Gamertell

When gamers think of electronics and video game shopping in Japan, most people name Tokyo’s Akihabara as its epitome. However, not many may know that Osaka, Japan, has an Akihabara equivalent named Den-Den Town.

Much like Akihabara, Den-Den Town is chock full of otaku goodness. Just a few years ago, one could actually count the number of video game and figure specialty shops on one hand but now it seems to have experienced a growth explosion.

Den-Den Town (Nipponbashi) is short for Denki no Machi (which means Electric Town in Japanese) and as a place that was once famous for its variety of…

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In Iowa, a 32-year-old man may spend 20 years in prison for possession of Japanese manga and will face penalties under the PROTECT Act (18 U.S.C. Section 1466A). Christopher Handley is still in big trouble because of the manga he purchased from Japan in May 2006 that the government claimed was obscene and depicted minors engaged in sexual acts.

Luckily for Handley, he no longer has to face the court system alone as the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund has decided to provide their expertise as a consultant to the defense and provide funds for use to support in obtaining…

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September 25, 2008, marks the beginning of the end as Sega’s newest Nintendo DS role-playing game, World Destruction: Michibikareshi Ishi (WD), invades store shelves everywhere in Japan.

World Destruction boasts designs contributed by key members of Square’s original Xenogears’ development team as well as former staff who worked on games including Grandia and Etrian Odyssey. Those who have played Xenogears may find…

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Shonen Jump is going to be 40 years old soon, and Shonen Jump magazine is going to be five years old as well. So Viz media is going to use this as an opportunity to celebrate some of the most popular series. There will be a special edition issue of Shonen Jump, a contest to attend Japan’s Jump Festa anime convention and hardcover, collector’s editions of the first volumes of six popular series.

The highlight will be the special, hardcover edition of the August 2008 edition of Shonen Jump. For $24.99, fans will get a hardcover version of the magazine that has all the manga chapters that appeared in the very first and second issues Shonen Jump in December 2002. It will also have interviews with manga authors, a special Yu-Gi-Oh card and a poster to collect character stickers that will be found in volumes of Bleach, Death Note, Naruto and Slam Dunk.

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A trio of new combatants has been added to the ever-growing list of playable characters for the upcoming Soul Calibur IV. Setsuka will be making her return to the series after joining the cast in SCIII, while a pair of brand-new characters are being introduced as well.

The two new fighters are Asholette and Shura, both designed by…

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After three animated movies and a successful animated series, popular anime series Ghost in the Shell is heading to the big screen as a live action motion picture. Ghost in the Shell is being produced by DreamWorks under the guidance of Avi Arad, the man behind many Marvel movies including X-Men and the upcoming Iron Man.

ICV2] Also Read [Variety reported that a bidding war has been raging over Masamune Shirow’s classic anime series but, ultimately, the property was acquired by Steven Spielberg after he…

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First video game manga fans were able to read Devil May Cry and Kingdom Hearts thanks to Tokyopop, and now Viz Media has stepped up to the plate to bring Zelda manga to the masses. Viz announced on April 10, 2008 that it will be translating and publishing the manga series The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. The two volume series was originally written by Akira Himekawa, the pen name for Honda A and Nagano S’s two woman partnership, and released as Zelda no Densetsu: Toki no Ocarina. The first volume will be released in October, 2008 and each volume will cost $7.99.

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