Saki has brought a very special attention to the game of mahjong and the anime’s popularity even boosted the number of players playing this traditional Chinese game.
With the launch of the brand new Saki mahjong video game, Saki Achiga-hen episode of Side-A Portable last August 2013, players can play mahjong at the comfort of their own PSPs. Now, an official Saki mahjong tournament will be held on November 17, 2013 using the video game as the platform and a very special entrant will participate.
Enter Yumi Uchiyama. You might know her as the voice of one of the anime’s main characters, Arata Sagimori. She will be entering the Saki-Saki Cup as part of a very special five-member team which includes the anime’s director Manabu Ono, producer Tomonori Shibata and other staff members from the anime.
Yumi Uchiyama fans better sharpen up their mahjong skills by November 17 or they may lose.
The tournament will be held in Pasera Resorts in Ginza and it will be a team competition with each team consisting of five members. Entrants must bring a copy of the Saki: Achiga-hen – Episode of Side-A volume 10 DVD or BluRay, a copy of the Saki Achiga-hen episode of Side-A Portable game software as well as their own PSP or PS Vita. There will be a 2,500 yen per team participation fee.
The original Mikoto Misaka wins Dengeki Bunko’s ‘A Certain Summer’ popularity poll as she beats out the surprisingly popular serial killer Jinsaku Hino for the top spot. Meanwhile, one of Mikoto’s clones, #10,032 takes the third seed while the Roman Catholic Pope, Mattahi Reese takes the fourth spot. Here are the complete results:
1. Misaka Mikoto
2. Hino Jinsaku
3. Misaka 10032
4. Pope (Matthai Reese)
5. Baba Yoshio
6. Laura Stuart (Archbishop)
7. Kihara Gensei
8. Saronia A. Irivika
9. Shokuhou Misaki
10. Mjölnir
11. Agnese Sanctis
12. Last Order
13. Accelerator
14. Eiker Lugoni
15. Hitotsui Hajime
16. Harzak Lolas
17. Kamijou Touma
18. Index
19. Kinuhata Saiai
20. The person who gives Group missions
21. Saten Ruiko
22. Leivinia Birdway (Birdway)
23. Frenda Seivelun
24. Meigo Arisa
25. Gekota
26. Musujime Awaki
27. Kakine Teitoku
28. Matthai Reese (Pope)
29. Itsuwa
30. Magical Powered Kanamin
31. Shirai Kuroko
32. Orsola Aquinas
33. Kuroyoru Umidori
34. Kiyama Harumi
35. Nunotaba Shinobu
36. Uiharu Kazari
37. Kanzaki Kaori
38. Lessar
39. White Beetle
40. Tsuchimikado Motoharu
41. Mugino Shizuri
42. Wannai Kinuho
43. Thor
44. Lancis
45. Hamazura Shiage
46. Sogiita Gunha
47. Aogami Pierce
48. Kongou Mitsuko
49. Othinus
50. Himegami Aisa
Mikoto who won the poll will be featured in a message card illustrated by series illustrator Kiyotaka Haimura along with a special message from series author Kazuma Kamachi himself. She already has her own spin-off series, A Certain Scientific Railgun which has proven to be extremely popular. Perhaps the recently concluded A Certain Scientific Railgun S has contributed to her win.
Hino Jinsaku on the other hand is a very surprising entrant and he has taken over the #2 spot. He first appeared on the Angel’s Fall arc in the light novels but was not featured in the anime. This may be the reason why fans of “A Certain” series voted for him.
A Certain Scientific Railgun S may have also attributed to #10,032 taking the #3 spot. Her crucial role in the anime made her even more endearing to the fans.
Another big surprise is that popular characters like Accelerator, Touma, Kuroko and Index did not even make it to the top 10. Perhaps fans are still fuming on Accelerator killing all those Misaka clones. But as this poll shows, one thing is for sure, “A Certain” series is still going strong.
Read more on your favorite anime and mangas here on SGCafe!
