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To subscribe to biweekly mailed issues, fill out the form here and the Serengeti (east) and is where students will spend their service time for (most) of the remainder of the SST term Here on the western side of the Serengeti there is a profusion of tribal groups.  The Ikoma people (Waikoma), numbering about 15,000, left the Serengeti to avoid Maasai raids many decades ago.  We stayed two nights at the Ikoma Cultural Centre in Nyichoka has been trying to keep Ikoma culture alive among young people offering opportunities at the Centre to perform traditional dances and music for visitors What’s the best way to conserve Tanzania’s biodiversity and at the same time generate some income for the country The NCA and the Serengeti National Park are two kinds of conservation areas We visited the Grumeti Reserve which represents a third more capitalist approach: In 1993 the government set aside 440 square kilometers just outside the Serengeti National Park as a “game reserve” where hunting is allowed but no people are allowed to live They offered it up for concession:  A company could pay for a license to operate and profit from tourism operations in the reserve In 2002 the non-profit Grumeti Fund (founded by American investor/philanthropist Paul Tudor Jones) became the concessionaire they have paid for all the hunting permits  allocated for the game reserve so as to stop hunting and enforcement (together with Tanzania authoriites) of conservation laws in the reserve Four years later they invited the Singita group in to run a high-end luxury lodge The likes of George W Bush and Will Smith have been visitors The idea is that once the lodges have a high enough occupancy rate income from those operations will flow back to the conservation efforts as well We had a chance to tour their Sasakwa Lodge which is on a hilltop with a stunning view of the valley below It’s on part of the route of the annual wildebeest migration and left the Ikoma Cultural Centre the next day Nyerere was the son of a chief (named in colonial times) of the Zanaki people Our guide for the visit was Madaraka Nyerere One of the pictures shows a bao table (an African game) The story goes that young Julius played bao with an Ikizu chief who was friends with his father The chief suggested to his father that Julius might be worth educating and he got a chance to start primary school (unlike his older brother) Nyerere became a Catholic at the age of 21 Tanzanian bishops opened a cause for his beatification seven years after his death–the first step towards sainthood Hozan-ji is in many ways the embodiment of a perfect Japanese experience The otherworldly mountain temple complex is largely unknown to foreign tourists and seldom crowded by local visitors outside of the spring/autumn peak seasons If you feel like riding a dog-faced cable car up to a Crouching Tiger-esque mountain temple Ikoma occurred long before any actual Buddhist temples were built in the same location before Hozan-ji temple was completed in the 1600s Ikoma was used as a ‘training site’ for the ascetic practices of Buddhist monks The practices would include physical training (climbing the mountain daily) and sitting isolated in nature (Zazen) You must be logged in to post a comment ' + scriptOptions._localizedStrings.webview_notification_text + ' " + scriptOptions._localizedStrings.redirect_overlay_title + " " + scriptOptions._localizedStrings.redirect_overlay_text + " Every transportation designer wants to design a new vehicle But you know what none of them ever design One exception is industrial designer Takamitsu Ikoma. He started off in the toy business, designing Transformers robots for Takara Tomy; Ikoma had the advantage of being able to actually build and prototype whatever he could draw, a skill picked up while studying at Tokyo's Kuwasawa Design School. (According to an interview with Japanese manufacturing magazine Fabcross Ikoma was one of the only designers allowed to use Takara Tomy's then-rare stereolithography 3D printer because he actually understood how to print parts that would work.) When Ikoma later transitioned into consumer products, his expertise in transforming shapes was called upon to design objects like this Tipron a home robot that can wheel around your house Ikoma learned about how to work with motorized metal parts rather than human-manipulated plastic parts Ikoma recognized that parking is a major problem Small shops and restaurants might like to offer delivery A resident might prefer to commute by scooter but has no place in his building to park it What if he could use his designing and building skills in transforming shapes to create a vehicle that didn't need a parking space but didn't like their designs: They didn't stand upright when folded and "the transformation mechanisms were against my aesthetics (laughs)," he told Fabcross Ikoma sketched out his own concept for a folding electric scooter on a whiteboard: Ikoma didn't have time to pursue the design But when his son was born and he was granted paternity leave he used some of the time at home to learn Fusion 360 Once he had a workable prototype, Ikoma began bringing it around to maker events and exhibitions. In-person enthusiasm was effusive. In March of this year, about 16 months after that fateful Tweet, Ikoma decided to take the plunge. He quit his day job and formed Icoma Inc. with the intention of developing the scooter's design and going into production The wood panels on the model above are meant to complement the decor of the apartment in the photo Ikoma released a video of the nearly-ready-for-primetime Tatamel Bike "we are developing for mass production." I hope they make it Test it out; it only takes a single click to unsubscribe Kritzer Design Studio | KDS specializes in providing award winning industrial .. is a product development and engineering company ded.. Springtime is a creative force that develops exciting sustainable and paradigm-shifting products Y Studios is an award-winning Industrial Design and Research consultancy in San Francisco with exten.. Hardware product design is a high risk business - unless you have a design partner who has done it s.. Acorn Product Development is based in Silicon Valley with design centers in Boston studioFAR is a softgoods design firm based in the Mission district of San Franc.. One exception is industrial designer Takamitsu Ikoma. He started off in the toy business, designing Transformers robots for Takara Tomy; Ikoma had the advantage of being able to actually build and prototype whatever he could draw, a skill picked up while studying at Tokyo's Kuwasawa Design School. (According to an interview with Japanese manufacturing magazine Fabcross When Ikoma later transitioned into consumer products, his expertise in transforming shapes was called upon to design objects like this Tipron and \"the transformation mechanisms were against my aesthetics (laughs),\" he told Fabcross Once he had a workable prototype, Ikoma began bringing it around to maker events and exhibitions. In-person enthusiasm was effusive. In March of this year, about 16 months after that fateful Tweet, Ikoma decided to take the plunge. He quit his day job and formed Icoma Inc. with the intention of developing the scooter's design and going into production \"we are developing for mass production.\" I hope they make it Don't have an account? Join Now Already have an account? Sign In Please enter your email and we will send an email to reset your password but the folks who will enjoy it the most will be the knife enthusiasts CRKT calls this a "gentlemen's folding knife," and we'd have to agree—particularly if you appreciate detailed craftsmanship If you're impatient and don’t want to give this knife time to break in For guys who want an everyday carry that is lightweight How true it is that great things take time I can remember the first baseball mitt I received as a kid it popped out because I didn’t have the gorilla-like strength needed to squeeze the painfully stiff leather After weeks of using it and oiling it and bending it my new baseball glove became my best friend on the field The CRKT Ikoma Carajas knife reminded me of that experience in some ways Those who might be used to an easy flipper mechanism may grab the Carajas and think “This is way too stiff of a flipper!” Before you jump to conclusions I’d remind you that great things do take time If you give the CRKT Ikoma Carajas some of yours this knife will likely become like that most prized baseball glove—at least The Brazilian knife designer Flavio Ikoma has added a new line of folding knives to the CRKT family and the Ikoma Carajas is the latest among his most recent handiwork Ikoma has used his skills as a mechanical technician to design beautiful custom knives the Ikoma Carajas features the ultra-smooth Ikoma Korth Bearing System (IKBS) This system all but eliminates any play in the blade It’s not a spring-loaded system; rather it relies on finger-applied force to hurl the blade into open position The IKBS was originally created for “butterfly” style (balisong) knives and uses a simple bearing-based system that eliminates the races and cages often found with conventional systems the pivot pin itself is the internal race for the bearings and the external is facilitated through recesses in the titanium liners smooth and easily-maintainable pivot system You can even replace the bearings over time if needed and the design can vary based on the number The Carajas has a narrow handle with a big but it also enables the Carajas to have a distinct advantage—it is very lightweight The smaller handle is not a sign of weakness because it is made of the incredibly strong G-10 scales What the smaller handle does provide is a reduction in mass and weight The result is a compact folder with an overall length of 7.38 inches and a total weight of only 3.0 ounces Talk about broad shoulders and a thin waist line—the CRKT Ikoma Carajas knife is no slouch when it comes to well-built knives which is nice because it’s comfortable to wear the top part of the handle can be abrasive when reaching into your pocket but with the Carajas you can just slip it right in The hollow grind blade is a drop point style made of 12C27 Sandvik steel that is razor sharp and ready for work (Why can’t all knife makers send them like this?) You can also see the blade design has four carved out holes located above the “tang stamp” (which is a fancy term for the manufacturer’s name) The elegant curves add stunning appeal