January 2020 | Otaku No Culture |

PvP Changes in Pokemon GO & My Wish for What’s Next

Pokemon GO Banner Still

Pokémon Go has finally become the game that it should have been when it first released. The latest update includes an improved player versus player experience where opponents can fight each other on the net in league play. It’s tennis at its core, where you send out your best Pokemon to trade blows until one is down (of the three matches). The combat interface is the same. The rewards are slightly better. Sadly, the experience is very buggy. Rewards don’t show up unless you restart this module of the game. To enter this mode, players must walk 5km per entry to play five rounds for a max of 15 per day. The official wording is ambiguous to say if distance gained through adventure sync will allow joining too.

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Mark Twain’s Niagara, the Graphic Novel & Book Two Plans

Mark Twain once said, “A classic: a book people praise but don`t read,” I’d be at attention and make sure I’ve looked this work more than once.

Mark Twain's Niagara Book Cover — **Available to purchase on Amazon USA**

Mark Twain is a man of the world. To say history is alive in Niagara is an understatement and this adaptation into a graphic novel form by AH Comics has many accolades. It was published two years ago and I didn’t get a chance to discover this book until now. I am amused how book one finishes–almost as if though teasing about his future and appearance in Star Trek: The Next Generation, “Time’s Arrow.”

Honestly, I feel that’s more of an influence of the artist having seen the episode. Chapter 10, Into the Unknown, sees Samuel L. Clemens witnessing Niagara Falls getting illuminated on September 14, 1860. The beauty he conveys with watercolour on canvas of a star field is a fine way to close off book one.

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Summer Days with Coo Cannot Come Any Sooner

Perhaps the reason for the late home video release of Summer Days with Coo is to gauge international interest if a sequel can be made.

Summer Days with Coo Blu-ray Case Available now on Shout! Factory or Amazon

Winter’s grasp may well still be upon us in certain parts of the world, but thankfully, spending (or rather, watching) Summer Days with Coo (河童のクゥと夏休み) is an option.

This anime not only gives us a heartwarming comedy drama between Kōichi Uehara, a young boy having an awkward time in school, but also looks at the life of a kappa, nicknamed Coo, who is a stranger in a strange land. Unlike those prankster frog-like spirits of lore, these creatures are very friendly towards humans. They don’t hate them unless threatened. The cute character designs in this anime suggest they are simple country folk.

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Frankenstein Undone! Expanding Mary Shelley’s Story in the Hellboy Universe

By Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)

In Shops: Jan 29, 2020

Frankenstein’s monster is no stranger to Dark Horse Comics Mignola-verse. Although he once crossed paths with Hellboy in House of the Living Dead, little is known about the creature that, in this alternate reality, inspired Mary Shelley to write about the creation of the Modern Prometheus.

In our universe, just who inspired whom is the opposite. With Frankenstein Undone, just what Mike Mignola and Scott Allie wrote is new groundwork to make him a truly sympathetic character I can truly root for.

The tale takes place immediately after Shelley’s book. Instead of him building that funeral pyre to cleanse the Frankensteins from the Earth, a chance encounter with the fantastical changed his mind. Redemption is not far…

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in Star Trek: Picard, There’s New Threats are in Store

There’s lots to like in season one of Star Trek: Picard. As for whether it delivers what The Next Generation fans want, well….

On CBS All Access, Crave
and speciality channels.

Spoiler Alert

Star Trek: Picard brings back a franchise some fans believe to have strayed far from everything in this world that was beloved. Whether it’s about space exploration or making a social commentary about the times, I love the series for the characters. Jean-Luc is stern; over the seven-year run of Next Generation, we saw how he suffered and we saw how he developed. Sir Patrick Stewart seems to be showing his age and it works to highlight the golden years of his life.

Part of the new series relies on viewers recall of the films which continued the series in an extended form. With a story that picks up many years after the movie Nemesis, the captain retired. He’s having nightmares, and the life thereafter is a little more rough than kosher. That’s until Dahj (Isa Briones), a young lady appears at the family vineyard begging for help.

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Emerald City Comic Con is Back to the Future!

By Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)

After months of waiting, Emerald City Comic Con is making their huge guest announcements. The gang from Back to the Future is landing in Seattle, Washington! After a nearly steady tour at other shows, the wait for them to arrive in the Pacific Northwest is finally at an end. From the Silicon Valley Comic Convention to Fan Expo Toronto to Calgary, I had the feeling they will eventually hit either the Vancouver show, or Seattle.

If you’re like me, hoping for a commemorative tee, let’s hope the graphic design team will have an image of a DeLorean flying circles around the Needle. I’d get that signed and never worn!

Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson and Tom Wilson have visited the Emerald City before, but to see the entire gang together takes planning. Due to the health of Michael J. Fox, some cancellations did occur in the past and all we can do as fans is to wish him the best and hope nothing happens from this announcement to the night of the event.

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