“A Valentine’s Day to Remember”

Intro: Koi no Friday

Valentine’s day on a Friday, how very fitting for a man with a song called ‘Love’s Friday’. An 80%-20% ratio of girls to boys filled the Tokyo International Forum Hall A well before the doors even opened at 6 pm. Special decorations and cardboard cut-outs decked the inside of the hall and there was a constant line in front of the merchandise tables. The more regular items included a couple of tour shirts, a towel, posters, head accessories, and special Velcro decorations to adorn the KHAOS hat. These decorations (aside from the date and concert venue) could only be obtained from a gacha so eager attendees found themselves back in line several times hoping to get the item(s) of their choice. Due to the huge number of passionate fans, it was important to arrive early to make sure certain goods wouldn’t be sold out before one’s chance to buy them, like the small sizes of both tour shirts before even 4 pm.

The cold day forced most people to stay inside while others ventured out for quick snacks while waiting the hours before the concert. For fan club members, special cardboard cut-outs of GACKT’s various appearances provided a fun photo op that consistently had a long line. Diamond and Platinum ticket holders queued up first for their photo with GACKT himself and to grab their seats closer to the stage. Once everyone else was allowed in, staff handed out free light sticks for attendees to use both to set the mood and to act as drumsticks for the applicable songs. People quickly found their seats and turned their eyes to the screen onstage filled with anticipation.

Performance: 20 Years of Good and Bad Times

The concert opened in a surprising way with footage of several catastrophic events that had happened all over the world with images of GACKT fading in and out. As the movie ended, the full stage came into view with its massive prop wings and pillars and GACKT walked out to the center in a shiny black outfit giving him the look of something like a sorcerer or evil lord. He and his backup dancers all held their own light wands and the familiar drumbeat of WooHa Baby!! began to play. Starting with such an energetic, sexy song that has a lot of audience participation seemed like an odd choice having just ended such a somber video but attendees were quick to leap to action. The videogame-like screen for the song started to play and everyone followed along with the prompts to air-drum. The next song also utilized a similar format for a surprising combo of Graffiti and Jounetsu no Inazuma. Instead of a taiko drum game-like video, something like Just Dance allowed attendees to dance in unison even without previously being familiar with it. A well-timed video started which allowed the audience to rest after their surprise energy expenditure. It was a Kamui Gakuen skit with of course GACKT as the president/Kaichou. He asked his members/students to design for him a concert outfit and those who did poorly would have to eat something horrible like a scorpion or cockroach. Even with such high stakes, Baru designed just goose-looking shorts and was first to be punished. The other members didn’t fare much better with mecha bikinis and other such nonsense and were forced to eat thing fried lizards and bugs. GACKT did end up with a cool new outfit though and as the video ended, he reappeared on stage in a trilby and white waistcoat similar to what he wore in his Ever music video.

Ever really got the crowd going again with many people singing along to the important message of never giving up. Another World was similarly fast-paced and hyped but with scenes from Moon Child playing in the background showing some of the character’s deaths, it seemed a bit disconnected. GACKT addressed the audience that even during painful times he would be there for them and sang Kimi ga Oikaketa Yume. After another brief video of Kamui Gakuen, it was time for the cats. Surprisingly, there was no U+K. Instead, He had his dancers in these giant cat mascot outfits dancing to Ghost, one of his more intense dance numbers. Turning his attention back to the audience, GACKT told them how he hoped that if people felt like they couldn’t be themselves normally, they could find their voice here with him. He said he would sing until his voice fades away and then had everyone scream his name over and over. Next was Mirror and GACKT had the audience sing together a few lines. Before finishing, he rallied the audience again calling for first boys, then girls to scream. They would scream together until their voices died. Everyone screamed together so long that it was a shock when GACKT properly finished Mirror. His half-naked, guitar-wielding-self collapsed on stage and all the members ran on to surround him. They helped towel him off and get a new shirt on while GACKT’s ragged breathing seemed to shake the hall. Even still, he stood again and demanded the audience scream with him. Tired themselves but moved to see GACKT fighting so hard, they obliged. For a long while, GACKT screamed with all his might and nearly fell over each time, the waiting arms of his staff ready to catch him should he fall. Everyone felt his determination and screamed their voices raw. Finally content, GACKT spoke kindly to his fans, assuring them that even through the most painful and lonely times, he would be there. No matter what hardships come, GACKT wouldn’t give up and would keep on singing. “Even if it costs us our lives, let’s smile together.” More than just music, this was him sharing his way of life with everyone. GACKT thanked his fans profusely, again citing them as the reason for his ability to keep fighting. He yelled out that he loved everyone and they screamed back the same. As he made his way back to the center of the stage with fumbling steps, the curtains closed and the show was over.

Outro: Surprises of the Night

Sampling Smooth Criminal and adopting some Michael Jackson moves for his song Lu:na was quite a surprise but was well-received. It was easy to pick out Thriller moves which were a nice compliment to a song about dancing on corpses. It was good to see the edgy, dark GACKT make an appearance in such a new way. Playing a few older but fun songs led him to a speech about how, while there were many great times, there were many sad things he overcame. These past 20 years were not easy for GACKT as he had lost several dear friends and mourned a hurting world. He told his fans how there were times his tears wouldn’t stop but he wasn’t able to take a break himself. It was because they kept cheering GACKT on that he was able to lift his head and continue and he thanked them profusely. In a shaking voice, he started Kimi Dake no Boku de Iru Kara which caused a lot of people to shed tears. Most of the concert had been so fun and uplifting but it was a good reminder that there are things that must be done even in painful moments. Once the show was over, there was one more surprise for fans. Different locations and days had special themed gifts and as it was Valentine’s Day, what could be more appropriate than chocolate! On their way out, fans could pick up a small box of chocolate and cute GACKT sticker of him looking like a smug little cherub. You could truly feel the romance! By interweaving sadness and laughter and fun and loss, GACKT gave his audience an experience similar to life. There will be times when something great will seemed tarnished by something sad and times when you feel that you can’t embrace the good things because of all the painful things in your way. Life must be taken as it comes. If you must cry, cry and move forward. Take the loss and look for the next opportunity to love. If you do, you can keep going even through those hard times, and GACKT will be with you.