Fans may be facing a life without another Madoka Magica movie to look forward to, but they can at least keep track of their days with this handy themed planner.
Just in time for the release of the latest Madoka movie comes a bundle that fans can use to help keep track of how many days it’s been since Urobuchi broke their hearts last. The bundle features a planner, high-grade pen, some stickers and even a pen case to hold all your writing needs in.
The planner will span from October 2013 all the way to January 2015, giving you a chance to finish up 2013 in style and an extra month in 2014 to find a new one. The interior will feature a new original illustration for each month, with all of the magical girls present to greet you everyday. It also has a section to help you remember just why the girls decided to become magical girls.
A set of stickers featuring close-ups of Madoka, Homura, Mami, Syaka, Kyouko and Kyubey’s faces are also included should you need them on your notebooks or to seal a letter.
Ultimate Madoka has made her way into the set, where she adorns the high quality ball point pen.
If you’re afraid she might get hurt or lost in the line of duty, a pen case featuring several Kyubey and grief seeds is also bundled with the set.
The entire package retails for 1,950 yen, which is quite a bargain as a schedule book alone can sometimes go for 1,200 yen.
It’s that time of year once again when ghouls and goblins break break loose, vampires and vengeful spirits terrorize the streets and the dead rise. Yep, it’s Halloween once again and everybody seems excited for the annual fright night.
It’s no secret that the Japanese know horror. With classic hits like The Ring, The Grudge, One Missed Call, Audition and from way back in 1959, Gojira or Godzilla, the Japanese know how to get inside a person’s mind and scare the day lights out of them. But what about anime? We here at SGCafe have taken a look at five horror anime that you may want to watch this All Hallow’s Eve.
Yami Shibai: Japanese Ghost Stories
Yami Shibai, which literally means theater of darkness is a narrative look at Japan’s ghost stories. It mimics the traditional Japanese story-telling method known as Kami Shibai as the narrator tells stories based on scary rumors and urban legends all over Japan. You might not want to watch this one alone as some of their ghost stories are really scary. You can watch it via Crunchyroll
Another
One of 2012′s most highly rated anime, there is no doubt this series makes it to our list. It’s gripping story line about a cursed class where students and the people around them would often suffer gruesome deaths certainly struck a chord among die hard horror fans with its gripping and suspenseful tale as well as its gory, blood-spattered deaths. You can watch it via Cruncyroll
Hell Girl
Perhaps one of the most successful horror anime around, spanning three seasons and at least one death per episode, it has the hall marks of a true Japanese horror story from the vengeful spirit with a sad origin named Ai Enma to the psychological horrors her victims suffer as she drags them to hell. The story follows a mysterious website where you can immediately send someone you don’t like to hell, but there’s a price, when you die, you go to hell as well. You can watch this series via Crunchyroll
Shiki
Many have admitted having goosebumps while watching this anime and I don’t blame them as this anime made the hairs at the back of my neck stand. It is quite graphic and definitely not for the weak of heart. The story follows a young boy named Natsuno Yuuki who reluctantly moves to a small Japanese village called Sotoba. There, mysterious deaths occur to the people around him. You can watch this series via Funimation
Pupa
This anime just started airing earlier this month along with the rest of the Fall 2013 anime but it has already gotten into the radar of many horror fans, not just anime fans for its graphic and gory scenes. Like most of the anime in the list, it is not for the faint of heart as it depicts cannibalism and a whole lot of blood. It follows the Hasegawa siblings, Utsutsu and Yume (Not to be confused with that other pair of Hasegawa siblings from Haganai). One day, Yume sees a mysterious red butterfly and then, she undergoes a metamorphosis as she transforms into a man-eating monster. Here’s the trailer
So grab your popcorn, blankets and night lights and be sure to look around you because who knows? Maybe something is hiding behind you…
A spirit who eats humans, sound like a perfect match for Halloween right? Well, Griffon is now putting this mischievous spirit from Date A Live up for pre-orders today, October 31, 2013, Halloween.
