Watch the New International Trailer for Zhang Yimou’s period spy thriller ‘Cliff Walkers’ (aka ‘Impasse’)

"Cliff Walkers" Theatrical Poster

“Cliff Walkers” Theatrical Poster

The name is Zhang… Zhang Yimou. Possibly following the lead of Kim Ji-woon’s Age of Shadows, the acclaimed filmmaker of Hero, The Great Wall and Shadow is taking a stab at the spy sub-genre with Cliff Walkers (aka Impasse).

Set the puppet state of Manchukuo in the 1930s, the film follows four Communist party special agents who return to China after receiving training in the Soviet Union. Together, they embark on a secret mission code-named “Utrennya”. After being sold out by a traitor, the team find themselves surrounded by threats on all sides from the moment they parachute into the mission. Will the agents break the impasse and complete their mission? On the snowy grounds of Manchukuo, the team will be tested to their limit.

Cliff Walkers stars Zhang Yi (Operation Red Sea), Qin Hailu (A Tale of Three Cities), Ni Dahong Continue reading

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5 Merits your business gets from adding bitcoin to payment options 

Technology is always fast changing delivering us new things to enjoy every new day. Crypto currency has been among the greatest inventions in the past few decades for a number of reasons. Before getting into the reasons why businesses need to use bitcoin payment for their services and goods, you must do your research to find out any useful hacks on the currency before investing in the same. There have been critics before on why the bitcoins should not be used for instance the intangibility aspect where experts cannot place bitcoins on either a tangible commodity or a service. The high volatility of the currency is also among the numerous reasons why you need to add bitcoin to your list of accepted currencies as a business. 

When shopping for bitcoins, you need to be very cautious because of the increasing scam cases that happen to newbies in the industry. How do you validate the quality of the vendor website you are checking out? Are they dependable or just another scam you will be victim to? All these details can be sought out in the research section by ensuring that you use the internet wisely to keep you enlightened.  btcrevolution.cloud is among the few reliable bitcoins trading platforms available today. The following are a few justifications why businesses need to be involved in the rise and growth of crypto currency in the world today. 

Attract more customers

Progress for any business is determined by the level of profits achieved from operations. In order to achieve great returns, you need to find a long list of clients to serve. For many industries today, there is always great competition for the existing customers available. To get the profits that you want, adding a new currency might just work. Apparently crypto currency has attracted a lot of users thanks to the peer to peer transactions focus which reduces the expense of transactions. Take advantage of this platform to attract the new clients who prefer bitcoins use compared to the regular currency you may be using for payments. 

Alleviated dishonest hacks at work 

Enterprises understand that corruption can easily bud at the place of work especially when you cannot rely on your staff. Bookkeeping is among the many challenges which businesses face should they not be through in their expenditures. It is important that you ensure least or no ledger manipulation when it comes to your accounting. Block chain which is used for bitcoin transaction details ensures that all transactions which are made with the new currency are automatically updated in the ledger. Editing or omitting information from the block chain system is unheard of so you can trust the purity of the information you are dealing with during auditing. Block chain technology has helped improve the transparency of business transactions which can also help in taxation and auditing purposes. 

Cost effective dealings 

There is the challenge of meeting up the set mark by businesses because of how costly transactions have become. Involvement of regulatory bodies and the government in transactions is responsible for the increased cost of transactions thus demanding huge operation capital from businesses. You should use bitcoin in your payment and transactions too because of how cheap they are to use. No involvement of regulatory fees eliminates the intermediary fee which has been very high for some time now based on different operations. By saving more than you spend, you can enjoy quality savings and growth faster due to the reduced capital needed to run business. One of the many reasons making bitcoins a preferred option of transaction is peer to peer focus encouraged by the option during transactions. 

Leads to growth of business

Business advancement is definitely the goal of many enterprises when kicking off operations. There are times when you can enjoy growth because of what you offer besides your commodities. Through use of crypto currency at your business establishment, you can gain a lot of new customers who can increase the amount of profits gained. You consequentially benefit from the low transaction fees associated with this currency hence reduces the amount of money needed to run your business. For proper growth of business, increasing the list of services that you offer can be of the most benefit to your growth.

