Here’s another comment from one of the anime industry watchdogs that talks about celebrating 40 years of great robot anime shows, by hosting an all-day Gundam movie marathon in Tokyo, just a few days ago.

Here’s the article.

VIZ CINEMA HOSTS A UNIQUE PRESENTATION ON THE HISTORY OF SCI-FI ROBOT ANIME AND PRESENTS GUNDAM TRIPLE FEATURE IN SPECIAL ALL-DAY MOVIE MARATHON

San Francisco, CA, April 2, 2010 – VIZ Cinema is pleased to offer a fun-packed weekend of anime as it welcomes Patrick Macias, Editor-in-Chief of OTAKU USA, on Friday April 9th for the latest in his ongoing series of TokyoScope Talks on Japanese cinema and pop media. On Saturday, April 10th, VIZ Cinema offers a special Gundam Movie Marathon. Three feature films featuring the iconic robot will be screened in the theatre, which features 35mm and digital projection and a THX®-certified sound system.

TokyoScope Talk Vol. 2: MECHA MANIA: Four Decades of Slam-Bang Sci-Fi Robot Anime comes to VIZ Cinema on Friday, April 9th at 7:00pm. Tickets are $8.00. Also co-hosting the event will be author and critic Tomohiro Machiyama, who together with Macias wrote Cruising Anime City, (published by Stone Bridge Press) a highly detailed travel guide about Tokyo otaku culture and the anime phenomenon.

“From Astro Boy and Tetsujin 28 to Gundam and Voltron to Transformers and Gurren Lagann, giant robots and other fantastic machines and technology, or mecha, are instantly recognizable mainstays of anime,” says Macias. “There’s also a lot of cultural iconography intertwined with these machines and their operators, often presented as heroic warriors in the samurai warrior tradition. I look forward to tracing the nearly 50 year history and evolution of mecha along with some often humorous stories and latest examples. And don’t miss an awesome raffle giveaway featuring some tear-jerking treasures for super mecha fans!”

VIZ Cinema’s Weeknight Anime People makes a special weekend stop with an day-long triple feature of Gundam! General ticket price: $10:00; Combo tickets are $25:00. No further discounts will apply.
Gundam Movie Marathon, Saturday, April 10th – One Day Only!
Mobile Suit Gundam Movie I, 11:00am
Mobile Suit Gundam Movie II: Soldiers of Sorrow, 1:35pm
Mobile Suit Gundam Movie III: Encounters in Space, 4:05pm
VIZ Cinema’s Weeknight Anime People makes a special weekend stop with an afternoon of Gundam! In the year 0079 of the Universal Century, the Earth Federation and its space colonies are engaged in an apocalyptic war. The rebellious Duchy of Zeon, using humanoid fighting machines called Mobile Suits, has all but vanquished the Federation. Now the Federation’s last hope is the prototype Mobile Suit, Gundam. When a twist of fate makes young civilian Amuro Ray the sole-pilot of Gundam, Amuro’s own battle begins – a struggle not only for the Federation’s survival, but for his own. General ticket price: $10:00; Combo tickets are $25:00. No further discounts will apply.

VIZ Cinema is the nation’s first movie theatre devoted exclusively to Japanese film and anime. The 143-seat subterranean theatre is located in the basement of the NEW PEOPLE building and features plush seating, digital as well as 35mm projection, and a THX®-certified sound system.

NEW PEOPLE offers the latest films, art, fashion and retail brands from Japan and is the creative vision of the J-Pop Center Project and VIZ Pictures, a distributor and producer of Japanese live action film. Located at 1746 Post Street, the 20,000 square foot structure features a striking 3-floor transparent glass façade that frames a fun and exotic new environment to engage the imagination into the 21st Century. A dedicated web site is also now available at: www.NewPeopleWorld.com.

Source: Activeanime.com

So if you’re just around the neighborhood over there, don’t forget to check it out!! And let me know what the experience is like after 10th April!

Source: Activeanime.com

While the new Votoms trailer release is under way, let us give ourselves a recap on Votoms TV series.

It’s a strange fact. But…

I never actually get to watch the series during the 80s. They must have been broadcasted in other countries but never in my back to my home country of Malaysia…. Or perhaps it never occurred to me that it was broadcasted for a long while and I wasn’t even aware of it.