Clad in her elegant gothic lolita dress, this 1/8 scale PVC figure of Kurumi Tokisaki measures in at approximately 21cm and is sculpted by Kaoru Sakaki. The innocent look this figure gives truly hides the horrors she can unleash.
1/8 scale Kurumi Tokisaki is scheduled for release late December 2013 and is now available for pre-orders via Hobby Search for 10,260 yen.
The witch of the swamp Metallica certainly has her hands full with dealing with the witch of the forest — even if she has the help of the mythical Hundred Knight. This unlikely heroine comes in dressed for battle along with the Hundred Knight (“Hyakkihei” in Japanese). She is sculpted by Shikito Murasaki and Sisiro and stands in at approximately 200mm in height.
1/8 scale Precious Collection Metallica is scheduled for release January 2014 and is now available for pre-orders via Hobby Search for 10,200 yen.
Calling all fashionistas and Japanese food lovers!
Come on down to multi-label concept store, JRunway, at Plaza Singapura tomorrow evning (starts at 6.30PM) for a very special one-night-only Oishii! X Jrunway event, where you’ll get to learn more about Japanese sweets, sake, and fashion with your host, FLY Entertainment artiste Oon Shu An, and JRunway’s very own JStar finalists.
But don’t come at 6.30PM sharp — you’ll want to be there early, for only the first 100 guests will get to sample the two main items that will be introduced at the event: the Ozeki Hanaawaka, which is an award-winning sparkling sake (you’ll need to be at least 18-years-old to participate in the tasting); and the Matcha Castella, a green-tea-flavoured Japanese-style cake.
On top of that, the first 100 attendees will also receive goodie bags containing exclusive vouchers and coupons from JRunway, Peony Nail Salon, and pact+LIM.
Even if you won’t be able to come down to JRunway early, do make your way down nevertheless as there will also be a lucky draw, and a brief talk session where Shu An and the JStar finalists will share their thoughts on Japanese cuisine, culture and fashion.
Lucky Draw prizes
Prize A: $100 JRunway voucher
Prize B: Free Cut & Color session at pact+LIM hair salon in Orchard Central
Prize C: Free Gelish Nail Session at Peony Nail Tokyo
Prize D: 1 bottle of sake for 5 winners
Prize E: Yokan jelly for 4 winners
Oishii! X JRunway Event Details
Date: 1st November 2013
Time: 6.30 PM
Venue: JRunway
68 Orchard Road, Plaza Singapura
#01-54, Singapore 238839
Hosted by JRunway in collaboration with Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries & Forestry (MAFF), Oishii! X JRunway is part of the Celebrate Japanese Cuisine and Culture campaign, which aims to promote Japanese cuisine and culture in Singapore through a series of trade and consumer events, such as the recently-held Oishii Japan.
You can play as either Eren Jaeger or your own original character which of course can be customized to your preferences.
Playing as Eren lets you battle the titans with your 3D Maneuver Gear. You can aim for the legs to throw the titans off balance or you can finish them off by cutting out the nape of their neck.
And of course, being Eren means you can transform into his titan form. Once transformed, you can fight these monsters on equal terms. You can squash those pesky 9 meter classes with your foor or you can fight the larger ones hand-to-hand.
As mentioned earlier, you can have your own customized character which can take on a large amount of missions in World Mode. New missions can be unlocked as you clear previous ones. You can also customize your characters stats and skills just like most RPG games.
The game is being developed by Spike Chunsoft and is scheduled to hit the video game shelves December 5 in Japan.
Saying that Eiichiro Oda’s One Piece manga is extremely popular would be a complete understatement as the beloved shounen manga series has now reached yet another milestone — 300 million copies sold.
Arrr, that’s right lads and lassies, the straw hat pirates have sold that much manga since 1997 and to celebrate, Shueisha, publishers of Weekly Shounen Jump have announced that One Piece will be “jacking” newspapers across 47 prefectures all over Japan, by running a full-page, full-colour advert in these newspapers, as part of a “San Oku Thanx” campaign.
