The Sushi Diet

For the past few weeks I've improved my health by switching to an almost all sushi diet. There are three reasons why I did this. One, like any otaku I'm crazy for anything Japan related; two, I'll be marrying into a Japanese family so I better get to like it and three, I needed to improve my diet. For at least a year now I've been getting recurring migraine headaches. This is due to the stress of still having a mindless boss over me (but not for long ^_^) and due to past abuses to my body with all the places people had me travel to while working a mindless job. I got into the nasty habit that many American's get into in which we eat only one or two times in the day and almost all of it is fast food. First off, I never got fat thankfully. My genes apparently blessed me with hyper metabolism but that didn't stop symptoms like fatigue, headache and overall sick feeling. I do own a health company so I use the vitamins and very healthy sugar-free anime-style energy drinks. These do help but my main meals were few and contradicted the very healthy stuff I was putting into my body. Subway was a bit of help but still not enough. Then three weeks ago I started to buy sushi from the local restaurant near my 9-5 slave plantation..I mean job. Since them I've been eating sushi and even making my own to save money (more on that in a future post). Eating mainly sushi and maki rolls has improved my mood, gave me more energy, helped improve the performance of my vitamins and stopped my migraines. Now I'm no doctor and everybody's health is different but maybe there is a reason why the healthiest people on the planet eat like this.

If you have any good or bad sushi stories post here and also let me know your favorite type of sushi or maki roll. My favorites are shrimp tempura roll and crazy roll for example.

Final Fantasy Crisis Core, Your Reason To Buy a PSP

Was able to snag my own copy of Final Fantasy Crisis Core a day before release and the hype is very much true. I will do a full game review after I complete it but many gamers have already stated their love for it. Arguably it's even better than many of the pure numbered Final Fantasy series based on a number of gaming mag reviews and from fellow otaku and gamers. I got the guide too and there's a lot to do.
Also, in case some of you didn't know, the main bad guy, Genesis was in the secret ending to Dirge of Cerberus taking away his "brother" Weiss. For any Final Fantasy VII fan this is really exciting news since that means there will be a sequel to Dirge of Cerberus! (hopefully for the Playstation 3). Rumor has it the title will be "Endless Crisis" but none of that is official. On top of that, many fans now want the original FFVII to get a PS3 face lift. Either way you cut it, FFVII fans have a lot to look forward to. Enjoy this game for there is more on the way!
Check out more info at crisiscore.com

EA To Transform Their Gaming Market

Some interesting video game news thanks to, of all sites, BusinessWeek. It appears that EA (Electronic Arts) is planning on taking some new approaches in their videogame marketing. It basically appears that they are going to do what many of the Japanese game companies do and spread their new titles to many different forms of entertainment. They urged workers to come up with some new ideas for their games. EA has made some simply great games, of which Skate is currently on my playlist but when it comes to making the games, I'd prefer to work with them and come up with gaming concepts to sell to them rather than work for them. This is due to both the fact that I just can't have a boss over me and let's not forget their track record for giving developers treacherous triple shifts to meet deadline. You sure see the quality in their work though. Hope it works out well and gets the gaming industry yet another year with more sales above the movie industry.

Dog Prays at a Shinto Shrine in Japan

Naha, Japan has a cute tourist attraction. At the Shuri Kannondo Shrine a little black and white Chihuahua named Conan has been taught to sit and pray with his master. actually, conan just mimicked him. His master now is going to teach him to meditate ^_^. Check it out of the whole story here at CNN.

Horton Hears A Who Anime Scene

Yesterday I got a chance to see the new Horton Hears a Who Movie and I'll have to say that it was the best G rated movie I've ever scene and one of the best overall! My favorite scene as you can guess is the quick animeish cutscene they did. Go search for it on youtube or just simply go out and see the movie. The scene is that of Horton pretending to be a ninja and yes, as the picture shows, he's doing a DBZ style Kamehameha. The scene and the whole movie is funny. If you haven't seen it yet, go see it. I definitely recommend it.

