News roundup: Capcom TV features Sanada Trials mode, and we'll have a batch of news later today

There's going to be a batch of Sengoku Basara: Sanada Yukimura-den information in tomorrow's Weekly Famitsu as well so I'll be updating a little later with a translation of that. The preview promises that it will include details about the story from Chapter 6 onwards (Sasuke will appear), new gameplay elements will be explained (the 'Six Circle Challenge' and 'Rainbow Bonus' mechanics, plus details of the new highest 'Sanzu River' difficulty level) and there will also be a few tie-in costumes to reveal.

Today's Capcom TV featured some live demonstrations of the Sanada Trials mode

Episode 47 of Capcom TV aired today and it included the coverage of Sanada Trials mode as expected. Like before, they filled the entire show with content about other games so it was a long time before the Sengoku Basara content appeared.

It would seem that NonakaP is busy promoting the game elsewhere in Asia at the moment, so Ashigaru-kun appeared instead and joined the Capcom TV presenters.

I had my reservations about how well 'Ashigaru-kun' was going to be able to play when the mysterious shadowy figure controlling him was handed the controller.

In any case, the demonstration started out with a powered-up Yukimura in his 'Phoenix' outfit, which looked pretty great in action. They ran through the first few stages we've already seen, giving everyone an introduction to the Sanada Trials 'survival' mode.

It was then time to make things more interesting and they switched to Fuuma Kotarou so the various hosts could try out some challenges. They only got up to the sixth stage before dropping out so it was all content we'd seen before, then they repeated with Ashigaru-kun controlling Sanada Nobuyuki. He did a lot better.

Here's the results screen in Sanada Trials mode. It's laid out very similarly to the story mode results screen I translated the other day. The only difference is that the Six Circle Challenges (these don't exist in Sanada Trials mode) have been replaced with bonuses for optional objectives completed on each stage, and a bonus for the total number of consecutive trials you beat in that run.

This week's special keyword for LINE is 2周年 and it unlocks a wallpaper of Masamune with Kojuurou.

I'm expecting that tomorrow's dedicated Sengoku Basara broadcast will be a lot better. I'll be at work so I'll post a catch-up in the evening once I've had a chance to watch the timeshifted version.

As a bonus (and because it doesn't really need its own news article), the official Sengoku Basara Twitter account posted a behind-the-scenes design sketch earlier showing the concepts for his new Hinokaku costume from the game. They were trying to convey the image of a young Yukimura growing up.

The official Twitter and LINE accounts have been quite active recently; it's good to see the information flowing!

Zangeki Sengoku Basara: The Battle Of Sekigahara is announced

Zangeki Sengoku Basara 4 Sumeragi: Honnouji No Hen finished its run at the start of this week and the next play in the series was immediately revealed. The new stage play will run in Tokyo (Tennouzu's The Galaxy Theatre) and Osaka (Umeda Arts Theater: Theater DramaCity) in February 2017, and tickets will cost ¥7,900 each. Further details and cast information will be announced in August.

The announcement was accompanied by a video featuring scenes from the latest play.


The stage play series has already covered Sekigahara from a number of angles but this is the first time that it will receive the more action-packed 'Zangeki' treatment. The actors for Masamune, Mitsunari and Ieyasu have all graduated, so this might offer an interesting new spin on the familiar story. Furthermore, it seems likely that Kingo will return but will he get a new Tenkai? If so, Tenkai will need to be recast as Taniguchi Masashi graduated along with Date Masamune's Shiono Akihisa at the end of Zangeki Sengoku Basara 4 Sumeragi: Honnouji No Hen.

Yorikojun is being credited with composition and production again, with the games’ scenario writer Matsuno Izuru assisting with the story. Sengoku Basara creators KobaP and YamamotoD are credited with planning and supervision as usual.