Whatever the reason was, I’m glad to know it’s available for Generation Mech fans like us to get use to remembering what the series ever looked like actually….

So here’s the video footage of the series for those who wish to recap…

The original opening.

Whilst I went online reading more about this, I encountered this detailed info from online American otaku site.

In U.S. anime fandom, many point to Mobile Suit Gundam (whichever incarnation may be currently available) as the premiere series combining politics and mecha combat. However, for nearly as long, though not quite as popular, there has been a franchise in Japan that is very extensive and more focused on the ground aspects of mecha combat, while often telling pretty good stories to boot. That franchise is Armor Trooper Votoms, which originally started as a 52 episode TV series and has since spun off into several side stories. Although the primary focus of the Import Report section is meant to look at new shows not released in America, the current show in question is geared towards long-time followers, so we’ll take a look at the original series which has been released here as a primer for the current installment.

Armored Trooper Votoms

The series takes place in the distant future, when humanity has spread to various parts of the galaxy. The story begins at the tail end of a hundred year-long war between the Gilgamesh and Balarant star systems which has devastated population and resources. The emergence of robotic suits called VOTOMs (Vertical One-man Tank for Offense and Maneuvers) changed the course of the war and an uneasy cease fire was eventually reached.

It is at this point we are shown a group of Gilgamesh soldiers in Votoms breaking into a military space station. One of them, Sgt. Chirico Cuvie, is following orders to the best of his ability having just transferred to this particular unit. Chirico is a bit horrified to discover the station belongs to HIS OWN army, but he continues to follow orders. When he asks about the true objective of the mission, the rest of the squad simply tells him to stand guard after the initial break-in, and cut off his frequency. Through a series of mishaps, Chirico winds up in an empty chamber where a single capsule is stored. The capsule opens to reveal a strange glow surrounding a nude female, who instantly turns to stare at Chirico. It’s at this point the rest of the squad appears, saying the capsule is their true objective. Chirico is ordered back outside, but just as he leaves, one of the squad leaves a bomb in his path and the resulting explosion knocks him out.

Chirico wakes up in an interrogation chamber where he’s being repeatedly tortured and asked about the break in, as well as something called “The Prototype.” He tells all he knows about the squad’s activities, but can’t convince the inquisitor that he knows nothing more. The inquisitor, Captain Rochina, decides to take the prisoner back to his homeworld Melkia for further interrogation. Chirico is less than happy to be there since ¾ of the population has been wiped out and the dejected survivors have crowded in a place called Voodo City.

Chirico endures all manners of suspicion, betrayal, and recaptures over the course of this story arc. He eventually gains a small set of friends but not without emotional and physical cost, having to deal with enslavement in a labor camp, arena mech combat, and a large bounty offered for his capture or death, not to mention former squadron members who’d like to silence him forever.

This struggle is part of the reason I’ve grown to like Armored Trooper Votoms. They don’t make mech shows like this anymore. Hell, they didn’t even make them much in the 80’s when this was made. Many of them followed the plot model of Mobile Suit Gundam, focusing on teens who were finding themselves and trying to get better or more powerful as the series progressed. Chirico though is an established soldier who demonstrates skill and resourcefulness right from the start. He’s a bit fallible but fights through his troubles with conviction. As I experienced this story, I really wanted to see him get to the bottom of the conspiracy around him and get revenge. Chirico doesn’t have time to do the angsty whining bit; he’s too busy kicking ass. Casual viewers might dismiss Votoms as just another big robots anime, but focus and development of the main character instead of his weapons is what makes this a compelling show.

I also liked how the mech combat is done differently than many similar series of that decade. In works like Aura Battler Dunbine and Heavy Metal L-Gaim, pilots would battle each other and become practically invincible in their special suits, absorbing all kinds of damage with not much consequence. Votoms works completely the opposite way in that ground soldiers will simply see a mech as just one big target they can destroy with 3 or 4 well placed shots, and a suit’s longevity will depend on the skill of its pilot. Outside of Mobile Police Patlabor, I can’t think of any other anime which treats combat mecha in this way, as this adds an element of vulnerability to the harsh world series creator Ryosuke Takahashi (SPT Layzner, Gasaraki, Hi No Tori) put together here.

