title: Battle of Ilovaisk

text: After days of being under siege in Ilovaisk, commanders of government forces in the city attempted to negotiate an agreement that would allow them to withdraw from the city. Russian president Vladimir Putin said in the early morning on 29 August that a "humanitarian corridor for besieged Ukrainian soldiers" should be established, allowing the trapped soldiers to leave Ilovaisk. DPR prime minister Alexander Zakharchenko said he had agreed to open an humanitarian corridor on the condition that the Ukrainian forces leave their armoured vehicles and ammunition behind. These proposals were not accepted by the Ukrainian military command, and on 29 August at 06:00, government forces began to move out of Ilovaisk in a column of sixty vehicles. At 8:00, government forces regrouped at Mnohopillya, just south of Ilovaisk proper, forming two columns, and prepared to withdraw. The northern column, commanded by General Ruslan Khomchak, consisted of forces from the 17th Tank Brigade, 51st Mechanized Brigade and police units and had four tanks, several IFVs and approximately 1000 troops. The southern column, led by Col. Oleksii Grachov, was formed from forces of the 93rd Mechanized Brigade and Donbas Battalion; it had two tanks, including a captured Russian T-72B3, a couple of IFVs, and roughly 600 troops.


title: Battle of Ilovaisk

text: The northern column advanced along the corridor, about an hour's drive, but was then surrounded by Russian and insurgent troops. At the village of Oleksandrivka, two T-72BAs and an IFV of the Russian 21st Motor Rifle Brigade were destroyed in a clash with Ukrainian forces. Near the Krasnaya Polyana valley Russian troops opened fire on the northern column with mortars and heavy machine guns, splitting it in two. The front half of the column, with tanks, headed to the village of Novokaterynivka, while the rear half was obliterated, with six IFVs and multiple cars of police units destroyed.


title: Battle of Ilovaisk

text: That valley had a battery of D-30 howitzers of the Russian 1065th Artillery Regiment deployed. Several trucks of the regiment were destroyed near the artillery positions. The armoured head of the column reached Novokaterynivka, where several dug-in tanks and IFVs were spotted by Ukrainian tankers of the 17th Tank Brigade. After a brief clash, all four Ukrainian tanks and IFVs were destroyed. Some crews were able to leave vehicles, and 42 Ukrainian soldiers made it out of the encirclement and reached Ukrainian positions.


title: Battle of Ilovaisk

text: During the withdrawal of the southern column, around 300 Ukrainian soldiers and Donbas Battalion fighters were able to take the village of Chervonosilske, losing several IFVs after being fired upon by Russian forces. Ukrainian troops seized and destroyed two T-72B3 tanks of the 6th Tank Brigade that were in that village, captured two of the brigade's soldiers and two paratroopers of the 31st Air Assault Brigade. Half of the Ukrainian soldiers were already wounded, but they managed to hold the village until the next day. On 30 August, Dnipro-2 Battalion commander Yuriy Lysenko attempted to contact Russian commanders. They made an agreement according to which Ukrainian forces would surrender their weapons and be evacuated under Red Cross supervision, releasing captured Russian POWs.


title: Battle of Ilovaisk

text: By 31 August, almost all of the Ukrainian soldiers had withdrawn to agreed-upon positions, with Russia and the DPR insurgents re-entering the city on the same day. The city was fully secured on 1 September. Small-scale fighting continued for another day.


title: Battle of Ilovaisk

text: One fleeing Ukrainian soldier described the situation as "a real meat grinder". The Ukrainian government described the events as a "massacre". One insurgent commander said he had taken 173 Ukrainian soldiers prisoner near Ilovaisk, in the aftermath of the ambush. He said that he would use them as laborers to rebuild destroyed Donbass cities. A Ukrainian official said that, in total, more than 500 Ukrainian soldiers had been taken prisoner by pro-Russian forces.


title: Battle of Ilovaisk

text: Commanders and soldiers of the Ukrainian volunteer paramilitary battalions blamed the Ilovaisk incident on Ukrainian army leadership and felt "betrayed by Ukraine" in its aftermath. According to an advisor of Internal Affairs Minister Arsen Avakov, 97 Ukrainian soldiers managed to escape from Ilovaisk on 1 September.


title: Battle of Ilovaisk

text: On 1 August 2018, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) released a report on the battle of Ilovaisk based on more than 80 interviews with victims and witnesses and other sources, including photos, videos, forensic reports and criminal investigation materials. OHCHR claimed that both Ukrainian forces and pro-Russian separatists were responsible of serious human rights violations and international humanitarian law violations that may amount to war crimes.


title: Battle of Ilovaisk

text: According to OHCHR, both sides in the conflict shelled Ilovaisk and the surrounding villages in an indiscriminate and disproportionate way, resulting in the death of at least 36 civilians, and shot civilians and prisoners of war, although not on a massive or systematic scale. OHCHR documented the killing of four civilians, two of which were committed by Ukrainian forces, and received allegations of the killing of at least three Ukrainian prisoners of war.


title: Battle of Ilovaisk

text: Between 22 and 28 August, school No. 14 was used by the Donbas volunteer battalion as a detention facility where each day a number of suspected pro-Russian insurgents varying from 7 to 20 was subjected to torture and ill-treatment. OHCHR also documented that members of volunteer battalions at the hand of the pro-Russian separatists were subjected to beatings, mock executions and threats of physical violence while in custody in the detention facilities in Snizhne and Donetsk.


title: Battle of Ilovaisk

text: OHCHR lamented that four years after the events, limited steps had been taken by the parties to the conflict to investigate the allegations of human rights violations and abuses.


title: Battle of Ilovaisk

text: A criminal probe into the failure of government troops in Ilovaisk was opened 4 September by the office of Prosecutor General of Ukraine. On the same date, a temporary parliamentary commission (TSK) headed by Batkivshchyna politician Andriy Senchenko was created and approved by 226 (out of 446) members of the Ukrainian parliament.


title: Battle of Ilovaisk

text: According to the Head of the Verkhovna Rada's Ilovaisk investigative committee Andriy Senchenko, up 1,000 soldiers in and around Ilovaisk were killed or later succumbed to their wounds during August. A BBC article from 2019, interviewing survivor Roman Zinenko, gives the official number of dead in the Ilovaisk battle as 366, possibly a bit over 400 when including missing or unidentified bodies.


title: Battle of Ilovaisk

text: Defence Minister Valeriy Heletey was forced to resign on 14 October, in part because of his responsibility for the failure of military coordination during the battle.


title: Battle of Ilovaisk

text: In Russian nationalist circles the Russian forces that joined the battle are commonly referred to as "The Northern wind" ().


title: Battle of Ilovaisk

text: Since 2019, Ukraine observes the Day of Remembrance of the Defenders of Ukraine annually on 29 August. This day was chosen because 29 August 2014 was the day of the greatest Ukrainian losses during the Battle of Ilovaisk.


