Sankaku Complex

AKB48′s latest “general election” sees sex scandal idol Rino Sashihara leading the pack even as the group’s creepy otaku fans have succeeded in driving their sales to record levels.

Louis Vuitton has followed up on its notorious Hatsune Miku outfit with a “life-size” (158cm) figure of her wearing the same ensemble.

Elaborate nail art may be a staple of girly Japanese fashion, but that has not stopped the vast majority of men quizzed about it reporting that they actually hate it – much to the consternation of nail salons throughout the land.

Held up as one of the “three sacred treasures of femininity” (alongside eyelash makeup and elaborately curled hair), nail art is regarded by many young Japanese women as an essential fashion accessory, and certainly ranks as one of their favoured blogging subjects.

The steady succession of hit anime the 2000-2013 period has yielded has again been subject to rankification – demonstrating once more that the tastes of fans still maintain some balance between A & B even over a 13 year period…

The ranking:

1. Neon Genesis Evangelion (Movie)

2. Shingeki no Kyojin

3. K-ON!

MoeNovel is preparing If My Heart Had Wings – the English edition of a visual novel about the not wholly unfamiliar theme of a male student and his wheelchair bound female companion who form a sky gliding club – as an all-ages version with high definition visuals, which is dated for arrival this June in both package and download form.

The trailer:

Sony’s PlayStation 4 is already being heralded as the victor of the 8th generation console war, as news of just how poor Microsoft’s Xbox One offering is have begun to sink in, with poor specs, a pathetically weak games line-up, excessive emphasis on TV rather than games, no backwards compatibility and no support for used games all combining to offer a massive boost to Sony’s share price.

The latest hardware comparison information, still not officially confirmed but widely believed to be correct based on earlier leaks:

Microsoft has finally unveiled the new Xbox, dubbed the Xbox One and due “later this year,” although with the better part of their presentation being given over to TV and EA Sports precious little of the actual game line-up was on show.

China watchers have been marvelling at a Guangzhou traffic crossing which gives pedestrians 5 seconds to dash across a 100m stretch of busy road…

The report:

One Piece mangaka Eiichiro Oda hospitalisation with a tonsil infection has caused the cancellation of at least two One Piece instalments, alarming many fans yet again.

With anime for fujoshi on the rise, fans found it necessary to create this ranking of the anime most loved by the fairer sex, but fore whatever reasons widely loathed or at least studiously ignored by most males.

The ranking:

1. Uta no Prince-sama – Maji Love 2000%

2. Project K

3. Kuroko’s Basketball

Even as GG introduces UE, BB is heading in the opposite direction with TV in the form of a full TV anime adaptation, to the general relief of fans – most of whom seem prepared to overlook the generally abysmal fate of fighting game to anime adaptations.

The latest entry into the Guilty Gear series has been revealed in the form of Guilty Gear Xrd, although the decision to introduce 3D to the traditionally hardcore 2D franchise by way of the Unreal Engine has caused something of an stir amongst the more purist fans…

The trailer:

Level 5 electromaster Mikoto Misaka is once again getting a figure, this time as a large 1/7 scale with shocking effects, by Griffon Enterprises and due this June.

The latest video exposé of the power of makeup in the hands of Japanese women has been circulating online to the usual howls of terror…

The first leaked glimpse of the movie adaptation of Tomodachi ga Sukunai – which even the author seems keen to disown – appears to have revealed its casting choices were even more misguided than had been feared.

Even a blurry long-distance shot of the production has set fans off, so it is anyone’s guess how they will react when full details of the cast emerge, already having made some abortive efforts to get it cancelled by way of a petition:

“Niku has black hair!?”

Long-time Macross Frontier favourite Sheryl Nome arrives in Nendoroid form, prepared for a performance this September, from none other than Good Smile Company.