Please visit their official site for information about the Europe and Japanese parts of the tour. Girugamesh is rock band to its core and the excitement they bring is something that must be experienced in person.

USA tour dates inside.

_{Photo with Dave Story creator, Daisuke Amaya}

Hi, guys~ This is my first official post here, kinda nervous xD

Anyways, I'm planning to talk about a few video game events I've been to during the last few weeks in my first couple of posts!

NIS America Press Event

Time: Feb 10, 7pm-10pm
Location: San Francisco
Special Guest: The original creator of Cave Story Daisuke Amaya from Japan~

Bandai Entertainment announced this week that their official English website for K-ON! is up and running.  An English dubbed trailer of the series can be viewed at their website. 

The Blu-ray and DVD feature both Japanese audio with English subtitles as well as an English language version featuring the voices of fan favorites Stephanie Sheh, Cristina Vee, Cassandra Lee, and Shelby Lindley.

Blu-ray and DVD for volume 1 is available for pre-order at the Bandai store.

NIS America announced earlier this week that PandoraHearts Volume 2 Premium Edition is available at selected retailers: Right Stuf, The Anime Corner Store, Anime Castle, and NIS America's Online Store.  PandoraHearts Volume 2 Premium Edition comes with a hard cover art book and 12 episodes in 2 DVDs for a pricetag of $59.99.

MARINA DEL REY, Calif. (January 21, 2010) ­ The realms collide in the highly anticipated free to play, browser based MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game) ETERNAL DESTINY!  Become a hero and right the turmoil and instability caused by the God of Chaos, regain control of the chaotic land and embrace your ETERNAL DESTINY!  Beta keys are being provided via online partners starting this coming Sunday (January 23, 2011; 6:00 pm PST -January 30, 2011; 6:00 pm PST).  Get your key today and join the action! No download required!  More information can be found at www.warpportal.com <http://www.warpportal.com>

Animeplex USA has released a fun blooper video of the English dubbing of the Durarara!! anime set to be released on January 25, 2011.

Via Sankaku Complex today, it's been reported that the anime Fractale has been pulled from legitimate simulcast websites by the Japanese company because, wait for it, fansubbers have been releasing their own version.

Let's take a moment to put the pieces together.

An anime that is simulcasted, as in, it's released at the same time or earlier than the Japanese original, is being pirated.

We're not talking about an anime that's months or years late for its English debut, we're not talking about Amerian voice actor quality, and we're not talking about poor kids trying to save money. We're talking about a free simulcast being ripped and illegally distributed. Do you need to skip 60 seconds of commercials that badly? Are fansubber quality subtitles that much better than the professional version? There isn't a single legitimate excuse for this.

The issue of piracy is complex and it seems as though, barring a massive third-party economic investigation into the whole thing, we'll never get a complete and accurate picture of how much harm or good it actually causes. This, however, is blatant jackassery. In the case of Fractale, illegal fansubs provided no discernible benefit over the legitimate release, but piracy has directly and negatively impacted the American anime industry. As a cherished friend and industry professional once said, "If you don't pay for it, it goes away." Like I said, piracy in general is very complicated, but this incident is nothing but harmful.

One of the pervasive stances on pirated manga and anime from fans who partake is, "I don't care who distributes it, as long as I get it as fast and as free as possible." I imagine their dream world is a place where all the major manga and anime distributors outside of Japan have finally choked out and died, and all that's left are a handful of mega-sites dedicated to ripping Japanese pop culture. There they will provide translations that are chalked full of spelling, grammatical, and stylistic errors. Translations that are unregulated and unchecked, and possibly used to distribute viruses.

No, legitimate distributors aren't perfect and it would be ignorant to say our legitimately distributed manga and anime get by completely unscathed, but in my mind the benefits of legitimate distribution far outweigh the negatives. Before anyone accuses me of being on a moral high horse, let me say that while my position on pirating is largely impacted by the morality of it, more importantly, I just want my Japanese entertainment with some quality.

Is that really so wrong?

MARINA DEL REY, Calif. (January 11, 2011) – GungHo Online Entertainment, Inc. (Headquarter: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, President & CEO Kazuki Morishita, from here on “GungHo”) is happy to announce that on Wednesday December 22, 2010 it commenced distribution of “Twimon”, a new Twitter client application for iPhone/iPod touch/iPad, developed by GAME ARTS, that lets players nurture monsters and raid regions in the real world.

“Twimon” is a “regional invasion style monster raising application” that comes with all the basic functions of a Twitter client as well as more than 60 different “monsters” on the timeline that can be raised and used to attack/conquer “outposts” that use GPS tracking to make actual buildings seem like the point of attack. Players can randomly acquire monsters still in their eggs and win experience points by tweeting or tapping the screen. Monsters will upgrade as they build their experience points, transform and gain strength as time passes.

When a Twitter-raised monster is sent into an “outpost” that the user wishes to conquer, it will begin its attack. When the outpost’s “endurance level” reaches zero, a new “title” certifying conquest of the outpost will be sent to the user along with other rewards such as a new monster egg.

“Outposts” can be searched from areas surrounding the user’s present location. In addition to stations, public institutions, dining spots and other outposts searched via “category search”, players can also register outposts that do not appear on the search. In addition, when a fellow Twitter user that they follow is in the midst of attacking an outpost, the player can help them conquer that outpost. For example, if a user in California is following a user in New York, the California player can participate in conquering the outpost in New York. Of course, this is on a global scale so players can attack outposts all over the world with players around the globe without so much as taking a step outside the United States. Ways of playing are also varied and players can select the outpost of attack according to their personal preference while others can play to collect all of the monsters.

In addition, players can win “achievements” according to their actions inside the game. There is a wide variety of achievements ranging from “title mania” to “title collector” depending on the number of titles that the player has won. Please search for your own unique playing style.

Items for sale include “recovery potion” that recovers the monster’s stamina or the “adrenadrink” which improves their attacking strength. The “level down milk” is a unique and convenient item for players who do not like the look of their monster after it has transformed to the next level and wishes to bring it back to its old self. Become a Twimon master by playing according to your personal monster rearing and conquering plan!

GungHo will continue to actively pursue contents development that brings to shape a new “playful spirit” and strive to offer “inspiring and fun experiences” to as many customers as possible.

【Basic Information】
Title: Twimon Genre: Regional invasion style monster raising application
Billing method: Free basic play (Per-item billing method) Usage method: Download onto compatible models via “App Store” Twitter account: Twimon_Lab
URL for application download:
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/twimon/id404143656?mt=8
Characteristic: Twitter + monster + location game= Twimon! In addition to basic Twitter client functions, users raise their own monsters through “tweets” and “taps” in order to conquer various “outposts!”

Conquer outposts around the world by supporting the attack of following users! Can you get all of the 60 plus monsters!?

Download start date: Wednesday December 22, 2010

We are currently aware of various bugs that are affect general network operations. Affected sections of the site include but not limited to the Forum, Community, Gallery, Search, and Frontpage. Many of these bugs appeared after various site upgrades. We will be working over the course of the week to resolve these issues and will update accordingly.