A CD release is confirmed for the most recent Sengoku Basara radio show

Those of us locked out by the region restriction on the web radio broadcast of Sengoku Basara -Nekketsu! Yose Raji!- ('Sengoku Basara: Hot-blooded! Variety Theatre Radio!') can rejoice as listings (CD Japan) have started appearing for a ¥2,500 DJCD: Sengoku Basara -Nekketsu! Yose Raji- disc release from Frontier Works. The release date will be 24th August 2016 to coincide with the new game. Seiyuu Hoshi Souichirou (Sanada Yukimura) hosts the show, and the featured guests will be Nakai Kazuya (Date Masamune) and Morikawa Toshiyuki (Katakura Kojuurou). Unfortunately, the episodes which were broadcast online don't seem to be receiving a CD release at this time.

Customers who reserve the CD at Animate will be able to enter a draw to buy ¥3,800 tickets to one of two special events at Tokyo's Yamano Hall on 14th August 2016. Hoshi Souichirou will be accompanied by Seki Tomokazu (Ishida Mitsunari) and Okiayu Ryoutarou (Toyotomi Hideyoshi) for the afternoon event, and by Nakahara Shigeru (Mouri Motonari) and Ishino Ryuuzou (Chousokabe Motochika) in the evening.

The special events will even have their own exclusive merchandise: three acrylic key holders for ¥700 each, and a set of badges for ¥1,500.

The movie Sanada Juuyuushi will be promoted alongside the new Sengoku Basara game

It's been announced that there will be a promotional tie-in between Sengoku Basara: Sanada Yukimura-den and the upcoming movie Sanada Juuyuushi ('Sanada Ten Braves'), Tsutsumi Yukihiko's retelling of the story of the ninja team which supposedly worked for Yukimura as the Sanada Ten Braves. The movie isn't out until September so there will be a Twitter campaign over the summer and a collaboration with the huge Pasela Resorts entertainment chain offering themed food and drink. More details will be confirmed at a later date.

Activities are planned in Japanese amusement arcades to celebrate the game's release

We've had replicas of swords based on those wielded by Masamune and Mitsunari, and now it's Yukimura's turn to have his distinctive spears show up as a prize in game centres across Japan. The replica 'Sanada Yukimura Juumonji Spears' will start appearing in participating amusement arcades from mid-August 2016. They're based on Yukimura's main weapon Shura ('Scarlet Carnage') and they're approximately 140cm long!

In addition, Capcom has announced that fourteen winners will be selected from a photo contest which asks participants to find a Sengoku Basara standee panel in one of seven locations, follow the Capcom Amusement, Chara Cap Official and Capcom Cafe accounts on Twitter, then Tweet a picture using the ＃幸村伝等身大パネル hashtag. The contest runs between 22nd July and 28th August 2016, and participants will be notified by DM if they've won one of the 'Sanada Yukimura Juumonji Spear' prizes.

A second competition is offering scratchcards for customers who visit one of 33 participating arcades across Japan. Spending more than ¥1,000 on tokens earns two scratchcards, while spending ¥500 on prize machines earns one. The scratchcards award prizes such as Twispa drink carbonation machines and umaibou snacks.

Yet another in-store preview event is announced, this time in Sendai

Fans in the Touhoku region aren't being left out in the recent batches of demonstration events as KobaP will be giving a presentation right in the heart of Sendai this coming Saturday (23rd July 2016). Attendees will have the chance to try the game out, and those who preorder while they're in the store will qualify for a special promotional poster.

Fans who try Sengoku Basara: Sanada Yukimura-den will be given some stickers to commemorate the occasion; the rewards are different for those who choose to try Monster Hunter Stories or BIOHAZARD 7 resident evil instead (hey, I have that notepad and pen set...)

The game's opening movie will be played in Japanese game stores from early August, and fans who visit the preview event may get a sneak peek.

News roundup: Catching up on Sanada Yukimura-den news, wrestling, regional events and merchandise

Members of the press were invited to try out Sengoku Basara: Sanada Yukimura-den

The special in-store demonstration/talk event in the Shibuya LABI branch of Yamada Denki took place yesterday but the media were given a sneak peak a week early, which means we already have some official reports about the content Capcom were subsequently showing to customers at the event. Here's what I noticed from the summaries of KobaP's presentation at the press event.