title: Czech hedgehog

text: The Czech hedgehog ( or "") is a static anti-tank obstacle defense made of metal angle beams or I-beams (that is, lengths with an L- or Ɪ-shaped cross section). The hedgehog is very effective in keeping light to medium tanks and vehicles from penetrating a line of defense; it maintains its function even when tipped over by a nearby explosion. Although Czech hedgehogs may provide some scant cover for attacking infantry, infantry forces are generally much less effective against fortified defensive positions than mechanized units.


title: Czech hedgehog

text: The Czech hedgehog's name refers to its origin in Czechoslovakia. The hedgehogs were originally used on the Czech–German border by the Czechoslovak border fortifications – a massive but never-completed fortification system that was turned over to Germany in 1938 after the occupation of the Sudetenland as a consequence of the Munich Agreement.


title: Czech hedgehog

text: The first hedgehogs were built of reinforced concrete, with a shape similar to later metal versions. However, the concrete hedgehogs proved ineffective during tests as they could be substantially damaged by machine-gun fire. Once they were fragmented, the debris provided more cover for the enemy infantry than did their metal counterparts. Therefore, only the oldest sections of the Czechoslovak defensive line, built in 1935–1936, were equipped with concrete hedgehogs, and usually only in the second line.


title: Czech hedgehog

text: The Czech hedgehog was widely used during World War II by the Soviet Union in anti-tank defense. They were produced from any sturdy piece of metal and sometimes wood, including railroad ties. Czech hedgehogs were especially effective in urban combat, where a single hedgehog could block an entire street. Czech hedgehogs thus became a symbol of "defense at all costs" in the Soviet Union; hence the to Moscow defenders, built alongside the M-10 highway in 1966, is composed of three giant Czech hedgehogs.


title: Czech hedgehog

text: Czech hedgehogs were part of the German defenses of the Atlantic Wall. During the invasion of Normandy, the Allies cut up sizable numbers of intact and wrecked hedgehogs and welded them to the front of their M4 Sherman and M5 Stuart tanks. Known as Rhino tanks, these proved very useful for clearing the hedgerows that made up the bocages across Normandy.


title: Czech hedgehog

text: Postwar tests conducted by the Czechoslovak army proved the low efficiency of the metal hedgehogs against heavy armored vehicles such as the Soviet ISU-152 and T-54 or German Panther. As many as 40% of attempts at breakthrough were successful; therefore the army developed new anti-tank obstacles for the border fortifications instituted during the Cold War. Nevertheless, the metal hedgehog was used as a quick road-block against wheeled vehicles.


title: Czech hedgehog

text: In early 2022, during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, hedgehogs were used in conjunction with concrete barriers and other techniques to thwart Russian forces. The Ukrainian Railways repurposed new tracks to make hundreds of hedgehogs at 33 of its own shops and some other sites. The railroad estimated they had enough material for some 1800 hedgehogs. The Ukrainian military in Odessa, Kyiv and Lviv also made hedgehogs to be distributed to strategic locations. In Kyiv, hedgehogs from WWII were brought out of a museum and used at a roadblock.


title: Czech hedgehog

text: The hedgehog is not generally anchored to prevent movement, as it can be effective even if rolled by a large explosion. Its effectiveness lies in its dimensions, combined with the fact that a vehicle attempting to drive over it will likely become stuck (and possibly damaged) through rolling on top of the lower bar and lifting its treads (or wheels) off the ground.


title: Czech hedgehog

text: Industrially manufactured Czech hedgehogs were made of three pieces of metal angle (L 140/140/13 mm, length , weight ; later versions: length , weight joined by gusset plates, rivets and bolts, or welded together into a characteristic spatial three-armed cross with each bar at right angles to the other two, this pattern forming the axes of an octahedron. Two arms of the hedgehog were connected in the factory, while the third arm was connected on-site by M20 bolts. The arms were equipped with square "feet" to prevent sinking into the ground, as well as notches for attaching barbed wire.


title: PP-19 Bizon

text: The PP-19 Bizon (Cyrillic: Пистолет Пулемет Бизон, "Pistolet Pulemyet Bizon", meaning bison) is a 9×18mm Makarov submachine gun developed in 1993 by the Russian company Izhmash, designed by a team of engineers headed by Victor Kalashnikov (son of engineer Mikhail Kalashnikov, creator of the AK-47). Alexei Dragunov, youngest son of Yevgeny Dragunov (the creator of the SVD sniper rifle), was also a member of the design team.


title: PP-19 Bizon

text: The Bizon was developed at the request of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD) and is primarily intended for counter-terrorist and law enforcement units that need fast and accurate fire at close ranges. Prototypes were trialed by the Special Equipment Research Institute in 1995 where they outperformed several competitors, and the weapon was accepted into service on 28 December 1996.


title: PP-19 Bizon

text: The Bizon is issued to armed response units of the Federal Security Service (FSB) and Ministry of Justice in Russia. It was used in combat operations against separatists in the North Caucasus region, namely Chechnya and Dagestan. The Bizon has been largely replaced by the PP-19-01 Vityaz in Russian service, which was developed directly from the design of the Bizon, due to reliability issues with the helical magazine.


title: PP-19 Bizon

text: The Bizon is a lightweight selective fire weapon that fires from a closed bolt, a feature that enhances the gun's practical accuracy. The weapon has a notably large magazine capacity.


title: PP-19 Bizon

text: Chambered for the standard Russian 9×18mm Makarov pistol cartridge, the gun will also fire a new high-impulse armor-piercing 57-N-181SM round.


title: PP-19 Bizon

text: The Bizon uses a simple straight blowback method of operation; an unlocked breech system reduces cost and build complexity. The Bizon's operating cycle is characterized by a very short recoil stroke; standard 9×18mm ammunition will only drive the bolt partially to the rear of the receiver and results in a cyclic rate of 700 rounds per minute. High-impulse ammunition drives the bolt all the way to the end of the receiver, lightly striking the receiver wall. A rate of fire of 650–680 rounds per minute is the result. This has the effect of reducing perceived recoil and increasing firing stability and hit probability.


title: PP-19 Bizon

text: The Bizon has no gas system and the internal components have been modified accordingly. The bolt carrier with fixed charging handle was recycled from the AK, but the piston rod and rotary bolt were removed and the piston extension was plugged with a steel insert. The return spring and guide rod are identical to those of the AK.


title: PP-19 Bizon

text: The Bizon has a four-groove barrel with a 240 mm (1:9 in) right-hand rifling pitch. The gun's muzzle device has a large rectangular port on each side of dead center that serves to reduce muzzle jump, although the main purpose of this device is to protect the muzzle and magazine from impact damage.