to the blade but you can be sure that the Carajas is also strong enough for daily use the right handed tip-up pocket clip is the only option for this knife which is a word of warning for all those left-handers out there (including myself) and why did it take a while for you to get used to it?” The answer to this two-fold question is simple the G-10 scales have a great deal of design markings (as seen in the photos) you’ll think it was made for those guys whose palms feel like sandpaper when you go to shake their hand After a while the G-10 will soften up a bit and present a very satisfying grip and feel The flipper may also take some getting used to Many popular knives feature a spring-loaded flipper which is easy to press and open If you are accustomed to using a knife like this the CRKT Ikoma Carajas knife may catch you off guard is something that is worth the time you’ll spend with it It’s safe to say that if you approach this knife like a man and apply some aggression when using the flipper Once you break the appropriate amount of force required to free it the resulting action of the blade smoothly flips it into place Some spring-assisted knives have the tendency to open like a firecracker in your hand causing you to hold on to the handle the knife for fear it will fly out of your hand a little pressure shoots the blade out in a way that sets it gently in place you will really love how the blade opens with so much control—it really is quite remarkable and elegant So what’s my overall opinion of the CRKT Ikoma Carajas knife It is the first knife I’ve owned that got better with time and you hardly realize it’s in your pocket The blade is unique and a manly fit for everyday use—and its lines are second to none the IKBS system is impressive to say the least Apply as much pressure as you want on the flipper and the blade never feels like it leaves your control This knife really is just like that old ball glove I owned Over time it becomes something you not only appreciate but come to enjoy and rely on more and more knife-lover and college ministry director of a downtown Presbyterian church Brian recently completed graduate work at Reformed Theological Seminary and has served as a missionary in Ethiopia When he's not playing with knives or running with scissors he enjoys spending quality time with his wife Benchmade Bugout and Mini Bugout Upgrade with More Premium Materials We’ve reviewed dozens of pocket knives over the years The Leatherman Bond Combines Functionality with a Sleek Compact Design Leatherman is one of the most popular and iconic multi-tool […] I have to admit that this article arose out of a desire to finally understand how to choose the best […] While you may think a pocket knife is a pocket knife New West Knifeworks is aiming to change your mind […] As an Amazon Associate, we may earn income when you click on an Amazon link Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value" See our Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions. Pro Tool Reviews is a successful online publication that has been providing tool reviews and industry news since 2008. In today’s world of Internet news and online content, we found that more and more professionals researched a large majority of their major power tool purchases online. That piqued our interest. There’s one key thing to note about Pro Tool Reviews: We’re all about the professional tool user and tradesman! Copyright ©2008-2025 Pro Tool Reviews, LLC. All rights reserved. Volume 13 - 2019 | https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2019.00060 mirror visual feedback (MVF) therapy combined with electrical stimulation (ES) have been proposed for patients with hemiparesis the neurophysiological effect remains unknown We investigated the effects of MVF by itself and along with electromyogram-triggered ES (ETES) on hemodynamic responses using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) Eighteen healthy subjects participated in this study We measured changes in brain oxygenation using 48 NIRS channels We investigated the effects of three main factors of visual feedback (observation of a mark and hand movements via mirror) with or without ES on bilateral precentral gyrus (PrG) and angular gyrus (AG) to determine the contribution of each factor The results showed that the left PoG was significantly more activated when performing mirrored tasks (MT) than when performing circle or Right-hand Tasks (RTs) the right PoG and right SMA in MT were significantly more activated than in MT + ES cases Our findings suggested that observation of movements through the mirror caused activation of the postcentral gyrus rather than the PrG and MVF along with ETES decreased cortical activation and left anterior intraparietal sulcus in response to a right hand complex ball-rotation task using a mirror the mechanisms of MVF therapy remain controversial we investigated the influence of MVF on the hemodynamic response of the brain using fNIRS Although MVF with ES can be useful as a rehabilitation method no neurophysiological studies of its underlying mechanisms have yet been reported The present study used fNIRS and focused on the effects of MVF alone and also MVF along with ES to investigate hemodynamic changes in the brain Eighteen neurologically healthy subjects participated in this study [seven males and eleven females; age, 24.9 ± 6.6 (mean ± standard deviation) years], and all subjects were right hand dominant according to the Chapman’s handedness test (Chapman and Chapman, 1987) This study was carried out in accordance with the Human Ethics Committee of Hokkaido University Hospital with written informed consent from all subjects All subjects gave written informed consent in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki The protocol was approved by the Human Ethics Committee of Hokkaido University Hospital The subjects sat in a relaxed position in a reclining chair, and a custom-built mirror box was placed on a horizontal plate in front them. They were then asked to place both hands in a neutral position in the mirror box and perform six tasks, as illustrated in Figure 1 The subjects executed repetitive flexion movements of the left wrist in the box with a frequency of 0.5 Hz for 30 s in all tasks They continued performing the wrist flexion and relaxation movements following the signal of a metronome in a personal computer: Circle Task (CT): while performing the task the subjects visually fixated on a small round mark (1 cm diameter) on the box Right-hand Task (RT): the subjects visually fixated only on their resting right hand Mirror Task (MT): the subjects only watched a mirror reflection of the moving left hand superimposed on the resting right hand positioned behind the mirror CT + ES Task (CT + ES): the right wrist was flexed by electromyogram-triggered ES (ETES) synchronously with muscle contractions in the left forearm RT + ES Task (RT + ES): the subjects visually fixated only on their right hand being electrically moved MT + ES Task (MT + ES): the subjects watched a mirror reflection with ETES as in MT Schematic illustration of the experimental setup The arrow in each task represents where the subjects were asked to look The shaded portion indicates the areas that cannot be observed by subjects The experimental design consisted of two stimulations and four rest periods As all of the tasks were performed three times in a random order ETES is an approach in which ES is triggered by electromyographic activity The frequency of ES is 20 Hz of 500 μs widths The intensity of ES was set below each subject’s pain threshold but above their motor threshold before the start of the task and we adjusted the sensitivity of the triggered EMG so that full joint movements could be elicited by ES The distance between the NIRS sources and detectors was set at 3 cm 830 nm) with a pulse width of 250 μs were used to detect changes in cortical concentrations of oxygenated hemoglobin (oxy-Hb) Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) channels setting The red square indicates the optical sources and the blue square indicates the detector this approach also excluded optodes on any cerebral sulcus from analysis To standardize the amount of oxy-Hb change in all subjects we confirmed whether the wavy line of oxy-Hb was in a stable condition before starting every task we calculated the value of the oxy-Hb concentration of every channel of NIRS during 25 s The data obtained from each task were analyzed using 2 × 3 repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) for each brain region with the factors “visual condition (VC; round mark and mirror)” and “ES condition (ESC; with or without ES).” The Bonferroni correction for multiple comparisons was used for the post hoc t-test Effects were considered significant at p < 0.05 Results of 2 × 3 repeated analysis of variance (ANOVA) conducted on VC ESC and interaction effect for oxy-Hb changes of region of interests Results of the Bonferroni correction for multiple comparisons Oxygenated hemoglobin (Oxy-Hb) concentration in the left postcentral gyrus (PoG) Time course of mean activation changes in oxy-Hb in response to Circle Task (CT) and Mirror Task (MT) in left PoG that shows significant differences between groups Time course of mean activation changes in oxy-Hb in response to RT Right-hand + electrical stimulation (ES) Task and Mirror + ES Task in Right PoG that shows significant differences between groups Oxy-Hb concentration in the right supplementary motor area (SMA) Time course of mean activation changes in oxy-Hb in response to MT and Mirror + ES Task in right SMA that shows significant differences between groups we investigated the effect of traditional MVF alone and also along with ETES on the hemodynamic response of the cerebral cortex using fNIRS in normal young subjects The results showed that the PoG ipsilateral to the moving hand was activated when the only stimulus was visual input from the mirror reflection of the moving hand rather than from the small mark and static right hand the activation of left SMA ipsilateral to the moving hand and right SMA contralateral to the moving hand decreased compared with that without ES We also found that the cortical activation decreased compared with MT especially in the responses of the right PoG and SMA resulting from MT + ES the primary somatosensory cortex on the lesioned side became immediately excited because the total time of the task was 30 s our results demonstrated the immediate response to observation of the mirror reflecting the