Decades ago, an anime based on the adventures of two Italian plumbers in the Mushroom Kingdom hit screens in Japan. Super Mario Bros.: The Great Mission to Rescue Princess Peach (Super Mario Bros.: Peach-Hime Kyushutsu Dai Sakusen!) was released in 1986, but for whatever reason, was not imported to the United States. Odd for sure, since we were getting all sorts of weird dubs of existing shows during that time.
Subtitled versions of the anime are easy to find, but not so much for a full English dub. But, according to ScreenRant, that’s about to change because The Super Mario Bros. Super Radio Show tweeted a preview of an upcoming fandub of the film!
It is not a direct translation of the anime. So, expect some liberties to be taken with the dialog. Also, be warned that the sound mixing is a little rough. I’m not sure if this is what we’ll get in the final version of the fandub, but make sure your volume is turned down a bit before clicking on the Tweet’s video.
A first look at the Super Mario Bros. Super Animated Movie, a fandub of the obscure 1986 Mario anime pic.twitter.com/at6KltBjVV
— Super Mario Bros. Super Radio Show!! (@marioradioshow) July 11, 2022
The film follows Mario and Luigi as they first encounter King Koopa and rescue Princess Peach. Honestly, it’s an entertaining film that certainly shows its age in ways that would have easily offended busybodies shouting at Nintendo on Twitter today.
If you’re a stickler for the original dubb, a “restored” 1080p version of the VHS release has been floating around YouTube for years. The optional English subtitles are excellent, but these plumbers should be assaulting our ears with proper New York accents.
The film featured new music alongside the classic tunes originated by Koji Kondo. SMB was directed by Masami Hata, who also helmed Little Nemo, Jetter Mars, and four episodes of Initial D: First Stage. The script was written by Hideo Takayashiki, who also penned four episodes of Lupin the 3rd.
Have you watched Super Mario Bros.: The Great Mission to Rescue Princess Peach? What did you think of it? Let us know in the comments section below.
‘Ultimate Spider-Man’ was a reboot of the classic Marvel Studios character Spider-Man that retooled the origin for the web-slinger apart from the mainstream universe. Though the “Ultimates” would come to an end, elements of the series would make their way into the traditional Marvel Universe.
Comic book artist Mark Bagley worked on ‘Ultimate Spider-Man’ for a majority of the series and he joined Marvel’s Pull List podcast to discuss it and what inspired him.
“So Spider-Man is my favorite character,” Bagley said. “I love the John Romita stuff and Gil Kane came in for – he didn’t do that many issues when you look back on it. I think he made maybe a dozen issues over the course of a couple of years, and I’ve got reprints of all of them! I gave away my comic collection years ago, but they were all dog-eared and used. I mean, I used to pull out carbon paper and trace over some of the figures, just, ‘How did he do that?!’ But it was my version of Photoshop. It was just a great time to be reading comic books if you were into it.”
“The Gil Kane issue, the ‘Death of Gwen Stacy’ issue, came along… and it was so shocking the way it happened,” he continued. “Harry Osborn is going through the drug thing and Peter is freaking out about that. Green Goblin is coming in and out of his life like every couple of issues, it seems like. Then he kidnaps Gwen off-camera. You don’t even know that he’s done it. He just leaves a pumpkin bomb sitting in her apartment. It was so out of the blue… and it was so violent!”
Bagley went on to explain how that inspired his own work on the web-slinger. “I hear that when I go to a con quite often, either ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN was their first comic and got them into comics, or the fact that I’m their Spider-Man artist… I’m always humbled by it, because I would walk up to John Buscema and say the same thing, the exact same thing.”
He noted, “I’d go, ‘Your stuff is what got me into comics,’ or Jack Kirby or Gil Kane. I always thought I’d get into this business and I’d make a lower middle class income… The 90s hit and… we became these redheaded stepchildren rock stars! It’s like conventions and they’re paying us royalties… I’m a real fortunate guy, and I don’t take that for granted for a second.”
“The nice thing about ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN was I could make these guys mine and not have to worry about what had gone on before and not have it feel like any kind of pressure. That was really kind of liberating,” he added.
Bagley will return to Peter Parker’s world as the artist for ‘Spider-Man,’ joining writer Dan Slott in October 2022.
‘Classroom of the Elite’ voice actress Anna Lauzeray-Gishi will no longer be voicing the character of Kikyou Kushida in the anime after the announcement she had been fired by Crunchyroll. Lauzeray-Gishi said she was let go following her participation in a fandubbing of a ‘Chainsaw Man’ trailer.
‘Chainsaw Man’ is set to be released in October 2022, but no official dubbed trailer for the show has dropped except for a fan-made one that has been making the rounds on social media where you can hear Lauzeray-Gishi’s voice, Anime Senpai reports.
“Following a call from Crunchyroll, informing me that I have the right to report this, I am announcing that I will no longer be playing the role of Kikyou Kushida in ‘Classroom of the Elite.’ The reason they gave me was a decision made after my ‘Chainsaw Man’ fandub. I would have liked a friendly solution, like deleting the fandub, but they didn’t offer it to me, they fired me directly for it, and it would also be a decision that would cross the Atlantic,” the actress wrote on social media.
She continued, “I must admit I was surprised, I didn’t expect to be fired for amateur dubbing. I started with the fandub, and now they kick me out for it… For the new generation, the fandub is one of the best formats to improve and show what you’re worth. Nowadays, more and more fandubbers become professional dubbing actors based on effort, perseverance and perseverance.”
“I hope this is an isolated case. I wish the best to the actress who will play Kikyou after me. And of course, I ask you not to insult or harass her in any way, this decision is not up to her. Whoever she is, I wish her the best,” she added.
Crunchyroll has made no comment as of the writing of this article nor has announced who will take over the role.
We reported on Super7’s first wave of SpongeBob SquarePants Ultimates action figures almost a year ago. I was under the impression that the line ended before ever getting off the ground, but I was proven wrong. Super7 just announced the second wave in the line of premium action figures. Joining SpongeBob and Sandy will be Patrick and Squidward.
Wave 2 will not ship until Summer 2023. Each figure is priced at $55, but they can be purchased as a bundle for $110. That means you’ll save a whopping 0%! Amazing! Totally worth it! Sadly, Squidward does not come with an alternate handsome face.
Super7
Super7
Super7
Super7
Squidward fancies himself as the only sophisticate in a sea of (Bikini) bottom feeders and he’s not shy about reminding everyone that they’re stifling his artistic genius. This highly articulated 7” scale SpongeBob SquarePants ULTIMATES! figure of Squidward comes with interchangeable heads & hands and a variety of accessories, including his clarinet and a Krabby Pattie burger. He’s annoyed by everything and everyone around him, but a change of scenery might do Squidward some good.
The surly cephalopod comes with all of these accessories and interchangeable parts:
3x Interchangeable heads
1x Neutral head
1x Angry head
1x Krusty Krab head
6x Interchangeable hands
2x Neutral hands
2x Expressive hands
1x Right clarinet gripping hand
1x Left sign gripping hand
1x Clarinet
1x Krabby Pattie burger
1x “Krusty Krab Unfair” sign
1x Removable Krusty Krab hat
Super7
Super7
Super7
I prefer to be an idiot.” This highly articulated 7” scale SpongeBob SquarePants ULTIMATES! figure of Patrick comes with an alternate Pinhead Larry head, multiple interchangeable hands, and a variety of accessories, including a removable Krusty Krab hat. Patrick may not be suited to help you recreate the Lincoln-Douglas Debates, but you’ll have his unwavering support without a second (or first) thought!
The friendly but frustratingly dim starfish will ship with these accessories:
2x Interchangeable heads
1x Smiling head
1x Pinhead Larry head
6x Interchangeable hands
2x Neutral hands
1x Right phone gripping hand
1x Left net gripping hand
1x Right open palm hand
1x Left pointing finger hand
1x Net
1x Jelly fish
1x Removable Krusty Krab hat
1x Phone
1x Rock
What do you think of the Ultimates SpongeBob line? Let us know below!
It has been 35 years since Dutch and his team of highly trained commandos were caught up in the Summer hunt of an aggressive alien species. Hollywood Collectibles Group has created a seemingly perfect replica of the first Predator’s plasmacaster cannon to celebrate three and a half decades worth of Predator awesomeness.
