Nike Transformer - sneaker robot

Via Reuters:
"Japanese toymaker Tomy Company's employee Chie Yamada poses with the 'Transformers Sports Label Convoy feat. Nike Free 7.0' in Tokyo April 25, 2007."

More info.

Kawaii-Kon in Hawaii

Well this year the Kawaii-Kon will be at the Hawaii Convention Center, moved from its old location the Ala Moana Hotel. I will be attending the 3rd annual convention and will be an unofficial ani-pock reporter after the convention is over. You can get more infomation from past Kons at www.kawaii-kon.org. I will be there all 3 days and will report too you folks next week tuesday. hopefuly with some nice pics....


Well here a L*S for you folks

White Guy Singing Japanese Pop Songs

This guy goes to my school! Yes, he is majoring in Japanese this year.


Via TokyoMango:
"This one is called "Banzai" by the ウルフルズ　(Ulfus), an Osaka band that had some kick-ass hits, including this one, from the 90s."

Watch more of his videos here.

Ani-Pock Forums 2!!

Alright, everybody! We have some RPs for you to check out, but dont be afraid to add your own! The contest doesnt start until May 1st, but this is a great opportunity to get the gears of RP turning and a chance to heat up the action! This is gonna be one great contest! Do your best, everybody! The Rock himself is cheering you guys on! Gam Batte!

Go to the forums now >>
(or click 'Forums' in the nav bar at the top of your screen).

As Promised...

From Zaku:
As TL said on the last Lucky*Star post I would play the song. I did and its not too bad though it was my first try at things, its an A rank as the Fraps cut out at 30 seconds...anyway! Enjoy!

Check out the A-P Forums!

The Ani-Pock forums live again!

Now you can submit high scores for Nanaca Crash, write a critique for on an anime you've watched recently (L*S, maybe?), play in the Ani-Pock RPG, or just shoot the breeze!

But here's the best part:

The first person who posts the most non-spam entries in the forum will win two boxes of Pocky of their choice!


The contest starts May 1st.
The contest ends August 1st 12:00 AM, GMT.

So get cracking! Dust off those threads and topics and whatnot.

Also, about the RP... Pocky suggested we create one, but I've never formed one before. I would like to have an experienced RP-er or two join me in the ranks and help me develop one or more that the Ani-Pock community will enjoy.

Go to the forums now >>
(or click 'Forums' in the nav bar at the top of your screen).

Details:
To participate you must post at least 250 entires within the three month span.
If you wish to participate, and have already registered in the forum, give me your forum name and number of posts to date. I will verify that the number you gave me is correct and will begin logging your posts after May 1st. More details on how to claim your prize in the forums.
NO SPAM!

Good Luck!

Thanks to Pocky for clearing out the spam!

Noozflash!

Okay. So I stand corrected.
It turns out Samurai Pizza Cats was not my first anime.
I was probably too young to recognize or categorize this as a Japanese cartoon, but here it is:

Noozles.

The story of a girl, two koalas, and the vast wonders of imagination.

Almost like how Barney comes to life when you think about him (or did you have to say his name... I don't know I never watched it), the noozle bears would come alive when the young, female character would touch noses with the bears and "Eskimo kiss" or "noozle" them.

Oh, but it gets more far fetched than this!*

This series broadcast on a cable network for children for several years with another children's anime, Koala Boy Kokki, which I just don't remember for the life of me.

If are about my age, you might remember these series being broadcast between on Nickelodeon in the US and Canada.

*To find out more about Noozles, click here.

v Oh, and sorry about all of that bleow. I envoked it! v

Pocky Lucky Star and Stepmania!

You got that right! It's a Pocky commercial using Lucky Star!

And even better is what I found before that!

Lucky Star Stepmaniaaaaa! Zaku says he'll show us HIS score on the LSS later, so stay tuned, space cadets!

Reveal the Ani-Pock Community: £Nightmare£!!

Thanks for the fun questions on the last episode.

Our contestant this week is: £Nightmare£!!
So how do you play?
Here is a recap of Rin's rules!:

Every week a member is selected from the Ani-Pock Memberlist and it will be posted who that member is, then everyone else can comment under the post any questions that they want to ask about that member, but please keep in mind to keep the questions decent, indecent questions will be deleted.

So lets get to it! Ask £Nightmare£ questions!!

Previous contestants: Pocky Moonlight Celley Rin Meta Kami Jent Purly Ichigo Stars Rose Chikyuu Shadow X

Pocky comes bearing Fruits... Basket, that is!

The very busy Pocky has a bit of a surprise for you. So I'm taking care of this entry for him as well.
Here is a website which is hosting Fruits Basket the manga, up to the most recent chapters I am supposing.
Yay and woo hoo...

Go ahead take a look.

Chinese Zodiac goodness!

Don't have much to say about Fruits Basket... it didn't appeal to me so much.

But it could be worse:



That's right! Another, L*S opening parody. XD

For Pocky

Yuki drew these in chalk, and Pocky asked me to post them for him ^_^ Really good artwork, Yuki! *thumbs up*

And Pocky also wanted me to post this for Ichigo ^_^

Good Advice by *JohnSu on deviantART

Gah! Westernization gone bad... again!

TOKYO, April 20 - Japan's centuries-old less-is-more approach to eating -- tiny portions, elegantly arranged to feast the eye as much as the stomach -- is being challenged by an invasion of supersize fast-food, American-style.

Mega Mac burgers at McDonald's, giant pudding servings and mammoth packets of instant noodles are tempting consumers in a country whose moderate serving portions have often left foreign visitors wondering when the main course would arrive.

The Godzilla-sized creation -- four meat patties layered between three slices of bun with cheese and lettuce -- joined McDonald's menu from January for a limited period and is back for brief cameo appearances after proving more popular than expected.

More from: Reuter's Life.

Anime Kip is Watching: Nerima Daikon Brothers / Yamato Nadeshiko Shichihenge

You trust Kip to make good anime choices. You like Kip's anime choices. That's why you will watch Nerima Daikon Brothers!

It's another hit from Nabeshin (I really have to wonder if that fro is for real), this series is 15% a Blues Brothers anime, 56% Excel Saga if it were a musical, 74% lewd visual puns and jokes involving daikon (Japanese radishes), and 100% funny!

This series is on shelves to buy now, and is incredibly fun to watch! The R1 release dubbers made sure to re-do the songs so the characters not only speak English, but sing it as well. Most dubs today don't do that! This makes it a real treat to watch either the dub or the sub version!

Nabeshin's latest project is something worth looking at too, Yamato Nadeshiko Shichihenge, or Perfect Girl Evolution. It follows a young girl who is... socially awkward, and four boys who have to transform her into a beautiful young lady at the request of their landlord, "Obasan" (or Auntie), or else their rent triples! The problem is this girl is sooo creepy even the guys have problems socializing with her.

A couple of thoughts on the latter series:
Although the animation makes it looks like a shojo series (after the manga The Wallflower, from which it was adapted), YNS seems to really make fun of the genre... In the broadest sense of the term, would that make it a bishonen series? Technically...
Seriously, do shojo anime really have these many nosebleeds?

Also, after a few episodes pass, the female lead character, Sunako, spends most of the series in her chibi form. How can I do that!?!

This series is still being broadcast in Japan.

Here are links to the opening themes:
NDB, YNS.

Halo 2 Maps and more!

Kage here with some new ideas on what to post. From now on i'll post things involving games, be it a review to a new game that just came out or information on older games. :D Fun fun, right?

Anyways, I'm sure many of you have played Halo or Halo 2 for the X Box atleast once in their life. :P If not then you're missing a lot! On April 17th they came out with 2 new maps Again for Halo 2! The new maps are called Desolation and Tombstone and both are classic remakes from Halo 1. Desolation is a remake of the map Derelict, a unique map unlike all the others with its new look! Tombstone is a recreation of an old favorite map of everyones, called Hang'em High. It's quite big and probably a new favorite for a game of snipers.

Another update was made within the month for another game, and I have to say it's quite a great update! The game Gears of War for the 360 got another patch to fix more glitches and such, and along with that patch was an update of a new game type! Annex. Annex is a game type almost like King of the Hill meets Territories from Halo 2. You and your team have to capture a point on the map for 60 seconds and when 60 seconds of possession has passed the point changes locations, unlike the other game types you get to respawn! Very fun IMO. And in ranked it makes it easier to get those achievements regarding 100 kills for different weapons! A lot more killing happens in Annex then any other gametype since you can respawn and the rounds are very long even on the shortest time setting!

That's all for news!

Longest AMV Evar!

Or of mine, anyway. Teenlink Productions and Team Pervert proudly present... Mahoraba Collection! A collaboration of the main characters of Mahoraba, with a couple supporting roles thrown in as well.



