Modern anime fans have it so good that its a surprise when an excellent show falls between the cracks.If you want to stream a new show, odds are high it will appear on Crunchyroll, Netflix, or Hidive. If the shows popular, episodes may even hit streaming in the U.S. the same day they debut in Japan. Weve come a long way from the dark days of paying a fortune for a handful of poorly subtitled episodes on VHS and DVD. What got us here? Media companies finally recognize the voracious hunger for fresh anime, creating fierce competition amongst distributors over licensing new productions, no matter their quality.Girls Band Cry, however, is an anomaly: an excellent anime that took months to find an appropriate home.Birthed from a mixed-media music project, the anime follows a group of young women forming a band in the greater Tokyo area. The songs are killer nine charted in Billboard Japans Top 100 and one broke the Top 10. Jukki Hanada, best known for adaptations of beloved shows Sound Euphonium and A Place Further Than the Universe, wrote the charming original story. And Toei Animations art serves the shows fast-paced and colorful vibe.But Girls Band Cry, despite its pedigree and native success, took months to hit the States. The show premiered in early April 2024 on Tokyo MX. It became available in the U.S. six months later on Microsoft Movies & TV, Fandango at Home, Hoopla, and Prime Video. And even then, curious viewers had to purchase episodes via VOD.Remember when I said modern anime fans have it good? That can be a challenge for modern anime shows like Girls Band Cry. Who spends money on an anime theyve only barely heard of thats available on streaming services that (excluding Prime) they likely have never used, especially when their subscription services offer dozens of other shows? Only the most obsessive of anime completists.Girls Band Cry finally made its way to a traditional streaming platform, appearing in full on Crunchyroll in November. Dropping in the middle of the Fall season, it competed for attention against a variety of popular shows like Dan Da Dan, Dragon Ball Daima, and more.Now is the perfect time to give Girls Band Cry a chance. With the new year here which is typically a slow period for games and movies anime fans can catch up on one of 2025s best shows. Yes, it took a while for the stars to align, but compared to the olden days, were still living in an age of anime miracles.

An iconic piece of gaming history joins Xbox Game Pass this month in Diablo, the original action RPG that kicked off the hellish franchise we know and love, all the way back in 1997.While it may not be as attention-grabbing as new games from previous months like Indiana Jones and the Great Circle and STALKER 2, the first Diablo is still very much worth your time in 2025. And as long as you dont go into the game expecting the ridiculous amount of on-screen enemies and flashy abilities seen in its modern siblings, youre sure to have a good time with the old-school (and surprisingly spooky) dungeon-crawler. Try not to chicken out the first time the Butcher refers to you as fresh meat.Heres the full Game Pass lineup for the first half of January:Road 96 (cloud, console, and PC) January 7Lightyear Frontier (Xbox Series X/S) January 8 (added to Game Pass Standard)My Time at Sandrock (console) January 8 (added to Game Pass Standard)Robin Hood Sherwood Builders (Xbox Series X|S) January 8 (added to Game Pass Standard)Rolling Hills (console) January 8 (added to Game Pass Standard)EA Sports UFC 5 (cloud and Xbox Series X/S) January 14 (via EA Play)Diablo (PC) January 14And heres whats leaving on January 15:CommonHood (cloud, console, and PC)Escape Academy (cloud, console, and PC)Exoprimal (cloud, console, and PC)Figment (cloud, console, and PC)Insurgency Sandstorm (cloud, console, and PC)Those Who Remain (cloud, console, and PC)More details, as always, can be found on Xbox Wire.

