Month: September 2017

Filler Post: The Past, Present, and Future of Sonic the Hedgehog! (In a Nutshell!)

Aside D&A Anime Blog Filler Posts

In 1991, we were introduced to a video game character that would soon rival a certain plumber, who is the mascot of another well known video game franchise. Within the last 25 years this speedy blue needle mouse has had some moments (both good and bad) that have made him one of the most iconic video game characters in the world! Just like a certain red capped hero, there isn’t a single soul on this planet who doesn’t know who he is. He may not be as famous as the King of Pop, but he’s definitely known as the Legend of Speed.

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Sonic the Hedgehog is one of the most iconic video game franchises in the world; rivaling that of Nintendo’s flagship character, Mario. Contrary to popular belief both Sega and Nintendo were trying to out-due one another with each other’s franchise character. If you’ve gotten the chance to play games from both franchises then you’ll notice some slight similarities between the two (i.e. Bowser and Dr. Eggman, as both of them can’t stand Mario and Sonic).

Now back to the blue blur; if you’re a 90’s kid who used to own a 16-Bit Sega Genesis (or still do), then you probably couldn’t wait to get your hands on this old school classic. Sonic the Hedgehog, or Sonic 1 as fans would call it, was the beginning of something revolutionary. In fact it’s even noted that the game’s concept was inspired by the Super Mario franchise, which may explain why there’s so many similarities between the two. (We know, we said that twice already!)

Throughout the 90’s it was already clear that Sega had one goal in mind; to “defeat” Mario in any way possible! Enter the second and third installments of the series (with two new characters known as Tails and Knuckles) and you’ve got yourself a trilogy of high speed awesome-ness! ‘Why stop there?’ they thought as the 90’s decade was nearing its end, ‘Why not kick it up a notch and introduce Sonic’s first in-game rival?’ Now we’ve got ourselves the lock-on cartridge known as Sonic & Knuckles, where fans can play as either True Blue, or Rad Red.

Oh, and don’t forget about Sonic CD, as it has one of the coolest original soundtracks of the 90’s that you’ll ever listen to!

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The 2000’s was going to be a time where Nintendo was going to set the bar a little higher. So what did Sega do? They stepped their game up in terms of keeping up with the red capped plumber, by doing some 3D shifting and re-branding of the World’s Fastest Hedgehog. Around 1998 came Sonic’s first real world adventure known as Sonic Adventure, where fans were able to play six different characters; Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy, Big, and E-102 Gamma. Their mission was to stop Dr. Eggman from collecting the chaos emeralds and releasing an ancient evil known as Chaos, the God of Destruction! (Other than Lord Beerus, that is. *laughing nervously*)

Now we shift our way to Sonic Adventure 2, where a new hedgehog comes into play known as Shadow, the ultimate lifeform. From that moment on we were going to see a greater rivalry (even greater than Sonic and Knuckles) come about between these two hedgehog’s, even though Shadow can activate the Chaos Control with just one emerald.

The mid 2000’s was also great for Sonic throughout the handheld years, although the 90’s is originally where his handheld gaming debut started. The blue wonder made his way back to 2D with the Sonic Advance series for GameBoy Advance and GameBoy Advance SP. Then came Sonic Heroes and Sonic Battle around 2003 and 2004, followed by Shadow the Hedgehog in 2005. 2005 through 2010 were some rough years for the Blue Blur, as three-star games weren’t exactly cutting it for the legacy of the franchise. Sega knew they had to do something, and they had to do something fast!

Now we find ourselves in Fall 2017, as a new era known as the Sonic Renaissance began! This newfound period began with the first Sonic game for the Nintendo Switch known as Sonic Mania! It follows a little after the events of Sonic and Knuckles and features the return of classic 16-Bit Sonic, only sleeker and with an FPS of 60. Also coming later on in the fall is Sonic Forces, which plays like Sonic Generations if any of you gotten the chance to play it yet. To most of us it seemed like Sega was trying to save their beloved mascot any way they could, but we do believe that they’ve got it right this time. As for the future of the World’s Fastest Hedgehog, we can only hope that Sega continues to be one step ahead of Nintendo. A dream that we, the fans, can only hope for.

D&A Anime Blog: 10,000 View Celebration!!!

Aside D&A Anime Blog Blog Updates, Viewing Milestones

WE’VE DID IT!!! We’ve finally reached our goal of gaining over 10,000 views on our blog as well as 50 followers on WordPress! We want to than each and every one of you guys from the bottom of our hearts for helping us reach this monumental goal. Speaking of monumental goals, we now have our very own page on Patreon, where fans and patrons alike can pledge/donate any amount that they would like. All donations and pledges go to the full operational costs of the blog; so that we can bring you better convention highlight videos, have a chance to launch our new podcast series, and even do voice actor interviews at cons! We want to enhance what we do here at D&A Anime Blog and give you our 100% best, but we can’t do it alone.

