🎃𝐑𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐃𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐫 𝐌𝐚𝐨𝐮𝐣𝐢😈

Happy 30th anniversary to NiGHTS Into Dreams for the Sega Saturn! Released on July 5th, 1996, Sega along with Sonic Team led by Yuji Naka as producer, Naoto Ohshima directing & Takashi Iizuka on game design as well as the composer trio of Fumie Kumatani, Naofumi Hataya, Tomoko Sasaki and many more partook in the development of a very unique flight based action game focusing around dreams that not only drew inspiration from Carl Jung and Sigmund Freud, but would also be notably be the first Sega Saturn game to make use its' 3D Analog Controller!

At night where all dreams play out in Nightopia & Nightmare, the two parts of the dream world, with Nightopia's dreamers personalities being represented by blue spheres named Ideya in which Nightmare's ruler Wizeman the Wicked, along with the help of several Nightmaren he created as well as both Nights & Reala, plans on taking the dream energy to not only conquer Nightopia, but eventually the real world; One day, two teenagers in Elliot Edwards & Claris Sinclair from Twin Seeds, after failing their basketball game & singing audition respectively, both sleep at night where they both go into Nightopia, possessing the Red Ideya of Courage which they use to awaken Nights and after informing the jester of Wizeman's plans, the three work together to stop Wizeman and bring peace back to Nightopia!

The game is made up of seven levels/Dreams where the player chooses Elliot or Claris and goes through four mares in each dream where the player primarily controls Nights and to gain back the stolen Ideya chips within the time limit and must clear each mare with a C rank or higher to not fight the boss, but also progress & open up new levels; Nights can also fly through various rings via Combo Links which along with gaining items in quick succession can add to the players score, doing a Drill Dash which makes Nights go faster and can hit enemies in addition to Paraloops, point multipliers, speed boosts, air pockets and more as well as even an Artifical Life system where the Nightopians can even change the mood of the level and if they're left unharmed will give out an extra point award on the fourth stage for Nights! With all of this and more, NiGHTS is not only the most famous Saturn game of all, but also one of the greatest video games ever, especially from Sega!

In November 1996, a special Holiday bonus disc of the game was made known as Christmas NiGHTS, with a one stage X-Mas themed version of Spring Valley, both Eliot and Claris playable, and notably Sonic being playable. NiGHTS would get multiple rereleases over the years such as for the PlayStation 2 in 2008 and PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC via Steam in 2012, though this version has since been delisted in December 2024. Nights would also appear in many future Sega games as well such as a pinball themed table in Sonic Adventure, a Nights Chao in Sonic Adventure 2, Billy Hatcher in the Giant Egg, Sega Superstars, Sonic Riders and more. Finally, aside from a cancelled Dreamcast sequel that never materialized in Air NiGHTS, Nights would get a sequel for the Nintendo Wii in 2007 known as NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams.

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1 week ago | [YT] | 14

🎃𝐑𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐃𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐫 𝐌𝐚𝐨𝐮𝐣𝐢😈

Happy 25th anniversary to Shaman King, the 2001 anime! Airing alongside Sunrise's s-CRY-ed on TV Tokyo on July 4th, 2001 came the original anime adaptation of Hiroyuki Takei's hit Shonen Jump manga of the same name where it was animated at the now defunct Xebec of Zoids & Rockman EXE/Mega Man NT Warrior fame, and directed by future Fullmetal Alchemist 2003 & Gundam 00 director Seiji Mizushima!

It follows Yoh Asakura, a laid back boy with the ability to see ghosts and is a shaman, a medium between the worlds of living and dead, and after a battle against a gang leader in Bokuto no Ryu, becoming great friends with Manta Oyamada at his school and clashing with Tao Ren, Yoh over the course of the series not only forms a bond with Amidamaru, the spirit of a deceased samurai and motivated by his fiancée, Anna Kyoyama, trains hard to partake in the Shaman Fight, a tournament that's held every 500 years by the Patch Foundation, where the winner will shape the world as they wish via the power of the Great Spirit, with Yoh aiming to create a world free of loneliness, while other Shamans with their own reasons and visions for the future to become Shaman King fight in the tournament and Yoh's estranged brother Hao seeks to make a world where only Shamans live and eradicate all of humanity! Another great shonen anime series from the 2000s!

Although the anime deviated from the manga in its' second half which was requested by Shueisha, the anime would be very popular and well received, resulting in various merchandise, soundtracks, video games mostly notably Master of Spirits 1 & 2, Soul Fight and Spirit of Shamans, and more. In the US, the anime was once licensed by the now defunct 4Kids Entertainment & airing on FoxBox, in which despite their usual name & music changes, edits and censorship, would be one of their popular shows at the time alongside Kirby: Right Back at Ya and Ultimate Muscle. Both the dubbed & subbed anime have since both gotten rereleased by Discotek Media in 2021 & 2023. In the same period, Shaman King would get a second anime adaptation, this time from Bridge and fully covering the manga.

