Katanagatari is an anime adaption of the light novel written by Niso Ishin and illustrated by Take. White Fox did the anime adaption which aired on January of 2010 and consisted of 12 episodes. One episode was released each month until December 2010, making twelve episodes in total. NIS America has licensed the English release of the series in two premium bundles that contains both the DVD and Bluray copy.

Katanagatari starts in feudal Japan. It focuses on Yasuri Shichika, voiced by Yoshimasa Hosoya, a swordsman that fights without swords. He meets Togame, voiced by Yukari Tamura, who is an ambitious strategist seeking his assistance. Togame seeks to obtain twelve legendary swords for the shogunate, where Shichika’s strength is required. To answer her request, Shichika and Togame explore the rest of Japan to seek the twelve blades.

Being an anime fan in the Bay Area of California is great for a lot of reasons, but one of the main pulls is the fact that we have so many outlets for Japanese pop culture. For example, this past August saw the latest iteration of the J-Pop Summit Festival, a fun street fair conglomeration of all things related to J-Pop. Since it was based in San Francisco's very own Japantown, traveling was easy and the setting was familiar to all attendees. Even if you're not big into J-Pop, the whole thing is like a miniature version of the Cherry Blossom Festival which means food stands and vendors in the street, plenty of cosplay, and an all around good time. If you weren't in Japantown in San Francisco on August 27th or 28th, sit tight and I'll fill you in on what you missed.

TOKYO, JAPAN (September 21, 2010) -- niwango Inc., known for its "Nico Nico Douga" video sharing website (www.nicovideo.jp), and Aniplex Inc. have jointly announced today that they will premiere Aniplex's brand new TV series titled "Fate/Zero" worldwide (except for Japan) streaming simultaneously with eight different language subtitles on Sunday, October 2 at 1:00am (Japan local time) immediately following its TV airing on October 1.

In this first time event in the industry's history, the First Episode of "Fate/Zero" will be streamed on "Nico Nico Channel" for anime fans outside Japan free of charge. Subsequent episodes will also be streamed in the same manner every week.

"Fate/Zero" is one of the most popular properties in Japan, and Aniplex with niwango decided to team up to make it available immediately to anime fans outside Japan.

Anyone who has an account with "Nico Nico Douga" can post their comments on its live video in various languages. While language will be set automatically based on the language of your browser, you can also select a language of your choice from the menu. Each episode will be exclusively streamed for a week.

The official websites for Kizumonogatari and Nisemonogatari anime -- the prequel and sequel to Bakemonogatari, respectively -- have launched, both featuring an new front-page illustration and trailer. Currently only the trailer is available, and the site displays no other information such as characters or casting. Kizumonogatari will be released in theaters sometime in 2012, while Nisemonogatari will be released as a TV anime series, scheduled to start January 21, 2012. Both series are produced by SHAFT, who also did production for Bakemonogatari with character designs once again provided by Akio Watanabe. Also like Bakemonogatari, these anime are based on a series of popular light novels by Nisio Isin.

The style of both trailers is very non-standard, which should come as no surprise to any fans of Bakemonogatari or SHAFT. Of particular note is the Kizumonogatari trailer, which has a non-sequitur opening and closing. Fans will probably be excited to see some of their favorite characters again in the trailer for Nisemonogatari, though their appearances, namely their hairstyles, have changed for better or for worse. Both trailers have been included inside for your convenience.

Kizumonogatari movie website - http://www.kizumonogatari-movie.com/

Nisemonogatari anime website - http://www.nisemonogatari-anime.com/

Alice and Clara are definitely special. Being the popular junior high idol unit known as ClariS, they have been made famous by singing the opening songs for popular anime series such as Ore no Imouto ga Konna ni Kawaii Wake ga Nai and Puella Magi Madoka Magica. In tandem with their recent single release, Good Smile Company has created the vessel for their Nendoroid debut.

More information and photos after the jump.

We here at T-ONO pride ourselves on covering unique and rare news items, and during my trip to San Diego Comic-Con 2011, I got the chance to do just that. After a weekend-long team effort, we finally landed an interview with the very awesome Shigeto Koyama. Koyama-san has worked in the Japanese animation industry as a designer, illustrator, and script writer. His most recognizable works include the mechanical designs for Star Driver and character designs for the 2010 anime series, Heroman created by Marvel Comics very own Stan Lee. Over the years, he has also worked on various series produced by Gainax studio including, Diebuster (Gunbuster 2), Gurren Lagann, and Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt.

Despite the communal sweat poured into making the interview happen, the entire process was a real treat. Koyama-san is a very easy-going guy and even with the impromptu circumstances our conversation was fun and informative. I hope you all enjoy the interview, and we definitely hope to catch him next time he's down in the U.S.A.!

Figures from the series Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha seem to never stop releasing, maybe because most of them are either insanely cute and/or well sculptured. In any event, this time around Kotobukiya has released yet another Nanoha centered figure.  It is a 1/8 Scale PVC figure of Nanoha in her School uniform. Struck in a moving pose, this figure is sure to attract even the not-so-hardcore fans.

Nanoha is casted here as if she is just on her way to school; with a slice of bread in her mouth, Yuuno (in Ferret form) sticking out from her bag and a fluttering skirt, this is a must buy in my book. The face carries a surprised but very cute expression. Promo photos show a very decent paint job on the demo model; however, we shall see how she turns out on the mass production line. Kotobukiya has their hit and misses, hopefully this one will turn out to be a hit.

Scaled at 1/8 for a retail price at 5,800 yen, this figure is actually on the expensive side. There isn't much complexity to the figure and it doesn't come with an elaborate base. With the current exchange rate, this is an expensive buy. Several online retailers should have it for a little bit cheaper, so check your favorite web retailer. Even though this figure is slated to be released in January of 2012, pre-orders have already started.

More photos after the jump.

Black Rock Shooter will be receiving a TV broadcasted anime in January of 2012. Black Rock Shooter as an animation started off with an OVA that was released in July of 2010. With the continued releases of anime figures and the recent announcement of a game in production, fans will be treated to even more Black Rock Shooter goods.

A website has been set up for the TV anime and can be found at: http://www.noitamina-brs.jp/ The website currently only has a flash video, which contains already animated scenes of Black Rock Shooter.

Black Rock Shooter originated from an original character illustration made by Huke, who later joined supercell.  Ryo from supercell was inspired by the illustration and created the song that is now known as, "Black Rock Shooter", using Vocaloid 2's Hatsune Miku as the vocalist.