I personally prefer to use CDisplay because it’s easy to use and you don’t have to bother unzipping the files to read them.  Another fantastic feature of this comic reader is that it remembers the last page you were reading, so you never have to spend time trying to remember which part you are up to.

Remember that when you are reading manga, read it from right to left, top to bottom, being the Japanese style of reading…Enjoy your free manga.

CDisplay in action

To read, simply press “Page down” for the next page & “Page up” for the previous page.

My favorite manga series are Slam Dunk (above picture), Saru-Rock & 3×3 Eyes. I don`t bother reading Naruto or One Piece because you can download the weekly episodes off Bit Torrent for free.

Click to see how to download free anime from the internet.

I`m always on the look-out for a great manga series to read.  If you have one you think I`d like, let me know about it! I hope this quick guide on how to download free manga helps.

Note: Avoid using peer-to-peer (p2p) programs as they are a breeding ground for viruses and other nasty stuff.  Some things downloaded from Bit Torrent sites can also contain viruses but since we are only downloading anime which aren’t in a .rar file, you don’t have to worry.

Let’s start with the easy way first.  You have a number of options such as steaming anime directly from one of various sites scattered across the internet, or download Veoh TV.  Veoh TV is a free program and once it’s installed, you simply type what you want into the search bar and it finds it for you…easy.  The only problem as I mentioned earlier is that the quality is medium.

Some popular streaming anime sites include Crunchy Roll, Naruto Wire and Zomg Anime.  Depending on the site you chose, you may have to sign up first, which should only take a minute at most.  Then you find which anime series or movie you’re interested in, click and away you go.  Once again, medium quality and depending on the site you may be stuck with a small screen version.

To download high quality anime download a program off Google called “Bit Lord” which is also free.  Once you install the program, you will need to visit a Bit Torrent website such as Mininova, The Pirate Bay or Sumo Torrent.  Search for the anime series and click the download link.  Your computer will then download a very small file to your computer and the program Bit Lord will open automatically.  From here, simply tell Bit Lord where you want to download your anime to and click start.

Alternatively, you could also download anime using Bit Torrent directly from fan-subber websites.  God bless fan-subbers.

Robots, games, booth babes and people who never venture from their rooms!

The Tokyo Game Show 2008 was held at Makuhari Messe in Tokyo on October 11th & 12th and as excepted it pulled in an overwhelming crowd. It took over 30 minutes to step inside after having waited just over an hour in line outside, shoulder to shoulder with thousands of Japanese fans mashing away on their PSP`s (Monster Hunter by the way seemed to be their choice of entertainment).

Crowd navigation within the first hour was extremely difficult - people were locked up against each other, focused on reaching their favorite booth first. As expected, people swarmed the Square-Einx booth immediately so I decided to come back later and see what else was on offer. Amongst all the shoving, I witnessed on two occasions a couple of foreigners forcefully pushing people out of their way from shier frustration. I certainly don’t blame them cause I too was starting to get quite irritated.

Naturally there were a ton of new games on display - recent or soon to be released but it was a bit disappointing that no ground-shaking news about anything was unveiled. I guess at this stage it’s too early for developers such as Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft to announce any information on their next generation of consoles and Metal Gear Solid 4 had already been released back in June. A new console, R.O.I.D from Level 5 Inc. was pretty neat looking but nothing I would consider worthy for great excitement. Maybe next year.

The focus was almost entirely on game titles, which is after all what The Tokyo Game Show should be about. That and gorgeous booth babes in tight-fitting, sexy uniforms…Smile!

Developer List
The list of developers that attended this year`s show was long and extensive. Some of the more major ones included:

• Capcom
• Electronic Arts
• Konami
• Level-5
• Microsoft
• Namco Bandai
• Sony Computer Entertainment
• Square Enix
• Tecmo
• Hudson
• Koei

I was surprised to see Australia`s own Fuzzyeyes Studio with their new game Edge of Twilight and a couple of Dutch developers on the floor. Their presence was naturally small and in no way could they possibly compete with the developers above, but they indeed got their chance to display their talent and hopefully open a door for themselves amongst Japanese gamers.

Games
A total of 462 games were on display this year which is indeed an impressive number. More surprising to me being the fact that out of those 462, 78 were for the Nintendo DS. The types of games on display varied from FPS (first person shooters) and RPGs (role playing games) to the down-right crazy aero afro game.

A short-listing of the top games from my view are listed below. Click each game title to expand.

Tenchu 4

Ushiro

Monster Hunter 3

Street Fighter 4

Biohazard 5

White Knight Chronicles

Tokyo Game Show 2008 Cosplayers

Here a SimpleViewer Flash gallery should be displayed. Click here to open the post in your browser to see the gallery.

Genres : Adventure, comedy, romance, science fiction

Length : 26 Episodes

Year : 2007

Synopsis
Answering the call of the Golden Race, 4 other sentient races launch into space. The 4 races known as Silver, Bronze, Heroic and the Iron Race are left to explore and expand the galaxy using their own strength and intuition. Much time has passed since then the Iron Race (humans) are threatened with extinction by the dominant Silver Race, self-proclaimed successors of the Golden Race who have long since left the universe.

In order to save humanity, Princes Deianeira embarks on a long and dangerous journey to a distant planet following the prophecies left behind by the Golden Race. Upon reaching her destination, she meets a young boy with an extraordinary power. Bound by contact to protect Deianeira and humanity, the boy, known as Age, fights to help change the fate of the universe.

Other Information
Opening Theme: Angela - “Gravitation”

Review
Heroic Age for me was one of those rare mecha animes which come along every once in a blue moon.  Most mecha series are somewhat rehashed versions of their own selves. They usually revolve around one all-mighty character - the chosen one, who seems to always come through when it counts due to some sappy emotional trigger. Sousei no Aquarion come to mind anyone?

Although the main character, Age does in fact loosely fit this description, the storyline centers not just around him but four others whom are all connected abiding by specific contracts. Due to these contracts, each character plays a unique role, struggling to overcome personal hardships which could ultimately lead to the total destruction of their individual race. Their personalities at times however are a little shallow and they don`t seem to evolve much throughout the series. A slight drawback in my opinion but nothing too serious.

The big issues I found is that the story seems overly confusing at the beginning and fails to explain The Silver Race`s hatred towards humanity. With that said, the animation and CGI are both excellent and the music compliments the series well. Furthermore, it has a powerful opening sequence and an engaging storyline, leaving you hanging for the next.

If you enjoyed Escaflowne, Seikai no Senki (Banner of the Stars) and the real time strategy game Homeworld (as the story line is somewhat similar), then I`d definitely recommend Heroic Age on the highest level.

Watch The Opening Cinematic