SETLIST

WooHa Baby!!

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Jounetsu no Graffiti

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Lu:na

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Ever

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Another World

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Kimi ga Oikaketa Yume

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GHOST

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Oasis

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Kimi Dake no Boku de Iru Kara

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Flower

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Orenji no Taiyou

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Mirror

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• Imagine waking up in the morning, you've made your favorite warm beverage, snuggled into bed to catch up on anime news and then suddenly you get hit with another shocker..We're sure that's what a lot of fans of Re:Zero felt as last night here in Japan, it was announced that Re:Zero 2nd Season, which was scheduled to release this spring, has now been postponed to summer due to...you guessed it..Coronavirus.
• This thing is seriously starting to become more of a nuisance as more and more anime continue to receive the "postponed" announcement, and seeing as this trend hasn't stopped yet we can imagine more down the line at some point...
• For all of those who planned their spring anime watch-list, we feel your pain, as now we have to wait until the scorching hot months of summer to watch our beloved Rem..The full announcement can be found on the official website (JPN only)

The Face of Nintendo

For the past thirty years, Mario has been Nintendo’s mascot and has starred in numerous installments and spin-offs. But how was he created? Who created him? Why was he created? That’s what today’s Editorial Tuesday will answer.

Donkey Kong

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Mario made his debut in 1981 in Donkey Kong for the arcade. However, his name wasn’t Mario nor was he a plumber. As most of you hardcore fans know, his original name was Jumpman and he was initially portrayed as a carpenter since the levels resembled construction sites. When Shigeru Miyamoto conceived the character, he created him in a manner that he wanted to use him in a good majority of his future games in the same token that Alfred Hitchcock would cameo in his films, and the success of Donkey Kong paved way for that. In its initial development, his name was Mr. Video and as it progressed, Miyamoto came to the realization it wouldn’t stick. The name Jumpman was used because he jumped and a good number of products at the time were using the man suffix such as Pac-Man and the Sony Walkman. He was eventually given the name Mario in tribute to Mario Segale, the landlord of a Seattle warehouse Nintendo was using at the time after he fiercely demanded overdue rent from Nintendo of Japan. As for Donkey Kong’s conception, Nintendo originally wanted to make a game based on the classic Popeye cartoon but they were unable to secure the rights. The concept of a hero trying to save a girl from a villain was simply modified to what Donkey Kong is now. Mario, or Jumpman, is a substitute for Popeye as Donkey Kong and Pauline is a substitute for Bluto and Olive Oyl. The game offered unique obstacles, distinct graphics, and intricate designs for its time. Due to the technological limits of the early-1980s, Miyamoto designed the character in a manner that would be easy for players to see, which is why he gave him red overalls, a blue undershirt, and a mustache. As for why he gave him a hat, he didn’t want to bother doing animations for hair so he thought it was convenient to give him one. The name Donkey Kong itself is a simple story of using Donkey to represent something stupid or silly, while Kong is obviously a nod to King Kong (which resulted in a lawsuit filed by Universal that favored Nintendo), and was a Japanese slang term for a gorilla at the time. While Miyamoto worked on the artistic aspects of the game, Gunpei Yokoi worked on the technical side of things and taught Miyamoto the ins and outs of game design. Upon release, it was an instant hit and was ported to the Game & Watch, the Atari 2600, the Apple II, the Commodore 64, and would eventually get an NES/Famicom release.

Mario Bros.

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In 1983, Nintendo released Mario Bros., which was the debut of Luigi, and offered two-player co-op. As opposed to Donkey Kong where if Mario fell he would lose a life, at the recommendation of Yokoi, Mario would freely jump in this game. Instead of saving Pauline from Donkey Kong, Mario and Luigi would fight various turtle-like enemies (who would later come back in Super Mario Bros.) in the sewers. As a result, Mario was retconned as a plumber. While most Mario games allow players to have him jump on most enemies, this isn’t the case in the first Mario titled game. As opposed to jumping on them, if they are on a platform above Mario or Luigi, the plumber brothers can jump from below and have enemies land on their back. Before a downed enemy can regain position, the player can then kick them off the stage. Despite being released in the US nearly around the same time as the video game crash of 1983, it managed to find success in American arcades. Since then, many elements of this game would carry over to later Mario games such as the coins, POW blocks in Super Mario Bros. 3, and its use of Mozart’s compositions in Mario DDR and Smash Brothers.

Super Mario Bros. and the Nintendo Entertainment System

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If any game solidified Mario to what it is today, it is without a doubt, Super Mario Bros for the NES. It took some foundations from its predecessors such as the character, his jumping abilities, exploring pipes, and saving a girl, and dialed it to over 9000. It introduced the Mushroom Kingdom, Bowser, Goombas, mushrooms, one-ups, fireballs, and invincibility stars. In addition, the first level of the game was designed for gamers to learn as they play along and still offer unlimited fun. While Mario is usually positioned near the middle, the level begins with him on the left side of the screen and by offering so much space on the right, it gives players the impression they just simply have to move him right. Last, it introduced its iconic theme song composed by Koji Kondo, along with a lot of other enjoyable tracks that are still with the franchise to this day. This was the game that became the standard for not just the NES or Mario, but to 8-bit platform games as a whole in terms of playability, design, and sound. The game defined what the Nintendo could do and made it a must-have for every child in every territory the console was available in.

The Ongoing Evolution of a Franchise

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It was only natural that the game would be followed up with a sequel but the US and Japan had different notions of what it should be. Japan’s Super Mario 2 was pretty much Super Mario 1 but with harder obstacles such as the introduction of poison mushrooms, wind resistance, and level warps that can send you back! The officials at Nintendo of America thought the game was too complicated and instead, modified another Japanese Famicom Disk title, Doki Doki Panic, as the American Super Mario Bros. 2. In turn, the North American Super Mario Bros. 2 would later be released in Japan as Super Mario USA. The Japanese Super Mario Bros. 2 would eventually get a US release through the Super Mario All-Stars pack on the Super Nintendo as The Lost Levels in 1993. The US Super Mario Bros. 2 offered players the option to play as Mario, Luigi, Toad, and Princess Toadstool (who would later be re-named as Peach), who each had their own distinct abilities. For example, Princess Toadstool had limited floating for her to leap across huge gaps. The game provided many qualities that were fresh such as lifting enemies and/or objects and throwing them, which would be carried over to future installments, and it also introduced other iconic villains such as the Bob-ombs and Shy Guys.

