News roundup: the official Sengoku Basara Judge End website updates

Keeping up with all of this news is hard work all of a sudden!

The official Sengoku Basara Judge End website updates

Today's update confirmed another round of characters for the Sengoku Basara Judge End anime - though since they all appear in the first episode I'm not sure how secret this was! The full cast list shown on the website now looks like this (everyone is voiced by the same seiyuu as in the game series):

Date Masamune (Nakai Kazuya)
Sanada Yukimura (Hoshi Souichirou)
Tokugawa Ieyasu (Ookawa Tooru)
Ishida Mitsunari (Seki Tomokazu)
Katakura Kojuurou (Morikawa Toshiyuki)
Takeda Shingen (Genda Tesshou)
Sarutobi Sasuke (Koyasu Takehito)
Toyotomi Hideyoshi (Okiayu Ryoutarou)
Takenaka Hanbee (Ishida Akira)
Ootani Yoshitsugu (Tachiki Fumihiko)
Maeda Keiji (Morita Masakazu)
Saika Magoichi (Oohara Sayaka)
Kuroda Kanbee (Koyama Rikiya)
Tsuruhime (Koshimizu Ami)
Chousokabe Motochika (Ishino Ryuuzou)
Mouri Motonari (Nakahara Shigeru)
Uesugi Kenshin (Paku Romi)
Kasuga (Kuwatani Natsuko)
Shimazu Yoshihiro (Ogata Kenichi)
Oichi (Noto Mamiko)
Kobayakawa Hideaki (Fukuyama Jun)
Tenkai (Hayami Shou)
Houjou Ujimasa (Miyazawa Tadashi)
Sakai Tadatsugu (Nishikawa Takanori)

The character profile page has updated too with some of the designs.

If we assume that the layout is meant to be symmetrical, and account for the fact that there will be one space left once all of the characters above are added, I'm guessing we might be seeing an appearance by everyone's favourite Demon King before the series is over.

Details of the Japanese home video release for Judge End

The VAP website has confirmed the first details of the series' Japanese home video release. There will be four volumes to collect in total:

Sengoku Basara Judge End: I
Release date: 24th September 2014
Catalogue number: VPXY-71336 (Blu-ray) / VPBY-14329 (DVD)
Price: ¥5,800 (Blu-ray) / ¥4,800 (DVD)
Blu-ray specification: Colour, Stereo, Linear PCM 2.0, 16:9 1080p HD
DVD specification: Colour, Stereo, 16:9 LB, Dolby Digital 2.0ch
Run time: 70 minutes (plus extras)
Contents: Sengoku Basara Judge End episodes 1-3

Sengoku Basara Judge End: II
Release date: 22nd October 2014
Catalogue number: VPXY-71337 (Blu-ray) / VPBY-14330 (DVD)
Price: ¥5,800 (Blu-ray) / ¥4,800 (DVD)
Blu-ray specification: Colour, Stereo, Linear PCM 2.0, 16:9 1080p HD
DVD specification: Colour, Stereo, 16:9 LB, Dolby Digital 2.0ch
Run time: 70 minutes (plus extras)
Contents: Sengoku Basara Judge End episodes 4-6

Sengoku Basara Judge End: III
Release date: 26th November 2014
Catalogue number: VPXY-71338 (Blu-ray) / VPBY-14331 (DVD)
Price: ¥5,800 (Blu-ray) / ¥4,800 (DVD)
Blu-ray specification: Colour, Stereo, Linear PCM 2.0, 16:9 1080p HD
DVD specification: Colour, Stereo, 16:9 LB, Dolby Digital 2.0ch
Run time: 70 minutes (plus extras)
Contents: Sengoku Basara Judge End episodes 7-9

Sengoku Basara Judge End: IV
Release date: 24th December 2014
Catalogue number: VPXY-71339 (Blu-ray) / VPBY-14332 (DVD)
Price: ¥5,800 (Blu-ray) / ¥4,800 (DVD)
Blu-ray specification: Colour, Stereo, Linear PCM 2.0, 16:9 1080p HD
DVD specification: Colour, Stereo, 16:9 LB, Dolby Digital 2.0ch
Run time: 70 minutes (plus extras)
Contents: Sengoku Basara Judge End episodes 10-12

The first press copies of each volume (both the Blu-ray and DVD editions) will also include an exclusive audio CD with an unbroadcast episode of the new Hoshi Souichirou and Seki Tomokazu's 'Sengoku Basara: Judge End' Radio show. Additional bonus features are to be confirmed.

