We've got a whole bunch of Naruto: Ninja Council 3 goodness for you guys today. Eleven screenshots, the DS packshot, a look at the front and back covers of the instruction booklet, and best of all, a trailer video. You can check out all the images after the jump, but first, a backgrounder.

Tomy Corporation and D3 Publisher's Naruto: Ninja Council 3 for the Nintendo DS handheld gaming system is based on the hit manga and anime series "Naruto" and will hit North America in the Fall. With over 60 different missions, Naruto: Ninja Council 3 delivers ninja action for fans and n00bs alike. It has multiplayer support for up to four players and features an interchangeable attack system.

Players can select special jutsu techniques from any of the 21 available characters. Jutsus can be performed with the use of the DS stylus and microphone to complete assigned missions as you battle your way to the top as your favorite character from the show. For a look at how the game runs, check out the trailer below. Just be prepared for some pretty bad voice acting.

Screenshots available after the jump!

Just in case you haven't quite had enough of Cooking Mama and similar "edutainment" games for the Nintendo DS, then Namco Bandai's Oishinbo DS Recipe Shuu may prove to be a good addition to that wishlist of yours. This DS game was released in Japan March 8, 2007 and sells for 3,990 yen (about US$ 34), so you may want to check with your favorite importer to see if they have this in stock.

Oishonbo history. Oishinbo DS Recipe Shuu is based on the manga series "Oishinbo" which originally appeared in the weekly manga magazine Big Comic Spirits in the mid-80s and was penned by Tetsu Kariya and illustrated by Akira Hanasaki. "Oishonbo" also spawned a 55-episode anime series of the same title which ran from 1988 to 1992.

Because of this history, the DS spin-off of the series has the potential to be popular among those who grew up reading the manga or watching the anime version.

Oishonbo DS - a cookbook on the go. This DS title isn't merely a game per se. Besides having a food-related quiz game in it, this title mainly functions as a cookbook on the go. It has a stock of recipes which can be searched by either keywords or handwriting input, and it also has a library of browsable images.

On top of that, there are also manga-style tutorials of cooking techniques, which is a feature that would most likely come in handy if you're a newbie cook.

Oishonbo manga content. The best part, though, is that the title contains the Oishinbo manga itself, and also contains links to the recipes which are discussed or featured in the manga's storyline.

So, if you want to learn how to cook, or if you're a parent who wants to teach your kids the ways of the kitchen in an interesting manner, or if you just simply want to have a cookbook handy wherever you go, then this is the way to do it.

There are a lot more screenshots after the Jump - click on the "Full Article" link below to see them.

Thanks to Siliconera, I heard about this weird notebook killing device. If I had a notebook that'd let me kill anyone on earth just by writing their names down on it and then describing the agonizing details of their demise... I'd probably ask for two. There's a long list of deserving people in the world, you know.

February 15 is the release date for Obata Takeshi and Ohba Tsugumi's Death Note: Kira Game, which is based on their now famous series of manga, anime, and movies. In the game, you can play as either Light Yagami, the Death note carrier himself, or as L, a detective who wants to crack the case and figure out who's killing all these people.

Expect something that seems a bit like a macabre version of Touch Detective and Phoenix Wright, and pray that someone gives this an English adaptation. Other than that, this is definitely import-worthy, if you've got the Japanese skills for it.

Tomy Corporation and D3Publisher of America, Inc. today announced something that anime fans in the U.S. have been looking forward to for a long time: Naruto will finally be heading to the Nintendo DS via Naruto: Ninja Council 3, which is slated to ship in Spring 2007.

"In 2006, Naruto was a significant brand for Tomy and our expectation for 2007 is that we will continue to grow the brand with Naruto: Ninja Council 3 and other titles for Nintendo systems," said Mark Shinohara, executive vice president, Tomy Corporation. "Tomy is very proud to bring the action, characters and story of Naruto to the Nintendo DS."

The ninja action game, based on the hugely successful manga by Kishimoto Masashi and VIZ Media's hit anime series Shonen Jump Naruto, will feature mission-based gameplay for up to four players. There are over 20 different characters and more than 40 missions in the game, along with four different playing modes including Timed Mode, Scroll Collection Mode and Head-to-Head Versus Mode.

Naruto: Ninja Council 3 will also utilize an interchangeable attack system allowing players to combine attack techniques from all available characters in the mission to increase their chance of success. Players can activate special attacks using the Nintendo DS stylus on the touch screen or by blowing into the microphone.

"The new interchangeable attack system and the ability to choose from over 20 playable characters are a first in hand-held Naruto games," said Careen Yapp, vice president of licensing and business development, D3PA. "We feel very strongly that this game will appeal to both the fans of Naruto and DS gamers that enjoy action games."

  

So you want them Japanese games on your DS, eh? Well, that doesn't seem much of a problem now, especially with GameStop currently offering preorders for Japanese DS games which are expected to ship this month!

The two games available online are Jump Superstars and Naruto: Saikyo Ninja Daikesshu 4. While we have yet to get any concrete information on their importing plans, what we do know is that Jump Superstars, which is set to ship December 27, costs US$ 49.99. Meanwhile Naruto is tagged at US$ 39.99, and was expected to ship today.