Multimedia Hit

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Mario became popular to the point that he was a multimedia icon. He had his own cereal, manga series, an animated show, and a live action movie. The 1980’s animated program, The Super Mario Bros. Super Show, used elements from the first two Mario games in terms of design, soundtrack, and villains. Many episodes spoofed classic children’s literature such as Jack and the Beanstalk, as well as the movies of the 1980’s like Robocop. Original broadcasts would also play insert songs such as Michael Jackson’s Thriller and Danger Zone by Kenny Loggins, but would, unfortunately, be removed from the DVD releases. Wrestling legend Captain Lou Albano was the voice of Mario while former Jeffersons actor Danny Wells voiced Luigi. Not only did they provide their voices, they portrayed the characters in live action segments where they would have celebrities of the times guest star. In addition to Captain Lou’s wrestling friends such as Sgt. Slaughter and Roddy Piper having guest roles, Wonder Years’ Danica McKellar, NBA legend Magic Johnson, and Cyndi Lauper (Captain Lou actually portrayed her father in the Girls Just Wanna Have Fun music video) were also respectable guests on the show. When it came to Super Mario Bros. 3, which was delayed at the end of the eighties, Nintendo of America thought it would be a good idea to first promote it through a movie after Tom Pollack of Universal Studios approached the company on making a movie about some of Nintendo’s hit competitions. Despite Nintendo and Universal’s legal history in regards to Donkey Kong just earlier in the decade, both companies put that aside to make a road trip movie called The Wizard, starring Fred Savage, Christian Slater, and Beau Bridges. While it is obvious that The Wizard was a glorified commercial for Nintendo (especially for the Power Glove, it’s so bad), it was the West’s introduction to Super Mario Bros. 3, which wouldn’t be released until the following year. The movie even showed audiences how to find the first warp before they could get it (keep in mind this is a bit before the age of the internet)! While the movie is still a cult hit to gamers of that generation, it was their first taste of Super Mario Bros. 3 and it helped pave way for its hype and success. But the game wasn’t successful because of The Wizard, it was successful for just being an awesome game. Other than making Mario big or shoot fireballs, he could finally fly, swim, or turn into a statue. These new abilities added new ideas in overcoming the game’s obstacles. And we can’t ignore the controversial 1993 live-action film co-starring Bob Hoskins and John Leguizamo. While many Mario fans and even Bob Hoskins and John Leguizamo were critical of the movie, the 20th-anniversary issue of Nintendo Power felt it deserves some acknowledgement showing that it was proof of Mario’s impact on pop culture. Miyamoto has also expressed a more forgiving attitude in regards to the movie by saying that despite getting everything wrong, the people put all they got into the movie. And after over 25 years, Universal and Illumination are once again going to make a Mario movie but as a CG movie with the expectations that it will accurately reflect the franchise.

Keep on Plumbing

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After the NES, Mario continued to be the face of Nintendo’s next generation of consoles and break new milestones. Super Mario World finally introduced Yoshi, who was conceived as far back as the first game but wasn’t possible due to the NES’ hardware limitations. Just like how the original Super Mario Bros. game was used to showcase the power of the NES, Super Mario World did the same for the Super NES by demonstrating its bright color sprites and unique sound effects. The Super NES console would also be the start of one of Mario’s biggest spin-offs, Super Mario Kart. While Mario had some previous spin-off games such as Mario Golf and Dr. Mario, Super Mario Kart took the franchise to new heights. Along with F-Zero, Super Mario Kart would be one of the first games to showcase the system’s Mode 7 graphics features by allowing fast-paced vertical scaling, which was necessary for a racing game like Mario Kart. Beyond being your standard racing game, it used gimmicks appropriate to the Mario franchise such as using mushrooms for boost, invincibility stars, and turtle shells to attack other racers. All of these features continue to be in use to this day through its sequels. Then towards the end of the Super NES’ prime, it would feature Mario in his first RPG, Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, which would help expose Western gamers to Japanese style RPGs prior to Final Fantasy VII popularized it. Many gamers and reviewers loved its original story and its unique humor. As for Mario as he is today, all of that is thanks to Super Mario 64, the first ever 3D Mario game. Not only was he in 3D in style, but in substance. It was one of the first games with analog controls meaning if you slightly press the joystick, Mario would simply walk but push it all the way forward, he would run. The game introduced new kinds of physics with Mario’s triple jump, his flying, his atomic butt drop in mid-air, and his long jump. Plus, the game allowed players to modify its camera through the c-buttons for players to easily see and navigate. Just like how Mario was the long standard for 2D between the eras of the NES and Super NES, it once again became a standard for 3D. Just like how the Super NES was the debut console for Mario Kart, the N64 was also the debut for another long-running Mario spin-off, Mario Party, which also continues to this very day. New Super Mario Bros. sort of takes Mario back to his roots as an old-school platform but as a 3D side-scroller. Naturally, it takes the game to new and yet, fun exaggerations about how big Mario can grow and introduce new physics that play a part in the game to keep it fresh. It provided a balance between new and old players alike to enjoy. Then with Mario Maker, it allowed fans to design their own levels and share them online. Some have been creative, others that pay homage to other old-school platform games such as Mega Man, and some are just simply not safe for work or for households that have children. In addition to designing the levels, players can decide where to place the enemies, coins, power-ups and so on. It simply allowed players to just make their own Mario game as they explore it from a creative perspective. If any game served as a true sequel to Mario 64, it would certainly be the two installments to Super Mario Galaxy where Mario explores various planets. Beyond its unique presentation, many hardcore fans responded well to newly introduced Rosalina who felt like a breath of fresh air, and its upbeat orchestral soundtrack that Kondo felt captured its outer space setting. Galaxy 2 took it to a new level of creativity by not only reintroducing Yoshi but also giving Mario unique power-ups that suit the gimmick of that aspect of the franchise such as drilling from one end of the planet to another.