• Between each chapter, Genda Tesshou (Takeda Shingen's voice actor) narrates the story. Even people who don't know much about Japanese history will find it easy to follow what's happening.
• The dialogue between characters during each stage is new; the recordings haven't been recycled from previous games.
• We already knew this but just to clarify, the new versions of Sanada Yukimura and Date Masamune are effectively completely new characters with new move sets, remade from the ground up.
• The opening movie was shown; it was described vaguely as showing off the Sanada clan warriors and Masamune while T.M.Revolution's Committed RED played. The reporters teased that they weren't allowed to give too much away just yet and fans should keep an eye out for the opening for themselves at the Japanese demonstration events.

The demo gameplay all took place on the Tenmokuzan stage (chapter two) which we've seen before. This gave the attendees the opportunity to try Yukimura, Masayuki and Nobuyuki. The 4Gamer report included some helpful screenshots such as the result screen once you clear a chapter which I've gone ahead and translated:

It's possible to view the main story dialogue through this log screen, so even if you get caught up in the combat you can still catch up on what the characters were saying later on. Unfortunately it doesn't look as though there's an option to replay the lines; a feature which is increasingly common in visual novels:

The graphics for the Sword Clash mechanic have been updated to match the rest of the interface changes:

Finally, after the public event the official Sengoku Basara Twitter account posted a picture of one of Benmaru's special weapons from the game called 信州うさぎ ('Shinshuu Rabbit'). Shinshuu is a part of Japan closely tied to the Sanada clan and famous for its delicious apples, and in Japan it's common to see slices of applies carved to resemble cute bunnies to make them appealing to children. Naturally, the spear is shaped like a carved apple slice with its handle a wooden toothpick. While there's no information about how the weapon is obtained, it seems likely that it's either a joke weapon or some kind of bonus item.

There's also an Ashigaru-kun report from the Famitsu Presents Sengoku Basara: Sanada Yukimura-den Summer Early Access Gathering event a couple of weeks ago. No new information, but there are a few pictures which show the venue and given a good experience of the atmosphere.

Masamune is the latest Sengoku Basara character to don a wrestling costume

A new section has appeared on the official Sengoku Basara: Sanada Yukimura-den website to list the game's planned DLC. The first (and so far, only) DLC reveal was announced this week, and it's the costume the Sengoku Basara team originally designed for wrestler Gotou Hirooki, the 'Daredevil Of Chaos'. Date Masamune will be wearing the 'NJPW Gotou Hirooki Ver.' outfit in Yukimura-den as an optional paid extra available through PSN.

The 'Thunder God' costume originally debuted in the real world a year ago during the first New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) collaboration for Sengoku Basara 4 Sumeragi, and I was half expecting it to appear as paid DLC for that game back at the time. It's good to see it making it back to the game series since the costume looks pretty cool.

An official Gotou Hirooki x Sengoku Basara t-shirt is also available for ¥3,000 to celebrate the collaboration.

And of course, it wouldn't be a Capcom announcement without a little teasing. Gotou has a new crimson 'Red Thunder God' costume designed by the Sengoku Basara team - how long will it be before this one makes it into one of the games? And who will wear it?

A roundup of the latest promotional videos for the new game

A new Sengoku Basara: Sanada Yukimura-den video was released last week showing Benmaru and Bontenmaru in action. It's officially known as the third gameplay clip for those keeping track, since the Sanada Trials clip has a different title.


In addition, fans who follow the official Twitter account and share the recent gameplay clips highlighting the leads' moves and Basara techniques using the #幸村伝アクション動画 hashtag before 25th July will be entered into a prize draw to win Sengoku Basara merchandise.

Next week offers two chances for live clips from the game, with Capcom TV promising a feature about the game on Wednesday 20th July 2016 and the third hour-long official Sengoku Basara: Sanada Yukimura-den broadcast scheduled for Thursday 21st July 2016. Both shows start at 20:00 Japan time on their respective dates.

