Rizwan Merchant

The Irregular at Magic High School: Episode 01 Review

The Spring 2014 Anime Season is upon us, and I have decided to investigate one of Aniplex of America’s new acquisitions, The Irregular at Magic High School. After reading a synopsis online, this anime sounded interesting. Since it took place at a magical high school I hoped to have something in the same vein as Little Witch Academia, but I was sorely mistaken. To be bluntly honest, this anime bored me within the first five minutes.

Cosplayer Spotlight #20: Lilacwire Cosplay

I’m from Denver, CO, and still live there. I have a husband, an identical twin, and an evil poodle. My day job is in oil & gas, and I enjoy it very much!

Battle Programmer Shirase

Genre: Comedy/Action Format: 15 Episodes Allegiance: AIC Director: Hiroki Hayashi Vintage: 2003 – 2004 Summary by Rizwan Merchant: At first

Cosplayer Spotlight #19: Cat-chan Cosplay

I’m Cat-chan and I’m a cosplayer. I love making costumes and attending cons all over the country! (but mostly in Texas). I am a professional graphic designer by day, specializing in digital design for multi-touch platforms. I am also a bit of a couch potato and love watching TV and reading manga. I have two very frisky cats (Karma and Yourichi) and a wonderful Husband I enjoy spending most of my time with.

Otakon 2014 Welcomes Manga-ka and Character Designer Yusuke Kozaki

Otakon 2014 is proud to feature manga-ka and character designer Yusuke Kozaki.

Otakon 2014 Welcomes Producer, Director, and Musician Hiroaki Yura

Otakorp, Inc.is pleased to welcome Hiroaki Yura as our guest at Otakon 2014.This will be Yura’s third appearance at Otakon.

Bandai Namco working on Power Rangers Super Megaforce for 3DS

BANDAI NAMCO Games America Inc. announced today that Saban’s Power Rangers Super Megaforce® will hit stores in the Americas this fall for the Nintendo 3DS™ hand-held system. Power Rangers Super Megaforce marks the 21st season of the iconic television series, which currently airs on Nickelodeon. The action side-scrolling Nintendo 3DS game gives fans the chance to experience the legendary powers of the Super Megaforce Rangers and save the earth from evil.

Sword Art Online II is set for Worldwide Simulcast and More!

Today at Aniplex of America’s Sword Art Online Panel with special appearances by Director Tomohiko Ito, Character Designer Shingo Adachi and Producer Shinichiro Kashiwada at Sakura-Con in Seattle, Aniplex has confirmed that the highly anticipated anime series Sword Art Online II will see a worldwide simulcast.

Black Rock Shooter (OVA)

At one of my most recently attended anime convention, I noticed quite a few cosplayers armed with some of the most amazing weapon props I had seen in a while. After careful investigation, I learned these cosplayers’ characters were from an anime called Black Rock Shooter. Entirely too enthralled by the cosplays, I decided to check it out, and I jumped in headfirst. I didn’t know anything about the plot or characters; all I knew was that there was an OVA released in 2010 and an anime released in 2012, and that there are varying opinions on both.

By Bernard Gagnon (Own work) [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC-BY-SA-3.0-2.5-2.0-1.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

An Insider’s Look at Japan: Ueno Koen

While there’s plenty of modern hustle and bustle in Tokyo, one of my favorite places I visited was the Ueno district, which is home to the famous Ueno Koen. This park is one of the largest and most popular in Japan, with thousands of visitors showing up every year for the springtime tradition of hanami, or cherry blossom viewing.