Final Thoughts

Upon uploading of this Editorial Tuesday, the latest release of Mario is Mario Odyssey for Nintendo’s present console, the Switch. Its main feature is Mario’s possessed hat, Cappy, which allows him to possess his enemies and guide him through the level. In addition to being the standard 3D, it has some 2D gimmick levels that are a throwback to its NES roots. Not only is it a tribute to its predecessors, it still manages to offer something fresh, which is why the series continues to endure. The fact that Miyamoto found success with his initial intentions shows that he played his cards right. Mario isn’t just the face of Nintendo, he’s the face of modern gaming itself. It’s a franchise that not only defines longevity but leaps of improvement for each release. Beyond being just your typical hero who has to save the princess, he can also be a doctor, a golfer, a tennis player, a go-kart racer, a boxing referee, or an Olympic athlete. Not only has Mario gotten his own personal spin-offs, other characters such as Luigi, Peach, Yoshi, his evil counterpart Wario, all have games where they are playable as main characters as well. Just like how Mickey Mouse, Bugs Bunny, Superman, and Spider-Man have endured generation after generation since their debuts for animation and comics, Mario has done the same for video games. He’s now just as recognizable as these mentioned characters to a majority of people around the world. While Mario Odyssey introduces a level that represents something akin to urban New York, what is the next step Mario can take? We probably won’t know for a while, but all we can hope is that it will be something new, creative, and fun.

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[en]What You Need to Know: [/en][es]Lo que necesitas saber: [/es]

• The year was 1996, March 9th, and fans around the world were mesmerized as Nintendo released Super Mario RPG on the Super Nintendo (Super Famicom in Japan). This isometric-RPG was developed by then Square and published by Nintendo, and was the first RPG in the Mario franchise, cementing it as an historical time for Nintendo fans.
• It was the first ever Mario title to immerse players in a 3D environment, with a ton of inspiration being drawn from Square's much beloved RPG franchises, combined with the action style that Mario games have been iconic for.
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• What makes Super Mario RPG one of the greatest games of all time is that it still stands the test of time, but more so, it was well beyond its time. Super Mario RPG (known fully as Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars) demonstrated just how powerful the Super Nintendo was from a graphical and hardware standpoint, shortly before Nintendo released the highly anticipated Nintendo 64 just months later. It was the perfect closing for a system that defined an era, giving players a glimpse of what was to come in the following months and even years in the gaming world.
• If it weren't for Super Mario RPG paving the way we wouldn't have such great titles like Paper Mario and the quirky Mario & Luigi series as spiritual successors. If anything, it seemed all planned, at least looking back in retrospect, since Super Mario 64 debuted months later, and that game too cemented itself as one of the greatest games to ever grace this Earth.
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• For now, all we can do is bask in the glory that is Super Mario RPG for its beautiful composition by Yoko Shimomura and humor, that still makes us laugh to this day. A huge HOORAH to you Super Mario RPG, continue to shine on! Oh, let's not forget Genos!

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• Alright, so let's be honest, the past few months haven't really been so great, mostly due to the chaos ensuing regarding the Coronavirus. By this point, this virus should now become a sinister villain in a comic book, or perhaps a brand new anime (too soon?) for fans to point the finger at.
• All jokes aside, the Coronavirus is clearly running amok in the anime community, and it doesn't seem to be stopping anytime soon. Fortunately for those in the manga community however, it seems like there's a light at the end of this murky, and congested Coronvirus infested tunnel, as many giant Japanese publishers are now offering free-to-read manga online for those who decide to stay inside to thwart off the evil mist.
• According to the tweet above, 78 free editions are currently available for free from (websites are found next to the publisher):
● Weekly Shonen Jump (Shonen Jump+) ● Weekly Shonen Sunday (Sunday Webly) ● Kokoro Comic, Kokoro Ichiban (Kokoro Online) ● Betsu Comi, Sho-Comi, Cheese!, Ciao Deluxe, Petit Comic, Monthly Flowers (Shogakukan e-Comic Store) ● Ribbon, Bessatsu Margaret, Koko Hana, The Margaret (Margaret Bookstore) ● Weekly Shonen Champion (Manga Cross) ● Hana to Yume, The Hana to Yume Shin, LaLa, LaLaDX
• In addition to this already large catalog, other publishers are granting fans access to their best-sellers vault, allowing manga junkies to dive into and revist a large catalog of long-running titles. More notably, the Sunday Webly is giving fans some very iconic titles to check out for free, such as Ranma 1/2, Major, and Psyche Mata Shite mo (these have been released as of March 8). All volumes are free, just in case you need a reminder and you think we're crazy. Other notable titles include: The Law of Ueki, Ghost Sweeper Mikami, and Miyuki, which will launch on March 15th.
• Ushio and Tora and Libero Revolution make the list as well, which will arrive March 22nd, which puts the total number of volumes at around 392. These are just the volumes mind you, as an intelligent being would know that each volume contains a plethora of chapters to indulge in.
• Now add in apps like Comic Days, Dragon Zakura Note, Manga Mee, and Book Walker, who are also throwing out freebies, and you're looking at around 450 in total. These apps are giving away titles such as: Space Brothers, Hozuki’s Coolheadedness, and Crayon Shin-chan, just to name a few.
• So while you're at home praying for this Coronavirus to dissipate from existence, why not just take some pressure of your mind and catch up on some manga will you? Create your own little makeshift manga cafe in the comfort of your own home!

Introduction

It’s said work can kill you and for Azusa Aizawa that is exactly what happened. The thirty-something office lady dies suddenly in the middle of her office from overwork. A god, or angle, or some other supernatural being stands before her floating soul and tells her that she will be reincarnated into a new world. The ethereal asks her if there is anything she wants in the next life? Azusa's list is short and simple, to be immortal, have a home and self-sustaining farm. The supernatural being also adds, "Oh! I'm sure you would prefer to be a young girl too! Personally, I think seventeen is the perfect age!” Azusa life of simple pursuits begins in a home in the highland, where she can take naps, read, tend the soil and kill slimes for spending money. A life that goes very, very well for 300 years until its discovered that all that slime killing maxed out her levels. She is now one of the most powerful witches in the land and when that gets out her life gets a bit more complicated as adventures, dragons, and even children complicate her peaceful existence.

