Sentai Filmworks is premiering the sci-fi romance anime film ‘The Tunnel to Summer, the Exit of Goodbyes’ in American theaters for a limited run on November 3, 2023. They have also announced that they are producing an English dubbed version and released a trailer to promote it.
“Kaoru Touno’s family is falling apart. After the death of a sibling and his parents’ divorce, he no longer feels any peace at home. Following a heated confrontation with his father, Kaoru runs out of his house and finds himself before a mysterious tunnel, which pulls him in. Bewildered by what he sees inside, he rushes to the exit, picking up a bird that looks identical to his deceased pet on his way out.
Upon emerging outside, Kaoru realizes that, despite him spending just a few minutes inside the tunnel, an entire week has passed. The bizarre experience leads him to remember the rumors of “Urashima Tunnel”—a passage that grants wishes in exchange for one’s lifespan. Given the resurrection of his pet bird, Kaoru cannot help but wonder if another visit can help fix his messed up life.
However, when he returns to the entrance of the mysterious tunnel, Kaoru realizes that he has been followed by Anzu Hanashiro, a new transfer student in his class. She also knows about the rumors and asks him to help her with an experiment—it turns out that she, too, has a wish that only the tunnel can grant.”
The film is based on a light novel series written by Japanese author Mei Hachimoku.
Fresh Monkey Fiction is expanding the Naughty or Nice action figure line beyond the realm of Santa Claus. The holiday-themed action figures will soon include Halloween characters. Of course, we have to start with pumpkin heads.
Petor, Patch, and the Hauntlings will kick off this first wave of The Bizarre World of Naughty or Nice. Like the Christmas counterparts, the figures are overflowing with theming and accessories.
“In a quaint village, nestled between mist-covered hills, lived two peculiar brothers named Petor and Patch Pumpkin. Their heads were carved from enchanted pumpkins, which glowed with a warm, otherworldly light. Every Halloween night, the brothers embarked on their special mission.“
Like the otherNaughty or Nice action figures we’ve covered, Fresh Monkey Fiction needs a certain number pre-ordered from the Big Bad Toy Store before they go into production. As of the time of writing this, Petor and Patch are close to the halfway point. Each figure needs a minimum of 500 pre-orders. The smaller Hauntlings are well below that point.
Patch and Petor are 6.5″ tall and feature 20+ points of articulation and various accessories. The main characters are $36.99 each.
The Hauntlings are 4″ tall but only have 5 points of articulation. Due to their size and simplified details, these guys are only $19.99.
The upcoming fantasy anime film ‘The Concierge at Hokkyoku Department Store’ is set to be released in Japanese theaters on October 20, 2023, but it will debut in the United States in 2024.
“Welcome in! Crunchyroll has officially announced it has acquired the rights to The Concierge, the latest anime movie from PRODUCTION I.G (PSYCHO-PASS) in North America, teaming up with Sony Pictures Entertainment to release the film in 2024,” Crunchyroll reported on their website.
They said, “The Concierge is an adaptation of The Concierge at Hokkyoku Department Store from Tsuchika Nishimura. The story centers around Akino, a concierge-in-training in a store with a unique customer base — animals, of which extinct species are held in the highest regard.”
Aniplex will distribute the film to Japanese cinemas.
“Directed by Yoshimi Itazu (Welcome to the Ballroom) at PRODUCTION I.G, The Concierge stars Natsumi Kawaida (Diary of Our Days at the Breakwater) as Akino, Takeo Otsuka (Oshi no Ko) as Elulu and Kenhiro Tsuda (JUJUTSU KAISEN) as Woolly,” Crunchyroll continued.
You can watch the trailer below:
The Concierge at Hokkyoku Department Store’ won the Silver Audience Award for Best Animated Feature at the 27th Fantasia International Film Festival.
