Ooh, I does likes a bit of the ol’ anime, I does.  An unassuming school boy, a big space ship, a shameful number of panty shots and an arsenal of machine guns later, and you’re already putting -chan at the end of your name and wearing cat ears on your way to the latest Studio Ghibli release.

So when I was given the opportunity to attend the opening night of J-Pop Go‘s new venue at Cafe Manga, London, to show-off Tales of Eternia and Drakengard 2 to a bunch of fellow Land of the Rising Sun worshipers, I didn’t hesitate.  On went the ‘record’ button for that night’s Judge Judy, and off I went into the night.

Tales of Eternia (part of the ‘Tales’ series), is a sweet little game.  Any fans of the super cute ‘old skool’ RPGS before it all went 3D will recognise the look immediately, with some lovely anime sequences blended into the traditional storyline of Good Vs. Evil, and some nifty real-time combat.  I won’t waffle on, the website says it better than I can, and it’s out to buy in a shop near you NOW!(not Superdrug or Ann Summers, OBVIOUSLY.  Gosh, what are you like?)

Now Drakengard 2 is an entirely different beast altogether.  Both this and Tales are RPGs, both feature mysterious young ladies, but this one’s altogether darker in tone.  During my J-Pop bopping, comparisons with this sequel ranged from Vagrant Story to Panzer Dragoon - there’s a heavier emphasis on action, you can switch between four lead characters, AND YOU GET TO CONTROL A DRAGON!  WHOOP!  It’s swooping onto your shelves at the start of March.

Needless to say, both games were very well received on the night.  As for myself, I got to dress like an idiot, watch some of the latest UK anime releases (Elfen Lied is looking rather swish, by the way) and listen to Japanese pop-artists having a jiggle about flowers and dreams.  It’s always nice to see what was a relatively small niche blooming into a rather popular pass-time - here’s hoping that both anime and J-pop travel from strength to strength within the UK.  Maybe see you there next time?