Discussion Time

The story feels a bit different than other isekai stories set in a fantasy world. You have adventurers, monsters, and magical power but the main pursuit of the overpowered protagonist is to do nothing. Azuza would rather spend time at home with her family than travel to distant lands on a quest. The slice of life fantasy mix gives the reader warm fuzzy feelings as they see the various stories unfold.

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1.Seriously Moe

The manga, with a fourth coming anime on the horizon, is filled with cute expressive drawings. Azusa facial expressions alone just make you scream “how kawaii.” You get 183 pages of some serious moe artwork. The fantasy world easily lends itself to characters in cute Lolita or peasant-style dresses that will have your heart go doki-doki.

2.Sweet Enough to Give You Sugar Shock

2. A story that is as sweet as any slice of life. Azusa, despite being a formerly overworked salary worker, is extremely kind. She didn’t live in the highlands to be a hermit only to help ensure her slow pace of life. An example of that is one of the first things she does after arriving in the new world is walk to the nearest village and get to know her neighbors. She then devotes a lot of her time to apothecarial work creating potions and medicines for the villagers.

3.A Subtle and Important Message

A subtle message of a sustainable life. Azusa could have asked the supernatural being for riches or to be nobility, but she just asked for a simple life. She wanted a house and land that let her live a sustainable life. She never took from the world more than she needed. She even only killed slimes when she needed cash and only as many as necessary. We think is a subtle message but a good one we all should take to heart.

1.Witches, Dragons, Adventurers, and Tea

You won't like the manga if you want a serious adventure. The whole story fits in with the same genre as Dragon Maid. You have fantasy but no real life and death struggles. The hero is overpowered and so are many of her companions and they could take on anyone in battle on favorable terms but they would prefer to be your friend and have tea than fight.

2.No Romance, No Problem

No romance. You’ve got a hot immortal 300-year-old witch and she, to her own admission, has never had a romantic partner. You couldn’t help but wish that she would. You’d love to see this very cute heroine get flustered in love, in a straight or yuri relationship.

3.Brought to You by the Letter "G".

No Ecchi. You have a lot of chances for things to get a little naughty, they don’t. You get no panty shots and no gratuitous boob pictures. You just get a lot of “G-rated” cute.

Final Thoughts

I’ve Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years and Maxed Out My Level is like visual Prozac guaranteed to lift your spirits on a gloomy day. You will be soothed by the kindness that Azusa shows even the people that frustrate and annoy her. The tension that makes your neck painfully stiff after a long day at the office will dissipate as if you had a nice warm slime draped over your shoulders. We all need a pick me up now and then and the story and Azusa's growing family and their daily adventures are sure to remind you people can be good to each other even if only in another world.

Introduction

Irony can be a b*tch. You make it 34 years in this world and look back at your life and resolve to do it better and try to do a good deed when you should have been looking at the oncoming truck that kills you. We also guess god or gods listen to us occasionally because after you do an impression of a bug on a windshield you wake up cold and wet in a new world, not because he was dropped in a pond, but because you were born, born with all his memories of your old life. The baby known as Rudeus Grayrat had all the knowledge and personality of the 34-year-old NEET who had been run over by a truck. He also had the resolve to do his life better this time. He was no longer a loner, but the son of a beautiful woman and skilled knight where he learned magic from a cute teacher and by the age of 10 had the skill and power of a master mage. We follow Rudeus the prodigy as he grows up in a dangerous fantasy world filled with magic, monsters, and lots of cute girls.

Discussion Time

We all have or will have that moment in our lives that call for introspection and we steal our resolve to change something about ourselves. Yet, few of us can follow through on that self-imposed change. The NEET in this story gets the not so subtle encouragement to be better by actually starting over. He realizes that to do so he has to let go of some of the things that made him NEET in the first place, like reclusiveness. He does, however, hold on to a few mature attitudes that make a 34-year-old in a child’s body fun to watch- if you get our drift.

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1.Isekai done right (at least in the writer’s opinion).

NEET (no actual name given) is actually reborn in another life. He isn’t transported. He doesn’t wake up one day in the body of a teenager. He is born naked and cold and despite having the life experience of a 34-year-old. He has to learn the language, the magic, and everything else, he simply has the advantage of being mentally older, so he advances at a blistering pace.

2.The world isn’t perfect, and neither is his life.

Rudeus has some great parents that love him. He is given a nurturing environment and the best education his family can afford. But we quickly see that there are some cracks in the façade of the happy life of the beautiful noble and the handsome knight. He quickly understands that parents aren’t perfect and may have issues but still love us unconditionally.

3.Ecchi.

We don’t get gratuitous panty shots or sex scenes. Yet we do get a glimpse at what a mature man is thinking when he is cup close and personal with women who let their guard down because they view him as a child.

1.The Length of Arcs

The long length of some arcs can be tedious. We often read manga because they move fast. Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation takes some time to speed up to the point where the adventure begins. You have to get through 3 volumes before a magical calamity and the struggle begins.

2.A Harem Wasted on the Young

A harem as a 10-year-old, yes, but none of the benefits. We hear him talk the talk. We just don’t seem him walk the walk in the woman category. Rudeus gradually is surrounded by cute and sexy girls but he takes us right up to the ecchi/sexy line but doesn’t cross it. We know that a general audience is their target. It just that the book can be such a tease sometimes.

Final Thoughts

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Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation gives some of us what we’ve asked for a reincarnated into another world that is actually a reincarnation story. We also get a lot of well fleshed out characters with real backstories that contribute our understanding of their behavior. The world that Rifujin na Magonote creates is not ideal and that makes it easier to get invested in as a reader because of the things, like discrimination, we see in own. You should take some time to pick up volume one and see if it can inspire you to make a change for the better in your own life.

