AnimeJapan 2016: Macross Delta News and New Merchandise

By James Robert Shaw (The Wind up Geek)

MacrossDeltaPromoAnimeJapan 2016 (formerly known as the Tokyo International Anime Fair) is happening at Tokyo Big Sight in the Ariake District. And you will probably hear a few good things come out of the con this year. The event runs March 25-27 (the 25th is for registered members of industry and media only). So far day one has provided some interesting information according to Macross Delta fans. Delta Mechanical Designer Shōji Kawamori has confirmed that the Delta character Mirage is the daughter of Miranda Jenius, Max and Milia Fallyna Jenius’ 6th daughter.

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[Akihabara, Tokyo] – S.H.Figuarts Exhibition

By James Robert Shaw (The Wind up Geek)

KingOfMonstersIn my mind there are pairings that seem so right that one wonders if they can exist without the other. Pairings that one never may question, because to do so would bring at best puzzled looks, and at worst scorn.

I can think of the famous pairings of Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy, chocolate and peanut butter, and Akihabara and collectible figures.

Okay, that last one was a bit a stretch. You can pair most anything with Akihabara and no one would bat an eye; Akihabara and cosplay, Akihabara and electronics, Akihabara and anime. You see, there is a lot we can pair with such a wonderful place.

And it is in this wonderful place in the Chiyoda ward of Tokyo, that you will find the latest thing to catch your eye. I dare you to walk past it.

The Tamashii Nations’ Akiba Showroom is having a S.H.Figuarts exhibition in the JR Akihabara Station. The exhibition spans two rooms and many recognizable brands can be seen. The Brands of Sailor Moon, Kamen Rider and Himitsu Sentai Goranger are just a sample of what can be viewed. There is even a figure dedicated to the late pop legend Michael Jackson.

The S.H.Figuarts exhibition started August 4, 2014.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=haYKozj1CuE&w=560&h=315%5D 
Source: Dochi Hoko
YouTube Video: Jenny Silver

Patlabor: The Future of Mechs is Here

By James Robert Shaw (The Wind up Geek)

The Next Generation -Patlabor- official trailer is online and fans will be pleased to know that the production company, Tohokushinsha Film Corporation, is not only offering a feature-length film but also a live action theatrical series. Thirteen episodes (episodes 1-12 and episode 0) will be broken up up into a seven part saga.

Part one of the series will make its debut on April 5, 2014 at the Shinjuku Piccadilly cinema in Tokyo Prefecture as well as several other theatres throughout Japan. The 100-minute feature film, written and directed by Mamoru Oshii, will be shown during Japan’s Golden Week (between the end of April and the beginning of May) in 2015.
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[Chiyoda, Tokyo] Pretty Undead Maids All in a Row

What’s interesting is that the Undead Maids become more grotesque with each passing day as the virus progresses, eventually decaying.

Translation: "Warning! There is a zombie outbreak in this building!"
Translation: “Warning! There is a zombie outbreak in this building!”

Halloween isn’t widely celebrated in Japan but there is at least one place in Japan you can go to get your ghoul on, Schatzkiste, a Akihabara culture café is holding their fourth annual Maid of the Dead in Chiyoda, Tokyo.

Schatzkiste is part of a franchise of maid cafés. And at the Akihabara location you’ll be treated to some fun in the form of zombie maids who’ll serve you some frighteningly fun food. Some of the tasty treats that will be featured are Nameless Horror Omurice, Smashed Brain Cheese Cake and Eyeball Juice.

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Coppelion: Scifi with School Uniforms

By James Robert Shaw (The Wind up Geek)

coppelionProduction Company: GoHands

Series Directors: Hiromitsu Kanazawa and Susumu Kudo

Based on the manga written and illustrated by Tomonori Inoue, Coppelion looks 20 years into Tokyo’s future after a 2016 accident at the local Odaiba nuclear power plant causes the once great city to become uninhabitable. Fast forward to 2036 and the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force dispatches a group of three genetically modified girls called Coppelion (pronounced Kopperion) after receiving an SOS signal from the heart of Tokyo.

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Akihabara: Playground and Home to Geeks

By James Shaw and Ed Sum

Cover

J: The documentary Akihabara Geeks follow the lives of a few of the inhabitants of Akihabara or as it’s been nicknamed “Electric Town.”

And as I like to call the inhabitants “damn lucky,” oh what I would not do to live there, where many geeks congregate. It would be like a large convention every day. The documentary is not hard-hitting by any means. In fact it could almost act as a holiday advertisement for Akihabara. We get to know some of the occupants and they seem to be like anyone else with their own dreams and their own little quirks, except for one resident who is painted as downright odd.

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