The Nerd Fortress Podcast: Episode 10

The Nerd Fortress Podcast: Episode 10

On this edition of the Nerd Fortress Podcast, we have more of the same as the last episode in terms of news, but not without a live audio demo/review of the legacy Dragon Dagger. Then, Devin and myself talk about Austin St. John returning to the Power Rangers fandom,  go over the character information for the upcoming Power Rangers Dino Charge including Judd Lynn's return to the franchise, the news about a Chinese tokusatsu posting episodes in English on it's official Youtube channel, then move onto anime news featuring the digital remaster of Lupin the 3rd: The Castle of Cagliostro, the latest updates for Sailor Moon Crystal, a new acquisition by Sentai Filmworks, and so much more on this newest episode of the Nerd Fortress Podcast.

Editor's note: This episode was originally recorded on March 12th, so a lot of what you guys will hear news wise will be pretty much outdated. It took me almost 3 months to edit this episode which was also very unexpected as well as unprofessional so I do apologize for that. There's reasons behind it which I have explained in an announcement/update that I mention in the beginning of the episode so if you haven't listened to it, please do so to get a better understanding of what happened.

The Nerd Fortress Podcast: Episode 9

The Nerd Fortress Podcast: Episode 9

On this late edition of the Nerd Fortress podcast, we tackle a whole lot of news including the botch or free promotion for TV Nihon at the New York City Toy Fair, new information regarding the Kikaider reboot, news about another premium Bandai ranger key set featuring the villains of Kyoryuger, then talk about the announcement of the Dragon Ball Kai version of the Buu Saga, talk about the newest acquisitions for the Toonami block, Black Lagoon and Blue Exorcist, talk about a new anime based on model kits other than Gundam, have another edition of the "Douchebag of the Week" involving a Japanese police Sargent in his 50s throwing away his career for a $20 Kamen Rider figure, the latest news regarding a remake of Final Fantasy 7, as well as the release date for Shinji Mikami's latest game, "The Evil Within and much more in this episode of the Nerd Fortress Podcast!

The Nerd Fortress Podcast: Episode 8

The Nerd Fortress Podcast: Episode 8

NOTE: It took much longer than usual to edit this episode yet again! Chalk it up to laziness as well as procrastinating this time around! Also, please disregard the minor talk about the Winter Olympics since those are now over. Please be aware that because of Devin's unnecessary stuttering issues which do cause a bit of frustration when editing episodes. Will try to have episode 9 up when it's finished editing. Thanks for your patience and understanding!

On this edition of the Nerd Fortress podcast, we go over the latest power Rangers news with Saban's decision to skip Tokumei Sentai Go-Busters and head for a Kyoryuger adaptation instead for next year, talk about the fan poll for the upcoming Heisei Rider Vs. Showa Rider: Kamen Rider Taisen featuring Super Sentai, then switch to anime news by talking about the announcement of Soul Eater Not spin off which has absolutely nothing to do with Soul Eater, and then talk about the announcement of a anime and manga adaptation of Seiken Tsukai no World Break, as well as an anime adaptation of the visual novel game, Kamigami no Asobi, and then the return of the "Douchebag of the Week" feature involving a 47 year old unemployed man being arrested for uploading manga, and also discuss the news of Neon Alley shifting to a free "Video On Demand" service, and so much more on this latest edition of the Nerd Fortress podcast!

Please send us you're comments, criticisms, feedback, etc. by emailing us at OfficialNerdFortressPodcast@Gmail.com or send them to our Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr pages!

The Nerd Fortress Podcast: Episode 6

In Memory of Justin "JewWario" Carmical 1971 - 2014

The Nerd Fortress Podcast: Episode 6

We don't have a topic for the 2nd week in a row, but that didn't stop us from talking about the latest about the Toei Japan Channel as well as the return of Hiroshi Fujioka and his role of Takeshi Hongo, in Heisei Rider vs. Showa Rider: Kamen Rider Taisen featuring Super Sentai, go over the character profiles for the 5 core members of the upcoming 38th Super Sentai, Ressha Sentai Tokkyuger, give our thoughts on the premiere debut trailer for Power Rangers Super Megaforce, talk about Nintendo's ongoing financial troubles and what it generally means for us consumers, go over some latest anime acquisitions from Sentai Filmworks and talk about a notoriously violent manga that will be getting an anime adaptation that will most likely never air on Toonami and more in this edition of the Nerd Fortress podcast!

Tragic news and update

Sorry about the unexpected delay of the latest episode of the Nerd Fortress podcast everyone, but all of you will understand why hopefully. Last Thursday, a very important as well as very well loved person known as Justin Carmical, better known by all of his fans and friends as JewWario took his own life and died of a self inflicted gunshot wound.

For those of you who didn't know him, he created a show called "You Can Play This!" where he featured Japanese games from the Famicom, Super Famicom, Nintendo 64, Gamecube, Sega Genesis a.k.a. Mega Drive, Playstation, Playstation 2, PSP, and the Playstation Vita that were never released here in Europe or North America for whatever reasons where you didn't exactly have to know the Japanese language to play those games.

I'm still in such a huge state of shock and disbelief because it was Justin who got me into import gaming as well as looking for Japanese import games that never came out or got released here in Europe or North America. It was also because of him that I learned how to play Famicom games on my NES model 101 a.k.a. the "Top Loader" by using a method to play Famicom games on an NES as well as get myself a copy of one of the games that he reviewed, Samurai Pizza Cats as well as how I managed to get myself a Super Famicom for $20 on Japangamestock.com and somehow find myself a used mint condition copy of Final Fantasy VI in it's original Japanese language.

I sadly never got the chance to ever meet Justin, but I would go to his live streams that he did on his channel at Twitch.tv/Jewwario and would sometimes see how he was and it would take him a while to notice me in the chat because of the fact that there were lots of people that also wanted to chat with him because of his personality as well as the fact that he was very laid back and just an overall very interesting guy to talk to! He was also a big Kamen Rider fan which helped inspire him to come up with the Fami-Kamen Rider series that he tried out which didn't end up working too well for him unfortunately!

Justin also had this sense of humor that made you want to laugh because of the fact that he also incorporated his own improvised bits of comedy in his shows as well and brought that with him whenever he was at conventions or doing live streams on his Twitch channel.

I would miss his streams a lot because of the fact that Twitch can be a piece of crap, or I would forget or sleep in or whatever. But I do wish that I would have gotten to know him better like everyone else that he was friends with did! I don't think any of us will learn why he decided to take his own life the way he did, but Justin never seemed like the kind of person who would hide his feelings from people or anything like that. I'm still very confused and perhaps always will be when it comes down to the reason why he decided to take his own life!

I've been depressed and have been diagnosed with depression in the past, but it never got as bad to the point that I wanted to kill myself because I am very fortunate enough to have friends as well as people I can talk to that I can rely on and trust to keep myself grounded. Major depressive disorder isn't a disease or a sickness, it's a mental disorder which is something that a lot of people don't seem to comprehend or understand. If you ever have thoughts of wanting to harm yourself, get yourself help immediately!

It's just very sad as well as unfortunate that it took Justin's untimely death for a lot of people in the gaming community to realize how depression of any kind can affect you and the tragic as well as unfortunate loss of somebody you care about afterwards as well as many other things. But Justin knew that we all loved him and appreciated what all of his fans have done for him over the years and that we will all truly miss him! Justin did have a profound impact on me as well as the fact that he changed my overall view of gaming and got me to actually check out the world of import gaming, and I thank him for that very much.

I just wish that I could have met him while he was still in this world and got to know Justin more!

R.I.P. Justin! As The Sorrow from MGS3 once said, " Don't be sad... we'll meet again someday."

 Because of this, episode 6 of the Nerd Fortress podcast will be dedicated to Justin's memory, and is basically the main reason why it's taken me longer to edit the episode than it did last time, so please forgive me for that. It will be up either today or Wednesday so please keep an eye out for when the episode is released, thanks!

The Nerd Fortress Podcast: Episode 4

The Nerd Fortress Podcast: Episode 4

After an unexpected hiatus, the Nerd Fortress podcast is back with another new episode!

On this final episode for the year of 2013, we talk about the last generation of consoles since the PS4 and the Xbox One have been released to the general public. We talk about the good, the bad, and the somewhat ridiculous stupidity from Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo!

We then talk about the latest news such as the latest with Metal Gear Solid 5, Shigeru Miyamoto's continued withdrawal from the Mario franchise, new info on the Xbox One, the most recent firmware update for the PlayStation Vita, the latest editions to the roster for the new Super Smash Bros. game for the 3DS and the Wii U, some news about Steam Machines and Steam OS, and much more on this last episode of the Nerd Fortress podcast of 2013.

NOTE: Just found out that the Power Rangers Legacy Collection has been delayed because of an unexpected production delay with the Red Ranger helmet, so please disregard what I say about the December 3rd release!

The 20th anniversary of Power Rangers

Today marks the 20th anniversary of when the Power Rangers franchise first began! Back on this day on Saturday, August 28th of 1993 on the Fox Kids Network here in North America with the premiere of "Day of The Dumpster". This was way before the internet as we know it came into existence so we didn't have any idea back then that it was being adapted from the 16th entry in the Super Sentai Series, Kyōryū Sentai Zyuranger, but it was something ahead of it's time that had never been done before which really took the American audiences by surprise.

Teenagers that could also be superheroes and know martial arts was an idea that had never been done before which I think that Mighty Morphin Power Rangers resonated with so many kids back then! And adapting a Japanese show for an American audience was also something that was brand new that had never been done before. Haim Saban was taking a huge gamble and risk when finally getting Power Rangers to come to fruition, and luckily for him and the rest of Saban Entertainment it ended up paying off!

As with all shows from the 80s like Transformers, Thundercats, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Power Rangers has become a very successful franchise because of the merchandise and in my opinion, I think it's the merchandise that helped Power Rangers stay afloat and alive during it's darkest times during the Disney era of the franchise and during the run of Power Rangers Turbo. Here we are, 20 years later, and the franchise is still a huge success because of merchandising alone as well as the fact that Saban Brands has decided to take advantage of social media sites like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Youtube to help promote the most recent incarnation of the franchise, Power Rangers Megaforce and it's previous entry Power Rangers Samurai as well as the previous seasons which are now available on Netflix's "Watch Instantly" streaming service and are being released on DVD which is something that Disney never did back when they owned the franchise!

And whether you like it or not, the Power Rangers franchise has become a intricate part of tokusatsu history. This was proven when Toei Company Limited, the owners and producers of the Super Sentai Series as well as co-creators of the Power Rangers franchise used some terms from Mighty Morphin Power Rangers and Power Rangers in general in the previous entry in the Super Sentai Series, Tokumei Sentai Go-Busters. Mighty Morphin Power Rangers became so successful, that it was even parodied and referenced on shows and video games like American Dad, Animaniacs, Bakugan, Bill Nye: The Science Guy, Doctor Who, Dragon Ball Z, the Suda 51 video game Killer 7, Mega Man Battle Network 3, Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, Mighty Moshin' Emo Rangers, the Pretty Cure and Sailor Moon franchises, etc. 

Happy 20th anniversary Rangers, and hopefully here's to another 20 more! Sorry for this blog entry not being as focused as my previous blog entries, my mind has been all over the place during the time I was typing this blog entry out so I hope you can forgive me.

Some updates as to what's going on lately

So we are only 2 weeks away from the return of the Nerd Fortress podcast as well as the 20th anniversary of the Power Rangers franchise. It's very hard to believe that it's been 20 years since the Power Rangers franchise began with the premiere episode "Day of The Dumpster". And as far as I know, Nickelodeon isn't going to do anything special for the 20th anniversary which continues to show how much they care about the franchise. As far as the podcast goes, we have been able to snag somebody for a guest appearance which is better than not having anybody as a guest at all.

I know that I've been neglecting this blog for a while, but that doesn't mean I'm going to quit posting on it completely though! I've been so preoccupied with other things and didn't really feel that there was much to post about in my opinion. I would have posted about the newest thing in the AKB48 fandom causing an absolute uproar but felt that it was better to just do a post about it on my twitter.

I'm not going to go over it in full detail, but you can find out about it here and judge for yourselves!

Mayu Watanabe from AKB48 gets kicked in the head on Japanese variety TV show

And I've been trying to catch up on the new Garo series as well as Kamen Rider Wizard and Zyuden Sentai Kyoryuger before I start watching the latest entry in the long running Ultraman franchise, Ultraman Ginga. And Kamen Rider Wizard has 3 episodes left before it's big finale. This is also the first time that an entry in the Neo Heisei Era of the Kamen Rider franchise where there was 51 episodes. This hasn't happened since Kamen Rider Black, the 8th entry in the Kamen Rider franchise which aired from October 4, of 1987 to October 9, of 1988.

Anyways, I'm not sure about how we are going to be releasing the premiere episode of the podcast, but Devin and myself will figure that out once we get around to it. I'm also going to be setting up an email address for the podcast for people to get in contact with us and give us fan feedback. The big show is only 2 weeks away from now! And I'm not going to be sharing anymore details than that. So that's what's been going on lately and why I haven't updated the blog in a while. See you guys in the next 2 weeks!

Hikounin Sentai Akibaranger season 2 announced!

Last year, Toei decided to do something a little bit different by creating a show that was geared towards the adults who used to watch the Super Sentai Series as a kid by coming up with a parody of the Super Sentai Series itself called Hikounin Sentai Akibaranger (Unofficial Squadron/Task Force Akibaranger).

The basic premise of the show is this:

Three individuals (a Super Sentai otaku, a cosplay otaku, and a closet anime otaku) are chosen by a beautiful scientist to become the "Unofficial Sentai Akibaranger" and "protect Akihabara" from a powerful group of villains that exist in their delusions. However, the fight eventually gets literally real when the villains begin to materialize in the real world.

This is REALLY a show that you have to watch for yourself is the only way to describe it!

Recently, the second season of Akibaranger was announced at the tail end of a "Kamen Rider x Super Sentai Live & Show 2013" event which was held at the Tokyo International Forum in Japan on the evening of July 12th! Sorry, but there's no subtitles so you guys will have to make do with it.

Unfortunately, there was no other information was given but I will keep all of you updated when new info becomes available like the premiere date! If you are an American fan who loved the first season like many of my friends from RVT Entertainment have, then you will want to download the subbed episodes from TV-Nihon!

Update: The fine folks at TV-Nihon have subbed the season 2 announcement of Akibaranger so everybody who has watched the Youtube video that wasn't subtitled can now download the subtitled version of the announcement and watch it for themselves!