For those of you in the dark as to these two titles, Jump Superstars was first released in Japan last year, and in fact, already has a sequel there, called Jump Ultimate Superstars. Naruto, on the other hand, is a new fighting game based on the anime and manga series. What are you waiting for? It's time to do some catching up with your games!

Jump Festa is an annual event in Japan that features anime and manga. The event is sponsored by Shueisha which created various Jump anthologies. Jump Festa has become the launching pad for new movies, manga, games and merchandise. The Jump Festa has become so popular many companies prepare special item or produce episodes specifically to be presented at the convention. Participation in the Jump Festa is often seen as proof that companies aren't out of ideas.

One company that is out to prove it has not run out of steam is Square Enix. In fact the famous Japanese game developer and publisher is expanding its horizon to include Europe. According to NeoGAF, SE has released its line-up of of titles  to showcase for the upcoming Jump Festa. These are:

• Final Fantasy XIII (PS3)
• Final Fantasy Versus XIII (PS3)
• Seiken Densetsu: Heroes of Mana (NDS)
• Chocobo to Mahou no Ehon (NDS)
• It's a Wonderful World (NDS)
• Final Fantasy XII Revenant Wings (NDS)
• Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker (NDS)
• Dragon Quest Swords: The Masked Queen and the Tower of Mirrors (Wii)
• Seiken Densetsu 4 [Dawn of Mana] (PS2)
• Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix+ (PS2)
• Final Fantasy VII Advent Children Complete (Blu-ray Disc/Film)

The Jump Festa will be held on December 16 and 17. And if these SE titles are any indication of what it's going to be like, the Jump Festa looks like one hot red, red hot fiesta!

Cosplaying. It's weird, it's goofy, and in some cases, it's Narutard-extreme. Whatever the case, anime otaku and gamer alike love the idea of dressing up as their favorite characters come convention time; everyone wanna see how far they can push their luck impersonating their favorite manga/pixelated hero.

We found these vids over at TechEblog, which are all fan-made skits of all our all-time favorite games. Kinda shows you what a dedicated gamer can do when they've got a bit of money, creativity, and a helluva lot of time on their hands.

The first video up is a skit on Nintendo's Super Mario Bros. It was made by students over at Gordon College in Wenham, Massachusetts. Hmm, early concept for the Wiimote?


The video up next is a homage to everybody's favorite tactical espionage game (Not you, Sam...). This MGS skit was done way over in Taiwan, and we gotta admit, we like the way they adapted an abandoned building for the game's original Arctic setting. On a side note, their Meryl looks cuter than the original, in a Tifa sort of way.

Click on the jump to see the rest of these skits!

This is an article about InuKami coming to the DS as an electronic novel. Honestly, I wish I knew where to start "InuKami", but just thinking about it is already making my head hurt from laughing so hard.

So what is "InuKami"? Perhaps I could begin with my experience. A friend of mine gave me a list of things I should catch for the spring anime season in Japan. Some were popular manga titles such as "xxxHolic", "Ouran Kokou Host Club", and then there was "InuKami". The name was quite interesting. It was written in hiragana and it could mean as profound as Dog God, or it could also mean Dog Hair. As I have trusted my friend's suggestion, I gave it a shot. And my brain just turned to goo.

"InuKami" is what you may call as a parody anime, an anime that just cracks up every issue in Japan. For "InuKami", the big issue is Japan's ever growing fascination with perversion. And oh boy, have I never seen an anime as funny as Inukami!

Read Full Article after the jump!

Bleach DS 2nd, the 2D fighting game, showed off its kicks and chops at the ongoing TGS. Featuring the cast of wild characters from the popular anime and manga, the DS game features Nintendo's Wi-Fi Connection. Up to four gamers can connect over the internet via wi-fi and play against each other. The game includes story mode, arcade mode, VS mode, training mode and challenge mode.

The Bleach franchise will also be doing its fancy martial arts moves on the upcoming Wii. But for now, check out the DS title in full action at the TGS.

Bleach DS 2nd will be released in 4Q 2006 in Japan.

Download: [Bleach DS Second Video]

A few days ago, a rumor of an upcoming Naruto title is heading for the DS had surfaced. Unfortunately, the entry didn't give out a title or gameplay info, but it did mention that  the game would include a 3D grapple system. The rumor was further discussed in a follow-up article, which also claims that Naruto: Shinobi Retsuden will not only be gracing DS screens but also, the Nintendo Wii.

It seems the rumor has been laid to rest as Japanese magazine, V-Jump, featured scans of Naruto: Shinobi Retsuden that will be published by Takara TOMY. What really made us excited is the fact that Naruto: Shinobi Retsuden is the first 3D fighting game on the DS. As such, the game will utilize the dual screens and touch screen system in some way. The gameplay appears to look similar to the Naruto: Clash of Ninja series of fighting games on the GameCube.

Naruto: Shinobi Retsuden is currently scheduled to be released in winter, but we'll keep our eyes peeled for the official announcement. In the meantime, check out these scans: