1.
Role-playing game
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A role-playing game is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, actions taken within many games succeed or fail according to a formal system of rules and guidelines. There are several forms of RPG, the original form, sometimes called the tabletop RPG, is conducted through discussion, whereas in live action role-playing games players physically perform their characters actions. In both of these forms, an arranger called a game master usually decides on the rules and setting to be used, acting as referee, while each of the other players plays the role of a single character. Several varieties of RPG also exist in media, such as multi-player text-based MUDs and their graphics-based successors. These games often share settings and rules with tabletop RPGs, despite this variety of forms, some game forms such as trading card games and wargames that are related to role-playing games may not be included. Role-playing activity may sometimes be present in games, but it is not the primary focus. The term is sometimes used to describe roleplay simulation games and exercises used in teaching, training. Both authors and major publishers of tabletop role-playing games consider them to be a form of interactive and collaborative storytelling, events, characters, and narrative structure give a sense of a narrative experience, and the game need not have a strongly-defined storyline. Interactivity is the difference between role-playing games and traditional fiction. Whereas a viewer of a show is a passive observer. Such role-playing games extend an older tradition of storytelling games where a party of friends collaborate to create a story. Participants in a game will generate specific characters and an ongoing plot. A consistent system of rules and a more or less realistic campaign setting in games aids suspension of disbelief, the level of realism in games ranges from just enough internal consistency to set up a believable story or credible challenge up to full-blown simulations of real-world processes. There is also a variety of systems of rules and game settings. Games that emphasize plot and character interaction over game mechanics and combat sometimes prefer the name storytelling game and these types of games tend to minimize or altogether eliminate the use of dice or other randomizing elements. Some games are played with characters created before the game by the GM and this type of game is typically played at gaming conventions, or in standalone games that do not form part of a campaign. Tabletop and pen-and-paper RPGs are conducted through discussion in a social gathering
2.
Bandai Namco Entertainment
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Bandai Namco Entertainment Inc. is an arcade, mobile and home video game publisher, based in Japan. The company also publishes video, music and other entertainment products related to its video game IPs and it is the product of a merger between the video game development divisions of Bandai and Namco. Originally referred to in the West as Namco Bandai Games, the company was renamed as Bandai Namco Games in January 2014. In December 2014, Bandai Namco Holdings announced that it would be changing its gaming division name from Bandai Namco Games to Bandai Namco Entertainment and it is the core company of Bandai Namco Groups Content Strategic Business Unit. In addition to its core operations in Japan, Bandai Namco Games publishes content worldwide through different entities. The company has its headquarters in Shinagawa, Tokyo, in early 2005, Namco Ltd. and Bandai Co. Ltd. announced plans to combine their operations. The merger took effect on September 29 of that same year, on March 31,2006, the video games division of Bandai was merged with Namco and renamed Namco Bandai Games. On January 2,2006, Namco Hometek and Bandai Games were merged and renamed, in the United States, on April 1,2008, Banprestos video game operations were absorbed by Namco Bandai Games. On April 1,2009, Bandai Networks, Namco Bandais mobile phone business, was dissolved and absorbed into Namco Bandai Games. In 2010, Namco Bandai Games entered the Guinness World Records for being the company released the most TV commercials for the same product. They created 100 versions of the ad as the game consists of 100 chapters, in early 2011, Namco Networks was absorbed to Namco Bandai Games America, effectively consolidating Namco Bandais American console, handheld and mobile video game development operations. On April 2,2012, Namco Bandai Games spun off its development operations into a new company called Namco Bandai Studios, the new company was spurred by Namco Bandais interest in faster development times and tighter cohesion between disparate development teams. It will comprise approximately 1,000 employees, who are part of Namco Bandai. In March 2013, Namco Bandai Games established two new game studios, the first, Namco Bandai Studios Singapore, will be Namco Bandais leading development center in Asia and develop game content for the Asia Pacific. On January 25,2014, Namco Bandai Games and Namco Bandai Studios announced that the companies would be known as Bandai Namco Games and Bandai Namco Studios worldwide, the change is intended to unify the brand internationally in order to increase the value and appeal of the name. In December 2014, the company announced in a release that the full company name will be changed to Bandai Namco Entertainment on April 1,2015. Bandai Namco Entertainment, plays the role of expanding the content business, both companies cooperate to provide products and services around the world. However, Bandai Namco Entertainment spun off its video games and related entertainment development to Bandai Namco Studios in April 2012, in addition to its core publisher operations in Japan, Bandai Namco Entertainment publishes content worldwide through different entities
3.
Video game music
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Video game music is the soundtrack that accompanies video games. Early video game music was limited to simple melodies of early sound synthesizer technology. With advances in technology, video game music has now grown to include the same breadth and complexity associated with television and film scores, while simple synthesizer pieces are still common, game music now includes full orchestral pieces and popular music. Music in video games can be heard over a title screen, options menu. Today’s soundtracks can also change depending on a player’s actions or situation, Video game music can be one of two options, original or licensed. In order to create or collect this music, teams of composers, music directors, today, original composition has included the work of film composers Harry Gregson-Williams, Trent Reznor, Hans Zimmer, Josh Mancell, Steve Jablonsky, and Michael Giacchino. The popularity of game music has expanded education and job opportunities, generated awards. At the time video games had emerged as a form of entertainment in the late 1970s, music was stored on physical medium in analog waveforms such as compact cassettes. Such components were expensive and prone to breakage under heavy use making them less ideal for use in an arcade cabinet, though in rare cases. Sound effects for the games were also generated in this fashion, an early example of such an approach to video game music was the opening chiptune in Tomohiro Nishikados Gun Fight. The first game to use a background soundtrack was Tomohiro Nishikados Space Invaders. It had four descending chromatic bass notes repeating in a loop, though it was dynamic and interacted with the player, the first video game to feature continuous, melodic background music was Rally-X, released by Namco in 1980, featuring a simple tune that repeats continuously during gameplay. The decision to any music into a video game meant that at some point it would have to be transcribed into computer code by a programmer, whether or not the programmer had musical experience. Some music was original, some was public domain music such as folk songs, Sound capabilities were limited, the popular Atari 2600 home system, for example, was capable of generating only two tones, or notes, at a time. As advances were made in technology and costs fell, a definitively new generation of arcade machines. This was further improved upon by Namcos 1982 arcade game Dig Dug, Dig Dug was composed by Yuriko Keino, who also composed the music for other Namco games such as Xevious and Phozon. Home console systems also had an upgrade in sound ability beginning with the ColecoVision in 1982 capable of four channels. However, more notable was the Japanese release of the Famicom in 1983 which was released in the US as the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1985
4.
PlayStation Portable
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The PlayStation Portable is a handheld game console developed by Sony. Development of the handheld was announced during E32003, and it was unveiled on May 11,2004, the system was released in Japan on December 12,2004, in North America on March 24,2005, and in the PAL region on September 1,2005. It primarily competed with the Nintendo DS, as part of the generation of video games. The PlayStation Portable became the most powerful system when launched. It was the first real competitor to Nintendos handheld domination, where many challengers, such as SNKs Neo Geo Pocket and Nokias N-Gage and it also features connectivity with the PlayStation 3, other PSPs and the Internet. It is the handheld console to use an optical disc format, Universal Media Disc. The original PSP model was replaced by a model with design changes in 2007. Another remodeling followed in 2008, PSP-3000, which included a new screen, a complete redesign, PSP Go, came in 2009, followed by a budget model, PSP-E1000, in 2011. The PSP line was succeeded by the PlayStation Vita, released in December 2011 in Japan, the PlayStation Vita features backward compatibility with many PlayStation Portable games digitally released on the PlayStation Network, via PlayStation Store. Shipments of the PlayStation Portable ended throughout 2014 worldwide, having sold 80 million units in its 10-year lifetime, Sony first announced development of the PlayStation Portable at a press conference before E32004. Although mock-ups of the system were not present at the conference or E3. Then-CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment Jose Villeta called the device the Walkman of the 21st Century in a reference to the multimedia capabilities. Several gaming websites were impressed by the handhelds computing capabilities and looked forward to the potential as a gaming platform. Nintendo had been dominating the market since launching its Game Boy in 1989, with the only close competitor being Segas Game Gear. Later offerings from both SNK and Nokia also failed to cut into Nintendos share, the PSP was called the first legitimate competitor to Nintendo’s dominance in the handheld market by an IDC analyst in 2004. The first concept images of the PSP appeared in November 2002 at the Sony Corporate Strategy Meeting and showed a PSP with flat buttons and no analog stick. Although some expressed concern over the lack of an analog joystick, in addition to announcing more details about the system and its accessories, Sony also released a list of 99 developer companies that had pledged support for the new handheld. Several PSP game demos, such as Konamis Metal Gear Acid and SCE Studio Liverpools Wipeout Pure were also shown at the conference
5.