“That’s just one of the demanding rules that Akino must abide by in her new job as a saleswoman at the elegant and expansive Hokkyoku Department Store. It’s a very special store — the customers are all animals, and the most valued among them are of extinct species. Sea minks, laughing owls, Japanese wolves, even an enormous mammoth — that’s Mr. Woolly, the celebrated sculptor whose works are showcased at the store. It’s still a luxury retail space, though, and anxious Akino finds her hands full with the customers’ challenging requests. These range from hard-to-find merchandise to more complicated matters of the heart. Can the inexperienced Akino fulfill their whims and meet their expectations? If she wants to keep her job, she’ll have to succeed while under constant observation by the fussy floor manager Mr. Toudou, a creepy consultant eager to downsize the staff, and the store’s enigmatic president (who is not a penguin, by the way!).”
The movie had its premiere at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival.
The 1974 sci-fi anime ‘Chargeman Ken’ is notorious among fans for “being so bad it’s good.” While its popularity waned over time, it was rediscovered in the twenty-first century and has since become a cult classic. Discotek Media plans on releasing the entire series on Blu-ray for the first time in the United States.
Created by Eiji Tanaka and Tetsuji Suzukawa, the Japanese animation studio Knack Productions (now ICHI Corporation) released all sixty-five episodes which were directed by Noboru Miura. The score was handled by Kunio Miyauchi and the episodes were written by Masaaki Wakuda, Toyohiro Andō, and Yoshio Tamado.
Discotek plans on releasing the Blu-ray on November 28, 2023, though it is currently available for pre-order on the Right Stuf Anime website.
You can take a look at the DVD box set below:
The series stars Setsuko Takemoto, Fuyuki Takahashi, Kiyoshi Kawanishi, Yuki Aida, and Noboru Sato.
“It is the year 2074. In a world threatened by aliens… an unlikely hero emerges! Ken Izumi may look like an ordinary 10-year-old boy, but he secretly possesses weapons, armor, and accessories that transform him into the superheroic Chargeman Ken. Ken protects his mom, dad, little sister Caron, robot pal Barican, and the rest of mankind from the diabolical Juralians, shape-shifting alien invaders bent on terrorizing the earth with flesh-eating butterflies, booby-trapped scientists, an evil doll, a prison break, alien mummies, a kid that sets stuff on fire, a song that makes you die… basically, they have about 65 plans for world domination.
The only thing standing between the fragile human race and conquest by the Juralians is Chargeman Ken and his unquenchable thirst for fiery, atomic justice!”
The Japanese publisher Tokuma Shoten released a manga version in 1974, followed by a second edition from Akita Shoten.
Call of Duty is once again revisiting familiar territory with the upcoming release of the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III remake. And while the full game, campaign and all, will be out in November 2023, eager players who want to get their multiplayer fix got a chance to hop online with the early access beta and play Modern Warfare 3 standard multiplayer games. For some, it might feel like whiplash to jump into Call of Duty multiplayer after playing Warzone for so long, but for others, it will feel like revisiting home. Despite this Call of Duty being a remake, however, you shouldn’t expect a lot of differences from what you may already know from the original game. That includes everything you loved about it, and everything you may have hated about it too.
Call of Duty multiplayer can be frantic and frustrating at times, often depending on how you’re winning or losing. If you had the chance to play Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 multiplayer back in the day, you’ll already be familiar with the maps game modes included with the online beta. But unlock that version of the game, everything about the pre-game lobby and menus is designed like more recent games in the series, particularly Call of Duty Warzone. You can still customize your loadouts and player card, although the options in the beta are limited for the moment.
For weapons, there’s a good amount of guns and equipment, but you have even more options to try out beyond that. Choosing which gloves, boots, and extra equipment gives you additional perks that you don’t get from weapons, which can further boost your emphasis on attributes like mobility, endurance, and even highlighting enemy equipment. It’s a good way to tinker with your character further and be unique among the rest of the lobby. How far it goes is entirely dependent on your skill level and actions in a matchup, but there are plenty of options to unlock and experiment with as you play.
For the beta, there are three main maps for the Mosh Pit playlist, which include Estate, Skidrow, and Rust. Mosh Pit has your standard Team Deathmatch, Kill Confirmed, Domination, and Hardpoint game types. For just about anyone, this will be the playlist you spend the most time in with the beta, as it’s the multiplayer mayhem you know very well.