I got to reading a bit more about that world in the extras section of the disc, where PDF files on the DVD-ROM section were placed. Combined with the informative director’s commentary on, I was satisfied with the background materials this set provided (Thank you, Tim Eldred!), though I would’ve liked to have seen clean opening and closing sequences on here such as other importers have placed on their classic anime collections. This is honestly a minor quibble though.
I also liked the video and subtitle quality of the episodes. It’s especially nice when you consider the first time Central Park Media released Votoms on DVD (with assistance from Image Entertainment), they placed 3-4 episodes per disc, the video quality (though decent) had no real enhancement, and the subtitles were larger and hard coded on the picture. This re-mastered version you are reading about places 13 episodes on 2 DVDs, but with bolder picture coloring and removable subs. The audio remains the same, but this is good in my view because of late, when audio has been redone on classic anime such as Mobile Suit Gundam and Robotech, the foley have been completely changed to weak-as-hell modern effects completely different from the 80’s originals. So in terms of overall presentation, I have to say CPM did some pretty nice work with this set.

Source: Otaku US Magazine

After rushing back from work yesterday, I went online to check out more Gundam Unicorn movie trailers since my last post.

And… Sure enough! Here they are. ^^

Ready to impress online crowd of Gundam aficionados all over the world!

First trailer is the promo on Gundam Unicorn, how the story has finally come to the final chapter after 30 years since Universal Century came into existence. Whilst the second trailer is more of a teaser trailer of some sort. Both of them come with the subtitles on, if you turn on their caption son the right side of the control panel.

Looks very impressive so far!! :)

Just read exciting news!

Sunrise is going to bring back one of the great 80s classic mecha anime show back into this modern century.

Armored Trooper Votoms is here! THEY’RE BACK!

A new promotional video of this classic series is out!

And after a while, I was browsing for it on Youtube yesterday…  And lo and behold, I found it!

This is fantastic! And with only less than 30 days to go, it’s going to be one heck of an exciting ride to relive the essence of 80s great anime classics!!^^

Source: ANN.com, Youtube.com

Gundam Statue in Odaiba Park before being dismantled in early September this year

Reading a couple of anime feeds from ANN.com, I can see that several bloggers posted a lot on how Gundam won one of the best awards in Japan in the category of art and design.

For the team of Green Tokyo Gundam, they sure certainly deserve a great praise by the public.  A very honourable praise.  Good on them for their outstanding achievement!!   With so many Gundam bloggers online, it’s difficult to see how such a ‘recreational’ figure (why I call it recreational it’s because technically it was part of Odaiba parks’ recreational activities) that’s been crafted to such extraordinary lengths.

And it won’t be long before Tetsujin 28 statue will have its turn to get nabbed for award nominations, since its unveil in early September October.

Not sure about its design potential though.  Maybe more comic potential?

Source: ANN.com, Youtube.com

Koei’s  proud to present you a whole new gaming experience of their signature game classic series, Dynasty Warriors.  JapanVideoGames.com released the latest video game development news from the hack-’n-slash-action gaming vendor, that their new game title Shin Sangoku Musou Multi Raid (or Dynasty Warriors Multi Raid in English) might proved something like a eye-opener for the video game enthusiasts or dynasty warriors hardcore fans alike. It’s said for the first time, it’s got multiplayer capabilities so players can play co-op online. It’s available for PSP, PS3 and Xbox 360 versions so any players from different gaming systems can join a co-op game or fight against each other.

As you would expect for any multiplayer-typed games, it comes with text and voice chat functions as well.

After watching the trailer, (and speaking from a former avid fan of Dynasty game series myself) I must admit this is one of the coolest gaming from the series Koei has ever come up with. I used to love spending hours hacking and slashing away huge hordes of enemies in what-appears-to-be limitless boundary on all Dynasty Warriors series from Dynasty Warriors 3 to 5. (Haven’t tried the 6 cause I don’t have my own PS3). And they’re incredibly fun thanks to this ridiculously simple formula of hack/slash pattern we never so get tired from. I notice plenty of familiar characters get plenty of ‘facelift’ when they transform into demi-gods if you perform certain special moves to attack your opponents.

Hmm. Very exciting!

I wonder what will their plans be for  Gundam Musou 2 (see below) counterpart? I wonder what special demi-god’s powers would they be imbued to take on hundreds or thousands of enemy Zakus?