title: PP-19 Bizon

text: The pinned and riveted sheet metal receiver of the Bizon is derived from the AKS-74 and has been modified at the front end, since the gas system was omitted. The handguard is a sheet metal stamping with three rounded rectangular ventilation slots on each side. The magazine serves as the lower handguard and the current models of the magazine are ribbed to enhance grip. The Bizon also shares the same trigger and safety mechanisms of the AK-74 rifle. The selector lever is placed on the right side of the receiver, above the trigger, and has three settings: the uppermost "safe" setting disables the trigger and in this position the lever physically blocks the bolt's integral retracting handle; the middle position (marked "АВ") enables fully automatic fire and the lowest position ("ОД") will activate the semi-automatic function of the trigger. An original five-piece anti-bounce device is built into the trigger unit and this functions as a rate reducer, delaying firing until the bolt has settled entirely into battery.


title: PP-19 Bizon

text: The Bizon also utilizes the AKS-74 side folding stock. It folds to the left side of the receiver but unlike the AKS-74 and AKS-74U, it is not held closed by a spring-loaded capture in the forward end of the receiver. Instead, it is held closed by the forward trunnion pin which is longer on the Bizon than on its AKS-74 predecessors. The extended length of the pin allows it to catch the folding skeleton stock. The pistol grip is identical to the grip on the AK-100 series and is made of a black fiberglass-reinforced polyamide.


title: PP-19 Bizon

text: One of the Bizon's more unusual features is the magazine, which is often mistaken for a grenade launcher. The cylinder below the barrel is in fact a 64-round helical-feed magazine, similar to the type used in the American Calico M960 submachine gun. The magazine is made from a durable glass-reinforced polyamide and mounts under the handguard in line with the barrel. This layout makes the weapon more compact and concealable compared to a standard drum or stick magazine. All cartridges are aligned nose forward in the Bizon magazine and cannot be loaded incorrectly. Early magazines were fabricated from aluminium tubing and had a capacity of 67 rounds. The production magazine capacity of 64 rounds was selected as 64 is a multiple of 16, and 9×18mm Makarov rounds are packaged in boxes of 16. The magazine has hooks on top of the front end that engage a pair of pins under the front sight, and the rear end of the magazine interfaces with a Kalashnikov pattern spring-loaded paddle type magazine catch/release located in front of the trigger guard. Some magazines were produced with indicator holes allowing the user to verify the amount of ammunition loaded; these are spaced at 4, 24, 44 and 64-round increments.


title: PP-19 Bizon

text: The sighting arrangement resembles that used on the AKS-74U and consists of a rear flip-up sight permanently attached to the receiver top cover with two open square notches with 50 m and 100 m elevation settings and a round post front sight taken from the AK series of rifles, common to many Russian small arms. The front sight is contained in a protective cage with a hole in the top to insert an elevation adjustment tool, while the rear sight is shielded by two metal ears.


title: PP-19 Bizon

text: Other accessories such as scope mounts, Kobra optics and PBS1 sound suppressors were available due to it being largely derived from the AK-74/47 family, thus having the correct thread and AK optics side mount.


title: PP-19 Bizon

text: The original Bizon was retroactively designated Bizon-1 after the design was improved with the introduction of the Bizon-2.


title: PP-19 Bizon

text: The Bizon has been continuously modified over its production life and the current model is the "Bizon-2", which has AK-style iron sights (an open U-notch rear sight on a tangent with three settings: 50, 100 and 150 m and a semi-shrouded front post), a receiver-mounted side rail adapter for optics and a new slotted flash hider designed to accept a quick-detachable sound suppressor. The Bizon-2 is made in several variants to increase the product's commercial appeal and demonstrate its versatility; it is offered in 8 different configurations:


title: PP-19 Bizon

text: A variant known as the Bizon-3 was also developed and features a flip-up rear peep sight moved further to the rear on the receiver cover and a stock that folds up and over the receiver to lock into a spring-loaded latch on the receiver top cover. The weapon's barrel has an adapter for several types of muzzle devices. These are selected by the operator depending on the weapon's tactical employment and include sound suppressors, muzzle brakes, compensators, and flash hiders.


title: PP-19 Bizon

text: The Vityaz-SN is a 9×19mm submachine gun, engineered directly from the Bizon. The Vityaz entered Russian service in 2005, and continues to be the country's standard issue submachine gun for all military and police forces.


title: PP-19 Bizon

text: The SN9P is a Vietnamese variant of PP–19 Bizon featuring modifications such as a Galil-style stock to suit local conditions, with limited use by Special Forces units.


title: Honda Odyssey (North America)

text: For the North American market, the Honda Odyssey, is a minivan manufactured and marketed by Japanese automaker Honda since 1994, now in its fifth generation, which began in 2018.


title: Honda Odyssey (North America)

text: The Odyssey had originally been conceived and engineered in Japan, in the wake of the country's economic crisis of the 1990s – which in turn imposed severe constraints on the vehicle's size and overall concept, dictating the minivan's manufacture in an existing facility with minimal modification. The result was a smaller minivan, in the compact MPV class, that was well received in the Japanese domestic market and less well received in North America. The first generation Odyssey was marketed in Europe as the Honda Shuttle.


title: Honda Odyssey (North America)

text: Subsequent generations diverged to reflect market variations, and Honda built a plant in Lincoln, Alabama, United States, incorporating the ability to manufacture larger models. Since model year 1999, Honda has marketed a larger (large MPV-class) Odyssey in North America and a smaller Odyssey in Japan and other markets. Honda also offered the larger North American Odyssey in Japan as the LaGreat (ラグレイト, "Ragureito") beginning in June 1999 through 2005. Both versions of the Odyssey were sold in Japan at "Honda Clio" dealership locations. Both versions of the Odyssey are currently sold in the Middle East.


title: Honda Odyssey (North America)

text: The 1995 Odyssey was introduced in 1994 as Honda's first minivan — based on the Accord platform, with a 4-cylinder engine, all-disc anti-lock braking, all wishbone suspension, and a four-speed automatic transmission with a steering-column-mounted shifter and a hill-hold feature, marketed as " Grade Logic". This class of vehicles would subsequently become known as Compact MPV. The design featured unibody construction, dual airbags, dual gloveboxes, dual zone heating and cooling with 20 percent greater capacity than an Accord's system (overhead rear fan-speed adjustment control, and main control switch over the front-seat passenger), conventional rear swing-open rather than sliding doors, and a third row seat that could fold and tumble into a compartment beneath the floor — the spacesaver spare tire carried inside, on the right, rear wall of the cabin.


title: Honda Odyssey (North America)

text: Honda marketed the first-generation Odyssey in two trim levels. The LX accommodated seven passengers with two front buckets, a removable three-seat middle bench, and a 2-seat third row bench. The EX accommodated six passengers (using two removable second row captain's chairs in lieu of the bench) and offered additional equipment including a roof rack, alloy wheels, power driver's seat height adjustment, power moonroof, remote keyless entry system, fog lights (later model years), body-colored side moldings and mirrors, map lights and 200-watt AM/FM/cassette six-speaker audio system.