Action role-playing game
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These games often use action game combat systems similar to hack and slash or shooter games. Action role-playing games may also include action-adventure games that include a system and RPG mechanics. Early dungeon-crawl video games used turn-based movement, meaning if the player did not move. In Bokosuka Wars, each soldier was able to gain experience, also in 1983, Nihon Falcom released Panorama Toh for the PC-88. It was developed by Yoshio Kiya, who would go on to create the Dragon Slayer and this brand combined the role-playing genre with arcade-style action and action-adventure elements. This trend of combining role-playing elements with arcade-style action mechanics was popularized by The Tower of Druaga and it was conceived as a fantasy Pac-Man with combat, puzzle-solving, and very subtle RPG elements. A rivalry developed between the three games, with Dragon Slayer and Hydlide continuing their rivalry through subsequent sequels. The Tower of Druaga, Dragon Slayer and Hydlide were influential in Japan, Dragon Slayer was created by Yoshio Kiya, who built on the action role-playing elements of his previous game Panorama Toh, as well as The Tower of Druaga. The original Dragon Slayer, originally released for the PC-8801 computer in September 1984, is considered to be the first true action-RPG. Dragon Slayers overhead action role-playing formula was used in later games. Another early action role-playing game was Courageous Perseus, released by Cosmos Computers for Japanese computers in the month as Dragon Slayer. It was technically advanced than both Dragon Slayer and Hydlide in some ways. It featured more advanced graphics, exploration on a desert island, raft transport for sea travel to smaller isles. However, it was not as well-received, with its implementation of grinding, as well as a health-draining mechanic. T&E Softs Hydlide, released in December 1984, was created by Tokihiro Naito, Hydlide was an early open-world game, rewarding exploration in an open-world environment. The game was popular in Japan, where it sold 2 million copies across all platforms. Another early action role-playing game was Namcos 1984 arcade release Dragon Buster and it also introduced side-scrolling platform elements and a world view map similar to Super Mario Bros. released the following year. Dragon Slayer II, Xanadu, released in 1985, was a fully-fledged action role-playing game including many character stats and it also incorporated a side-scrolling view during exploration and an overhead view during battle, though some rooms were also explored using an overhead view
6.
Japan
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Japan is a sovereign island nation in Eastern Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies off the eastern coast of the Asia Mainland and stretches from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea, the kanji that make up Japans name mean sun origin. 日 can be read as ni and means sun while 本 can be read as hon, or pon, Japan is often referred to by the famous epithet Land of the Rising Sun in reference to its Japanese name. Japan is an archipelago consisting of about 6,852 islands. The four largest are Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu and Shikoku, the country is divided into 47 prefectures in eight regions. Hokkaido being the northernmost prefecture and Okinawa being the southernmost one, the population of 127 million is the worlds tenth largest. Japanese people make up 98. 5% of Japans total population, approximately 9.1 million people live in the city of Tokyo, the capital of Japan. Archaeological research indicates that Japan was inhabited as early as the Upper Paleolithic period, the first written mention of Japan is in Chinese history texts from the 1st century AD. Influence from other regions, mainly China, followed by periods of isolation, from the 12th century until 1868, Japan was ruled by successive feudal military shoguns who ruled in the name of the Emperor. Japan entered into a period of isolation in the early 17th century. The Second Sino-Japanese War of 1937 expanded into part of World War II in 1941, which came to an end in 1945 following the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Japan is a member of the UN, the OECD, the G7, the G8, the country has the worlds third-largest economy by nominal GDP and the worlds fourth-largest economy by purchasing power parity. It is also the worlds fourth-largest exporter and fourth-largest importer, although Japan has officially renounced its right to declare war, it maintains a modern military with the worlds eighth-largest military budget, used for self-defense and peacekeeping roles. Japan is a country with a very high standard of living. Its population enjoys the highest life expectancy and the third lowest infant mortality rate in the world, in ancient China, Japan was called Wo 倭. It was mentioned in the third century Chinese historical text Records of the Three Kingdoms in the section for the Wei kingdom, Wa became disliked because it has the connotation of the character 矮, meaning dwarf. The 倭 kanji has been replaced with the homophone Wa, meaning harmony, the Japanese word for Japan is 日本, which is pronounced Nippon or Nihon and literally means the origin of the sun. The earliest record of the name Nihon appears in the Chinese historical records of the Tang dynasty, at the start of the seventh century, a delegation from Japan introduced their country as Nihon
7.
.hack
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. hack is a Japanese multimedia franchise that encompasses two projects, Project. hack and. hack Conglomerate. Both projects were primarily created/developed by CyberConnect2, and published by Bandai, the series is mainly followed through anime and video game installations, and has been adapted through manga, novels and other related media. Project. hack was the first project of the. hack series and it launched in 2002 with the anime series. hack//Sign in April 2002 and the PlayStation 2 game. hack//Infection in June 2002. Project developers included Koichi Mashimo, Kazunori Ito, and Yoshiyuki Sadamoto, since then, Project. hack has spanned television, video games, manga, and novels. The four volumes, in sequence, are. hack//Infection. hack//Mutation. hack//Outbreak, and. hack//Quarantine. hack//frägment, the first. hack ORPG. It was released in only Japan, and the servers have since closed, ending all official online gameplay. hack//Enemy. The series focuses on a Wavemaster named Tsukasa, a character of a virtual-reality massively multiplayer online role-playing game called The World. Tsukasa wakes up to himself in a dungeon in The World. The situation gets worse when he discovers he is unable to log out and is trapped in the game, from then on, along with other players Tsukasa embarks on a quest to figure out the truth behind his abnormal situation. The series is influenced by psychological and sociological subjects such as anxiety, escapism, the series premiered in Japan on TV Tokyo between April 4,2002 and September 25,2002. It is distributed across North America by Bandai Entertainment. hack//Legend of the Twilight is a twelve episode anime adaption of the series written by Tatsuya Hamazaki. The series was directed by Koichi Mashimo and Koji Sawai, set in a fictional MMORPG, The World, the series focuses on twins Rena and Shugo, who receive chibi avatars in the design of the legendary. hackers known as Kite and BlackRose. After Shugo is given the Twilight Bracelet by a mysterious girl, the anime series features many of the same characters as the manga version, but with an alternative storyline. It was incorrectly called. hack//Dusk, among other names, in early fan-translated versions. hack//Liminality is a set of four DVD OVAs included with the. hack video game series for the PlayStation 2. Liminality is focused on the world as opposed to the games MMORPG The World. Separated into four volumes, each volume was released with its corresponding game, the initial episode is 45 minutes long and each subsequent episode is 30 minutes long. The video series was directed by Koichi Mashimo, written by Kazunori Itō with music by Yuki Kajiura, in Japan, it was available when the Data Flag on the memory card file in. hack//Quarantine was present, whereas the American version included Gift on the fourth Liminality DVD. It is predominantly a comedy that makes fun of everything that developed throughout the series, Character designs are deliberately simplistic. hack//AI buster, a novel released under Project. hack
8.
IOS
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IOS is a mobile operating system created and developed by Apple Inc. exclusively for its hardware. It is the system that presently powers many of the companys mobile devices, including the iPhone, iPad. It is the second most popular operating system globally after Android. IPad tablets are also the second most popular, by sales, originally unveiled in 2007 for the iPhone, iOS has been extended to support other Apple devices such as the iPod Touch and the iPad. As of January 2017, Apples App Store contains more than 2.2 million iOS applications,1 million of which are native for iPads and these mobile apps have collectively been downloaded more than 130 billion times. The iOS user interface is based upon direct manipulation, using multi-touch gestures, interface control elements consist of sliders, switches, and buttons. Internal accelerometers are used by applications to respond to shaking the device or rotating it in three dimensions. Apple has been praised for incorporating thorough accessibility functions into iOS, enabling users with vision. Major versions of iOS are released annually, the current version, iOS10, was released on September 13,2016. In iOS, there are four layers, the Core OS, Core Services, Media. In 2005, when Steve Jobs began planning the iPhone, he had a choice to either shrink the Mac, forstall was also responsible for creating a software development kit for programmers to build iPhone apps, as well as an App Store within iTunes. The operating system was unveiled with the iPhone at the Macworld Conference & Expo on January 9,2007, and released in June of that year. At the time of its unveiling in January, Steve Jobs claimed, iPhone runs OS X and runs applications, but at the time of the iPhones release. Initially, third-party native applications were not supported, Steve Jobs reasoning was that developers could build web applications through the Safari web browser that would behave like native apps on the iPhone. In October 2007, Apple announced that a native Software Development Kit was under development, on March 6,2008, Apple held a press event, announcing the iPhone SDK. The iOS App Store was opened on July 10,2008 with an initial 500 applications available.2 million in January 2017, as of March 2016,1 million apps are natively compatible with the iPad tablet computer. These apps have collectively been downloaded more than 130 billion times, App intelligence firm Sensor Tower has estimated that the App Store will reach 5 million apps by the year 2020. On September 5,2007, Apple released the iPod Touch, Apple also sold more than one million iPhones during the 2007 holiday season
9.
Android (operating system)
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Android is a mobile operating system developed by Google, based on the Linux kernel and designed primarily for touchscreen mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets. In addition to devices, Google has further developed Android TV for televisions, Android Auto for cars. Variants of Android are also used on notebooks, game consoles, digital cameras, beginning with the first commercial Android device in September 2008, the operating system has gone through multiple major releases, with the current version being 7.0 Nougat, released in August 2016. Android applications can be downloaded from the Google Play store, which features over 2.7 million apps as of February 2017, Android has been the best-selling OS on tablets since 2013, and runs on the vast majority of smartphones. In September 2015, Android had 1.4 billion monthly active users, Android is popular with technology companies that require a ready-made, low-cost and customizable operating system for high-tech devices. The success of Android has made it a target for patent, Android Inc. was founded in Palo Alto, California in October 2003 by Andy Rubin, Rich Miner, Nick Sears, and Chris White. Rubin described the Android project as tremendous potential in developing smarter mobile devices that are aware of its owners location. The early intentions of the company were to develop an operating system for digital cameras. Despite the past accomplishments of the founders and early employees, Android Inc. operated secretly and that same year, Rubin ran out of money. Steve Perlman, a friend of Rubin, brought him $10,000 in cash in an envelope. In July 2005, Google acquired Android Inc. for at least $50 million and its key employees, including Rubin, Miner and White, joined Google as part of the acquisition. Not much was known about Android at the time, with Rubin having only stated that they were making software for mobile phones, at Google, the team led by Rubin developed a mobile device platform powered by the Linux kernel. Google marketed the platform to handset makers and carriers on the promise of providing a flexible, upgradeable system, Google had lined up a series of hardware components and software partners and signaled to carriers that it was open to various degrees of cooperation. Speculation about Googles intention to enter the communications market continued to build through December 2006. In September 2007, InformationWeek covered an Evalueserve study reporting that Google had filed several patent applications in the area of mobile telephony, the first commercially available smartphone running Android was the HTC Dream, also known as T-Mobile G1, announced on September 23,2008. Since 2008, Android has seen numerous updates which have improved the operating system, adding new features. Each major release is named in order after a dessert or sugary treat, with the first few Android versions being called Cupcake, Donut, Eclair. In 2010, Google launched its Nexus series of devices, a lineup in which Google partnered with different device manufacturers to produce new devices and introduce new Android versions
10.