The HCG Exclusive Edition of the plasmacaster comes with a 4 “x2” plaque; the standard release does not but is still the same price: $699.95. From what I can tell, there are no moving parts, and HCG does not mention any lights or sounds. Most of it appears to be made of resin with a couple of pieces of flexible tubing here and there.
The replica is limited to only 150 pieces and will ship during the third quarter of this year. Various payment plans are available.
Hollywood Collectibles Group
Hollywood Collectibles Group
Hollywood Collectibles Group
Hollywood Collectibles Group
This year it is the 35th Anniversary of the original Predator movie. To celebrate this milestone Hollywood Collectibles Group has, for the first time ever, accurately recreated the Predator’s Plasmacaster cannon as a Licensed 1:1 Scale Prop Replica! This intricately detailed, Museum Quality piece is constructed from resin, and mixed media and then hand painted to the finest detail with authentic weathering for added realism! It comes complete with display stand.
Features:
Each piece is hand-cast, hand-finished, hand-painted to exacting standards, then individually hand-numbered.
This HCG Exclusive Edition also includes an individually numbered 4″ x 2″ Predator-themed plaque.
HCG is making an interesting claim: “for the first time ever, accurately recreated the Predator’s Plasmacaster cannon as a Licensed 1:1 Scale Prop Replica!” I could have sworn that other companies have made accurate replicas of this prop. Many versions of this plasmacaster and others throughout the franchise are available via indie prop makers and are a little more affordable. However, if you want something authentic and licensed, HCG is the way to go for now.
You know what? I actually like it. For years I’ve had several variations of Prime as different trucks, but seeing him as a pretty accurate replica of a Canon DSLR camera is unique. The hallmarks of Optimus Prime are still there, with hints of G1 and a little of Armada present. The only weird bit is that the body of the lens turns into a backpack rather than being integrated in some other way. Including the Matrix of Leadership into the lens’s glass is weird.
The robot mode may have its faults, but the disguise mode is impressive. I, too, own this type of Canon DSLR, and nearly all of the small details are there. Even when the lens is removed, Takara Tomy included the lens mount, lock pins, contacts, and the window where the mirror would typically be housed.
For a unique, one-off Transformer, it’s fantastic. But is it $169.99 excellent? That’s the pre-order price right now at the Big Bad Toy Store. It’s a tough call. As a Prime and Canon cameras fan, it’s really tugging at my collector’s side. That price is a bit too much, though. The other negative is that this isn’t a 1:1 replica of the DSLR; it is at an 80% scale. If it were full size, parting with $170 would be a bit easier. Weird, I know.
Canon Prime will be out in February 2023.
Takara Tomy
Takara Tomy
Takara Tomy
Takara Tomy
Takara Tomy
Takara Tomy
Takara Tomy
This version of Optimus Prime comes with the following:
Optimus Prime body
R5/RF lens
Matrix
EOS R5 Handheld
Lens shield
Instruction manual
What do you think of Optimus Prime disguising himself as a consumer-grade camera? Will the price point be an issue? Let us know what you think in the comments section below.
On August 10th, the new season of the animated series Bee and PuppyCat was announced to be coming to Netflix on September 6th. It will have 16 half hour episodes, with the first three episodes being a recap of the first season. The recap episodes will have new scenes mixed into them to help introduce new viewers into the series. The series is created for teens and up. Netflix describes the series in one single sentence on the streaming platform: “On a charming magical island, the impulsive Bee and her furry pal get up to all sorts of adventures while working for an intergalactic temp agency.”
Here is the trailer for the Netflix series:
The series made its first appearance as a web pilot on July 11th, 2013, on the youtube funded channel Cartoon Hangover. It was created by Natasha Allegri. Her inspiration for the story was influenced by Sailor Moon, Bob’s Burger, Superbook, and Rumiko Takahashi. And not to forget, PuppyCat was also inspired by her cat named Pancake.
During her college years, she became good friends with Pendleton Ward, who is the creator of Adventure Time. In high school and college, Allegri would create comics based on her life and post them on LiveJournal, which is how she met and became friends with Adventure Time creator Templeton Ward. After Ward asked Allegri to join the team to help create Adventure Time, Allegri went on to become a prop designer, storyboard revisionist, writer for one episode, and character designer. Natasha is best known for creating the characters Fionna and Cake.
