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All The Fears About Strange Tales of Liaozhai: Lanruo Temple Are Revealed With The Final Trailer

The upcoming Strange Tales of Liaozhai isn’t a simple anthology as far as _ is concerned!

Strange Tales of Liaozhai- Lanruo TempleLight Chaser Animation

As the date nears for Strange Tales of Liaozhai: Lanruo Temple to hit theatres, fans of this studio’s works will finally get to know more about the book Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio (Amazon link). This work contains many short stories, and we finally have confirmation of which tales are being adapted. They are:

  • The Taoist Priest of Laoshan Mountain: A classic zhiguai story about a wandering Taoist encountering supernatural threats.
  • Princess Lotus: A spirit romance centered on a flower fairy—echoing themes of love across realms.
  • Nie Xiaoqian: A melancholic ghost tale where a female specter falls in love with a scholar—the inspiration behind many film/TV adaptations.
  • The Painted Skin: A chilling demon tale where a beautiful woman is revealed to be a monstrous spirit.
  • The Daughter of Magistrate Lu: A supernatural courtroom fable where a magistrate in the afterlife judges the dead.

The main narrative, set at Lanruo Temple, will incorporate each of these works. This historical building sits on the Yangtze River, and locals call it a “little-known travel destination.” With the final trailer out, with subtitles, fans from around the world have a better idea about what’s going on. Although it primarily focuses on one tale, it’s easy to tell there’re multiple stories involved.

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Thoughts on the Kung Fury 2 Leak And How to Save It

If you didn’t hear the news about the Kung Fury 2 leak, then I got a recap before the video got taken down and thoughts on who should help bring it to the masses.

Kung Fury 2 Temp PosterWild Eye Releasing should pick up the tab to deliver David Sandberg’s sequel to Kung Fury. This homage to various genres, ranging from 80s style tokusatsu to buddy cop to sci-fi is a godsend. Kung Fury 2 is a no hold barred bonkers as Last Action Hero! Thankfully, newcomers or those who haven’t heard of this cult film can find the original on YouTube (or scroll to the end of this article to see the short).

If you are a fan of Power Rangers or even TMNT, this indie movie is for you! It’s a wonderfully hilarious parody of 80s schlock cinema, and all those cheap budget exploitation films from the 70s even count too! Apparently, last Friday a sizzle reel of the sequel leaked online, and with no surprise, it’s no longer available. Other folks may have since reposted it, but there’s no word on when those will disappear too. Someone might attempt to put it online again on another, less vigilant service.

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Celebrating Spring Equinox with Five Animated Films

The best thing about Spring Equinox is not the longer days, but the times spent with family and friends, and there’s a few favourite films I like to watch too.

Spring Equinox at the Movie TheatreAs Spring Equinox is officially in full bloom, just what I want to view is not your regular fare. My recommendations better reflect the season than any spiritual aspect; my top five favorite animated works include more than just current movies. I have short films on this list too.

And so I’m not spending the entire time indoors, what can be viewed can be done in an evening while the afternoon is spent hunting for eggs. Unfortunately, no bunnies are on this list. For part of this Easter Sunday, I’ll be enjoying:

To Spring (1936)

Very few tales acknowledge Spring Equinox as passionately as this classic produced by Hugh Harman and Rudolf Ising, and directed by William Hanna before forming his own studio. It’s a simple tale where gnomes are helping the world transition to the new season. But challenges are in store for them….

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With (S)KiDs, It’s Not Just But Still Rock and Roll to Me

The beauty with independent animated works is that they don’t have to play by the rules. For (S)KiDs, the creators must make sure the message is heard, not just blasted.

(s)kids movie posterAvailable to stream on YouTube (free, see below)

The year (S)KiDs take place in may seem unusual, but it feels appropriate to show what teenage life was like back in the early 90s. In a nutshell, I can’t help but think this film is Smells Like Teen Spirit meets The Breakfast Club. This song released by Nirvana in 1991 is more than age-old to reflect upon what this film is about.

Here, this animated film looks at the life of Scotty (James Priestner), a self prescribed punk poet who finds life in a new town difficult. Although he finds a few friends, others soon label them skids, not typical outcasts. Although this derogatory term is not in vogue these days, to escape that label is tough. Molly (Michele Garceau), Billy (Will Letos), and Craig (Les Solis, who also directed this film) are fairly chill, but the fact they all have demons is more telling as the film progresses through their final year at St. Elmo’s High School.

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The Crunchyroll Game Vault Now Has 50 Exclusive Titles! And At the End of the Year, Manga Will Be Added Too!

For those folks who have not subscribed to this streaming service, the higher service tiers give folks access to the Crunchyroll Game Vault!

Crunchyroll Game VaultWhen the Crunchyroll brand focuses on something other than its streaming service, the mobile gaming division may remain relatively unknown. Only those who have joined at the highest service level (Mega or Ultimate Fan) will know the Crunchyroll Game Vault. And for those folks not up to date, this company will launch a digital manga service later this year!

And with 50 games to try out, it may be time to check out what they got. While I’m not expecting to find the elusive Wild Arms: Million Memories, hopefully some distributor will consider it!

From the Press Release:

“Since launching Crunchyroll Game Vault in November 2023, we worked diligently to build a library that is quickly reaching an estimated 500 hours of immersive gameplay hours. This, paired with more than 25,000 of anime available to stream now on Crunchyroll, allows for endless adventuring,” said Terry Li, Executive Vice President of Emerging Business, Crunchyroll & General Manager of Crunchyroll Games.

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From Wild Arms to Armed Fantasia, This Video Game is Worth Waiting For!

The best part of why Wild Arms is so beloved is because of the music first, and world building second. It lives again under a new name: Armed Fantasia!

Armed Fantasia- To the End of the Wilderness Prromo PosterWhen I last wrote a retrospective that included the latest status of the Wild Arms franchise, not much has changed. Although the original is available on the PlayStation5, sadly no one is interested in continuing. There was a Wild Arms Mobile and Million Memories for smartphones, but sadly when it didn’t get translated and offered to an international market, the game died. Thankfully, executive producer Akifumi Kaneko is not letting the world he helped create fade. In its place is a spiritual successor titled Armed Fantasia, which is still in development.

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