Do tell me what you think.

Random Poll (On Zaku's behalf) XD

Zaku wants to burn the tree huggers ;_; What about you?

For Rin~

Rin has stuffed animals all over her bed. This is what they do when she goes to work! ^^

LuckyStar OP LiveAction edition

^_^;;;;... creative shall we say? Lets just leave it at that...

The Kiyoshi Nagata Ensemble Drummers

Recently I was very fortunate to attend a concert of the talented Kiyoshi Nagata Ensemble (Nagata Shachu, as the group changes their name in 2008), when they came through here in Traverse City, USA.

The Ensemble is made up of four Canadian-Japanese drummers who pummel any number or range of taiko (drums). There was a huge drum, that had to have been at least as tall as the man playing it, which made a rich and deep sound. Some of the noises the taiko make are incredible, and the drummers hit their mark every time! It was stunning!

A live performance is really something to behold. If the Ensemble comes to your town, don't pass up the opportunity to watch their performance! If you would like a sample of their drumming styles (which is really nothing compared to the real, live thing) please follow this link, and click on the song "Bidou" at the right of the page. (If the link doesn't work, sometimes simply downloading the track link helps.)

Here is a list of upcoming tour dates. To find out more about the KNE, go to their official webpage.

The NEW and IMPROVED Robot Dance!!!! ^.~

Oh em gee to the FF!! >XD You HAVE to watch this, it's unbelieveably good, and seeing transformers doing the Lucky Star Dance is just....well see for yourself. >X3




(PS. This is the last LuckyStar Parody I am posting, this was just too good to pass up and this dude has wayyyyyyyy too much time on his hands he should come to Ani-Pock)

<3!~ Rin

Manga?

Ok o.o;
I'm here to introduce to you a new manga xD it rocks!
It's one of the most popular manga series...if you haven't heard of it yet.



[[summary]]

Cherry Juice is about Otome and Minami, two step-siblings. Minami is a popular boy who takes cooking at school, and Otome is an average girl who is in love with Minami's best friend. Cherry Juice's main focus is on the love lives of Minami and Otome, who are in love with other people....or are they?

Chapter: [[click to download]]

CherryJ CHAPTER 1

»Mitsuke-Bear♥

Lucky Star meets Haruhi and Vice Versa!

Okies, this confirms my belief that anime openings are the same!! It's a conspiracy. Anyway, I just couldn't resist.

Lucky Star Opening with Hare Hare Yukai:



Hare Hare Yukai with Lucky Star:



Hope you enjoy! -^.^-
<3!~ Rin

The Future of Advertising!

I won't say much more than this... as cities grow, and public transportation becomes more useful to commuters, I imagine you might be seeing more of these:



Too cool!

Songs with "Nihongo"

So, I enjoyed this song, "Girlfriend" by Avril Lavigne, and it turns out that she wrote the chorus in different languages, 8 in all! .O.
Soooooo, heres the japanese one for you all! (Dun' mind the video, please? And beware a bit of language? >_<)



And to top it off, Teenlink and I were talking about other songs in many languages; Disney for one, and I wanted to show 'The Lion King,' cause I likem the lions! >=O

Kip Schools A-P in SPC!

I was talking with Kami and Rin yesterday, and wouldn't you know it... they didn't know who the Samurai Pizza Cats are! That's not right!
They're way better than any old mutant turtle ninjas...
(Don't hurt me, I know there are TMNT fans out there, XD )

Samurai Pizza Cats (Kyattou Ninden Teyandē, which is an excellent play on words in Japanese, BTW) was produced in the early 90's and shipped overseas about six years later. With a new dub the show did lose some jokes in translation, but made for some pretty funny jabs at pop culture, and self-referential humor when it hit English speaking countries. This series may have been as funny if not more so than it's Japanese counterpart, mostly on account of the fact the English dubbers never even received a script to base the series on!

The series is notorious for breaking the "fourth wall", which means the characters are very aware of their audience, and will sometimes say, "Hey, you read my line!" or, "Okay, let's get some coffee during this commercial break!" and things of this nature...

SPC follows three crime-fighting cats, Speedy Cerviche, Polly Ester, and Guido Anchovy, through Little Tokyo as they serve their day job as pizza deliverers. But when trouble strikes, the oft rhyming pizzeria owner, Francine, will launch the cats out of a giant gun (which also comes in handy in deliveries) to the scene of the crime!
Most of the time, it's the evil Big Cheese, out to thwart the Emperor... Fred.
Yep... Fred.

But the Pizza Cats Always prevail! As apparent by their motto.

You can see how campy and silly they were trying to make the series just by watching the opening theme, take a look:



Gosh, I remember that song to this day. If you noticed a spelling error somewhere in the opening theme, be the first to point it out and I'll give you a prize! It's tricky to catch!

This series is a part of anime history, and now, you too experienced it! It touches my heart. XD

Pocky's Japan Trip Video Archive: Subway Train

This clip is from my Japan trip last summer. In this clip I take you through a Japanese subway train ride around Tokyo on a JR rail line. There are screens in each car that tell you where you are on the map, news updates, and even teaches English. We had no problem using the rail system because the signs are presented in dual Japanese/English. Enjoy! Feel free to ask me questions in the comments.

Pocky's Japan Trip Video Archive: Arcade

This clip is from my Japan trip last summer. In this clip I take you through a five story arcade in Akihabara, Electric Town of Japan. Enjoy! Feel free to ask me questions in the comments.

What...the hell?

I've watched this clip over and over and I still don't get it. I do know however, that the classical music played at the end is from the anime Neon Genesis Evangelion called "Both of you, Dance". Its a really nice song, so I've uploaded here for you all to enjoy!

Japanese Celebrities on Jurassic Park: The Ride in Japan

Note: A lot of high pitched screaming! XD

Ani-Comic. episode 1: Meeting Lucy from the U.K.

By the one and only Jent!!!!
Click to see!

Da Vinci Code Sausage!

Two posts in one day! O_O. Yeah, so on to the Sausage. I had a prodigious thought the other day while watching the OP to Lucky Star. The blue-haired girl holds up three fingers on each of her hands. Normally, this three fingered sign indicates Eastside, which would mean on the East Coast. I started thinking and this is what I came up with. This is a Japanese anime, so East Coast couldnt possibly be the case. Then I noticed her other hand, which had a three. http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=Japan&ie=UTF8&z=17&ll=31.951525,130.220786&spn=0.006254,0.009978&t=h&om=1
I did some research on Google and found this. There is a Japanese highway, Highway 3, that if you look on the eastern side of it, you will see a city eventually. You must be going north because the girls ducked down, then went up, which gives direction. Anyway, back to the city. This city obviously contains a store that sells, you guessed it, the world's best sausage. (Kami, if you can read that big red kanji, plz tell me if that says Sausage, thankies)

Teenlink's Latest Production!

The very latest from Teenlink! ^_^

I didnt have the heart to tell the bottle fairies...

New NERV and SEELE logo.

Hey, Sorry Shadow~X, we're covering up your reveal game with the avalanche of posts!

Take a look here, it's the new NERV and SEELE logos for the upcoming Evangelion movie.

NERV:











Say what?


SEELE:




















Looks like a coloring book drawing to me... S is for Serpent, SEELE, and Sinister plots!

The new logos are supposed to represent the original sin (notice the apple, can you see it in NERV's? Really? Good eye!) found in the Bible. Why a figleaf superimposed over an apple has anything to do with anything beats me. Oh, and if you weren't sure SEELE was an evil organization before... well...

So, let us know:



Edit: For reference, here is the old NERV (glory be!) and SEELE logos.

If The Simpsons was an anime...

Hey. I've got one more.

I really did think this is what The Simpsons would look like anime style, until I read this article at DeviantArt which says that after Matt Groening (creator of The Simposons) saw this picture he enlisted the artist for his upcoming Simpsons manga! Neat!!!

Take a look:


Click to enlarge.

More on spacecoyote's DeviantArt.

One more poll:

REAL Sumo wrestling

And you were wondering where Haduken came from!


More

Japanese Pepsi Ad

Brilliant!! The asian weakness revealed!

Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency

From Japundit.com:

"Fly me to the moon?

Japan’s first lunar probe called ‘Selene’ is being showed off for the press at Tsukuba Space Center in Tsukuba.

Japan’s space agency is called Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (or JAXA) announced that they are planning to send the probe whose name reportedly stands for Selenological and engineering explorer, to the moon in August of this year.

The probe will be launched into space a Japanese built H-2A rocket.

Is it just me or does it kinda look like something from Stanley Krubricks film 2001 a Space Odyssey?"

Amazing Tour of the Bandai Factory - 3D Printing of Toys Included!

