Although not really figure news, fans of the popular Puella Magi Madoka Magica series will be please to learn that COSPLA will be releasing a replica of the Soul Gem rings while Algernon Products will be releasing replica Soul Gem pendants. Both products outer body is made of silver while in the inner gem itself are made from cubic zirconia.

Each pendant will cost a hefty 15,750 yen while each ring will cost 12,600 yen and are expected to be released in September 2011. Tough choices but would make great addition for fans and cosplayers alike looking to make a contract with Kyubey. In the meantime, you can stare of drool over the photos.

Amongst the various guests that appeared at Anime Expo, illustrator Kazue Yamamoto, who is also President of visual novel company Denbonosu, made a surprise visit at MangaGamer's booth. Yamamoto-san is probably best known for her works on the Izumo series. She was also a Guest of Honor previously at Anime Expo 2005. We got to briefly chat with her during her break and hear what she had to say!

People may have seen Shinji Katakura clad in a black ninja outfit sketching at the MangaGamer booth during previous years at Anime Expo.  For those who might not know, Katakura is a character designer at the Japanese game company, OVERDRIVE that has produced many well-known visual novel titles such as Kira☆Kira (キラ☆キラ) and Edelweiss (エーデルワイス).  All of the games that Katakura has worked on has been released worldwide with English translations.  See why he's back in our brief interview with him at Anime Expo 2011.

In a completely packed room with fans that waited hours in line, Miyuki Sawashiro held her panel on July 1, 2011 at Anime Expo 2011. Miyuki Sawashiro is a popular seiyuu (voice actress) in Japan who has voiced for many hit series including Rozen Maiden, Durarara!!, Strike Witches, Bakemonogatari, and Kimi ni Todoke. The panel was hosted by none other than famed otaku blogger Danny Choo.

This year was North America's largest anime convention, Anime Expo's 20th anniversary. To celebrate, the convention decided to bring back some of it's more popular guests and otaku blogger Danny Choo was one of them. It's been a year since we last interviewed him (you can read our past interview here), hear what's it like for an otaku blogger who is now an entrepreneur working with some of the biggest names in the business!

For those of you who were not able to watch the Hatsune Miku concert, Mikunopolis at Anime Expo, you can check out the 8 minute highlight footage below. Video provided courtesy of the organizers of Mikunopolis.

Stay tuned for our own recording of the first 6 songs of the concert, impressions, as well as an interview with the creative force behind Vocaloid, Crypton Future Media CEO Hiroyuki Itoh and Producer Wataru Sasaki.

© MIKUNOPOLIS 2011

_{Video used with permission, please do not reproduce.}

The-O Network Online has been undergoing some staff changes as of late, and we're all very lucky and very glad to have snapped up a new anime reviewer, Ken Ohata! Ken will be laying the smack down on the good, the bad, and the ugly of Japanese animation, so keep a lookout for more from him. After the jump we have his first official review, Working!! Read and enjoy! --Stephen Bajza, Editor

Another convention-themed podcast! Well, it is convention season after all, so dig in. Fanime is a San Jose based convention that does an excellent job of staying true to the "by fans, for fans" tagline. The whole thing is pretty much one giant anime and J-Pop themed party, and we've got plenty to discuss about Fanime 2011 antics. The second half of the podcast focuses on convention survival tips, so newbie and veteran con attendees alike should tune in and glean wisdom from the masters. We'll have a full article about this very topic posted soon, so check back in about a week for the update!

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