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Maid Made Omurice

Understanding the Context

Most seasoned otaku know at least a little bit about the concept of maid cafes in Japan, but let’s back things up a little and provide some context for understanding Maid Made Omurice. Maid Cafes are basically exactly what they sound like—they are restaurants where the servers are all dressed as maids and do their best to make you feel comfortable and special. Maid cafes have been a staple in otaku culture for years now and while there are a plethora of them across Japan (and increasingly, the world!), they are especially prominent in otaku neighbourhoods like Akihabara in Tokyo and Den Den Town in Osaka. While maid cafes’ main demographic is men, they are happy to host customers of all genders and ages. There are a few different kinds of maid cafes in Japan but we will briefly just look at the most popular two. The first and most traditional is the “moe moe” style, which heavily emphasises kawaii-style through cute food and girls in shorter skirts who are likely to sing and dance, draw hearts on your food, and adorn customers with cat ears. The second kind of maid cafe is a more mature and classy style with the maids dressed in Victorian-era maid uniforms and with a laidback, calmer atmosphere. Both of these cafes usually have similar foods, most of which are seen as Japanese comfort foods that a lot of people like and associate with eating at their home. That’s where the omurice comes in! Omurice (short for “omelette rice”) is a Japanese dish consisting of rice inside or under an omelette, typically with chicken, mushrooms, or other vegetables cooked inside the rice. The most popular topping for omurice is ketchup. Many maid cafes will bring the omurice to the table and allow the customer to choose what the maid draws or writes on the dish, a quintessential part of the maid cafe experience. Customers often ask for hearts, cute animals, or how the maid feels about them.

About the Product

So that brings us to Maid Made Omurice made by Nippon Ham. Its real name is Fukuro no Mama Dekiru Omurice, which translates to “Omurice You Can Make in a Bag” (though we like the Maid Made Omurice name from the campaign!). It’s a microwavable version of omurice that anyone can enjoy at home. The advertisement that has caught the attention of otaku around the world is part of the marketing campaign Nippon Ham is using to draw attention to their new product. The main actress in the advertisement is a well-known cosplayer and gravure model Moe Iori.

In the advertisement, Iori plays the role of a maid cafe-style maid delivering omurice to many people at work, in their homes, on the baseball field, and more with a bright yellow microwave strapped to her back. She visits a lot of famous sites in Japan and even traverses through snow and mountainous terrain on her campaign to bring omurice to everyone! When she delivers the omurice, Iori and the lucky person say “moe moe chin” together, which is a play on the popular phrase “moe moe kyun” usually said in maid cafes. This time, the “chin” is a Japanese onomatopoeia for the chime of a microwave.

While this is already an interesting advertisement on its own, Nippon Ham has also announced a special campaign alongside the ad. Applications are currently being accepted on their website to have a maid delivery service come right to their house. You can check it out here - https://ebx.jp/nh_omurice/ ) but keep in mind the contest is only open to people with a Japanese address. Five lucky people announced on March 20th-22nd will win this special prize. Fukuro no Mama Dekiru Omurice hit the shelves in Japan on February 20th for around $2.50 USD.

Final Thoughts

There you have it - the Japanese public can now enjoy maid cafe-style omurice in the comfort of their own homes with Maid Made Omurice! And a few very lucky otaku will get the once-in-a-lifetime experience of having a real-life maid cafe maid serve them in their actual home! Will this product appeal to people outside of the otaku community? Maybe not. But has it grabbed the attention of people nonetheless while subsequently making the mouths of the Japan’s otaku populace water? You can count on it! Did you watch the Maid Made Omurice advertisement? Would you like to try it? How would you feel if you won the contest? Have you ever been to a real maid cafe before, or would you like to go? Be sure to leave a comment or question below!

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• Sentai announced today that it acquired rights to Non Non Biyori Movie: Vacation, the theatrical follow-up to the charming, smile-inducing series Non Non Biyori, for release in the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Ireland and South Africa.
• Produced by studio Silver Link. (Mitsuboshi Colors, Chivalry of a Failed Knight), Non Non Biyori Movie: Vacation is directed by Shinya Kawatsura (Non Non Biyori, Tanaka-kun is Always Listless), and its theme song is composed by ZAQ (FLIP FLAPPERS, Love, Chunibyo & Other Delusions) and nano.RIPE (Food Wars! The Second Plate, Humanity Has Declined). The movie stars Kotori Koiwai (Real Girl, Gatchaman Crowds) as Renge Miyauchi, Rie Murakawa (Pastel Memories, Tsuredure Children) as Hotaru Ichijou, Ayane Sakura (Kase-san and Morning Glories, BanG Dream! 2nd Season) as Natsumi Koshigaya and Kana Asumi (Kämpfer, Maid Sama!) as Komari Koshigaya.
• Summer vacation might be coming to a close, but the adorable cast of Non Non Biyori is headed to Okinawa for some fun in the sun and a visit to the beach! The students of the super rural Asahigaoka branch school, all five of them, are eager to end their summer on a high note, making new friends and going on new adventures with the unbridled joy and adorable antics they’re known for. It’s a theatrical event that both newcomers and longtime Non Non Biyori fans won’t want to miss!
• Non Non Biyori Movie: Vacation will be released on home video and select digital outlets.

[en]Source: [/en][es]Fuente: [/es]Official Press Release

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• Kimetsu no Yaiba, better known as Demon Slayer in the west, continues to slice its competitors off the Oricon weekly comic charts, as the month of February shows that Tanjirou and Nezuko own the throne once again. Not just the throne but the entire castle as each slot is taken by the dynamic duo.
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• Before the end of February, Demon Slayer had already maintained its dominance in the comic charts, being the first series to completely secure all 10 spots for a consecutive 3 weeks, since Oricon started tracking data back in 2008. It's also the first to wrap its arms around all 19 spots, a remarkable feat for Koyoharu Gotouge and his beloved franchise.
• This monumentus lead has sprinkled through February 24 - March 1, with volume 19 unsurprisingly seating itself comfortably in the #1 slot, with the remaining sections being left to the peas--we mean other notable manga.
• In addition to its dominance on the charts manga-wise, its light-novel variants are starting to reap some benefits as well, with both the #1 and #2 spots taken for both Katahane no Chou and Shiawase no Hana respectively.

