I had threeamazing guest interviews during my time at the fristeverHENTAI CON in Burbank, California! Here’s the first interview from the trio; You may recognize her from, Grand Blue Fantasy as IO, YS VII: Lacrimosa of dana as Ricotta and BeyBlade Burst as Nika Aoi, watch as voice actress, Jackie Lastra speaks about her newest roles in, The Testament Of Sister New Devil & more in this awesome interview.
Remember to subscribe to The Kitsune Network’s YouTube here to get notified of my upcoming interviews from Hentai Con and more!
We had the honor of interviewing voice actors, Debi Derryberry, Mark DeCarlo & Megan Cavanagh, during this year’s Los Angeles Comic Con, just in time for Jimmy Neutron’s 15th Anniversary!
Watch our coverage of the JIMMY NEUTRON Panel featuring voice actors: Debi Derryberry (Jimmy Neutron), Mark DeCarlo (Hugh Neutron), Megan Cavanagh (Judy Neutron), Rob Paulsen (Carl Weezer), Candi Milo (Cindy Campbell) & Jeff Garcia (Sheen)
During Crunchyroll Expo 2018, we had the honor of interviewing voice actor Clifford Chapin, most famously known for voicing Connie Springer in Attack On Titan & recently, Bakugo Katsuki in My Hero Academia. Watch as Clifford tells us about his career origins and his experiences voice Connie & Bakugo:
Stay tuned for our NEXT INTERVIEWS taking place at Los Angeles Comic Con 2018
Since our initial announcement, the Hello Kitty Grand Cafe officially opened at The Irvine Spectrum in Irvine California!
Needless to say, the grand opening brought a FULL house on the first day of service.
Needless to say, the grand opening brought a FULL house on the first day of service.
The Hello Kitty Grand Cafe is now officially opened. Previously, the Irvine Spectrum had a temporary cafe Pop up that was in service for two years and half from 2015 – summer of 2018.
Concept design of the temporary cafe Pop up that was in service from 2015 – 2018
There are two sections of the cafe; One, the cafe which serves cakes, cookies and other Hello Kitty pastries. The secondsection is The Bow Room, which serves Afternoon Tea or evening Cocktail Service.
The entry door to The Bow Room
Photo Via Sanrio.com
Bow Room hours are as follows:
AFTERNOON TEA HOURS:
•Wednesday-Friday: 11am-4pm
• Saturday and Sunday: 10am-4pm
COCKTAIL SERVICE HOURS:
• Wednesday, Thursday, Sunday: 5pm-9pm
• Friday and Saturday 5pm-11pm
You can also make reservations for the Bow Room here. We suggest you plan out your trip as there are other wonderful place to explore within the Irvine Spectrum.
Here are the official Cafe hours:
These hours are for the first section of the Cafe.
Check our photoset from the grand opening:
Needless to say, the grand opening brought a FULL house on the first day of service.
Needless to say, the grand opening brought a FULL house on the first day of service.
The entry door to The Bow Room
While you’re visiting Irvine, California, make sure to also visit Hello Kitty’s latest collaboration with Tanaka Farms for their Hello Kitty X Tanaka Farms Pumpkin Patch. Read our article about that here!
Sword Art Online: Alicization had its EARLY season premiere on Saturday Sept. 15th 2018 at Hollywood’s The Montalbán theatre!
The Montalbán theatre
The Montalbán theatre
The Montalbán theatre
Set to be released on October 6 2018, Fans got the opportunity to watch the first, one-hour season premiere of SAO’s newest season, Sword Art Online Alicization. Along this one-day primere, Japan, Australia, France, Germany, Russia and South Korea also had their own special screening.
Fans waiting to enter the Montalbán theater…
Some were in cosplay.
SAO standee that stood outside the theatre
Aniplex had exclusive SAO items for those attending this special screening and set up shop, selling SAO exclusives and Alicization merchandise.
SAO: Alicization poster that was given out to attendees [this particular poster is signed by some of the English cast of SAO]
Exclusive Shishiki of Manabu Ono’s Kirito sketch [This was signed by Kirito’s English voice actor, Bryce Papenbrook]
SAO merchandise that was available for purchase during the event, including some exclusive SAO: Alicization merchandise.
An acrylic ‘Alice’ standee, one of few SAO: Alicization merchandise that was available for purchase
Although we will not spoil the episode for you guys, the episode continues from where it left off in Ordinal Scale; This new season shines light on old characters from season one & two as well as, a new series director, Manabu Ono known for Hellsing, Saki, The Asterisk War & Horizon in the Middle of Nowhere.