title: Honda Odyssey (North America)

text: The Odyssey was engineered by Kunimichi Odagaki, then a chief engineer at the Honda's Research and Development Center, along with a team of 20 members — in the wake of Japan's recession of the early 1990s and the possibility of a 25-percent tariffs if the minivans were imported to the U.S. as light trucks. In the course of developing the Odyssey, it became paramount to circumvent these obstacles "and" conceive a feasible interior package that could use existing manufacturing facilities with minimal investment.


title: Honda Odyssey (North America)

text: Odagaki traveled to the U.S. in September 1990 with a small sub-team to conduct a review of the U.S. minivan market. At the project's inception, the team was considering variations for the project from 4-cylinder to V6 alternatives, when the project was canceled.


title: Honda Odyssey (North America)

text: Odagaki continued working with an "underground" team, using as its design credo the concept of a "personal jet" — which in turn led to the car's original "PJ" concept code-name. Odagaki conceived the idea of the third-row seat folding into a floor compartment, and he worked with his team to include a "center aisle." The team determined a minimum interior height of 1.2 meters to retain the aisle and favored a design with a low floor — to provide ease of passenger entry and exit, easy garage-ability, low roof-loading height, as well as enhanced productivity on the assembly line.


title: Honda Odyssey (North America)

text: The team worked to convince management of the project's viability, using extensive illustrations, a one-quarter scale model and a full-size foam model. By April 1991, Odagaki won permission to develop a prototype.


title: Honda Odyssey (North America)

text: After bringing the right-hand drive prototype to the U.S., Odagaki won the support of American Honda. Production was officially launched on October 20, 1994 — the first Honda model in to be released at the same time through Honda's three Japanese distribution channels (Primo, Clio, Verno), marketing the Odyssey through the three channels under the same name.


title: Honda Odyssey (North America)

text: In addition to being named after the epic, it also shares its name with a series of Honda ATVs, the re-using of Honda Motorcycle trademarks being a common way of naming new cars. The Odyssey name was previously considered for a new SUV, but the focus group found the journey themed name puzzling and was named the Honda Passport instead.


title: Honda Odyssey (North America)

text: At its debut, the Odyssey won the Japan Car of the Year Award (Special Category) and the RJC New Car of the Year Award. By September 1997, the Odyssey had sold more than 300,000 units, becoming Honda's fastest-selling new car and breaking the Civic's record.


title: Honda Odyssey (North America)

text: In 1996, New York City's Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) expanded the number of licensable automobiles, approving the first generation Odyssey for use in the city's taxi fleet — the Odyssey having been recommended by the seven-year-old grandson of a TLC advisory commission member. Initial test riders identified advantages over then-prevalent Chevrolet Caprice and the Ford Crown Victoria taxi models — including greater height (for a better view of the road), headroom, rear legroom, rear footroom (the front-wheel-drive Odyssey having a flat floor) and cargo space over the sedans, as well as air-conditioning vents in the rear, which the sedans did not offer.


title: Honda Odyssey (North America)

text: The Isuzu Oasis is a minivan marketed in the United States by Isuzu from 1996 to 1999 as a rebadged variant of the first-generation Honda Odyssey, the only minivan marketed by Isuzu.


title: Honda Odyssey (North America)

text: By agreement, Honda rebadged the Isuzu Rodeo and Isuzu Trooper as the Honda Passport and Acura SLX, respectively. In turn, Isuzu rebadged the Honda Odyssey, the Honda Accord and Honda Domani vehicles — marketed respectively as the Isuzu Oasis, the Isuzu Aska and Isuzu Gemini.


title: Honda Odyssey (North America)

text: After the Honda Odyssey was redesigned for 1999, Isuzu continued to market the Oasis with minor changes. Later Oasis models came with a 2.3L VTEC engine similar to the engine found in the sixth generation Honda Accord.


title: Honda Odyssey (North America)

text: The second generation North American market Odyssey was first assembled in Canada as a 1999 model mainly for North America between 1998 and 2004 — and exported to Japan as the LaGreat between 1999 and 2004. The television ad campaign for the new Odyssey evoked moments from the film "", particularly the to the soundtrack of The Blue Danube waltz.


title: Honda Odyssey (North America)

text: By its second generation, the Odyssey was considerably larger than its predecessor, and adopted the Chrysler style minivan format, with sliding rear doors instead of hinged ones, simpler front strut suspension in place of upper and lower control arm front suspension of the 1995–1998 model and a V6 engine instead of the original, four-cylinder. The Odyssey offered two sliding doors as standard equipment, whereas some minivans of the time only offered one, a second door being optional. It offered power sliding doors for the EX trim and manual ones for the base LX trim. It kept the fold-into-the-floor rear seat, an innovation adopted by many other minivans. This generation also introduced the Honda Satellite-Linked Navigation System as an option for the EX trim, which became the first navigation system ever offered in any minivan or Honda vehicle. However, the power moonroof from the previous generation's EX trim was removed, until being reintroduced in the 2002 facelift with the brand new EX-L trim.


title: Honda Odyssey (North America)

text: The 2004 model was the only second generation Odyssey model year to receive reliability ratings of five out of five according to Automotive Information Systems. IIHS gave the Odyssey a Good rating in the Frontal Offset Test from 1999 to 2004.


title: Honda Odyssey (North America)

text: The second generation was praised for its powerful V6, its handling from its four-wheel independent suspension, and its features such as a large cabin, power sliding doors (manual sliding doors on LX models) and the stow-away third-row seat. Some found it noisier than competitors. It won consecutive Edmunds.com Editors' Most Wanted awards from 1999 to 2003 in the minivan category.


title: Honda Odyssey (North America)

text: This is also the only generation of the Honda Odyssey where the power windows are only on the driver's and front passenger's doors.


title: Honda Odyssey (North America)

text: The Odyssey received a significant increase in power from in late 2001 for the 2002 model year. Some major upgrades included the addition of a third trim, EX-L, introducing leather seats to the Odyssey for the very first time, as well as VHS and DVD-based entertainment system options for EX-L models without navigation. The power moonroof returned to the Odyssey on the EX-L trim after three years. Also added was a five-speed automatic transmission, side torso airbags (not side curtain airbags), rear disc brakes, and a few minor cosmetic improvements on the outside as well as the inside. Other than an automatic power driver's window, the Odyssey remained unchanged for 2003 and 2004, before being replaced with the third generation model.


title: Honda Odyssey (North America)

text: The 4-speed automatic transmission in 1999 to 2001 models had serious problems with transmission durability. Honda spokesman Mike Spencer stated that four-speed models were afflicted with a bad bearing that could break apart, scattering fragments of metal that clogged fluid passageways in the transmission, causing it to shift erratically. Honda responded to the problems by extending the warranty on the transmission on American 1999–2001 models to 7 years or . A class action settlement further extended coverage to or 93 months for some 1999–2001 Odysseys in the US. Canada is not included. The five-speed automatic was first installed in the Odyssey for the 2002 model, but general reliability of the 1999–2003 transmission was poor according to Consumer Reports. Spencer said that the five-speed models typically were damaged by premature wear of the third-gear clutch pack. As the clutch friction material abraded, it scattered bits inside the transmission case, clogging fluid lines and causing erratic shifting. Drivers might suffer slipping, poor or no shifts, or sudden down-shifts from fifth gear to second gear.