The Dollar is Less than 100 Yen...Japan Tender Looking Sweeter

It appears that we might have to start converting our dollars to Yen the way things are with the American economy lately. The greenback is now worth 95 yen and if I'm not mistaken... only a few years ago it was about 140 yen to $1. If any of you otaku keep up with economic news, the Federal Reserve once again cut interest rates due to Bear Stern's fall in liquid assets. In layman's terms, the US central bank added more money to the system to prevent investors to sell their stocks like a bunch of crazy store liquidators which would have lowered the stock market. All lowering the interest rate does is keep wall street happy in a fake sense of accomplishment. For the rest of the country, it means that the dollar, as you see, lost more value since there is more "fake" money in the system. This raises gas prices and causes everything to get more expensive therefore hurting everyone else. To be honest, I'd say abolish the central bank, back the dollar by gold and have banks be responsible for their mistakes so we all can continue to grow as technology makes it that every person counts now.
Anyways, I think I'm going to stash a few yen when Danielle and I go on our Japan honeymoon in a year or two from now becuase by then it'd be worth more than the dollar at this rate.

Ikkitousen Kanu Unchou Dragon Destiny Figure

Here's an extra treat for today. Here's some pics of the best Kanu figure to date. This one is not available in the states nor is it ready for pre-order as of this post but once it is, you can bet I'll snag one for myself. This is a work of art in all aspects and in price. At about 20000 yen or roughly $190, she'll cost a bit. Thanks to Danny Choo for originally posting about this amazing piece.

Huge US Anime Figure Release...and More

Hi everyone! Really sorry for the delay in messages. This post will explain a bit why. As of a few days back my anime dealers just noted to me that a huge range of high anticipated figures came out for the US market. These figures include the Freeing Haruhi Bunny figure, Freeing Mikuru figure, the new Figma Yuki Nagato figure, El Cazador de la Bruja Nadie figure, the new Yamashita Petra figure..... you get the picture. Its March Madness if you own an anime biz like I do so I've been busy 0_o.... Also I still work a 9-5 job on a part-time basis (hopefully gone for good by Sept ^_^) and lets not forget my health marketing company that's soon to release a revolutionary water drink that can basically the closest thing to a Final Fantasy Elixir in all respects (no joke). For the meantime, check out these pics of the newest figures to arrive in the USA and expect to see updates in the store too.

Ikki Tousen Sonsaku Hakufu Cerberus Figure

Here's a great Ikkitousen figure; the Black dressed Sonsaku Hakufu Cerberus figure by UART. This recently arrived in my store this week and I its worth talking about. This figure of course looks great from every angle and is actually rather large. The box is about 14 inches long and the figure is roughly 9-10 inches tall. I wasn't able to keep any that I got in my first shipment since they sold so fast. The pictures you see are the stock photos and I'll gladly do some pics of my own once I can snag one. If you are a fan of Sonsaku, this figure won't disappoint. From what I can tell this is not a cast-off figure but that doesn't matter. There's a bit of fan service in this one from certain angels if you are into that. As you can see from the pictures, the figure looks smooth and fine-tuned, just simply great detail. The only negative I can find might be her teeth. Her eyes, face and body are definitely Sonsaku and thus will be on my display some time soon.

Disney and Madhouse To Make Lilo & Stitch Spinoff

Madhouse has gained themselves yet another deal in American animation. As of Thursday Anime News Network announced that Disney is set to create a spin-off of Lilo and Stitch but this time using the help of Madhouse anime studios. For those of you that might not know much about Madhouse, they are responsible for some of the biggest hits in anime and even here on the American coast too. Past works by Madhouse include Ninja Scroll, Death Note, Last Order: Final Fantasy VII and the ultra hilarious Boondocks. It might actually be a Disney sequel/spin-off worth watching since lets admit it, many of those recent sequels where not the best of Disney's work. Disney started what anime perfected and now more and more the original teacher is taking notes from its past students.

Dragon Ball Movie Delayed Till April 09

Can it be true? It appears that the Dragon Ball movie that was set for an August 2008 release will now be pushed back to April 2009. Was starting to fear this since there was no trailer yet. This could be a good thing so they can fine tune the film. Lots of big names are in this film so who knows who might be next on the cast. Speaking of which, P. Diddy recently was rumored to be signing up for a role in an action film. Which up-coming movie has yet to be noted but it could actually be this one. That though is strictly a rumor left for discussion. More info at Anime News Network.

