Category Archives: Manga

Sword Art Online: Alicization EARLY season premiere

Anime, Autographs, Cosplay, Events, Films/Movies, Los Angeles, Manga, Voice Actors, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

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.

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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,

Sword Art Online Integral Factor

mainVisual-charIntegral 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’ 

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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.

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Click here to read the prologue

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.

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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.”

The cast is yet to be revealed.

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Sinon Cosplayer, SketchBook; Kirito Cosplayer, Mystic Taku

Who do you think will prefect for Kirito and Asuna? Comment below, we’d love to hear your opinions!

AniManga 2018

Anime, Cartoons, Cons, Cosplay, Events, Manga, Photography, Voice Actors, , , , , , , , , , , ,

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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

Ronin-Expo 2018

Anime, Art, Cons, Cosplay, Events, Japanese Music, Japanese Stuff, Little Tokyo, Los Angeles, Manga, Photography, Voice Actors, , , , , , , , ,

Ronin-Expo was held on June 02 of 2018, at  the Japanese American Cultural and Community Center in Little Tokyo, Los Angeles.

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So what is Ronin-Expo, you may ask? Ronin-Expo is a celebration of Asian culture, this includes anime, video games, movies, & even a bit history of Japan itself. What makes this expo so interesting though, is the fact that it’s in the center of Little Tokyo district in the city of angels (Los Angeles). This makes it a diverse spot for Ronin Expo to be in, as attendees can further explore Little Tokyo by visiting the surrounding museums and local restaurants.


Here are some more pictures from the event including: cosplayers, event guests, attendees and staff members.

Felt like you missed out? Don’t worry, Ronin Expo will return spring 2019, so mark your calendars and take a trip to Little Tokyo, Los Angeles & make sure to stop by Ronin-Expo!

See you at the next Con/Expo!

 

Interview with: Jason Paige – Vocal artist of the famous, Pokémon Theme song!

Anime, Autographs, Concerts, Cosplay, Current Interviews, Events, Los Angeles, Manga, Photography, video games, Voice Actors, , , , , , , , , ,

You may not recognize his face but you’ll definitely recognize his voice! Join us in our quick interview with Pokemon Theme song singer, JASON PAIGE:

We interviewed Jason Paige at AniFest 2018 in Torrance, California. Although we were there primarily for Jason, here are some photos from Anifest & a quick video.
Interviewing Jason
Interviewing Jason
Interviewing Jason
Weeb Car 1
Weeb Car 2
This guy! VOOM! VOOM!
This guy! VOOM! VOOM!
Me & Tony Taku
Me & Tony Taku
Me & Beari King (Event Organizer)
Ash’s League Expo hat autographed by JASON PAIGE
Ash’s League Expo hat autographed by JASON PAIGE

Check this short video of some of the booth at AniFest:

 

原田ちあき (Harada Chiaki): In-Store Event

Art, Autographs, Cartoons, Cosplay, Events, Japanese Stuff, Los Angeles, Manga, Photography, , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Artist Chiaki Harada (原田ちあき), made a special in-store appearance at Fickle Wish in Little Tokyo Los Angeles.

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Chiaki Harada’s first Los Angeles appearance at Fickle Wish

Chiaki is a well known Japanese artist based off Osaka, Japan. She specializes in “Bad Mouth” art style and usually draws girls crying while saying terrible or depressing phrases such as:

 

From Hadara’s English translated artbook
From Hadara’s English translated artbook
From Hadara’s English translated artbook

These were the many items people were able to purchase at the event, alongside the first ever English translated Harada Chiaki artbook:

 

Bundle of Item I bought
Chiaki Harada merch: Mirror, Sticker, Artbook & tote bag
Autographed Chiaki Hadara art
An exclusive artbook, featuring Chiaki’s painting
“In wonderland” sticker by Chiaki
Chiaki Harada Tote bag
Chiaki Harada Mirror

Chiaki has done numerous artworks and collaborations, with the last one being in Osaka, japan, when she collaborated with Cosplay cafe, メルカフェ X Hadara Chiaki. She created this artwork for the collaboration:

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Chiaki Also has her own manga out titled, “Chiaki Harada’s Suspicious Diary” which is available for purchase on her site or on Amazon.

Chiaki Harada's Suspicious Diary (Cover)
Chiaki Harada’s Suspicious Diary (Cover)

The following are photos from the event:

 

Me and Chiaki
Me and Chiaki
Chiaki autographing her English translated artbook for fans
Me and Chiaki
Q & A Panel with finalized live drawing
Strike a pose!
Chiaki Harada Mirror
Q & A Panel
Chiaki’s Info card
Chiaki Harada’s first Los Angeles appearence
Chiaki doing a LIVE drawing
ありがとうございました、原田さん!
Chiaki autographing her English translated artbook for fans

Did you miss out this event? Want Chiaki Hadara Merch? Visit Fickle Wish at, Ficklewish.com! Find out about more Fickle Wish events by Liking their facebook page.

Follow Chiaki’s artwork via Twitter, instagram and website!

New Manga by Death Note Creators

Anime, Manga, ,

Creator duo Takeshi Obata & Tsugumi Ohba Are back with a manga series!

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Platinum End

It has been reveled that the duo behind Death Note & Bakuman will launch a new manga titled Platinum End in the December issue of Shueisha‘s Jump SQ. This will be the duo’s 3rd manga creation and has since debuted in Japan on Nov. 4th.

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According to the Anime News Network, the story’s about “a human and an angel, which will center around Mirai Kakehashi, a boy who ‘does not seek out hope in order to live.'”

The duo has had much success with their work, with the most popular being Death Note. Death Note, first released in December 2003, has been adapted into an anime series, 2 Anime movies, 2 novels, 3 live action movies and most recently,  Musical that ran at Tokyo’s Nissay Theatre from April 6-29. Warner Bros is currently working on a screenplay for a live action version of Death Note.

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