Capcom TV is going to highlight the Sanada Trials gameplay demonstration it failed to deliver in the previous episode, while the guests for the Thursday broadcast will be Saaya (host), KobaP (series producer), Yamamoto Makoto (series director) and veteran seiyuu Hoshi Souichirou (Sanada Yukimura). It sounds as though it will be a great episode; we haven't heard from YamamotoD in ages so it will be good to see him standing in for NonakaP!

Capcom promotes historical tourism, in the Wakayama region this time

Another regional tie-in event has been announced, this time in Wakayama to tie in with the flurry of interest in the real Sanada Yukimura this year. The Sengoku Basara x Sengoku Wakayama Stamp Rally will run from 1st August until 2nd October 2016 and offers visitors a few fun activities to keep them occupied.

First and foremost is the titular stamp rally, which instruct participants to collect (or print) a pamphlet first so that they can display their progress. They must then travel around various sites in Wakayama to mark their pamphlet with unique stamps which can be found nearby.

When you have collected enough stamps, you can bring your completed stamp sheet to Wakayama Marina City Porto Europe to exchange it for unique Sengoku Basara prizes. The first 1,000 visitors to find all five of the stamps will receive a set of two badges plus a set of three postcards. The first 5,000 participants to find between two and four of the five stamp locations will just receive the postcards.

To make things more fun, standees of Yukimura, Sasuke, Masayuki, Nobuyuki, Masamune, Kojuurou, Ieyasu, Tadakatsu and Magoichi will be placed in train stations and popular locations to invite visitors to take commemorative photographs and mark the occasion.

JR West is offering a special Sengoku Basara Wakayama Free Pass ticket for ¥2,400 (concession price ¥1,200) to give people two consecutive days to explore the region on the JR Wakayama and JR Kishigawa lines, and on Wakayama buses. This offer will run for the full duration of the event.

Yutaka Transport is also getting in on the act by having some of its taxicabs decorated with Sengoku Basara livery from 11th July 2016, to accompany the existing Nankai Electric Railway tie-in which is still running until the end of August. Sanada fans will be spoilt for choice!

More details will be posted on the official Wakayama tourism website here. After translating the page I realised it was also posted on the Capcom Investor Relations page in English already so there's more information there too.

Participation information for Kofu City's summer stamp rally

Meanwhile, Kofu City's successful Sengoku Basara-themed stamp rally is returning between 23rd July and 30th September 2016 and a few more details have been added to the event page. Participants have to scan the QR codes posted at 15 locations around Kofu City in order to collect digital stamps and wallpapers. Three stamps will earn you a KOFU x Sengoku Basara memo pad, eight will award a clear file and twelve stamps is enough to obtain the prize of a lunch tote bag.

The official brochure can be downloaded from the city's tourism website here, or you can find a physical copy at various local government buildings. Visitors will also be able to use their collected stamps to earn special discounts at various local shops and restaurants.

Capcom confirms another batch of Sanada Yukimura-den merchandise

Remember this mysterious merchandise? Sasuke fans can celebrate as the mysterious final design for the acrylic keychains has been confirmed to include him. Even though I was wrong with my guess from the silhouette in that previous post, it's good to see that he wasn't overlooked!

The same is true for the illustration boards; Sasuke has joined the character list.

These items are also joined by two new sets of merchandise. The Sengoku Basara: Sanada Yukimura-den Metal Strap Collection costs ¥5,500 before tax and includes ten different strap designs. The Yukimura and Masamune straps have their 'Phoenix' and 'White Cross' costumes on the larger part with Benmaru and Bontenmaru on the small tags respectively. Everyone else has their clan crest on the smaller tag.

And a new batch of Capcom x B-Side Label stickers will be released on 29th September 2016. The Phoenix, White Cross, Masayuki, Nobuyuki and Childhood designs are ¥400 each before tax, or you can purchase a set of all five for ¥2,000.

