We sit down with four-piece J-Rock band ROOKiEZ is PUNK'D during last month's FanimeCon 2013. Famous for their smash hits, "Complication" from Durarara!! and "In My World" from the Blue Exorcist read on to find more about how the members' lives, why they started their band and which super moé anime they'd like to perform a hit song for.

On February 21st, NIS America (NISA) held their annual Press Reunion event in San Francisco. For NIS themselves, 2013 marks two important milestones for the company: NIS will be celebrating their twentieth anniversary come July while one of their flagship series, Disgaea will be celebrating its tenth anniversary. Of course, not to be overshadowed by Sony's PlayStation 4 announcement from the previous day, NIS President Souhei Niikawa was on hand at the event to not only pledge support for the system but to also mention that NIS has begun to develop for it as well.

The biggest change for Sac-Anime 2013 was graduating to the Sacramento Convention Center after outgrowing their previous longtime location, Woodlake Hotel formally known as the Radisson Hotel. The semi-annual convention, which is held in both the winter and fall, is a popular destination for all involved in the anime industry both in Japan and in the United States and for most it marks the beginning of anime convention season. As can be expected, there were a few ups and downs, but with time, the future looks mighty bright.

One part scavenger hunt and one part 'choose your own adventure' narrative, Real Escape Game is real-life activity where groups of people are given an objective, follow and decipher clues, and work together to 'escape' from a threat. With having staged two previous events with much success, the group behind Real Escape Game planned something special for the J-Pop Summit Festival in San Francisco, especially since San Francisco is home to Viz Media, Inc., home of the popular series Neon Genesis Evangelion.

For fans of manga and anime, announcements from both Aninplex USA and Viz Media at Fanime 2012 were sure to please, though both definitely cause a bit of hurt on their wallets. With upcoming releases that will excite old and new fans, both Aniplex and Viz have a little something for everyone.