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List of our Favorite MAME Fighting Games that are still Fun to Play

The Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator or MAME was initially launched in 1997. It didn’t support a large number of games at that time, but it has more than 7K games now. Millennials loved the MAME fighting games. People used to visit shops and game parlors to play all the classic arcade games. 

Nobody does that today because every person got a mobile phone and many have PCs to play entertaining games. Thousands of people still miss those entertaining MAME fighting games. Are you one of them? Let’s discover the best MAME fighting games, which you can play on your PC or mobile phone. 

It is an exciting children’s fighting game, which is known as Pocket Fighter in Japan. Capcom had included popular characters from three well-known franchises, Darkstalkers, Street Fighter, and Red Earth. It features great fighting sequences and easy controls. You can gather gems and use them to increase the power of your character. 

Capcom had launched this game in 1995 for the CPS-2 arcade system. Users were able to run and play it on the MAME emulator. It seems inspired by the Infinity Gauntlet plot, but it’s a fighting game. There are Marvel universe’s popular superheroes and villains fighting against one another. Collect your gems, keep the power up and enjoy the gameplay. 

People were quite excited about this arcade fighting game when it first appeared in 1996. Capcom had crafted this crossover fighting game to entertain fans of Marvel Comics and Street Fighter. It was the first game in which users can play tag-team style fight matches. 

The gameplay style is quite identical to the Marvel Super Heroes game. However, you play 2-on-2 battles and you have to finish the opponent team to win the fight. 

SNK had produced this competitive fighting game for the Neo Geo arcade platform. It immediately became popular among arcade game enthusiasts in 1996. It also follows the tag-team steal gameplay, but you have to wait for your turn. 

Choose two fighters, which will fight against two fighters. Each fighter will get a chance to defeat the competitor and then the battle will continue until both fighters of a team are knocked out.  

Yes, it is Marvel’s The Punisher, who you have admired in the recently released series. This game also features Nick Fury from S.H.I.E.L.D. The game features an engaging plot and progresses according to that plot. The Punisher fights against evil people in the game to complete his main objective. 

This 3D arcade fighting game is the next installment to Star Gladiator. You get all the popular characters from the original game and each one is there with a special trait. Characters with the best Plasma Field skill dominate other characters. This 3D game got way better graphics and backdrop music than other arcade fighting games. 

This game was known by several names in different countries. This 3D arcade fighting game features several unique characters with unique abilities. One thing is common among all the characters that they all can turn into a monster. Thus, the gameplay becomes more exciting when your opponent got the skills to challenge you. 

It is probably the most popular classic arcade game in today’s time. Tekken initially appeared for arcade platforms in 1994. It featured all the popular characters with unique martial arts fighting skills. People stood in the queue to play this game and now it is available for free. Try this MAME fighting game because it’s still quite entertaining and challenging. 

How to find and play all the listed MAME fighting games?

It is not possible to play all the listed games on an arcade machine. That would be quite weird and expensive. You should instead try to play these amazing games on your PC or mobile phone. 

All you need is a MAME emulator and classic video game ROMs to run the game. Search for the best classic arcade game emulator online. You will find many emulators to choose from. Pick a top-rated one and install it immediately. 

Now, you have to search for the video game ROM files by their name. Many retro game providers offer classic arcade fighting game ROMs for free. So, download and load the ROM file to your emulator and then play the game. Thus, you won’t need an arcade machine and enjoy all the listed games. 

Final thoughts:

It was quite an exciting experience for kids and adults to play those exciting fighting games on arcade machines. Those games still seem pretty exciting and you must try them. Follow the method shared in this post to get all our favorite MAME fighting games and play them. You will enjoy the gameplay and creativity of the game designers of that era.  

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Tai Chi Boxer | aka Tai Chi II (1996) Review

"Tai Chi II" DVD Cover

“Tai Chi II” DVD Cover

Director: Yuen Woo Ping
Co-director: Cheung Sing Yim
Cast: Wu Jing, Christy Chung Lai Tai, Yu Hai, Mark Cheng Ho Nam, Billy Chow Bei Lei, Sibelle Hu Hui Zhong, Darren Shahlavi, Ji Chun Hua, Jin De-Mao
Running Time: 96 min. 

