This article was originally going to be about thier recent CD Release and then I went to their myspace page:
July 16th, 2008
July 16th, 2008
A press release was sent out today on behalf of Right Stuf, Inc. and Nozomi Entertainment, announcing the new “Aria” Trailer featured on the Right Stuf Website. This is in prelude to the DVD release set in late September. The series takes place in the early 24th century in the planet Mars. After centuries of terraforming, the red planet is now mostly covered in water and is now known as Aqua. The main protagonist, Akari Mizunashi, has left Earth to become an undine in the city of Neo-Venezia. Much like the gondoliers of present day Venice, her goal is to tour people around her new cherished home by navigating the canals throughout the Aquan city.
Having a very light-hearted and sophisticated feel to it, the show’s target audience seems to be the same as “Emma: A Victorian Romance”. Another interesting note about all this is rather than releasing the DVDs one at a time, the entire first season will be released in one box set with an MSRP of $49.99. Preorders are also currently being taken for an even lower price!
The image above will take you to the Aria’s official website (English) or just go to http://aria.rightstuf.com to find out more about the series.
Source: Right Stuf, Inc, Nozomi Entertainment
July 15th, 2008
This next company I happened to stumble onto this company while I was in the back of the Dealer’s room. It’s called WizardArmor.net. They originally started a few years ago and are currently based in Mission Viejo, just south of Los Angeles County.
For now, the company’s sole product is an small assortment of T-shirts with their theme based on Video Game and Internet references. Knowing the risks involved in the venture, the young group spent their first year selling their shirts along side several well known t-shirts like “O RLY” owl. However, when they started noticing that their own line began to outsell before the more commonly known ones they, knew they had a good thing going.
After a brief discussion with one of the staff members, I learned that their biggest challenge seemed to be finding affordable fabric to begin with, especially when it came to the girl’s baby doll tees. Still it doesn’t look like their search was in vain as their prices are competitively low, ranging from $12.99 to $14.99 - personally my favorite is the one with the wizard with a casting bar below him saying “Don’t interrupt Me… I’m Casting!”. You have no idea how often I’ve said that to my own screen.
There are a few issues I spotted on the web here and there. For one I noticed that in order to see their catalog, you must indirectly go to there by selecting one of the shirts on the front page and then slightly backtrack into the catalog using the link in the upper left hand corner. I was also having trouble finding a size that I could fit into (I’m a 2XL). I managed to get a hold of the staff one more time before posting this article. They said even though they don’t have any shirts in those sizes right now, they do plan to have most of the styles available in the near future. They continued their statement saying that because the larger sizes are more expensive and smaller demand, they will be sold at a higher price, around three dollars more. Despite the increase in cost, the price of the shirts will still be less than some bigger companies. On a surprising note, they added that they are also in the middle of a site revamp. Well see how that goes. Overall, the people behind WizardArmor.net have a modest amount of shirts that any gamer would relate to and be want to wear. It should be interesting to see where their efforts will place them amongst their competitors.
I’ve posted a link in the picture above that will send you directly to their catalog page, or you can follow the link below to view their front page. In the event that the revamp affects either link, OmoshiroiBlog will do its best to keep you informed.
Source: WizardArmor.net
July 14th, 2008
One of my goals before going to Anime Expo was to go to Artist Alley and look for several tables that I wanted to promote here. At first I thought that I could stop at five, but once I finished going around the room I found myself walking away with about twenty-one. Getting to the gist of it, while I am cutting the list far shorter than I would have wanted to, it has been narrowed down to these five:
July 8th, 2008
During my visit to the Dealer’s Hall last weekend, I happened to come across a company called BeKyoot Inc.. Originally founded in 2005, it is the mind child of one Christy Sanderson. Much like the cute and simplified characters Sanrio (Hello Kitty), she uses her own positive yet witty imagination to create characters based on the world around her. Supporting this endeavor with his business know how is Steve Houck, who first saw the potential in her artwork and has been backing it up with a high rate of success. Last but not least in this venture is the company’s product designer, seamstress and “resident Sypro Champ”, known to the world as Kendra.
Christy’s creativity is matched by her standards in high quality material. She told me that when she first started, she began by rummaging through her own closet, and looking at her own clothes. After narrowing down what she liked, she tracked down the original manufacturers, and began talking to them. At this point her shop carries an assortment of clothing and accessories such as shirts, aprons, hats, bags, hoodies and girls undies (o^__^o). The store also has a modest amount of apparel aimed towards guys, by taking into consideration features ranging from the color of the shirt to the way it’s cut.