The Ground War playlist has one large map, the Popov Power Plant, that puts many players into one big battle. In Ground War, you struggle for control of key points and assist your team with spawn points, which can get pretty intense as the game goes on. Depending on how you select your loadouts beforehand, some matches may be easier to win than others, especially if you’re coordinating with your teammates enough or being a lone wolf.
Like every other Call of Duty game with multiplayer, Modern Warfare III feels very good to control and get into the action. The game runs at a high framerate on consoles and PCs and has a ton of details on every map and character you see. It’s par for the course with Call of Duty, which almost always has a high level in its presentation. At this point in the franchise history, it shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone that Call of Duty looks and sounds very good. But does that also match up with the amount of fun you get when playing it? For the most part, yes it does. A lot of the complaints people have with Call of Duty multiplayer always stem from personal skill and scenarios online, which never paints the full picture of the game itself. At its core, Modern Warfare 3 multiplayer is very solid in nearly every aspect you expect it to be, with a lot of small quality-of-life aspects from things like Warzone to sweeten the package.
Matchmaking online in the beta is pretty good. Granted there are only so many players that will join in the early access and open beta for Modern Warfare 3, but the speed at which you find new matches is very good. Per usual, there are moments you’ll get thrown into a game already in progress, but it’s not a regular occurrence, which may or may not change when the full game is out. Pre-game lobbies allow you to vote on which map to play on next, with tied votes being a random selection.
If you are worried about getting thrown into a game type that you dislike multiple times, you’ll be happy to know Modern Warfare III doesn’t repeat previous matches often. Things will always be changing up as you play more and more games. And if you do not like what you see, jumping out and going back into matchmaking can help you find a brand new group pretty fast. While the beta is limited, hopefully, the full game will have more filter options to tailor what types of matches you can get placed in.
Despite what anyone will say, Call of Duty Modern Warfare III multiplayer is looking pretty good. It has the essence of what you want from the original game, but with a few tweaks to make it feel fresh enough to be released now. There are many unlockables and options to change up your character and loadout that can be unlocked over an extensive period of time, with much more that will be in the final release. Although the beta only covers the multiplayer aspect of Modern Warfare III, there’s still much more to enough within in the full package when the game finally releases on November 10th, 2023.
What do you think about Call of Duty multiplayer? Will you be picking up Modern Warfare III when it’s finally out? Share your thoughts about everything down below in the comment section!
I’ve got a Golden Ticket! It came in the form of some much-anticipated action figures based on the 1971 film adaptation of Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory gave us so many pop culture icons, from Gene Wilder’s titular character to the moralizing Oompa Loompas. Now, you can take the action home and recreate the candy maker’s kiddy killer factory of horrors with Super7’s new ReAction Figures!
Willy Wonka, Violet Beauregarde, and Mike Teevee make up the first wave of these figures. Like other Super7 ReAction Figures we’ve covered recently, these are $20 each. However, all three can be picked up at one time for $60.
Image Credit: Super7
Image Credit: Super7
“Reclusive candy magnate Willy Wonka™ has arranged for Golden Ticket winners to tour his amazing factory, but is he as sweet as his confections or something more bitter? This 3.75″ scale, articulated Willy Wonka™ ReAction Figure is inspired by his appearance in the classic 1971 film and includes walking cane accessory. Make a sweet addition to your collection by adding the Willy Wonka™ ReAction Figure!“
Image Credit: Super7
“Not all gum is fit to chew in Willy Wonka’s™ factory, even if you’re a champion gum-chewer like Violet Beauregarde! This 3.75″ scale, articulated Willy Wonka™ ReAction Figure of Violet Beauregarde is inspired by her appearance in the classic 1971 film and includes Wonka Bar and Golden Ticket accessories. Make a sweet addition to your collection adding the Violet Beauregarde ReAction Figure!“
Image Credit: Super7
“Only the many wonders of Willy Wonka’s™ factory could pry Mike TeeVee away from his beloved television! This 3.75″ scale, articulated Willy Wonka™ ReAction Figure of Mike TeeVee is inspired by his appearance in the classic 1971 film and includes Wonka Bar and Golden Ticket accessories. Make a sweet addition to your collection by adding the Mike TeeVee ReAction Figure!“
We rarely get to see Gene Wilder action figures. His version of Willy Wonka got a Mego figure not too long ago, and back in the mid-2000s, Sideshow created a Young Frankenstein line of 12″ tall collectibles. Sadly, we never got Silver Streak toys. OK, that line would have only appealed to a tiny group of kids. Still, I would have loved to have 3.75″ tall Richard Pryor.