I've included the Amazon Japan links in case anyone is really impatient, but if you prefer to buy elsewhere I'm sure it will be available elsewhere very soon. Please note that the Japanese home video release probably won't include any subtitles; many fans overseas may prefer to wait for FUNimation's home video edition.

Summaries for the next four episodes of Judge End

As well as releasing the next batch of design sketches, today the Japanese media outlets revealed the stories which will feature in the next four episodes of the show. The reason that the stories are posted in advance is because the mainstream anime magazines publish their television preview guides on the 10th of each month.

Please be aware that these summaries naturally contain spoilers - especially for viewers who haven't played the games. If that doesn't bother you, click below for details of what we can expect!

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!

Anime review: Sengoku Basara Judge End episode 1

I don't usually do episode-by-episode anime reviews but this series is special. Given that so many reviewers complained that the earlier Sengoku Basara adaptations were difficult to follow I wanted to gather as much information as I could to help new viewers.

This is my second time watching the first episode; I already posted some spoilers from it earlier in the week. Animate TV posted some teaser screenshots yesterday too. I can now confirm that the music is credited to Tokuda Masahiro and the new female narrator seems to be Saiga Mitsuki.

How to watch

I'm going to edit this part of the post a few times as more announcements are made.

These are the official ways to watch Sengoku Basara Judge End at the moment:

Television (Japan only)
The initial television broadcast on NTV is at 1:50 every Sunday morning (this is written as 25:50 in broadcast notation). The first episode's broadcast time was later than normal since it was scheduled for 26:05. The YTV and BS Nittere broadcasts are shown a week late.

NTV On Demand (Japan only)
This is a premium service. Fans can pay ¥900 to watch the whole series or ¥300 to see an individual episode. The previous week's episode is shown for free on Fridays and Saturdays. The series airs slightly early at 24:00 local time on Saturdays.

Hulu (Japan only)
Fans who pay the ¥933 monthly fee can watch the episodes slightly ahead of the broadcast time.

d Anime Store (Japan only)
Another premium service. The latest episode will be made available as part of their ¥400 monthly subscription.

These Japanese services will also be streaming Judge End; if you can't wait then it might be worth checking them to see whether any work in your region. I imagine they'll make the episodes available shortly after the television broadcast.

AcTVila, Bandai Channel, Best Hit Anime Douga, DMM.com, Google Play, GyaO Store, Happy Douga Anime, Hikari TV, JCOM On Demand, Movie Full+, Nico Nico Official Channel, Rakuten Showtime, Tsutaya TV, TV Dogatch, U-NEXT, Video Market

I'll add links to the official international streams as soon as they're announced:

FUNimation (US only)
The episodes will be streamed weekly on Saturdays at 12:05pm CST with English subtitles. FUNimation also have the home video rights, so if the stream is popular the series might eventually be dubbed into English.
Source

Anime Digital Network (France only)
ADN will be offering the series online with French subtitles. They charge a monthly fee for the service.
Source

J-ONE (France only)
A French-subtitled broadcast will take place on J-ONE - Canalsat (50) and Numericable (38). The full details are coming soon.
Source

Like many fans around the world I live in a country which has been excluded from the licensed simulcasts so far (thanks, anime industry!). In spite of this treatment I feel very strongly about supporting the official western version when it's available rather than resorting to piracy. The Japanese distributors will use the official viewing figures to see how successful the show has been while the US anime distributors like FUNimation use them to decide whether to give new titles home video releases, whether to dub them and whether to go the extra mile and produce a high quality premium release. If we want Sengoku Basara Judge End to receive a decent western release and raise awareness of the series, we need to make sure people are watching the official streams if possible. Please get your friends to watch it too if you can so that the industry can see that there's an audience out there.

