Otaku Links: Hello City

bbbBy the time this post goes live, I’ll be on a train to New York City, checking out whether it’s everything Blood Blockade Battlefront led me to believe. It’s John’s first visit ever, so we’ll probably stick to the tourist stuff, but if you want to recommend a geeky must-see, let me know in the comments! For now, have some fresh links:

  • Back when Gainax was a group of otaku goofing around, the studio created the comedy anime Otaku No Video. Now AnimEigo is bringing it to English speaking fans with a subtitled blu-ray, and you won’t be surprised to hear their Kickstarter has already shot way past their goal.
  • Hatoful Boyfriend, everyone’s favorite pigeon dating sim, is now getting its sequel, Holiday Star, officially translated into English. Just what everyone was asking for!
  • My Twitter friend AJ is looking for volunteer writings to contribute to his animation and graphic novel blog. If you’re a beginner who is looking for a place to get some writing experience before you go pro, here’s a place to start.
  • I like playing Magic: The Gathering, but I don’t want to spend my life’s savings on it or anything! Here’s the story of how one particular card ended up valued at five figures.* (*The article says $19,000 but the eBay page says otherwise.)
  • Filmmaker Brandon Li’s travelogue of Japan is expertly edited, and unlike any other I’ve seen before, depicting parts of Japan you might never see otherwise, including what looks like three different kinds of wedding ceremonies.
  • I finally finished Gundam 0080 AKA War in the Pocket, and it certainly deserves its cult classic status. The best part was finally being able to read Sir Noogen’s entire review of it, spoilers and all! (If you haven’t seen it, you can get a taste for why you might want to by reading until the spoiler warning.)
  • Another week, three more anime reviews from me. Whether the shows are surprisingly great, like Kyokai no Rinne, or surprisingly awful, like Gunslinger Stratos, I’m having a great time covering them. Kuroko’s Basketball, as you might expect of a 70-episode show, is just as consistent as ever.

Screencap via Blood Blockade Battlefront