By Paul Bramhall

Most discussions that see Tai Chi Boxer mentioned tend to involve the wire-fu craze that dominated the Hong Kong martial arts genre in the first half of the 90’s, and it was only upon giving it a first time watch recently that it dawned on me it wasn’t a part of this era at all. While 1996 may not seem that distant from the era that most of the movies it gets compared against were made, it’s worth keeping in mind that back then Hong Kong audience’s tastes could change very quickly. To give some comparison, if we look at other popular kung fu stars during the same year, Jet Li was dabbling with sci-fi infused kung fu in Black Mask, Jackie Chan was fighting underwater on Australia’s Gold Coast in First Strike, and Donnie Yen, well, Donnie Yen was in Iron Monkey 2. The point is, the traditional kung fu movie whether it be infused with wires or not was no longer in fashion, which makes Tai Chi Boxer somewhat of an anomaly for when it was made.

Even more audacious is that it was an attempt to launch a new kung fu star in the form of Wu Jing, a member of the same Beijing Wushu Team that Jet Li was once a part of. It’s easy to tell how much the kung fu movie had fallen out of favour with audiences by the fact that, after headlining Tai Chi Boxer, Jing wouldn’t appear in a movie again for another 5 years, and even then it was just a supporting role in 2001’s The Legend of Zu. He kept himself busy through TV work in-between, but it would take Lau Kar-Leung’s (and Shaw Brothers) 2003 comeback Drunken Monkey for him to headline a big screen outing again. Of course today Jing is one of China’s biggest stars Continue reading

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Made in Chinatown | DVD (Vision Films)

Made in Chinatown | DVD (Vision Films)

Made in Chinatown | DVD (Vision Films)

RELEASE DATE: May 11, 2021

On May 11, 2021, Vision Films’ Made in Chinatown will be available on streaming and cable platforms, as well as DVD retailers such as Amazon and all other major online retailers

Martial arts stars James Lew (Big Trouble in Little China) and Robert Samuels (Don’t Give a Damn) join forces for Made in Chinatown, an action-comedy starring newcomer Jay Kwon, who is perhaps best known for his stunt work on Marvel TV’s Iron Fist and Punisher.

The film follows the exploits of Vinny (Kwon), a Chinese guy who wants to join the Italian Mafia to not only earn some respect, but to also get the girl of his dreams.

Made in Chinatown features an all-star supporting cast that includes veteran crime film actors Raymond J. Barry (Year of the Dragon, Rapid Fire), Tony Darrow (Goodfellas), Vincent Continue reading

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Nobody (2021) Review

"Nobody" Theatrical Poster

“Nobody” Theatrical Poster

Director: Ilya Naishuller
Cast: Bob Odenkirk, Connie Nielsen, Aleksei Serebryakov, RZA, Michael Ironside, Colin Salmon, Christopher Lloyd, Gage Munroe, Billy MacLellan, J. P. Manoux
Running Time: 92 min.

By Paul Bramhall

Any movie which advertises itself as “From the writer of John Wick” provides some inclination as to what to expect, however even the most casual movie fan may be surprised at just how many tropes are recycled in 2021’s Nobody. Mysterious character living a peaceful life who was historically a bad ass killer? Check! A quirky plot device involving something close to said character being compromised resulting in him springing back into action? Check! Russian mafia inserted into plot as de facto bad guys? Check! It’s all here, and it all feels remarkably familiar. Perhaps we can’t blame Derek Kolstad for revisiting a formula that’s proven to work, but then he did also write the Steve Austin and Dolph Lundgren vehicle The Package, so we know he can mix things up a little if he wanted to. Then again, The Package was a DTV flick.