I'd rather not say how I'm watching the Japanese streams but it's not that difficult to find a method with some searching.

Summary

The rest of this post contains spoilers for the first episode of Sengoku Basara Judge End and some very low quality screenshots.

Today's acquisitions (5th July 2014)

It's been a while since the last photograph of things I've bought so this seems like a good way to pass the time until Judge End airs.

The first picture includes three US Blu-ray sets: Nekomonogatari Black, Nekomonogatari White and NIS America's gorgeous Fuse: Memoirs Of A Huntress box set. The book is the Musha-e Exhibition Catalogue from the Souma Nomaoi exhibition I saw at Japan Expo on Wednesday. It's satisfyingly thick and full of modern-day interpretations of traditional mounted warriors.

The box set in the top left is Playful Kiss, the Korean live action adaptation of the Itazura Na Kiss manga. I had absolutely no idea that a French company was releasing Korean television shows on DVD (with both English and French subtitles!) until I saw them at Japan Expo. While Toki Media only seem to have three titles in their home video catalogue right now, it would be great to see more Asian television shows released on DVD in this part of the world.

Next is my most recent batch of Diabolik Lovers goodies, including the final volume of the anime (it was delayed by two months) and its bonus tokuten CD. I also received the Diabolik Lovers do-S Kyuuketsu CD: VERSUS II Vol. 2. Both items came with bromides; it's hard to believe that this picture only represents the purchase of one DVD and one CD.

Animate sent me a little Ken Ga Kimi card as well which is tucked away on the right side.

Of course, I received some Sengoku Basara items too. To go with some doujinshi (not pictured) and the Kojuurou IC card sticker in the centre, Otaku Republic sent me a free Sengoku Basara -The Last Party- clear file as a gift.

The two items in the top right are notebooks from the official fan club shop which match the sheets of stickers at the bottom. I took a close-up picture of the stickers as the illustrations are so cute.

I love Nagamasa's facial expression, and Keiji looks great too. I suppose I should start preparing for tonight's episode now!

News roundup: a staggering amount of new Sengoku Basara merchandise appears

e-Capcom updates with a new theme - and lots of new merchandise

The next special 'event' over at e-Capcom is a Heroes Festival, starring Ieyasu and Keiji. They've joined forces for more special deals, and the event coincides with several new merchandise listings in the shop. These items should start appearing at regular hobby shops soon.

The first few items all come out on 25th September 2014.

A collection of seven Sengoku Basara 4 acrylic key holders in the same style as the recent rubber mascots. They cost ¥600 each before tax. The character selection is strange.

If you already have enough key holders, you can choose from the same range of illustrations as die cut stickers instead. Each costs ¥400.

Two sets of IC card stickers, each costing ¥800. This is the 'second costume' set.

While this one is the 'special costume' set.

A new range of four collectible makie decorative stickers, designed to be applied to cellphones. Each costs ¥500. I love them.

The second batch of Sengoku Basara 4 dialogue mugs to go with the first four designs. Fans can choose from Yukimura, Matabee, Motochika or Motonari this time and each costs ¥1,200.

The Sengoku Basara 4: Bushou Clear File Collection vol. 2 includes sixteen different designs in a box priced at ¥3,200. The box is expensive and I don't really need any more clear files but they look so good! Japanese shops will be selling the individual files randomly packed in blind envelopes for fans who would prefer not to get a full box.

The Sengoku Basara 4: Bushou Pins Collection is a box of ten collectible pins priced at ¥5,400. Again, buyers in Japan can buy them individually in blind boxes.

The next two products will be released a little earlier than the others on 28th August 2014.

A Sengoku Basara 4: Giga Basara t-shirt available in S, M, L and XL sizes for ¥2,850.

Four different Sengoku Basara 4 tenugui towels costing ¥1,200 each.

Separately, Movic's listing for their upcoming ¥350 Sengoku Basara Judge End clear file has now updated to show the design as well.

I'm not too sure about the picture's composition; isn't Ieyasu a little too small? Maybe it looks less confusing without the blue background and text.

The Sengoku Basara 4 Special Package is given a promotional video

Yesterday's episode of Capcom TV over on Nico Nico Douga premiered a new promotional video for the upcoming Sengoku Basara 4 Special Package rerelease. It's since gone up on Capcom's YouTube channel too for everyone to enjoy:


While there isn't much new content in the video itself, the brief footage from the set's bonus DVD is interesting. My Capcom released a sample image showing how the DVD sleeve will look.

Sengoku Basara 4 drinks are coming to Japan this summer

They'll be available at a variety of stores from this Saturday. The flavours are Date army (sports drink), Takeda army (black currant/orange) and Toyotomi army (grape).

First impressions from the Sengoku Basara: Judge End world premiere (spoilers)

Following on from my post about the event itself, this post contains my detailed impression and spoilers for the first episode of Sengoku Basara: Judge End which premiered at the Japan Expo event in Paris today. Please don't read any further if you want to keep this weekend's episode a surprise!

If anyone reading this was one of the other few hundred people in the audience I'd love to hear what you thought as well.

The story summarised the events leading up to the opening scenes in Sengoku Basara 3. Several shots were taken straight from the game's early cutscenes, while other parts unfolded quite differently. It's only the first episode and already I feel that the staff are trying to make this the definitive telling of the story with new content for hardcore fans. Good.

(To prevent accidental viewing of the spoilers, please click the link below to continue reading if you're seeing this on my main blog page.)

Event report: Japan Expo 2014 (Paris)

Back when the broadcast details for Sengoku Basara: Judge End were first revealed at the start of June, many fans were amazed to see that the series was going to receive its world premiere at the Japan Expo event in Paris, France - several days before the first Japanese television broadcast. While it's certainly not the first anime title to receive this honour, it's the first time that a series I love this much has debuted at a high profile event somewhere so close to home.

After missing the last London MCM Expo (MCM Comic Con) due to exasperation at the organisation and crowding, I'd been itching to visit a convention for a while. So to cut a long story short, this morning I found myself sitting on a Eurostar train bound for Paris for a very special daytrip.

Unlike the anime industry in the UK, which mostly survives by repackaging content from bigger distributors in the US and Australia, the anime and manga companies over in France seem eternally resilient. France is regarded as the largest market for manga and anime outside of Japan in many respects; indeed, I've often imported DVDs (and VHS tapes) from the continent to fill gaps in my collection when the English-speaking market fails to deliver. Until now I'd made excuses about the potential language barrier and never given the colossal Japan Expo events a chance.

With my Sengoku Basara fever as motivation I decided to stop being a coward. After a smooth journey through the Channel Tunnel the Paris-Nord Villepinte Exhibition Center was just a short train ride away on the RER railway.

Perfect weather; not a cloud in the sky!

I can read French without too many problems but holding a conversation is a challenge. Thankfully the guests and many vendors spoke in Japanese, and the organisers had prepared extensive English-language instructions to help the crowds of fans from other countries navigate the exhibition halls. The moment we stepped out of the RER station it felt as though we'd left Paris and entered another universe; all concerns about understanding the language disappeared in the exciting Japan Expo atmosphere. It was probably one of the most organised events I've ever attended and very foreigner-friendly.

As it was the first day of a five-day convention the doors opened later than usual. Our 'early bird' tickets - which cost just €8 apiece - allowed us to enter an hour earlier than fans who bought their tickets at the venue. After a short wait in the sweltering queue we were inside the exhibition hall by 13:30, giving us plenty of time to explore before it was time to join the queue to watch Sengoku Basara: Judge End at 15:00.

My first impression was that Japan Expo is vast. One day didn't give us enough time to explore all of the attractions even though there was plenty of space to move around and very little queueing.

This area wasn't really aimed at me

It was soon time for the most exciting part of the day: the screening of the first episode of Sengoku Basara: Judge End. I'm not going to spoil the actual content here because it seems rude to do that a few days before the proper broadcast become available (click here if you want the spoilers anyway). Anyway, I really enjoyed the episode. While it's definitely got a different feel to Production I.G.'s Sengoku Basara anime adaptation, it's still the hotblooded, melodramatic series I love.

With the main reason for the trip out of the way, it was time to go back into the main halls to explore the rest of what Japan Expo had to offer. There was way too much to describe in detail!

One of the highlights for me was that Yokota Mamoru had rounded up some of his fellow artists to produce a series of illustrations to draw attention to the Souma Nomaoi rally. These drawings were presented as an art gallery titled Musha-e. What was interesting was that there was a wide range of art styles with each person interpreting the theme in their own way. I also liked that many of the artists had chosen to draw famous Sengoku-era commanders...

A tiny sample from the Musha-e exhibition

A full colour art book was available which collected the illustrations. It was definitely worth the €20 to be able to take them home and enjoy them properly.

Naturally, the local French anime and manga distributors were present at the event. The number of official DVD sets was great, but even more impressive was the sheer volume of French-translated manga on offer. There was hardly any Japanese content on sale at all because there are so many companies producing official French translations; I'm seriously jealous!

There was plenty of other content too, from a wrestling ring to a cosplay stage. Fans could even get a rare chance to participate in an Ichiban Kuji lottery drawing to win special Shingeki No Kyojin (Attack On Titan) and Sword Art Online goodies. I liked that most of the stages were in the main event halls; you could get glimpses of martial arts demonstrations or people singing even when you were shopping.

A saucy itansha (decorated motorbike)

The next scheduled event I wanted to attend was Nakagawa 'Shokotan' Shoko's live mini-concert. I'd assumed she'd be singing on one of the regular stages in the exhibition halls but the separate 'live house' area was a full stage with screens and a professional setup; very nice! Shokotan blasted out her newest songs along with three from Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann, her ending theme from Fullmetal Alchemist and a medley of classic anime songs which had the crowd singing along. This is the second time I've had the pleasure of seeing Shokotan on stage and her spirited performance was great.

A Japanese-French translator was on stage too to help her communicate with the audience. Most of the people there seemed able to follow Shokotan's slow, clear Japanese without any help, though.

The queue for Shokotan stretched across half of one hall

One of the interesting things about visiting any foreign anime convention are the subtle (and not-so-subtle) differences in which series are popular. Big titles like Shingeki No Kyojin (Attack On Titan), Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon and One Piece are beloved the world over, of course, but the selection of genres highlighted in Paris definitely had its own distinct flavour, with a lot more support for classics and underrated shows instead of simply concentrating only on the recent big hits. I was thrilled to see the displays promoting titles which struggle to find an audience in English-speaking regions.

I was also pleased to discover that it was quick and easy to buy food within the exhibition hall. London's MCM Expo could learn a thing or two about organisation.

This huge booth produced nothing but takoyaki

The last activity for the day was a trip to the Cultural Stage to watch Chiba's hyperactive unofficial mascot character Funassyi presenting a talk show. It was wacky and cute!

I love Funassyi. I can't help it.

The RER trains were delayed on the way back, making for a very stressful trip home. As I sat on the train I reflected that Japan Expo is like the UK's MCM Expo/MCM Comic Con, Hyper Japan and the Tokyo International Anime Fair all in one with a truly impressive selection of guests. The organisation was superb and the atmosphere was buzzing from start to finish - it was a real joy to be there.

It's a shame that I had to go straight back to the station to catch the last train home instead of taking a few days off work to enjoy the trip properly. Paris has some great bookstores and the remainder of Japan Expo promised even more entertainment. I'd have quite liked to savour some tasty local food as well! Perhaps next year?

News roundup: it's almost time for Sengoku Basara Judge End

Title announced for the first episode of Sengoku Basara Judge End

It's proving to be an exciting week with Sengoku Basara Judge End premiering at France's Japan Expo event tomorrow then making its formal television debut in Japan at the weekend. The first of the series' twelve episodes now has a confirmed title: Ketsubetsu ('Parting'). It sounds as though some of the sad moments hinted at in the trailer will be taking place...

The first wave of Judge End merchandise is on the way

Technically we've already had a ceramic mug with the key artwork, but this merchandise from Movic is the first that will be available to a wider audience.