What would you do with a lifetime supply of chocolate? I’d sell it and sue Willy Wonka for the obesity epidemic. However, in the fantasy world of Mel Stuart’s Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, the problem with obesity was solved via a chocolate river and a suction tube straight to the fudge room.
What do you think of Super7’s ReAction Willy Wonka figures? Which trio of characters should be next? Let us know in the comments section below.
Transformers: Rise of the Beasts (review) may have been a bit of a letdown, but Threezero is ensuring that the film’s best parts are being turned into premium collectibles.
Like with previous Threezero Transformers we’ve covered in the past, this version of Optimus Prime is highly detailed and super articulated. However, these collectibles cannot transform.
Prime’s design is based more on his G1 look, as seen in the past couple of Transformers films. In fact, this may be the best version of the live-action leader out of the bunch.
We shouldn’t experience sticker shock at this point, but $229 still stings a bit. That’s getting up to Hot Toys territory. I’m sure Prime is 100% worth it, though.
Photo Credit: Threezero
Photo Credit: Threezero
Photo Credit: Threezero
Photo Credit: Threezero
Photo Credit: Threezero
Photo Credit: Threezero
Photo Credit: Threezero
Photo Credit: Threezero
Photo Credit: Threezero
Photo Credit: Threezero
Photo Credit: Threezero
The 11.2″ tall leader of the Autobots will come with the following features and accessories:
Approximately 53 points of articulation
Detailed and weathered paint application
Die-cast Metal frame design with advanced range of articulation
LED illuminated eyes and dual arm Ion Blasters
One (1) pc of interchangeable Battle Mask
Two (2) pcs of Arm Ion Blasters
One (1) pc of Energon Axe
Two (2) pcs of Energon Sword
Five (5) sets of interchangeable hands: one (1) pair of Fists, one (1) pair of Relaxed Hands, one (1) pair of Spread Hands, one (1) pair of Weapon Holding Hands, and one (1) of Command Hand for left hand
One (1) pc Energon Axe Holding right hand for Transformers: Rise of the Beasts DLX Bumblebee
One (1) DLX action stand
Optimus Prime can also be pre-ordered through the Big Bad Toy Store. If you’re looking for more Transformers: Rise of the Beast figures from Threezero, click here to check out the Bumblebee coming out soon!
Discotek Media has announced that they will be releasing two OVA anime films from ‘Fist of the North Star: The Legends of the True Savior’ in a Blu-ray home video release. It will include both the original Japanese audio and the English dub of ‘Legend of Yuria’ and the ‘Legend of Toki.’
The film studio TMS Entertainment produced by both OVAs, though the Japanese animation studio A.P.P.P. helped with the animation of ‘Toki.’ ‘Yuria’ was released in 2007 and ‘Toki’ had its debut in 2008.
The Blu-ray DVDs will be released by Discotek Media on November 28, 2023, though it is currently available for pre-order on the Right Stuf Anime website.
They released an image of the box set:
Discotek explains that the ‘Legend of Yuria’ is about how “Love binds them together, even when abduction by a megalomaniacal conquerer keeps them apart! Yuria is a young orphan with a closed heart and the unwanted power of prophecy when her guardian, Dharma, takes her to the Hokuto temple where four brothers reside. There, she has a fateful encounter with Kenshiro. Several years later, Kenshiro, now the master of Hokuto Shinken, sets out on a journey with Yuria.”
