Thursday, January 2, 2014

Our top 10 picks for 2013 anime

2013 is finally over and the year has given us plenty of memorable anime from all four seasons. There were anime which became pretty underrated and there were also anime which disappointed.

And then there were the absolute best. Plenty of titles deserve the top 10 spot, but unfortunately we can only name 10 of them. Here are our picks for the 10 best anime of 2013:

10: Maoyu Maou Yuusha

Romance, intrigue, economics and a whole lot of plot (in more ways than one) gets this anime the 10th spot to kick off our list.The anime is based on Japanese author Mamare Touno’s light novels and is basically an anime about economics, war and potatoes. You can learn something from this anime on the ways of trade and commerce as well as how countries basically work. What makes this anime good is that not only do you learn things, but you also get to enjoy a good story and some pretty lovable characters and good fight scenes.Where to watch: Crunchyroll

9: Free!

Yes, this anime is full of yaoi intonations. Yes, this anime is full of female-oriented fan service, but if you look past those things and focus on the anime’s story, you get a pretty enthralling story with exciting swimming pool battles worthy of a great series.The animation is beautiful, as expected of Kyoto Animation and the characters are quite lovable to say the least and have garnered fans all across the world. This anime makes it on our list not only because it has overwhelmingly increased female anime viewership but for being arguably the best female-oriented anime this year.where to watch: Crunchyroll

8:**Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet

This mecha anime written by Gen Urobuchi has surprised a lot of people not because of how popular the anime has become but simply because none of the beloved anime characters had tragic endings like getting their head bitten off by a witch named Charlotte or being made to suffer ten years of despair in a mountain of slain soldiers.As expected of Urobuchi’s superb writing, the story and the characters were quite amazing and the plot twist? Let’s just say it’s what you would expect from “The Butcher” though many would say that the anime’s good ending would be the real plot twist.The animation was clean and nicely done and the music was great. Great story, great writing and beautiful animation puts this anime at #8.Where to watch: Crunchyroll

7: Beyond the Boundary/ Kyoukai no Kanata

Beautiful animation, lovable characters, great fight scenes and lots of laughs coupled with Kyoto Animation’s signature moe art style gets Beyond the Boundary the #7 spot on our Best Anime of 2013 list.The anime is just a visual feast for the eyes and will make you laugh out loud. The action keeps you at the edge of your seats and the characters will tug at your heart. Now, say it with me, Fuyukai-desu!where to watch: Crunchyroll

6: Kill la Kill

Kill la Kill’s unique animation coupled with over-the-top characters, fair amount of fan service scenes and in your face action just makes this anime that great.The anime provides great chemistry not only between main character Ryuko and her uniform Senketsu but also for Ryuko and her best friend Mako as well. The anime also has great comedy scenes which will make you laugh out loud and of course, let us not forget Ryuko’s controversial outfit.Where to watch: Crunchyroll

5: Log Horizon

Like Maoyu, this anime is also based on yet another one of*Japanese author Mamare Touno’s light novels.The series tackles politics, intrigue, diplomacy, economics in a world where players are trapped inside an MMO with no way of getting out. The story is just simply wonderful and the characters have great chemistry with one another. Sure, it may sound like a Sword Art Online rip-off at first but once you watch the anime, you will understand that Log Horizon is totally different.The story focuses on the small guild Log Horizon and the battles are usually the co-op play you would expect in most MMORPG’s. You could say it has a more MMO feel than SAO itself. All in all, Log Horizon is a must watch anime for everyone.Where to watch:*Crunchyroll

4: Danganronpa the Animation

If you haven’t been spoiled by playing the game (or the countless spoilers everywhere in the internet), Danganronpa the Animation is full of unexpected twists and turns which will come out of nowhere and hit you hard.A word of caution though, this anime is not for the weak of heart. This anime kills off the lovable characters one by one and if you aren’t into that, this anime ain’t for you.The characters also make this anime great and you will feel sorry for them and feel their despair.Where to watch: Funimation

3: The Devil is a Part-timer/ Hataraku Maou-sama!

