News: Nitta Emi Takes Hiatus, Tokoha Performance Affected

Photo provided by S. Inc

Talent agency S. Inc announced today that the voice of Anjou Tokoha, Nitta Emi, will be taking a hiatus through February and March. In December of 2014 Nitta was diagnosed with vocal fold nodules, interfering with her singing and speech. On her doctor's recommendation, she will be taking a recovery period. As a result most all of her performances, radio appearances and public events through February have been canceled.

Nitta plays the role of Anjou Tokoha in Cardfight!! Vanguard G, first announced at a press conference last October prior to her diagnosis. As a result of the hiatus Nitta will be unable to play the role in upcoming episodes. While episodes are prerecorded well in advance of their air date, this means that any episodes recorded during the affected months will minimize Tokoha's appearances, using only prerecorded lines and samples from existing episodes. The effects of her break will likely appear delayed to fans of the anime series, with Tokoha's appearances becoming less prominent as the series enters arcs recorded during Nitta's recovery, and her return not taking place until some weeks after Nitta's.

Nitta's February 8th performance of "The Little Prince" will be unaffected by the hiatus. March 28th events commemorating the release of her second and third singles Quest Dreaming and NEXT PHASE will be postponed until April 26th.

News: Cardfight!! Vanguard Manga to Release April 29th, Volumes 2 and 3 to Follow

After several years of anticipation, Itou Akira's long-awaited Cardfight!! Vanguard manga will finally be reaching western shores at the end of this month. Vertical Inc.'s English translation of the Cardfight!! Vanguard manga will come in two variations, both of which are 220-240 page paperbacks that come with an alternate artwork print of Blaster Blade using Studio TMS' artwork PR/046EN.

The Special Edition will also come with two 25-card Flash Fight decks, a playmat and storage box. The Special Edition of volume 1 is limited to 4500 copies, of which 2400 were already ordered by the beginning of March, and only first edition prints of the manga will contain the promo card. The Japanese print of this Blaster Blade promo is visible below for comparison.

The Cardfight!! Vanguard manga is highly regarded in the community for having a more cohesive take on the franchise's storyline, being written without the same time restrictions as the weekly anime and with less product placement; unlike in the animated series that models its narrative around upcoming booster sets, cards in the manga are created to tell a story first and made into reality later. Itou's writing acts as the source material for many ideas used in the anime and light novels, but instead of diverging into tournament arcs and championships, his manga gives focus to the daily lives of the cast and personal pressures they face.

Both versions of volume 1 are available on Amazon, although it should be noted that Amazon's listing erroneously lists the Special Edition as hardcover. Volume 2 is currently slated for a June 24th release, and volume 3 is to follow on August 26th. The promo cards for those volumes have not yet been announced, but it's feasible that they may follow the trend set by the first card have the next two contain Studio TMS' alternate artworks for Dragonic Overlord and Blaster Dark.

Itou's manga first appeared in July 2010 at the Tokyo Toy Show, with the first pages of the manga being previewed alongside an early PV for the first season of the anime. The manga began its formal Japanese run in KeroKero Ace magazine in November of the same year, where the first chapter was serialized ahead of the anime (which would not begin airing until January 2011), and the second chapter followed in December. Itou's manga continued to be serialized chapter by chapter in KeroKero Ace for three years of unbroken publication, until the magazine suddenly collapsed in July 2013, due to an executive decision by the publishers, Kadokawa Shoten.

In September the manga switched publications to the newly-created Monthly Bushiroad magazine, and has continued to have new chapters printed every month since that time. Thus far seven volumes have been compiled from Itou's chapters, with volume 1 originally being released in March 2011, volume 2 in August of that year, volume 3 in January 2012, volume 4 in June, volume 5 in November, volume 6 in August 2013, and most recently volume 7 in December 2013. The English-language volumes so far follow a bi-monthly schedule, and at that rate could be forecasted to catch up to the Japanese volumes by April of next year.

News: Ride to Victory's Official Website Updated

Vanguard races onto the 3DS in April, bringing a new dimension to cardfights.

Just this morning, the splash page for the Cardfight!! Vanguard Ride to Victory! video game was updated, converting it into a full website. While many features are stilled locked, a demo video was posted under the game outline to give a hands-on look at what the finished product will look like, using the Hotblooded protagonist (here named 主人公 "Main Character" as he was in prior screenshots) fighting Morikawa Katsumi as an example.

Ride to Victory will be released in Japan on April 11th, 2013 for the Nintendo 3DS. The game is touted as a "Vanguard Fight Simulator," featuring both a full storyline for the player to go through as their own custom character, and wireless multiplayer for cardfighting with friends or randomized opponents. The game will feature more than 1300 cards ranging from BT01-BT09 and TD01-TD07, including every card from the start of the series up to the conclusion of the Asia Circuit, has received a B rating from CERO and will retail for 4980 JPY, before applying tax. Each copy will include PR cards, Blaster Blade, Blaster Dark and Dragonic Overlord, with promotional artwork done by Studio TMS, who have previously made similar alternate artworks for Wingal and Soul Saver Dragon. The cards themselves will have a special foil treatment, being treated as if they were R rarity cards from a regular booster pack.

Due to the region locking on the 3DS, only Japanese 3DS systems can play the game. Importing will in most cases, not be possible.