Kadokawa Shoten
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Kadokawa Shoten, formerly Kadokawa Shoten Co. Ltd. is a Japanese publisher and brand company of Kadokawa Corporation based in Tokyo, Japan. It became a division of Kadokawa Corporation on October 1,2013. Kadokawa has published both manga novels and magazines, such as Newtype magazine, since its founding, Kadokawa has expanded into the multimedia sector, namely in video games and movies. Kadokawa Shoten was established on November 10,1945 by Genyoshi Kadokawa, the companys first publication imprint, Kadokawa Bunko, was published in 1949. The company went public on April 2,1954, in 1975, Haruki Kadokawa became the president of Kadokawa Shoten, following Genyoshi Kadokawas death. On April 1,2003, Kadokawa Shoten was renamed to Kadokawa Holdings, on July 1,2006, the parent company was renamed to Kadokawa Group Holdings, and inherited the management and integration businesses within Kadokawa Shoten. In January 2007, Kadokawa Group Holdings inherited the management and integration businesses within Kadokawa Shoten, the magazine businesses was transferred to the Kadokawa Magazine Group. The video game divisions of Kadokawa Shoten, ASCII Media Works, Kadokawa Shoten ceased being a kabushiki gaisha on October 1,2013 when it was merged with eight other companies to become a brand company of Kadokawa Corporation. Kadokawa Haruki Corporation, Founded in 1976 Haruki Kadokawa as a production company. The company was merged into Kadokawa Shoten. When Haruki Kadokawa was still on bail following his 1993 arrest, Fujimi Shobo, In 1991, Fujimi Shobo was merged into Kadokawa Shoten, but continued operations as a division of Kadokawa Shoten. The Television), In 1993, it was merged into Kadokawa Shoten, Kadokawa Media Office, In 1993, it was merged into Kadokawa Shoten. Kadokawa J-com media Kadokawa Gakugei Shuppan Publishing, Formerly Hichō Kikaku, in 2007, Kadokawas stake of Asmik Ace was transferred to Kadokawa Group Holdings. In 2010, Sumitomo purchased the remaining 20% stake from Kadokawa Group Holdings, cinema Paradise Taiwan Animate Chara Ani. hack//G. U. Bio Booster Armor Guyver Black Rock Shooter Brain Powerd Cardfight, frog Shangri-La Shibuya Fifteen Shirahime-Syo, Snow Goddess Tales Slayers Sora no Otoshimono Steel Angel Kurumi Strider Hiryu Super Lovers Tenchi Muyo
11.
Kerokero Ace
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Kerokero Ace was a Japanese shōnen manga magazine published in Japan by Kadokawa Shoten. The magazine was aimed at boys between 9 and 13 years old and it was directly focused on the Sgt. Frog series and other works promoted by Bandai such as Gundam, the magazine contains manga comics, computer game reviews, merchandise promotions and gifts. The magazine was focused primarily on the series Sgt, frog, containing features, promotions and a new manga. The manga saw Keroro and his allies sent to a world which resembles feudal Japan. They are tasked with attempting to bring order to it, the magazines secondary focus was Gundam. Frog, the magazine contained much promotion of its related merchandise, the remainder of titles printed in the magazine alternated between comedy adventure gag comics and further promotional tie ins. These manga series were carried by the magazine. hack//Link Angler Hero Appare, tonomaru-kun Battle Spirits Series BB Senshi Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Clash of the Heroes Chapter Cardfight. Kung-fu-kun MapleStory Mobile Suit Gundam-san Mobile Suit Gundam 00 Mugen no Frontier, Super Robot Wars OG Saga Net Ghost PiPoPa Petit Eva Bokura Tanken Dōkōkai Saint Seiya Omega Sore Ike. Frog Soulcalibur Legends Treasure Island Z, The Rose Pearl Due to its role of promoting Bandai projects, the title also included popular comics which run in Gundam Ace, it was also a special edition of Gundam Ace. Similar to many Shonen magazines, Kerokero Ace often included gifts to increase interest, such items were usually linked to the comics that ran within the title or exclusive collectables. Items offered included Haro digital watches, Keroro stickers and kaiju trading cards
12.
Tokyopop
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Tokyopop, styled TOKYOPOP, and formerly known as Mixx Entertainment, is an American distributor, licensor, and publisher of anime, manga, manhwa, and Western manga-style works. The German publishing division produces German translations of licensed Japanese properties and original English-language manga, Tokyopops defunct US publishing division previously published works in English and Japanese. Tokyopop had its US headquarters in the Variety Building in Los Angeles, California, Tokyopop was founded in 1997 by Stuart J. Levy. In the late 1990s, the headquarters were located in Los Angeles. While the company was known as Mixx Entertainment, it sold MixxZine, mixxzine later became Tokyopop before it was discontinued. Cultural anthropologist Matt Thorn praised Stu Levy for opening up a market for cartoons with the publication of Sailor Moon. Before Sailor Moon, the belief among entertainment executives was that girls dont watch cartoons, due to Sailor Moon’s immense popularity, Tokyopop discontinued the serial from its magazines, and released it separately as its first manga graphic novel. Also, together with Diamond, Tokyopop offered retailers free spinner rack displays for Tokyopop manga, Tokyopop also licensed and distributed Japanese anime. ”The film was directed and scripted by Shoji Kawamori, who created Super Dimensional Fortress Macross and The Vision of Escaflowne. Taste of Cinema ranked “Spring and Chaos” thirteenth in its list of Top “25 Weird Animated Movies That Are Worth Your Time. In 2002, Tokyopop launched its line of 100% Authentic Manga, unfortunately, this often compromised the integrity of the titles original artwork. Tokyopop volumes hit the shelves monthly, bi-monthly or quarterly versus the six months or longer typical of competitors. It also allowed Tokyopop to sell books for a price point of $9.99 per book. Tokyopop was the first U. S. publisher to adopt such a sweeping policy, an authentic manga how-to guide was included in each graphic novel to keep readers from accidentally reading the final page first, and the authentic manga also featured special packaging. Tokyopop launched their Global Manga publishing program in 2003 via the introduction of its Rising Stars of Manga talent competition, the competition called for American manga artists to submit 15-25 page English-language stories of any genre. The top 10 entries, as judged by Tokyopop editors, received prizes and were published in an anthology of the winning works. The grand prize winners were given the chance to pitch full-length manga projects to Tokyopop for a chance to become professional manga-ka. The 5th Rising Stars of Manga competition added the People’s Choice award, “We are really pleased to open up the Rising Stars judging to the fans, commented Tokyopop editor Rob Valois. Since so many people have been vocal on the boards and at industry conventions
13.
International Standard Book Number
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The International Standard Book Number is a unique numeric commercial book identifier. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an e-book, a paperback and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, the method of assigning an ISBN is nation-based and varies from country to country, often depending on how large the publishing industry is within a country. The initial ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 based upon the 9-digit Standard Book Numbering created in 1966, the 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108. Occasionally, a book may appear without a printed ISBN if it is printed privately or the author does not follow the usual ISBN procedure, however, this can be rectified later. Another identifier, the International Standard Serial Number, identifies periodical publications such as magazines, the ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 in the United Kingdom by David Whitaker and in 1968 in the US by Emery Koltay. The 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108, the United Kingdom continued to use the 9-digit SBN code until 1974. The ISO on-line facility only refers back to 1978, an SBN may be converted to an ISBN by prefixing the digit 0. For example, the edition of Mr. J. G. Reeder Returns, published by Hodder in 1965, has SBN340013818 -340 indicating the publisher,01381 their serial number. This can be converted to ISBN 0-340-01381-8, the check digit does not need to be re-calculated, since 1 January 2007, ISBNs have contained 13 digits, a format that is compatible with Bookland European Article Number EAN-13s. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an ebook, a paperback, and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, a 13-digit ISBN can be separated into its parts, and when this is done it is customary to separate the parts with hyphens or spaces. Separating the parts of a 10-digit ISBN is also done with either hyphens or spaces, figuring out how to correctly separate a given ISBN number is complicated, because most of the parts do not use a fixed number of digits. ISBN issuance is country-specific, in that ISBNs are issued by the ISBN registration agency that is responsible for country or territory regardless of the publication language. Some ISBN registration agencies are based in national libraries or within ministries of culture, in other cases, the ISBN registration service is provided by organisations such as bibliographic data providers that are not government funded. In Canada, ISBNs are issued at no cost with the purpose of encouraging Canadian culture. In the United Kingdom, United States, and some countries, where the service is provided by non-government-funded organisations. Australia, ISBNs are issued by the library services agency Thorpe-Bowker
14.