title: Honda Odyssey (North America)

text: Under some conditions, a different 5-speed transmission problem arose. Second gear could overheat and break, causing the transmission to lock. An oil jet was added to lubricate this gear but this did not solve the third gear clutch problem. The addition of the Honda transmission cooler with the towing package still allows transmission fluid temperatures that are too high. But it was required along with a power steering cooler for any towing, or the warranty would be void. The Acura CL, TL, MDX and Honda Accord suffered similar problems.


title: Honda Odyssey (North America)

text: Honda introduced the third generation Odyssey for the 2005 model year. It grew in width and weight but retained the previous generation's length and interior space.


title: Honda Odyssey (North America)

text: Honda introduced the ACE body engineering to the third generation Odyssey, which was later used on the eighth generation Civic. Side-curtain airbags and electronic stability control are included in all models. Both features were previously unavailable.


title: Honda Odyssey (North America)

text: Additional features included integrated sunshades in the rear doors, windows that roll down in the second row, and the third row 'Magic Seat' was changed from a straight bench design to a split 60/40 design to allow for variable folding. The headrests could now be left in place when tumbling the rear seat. Some notable features of the redesign were dual glove boxes and an in-floor lazy susan storage compartment, located in the previous generation's spare tire well. Third generation models offered a dashboard-mounted shifter, instead of a column-mounted shifter. The second row bucket seats do not fold into the floor. A 'Plus-One' jump seat was standard on EX models and above for an eighth passenger. Touring models came with a center storage compartment.


title: Honda Odyssey (North America)

text: Engine power was increased to (re-rated to by the new SAE J1349 guidelines, and used in 2006+ model descriptions), and EX-L and Touring models received Honda's VCM, or Variable Cylinder Management system. This enabled this van to receive U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) fuel economy ratings of / for the 2005 model year. (/ for non VCM equipped LX and EX models.) These numbers were re-rated in 2007, bringing numbers to 17/25 for VCM equipped models, and 16/23 for non VCM equipped models. Acceleration was slightly slower than generation two models. It was rated top pick in minivan category in Consumer Reports 2005 annual auto issue.


title: Honda Odyssey (North America)

text: The EX-L trim could be upgraded with either a rear entertainment system or a rear entertainment and navigation system bundle, while the Touring trim could only be upgraded with the bundle until 2006. The VHS-based i-VES system was dropped. Four trim levels were available in the United States: LX, EX, EX-L, and Touring, the top-of-the-line package in the Odyssey lineup that incorporated features such as run-flat tires, power tailgate, power adjustable pedals, memory seats, and chrome tailgate and sliding door interior handle trim.


title: Honda Odyssey (North America)

text: The 2006 model year moved the "Odyssey" logo from the right side of the back door to the left side, added a leather steering wheel and shift knob to the EX-L which was previously available only on the Touring, and made the rear entertainment system a standard feature on the Touring.


title: Honda Odyssey (North America)

text: Starting with the 2007 model year, a revised, more robust 5-speed transmission from the Honda Ridgeline was introduced to the Odyssey in an effort to further improve transmission reliability.


title: Honda Odyssey (North America)

text: Problem areas included body integrity, which includes paint wear and rusting, body hardware bumpers being loose, audio system, brakes and suspension according to the Consumer Reports issue of April 2006. According to the online edition of Consumer Reports in June 2016, transmission problems were better than average for 2006 models. Crash test ratings have been five star in every test but the 2005 had a safety concern. "During the side impact test, the driver door became unlatched and opened. A door opening during a side impact crash increases the likelihood of occupant ejection."


title: Honda Odyssey (North America)

text: The Odyssey won a spot on Car and Driver's 5 Best Trucks for the past three years, as well as a host of other awards. It was the top-ranked minivan in the US News charts. The 2007–09 Odyssey was the best-selling minivan in the United States.


title: Honda Odyssey (North America)

text: For the 2008 model year, the Odyssey received a facelift. All models were equipped with active front head restraints, daytime running lights, and a redesigned dashboard, grille, and tail lights. An audio AUX jack became standard equipment. The backup camera, previously only included with navigation-equipped models, was integrated into the rear-view mirror of the non-navigation EX-L. Touring models featured full Bluetooth support for all Bluetooth-equipped devices and became standard with navigation. EX, EX-L, and Touring models came standard with the updated 'Plus One' jump seat with added storage features. Automatic climate control for the rear seats, a Touring feature, was expanded to non-Touring models equipped with a tri-zone climate control system.


title: Honda Odyssey (North America)

text: EX-L and Touring models received a revised version of the existing J35A7 engine with VCM now also present on one cylinder in the front bank for running on 3 or 4 cylinders depending on engine load.


title: Honda Odyssey (North America)

text: In Canada, an entry-level DX trim was added alongside the LX, EX, EX-L, and Touring trims for the 2008–10 model years. The DX lacks features such as the "Second-Row Plus One Seat with storage", conversation mirror with sunglasses holder, tinted glass, roof rails, and has black body moldings. In Canada, the LX trim was dropped for the 2010 model year, and an SE Odyssey NHL edition replaced the EX (being identical to the 2008–09 EX in all respects but with a rear entertainment system and NHL badges). In the United States for the 2010 model year, the DVD rear entertainment system was added as an option for the EX trim alongside the EX-L. The optional Michelin PAX run-flat tire system which was optional on the Touring was also discontinued for 2010.


title: Honda Odyssey (North America)

text: Honda presented the 2011 Odyssey Concept in early 2010 at the Chicago Auto Show and officially released it for sale on June 17, 2010; with a larger, wider body, a lower roofline and revised styling.


title: Honda Odyssey (North America)

text: Compared to its predecessor, the fourth generation Odyssey is longer, wider and lower. The body is constructed using 59% high strength steel, ranging from 390 to 1,500 MPa yield strength. Trim levels included the LX, EX, EX-L, Touring and Touring Elite. The Touring Elite trim level was new for this generation.


title: Honda Odyssey (North America)

text: The fourth generation Odyssey introduced options including 12-speaker 650 watt audio system (Touring Elite), a voice-controlled satellite GPS and HDD navigation system with XM NavTraffic (Touring and above, available EX-L), an external HDMI input (Touring Elite), a larger split-screen rear-seat DVD entertainment system (Touring Elite), a "cool box" chilled by the air conditioning (EX-L and above), a stowable 3rd row 60/40 split bench seat, a removable first row center console (EX and above), and a new steering wheel shared with the eighth-generation Accord.