moving hand which influenced the PoG ipsilateral moving hand the oxy-Hb concentration of the right PoG was significantly decreased in right-hand observation tasks with ETES (RT + ES and MT + ES) compared with those without ETES (RT and MT) despite no significant change in the without-observation tasks (CT and CT + ES) these results presumed that the combination of motor observation and synchronous movements with ES induced the motor learning effect Although the activation of the contralateral sensorimotor area decreased by combining the observation of the moving hand with ES the cortical activations ipsilateral to the voluntarily moving hand were unaffected presumably because of the short duration of the task this study cannot comment in more detail regarding this topic based on the present evidence our results need to be evaluated regarding the short- and long-term effects of cortical hemodynamic activity in patients with hemiparesis to better understand the mechanisms underlying MVF with ETES On the other hand, the ES device used in the previous studies involves the use of an external switch (Kim et al., 2014; Lee et al., 2016), an electro mesh glove (Lin et al., 2014), and a preset electric stimulation cycle (Yun et al., 2011) wherein the input and output electrodes were attached to the opposite limb This approach encourages the synchronization of the exercising limb reflected on the mirror and the electrically stimulated limb thereby making it possible to derive the effects of MT + ETES It is essential to compare and verify this approach with other stimulation devices in the future it is possible to use an approach that combines MT and ETES to provide afferent input opposite to visual input There exists a possibility that the mechanism of motor learning could be clarified by evaluating the temporal change of activity in the brain using such an approach The limitations of this study include the small sample size and challenges associated with generalizing the results it is necessary to adopt a larger sample size and compare the effect of mirror therapy with that of other interventions research investigating the entire brain activation using fMRI during MT combined with ETES is warranted data interpretation and manuscript preparation This work was supported in part by research funds of Hokkaido University The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest We would like to thank our study participants We are grateful to Masao Inoue for providing help in resolving issues with the Fusion software and fNIRS settings electromyogram-triggered electrical stimulation; MIR Rehabilitation of hemiparesis after stroke with a mirror Underlying neural mechanisms of mirror therapy: implications for motor rehabilitation in stroke Brain activity (fNIRS) in control state differs from the execution and observation of object-related and object-unrelated actions Perception of hand movement by mirror reflection evokes brain activation in the motor cortex contralateral to a non-moving hand Different effects of the mirror illusion on motor and somatosensory processing Evoked-cerebral blood oxygenation changes in false-negative activations in BOLD contrast functional MRI of patients with brain tumors Influence of mirror therapy on human motor cortex Futami, R., Seki, K., Kawanishi, T., Sugiyama, T., Cikajlo, I., and Handa, Y. (2005). “Application of local EMG-driven FES to incompletely paralyzed lower extremities,” in Proceedings of 10th Annual Conference of IFESS, 204–206. Available online at: https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/b536/c9db3b7a319eb3dab7d76d3ae799efb2c634.pdf Google Scholar mirror on the wall: viewing a mirror reflection of unilateral hand movements facilitates ipsilateral M1 excitability Cortical activation change induced by neuromuscular electrical stimulation during hand movements: a functional NIRS study The ten-twenty electrode system of the international federation Google Scholar The effect of mirror therapy integrating functional electrical stimulation on the gait of stroke patients Effect of functional electrical stimulation with mirror therapy on upper extremity motor function in poststroke patients doi: 10.1016/j.jstrokecerebrovasdis.2013.06.017 Motor cortex plasticity during unilateral finger movement with mirror visual feedback Mirror therapy with neuromuscular electrical stimulation for improving motor function of stroke survivors: a pilot randomized clinical study Effect of mirror therapy combined with somatosensory stimulation on motor recovery and daily function in stroke patients: a pilot study A controlled pilot study of the utility of mirror visual feedback in the treatment of complex regional pain syndrome (type 1) Intracerebral penetration of infrared light The neuronal correlates of mirror therapy: an fMRI study on mirror induced visual illusions in patients with stroke Do mirror glasses have the same effect on brain activity as a mirror box Evidence from a functional magnetic resonance imaging study with healthy subjects Graded motor imagery is effective for long-standing complex regional pain syndrome: a randomised controlled trial Increase in focal concentration of deoxyhaemoglobin during neuronal activity in cerebral ischaemic patients Near-infrared spectroscopy as an index of brain and tissue oxygenation Effect of task specific mirror therapy with functional electrical stimulation on upper limb function for subacute hemiplegia Synaesthesia in phantom limbs induced with mirrors Neural correlates of mirror visual feedback-induced performance improvements: a resting-state fMRI study Doing it with mirrors: a case study of a novel approach to neurorehabilitation Shortening intertrial intervals in event-related cognitive studies with near-infrared spectroscopy Circulatory basis of fMRI signals: relationship between changes in the hemodynamic parameters and BOLD signal intensity Asymmetric activation of the primary motor cortex during observation mirror reflection of a hand The time course of changes during motor sequence learning: a whole-brain fMRI study Exploring frontal asymmetry using functional near-infrared spectroscopy: a preliminary study of the effects of social anxiety during interaction and performance tasks A comparison of neural mechanisms in mirror therapy and movement observation therapy Mirror therapy improves hand function in subacute stroke: a randomized controlled trial The synergic effects of mirror therapy and neuromuscular electrical stimulation for hand function in stroke patients Miyamoto T and Ikoma K (2019) Exploring Hemodynamic Responses Using Mirror Visual Feedback With Electromyogram-Triggered Stimulation and Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy Received: 01 October 2018; Accepted: 04 February 2019; Published: 26 February 2019 Copyright © 2019 Inagaki, Seki, Makino, Matsuo, Miyamoto and Ikoma. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY) distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited in accordance with accepted academic practice distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms *Correspondence: Katsunori Ikoma, aWtvbWFAbWVkLmhva3VkYWkuYWMuanA= Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher 94% of researchers rate our articles as excellent or goodLearn more about the work of our research integrity team to safeguard the quality of each article we publish This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page The 2025 ITS Joint Homecoming Committee distributed goodie bags to the 2025 ITS Joint Homecoming participants ITS Campus, ITS News — Approaching Eid al-Fitr, the Sepuluh Nopember Institute of Technology (ITS) is once again facilitating academics who want to return home for free through the ITS 2025 Mudik Bersama program ITS officially released the departure of the homecoming group to 64 areas around Java Island The Head of the ITS 2025 Joint Homecoming Team, Dr. rer nat Nasori SSi MSi, welcomed the enthusiasm of the students in the routine program held by the ITS Directorate of Student Affairs (Ditmawa)  He also appreciated the increase in the number of free homecoming participants which was almost three times more than the previous year “Hopefully next year we can provide even more facilities,” he said Agreeing with this, Deputy Secretary General of the Central Management of the ITS Alumni Association (PP IKA) Hamdani Bantasyam ST said that the increase in participants was proof that the ITS free homecoming facility had been guaranteed as a safe and comfortable accommodation “We are participating in supporting a program that is very beneficial for the ITS academic community especially students,” said the man who is often called Cak Hamdani One of the homecoming participants (holding a mic) while conveying his impressions of being able to participate in the homecoming together to the Head of ITS Ikoma Dr Ir Wahid Wahyudi MT (blue shirt) Meanwhile, the ITS Student Parents Association (Ikoma) and the East Java Provincial Transportation Agency also participated in this homecoming program by providing nine and 12 bus fleets respectively The Head of Ikoma ITS Dr Ir Wahid Wahyudi MT explained that the special bus fleet assistance from Ikoma would go to 37 cities or districts outside East Java there are 17 routes covering various regions from the eastern to the western regions of Java Island the routes include Pasuruan – Probolinggo – Lumajang – Jember Gresik – Lamongan – Bojonegoro – Tuban Bondowoso – Situbondo – Banyuwangi and Mojokerto – Jombang – Nganjuk – Ngawi and IKA ITS after releasing the departure of the 2025 ITS Joint Homecoming bus groupMeanwhile in the Central Java region there are five routes including Rembang – Pati – Kudus – Jepara – Demak Sragen – Surakarta – Boyolali – Salatiga – Semarang – Kendal and Yogyakarta – Purworejo – Kebumen – Cilacap there are also the Surakarta – Klaten – Magelang – Temanggung – Wonosobo – Purbalingga – Purwokerto routes and Pekalongan – Pemalang – Tegal – Brebes – Cirebon – Sumedang – Subang – Purwakarta – Karawang – Bogor routes This year there is also the addition of new areas covering West Java The three routes included in the area are Bandung and Jakarta – Depok – Tangerang – Cilegon the participants of the joint homecoming also received a goodie bag containing snacks and drinks as additional facilities The fleet of buses provided by the East Java Provincial Transportation Agency and Ikoma ITS used in the 2025 ITS Joint Homecoming During the departure ceremony, one of the travelers to Boyolali expressed his gratitude for being able to join this free homecoming, so that the atmosphere on the trip could be more memorable with his friends. In addition, this program is also an effort by ITS to realize Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 11 Joint homecoming activities like this help reduce traffic congestion ahead of the peak of the Lebaran homecoming and reduce the number of motorized vehicle usage several high-ranking ITS leaders were also present Agus Muhamad Hatta ST MSi PhD as a symbolic form and support in the release of the departure of the 2025 ITS Joint Homecoming participants the ITS Student Executive Board (BEM) also helped the implementation of this free homecoming run smoothly ITS News — Indonesia as a tropical country tends to have many coastal areas ITS News — Data is an asset and the main foundation in determining strategies for the future ITS News — Continuing to show local wisdom to the world community ITS News — The Domestic Component Level (TKDN) is the key to restoring the glory of the Indonesian On Thursday morning we left Nata to visit Alia Munley at Ikoma Cultural Center which is halfway between Nata and Mugumu (about 30-45 minutes from both towns.)  We arrived to Alia having her morning breakfast in the outdoor sitting area in the shade of the trees She had just finished her morning routine of jogging with her sister to get milk from some nearby farmers Alia’s background in art is what led her to be placed at Ikoma Cultural Center  The center was started by Alia’s host mother as a means to preserve and celebrate the traditional Ikoma tribal traditions  The cultural center hosts tourists and educational groups who visit the nearby Serengeti National Park  When our group stayed at the center on our way to Musoma we participated in the traditional Ikoma fire dance  According to tradition the Ikoma taught the Maasai and other tribes how to use fire to cook an important symbol and part of their culture Alia is learning a lot about Ikoma culture The elephant is sacred to the Ikoma and serves as their totem the Ikoma farm finger millet and raise livestock on a series of hills that overlook a sprawling valley they prohibit cutting any trees on the hilltops and they were also traditionally hunters using nets made from sisal to catch small gazelle (they no longer)  The Ikoma are also known for their beadwork Alia’s project is to create a series of artistic representations of Ikoma culture that can be eventually combined into a pamphlet or brochure for use in promoting and marketing the center to tourists at the nearby lodges We were very impressed with how Alia has jumped into life on the farm – her curiosity regarding both the cultural history and the current farming practices was contagious We enjoyed playing with all the baby goats During our visit to Grumeti we stayed at the Ikoma Cultural Center located between Mugumu and Nata The cultural center is run by Agnes and her husband and provides an opportunity for visitors to experience some of the local culture surrounding the Serengeti while at the same time providing economic benefits to the communities we were warmly welcomed with tea and water something we all needed after the dusty 3 hour ride from the Serengeti A cultural dance troupe danced and played for us as we drank our tea After setting up our tents we enjoyed our typical “camp” dinner followed by the main course and fruit for dessert In the evening we were treated to an Ikoma fire starting ceremony In front of a roaring fire we enjoyed more dancing Students enjoyed bucket showers under the stars and hearing the cows bellowing in the nearby boma (cattle exclosure) affording a stunning view of the surrounding landscape We’ll look forward to returning to Ikoma sometime in the future On our last day of our safari we loaded a rented bus to make the 3 hour drive to Musoma  We enjoyed our 2 nights of camping at Ikoma Cultural Center which included exposure to Ikoma traditional culture and Ikoma dancing  (Alia Munley is volunteering at Ikoma Cultural Center for her service assignment so more information will be coming this week!) We crammed all our luggage (and bodies) in the bus – which was another feat worthy of a video  On the trip to Musoma we stopped at the small town of Butiama the home to the first President of Tanzania  In Butiama we toured Nyerere’s home residence and the mausoleum where his body was laid to rest The compound was first owned by Nyerere’s father and when Julius became president several new homes were built we sailed into Musoma and arrived at the Mennonite Center in the late afternoon concluding our week-long trip from Dar to Musoma  We’ll return to Musoma for the weekend on Saturday and hope to post the results of our travels as soon as we can taking the train from Dar to Arusha took about 20 hours The best part is that it included a night in bed being rocked to sleep in the sleeper cars we were not prepared for a middle of the night dust storm that filled our rooms with a thick cover of red dust 21 – Arusha: MCC and Linking Conservation & Development Entering Ngorongoro Conservation Area (NCA) was stunning The wildlife was abundant and entering the crater to see the wildlife on the bottom was a highlight for many The NCA has historically been a wildlife management area in which the government allows Masai communities to live and tend livestock (although not in the crater.) In the past year the government decided to evict these communities citing excessive pressure on the land due to a rising human population Part of our academic work was to discuss this issue and address the inherent complexities 23 – Oldupai Gorge and Serengeti National Park We left our amazing campsite on the rim of the crater to head for Oldupai Gorge home to some of the oldest biped human fossils and footprints (dating back to ~ 3.5 mya) It is humbling to realize the many hominids and humans that have traipsed our earth contributing to the rich story of the human experience it was easy to find fossilized bones of ancient herbivores greater than 2 million years old 24 – Serengeti NP and Ikoma Cultural Centre We entered the gate to the Serengeti National Park around lunch time on Thursday after leaving Oldupai We arrived at our campsite by dark to the evening splendor of a hot meal – soup amazing after a day bouncing around in the land cruisers The wildlife diversity and abundance we saw was stunning In the morning we drove through more of the Serengeti on the way to our campsite out of the park a cultural tourism venture called Ikoma Cultural Centre On Saturday we awoke from our campsite at Ikoma and spent the morning with employees of the Grumeti Fund This is a non-profit organization that seeks to support the local communities around Grumeti Reserve a large hunting block that was set aside for conservation and includes a high-end ecotourism We visited the environmental education center We returned for lunch and a relaxing afternoon We met in the late afternoon to process all that we had seen…. discussing the challenges and opportunities in supporting both human and ecological communities 26 – Mwalimu Julius Nyerere’s home in Butiama We broke camp early at Ikoma and the cars took us to Musoma with a stop at the birth place of Tanzania’s first president We received a short tour of a government museum in addition to the houses in which he was raised The students began leaving the hostel in Musoma for their respective homes in the morning The last team left for Shirati at around 8:00 p.m but the students were excited to meet their new families and launch into the last half of SST Akihiro Wada is also joining the cast of the winter movie Akihiro Wada has appeared in many movies and tv shows with the most recent being the movie Moving Daimyo who holds the secret of the birth of Zero One is the former secretary of the prior present of Hiden Intelligence Rina Ikoma comment on her involvement with the movie saying that she has loved Kamen Rider since Kuuga She was happy to receive an offer and to be apart of the end of the Heisei Era and the beginning of the Reiwa Era Ikoma also commented that she was delighted to know that she could work with the characters from the show Akihiro Wada also commented on his involvement with the movie saying that the events of the movie taking place in 2019 and the movie releasing in 2019 is not coincidence Kamen Rider Reiwa: The First Generation will be in theaters across Japan on December 21st Source: Toei This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed. Enter your email address to subscribe to the Tokusatsu Network and receive notifications of new posts by email Ikoma is still an avid Jump reader to this day. Most recently she sped through the last volume of Sket Dance but she said she likes to revisit it from time to time it isn't surprising that she picked Naruto as her #1 manga pick Ikoma referred to the series as a "textbook on life" and that she can relate to way Naruto thinks and overall finds its message inspiring to keep trying her best when things get tough Her second pick is Yana Toboso's Black Butler manga which she first started reading during a goth phase in high school Ikoma said she was reading a lot of novels that dealt with demons at the time She added that she enjoys the story but likes the artwork a lot so she reads more as an "art collection" of sorts It was the manga's first volume's cover that lead her to purchase it for the first time Her third choice is another Jump title, Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan by Hiroshi Shiibashi. Like her previous interest in demons, Ikoma also used to study the Yōkai Zukan by Shigeru Mizuki She liked how Shiibashi's rendition of the yokai were so cool and just all coolness of all the characters overall Tomoko is not good at communicating with people but once she starts talking about Shonen Jump she forgets herself and begins talking nonstop Source: Comic Natalie Gymnastics Spotlight: Michelle IkomaJanuary 11 Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress (Koutetsujou no Kananeri) should have been called Attack on Zombies It was created by the same people in Studio Wit and it really felt like a poor man’s Attack on Titan SIE SIND DAS ZOMBIES UND WIR SIND DIE JAEGER Humans live inside walled cities around the world and travel between them via large military-like trains called Koutetsujou They live within these cities because the world is being plagued by a virus that can turn humans into zombies called Kabane The virus is spread much in the same way as any zombie virus is spread