The Gamer’s Litter Box

So a commercial for the latest March 2009 Newtype issue has revealed that the second season of Haruhi will be launched in April. Well, that’s really nice news to wake up to. And about damn time, too.

I only hope that when they say ‘April’, they don’t mean a broadcast date of ‘April 2010‘. Well, we’ll find out in a week’s time when the Newtype issue is finally out on the newstands.

UPDATE: Oh God…it’s not a second season. It’s a bloody rerun. I initially did suspect it to be a remake when I recalled earlier news about the so-called “new” Haruhi series being a “relaunch” of the first season. But now it seems to be confirmed that it’s not a second season.

You know what’s worse than not releasing any news on a series sequel? It’s raising fans’ hopes and then crushing them. This isn’t just terrible marketing: it’s MEAN. Who the HELL thought trolling fans was a good thing? Whoever thought this was a ’smart’ way of bringing in new viewers or reigning in loyal fans should be fired immediately and pushed onto railroad tracks.

I don’t really blame KyoAni for this fiasco since I doubt they have much say on how to promote their series. If anything, I’d blame Kadokawa, the main publisher and licensor of the Haruhi franchise. They should know better. But it looks like they don’t.

The fans backlash isn’t going to be pretty.

Seriously, what kind of idiot asks this kind of question when your teacher is beating the shit out of a little girl in front of you???? It’s bad enough that Keita is reimagined as an emo highschool student, but I didn’t think they’d also make his skull thickheaded. Maybe when his mom got hit by the car when he was younger, mommy’s body rebounded off his skull. That would explain why he’s so slow on the uptake.

So thanks to a bunch of online protests from uptight Koreans who were upset about the anthropomorphization of their country in a webcomic, the only TV station that was supposed to air the upcoming anime series it has cancelled its airing, EVEN THOUGH THEIR CHARACTER ISN’T EVEN IN THE ANIME.

Does anybody realize how stupidly insane this is?

At least we might get an online airing via Animate.tv.

Read

“It also looks like the King of Fighters movie will introduce a new science fiction spin into the setting established in the games’ universe by following the surviving members of three legendary fighting clans who are continually whisked away to other dimensions by an evil power. As the fighters enter each new world they battle that universe’s native defenders, while the force that brought them seeks to find a way to invade and infect our world.”

Source: Movieset

For fucks sake, why must they go do a Mortal Kombat rip-off and put in a new plot? The Orochi storyline is perfect fodder for a movie, and you pull this sci-fi bullshit on us??? Not even the weak NESTS story had this lame cross dimensional bullshit.

Christ, what a way for the KOF Live Action Movie to debut.

Wondering why your order for that Chu Chu Astram figurine hasn’t arrived yet in your local figurine store? Well, chances are it may have been consficated. Harian Metro, a Malay-language tabloid did a special investigative report on anime figurines, and reported it to the authorities, who promptly took action.

Young collectors with fetish for obscene dolls

PORNOGRAPHIC dolls, which can cost up to RM200 each, have flooded the local market and are being snapped up by well-off young collectors.

Harian Metro reported that collecting these dolls was a hobby to some, especially children from wealthy homes, according to the Home Ministry Quranic text control division central enforcement unit head Mohd Rizal Abidin.

The dolls were being sold in shopping malls in the Klang Valley.

“The traders told us that most of these dolls are popular with teenagers who bought them for their own private collection, or as gifts for their friends.

“Action has to be taken as such pornographic dolls affect society’s moral values,” he said after raiding several premises which sold such dolls in Bukit Bintang, Subang Jaya, Petaling Jaya and Brickfields since last Monday.

Mohd Rizal said they confiscated 114 dolls valued at about RM10,000.

(source: The Star Online)

The original report can be found here, courtesy of Google Cache.

Selling Indecent Toys (retrieved 12th August 2008)

I like it how the reporter grossly generalizes that these figurines are mainly bought by ‘anak orang kaya’ (children of rich people). I’m hardly wealthy, and I know quite a number of collectors who aren’t rich either - we just save our money like anybody else.

This incident reminds me of the infamous KOSMO! incident two years back, when the tabloid reported that anime was animated sex. Well, glad to see yet another tabloid of journalistic integrity picking up the pace!

Figure Mall’s Kevin is understandably pissed about this. Valho has a more reasonable outlook on the whole situation, though Setsuna is panicking.

Fuck you, Jin Kobayashi. Fuck you. What a shitty ending to your series. God, it was made of so much EPIC FAIL that not even a hodgepodge of Epic Fail Guy, Pool’s Closed, AIDS, and Face Palm can compare.

Plagiarism is a cardinal sin for any writer, and it takes great balls for a writer to copy and paste another writer’s work. The original review, taken from Pocket Gamer is one such example. Half of the review was copy pasted word-for-word and published in a rival local IT magazine. Sadly, I’m familiar with the writer who ‘wrote’ this mobile game review, so I must say I’m quite disappointed with his action.

Protip: Copying and pasting a part of an article without an intro is a surefire way to raise suspicion, especially when you begin a review with a conjunction.

Iori E, I love you, mate. Click the jump to see the punchline for this awesome Code Geass 4koma!

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Need to stay alert and ahead of the competition when playing videogames? Instead of sugary energy drinks or dodgy health supplements, why not try something more natural and tried-and-tested? Like Brand’s Essence of Chicken? I saw this ad in today’s the Sun newspaper (page 22, bottom panel) while having lunch today. Normally Brand’s ads target college students and business professionals; it’s the first time I’ve actually seen a popular health supplement targeting gamers. Maybe because the ESWC and WCG tournaments are around the corner…

Eddy Yap of Gamer’s Hideout looks quite pumped up in the ad. Hmm, will my Spy detection skills in Team Fortress 2 improve if I start taking Brand’s? XD

Is it a condom shop? Is it a figurine shop? Or is it an airsoft gun shop? One of the weirdest shops I’ve ever visited.

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