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All Otaku's 12th issue is here. Get your fix this issue.
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All Otaku Magazine Issue 1 21
AOM allotaku:mag
VALENTINES Issue 1 2 1 st January 201 5
#12
SA's Biggest
Online Otaku
Magazine
The GamerTokyo ESPBlood Lad
Ocha NigosuAttack on Titan
and more...
Cosplay Profi le: Saiyuki
KashuriUnderground Farming Barakamon
WWoorrlldd ooff WWaarrccrraafftt::LLoorrddss ooff DDrraaeennoorr EExxppaannssiioonn
Pokemon Omega Ruby andAlpha SapphireDennis Ritchie: Father of the
InternetTabletop Special
LLeeggoo BBaattmmaann 33::BBeeyyoonndd GGootthhaamm
All Otaku Magazine Issue 1 22
All Otaku has reached 2000
Xas well as 5 other PC games from theBlack Lime range, including:
Final Cut: Death on the Silver ScreenHaunted Legends: The Bronze HorsemanResurrection: New MexicoLara Gate: The Lost TalismanLove Story: Letters from the Past
Don’t forget to visit our social pages.
This Competition ends on the 2nd of February 201 4
All Otaku Magazine Issue 1 23
All Otaku has reached 2000
Xas well as 5 other PC games from theBlack Lime range, including:
Final Cut: Death on the Silver ScreenHaunted Legends: The Bronze HorsemanResurrection: New MexicoLara Gate: The Lost TalismanLove Story: Letters from the Past
All Otaku and Apexare giving awaySherlock Holmes
Crimes andPunishments
To Entervisits our websitehere and tel l us whatyour favourite animeof the season is andwe could be sendingyou the greathamper.
Don’t forget to visit our social pages.
This Competition ends on the 2nd of February 201 4 W
All Otaku Magazine Issue 1 24
February
ContentsSections Features
AOM
5 Editor's letter
6 Anime Sector
Anime Release Schedule
Anime Reviews
1 8 Manga Sector
Manga Release Schedule
Manga Reviews
26 Film Sector
Film Release Schedule
Film Reviews
32 Gaming Sector
Game Release Schedule
Gaming Reviews
44 Tech Sector
Tech Release Schedule
Tech Reviews
52 Cosplay Sector
Cosplayer Profi le
Cosplay Buys
Cosplay How To's
60 Culture Sector
Best Anime Picks of 201 4 1 0
Shinmai Maou no Testement 1 2
Barakamon 1 4
Tokyo ESP 1 7
Blood Lad 21
Ocha Nigosu 22
Attack On Titan Manga 24
Predestination 30
Dracula Untold 31
HearthStone 38
World Of Warcraft: Lords of Draenor 40
Underground Farming 48
Denise Ritchie 50
Cosplay Profi le: Saiyuki Kashuri 54
LARPing 58
Meru Cosplay Picnic 61
Tonkatsu 64
W©201 2-201 5 All Otaku. All rights reserved
All Otaku Magazine Issue 1 25
Letter from
the editor
After a fine holiday in
which I had some
very much needed
rest, we are back on
track with the first
issue of All Otaku
Magazine for 201 5!
As many of you
know, we lurk around
in the corners of the
conventions and
picnics with our
aspiring paparazzi -
happily snapping
away at cosplayers,
stores and their
owners, artist and
well pretty much any
and everything we
feel l ike. This year
however, we would
l ike to kick it up a
notch by actual ly
trying to be involved
a whole lot more with
the people who go to
these events. We
want to shake your
hand, and tel l you
what a great costume
you made, or chat a
l ittle about your shop
and the stuff you sell .
We also want to find
out what makes you
excited and what you
enjoy when, well just
being geek.
So, to al l of our avid
readers, here is my
new years resolution.
First off, I don't have
one, and I 'm not
making one. Get
over it, I think it's a
crappy habit
anyways. :P
Moving right on,
(didn't expect that did
you) we are going to
try and host some
competitions for you
guys, get some more
advertising done for
the budding business
out there and just
general ly try to be as
awesome as we can.
I f at any time we do
not l ive up to your
expectations, you are
welcome to come
and tel l us that, but I
need to warn you
beforehand, we have
trained martial artists
in our ranks, and we
are not afraid to use
them.
Enough rambling, I
hope you enjoy or
first release for 201 5!
Feel free to leave us
some comments on
our FB page!
By Leena Swarts
Contributors
Ceo and Chief:
Joannah Stewart
Editor:
Leena Swarts
Minions:
Bil l "Salazar" Masuku
Faure Teggin
Gareth Duff
Douw "Dk" Kotzé
Grant Wilson
Trisha Ramrathen
Ernst Ace Uchiha Buys
Adam Ligocki
Shane Reaper
Sahil Lala
Adam Ligocki
Derek John Scott
Richard Ware
All Otaku Magazin is owned and published electronical ly by All Otaku.Copyright 201 2-201 5 All Otaku. All rights reserved.
No part of this electronic magazine may be reproduced without the written consent of All Otaku.Requests for permission should be directed to: [email protected]
All Otaku Magazine Issue 1 26
ANIM
ESECTO
ROur Anime sector covers highly advanced
classes in the intricasies of magic and
adventure management. The teachers are
highly trained with enough power to destroy
the planet. Yes, some of them have
tentacles, but we don't care.
001
Anime Sector February 201 5
All Otaku Magazine Issue 1 27
Release ScheduleAnime releases for February and March 201 5
Toei
AnimationGolden
Time
Leviathan -
The Last
Defense
Engaged to
the
Unidentified
Reideen
Hozuki's
Cool
headedness
Patlabor
The New
Files OVA
Diabolik
LoversSpace
Brothers
Love,
Chunibyo &
Other
Delusions
Ben To
A Certain
Magical
Index
Brothers
Confl ict
OVA
Haikyuu! !
OAD
Shouwa
Genroku
Rakugo
Shinjuu
High School
DxD: Oppai,
Tsutsumima
su!
Hitsugi no
Chaika OAD
Gekijouban
Kyoukai no
Kanata:
Kako-hen
Yamada-
kun to 7-nin
no Majo
Free!
Eternal
Summer
Special
Omoide no
Marnie
Saki:
Episode of
Side-A:
Kuro no
Tanjoubi
Shin Gekijo-
ban Initial D:
Legend 2-
Tousou
Gugure!
Kokkuri-san
Specials
Hori-san to
Miyamura-
kun
Papa no Iu
Koto o
Kikinasai! :
I j in-tachi to
no Haru
Trinity
Seven OVA
Daitoshokan
no Hitsuj ikai
Picture
Drama
Senran
Kagura:
Estival
Versus –
Festival Eve
Full of
Swimsuits
Yama no
Susume 2
OVA
February 1 , 201 5 February 3, 201 5 February 3, 201 5
February 1 0, 201 5
February 1 0, 201 5 February 11 , 201 5
February 24, 201 5
February 3, 201 5
February 1 7, 201 5
March 4, 201 5 March 6, 201 5 March 1 0, 201 5 March 1 0, 201 5 March 1 4, 201 5 March 1 5, 201 5 March 1 8, 201 5
March 1 8, 201 5 March 23, 201 5 March 25, 201 5
February 1 7, 201 5
February 24, 201 5 February 24, 201 5 February 1 7, 201 5
Anime de
Wakaru
Shinryounai
ka OVA
February 1 3, 201 5
March 1 8, 201 5 March 25, 201 5 March 25, 201 5 March 25, 201 5
March 26, 201 5 March 27, 201 5March 26, 201 5
All Otaku Magazine Issue 1 28
Previews and ReviewsAnime reviews and previews for February and March 201 5
Aldnoah Zero 2
Released: January 1 0, 201 5
Author(s): Gen Urobuchi
(original creator)
Katsuhiko Takayama (series
composition)
Aldnoah Zero is a storyof war between thepeople of Earth, and“Martians”, who are humans that relocated to Mars,after astronauts on the Apollo 1 7 missiondiscovered an enchanted uti l i ty which later becameknown as “Aldnoah” and gave them a superiorstatus. Season 2 of this anime picks up with theongoing war, and the descent of more “Martian”soldiers onto Earth, with the sole intent ofexterminating al l Earthl ings. Aldnoah Zero 2 beganits run on 11 January 201 5.
Death Parade
Released: January 9, 201 5
Author(s): Yuzuru Tachikawa
As we all know, afterdeath humans either goto heaven or hell ,however in DeathParade, there is one additional possibi l ity: QueenDecim. This is a bar run by the mysterious Decim,and is a place where some people go toimmediately upon their death. In this bar, Decimchallenges people to the Death Game, where theywager their l ives, and during which their truenatures are revealed. Decim the ultimate authorityin deciding who wins and who loses, and also, wholives and who dies. . .
NanamiMomozono
Released: January 5, 201 5
Author(s): Akitaro Daichi
Nanami Momozonoaccidental ly becomesthe Earth deity at ashrine near her school,when the previous deity, Mikage, passes on hisduties to her. To aide her in her godly duties,Nanami has the help of two attendants and asurprisingly handsome fox famil iar named Tomoe.The second season which began airing in January201 5 picks up where season 1 left off, with Nanamisti l l trying to strengthen her powers while alsodealing with her feelings for Tomoe and trying togain the acceptance of the other deities. There isalso the introduction of what appears to be newvil lain who has some past ties to Tomoe, whichindicates some major trouble for the human Earthdeity, Nanami.
Tokyo Ghoul S2
Released: January 8, 201 5
Author(s): Chūji Mikasano
Ken Kaneki is anordinary college studentwho lives in Tokyo, acity gripped by the fearof “ghouls”. Thesemysterious ghouls are human-l ike creatures thatdevour the flesh of other humans. Ken meets ayoung lady named Rize at a cafe that he frequentlyvisits, but l ittle does he know that his entire l ife isabout to change drastical ly. Season 1 of TokyoGhoul ended after 1 2 episodes in 201 4, withseason 2 beginning its run in early January 201 5.
By:Trisha Ramrathen
Click the images above to view the trai ler
All Otaku Magazine Issue 1 29
WWee AArree
LLiivvee
Click the above
icon to tune in
The All Otaku Podcast is l ive and
we want you to tune in. Come join
us as we discuss the latest anime,
manga, games and geek stuff.
Find us on SoundCloud at:
AOP allotaku:podcast
All Otaku Magazine Issue 1 21 0
BBeesstt AAnn iimmee ooff
220011 44By Douw “D.K” Kotzé
I t’s a new day, a new year and the time when you can expect some new and epic Anime series to comeyour way. Though, we are not about to let 201 4 sl ide without looking back at what it has given us. Thereare a lot of Anime that were probably the highl ight of the year to a lot of people. I mean, a lot of peoplehave been quite excited (understatement) about Sailor Moon Crystal that started airing in 201 4.
All Otaku Magazine Issue 1 211
Akame ga Kil l
This is a dark action fantasy Anime that fol lows a girl named
Akame. She was bought, brainwashed, and raised by the
Empire as an assassin. Together with the infamous group of
assassins called Night Raid, Akame and Tatsumi set about
correcting the corruption within the empire.
DRAMAtical Murder
I t’s the Anime adaptation of Nitro + CHiRAL’s boys-love
adventure game.
The story centres the young man named Aoba who lives with
his grandmother on the island Midori j ima. He works in a junk
shop in the island’s Former Resident District after Toue builds
the Platinum jai l resort on part of Midori j ima and forces
residents to move. Aoba is content with his simple l ife, but
gets pul led into mysterious events unfolding on the island. I t’s
especial ly a good Anime to watch if you l ike them bishie boys.
Speaking of Anime with bishie boys in it, Free! Eternal
Summer splashed into 201 4 and I don’t think it disappointed
it’s fans though. I f they were aiming for feels, that sure is what
the fans receivedXespecial ly after it was over.
Tokyo Ghoul
The suspense horror/dark fantasy Anime set in Tokyo, which
is haunted by mysterious “ghouls” who are devouring
humans. People are gripped by fear of these ghouls whose
identities are masked in mystery.
Kaneki who is an ordinary college student encounters a girl
named Rize. She is powerful ghoul with an insatiable appetite.
Little does he know that meeting her wil l change his fate
overnight.
Naruto Shippuden
For the ongoing Anime I must say that 201 4 certainly had its
pretty epic and feelsy moments. Naruto might have ended in
the Manga, but the Anime continues (mostly because it hasn’t
reached the last Episode opposite the last Manga Chapter
yet). Naruto Shippuden has enlightened its readers and
viewers into the past of certain characters. The Anime also
revealed a character many of us probably didn’t see coming
and going the way he did. The Anime was said to be at the
point where there wil l be no more fi l ler arcs.
One Piece
Meanwhile in Dressrosa, Luffy and the Straw Hat Pirates are
sti l l going strong and you know Luffy, he’s not gonna stop unti l
he becomes The King Of The Pirates in One Piece. I sti l l love
watching and reading One Piece. Looking at how far they
have come, the animation style definitely has changed since
its debut.
Sword Art Online I I
Sword Art Online has come across as another Anime that’s
about people taking to virtual real ity gaming. I have no
problem with that though as I do love Anime and Gaming. I t
does however give everyone more variety into the whole
Gaming/Virtual Reality Gaming Anime series. I t’s sti l l
considered a great Anime, but it also has a fast paced plotl ine.