The unique difference between a Kabane and your normal everyday zombie is that some Kabane They also have a hard iron core protecting their hearts so humans have had to develop steam-powered weapons to pierce through and damage their hearts to kill them a steamsmith who invents a gun powerful enough to break through that iron core but he’s not recognized as someone of noteworthy standing Each city has their “upper echelon” of people and Ikoma is simply just a grunt that works down at the Aragane Station making steam engines the walls are breached by zombies and Ikoma is bitten he administers himself treatment in the form of a choke collar It stopped the virus from completely taking over his body but it left him as a half human/half zombie There are others in the world like him and they are referred to as Kabaneri flee and set out on a journey to the capital and that’s pretty much it There is a little more to the story than that but it does venture into spoiler territory but the story does give you some pretty solid hints as to how the Kabane came to be and who may be responsible for it all that show just how far those theories about the Kabane are put into effect but I don’t think it’s the kind of story that’s going to win any awards The ending to the story was rushed as hell and some of the explanations they gave around an event that happens to Ikoma was pretty weak It almost felt like a Deadpool moment where he just “got better.” I had some high hopes for Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress because the manga was written by Kiyomune Miya who also wrote the story for the manga adaptation of Steins;Gate There were just way too many similarities between Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress and Attack on Titan to the point where it felt like it was just a carbon copy with a few plot devices swapped in and out Ikoma is our main protagonist and I have some mixed feelings about him as a character but it sounds like a deep voice put through too much reverb It almost has that sound to where as if someone took normal audio and slowed it down but they’re still speaking at a normal pace but he still comes off as a weak main character at times One moment he looks like he’s ready to charge into battle It’s like they didn’t know which direction to go with Ikoma so they gave him both personalities He was a really weird main character and a good example that being unique doesn’t always mean it’s going to be good Mumei is also a Kabaneri that accompanies Ikoma on his journey She has a bit of a mysterious past is a bit full of herself at first It’s almost like they’re trying to make her a tsundere She is one hell of a fighter and can hold her own without an issue but it’s that overconfidence that ends up being one of her weaknesses as the story progresses tries to get the viewer to sympathize with Mumei but I just don’t believe the information was delivered in a way to make the viewer feel that connection It’s another example of the story getting rushed in this show and I think this show would have benefitted from 24 or 25 episodes rather than 12 Ayame is the eldest daughter of the Yomogawa family which governs the Aragane Station teenage girl who was suddenly thrust into a position of power and she was naïve in how to handle her position and FAR too trusting of others but how it wasn’t throughout the whole series is beyond me Ayame did have her moments which could rally her people but her delivery was so weak and uninspiring I had a very hard time believing how her people would follow her and listen to her Her whole motto throughout the entire show was “okay let’s stop and play nice now.” That’s really what it seemed like and being a child but I’ve seen other characters in similar roles pull it off a lot better Biba’s introduction came in the latter half of the series and he was pretty much just placed into the role of main villain While I won’t go into all of the details to avoid spoilers He played a pivotal part in deepening the story of both Mumei and the Kabane as a whole were simply just daddy issues and seemed pretty weak but you cannot deny that his ruthlessness wasn’t near top tier He’s another character that should have been given more time to develop but I guess only a handful of shows can bleed into the summer season and Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress wasn’t one of those He is Ayame’s personal bodyguard and I really loved his character He started out as a very harsh swordsman who went exactly by the rules down to the letter and carried out commands without question or hesitation he became a bit more understanding and compassionate about the Kabaneri and what is happening around him as a whole He realized this journey was more about protecting Ayame and started to see the overall big picture but he also gives a bit more leeway to things he didn’t at the start of the show I really loved his transition as a character and he ended up being my favorite by the end That pretty much covers the major characters Some supporting characters pop up from time to time and help aid the story the supporting characters were just there for the sake of being there This is where the show actually shines as one would expect Studio Wit did a tremendous job with the visuals and it really did resemble the Attack on Titan art style but at the same time it had its own flavor to it The Kabane were well done and CG was used on them in a way where it blended in and made sense backgrounds and the overall environment were just gorgeous to look at While I didn’t care for the characters’ personalities Ikoma was one of the most unique looking main characters I’ve seen in a while Mumei had a bit of a steampunk shogun look to her that was pretty cool Kurusu looked just like a samurai should look and Biba was just your typical pretty boy The only character that I felt looked flat was Ayame… big surprise there Even some of the smaller supporting characters like Yukina and Sukari stood out in their designs and looked like they could have been main characters themselves Everything seemed fluid and CG was used correctly There wasn’t anything weird or out of place that jarred out of the experience so good job all around by Studio Wit again The only piece of music I didn’t like was the opening theme by EGOIST It started off sounding epic and then it just went all over the place and I had no idea what it was trying to sound like The Japanese have his ability to either make an epic piece of music or just say to hell with it and sing a song in such a way where they don’t care if the lyrics fit the music Well not only did the lyrics not fit the music they even seemed out of key at some points I was expecting something better from the artist who did the amazing opening to Guilty Crown As for the rest of the OST… without question to those AMAZING insert songs… this is probably the BEST OST out of the spring anime season you should pick up this OST just for the audiophile in you… it’s THAT good From a rushed story to average character development Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress is a show that makes you wish it had 25 episodes to flesh everything out but it could have been AMAZING had it been given more time to develop this is a point I keep making over and over to the point where I’m starting to sound like a broken record Japan has moved to a model where more and more anime shows are coming out with 12 or even less episodes (I’m looking at you Arslan Senki: Fuujin Ranbu) because they believe that people’s attention spans are so short that they need to quickly fire off these shows to keep people from getting bored I still think this is a show worth checking out There’s pretty good action in it and plenty of gore if you’re into that sort of thing It does hold your attention from episode to episode but it just lacks that something extra to make you WANT to see the next episode If you enjoyed this review, please consider following me on Twitter @TheAnimePulse You can also check out other The Outerhaven reviews on your favorite social media networks: Subscribe to us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/theouterhavenSubscribe to us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheOuterHavenSubscribe to us on Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/theouterhavennet From a rushed story to average character development, Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress is a show that makes you wish it had 25 episodes to flesh everything out. I felt the story itself was fine, but it could have been AMAZING had it been given more time to develop. He played for Patro-Othee Football Club from 2012-2013 for RC Lens from 2022-2023 and has played for RB Leipzig since 2023 Loïs Openda has scored nine goals and takes second place within his squad the 1.75m-tall forward presently has the second-most in his team along with David Raum and Benjamin Šeško Loïs Openda has taken 80 shots at goal and therefore fought his way to fifth place in the league-wide statistics he has had the fifth-most in the league along with Edmond Tapsoba (Bayer 04 Leverkusen) FSV Mainz 05) and Leroy Sané (FC Bayern München) the player with the shirt number 11 has been responsible for 25 passes to a shot and has therefore earned himself third place within the statistics of his club In 27 of the previous 31 games of the season No one has been fouled as often this season as the 25-year-old he leads the league ranking in this category securing him second place in the league statistics Loïs Openda played his last game on the 32nd matchday of the 2024/25 season (3 May 2025) he played against FC Bayern München and tied with 3-3 He was in the starting line-up in this game and played as a forward for 86 minutes He shot at the opponent's goal a total of one time he had 20 tackle challenges in the last match He covered a distance of 9.9 km during his total playing time in this game Loïs Openda has played 65 matches in the course of his career in the Bundesliga He has played all the matches of his career in the Bundesliga as a member of RB Leipzig With a total of 33 goals in his Bundesliga career so far he presently takes 30th place on the active scoring chart Loïs Openda won the Supercup in 2023 with RB Leipzig There are two scenes in Kabaneri's second episode that perfectly encapsulate what make this show so wonderful already The first one comes from a delightful scene right at the beginning that also provides us with the screencap above Ignoring its fantastical faux-period setting the dialogue goes down pretty much exactly like this: And then they both power-high-five and it's the most perfectly satisfying power-high-five you can imagine, because anime absolutely needs more scenes just like this one. The world may be falling down around their ears, but Tetsuro Araki still felt it was necessary to give these two best friends a scene where they turn into happy squealing dorks in a moment of pure nerdy victory just like all the rest of us would after we pulled out a can of whoop-ass like that and reunited with our BFF against all odds I saw the screencap above flying around social media accompanied with emojis of approval This scene could have been played completely straight and gotten the same idea across but instead of leaving Ikoma with a stoic bitter smile or a stone-cold badass expression as the train pulls away from him Araki lets Ikoma fall into a bloody heap and just bawl his eyes out That was the moment I knew that whatever else happened in the show Because even after all the crazy action hero stunts he's pulled Kabaneri's nerd lead is still human at heart and being left behind to die alone by the people you worked so hard to save would be a really painful experience to go through the high-octane nature of Kabaneri can't just leave him weeping on the ground for very long and it's easy to turn that brief moment of sympathy right back around into laughter when Mumei comes back with a cable to literally drag him along for the ride ahead making them the only two known "Kabaneri" in a world of humans terrified of the zombie's curse Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress is a revenge-of-the-nerds adventure that actually delivers on the promise of its premise: that giant dorks can be heroes without letting go of their geekery There's a lot of ways this show could still go wrong in the nitty-gritty of the writing but I have nothing but praise for the absolutely fearless way Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress has gone about entertaining its audience Now that we're out of the city and trapped on a train with a bunch of superstitious survivors I can't wait to see how Ikoma adapts to being an undead superhero with an attitude that doesn't play so nice with others Jake has been an anime fan since childhood, and likes to chat about cartoons, pop culture, and visual novel dev on Twitter The new anime will debut within the corresponding Kidō Senshi Gundam: Tekketsu no Orphans G app in sping 2022, but the first part of the nine-part compilation special for the Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans anime included a portion of the anime when it debuted on Tuesday Sunrise and Bandai Namco Entertainment announced the Kidō Senshi Gundam: Tekketsu no Orphans: Urðr-Hunt spinoff in 2019 Kidō Senshi Gundam: Tekketsu no Orphans G is an app that is intended to combine anime and game elements and bring together the original anime and Kidō Senshi Gundam: Tekketsu no Orphans: Urðr-Hunt The app will be free to download from Apple's App Store for iOS devices and the Google Play store for Android devices Writer Hajime Kamoshida and artists Dango and Hirosuke Terama's Mobile Suit Gundam: Tekketsu no Orphans Gekkō spinoff manga ended in Kadokawa's Gundam Ace magazine in March 2018 Sources: Rina Ikoma's Twitter account, Mainichi Shimbun's Mantan Web By Those visiting this northern Nara Prefecture city in early spring would witness changeable weather and bare pre-spring gardens—an impression unlikely to place Ikoma in anyone’s top ten A better question to ask is: When should one go there From paths lined by hundred-year-old sakura trees to autumnal festivals and a familiar shrine made mystical under snow Rather than determinedly hiking the 1.5-kilometer mostly uphill path from Ikoma Station to Hozanji Shrine meander beneath the blossoms lining the stone steps leading travelers past quaint older homes and small shrines all be-pinked beneath trees—some of which are a century old There are also small parks with views over the city usually beckoning other picnickers with whom to make friends What better season for being outside than summer Sri Lankan restaurant Lucky Garden has tables beneath leafy trees from which to enjoy natural vistas while eating the locally-sourced food There are even sheep to visit and feed in a petting area at Lucky Garden and a small gallery of handmade crafts to browse The restaurant is a perfect spot for relaxing post-hike or just for chilling with friends—if you’re the type that prefers to enjoy the great outdoors with minimal sweating. It’s best to visit anytime outside of obon but be sure to call in advance to reserve your table Blue skies make for the best hikes—and Ikoma is primarily known by many for its wonderful trekking routes A popular course starts from Ishikiri Station Those with cars may drive along the Shigi-Ikoma Skyline and stop to snap pictures of the panoramic megalopolis One of this season’s must-see events is the lantern festival held in September to celebrate the equinox where ten thousand lanterns—many of which are created by local artists and school children—line the path up to Hozanji Hozanji Shrine is misty: Smoke from incense wafts out from the wide the inclement weather hits the shrine first the road up becomes slippery and dangerous especially for pedestrians. This means fewer people at the shrine which has become even more mystical beneath the snow and distant from the real world this is a great opportunity to visit and enjoy Hozanji’s serene The best times to visit are January and February to see the most snow—so keep an eye on the weather forecast is a city that changes dramatically with each season it may seem there are only a few nearby destinations to visit Knowing when to go will make the trip more memorable and make Ikoma worth visiting again next season Ikoma is an easy day trip from Osaka or Kyoto take a rapid or limited express on the Kintetsu Line from Osaka-Namba Station directly to Ikoma take a Kintetsu Line rapid or express heading to Yamatosaidaiji and then change to a train heading to Ikoma or Osaka-Namba From purple sweet potatoes to wild horse sightings here’s how to make the most of Okinawa’s tropical escape Explore the best local brands shaping Tokyo’s fashion scene From vintage clothing to Hawaiian-themed goods here’s what’s worth checking out before it’s gone From buying and registering a bike to key rules of the road Collagen staples for beauty and health in Japan Our handpicked list of the best events going on this month and the untold tales of Japan’s queer community Everything you need to know before and during a natural disaster Stay up to date with Tokyo news and events Please view the main text area of the page by skipping the main menu. The page may not be displayed properly if the JavaScript is deactivated on your browser Japanese version Upcoming anime movie Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress: The Battle of Unato has released a new key visual and announced its theme song The Battle of Unato picks up with Ikoma and co arriving at Unato where they face new threats from the Kabaneri - zombie-like undead creatures The just released key visual features an illustration by character designer and animation director Ebara Yasuyuki which places Mumei who performed the opening theme to the TV anime will sing the main titles theme for the movie Set in a world where humans must protect themselves from corpses transformed by a virus into undead creatures called Kabane, Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress follows a young man named Ikoma who becomes a Kabaneri - a half-human 2016 and went on to receive two compilation movies that premiered in Dec Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress: The Battle of Unato opens in Japanese theaters in spring 2019 Adapted with permission from Anime!Anime! Check out the teaser visual and trailer for the iconic series' latest film What will come next for Taichi and the rest of the DigiDestined I'm thoroughly impressed with the Fossil from CRKT and Flavio Ikoma The fact that they're having trouble keeping them in stock suggests that others are just as excited about it and a price point that is almost too good to be true The conversation went something like this: “Hey I wasn’t aware that you took a side job as a dragon slayer.” That brought a smile to my face since I knew the only thing that could possibly inspire that kind of reaction was the CRKT Fossil folder While you’ll find the CRKT Fossil listed under the company’s EDC line the design is much more like a hand crafted knife that should be reserved for special occasions it is Brazilian knife maker Flavio Ikoma’s design which he did in indeed hand craft before CRKT made the decision to make it a production model the handle of the CRKT Fossil is reminiscent of alligator skin in appearance Ikoma says that it is actually inspired by crocodile skin and in my opinion the name “Fossil” is a great reference to that ancient creature it’s heavy enough to feel solid in your hand but not to the point of being a burden to carry in your pocket While it is tempting to just stare at the design of this knife it’s not going to function in the closed position You’re likely going to get distracted again when you open the blade though The CRKT Fossil features an IKBS bearing system and flipper for an opening that CRKT describes as “silky smooth” I don’t think it does full justice to the ease of deployment The weight of the blade is greater than my other EDC knives but it doesn’t throw off the balance work beautifully with the bearing to open in a fashion that will leave you deploying it over and over again until you realize people have been staring at you We pulled out a spring assisted knife just to compare the opening characteristics and the CRKT Fossil was almost as fast and just as smooth you’ll notice that the handle slips into an ergonomic position in your hand very easily The belt clip features a finger guide that helps with that A large curve in the handle for your forefinger (or pinky in the reverse position) really helps you secure the knife in your grip Subtle contours that are almost hidden visually because of the handle texture help keep your other fingers in place Even though the handle doesn’t allow your fingers to rest anywhere that they want the real genius of the grip design is that this knife feels just as comfortable holding it in the reverse position as it does in a forward position One of the things that I am always concerned about with a knife is it’s grip Sweaty