Tokyo Game Show
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Tokyo Game Show, commonly known as TGS, is a video game expo / convention held annually in September in the Makuhari Messe, in Chiba, Japan. It is presented by the Computer Entertainment Suppliers Association and Nikkei Business Publications, the main focus of the show is on Japanese games, but some international video game developers use it to showcase upcoming releases/related hardware. Like Germanys gamescom, Tokyo Game Show allows the public to attend during the final two days. The first Tokyo Game Show was held in 1996, from 1996 to 2002, the show was held twice a year, once in the Spring and once in Autumn. Since 2002, the show has been once a year. It attracts more visitors every year, 2011’s show hosted over 200,000 attendees and the 2012 show bringing in 223,753. The 2013 show broke records with 270,197 in attendance, the 2015 Tokyo Game Show showcased 11 exhibition areas consisting of business, general public, educational and areas to buy merchandise. The General Exhibition Area is the heart of the show, taking up the largest amount of space, many well-known companies such as Namco Bandai, Capcom, Sony Computer Entertainment and Square Enix have demo areas here, in addition to emerging companies. This area covers gaming devices such as headphones, controllers, furniture and other associated with home-use gaming consoles. An exhibition introduced at the 2012 Tokyo Game Show is geared towards introducing emerging game developers from Asia and this area is designated for merchandising of game-related goods. This area focuses on games for devices and social games. Despite record numbers during TGS2012, many companies had a smaller presence. For example, Microsoft, which previously had one of the largest booths, was absent in 2012, social and mobile gaming surged, filling the gap. Microsoft returned to the show in 2013 with the release of the Xbox One, the PC area houses major Japanese computing companies, showcasing products such as Japanese desktop and notebook computers. This area showcases new games that are aimed at a younger audience, companies such as Taito and Sega are housed there. These booths also display student work and it houses colleges such as Numazu Professional College of Information Technology and Tokyo Designer Gakuin College. This is the area in the games convention where most of the sales. Companies housed there include Nikkei Business Publications, the Tokyo Game Show attracts many cosplayers
15.
.hack//Quantum
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. hack//Quantum is an animated three episode OVA series by Kinema Citrus studio in Japan and presented by Bandai Visual. The series was scheduled to be released in November 2010. The first episode was released on January 28,2011 with the two episodes to be released in one month intervals. Trilogy, this is the first animated OVA project to not be animated by long-time. hack producer Bee Train Productions Inc. nor directed by Koichi Mashimo. This project is not related to a planned CGI movie tie-in to the newest game in the. hack series. hack//Link. Masaki Tachibana of Tokyo Magnitude 8.0 directed the OVA project, Kinema Citrus animated the series and Kow Otani composed the music score. Yuuka Nanri will be performing the song for. hack. Quantum. The UK release was published by MVM Entertainment on July 9,2012, the story follows three players – Sakuya, Tobias, and Mary – as they play the latest version of the worlds largest MMORPG, The World R, X, created by Cyberconnect Corporation. When these three friends take on a quest as a party, they caught in strange circumstances of fate. Asumi Aida / Sakuya Voiced by, Kana Hanazawa, Trina Nishimura A high school student living in Aomori and her player character, Sakuya, is based on the character Kite from the. hack games. Sakuya likes to say Look before you jump before charging off into dangerous places, both Asumi and Sakuya share the same cheerful personality. Iori Ikuta / Tobias Voiced by, Miyuki Sawashiro, Anastasia Muñoz Asumi and her player character, Tobias, is based on the character Balmung from the. hack games. Also known as Tobias the Informant, Tobias adventures with Sakuya with a pretty-boy look and she has a cool and calculating-nihilistic personality. In reality, Iori has an air of adulthood around her, Eri Etou / Mary Voiced by, Ayumi Fujimura, Lara Woodhull Childhood friend of Asumi, and schoolmate of both Asumi and Iori. Asumi is the one who got Eri into playing The World and her player character, Mary, is based on the character BlackRose from the. hack games. She adventures with Sakuya and Tobias and her personality runs in contrast to the wild look of the Edge Punisher class. She would many times be misled into doing two peoples tasks, in reality, she is much more serious than her in-game counterpart. Original Story -. co. jp and animate come with a bonus Original Drama CD, the manga is serialized in Comp Ace as. hack//Quantum+
16.
.hack//The Movie
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. hack//The Movie is a 2012 Japanese CGI anime film written by Kazunori Ito and directed by Hiroshi Matsuyama. It was released on January 21,2012 in theaters and was released on DVD/Blu-ray on June 28,2012, the Blu-ray release is a hybrid PlayStation 3 disc that includes the film and a fighting game called. hack//Versus. The movie features a theme song Hikari wo Atsumete by Japanese music artist KOKIA, the story, taking place in 2024 Summer Olympics, follows the life of Sora Yuki, a 14-year-old girl persuaded by her friends to play the popular game called The World. Due to an incident in The World, anomalies start occurring in the real world, the game features characters from throughout the series, including Haseo, Sora, Tsukasa, Ovan, Sakuya, Tokio, Kite, and BlackRose. PlayStation LifeStyles review of the game and movie combo disc noted that the game was not created to provide a rival to Mortal Kombat or Soul Calibur, enjoy the characters, the world, and the story. That’s what you came to. hack for anyway, right, archived from the original on December 18,2011. CS1 maint, Unfit url Official website. hack//The Movie at Anime News Networks encyclopedia. hack//The Movie at the Internet Movie Database
17.
.hack (video game series)
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. hack /dɒt hæk/ is a series of single-player action role-playing video games developed for the PlayStation 2 console by CyberConnect2 and published by Bandai. Players may transfer their characters and data between games in the series, each game comes with an extra DVD containing an episode of. hack//Liminality, the accompanying original video animation series which details fictional events that occur concurrently with the games. The games are part of a franchise called Project. hack which explores the mysterious origins of The World. Set after the events of the anime series. hack//Sign, the focus on a player named Kite. The search evolves into an investigation of The World and its effects on the stability of the Internet. Critics gave the mixed reviews. It was praised for its setting and its commitment to preserve suspension of disbelief. However, it was criticized for uneven pacing and a lack of improvement between games, the commercial success of the franchise led to the production of. hack//frägment—a remake of the series with online capabilities—and. hack//G. U. Another video game trilogy. hack simulates an MMORPG, players assume the role of a participant in a game called The World. The player controls the player character Kite from a third-person perspective. The player manually controls the viewing perspective using the game controller, within the fictional game, players explore monster-infested fields and dungeons, and Root Towns that are free of combat. They can also log off from The World and return to a desktop interface which includes in-game e-mail, news, message boards. The player may save the game to a memory card both from the desktop and within The World at a Save Shop. A Data Flag appears on the file after the player completes the game, allowing the transfer of all aspects of the player character. The series is typical of action role-playing games, in which attack enemies in real time. The games action pauses whenever the menu is opened to select magic to cast, items to use, the player directly controls Kite and the other characters are controlled by artificial intelligence. The player may provide the computer-controlled characters with guidelines or issue direct commands. Most hostile creatures are contained within magic portals and combat will not begin until the character approaches the portal
18.
.hack//G.U.
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. hack//G. U. is a series of single-player action role-playing games for the PlayStation 2, developed by CyberConnect2 and published by Bandai Namco Games. Simulates a massively multiplayer online role-playing game as the controls a character who starts playing it. The story focuses on a player named Haseo who hunts a player nicknamed Tri-Edge who defeated his friend Shino, Haseo comes into contact with other players who know of Tri-Edge and wish to stop him. The reason for Shino and several other players falling into a coma is connected with AIDA, during the release of the games in Japan, Bee Train produced an anime titled. hack//Roots that tells Haseos first days in The World. The series has also adapted into a manga, a light novel. The first game got higher scores, critics praised the addition of new features while parts from the story have been labeled as fillers. hack//G. U. Simulates a massively multiplayer online role-playing game, players assume the role of a participant in a game called The World. While in The World, the controls the on-screen player character, Haseo. The player may control the camera using the controllers right analog stick. Within the fictional game, players explore monster-infested fields and dungeons as well as Root Towns that are free of combat. They also can log-off from the game and return to a desktop interface which includes in-game e-mail, news. In Reminisce, a card game called Crimson VS becomes available. The player may save the game to a memory card both from the desktop and within The World at a Save Shop. After the player completes the game, a Data Flag appears on the save file and this can also be applied to previous games if the player first finished the Reminisce or Redemption. Players can attack monsters in real time, however, the action pauses whenever the menu is opened in order to select magic to cast, items to use, or skills to perform. The player only directly controls Haseo, while the characters are controlled by artificial intelligence. The player may either provide guidelines or issue commands to the computer-controlled characters. Monsters roam the environments freely or guard treasure chests, once combat is initiated, via a surprise attack or the player being spotted, a wall erects around the combat area to prevent escape
19.