Sword Art Online I I sti l l seems to be an Anime loved by many.
Persona 4: The Golden Animation
Speaking of whichXIf you’re into keen on entering the “New
Game +” option, then check out Persona 4: The Golden
Animation
All Otaku Magazine Issue 1 21 2
Shinmai Maou noTESTAMENTThe first l ight novel volume cover clearly i l lustrates that there is moregoing on between Mio and Basara than a step-sibl ing relationship.
Test text
Shinmai Maou no Testament (The
Testament of Sister New Devil) is
original ly a Japanese light novel series,
which was turned into a manga series,
and as of January 201 5 wil l be aired as
an anime show. The story fol lows high
school student Basara Tojo, who is
suddenly informed by his father that he
is remarrying, and along with a new
step-mother, Basara shall be getting 2
step-sisters named Mio and Maria
Naruse. His father then leaves for a
while, leaving Basara alone with his
step-sister. The sisters’ true forms are
revealed to Basara, and as it turns out,
Mio and Maria are actual ly a newbie
Demon Lord and a succubus.
The world of Shinmai Maou no
Testament is divided into 2 main
groups, namely the “Hero Tribe” and
“Demons”. The Hero Tribe and
Demons had been at war for many
years, unti l the powerful demon
Wilbert became the Demon
Lord and ended the war. His
daughter, Mio Naruse, is now
in l ine to be the next Demon
Lord, but has not awakened her
immense powers whith Maria Naruse
being Mio’s younger sister
and guardian. Through
some accidental
means, Basara
reverses a
“Master and
Servant Contract” and makes Mio his
servant.
Basara and his father, J in, are former
members of the Hero Tribe, who left
the vil lage five years before the
beginning of the story. Due to being
Hero Tribe members, both Basara and
Jin have inhuman strength and a host
of other abil ities. Upon discovering the
true identities of Mio and Maria, a fight
All Otaku Magazine Issue 1 21 3
ensues, in which Basara shows the girls his true power as a
former Hero. Instead of taking down the demons, Basara
asks the girls to leave the house for deceiving him and his
father. Basara later shows up and saves the girls from a
couple of demons that are sent to kil l them, tel l ing them
afterwards that he wil l always protect them. While I haven’t
read the l ight novel series, I am keenly anticipating the anime
in 201 5 as the manga is quite interesting. In typical Japanese
ecchi style, these 2 step-sibl ings wil l undoubtedly develop
strong romantic feel ings for each other and possibly fal l in
love. The only good thing about that is that in this story, they
are step-sibl ings (that is what Basara is initial ly told) and not
actual blood sibl ings (l ike other manga and anime series),
which is just gross. There also appears to be a love triangle
that has formed between Basara, Mio, and Basara’s
childhood friend, who also happens to be a member of the
Hero Tribe. So if you’re l ike me and enjoy some romance in
anime and manga, then this is a good read because it wil l be
interesting to see what happens when the opposing forces
find out that 2 of their members are in love (let’s face it, they
are going to fal l in love). I t wil l also be really fun to watch Mio
awaken her true demonic powers and kick some demon butt.
I t’s seems like a great anime to look out for, but hopeful ly the
anime leaves out the more ecchi scenes, because if I wanted
to see a guy fondle a big-breasted girl , I would just watch
hentai.
All Otaku Magazine Issue 1 21 4
As a writer it is extremely difficult tofind inspiration to churn out materialat wil l . I often find myself sitting andpondering for hours, sometimeseven days, about what I could write,or how I could write about a specifictopic. I t took me almost a week toget down to writing this review,because for the l ife of me, I could
not figure out how to get it started.And that’s when it hit me! I am (l ikemil l ions of other artsy-fartsy,creative people out there) just l ikeHanda Seishū from Barakamon.
Handa Seishū is a 23 year oldmaster call igrapher. After punchingthe director of a gallery for cal l ing
his work unoriginal and mediocre,Handa’s father sends him to ruralisland to calm down and locate hisown sense of call igraphy. At firstHanda-kun tries his utmost to focuson his cal l igraphy, but soon findsvil lage l ife getting in the way. Hemeets many new and interestingcharacters, mostly school kids, and
By: Trish
All Otaku Magazine Issue 1 21 5
develops an especial ly strong bond with a 6 year oldgirl named Naru Kotoishi. Handa-kun soon finds himselfspending more time with the vil lage kids (who are onsummer vacation) and learning many new things bothabout l ife and himself (l ike realising for the first time thathe is al lergic to cats).
Handa-kun discovers what a festival is l ike for the firsttime, something that is quite common all over Japan.He soon finds himself having a lot of fun in the vil lage,and even relaxing, which quickly helps him to findinspiration to do his own call igraphy. While hiscal l igraphy style develops slowly throughout the story,you can see that he is inspired by the beauty of theocean and the simplicity of vi l lage l ife. Any creatively-incl ined person can tel l you that nature and relaxationoften multipl ies inspiration almost tenfold.
Handa-kun final ly admits that he is enjoying writing.This anime series is beautiful ly i l lustrated, with thelandscapes drawn attractively and beautiful ly matchingthe flow of the story and characters. In addition, thecontrast between Handa and Naru’s characters makethe story more interesting and il lustrates how peoplecan learn from others and grow, even if those othersare l ittle children. Naru is actual ly voiced by a childname Suzuko Hara, and her incredibly adorable voiceadds to the cuteness of Naru!
I think the story would have been more of a romancehad Naru been Handa’s age, as the two becomeextremely close through the duration of the anime.However, I personally enjoyed the fact that she was alittle kid, because it demonstrates how children canhave a profound effect on anyone, and that sometimes,their innocence can help adults unearth and workthrough their own issues.
Naru-chan reaches out to Handa-kun, depicting theidea that in this story, she is his saviour and helps himovercome his stress and rigid personality.
Naru unwittingly teases Handa, but at the same time,her innocence helps him overcome his quick temper.(Junon-Boy refers to “Pretty Boy” in Japanese culture,something Naru picks up from the older girls)Naru’s wil l for adventure and fun and her free-spiritednature is charming and brought a smile to my face. I tmade me nostalgic, remembering my own crazy,adventure-fi l led childhood. In her own natural way ofl ife, Naru helps Handa overcome his snobbish citybehaviour, and her brutal honesty (that can only comefrom a child) immensely aides him in overcoming hisanger and impulsive reactions to criticisms of hiscal l igraphy.Naru is not the only person to help Handa in the vil lage.There are many other school kids that he interacts with,especial ly, Miwa Yamamura, Tamako Arai, and HiroshiKido.
Handa ends up helping Miwa and Tamako with acall igraphy project they have to do for school, and byhelping them, he re-learns the basics of cal l igraphy.Handa also becomes known as “Sensei” in the vil lage,and is hired by many vil lagers to do some basic sign-writing for them. By doing these odd jobs, Handa learnsto overcome his newly-found fear of doing a bad job(which came about after hearing the negativecomments about his work in Tokyo).
I real ly enjoyed this anime, and was quite saddened bythe fact that it is only 1 2 episodes long. I t was a fun,easy-going anime, which helped me to understand thateveryone has insecurities about their work, evencreative people l ike call igraphers and writers. Theanime teaches us that criticism of one’s work is not abad thing, and can be used to improve the work beingdone. I t is definitely a series that I would recommendpeople to watch, especial ly if you are looking forsomething fun and light-hearted.
All Otaku Magazine Issue 1 21 6
On his eternal quest for truth, justiceand more pokeballs the intrepidUrahara-sensei, master of thebarbed word and the cruelmachination has come to a questionthat has plagued the hardcoreanime fan for many years now. Isthe mainstream ruining anime?
First of al l al low me to nail mycolours to the mast as hard aspossible. In my opinion makinganime more mainstream is notgoing to destroy the industry, itwon’t even destroy the quality ofproductions coming out of Japan,no media has ever been ruined bymore attention, it’s only on thoseattempts to localise where theoriginal intent of the piece isignored, that we start having issues.
Let’s also start by making this clearanime has always been in themainstream. In Japan, where allanime is made, it has been a part ofevery day programming since thelate 70s, the stigma of the Saturdaymorning cartoon is long gone fromthe minds of eastern audiences andas a result anime catering to al ltastes and flavours is already beingmade, there is no need to defend it.Anime in Japan is not some minorityculture thing and while there arealways those who take it too far,going to the extremes andbecoming the legends of the Otakuculture, there are many more whosee it as a part of daily l ife. Anime ison TV at al l hours of the day andnight aimed from children to middleaged adults. We are long past thepoint where being in the
mainstream wil l ruin everything ifthere was ever anything to ruin.
Much like gaming the westernanime culture has it’s roots in thenerd culture of the 80's and 90'sand in America at least thesepeople were the ostracised by thedominant mainstream culture. I t’s asad reality but that sense ofexclusion has left a nasty aftertastethat as nerd oriented becomes moreaccepted those same nerds whowere ostracised feel their preciouspastime is being taken away fromthem. This is stupid and quitefrankly if your nostalgia is so easilyharmed you needed help beforeanime viewing became so easy.
I think the single largest reason thatthis myth that the “mainstream”ruins everything is al lowed to runfree is that people mistake wellintentioned mistakes for deliberateMalice. Most people acknowledgethat the dub jobs done by studiosl ike Manga in the UK and the lateunlamented "4Kids" in the US wereatrocious at best and l ivingvivisections of the work where it’sl iving heart was ripped out andserved as an entrée at the nextdinner party, but I would argue thatwithout Pokemon, Yu-gi-oh and themyriad hyper violent manime of the1 980s most anime fans wouldn’thave a common foundation inwestern cultures. The fact is thatthose initial introductions may havebeen hamfisted, badly dubbedmesses, but many of us have themas our first introductions to thiswonderful world of anime.
Also as the money starts to flow inwe get a lot of good things comingout of it too, studio Ghibl i may beincredibly popular in Japan but thestudio wouldn’t be enjoying as muchwestern interest if Disneycorporation hadn’t taken toredubbing their fi lms with usuallywell chosen voice talent then I ’malmost certain that there wouldn’t beas many people exposed to theseexcellent fi lms.Add in the fact that - as anime hasbecome more common we’ve alsohad an increase in qualitylocalisation companies l ike Sentaifi lmworks and Funimation who try tobe as close to the source materialas possible and help us avoidhastles l ike those that threatenedLive Action Akira or the terrifyingprospect of another Dragon BallEvolution hitting theatres.
In al l honesty it’s pretty clear thataside from a reactionary minoritythat claims that the mainstream issteal ing their toy, anime is alreadymainstream. Now suck it up anddeal with it.
- Urahara-sensei
Is Anime's movement into the mainstreammaking it less enjoyable?
Otaku Issues
All Otaku Magazine Issue 1 21 7
Unlike everything else I 've had to review this year I
volunteered to watch this show from beginning to
end.
Also, unl ike Tokyo ghoul which comes from the same
season as the series Tokyo ESP is actual ly about its
supporting cast. While Rinka is definitely the centre
of the anime she is not the only character to get
screen time - in fact my favorite scenes are with
Rinka's ex-cop father, who in addition to being the
most merciless teacher she ever had, is also the
character I real ly wanted to see succeed. That and
his powers allowed him to control magnetism - he's
l ike Magneto only with more muscles. Honesty now
that I think about it a lot of the characters in this
show could be characters from the X- men. Heck
the show even has a man with psychic powers
named "The Professor".
That said, while the anime appears to be taking a
few footnotes from Marvel Comics, the story actual ly
appears to be taking heavy chunks out of Raiders of
the lost Ark. (trust me you'l l know it when you see it)
I f I had one criticism for the series it would be the
ending - which I wil l not spoil here. Let's just say they
clearly want a second season and leave it at that
(another trait that seems to have in common with
Tokyo Ghoul)
From a technical perspective this series looks
bri l l iant it has crisp character design and you can
always see the expression of a character clearly.
The bright colors and Surreal effects created by the
CGI fish and whatever the heck the flying penguin
Peggy is supposed to be, real ly blends well with the
traditional animated backgrounds and after Tokyo
ghoul the vibrant colors really make you enjoy the
series.
Music is the standard fare a lot of electro pop and
guitar riffs that are really entertaining but this series
did not have me out of my chair except during the
big orchestral suite at the end.
To conclude I highly recommend that you check the
series out if you haven't already, in a year that
seems mostly about sequels - original property that
draws you in as well as Tokyo ESP does, deserves
all the attention it can get.
Tokyo ESP is a breath of fresh air
to a relatively stagnant season that
spawned it. . .
By: Urahara-sensei
Tokyo
ESP
All Otaku Magazine Issue 1 21 8
MANGASECTO
R
002
Manga Sector February 201 5
Our Manga sector covers some very tired
looking dudes with creepy looks and worn to
the nub pencils. We know they wil l ultimately
start the zombie apocalypse, so we wil l begin
preparations soon. Well , maybe after this cup
of coffee.
