friends at VIZ have let us know about some of the cool Anime and Japanese films you will have the opportunity to see from now until the beginning of February! They’re calling the whole event “Hit Me With Music, Volume 2“, taking inspiration from the way in which music can shape the ways of our lives. So what can we see, and when? Starting off, we have “Shindo“. This film has been screening since December 26th 2009, and finishes up on January 7th 2010. Shindo is based on a manga series created by Akira Sasou. Wao is a high school graduate wanting to go to music school and he meets Uta, a 13-year-old child prodigy pianist.

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12th Annual Independent Games Finalists Announced

The Independent Games Festival (IGF) has announced the Main Competition finalists for the twelfth annual presentation of its awards, celebrating the most innovative creations to come out of the independent game development community this year. There are nearly $50,000 in prizes for various categories, including the $20,000 Seumas McNally Grand Prize, to be awarded on stage at the Independent Games Festival Awards on March 11, 2010 during the 2010 Game Developers Conference in San Francisco. There were 301 competition entries this year, an almost 35% increase over last year’s record 226 entries. And many of the entries are striking new titles from leading indie developers. This year’s finalists are led by multiple nominations for several notable games, including three nominations for innovative light-centric puzzle platformer Closure, and two nominations each — including a Grand Prize nomination — for Pocketwatch Games’ stylish co-op heist game Monaco, Hello Games’ polished stunt motorbike

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Gamers give back for Child’s Play event

Harmonix rocks out for Ümloud! an annual fundraiser for Child’s Play Charity which is set this year at the DNA Lounge in San Francisco, CA on December 9th. The event will feature a full-blown Rock Band 2 main stage where gamers can face off against each other. “Ümloud! is a great way to get the community involved in a fun charity event and give towards a great cause,” says Ümloud! co-founder Chris Kohler. “We have awesome sponsors and industry leaders involved in this event and we want you to come out and rock the night away for us in effort to raise money for children’s hospitals through Child’s Play.” Doors open at the DNA Lounge at 7pm and the party goes until 2am. There is a suggested donation of $10 upon entry and then all attendees are eligible to win amazing prizes, and limited edition gaming swag. For information on

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EA Sports Active launches Pop-Up Training centers

To celebrate the launch of EA Sports Active more workouts which has 35 new exercises, EA is also launching Pop-up Training Centers. These centers will help introduce people to EA Sports Active. There are currently two Pop Up training centers open in San Francisco and Boston. The centers will be open from November 15 – December 14, 2009. Visitors will get a personalized introduction from a trainer at a demo station and they will show the visitor how to create a workout to make it to their fitness goals. The stores will also have a “lending library” where you can borrow EA Sports Active Personal Trainer or More Workouts for a private test of the game. Here are the locations and details: • San Francisco Location: 39 Stockton Street, San Francisco, CA 94108 • Boston Location: 156 Newbury Street, Boston, MA 02116 Locations open: 12:00 pm to 7:00 pm Monday

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Gurren Lagann at the movies!

Lucky Gurren Lagann fans in the San Fran area are being treated to a double-feature movie special at the NEW PEOPLE/VIZ CINEMA complex on the 17th and 18th of November! As a part of the Weeknight Anime Program, the cinema are holding a two-night only special presentation of Gurren Lagann: The Movie 1: Childhood’s End and Gurren Lagann: The Movie 2: The Lights In The Sky Are Stars. The movies are subtitled, and are shown back-to-back. In the first movie, Simon and Kamina are forced to live within the limits set by the village elder – but that changes when, just as Simon discovers a “fantastic” device, the village becomes victim to a wild intrusion. They are soon entangled in a battle against surface “Beastmen” who control giant robots known as Gunmen. The underground inhabitants manage to commandeer one of these robots for themselves and name it GURREN, which they

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Japanese Art & Culture coming to the NEW PEOPLE ARTIST VILLAGE

If you are looking for a day out, and you enjoy art exhibitions, then NEW PEOPLE ARTIST VILLAGE should be a place you make a beeline for in the near future. The TOKYO CREATORS MARKET is an exhibit that is going to take place as of November 21st and end some time in the new year. It features visual artworks from Japanese artists, some of whom (Junko Mizuno, ON ZA LINE, and Kim Songhe) will actually attend the sneak preview party of the show that runs from 6-8pm. This party is invitation only however, so if you would like an invite then you need to sign-up to the email newsletter at www.newpeopleworld.com. Artists whose works will be on display include: JUNKO MIZUNO (artwork pictured, right) Junko Mizuno has a huge following in the United States and is widely known for her provocative and strong feminine imagery. She has published numerous

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