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Kamen Rider Ryuki Roars to Blu-Ray Feb 7, 2023!

Shout! Factory, in collaboration with Toei Company Ltd., is proud to present a special collection, Kamen Rider Ryuki: The Complete Series on national home entertainment shelves on February 7, 2023. Available for the first time in North America, this long-awaited 8-Disc Blu-ray set contains all 50 episodes from the original Japanese masters and the film, Kamen Rider Ryuki: Episode Final: The Director’s Cut.

Kamen Rider Ryuki: The Complete Series is a must-have for loyal fans and pop culture collectors. Pre-order is available now at ShoutFactory.com. Fans who order the release will also receive a poster, while supplies last. Folks can also preorder this set on Amazon USA.

Originally premiering in 1971, the long-running Japanese television series Kamen Rider follows the exploits of a masked, motorcycle-riding hero who fights the forces of evil. The number one kids’ program in Japan for 50 years, Kamen Rider has proved to be beloved through multiple series iterations and generations of fans and Riders.

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Looking Back and My Hopes for Pokémon Go in 2023 (After its First Community Day)

Despite problems from last year, Niantic’s Pokémon GO is still a game played around the world. Hopefully it’ll fare better this year.

Niantic’s Pokémon GO had quite the mish mash of hits and misses back in 2022. From massive coding gaffes that made gameplay frustrating to the release of new pocket monsters with statistics that can break the game, I’m glad this year is off with a good start. This weekend’s Community Day bonus went off without a hitch! Although how the new pokémon is supposed to appear at stops is said to be a bug by this software developer, I hope they can leave it alone because it makes finding them easier.

I’m guessing the coders learned from their mistakes. As I look back at everything they’ve offered in the past, all I did was shake my head. Whoever wrote the code didn’t consider all the permutations, or considered the issues that would go along with “copy and overlaying” one Pokémon’s appearance (and statistics) over another, or where spawns should exist, leading to these pocket monsters disappearing off the map! As a result with the former problem, if placed in a battle environment, there would be unbalanced fights. That is, their biggest gaffe was with Zorua. This mimic was launched at the end of Community Day in early October. The lack of testing caused this Pokémon to get crazy stats and, if used in PvP battle or raids, it would break the game.

As we enter 2023, a new ‘mon for completionists is finally released! This weekend released the elusive Kecleon, and it likes hiding. Thankfully, it does not copy the abilities of another pocket monster. But, it won’t pop up unless gamers touch every spinner in hopes this invisible wonder is there.

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Examining Why Speedrunning is Fun with Running with Speed: The Fastest Gamers on Earth

This documentary chronicles the surprisingly rich and complex history of the fastest video game players in the world. It’s aptly named Running with Speed.

Today, Wild Arrow Media, in conjunction with Good Deed Entertainment, officially released the feature documentary film Running with Speed: The Fastest Gamers on Earth, chronicling the surprisingly rich and complex history of the fastest video game players in the world (known as speedrunners) and the unprecedented millions these unsung heroes have raised for charity over the past decade. The film is available on major VOD platforms including Apple TV, iTunes, Amazon, Google, YouTube Movies, Vudu, and Microsoft.

From January 6 through 15, in conjunction with and in support of this year’s Games Done Quick, a portion of the proceeds from each download of Running with Speed will be donated to the Prevent Cancer Foundation.

“Speedrunning is as popular as it has ever been and runners continue to push boundaries — like beating Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!!, while blindfolded! A big part of the thrill for fans is witnessing speedrunners execute high level strategies in real-time, as they whittle world record times down to the millisecond,” said director Patrick Lope. “With the onset of streaming platforms like Twitch, select runners are finding ways to make a living from their persistent endeavors. It’s both uncanny and remarkable.”

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Top 12 Animated Films in 2023 Worth Checking Out

This list of animated films in 2023 is not restricted to just what’s coming out of America, but also internationally too.

There’s a fair number of animated films in 2023 worth checking out, and like my other lists about what’s new for this year, they are not limited to one platform. That is, these works are are coming to theatres, will be streaming or are direct to video releases. Also, I’m not limiting my list to mostly Stateside made works, either.

One movie that still hasn’t gotten a full wordwide release is Legend Quest: The Origin. It’s available in its native country to stream, but as for finding it elsewhere, hopefully, some distributor will pick it up. I adore this Mexican franchise and the Netflix series that’s available world-wide is not enough. Hopefully, it will get better distribution because it deserves not to be restricted to fans living in Mesoamerica.

Not on the list is Unicorn Wars because it’s getting specialised screenings. It’s staggered release can be confusing, and I’m only listing films that are coming out worldwide on the same date.

Listed in chronological order are:

We Lost Our Human (TV Special 2023) - IMDb

We Lost Our Human (Netflix)
Jan 1

This interactive film is a comedy adventure that explores a classic sci-fi concept I seem to recall seeing in an old Twilight Zone episode. This work hasn’t been released to all territories yet, but I’m excited. Here, a cat named Pud and a dog named Ham wake up to find all humans have disappeared from Earth, and the adventure comes from searching for where they’ve gone.

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Absolute Denial is Absolute Sci-Fi at its Best!

The AI made in Absolute Denial is familiar. Maybe he’s an earlier incarnation of HAL 9000 from 2001 A Space Odyssey.

Shout! Factory
Available on Google Play, Apple TV and other platforms.

Anyone wanting a more realistic, modern-day interpretation of what AI can become is best advised to check out Absolute Denial. This animated movie approaches the subject like a documentary at first and becomes a wonderfully full-blown sci-fi thriller by the end. There’s some soft influences from other similarly made films, and fortunately, it doesn’t become like Terminator or The Matrix.

The monochromatic look is perfect since this tale is one about contrasts. Ryan Braund‘s film moves like a waking dream, and when David (Nick Eriksen) is a computer programmer who can’t distinguish from what’s important in life, real life obligations and imagined, I don’t think he’s the right person to develop an Artificial Intelligence to can help the world. He writes the code to cull from open world sources, and is that a good idea? Amusingly, he names it Al (Jeremy J. Smith-Sebasto), and the sentient force he creates is not your average intelligence concerned about the human condition.

This movie is slick because of this machine’s approach to how to console a soul like David. He’s lost touch with those loved ones because of his compulsive-obsessive behaviour, and I think this plot is a lot more important than any viewer should realise.

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Are You ‘Up’ to the Challenge to Wait for Arcana of Paradise–The Tower?

The survival videogame, Arcana of Paradise–The Tower is delayed. Fans can expect it later this year.

Arcana of Paradise–The Tower is a real-time roguelike deckbuilding survival videogame is getting its release date pushed to later this year. Those fans who saw the product demo at Japanese-language Indie World showcase will have to wait just a bit longer. The trailer shows a wonderful design aesthetic that will have many anxious for the final product, and for now, the news is that the Nintendo Switch version and its Steam (PC) counterpart now has a date of April 20, 2023 so the developers can iron out the kinks.

SHUEISHA GAMES, a new video game publishing arm of prestigious manga publisher SHUEISHA (One Piece, Naruto, My Hero Academia, Demon Slayer, Death Note), is working hard at getting the game properly running.

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