Yep, it’s happened - Naruto has crossed the 200 episode mark in Japan, and it is still putting out filler. For those who are watching the excellent early episodes on Jetix at the mo it will be depressing to read but Naruto does slip in quality later on. The problem is the same as that which affects many long-running anime series - the story caught up with that of the manga it was based on. With no source material it has been treading water for some time, waiting until the manga has progressed far enough before returning to the original story. Unfortunately it has been doing this for about a year.

The most recent story arc hasn’t been too bad though. A mysterious old man had set up a string of traps and bombs around Naruto’s home town of Konoha before blowing himself up, or so it seemed. In fact the man had faked his death to commit a grand act of terrorism in revenge for a past injustice. All that stands in his way at the start of this episode is Naruto (shock!) but he is soon joined by his fellow classmates for an unforgiveably cheesy ending. Compared to a lot of the storylines since the anime veered from the manga’s storyline this one has been very good. There’s been a bit of intrigue and some clever plot devices used, as well as a lot of twists and tension. This episode closes the story arc satisfyingly but in a cringeworthily cheesy fashion - emphasising the power of friends, teamwork and nationalistic pride. I may be a cynic, but in my opinion the series has frequently done similar themes a lot better.

There is hope for the future though. Many have been praying for a return to the manga story, which has recently shifted the action three years into the future and has been superb throughout. The anime is shifting timeslots soon and an advert at the end of this episode promises a feature length TV special at the start of October. If this will prompt a return to the proper story only time will tell, but here’s hoping…

Naruto may have become clogged with filler but the same can’t be said for One Piece. Currently the anime is running the same storyline as the manga - albeit a fair few chapters behind - and is absolutely superb. (there are tonnes of spoilers coming i’m afraid!)

The crew of the Merry Go have had a fair few shocks and problems during this arc. Nico Robin, their most recent crewmember, has deserted them and gone into the clutches of CP9, the World Government’s shadowy black ops team. The Straw Hats aren’t going to let her go so easily though and persue her to the infamous judiciary island of Enis Lobby, a marine stronghold that stands before the ‘Gates of Justice’. This immense portal leads to her final destination, a prison from which Robin will never return. Aided by the cyborg Franky and his gang, Luffy and his crew have stormed the island and now face CP9 themselves. The group of deadly assassins boast unbelievable fighting skills and even Devil Fruit powers, and the Straw Hats will have to go further than ever before to have a chance of beating them.

However, with ‘only’ CP9 standing between the Straw Hats and Robin, CP9’s cowardly chief Spandine shows his trump card - a golden telesnail that will launch the deadly ‘Buster Call’. This revalation prompts a strong reaction in Robin, who remembers her the power of the Buster Call when it was used on her homeland years before.

The current episode continues to show these terrible events in Robin’s past. She remembers the marines tightening their grip on her homeland of Ohara, and the trauma that followed. Despite being just 8 years old at the time, Robin had become a talented archeologist. Unfortunately her curiosity caused her to stumble across secret research that the scholars of Ohara are conducting into the forbidden history known as the Void Cetury. Such research is banned by the World Government, who sent the Marines to put a stop to the research and completely annihilate the scholars, shattering poor Robin’s life in the process…but that will have to wait until next time. This episode closes with the drama at a massive peak, the fleets cannons have started firing, the scholars are under arrest and Robin’s estranged mother, who left when she was a toddler to research the Void Centry around the world, has returned - only to be caught by the Marines. Things are really going to explode in episode 277 - literally.

One Piece at the moment is brilliant, it’s filler period is behind it (for the time being at least) and I just can’t wait for the next episode!

From the makers of "American Pie", releases a new film (in stores on film & DVD, now) called "Waiting"

It's not too different from "American Pie". College, house parties, crude scenes & crude people but it's still as entertaining as expected.

It's an american, romantic comedy… It's turning sexual things into humor, which a lot of people fnd funny, these days. It's staring a group of young adults (18 - 21 years old) being utter perverts, just like American Pie… But again, like I said… That's what people enjoy watching and I myself found it really funny: I'm a lot of people reading this review would too.

If you enjoyed "American Pie", "Scary Movie" and/or "The Girl Next Door" you'll love this.

[youtube]HJEsNjH3JT8[/youtube] 

Sony has decided to slash the price of the PlayStation 3 by 20% when the long-awaited games console goes on sale in November.

The decision was prompted by concern that the PS3's original price tag of 62,790 yen (£284) would push gamers towards cheaper systems made by Microsoft and Nintendo.

The cheaper PS3, with a 20-gigabyte Hard Drive, will now cost ¥49,980 (£226) when it goes on sale in Japan on November 11, the company said.

In addition, a HDMI 1.3 output will feature on this model. Offering High Definition game play.

The announcement came days after Microsoft said it would sell its Xbox 360, which went on sale late last year, along with an external High Definition DVD player, for ¥49,600 from November 22.

Nintendo's Wii console will be out first in the US on November 19 and in Japan on December 2, priced at ¥25,000. The European launch will be in December 8 price £179.99 or €249.99.

Sony said the price change would apply only to PS3 consoles sold in Japan, which is a bit unfortunate for Americans and Europeans…

The price cut is welcome news for gamers frustrated by a series of problems that have delayed the release of the PS3, which will be the most powerful console on the market. It will not go on sale in Europe until March due to shortages of a key component for the Blu-Ray player, and Sony expects to ship only two million PS3s in Japan by the end of the year, instead of four million as originally planned.

Ken Kutaragi, head of Sony's Entertainment, said the decision had been made in response to complaints from consumers about the console's high price. "What is important is that we get more consoles sold to make up for the price cut, and get more game makers and chip makers in our camp," he said at the opening of the Tokyo Game Show on Friday (September 22).