Manabu Ono during Japan Expo 2017. Photo Credit: Coyote Mag via Twitter
For those who do not know, Alicization takes place during volumes 9(Alicization Beginning)through volume 18(Alicization Lasting) of Reki Kawahara’s Sword Art Online Alicization arc.
Sword Art Online Vol. 9 – Alicization Beginning
Sword Art Online Vol. 18 – Alicization Lasting
After the screening, we meet up with some special surprise guests, Bryce PapenBrook (Kirito) and Michelle Ruff (Sinon)
Bryce Papenbrook and I (Krystal)
Michelle Ruff and I (FUN FACT: Me and Michelle go WAY to 2016, She was the very first voice actor we interviewed for The Kitsune Network).
Check out our photoset for this event:
SAO setup inside theatre
Fans filling The Montalbán
Eugeo and Kirito cosplayers
Fans waiting for the episode to begin
Fans waiting for the episode to begin
Title card
An exclusive acrylic ‘Alice’ standee
Alice, Kirito and myself
SAO: Alicization poster that was given out to attendees [this particular poster is signed by some of the English cast of SAO]
Exclusive Shishiki of Manabu Ono’s Kirito sketch [This was signed by Kirito’s English voice actor, Bryce Papenbrook]
Aside from newest SAO season, there are loads in store for Kawahara’s series, beginning with its new video game app,
Integral Factor is the newest addition to SAO’s video game apps, taking place during the Aincrad arc. The player takes control of ‘a former beta tester’ who becomes trapped inside Aincrad.
Protagonist
Koharu
During the game, you meet a young inexperienced female player named, Koharu and much like Kirito and Asuna, they both take on the dangerous world of Aincrad, ‘this is a story that might of happened in Aincrad’
The game is now available for download on Google Play and the Apple Store, make sure to read the official prologue manga, illustrated by Yu Uonuma, here! Learn more about the game on its official website, SAO: Internal Factor.
Since its initial release, Sword Art Online has been Kawahara’s most popular series with Accel World as a runner up and much like many popular mainstream anime series, they get a live action adaptation;
Sword Art Online: The Television Series.
Back in 2016, Television production company SkyDance Media, announced that they’ve acquired the rights to Sword Art Online and are currently working with producer & writer, Patrick Massett, John Zinman (Lara Croft: Tomb Raider; The Blacklist; Friday Night Lights) & Laeta Kalogridis (Alita: Battle Angel; Terminator Genisys) whom are currently writing the pilot episode. Since the announcement, not much as been released regarding the progress of the series, however SkyDance Media release a small summary via the series’s official IMDB page stating:
“The series will follow a brilliant young beta tester Kirito and his group of friends when they are trapped – alongside 10,000 other people – in a next-generation virtual reality online role-playing game. The game is a world unto itself: filled with sword fighting, monsters and mystery, where the stakes are life and death. Kirito and an ensemble of diverse characters must fight their way through this hostile environment while making lives for themselves in the fantastical world that is known as Sword Art Online.”
Join AniPlex USA & SAO fans in this special exclusive screening of Sword Art Online: Alicization at The Montalbán!
The Montalbán located at: 1615 Vine St, Los Angeles, CA 90028
In addition to this screening, SOA fan will be receiving a‘free gift and have the opportunity to purchase a variety of Sword Art Online merchandise, including new products of the upcoming season from Japan.’
Back at AniManga 2018, two weeks ago, we had the honour of interviewing voice actor, JOSH GRELLE. Grelle’s extensive resumes includes: Yuri Katsuki (Yuri On Ice), Tokoyami (My Hero Academia), Issei Hyodo (Highschool DxD), Demon King Satan (Devil as a part-timer) & Armin Arlert (Attack On Titan).
join us! As we speak about Grelle’s Career, his origins & his experiences voicing Yuri Katsuki (Yuri On Ice):
AniManga (Not to be confused with AniManga held in Melbourne, Australia) is a summer oriented, 3 day anime convention held at Fairplex in Pomona, California. AniManga, Founded in 2017, is combines Anime & Manga AND gaming into a fun weekend and was first held on August 3rd – 5th 2018.
AniManga’s Entrance
A relatively low-key convention, AniManga began with a slow start however it rapidly picked up on Saturday with many cosplayers and guests joining the fun.
AniManga’s interactive Inflatable Wrecking Ball & Maze Game
For those whom never been to Fairplex, Fairplex is compose of different ‘halls’ and sections. AniManga was held in Hall 4 which is a fairly big hall:
AniManga’s voice actor Guests included: Max Mittelman, Kyle McCarley, Zach Aguilar & Josh Grelle.
Me, Zach Aguilar & Cosplayer: Mystic Taku
While at there, we had the honor of interviewing voice actor Josh Grelle:
Josh Grelle and I
Overall, our experience at AniManga was good. It began slow and picked up Saturday. Only time will tell if they’ll become bigger and better. We will most definitely return next year. Take a look at their website for upcoming detail for AniManga 2019.