Namco post the details of more adorable Sanada Yukimura-den merchandise

Namco's Sengoku Basara: Sanada Yukimura-den x Namco Event Shop 'Chara Pop Store' in Chiba and Osaka's Abeno district (originally mentioned back in June) finally posted the full details of their exclusive merchandise after teasing pictures on Twitter for weeks. Regrettably, the images are quite small.

There are regional-exclusive mini pennants with different designs for the Tokyo and Osaka shops (¥800 each), wooden uchiwa fans (¥750 each), battle flag pen and stand sets (¥1,300 each), magnet and board sets (¥2,400 each), acrylic charms (¥450 each) and wooden charm straps (¥700 each)...

Plus ticket holders (¥1,600 each), 'Chara Pop' stands (¥980 each) and fabric badges (¥550 each).

In addition, the shops will host lucky dips which cost ¥450 to enter. If you're lucky you'll win the top prize of a canvas pouch:

The second place prizes are oversized acrylic key holders:

Next come a range of magnetic clips:

And nobody will go away empty handed, because everyone else wins a collectible Sengoku Basara: Sanada Yukimura-den card.

The next two-in-one novel rerelease is confirmed

The third Kodansha BOX two-in-one edition rerelease, Sengoku Basara 3: Chousokabe Motochika No Shou/Mouri Motonari No Shou ('Chousokabe Motochika Chapter/Mouri Motonari Chapter'), has now been released so we have the full cover artwork.

There are also a couple of preview illustrations to enjoy.

As expected, the fourth and final omnibus rerelease will be Sengoku Basara 3: Ishida Mitsunari No Shou/Tokugawa Ieyasu No Shou ('Ishida Mitsunari Chapter/Tokugawa Ieyasu Chapter') which will finish the series off on 10th August 2016. I hope we get some new novels soon! I imagine that there will be an announcement for the first collected volume of the Sengoku Basara: DOKUGAN manga in the next few weeks since it's already up to chapter six.

News roundup: Capcom TV featured Yukimura-den again today, and the latest stage play news

Sengoku Basara: Sanada Yukimura-den was on Capcom TV again today

The Capcom TV team got together with producer NonakaP to demonstrate some Date Masamune gameplay and also show off the new game's Sanada Trials mode. The Sengoku Basara segment didn't start until the show had been going for a couple of hours, but finally NonakaP showed up and charmed the presenters with his strange impersonations of the series' mascot character, Ashigaru-kun.

NonakaP then picked up his controller and started off with a Date Masamune gameplay demonstration on the Odawara stage we saw in the last official live broadcast. The other hosts were getting really fired up just watching; the Mad Drive/Rampaging Dragon mechanic got everyone excited as Masamune charged around with a glittering aura tearing through everything in his path.

I noticed at one point that a red tsuzura chest gave a small amount of both HP and Basara when it was broken. I should pay more attention to the chests since they've obviously been rebalanced to accommodate the new Bushin system.

The LINE keyword for this week's episode was つながる ('connected') and the reward was a picture of Yukimura and Masamune with their younger counterparts.

I was quite disappointed as I was expecting some footage from the Sanada Trials mode (not that it really needs it) but the show ended right after the Odawara stage demonstration and news bulletins. NonakaP was cheated!

If you missed the show, the highlights should appear in the Capcom Channel YouTube archive in a few days.

Report from the game's recent Famitsu Presents preview event

Another recent event was the Famitsu Presents Sengoku Basara: Sanada Yukimura-den Summer Early Access Gathering in Tokyo, where a handful of lucky fans were able to play the game and listen to a presentation from KobaP. Capcom TV included a very brief video clip from the event during its news coverage this week, but Famitsu already published a much more detailed report from the event floor. It seems that the players were still protected from learning too much about the plot by having the demonstrations end before pivotal moments but they got a good chance to try out the characters' move sets, and the reporter said they flowed really well. The stage presentation yielded a few tiny scraps of information.