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1 week ago | [YT] | 18

🎃𝐑𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐃𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐫 𝐌𝐚𝐨𝐮𝐣𝐢😈

Happy 25th anniversary to s-CRY-ed! Taking over the timeslot of Gear Fighter Dendoh and conceived in 1999 by studio Sunrise, screenwriter Yousuke Kuroda & director Goro Taniguchi of Code Geass, Planetes & Gun x Sword fame fresh off of the success of their first collaboration Infinite Ryvius, they would get together to make an excellent action anime series for the 21st century, and would also bring on future Gundam Seed character designer Hisashi Hirai, mechanical designers Yasuhiro Moriki & Koji Ito, composer Kotaro Nakagawa and many more!

Set in an alternate present day Kanagawa Prefecture years after an event known as the "Great Uprising" occured, a phenomenon that gave 1% of its' population supernatural powers that make them into beings known as Alters and the city divided into the Lost Ground & Mainland, it follows a Native Alter in Kazuma, who makes a living being a mercenary while also living with his close friend Kanami Yuta, and after a brawl with another Alter named Biff, the Mainland's elite force Holy arrives to deal with both of them and following a fight where Kazuma gets defeated by Holy's highest ranked officer Ryuho, Kazuma armed with his own his Alter power which morphs him arm into the Shell Bullet not only takes only takes the fight to Holy but also over the course of the series clashes with Ryuho as their intense hatred for one another increases! One of the greatest anime ever, especially from the 2000s!

The series would also receive a five volume manga adaptation by Yasunari Toda which ran in Weekly Shonen Champion, and notably differs from the anime, as well getting a follow up novel in s-CRY-ed After and even two compilation movies in 2011 & 2012 known as Alteration Tao & Quan. Finally, Kazuma, Ryuho & Straight Cougar would all be playable units in the now defunct Super Robot Wars X-Ω mobile game, alongside the aforementioned Infinite Ryvius.

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1 week ago | [YT] | 17

🎃𝐑𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐃𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐫 𝐌𝐚𝐨𝐮𝐣𝐢😈

Happy 20th anniversary to The Powerpuff Girls Z! Loosely based on the hit cartoon series originally created by Craig McCracken, Toei Animation as part of their then 50th anniversary would make an anime reimagining of the series as a magical girl anime, where it was also co-produced by Aniplex, TV Tokyo, and Cartoon Network Japan with Megumi Ishiguro directing, character design notably by Sailor Moon animation director & Cutey Honey Flash designer Miho Shimogasa and many more!

In the city of Tokyo City/New Townsville, as Professor Utonium along with his son Ken are developing a powerful substance named Chemical X, Peach accidentally drops a daifuku into a vat containing it, which causes countries around the world to have weather issues, which Ken tries to stop by blasting Chemical Z at an iceberg in the city bay; Momoko Akatsutsumi, Miyako Gotokuji, Kaoru Matsubara who are three ordinary thirteen year old girls, get enveloped in the light rays from Chemical Z which as a result, transforms the three of them into the Powerpuff Girls Z, armed with several weapons and are made up of Hyper Blossom, Rolling Bubbles, Powered Buttercup, as they fight to save & protect the city from evil beings such as Mojo Jojo, Mojo Jojo, Fuzzy Lumpkins, Princess Himeko, Sedusa, the Gangreen Gang & the Amoeba Boys who all want take over the city as well as even encounters with the Rowdyruff Boys Z! One of the more underrated magical girl anime of the 2000s, especially from Toei!

While the show has yet to be officially released in the US, unofficial fansubs of it were made, as well as the show receiving an English from Ocean Productions which aired in the Philippines & Australia in 2008.

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1 week ago | [YT] | 36

🎃𝐑𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐃𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐫 𝐌𝐚𝐨𝐮𝐣𝐢😈

28 years ago on June 30th, 1998, "Shaman King" by Hiroyuki Takei (Nekogahara, Jumbor, Ultimo alongside the late Stan Lee, designer for Garo: Honoo no Kokuin) began serialization in Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump where it ran for 285 chapters until August 30th, 2004 and it was later collected in 32 volumes. Takei's most famous manga made after the cancellation of his first series Butsu Zone and created with the theme of Shamanism, a topic that had never been attemped in a manga prior, the series follows Yoh Asakura, an easy going boy with the ability to see ghosts who not only befriends Manta Oyamada at his school, but also forms a strong bond with Amidamaru who is the spirit of a deceased samurai and motivated by a promise made to his fianceé Anna Kyoyama, trains to hone his skills as a Shaman, as he seeks to become the Shaman King, one who can channel the Great Spirit and reshape the world as they want, as he wants to make a world free of loneliness; over time, Yoh makes both allies & enemies with fellow Shamans each with their own reasons that are also training to enter the Shaman Fight, a three man team based tournament held by the Patch Foundation held 500 years to determine the next Shaman King and eventually, Yoh coming face to face with his brother Hao, the reincarnation of an extremely powerful Shaman who plans on eradicating the world of humanity and making a world for only Shamans.