Squid Game season 2 has reignited peoples thirst for a high-risk, high-reward death game, and Fortnite Creative acts as a perfect medium for thrill-seekers everywhere.Compete against other players in iconic games from the hit show and explore its whimsical sets in a myriad of Fortnite Squid Game maps. With the release of the show, a bunch of Squid Game 2-themed maps have been released in the discover page, but some of the best maps can be a little difficult to find as they avoid using the Squid Game title.Here are some of the best Fortnite Squid Game map codes for you to try.Best Fortnite Squid Game mapsHere are some recommendations for Squid Games maps in Fortnite:OCTO GAME 2 Map code: 9532-9714-6738If you wanted to play a Squid Game map that follows the true spirit of the show, this is the one to play. Youll need to survive through some of the iconic games from the show like Red Light, Green Light, the six-legged Pentathlon, and Mingle all while experiencing some of the players tribulations. Players will refuse to jump across the glass bridge, attempt to enter your already full room, and eliminate you in the night to try to come out on top.SQUID GUYS OCTO GAME in FALL GUYS Map code: 1204-0288-2026With the addition of Fall Guys in Fortnite, you can now play a Squid Game full of beans! All of the Squid Game characters have been replaced with Fall Guys beans including the Red Light, Green Light robot and the workers. Play through Red Light, Green Light, the glass bridge, and a few unique mini-games with Fall Guys mechanics to enjoy a slightly more silly and lighthearted version of the games.OCTO GAME Map code: 1202-0130-7283The predecessor to Octo Game 2 follows the games from the first season of Squid Game, but the games are still thrilling and fun. Play through Red Light, Green Light, Tug of War, the glass bridge, and more as you revisit scenes from the first set of games.Squid Game 2 Escape Map code: 7794-2666-4527Progress through a series of challenges such as finding hidden objects and buttons, while in the world of Squid Game. Although this game mode doesnt follow your typical Squid Game formula, it does provide a few difficult puzzles for you to solve. The objective of each room can be a little difficult to figure out as every room doesnt have the clearest instructions, but it scratches an itch for Squid Game puzzlers.SQUID GAME PROP HUNT OCTO GAME 2 Map code: 0440-6268-8072Disguise yourself as a prop and hide around one of the familiar Squid Game sets. This creative map is a nice break from all of the Squid Game mini-games, but it still allows you to feel immersed in the Squid Game world. The environmental design will remind you of some of the symbolic Squid Game locations and provide you with some interesting hiding spots.

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication.I'm a sucker for outdoor lights. I've tried many over the years, from solar spotlights, to step lights, to smart string lights. One brand that usually comes out on top for most categories is Govee. I've had their Govee Smart Outdoor String Lights 2 for some months and can recommend it to anyone looking for quality waterproof smart outdoor string lights. At the moment, you can get the 144-foot length for $100.29 (originally $169.99) after using the 41% on-page discount, the lowest price it has been according to price tracking tools. If that's too many string lights for you, the 96 and 48-foot options are also discounted. Light Source Type: LED, Power Source:Corded Electric, Light Color: Multicolor, Theme: Patio Govee Outdoor String Lights 2, 144ft (41% on-page coupon) $169.99 at Amazon Get Deal Get Deal $169.99 at Amazon Light Source Type: LED, Power Source:Corded Electric, Light Color: Multicolor, Theme: Patio Govee Smart Outdoor String Lights 2, 96ft ($40 on-page coupon) $129.99 at Amazon Get Deal Get Deal $129.99 at Amazon Light Source Type: LED, Power Source:Corded Electric, Light Color: Multicolor, Theme: Patio Govee Smart Outdoor String Lights 2, 48ft ($20 on-page coupon) $79.99 at Amazon Get Deal Get Deal $79.99 at Amazon SEE 0 MORE Before I started using smart string lights, I would have to manually plug and unplug my lights anytime I wanted to use them. I would also need to change them out for the holidays, which was a pain. Smart lights can turn on with a set routine (like programming it to turn on and off at sunset and sunrise), can be controlled remotely with voice assistants through your smart speaker, and some can change colors to fit different moods or holidays. I've been able to do all of this (and more) with the Govee Outdoor String Lights 2.Govee's app is well-made and what sets it apart from competitors. It provides all kinds of color options to choose for ambient light, as well as themes. You can set up red and green Christmas light patterns or spooky blinking Halloween lights. One feature that I've used plenty of times is the music mode, which is essentially a party mode that syncs with your music through the Govee app to pulsate to the beat. The string lights are waterproof and are estimated to provide 25,000 hours of light (which is almost three years).If this sounds like fun to you, make sure to measure the distance you need properly; getting extra lights is expensive, and you'll need to figure out where to put the extra bulbs.