They also describe the synopsis of the ‘Legend of Toki’ by saying, “The man who should have been master of Hokuto Shinken… Toki has the temperament and talent to become the next successor to Hokuto Shinken, but Sara, the doctor at the Hokuto temple, confides in the current master, Ryuken, telling him that Toki has a terminal disease and little time left to live. After much soul-searching, Ryuken chooses Kenshiro to be the inheritor instead, a decision Toki approves of. Now Toki has a different destiny.”
The series is based on the 1980s manga written by Yoshiyuki Okamura who went by the pen name Buronson and illustrated by Tetsuo Hara.
Crunchyroll has announced the release date for three highly anticipated anime. The dark fantasy ‘Goblin Slayer,’ the isekai ‘The Rising of the Shield Hero,’ and the action comedy ‘Spy x Family’ are all headed to the streaming service with confirmed debuts.
Crunchyroll reported on their website, “The time has finally almost arrived for more GOBLIN SLAYER anime! If you’ve been patiently awaiting the return of the series that adapts the novels by Kumo Kagyu, you can now mark the release date and exact time on your calendar. When does GOBLIN SLAYER Season 2 come out? GOBLIN SLAYER II kicks off on Crunchyroll as part of the Fall 2023 anime season on October 6.”
The pilot for ‘Goblin Slayer’ faced backlash for its intense violence and disturbing sequences.
“Naofumi’s tale is far from over, and we now have an exact release date and time for the launch of The Rising of the Shield Hero Season 3 on Crunchyroll! So, when does The Rising of the Shield Hero Season 3 come out? The series returns to weekly streaming with new episodes starting on October 6,” Crunchyroll said.
The first season was produced by the Japanese animation company Kinema Citrus while the second season was taken over by DR Movie, but the third season has returned production to its former studio.
As for Spy x Family, it will be returning the following day.
“Here’s a message you won’t need to decode: The exact release date and time is in for the return of the SPY x FAMILY anime on Crunchyroll! The Forgers will officially be back for more clandestine missions starting on October 7th, 2023,” Crunchy wrote.
The anime will get a movie spin-off ‘Spy × Family Code: White’ which will see the staff from the television show as well as the voice cast. It is set to be released in Japan on December 22, 2023.
GKids is partnering with Studio Ghibli, Shout Studios, and Toho to bring not one but two different stage adaptions of the Hayao Miyazaki anime film ‘Spirited Away’ to home video.
One of the most beloved animated feature films of all time, ‘Spirited Away’ has received many accolades across the entire world and now a stageplay that features puppetry as well as live-action performances from actors and actresses can be seen on DVD.
“Hayao Miyazaki’s legendary Academy Award®-winning animated feature is brought to life in Tony Award®-Winner John Caird’s stage adaptation masterpiece, SPIRITED AWAY: Live on Stage. Filmed during the hit production’s 2022 run at the historic Imperial Theatre in Tokyo, the critically acclaimed stage show will be available on all major digital platforms and on Blu-Ray™ this November 14, 2023 from GKIDS with distribution from Shout! Studios,” GKids wrote on their website.
“The wondrous stage play adaptation entertaining in master puppetry, brilliant costuming, magical sets and enchanting musical numbers is released as two separate filmed performances of the production, starring renowned Japanese actresses Kanna Hashimoto and Mone Kamishiraishi, double-cast as the lead heroine Chihiro. Character actor Mari Natsuki, who voiced the sorceress Yubaba and her twin sister Zeniba in the original motion picture, returns to her original role accompanied by voice actor Romi Park double cast as the characters. They are accompanied by a star-studded cast of Japan’s finest actors,” they said.
‘Spirited Away’ was originally released in cinemas in 2001 and would win “Best Film” at the 2002 Japan Academy Award and “Best Animated Feature” at the 2003 Academy Awards.
GKids continued, “The SPIRITED AWAY: Live on Stage home entertainment release follows the North American debut earlier this spring with the successful theatrical run at the 2023 Ghibli Fest, boasting overwhelming fan demand and critical acclaim.”
