From Wirebot:

Popcorn and the movies. Television without commercials. Yoo-Hoo and a glazed donut. Some things in life are just perfect for each other. Video games and music are one of those things. While gamers are unable to control the requirement to earn that last gold trophy/achievement, they are able to control what pumps through their speakers while doing so with custom in-game soundtracks. To help change up that stale rotation of old-time favorites, the Wirebot bloggers will be providing a suggested playlist every Friday. Our recommendations this week include songs from: BOA, 2PM, MC Frontalot and a few others. More »

Rekuru’s Japanese Cinema Royale Special is still going strong and today, we look at the Playstation 2 title Onimusha 3: Demon Siege which not only stars japanese heart-throb Takeshi Kaneshiro but hit-man with a heart Jean Reno as well. As always, a trailer will follow the review for your viewing pleasure. More »

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A sweet fantasy tale of a young boy conquering the odds despite his own fear and aided by a band of eccentric misfit “monsters” of Japanese folklore is the idea behind 2005’s “The Great Yokai War.” The child is named the “Kirin Rider” at a local festival and is subsequently obliged to fulfill the rural legend of leading the Yokai (demon) battle. Although director Takeshi Miike departs from his usual bloody flicks for adults in favor of a family-friendly fable, he never sheds his knack for the overstated, nor his love of high-action fight scenes.

After braving-up enough to embark on the quest, the boy encounters numerous bizarre, frightening, and fantastical Yokai (demons) who turn out to be friendly aides in helping him conquer this harrowing journey. The first Yokai he meets is a little animal named Sunekosuri, who is easily one of the cutest things I’ve ever seen and definitely goes on the list of “movie creatures I wish were real and were my pets.”

The costuming for the Yokai is amazing to the point of believable, which is enough reason to watch this movie on a rainy day. The “bad guys” are animated machine monsters led by a fiercely-trained girl in white. The CGI on these creatures leaves a little be desired but the creativity of their design is unmatched. More »

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From Wirebot:

Maybe you’re interested in how games are developed. Maybe you just like listening to Nintendo Executives interview one another and make references to American TV Shows. Perhaps you’re a Legend of Zelda fan, interested in how your little piece of gaming nostalgia was created. Either way, you might be at least a little interested in the latest Iwata Asks, where Nintendo President Satoru Iwata chats to Toshihiko Nakago, Takashi Tozuka and Eiji Aonuma about Link’s Awakening, the first hand-held Zelda game for the Nintendo Game Boy. More »

Of course, no discussion of Akira Kurosawa would be complete without a mention of Kurosawa’s (arguably) best and (certainly) best-known film: The Seven Samurai. More »

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Tak Sakaguchi has long been a martial arts force to reckon with on the big screen. Now he has taken a seat behind the camera for his first directorial piece, Sakigake!! Otokojuku (Be A Man! Samurai School). As an actor, Sakaguchi is perhaps best known for his roles in the cult classics “Versus” and “Death Trance,” both of which are non-stop action buffets. As a director, he has kept the may elements of over-the-top martial arts movies but coupled it nicely with a healthy dose of comedy and social commentary in his directorial debut. Based on an Akira Miyashita manga serialized in Weekly Shonen Jump from 1985-1991, BAM!SS stars veteran actors Akaji Maro and Shun Sugata. If you like action, humor, blood, and lots of shouting, then “Be A Man! Samurai School” is definitely for you! More »

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From Ningin: Is the pen mightier than the sword? Or to be specific, are Mixr bloggers stronger than Mixr users when it comes to MLG matches? One way to find out is to pit them against each other in a 1-day MLG match this Saturday, Jan. 30. As team captain of the Mixr blogger team, it’ll be interesting to go against our very own users…with Hoc as team captain of the Mixr user team. More »

Prepare yourself Japanese film enthusiasts and mark your calendars because on March 30th, distributor Well Go USA is unleashing some chainsaw swinging, wire-fu, CGI goodness. More »

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If you’re looking for something incredibly nerdy with a hint of hilarious, check out Summer Timemachine Blues, it could be for you. Directed by Katsuyuki Motohiro, it takes a familiar concept (time travel) and makes it into something you probably didn’t expect.

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January 27th is a big day for Japanese pop and rock, as well as for fans. The street date sees 11 different artists releasing new music onto the market. And that’s just the albums I know about, there could be more! Great veterans like L’Arc~en~Ciel and GLAY return with new singles. Meanwhile, upbeat rockers newcomers SuG, and abingdon boys school are just a few of the major players putting their albums out this Wednesday. Click “More” to see what other artist are part of this week’s J-Rock/J-Pop releases. More »

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