hands and a slippery handle never work out well and even though the handle is a 2Cr13 steel with a G10 overlay the texture and contours work wonderfully with your hand to prevent slipping The locking mechanism is a frame lock and secures the blade open with no wobble you have a couple of options – a plain edge or Veff Serrated edge but for the reality of my day to day needs The blade is a drop point style with a hollow grind made from 8Cr13MoV steel which rates a 58-59 on the HRC scale making it near the top of CRKT Fossil’s blades in terms of hardness That means that the blade should hold its sharpened edge for quite a bit longer than softer steels The plain edge features a satin finish while the Veff Serrated version has a black EDP finish sharper than I keep my other EDC knives even after an evening of preparing them for the work week There’s not much to complain about this knife The only thing that some knife users may have an issue with is that while the clip can be removed so you’ll be carrying the Fossil in a tip up position if you use it it’s no wonder that CRKT is currently out of stock One buyer even lamented that he didn’t purchase two of them I like to do a lot of my writing at the local independent coffee shop (people at certain chains freak out when knives are involved) As I passed the Fossil around for the other guys to experience every one of them had a smile on their face as each one got their chance with it If there is a condition called “knife lust” While that might not sound like a direct line into the power tool industry his analytical and scientific mindset helps him design repeatable testing methods for Pro Tool Reviews’ head-to-head testing and offers highly objective comparisons in his reviews See our Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions Pro Tool Reviews is a successful online publication that has been providing tool reviews and industry news since 2008 In today’s world of Internet news and online content we found that more and more professionals researched a large majority of their major power tool purchases online There’s one key thing to note about Pro Tool Reviews: We’re all about the professional tool user and tradesman Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress: Unato Kessen has released a new teaser visual and PV The visual features a brand new illustration by the TV series’ animation character designer and chief animation director Ebara Yasuyuki of Mumei in tears while snow falls around her the movie also released a teaser trailer which features Mumei looking back on meeting Ikoma Set in a world where humans must protect themselves from corpses transformed by a virus into undead creatures called Kabane, Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress follows a young man named Ikoma who becomes a Kabaneri - a half-human Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress: Unato Kessen opens in Japanese cinemas in spring 2019 Adapted with permission from Anime!Anime! Tanya and Mary will cross paths in a bid for justice.. Sakamoto will be playing a brand new movie character A live event featuring tons of Macross stars will also be held next year Two titles in the light novel series will be adapted for the movie Japanese version Mizuho Kusanagi's Yona of the Dawn (Akatsuki no Yona) manga is inspiring a new stage play titled Akatsuki no Yona ~Hiiro no Shukimei-hen~ (Yona of the Dawn: Scarlet Destiny Chapter) The play will run in Tokyo's EX Theater Roppongi from November 15-25 Former Nogizaka46 member Rina Ikoma (first picture below) is starring in the play as Yona and DISH// band member Masaki Yabe (second image below) is playing Hak Yūsuke Hayakawa is writing the script and Makoto Ōzeki is directing An earlier stage play ran in March 2016. Risa Niigaki and Yūya Matsushita starred as Yona and Hak Kusanagi — the creator of Mugen Spiral, Game X Rush, and NG Life — launched the Yona of the Dawn manga in 2009 The 27th compiled volume will ship on August 20 Viz Media licensed the manga and it shipped the 12th volume in North America on June 5 The series has also inspired a 24-episode anime and original anime DVDs Sources: Akatsuki no Yona stage play's website, Comic Natalie who once again steals the spotlight with his endearing personality As the Kotetsujyo crew is rounded up like livestock to provide blood for Biba's kabane colony in preparation for the coup against his father Ikoma spends all his time scheming up a mutiny of his own Whether he's scratching out notes on the floor of his cage having a heart-to-heart with Takumi on the night before the escape plan or shouting "Mumei and Kurusu are way tougher than you!" at an enemy combatant His winning combination of vulnerability and aptitude still makes him stand out even when the show around him struggles and I found myself cheering Ikoma on from his tiny cage at the back of the train all the way to his confrontation with Biba at the front Ayame's no slouch in the cast either, as she maintains her resolve enough to get Biba to spill his not-so-tragic backstory. Surprise to no one, this bishounen basketcase has a buttload of daddy issues because his father tricked him into leading a suicide campaign against the kabane at the tender age of 12 it seems clear that Biba believes his father left him to die because he thought he was weak leading to his severe survival of the fittest philosophy and vendetta to prove himself mightier than the shogun who abandoned him It's a solid motivation for a baddie of Biba's stripes but it would be much better if they'd found a more graceful way to deliver his story than just dumping a monologue in front of the audience And speaking of "oh well," Mumei tragically brings the show down hard when her character assassination gets sealed in this episode with an eye-rolling "magical mind-control drug" twist The only consolation at this point is that it could have been much worse Mumei doesn't make excuses for her brother's villainy or go back to being his faithful little soldier but because of her actions over the last two episodes she's not privy to the crew's rebellion plan either So she spends most of the episode waffling aimlessly over the train asking questions while the medication and blood supply that keeps her from turning full kabane is steadily depleted It's depressing to see Mumei being demeaned like this but at least I could still sympathize with her plight: completely distrusted by both sides forced to feebly cling to whatever roots she has left pleading with her brother for answers or mercy and getting neither she decides that she can't take orders from him anymore even at the cost of her own life But then Biba pulled that magical mind-control drug out of his rectum and I realized that if they weren't going to assassinate Mumei's character from the inside Bending her to Biba's will with a stupid out-of-nowhere plot device is slightly better than betraying her integrity as a character why wouldn't he use it on all of his servants It sure doesn't make Mumei act like a kabane at all so why wouldn't Biba use it on the Kotetsujyo crew themselves why doesn't he use it on some of his other Hunters At least consider using it on the guy who sliced a refugee's arm off for daring to offer more blood to their cause because that reckless idiot is probably more useful as a robot Kabaneri's recent animation downturn is evident in this episode's abuse of even more panned stills but it's better than things were last week with a couple turns of solid action choreography and visually arresting shots when Ikoma finds himself in his darkest hour at the very end Poor Takumi got a little too much screentime in this episode not to be headed for a messy finish so of course he takes a bullet for his buddy when their mission fails at the last second Ikoma saves the overwrought scene with his heartfelt reaction gaping at Biba as he holds his dying friend and asks only "What the hell is wrong with you?" When he rushes the villain in a vengeful death charge you can see the sadness holding him back; he's still too weighed down with grief to be threatening when Ikoma gets his arm blown off and his keepsake stone bounces across the floor reaches out to clutch the stone and adds just a little tender humanity to the ridiculous scene It's those little details that keep Takumi's sacrifice from being just another obvious checkbox on this episode's list of cliches Then the cliche cherry drifted gently down onto the cliche sundae when Mumei appeared to stick Ikoma like a kebab and toss him off the train I would say this episode was an exercise in extremes but Kabaneri is extreme pretty much every week It's more accurate to say that this episode reminded me of all the things I first loved about Kabaneri while unfortunately reinforcing lots of the new things I don't like about it I think it's safe to say that Biba's arrival will definitely be seen as this show's "jump the shark" moment in retrospect but it hasn't jumped from good to bad for me just yet Kabaneri has just gone from "great entertainment" to "good entertainment," and I can only hope future episodes don't drag Mumei's tired brainwashing schtick out further than the audience's patience The character will hold the key to the play's story the staff also revealed three new character visuals: The rest of the main cast includes: Ishii also played the role of Kankichi Ryōtsu in earlier stage play adaptations Ishii is also directing and writing the script for the new play The play will run from September 9-19 at Tokyo's AiiA 2.5 Theater Tokyo and from September 23-25 at Osaka's Sankei Hall Breeze The play celebrates the 40th anniversary of Akimoto's manga Akimoto debuted Kochira Katsushika-ku Kamearikouen-mae Hashutsujo in 1976 and it has become Weekly Shonen Jump's longest-running manga series Shueisha published the 199th compiled book volume on June 3 In addition to the television anime adaptation, the manga inspired an anime special in 1985, live-action films in 1977 and 2011, and a live-action drama adaptation in 2009 Source: Comic Natalie The series will premiere on January 12 at 24:12 (effectively 12:12 a.m. on January 13) in TV Tokyo's "Drama 24" timeslot The series will air as Drama 24's 50th work coinciding with the 50th anniversary of the magazine a doctor who happens to like cosplaying and is seeking a marriage partner; and Kōzuke Mizushima The series will include the "secret stories" behind the creation of some Shonen Jump works as well as urban legends surrounding the magazine Source: Comic Natalie FUNimation Entertainment announced