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• News is erupting all over the social media universe that iconic game expo E3 2020, is looking to close its doors this year due to the continuous spread of the Coronavirus. We've heard of real evil gaming villains before (which you can read here), but nothing truly comes close to the mess the Coronavirus has left behind.
• Week after week there seems to be another event cancellation due to the Coronavirus and now, one of the biggest gaming events of the year, if not THE biggest, is reportedly shutting its doors due to the scare.
• While no official word has been mentioned by E3 2020 officials, many who are very close to the source say that an announcement may take place tomorrow. It seems very certain however, considering all of the other major events that have succumbed to the insurmountable power that is the Coronavirus, with Anime Japan being a notable one (we covered that too by the way). E3 has been an ongoing event since 1996, and this is the first time the giant gaming expo has shut down due to a virus..If fear had a cousin, Coronavirus would be that ugly cousin..
• For now, all we can do is pray that people stay safe in this time of uncertainty but this tweet from Devolver Digital pretty much sums up Twitter right now...

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• In more positive news, Sui Ishida isn't just coming up with new ideas for his popular Tokyo Ghoul franchise, but he's extending his benevolence to the music industry. Popular artist TK from group Ling tosite sigure recently revealed the jacket image for the upcoming album titled, "Sainou", which is slated to release April 15th in Japan. This jacket image was hand drawn by Sui Ishida himself, reflecting a self portrait of TK.
• TK is well known for singing the opening theme of 2015's Tokyo Ghoul, which was called "unravel", and went on to become a successful artist. The upcoming album "sainou" includes the 2018 animation's opening theme, titled, "katharsis", which we're sure many Tokyo Ghoul fans are familiar with.
• Sui Ishida also contributed with lyrics with a song on the album titled, "Sainou -Sui Side-". This is truly something beautiful, as we rarely get to see manga creators step out of their comfort zone to help others in different genres. Hopefully more manga creators will step up and do the same!

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• Relationships require nurturing and careful choices. The LIPS system* will help you make the best decisions to build romance and friendships with the captivating characters of Sakura Wars. Be sure to mark your calendars for when Sakura Wars drops April 28th, for PlayStation 4. More details can be found below.

[en]Source: [/en][es]Fuente: [/es]Official Press Release

New Content for Physical Launch Edition

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• Good Smile Company announced on March 11th, 2020 (PT) that Nendoroid Inuyasha and Nendoroid DRAGON QUEST XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age The Luminary are joining Nendoroid series. Full details on each can be found below.

[en]Source: [/en][es]Fuente: [/es]Official Press Release

Nendoroid Inuyasha

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Nendoroid DRAGON QUEST XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age The Luminary

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Maneater Developer Diary 3: Evolution of a Shark:

About Maneater

Maneater’s plot, yes there is a plot, is about a bull shark that was being hunted by a human bounty hunter and narrowly escaped with only a broken spear lodged in her side. The bounty hunter died in the process and his son, Scaley Pete, has held a grudge ever since. Fast-forwarding to the present, the Scaley Pete is now a bounty hunter himself and has dedicated his life to avenging his father’s death by killing the bull shark that took his life. Eventually, Scaley Pete finds the bull shark and kills her on his boat after capturing her, only to discover that she was pregnant with a baby bull shark of her own. Not being completely vengeful, Scaley Pete cuts the baby shark to mark him, vowing that if he ever came across him again, Scaley Pete will make sure the baby bull shark never sees the light of day. This is where the story continues as the baby bull shark, the player, has to find ways to survive the watery world that is Maneater.

What’s New

Maneater is an open-world survival simulator with some RPG elements involving a bull shark, where you need to eat to survive and, thus, getting bigger and stronger as you mature into an adult bull shark. Throughout the story of the game, sharks obviously can’t talk so that is why Tripwire has Chris Parnell narrating for the shark so us players can understand things regarding the bull shark you are controlling and also what is happening inside the game’s world. Tripwire so far has shown all of these including some combat in the last year at the end of 2019, but what we didn’t know and Tripwire was happy to share with us, was their in-depth coverage of everything else you can do in the game.

The Combat Experience

There were three things Tripwire wanted to cover as well as others, and they were the depth of the experience, the diversity of the experience, and the depth to combat! Starting with combat, there are four types of combat in the game which are bitting—can also be a clamp, thrashing—not everything wants to stay in your mouth and thrashing allows you to stun your prey/enemy so you can keep on chomping, tail whipping—allows you to smack things and/or push things away from you, and the whip shock—where you can actually whip your prey/enemy and send them flying in the air. There are also lots of items in the game that you can use to your advantage while using whip shock, such as, barrels exploding like grenades, swordfish can become sniping spears, and humans, of course, can become projectiles as well. So make sure to explore your options and see what you can come up with. There is a real strategy with the combat and especially with the wildlife where you have to lunge, parry, and study your enemy to attack when the timing is right. The combat also has a punch and counter-punch cadence to it as you have to keep an eye out for tells in order to dodge. It is kind of like a classic punchout with a little bit of a soul-like feel to it.

The Diversity of Experience

The size of the shark you are playing really matters in Maneater. The game will take into account your size vs the size of your enemy and if your enemy/attacker is bigger than you, then you will have a challenging time defeating them, maybe even dying continuously until you’re leveled up to return challenge it again. An enemy which can pose an immediate threat to you while progressing through the game are killer whale (Orca), great white sharks, and massive predators called Apex Predators—oh, and humans, of course... So make sure to eat and accomplish goals to help grow your shark so that those predators who were originally your enemy, now become your prey and it will also help destroy man-made objects easily like boats, jetskis, ships, etc.! During the beginning of the game, you will be limited to specific areas until you can grow and evolve your shark. Once you become a teenage shark, you can basically go anywhere in the open-water-world that is Maneater! So with that, make sure you are prepared to go out in the unknown world because if you are not completely prepared, the challenges you’ll face along the way will surely kill you! So, baby-steps! The best idea is to kind of take casually so you can explore the closest areas to you and know the wildlife, the map, and certain predators that may have controlled turf which they will defend, especially, if you eat their favorite food! Make no mistake with that!

