Players of Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn have patiently been waiting for Patch 2.4. Originally announced at E3, the patch contains a new job class, rogue, which eventually can turn into a ninja. The patch also adds the ability for characters to marry regardless of race, nation or gender. The decision to allow same sex marriage was explained by the game’s producer Naoki Yoshida, who asked
“Why should there be restrictions on who pledges their love or friendship to each other? And so we decided to go this way”
To show their support the “Rough Trade Gaming Community” guild organized their own pride parade on the virtual world of Eorzea, dubbed “Pixel Pride”. Players arranged themselves by the color of their armor to create a giant walking rainbow. The event was also held in memorial for a guild member, who unfortunately was a victim of the recent Calgary Stabbings. Gay friendly choices are quickly becoming the norm for open world games such as Final Fantasy XIV. Check out the video for Pixel Pride below.
Montreal’s Fantasia International Film Festival welcomed its first day by screening a recently remastered version of Ghost in the Shell, a film originally released in 1995 by Oshii Mamoru and based off Shirow Masamune‘s manga of the same title. The director attended the festival and was awarded with the Lifetime Achievement Award to commemorate his amazing range of work.
Tickets for the movie sold out very soon after going on sale, and Oshii seemed surprised to see that the theatre was filled to the brim. Before the movie was screened, Oshii Mamoru held a question & answer session with the audience.
The final round for the audition ‘POP ICON PROJECT TOKYO’ was held in Tokyo late last year with the goal “to discover artists that transmit the charms of Japanese pop culture.” It was organized by internationally renowned fashion director Nicola Formichetti, a frequent collaborator with Lady Gaga and former artistic director for Mugler, with intent to debut the winners as a new girl group under Nippon Columbia.
The open audition brought in 2000 applicants which were then cut down to 55 for the first round, 13 for the final round and just three of them were selected as the winners.
The Japanese music scene has always received a great amount of attention from other countries. This attention is not only from fans, but from news outlets and celebrities as well. While many artists will perform a few shows here and there, female idols in particular have seen a steady increase of various overseas activities. Many different idol groups are popular at Japanese themed events, such as anime festivals, but they have not yet been successful in breaking into the actual American music market.
However, due to the impact and popularity of BABYMETAL‘s new music genre, “cute metal“, they have participated in a wider range of events. Just earlier this month, they have performed at a UK rock festival, Sonisphere. They are currently touring Europe and USA, then will continue to open a few shows for Lady Gaga and finally, perform at HEAVY MONTREAL, a metal festival.
The AKB48 family has also exported their groups overseas. At the moment, their sister groups include JKT48 from Indonesia, SNH48 from China and possibly TPE48 from Taiwan (though it’s presumed to be scrapped).
So, let’s explore the reasons as to why this expansion is happening right now. The Business Journal and CuteStrategy present 4 different points and analyses them from different angles.
As some of you may know, Japanese fashion brand Baby, the Stars Shine Bright, and alternative brand retailer Tokyo Rebel opened stores in New York earlier this week. Onlookers were surprised to see huge lines of fans dressed in their favorite brands waiting for hours to get into the opening events.
Behind the Scenes Info on the Failure! Adult AKB48 Member: “Past Band History, Husband’s Face Revealed on the Net”; Was Not Actually an Amateur
Tsukamoto Mariko (38), referred to as “Mariri” who as “Adult AKB48” became a limited time member, is being referred to as a failure among industry insiders. The behind-the-scenes-information about why she suddenly graduated is here:
ONE OK ROCK has released their music video for their latest single, ‘Mighty Long Fall‘. The song has a slightly different sound from their previous album, with vocoder effects on the vocals and a little bit of dubstep mixed in. The video retains the band’s usual dark atmosphere and also features CG effects, slow-motion scenes and undead enemies.
Check out the video below!
‘Mighty Long Fall/Decision‘ is a double A-side single with 3 tracks. It will release on July 30th. ‘Mighty Long Fall‘ can be purchased in advance from the iTunes Store worldwide.
- Mighty Long Fall (Theme song for “Rurouni Kenshin: Kyoto Inferno”)
- Decision (Theme song for ONE OK ROCK’s documentary film “FOOL COOL ROCK”)
- Pieces of Me
ONE OK ROCK will also hold a 2 day live in Yokohama Stadium on September 13th & 14th to commemorate the release of the single. Tickets will be available to purchase by the public from August 2nd.
Johnny’s Scandalous Confession Tape “Pregnancy, Abortion, Careless Tossing Away” Gets Publicized by Shuukan Bunshu! Morito Myuuto’s Story Recorded from Beginning to End!
According to her best friend “B-ko”, “A-ko” (20) was impregnated by Johnny’s Junior Morita Myuuto (18), as will be reported by tomorrow’s (7/24) Shuukan Bunshu.