Four glasses priced at ¥800 each, released on 31st July 2014:

Two sticker sets priced at ¥200 each, released on 17th July 2014:

There will also be a ¥350 clear file released on 24th July 2014. The design hasn't yet been revealed on the Movic Store.

Sengoku Basara 4 Rubber Strap Collection to be launched

Fans who liked the previous rubber strap sets can now rejoice as there will soon be more warriors to add to their collections! The two new sets each contain six characters from Sengoku Basara 4, focusing on popular characters who were missing from the older sets, brand new characters and a few old favourites in alternate costumes.

The blind-boxed straps cost ¥500 each or you can buy a set of six for ¥3,000. They're due for release in September 2014.

More details surface about the Sengoku Basara Judge End radio show

The Chou! A&G+ website has posted a news story explaining how the radio show will work. Its full title will be Hoshi Souichirou and Seki Tomokazu's Sengoku Basara: Judge End Radio. The two seiyuu will team up to present information about the anime and fans are invited to submit messages by e-mail to which they can respond on air. Yukimura is going to have a segment called 'Oyakata-samaaaaaa!' where he relays all kinds of military intelligence and silly observations provided by the listeners (oh dear!) while Mitsunari's will be 'Ieyasu! I won't forgive you!'. They want to hear about incidents which annoyed the mild-mannered listeners so that Mitsunari can go into a fury on their behalf. There are some sample messages too, such as this one: "The other day I was walking outside a tobacco shop when I crashed into a telegraph pole. My rage maxed out at this 'telegraph pole by the tobacco shop'! Please, execute it somehow."

The broadcast will take place online from 24:30 to 25:00 every Sunday from 13th July 2014.

The Gift x Algernon Product plushies for Yukimura and Sasuke can now be ordered

The next two plushies from Gift and Algernon Product are Yukimura and Sasuke as previously announced. The preorders went up last week at stores like Ami Ami (Yukimura, Sasuke) and Animate (Yukimura, Sasuke). The previous two plushies sold out quite quickly so it's recommended to place your order swiftly. You may need to use a proxy service since Ami Ami's initial preorder allocation disappeared very quickly.

Bonus illustrated pamphlet for the Sengoku Basara 4 manga

Yoshihara Motoki's Sengoku Basara 4 manga adaptation has now been released and fans who buy their copies through Animate will be treated to an illustrated sheet with a special message. Yoshihara-sensei has been posting beautiful ads on Twitter to help promote the release as well!

Additional pictures of the Ishida Mitsunari Chara-Forme figure

If you're impatient waiting for Empty's new Mitsunari figure due later this year, retailer Hobby Search has posted an extensive collection of pictures showing it off from almost all angles.

e-Capcom celebrates a 'Setouchi Festival'

Motochika and Motonari are the stars of the latest week-long site takeover at e-Capcom with special bundles available for their loyal fans. It's due to end later this week - will there be any more 'festival' events? And if so, who will feature next?

Streaming: Spring 2014 anime final impressions

The spring anime season has now officially ended for me, so in the interval before the summer shows begin it's time for a quick look back at the last three months of my anime streaming adventures.

A bunch of titles appeared as late additions to this season's list of legal streams long after I made my 'first impressions' post, so I've added my first (and last) impressions of them in this segment. I didn't bother with the shows which suddenly appeared on Animax in June since it was hard to watch them from the beginning without paying for a subscription to Animax's notoriously unreliable service. Still, if they keep on licensing so many titles I might end up having to subscribe next month.

Speaking of the various streaming services, Crunchyroll was the only anime simulcast site I used this season. Wakanim had absolutely no new content, Daisuki didn't fare much better and the aforementioned Animax has yet to convince me they know how to run a service worth paying for.

Here's my final ranking for spring before I look back on them in slightly more detail:

1. Kamigami No Asobi - Ludere Deorum
2. The World Is Still Beautiful (Soredemo Sekai Ha Utsukushii)
3. Mushi-shi Zokushou

Several titles this season were very enjoyable; depending on my mood JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders and Haikyuu!! would easily have had a shot at the top three. The quality of the best shows made the two that I didn't like that much - Dai-Shogun Great Revolution and Captain Earth - seem weaker than they would have done otherwise.