title: Honda Odyssey (North America)

text: The fourth generation Odyssey includes projector headlamps or HID xenon low-beam headlamps (Touring Elite), standard 17-inch wheels, 18-inch alloy wheels (Touring and above), and 6-speed automatic transmission (Touring and above). A Blind Spot Display for the driver's side and a multi-angle backup camera is available.


title: Honda Odyssey (North America)

text: All Odyssey models have a 3.5 L "J35Z8" V6 that makes at 5700 rpm and 250 lb⋅ft (339 N⋅m) of torque at 4800 rpm. Variable Cylinder Management (VCM) became standard on all models unlike its predecessor, which included VCM on EX-L and Touring models only. The version of VCM with 3-, 4-, and 6-cylinder modes that was introduced with the 2008 Odyssey continued to be used with the fourth generation Odyssey.


title: Honda Odyssey (North America)

text: For the 2014 model year, the Odyssey received a refresh. Changes included the previously Touring-exclusive 6-speed automatic transmission becoming standard on all trims, sleeker exterior styling with a new aluminum hood, aluminum front fenders, twin-bar grille and revised lower front fascia with optional integrated fog lights, darker-finish projector headlight housings, Smart entry availability and LED rear tail light bars. A built-in vacuum cleaner system is included with the Touring Elite model. The revised suspension uses aluminum front lower control arms. The 2014 Odyssey went on sale on July 2, 2013.


title: Honda Odyssey (North America)

text: Honda's i-MID, also available on the Civic and Accord, became standard equipment in 2014 models; all models now got standard Pandora Internet Radio capabilities, Bluetooth Hands-Free Link, iPod, iPhone, USB integration and a color display screen.


title: Honda Odyssey (North America)

text: New safety features included in the refresh include a LaneWatch camera housed in the passenger side-view mirror or a Blind Spot Monitoring system. Forward Collision Warning (FCW) and Lane Departure Warning (LDW) are also available while a single-angle backup camera with dynamic guidelines became standard equipment.


title: Honda Odyssey (North America)

text: The SE trim positioned between EX and EX-L, was initially limited to the Canadian market but is available in the US as of the 2016 model year. New exterior paint colors were made available in 2014, as are new interior fabrics and trim pieces.


title: Honda Odyssey (North America)

text: The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) found the Odyssey to have the lowest overall driver death rate in its class with 0 deaths per million registered years. Beginning with the 2013 model year, all Odysseys came equipped with a rear-view backup camera. For 2014, the front crash structure was upgraded.


title: Honda Odyssey (North America)

text: The fifth generation Odyssey was unveiled at the 2017 North American International Auto Show in January, Honda Manufacturing of Alabama (HMA) began production on April 26, sales followed on May 25 as a 2018 model. A new 10-speed automatic produced at Honda Precision Parts Georgia (HPPG) is Honda's first use of a 10-speed transmission in a production automobile, it is nearly lighter than the previous 6-speed. Trim levels included LX, EX, EX-L, Touring and Elite.


title: Honda Odyssey (North America)

text: Compared to its predecessor, the fifth generation is narrower, taller and shares the same wheelbase. The body is constructed using advanced materials including ultra-high-strength steel, aluminum and magnesium that minimizes weight to up to and improve torsional body rigidity up to 44% from the previous generation. The use of structural body adhesives has increased compared to the 4th gen with used. High-strength steel comprises 55% of the body. Like the Acura MDX and Pilot, the redesigned Odyssey features a 1500 MPa hot stamped outer front door stiffener ring and forged aluminum front suspension lower control arms.


title: Honda Odyssey (North America)

text: The Odyssey introduced options including an array of active safety systems packaged under Honda Sensing as standard along with Forward Collision Warning (FCW) and Lane Departure Warning (LDW), Magic Slide second-row seats, as well as CabinTalk and CabinWatch. The driver's seat is now available with 4-way power adjustable lumbar support.


title: Honda Odyssey (North America)

text: All Odyssey models come with a 3.5 L "J35Y6" V6 that makes at 6,000 rpm and 262 lb⋅ft (355 N⋅m) of torque at 4,700 rpm. This engine returned to using a version of Variable Cylinder Management (VCM) that only has a 3 cylinder and 6 cylinder mode as opposed to the 3-, 4-, and 6-cylinder modes found in Odysseys from 2008-2017. Like its predecessors, this engine uses a timing belt with scheduled replacement required.


title: Honda Odyssey (North America)

text: Beginning with 2020, all models come equipped with the previously Touring-exclusive 10-speed automatic transmission, as the ZF 9HP transmission was discontinued.


title: Honda Odyssey (North America)

text: For 2021, the Odyssey features a minor restyling that includes a redesigned front grille and tailgate trim and adds 4-way power lumbar adjustability to the front passenger seat alongside perforated leather with contrasting piping options. Honda Sensing is standard on all trims. A rear seat occupant reminder is added to the CabinWatch system to help prevent heatstroke among children. Headlight improvements for the following year's 2022 model makes the 2022 Odyssey an IIHS Top Safety Pick+.


title: Honda Odyssey (North America)

text: For 2023, the base LX trim is discontinued, and a new Sport trim is placed between EX-L and Touring which features a sport-styled interior and exterior, with a notable difference being that it is the only trim of the generation to feature body-colored door handles.


title: Honda Odyssey (North America)

text: At its debut, the Odyssey won the Japan Car of the Year Award (Special Category) and the RJC New Car of the Year Award. By September 1997, the Odyssey had sold more than 300,000 units, becoming Honda's fastest-selling new car and breaking the Civic's record. The Odyssey was "Wheels" magazine's Car of the Year for 1995. At the Odyssey's European launch, where it was marketed as the "Shuttle", British ex-Grand Prix driver Jonathan Palmer described its handling as equal of any "executive sedan".


title: Honda Odyssey (North America)

text: In a 1995 owner survey, 98% of the respondents rated the Odyssey's handling as above average, 50.3 percent rating engine power to be good — and 25 percent wanted a more powerful engine. A later review of the first generation Odyssey summarized the minivan's market reception:


title: Honda Odyssey (North America)

text: The Odyssey has received numerous awards since its inception, winning both Car and Driver's "5 Best Trucks" and Consumer Reports' "Top Pick Minivan" several times.


title: Honda Odyssey (North America)

text: In the middle of 2012, Honda began exporting the fourth generation North American Odyssey minivan to the Philippines. Export of the Odyssey to that market ceased in 2015 after the introduction of the international fifth generation Odyssey which is imported from Japan.


title: Honda Odyssey (North America)

text: The Odyssey manufactured at HMA in Alabama has also been exported to Canada, Mexico, South America, South Korea and the Middle East.


title: Square (video game company)

text: Initially developing for PCs, then exclusively for Nintendo systems, Square broke with Nintendo in the 1990s to develop for Sony's in-development PlayStation. Their first PlayStation project, "Final Fantasy VII", was a worldwide success, going on to sell ten million units, earning critical acclaim, and boosting the popularity of its genre and platform. Alongside the "Final Fantasy" series, the company developed or published several other notable series, including "SaGa", "Mana", "Front Mission", "Chrono", and "Kingdom Hearts".