This anime is part of the Spring trio which premiered during the Spring 2013 anime season and blew everyone away.The series is full of laughs and weird reaction faces. The series features lovable characters from the Maou himself to the Hero Emilia and Maou’s co-worker Chiyo. The anime also introduced several comedic objects from Maou Sadao’s underwear and his trust “Dullahan” to Alsiel’s cape and the dreaded “Katsu-doom”.The anime also provides plenty of fan service for both the male and female audiences, in a manner that isn’t trashy like the sort provided by most series.Where to watch: Funimation

2: Attack on Titan

Without a doubt, this year’s hottest anime is Attack on Titan. Fluid animation, great action, lovable characters and a killer sound track have made this anime 2013′s most popular title.The anime is so popular that its scenes have been turned into memes, the opening song has been played countless times on sites like Youtube and Nico Nico and lat’s not forget the fact that the Colossal Titan and the Survey Corps have become household names already.The anime started off with not a lot of hype and few people could have predicted that this anime would reach these heights in terms of popularity. With its great story and success, this series makes it as the second best anime for 2013.Where to watch: Crunchyroll

1: My Teen RomCom SNAFU/ Oregairu

When the anime aired during the Spring 2013 anime season, the words “Hachiman Hikigaya is awesome” is a common sight in anime forums. The words spoken by the main character named Hachiman have been quoted over and over again. His “I hate nice girls” monologue has tugged at the hearts of many guys and has even been memorized by several fans.If Madoka Magica is known as the deconstruction of the Magical Girl genre and Evangelion is considered the deconstruction of the mecha genre, then Oregairu is the deconstruction of the high school romantic comedy genre.*The anime just takes apart every single high school RomCom anime out there in a magnificent way.The characters are lovable. Both Hachiman and main girl Yukino have a bitter personality while the other main girl Yui balances both of them out with her sweetness. The chemistry between the three is superb and will surely grow on you. Another character, Saika has been dubbed as “the next Hideyoshi” as he makes fun of trap characters.All in all, Oregairu takes the #1 spot beating out Attack on Titan for its complex yet beautiful story and superb characterizations.Where to watch: Crunchyroll

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Do you agree with this list?True, there are others out there who deserve the top 10 spot like Haganai Next, Psycho-Pass and many more, but sadly, we can only name 10.Here’s to hoping that 2014 will also give us many unforgettable anime titles.

You can also check out our picks for 2013′s most underrated anime*as well as 2013′s most disappointing anime.

Read more about your favorite*anime*here on SGCafe!

Also join in on the community’s discussions at*http://forums.sgcafe.com



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Nokia’s patent injunction win against HTC in Germany might lead to a device ban

HTC could see all of its Android devices banned in Germany after a court ruled that the manufacturer infringed on Nokia’s patents.



Nokia has won a patent injunction case filed against HTC in Germany. The patent in question was EP1148681, which is used as a “method for transferring resource information” between two handsets over NFC or Bluetooth.

The patent is not covered by FRAND licencing terms, as it is a non-standard-essential patent, meaning that its use is not critical to the functioning of a device. As such, Nokia can call on a sales ban on all HTC devices in Germany by posting a bond of* $550 million USD (400 million EUR).

A device ban would see all HTC handsets recalled from retailers, and includes all of its Android handsets, including the One series. HTC is struggling as it is to garner consumer attraction for its devices, and an all-out device ban in a major market would be a significant blow to the Taiwanese manufacturer.

It has been since discovered that this patent is used not only on HTC’s devices, but on all Android handsets. Google is said to be in talks with Nokia over licencing terms, but details on whether an agreement will be reached is unknown at this stage. Nokia has focused its efforts on HTC for now, in Germany and other countries like the U.K. and the U.S., but it could be targeting other Android manufacturers soon.

Source: FOSS Patents



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Manga artists and animators greet fans a Happy New Year via twitter

New Year may be the biggest holiday in Japan with everyone resting or visiting their relatives in the provinces or other cities. It is also the time for greetings and well wishing which everyone does, including well known manga artists/authors and animators.

Fairy Tail and Rave Master manga artist Hiro Mashima wishes everyone a Happy New Year (pun intended) with a side of Sagittarius for the year of the horse via his twitter account,*hiro_mashima


Here’s Clamp‘s New Year’s greeting featuring their most beloved characters (via*CLAMP_news)


Thermae Romae manga author*Mari Yamazaki tweeted this year of the horse greeting via her twitter account,*Thermari


Here’s YuruYuri manga author Namori’s greeting (via*_namori_*twitter account)


And Yet The Town Moves manga author*Masakazu Ishiguro tweeted this New Year’s greeting and yes, it features even more horsing around.


