KrisZ on Anime, Manga, Cosplay and Video Games

Sega Sammy Corporation has just announced that the organization's Board of Directors approved a plan to implement structural reform in Sega Corporation. This is following a loss of 7.1 billion yen ($85.7 million dollars) for the fiscal year of 2011. According to the report released on March 30, 2012 the organization blamed the financial downturn and "significant changes in the home video game software market environment in the U.S. and Europe." The organization will be taking four major measures to ensure future profitability: streamline operations, reduction of titles, book impairment loss on work in process assets, and streamline process of inventory. Sega will streamline operations in North America and Europe, which means that the organization will be downsized and redundant positions will be removed. The organization is taking quick action, since there have been rumors circulating about heavy personnel changes in Sega of America. The organization will be reducing tit...

The videogame industry is a relatively young entertainment industry compared to other media. Since it originally started with the Magnavox Odyssey, the industry underwent extensive evolutions that fundamentally change it. Development centers have shifted from America to Japan, back to America again. The technology in the hardware have improved exponentially every generation. With the advent of the smartphone and the tablet, the gaming industry is headed to another huge shift that will completely change the environment. There are a variety of changes that is currently happening that will change the gaming environment forever including strong portable technology improvements, changes in the distribution channel and customer ownership, and a changing value of videogames as an entertainment medium. The world of gaming is changing around us and is moving to another shift that will fundamentally change your gaming experience. With the growth of smartphones and tablet computers, there is s...

Anime Conji 2012 Town and Country Resort March 16 -18, 2012 Specialization is a buzzword that is known in the world of business. This word is attributed to how an organization can find its niche and develop it well. Anime conventions when they first started were novelties that were far and few in between. Fast forward to now, where anime conventions have become so ubiquitous that it is not unusual to have several conventions running in a weekend. The number of conventions have increased so much that conventions have to find their specialization or niche that they get very good at doing. In Southern California, Anime Los Angeles has built a reputation as a very popular party convention. Anime Expo is known for its great guests of honor and for its massive size. Anime Conji has built a reputation as a great San Diego convention with one of the most beautiful venues in the con world. I started attending this convention last year, and 2012 marks my second year in Anime Conji, a conven...

Wondercon 2012 Anaheim Convention Center March 16-18, 2012 I have been attending conventions since 2004 with my first major convention being Anime Expo. Since then I have continued to attend Anime Expo while branching out into smaller anime conventions and comic conventions. Due to my prominent position in Anime Expo and my high profile in the convention world, I have slowly become associated with Anime Expo. It may surprise some people that I was a huge fan of comic books as much as I was a fan of anime and manga. Wondercon is one of the largest comic book conventions in the United States, and when it moved to Southern California, I had to go to this convention to see what all the buzz is about. Due to the scheduling of the convention on the same weekend as another beloved smaller anime convention, I had to split my time between the two conventions. Here is my convention report for Wondercon 2012 at the Anaheim Convention Center. Before I talk about my personal anecdotes about ...

USA Collector's Edition Cover When Hyperdimension Neptunia was initially announced, it intrigued people with its unique concept and sexy female characters. The game was a parody of the console wars and it had gaming companies and consoles represented by a personified character. Neptunia was released in the United States and Europe and it met NIS Americas expectations. With the success of the game in the West, Idea Factory and Compile Heart worked on an alternate universe release of the game that was meant to polish the game experience. The result was Hyperdimension Neptunia Mk2 , a game that fixes many major issues with the original game, but it also regresses on what made the original release so memorable. Hyperdimension Neptunia Mk2 game is not a straight sequel that its name implies; it is actually an alternate universe. The game takes the cast and cosmology of the original game and expands it in a different direction. Characters from the original game maintain their...

A common day for love all around the world is Valentine’s Day. It is a holiday where a person would give chocolate to the one that they love and confess their feelings. Across the world, this tradition is typically observed the same way, except for one part of the world, Japan. While sharing the same day as the rest of the world, Valentine ’s Day is slightly different in Japan, where men are given chocolate from a women. Then in March 14th, a man is obligated to give chocolate in return in a unique event known as “White Day.” In this short culture shock, I will explore how Valentine ’s Day differs from the West and this unique day known as White Day. On Februrary 14th, the people in Japan celebrate Valentine’s Day like the rest of the world. It differs from the rest of the world in that a chocolate is typically given to a man. There are three types of chocolate that is given to another person in Japan: giri choco, honmei choco, and tomo choco. Giri choco is chocolate that is given ...

One of the greatest Final Fantasy games ever made takes place in a steampunk world A story expands the world of the author in a variety of different ways. One of the popular methods is to tell a story of fiction or alternate history through the thematic elements of steampunk. This sub-genre involves a setting where steam power is widely used in machines in a fictional industrial world, or a world influenced by the Wild West or the Victorian era in England. In anime and comic conventions, steampunk has been growing in popularity as a cosplay outfit to wear. Curiously, while steampunk has strong traditions in western fiction, it has been thoroughly embraced by the Japanese fiction writers. I will explore steampunk and how it is popularly depicted in the Japanese media of anime, manga, and video games. The history of steampunk is a unique and long history of man’s fascination with steam-powered devices. Greeks were the earliest recorded people to consider the use steam power. Since...