In his self-titled Disney Plus show, Loki, portrayed by Tom Hiddleston, learns that he is not the only version of himself. He met an older version, one who was president, a child version, but one of the most popular versions to emerge was the scaly Alligator Loki. Marvel Comics is expanding on the character with new digital comic books on the Marvel Unlimited app as part of their Infinity series.
“An extra-sized one-shot, ALLIGATOR LOKI #1 will collect the entirety of Alyssa Wong and Bob Quinn’s hit Infinity Comic series as well an all-new adventure from the life of everyone’s favorite swamp-dwelling scamp,” Marvel said on their website. “Bow down to the reptile in a helm who has enraptured the Ten Realms…with his cuteness! First Alligator Loki chomped down on Mjolnir, and then he chomped his way into our hearts. Now, the beloved Alligator of Mischief finds – and makes – trouble all across the Marvel Universe!”
Quinn previously did the artwork for Marvel’s ‘Trials of X’ and ‘The Last Annihilation.’ Wong previously worked on ‘DC The Doomed and the Dammed’ from DC Comics and ‘Aero Vol. 2: The Mystery Of Madame Huang’ from Marvel Comics.
Wong expressed her excitement for the series saying, “Alligator Loki’s been living in my head rent-free for the past year.”
“It’s been a ton of fun working with Bob Quinn, Pete Pantazis, and Kat Gregorowicz to bring him to life in the Infinity comic. I’m thrilled that this little guy’s shenanigans are coming to print,” she added.
Marvel Comics also released a “first look” of the cover:
From the (digital) pages of the @MarvelUnlimited Infinity Comic, Alligator Loki makes a splash in his print comic debut!
The first season of ‘Loki’ streamed on Disney Plus in 2021. Owen Wilson joined the cast as Mobius M. Mobius and Sophia Di Martino portrayed a female variant of Loki called Sylvie. Season two is set to arrive in October 2023 with most of the cast returning.
Project Q (what I will refer to as the P-Mote) has unveiled yesterday at Sony’s PlayStation Showcase. In 2023, I did not expect Sony to look back at Nintendo’s wet fart, the Wii U, and say, “Let’s do that!”
The P-Mote is fundamentally what the Wii U’s controller was: a screen attached to a controller. However, unlike the Steam Deck, where you can take a portion of your library with you and play anywhere, the P-Mote is tethered to your local console via WiFi. Of course, this sort of remote play can already be done with smartphones/tablets, a PS5 controller, and a snap-on accessory.
The preview video mentions that the games must be installed on the PS5 console at 19 seconds. However, the narrator says the P-Mote can stream “any game from your PS5 console using remote play over WiFi.” Unfortunately, streaming PS Plus cloud games is STILL off the table after all these years.
The P-Mote will have an 8″ HD screen. However, Sony has not confirmed if the screen will be OLED. The controller seated on the sides of the screen is the same as the existing PS5 Dual Sense.
The overall functionality of the P-Mote was absent from the Showcase. This leads to several questions:
Will the device feature an app that lets you connect to the console even if you’re on WiFi in another city?
What is the battery life of the P-Mote?
Will it support WiFi 6E or 7?
Will cloud gaming finally be available for remote play?
Is sound built into the unit, or will we need the new PlayStation Bluetooth headphones shown off at the end of the P-Mote reveal?
If the sound is built in, what are the speaker specs?
Is the touchpad built into the screen or on the back of the device, as with the PS Vita?
What is the resolution and aspect ratio?
What is the frame rate?
What is the latency?
Is there any proprietary tech that allows for better performance over WiFi?
Japan news site SoraNews24 recently published an interview with online marketplace ZenPlus in which they revealed an uptick in sales of manga from customers outside of Japan. But not just any type of manga. No, the kind of manga that is seeing a rise in sales is specifically in Japanese text.
ZenPlus hosts more than 3,000 Japanese retail stores with over 5 million product listings for people outside of Japan looking for authentic Japanese products ranging from stationery, games, beauty, fashion, kawaii-culture, toys, tools, food, housewares, and anime/manga related merchandise. ZenPlus is run by its’ parent Japanese company ZenGroup Inc., which is located in Osaka. ZenGroup Inc. also runs ZenMarket and ZenPop. They work with people from over 30 countries to help bring Japanese products to customers’ homes.