Vanessa Mae, The Ultimate Violin Player

My lovely fiancee Danielle recently showed me the works of the lady you see above; Vanessa Mae. Couldn't go without blogging about this extremely talented violinist. Many of you probably already know her and don't need an intro from me. Her music is a stunning mix of fast violin playing and techno music. People who are familiar with my AMVs know Euro techno is my music of choice (Right now di.fm's Euro Dance stream is blazing in my room.) So I simply love this stuff.
Many of you otaku will appreciate this so I placed a video of hers below via youtube and user paganini123. Vanessa worked on the music for Disney's Mulan along with many other gigs. For those otaku who don't know, she also did the Sailor Moon Medley which I bet is now running through your head. Check out her other videos too; unlike many techno song videos which just beg us to make AMVs since they are so horrible, hers are just as artistic as the music played....but an AMV done by me of one of these songs may be a possibility ^_~.

Street Fighter 4 Demo Video

If you are like me and used to play Street Fighter 2 back in the arcades in the early 90's or just a fighting game buff in general you have to be psyched about Street Fighter 4 coming out. Originally the first clips of the game showed the sick trailer with the new "ink-styled" animation and then just Ryu and Ken fighting. Now more characters have been added to the list like Guile, E. Honda and my personal favorite, Chun-Li. Just check out this amazing video below or click here if you can see it. Thanks to YouTube user MasterBigode and DannyChoo for this one.

Tifa Lockhart Version II Resin Figure

Got some more Tifa goodness for you all. Since 2002 I've had the luxury of having this Tifa figure as the centerpiece above my computer here before me. This one is the version II model that came out all the way in 1997 and is in my opinion the best looking Tifa figure to date. The thing about it, is that it is made of resin which compared to PVC is much more fragile. I recently purchased the Aeris (Aerith) model from the same line but she died... I mean got busted along the way because of how fragile resin can be. Above and below you can see pictures I took with a photo tent and my Kodak Easyshare camera. Expect a figure gallery section soon that will show off some of the figures I kept for myself. This one and Mirei being my favs. I also have just took pictures of the resin Yuffie figure that stands right next to Tifa on top o f the computer desk. That'll be for a future post.

Also, I do promise to make better pictures than these. They are ok but can be much better.

Cartoon Network to Run Blue Dragon

Some of you might be familiar with the Xbox game Blue Dragon; I've yet to play it but many otaku have two strong reasons to play it. First reason is that the game's character designer as you can guess is non other than Akira Toriyama; a quick look at the picture above and you'll easily tell. Secondly, the music composer for this game is the legendary Final Fantasy composer, Nobuo Uematsu. A combination like that really can't go wrong so I'm eager to pick up the game now. As one can expect, there has been an anime series based on the game that's been running in Japan since April 2007 and as of yesterday it was announced that Cartoon Network will run the series with Viz taking the helm...so expect some good voice actors for this one. For all those who are eager to see more from the DBZ creator, this is the chance to. It's set to be on the air here in April 08. More info at the Anime News Network

Yamashita's Arisa Figure To Get An Encore

Shunya Yamashita's Arisa figure was a huge hit here in the US and in Japan. It's become very tough for even anime store owners like me to get one. Good news is that Yamato is making a new Arisa in the form of a color variant. She won't be out in the US until late July or so. Which Arisa do you like better? The first one or the newer one? More on her here.

Final Fantasy VII 7 CG Tifa Lockhart Wallpaper

(2/12/2014 Edit: Here's a few, better wallpapers, these at 1920x1080 )

Here's a little treat for you guys. I came across this amazing photo of Tifa Lockhart. It's how she looked during the Final Fantasy VII game but with the Advent Children graphics. I was only able to find a 400 x 300 pixel image and god knows I wanted it as a wall paper so I photoshoped the pic to add on some more width to it. If anyone is of course able to find a more clearer version of this picture, I'd love to have it. I believe I'm the first to make it a wallpaper and if anyone wants to modify it more go right ahead. This is why I kept it simple. Tifa is by far my favorite character of all time and this image is hopefully a glimpse of what we might see if Square-Enix makes a Final Fantasy VII for PS3. Be sure to click the picture to get the full 1024 x 768 wallpaper. As for those that have a bigger screen, had to go with the still current majority resolution. Check out more of Tifa here.