Girls und Panzer manga artist*Ryuuichi Saitaniya (nanashirogorou)*meanwhile greeted everyone with this tweet.


Sgt. Frog manga artist*Mine Yoshizaki also greeted everyone via his twitter account,*yosRRX


Here’s Blue Exorcist manga artist Katou Kazue‘s New Year’s greeting featuring her characters in a Walking Dead theme.


Eureka Seven animator Kenichi Yoshida tweeted this New Year’s greeting


Controversial manga artist Kouji Seo, responsible for mangas like Kimi no Iru Machi, Half & Half and Suzuka also greeted everyone a Happy New Year via his twitter account,*seokouji


Squid Girl manga artist Masahiro Abe posted his New Year’s greeting via twipple


Kiniro Mosaic anime character designer Kazayuki Ueda meanwhile posted this New Year’s greeting featuring Alice and Karen wearing traditional New Year’s kimonos via twitter


Here’s Mushibugyou manga artist Hiroshi Fukuda’s New year’s greeting


Ultimate!! Hentai Kamen’s manga artist, Keishuu Ando featured a centaur for his greeting in celebration of the year of the horse (via*and_k_dna*twitter)


Horse-themed greetings are quite prominent as shown in some of the tweets, just like*Yamada and the Seven Witches manga artist Miki Yoshikawa’s greeting.


With all these greetings, we here at SGCafe wish everyone a happy and fruitful New Year!

Read more about your favorite*anime*here on SGCafe!

Also join in on the community’s discussions at*http://forums.sgcafe.com

source:*esuteru

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Hardware meets software: ShopGuru looks to target Malaysia, Indonesia

ShopGuru took 9 months to be made, and just a few hours to fail. Its founders take e27 through their story of never say ‘die’ spirit and expansion plans Not many tech startups dare to tinker with hardware. When Alex Leong, Andrew Wong and Neo Zhi Zhong first began their journey with ShopGuru and holding Read the full article...



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Fuel-tracking startup Ascenz secures investment from BW Ventures

Ascenz, a Red Dot Ventures investee company, closes Series A funding with an undisclosed amount of equity investment from BW Ventures’ Green Marine Capital Singapore-based Ascenz, a startup that provides digital remote monitoring systems of fuel consumption and bunkering to shipping companies, has secured an undisclosed amount of Series A funding from Green Marine Capital, Read the full article...



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Wednesday, January 1, 2014

It’s official, China’s Apple, Xiaomi is coming to Singapore

It’s finally official, Xiaomi is coming to the shores of Singapore.



Hugo Barra, former Google VP for Android and now vice president for Xiaomi Global, officially announced it through his Google Plus account.



Read more: It's official, China's Apple, Xiaomi is coming to Singapore | Vulcan PostVulcan Post






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iOS 7 now powers 78 percent of all Apple devices



Latest stats from the company show iOS 7 adoption is still on the rise.





Back in the summer of 2013 Apple showed off its latest and greatest iOS update at the WWDC. The update went through a long beta process and was finally released for the public in September. Adoption of the latest platform update took off after it was released, as millions of iOS users around the world were waiting to try out the entirely new user interface and dozens of new features that the company had unveiled.

In the latest platform distribution statistics released by Apple, iOS 7 is seen powering 78 percent of all supported iPhone, iPad and iPod touch units around the globe.*iOS 6, which is released in the fall of 2012, now accounts for 18 percent of all remaining devices. 4 percent of all iOS devices are running firmwares that were released prior to iOS 6 primarily because those devices don’t support Apple’s newer firmwares.

Over the past few months iOS 7 adoption has steadily been on the rise. In October figures released by Apple showed iOS 7 running on 64 percent of all devices. It clinched that figure faster than its predecessor was able to. Adoption of Apple’s latest firmware is only going to increase as new devices powered by it continue to sell, and as more users finally pull the trigger to update from their legacy iOS firmwares.

Source: Apple



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