When asked what are the latest big sellers happening lately on their website, ZenPlus responded with saying that they’ve seen “a lot of orders for the original, untranslated still-in-Japanese editions of manga. Every year we’ve been seeing increases of more than 400% in our Japanese-language manga sales. Content restrictions are less strict in the Japanese editions, and our shoppers are finding Japanese-language manga increasingly appealing as a result of overly loose or unfaithful English translations that distort the narrative.”
ZenPlus continues to explain that many of their customers are “studying Japanese and deepening their understanding of the language by comparing an English-translated edition of the manga with the original Japanese-language publication.” This helps them to be able to learn to read Japanese text while also enjoying the most faithful story version of the manga.
What do you think? If you’re currently unable to read fluent Japanese, would you learn to so you could buy manga straight from Japan that wasn’t in English? Let us know what you think!
Crunchyroll has announced that they will exclusively debut the English dub of ‘Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Swordsmith Village Arc’ on May 28, 2023. Directed by Haruo Sotozaki, the Japanese animation studio Ufotable has been producing the series since 2019 with Aniplex of America releasing the English dub version.
With many voice actors and actresses returning, Crunchyroll revealed the dub cast on their website:
Zach Aguilar (Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans) as Tanjiro Kamado
Abby Trott (Rokka: Braves of the Six Flowers) as Nezuko Kamado
Aleks Le (Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero) as Zenitsu Agatsuma
Bryce Papenbrook (Sword Art Online Alicization: War of the Underworld) as Inosuke Hashibira
Griffin Burns (Blue Period) as Muichiro Tokito
Kira Buckland (Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic) as Mitsuri Kanroji
Zeno Robinson (My Hero Academia) as Genya
Christopher Corey Smith (Boruto: Naruto Next Generations) as Hantengu
Brent Mukai (A Couple of Cuckoos) as Gyokko
You can watch the trailer below:
The anime is based on the manga created by Koyoharu Gotouge and published by the Tokyo-based publisher Shueisha who serialized it i their ‘Weekly Shōnen Jump’ magazine. The series ran from February 15, 2016, to May 18, 2020.
The Demon Slayer anime website describes the synopsis as follows,
“The story begins when Tanjiro Kamado, a boy whose family is killed by a demon, joins the Demon Slayer Corps to turn his younger sister Nezuko back into a human after she is transformed into a demon.
And the story makes its way to a new location… Tanjiro’s journey leads him to the Swordsmith Village, where he reunites with two Hashira, members of the Demon Slayer Corps’ highest-ranking – Mist Hashira Muichiro Tokito and Love Hashira Mitsuri Kanroji. With the shadows of demons lurking near, a new battle begins for Tanjiro and his comrades.”
Viz Media currently holds the license to release the manga in North America.
Sentai Filmworks is bringing seven fan-favorite anime to home video. They will be releasing four in their original Japanese audio and three with some English dubs. From isekai to dystopian nightmares, sports dramas, and musicals, all seven of the titles will get a Blu-ray boxset.
As a novice level Monster Tamer, Yuji would normally be one of the last ones chosen when putting together a dungeon delving party. However, thanks to a clever trick involving a bunch of slimes, Yuji has also absorbed the archived knowledge of a great Sage and secretly gained an incredibly powerful second class! And if that’s not enough, he’s actually from a place called Japan in another world, which adds even more tricks up his sleeve! But even with these abilities and the help of his slimes, a magical Proud Wolf, and a forest spirit named Dryad, will that be enough to face off against rock dragons, sinister cults and gangs of slavers? Yuji had better hope so, because fate and fortune seem determined to put him into the most ridiculously dangerous situations as often as possible in MY ISEKAI LIFE!
HAIKYU!! Season 4
Once again, determination and teamwork have helped the Karasuno High School volleyball team to qualify for the upcoming Nationals. Then, just as everything is starting to gel, the team is temporarily broken apart as two members are asked to attend special training camps, with Kageyama attending the prestigious All-Japan camp and Tsukishima invited to a special camp for first-years in Miyagi. While the rest of the Karasuno team doggedly continues their own practice matches, Hinata feels that he’s being left behind. His audacious solution, crashing the rookie training camp, catches everyone off guard, yet he somehow manages to talk his way into being allowed to stay… even if it is only watching from the sidelines. And that change of perspective may be just what Hinata needs to advance his game up to the next level in HAIKYU!! – TO THE TOP!