I can't really explain why I chose KamiAso for my favourite. It was the one I looked forward to most every week even though it was usually pretty fluffy. The episode where the guys all dressed up (mostly in drag) to perform a play was easily the most entertaining episode of anime I've seen in a long time.

News roundup: Sengoku Basara Judge End news - and a PV

NTV's official Sengoku Basara: Judge End website updated this afternoon with new cast information, character designs and the long-awaited promotional video! Unfortunately the video is blocked in my country so I can't embed it here. Alternative links for foreigners in the same position are already up at Dailymotion and Nico Nico Douga.


(Edit: Thank you to Balder over at Koei Warriors for digging up an embeddable version!)

The opening theme song will be Thunderclap by the group Fear, and Loathing in Las Vegas. Unless Ishikawa Chiaki's ending theme is very different to her usual style, I'm guessing that it's the opening which plays in the promotional video. I'm not entirely sure I like the song (yet) but the video is fantastic overall!

In addition, Hideyoshi, Hanbee, Yoshitsugu and Tadakatsu also now have character profiles on the official site.

The full list of new cast members is as follows:

Maeda Keiji (Morita Masakazu)
Saika Magoichi (Oohara Sayaka)
Kuroda Kanbee (Koyama Rikiya)
Tsuruhime (Koshimizu Ami)
Uesugi Kenshin (Paku Romi)
Kasuga (Kuwatani Natsuko)
Houjou Ujimasa (Miyazawa Tadashi)
Sakai Tadatsugu (Nishikawa Takanori)

The list says there will be other characters not yet announced; the PV reveals several of them though since Oichi, Oda Nobunaga, Tenkai, Kobayakawa Hideaki, Fuuma Kotarou, Chousokabe Motochika and Mouri Motonari are clearly visible.

The last two even appear in the silhouette lineup at the end, implying they will have major roles.

Sakai Tadatsugu is a new historical figure joining the series for Judge End and his profile describes him as a Tokugawa clan warrior, a retainer to the Tokugawa family and advisor to Ieyasu. He's served the Tokugawa clan since he was a child and, being an old friend to Ieyasu, he's one of the very few people who can address him simply as 'Ieyasu' instead of using an honorific title. Sakai has an unusual kind of rivalry with Tadakatsu and harbours an unspoken dissatisfaction at Tadakatsu being valued more than he is. His motto is "Believe!".

The most interesting aspect of Sakai's character though is the fact that he's being voiced by T.M.Revolution's Nishikawa Takanori. Fans are already noticing similarities between Sakai's design and the outfit Nishikawa wore for HOT LIMIT some time ago, something that Nishikawa himself seems amused by.

There will be a Sengoku Basara: Judge End online radio show

Seiyuu Hoshi Souichirou (Sanada Yukimura) and Seki Tomokazu (Ishida Mitsunari) will be getting together starting on Sunday 13th July 2014 to present a 30-minute Sengoku Basara: Judge End web radio show. It will be broadcast on Bunkahousou's Chou! A&G+ service from 24:30 to 25:00 every Sunday (that's 00:30-01:00 on Monday morning, in normal time notation).

A pair of Mame Sengoku Basara cushion covers will soon be available

Gift have now announced details for online sales of their two Mame Sengoku Basara: Chara x Cushion designs. They're actually cushion covers so you have to insert your own cushion inside, but customers who buy two items will receive a free cushion to get them started.

There will be a blue cushion featuring Masamune and Yukimura (direct shop link) and a yellow design with Mitsunari and Ieyasu (direct shop link). Both cushions cost ¥2,700 with tax.

If you plan to buy one I'd recommend asking your proxy service in advance because they will only be available for reservation from the Gift Online Shop for a very limited time between 18:00 on 4th July and 13:00 on 14th July 2014. They are due to ship in the latter half of September.