Wednesday night we’ll be posting a special video on our YouTube page about reaching this momentous occasion. We thank you guys for helping us make this happen, and hopefully you’ll fund our cause in helping make D&A a part of you, just like you are a part of us! ๐Ÿ™‚

Link to our Patreon page: https://www.patreon.com/daanimeblog2016

— Donte’ Lewis and Aaron Goldman, Founders

 

D&A Update: 2018 Tour and a Whole Lot More!!

Aside D&A Anime Blog Blog Updates, D&A Friday's Anime & Manga, D&A Segments

If you haven’t noticed it yet, the sounds of the Fall are officially in the air! With the temps getting cooler and jackets and sweatshirts becoming more numerous, there is no doubt that we’re getting close towards the end of 2017. With that in mind we’ve got some awesome announcements to share with you regarding what’s new for D&A in 2018, but first thing’s first, let’s check out what we’ve got lined up for you guys on D&A Friday’s!

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If you’re on the lookout for an awesome military-action title about conspiracy threats and secret agencies, then Night Raid 1931 will be the title for you! Set in 1931 Shanghai, China a secret agency known as “Sakurai Kikan”, have been given a mission to stop the most dangerous plots and greatest threats planted by the ‘Hydra’s Teeth’. All of the members of the secret agency have abilities that far exceed the human plane; such as telepathy, ESP, and some are even clairvoyants. Even though they have these amazing powers, will it be enough to stand up against the forces of destiny? Find out by streaming this series on FunimationNow or Crunchyroll! ๐Ÿ™‚

Well fans, we’ve read your twitter responses to our poll question on what do you want to see more of from us, and tonight we give you our answer. We’re rolling out our 2018 anime convention tour with A. Goldman and Yours Truly heading out to nine cons in five states! Our Patreon page will be launching tomorrow afternoon/evening, so if you want to see us at more anime conventions in the coming years (as well as see exclusive Behind-the-Scenes footage of our tour in 2018), help us out and donate!

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Thanks to a sudden surplus in our finances, the 16-track music playlist known as Kontrol Room will launch October 14, 2017. Each of the tracks will feature Electronic Music genres such as Dubstep, Moombahton, House, EDM Trap, and more! We’ve also got our first fan fiction entitled Danganshima making its debut on Fanfiction.net on November 3, 2017. It will be a 10-chapter seasonal fan fiction, with new seasons coming every Fall (depending on reviews). Throwback Thursday and Ani-Sunday will make their return to the blog next year, so get ready for some nostalgia and couples in love!

That’ll about do it for now update-wise, but we’ve got more great stuff coming to the blog as well as more filler posts from our Voice Actor Spotlight segment! Until next time, stay true to yourselves, and our thoughts and prayers are with both our anime fans and their families in Texas, and Florida.

Miscellany Monday: Master Thieves & Family Heirlooms!

Aside D&A Anime Blog D&A Segments, Lesser-Known Anime

Happy Labor Day anime fans! We know most of you are out enjoying a nice juicy burger or perhaps a hotdog on this unofficial End-of-Summer day, but don’t forget about us on this awesome blog/site we call home. We’ve got some lesser-known anime titles for you that we’re sure you’re gonna love, so grab yourself a hotdog, hamburger, or both and get ready for what we’ve got in store…

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If you like a good mystery title that’s got some master thief action in it, then might we suggest checking out Daughter of Twenty Faces! In this series Chizuko Mikamo lives with her aunt and uncle, whom she doesn’t trust, after both of her parents had died. Both caretakers have been trying to slowly poison Chizuko in an effort to take her family heirloom for themselves; the Anastasia Ruby. It is soon discovered that her butler is revealed to be a legendary master thief known as Twenty Faces, who soon asks Chizuko to accompany him and his band of thieves.

Two years later she becomes a powerful thief under the tutelage of Twenty Faces, however due to a train accident Chizuko (now called Chiko) believes the master thief to be dead as his comrades were. Her aunt’s detective finds her in the aftermath and is brought back home, but upon discovering that Twenty Faces may still be alive, Chiko uses her detective/thief skills to evade her aunt’s deadly advances towards her while uncovering the mystery behind Twenty Faces. You can stream this awesome title on Crunchyroll or FunimationNow!

We’ve got more awesome Voice Actor Spotlight filler posts coming up later this week, so be sure to check back in on the blog every so often to see what’s up!

Until then, stay golden! ๐Ÿ˜‰

Cons Near U: September Anime Conventions of 2017!!

Aside D&A Anime Blog Con Locations

September is now here, and the Labor Day weekend is almost coming to an end. You’ve gone to so many cons in August and have met so many awesome cosplayers, voice actors, and cool people. Now you’ve gotta get ready for college, work, and many other major responsibilities that you got to handle (even though you really don’t want to). Don’t fret anime fans, cuz’ D&A’s got you covered! We’ve got anime cons in the Northeast and Southbound regions of the U.S. you don’t wanna miss! (We’ve also got other cons that are repeats of last year, so if you’re a returning member, then you know what’s up!)