Teaser Animated trailer released during Anime expo 2018. Animation by StudioTrigger known for Kill La Kill.
Indivisible is an upcoming, fighting RPG game made by Lab Zero Games, the same developers who made Skullgirls. Although Skullgirls focuses on mainly on fighting skills, Indivisible expands to the platform/RPG genre.
Screen shot from the demo. Download the game on Steam here.
Being a huge fan of the artwork that Lab Zero Games produces in their games, I decided to try the demo out myself. Just as their previous game, Skullgirls, Indivisible was produced using 2D, hand-drawn, techniques. Which in MY opinion Indivisible has one of the best hand animations, it has a art style that is more modern, and unlike other games such as, Cupheadwhich was meant to mimic the 1930s art style, Indivisible is a more modern rendition of that concept. Of course Cuphead is different genre. In comparison, Wakfu, produce by Ankama Games,is another game that is similar to Indivisible in that they both have similar art styles, though have very different gameplays:
Left: Wakfu (Produce in Adobe Flash); Right: Indivisible (Produce using hand drawn 2D traditional animation)
There are many things about Indivisible that I loved, however its art direction and its gameplay is what got me mesmerized. The mixture of beautiful natural artistic direction, the detailed characters & the energetic cast alongside the dynamic Lab Zero Games team make the game a remarkable experience to play. Unfortunately, Lab Zero Games fans will have to wait a bit along as the game’s initial release date, January 2018, was pushed back to some time in mid 2019. Although a specific date hasn’t been set yet.
For now, the demo is available on steam for FREE download and you can visit the game’s official website to be updated on its process here.
GIVEAWAY!
In honour of Indivisible, we’ve are giving away an official Indivisible Original Soundtrack CD brought to you by Lab Zero Games. Indivisible’s in-game music is composed by Hiroki Kikuta, who has worked in Super Nintendo’s Secret of Mana, Seiken Densetsu 3, Soul Calibur V & Koudelka.
Indivisible – Special Sound Selections Official CD
Track List
How to win: Like our facebook page here & Share this article via Twitter or Facebook using the #TKNIndivisible tag. You’ll automatically be entered to win this exclusiveIndivisible Original Soundtrack CD. You have until August 11th 2018 to enter! The winner will be announced on August 12th 2018 via our facebook page. Good luck!
Gudetama’s origins begin with a character design contest held by Sanrio back in 2013, coming in 2nd to Kirimi-chan.
Fastword to 2018, Gudetama’s creator/designer, AMY (Emi Nagashima) visits the Sanrio store in Little Tokyo, Los Angeles, making this her first visit ever.
Gudetama fans stood in line to receive a signed drawing of Gudetama from AMY.
As AMY made a special appearance in Los Angeles, Aggretsuko creator/designer visited the Sanrio store in San Francisco for the continuation of Aggretsuko’s Den Of Rage event.
With Gudetama & Aggretsuko becoming instant stars & both characters getting their own TV series (Gudetama: TBS & Aggretsuko: Netflix), it’s only a matter of time before Sanrio develops yet another super cute and adorable character we can all be be obsessed with.
Here’s our photoset from AMY’s visit:
AMY at work
AMY signs a Gudetama book for a fan
AMY and I
Gudetama and I
Gudetama & my assistant, Vincent
Take a look at out video as well:
Who’s your favorite SANRIO character? Comment below!
![SAO: Alicization poster that was given out to attendees [this particular poster is signed by some of the English cast of SAO]](https://thekitsunetwork.files.wordpress.com/2018/09/dsc1421.jpg?w=269&h=365 "_DSC1421")
![Exclusive Shishiki of Manabu Ono's Kirito sketch [This was signed by Kirito's English voice actor, Bryce Papenbrook]](https://thekitsunetwork.files.wordpress.com/2018/09/dsc1426.jpg?w=327&h=365 "_DSC1426")
![SAO: Alicization poster that was given out to attendees [this particular poster is signed by some of the English cast of SAO]](https://thekitsunetwork.files.wordpress.com/2018/09/dsc1421.jpg?w=178&h=242 "_DSC1421")
![Exclusive Shishiki of Manabu Ono's Kirito sketch [This was signed by Kirito's English voice actor, Bryce Papenbrook]](https://thekitsunetwork.files.wordpress.com/2018/09/dsc1426.jpg?w=217&h=242 "_DSC1426")
Integral Factor is the newest addition to SAO’s video game apps, taking place during the Aincrad arc. The player takes control of ‘a former beta tester’ who becomes trapped inside Aincrad.