One would wonder…..

Currently, it’s on sale for a retail price of USD $79.99.

Source: JapanVideoGames.com

Again. After reading the last post from JapanVideoGames.com blog, they mentioned Macross Ultimate Frontier Wii game is now available in stock for purchase. They’ve been out for a month or so.

After reading through that, the game sure packs many incredible Macross mecha that you would never thought the original Macross crew would push this far to feature all mecha from the Macross franchise, everything from Macross SDF1, Macross II, Macross Plus, Flashback 2012, Macross 7, Macross Dynamite 7, Macross Zero, Macross Frontier (so to speak) etc etc. The video reveals all… :)

Definitely, a great suit for people who’s into the Macross/RoboTech universe heavily, like myself. I’m a such a big fan of Macross as my childhood upbringing was brought up during the 80’s and many 80’s cartoons such as these. They totally ROCK!

My only wish is that if they do actually sell these in New Zealand. Then I would love to go out and get one of these PSPs for a couple of hundred NZ bucks (if lucky!), hook up the game and you’re on way to a complete nostalgia haven.

Here’s an extra video clip on how the game looks when you first begin the game…

After watching it for a while, I could only start to imagine that people will be delighted to see all of their faviourite Macross characters return (such as Lynn Minmei, Captain Hikaru Ichiyo, Captain Roy Focker, Misa Hayase, Maximillian Maxiumus, Basara Nekki, etc) into the small screen (Darn! was hoping to say the opposite of that). Man! If only they have this item on sale in New Zealand. I would love to get my hands on them and get a taste of them! But no, this is impossible to change as New Zealand is too small a market to cater for this.

Looks like it’s best I’m gonna have to grab this offer from Play-asia or Ebay again.

Source: JapanVideoGames.com, Youtube.com

I read this very cool article blog feed from AltJapan.com. Apparently, a pachinko-making (which is a Japanese form of gambling machine that has the functions like a pinball machine except you win the marbles in exchange for cash instead of credits) company, Sankyo, released a couple of amazing TV commercials, using Macross themes as their main elements of advertising, as part of their goals promoting new pachinko machines in Japan’s gambling market.

Macross Commercial - by Sankyo

If you watch the commercials, they used everything from the Macross series to make such impact! The music, the Valkeyries, Macross City, the clouds, Lynn Minmei! EVERYTHING!

With a tiny difference. They use real-life actors and objects.

Well, almost all real-life actors and objects. I love the way they did the bring out (spoilers alert!) transformation sequence of the Macross city like that!

They’re so great to watch.

Source: AltJapan, Sankyo

After receiving Bandai’s Twitter updates last night, Bandai just released a new poll on what items do the online people normally get from the Bandai website.  Looking at the vote results of 504 people voted so far, they show

• 54.1% voted for  Imported Japanese Bandai toys
• 31.2% voted for Previous Bandai toys not available in stores
• 9.7% voted for Exclusive and collectible Bandai toys
• 5.0% voted for North American Bandai toys

It’s not difficult to see why Japanese Bandai toys are the obvious favourites as compared to the Northern American counterparts.  Japanese reserved more exclusive rights of their product range to their own local consumers more and they get more  special requirements than the USA citizens do!  Not to mention some of the really unusual toys that only Japanese consumers are better off catered with it like ettchi dolls and classic robot anime figurines etc etc.

For more info about the poll, check out at the Bandai Website.

Source: Bandai.com

I know this one’s out for some time now. Hope they’re still selling them…

Gundam sure has its way of celebrating its 30th anniversary in the business so they decided to have this promotional noodle cup featuring Gundam!

Gundam Noodle Cup

And if you check with CartoonLeap’s ‘unpackaging‘ of the noodlle cup, you will see the wonderful colours of yummy noodle treat this cup comes with! All yellow and filled with low-MSG goodness! (I think) :)

Also, I ran into another Youtube video on Japanese ad that’s trying to sell their noodle bowls featuring one of the Gundam Mobile Suit’s original character, Amuro Ray.

See below! The expression on Amuro Ray’s face (after he’s got ‘overwhelmed’ by the sheer presence of the ominous Gundam Noodle bowl) looks priceless! :D

Source: CartoonLeap.com, HobbyBlog