Gift also posted details of their collectible Mame Sengoku Basara Cleaner Straps which I don't believe I ever mentioned before. Nine designs are available for ¥300 apiece and each of them comes with an earphone plug.

The straps have been given a limited release in Animate's main Ikebukuro store from 7th June 2014. It's possible that a wider release will follow later on.

Sengoku Basara Magazine issue six will arrive in August

Manga Oh has revealed that the next issue of Sengoku Basara Magazine is due for release on 27th August 2014. Expect preorder listings to begin appearing at other stores very soon!

Date Masamune is to join the Revolmini line of figures

A new Date Masamune figure is set to join Kaiyodo's Revolmini line on 25th September 2014. It will have catalogue number RM-004 and it's priced at ¥3,564. It looks very similar to the full-size Revoltech released in the past; I wonder whether more characters will appear as the new Revolmini line continues to expand?

Figure designer Yamaguchi Katsuhisa has posted a selection of prototype shots of the figure over on his Twitter account: 1, 2, 3, 4

The figure can be preordered at Amazon Japan; more stores are expected to list it soon.

Preorders open for the new Chara-Forme figure of Mitsunari

We finally have the details for Empty's new 10.5cm Ishida Mitsunari Chara-Forme figure. Mitsunari can currently be preordered at Ami Ami, e-Capcom and Amazon Japan and he's set for release on 25th November 2014 for ¥3,150.

It's good timing since e-Capcom is currently celebrating a Toyotomi Matsuri this week. Special bundles of goods are available aimed at fans of Mitsunari and the other members of the Toyotomi forces.

I wonder how much longer we'll have to wait to see the planned Ieyasu model?

Results from the annual Twitter character ranking

Last but not least, the 2014 Sengoku Basara Sousenkyo on Twitter popularity ranking recently closed in Japan with 2,963 participants. The ranking is completely unofficial and the results this year have been a little crazy - see for yourselves. Please note that there's a natural bias in this being a Twitter survey as not everyone who enjoys the series uses Twitter or follows the same groups of people.

1. Mouri Motonari (354)
2. Date Masamune (305)
3. Tokugawa Ieyasu (271)
4. Ishida Mitsunari (237)
5. Chousokabe Motochika (207)
6. Sanada Yukimura (202)
7. Gotou Matabee (150)
8. Sarutobi Sasuke (143)
9. Ootani Yoshitsugu (134)
10. Katakura Kojuurou (128)
11. Tenkai/Akechi Mitsuhide (109)
12. Shima Sakon (107)
13. Shibata Katsuie (87)
14. Kuroda Kanbee (81)
15. Takenaka Hanbee (76)
16. Maeda Keiji (64)
17. Matsunaga Hisahide (40)
18. Fuuma Kotarou (31)
19. Itsuki (26)
20. Tsuruhime (18)
21. Ootomo Sourin (15)
22. Toyotomi Hideyoshi (13)
22. Amago Haruhisa (13)
24. Azai Nagamasa (10)
24. Oichi (10)
24. Ashikaga Yoshiteru (10)
27. Oda Nobunaga (9)
27. Nouhime (9)
27. Mogami Yoshiaki (9)
30. Kasuga (8)
30. Honda Tadakatsu (8)
32. Houjou Ujimasa (7)
32. Utsunomiya Hirotsuna (7)
34. Kobayakawa Hideaki (6)
34. Miyoshi Sanninshuu (6)
34. Yamanaka Shikanosuke (6)
37. Takeda Shingen (5)
37. Saika Magoichi (5)
39. Mori Ranmaru (4)
40. Matsu (3)
40. Imagawa Yoshimoto (3)
40. Tachibana Muneshige (3)
40. Kanetsugu Naoe (3)
40. Ii Naotora (3)
45. Uesugi Kenshin (2)
45. Shimazu Yoshihiro (2)
45. Xavi (2)
45. Honganji Kennyo (2)
45. Nanbu Harumasa (2)
45. Satake Yoshishige (2)
45. Anegakouji Yoritsuna (2)
45. Kyougoku Maria (2)
53. Maeda Toshiie (1)
53. Miyamoto Musashi (1)