“San Oku” literally means 300,000,000 in Japanese. But when you replace the “o” in “oku” with the Straw Hats’ Pirates logo, like in the image below, you could also read the wordings as “Sanku”, which sounds like “Sankyuu” — the way that the Japanese pronounce “thank you”. So that answers the question why they’re celebrating the 300,000,000 milestone.
For a period of 20 days starting November 1, 2013, full-colored ads will be distributed. These ads will feature One Piece characters along with the attractions and specialties of each of the 47 Japanese prefectures these newspapers will be distributed in.
Part of the celebrations is a T-shirt design collaboration which will feature a design contest which should include the attractions of the prefecture as well as One Piece characters.
November 1: Aomori and Hokkaido
November 2: Iwate and Akita
November 3: Miyagi and Yamagata
November 4: Fukushima
November 5: Ibaraki, Saitama, Chiba and Kanagawa
November 6: Tochigi and Gunma
November 7: Yamanashi
November 8: Shizuoka and Nagano
November 9: Niigita and Aichi
November 10: Gifu
November 12: Fukui, Toyama and Ishikawa
November 13: Kyoto, Osaka, Shiga and Wakayama
November 14: Nara and Mie
November 15: Hyogo
November 16: Okayama, Hiroshima and Tottori
November 17: Shimane, Yamaguchi and Kagawa
November 18: Tokushima, Ehime and Kochi
November 19: Fukuoka, Saga, Nagasaki and Kumamoto
November 20: Oita, Miyazaki, Kagoshima and Okinawa
![10249297a 333x500 [New PVC Figure] Homicidal spirit Kurumi Tokisaki from Date A Live a perfect pre order this Halloween](http://images.sgcafe.net/2013/10/10249297a.jpg "[New PVC Figure] Homicidal spirit Kurumi Tokisaki from Date A Live a perfect pre order this Halloween")
![10249297a3 333x500 [New PVC Figure] Homicidal spirit Kurumi Tokisaki from Date A Live a perfect pre order this Halloween](http://images.sgcafe.net/2013/10/10249297a3.jpg "[New PVC Figure] Homicidal spirit Kurumi Tokisaki from Date A Live a perfect pre order this Halloween")
![10249297a4 333x500 [New PVC Figure] Homicidal spirit Kurumi Tokisaki from Date A Live a perfect pre order this Halloween](http://images.sgcafe.net/2013/10/10249297a4.jpg "[New PVC Figure] Homicidal spirit Kurumi Tokisaki from Date A Live a perfect pre order this Halloween")
![10249297a7 500x333 [New PVC Figure] Homicidal spirit Kurumi Tokisaki from Date A Live a perfect pre order this Halloween](http://images.sgcafe.net/2013/10/10249297a7.jpg "[New PVC Figure] Homicidal spirit Kurumi Tokisaki from Date A Live a perfect pre order this Halloween")
![10249297a9 333x500 [New PVC Figure] Homicidal spirit Kurumi Tokisaki from Date A Live a perfect pre order this Halloween](http://images.sgcafe.net/2013/10/10249297a9.jpg "[New PVC Figure] Homicidal spirit Kurumi Tokisaki from Date A Live a perfect pre order this Halloween")
![10249297a11 333x500 [New PVC Figure] Homicidal spirit Kurumi Tokisaki from Date A Live a perfect pre order this Halloween](http://images.sgcafe.net/2013/10/10249297a11.jpg "[New PVC Figure] Homicidal spirit Kurumi Tokisaki from Date A Live a perfect pre order this Halloween")
![10249297a13 500x333 [New PVC Figure] Homicidal spirit Kurumi Tokisaki from Date A Live a perfect pre order this Halloween](http://images.sgcafe.net/2013/10/10249297a13.jpg "[New PVC Figure] Homicidal spirit Kurumi Tokisaki from Date A Live a perfect pre order this Halloween")