Despite the manga's abrupt original ending, it would be a big hit, selling over 38 million copies, and getting a kanzenban reprint containing the true ending, as well as several sequels and spinoff manga like Shaman King Flowers, Red Crimson, The Super Star and more, and was adapted into two TV anime from 2001-2002 by the now defunct Xebec & and a second anime series in 2021 by Bridge, as well as video games, most notably the Master of Spirits series on the Game Boy Advance by Konami and using the engine from Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow, in addition to Yoh and Anna being playable characters in 2005's Jump Super Stars for the DS and its' 2006 sequel, Jump Ultimate Stars. In the US, the manga was once licensed by Viz Media, who released the original 32 volume run, but since then, the rights have gone to Kodansha, who in Japan obtained the publishing rights to the series in December 2017.

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1 week ago | [YT] | 17

🎃𝐑𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐃𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐫 𝐌𝐚𝐨𝐮𝐣𝐢😈

31 years ago on June 30th, 1995, Arc the Lad would release for the Sony PlayStation in Japan, where it was developed by the now defunct G-Craft & published by Sony Computer Entertainment. The second ever RPG released for the system after 1994's King's Field by FromSoftware and it along with its' sequel were initially planned to be one game but later split into two parts, the game was created & produced by Toshiro Tsuchida, written by "Team A.T.T.", artwork by Ryuichi Kunisue, notably featuring music by Masahiro Andoh & Hirotaka Izumi of the jazz fusion band T-Square and more.

Taking place 300 years after a war involving a being known as the Ruler of Darkness, it follows the titular Arc as he along with his companions Kukuru, a member of the Seirya/Sumeria Clan, Tosh, a swordsman from Palencia & spellcaster Gogen (and more optional party members) as the kingdom of Palencia sends them on a journey to seek out the Ark to save mankind as well as protecting humanity from both the Ruler of Darkness and the corrupt empire of Romalia.

The game is a tactical RPG taking place on blue grids that determine movement and the player & party members must defeat all onscreen enemies to win. When approaching the enemy, the player can use various melee attacks, magic & special abilities to deal with them, in addition to being able counter against enemy attacks by throwing projectiles back and outside of battle, the player has to choose areas to go to in order to progress such as a continent & highlighted area in addition to dungeons, small areas and fields.

It was well received in Japan, garnering praise for its' story, smooth sprite animations, use of an orchestral soundtrack & full motion video and its' battle system emphasizing speed and would sell over 697,000 units to become the ninth best selling console game of 1995 in Japan, and would go on to receive many sequels and spinoffs, such as its' two sequels in 1996 & 1999, Arc Arena in 1997, Kishin Fukkatsu in 2002, Twilight of the Spirits in 2003, End of Darkness in 2004 and the now discontinued Arc the Lad R. At the time, despite heavy demand from gamers for an overseas release, Sony Computer Entertainment America refused, due to their policy on 2D video games at that time as well as fears that the game would underperform in the US, but the game along with its' two sequels and Arc Arena were ultimately released there in April 2002 as part of the Arc the Lad Collection by the now defunct Working Designs. All of the PS1 Arc the Lad games would also see digital rereleases years later via the PlayStation Network via PS3/PSP/PSVita.

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1 week ago | [YT] | 8

🎃𝐑𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐃𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐫 𝐌𝐚𝐨𝐮𝐣𝐢😈

Real Yuko Minaguchi & Isshin Chiba hours...

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2 weeks ago | [YT] | 23

🎃𝐑𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐃𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐫 𝐌𝐚𝐨𝐮𝐣𝐢😈

Real Yumi Kakazu hours...

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3 weeks ago | [YT] | 19

🎃𝐑𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐃𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐫 𝐌𝐚𝐨𝐮𝐣𝐢😈

Real Koichi Yamadera & Kazuki Yao hours...

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3 weeks ago | [YT] | 14

🎃𝐑𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐃𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐫 𝐌𝐚𝐨𝐮𝐣𝐢😈

Real Yuji Ueda hours...

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4 weeks ago | [YT] | 29