Made In Abyss Season 2
No one has ventured into the sixth layer of the Abyss and remain unchanged. No one returns from their Last Dive, and no one knows what happened to those who delved further. Even with the possession of a White Whistle, an ominous specter hovers above Riko, Reg and Nanachi as they advance down to the sixth layer, the Capital of the Unreturned. The pathways are more treacherous, the environment harsher, and the creatures even more dangerous, but the most unsettling thing of all is the ruins of the Golden City. Here each of the delvers will be forced to forge their own destinies and paths as they investigate the city’s mysterious origins and the strange beings who still dwell there. The answer to their questions, as always, lies somewhere ahead, down and forward, in MADE IN ABYSS: THE GOLDEN CITY OF THE SCORCHING SUN.
The ones featuring the Japanese audio exclusively were announced by Sentai Filmworks:
Triage X
Our society is infected with a disease, a gangrenous cancer in the form of those who commit the most monstrous of evils, yet whose power and influence place them beyond the reach of the law. When corrupt politicians fail to act and the police seem helpless, there is a third, secret option that stands ready to excise the malignancy in a tactical surgical strike: Black Label, a dedicated team of doctors, nurses, and students who moonlight as an elite team of assassins. With the world’s deadliest nurse, a master swordswoman MD, an idol with an affinity for explosives, and a pair of seemingly indestructible high school students, their mission is as simple as it is deadly: identify the drug runners, terrorists, and criminal masterminds who can’t be destroyed any other way, and then eliminate them by whatever means necessary in TRIAGE X!
Busou Shinki
Rihito might only be a freshman in high school, and he might have just moved back to Japan after living overseas, but despite those seeming social disadvantages, he’s already living with four beautiful girls! Of course, that’s because his girls are all Shinki, the tiny, six-inch high, customizable fighting androids that have become the latest craze. And don’t let their size fool you. Just because Hina, Ann, Ines and Lene are small enough to keep in shoeboxes, that doesn’t mean that they’re not intelligent, packed with firepower, and eager to take on whatever task their “Master” assigns them. Unfortunately, they’re also extremely competitive, and since each one wants to be Rihito’s favorite, get ready for more than a few sparks and fireworks to fly around the house as Rihito’s battery powered princesses take on all comers in BUSOU SHINKI!
Waccha Primagi
Like many Japanese students, Matsuri Hibino loves the PriMagi, an entertainment form focused on competitions merging elements of song, dance, and fashion, and her friends even tell her that she has the talent to perform in the PriMagi herself! Matsuri, however, isn’t so sure, believing that she lacks the special element that makes the performances of PriMagi Superstars like Jennifer Sumire Sol so magical. Then a strange girl pops out of thin air and tells Matsuri that she’s right, and that the missing element is actually magic! But the girl, Myamu, is magical herself, which she proves by turning into a cat, and she’s looking for an Earthly partner to perform in the PriMagi with! Could Matsuri’s dreams really have come true? Or has she been pulled into something more complicated than she could ever imagine? The answer will be unveiled when you watch-a WACCHA PRIMAGI!
Girlish Number
Chitose Karasuma wants to make it big as a voice actor, but while she looks and sounds adorable, she’s also self-absorbed, inattentive, selfish, and lazy. However, since her manager is also her big brother, she’s still getting bit parts and dreaming of landing the big role that will make her famous. Unfortunately, karma bites Chitose in the worst way possible when her big chance finally arrives, because the producers who’ve hired her are even more clueless than she is! Now, she’s trapped in a nightmare production where nothing goes right, the ratings are in the toilet, and swimsuit photos and live stage shows take priority over making quality programming! Can Chitose and her fellow trapped actresses turn things around and save their careers? Or will they all go down with the sinking ship in GIRLISH NUMBER?
These titles will be released between June 6th and June 27th.
The release of Street Fighter 6 is right around the corner, and Capcom fans are excited to get their hands on the full game. But just before the next entry of the Street Fighter series drops onto consoles and PC on June 2nd, Capcom allowed everyone to try out the online multiplayer once again. The final online beta for the game was public to all who had access to a Capcom ID and any of the platforms the game would release on. Was it satisfying to hop into the Battle Lobby for some sets of Street Fighter 6 online? The simple answer is yes, but there’s more to all of it.
The final open beta for Street Fighter 6 once again allowed players to get online with Capcom’s servers and duke it out with a selection of characters from the final roster. Players were able to use Ryu, Ken, Guile, Chun-Li, Juri, Luke, Kimberly, and Jamie. Anyone who was able to be part of the previous closed and open beta sessions of the game was retreading familiar territory, with a few exceptions here and there. Every character had their full move sets available, with all of the mechanics featured in Street Fighter 6 at their disposal. The beta allowed players eagerly awaiting the game’s release to get in more game time with these characters and find out many of the key strategies and combos to use against others online.
Like previous sessions of the beta, progress won’t carry over into the full release. This includes rankings in the online leaderboards, high scores in any of the modes within the Battle Lobby, and the design and unlockable options for custom avatars. If you played a ton of the beta when sessions were open, you’ll still have to start over completely with everything once the full game is out. For some, this might be a drag, especially after earning multiple avatar items that are harder to get, but everyone will be on an equal playing field when the game is officially out for all platforms.
Some of the new additions to the final beta were the rotation of games in the Game Center, featuring a variety of classic Capcom arcade titles. During the time of the final open beta, players could head over to play games like Final Fight and Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo, as well as others that were switched out at different times. Unfortunately, you couldn’t play any of the games in versus or co-op multiplayer, which is a drag for anyone that wanted to dive into Super Turbo matches with others in the battle lobby. At the same time, the classic games are only around for so long and will change when you least expect it. You don’t get to choose from a selection of classic games, you can only play what is offered at that given time.
But what about the rest of Street Fighter 6 online? Matches with the characters available in the beta were very similar to before. Playing in matches against different players felt as if small things were tweaked, specifically with the spacing or damage dealt with attacks. More balance changes will come with time after release, especially when the fighting game community discovers more aspects of Street Fighter 6 that will need to be adjusted for balance. Getting to know the ins and outs of any character will definitely take time, especially when you need to learn how to adopt many of Street Fighter 6’s new mechanics into each matchup.
Speaking of new mechanics, a lot of the struggle for space in matches will heavily rely on one’s ability to utilize the Drive System. Learning when to parry at the right time, executing a Drive Impact right when you need to or using a Drive Rush to keep on the pressure is essential. Each character will use these tools differently in varying strategies, with some being more useful than others in certain matchups. A lot of these techniques for the Drive System may eventually get adjusted as well after the final version of the game releases, especially if exploits or broken characteristics of them get discovered. With more Street Fighter games, new mechanics always change and end up somewhat differently long after they’re introduced.
Customization is still a big factor for your personal avatar when roaming the battle lobby. There are plenty of clothing items and accessories to purchase from the shop and show off to everyone online. Some of these items could be applied to a character in the World Tour Mode of Street Fighter 6, but that wasn’t included in the final beta. How or what exactly can be done between both Battle Lobby and World Tour will be revealed in the final version of the game. It’s safe to guess that much of what you unlock will be used in multiple spots, especially if you end up using the same avatar for each mode.
This is also complimented by the Missions you have open for completion, which rewards you with fight money to spend at the shop. There are daily missions and ongoing missions that range from completing a set number of matches to interacting with different game modes for rewards. If you want to end up getting some of the more elaborate items for your avatar, you’ll want to complete as many of these as possible.
Street Fighter 6 still looks and plays great in this final beta session before the official release. The dynamics of online multiplayer matches will definitely change once everyone has access to the full roster, as well as downloadable fighters who will come later. Whether you’re looking forward to hopping online with your friends, or if you’re ready to dive into the World Tour mode, you’ll have a lot to explore when Street Fighter 6 releases for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, and PC on June 2nd.
Are you going to pick up Street Fighter 6 for your console? What character are you going to play with online, or will you try out the other game modes first? Tell us everything down below in the comments!