Adventure Time character design artwork by Natasha Allegri
Because of the popularity of Bee and PuppyCat, on November 2013 the parent company Frederator Studios announced a Kickstarter to help fund for more episodes. The Kickstarter launched on October 15, 2013. They surpassed their goal of $600,000 with only six days left, and ended the campaign having raised $872,133. This enabled them to create ten new 6 minute episodes. During that time, Bee and PuppyCat: The Series was the most successful animation Kickstarter in history, landing at #4, right behind three Hollywood-based projects. It was also the #1 Kickstarter based on a YouTube video. It currently stands as #15 of the most funded in the film and video category. The first four episodes were uploaded to Youtube on November of 2014 and then the rest on VRV on November 2016. The entire series was eventually uploaded to YouTube on December 1, 2018. A comic book adaption was published by KaBoom! Studios between 2014-2016.
The Kickstarter campaign video promo:
In 2017, Frederator announced writing had started for season two. The plan was to air Bee and PuppyCat: Lazy in Space in 2019, but this ended up not happening due to Frederator searching for another streaming service to release the episodes on. The first episode premiered at the September 2019 Ottawa International Animation Film Festival. Early in 2020, Frederator founder Fred Seibert had accidentally made the entire second season open for public viewing after he uploaded the completed episodes to his Vimeo account, intending to keep the content locked and password protected. Although he deleted the videos as soon as he could, it was too late. All 13 episodes had been downloaded from his Vimeo account for all to see elsewhere on the internet. In August of that year, Seibert stepped down as CEO of Frederator, staying on as executive producer for current projects such as Castlevania and Bee and PuppyCat as well as for other upcoming projects at Frederator. He has since started a new independent animation company, FredFilms.
There was a concern that the leaks would hurt any possibility of Frederator finding a stream to host their PuppyCat series on. But in October 2020, they announced the second season had finally found a home to stream on Netflix.
As of this writing, Netflix Geeked has only shared pictures counting down the days until the premiere date. The trailer is only up on a few fan twitter accounts and the official Cartoon Hangover youtube channel.
If you want to go into this show without spoilers, you might want to avoid watching the original videos of Bee and PuppyCat. But if you are curious or you just want to revisit the place where it all started, check out these videos:
The first two episodes which introduces the characters:
Here are the episodes created from the Kickstarter campaign. The story continues where the above video left off in parts 1 and 2:
Are you looking forward to watching this on Netflix? Are you a fan who has waited a long time to see season 2? Let us know what you think!
‘Girlfriend, Girlfriend’ is a romantic comedy created by the author Hiroyuki and released by the Japanese publishing company Kodansha since March 2020. The Tokyo-based animation studio Tezuka Productions picked up the series for an anime that ran for one season of twelve episodes in 2021. Crunchyroll announced that they were developing an English dubbed version.
Kevin D. Thelwell (Subaru Kurokawa in Shoot! Goal to the Future) as Naoya Mukai
Brittany Lauda (Ritsu in Fire Force) as Saki Saki
Madeleine Morris (Rudeus Greyrat in Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation) as Nagisa Minase
Elizabeth Maxwell (Midnight in My Hero Academia) as Shino Kiryuu
The dub will also feature Dusty Feeny, Justin Green, Chris Long, and Meg McClain.
Studio Nano is handling the ADR production and has tapped Peter Hawkinson as the ADR director, script supervisor, and engineer. Michelle Rojas joined the project as the producer.
“Naoya Mukai is having the time of his life after his childhood friend Saki Saki finally accepts one of his countless confessions. Ensuring that their relationship will stay strong, he spares no effort in showering affection to his now beloved girlfriend.
However, one afternoon, another girl named Nagisa Minase suddenly confesses to Naoya following months of preparation. Even though he politely rejects her, Nagisa’s irresistible charm and determination continue to attract Naoya. Wanting to fulfill both Saki and Nagisa’s desires, Naoya ends up proposing a crazy idea—to date the two of them simultaneously, with both girls fully aware. This unprecedented state of affairs ultimately causes wacky and hilarious situations in whatever they do to keep their unusual relationship going.”