(Via TVinJapan.com)

Japanese Instinct

This guy takes a bicycle bell and walks around xD

In space... nobody can hand you a screwdriver...

Although pretty much EVERYTHING pales in comparison to Lucky☆Star
(...weirdos) there is some exciting news coming out of Japan.

The Japanese AP has released a statement from the country's space agency that they plan to send a probe into space to constantly orbit the moon. This is said to be the first step in really kicking Japan's space program into high gear, and may soon lead the way to the first manned lunar landing in decades.

The probe costs nearly 32 billion Yen (US 269 million, EU 200 million) and will be sent into space by the consumer electronics company Mitsubishi.

This probe itself will be Japan's second ever satellite sent into space, their last being in 1972 (the fourth country in history).

Japan has had some very notable setbacks in its aerospace career, but some believe this recent leap back into the dark abyss is a chance to play catch-up with China, which is building a space program of its own.

Of course, this won't be the first time in a long while something or someone from Japan has visited space. Japanese astronauts have joined NASA in several missions to space in the past.

Edit: Oh, by the way, did anyone find my hidden "sausage link" (pun intended) that I put in my last post!?! Hint: It's not plainly visible, ergo, hidden!
Edit edit: Sorry, this isn't Japan's second ever satellite into space, but it will be their second ever satellite or craft sent to the moon. Thanks, Kami.

My first post and my boredom that led to this.

Well Shadow X here with my first post,

With recent findings in the anime world made by Kip, Lucky☆Star's opening has made a good majority of us hyper and wanting sausage, and I being my usual anime loving self got yet again bored and wanted to look up on this anime looking to bring a lot of randomness to the Ani-Pock world. So without further ado, I'll explain some of the stuff I've learned so far about it.

This anime started out as a manga which was published and read by by fans in 2004 and was being made into and anime which in fact started airing on April 8, 2007. The story settles around the anime and video gaming Konata Izumi and her friends. This anime has yet to be subbed as it's only been out for 4 days as of now so when it does I know I'll be watching it to see if it hopefully any good.

So keep your eye out for when it's subbed. Haha, imagine trying to dub this one. XD
Bye!

Edit: P.S. I just looked up stuff on this out of boredom so don't think I'm a freak about it ok?

Japanese TV: Monkey doing situps with dog!

Sugoi~~~~~!!!!!!

And maybe not so sugoi for the dog xD

Ninja Flashmob at UC Berkeley

This happend at my school. I'm so proud of all us ninja-students. Watch!

Confused? Here is a definition of a flash mob:
"flash mob describes a large group of people who assemble suddenly in a public place, do something unusual for a brief period of time, and then quickly disperse."

I'll keep you posted when the next one happens. I'm gonna try to be in it!

Hold Me~AMV

Hiya, 'Tis Rin with your AMV serving, it's been a few since I have posted an amv, so enjoy!! Now this is dancing, whoooo! XD

I BUY SAUSAGE!

YouTuber hiddindragon08 says:
“omg.. roll up a bit of cute and then lace it with a bit of speeed.. Give it a mountain dew and kick it in the balls, tell it to recite the entire song with one breath as fast as [it] can and finally capture the ADD with some shiny objects and you've got this intro.. omg.”

For those of you who have caught or got caught in the hype of the brand new anime series Lucky☆Star, you may have already heard this hyperactive and loop inducing opening theme.

I have heard very few if any negative comments towards this song... aside from my own. XP
Pretty much it's been, "LOLLZZ!!111!! I loooped this 413775264932 timez today XDDDDDD1!!!!!1!"
But anyway, if half as many people get a kick out of this song as I think will, that will still be a lot! Next Hare Hare Yukai, maybe?
You wish!

Well, without further ado here is "Motteke! Seifuku":



I like this version XD:



The last one has won some considerable YouTube viewing awards.

Now, I got to... I dunno... club myself over the head a few times. Enjoy!

I will try really hard not to somehow or another relate another post to Haruhi for a while... ^_^;

Reveal the Ani-Pock Community: Shadow X!!

Hey, et al!
Thanks for the fun questions on the last episode.

Our contestant this week is: Shadow X !!
So how do you play?
Here is a recap of Rin's rules!:

Every week a member is selected from the Ani-Pock Memberlist and it will be posted who that member is, then everyone else can comment under the post any questions that they want to ask about that member, but please keep in mind to keep the questions decent, indecent questions will be deleted.