title: Square (video game company)

text: In the early 2000s, the company saw financial troubles due to the commercial failure of the feature film "", which ultimately led Sakaguchi, the creator of "Final Fantasy", to withdraw from active game production and leave the company in 2003. Prior to this, a merger had been discussed with Enix, the noted publisher of the "Dragon Quest" series. Following a delay due to the failure of "The Spirits Within", the merger went ahead on April 1, 2003, with the new company taking on the name Square Enix.


title: Square (video game company)

text: Square as a developer and publisher has become famous in the gaming industry, with "Final Fantasy" ranking as one of the best-selling and best-known role-playing video game series of all time. Several of their games have also marked commercial milestones in gaming for various platforms, and continue to be lauded as classics. Many of Square's staff who left the company at various points founded other studios, including Monolith Soft ("Xeno"), Sacnoth ("Shadow Hearts"), Mistwalker ("Terra Battle") and AlphaDream ("Mario & Luigi").


title: Square (video game company)

text: Square was initially established in September 1983 as a software subsidiary of electric power conglomerate Den-Yu-Sha, a company led by Kuniichi Miyamoto. His son Masafumi Miyamoto, then a part-time employee of the Science and Technology Department at Keio University, had little interest in following his father into the electricity business. After considering different career paths, Miyamoto eventually decided on computer software development at the Yokohama branch of Den-Yu-Sha in Hiyoshi, with a focus on the emerging video game market. Their original offices were based in a former hairdresser's salon. The company's name referred to a golfing term, and represented its aim to face challenges head-on. It also referenced a town square, emphasizing a production environment based on cooperation.


title: Square (video game company)

text: At the time, video games in Japan were usually created by a single programmer. Miyamoto, on the other hand, believed that graphic designers, programmers, and professional story writers would be needed to keep up with the increasingly complex video game development process fuelled by rapid advancements in computing. During these early years, the group was compared to a family business; one of the early hires, Shinichiro Kajitani, joined because he was a friend of Miyamoto, and later compared the company at that time to a "college club". To recruit for this new organizational structure, Miyamoto opened an Internet café-like salon in Yokohama and offered jobs to those who demonstrated exceptional programming skills. Among those hired through this method were Hironobu Sakaguchi and Hiromichi Tanaka, who originally worked there part-time during their university studies, and Hisashi Suzuki, who would go on to become Square's CEO. Miyamoto's initial plan was to recruit from Keio University, but this never materialized.


title: Square (video game company)

text: Square's first attempt at a game, and Sakaguchi's first project, was an adaptation of the television game show "Torin-ingen". As Miyamoto had not secured the license to adapt it, the show's producers forced Square to cancel the game, prompting its team to be reshuffled. Square's first completed game was "The Death Trap" (1984) for NEC PC-8801, which was also the first title published under the Square brand. Its sequel, "Will: The Death Trap II", was released the following year, and was a commercial success. Many of Square's early titles were produced for PC devices, and focused on the action genre. Two other successes from the period were "Rad Racer" and "The 3-D Battles of WorldRunner".


title: Square (video game company)

text: In 1985, the company completed a licensing agreement with Nintendo to develop titles for the Famicom (Nintendo Entertainment System). A noted reason for the shift to Famicom development was its more stable hardware compared to PCs, which were constantly undergoing changes to their components and requiring adjustments for different set-ups. Square's first Famicom release was a port of "Thexder" (1985), and its first original game was "King's Knight" (1986). During this period, the team also hired new developers Akitoshi Kawazu and Koichi Ishii, artist Kazuko Shibuya, American programmer Nasir Gebelli, and composer Nobuo Uematsu. Yusuke Hirata joined that year as sales manager, and later became the company's publicity manager.


title: Square (video game company)

text: In April 1986, Square moved into new offices based in Ginza, noted as one of the most expensive areas for companies to work in; Sakaguchi later speculated Miyamoto was hoping to attract business by appearing affluent. Square was officially founded as an independent company in September of that year with capital of ¥10 million. Sakaguchi was appointed as a Director of Planning and Development, and Hisashi Suzuki became one of the company's directors. Due to the high cost of Ginza rents, the company was forced to move into smaller offices in Okachimachi, Taitō. Square supported Nintendo's Famicom Disk System, though few of the games created for it were major successes and Square was soon struggling financially. Miyamoto brought together the company's four directors and asked for game proposals the staff would later vote on. Sakaguchi wanted to develop a role-playing video game (RPG), a proposal that had been made feasible due to the production and success of "Dragon Quest" from Enix.


title: Square (video game company)

text: While sceptical, Miyamoto allowed production of the game on the condition it only had a five-person team. Sakaguchi led development, bringing in Gebelli, Kawazu, Ishii, and Uematsu. Production of the game, eventually called "Final Fantasy", proceeded in "fits and starts". Sakaguchi eventually received help from the other team at Square led by Tanaka, which included Shibuya and newcomer debugger Hiroyuki Ito. Production on the game lasted roughly ten months. While shipments of 200,000 units were planned, Sakaguchi persuaded Square to double that number. Released in 1987, "Final Fantasy" was a commercial success, selling over 400,000 copies in Japan.


title: Square (video game company)

text: The success of "Final Fantasy" prompted development of "Final Fantasy II" in 1988, which established many of the series recurring elements. This and four more "Final Fantasy" titles would appear on the Famicom and Super Nintendo Entertainment System (Super Famicom), culminating in "Final Fantasy VI" in 1994. These and all other projects at Square were developed for Nintendo consoles, including the portable Game Boy. In 1990, Square moved its offices to the Akasaka district, and then to Ebisu, Shibuya in 1992. In April 1991, Square merged with an identically-named dormant company in order to change its share prices. As a result of the merger, Square's foundation was backdated to the other company's July 1966 founding date.


title: Square (video game company)

text: At that time, Square drew some of its development funding from loans from Shikoku Bank. Due to the increasing costs of development, the bank sent Tomoyuki Takechi on secondment to be their office manager in 1990. Takechi's secondment lasted until 1994, by which time Square had annual sales worth ¥16 million per year, and he had become inspired by Sakaguchi's vision for the company. In August of that year, Square registered with the Japan Securities Dealers Association to offer shares for public purchase. Sakaguchi was by now a prominent figure within the company, and was promoted to Executive President in 1991. His increasing corporate involvement lessened his creative input, prompting him to give greater influence to director Yoshinori Kitase. Gebelli left Square in 1993, retiring on royalties from the "Final Fantasy" series. Miyamoto stepped down as Square's President in 1991 while remaining a major shareholder, and was replaced by Tetsuo Mizuno. In 1991, Suzuki became Vice President.