It is time for Marvel Comics’ new pull list. Several heroes and villains are being highlighted for this month. That includes Venom, Spider-Man 2099, the X-Men, Agents of SHIELD, and Daredevil as he meets with a new ally.
Marvel said on their website, “For months, the bloodthirsty and demonic Demogoblin has been kidnapping children for reasons unknown. In DAREDEVIL & ECHO (2023) #1 by Taboo, B. Earl, and Phil Noto, Daredevil and Echo discover why—as Demogoblin works to wake an ancient and powerful evil deep within the bowels of the city. Reunited at last with Echo, herself fresh from a brief time as the host of the Phoenix Force, it falls to Daredevil to stop Demagoblin and save not only the children, but everyone in New York!”
“Catch Matt Murdock and Maya Lopez’s reunion in DAREDEVIL & ECHO (2023) #1,” they added.
Marvel revealed the pull list online:
New Comics
BISHOP: WAR COLLEGE (2023) #4
DAREDEVIL & ECHO (2023) #1
EXTREME VENOMVERSE (2023) #2
FURY 1 (2023) #1
HALLOWS’ EVE (2023) #3
HELLCAT (2023) #3
IRON MAN 1 FACSIMILE EDITION (2023) #1
NEW MUTANTS LETHAL LEGION (2023) #3
SPIDER-MAN 2099: DARK GENESIS (2023) #4
STAR WARS: DARTH VADER – BLACK, WHITE & RED (2023) #2
STAR WARS: THE HIGH REPUBLIC (2022) #10
STORM (2023) #1
THE X-CELLENT (2023) #3
THOR (2020) #34
WARLOCK: REBIRTH (2023) #2
New Collections
DEADLY NEIGHBORHOOD SPIDER-MAN TPB
IMMORTAL X-MEN BY KIERON GILLEN VOL. 2 TPB
MARVEL MASTERWORKS: THE AVENGERS VOL. 23 HC
PETER PARKER & MILES MORALES: SPIDER-MEN DOUBLE TROUBLE GN-TPB
PUNISHER WAR JOURNAL TPB
SHE-HULK EPIC COLLECTION: THE COSMIC SQUISH PRINCIPLE TPB
SPIDER-MAN 2099 OMNIBUS VOL. 1 HC LEONARDI FIRST ISSUE COVER
STAR WARS VOL. 5: THE PATH TO VICTORY TPB
Marvel Unlimited
AVENGERS FOREVER (2021) #14
CAPTAIN MARVEL (2019) #46
CARNAGE REIGNS ALPHA (2023) #1
DANNY KETCH: GHOST RIDER (2023) #1
DAREDEVIL & ECHO (2023) #1
FANTASTIC FOUR (2022) #4
HULK (2021) #12
IRON MAN (2022) #3
MARAUDERS (2022) #11
MARVEL’S VOICES: WAKANDA FOREVER (2023) #1
MARY JANE & BLACK CAT (2022) #3
MONICA RAMBEAU: PHOTON (2022) #3
MURDERWORLD: MOON KNIGHT (2023) #1
NIGHTCRAWLERS (2023) #1
SILK (2023) #1
SPIDER-MAN (2022) #5
SPIDER-MAN: THE LOST HUNT (2022) #4
STAR WARS (2020) #31
STAR WARS: BOUNTY HUNTERS (2020) #31
STORM (2023) #1
THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN (2022) #25
WASP (2023) #2
WOLVERINE (2020) #30
X-MEN (2021) #19
X-TREME X-MEN (2022) #3
These titles will be available for print or digital on May 24th, 2023.
Fans of the ‘Slam Dunk’ manga are in for a treat with the announcement that the film ‘The First Slam Dunk’ will make its North American debut at the 2023 Anime Expo in Los Angeles, California after taking the Japanese box office by storm. GKids and Toei Animation are collaborating on this premiere on Monday, July 3, 2023, which will also feature a souvenir booklet that will be passed on to attendees.
GKids said on their website that in “celebrating its 15th anniversary as a producer and distributor of award-winning and artist-driven animation from around the world, and globally acclaimed and industry-leading animation studio Toei Animation, announced today that THE FIRST SLAM DUNK will host its North American premiere at this year’s Anime Expo in Los Angeles. Anime Expo is the largest celebration of Japanese pop culture in North America, having hosted numerous premieres of top Japanese anime films, with regular attendance of over 100,000 attendees annually.”