Throughout the entirety of CES 2025, Ill be carrying around a MacBook Pro in my backpack, and even just one day into the event, Im already tired of it. Maybe thats why Asus is coming for Apples throne with a new laptop thats not just lighter than the Pro, but lighter than even the smallest MacBook Air.Named the Zenbook A14 (you can guess what the A stands for), this laptop comes in at a starting weight of 2.18 pounds and a max weight of 2.4 pounds. Yes, there are featherweight laptops that technically beat that, but whats impressive here is the weight-to-performance ratio.While other laptops bearing similar chips usually weigh in at about 2.6 pounds to start, this laptop manages to pack the totally respectable Snapdragon X and Snapdragon X Plus mid-range chipsets into the smallest form factor Ive held yet, and to be honest, I think my (significantly weaker, but admittedly a little old) iPad might be heavier.What makes this possible is the laptops ceraluminum chassis, which is basically just a fancy way of saying its ceramic and aluminum, with a little bit of Asus secret sauce thrown in. Marketing terms aside, whatever theyre doing is working, because aside from feeling like Id need to lift 10 at once to get a half-decent bicep curl in, the Zenbook A14 looks pretty cool, too. Credit: Michelle Ehrhardt Rather than being painted, ceraluminum is colored via a dip in electrolytic water and minerals during manufacturing. That also leaves it with a mild porousness that adds some light texture and visual detail without getting overwhelming, giving the whole thing a premium effect. Ceraluminum isn't new, but the A14 is the first Asus laptop to have the whole body made out of it, rather than just the lid.Only two colors are available right nowgray and beigeand each comes with a distinct cost and configuration. The beige is the cheaper of the two, and paradoxically, has the more advanced chip with the Snapdragon X Plus. Coming in at $899, what holds it back compared to its sibling is its 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage. While not meager, the $1,099 gray Zenbook A14 has 32GB of RAM and 1TB of storage, plus its the lighter model, coming in at 2.18 pounds rather than 2.4.If you're curious, while its dimensions are not as standout as the weight, the A14 is also quite thin, measuring in at 12.23 x 8.42 x 0.53-0.63-inches (with the exact thickness depending on the configuration).Still, regardless of model, Asus is claiming this is the lightest Copilot+ PC yet. While Im still not sold on the AI features that come with Copilot+, the Snapdragon PC chips are a good get for this price point, although if $899 is still too much for a thin and light, theres also a refreshed series of plastic Vivobooks that offer the Snapdragon X starting for $200 less.