All Otaku Magazine Issue 1 21 9
Release ScheduleManga releases for February and March 201 5
Wallflower,
The Graphic
Novel 34
Blood
Blockade
Battlefront
Volume 7
(Manga) US
Deadman
Wonderland
Volume 7
Dragonar
Academy
Volume 5
Dawn of the
Arcana
(Manga)
Vol. 01
Jormungand
(Manga)
Vol. 1 0
Gantz
Volume 34
Hayate the
Combat
Butler
Volume 25
I Am Alice:
Body Swap
in
Wonderland
Volume 3
Magi
Volume 1 0Neon
Genesis
Evangelion
Volume 1 4
Tiger &
Bunny
Volume 6
Samurai
Executioner
Omnibus
Volume 4
Cardfight! !
Vanguard,
Volume 5
Devils and
Realist
Volume 4
A Certain
Magical
Index
Volume 2
Claymore
Volume 26
D.Gray-man
Volume 6
Dragon Ball
(3-in-1
Edition)
Volume 8
Naruto
Volume 69Oresama
Teacher
Volume 1 8
New Lone
Wolf & Cub
Volume 4
Girls Und
Panzer:
Little Army
Volume 2
Knights of
Sidonia,
Volume 1 3
Oh My
Goddess!
Volume 47
Kokoro
Connect
Volume 3
Strike
Witches:
One-
Winged
Witches
Volume 2
Accel World
Volume 3
Alice in the
Country of
Joker: The
Nightmare
Tri logy
Volume 3
The Devil Is
A Part-Timer
Vol.1
Puella Magi
Oriko
Magica
Extra
Volume
Blade of the
Immortal
Volume 31 :
Final
Curtain
Soul Eater
Volume 25
Sword Art
Online:
Fairy Dance
Volume 3
Fairy Tail 47
February 3, 201 5 February 4, 201 5 February 1 0, 201 5 February 1 0, 201 5 February 1 0, 201 5February 1 0, 201 5 February 1 0, 201 5
March 3, 201 5
March 31 , 201 5
February 1 0, 201 5 February 1 0, 201 5 February 11 , 201 5February 1 0, 201 5 February 1 7, 201 5February 1 0, 201 5 February 1 0, 201 5
March 3, 201 5February 1 7, 201 5 February 24, 201 5 March 3, 201 5 March 3, 201 5 March 3, 201 5
March 11 , 201 5March 1 0, 201 5 March 1 7, 201 5 March 1 7, 201 5 March 24, 201 5March 1 0, 201 5March 4, 201 5
March 25, 201 5March 24, 201 5 March 31 , 201 5 March 31 , 201 5March 24, 201 5March 24, 201 5
All Otaku Magazine Issue 1 220
The Gamer
Released: 201 3
Author(s): Sung San-young
There truly is nothing l ike a
good manhwa title, honestly.
And The Gamer is no
exception to this standard.
Han Jee-Han, a normal high
school student, suddenly
develops a special power where his entire world is shifted into
a game-l ike setting. He can see the power levels of people,
look at the stats of a seemingly normal item, get abil ities, and
even level up! Follow Han Jee-Han as he discovers how to
use this power, and maybe even where it came from. The
chapters being released regularly for a ful l year now and have
led Han deeper into the gaming world.
While a typical gamer now-a-days is locked into either the
shoot-em-up FPS games or their MMORPG taking down
towers and the such, the games that this series mimics are
closer to adventure games or JRPGs (Final Fantasy). But
somehow the seriousness of those gaming genres is watered
down into hilarious moment of Han getting notifications for
mundane things that he is aware of natural ly, l ike his mood
changing.
Kaichou Wa Maid-Sama!
Released: February 2008
Author(s): Fuj iwara Hiro
Bri l l iant and overachieving,Misaki Ayuzawa is thePresident of the StudentCouncil at Seika High School, formerly a boys' school.Unfortunately, most of the students are sti l l male and stuck intheir slovenly habits, so man-hating Misaki real ly socks it to'em in an attempt to make the school presentable to attractmore female students. But what wil l she do when the sexiestboy in school finds out that after school, Misaki works in amaid cafe. This series has been going for 7 years and it is sti l lcharming, the art is beautiful and the main characters have alot to offer. While the story may be about a some what feministcafe Maid it is sti l l rather l ight hearted in its message.
The Tower of God
Released: February 6, 201 5
Director(s): TheWachowskis
The story centers around aboy called Twenty-FifthBaam, who has spent his l ifetrapped beneath amysterious tower. Chasingafter his only friend, hemanages to open a door into the Tower, and must now facechallenges at each floor of this mysterious tower as he tries tofind his companion. The Tower is a mysterious structure that iscompletely enclosed and hosts many unique environments. I tis permeated by an element cal led "Shinsoo", which hasstrange properties. I t is inhabited by many different intel l igentspecies. I t is uncertain what the world outside the Tower isl ike.Each floor is composed of three layers: an external OuterTower which serves as the residential area, an Inner Towerwhere Regulars are tested, and a Middle Area, which acts asa network l inking each floor. In order to ascend the tower,Regulars are required to pass tests on the lower floors.
Witchcraft Works
Released: June 201 0
Author(s): Mizunagi Ryuu
The main character
(Takamiya, Honoka) is a
regular student whose only
problem seems to be that he
sits next to Kagari, Ayaka, the
school's #1 beauty. Yet when a fal l ing part of the school's
building is about to send him to the afterl ife, it was her who
came to his rescue. Except, she was dressed as a witch,
carrying him in her arms and floating on a broom. She
continues to protect him using her fire magic unti l the attempt
on his l ife ends. She tel ls him it is her mission to protect him,
and that now she can final ly protect him openly.Why was Takamiya attacked, who asked Kagari to protect him,
and why does she refer to him as "my princess"?
Previews and ReviewsManga reviews and previews for February and March 201 5
All Otaku Magazine Issue 1 221
Everything fromzombies, to dragonslitter the demon world,and attention to detai l isnot spared on even themost insignificantcharacters. The artmatches the storytel l ing perfectly with itsshonen style of art.While thecharacterization ofmany recurringcharacters is not as in-depth as we wouldhave liked the maincast are fleshed outwith backstories thathelp you understandthe way they are andhow their current
relationship wil l moveforward without delvingtoo deep into specifics.In particular therelationship betweenStaz and his brother,while he appears to bean antagonist and doeseverything he can tomake Staz’s l ife a l ivinghell . A look at their pastexposes his truenature.The manga waspopular enough to havebeen animated. Butawkwardly only 1 0episodes wereoriginal ly aired endingin the middle of anexciting arc, with many
Staz is one of thetoughest vampires in thedemon world. But unl ikehis ancestors, he findsbeing a vampire to be aserious pain in the assand prefers to spend histime watching anime andplaying video gamesinstead, before anythinghe is a ful l-blown otaku!When a Japanese girlnamed Fuyumi wandersinto his territory, Stazcannot hide hisexcitement at final lymeeting a l iving humanfrom his favourite culture.Unfortunately, Fuyumidies after beingswallowed by a monster,leaving her bare soulbehind. Staz vows toFuyumi that he wil l bringher back to l ife by anybloody means necessary.
Blood Lad takes us on acomical yet action packedjourney that is fi l led withfamil iar and unfamil iarmonsters of legend andlore.
big reveals to the plotthat it left fans thinkingthat the anime was madeas a teaser for themanga; seems to be thelogical and fair andsanity-maintainingexplanation.Overal l , a must read foranyone into thesupernatural, fightingcomedy genre.
Blood LadBy: Bil l "Salazar" Masuku
Written by Yuuki KodamaPublished by Kadokawa
ShotenEnglishpublisher YenPress
Demographic SeinenMagazine Young AceOriginal run September 4,2009 – ongoingVolumes 1
All Otaku Magazine Issue 1 222
Ocha NigosuBAD BOYS DRINK TEA TOO
All Otaku Magazine Issue 1 223
Ocha Nigosu which l iteral ly translates to "BadBoy Drinks Tea", is a manga that fal ls into theever popular theme of reforming delinquents.While it is not as common as fish out of water, orthe coming of age theme; the prevalence ofdelinquency in Japan has this being a veryrelatable topic for the "sl ice of l ife" genre whichfocuses on events happening to everyday folkrather than the supernatural of which we havecome to expect from manga in general.The bad boy is actual ly very misunderstoodcharacter, the story fol lows the high schooldel inquent Masaya Funabashi, better known as"Devil Ma-kun" who is trying to reform his imageby joining the Japanese tea ceremony club. Hisfearsome and devil-l ike appearance scares timidcharacters and infuriates other delinquents, andthis contrast in relationship dynamics makes thecharacter development interesting to fol low. Hehimself is learning to be more cultured afterjoining the tea club in his high school. Coupledwith his frightening appearance is his devastatingphysical prowess which is within the bounds ofbelievable strength but made out to be nearsupernatural comparative to the rest of thecharacters he interacts with in the tea club and
school.This story is one of the stranger titles I ’ve pickedup, not for its comical moments, action or drama,but for its sincerity which is well portrayed througheach character. Everyone is true to who they are,despite what society expects of them - which is adeep social lesson. Together with teachingreaders who aren’t famil iar with the importanceand prestige behind Japanese tea culture. Theart work is compell ing and does a great jobil lustrating the reforming delinquent’s saga. Goodfor expanding your readership tastes while notstraying too far into unknown ground.
Volumes: 11Chapters: 1 09Status: FinishedPublished: Aug 1 0, 2007 to Oct 1 6, 2009Genres: Comedy, School, ShounenAuthors: Nishimori, Hiroyuki (Story & Art)Serial ization: Shounen Sunday
BAD BOYS DRINK TEA TO
By: Bil l Salazar Masuku
All Otaku Magazine Issue 1 224
Single-handedly the most emotional ly gripping story in terms of settingthe idea of fear and helplessness in the reader by depicting an erawhere the entirety of humanity has been forced to hide within walls asthey cower from beings known as titans. While the titans vary in sizethey more often than not tower over humans, with most being shoulderheight with 2 storey buildings.
But what truly injects fear into our system is the fact that the titanssolely eat humans. Ignoring al l other forms of fauna and flora as theyadvance towards the last surviving humans, not for hunger or forsurvival but for simply predatation. Closer to forces of nature ratherthan monsters – mankind's only hope of fighting titans are the story’sfocal group, the Recon Corps equipped with blades and 3D-maneuvergear that al lows they to move swiftly through the air using pressurisedgrappling hooks.
Despite shingeki no kyojin being the most popular manga out now,having recently knocked One Piece off the place of number one insales volumes. SNK is popular for its suspensive plot and mysteryrather than its artwork. In this department SNK is surprisingly terrible.With l ittle detai l in the characters’ appearance it is often difficult todetermine who is who when reading panels briskly. Fortunately, l ike al lmanga artists who run for a long time the artwork has steadilyimproved as each monthly chapter has been released. Notably it isevident that the original author has borrowed imagery from the animeto help develop a reader friendly style.As far as recommendations go, it goes without saying that at somepoint you must read Shingeki no Kyojin and be pulled into the world ofthe titans and watch the conspiracies unfold.
Shingeki no kyojin is arguably one of the most interesting mangacurrently being produced. Its overwhelming sales in recent yearsafter the release of the anime, sparked an unprecedentedamount of readership worldwide.
AAttttaacckkoonn TTii ttaann
By: Bil l Salazar Masuku
All Otaku Magazine Issue 1 225 CCoommiinngg JJuunnee 22001155......
All Otaku Magazine Issue 1 226
Film
SECTO
R
003
Film Sector February 201 5
Our Film sector covers ghosts, adventures,
time travel and spoons. No, not the type they
had in the matrix. Real spoons that wil l not
bend. . . Not even for Neo.
All Otaku Magazine Issue 1 227
Release ScheduleMovie releases for February and March 201 5
Jupiter
AscendingThe
Seventh
Son
SpongeBob:
Sponge Out
of Water
Lambert &
Stamp
Pass the
LightFifty Shades
of Grey
Kingsman:
The Secret
Service
The Last 5
Years
Hot Tub
Time
Machine 2
The DUFF Jane Got a
Gun
McFarland,
USA
Russell
Madness
The Lazarus
Effect
The Vatican
Tapes
Focus Maps to the
Stars
Outcast Deli Man Chappie Unfinished
Business
Merchants
of Doubt
The Coup Paranormal
Activity: The
Ghost
Dimension
Cinderel la In the Heart
of the SeaJust Before
I Go
The
Divergent
Series:
Insurgent
Do You
Believe?Get Hard Serena While We're
YoungA Little
Chaos
It Fol lows Home
February 20, 201 5 February 20, 201 5 February 21 , 201 5February 20, 201 5 February 27, 201 5February 1 3, 201 5 February 20, 201 5
February 6, 201 5 February 6, 201 5 February 1 3, 201 5February 6, 201 5 February 1 3, 201 5February 6, 201 5 February 6, 201 5
February 27, 201 5 February 27, 201 5February 27, 201 5 February 27, 201 5
March 27, 201 5March 27, 201 5March 20, 201 5
March 20, 201 5March 1 3, 201 5March 1 3, 201 5 March 1 3, 201 5 March 1 3, 201 5March 6, 201 5March 6, 201 5
March 6, 201 5February 27, 201 5 March 6, 201 5
March 27, 201 5March 27, 201 5 March 27, 201 5March 27, 201 5
All Otaku Magazine Issue 1 228
Previews and Reviews
Big Hero 6
Released: November 201 4
Director(s): Don Hall , Chris
Wil l iams
From the same studios as
we got "Wreck it Ralph" and
"Frozen" comes a tale of a
young prodigy called "Hiro Hamada" who, with his friends get
catapulted into danger when a devastating event occurs in the
city of San Fransokyo. Together with his friends and the help
of an inflatable robot cal led "Baymax" they set out to help the
citizens of their hometown. Using his crazy intel lect, Hiro
transforms his friends into a band of high-tech heroes called
"Big Hero 6". I t is a tale of adventure, friendship and some
neat gadgetry, and considering where it is coming from, not to
be missed.
Seventh Son
Released: December 1 7,
201 4
Director(s): Sergei Bodrov
Based on a novel cal led The
Spook's Apprectice this is the
first instal lment of "The
Wardstone Chronicles" by Joseph Delaney.
Seventh Son is about Thomas Ward, a seventh son of a
seventh son. This gives him the abil ity to see things that others
can't and leads to him being taken in by a "Spook" or
demon/witch hunter.
As the apprentice of a Spook, Thomas is faced wih his first
challenge when his mentor leaves and an evil witch, Mother
Malkin, escapes her centuries old confinement.
Jupiter Ascending
Released: February 6, 201 5
Director(s): TheWachowskis
Jupiter Jones was born with
the stars themselves
predicting that she was
destined for greatness. Now in adulthood she is faced by the
everyday reality of a day job and a streak of bad luck. This al l
changes the day that Caine, a genetical ly engineered ex-
mil itary hunter tracks her down and gives her a glimpse of the
destiny that she was meant for. Jupiter was born a royal, with
an inheritance that wil l shake the stars. She has but to claim
her place in the empire.
Into the Woods
Released: December 201 5
Director(s): Rob Marshall
This is the story of a baker
and his wife who are cursed
by a witch. In order to l ift the
curse, the baker and his wife
must acquire four rare items.
A cow as white as milk, a cape as red as blood, hair as yellow
as corn and a slipper as pure as gold. In a wonderful
combination of classic fairy tales, the movie takes an alternate
look of both the pre- and after effects of the tales whilst
del ivering a stunning performance. Have a look at what
happened after Jack cut down the beanstalk, after Cinderel la
married her prince, after Red riding hood was visited by the
wolf and after Rapunzel was set free from her tower.
Movie reviews and previews for February and March 201 5
Click the images above to view the trai ler
By:Joannah Stewart
All Otaku Magazine Issue 1 229
All Otaku Magazine Issue 1 230
Predestination
After much procrastination I final ly sat down
to write this article a day before it was due.
General ly this is a bad thing, if you don't
know what to write then the movie must
have been bad.
But in this instance that is not the case, in
fact, this movie was great!
I ts so great that I would dare say it is one of
the best movies to come out of the time
travel genre in the last 1 5 years. The
problem though is where do you start when
the fi lm you just watched was a completely
closed circate that has many beginnings and
ending through out.
A good place to start would be with the
synopsis, the synopsis being one of the
most decieving parts of the fi lm. You are
lead to believe that this fi lm is going to be an
action packed futuristic version of "The
Bourne identity", with secret agent time
travellers stopping criminals through time.
The reality is further down the rabbit hole
than that, much further. This fi lm revolves
around a temporal agent who is sent back in
time to stop a criminal cal led the "Fizzle
Bomber".
Desguised as a bar tender he meets a
young man(John) who writes "confession
stories" for money.
John proceeds to tel l him the story of how he
was born a girl , left at an orphinage, and
became a candidate for a female space
program. He explains that after meeting a
young man, who resembeled his current self,
that she fel l in love and later fel l pregnant,
leading to her ultimate sex change.
When his story is done, the time traveller
offers John the chance to kil l the man who
stole her heart, explaining that he believes
this man to be the Fizzle Bomber and John
accepts. Only to go back in time and find out
that he himself is the man that she fel l in
love with.
This plot twist has many implications on the
rest of the story but it is al l brought together
so well , explaining the process that every
person goes through when dealing with self-
identification. The movie has a subtle yet
complex point to make about the way that
we see and treat ourselves and was pulled
off bri l iantly.
A movie that wil l take you entirely by surprise,and that is a good thing.
By:Joannah Stewart
All Otaku Magazine Issue 1 231
Dracula Untold
Gary Shore’s Dracula Untold depictsone of mythology’s most feared, yetloved horror creatures as a man withthe desire to protect his family andkingdom. The 92 minute spectaclemeshes the mythology of BramStoker’s Dracula with the history ofthe Prince of Wallachia(Transylvania), Vlad I I I or Drăculeaa.k.a Vlad the Impaler (Dracula).According to historical accounts,Vlad I I I was held as a politicalhostage by the Ottomans, duringwhich time he was educated andtrained. In order to remain at peacewith the Ottomans, Transylvania wasrequired to pay a tribute to theSultan. However, Vlad resented theOttomans, and rebelled againstthem, starting a war. Vlad receivedhis nickname “The Impaler” for hisaffinity for impaling his victims onhigh stakes.
Luke Evans stars as Vlad Tepes I I Ia.k.a Dracula, the Prince ofTransylvania, in Shore’s re-imaginingof Vlad the Impaler, who is known tobe the inspiration behind BramStoker’s horror novel Dracula.Fol lowing the historical account of“The Imapaler” the movie beginswith the young prince, Vlad, at anOttoman camp where he is educatedand trained as a soldier and
becomes a fearsome warrior wherehe earns the nickname “TheImpaler”. On his return toTransylvania, he is restored to histhrone, marries a beautiful womannamed Mirena (Sarah Gadon) andfathers a son. His small kingdomlives in peace for years unti l theSultan demands that he send 1 000young boys to be trained asOttoman soldiers, including Vlad’sson. By refusing the Sultan’srequest, Vlad begins a war betweenthe two nations. Desperate for thepower to defeat the Ottoman army,Vlad heads to the feared mountainnear his kingdom where, it isrumoured, l ives a horrific creature.The priests call this creature avampire: a demon who drinks theblood of humans. Vlad is given theblood of the Master Vampire(Charles Dance) and is immediatelyendowed with the supernaturalpowers he needs. He is warnedhowever, that if he gives in to hisbloodlust and feeds within 3 days,then he shall remain a demon for al leternity.
Shore’s retel l ing of the birth ofDracula intertwines both thehistorical legend of Vlad I I I andStoker’s imagining of the blood-sucking vampire, making a pretty
decent story. He did tend to focusmore on the history than the mythwhich was a tad bit disappointing. Assomeone who has read Stoker’sDracula numerous times, I waslooking forward to seeing moreslashing and horror as opposed tothe love fest presented by Shore.While it was sweet to see a morehumane side to Dracula, one thatloved and valued his family andpeople above and beyond all else, itwas disheartening to watch one ofmythology’s most infamous fiendsbeing reduced to a mere loving andcaring mortal. Despite this, anyonewho is interested in watching thisfi lm should not be expecting aretel l ing of Stoker’s story but rather afresh take on the legend of Dracula.
Trisha Ramrathen
A film with al l the wibbily wobbly timey wimey things you could ever need.
By:Trisha Ramrathen
/10
All Otaku Magazine Issue 1 232
GamingSECTO
R
004
Gaming Sector February 201 5
Our Gaming sector covers headshots,
chainsaw kil l ing sprees, and numerous fish
slaps, al l while looking at up and coming titles
in the gaming industry. I f you want to borrow
my sniper rifle, that wil l be $50 please. . .
All Otaku Magazine Issue 1 233
Release ScheduleGame releases for February and March 201 5
There Came
an Echo
Criminal
Girls: Invite
Only
SpongeBob
HeroPants
Evolve Story of
Seasons
Kirby and
the Rainbow
Curse
Dead or
Alive 5: Last
Round
Resident
Evil :
Revelations
2 - 1
Total War:
Atti la
American
Truck
Simulator
Blackhole The Order:
1 886
Dragon Ball
XenoVerse
Dynasty
Warriors 8
Empires
htoL#NiQ:
The Firefly
Diary
Hyperdevoti
on Noire:
Goddess
Black Heart
Resident
Evil :
Revelations
2 - 2
Under Night
In-Birth
Exe:Late
Resident
Evil :
Revelations
2 - 3
Screamride Zombie
Army Trilogy
Atel ier
Shall ie:
Alchemists
of the Dusk
Sea
Resident
Evil :
Revelations
2 - 4
Tokyo
Twil ight
Ghosthunter
s
Code
Name:
S.T.E.A.M.
Battlefield
Hardl ine
Bladestorm:
NightmareDmC:
Definitive
Edition
Final
Fantasy
Type-0 HD
Project
CARS
The
Awakened
Fate
Ultimatum
Bloodborne MLB 1 5:
The Show
Amplitude
February 3, 201 5 February 1 0, 201 5 February 1 3, 201 5February 1 0, 201 5 February 1 7, 201 5February 1 , 201 5 February 3, 201 5
February 20, 201 5 February 20, 201 5 February 24, 201 5February 20, 201 5 February 24, 201 5February 1 7, 201 5 February 1 7, 201 5
March 1 7, 201 5March 1 3, 201 5March 1 0, 201 5 March 1 7, 201 5 March 1 7, 201 5March 1 0, 201 5March 1 0, 201 5
March 24, 201 5March 1 7, 201 5 March 31 , 201 5 TBAMarch 1 7, 201 5March 1 7, 201 5
March 6, 201 5February 24, 201 5 March 3, 201 5 March 3, 201 5February 24, 201 5February 24, 201 5
Platforms:
Win, Mac, Lin,
PS4, XBOX
Platforms:
PSVita
Platforms:
DS, X360,
PSVita
Platforms:
Win, PS4,
XBO
Platforms:
3DS
Platforms:
WiiU
Platforms:
Win, PS4,
XBOX, PS3,
Platforms:
PS3, PS4
Platforms:
Win
Platforms:
Win
Platforms:
Win, Mac, Lin
Platforms:
PS4
Platforms:
PS3, PS4,
X360, XBOX
Platforms:
Win, PS4,
XBO, PS3
Platforms:
PSVita
Platforms:
PSVita
Platforms:
PS3, PS4
Platforms:
PS3
Platforms:
PS3, PS4
Platforms:
XBOX, X360
Platforms:
PS4, XBOX,
Win
February 24, 201 5
Platforms:
PS3
Platforms:
PS3, PS4
Platforms:
PS3, PSVita
Platforms:
3DS
Platforms:
Win, PS3,
PS4, X360,
Platforms:
PS3, PS4,
XBOX
Platforms:
PS4, XBOX
Platforms:
Win, PS4,
XBOX
Platforms:
PS3
Platforms:
PS4
Platforms:
PS4, PS3,
PSVita
Platforms:
PS3, PS4
Platforms:
PS4, XBOX
All Otaku Magazine Issue 1 234
Previews and Reviews
LEGO JurassicWorld
Released: June 201 5
Publishers: Warner Bros.
Interactive Entertainment, TT
Games, The Lego Group
Following the epicstoryl ines of JurassicPark, The Lost World: Jurassic Park and Jurassic ParkI I I , as well as the highly anticipated Jurassic World,LEGO Jurassic World is the first videogame whereplayers wil l be able to rel ive and experience all fourJurassic fi lms. The game wil l be available in June forthe Xbox One all-in-one games and entertainmentsystem; the Xbox 360 games and entertainment systemfor Microsoft; PlayStation4 and PlayStation3 computerentertainment systems; PlayStationVita handheldentertainment system; the Wii U™ system fromNintendo; Nintendo 3DS™ hand-held system; andWindows PC.
TERA (The ExiledRealm of Arborea)
Released: January 25, 2011
Publishers: Gameforge,
Gameforge Berl in, Ubisoft,
Naver Corporation, En
Masse Entertainment
Developed by BlueholeStudio and published inNorth America by En Masse Entertainment, TERA (TheExiled Realm of Arborea), is an award-winningMMORPG for the PC platform that takes the fightbeyond the genre’s traditional point-and-cl ick combatsystems with enhanced aiming, dodging, and tacticaltiming to create an intense and rewarding combatexperience. Explore a vast fantasy world rich withhistory, lore, and danger. Battle epic monsters and makenew friends and all ies with a vibrant onl ine communitywith l ike-minded adventurers navigating the social,pol itical and economic structures within the world ofTERA. With over 1 7 mil l ion registered users globally,TERA continues to gain traction with fans through itsactive community and support
World of Tanks
Released: 1 2 August 201 0
Publishers: Wargaming
World of Tanks is amassively multiplayeronline game developedby Belarusian-Cypriotcompany Wargaming.The focus is on player vs. player gameplay with eachplayer control l ing an armored vehicle, which may be aLight, Medium or Heavy tank, tank destroyer, or self-propelled gunThe player takes control of a singlearmored vehicle of his or her choosing, and is placedinto a battle on a random map, though map selectionmay vary with different game modes. The player hascontrol over the vehicle's movement, firing, and cancommunicate with other players through typed or voicechat. World of tanks has become very popular and evendebuted as an eSports game at the World Cyber Games201 2.