"If people keep saying it is expensive, we may not be able to realise the dream that the PS3 is aiming for."

 
When you look at the past work from the developer of Genji, you should quite rightly feel in safe hands even if your knowledge of Genji is limited. Yoshiki Okamoto is the genius behind the likes of Onimusha, Devil May
Cry, Resident Evil and Street Fighter II, all wonderful games in their own right. And for the most part you are kept in safe hands, if only for a short while.

Genji is set in a very authentic ancient Japan, and the main focus point and backbone of the story is the Amahagne, the reason why all the conflict exists. These are powerful stones that gift the wearer God-like
powers. Of course with any clichéd story such as this, the bad guys (The Heishi) are seeking to become the most powerful force in the world, and can only do this by owning all the Amahagne stones.

(Read more…)

Comedian Ricky Gervais is to stop making his amusing podcasts, saying he wants to "knock it on the head for a while before everyone hates us".

The Ricky Gervais Show Podcasts, which also featured The Office and Extras co-writer Stephen Merchant and producer Karl Pilkington, were downloaded nearly eight million times.

In fact, it has become the most downloaded podcast ever. With an average of 261,670 downloads per episode.

Despite the success of the podcasts, Ricky has decided to end it once and for all. Before it gets to stale.

"It's getting ridiculous and someone has to make it stop," Gervais said.

"I was trying something out. I wanted to see if I could cut out the middle man and make podcasting a commercial concern. Karl never has to work again and I believe that maybe he won't," he added.

The show largely consisted of Gervais and Merchant teasing Pilkington for his idiotic ideas, including his regular Monkey News bulletin of stories about apes.

Expressing displeasure over the fact that the theme of Martial Arts movies is "always revenge," Chinese actor Jet Li has told the Los Angeles Times newspaper that he will no longer make such films.

Li made his remarks on the eve of the opening of his latest film, Fearless, about a Chinese martial arts master who died in 1910.

"In this movie and in my past three movies, I continue to say that violence is not any solution," Li told the LA Times.

He said that he had become concerned that the spirit of martial arts, wushu, had become lost in movies, especially when young people confronted him.

"On the street, I see a lot of young teenagers saying, 'Hey, Jet Li. Beat up somebody! Fight! Fight!" The true meaning of wushu, he said, is "stop fighting."

So, Mr Li what are you going to do next? 

Well, I went to this move. It's your typical "chick-flick" but for some reason I really enjoyed it. 

It's a disney film and a good amount of it is really cheesey yet enjoyable. The story line is also really cheesey but I think everybody who went to watch this movie with me thought it was good.

It's quite an emotional film, with actors who I haven't seen in any other film yet they don't overact it like most. It's a good family film to watch. I'd give it four out of five.

Genre: Romantic, Comdey, "Chick-Flick"

****[youtube]Ff7NLH8lG3s[/youtube]

This maybe the most ridiculous news you've ever heard of. But it seems that Polyphony Digital's driving simulation might be releasing a game without any cars or race tracks for the PlayStation 3.

No cars or circuits? That's the most important element in a racing game. What's the logic in creating a game without any vehicles to drive and race on?

It could be a rumour and I really hope it's not true. But according to an interview with Kazunori Yamauchi in Famitsu - the leading Japanese video game magazine - he has big plans involving micro transactions.

Gran Turismo HD will apparently be release in two different version. The first entitled 'Gran Turismo HD: Premium' appears to be nothing more than a demo of the proper game for the PS3, Gran Turismo 5. Thirty cars and two exciting tracks are rendered beautifully on the PlayStation 3 and this gives the impression of what the new Gran Turismo will be from Yamauchi - when the final version is release in 2008. Think of it as the Gran Turismo 4: Prologue. A sneak preview of the full game.

The second game is entitled 'Gran Turismo HD: Classic' and this is simply a High Resolution version of the PlayStation 2 game. The original feature hundreds and hundreds of cars to drive but with Classic, there is a difference…

Every car and every track will have to be purchased and downloaded from Sony's online network in order to play. The interview in Famitsu mentions a price of 50-100 yen per vehicle (or $0.43 - $0.85 in US Dollars) and 200 - 500 yen per track ($1.71 - $4.26 USD).

If you want to buy all the cars (around 750) and tracks (50), you will have to spend around $408! That's nearly the same price as the console you are playing it on!

Simply ridiculous in my opinion. Bad move by Sony and Polyphony Digital if this was the case. But is this all true?

A quote from Sony's Phil Harrison seems to match up with this story: "Imagine Gran Turismo shipping on a disc with one car and one track. And then you can browse, online, a dynamic circuit of vehicles that's growing every day because either the car manufacturers are adding new vehicles or we're adding new vehicles. And you can see a specific-type car that's being called up and say, 'I think I'll play with that one. Let me download and play it.'"

I reckon this quote was taken out of context and became the main focus of the story. Let's see if Sony confirms (seems unlikely) or denies it during the Toyko Game Show this week and consider if this has become the future of gaming with micro transaction.

Read the report here

 or Painting with light in motion.

Anyone has seen one of those shots of light in motion taken with long exposure on a camera .

They're eye catching, even impressing when you can luckily come up with a shape more complex than a circle ; ) 

But now to get those results, I guess it requires some serious skills and a lot of practice…^^

Those guys from PIKAPIKA   made it a real artistic media, and explore .

Takeshi says :

We took a photo of each image using long exposures and put them together to make them look like one animation.

To work on this project,we went out to various places in
Japan:parks,under the train track,the Tokyo Bay,school hallways,and so on.

They're now in Ottawa, to present  their movie , nominated for the Ottawa International Animation Festival.

Anyone can make some pictures like this (even not that good ; ) ), I'd love to see them. ^_^

Come on guys, start training , or you'll never be ready for Guy Fawkes Night  ; )