The Depth of Experience

If you are an individual who likes to go awol and welcomes the extreme challenge Maneater has to offer you, then go right on ahead and wreak havoc in the waters, kill some humans and let the bounty hunters come out to play. They will surely give you an intense challenge where the outcome will most likely involve death. Just know that if you do decide to do things right by gaining strength and evolutions to your shark, the combat will also change for the better, allowing you to evolve in ways you couldn’t imagine and, of course, making the gameplay experience more enjoyable! When talking beyond the combat mechanics, there is the depth of experience. This is where you can explore many areas in the Maneater, in which there are 7 huge regions. Each area is very diverse and brings new obstacles and challenges along the way, including new apex predators as well. There are also many hidden areas to discover which have special items you can obtain to increase your evolution or strength in the game. Some of the hidden areas can also be your underwater grotto—your hideout/checkpoint area—which also serves as fast travel from other grottos you have discovered. So making sure you eat plenty of nutrients, defeat predators including apex predators, and discovering new areas, will allow your evolution to evolve in exciting and unimaginable ways! Going back to the apex predators in the game, of course, they will come out and challenge you for supremacy if you are caught eating their favorite food. Doing this and defeating them in underwater battle will trigger your nemesis, Scaley Pete, to come out and hunt you down! This is a good opportunity to challenge and defeat Scaley Pete but just know that he is very tough to kill and you will need to strategize and use your resources to defeat him. One last thing to mention regarding the depth of experience one can have while playing Maneater and that is having a bounty system. This bounty system will take your terrorization of the waters into account and bounty hunters will come out and search for you! The humans in this game won’t sit by and let you go on with your terrorization so keep that in mind. The intensity of the bounty hunters ranges depending on your threat level, and will involve different types of hunters to appear like scuba divers wielding underwater spears, jetskis with a gunman, small fishing bosts with spears and guns, to bigger boats with spears, guns, and grenades—the really heavy stuff. The bounty hunters you defeat will activate bounty hunter bosses to come out and hunt you down. Of course, if you defeat these bosses, your infamy level will rise and you will be able to acquire special rewards that can help you evolve your shark further. If you have a high enough infamy level, the national guard can even appear to hunt you down with stranger boats, bigger weapons, and even depth charges—it’s just like playing Grand Theft Auto (GTA) but for sharks! Now, going back to evolutions to explain those a little more, this goes beyond just growing and strengthening your shark, there are different kinds of evolutions you can acquire for your shark. This is where the RPG elements of the game come into play as there are two types of evolutions: body evolutions and organ evolutions. The body evolution has 3 types: a Bone evolutions—where you can basically turn your shark into a tank with super armor made out of bines which allow you to ram boats and practically destroy them instantly, a Bio-Electric evolution—where you can stun your enemy or control certain areas stopping them in their tracks, and finally, a Shadow evolutions—where you have vampire-like abilities allowing you to sneak around using speed and ability to suck the life out of those around you. You can mix and match these different types of evolutions to fit your shark’s surroundings in order to complete challenges. The last evolution to talk about is the Organ evolution, which is about what is inside the body. There are several instances of organ evolutions in which three can be equipped at the same time. Some give enhanced ability towards more damage, faster nutrient gains, others can allow the shark to breathe out fo the water for a significant amount of time allowing you to have more time to jump around on land and munching on some humans. Each of these abilities can be upgraded and moved to higher tiers with specific stats.

Tripwire provided a short clip of the evolutions and a sneak peek at what you can expect from Maneater!

Final Thoughts

The Combat Experience

Maneater is an entertaining and fresh take on open-world survival with a lot of the experience seeming in-tune with GTA. If you love GTA, you’ll definitely need to try this out. Movement of the shark can be crazy at times for the slightest nudge in any direction can show significant results, so don’t go too crazy with the movement. You can also gain faster momentum to speed up and hop over canals to the next area, or simply to spring up from underneath your prey to perform the ever-awesome attack you see in documentaries about sharks—like Shark Week, so to speak. If you die, you go back to the closet grotto you unlock and then you’d have to make your way to the point where you last were. You can also dodge underwater in order to avoid being hit by bullets, spears, and explosions, and also be able to deep dive underwater or swim at the water level to jump on boats or ram them. There is a main quest to follow but, of course, there are also many side quests you can choose to take on as well. The graphics are amazing and provide much gore to the occasion when eating or attacking prey/predators. Again, the narration of Chris Parnell for your shark will also have clues as you pass by certain areas, so make sure to pay attention as clues to hidden areas can be given away. The total hours of gameplay are yet to be determined but it is estimated around 10+ hours for the main story and if you do the side quests, then that tacks on even more. Tripwire has much more to reveal later on in the weeks/months to come for Maneater’s roadmap so make sure to stay tuned for more information. Maneater is available for preorder now for $39.99 as Maneater is scheduled to release on May 22, 2020! For more information, please visit the link below: https://www.epicgames.com/store/en-US/product/maneater/home Jya ne!

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• Publisher The Arcade Crew and developer TurtleBlaze today announced KUNAI, the action-centric quest to salvage humanity from a merciless AI leading a robot uprising, will reach PC and Nintendo Switch on Feb. 6.
• A new trailer was paired with today’s announcement, sharing a glimpse of the pivotal showdowns players will need to overcome to succeed with their mission. Dispatched by their evil commander Lemonkus to curb any resistance to the new mechanically inclined world, these powerful foes will demand faultless reflexes as well as a mastery of blade and bullets.
• KUNAI’s adventure through its striking war-torn world emphasizes swift exploration and combat; whether it’s dancing on the heads of enemies with well-timed slashes of a katana, dodging death with grappling hook-esque kunai, or swinging over chasms to discover new areas, KUNAI equips players with an arsenal which makes experiencing every corner of its map a delight.
• To stay current with all things KUNAI, visit the game’s official website (https://kunaigame.com/), keep tabs on The Arcade Crew on Twitter (https://twitter.com/TheArcadeCrew), or add the game to your Steam wishlist (https://store.steampowered.com/app/1001800/KUNAI/).

[en]Source: [/en][es]Fuente: [/es]Official Press Release