Rugby 1 5
Released: November 21 ,
201 4
Publishers: HB Studios
Rugby 201 5 simply isn’t agreat game. Truth be toldit probably isn’t as terribleas some make it out to be,but it simply does not del iver to the wants and needs ofthe average gamer who loves Rugby.To the game’s credit, Rugby 201 5 has variants of manyimportant club and provincial sides in addition tonumerous international sides, including lesser knownones like Namibia. The issue is that they are veryclearly variants. You wil l not find the Stormers orWestern Province here. Instead you can select the team“Cape Town”.You wil l also find that the players you are famil iar withare not available, and the players in their stead areunrecognisable. Even though this is almost certainlydue to l icensing hurdles, l ittle effort was made toaddress the issue.
Gaming reviews and previews for February and March 201 5
All Otaku Magazine Issue 1 235
Come join ourGame
South Africa's premium casters
Click the l ink to find out more
All Otaku Magazine Issue 1 236
Tabletopgamers In the interest of starting a new semi-regular article around
tabletop gaming here is the first instal lment of All Otaku Mag’sTabletop. Gaming communities across South Africa are goingfrom strength to strength and with so many awesome newgames coming out al l the time we are truly l iving in the goldenage of tabletop. I hope to bring you a brief review and rating oftwo or three games per week, some new and some old but al lawesome.
BETRAYAL AT HOUSE ON THE HILL
Betrayal is an older game that went out of print and has come backthanks to massive demand by the fans. I f you are a fan of horrorthen this wil l be right up your al ley. I t is a co-operative game with atwist. Players start out with a unique character and health meter (themeter gauges a player’s health /strength / sanity / intel l igence). Asthe game commences the board is only a single room and playersmust explore the derel ict and spooky house on the hil l to build theboard. This is the essence of a modular game; players create theboard through their decisions. During this first phase of the game allplayers are on the same side, merely trying to find their way throughthe haunted house and gather items and weapons. Eventual ly certainconditions wil l be met and the game really kicks into gear!
When these “conditions” are met a scenario is triggered. There arefifty unique scenarios in the game each with its’ own spine chil l ingstory. From zombies to serial ki l lers to werewolves and even aliensthe replay value here is massive. The player who triggers thecondition is then designated the “betrayer” and he must leave theroom in order to read his role and win conditions. This remainsunknown to the remaining players who also have their own wincondition.
For example; in a game we played recently the “betrayer” was adiabolical ki l ler who had buried alive a person in the basement. Wehad to get to the basement and dig this person out. The betrayer hadto get to the basement and nail the coffin shut. I t is a race againsttime and the items you gathered and how well you have explored themansion wil l determine the winner.
I absolutely love this game and whole heartedly recommend it toeveryone.
POWERGRID
Powergrid is also an older game in the German style(Funkenschlag) and wil l appeal to traditional boardgamers andbeancounters. I t has a great mechanic but also a few drawbacks.Essential ly each player is attempting to buy power stations and usethem to power buildings across the map. Think of it as monopoly butwith a twist; you need to power your buildings in order to win.
Each round of the game has multiple phases. Players begin bybidding on power stations against each other in an auction (this canget pretty heated as a power station that may cost around 1 0 bucksis suddenly skyrocketed to 50 as two players square off against
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ROUND-UP
That’s it for the first edition of All Otaku Mag’sTabletop. I f there are any games you wouldl ike us to write about please send and emailto [email protected] have created an All Otaku Meetup group(www.meetup.com/ALL-OTAKU/) and wil lthrowing some tabletop events in the nearfuture. I f you are part of a tabletop communityin your area and want your crew featured onthe website please drop the us a line eitheron the site or on facebook.
NETRUNNER
Netrunner is a great card game that I have only had theopportunity to play once so this review may be a bit thin. I t is a“Living card game” (LCG) so unlike a “Trading card game” (TCG)there is only one core set that al l players own and build decksfrom. This is much more affordable (and in my opinion infinitelybetter) than the need to buy endless booster packs to construct agood deck (Magic / Yu-Gi-Oh).
In Netrunner one player takes on the role of a futuristiccorporation and the other player the role of a runner. During thegame the corporation wil l try and advance “agendas” and therunner must stop them by stealing them. Boardgame geekexplains the rules as fol lows:
“Corporations seek to score agendas by advancing them. Doingso takes time and credits. To buy the time and earn the creditsthey need, they must secure their servers and data forts with"ice". These security programs come in different varieties, fromsimple barriers, to code gates and aggressive sentries. Theyserve as the corporation's virtual eyes, ears, and machine gunson the sprawling information superhighways of the network.In turn, runners need to spend their time and credits acquiring asufficient wealth of resources, purchasing the necessaryhardware, and developing suitably powerful ice-breakerprograms to hack past corporate security measures. Their jobsare always a little desperate, driven by tight timelines, andshrouded in mystery. When a runner jacks-in and starts a run ata corporate server, he risks having his best programs trashed orbeing caught by a trace program and left vulnerable to corporatecountermeasures. I t's not uncommon for an unprepared runnerto fai l to bypass a nasty sentry and suffer massive brain damageas a result. Even if a runner gets through a data fort's defenses,there's no tel l ing what it holds. Sometimes, the runner findssomething of value. Sometimes, the best he can do is work totrash whatever the corporation was developing”
The game is critical ly acclaimed with a very active and awesomecommunity. Having met the guys in Cape Town I am reallyexcited to get my teeth into this one. I am also told there is alarge and friendly community in Johannesburg so hopeful ly wecan see some intercity tournaments in the future.
each other to get it), then players need to compete to buyresources to use those power stations and lastly players need toplace their buildings that they wil l power across the map. Asyou can see there are multiple ways for the strategy in this gameto get pretty deep and it often involves a lot of creativity.
Having played this game twice in the space of one week I cansay I do enjoy it but find that it can get sl ightly drawn out. Bothgames went on a lot longer than I expected (mostly due topeople taking their sweet time to make a decision; an egg timerto force them to keep it under a minute is suggested). But on thepositive side it doesn’t get boring as the multiple phases are allequally entertaining. Another great thing about the game is that itis so well balanced that even if one player fal ls behind early orone player pul ls ahead the ending of the game is almost alwaysneck-and-neck between all players.
All Otaku Magazine Issue 1 238
By: Leena Swarts
World of warcraft :Warlords of Draenor Expansion
All Otaku Magazine Issue 1 239
By: Leena Swarts
WoW has been around for a long
time. I t is no secret that the fan base
has dwindled over the years, mainly
due to players becoming tired of
“more of the same” mental ity. Yes,
the expansions are numerous, and
the lore just keeps expanding, but
somehow the feel of the game
doesn’t change. The stats have
become sil ly, the dps output have
become a joke, and the raid bosses
are laughable. Grind, grind, grind.
Like all MMO’s, Wow was no
different, just more polished.
So, Blizzard has put it al l on the l ine
with Warlords of Draenor. Arguably
the last expansion of Wow, but they
have been saying that for a while.
HoweverX They have made some
serious corrections to the game that
pul led back a huge amount of
players. For those of us who have
been playing since “vanil la” or
“burning crusade”, a lot of us would
agree that the “Wrath of the Lich
King” expansion was probably
Blizzard’s crowning achievement
when it came to wow expansions.
The game was, well for lack of a
better term, just fun. The stats
were well balanced, the holy triad
were well balanced, and the raids
were both fun and challenging.
So now let’s fast forward to the
latest expansion. Warlords of
Draenor impresses from the word
go. The story just sucks you in and
refuses to let go. I have to admit, if
there is one thing that they did right
this time around, it was to make
“you” feel part of the world. The
quests, the progression, and oh
man, those cut-scenes just keep
you on your toes and keeps you
going. When the dust final ly
settled, I was standing in my own
garrison and I was happy. There
are only a few games that I have
played to date to which I can make
that kind of claim. Gone is the
never ending days of grinding to
level up. Gone is the dreary, feet
dragging experience of getting your
character up through the last levels
in the expansion.
Ok, so let’s have a look at some of
the new goodies and features in
the expansion. The biggest
change you wil l see is undoubtedly
the garrison. Every player has one,
and it is l ike, to quote Tony Stark
“HomeX just moreX me”. The
buildings in your garrison is
completely your choice, and there
are some very nice choices to add
to the experience of the game.
These buildings can also be
upgraded to the third level, with
each upgrade providing some nice
and unique benefits to your
garrison. I think that since most of
the player base has the best and
most expensive mounts already,
that the garrison is the new gold
sink. *winks*
Speaking of flying mounts, there
are none thus far in the expansion.
Flying mounts are amazing to
have, but it does leave you feeling
a l ittle “detached” from the world.
Staying land bound keeps your
sense of size firmly rooted and
keeps you from feeling that the
world is actual ly pretty small . I t
does also mean that if you want to
go anywhere, you might have to
slog through a couple of mobs to
do so. Pro’s and con’s? Yeah,
there is a bit of both in there. The
garrisons are much more than just
buildings and upgrades though.
There are fol lowers to recruit,
missions to go on, assaults to lead,
defending your garrison against
attacks, just a whole lot of fun to be
had all in al l .
NewCharacterModels
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So let’s get back to end game
content. The expansion is sti l l pretty
new, and most players are sti l l
gearing up for the end game raids,
with most of us sti l l in the heroic
dungeons farming for gear. Not
much has changed on that bit, but
Blizzard has made some very
generous changes in the way we get
gear for our characters. Instead of
doing the dungeon over and over for
a single item like in the past, every
boss wil l drop something specific to
your character, if it has something in
its loot tables. Well the first time
around anyways. Which means that
when you do the dungeon for the
first time, you wil l probably get
between two and four upgrades for
your character. I f you use the
looking for group system, this wil l
not stop after the first run through,
only if you keep in the same group.
Neat huh?
Speaking of dungeons, it al l comes
back to stats, which is another huge
change that they brought to the
latest expansion. Everything got
scaled down again to pretty much
“Wrath of the Lich King” standards.
The dps output looks pretty much
the same as back then, the tanks
actual ly have to do damage
mitigation again, and the healers
have their work cut out for them.
This makes dungeons fun again,
because it is no longer just a race to
get through and you actual ly have to
use some strategy to get to the end.
The heroics are especial ly hard at
this stage.
Looking forward though, I guess I
am keen to see if Bl izzard wil l try
and keep the dungeons as
challenging as they are now, or if
with the increases in gear stats,
players wil l be able to just face rol l
the dungeons as they always have
after the first part of the expansion.
I , for one, sincerely hope that they
do. I t keeps the game interesting
and keeps players playing, which in
turn keeps them funded and
producing more stuff. Everyone
wins right?
In conclusion, if you are a Wow
player that has lost their way, have a
look at Draenor. I t has a lot of
positive things going for it. I f you are
a new player looking for an
MMORPG, well Wow is pretty much
sti l l the best on the market, and with
Draenor out now, it wil l most l ikely
retain that spot for some time.
- By Beleran
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All Otaku Magazine Issue 1 242
LEGO Batman 3:
Beyond GothamLEGO Batman 3: Beyond Gotham is the latest LEGOgame of our favourite DC caped crusader. My favouriteDC hero (not the one the people deserve, but the onethat the people need) and it’s developed by Traveller'sTales, for the Microsoft Windows, Apple OS X,PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, Nintendo 3DS, Xbox360, Xbox One, Wii U and iOS. Yes, that sure is a really,real ly, real ly wide range of availabi l ity right there. Youreally don’t have a reason not to get thisXit’s availableon practical ly everywhere. Okay, not everywhere, butyou get the point. Let’s not forget that the game is alsoavailable for Mac via Steam. I t is the third instalment ofthe LEGO Batman game series and a direct sequel toLEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes.
This game might have the name of Batman, but it cal lsfor yet another crossover story-l ine of the DC Universe.To be honest, the name “Batman” does wonders for thesell ing of merchandise and games.Batman and everyone else are doing what they dobestXkind of. Things soon start to go in a downwardspiral and your usual suspects of this crime-relatedtragedy are none other than those same two guys thathave a number of team-up cooperation behind theircriminal records. The Joker is back and Lex Lutherseems even more determined to get back at our DCSuper Heroes. Brainiac is also in the vil lainous picture
as is other famil iar vi l lainous faces. What is their plan?I ’m not gonna tel l ya, but it’s more in the l ines of WorldDominationXas always. Well , a stolen ice cream isn’treal ly worthy of a super hero crossover, right?WaitXyou’re actual ly thinking about it?
Get your hands on the game and play through anotherepic LEGO Batman game. Build stuff and kick LEGO-crime butt. Play as many famil iar and unfamil iar facesthrough the DC history. Play as your favourite Heroesand Vil lains. You’l l even be able to play as Adam West.Yes, the legendary Adam West himself who starred asBatman from the 1 960’s Batman T.V series and movie.Comedian and talk-show host Conan O’Brien wil l mostl ikely be there as well , seeing as he had a superhero ofhis own, thanks to DC Comics. You’l l be able to play asmany other characters as well , including Alfred,Aquaman, Bane, Bat-Cow ~pausing and waits for that tosink in~, Batgirl , Batman, many different versions andvariations of Batman, Bat-Mite, Bruce Wayne, Robin,Dick Grayson, The Joker, Lex Luther, Flash, WonderWoman, Martian Manhunter, Miss Martian, Nightwing,Shazam, Superman, Superboy, Supergirl and many,many, many more!