• The difficulty in the Secret Backstory stages will be higher than in the main story stages.
• You can't select your character in the Secret Backstory stages.
• The PS3 and PS4 versions of the game will have the same number of enemies, but you'll be able to see more of them at a distance on PS4.
• Going back to the difficulty level, the main story is tuned so that you can get through it even if you aren't that great, though you might lose to bosses a few times. The Secret Backstories are trickier and because of this KobaP thinks the overall difficulty is higher than with previous Sengoku Basara games.

Another demo event will take place in Osaka this weekend with NonakaP, so perhaps there will be more reports after that.

Furthermore, on 16th July 2016 there will be a special in-store event in the Shibuya LABI branch of Yamada Denki, which promises to feature both Sengoku Basara: Sanada Yukimura-den and Monster Hunter Stories with live gameplay and other content. Additional details will be announced soon. I wouldn't be surprised to see KobaP or NonakaP showing up there for another presentation.

About to read Chinese? The official website has now been fully translated

The official Chinese-language website for Sanada Yukimura-den launched last week courtesy of Capcom Asia. There are also subtitled Chinese versions of the first two promotional videos so fans can check out the translation.

Pick up some Sengoku Basara goodies on PSN at a discount this summer

A sale is currently running on the Japanese PlayStation Store to promote the new game's release in August and highlight the release of the original Sengoku Basara in the PS2 Archives collection. From now until 24th August 2016, you can purchase special bundles of the old game plus a custom theme and avatar for all forty individual characters from Sengoku Basara 4 Sumeragi for ¥500 per character instead of the standard price of ¥1,029, or grab the bundle with all forty custom themes and avatars for just ¥1,059 instead of ¥3,069 with the Sengoku Basara 1059 Set (1059 can be pronounced 'Sengoku' in Japanese).

Animate offers a small bonus to its email newsletter subscribers

Every month, fans who opt in to receive Animate's email newsletter receive a smart phone lock screen image as a gift. July's bonus image is Sengoku Basara: Sanada Yukimura-den, so if you want to apply you can send a blank email to the email address posted at the top of this page and click the confirmation link in the reply they send. Your membership should be processed within 3-4 days.

Zangeki Sengoku Basara 4 Sumeragi: Honnouji No Hen begins its run

The new, more combat-heavy Zangeki Sengoku Basara 4 Sumeragi: Honnouji No Hen stage play started its limited run last Friday and so far reviews have been positive. To celebrate the opening of the show the official website changed its front page to incorporate this image of the entire cast flying through the air together.

Early reports from the dress rehearsal (with pictures) can be found at 4Gamer, Dengeki, Famitsu, Gamer and Spice, as well as all over Twitter. One surprise which wasn't revealed until right before the play began its run is that the cast had a secret guest showing up on 3rd July: Miyashita Yuuya (Kobayakawa Hideaki).

The reason for Miyashita's appearance was that Taniguchi Masashi, who has been playing Akechi Mitsuhide (and Tenkai) in the stage play series even since it began back in 2009, will be graduating from the series when Honnouji No Hen finishes its run. This is the very last chance to see him in the role. The stage play's versions of Kingo and Tenkai had excellent chemistry and quite a few fans are sad that they'll never be appearing on the same billing again in future.

It wouldn't be a Sengoku Basara stage play without at least a little exclusive merchandise, and Honnouji No Hen has the following on offer to lighten the wallets of its attendees.

The official 40-page full colour A4 pamphlet (programme) for ¥2,000:

A commemorative t-shirt available in a choice of black, red or navy colours, for ¥2,500:

Thirteen different three-piece sets of photographs of the characters for ¥500 per set:

And thirteen different blind-packaged tin badges for ¥300 each:

Additional bundles of photographs will also be available at the venue; details were not available at the time the press release was issued.

The listing for the official DVD recording has also gone live. Unfortunately it's another Japan-only Ace Shop exclusive. The cover artwork is cool (though I can't help but think a slightly more flattering image of Nobunaga could have been chosen).

