Wednesday 9 July 2014

News roundup: still no English-language Judge End simulcast, but meanwhile, in Japan...

Fans outside Japan eagerly await news of subtitles for Sengoku Basara: Judge End

I'm getting a lot of questions about this so I'll try to keep track of the current situation.

Fans who can't watch the Japanese version - either due to region locking or the lack of subtitles - are still waiting for the first overseas streams to appear for the new Sengoku Basara: Judge End anime. So far, there hasn't been too much to report but I'm expecting the first episode to be made available very soon.

Here is the latest state of the overseas broadcasts for anyone who is lucky enough to live in a region which will be showing Judge End:

English-subtitled: FUNimation will be showing Judge End weekly on Saturdays for fans in the US. They usually broadcast anime on their website and on Hulu but both will be region locked (source).
French-subtitled: Anime Digital Network and J-ONE will both be making the series available in French-speaking regions. The details have not yet been announced.

Since FUNimation have licensed the show in the US I'm expecting that it will also be streamed in the UK by Animax and in Australia by AnimeLab now that they're handling Madman titles. Nothing has yet been announced to confirm this but they're the companies with the best chances, so fans in those regions can try asking them to pick up the rights.

If I've missed any announcements (which is very likely for regions where I can't read the local language) please let me know and I'll add them to the list. We need to promote the official streams where possible to ensure that the series gets better treatment outside Japan in future!

A range of Sengoku Basara 4 clutch bags and wallets is on the way

Enter-sis have revealed details of some deluxe Sengoku Basara 4 merchandise. They're producing a pair of ¥12,960 clutch bags with Masamune and Mitsunari designs:


There will also be a range of high quality ¥7,992 canvas wallets with three different designs (Masamune/Katsuie, Yukimura/Ieyasu and Mitsunari/Sakon):


Reservations begin next week and the goods will ship in mid-September 2014. If you're interested in the products I can recommend clicking the links; there are lots more pictures and specifications on the official website.

Preview of the new Sengoku Basara 4 novel

The official Dengeki Maoh blog has posted a preview of the upcoming Sengoku Basara 4: Ryuuou-Kamewari-hen ('Dragon King/Urn-Splitter Arc') novel. The book is due for release in two days and while the plot sounds reasonably close to the events of the game, the preview website is well worth checking out anyway for the stunning high resolution version of Haibara Yak's front cover illustration alone.


Judge End's opening and ending themes are to appear on albums

Fans who are desperate to pick up copies of Sengoku Basara: Judge End's new opening and ending songs can look forward to both artists' upcoming albums.

While the album details for Ishikawa Chiaki's ending song had already been revealed, Fear, and Loathing in Las Vegas have since confirmed that the anime's theme song Thunderclap will be available on their third album PHASE 2. The CD is due for release on 6th August 2014 priced at ¥2,500 and bearing catalogue number VPCC-81811. The official music video for Thunderclap has been posted on YouTube.


Capcom is to hold a new set of fan meeting events in Japan

The 'fan meetings' from earlier this year were apparently successful enough to lead to another series of events this autumn for members of BASARA CLUB. The events are like mini Basara Matsuri celebrations but with a more intimate setting, allowing fans to get closer to the Sengoku Basara creators, seiyuu and stage play actors.

Series producer Kobayashi 'KobaP' Hiroyuki will be at all of the events while the other guests will be as follows.

BASARA CLUB Fan Meeting 2014 Autumn in Tokyo
28th September 2014 (Yomiuri Hall in Chiyoda-ku)

Afternoon show start time: 13:30
Seiyuu guests: Hoshi Souichirou (Sanada Yukimura), Ookawa Tooru (Tokugawa Ieyasu)
Stage play guests: Yoshida Tomokazu (Katakura Kojuurou), Matsumura Ryuunosuke (Sanada Yukimura)
Evening show start time: 18:00
Seiyuu guests: Hoshi Souichirou (Sanada Yukimura), Hayami Shou (Tenkai/Akechi Mitsuhide)
Stage play guests: Taniguchi Masashi (Tenkai/Akechi Mitsuhide), Sakurada Kousei (Azai Nagamasa)

BASARA CLUB Fan Meeting 2014 Autumn in Osaka
12th October 2014 (Osaka City Kodomo Bunka Centre in Nishi-ku)

Afternoon show start time: 13:30
Seiyuu guests: Miki Shinichirou (Gotou Matabee), Tachiki Fumihiko (Ootani Yoshitsugu)
Stage play guests: Hirose Yuusuke (Tokugawa Ieyasu), Murata Youjirou (Sarutobi Sasuke)
Evening show start time: 18:00
Seiyuu guests: Miki Shinichirou (Gotou Matabee), Tachiki Fumihiko (Ootani Yoshitsugu)
Stage play guests: Hirose Yuusuke (Tokugawa Ieyasu), Nitta Kenta (Ootani Yoshitsugu)

BASARA CLUB Fan Meeting 2014 Autumn in Fukuoka
18th October 2014 (IMS Hall in Chuuou-ku)

Afternoon show start time: 14:30
Seiyuu guests: Okiayu Ryoutarou (Toyotomi Hideyoshi), Ishino Ryuuzou (Chousokabe Motochika)
Stage play guests: Hirose Yuusuke (Tokugawa Ieyasu), Taniguchi Masashi (Tenkai/Akechi Mitsuhide)

Fan club members can order tickets between the 11th and 21st of July 2014. The tickets will cost ¥4,500 per performance. As demand is expected to be high, successful applicants will be selected by lottery and club members will only be admitted if they have their membership card with them at the time of the event.

I wonder whether there will be any special announcements to coincide with the fan meetings? The first is right after the anime is scheduled to end, while the last is just before the Butai Sengoku Basara 4 stage play begins. It could be a good opportunity for KobaP to reveal his plan for what's coming next.

A new Sengoku Basara 3 slot machine is on the way

I wasn't really sure whether anyone who reads this would be interested in news about the Sengoku Basara slot machine (pachislot) game series as it's a rather niche topic to those of us outside Japan. However, it's rare that I find information which includes a video so maybe some people will enjoy seeing it.


In truth I'm not all that knowledgeable about this particular spin-off but Pachislot Strategy Magazine's August edition (released yesterday) apparently revealed a bunch of details about the brand new Pachislot Sengoku Basara 3 game, which is expected to arrive in pachinko parlours across Japan in late August 2014 from Enterrise. Slot machines are big business in Japan and tie-ins with popular series are very common, allowing anime and game series to grow in popularity outside their usual target audiences. If you're curious about the previous title in the series, you can see the promotional video for 2011's excessively complicated Pachislot Sengoku Basara 2 on Enterrise's website here. Please don't get too excited as the visuals are recut from other games.

It really feels as though there's been a big Sengoku Basara 3 revival lately!

2 comments:

  1. That all good news in the basara wold! I'm happy since the anime the news are coming again. I would like to know if the bag will be available on English site like amiami ? they are very pretty! ^-^

    Thanks a lot for the news!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hmm that's a good question! It's only available for preorder for a limited period but AmiAmi have definitely supplied Enter-sis items in the past. If they make it available it will probably be limited to people who place their orders quickly.

      It might be good to ask AmiAmi directly to see whether they will be offering the bag. If not, I'm sure one of the companies which can arrange special orders like CD Japan should be able to help out.

      Delete

I'm really sorry that I had to switch on authentication for comments. The blog had started to receive dozens of spam comments each week. I hope that this new setting will help!

Note: only a member of this blog may post a comment.