With that being said, there’s one key difference between the sharp suited John Wick and the everyman Nobody portrayed by Bob Odenkirk (of Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul fame). Whereas John Wick was a retired assassin who enjoyed his new life of domestic bliss, Odenkirk’s nobody is the flip side of the coin. A former ‘auditor’ for the likes of the CIA and the FBI (“agencies with 3 letters” as he refers to them), while he attempts to live a normal life with a wife and kids, inside there’s a constant craving for the violence of his old ways. Those old ways Continue reading

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Office | DVD (Bayview Films)

Office | DVD (Bayview Films)

Office | DVD (Bayview Films)

RELEASE DATE: April 27, 2021

On April 27, 2021, Bayview Films will be releasing the DVD for Office (read our review), a 2015 film directed by noted Hong Kong filmmaker Johnnie To (Three, The Mission).

The film stars Chow Yun-fat (City War), Sylvia Chang (Slaughter in San Francisco), Eason Chan (12 Nights), Tang Wei (A Long Day’s Journey Into Night) and Wang Ziyi (Shock Wave).

Based on the hit play Design for Living by star and producer Sylvia Chang, Johnnie To’s Office is a movie musical spectacular revolving around corporate maneuvering and romantic intrigue. Hong Kong legend Johnnie To delivers a biting takedown of capitalism, detailing the financial crisis following the Lehman Brothers collapse and what one company has to do to fight to stay alive — all in a lavishly Continue reading

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Deadly Force: Mission Budapest | Blu-ray & DVD (Shout! Factory)

Deadly Force: Mission Budapest | Blu-ray (Shout! Factory)

Deadly Force: Mission Budapest | Blu-ray (Shout! Factory)

RELEASE DATE: May 25, 2021

Shout! Studios is ready to unleash the Blu-ray & DVD for Deadly Force: Mission Budapest (aka The Rookies). Directed by Alan Yuen, the writer/director of the 2013 Andy Lau thriller Firestorm, this 2019 spy thriller stars Milla Jovovich (Resident Evil series, Ultraviolet, The Fifth Element) and Darren Wang (Railroad Tigers).

Deadly Force: Mission Budapest follows Zhou Feng, an extreme sports lover who gets involved in an international illegal trade by accident.

The film also stars Sandrine Pinna (Legend of the Demon Cat) and Xiao Zhan (Oh! My Emperor), with action direction from Stephen Tung Wei (Fox Hunter).

Pre-order from Amazon.com today!

Posted in Asian Titles, DVD/Blu-ray New Releases, Martial Arts Titles, News |

Watch the New Trailer for Danny Pang’s gritty thriller ‘To Be Faced’ starring Wallace Chung and Francis Ng

"Enemy of Life" Theatrical Poster

“Enemy of Life” Theatrical Poster

Danny Pang Phat – one half of The Eye and The Eye 2 writing/directing duo, the Pang Brothers – is currently prepping his crime-thriller To Be Faced (aka Enemy of Life).

The film stars Wallace Chung (Three, Bounty Hunters), Francis Ng (Handsome Siblings, Full Alert), Myolie Wu (Death Notify, Dearest Anita), Eddie Cheung (Running on Karma, Throwdown) and Lily Ji (Abduction, Wine War).

Collectively, the Pang Brothers (the other being Oxide Pang Chun) are known for their string of Hong Kong films – including The Storm Riders sequel, The Storm Warriors, as well as their Thai-produced hit, Bangkok Dangerous, which they remade in 2008 with Nicolas Cage (Outcast).

To Be Faced releases domestically Continue reading

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Deep Cover | Blu-ray & DVD (Criterion)

Deep Cover | Blu-ray & DVD (Criterion)

Deep Cover | Blu-ray & DVD (Criterion)

RELEASE DATE: July 13, 2021

On July 13, 2021, Criterion Collection is releasing the Blu-ray & DVD for Deep Cover, a 1992 crime-thriller directed by Bill Duke (A Rage in Harlem) and starring Larry Fishburne (John Wick: Chapter 3) and Jeff Goldblum (The Fly).

Read the official details below:

Film noir hits the mean streets of 1990s Los Angeles in this stylish and subversive underworld odyssey from veteran actor-director Bill Duke. Laurence Fishburne stars as Russell Stevens/John Hull, a police officer who goes undercover as the partner of a dangerously ambitious cocaine trafficker (Jeff Goldblum) in order to infiltrate and bring down a powerful Latin American drug ring operating in LA. But the further Continue reading

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Is Batman Ninja the Best Batman Movie in Years?

