Two years ago, The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi bounded across my radar screen. I watched all the fansubs and read some of a Haruhi Japanese novel as soon as I could.
I was vastly impressed with the depth of story and the metaphysical questions engaged in this shojo series.
Yappari, it’s caught on greatly, including people imitating the dance moves found in the opening sequence. To see the extent, here’s a story about Haruhi Day 2008. (I gather it is at one of the NYC Kinokuniya Locations.)
Some of the students at UMSL have put together an anime night. It runs on Mondays from 7-10 PM. They are showing Evangalion, Berserk, Lupin III and Gurren Lagaan so far. I’m planning on attending a few nights, so let me know if you want to go with!
Here’s the website:
http://umslanimenight.blogspot.com/
A woman was jailed in Japan for “murdering” her “virtual husband” in the popular Maple Story game. She could face a fine of up to $5000 or 5 years in prison. She is charged with illegally accessing a computer and manipulating the data.
Source: Daily Yomiuri
If I hadn’t already seen people selling virtual items for real cash, I would have an even harder time believing it.