So lets get to it! Ask Shadow X questions!!

Previous contestants: Pocky Moonlight Celley Rin Meta Kami
Jent Purly Ichigo Stars Rose Chikyuu

* ~For Lucy~ *

Since its Lucy's birthday I thought I'd go ahead and post this...


From everyone on ani-pock enjoy this special day!!! I know by the time you see this your special day may of past but I felt like doing post this anyways. (Rose)

Chikyuu: Hope you have an awesome birthday and have TONS OF FUN! And go where ya want!

Kage: I don't know you very well...But watch your cake or else...I'LL EAT IT! Mwahahaha!

P.S. Make sure to have some cake Lucy

AMV Hell

As you may know, AMV Hell 3, the highly acclaimed "granddaddy of anime music videos", became an internet sensation after its release in 2005. It has inspired other AMV-ers highly and totally rewrote the AMV genre by being longer than most AMVs, using clips of whole AMVs and songs instead of the whole song, using various different formats by which to present the series of short clips, having fans send in their own AMV clips to put into the final product, and it actually being a good AMV!

It's kinda like a tasty, stone soup AMV. If you haven't yet watched it you really should.

Production started recently on the sequel to the last AMV Hell episode. So for those of you have been waiting, I have here the trailer for...

Anime Music Video Hell 3 II:
AMV HELL 4:
THE MOTION PICTURE:
Semicolon:
THE TRAILER

...Long title, I know.

LOL, more cowbell, ne?

Well, the trailer may not be anything "special", but there is some additional news. The producers of AMV Hell have been accepting entries for their sequel for quite some time. If you have an AMV you would like to submit, the AMVH team is still collecting entries before their August 1, 2007 deadline.

But that's not all. If you are familiar with AMV Hell 0, there's a rumor circulating that there will be an AMV Hell -1 following the same format (if you know what I mean by "format"). *Winks and nudges*

If you want to see a hosted version of AMVH3 (part 1 of... 7 ^_^;), here is a link. For more information on AMV Hell, visit the website.
Enjoy!

Want more Death Note?

Remember back when I posted the announcement about Death Note being liscensed and so we had to stop showing it here on ani-pock?

Well currently animefever.org is hosting the series. They are up to episode 25 on that site. There appears to be other animes you can watch as long as you register as a member of the site.

The episodes are broken up into part A and part B but its totally worth checking out this site. Thank Ikkou-kun for finding this site.

Hare Hare massive dance off!

Remember the Hare Hare dance I posted about? Well it seems it keeps getting more and more popular! Here is a mob doing the dance in Akihabara :]


The dance is from the anime "Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya"

It's back!

For those of you who were watching Uninhabited Planet Survival here on Ani-Pock, you may remember some of the videos were removed from YouTube.

Currently CrunchyRoll.com is hosting the series in its entirety, as well as what appears to be hundreds of others, free to watch as long as you subscribe to the site.

If you wish to watch the rest of the series (not broken up in three segments, ten minutes each, BTW), then be sure to check this site out.

Quick Art Update

I took off the slideshows beneath the drawing boards. This lets you draw faster! Also updated with a few new drawings. Check out the Gallery!

It's Link's Shield!

:P By the time Lucy reads this, it'll be Monday in her time anyway. But back to the post! Avo, my super-awesome friend from "The Golden Age of Ani-Pock", has found the most magnificent item on eBay!

That's right! It's Link's shield! http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=ADME:L:LCA:US:31&item=150110117075 ;.; Unfortunately for me, I neither have almost $100 to spend on it, nor the means to buy it. *bows down* If someone bought it for me, I'd be eternally grateful... *is killed by the Gods of Pathetic Begging*

Lucy's sunday post ABOUT JPOP

LUCY'S SUNDAY POST.
My sunday my sunday my sunday my sunday D: <

GOOOODDD SUNDAY! Becuase like, everyone knows that sundays are boring and stuff, so i claimed sunday to post. NO ONE ELSE POST ON SUNDAY.