Is Batman Ninja the Best Batman Movie in Years?

Source: @gameovergreggy via Twitter

Batman may just be the most timeless superhero, and the latest edition in the canon, Batman Ninja (2018) further reinforces this. Batman literally becomes displaced through time and sent back to Feudal Japan after a Quake Engine accident while battling Gorilla Grodd at Arkham Asylum. While there, he learns that all of the major villains have set up as feudal lords in Japan in the 1600s and are attempting to change history. Batman, with his newly acquired ninja-esque skills, must stop them.

The movie was designed by Afro Samurai creator Takashi Okazaki and directed by Junpei Mizusaki. The American release – written by Leo Chu and Eric Garcia – is admittedly a complete rewrite of the story from Kazuki Nakashima’s version, essentially creating two different movies that share the same visuals. The Japanese elements of the movie and the setting itself provide a fresh battleground for the Dark Knight and act in tandem with the latest Batman movies to show a different side of the caped crusader.

In all forms and media, Batman still has a considerable amount of fan engagement. From the DC-based movies that capitalize on the hero – fresh off November 2017’s Justice League, and gearing up for the Matt Reeves-directed The Batman, which will take a noir look at Affleck’s portrayal of the superhero – to the armada of games available, such as DC Universe Online, an MMO set in the DC Universe and utilizing Batman as well as almost every single other major character in the DC canon, the William Hill Batman Begins slot game, that features motifs and iconography from the Christian Bale era Batman series, and the Telltale Games episodic point and click mobile adventure Batman: The Enemy Within.

Is Batman Ninja the Best Batman Movie in Years?

Source: @dccomics via Twitter

Regardless of where Batman does battle with his villainous cohorts, audiences know what to expect from the narrative. The fact that the time period and setting are different to Gotham City makes no difference to the enjoyment – and taking Batman out of his comfort zone even helps up the stakes against him. His ‘powers’ are weaker in Feudal Japan, especially while pitted against a host of criminals who have made the Edo period their home. The movie will give audiences – especially Western audiences who may be completely unfamiliar with Japan’s history – a chance to learn and connect with the past. By pulling on a time in history when Japanese culture was stronger, modern audiences can appreciate what has gone before and how it affects their everyday lives – all while watching Batman. Plus, the samurai and ninja connections are enough to give any action fan a reason to watch the movie.

The movie’s success already pre-June 2018’s Japanese release – a strong 88% on Rotten Tomatoes and a favorable review on pop-culture-centric IGN – shows that the Batman character can be applied to almost any setting and is still a formidable draw as a protagonist and hero. The movie also poses an interesting crossover between the more traditional Japanese manga and anime and the original comic book source material – both mediums share similarities, but by combining the pulling power of each one, producers can reap the benefits.

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King Swindler (1993) Review

"King Swindler" Theatrical Poster

“King Swindler” Theatrical Poster

Director: Chu Yen Ping
Cast: Sammo Hung Kam-Bo, Sandra Ng Kwun-Yu, Tuo Tsung-Hua, Liu Chun, Hiu Hiu, Billy Gilman, Lau Kei, Tu Fu-Ping, Chien Te-Men, Tsai Chia-Hung, Lin Hsieh-Wen
Running Time: 96 min.

By Paul Bramhall

It’s common knowledge that back in the 1980’s Jimmy Wang Yu stepped in to straighten up some trouble Jackie Chan was having with the Triads, and to repay the One Armed Boxer for his mediation, Chan would feature alongside Wang Yu in 2 Taiwanese movies helmed by Chu Yen-Ping. A veteran director who helmed close to 90 productions in a career spanning over 35 years, Yen-Ping is perhaps best described as a less talented version of Wong Jing. Common themes of his movies include an abundance of toilet humour, nonsensical plotting, and juvenile comedic antics, a perfect example of which can be seen in 1983’s Fantasy Mission Force, which was one of the movies Chan agreed to appear in to repay Wang Yu. 