We may earn a commission from links on this page.When you get serious about your fitness goals, one first step is usually to get your nutrition in order. You want to get enough protein to support your muscles, fruits and vegetables for health, carbs for fuel, and a total amount of calories that supports your activity and your goals without undereating or overeating.Preparing your meals ahead of time ("meal prepping") really helps with that. Instead of deciding what to have for lunch, you just grab a container from the fridge and heat up what's in it. You can't beat that convenience, and prepping makes sure you're staying on track with your plan. A bodybuilder who eats the stereotypical chicken and broccoli for lunch every day may get bored with his meals but he also knows how much protein hes getting without even thinking about it. (You, of course, will make something tastier.)But meal-prepping has its pitfalls. Maybe you will get bored with your meals. Or maybe you wont even get that far, and youll burn out just from the mental and physical effort of cooking a whole weeks meals at once. With that in mind, here are some beginner tips to ease into the process with your sanity intact.Have a go-to breakfastBefore we start prepping anything, lets start planning. Most of us are fine with eating the same breakfast every day, and theres a good chance you already have a few favorite breakfasts that you can throw together quickly before youve fully woken up. So, your first step is to come up with a breakfast that fits your macros and that is easy to prepare. Were taking baby steps here, so dont worry too much about prepping this ahead of time. Just make sure that it will be ready when breakfast time arrives. For example, maybe your breakfast is yogurt and fruit. Thats easy enough: Buy some yogurt and buy some fruit. In the morning, you can put the two together. Or you can make something the night before to grab on your way out the door. A smoothie in a jar is perfectjust shake it in the morning and it's ready to drink. (Don't use ice, since ice melts, but frozen fruit is fine.) Or for another option, I like to make Bircher muesli two servings at a time, since each calls for half an apple. So on Sunday night, Ill prep jars for Monday and Tuesday. On Tuesday night Ill make another pair.Save your takeout containersWhen you start packing up dinners and lunches, youll need something to put them in. While cute little bento-esque Tupperwares may look nice, you may decide you dont actually want all those divided containers. Or the boxes you buy may turn out to be the wrong size once you start filling them. Save money and time by selecting one or two types of takeout container that you get plenty of, and save those whenever you get them. I like the flat rectangular ones and the round one-pint soup containers. Once you've figured out what you like, I'll admit there is a convenience to buying yourself some containers. Here's a fresh 50-pack of those rectangle containers, to save you from having to eat 50 takeout meals first. And if, unlike me, you enjoy packing lunches bento-style, you can get divided containers. (I like eating bento lunches, but it's work to come up with something to fill each compartment. Much easier to make a one-pot dish that fills the container by itself.) Moretoes 30-Pack Meal Prep Containers $12.99 at Amazon Shop Now Shop Now $12.99 at Amazon For something more durable, these are made of thicker plastic. I'm too clumsy to be trusted with glass containers, but perhaps you are not. These are more expensive than the options abovearound $5 each, while the semi-disposables were more like 50 centsbut they'll last forever if you take care of them. While you're gathering your supplies, make sure to grab a Sharpie and some masking tape (or, if you prefer, fancy labels). Label each meal, even if it's a simple reminder like "PASTA" or "CHICKEN," so that you can tell your lunches apart. If you're prepping for more than one person, you can add names as well.Make one meal at a timeAfter you get into the habit of eating your planned breakfast every day, the next step is to choose a second meal. For most of us, it will be lunch. This way, you have your first two meals taken care of, and youre still free to make any dinner plans you like. (It is fine if you never advance past this stage.) I also recommend, at least at first, not planning for seven days at a time. Since I work a Monday-through-Friday job, I like to prep my weekday meals and then wing it on the weekends. (A weekend menu for me usually involves my regular breakfast, some kind of meal scrounged from leftovers, and often a takeout meal or two.) For your first foray into cooking for the week, I recommend finding a recipe that makes three servings. Two such recipes will get you through the work week with one to spare. You can even alternate the two meals. An important food safety tip: Meals prepped on Sunday arent going to be in the greatest shape come Saturday. I recommend choosing one of the following strategies: On Sunday, make one dish and divide it up for Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday meals; then on Wednesday night, make another three-serving dish for the second half of the week. On Sunday, make both your dishes so you can alternate. Pop three of the meals into the freezer. Then, on Tuesday or Wednesday, take them out of the freezer to begin to thaw. If a meal is still slightly frosty at mealtime, just microwave it a little longer.Try a recipe before you commitReady to start making that first meal? Hold up: Did you choose a recipe you actually like? Im not asking whether it looks good in photos. The ideal meal prep recipe is something that you have not only eaten in the past, but also one where you have an idea of how well it reheats. That means that you can stay off the recipe websites for now. Choose an old favorite; you can get experimental later. And if you ever become tempted to make, say, a months worth of food on your meal prep day, definitely try that exact recipe out in a one-week batch first. Be lazyThis is honestly my most important tip. When I started meal prepping, Id spend an entire Sunday afternoon shopping and cooking. My feet would ache and my other household chores would be unfinished. No time or effort was saved; it was just moved. Ive gotten better since then. One of my favorite meal preps is to buy two bags of Trader Joes chimichurri rice and a pound of ground beef, heat each of them up appropriately, and combine them. The job is done in barely 15 minutes, and I now have four lunches for the week that each fit perfectly into one of those round soup containers. Do I care that Mr. Joe gets half the credit for my culinary artistry? I do not.Even when cooking from scratch, it's not cheating to find ways to be more efficient. Buy frozen veggies, since theyre already chopped. Get a rice cooker if you find yourself using rice for a lot of your meals. If theres a special homemade sauce or condiment you want to use, allow yourself that one labor-intensive item, and make sure your other tasks are simple ones. For example, most items in the animal and vegetable kingdoms can be thrown onto a sheet pan and roasted. Ill buy some frozen fish and fresh or frozen veggies (both very healthy options, sometimes more so than fresh) and then roast a tray of each with appropriate seasonings. (Olive oil and garlic salt are perfect for broccoli or, to be honest, any vegetable.) Chicken tenderloins marinated in mayo are another protein option that go with anything and can be prepared en masse. Thanks to the extra moisture, they reheat superbly well.You get the idea: Make a lazy meal, make no more of it than you will actually eat, and pack it into the containers that you already have around. Dont expect to get everything perfect at first; youll refine your workflow over time.