two more English dub cast members for the Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress anime at its Youmacon panel on Friday Previously announced cast members include: Funimation plans to release the series on a bilingual Blu-Ray Disc/DVD combo pack on January 16 The company will offer both regular and limited editions The television anime aired from April-July 2016. The series streamed on Amazon Prime Video with English subtitles as it aired in Japan The "steampunk survival action" story takes place on the island country Hinomoto where humans hide themselves in fortresses called stations against the threat of zombie-like beings with steel hearts known as "Kabane." Only armored locomotives known as "Hayajiro" go between the stations Well, let's back up for a second first. Once again, Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress has shifted tones on us meshing two prior flavors together into one horrible chimera right before its story ends because it played to its strengths and kept things exciting without taking itself too seriously the show verged dangerously close to just dumb and bad as production values decreased and its cartoonishly evil threats became imbued with a little too much hyperviolent pathos while a game of idiot ball kicked off between characters the audience had come to root for Kabaneri settles on the tone many anime fans thought it would embrace from the beginning an eclectic mix of ineptitude and entertainment that underachieves its own potential but overshoots the mark as a compulsively watchable experience that never overstays its welcome It's so hard to believe that we're already at the end of this story it kind of seems like a strength and a weakness at the same time it all went by so fast that I already wish there were more this too-rabid pacing is just another tragically avoidable flaw in Kabaneri's slaw Feelings on this final result are bound to be divisive if I wasn't going to get a "good" show in the end I'm glad I got one that was memorable every week of its run as sharper eyes than mine noticed at the end of the previous episode Mumei's supposedly fatal stab to Ikoma's heart was off-center on purpose which means she's still conscious inside her own head while her body moves under Biba's will Ikoma's role in this episode is actually the least interesting part for once a typical "end of Act 2" lowest point where he bawls out all his feelings and regrets before getting just the right motivation to vault himself into Act 3—Mumei saved his life on purpose While it's still a shame that Mumei's character was reduced to a despairing victim for the show's climax when such a cliché fate could have easily been avoided I feel a little better about the decision to zombify her body but not her brain Mumei's dignity and agency haven't been destroyed by her victimhood and her ability to save Ikoma by making it look like she killed him will probably save the entire Kotetsujyo in the end She also gets a heartening internal monologue right before Biba transforms her into a colony to raze the capitol Mumei subscribed to Biba's survival-of-the-fittest philosophy out of her own fear of loss Mumei saw so many people die that by the time she lost her own mother her heart was too weak to risk connecting to another person again This gives us our one (and probably only) insight into the minds of Biba's hunters; they're willing to sacrifice their lives for him because they see him as invincible Chances are pretty good that all these guys lost their families to the shogun's tyranny or the social inequality he caused leaving them with nothing left to live for except the promise of glory from serving an unstoppably strong master This also means that Mumei has fallen even deeper into despair after daring to open up again and only being rewarded with more loss and so many other refugees died alongside them Now they come for me." Unable to either maintain connections with others or return to her harsh pragmatic beliefs and the show did a great job of helping me understand why (This also makes the whole mind-control thing doubly unnecessary because this character resolution would be much more powerful if Mumei had sacrificed herself through her own decisions instead Continuing this opposite day scenario where the weakest characters in the show get the best material this week Biba finally exacts sweet revenge on his dear old dad but it's a very thoughtful turn of events under the surface we don't care about Biba like the other characters loud take on poetic justice as anything but yet another massacre desperate to become the opposite of his father just ends up turning into his dear old dad anyway It all started when the shogun first tried to have him killed As the confused little prince looked up at the parent who had nearly disemboweled him his dad stammered "It was not me who tried to kill you the only thing the shogun seems to fear is fear itself building his capitol on an anti-intellectual philosophy that reinforces the status quo through violence terrified that any uncertainty or public dissemination of knowledge will crumble his empire All other cities require visitors with bite marks to be quarantined for three days before entering The shogun's totalitarian capitol requires all new visitors to be quarantined giving poor Biba no chance of a fulfilling relationship with his father from the very beginning Holding the rest of the Kotetsujyo hostage he forces Ayame to bring him to the shogun as a captured prisoner and goads his dad into executing him by his own hand But the second the shogun grasps the hilt of Biba's sword to finish the job The prick of a needle embedded in the handle spreads the kabane virus into his blood sending the capitol into an uproar as Biba stokes the fires of fear with a proclamation that anybody could be a kabane As the shogun's own men mow him down and the city falls into chaos Biba assures his father that "It was not me who killed you It was fear." By embracing the knowledge his father mistrusted his continued persecution of the poor and weak and rejection of community in favor of power makes him just like his dear old dad Just having knowledge and ambition wasn't enough Biba is still missing the quality that truly makes Ikoma a hero: compassion for all people It's probably the most clever and well-thought-out bit of writing in the entire show but its rushed and bombastic execution makes it difficult to appreciate it's just more blood and screaming with a questionably poignant shot of Biba alone on the throne that doesn't really work unless you get off on breaking stories down into little pieces like me Kabaneri is an exercise in contradictory extremes this show's core appeal has nothing to do with clever writing we get to see Mumei's giant-smoke-horse-kabaneri face off against Ikoma's whatever-the-hell-he's-about-to-turn-into This show is about to go out with a big stupid bang and I'm eager to see what's left over when the ashes come raining down Look out for your first newsletter in your inbox soon The best of Singapore straight to your inbox We help you navigate a myriad of possibilities Sign up for our newsletter for the best of the city By entering your email address you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and consent to receive emails from Time Out about news Sign up for our email to enjoy Singapore without spending a thing (as well as some options when you’re feeling flush) Our newsletter hand-delivers the best bits to your inbox Sign up to unlock our digital magazines and also receive the latest news By entering your email address you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and consent to receive emails from Time Out about news, events, offers and partner promotions. Singapore Ikoma has a long history in Singapore as a language school Established in 1996 and registered with MOE with its first outpost in Tokyo having opened in 2015 Its basic Japanese classes are taught by native speakers and they start from $390 for 60 hours of lessons If you're looking to conquer the learning curve as quickly as possible they even offer classes that run up to 4 hours daily (from $375).  Thanks for subscribing! Look out for your first newsletter in your inbox soon! tiktokfacebooktwitteryoutubeAbout us Contact us Anime movie Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress: The Battle of Unato has released a new trailer marking its May 10 premiere The latest trailer showcases the movie's main theme In contrast to the action-packed trailers released so far it gives fans a look at the crew's daily lives as well as energetic clips of their yosakoi dancing The movie picks up after the end of the original anime series as Ikoma and the others arrive at Unato where they find themselves facing new threats from the Kabane Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress: The Battle of Unato premiered in Japanese theaters on May 10 for a two-week run and is also available for streaming on Netflix and Amazon Prime How will Kazuma and the gang face the imminent destruction of the Crimson Demon Village Looking forward to seeing Haru and Makoto again Nogizaka46 may have been formed with the intention of being “the official rival of AKB48″ but recently relations between the two factions have been getting increasingly friendly AKB48 member Haruna Kojima made a surprise appearance at Nogizaka 46’s Under Concert at Roppongi’s Blue Theater Even though Rina Ikoma (Nogizaka46) is concurrently in AKB48’s Team B and Rena Matsui (SKE48 Team E) is concurrently in Nogizaka46 this was the first time for an AKB48 member to appear on an “enemy stage” Kojima had surprised Ikoma at the 5th AKB48 Janken Tournament when she appeared in a Nogizaka46-styled outfit accompanied by Nogizaka46 members Hina Kawago and Kana Nakada under the name “Kojizaka46” producer Yasushi Akimoto wrote a song specifically for the new unit “Kaze no Rasen” which was performed for the first time receiving warm applause and loud cheers from the fans “Kaze no Rasen” will be included on AKB48’s 38th single “Kibouteki Refrain” which will be released on November 26th and there will also be a music video made for the song will Akimoto have to make another group to be the new “official rival of AKB48” Source: Tokyo Girl's Update The second round of products have released in the “Sailor Moon x Peach John Collaboration Series,” the first round to which was hugely popular a Peach John model and active member of the popular Japanese idol group AKB48 has transformed into *Sailor Moon* characters