![10249292a12 370x500 [New PVC Figure] Metallica from The Witch and the Hundred Knights](http://images.sgcafe.net/2013/10/10249292a12.jpg "[New PVC Figure] Metallica from The Witch and the Hundred Knights")
![10249292a 333x500 [New PVC Figure] Metallica from The Witch and the Hundred Knights](http://images.sgcafe.net/2013/10/10249292a.jpg "[New PVC Figure] Metallica from The Witch and the Hundred Knights")
![10249292a3 333x500 [New PVC Figure] Metallica from The Witch and the Hundred Knights](http://images.sgcafe.net/2013/10/10249292a3.jpg "[New PVC Figure] Metallica from The Witch and the Hundred Knights")
![10249292a4 333x500 [New PVC Figure] Metallica from The Witch and the Hundred Knights](http://images.sgcafe.net/2013/10/10249292a4.jpg "[New PVC Figure] Metallica from The Witch and the Hundred Knights")
![10249292a6 500x333 [New PVC Figure] Metallica from The Witch and the Hundred Knights](http://images.sgcafe.net/2013/10/10249292a6.jpg "[New PVC Figure] Metallica from The Witch and the Hundred Knights")
![10249292a8 500x333 [New PVC Figure] Metallica from The Witch and the Hundred Knights](http://images.sgcafe.net/2013/10/10249292a8.jpg "[New PVC Figure] Metallica from The Witch and the Hundred Knights")
![10249292a9 500x333 [New PVC Figure] Metallica from The Witch and the Hundred Knights](http://images.sgcafe.net/2013/10/10249292a9.jpg "[New PVC Figure] Metallica from The Witch and the Hundred Knights")
![10249292a10 500x333 [New PVC Figure] Metallica from The Witch and the Hundred Knights](http://images.sgcafe.net/2013/10/10249292a10.jpg "[New PVC Figure] Metallica from The Witch and the Hundred Knights")
![10249292b 500x333 [New PVC Figure] Metallica from The Witch and the Hundred Knights](http://images.sgcafe.net/2013/10/10249292b.jpg "[New PVC Figure] Metallica from The Witch and the Hundred Knights")
![shu an 150x150 Oishii! X JRunway: discover Japanese sweets, sake & fasion with FLY Entertainments Oon Shu An [Nov 1]](http://images.sgcafe.net/2013/10/shu-an.jpg "Oishii! X JRunway: discover Japanese sweets, sake & fasion with FLY Entertainments Oon Shu An [Nov 1]")
![jstar finalists 150x150 Oishii! X JRunway: discover Japanese sweets, sake & fasion with FLY Entertainments Oon Shu An [Nov 1]](http://images.sgcafe.net/2013/10/jstar-finalists.png "Oishii! X JRunway: discover Japanese sweets, sake & fasion with FLY Entertainments Oon Shu An [Nov 1]")
![hana awaka sake 150x150 Oishii! X JRunway: discover Japanese sweets, sake & fasion with FLY Entertainments Oon Shu An [Nov 1]](http://images.sgcafe.net/2013/10/hana-awaka-sake.gif "Oishii! X JRunway: discover Japanese sweets, sake & fasion with FLY Entertainments Oon Shu An [Nov 1]")
![matcha castella 150x150 Oishii! X JRunway: discover Japanese sweets, sake & fasion with FLY Entertainments Oon Shu An [Nov 1]](http://images.sgcafe.net/2013/10/matcha-castella.jpg "Oishii! X JRunway: discover Japanese sweets, sake & fasion with FLY Entertainments Oon Shu An [Nov 1]")
![jrunway top 640x381 Oishii! X JRunway: discover Japanese sweets, sake & fasion with FLY Entertainments Oon Shu An [Nov 1]](http://images.sgcafe.net/2013/10/jrunway-top.png "Oishii! X JRunway: discover Japanese sweets, sake & fasion with FLY Entertainments Oon Shu An [Nov 1]")
