Japanese Manga Portal Website - JMANGA.COM - Has Launched in North America

Digital Comic Association
Japanese Manga Portal Website ­ JManga.com ­
Has Launched in North America

August 17, 2011

Japan¹s Digital Comic Association (*1), comprised of 39 prominent Japanese manga publishers, has launched JManga.com, the DCA¹s new manga portal website, in North America. The plan to launch JManga.com was also announced at a JManga panel and industry release reception held at Comic-Con International San Diego on July 22nd 2011.

DC Announces More Top Talent at NY Comic Con!

DC ENTERTAINMENT ANNOUNCES TOP TALENT FROM DC COMICS-THE NEW 52 TO ATTENDNEW YORK COMIC CON

Norwalk, CT, August 15, 2011: Top talent from DC Comics-The New 52 will be attending this year’s New York Comic Con (NYCC). The annual pop culture extravaganza will include guests Mahmud Asrar, Brian Azzarello, Greg Capullo, Cliff Chiang, Tony Daniel, Dan DiDio, Keith Giffen, Paul Levitz, Francis Manapul, Fabian Nicieza, Joe Prado, Amy Reeder, Ivan Reis, Ardian Syaf, Scott Snyder, Peter Tomasi, and more.

Generation Force Booster Set

Next Generation of
Yu-Gi-Oh! TRADING CARD GAME Monsters Rocket
Into Our Universe in Generation Force Booster Set
First booster set to have the new space-framed Xyz monsters

El Segundo, CA (August 10, 2011) – The latest Yu-Gi-Oh! TRADING CARD GAME (TCG) 100-card booster set Generation Force, with new space-framed Xyz monsters, lands on store shelves nationwide on August 16th.

AniMiniCon SoHo 2011

NEW GUESTS CONFIRMED FOR THE NY AREA ANIME, MANGA AND ASIAN CULTURE FESTIVAL

NEW YORK CITY, AUGUST 3, 2011: ANIMINICON SOHO 2011 will once again take place at the SOHO GALLERY FOR DIGITAL ART (www.sohodigart.com) from FRIDAY, AUGUST 12 to SUNDAY, AUGUST 14.

Personal Review: Blood+ Volume 1: 1 First Kiss

Review by Jong Chung

Blood+ is an animated series that ran from year 2005 to 2006 in Japan, having established itself as one of the top anime of the genre. It's no coincidence that some readers may find it familiar that the protagonist is a girl named Saya who hunts beings that are “vampires” (though it's rather loosely related to the more modern usage of the term) known in the series as “Chiropterans.” Blood+ has roots in the OVA Blood The Last Vampire, by the same creator. Blood+ is a rather old series, and perhaps some leniency should be given as it as one of the earlier light novel series to be published in English. This will be addressed later, but for now, onto the review.

Getting to Know: Darren Dunstan and His Many Talents Part 4

Please read Part 3 of the interview before reading Part 4

His Vocals

Some of you may or may not know this, but Dunstan is a vocal coach. I was looking through his website, and he was promoting his teaching skills. Based on what I read, a student of his will come out of his lessons with positive results. Even though he has 20+ years of professional and educational experience, since student abilities and learning styles varies, how does he know that the tools and skills that he has will actually prepare and improve the students’ vocal ability? According to Dunstan, within the first few minutes of listening and observing the student, he decides on what needs to be worked on. Once the decision has been made, he introduces “those concepts” to the said student. These can range from “basic vocal production concepts” to “advanced ‘tweaks’” that helps improve the performer.

Getting to Know: Darren Dunstan and His Many Talents Part 3

Please read Part 2 of the interview before reading Part 3

Voice Director

Besides his voice acting career, Dunstan is also a voice director. When he was acting in Yu-Gi-Oh, 4 Kids began expanding and started producing a few new shows. He was asked to do some directing. After his training with other voice directors, Dunstan began directing his own show.

Getting to Know: Darren Dunstan and His Many Talents Part 2

Please read Part 1 of the interview before reading Part 2

Voice Actor continuation

Another fun anime that Dunstan has worked on is Pokémon: Lucario and the Mystery of Mew, where he portrayed Grovyle, Combusken and Munchlax. If you are familiar with Pokemon, in general, most of the creatures speak only their name, which is different from Pegasus, who can speak full sentences. “It’s kind of liberating to only have one word to use. You don’t have to look down at a script, you can just let the video roll and ride the wave of whatever the creature is doing. Then you can go back to tweak and refine it.”

Getting to Know: Darren Dunstan and His Many Talents Part 1

When I first met Darren Dunstan it was at the premiere for Yu-Gi-Oh 3D: Bonds Beyond Time. Initially, I had no idea who he was, nor have I ever taken notice to the voices behind Yu-Gi-Oh. At the premiere, he was standing besides a table that had a paper stand up with his name and the words “Pegasus” and “Voice Director” on it. After I spoke to Dunstan, I thought he would make the perfect interviewee.