DLC Content should include a fan-designed characterthat was the winner of the game’s contest.
Douw “D.K” Kotzé
All Otaku Magazine Issue 1 243
For those not famil iar with Pokémona game series that hasn't changedvery much in 1 5 years and even lacesince the advent of this game'soriginals. Pokémon is a game inwhich you hunt down wild Pokémoncapture them in tiny balls and beingtrain them to fight in your ownfuturistic arena cockfight unti leventual ly you become the greatestmaster of them all (or get bored andwander off to play something else).
Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphireare remakes of the original Pokémonruby and Pokémon sapphire thatwere released for the Gameboyadvanced in 2002/2003 andbecause they are remakes I wil lprobably be more harsh on themthan I would an original entry l ike X.These games tel l the story of ayoung boy or girl arriving in LittlerootTown and being expected to go offand have an adventure in the woodswith wild animals. Along the waythey wil l be accosted by vil lainswearing spiffy uniforms (that matchthe color of your game) that withoutdoubt have the stupidest motivationsof any vil lain team in this franchise,
eventual ly culminating in a battle inwhich you must face down a Titanwho can drown the world or one thatwil l burn it.Final ly off the you've become achampion you must help somescientists save the world from a kil lerasteroid. In other words a typicalPokémon Game.
Yet despite al l I have just said Iadore this franchise with nearlyevery fiber of my being. Pokémon isjust fun, the basic mechanics haven'tchanged much since Generation 3(the generation that inspired theseremakes) but that just means of aeasy to work with and ORAS iseasily more user friendly thanprevious instal lments l ike X and Y.New features incorporated thisgeneration such as rel iable wirelessmultiplayer, super training andPokemon-amie return although sadlythey sti l l have their Kalos themesand have been rammed into onemenu when they previouslyoccupied three show a little sign oflaziness. And now joining this is the"dexnav" feature which allowspotential trainers to find al l the
Pokemon on a route before movingto the next, a must for thecompletionist who has to grab all71 8 of the l ittle monsters that arerunning around the absolutelygorgeous 3D Hoenn environments.
Unfortunately the gremlins of Hoennpull the game down, if you want togo exploring Hoenn you wil l need tohave 2 HM slaves to handle al l thenew caves and undersea places.Sti l l if you want a fun experience youcan't real ly go wrong with PokemonORAS7/1 0
Pros.Lots of pokemon to catchBeautiful environmentsGreat places to explore.
Cons.I t's Ruby and Sapphire with prettygraphicsExploration requires too many HMsHoenn pokedex is a l ittle boring.
-Urahara-sensei
I t's Pokémon. I 'm sorry, but there's very l ittle else to say about this title that you couldn't say of the title it'sremaking from 1 2 years ago. That said it is very nice to go back to Hoenn and re-experience arguablythe weakest generation of this franchise.
Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire
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TechSECTO
R
005
Tech Sector February 201 5
Our tech sector covers microbits and
nanobytes, pieces of soldering iron and our
l ittle gadget that lets us peek into the future.
No, you can't have it.
All Otaku Magazine Issue 1 245
Latest Updates
Google to Stop thesale of GoogleGlass
Google has recentlyannounced that they wil ldiscontinue the sale ofGoogle Glasses unti l thecompany can develope amore affordable version witha better look.
Glass sales wil l go on hold to the public on January 1 9.
Google wil l sti l l be sell ing a version the product to companiesthat have found uses for it in their offices, stores and factories.
"By the time Glass returns to the consumer market, it wil l facemore competition from other wearable computing devices,including a line of smart watches that Apple plans to beginsel l ing this spring.
In a Thursday blog post, Google l ikened the Explorer edition ofGlass to an infant learning how to walk.
"Well , we sti l l have some work to do, but now we're ready toput on our big kid shoes and learn how to run," Google said. "
- The Times of India
Nintendo pullsaway from Brazil
Japanese videogame
leaders, Nintendo, have
decided to hit the pause
button when it comes to
exporting their releases to
Latin America.
"We are pausing on Brazil while we look for a sustainable
(distribution) model, " says the company's general manager.
According to Nintendo the decision has been made due to
high import rates and a lack of local Nintendo manufacturing
facil ities in South America.
"We are going to go back to the drawing board to create a
total ly new model, " said Van Zyll , adding that current stocks
should satisfy demand through the end of the year.
Twitch createsMusic media Libraryfrom streamers
Since it's creation in 2011
twitch TV has given a lot to
the community, creating an
opportunity for gamers and
video fanatics al ike to get
their work out there.
But one thing the network has struggled with is the copyright
laws pertaining to audio and music cl ips used by some of the
sites many fol lowers. Twitch is required to mute any video that
has a copyright infringment leading to many disgruntled users.
However, with the service now being owned by Amazon, they
have taken new steps towards stopping copyright infringement
but giving it's users access to the new Twitch Music Library.
The Twitch Music Library is a growing l ist of pre-approved
music that twitch cl ients can use on their new and old videos
wth out fear of being muted.
Five-mile Hyperlooptest track in Texas
Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla took
to Twitter on the 1 5th
announcing plans to create
the first five mile Hyperloop in
which companies and
students can test their pods.
Musk first broached the idea of Hyperloops 1 8 months prior
but has been rather quiet about it unti l now. The goal is to
eventual ly build the Hyperloops across country with capsules
inside that travel 800mph. That is 300mph faster than a
commercial jet plane.
The CEO says that a system like this wil l cost a quarter of
what it would take to build a highway, and consume 1 /20th the
materials that a railway line would. Elon says that this wil l
impact the price of travel dramatical ly, making travel far more
affordable.
Tech updates for February and March 201 5
All Otaku Magazine Issue 1 246
UndergroundFarming
Thinking back, I remember a time when foods grown in a
factory was seen as a bad thing. People believed that
growing food outside of it's natural "habitat" was bad and that
no nutrients could be gained from it. I t was unnatural, far too
clean, would cost a fortune and quite frankly it was the most
absurd thing we had ever heard.
In today's society however, I would l ike to believe that is not
the case any more, not only do we have enough information
on agriculture to do this but we also have ways of reducing
the power usage to sustain these kinds of farms.
Over 8 years ago a company called Pasona O2 began the
research and implementation of "urban farms", they planned
to use underground and indoor spaces to grow crops using
Hydroponics and Aeroponics. Original ly the facil ity was
created to teach the unemployed how to farm but it soon
became much more. With the help of energy efficient LED's
and temperature control, Pasona O2 now grow 200 different
species of plant over 1 000 square meters of building.
Pasona O2 is not the only group cottoning on to the idea of
Urban Farming. A company in the UK called Zero Carbon
Foods recently started Growing Underground, an urban farm
33 meters under Clapham, London.
This is al l fine and well , and a lot of you may be thinking that
this is just some marketing ploy to get people to buy a
special ised product.
The Benefits ofAlternative Farming:
- Lower Carbon Emissions- Uses 70% less water- Uses three times lesselectricty- Takes up far less space- Uses little to no pesticides- Immediate access to freshlypicked produce- Yields 250% more produce- Better Taste- Promotes economic growth
Could our food be grown underground
in the near future?
By: Joannah Stewart
Organic farming for the free loving hippie.
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Aeroponics
- the process of
growing plants in an
air or mist
environment without
the use of soil or an
aggregate medium.
Hydroponics
- a subset of
hydroculture and is a
method of growing
plants using mineral
nutrient solutions, in
water, without soil .
Hydroculture
- the growing of
plants in a soil less
medium, or aquatic
based environment.
Plant nutrients are
distributed via water.
Geoponic
- and geoponics refer
to growing plants in a
normal soil . Contract
to hydroponics and
aeroponics.
"THE FUTURE IS NOW.
THE FUTURE IS GROWING UNDERGROUND."
But in reality underground farming is not only a solution
to the waste produced by conventional farming, it is also
entirely human-friendly .
This method of farming uses 70% less water and 3
times less electricity than conventional farming,
underground crops can be grown year round without
stopping and creates 250% more produce than a
normal farm. Due to the control led environment the
plants are grown in there is no plant diseases and no
need for pesticides, making the entire operation organic
and healthier for human consumption. Regular
underground farming would lead to major advances in
agriculture and essential ly boost the global economy,
creating more jobs and allowing rural areas to feed
themselves.
There is also the added benefit of a longer food
lifespan. Because these food sources are in the heart of
your city or the surrounding area they can be picked
and processed in a day and sent out immediately for
delivery, we as consumers wil l no longer receive food
that has been in transit for days on end.
Now I know that I may be sounding a little nutty right
now so I am going to stop right here. I bel ieve I have
made my point and hope that I have given you
something to consider. We are lucky to be alive in an
age where these sort of things are even possible, sure it
may not be the future most of us where hoping to be
born in to, but we are the generation that wil l get to
watch that future unfold, and hell , we may even be the
ones who make that future happen.
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Dennis RitchieBy Douw “D.K” Kotzé
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Dennis Ritchie
The Man Who Helped Us Create a Better
Future.
Dennis Ritchie. Better than Steve Jobs. The
inventor of the internet. Dennis Ritchie, the
man who deserved so much more credit than
he received. Some people called Dennis
Ritchie the “Godfather of Programming”.
“Ritchie was under the radar. His name was
not a household name at al l , butX if you had
a microscope and could look in a computer,
you’d see his work everywhere inside.”
These days you’l l hear people praise and
admire the people who have brought us
some of the greatest things in technology
today. Born on 8th of November 1 970, Tom
Anderson is the American co-founder of the
social networking website MySpace. Born on
1 4th of May 1 984, Mark Ell iot Zuckerberg is
an American computer programmer, internet
entrepreneur, founder and CEO of Facebook.
Steve Jobs of course was an American
entrepreneur, marketer, inventor, co-founder,
chairman and CEO of Apple Inc.
Believe it or not, but this guy you probably
never heard of has contributed more than the
above mentioned, that you probably have
heard about. In fact, Dennis Ritchie has
contributed more than Steve Jobs, Bil l Gates
and even more than Mark Zuckerberg has
ever contributed to the modern digital age
combined.
I t was once said that Dennis Ritchie’s
contribution to the human race overshadows
all other inventors and scientists working in
the 20th and 21 st centuries. That’s kind of a
huge statement, right? Think about it though.
I t’s pretty impossible to walk on our Earth
these days and not find some form of
technology that has not been affected in
some way of Dennis Ritchie’s work.
Apparently, there is this thing they called the
“inevitable Dennis Ritchie vs. Steve Jobs”.
Well , let me do something different and break
a few things down for ya though. Steve Jobs
has been known to bring Apple from near
bankruptcy to profitabil ity by 1 998, he has
given us a lot of expensive stuff that most of
us can’t afford and some of which people
can. Do you think he could have done it if there
was no Dennis Ritchie though? Would we
have internet or computers l ike today if there
was no Dennis Ritchie?
Dennis Ritchie was known for creating the C
programming language, with a long-time
colleague Ken Thompson –the Unix operating
system. Ritchie and Thompson received the
Turing Award from the ACM in 1 983, the
Hamming Medal from the IEEE in 1 990 and
the National Medal of Technology from
President Clinton in 1 999. Ritchie was the
head of Lucent Technologies System Software
Research Department when he retired in 2007.
He was also the “R” in “K&R C” and commonly
known by his username “dmr”.
The C language is widely used today in
application, operating system development,
and its influence is seen in most modern
programming languages as well . Unix has also
been influential , establ ishing concepts and
principles that are now precepts of computing.
When Steve Jobs passed away, people
mourned the passing of a “giant” in the
technological industry and the media covered
more about him than they probably should
have. Not too long afterwards, Dennis Ritchie
passed away. The media seemed
uninterested. The world seemed like they just
didn’t give a damn in a way. A lot of people
voiced their reactions to this and pointed out
how Steve Jobs didn’t deserve all the extra
unnecessary media coverage. A few people in
particular referred to the
success of Steve Jobs as standing on the
shoulders of Dennis Ritchie. After al l ,
where do you think would computer
technology be without Dennis Ritchie?
Your iPhone would probably sti l l be the “I -
wil l use my telephone”. You’re iPad would
probably sti l l be the “I -wil l use my
notepad”. We would al l be in the “i-Human”
generation instead of the one that has
Apple technology. In the end, the real
“techno giant” that we lostXwas Dennis
“The Godfather of Programming” Ritchie.
Dennis Ritchie:
Ful l name: Dennis MacAlistair Ritchie
Born: September 9, 1 941
Died: c. October 1 2, 2011 – at the age of
70
Nationality: American
Fields: Computer Science
Instititions: Lucent Technologies, Bell Labs
Education: Harvard University
Known for: ALTRAN, B, BCPL, C, Multics,
Unix.
Notable awards: Turing Award (1 983),
National Medal of Technology, IEEE
Richard W. Hamming Medal (1 990),
Computer Pioneer Award (1 994), Harold
Pender Award (2003), Japan Prize (2011 ).