What I liked about the company the most is, as it slowly expands beyond apparel, nothing feels half done or over rushed; no better example can be found than in the website. Going through each page, everything has a very uniform look, making it appear clean and easy to navigate, for the most part. The site also has a more casual feeling to it as a result of adding several wallpapers, the characters’ bios, a modded game of pong, forums, and gallery. Finally there is a webcomic called “Where the Cute Things Go“, that features some of the characters. Although the updates can be intermittent, the majority of the comics are stand alone and independent. Furthermore, when a continuation is in order, there is a conclusion shortly after it begins.
Although they do not have an official physical store open to the public, you are welcome to visit them at their office. If Houston seems like too much of a walk, you will be happy to know that most of their sales come from visiting anime conventions across the country. To look at their schedule, just click the image above, or go to their site at http://www.bekyoot.com to just start shopping.
- Pedro Rodriguez
Sources & Links: BeKyoot, Where the Cute Things Go
July 6th, 2008
Stay in Long Beach, play at the LA Convention Center, have dinner at Universal City… Go Metro.
DASH however… (Sigh)
The final score for the Los Angeles Convention Center on this 4th of July weekend: Anime Expo 1 - Evangelical Patriotic Christian Convention 0. Anime Expo wins by default.
Sonic getting “pulled” over by the LAPD. I can mark that off my checklist now.
The secret lies in Kenita Hall.
July 2nd, 2008
The big boys at Gonzo were pleased with the turnout from Druaga. So much that they have given CrunchyRoll permission to post a third series starting tomorrow. The series is called Strike Witches. It takes place in the mid 1900’s 1939 - that would seat it around the Treaty of San Francisco the Invasion of Poland. A group of young girls with the ability to cast magic have been called together in order to protect the world against (wait for it…) the mysterious Neuroi. Each witch is equipped with special boots called a Striker Unit. Replacing the traditional broom, it gives them the ability to fly while also utilizing weapons. Using a combination of cute girls and mechas, the show appears to follow in the footsteps as Sky Girls and Galaxy Fraulein Yuna.
According to Shinji’s blog, the dogfights are going to be inspired from techniques used in WW II. He adds on that Kazuhiro Takamura (Mahoromatic, He is My Master, Blood+, and Gundam 00) will be have his hand in directing it. The cast also has a few well known names including Kaori Nazuka (.Hack//SIGN), Misato Fukuen (Rosario + Vampire), Miyuki Sawashiro (Galaxy Angel), and Rie Tanaka (Chobits).
To wrap up this announcement, here is a brief (don’t snicker) trailer off of youtube. Strike Witches steps up to the plate tomorrow.
June 26th, 2008
Another FUNimation series is heading it’s way towards IFC. The Independent Film Channel announced today that it will premiering the first episode of Hell Girl this Thursday, July 3rd on IFC VOD (Video on Demand). Its Network Television Premiere is set later this year on October 3rd.
The synopsis for this haunting thriller is quite simple. There is a rumored site called http://hellcorrespondence.com that is inaccessible for most of the day. But if a person who seeks vengeance goes into the site at midnight, they will be asked to enter two names, their name and the name of who they want to damn to Hell. Soon after a girl named Ai Enma (Hell Girl) will visit the latter and will haunt them before taking their soul. The price however is a steep one. When the person seeking vengeance dies, their soul will be damned as well. This is not the first grim tale that IFC has picked up in their collaboration with FUNimation. In fact, titles such as Basilisk, Gunslinger Girl, and Witch Blade have been a part of their schedule for some time.
I’m posting a trailer of the series down below. You can also checkout the official Hell Girl website at http://www.funimation.com/hellgirl or call your local cable/satellite dish/network provider to see if you have IFC.
June 24th, 2008
JapanFiles.com had something to celebrate about yesterday, as they added six bands at once to their already 200+ groups. The burst in expansion was a result of in thier newest category Japanese Hardcore. As the name sudgests, the groups fall under the hardcore rock and punk bands genre. The press release also promised that with debut of these six groups that more are on their way.
Here is a look at the bands:
June 24th, 2008
WARNING
THIS ENTRY OF “FROM ‘THAT’ GAIJIN’S PERSPECTIVE” CONTAINS IMAGES FROM THE VERY ENDING OF THE DRUAGA ANIME SERIES. IF YOU DO NOT WISH TO VIEW THE SPOILERS, THEN DO NOT HIT THE JUMP BUTTON BELOW!