Todaaaay, i'm gonna show you new music comming out in japan. Well, one group in particular, (sp?) AKB48. Becuase they're my favourite (or one of em) and i have all thier singles. Appart from this one, obviously, iit's not out yet.
On aprill the 18th, AKB48 will be releasing thier new single, and like the last single they released, it has a MEANING. O: A MESSAGE TO ALL JAPANESE GIRLIES. Last one was against child prostotution, and this time, it's agaisnt suicide. (Happy happy joy joy!) Rumor has it, (i say rumor becuase i have never seen a japanese girl kill her self infront of me) suicide is a big problem within japan, hence they had to sing against it. Scary no? Reminds me of the japanese film, SUICIDE CLUB (gasp, it's so goary you should watch it) but for some reason, SUICIDE SCARES ME LIKE THE ZOMBIES DO ON SCOOBIE DOO TO A LITTLE CHLD.

Watch it watch it watch it!

A tad about AKB48: AKB = akihabara, 48= 48 o_o the 48 is there becuase there wasss about 48 people in the group, split up into 3 groups (group A group B and group 4) but GOD KNOWS HOW MANY NOW. Thier first single was sakura no hanabiratachi, which was released on the 1st febuary last year. SO THEY'VE BEEN OUT FOR JUST OVER A YEAR, And are doing quite well! GO AKB48 :'D

MVP-O-The-Day: None other than Mr. Dice-K!

Daisuke Matsuzaka began his career in US Baseball with the Boston Red Sox today when he threw out the opening pitch of the game.

His first game is said to have been watched by as nearly as many American fans during mid day as Japanese -even at 3:00 AM- as the game played live.
Matasuzaka made some impressive throws in the early innings to bring the Sox a victory against Kansas City, 4 to 1.

Matasuzaka spent eight years with the Seibu Lions (2006: 17-5 ...Rawr, it's Kimba all grown up -->) in Japan and had been called "...unquestionably the best pitcher in the country." (Dave Sheinin, The Age News)

Thanks Kami for this bit of intel! ;)

Also sourced: Japanesebaseball.com, New York Times

ATTENTION ANI-POCK GIRLS!!!

Okies, hello this is Rin! As you all know, or don't know I have been working on Ani-Pock AMV Slideshows gathering anime pictures to represent our members. I have made one for the girls already, but I am making a second one so I can fit more in so send me an email at Rin@Ani-Pock.net or leave a comment here with your name so I can be sure to involve you. I know guys, -_-; yours is coming along too, but I admit it's much slower for it's harder to find anime pics of just boys that aren't well yaoi or whatnot, but I do have a small collection gathered. When I do these slideshows I try to get unknown anime characters because it makes it that much more special, but I don't know I might just have to break down and use popular anime characters. *sighs* Oh and if you have pictures yourself feel free to email it to me and I'll make sure to put them in. Thanks beforehand for all your help. So far I owe thanks to Jent~Sama, Angel, and Rohanu. They have been the BIGGEST HELP! *smiles* Soooo *huggles* I thank you three much, much, much!

Oh and Happy Early Easter!! :3

~Rin


**EDIT: Leave a small description of yourself too. Thanks! ^^

Ani-Girls

Made by PunkChick!Click for larger view!

New Manga!

So, I went to the mall yesterday, off to meet a friend in Borders. She was waaaaay late, so I went to the manga (graphic novels) section and browsed. To my happy, happy suprise, there is a new manga out that I advise you all see! >=3

From the author and artist of Full Moon Wo Sagashite (which also happens to be a great manga), Shinshi Doumei Cross(紳士同盟† Shinshi Dōmei Kurosu), literally translated as The Gentlemen Alliance, is the newest set of eye opening manga created by Arina Tanemura~

I sat a read the manga. So I can say to you all that it's a fun read, and if you buy it, it comes with a beautiful 2-sided poster for your viewing action! =D

Here's a summary: Haine Otomiya is a 15-year-old high school girl who goes to an elite private school called the Imperial Academy. She was once a gang member, but this changed when she met Shizumasa Tōgū, who told her to live life how she wanted to. From that point on, Haine has worked to make her life better, and stopped being a gang member. She fell in love with Shizumasa and entered the Imperial Academy because of him.
Now, Shizumasa is the Koutei (emperor) of the school, which means that not only is he the student council president, but the one who everyone in the school looks up to. Through various circumstances Haine is tricked into becoming his bodyguard and joins the Student Council. Will Haine get Shizumasa to love her?

It's very different from Tanemura-san's other stories, which take a more serious side. Shinshi Doumei Cross is more of a school comedy, and Tanemura-san has said that it is that kind of manga that she has most wanted to write.

So Meyume says: "Buy, Read, Enjoy, and Stare! Both Shinshi Doumei Cross and Full Moon Wo Sagashite."

Teenlink is here!