Steve Jobs:
Ful l Name: Steven Paul Jobs
Born: February 24, 1 955
Died: October 5, 2011 – at age 56
Education: Reed College (dropped out)
Occupation: Co-founder, Chairman, and
CEO, Apple Inc. Co-founder and CEO,
Pixar. Founder and CEO, NeXT Inc.
Years active: 1 974-2011
Net worth: US $8.3 bil l ion (July 201 0)
Board member of: The Walt Disney
Company, Apple Inc.
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CosplaySECTO
R
Cosplay Sector February 201 5
006
Our Cosplay sector covers Cosplay tools,
cookies, interesting techniques on using said
cookies, and ultimately how to put your
cookie to best use when sitting for the fourth
hour in front of you sewing machine and your
knees are kil l ing you.
All Otaku Magazine Issue 1 251
Cosplay BuysThis is a l ist of must-have things to own as a cosplayer and where to get them. As a new
cosplayer it is hard to know what tools to buy and how to use them.
Since this is our first article of this kind lets start with the basics of sewing.
By: Joannah Stewart
Sewing Kits
A sewing kit is a cosplayer's
pride, it is a collection of bits
a bobs that you cannot do
without. A sewing kit should
consist of needles (in various
sizes), a pair of sewing
scissors, different coloured
thread, a tape measure, pins,
and a few buttons.
As any cosplayer knows though, it doesn't stop there. A lot
more can be added to this col lection depending on what you
wil l be creating and what makes you happy.
Aditional items such as zips, ribbon, punches, patterns,
material scissors, embroidery hoops, thimbles, seam cutters,
stamps, sheers, stuffing, boning, pattern paper, etc, can be
added to your collection. The list goes on and the more you
learn about these items the more you wil l come to appreciate
the tools you are working with.
Patterns
Another very important part
of creating your outfit, no
matter if it's material or a
prop, is your pattern. A
pattern is the shape and
amount of material that wil l
be needed for your outfit.
The pattern wil l let you howmuch extra material wil l be needed around your panels for aseam and how each piece of material fits together to createyour outfit. A pattern uses markers to indicate things l ikeseams, tuckets, pleats, folds and pins. I t wil l be your guidethrough out the entire sewing process. At first they wil l seemcomplicated but once you understand a pattern it wil l be aseasy as reading any book.
Materials
Material is one of my
favourite things about
seemstressing. Each material
has a life of it's own and can
add a lot to the cosplay you
are creating. Choosing the
right material or col lection of
materials is crucial to any
item of clothing you make.
Certian materials do not go well with others as they have
different thread counts and shrink rates so you wil l have to ask
some one at the haberdashery if the materials you are working
with go well together. Other than that the materials that you
use are entirely up to you and you wil l probably spend a good
few hours looking for the right material for your costume.
Also remember to pre-wash your materials before sewing
them together. Material stores often pre-wash their materials
before they sell them but some times they don't and you do
not want to end up having the material die of one material
running into the rest of your costume.
The Sewing Maching
A sewing machine can save
you a lot if time and
concentration when it comes
to making an outfit, but it is
not neccessari ly a must have.
Cosplayers have been known
to sew their outfits entirely by
hand, however a sewing
machine can be faster and often neater to.
Your sewing machine works by sewing a thread through the
material and catching a separate thread on the other side,
underneath the material . So unlike hand sewing that only uses
one thread a sewing machine uses two spools of thread in one
line of stitching.
This requires the machine to have perfect timing, meaning that
your machine's time wil l need to be set properly. Nowadays
that is a simple process but if your timing goes out too far you
wil l need to have it reset by the machine makers.
All Otaku Magazine Issue 1 252
SaiyukiKashuri
CosplayProfile
All Otaku Magazine Issue 1 253
1 . NOT ONLY ARE YOU A COSPLAYER BUT ALSO A GENUINE
GEEK GIRL. WHAT IS ONE OF YOUR MOST IMPORTANT
EXPERIENCES AS A GEEK?
Getting to know other people who share your interests.There is nothing more fun than being able to talk aboutsomething you love, and people actual ly understandwhat you are saying.
2 . SO WHEN YOU STARTED WITH COSPLAY BACK IN 201 0, YOUSEEMED LIKE SUCH A SHY GIRL. NOW THAT HAS OBVIOUSLY
CHANGED. HOW HAS COSPLAYING AFFECTED YOU ON A
PERSONAL LEVEL?
Cosplay has seriously given me a confidence boost. Iwas bull ied (well more teased and talked about behindmy back), I didn't real ly fit in because I didn't l ike al l thelame crap everyone else was in to. I was an earlybloomer, an my maturity was superior to those of peoplearound me.So getting back to the point, Cosplay has made meaccept myself as an Individual, and taught me that you
dont have to force yourself to go with the flow.
3 . WHO IN THE SOUTH AFRICAN COSPLAY INDUSTRY INSPIRES
YOU MOST?
I would definitely have to say Tayla Barter (KinpatsuCosplay), she's been cosplaying for a shorter periodthan I have, but her skil ls are far greater than my own. Ihope to reach that level one day, and perhaps even do ateam-up. Keep up the amazing work!
AND I Can't forget my Nakashi <3 being partenered upwith this talented creature for 5 years has alwaysinspired and motivated me to work even harder :)
4 . WHEN DID YOU FIRST REALISE THAT YOU WERE A
COSPLAYER?
I didn't even know what cosplay was unti l Nakashiproposed the idea to start cosplaying together, but assoon as it came to the first time we took pictures andplanned our costumes, I was hooked.
Saiyuki KashuriThis issue we interview one of South Africa's up andcoming cosplayers Saiyuki Kashuri.
All Otaku Magazine Issue 1 254
5 . WHICH OF YOUR COSTUMES IS YOUR FAVOURITE?
Uhm.. thats a very good question. .I think it would sti l l have to be my nightingalearmour from skyrimbut my Erza Heart Kreuz v2 armour wil l comesecond.
6 . IF YOU COULD GO ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD WHERE
WOULD THAT BE?
I 'd love to go to Japan, but if that wasn't possible,I 'd say London. Maybe I can track down myBritish relatives.
7 . HOW DO YOU THINK COSPLAYING AFFECTS THE
GLOBAL GAMING AND GEEK MARKET?
It brings us all closer together, you get to meetnew people and make new friends. Cosplay alsostands as a kind of advertisement for gaming andthings in the geek market. You cosplay from agame, more people wil l find out about the game.I 've found out about how many games I neverknew were even made in the last few years, al lbecause cosplayers I fol low have cosplayedcharacters from them.
8 . WHICH DO YOU PREFER? TOFFEE OR CANDYFLOSS?
Both! I have a major sweet tooth :3But I prefer Toffee. I ts chewey and so goooood
9 . HOW WOULD YOU REACT TO THE OLDER
GENERATION ASKING YOU ABOUT COSPLAY?
First thing, Gran its not some satanic worshipthing x'D (had to explain cosplay for 5 years, nowshe thinks I do some sort of weird modeling)
When faced with tel l ing the older generationsabout cosplay, I usually show them pictures of thecharacter, and then pictures of my cosplay. Thenexplain to the best of my abil ity that I am simplytrying to bring the character to l ife.
1 0 . WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE ANIME AND WHY?
Favorite anime. . . .I can give you my Favourite and top re-watchanimes. Because one does not simply have oneFavourite.
-Fairy Tail- Another- Danganronpa- Hellsing & Hellsing Ultimate- Highschool of the Dead
All Otaku Magazine Issue 1 255
Step 1Create a simple mask stencil onpaper. Make sure to measure itagainst your face by pressingthe mask in around the nose asthe leather mask wil l hug yourface.
Step 2Trace the stencil onto theleather and cut out the mask. Be careful not to fray the edges or create jagged cuts,use a stanley or a leather cutter to cut along the stencil led l ines.
Step 3Soak the leather mask in warm water. Remember that temperature of the water is a keyfactor here, the warmer the water, the harder the leather wil l become when it dries.While it may be tempting to make the water as hot as possible this is not advisable asthe leather wil l dry very hard and become brittle.Soak your leather in water for about 1 5 minutes. Or unti l al l of the bubbles on thesurface of the leather have gone. You do not want to soak it for too long.
Step 4Take the wet leather and stretch it over your face mold or cast, this does not have to bea cast of your own face. I t can simply be a manikin head. Make sure to push the leatherin around the bridge of the nose and around the eyebrows to capture the ful l form of theface. Leave the mask to dry on the face for a few hours. You could fast track thisprocess by running a hair dryer over it on low heat, but this is l ikely to damage theleather and make it brittle if it is not done correctly. Also avoid sun drying the leather asthis wil l end in the same result.
Step 5Remember that after the leather has dried it wil l shrink a l ittle which should make for asnug fit. Now you can paint the mask or add any decorations you want to it with a l ittlematerial glue or by stitching the leather wit a leather needle.
Tip:To get the best shape out of your leather keep working it unti l i t is completely dry. Usingthe back of a spoon works very well to push in the curves of your mask, creating asmoother curve. Beware that the wet leather wil l mark quite easily so take care not todent or damage the leather in any way.
Molding leather is a very useful ski l l , as many cosplay items can be made from leathersuch as masks, bags, guards and even armour.
There are many different ways to form and harden leather. Different leather types andresults require different techiniques, the simplest technique being watering hardening.
To use this technique you wil l need:
- Leather- A bowl of luke warm water- A face cast- A spoon
CosplayHowTo's
All Otaku Magazine Issue 1 256
ToLARP,or nottoLARP...
There exists aX delicate balance
between the two different
communities, cosplayers and
LARPers. The one strives for
perfection, duplicating their favourite
characters from the entertainment
industry, where the other strives for
perfection in impersonating their
ideal characters, in whichever form
they are designed. Both do
costuming, but is one really more
advanced than the other? I ’ve heard
somebody say: “LARPers wil l
Cosplay, but Cosplayers do not often
LARP.”
First off, before we decide - if we
decide at al l , let’s take a look at the
respective arts. Cosplay is an
industry that has taken a massive
growth spurt over the last couple of
years, both locally and
international ly. I t is a practice that,
l ike most geek things nowadays,
originated from Japan, where people
would dress up and impersonate
characters from anime
movies/series. When the rest of the
world final ly caught on to the fad, it
exploded to include characters from
games and movies as well .
Of course, Trekkies and Star
wars fans were already by that
time doing the same thing, but it
was more focused on their
respective series. Nowadays,
there are often competitions
hosted at conventions and what
started out as an amusing
hobby has grown to an art form.
Perfection is the key, and
imitating your character as
accurately as possible, not only
in look, but in attitude as well , is
the aim. The more realistic the
portrayal, the better the Cosplay.
This of course means that the
field is extremely competitive,
and rivalries are the word of the
day. Despite this though, the
community always tries to be
friendly, welcoming and
accepting to new arrivals and
older participants, no matter
your race, gender, age etc. I t
truly is something that defies
everything conventional and
inspires the creative.
Now let’s take a look at
LARPing. LARP is short for
“Live Action Role Play”. The aim
for a LARP is to create an
environment where people can
“l ive” as another character of
their own choosing. Imagine for
a moment, designing and
playing a character in an RPG.
Now translate that to real l ife,
and you have an idea of what
LARPing is about. I t is so much
more than just costuming; it is
l iving, breathing, acting and
making the decisions for your
character. LARPs are not
l imited to medieval settings
either, with Vampire LARPs and
Star Trek LARPs being popular
settings as well . The idea
behind a LARP is creating an
environment where people have
near unl imited creativity, where
events and adventures can take
the most unexpected turns and
where social interaction is
encouraged between players.
Every player has a character
history, and most have a public
and private narrative. The public
are shown to all players, and the
private shown only to members
who design the plot. For those
of us who have played
Dungeons and Dragons, you wil l
know how often players mess
around with the “ideal”
adventure that the Dungeon
master planned. They have to
be quick on their feet, adapting
to ever changing situations as
the story develops. Now take
the idea behind this and once
again, take it to real l ife. You
want information about
something? Well , it is not going
to be given to you; you need to
ask around, maybe even
threaten some people. You are
after some magical gear or rare
spell? Well , there are some
pretty nasty monsters out there
who dare you to come and fight
them for it. Fortunately, there
All Otaku Magazine Issue 1 257
are rules set down for combat
making it safe for players. Injuries
are not uncommon at LARPs
though, people are being active all
the time after al l . I t is a different
type of community you wil l find at
LARP events. The players, even
though their characters may not be
too cordial with each other in game,
are almost a family out of game.
There is a type of closeness
between the players that I have not
real ly found anywhere else. I may
just be speaking of the experiences
I have had at my LARPing group,
but that is how I felt sharing time
with these people. There is no real
competition between the
characters, except if you are a
mouse and cats are chasing youX
(Yeah there are people who
costume those races, it’s hi larious)
All in al l , a great place to be if you
want to get away from reality for a
bit, just enjoying a pleasant
environment with good people.
So now, more to the point, is
LARPing a better form of Cosplay?
I would honestly say the two are so
unrelated that they cannot real ly be
compared. The two are just so
different that I feel you should
judge grapes with other grapes, not
grapes with apples. There is a
different feel to both, and both have
amazing qualities that people can
enjoy. I would say the choice on
which of the two you would enjoy
participating in, is solely up to you.