.hack//Sign
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. hack//Sign is an anime television series directed by Kōichi Mashimo and produced by studio Bee Train and Bandai Visual, that makes up one of the four original storylines of the. hack franchise. Twenty six original episodes aired in 2002 on TV and three additional episodes were released on DVD as original video animations. The series features character design by Yoshiyuki Sadamoto, known for his work on Evangelion, and screenplay by Kazunori Itō, the series focuses on a Wavemaster named Tsukasa, a player character of a virtual-reality massively multiplayer online role-playing game called The World. Tsukasa wakes up to himself in a dungeon in The World. The situation gets worse when he discovers he is unable to log out and is trapped in the game, from then on, along with other players Tsukasa embarks on a quest to figure out the truth behind his abnormal situation. The show premiered in Japan on TV Tokyo between April 4,2002 and September 25,2002 and it was distributed across North America by Bandai Entertainment. It relies on character development and has few action scenes, most of the character interaction is presented in the form of dialogue. The results are described as catastrophic, traffic lights shut down, planes collide in midair, as a consequence, cyberspace is subjected to severe restrictions. The virus affects all operating systems except for one, Altimit OS, two years later free access to the networks recovers, bringing with it the release of The World, the first online game since Plutos Kiss, developed for Altimit OS. At the center of each server is a Root Town, which contain shops, a point. Harald Hoerwick is introduced as the creator of The World and he secretly designed the game as a virtual womb in order to create the ultimate artificial intelligence, by receiving emotional and psychological data from the players. His motivation is revealed to be the death of Emma Wielant, a German poet whom he was in love with, the AI, who was named Aura, would serve as the daughter they never had. Harald left the gathering of the data for Auras development at the care of the core system of The World itself. Despite being a fantasy quest type adventure, it does not rely on action sequences, instead, the show is driven by mystery, slowly revealing its secrets to the viewer while paying much attention to the individual characters. Questions like what happened to Tsukasa in the world, who he really is. Soon after the beginning of the series Tsukasa is led to a hidden area, there he meets Morganna, depicted as a voice without physical appearance, and Aura, who appears as a young girl clad entirely in white, floating asleep above a bed. The storyline introduces Morganna as an ally, but her intentions are unknown at this point. As the story progresses many characters are introduced, some who want to help, then more questions arise as to what is happening in the game itself, who are these various characters, what are their true goals and what will happen to Tsukasa
20.
.hack//Liminality
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Liminality was separated into four volumes, each volume was released with its corresponding game. The initial episode is 45 minutes long, while subsequent episodes are 30 minutes long, the video series was directed by Koichi Mashimo, written by Kazunori Itō with music by Yuki Kajiura. Primary Animation production was handled by Mashimos studio Bee Train which collaborated for the four games as well as handled major production on. hack//Sign. The games were packaged with DVDs featuring episodes of. hack//Liminality, the OVA series was meant to give perspective on fictional events happening in the real world outside the game. Vol.1, In The Case of Mai Minase Vol.2, In The Case of Yuki Aihara Vol.3, In The Case of Kyoko Tohno Vol.4, Trismegistus The episode starts when Tokuoka was kicked out of CC Corp. Mai and her boyfriend, Tomonari Kasumi, are taken to a due to both of them collapsing while playing a MMORPG called The World. Despite Mai waking up shortly after arriving at the hospital, Tomonari remains in a coma, for this, Mai is the object of rumors, especially when the clubhouse is closed after the incident. It is soon revealed that she heard a certain sound shortly before collapsing, and she discovers that it is A in C major. It was this sound that enabled her to wake up, and she meets Junichiro Tokuoka, and although she distrusts him at the beginning, as they investigate into Tomonaris coma, they soon become allies, if not friends. The investigation itself starts with Tokuoka accessing Tomonaris account on The World, Tokuoka accidentally opens the e-mail, and discovers that two users, Yukichin and Kyo, are close with Tomonari and have been harassing him with e-mails regarding his absence. It is also revealed during the course of the episode that Tomonari took the name Sieg as a contraction of Siegfried, from Richard Wagners operatic cycle Der Ring des Nibelungen. Tokuoka and Mais investigation leads them to break into G-study, in order to attempt to recreate the situation so that they can find out why Mai. The sound starts up again when they enter a field, and although Mai saves herself, in desperation, Mai destroys the monitor and the computer that they were using, and drags him outside, where a splash of rainwater wakes him up. After that, the two pledge to find out just what C. C. Corp. is hiding, and what it will take to wake everyone up. An interesting easter egg is if you turn on the subtitles, in the scene where Tomonaris friend is fixing the computer and those keywords in the Theta server lead to where the Soul Blades reside. Tokuoka and Mai are on their way to meet with Yuki, Tokuoka gets stuck in traffic, and Mai goes to the library in Tokyo to attempt to look up information. During this time, she hears the sound, meanwhile, Yuki is watching a movie when suddenly THE WORLD flashes on the screen, the power goes out, and the employees attempt to evacuate the building. Yuki runs into a woman who works at the building
21.
.hack//Legend of the Twilight
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. hack//Legend of the Twilight is a science fiction manga series written by Tatsuya Hamazaki and drawn by Rei Izumi. The twenty-two chapters of. hack//Legend of the Twilight appeared as a serial in the Japanese magazine Comptiq, and published in three tankōbon by Kadokawa Shoten from July 2002 to April 2004. Set in a fictional MMORPG, The World, the focuses on twins Rena and Shugo. After Shugo is given the Twilight Bracelet by a mysterious girl, the series was adapted into a twelve episode anime of the same name directed by Koichi Mashimo and Koji Sawai, and produced by Bee Train. Tokyopop licensed the series for an English-language release in North America. It published the three volumes from September 2003 to April 2004, Bandai Entertainment had licensed the anime series for North American broadcast. The word Bracelet in the title was removed in North America, following the closure of Bandai Entertainment, Funimation announced at SDCC2013, that they have acquired 4. hack titles including Legend of the Twilight. Set in a fictional MMORPG called The World, the series follows twins Shugo, after winning a contest, Rena is given a pair of chibi avatars in the design of the legendary. hackers, Kite and BlackRose. After an odd occurrence, a mysterious AI named Aura gives Shugo the Twilight Bracelet, Rena and Shugo embark on an adventure to find Aura and unravel the mystery of the Twilight Bracelet. Along the way, Shugo and Rena befriend Mireille, a rare item hunter, the fierce Ouka, and Hotaru, a peaceful girl. While waiting for an event to start, they encounter a girl named Zefie. It is later realized that Zefie is a vagrant AI – an AI that acts independently outside the parameters of the game. Zefies presence upsets many, including the Cobalt Knights, a group of administrators that follow the rule If you cant control it, meanwhile, Balmung, another administrator in The World, encounters problems of his own. The suits, CC Corps upper tier executives, are displeased with what little action Balmung has taken against Shugo and his illegal item, Kamui, the leader of the Cobalt Knights, begins her pursuit of Shugo and company. She captures Shugo and his friends, but allows Mireille, Ouka, Shugo, Rena, and Zefie are left in a cell together. Rena and Shugo disagree over whether to stay until the end, after they come to an agreement to stay and fight, Zefie opens the door to the cell, freeing them. In the outside world, Ouka, Hotaru, and Mireille decide to return to The World, kazu, a friend of Balmung, meets up with Shugo and party, carrying Helbas Key, the key to an area called the Net Slums. Kamui shows up, demanding the key to the Net Slums with her knights in tow, Shugo and Kamui face off, which results in Kamui breaking her axe
22.
.hack//Roots
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. hack//Roots is a 26-episode anime series, animated by studio Bee Train, that sets as a prologue for the. hack//G. U. It is the first. hack TV series broadcast in HDTV, in the year 2015, the CC Corporations building burned down, and with it, most of the existing data for The World. By splicing in data from what would have potentially been another game with what remained of The World after the fire, CC Corp. created The World R,2, the main revisions in this release were that the game allowed for guild and PvP play. Haseo logs into The World R,2 for the first time and he is saved by Ovan, who prompts him to join the Twilight Brigade alongside Sakisaka, Tabby and Shino, who are in search of finding The Key of the Twilight. However, a guild named TaN obstructs the Twilight Brigade in its mission and is attempting to obtain Ovans unique character data. The Twilight Brigade has discovered special items, known as Virus Cores, once the Twilight Brigade had acquired all 6 cores, the guild headed out to use them in one of the Lost Grounds, after figuring out that the two were connected to one another. However, the group discovers that this was all a trap laid by the members of TaN in order to capture Ovan. With Ovan gone and no sign of the Key of the Twilight, soon after, Shino is killed within the game by a mysterious PKer named Tri-Edge. This somehow puts her into a coma in the real world, Haseo then begins training in order to get strong enough to defeat Tri-Edge and save Shino from her real-life coma. Through this ordeal, Haseo becomes obsessed with power and ends up as a Player-Killer-Killer, Haseo Voiced by, Takahiro Sakurai, Andrew Francis The protagonist of the series, and a newbie within The World R,2. Haseo had an encounter with PKers before joining the Twilight Brigade and he appears to be obsessed with Ovans enigmatic nature, which he soon discovers isnt so unusual. He is an outsider in real life, and not very good at dealing with people and he seems to care for Shino in a more than platonic way. After Shino goes into a coma, Haseo starts to become extremely depressed and he completed a special event known as The Forest of Pain, which was said to be impossible to complete. His reward was an upgrade that gave him impossible strength and he is now trying to hunt down Tri-Edge, using his newly gained power status to PK players in an attempt to find information. After his transformation he becomes more mentally unstable and anti-social. While trying to find information on Tri-Edge, Haseo reunites with Ovan who tells him that he will find Tri-Edge at the Hulle Granz Cathedral, Haseo fights Tri-Edge but is defeated and stripped of all his power and equipment, ironically returning him mostly to his senses as well. Outside of the game, Haseo is 17 years old and attends a high school. Haseo visits Shino in the hospital on a daily basis after she fell in a coma, Ovan Voiced by, Hiroki Touchi, Michael Kopsa The Guildmaster of the Twilight Brigade, Ovan has a strange device sealed around his left arm
23.
Haseo
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Haseo is a fictional character in the. hack franchise first introduced as the main character from the video game trilogy. hack//G. U. and the TV anime series. hack//Roots. Haseo is a character from the fictional massively multiplayer online role-playing game The World and is controlled by the player. He is voiced by Takahiro Sakurai in Japanese, in the English version, Haseo is voiced by Yuri Lowenthal in the games and Andrew Francis in the anime. Haseo is introduced as a loner who is searching for the mysterious player killer Tri-Edge who defeated his friend Shino and left her on a coma in real life. He comes into contact with the guild G. U. who is searching for him and also becomes involved in the quest to destroy AIDA. Haseos appearances in. hack//Roots depicts his early days in The World as a member of the Twilight Brigade guild led by Ovan and he has also appeared in other adaptations from the. hack//G. U. Games that give different focus on the character as well as the player controlling him, video game publications have given both positive and negative response to Haseos character, with most criticism being aimed towards his rude personality. On the other hand, his development across the games and the improvement to his PC resulted in positive responses, Haseo is depicted as an Adept Rogue type of character in the massively multiplayer online role-playing game The World. He is silver-haired and wears a black leather wardrobe with red marks, while initially able to use only dual swords as weapons, he can undergo upgrades called Job Extensions that allow him to use other weapons. The Job Extensions are also notable for changing Haseos appearance, he gains more clothes in the first one, in most types of media, Haseo gains an illegal Job Extension called the Xth Form distinguished by white clothes and the use of guns. The player controlling Haseo, Ryou Misaki, only appears in the manga, Haseo is a cold person who has trouble getting close to people. As a result of his friend Shino falling comatose, Haseo develops a lust for power in order to get his revenge on the culprit and he socializes with players from The World but states he just uses them in his quest for power. Games Haseo becomes a person and learns to depend on others. Games as a player from The World who several player killers and is known as The Terror of Death. He is in a search for the legendary player killer Tri-Edge and he is guided by his former comrade, Ovan, to fight the AI Azure Kite under the assumption he is Tri-Edge, though he is completely reset after being defeated. As he recovers, Haseo is mistaken for a new player by Gaspard and Silabus, Haseo gains an Avatar, Skeith, The Terror of Death, hidden within his PC, that has the ability to destroy AIDA. Although initially cold and antisocial, Haseo comes to appreciate the friendships he makes across the trilogy. He also starts developing feelings for Atoli, a player who encourages him to appreciate his time in The World
24.
Project X Zone
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The game is a follow up to the 2005 video game Namco × Capcom and features characters from Bandai Namco, Capcom, and Sega. The game was released on October 11,2012 in Japan, June 25,2013 in North America, a sequel was released in Japan in November 2015 and in North America and Europe in February 2016. Stages in Project X Zone take place in grid-based locations from the games many crossover titles, each friendly unit is made up of two characters, though a third character can be added for once-per-battle assistance. Unlike Namco × Capcom, units can move freely within their range on the field map, the battle system is called the Cross Active Battle System, wherein pressing the A button in combination with the Circle Pad performs up to five basic attack combos. Also, the player can trigger Critical Hits by connecting their next attack just before the target hits the ground after the first, as the players units deal damage, the players Cross Power gauge fills up and can be used for special attacks and defensive moves on the map. Damage done via Cross Hits can fill this gauge up to 150%, Project X Zone has a total of 15 save game slots included in the game, which can be used for recording a save game file during intermissions with a quick save file and a soft reset command. Over 90 characters are included in the game, the overseas versions feature the same character roster as the original Japanese version. Notes Namco Bandai came up with the idea of a crossover and brought on Capcom. The game was first revealed in a teaser by Bandai Namco on the website until it was revealed in the May 2012 issue of Famitsu. The initial creation of the characters were done in 3D character models before they were converted to be SD pixel art, notable attacks used by the characters had to be done in 2D space in order to preserve its source material origin. The game features two songs, with the opening song titled Wing Wanderer and the ending titled GALAXY. The opening movie was created by the new animation studio Trigger, in September 22,2012, Katsuhiro Harada, producer of the Tekken series, has revealed on Twitter, I proposed localization of Project X Zone. He added that the company has not decided yet, but It will be realized if I continue proposing, Namco Bandai Games announced on January 21,2013 that the game will be officially released in North America, Europe and Australia during summer 2013. The English versions of the game retain the Japanese voices, like Otomedius Excellent, some music tracks were removed or replaced for the same reasons. On May 1,2016, the disappeared from the North American and European eShops without explanation. The game sold more than 85,539 units in its first week in Japan, in the West, the game has sold over ten times more than what Bandai Namco had expected. The game was among the 20 best games sold in the United Kingdom after it made its debut, in the United States, the game has been among the best selling games sold for the 3DS. The game has sold over 400,000 copies worldwide, according to Bandai Namco, Project X Zone has received mixed to positive reviews from western critics
25.
Project X Zone 2
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Despite the game being the official sequel to Project X Zone, the plot is a homage to the events of its spiritual predecessor, Namco x Capcom whilst retaining a standalone story. Kogorō Tenzai and Mii Kōryūji from the prequel are absent in this installment, the title arrived in Japan on November 12,2015, and was released in North America and Europe in February 2016. Like its predecessor, Project X Zone is a tactical role-playing game in which players strategically maneuver their characters across a field to battle with the enemy, characters are paired up into Pair Units, with Solo Units consisting of a single character able to assist them when linked together. In battle, players use well-timed attacks and combos to do as much damage to the opponent as possible before their turn ends. Like its predecessor, Project X Zone 2 features pairs of characters from all three participating companies, as well as characters who can provide assist attacks during combat. The game also features Nintendo characters for the first time, on April 8,2015, Famitsu. com launched a teaser website with a countdown that would expire in five days, revealing a secret project from Bandai Namco Entertainment. The game was revealed to the public three days later. It was confirmed in an interview that the game will address the criticisms of the original, the game was originally going to have a simultaneous worldwide release, but the North American and European releases were later delayed to early 2016. Unlike the previous game, the western versions will feature no altered content from the Japanese version, the game received a 32/40 from Famitsu. Hardcore Gamer gave the game a 4/5 saying, Project X Zone 2 is a funny and it sets out to entertain video game fans of all stripes and allows the player to jump from world to world to get a taste of other titles they may have been missing. Just based on the built-in “Crosspedia” encyclopedia database, the stack of games that I really want to try out has grown, it’s not challenging, but it was never meant to be. The gameplay is simply the vehicle to deliver the true focus of this title, players who don’t need everything to bristle with a dark malevolence will find a great time in this one. The game sold 37,000 copies in Japan on its first week, the game made the #2 spot in the UK 3DS sales charts. In an interview with Nintendo Life, Kensuke Tsukanaka stated that he would like to continue the series, official website Project X Zone 2 at the Internet Movie Database
26.
Bandai
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Bandai Co. Ltd. is a Japanese toy maker and former video game company, as well as the producer of a large number of plastic model kits. It was the worlds fourth-largest producer of toys, some ex-Bandai group companies produce anime and tokusatsu programs. Its headquarters is located in Taitō, Tokyo, after its merger with game developer and amusement facility operator Namco, Bandai Company is now under the management of Bandai Namco Holdings and a member of Bandai Namco Group. After group reorganisation in 2006, Bandai heads the groups Toys, in the 1960s Bandai expanded to include export sales. Bandais racing car set, which first appeared in 1962, became a huge success, the 1970s continued to see Bandai expand, with Bandai Models being established in 1971. Although not their most profitable range, Bandais 1/48 scale AFV models dominated that segment of the kit market. Bandai America Inc. was established as local US sales/marketing operation in 1978, spacewarp, a line of build-it-yourself toy rolling ball roller coasters was introduced by Bandai in the 1980s. Before the formation of Bandai Namco Holdings, Bandai had many subsidiaries, after group reorganization in 2006, they are managed under several strategic business units of the group. Further detail, In 1971, Bandai founded its subsidiary company Popy which helped to launch such as Chogokin. It was merged into its parent company in 1983, Bandai USA is the American distribution arm of Bandai that makes toy products for the U. S. market and manufactures Power Rangers, Big Hero 6, Digimon, and Ben 10 toys. Other past products include Alienators, Evolution Continues Astro Boy Beetleborgs Ben 10 Big Hero 6 Cardcaptor Sakura Cyclonians Dick Tracy D. I. C. E, jelly Jamm Bandai Visual Co. Ltd. produces and distributes many popular anime and tokusatsu titles. These titles include Cowboy Bebop, Big O, Outlaw Star, escaflowne, and the popular Gundam, Kamen Rider, Ultraman, and Super Sentai series. Their subsidiaries include the Emotion Music Company Limited, in which the logo is the Moai and they now head the Visual and Music Contents SBU. Their North American division, Bandai Visual USA was absorbed into Bandai Entertainment on July 1,2008 and their headquarters in the United States were located in Cypress, California. They had a European subsidiary named Beez Entertainment who handled European licensing & distribution rights to their library, the first part of Beez Entertainments name stood for Bandai Entertainment European Zone, as Bandai Entertainment had operations in Europe. Beez Entertainment was based in France, in addition, Bandai Visual also took over Beez Entertainment as their entry into the European market, and Beez Entertainment also continued to be part of Bandai as well. However, Bandai Entertainment is no longer acquiring licenses to new anime, also, Beez Entertainment is no longer releasing new anime in Europe. Carddass is the Bandai subsidiary responsible for releasing trading card based on popular Bandai franchises
27.
First Squad
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First Squad is a joint animation project of Japans Studio 4°C and Russias Molot Entertainment. It won the Kommersant newspapers prize, set during the opening days of World War II on the Eastern Front. Its main cast are a group of Soviet teenagers with extraordinary abilities, most of the teenage crew die, except for the protagonist Nadya. She is taken to a secret Soviet lab that studies supernatural phenomena, nadyas task is to dive into the world of the dead for reconnaissance. There, in the Gloomy Valley, she meets her dead friends, on the eve of May 9,2005, a video clip was released, based on the track Наша с тобой победа by Russian rap artist Ligalize. Among the featured locations are the Palace of Soviets and Mayakovskaya metro station, in 2007, it was announced that a motion picture titled First Squad, The Moment of Truth was in the works. Film is produced by Studio 4°C and recently created for this purpose studio Molot Entertainment, the film has been shown at Cannes Film Festival, Locarno Film Festival, Fantasporto and Fantasia film festival. On June 8,2010, Anchor Bay Entertainment announced that they distribute the film in the United States through Manga Entertainment. Official website First Squad at the Internet Movie Database First Squad at Anime News Networks encyclopedia
28.
My Last Day (film)
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My Last Day is a 2011 Christian anime short film created by The Jesus Film Project, with Barry Cook and STUDIO4°C. The story unfolds through the eyes of a criminal who receives the same brutal crucifixion sentence as Jesus Christ and this is a short film of regret, repentance and redemption. The film is available in different languages. The film begins with a prisoner watching from the bars as Jesus gets flogged in Pilate’s courtyard. He remembers Jesus teaching and wonders why they’re hurting an innocent man, horrified, he remembers his own crime, He’s in an alley with a rich gentleman. Holding him up with a knife, he tries to take a box of coins, the thief is nervous so when he tries to go after the man, he fumbles. The man fights him with the box, the thief accidentally stabs the man in the struggle. He claws at the coins and runs off and he then breaks down in tears, aggrieved at seeing someone innocent suffer an even more brutal punishment as a criminal than himself. Most people in the crowds in the courtyard scream for Jesus to be crucified, the thief, another man and Jesus are loaded with the beams for their crosses and march to Golgotha. As they make their way there, the thief looks curiously to the crowds and they finally arrive at Golgotha and nails are driven through their wrists, painfully securing them to the patibulum. Each man is hung on their cross due to a large, deep square-shaped groove carved into the stipes. Like the crowd, the other demands that Jesus save Himself. But our thief rebukes the statement, claiming that they are receiving the punishment that Jesus is. The thief then asks that Jesus remember him when He comes as King, Jesus tells him that today they will be in paradise together. A while later, a dark storm overwhelms the hill and Jesus dies, a Roman soldier then pierces Jesus side with his spear causing a mixture of blood and water to erupt from the wound. Afterwards, the thief has his ankles broken and passes away with a gasp and he then sees a whole and undamaged Jesus in a beautiful place which is, just as Jesus promised, paradise. My Last Day on Global Short Film Network My Last Day My Last Day
29.
Princess Arete
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Princess Arete is a 2001 animated film released by Japanese animation studio Studio 4°C based on Diana Coless 1983 story The Clever Princess. The film is an approach to the standard tales of fairy tale princesses. Under the rule of her father the King, the young Princess Arete grows up in a lonely tower awaiting a suitor worthy of her. While the suitors accomplish countless treasure-collecting quests for the King, the princess begins to experience an awakening curiosity in the outside world. Sneaking out of the several times she begins to recognize that she has been missing out on life while locked away in the isolation of her tower. One night, Arete investigates the gifts given to her by her suitor, just before she is brought to him, the King has met with a powerful sorcerer named Boax to discuss his proposal that Princess Arete be betrothed to the sorcerer. Although the King hesitates at first, he gives in after Boax enchants her into becoming a traditional princess. Boax then takes the princess to his far away castle prior to the wedding, as Arete sits in her new lonely surroundings, she slowly becomes friends with the one sympathetic person in Boax castle – a villager named Ample. Ample explains to Arete that Boax has arranged with the town that he will provide them with water for their fields so long as they feed him. Despite this arrangement, Ample reveals that she has begun digging her own well, encouraged by Ample, Arete at last loses the enchantment Boax had placed on her and regains her old spirits. Soon after she is released by Boax who still believes her to be enchanted, returning in secret to Boax castle, Arete instead discovers the source of Boax magical ability to create water for the town. In trying to recover the source of the water, Arete is discovered by Boax who in a fit of despondency destroys his own castle and it is revealed that he is a not really a great wizard, and can only use limited power before his people were wiped out. As he runs to escape the water, his gem that gives him life is destroyed. Showing that the prophecy was indeed true, the movie ends with Boax looking at his own hands thinking of Aretes words. Princess Arete - The young princess of the kingdom, Arete is filled with great interest in life, however as a princess she is expected to live a life she considers hopelessly mundane. From here she can look down upon the vital town below. This seclusion has engendered strong curiosity about her in the town, to relieve her isolation, the princess sneaks out of the tower to visit the town. Boax - A wizard who has arrived at the castle on a flying machine to claim the hand of the princess
30.
Memories (1995 film)
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Memories is a 1995 Japanese animated science fiction anthology film with Katsuhiro Otomo as executive producer, and based on three of his manga short stories. The Corona, a space salvage freighter, is out on a mission when it encounters a distress signal. They come upon a spaceship graveyard orbiting a giant space station, the crews two engineers, Heintz and Miguel, enter it to get a closer look. Once inside, they discover an opulent European interior and several furnished rooms and they discover that the station belongs to a once famous opera diva named Eva Friedel who disappeared after the murder of her fiancé, Carlo Rambaldi, a fellow singer. Continuing the search for the source of the signal, the split up, with each experiencing paranormal encounters, including strange noises. Miguel enters the dilapidated underbelly of the station, and in a cavernous chamber he finds a piano playing the distress signal. He begins to hallucinate and Eva suddenly runs up to kiss him, Heintz finds a theater stage and sees Eva, who stabs him when he approaches. Suddenly paralyzed, Heintz relives a memory of his family, with his wife, the illusion disappears when Eva takes his wifes form and tells him that he will never leave. Heintz rushes to save Miguel, only to find that he had been seduced by Eva into thinking he is Carlo, Eva reveals to Heintz that she murdered the real Carlo for refusing to marry her and has forced others to look like him. She makes Heintz relive his daughters death and nearly convinces him to join her and he resists and shoots the massive computer embedded in the ceiling causing the AI hologram of Eva to malfunction. The Corona has been struggling against a magnetic field coming from the station. In desperation, they fire an energy cannon, gouging the structure deep enough to reach the cavern. Heintz is ejected into space, as Eva hauntingly sings to a conjured audience, the Corona is crushed and becomes part of the rose-like shape around the station. The episode ends with the whereabouts of real Eva being shown, Heintz is last seen drifting in space, still alive. Stink Bomb is about a lab technician, Nobuo Tanaka, battling the flu and he mistakes some experimental pills for cold pills and swallows one. The pills are part of a weapon program, reacting to the flu shot already in his body. Tanaka soon develops a deadly body odor and becomes a weapon of mass destruction. While taking a nap, the odor he emits kills everyone in the Lab, horrified, he reports the incident to headquarters, as they instruct him to deliver the experimental drug to Tokyo
31.
Spriggan (manga)
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Spriggan is a manga series written by Hiroshi Takashige and illustrated by Ryōji Minagawa. It was initially released as Striker in the North American English translation, Spriggan was serialized in Shogakukans manga magazines Weekly Shōnen Sunday and Shōnen Sunday Super from 1988-1996. The manga was adapted into a film by Studio 4°C in 1998. A PlayStation game called Spriggan, Lunar Verse was also based on the manga with some material created for the game, many years ago, an ancient civilization known for their advanced technology once ruled Earth, but were destroyed in the end by their misuse. Various paramilitaries, national armies, and armed forces began to secretly search for these mysterious artifacts in order to be used for their own good. The ARCAM Corporation and their arm, the ARCAM Private Army. ARCAM Corporation is a company that was founded in the United States and has branches covering all countries from across the globe and its mission is to covertly secure and destroy all ancient artifacts from all known enemies that may use them for their own benefit. Its breakthrough was the refinement of Orichalcum, a metal that was used for ARCAMs Armored Muscle Suit. MJ-12 and Trident Corporation were able to refine their own Orichalcum suits, the spelling ARCAM is said to be a misspelling of Arkham. ARCAM Private Army, ARCAMs paramilitary wing whose duties vary and their main purpose is to conduct operations on various artifact locations and its aggressors, ranging from private corporate military wings to national militaries. Spriggans, One of ARCAM Private Armys divisions, consisting of agents recruited for covert work in hostile areas without compromising the company. Trident Corporation, Founded by NATO as an R&D Division, it went rogue for unknown reasons and was declared as an illegal organization. It searches for ancient artifacts in order to them as potential military weapons. Currently, it is funded by the European Campbell Company, American Clovers Heavy Industries. Its greatest breakthrough, apparently based on ARCAMs Armored Muscle Suit, was the Orichalcum Armored Machine Suit, One of its users was the Trident Corp. operator Iwao Akatsuki. COSMOS is a unit of the US Army. Most of its operatives are child soldiers who were kidnapped by CIA agents and US Army soldiers from around the world, the manga was initially published in Japan by Shogakukan in eleven full volumes from June 1988 to April 1996, with reprints in both 2001 and 2006. Together with Ranma ½, it was the first manga published in Portugal, with the first 11 volumes followed by the 8 volume bunkoban and in Taiwan as eleven full chapters translated into Mandarin by Tong Li Comics under the Youth Comic series label
32.