Sony's CES 2025 press conference was huge on the entertainment front if you're a PlayStation fan. In a series of rapid-fire announcements, the company announced it was making an anime based on Ghost of Tsushima Legends, the cooperative multiplayer mode from the acclaimed game. It then followed that up with news that Columbia Pictures was in the early stages of developing a movie based on the post-apocalyptic PlayStation game Horizon Zero Dawn. Finally, Neil Druckmann from Naughty Dog popped out to announce that season two of The Last of Us would hit HBO in April.We already know a fair bit about The Last of Us season two its based on 2020's The Last of Us Part 2, but it won't take us through all of the events of the second game. It'll take at least two seasons to retell the story of that terrific but complex misery simulator. This season, Kaitlyn Dever, Isabela Merced, Catherine O'Hara and Jeffery Wright join season one veterans Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey.The other projects remain a mystery for now. A bit over two years ago, we heard that Horizon Zero Dawn was being adapted as a series for Netflix, but the project eventually fell apart. I'm definitely curious to see how they'll streamline the game's sprawling storyline into a tight narrative for a two-hour movie (or even a three-hour one), but hopefully a strong creative team is behind this one.As for Ghost of Tsushima, it's another of the most well-regarded and popular PlayStation Studios titles, with a sequel on the way, so this is just another example of Sony using some of its best gaming titles to expand into the broader entertainment space making these stories more accessible to people who are less likely to play a 20-to-40-hour game. After the event, Sony said that the series will premiere exclusively on Crunchyroll in 2027.On a personal note, The Last of Us and Horizon Zero Dawn are two of my favorite games of all time, so this 10-minute blast of good news was most welcome in the middle of a very long day at CES!Update, January 7, 2:40PM ET: This story was updated to add a release window at platform for the Ghost of Tsushima anime.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/tv-movies/the-last-of-us-season-2-arrives-in-april-and-a-horizon-zero-dawn-film-is-in-the-works-020950940.html?src=rss

The National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration is investigating the remote parking features in some Tesla vehicles. The tools in question are Smart Summon and the unfortunately acronymed Actual Smart Summon, which uses cameras in the car to automatically control the parking process.The agency's Office of Defects Investigation has received 12 complaints of alleged crashes from the Smart Summon feature and one complaint about Actual Smart Summon use allegedly resulting in a crash. It has also reviewed three media reports of seemingly similar collisions involving Actual Smart Summon where the driver did not have the time to react to avoid a crash. The remote parking feature is available in an estimated 2.6 million vehicles, including the 2016-2025 Model S, 2016 Model X, 2018-2025 Model Xs, 2019-2025 Model 3s, and 2019-2025 Model Ys.Tesla reported its first ever drop in deliveries at the start of the month. The company reported about 1.78 million vehicle deliveries over 2024, compared with 1.81 million in 2023.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/transportation/nhtsa-opens-investigation-into-tesla-remote-parking-features-194559802.html?src=rss

As it did last year, TCL is showing off a new generation of NXTPAPER tech this week at CES. The new NXTPAPER 11 Plus tablet is built around the also new NXTPAPER 4.0 screen which uses a "nano-matrix lithography to improve clarity and sharpness. The color accuracy is better as well, with the new output measuring just one on the Delta-E scale (the metric measures how the human eye perceives color differences and any value of one or lower is said to be imperceptible to the human eye). Since its launch in 2021, the goal of NXTPAPER tech has been to create a screen that's easier on the eyes and now, unsurprisingly, AI is here to help with that. The NXTPAPER 11 Plus has an AI-powered Smart Eye Comfort Mode that adjusts output based on different usage scenario and the Personalized Eye Comfort Modes let users adjust eye-comfort settings to their liking. Features like NXTPAPER's paper-like matte finish and blue light purification technologies go further to help make the screen easier to look at for longer periods. The new tablet will support Googles Circle to Search feature and the Smart Voice Memo function will transcribe and summarize recordings. There's a Smart Translator to handle language from voice, text and images and AI Subtitles offers real-time dialog transcription. TCLs NXTPAPER tech is relatively unique in the display industry, providing something that looks almost like E-Ink, but with the speed, resolution and sharpness of a traditional LCD display. Pricing and availability for the NXTPAPER 11 Plus are still forthcoming. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/tablets/tcl-announces-the-nxtpaper-11-plus-tablet-at-ces-2025-featuring-a-new-nano-etched-display-190042475.html?src=rss

27-inch Lenovo ThinkCentre M90a Pro Gen 6 offers on-device personal AI.