Ultimately, it the decision on if you
do one or the other highly depends
on what you are aiming to do with
your time and effort. I f you enjoy art
in the sense of creating props /
costumes, with a l ittle acting on the
side, then I would say Cosplay is
your thing.
I f however you enjoy art in the
sense of acting and role-play, I
would recommend trying LARPing.
Don’t get me wrong however; there
are LARPers out there who have
created amazing costumes for their
characters. After al l , i t is half the
fun. Irrespective of which you end
up doing, they are both fun and
both are worth engaging in. Now
get out there and be a geek!
- By Beleran
All Otaku Magazine Issue 1 258
CultureSECTO
R
007
Culture Sector February 201 5
Our Culture sector covers everything else. . .
Let's see, what did we miss? Packing my
bunny? Nope. Location of nuclear shelter?
Got it. . . Time of next dimensional wormhole?
Wait, where is my notes on that? While I
search for it, have a look at some of the stuff
happening, and share some of the Japanese
culture that we collecte. . . . . . . . . . Damn, I missed
the wormhole.
All Otaku Magazine Issue 1 259
Organised and hosted by Janel “Kimiko” van Aswegen and
Justin Rogers “The Great Wizard Jenkins”, the Meru Cosplay
Picnic was born. Last year’s January picnic didn’t real ly have a
name. Well , none of our picnic events had a name actual ly.
Last year’s picnic was better known as “Taran, Leigh & Kimi’s
Cosplay Birthday Picnic”. I t was fantastic, it was awesome and
I was dying underneath the suit as Bruce WayneX
By Douw “D.K” Kotzé/Silver Angel C
Meru
Cosplay
Picnic
All Otaku Magazine Issue 1 260
We do often celebrate birthdays at these events, but
it’s not just about the birthdays. These events hosted
by Kimiko and the Great Wizard have now been
dubbed as the Meru Cosplay Picnic and they have
an adorably cute mascot for these events too. Meru
(the event mascot) was designed by the talented
Kaylee Claire who is known as Kay Ling-Ling
Cosplay. These events brings us all together to
catch-up, social ize, meet new people, make new
friends and one of the most important things among
them allXhave fun.
At big events such as rAge Expo, Geekfest or even
the smaller cons, there isn’t always time to social ise
or a place you could just have fun and relax with
others, especial ly for Artists, Photographers and
Cosplayers. This is where these events come in. You
don’t have to, but these are the kind of events you
can Cosplay and have fun wherever the event is
being held.
The first Meru Cosplay Picnic was held in
Johannesburg’s Walter Sisulu National Botanical
Gardens. We have been here for last year’s January
event as well . The place is definitely beautiful , no
doubt about that. The field, trees, the nicely crafted
statues placed around the venue, the sight of the
waterfal l –I t’s definitely a good place for picnics. We
started off meeting at one of the big trees that had an
iron statue of –what looked like a grasshopper- stuck
to itXup there somewhere. Despite what the event
thing said on Facebook, we had at least over fifty
people that attended the Meru Cosplay Picnic. There
were a lot of new faces, al l welcomed. With it being
summer and all , it was definitely a hot day, but with
the weird weather right above us, we migrated over
to the stage. I ts roof looked awful ly similar to that of a
potato chip from a distance. Now that we had a roof
over us, we were definitely covered for in case of any
rain. We had some drippy, drip, drip moments, but it
didn’t rain while we were thereXbut sti l l , we were
prepared.
We had so many Cosplayers at attendance. You
could see well-known characters from Bleach,
Naruto, One Piece, Little Mermaid, Batman, Teen
Titans, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Mortal
Kombat. From Star Wars we had a Jedi youngling, a
casual Princess Leia and Biggs Darkl ighter “I ’m
going in. Cover me, Porkins”, an awesome Gajeel,
Mira, Levy and Erza from Fairy Tail , Eureka and
Anemone from Eureka 7, Zakuro & Ichigo from Tokyo
Mew Mew/Mew Mew Power, two Sims, World War 2
guysXthere are seriously too many to mention, but I
got to admit that the Ice King (The Great Wizard
Jenkins – Justin Rogers) had lots of princesses and
their Adventure Time group was most l ikely the
biggest around. I hope Gunter l iked that muffin
thoughXthen again, I ’m not entirely sure if Luffy
knows how to bake. I tried, okay?
After a series of group photos were taken, Kimiko
stepped down from the stage after being in Police
Officer Sousuke’s clutches. She delivered a very
heartfelt speech and thanked everyone for attending.
Afterwards, I was just glad not to be on my knees
anymoreXto be completely honest with you all , I wil l
never ship "Knees and Concrete Floor" as a
pairingXNEVER!
After the group photo and Kimiko’s speech, we had
the chance to get a Tai Chi demo from Jeffrey Lu
from Kelga Creations. We had one heck of an
awesome day and I ’m certainly looking forward to the
next Meru Cosplay Picnic.
All Otaku Magazine Issue 1 261
MugiwaraONE PIECEStore At Shibuya Parco
TravellersGuide
Address: 1 5-1 Udagawacho | 6F Shibuya Parco
Part1 , Shibuya 1 50-8377, Tokyo Prefecture
Country: Japan
Otaku type: Anime Otaku
Website: http: //www.mugiwara-store.com/
View the stores video
Anime and manga is about escapism, and what could help
you escape the confines of reality better than pirates
travell ing the sea of an unknown world? That is why this
store makes it to our top l ist of Otaku places to visit before
you die.
The super popular Mugiwara Store is a One Piece only
supply store with merchandise from the equally popular
anime of the same name. I am sure that One Piece fans
around the world wil l agree that this is a MUST have in
every country but unfortunately this one store can only be
found in Tokyo on the 6th floor of Shibuya Parco Part 1 . In
fact the entire 6th floor of Shibuya Parco is dedicated to
Otaku, making it a hotspot for al l that is holy to a modern
day Otaku.
The One Piece Mugiwara Store stocks over 1 0 000 different
items and features a life-size figure of Monkey D Luffy, the
great rubber captain. The retai l area itself is designed to
resemble the Thousand Sunny ship's hold and includes a
Mini Merry I I boat replica as well as a gateway decorated
with the whale Laboon painted with the Straw Hat pirate
mark.
As many of you may have figuredout, the store is named after thepirates of One Piece making thisa truly authentic place to visit. I treal ly should be on every Otaku'sl ist of places to visit when goingto Japan.
By:JoannahStewart
All Otaku Magazine Issue 1 262
TonkatsuThe art of deep
fried pork
A popular dish in Japan, Tonkatsu is a favourite with thelocals. This “western style” crumbed pork is not the healthiestfood but rather comfort dish served in many Tonkatsurestaurants throughout Japan.
Since it’s such a special ized store this makes finding
one in SA extremely difficult. The good news is that
making Tonkatsu at home is very easy. This dish
resembles KFC in its making so if you know how or
have made fried chicken before then you have got this
one down.
Most of the ingredients in the recipe are easily found at
any supermarket. Even panko, which are bread
crumbs, can either be bought at a store or simply
make it with old bread. I f you make your own crumbs
remember to leave them to dry sl ightly in the oven first.
Try to avoid I tal ian bread crumbs as they are too fine
and that doesn’t give the crunch we want.
Tonkatsu is almost always accompanied by two things:
Tonkatsu sauce and thinly sl iced cabbage, a kind of
coleslaw if you wil l . This thick Worcester-based sauce
is an important seasoning for Tonkatsu, many have
said that it completes this dish. Tonkatsu sauce is
available at Japanese markets or onl ine stores, but if
you can’t find it, you can make it by mixing 1 part
Worcester sauce and 2 parts ketchup to get something
close to the actual taste. I t may also be served with
ponzu (a citrus based sauce) and grated daikon
(winter raddish) instead of tonkatsu sauce.
There are variations of the Tonkatsu dish, such as
Katsudon (Tonkatsu and eggs cooked in seasoned
dashi over rice, yummy!), Katsu Sandwich (katsu
sando), and Kastu Curry (katsu karē). Some of these
dishes are even served with karashi (mustard) and
lemon, or rice, miso soup and tsukemono (pickled
vegetables) and eaten with chopsticks.
OtakuKitcken
All Otaku Magazine Issue 1 263
Instructions
Make your meat tender by using a tenderizing hammer.
Make sure that the meat is flat and then make small
cuts al l over pork chops with the tip of a knife. Sprinkle
salt and pepper on both sides of meat.
Coat the meat with flour, dip in a bowl of beaten eggs,
then cover with bread crumbs.
Heat oil in a pan to 1 80C, and deep fry your crumb-
covered meat. You can check the temperature by
dropping a bread crumb. I f it comes up to the oil
surface right after it's dropped, it's good.
Fry unti l color turns golden brown and meat floats in
the oil , about 5-8 minutes, turning once or twice.
Set the meat on a cooling rack for a minute. Cut into 5-
6 pieces.
Tonkatsu may also be made by sandwiching an
ingredient such as cheese or shiso leaf between the
meat, and then breading and frying.
After researching this dish I went straight on to making
it. Instead of a pork chop I used mince meat to create
Menchi-katsu served with sticky fried rice and lemon
wedges. I t was pretty awesome if I do say so myself,
especial ly with sweet chil l i sauce. And that is the great
thing about this dish. I ts versati le. You can make what
you want out of it.
History
Tonkatsu was original ly considered a type of yōshoku
(Japanese versions of European cuisine) invented in
the late 1 9th and early 20th centuries. Back then it was
called katsuretsu (cutlet) or simply katsu.
Variations
Several variations of tonkatsu use alternatives to pork:
Chicken katsu, which uses chicken instead, often
appears in Hawaiian plate lunches.
Menchi-katsu or Minchi Katsu, is a minced meat patty,
breaded and deep fried.
Hamu katsu, a similar dish made from ham, is usually
considered a budget alternative to tonkatsu.
Gyū katsu, also known as bīfu katsu, is popular in the
Kansai region around Osaka and Kobe.
Saengseonkkaseu is a Korean fish cutlet modeled on
the Japanese dish. Tonkatsu in Korea is known as
donkkaseu or donkaseu.
A similar cuisine with ingredients other than pork, beef
or chicken is cal led furai (fry), not katsu (cutlet), such
as aji-furai (fried horse mackerel) and ebi-furai (fried
prawn).
Ingredients4 pork loin chops (about 1 " thick,no bones)saltpepper1 /2 cup all purpose flour1 -2 eggs1 cup panko or bread crumbsoil for deep frying
Prep Time: 1 5 minutesCook Time: 1 0 minutesTotal Time:25 minutesYield: 4 servings
By: Joannah Stewart
All Otaku Magazine Issue 1 264
KENDAMA: APopular JapaneseToy
JapaneseCulture
This week I discovered a toy called Kendama that is
very popular in Japan.
Now many of you may have seen or even played with
a Kendama as a child, I remember having one as a
kid but I never really understood how it worked or
where it was from. Kendama as a toy has held long
standing popularity in Japan amoung children and
adults al ike, but it is only recently that Kendama has
become an actual sport played by competitors across
Japan in actual tornaments.
While this may seem like a simple toy to you and me,
Kendama has over 1 000 moves that can be mastered
and is often said to help develop concentration and
perseverance. I t can be played any time, any where
and by any one.
The kendama of today are made from a stick with a
point at one end, three attached cups, and a ball with
a small hole in one end. The two side cups are called
the big and small cups while the cup at the end of the
stick is cal led the medium cup. At the opposite end of
the stick is a point on which the user is supposed
spike the ball . The ball is attached to a string that is
then connected to the stick.
The game is basical ly played by tossing the ball into
the air and trying to catch it either on one of the cups
or the spike. And trust me it is not as easy as it
sounds. The games difficulty wil l depend on what
techniques are used and what your ultimate goal is,
al lowing people of any age or skil l to master their own
tricks.
While many may believe that kendama was invented
in Japan, the truth is that it actual ly wasn't. Some
records show that Kendama was created in France in
the sixteenth century where it was called bilboquet, bi l
meaning "ball" and boquet meaning "tree",roughly
translating to wooden ball . Back then the game was
different with only two cups on either end of the stick.
There are also theories that this game was developed
in Greece or China, and the absolute truth is not
known.
I t is thought that Kendama came to the East with
traders from the Silk Route during the Edo period
(1 603-1 868) and was played by adults as a sort of
drinking game. Kendama only became popular
amoung the Japanese in the Meij i Era (1 868-1 91 2),
when the Minister of Education introduced it to
youngsters in school.
While Kendama does not originate from Japan it has
become a part of the cuture, to the point where the
Japan Kendama Association was founded
standardized kendama for competitive use and
created standardized rules for the purpose of al lowing
a greater number of people to play the game together
the same way.
By:JoannahStewart
All Otaku Magazine Issue 1 265
All Otaku Magazine takes all reasonable precautions to ensure accuracy of information presented. We cannotaccept responsibi l ity for any damages or l iabi l ity arising from the dissemination and/or use of information publishedin this magazine.
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All Otaku Magazin is owned and published electronical ly by All Otaku.Copyright 201 2-201 5 All Otaku. All rights reserved.
No part of this electronic magazine may be reproduced without the written consent of All Otaku.Requests for permission should be directed to: [email protected]
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All Otaku Magazine Issue 1 266