In an effort to clear out the backlogging of articles before the new year, here's one of the first. Pop Korean star BoA made a visit on stage at the San Francisco Pride Parade on Sunday June 28, 2009. Appearing at a rather odd event, that didn't stop thousands of BoA fans from showing up in droves with cameras and camecorders.

For the anime fans, they may vaguely remember BoA for her song Every Heart (Minna no Kimochi) used as the third ending for Inyasha the anime.

Regardless of some of the problems, the performance starting almost an hour late and a cameraman in front of the stage blocking the audience’s view, it was definitely a welcomed wait for fans. Short video clip as well as photos from the front of the stage inside.

Otaku scholar, Patrick Galbraith will be be holding a conference at Ottawa University on Friday January 8, 2009 1PM to 5:30PM. The lecture will be a discussion on the otaku movement and will be titled "Onnichan, what does moe mean?" Galbraith will also be presenting the potential, and limits of moe and a little about his book, The Otaku Enclopedia. If you will be in the area, might want to check it out. Flying image included inside.

A Japanese magazine scan has appeared online announcing that online RPG Shin Megami Tensei: Imagine will be collaborating with the popular series Toaru Kagaku no Railgun. Story events, characters, and missions from the series will tie into the online game. The English adaptation of the game is published by Aeria Games, and it is currently unknown if the content update will appear on American shores. We'll keep you up to date as more information is released. A small scan of the article has been included inside.

Manga Gamer announces today that the visual novel PC game Higurashi When They Cry will be released this month on December 15. Only the first four chapters will be released initially, while the remaining four will be released sometime in 2010. Most fans are probably more familiar with the 2006 anime adaptation. Higurashi no Naku Koro ni (When the Chicadas Cry) which also spawned its successful sequel, Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai, in 2007, and OVA Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Rei, in 2009. Manga Gamer also announces they will be opening an all age section for their website when the game releases, as currently they release adult visual novel games including Shuffle!, and KiraKira. Full press release inside.

Yuki Siozaki's high school fighting series Ikki Tousen is getting a fourth season dubbed Xtreme Xecutor with a new added original character not seen in the manga. A special volume 0 DVD episode will be released early at Comic Market 77. The series will air in April 2010.

Rumors of a new project or sequel had been rampant after the ending of the second season of Code Geass. After a little more than a year later, Bandai made an announcement on their mobile website with an image confirming a new project is in the works forthe series yesterday. The image promises to have have more information next year in 2010. Image can be seen inside.

With the pending Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha The Movie 1st, and the previously announced Nanoha Takamachi Nendoroid, it was only a matter of time GoodSmile announced a Fate Testarossa version. She will come equipped with her Bardiche, scythe, and a mini figure of Arf. Retailing for around 3,500 yen, she will be released in March 2010.

Goodsmile's blog has revealed that they will be releasing figures from the popular spring anime series Bakemonogatari. Only three characters have been shown so far including the show's male lead Koyomi Araragi, Tsubasa Hanekawa the class president, and the verbally abusive Hitagi Senjogahara. The figures will come with interchangeable parts with Senjogahara displayed having a hand with a pink stapler, a blue stapler, and a box cutter. Goodsmile has also promised to add more information soon, and we will update accordingly. Pictures inside!

A new trailer has been released on the American website for Blade & Soul revealing four playable races. The game is being developed by NCSoft, well known for its previous games, Lineage II, City of Heroes, Guild Wars, and more recently, Aion: The Tower of Eternity. Blade & Soul is shaping into a promising new MMORPG, with gorgeous graphics utilizing the Unreal Engine 3. On top of that, character designs are being provided by famed Korean artist, Hyung-tae Kim best known for his art in the Magna Carta video game series. The developers have promised a faster action gameplay in comparison to current MMOs available on the market. They also noted that Capcom's Devil May Cry series inspired some of the gameplay. Unfortunately we will have to wait until 2011 when the game is currently set to be commercialized along with Guild Wars 2; however, NCsoft is planning some beta testing next year (2010.) We'll keep you up to date as new development release, until then check out the video inside.

It's been roughly 5 months since I sat down with the director for the second Gurren Lagann movie, Hiroyuki Imaishi, and I finally got to see the film a few days ago at Viz Cinema in San Francisco’s Japantown. Was it worth the wait? Read more to find out!