OMG Hiii! ^_^ Teenlink here! Ready to post all the stuff that Meyume wont hit me for!

He came and waited every day...

I love this story. Some of you many know it.
Hachiko was a young Akita (like a small German Shepard) pup when his master died. You see, this dog waited at the train station each day for him to come home from his place of work at Tokyo University. Even after the death of his master, he still returned every evening, for eleven years, hoping to catch him coming off the train... but his poor master never would again. Hachiko himself died in 1935, ever waiting, in the same spot.

And in that spot was erected only a few years later a statue commemorating the faithful dog. During WWII the statue was melted down for scrap metal, but another was built in 1948.

On the anniversary of the unveiling of the first statue, we remember a loyal and sweet dog. Though some say he merely came for the chicken-on-a-stick (yakitori) which he was sometimes found begging for. But others with pets who jump up on their masters in anticipation when they come home from a long day of work or school, just know there's a special bond.

Check out this Wikipedia article for more really neat information about this dog and all his ties to Japanese culture and beyond! He was even involved in a little April Fools joke.

Ani-Pock Podcast Episode 14 - 500th POST!!!

Can you believe it?! This is the 500th post on Ani-Pock!!! Thank you to all our posting members for making everyday on Ani-Pock a place to see something new! You've made Ani-Pock a place to watch, to listen, to talk about and to laugh at something new, every day!

Thank You for making Ani-Pock what it is!

I remember when the blog started out as a tiny message strip. I think I first put it up as a replacement for the drawboard. You used to type in Ani-Pock.net and go straight to the drawboard. I really wanted to give Ani-Pock a "home base" so we could all stay on the same page. Now you guys are posting in AMVs, sharing news, and even helping learn about each other!

I will strive to make other sections of Ani-Pock operate in this fashion as much as I can. The more "open" Ani-Pock becomes, I am certain this treasure will only grow. Probably the next slated feature will be through the Ani-Pock Wiki. You can check it out here. I hope to integrate it into the site soon.

Thanks again to everyone! Poster, reader, commenter, Ani-Pocker! ^_^

Pocky

Ep 014: "Ani-Punk!"



Episode 14 is here! WITH NEW OPENING BY KIP!! Kip slaved hours and hours on this new intro =] I should say that I forced Kip into using this one so quickly. He had sent it to me as a sneak peak for what he was working on to be used starting on Episode 26. So domo arigato Kip!!

Today's topics: Who is PunkChick!, Best April Fools/pranks, What did you eat for dinner, Do plants feel pain, Whats up with Ani-Dubbing,

Hosts: Pocky, Meta, Meyume, PunkChick!

Running time: 22:33
Intro/Outro by Kip

Well what are you waiting for, click the pink play button to listen, or right click here and choose save as)

April Members

Ani-Pock members:

Line up, line up! We all know how much you wanna put in a snappy fun quote for the month of April, right? =3

Look for the yellow bar at the top of your webpage, find "Members" and leave a comment under the empty April list! =D

Anything can make a comment!

Ani-Pock Podcast Episode 13

Ep 013: "MegaCast"



Episode 13 is here!

Today's topics: Charlie Brown Anime, cBox and watchers, What's Ichigo's real name?, Ani-Pock wiki and MORE! xD

Hosts: TeenLink, Pocky, Ichigo, DYL, Meta

Running time: 29:47
Intro/Outro by Kip

Well what are you waiting for, click the pink play button to listen, or right click here and choose save as)

Akihabara News-CosPlay in Tokyo

The Wonder Festival is not ONLY the Figurine Event in Japan, it is also the annual meeting of a very Japanese tradition known as the COSPLAY (Costume Play) where you must come dressed in a way that is the most accurately similar to your favourite Manga...

Redeem your Pock₧!

Good day to you. Kip here.

As some of you have been talking on the Gabbly chat, you may have racked up some Pock₧. Until today we hadn't thought of a use for them. But now, it has been decided that the Pocker with the most points will win the grand and ultimate prize!

Ani-Pock will change it's name for one week to that of the winner's. Too bad I can't win, Ani-Kip had such a nice ring to it...

Anyway, here is the winner:

Drum roll please! Could it be you? Find out!

Winner!

Also, check out this important video from the internet tech show Infinite Solutions about changing your computer clocks for those who are affected by the new daylight savings time change.


Just because your computer says the right time doesn't mean your problem is solved!

Have a good April 1st everyone!