The movie is written and directed by Takehiko Inoue, who wrote and illustrated the manga during its run from October 1, 1990, to June 17, 1996, within the pages of ‘Weekly Shōnen Jump’ magazine.
You can watch the trailer below:
GKids describes the synopsis as follows,
“Shohoku’s “speedster” and point guard, Ryota Miyagi, always plays with brains and lightning speed, running circles around his opponents while feigning composure. Born and raised in Okinawa, Ryota had a brother who was three years older. Following in the footsteps of his older brother, who was a famous local player from a young age, Ryota also became addicted to basketball.
In his second year of high school, Ryota plays with the Shohoku High School basketball team along with Sakuragi, Rukawa, Akagi, and Mitsui as they take the stage at the Inter-High School National Championship. And now, they are on the brink of challenging the reigning champions, Sannoh Kogyo High School.”
‘The First Slam Dunk’ has won several accolades including Japan Academy Prize for Animation of the Year at the 46th Japan Academy Film Prize and the Okawa-Fukiya Award at the Niigata International Animation Film Festival 2023.
For years I’ve covered indie horror films that had the unfortunate fate of being marketed under the guise of whatever the latest “thing” is. Think of Asylum mockbusters but with even less of a budget. Unfortunately, this year, the monster movie marketing trend will be cocaine-themed.
There are many movies that await distribution. Some sit for years until they find the right time to hit the market. If a distributor can slap a poster together that looks similar to a recent buzz-worthy film, they’ll do it without remorse. I get it. You have to do what you have to do to sell a movie to the public.
Such is the case with Cocaine Shark. I’m not exactly sure when this film was made, but I do know that it has nothing to do with the devil’s dandruff. In fact, the movie looks like it is a fun, campy monster flick featuring stop-motion monstrosities.
There’s not a single mention of cocaine in the trailer. This movie has 1970s fun written all over it. It looks cheap, the special effects are laughable, and it’s probably a great watch. Sadly, slapping a title on it to piggyback off of Elizabeth Banks’s movie does Cocaine Shark a disservice.
Check out the trailer below:
“A mafia drug lord has unleashed a new, highly addictive stimulant on the streets called HT25, derived from sharks held captive in a secret lab, and which causes monstrous side effects.” reads the film’s synopsis. “After an explosion and leak at the lab, an army of mutated, bloodthirsty sharks and other creatures are set loose on the world as a small band of people try to stop the carnage.”
Cocaine Shark will be available on DVD and video-on-demand on July 11th.
What do you think of the trailer? Let us know in the comments section below.
Hey! I got to go a whole month without using our Red Meta Header image! Surprisingly, the social media giant, for the most part, was able to stay under the radar for a while. That is until the European Union slapped Mark Zuckerberg’s company with a record-setting $1.3 billion fine!
Thanks to an article on CNBC, we learned that Zucky and his VR-obsessed company were allegedly being naughty regarding E.U. user data. The Irish Data Protection Commission claimed that Meta failed to protect user data from snooping eyes in the U.S.
The lack of user info oversight went against the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation. Meta kept transferring personal info back and forth to the U.S. even though it had no legal approval to do so. Kind of.
Zuckerberg’s company had a “standard contractual clauses” workaround to move data between the bloc and the U.S. However, the Irish Data Protection Commission claims Meta “did not address the risks to the fundamental rights and freedoms” of users. The perceived violations also led the Irish watchdog to ask that Meta “suspend any future transfer of personal data to the U.S. within the period of five months.”
The social media company, of course, is appealing the sanction and monetary punishment. In a joint statement from Meta’s President of Global Affairs and Chief Legal Officer, they claimed the decisions by the Irish Data Protection Commission would “harm” Meta users and “the millions of people who use Facebook every day.” How, exactly? Nick Clegg and Jennifer Newstead did not elaborate.
The early 2020s have not been kind to Facebook / Meta. Lawsuits and layoffs have been prevalent over the past couple of years. Ten thousand employees were pink-slipped two months ago.
When will the Meta madness end? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