Tekkonkinkreet
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It was adapted into a 2006 feature-length Japanese anime film of the same name, directed by Michael Arias and animated by Studio 4°C. The film Tekkonkinkreet premiered in Japan on December 23,2006, while the manga follows multiple plot threads, the film adaption consists of a few plots shown in the manga. Kuro is a violent and streetwise punk, considering Takaramachi to be his town, Shiro is younger and appears to be mentally impaired, out of touch with the world around him and often living in a world of illusions. Despite their extreme differences, they complement and support other, similar to the Chinese Taoist principle of yin. During one of their missions, they take on thugs and Kuro ends up beating up three Yakuza gang members who are menacing a street gangster friend of his, the Yakuza work for Snake, the head of a corporation called Kiddy Kastle. Snake plans to tear down and rebuild Takaramachi as a park to fit his own goals. When Kuro interferes once too often, Yakuza are sent to kill him, angered, Snake then sends the deadly three assassins, near-superhuman hitmen, to finish the job. In order to save Kuro and himself, Shiro has to kill the first assassin by tipping gasoline and setting it alight, the second assassin pursues Shiro and stabs him with a samurai sword. Shiro is then sent to the hospital, Kuro later falls into a depressive state. Alongside the childrens narrative is a story is told through the eyes of Kimura, eventually, Kimura is forced by Snake to kill his former boss and mentor, Suzuki, to remove possible competition. While Kimura fulfills his mission, he is shocked by having murdered his mentor. Summoned once again by Snake, Kimura rebels and kills the Yakuza boss and he is gunned down in a drive-by shooting by Snakes men. While the police feel it is for the best for Shiro to remain with them outside Takaramachi, in parallel, without Shiro, Kuro soon begins to lose grip on reality and allows his violence to consume him. He soon develops a personality, with his dark side manifesting as the minotaur. Things reach a climax when Shiro is brought back to Takaramachi by one of the officers, there, a delusional Kuro is trying to show people that Shiro, in reality a mocked-up doll, has returned to life. When Kuro is attacked by Snakes two remaining assassins, the doll is damaged and Kuro flies into a rage, killing the assassins. It is then that he is confronted by the real Shiro, and is forced to fight the minotaur, Kuro manages to triumph over his dark side and reunites with Shiro. All three manga issues were adapted into a 2006 feature-length Japanese anime film of the name, directed by Michael Arias
33.
ThunderCats (2011 TV series)
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ThunderCats is an American/Japanese animated television series, produced by Ethan Spaulding and Michael Jelenic. A reboot of the original 1980s TV series of the same name, animation and Studio 4°C, and combined elements of western animation, with Japanese anime. The series began with a premiere on Cartoon Network on July 29,2011. Story-wise the series attempts to take a darker and more cinematic approach than the original show, featuring a lot more focus on characterization. Initially planned for 52 episodes, it was confirmed by ThunderCats art-director Dan Norton in early 2013 that the show had been canceled after one season. Reruns of the show aired on Adult Swims Toonami block along with Sym-Bionic Titan. On the planet known as Third Earth, the Cats have lived and thrived for generations in the kingdom of Thundera, the Cats are led by Claudus, with his son and heir Lion-O. However, one night the kingdom is attacked by the Lizard army led by the evil sorcerer Mumm-Ra, with them, the Lizards bring technology. Because of this, Thundera is destroyed, Claudus is killed by Mumm-Ra, a small band of surviving Thunderians led by Lion-O flee the destroyed city in order to seek out the Book of Omens which is said to have the knowledge needed to defeat Mumm-Ra. Once they find it, the ThunderCats realize that in order for them to defeat Mumm-Ra, the ThunderCats also discover that they have to find three stones of power which if found by Mumm-Ra will give him power to become the most powerful being in the universe. Lion-O – The leader/current Lord of the ThunderCats, the biological son of King Claudus, Lion-O was a misunderstood teenager in Thundera, being the only one in the kingdom who believed that technology and Mumm-Ra existed. Because of his beliefs, many felt he was unworthy to become king, often favoring his adopted brother, Tygra. After the fall of Thundera and the death of King Claudus, Lion-O becomes the new Lord of the ThunderCats, even though Lion-O can be a bit of a hot-head, hes by far the most patient and understanding cat, even more than Cheetara. During the first half of one, both he and Tygra had a crush on Cheetara, which only fueled the brothers rivalry. In the end, Cheetara chose Tygra, which left Lion-O feeling bitter, attempting to move past his feelings for Cheetara, Lion-O attempted to cultivate feelings for Pumyra. However, any possibility of a relationship between them came to an end after he found out that, in truth, Pumyra was Mumm-Ras willing agent the entire time she was with the ThunderCats. Tygra – The adopted older brother of Lion-O, Tygra was originally born to Javan, the leader of the Tiger Clan living in the mountains. During this time, the Tiger Clan was stricken with disease, in return for saving their lives, the Ancient Spirits of Evil demanded that Tygra be sacrificed because they considered him a bigger threat to their existence than Lion-O would be
34.
Transformers: Animated
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Transformers Animated is a Japanese/American animated television series based on the Transformers toy line. It was produced by Cartoon Network Studios and animated by The Answer Studio, MOOK DLE. the series debuted on Cartoon Network on December 26,2007 and ended on May 23,2009. In Japan, the show debuted on April 3,2010, the series has 42 episodes across three seasons, with many fanservice references to other Transformers shows. The Japanese version of the cartoon was slightly rewritten to tie into Michael Bays Transformers film series. S, on The Hub, now known as Discovery Family in high definition until 2014. The series began with a pilot called Transform and Roll Out. Megatron attacks the Autobot ship and tries to retrieve the Allspark, but when an explosive planted on Megatron by the treacherous Starscream detonates, the Autobots go into stasis to survive the crash, while the scattered remains of Megatron are discovered by a human scientist named Isaac Sumdac. Fifty years later, Professor Sumdac is the CEO of a company known as Sumdac Systems. Optimus Prime and the Autobots awaken from stasis and defend the people of Detroit from a monster and they befriend Sumdacs young daughter Sari, who teaches them about Earth customs. At the end of the episodes, Starscream arrives on Earth and tries to take the Allspark for himself. In the first season, the Autobots settle into their new home and learn about Earth culture and customs, Blitzwing and Lugnut arrive on Earth searching for Megatron, while Blackarachnia targets Optimus Prime, blaming him for her techno-organic mutation. New Transformers introduced in the first season include the Autobot Arcee, the Decepticon Soundwave, the bounty-hunter Lockdown, and the Dinobots Grimlock, Snarl, several human villains are also introduced, including Nanosec, the Headmaster and Meltdown. The season ends with Megatron returning with a new body, in the second season, the Autobot Elite Guard members Ultra Magnus, Sentinel Prime, and Jazz arrive on Earth to retrieve the Allspark, only to learn of its destruction in the Season One finale. While Sentinel completely disbelieves Optimuss claims, Optimus and his team are able to convince Magnus of Decepticon activity on Earth. This is part of Megatrons plan to invade Cybertron from within, at the end of the season, the Decepticon Space Bridge is destroyed, but Megatron, Starscream, and Omega Supreme are sucked through and lost in deep space. Sari meanwhile, notices an injury that exposes mechanical parts under her skin, Prowl does some research and discovers that Professor Sumdac was in fact telling the truth, and deduces that Sari is a Cybertronian protoform that scanned Professor Sumdacs genetic information. Soundwave and Arcee reappear in season 3, with Soundwave being accompanied by minions Laserbeak, new characters introduced in season 3 include the Constructicon Dirt Boss, the Autobot scientist Perceptor, Prowls mentor Yoketron, and the Elite Guard members Jetstorm and Jetfire. The Autobots return to Cybertron with the apprehended Decepticons, and are hailed as heroes upon arriving on their home world, a fourth season, consisting of about 36 episodes, was initially planned and intended, but was cancelled. According to Transformers Animated, The AllSpark Almanac II, season fours main theme would have been the discovery of Energon deposits left by the Allspark across Detroit
35.
Tweeny Witches
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Tweeny Witches, known in Japan as Magical Girl Squad Arusu, is an anime television and original video animation series produced by Studio 4°C. The protagonist of the story is Arusu, who enters the world of the witches. Herself an enthusiast of witchcraft she is delighted, however she is not satisfied with the way of the witches and she is marked as a troublemaker when she releases all the sprites the witches have captured for use as the source of magic spells. Later in the series, the witches interact with the world of the wizards as both try to save their worlds from destruction, in 2003 it was announced at the Tokyo International Anime Fair that the anime Magical Girl Squad Arusu was going to be made. The anime first aired between April 9,2004, and March 4,2005, in all,40 episodes were made plus an OVA that contains 12 episodes which was aired in 2007. The anime was licensed by AnimeWorks under the English name, Tweeny Witches with three DVDs being released in 2008, the OVA titled Tweeny Witches the Adventures was also released on DVD by Media Blasters in 2009. In 2009 a complete collection called Tweeny Witches True Book of Spells was released, the anime has received mixed feedback from reviewers, Aint It Cool News said that the anime can be thought of as a There will be blood type as well as being Spicy structurally. The review goes on to say that the fan should at least give it a try. Rachael Carothers and Ronald J Duncan from Anime News Network both gave a good review, Ronald said that while the idea of a character traveling to another world and gaining the ability to do magic isnt original, the series is different. He stated the episodes were well paced, had a fun character. Rachael praised the art as extremely beautiful animation and background music that fits in so well, Chris Beveridge from Mania. com gave the DVD a mixed review with a C rating. Chris went on to say that the story was slow moving and stilted, however, he went on to say that his daughter was plenty fascinated by it. The third DVD received a C+ rating from him for both dub and sub, again the artwork was praised but the story was lacking a great deal, for the OVA Carl gave it a B- rating again for both sub and dub. The OVA was praised for its fast pace, action, and adventure, for the 3rd and final DVD Chris stated that the ending felt pretty complete and was fairly predictable. He later went on to say that the best moments tended to come with the secondary characters, Chris rated the OVA as being lighter and more accessible nut at times going over the top, in all the review was good. Chris has placed the anime at #4 of the 10 most underrated anime. Mark Thomas from Mania. com said it is something parents could get into with their children. Makes it an odd, but fun, combination, official website Mahou Shoujo Tai Arusu at Anime News Networks encyclopedia