New Fanfic Post: Danganronpa Enoshima! (aka Danganshima!)

Aside D&A Anime Blog Blog Updates, Fanfiction

It was only just last year that the FUNimation dub for Danganronpa: The Animation and Danganronpa 3: The End of Hope’s Peak (Future and Despair) came out. Of course if you’re a fan of visual novel video games then you’re already aware that the new Danganronpa V3 game is on it’s way! For us here at D&A Anime Blog, we’re big fans of Danganronpa, especially Yours Truly. That’s why we’ve decided to make this announcement about an upcoming Danganronpa fan fiction centered around the Ultimate Despair, Junko Enoshima, as she continues her quest for world despair in our first Danganronpa fan fiction entitled “Danganronpa Enoshima” or “Danganshima“!

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Basically the plot goes a lil’ somethin’ like this…

The story takes place after the events of the Despair Arc of Danganronpa 3, less than 24 hours after Junko succeeded in her plans to bring total despair to Hope’s Peak Academy. A city just an hour away from Hope’s Peak called Yazuka City heard the news of all the chaos that was happening at the academy. Most of the remaining survivors managed to make their way to the city in hopes of escape from Junko’s newly-founded Remnants of Despair. Three days later Junko and her sister Muruko disguised themselves as they entered into Yazuka City, hoping to cause the same level of despair as they did at Hope’s Peak. While on this journey of despair they run into a series of events that are both despairingly funny, and comically dysfunctional.

Elsewhere Monokuma, who is “alive” of his own free will, decides to cause his own brand of despair at Yazuka City High School; where fifteen freshmen students are now forced to participate in the High School Freshmen Killing Game. This fan fiction is a dark comedy/parody that takes all the elements you love about Danganronpa, and mashing them up with parodies of Sharknado, Terminator, and The Walking Dead. Even though it’s only going to be 10 chapters long, we promise you that it’s going to be the most despairingly funny 10-chapter fan fiction you’ll ever read!

Danganshima will launch November 3, 2017! ๐Ÿ˜‰

D&A Friday’s! Where Being Undead Rocks!! (Sort of…)

Aside D&A Anime Blog D&A Friday's Anime & Manga, D&A Segments

With the Summer now leaving our grasp and the last snowball stand closing up for the season, it’s time to get ready for Fall and hit the back-to-school grind! Even though many of us dread the thought of going back to school, anime conventions are still happening all over the U.S. and overseas every single weekend! As we do with every new month, we’ll be bringing to you some awesome new cons to check out for the month of September, but for now let’s jump into the awesome-ness that is D&A Friday’s! ๐Ÿ™‚

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If you’re on the lookout for a laugh-out-loud supernatural magical girl comedy (with a touch of harem), then you’re gonna wanna check out this anime title known as Is This a Zombie? The series is about Ayumu Aikawa, who has died at the hands of a serial killer and has been brought back as a zombie by a necromancer named Eucliwood Hellscythe. While trying to enjoy life as the undead he encounters a magical girl named Haruna, and inadvertently absorbs some of her magical powers thus transforming him into a magical girl cross-dressing zombie. (Believe us, it’s a lot more funny in an anime title than it actually sounds in real life.)

Although he’s no longer living Ayumu has a few perks to being a zombie; such as super strength, near invincibility, magic absorption from weaker sources, and a few other things. He now finds himself battling with demons known as the Megalos alongside Haruna, Hellscythe, and a vampire-ninja named Seraphim. (Which is pretty ironic for a bloodsucking creature of the night, eh? O.O) You can stream this series on both FunimationNow and Crunchyroll.

As we mentioned before, this month brings with it some new anime conventions that we’re hoping you all get the chance to go to! We’ll be listing them on September 3rd, so be sure to stop by the blog when you get the chance for the latest con updates. We’ll also be in the process of making up our 2018 tour schedule for all the different cons we plan on going to for next year, with some help from our Patreon page of course!

Speaking of which we have two brand new exclusive features that we want to add to the blog. However, we can’t do it alone, so we’re going to need your help! One of the features includes a series of 10-minute DJ mixes featuring a wide variety of EDM genres that you’d hear at an anime convention’s rave party. The name of that feature, is RAVE10. The mixes will be produced by Groundzkontrol (Yours Truly) and will be posted on our forthcoming SoundCloud account.

The second feature is our podcasts! Fans have asked us if we’ve ever done any podcasts for the blog, to that we say “no”, but now we’re considering the idea. We would love to have some of our fans to be on our podcasts, as we talk about any and everything that has to do with anime; from the industry to its voice actors and what shows are trending. (Heck, we’ll even do a ‘live’ Cons Near U segment if the podcasts get big enough!)

Stay tune for more updates as well as Saturday nigh Toonami, which is now a half an hour longer! (11pm-4am!) Remember, make D&A a part of you, and we’ll make you a part of us! ๐Ÿ™‚