The manga is serialized in the ‘Weekly Shōnen Magazine’ and published in North America as a webcomic on the Kodansha USA website before physical copies were released.
‘Engage Kiss’ is a manga written by an author known as Itachi and was released by Square Enix starting in July 2022 at the same time as an anime directed by Tomoya Tanaka was produced. The anime was developed by A-1 Pictures with Aniplex producing an English dub which will stream to the Crunchyroll streaming service.
It is reported that Howard Wang (‘Moriarty the Patriot’) will portray Shu Ogata. Kayli Mills (‘Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World-‘) is taking on the role of Kisara with Suzie Yeung (‘Orient’) handling the voice of Ayano Yugiri. Bill Butts (‘How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom’) will perform the character of Miles Morgan.
The anime is written by Fumiaki Maruto with Yoshiaki Fujisawa composing the music. The musician known as Halca performs the opening theme “Everyone, Scramble” while singer Akari Nanawo performs the ending theme song “Love-Brain.”
“Bayron City, a pioneering metropolis built on a newly discovered energy source, promises every citizen a luxurious and comfortable lifestyle. In reality, young demon exterminator Shuu Ogata’s life is far from extravagant. Despite running a private military business, he often struggles to make ends meet due to reckless expenses. Fortunately, Kisara, his demon partner, is more than eager to help Shuu with household matters—albeit a little too forcefully for his comfort.
The two work side by side, taking countermeasures against demon hazards, which stand as the biggest threats to the city. With danger lurking in the shadows, Shuu and Kisara strive to grant the town’s safety; however, exterminating the possessed comes with a price unbeknownst to others.”
The anime has a video game adaptation titled ‘Engage Kill,’ an RPG developed by Square Enix. The manga was serialized by the online webcomic magazine ‘Manga UP!’
For decades various companies have taken turns recreating the iconic grapnel prop from Tim Burton’s first Batman film. Yet they kept the replica strictly tied to the grapnel aspect and not the other attachments. Thankfully, Paragon FX Group decided that if you’re going to make the prop, you may as well make it as accurate to the film as possible. The modular device allows Gotham’s vigilante to carry around lots of wonderful toys that could be deployed via one firing mechanism. These other attachments usually get overlooked in the collectibles market.
The company’s Creative Director, Tyler Ham, saw that creating this replica was going to be a monumental undertaking:
“We knew from the beginning that this would be one of our largest and most ambitious projects. The goal was to engineer a full-size replica that literally looks and feels like a real piece of Batman’s tech. We wanted everything to be cold to the touch and have a real-world heft and feel. This meant nothing less than CNC machined aluminum would do so, we started there. Our original prototype truly did take about a year to get worked out.
We wanted everything to behave like we envisioned the original, inasmuch as allowing for multiple attachments to be placed on the hand unit. More subtle touches include the spring-loaded actuation button, flip out handle and aircraft cable wrapped around the spool of the primary hand unit. We finished everything off with an amazing, anodized finish and then tucked everything away in an appropriately themed equipment case. The end result here is a stunning, museum quality replica set that is sure to be the highlight of any collection.”
Now, this sort of premium collectible comes with a price. If you’re serious about your ’89 Batman collection, you’ll need to shell out $799.99. Paragon is asking for a fully refundable $79.98 deposit upfront. In addition, the grapnel is limited to 1,500 units.
Paragon FX Group is not unfamiliar with Batman props. The company is also producing a ’66 Batman Bat-Radio, and the Batarang from 2022’s The Batman.
Machined Brass and aluminum utility dart/grapnel hook.
Machined aluminum (anodized black and polished aluminum) Bolo attachment w/ fixed aircraft cable.
Custom equipment case with laser cut insert.
Certificate of authenticity.
When I say “almost” perfect, that’s because the replica is missing two modular parts: the dart gun and the ‘Cathedral’ grapple. While the dart attachment was never shown on screen, anyone familiar with the behind-the-scenes aspects of Batman knows that there were gadgets created for the Dark Knight that remained unused or cut from the final film. The Cathedral Grapple, on the other hand, was used at the very end of the film to save Bats and Ms. Vale from falling to their deaths. Luckily, the replica craftsmen over at THEPRF have kits that include all these parts if you want to make your own.
What do you think of this $800 replica? Worth the price? Let us know below.