The double DVD set costs ¥7,000 plus ¥600 for domestic shipping, including tax. It include the full stage play (approximately 160 minutes) plus around two hours of extras, including content such as cast interviews, footage from the 'after talk' shows. As usual, no English subtitles are listed. The release date is tentatively planned for late October 2016. A booklet is included with the first press edition, and those who make their reservation at the stage play venue will also receive a bonus photograph along with their DVD.

To finish off the stage play news, like before the Roppongi branch of the Pasela Resorts karaoke and entertainment chain is running a special Sengoku Basara menu until 10th July 2016 to give stage play visitors the chance to dine (or sing) in style a short walk from the theatre.

Some of the dishes are recycled from previous events but I'm very curious about Uesugi Kenshin's Chilled Salt Lemon Pasta and Akechi Mitsuhide's 'paradox float' drink.

Streaming: Spring 2016 anime final impressions

I have to start this post with a brief rant, unfortunately. I complained in my first impressions that Sakamoto Desu Ga? (Haven't You Heard? I'm Sakamoto) - which happened to be one of the shows I most wanted to see - was unavailable to us in the UK. At the time I blamed Sentai for only picking up US rights even though they serve UK customers on their streaming site, but it turns out the real reason is much more dumb and depressing.

Manga Entertainment are one of the biggest (and oldest) anime companies in the UK. At the MCM Comic Con event at the end of May they formally announced that the rights for Sakamoto Desu Ga? (Haven't You Heard? I'm Sakamoto) lay with them. The head of the company, Jerome Mazandarani, went on Twitter to explain that he had the streaming rights but deliberately refused to make it available here because he wasn't offered enough money to allow the simulcast sites to show it (the amount he indicated was $150 per episode - which actually sounds quite generous given the size of the UK streaming market).

You would think that turning down a free offer of cash of any amount sounds crazy, but it makes sense when you understand that the staff at Manga are furiously conservative and believe that allowing viewers to watch anime legally makes it impossible to sell on home video. This puts them in a weird position where they don't want to allow people on low incomes to have legal access to anime (streaming is much cheaper than buying DVDs) but they also hit out at the companies who support fans by offering premium editions on disc and free simulcasts for those who can't afford the disc releases until prices come down. I personally think that Manga UK's business model is completely unsustainable, but if they want to lose goodwill and the benefits of the advertising potential simulcasting offers then there's nothing I can do to stop them.

However, in one final twist of the knife, footage emerged from the Manga panel at the event which showed Jerome telling the audience how he'd recently watched the latest episode on Crunchyroll (via a VPN or proxy of some kind, because it's not available in the UK thanks to him). He's worried about legal streamers reducing his sales, yet not pirates or those who watch streams from other countries to evade barriers he created?

Screw you, Manga UK. You're the reason I'm not buying your discs, not Crunchyroll.

With that off my chest, here's what I thought of the spring anime season shows that I followed. Funimation Now and Crunchyroll combined to satisfy all of my requirements this season, making it easier than ever before to stay up to date on all of the shows I wanted to watch (other than Sakamoto Desu Ga?). Both services publish a schedule and release episodes punctually with warnings of any service interruptions to allow fans to plan ahead, and for the first time I was able to finish the season when it actually ended because nothing was held back for weeks in this country. I suppose I should be disappointed that Funimation Now delayed the launch of their console apps but I'm honestly so frustrated about Manga and other UK-specific concerns that nothing else seems all that important.

First and foremost, the post-season ranking.

1. JoJo's Bizarre Adventure
2. Joker Game
3. Kiznaiver

Hey, my prediction was quite accurate this time! There were a lot of average titles and very few gems, but JoJo, Kiznaver and Joker Game were definitely the most interesting shows I most looked forward to watching each week. JoJo is continuing on into the summer season, thankfully. Morikubo Showtaro has been my favourite thing about the episodes to date.

Fourth place isn't that bad, Atsushi...