One of the great unanswered questions in life is likely to remain exactly who it was Sammo Hung was indebted to when he also showed up in one Yen-Ping’s movies in 1993, headlining King Swindler. I mean even when Yuen Biao was reduced to starring in cheaply made HK-Filipino co-productions shot in Manila, he never lowered himself to starring in a flick helmed by Yen-Ping. However here he is, made in the same year the portly kicker would also feature Continue reading

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Stefan Morawietz and ‘One Million K(l)icks’ star Mike Moeller get into some trouble in the New Trailer for ‘Jack Walker’

"Jack Walker" Theatrical Poster

“Jack Walker” Theatrical Poster

Filmmaker/fight choreographer Tanay Genco Ulgen (AttritionSkylines) is ready to unleash Evolutionary Films’ Jack Walker, an upcoming action-comedy starring Stefan Morawietz (Ip Man 2), Denis Lyons (Carnival Row), Kathrin Höhne (The Hitman Agency).

The film also features martial arts sensation Mike Moeller (One Million K(l)icks), who produces along with Mike Leeder (Ultimate Justice), Dominik Starck (The Hitman Agency) and Denise Treffler.

Germany’s greatest action star, Jack Walker, is making his comeback in a low budget action comedy, but little do the cast and crew know that their film location has been taken over by real life criminals. Jack will have to draw upon all his action movie experience to help them survive Continue reading

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Paper Tigers, The (2020) Review

"The Paper Tigers" Theatrical Poster

“The Paper Tigers” Theatrical Poster

Director: Bao Tran
Cast: Alain Uy, Ron Yuan, Mykel Shannon Jenkins, Jae Suh Park, Matthew Page, Joziah Lagonoy, Ken Quitugua, Phillip Dang, Andy Le, Brian Le, Yoshi Sudarso, Peter Sudarso, Gui DaSilva-Greene, Mark Poletti, Yuji Okumoto, Raymond Ma, Roger Yuan
Running Time: 108 min.

By Paul Bramhall

It’s been a long journey for writer and director Quoc Bao Tran’s first full length feature, The Paper Tigers, to come to fruition. Starting out in 2016 as a proof-of-concept called The Challenger, the 7-minute short was essentially an extended fight scene between Martial Club’s Andy Le and ZeroGravity Stunts’ Ken Quitugua. The short featured Le as the character who was intended to be the lead in the feature length production, only with the twist that in The Paper Tigers, it’s now 30 years later and the ferocity of youth has given way to the monotonous grind of adulthood. The Challenger was followed by a successful crowdfunding campaign, and in 2020 Bao Tran’s vision was finally able to be released. On paper (no pun intended) at least, the plot for The Paper Tigers reads like literally 1000s of old-school kung fu movies. 

A trio of kung fu students – known as the Three Tigers – learn that their master has passed away. Suspecting foul play, they come together to get to the bottom of who killed their sifu and take revenge. The big difference here is that the trio are a world away from the noble warriors that populate the kung fu movies of old. Alain Uy, an actor known mostly for his television work, steps into the role that Andy Le played in The Challenger, now an insurance salesman Continue reading

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‘Kong: Skull Island’ director Jordan Vogt-Roberts to helm live-action adaptation of ‘Mobile Suit Gundam’

"Mobile Suit Gundam" Poster

“Mobile Suit Gundam” Poster

Director Jordan Vogt-Roberts’ (Kong: Skull Island, the upcoming Metal Gear Solid) is set to direct a live-action adaptation of the popular anime series Gundam for Legendary and Netflix. The film will be scribed by comic book writer Brian K. Vaughan (Y: The Last Man).

Yoshiyuki Tomino’s Mobile Suit Gundam, which was first launched in 1979, grew in popularity through the 1980s due to a wide proliferation of adaptations across animated feature films, novels, manga, toys, models and video games. The original series is set in the distant future in what is known as the Universal Century, as human colonies in space fight for independence from Earth. The battles are fought largely through giant robots called Mobile Suits, and helped to popularize the wider genre of mecha Continue reading

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