title: Square (video game company)

text: Besides "Final Fantasy", other projects were produced which spawned their own series. Kawazu helmed an RPG project for the Game Boy. Released in 1989, "Makai Toushi SaGa" ("The Final Fantasy Legend") spawned the "SaGa" series, which Kawazu would continue to be involved over the years. After the release of "Final Fantasy III" (1990), Ishii was offered the chance to create his own game, leading to the production of "Seiken Densetsu: Final Fantasy Gaiden" ("Final Fantasy Adventure") for the Game Boy in 1991. Ishii went on to develop additional "Seiken Densetsu" titles, released outside of Japan as the "Mana" series. A lesser-known series was the Japan-exclusive real-time strategy series "Hanjuku Hero", which began in 1988 and focused on parodying conventions of the RPG genre. The company also developed several notable standalone titles including "Chrono Trigger", born from a collaboration between Sakaguchi, "Dragon Quest" creator Yuji Horii, and "Dragon Ball" artist Akira Toriyama; "Super Mario RPG", produced in collaboration with Nintendo using characters from the "Mario" franchise; and the Western-exclusive "Secret of Evermore". Speaking in 2001, Sakaguchi noted that while "Final Fantasy" was the company's most recognized property, Square's cultivation of several other series meant that it did not have to rely on "Final Fantasy" to be profitable.


title: Square (video game company)

text: Additional staff joined Square by the 1990s, inspired by the successful "Final Fantasy" series; the most notable included Kitase, Tetsuya Nomura, Tetsuya Takahashi, and Kaori Tanaka. Their first work for Square was on "Final Fantasy IV" (1991), which was also designer Takashi Tokita's first project as a full-time employee, and Hiroyuki Ito's first as game designer. Also joining the company was Chihiro Fujioka, who worked on several projects including co-directing "Super Mario RPG"; Kenichi Nishi, who worked in minor roles on "Chrono Trigger" and "Super Mario RPG"; artist Yusuke Naora, who first worked on "Final Fantasy VI"; Kazushige Nojima, known for his work on the "Glory of Heracles" series; and Motomu Toriyama, who at the time had no experience with game development and worked as a scenario writer. The music staff of Square also expanded, with four more composers being hired between 1990 and 1993. They were Kenji Ito, who contributed to both the "SaGa" and "Mana" series; Hiroki Kikuta, who worked on both the "Mana" series and standalone projects; Yasunori Mitsuda, who would become famous for his work on the "Chrono" series; and Yoko Shimomura, who was previously a composer for Capcom. In 1995, Square moved its headquarters to the Shimomeguro district in Meguro.


title: Square (video game company)

text: Following the release of "Final Fantasy VI" and "Chrono Trigger", Square staff began planning the next entry in the "Final Fantasy" series, and entered the emerging 3D gaming market. A combination of hardware limitations, Nintendo's decision to continue using cartridge games over a CD format for the Nintendo 64, and rising cartridge prices prompted Square to move the in-production "Final Fantasy VII" and their other ongoing projects onto Sony's PlayStation. This shift caused a long-standing rift between Square and Nintendo; one Square employee recalled Nintendo telling the company to "never come back". Square's final Super Famicom release was Sting Entertainments "Treasure Hunter G", and their first PlayStation release was "Tobal No. 1" from DreamFactory, both in 1996. A licensing agreement with Sony was signed in 1996, which stated that Sony would publish Square's next six games. That year, at Square's invitation, Takechi returned and took Mizuno's place as President. Among the staff that worked on "Final Fantasy VII" were Kitase as director, Naora as art director, Nomura as a lead artist, and Nojima as scenario writer. Released worldwide in 1997, "Final Fantasy VII" was a massive commercial and critical success, and went on to sell ten million units worldwide and bring Square international fame.


title: Square (video game company)

text: Four new hires during the period were Shinji Hashimoto, Yasumi Matsuno, Hitoshi Sakimoto, and Masashi Hamauzu. Hashimoto joined in 1995 as promotions producer for "Final Fantasy VII". Matsuno, along with a number of other developers, had left Quest Corporation following the release of "Tactics Ogre" (1995), and worked with Sakaguchi on "Final Fantasy Tactics" (1997). Sakimoto came on board with Matsuno, and worked on the music for his games. Hamauzu joined in 1996, and worked on "Final Fantasy" spin-off titles and the "SaGa" series. Sakaguchi, working on other projects, took on the role of executive producer for the series beginning with "Final Fantasy VIII", and Hashimoto stepped in as producer. Hirata, after holding an administrative position during the Nintendo years, became a game production lead, focusing on introducing new genres into Square's library.


title: Square (video game company)

text: Several properties were created or renewed during this period. These included "Parasite Eve", based on a novel of the same name by Hideaki Sena; "Front Mission", which began on the Super Famicom but was transferred to the PlayStation beginning with its second entry "Front Mission 2"; and the "Final Fantasy" spin-off series "Chocobo", starring an incarnation of the titular mascot character. During the mid-1990s, Square launched an initiative to give teams of younger staff members a chance to create experimental titles on smaller budgets; titles born from this period included "Xenogears", "Soukaigi", and "Another Mind". Also during the mid-to-late 1990s, several staff members departed Square due to creative differences or a desire to work on their own projects. These included Takahashi and Tanaka, Fujioka, Nishi, Kikuta, Mitsuda, and "Mana" artist Shinichi Kameoka. In April 2000, Suzuki was appointed Square's new President, while Takechi became a company chairman. Also at this time, two outside directors were appointed, Kenichi Ohmae of Ohmae & Associates and Makoto Naruke of Microsoft. The corporate reshuffle was intended to strengthen Square's overseas connections and bring in technical and administrative support for future digital and online content. Alongside this, Yoichi Wada joined the company as a company director and eventually COO. In August 2000, Square was listed on Tokyo Stock Exchange's first section, which includes the largest companies on the exchange.


title: Square (video game company)

text: While their relations with Nintendo remained poor, Square supported other platforms including the WonderSwan and Microsoft Windows. Support for the PlayStation continued late into its lifecycle with multiple releases including "Threads of Fate" (1999) and "Vagrant Story" (2000). The company also began work on PlayOnline, an online platform which would host the company's online store and web content as well as online services for their games. Sakaguchi was mostly based in Hawaii by this point; in addition to leading production on "Final Fantasy IX" (2000), he also worked at the 1997-established Square Pictures studio on a feature film based on the "Final Fantasy" series. Called "", it was planned as Sakaguchi's first push towards cross-media storytelling; however, the project ran over budget and ended up costing Square and co-producer Columbia Pictures US$137 million. During this period, Sakaguchi also created the concept for "Final Fantasy XI", the company's first MMORPG, developed by the "Chrono" team and led by Ishii.


title: Square (video game company)

text: Upon its release in 2001, "The Spirits Within" was met with mixed critical reception, and grossed only $85 million. Labelled as a box-office bomb, the film damaged Square's finances, and led to the closing of Square Pictures. Following both the failure of "The Spirits Within" and a delay to "Final Fantasy X" (2001) for the PlayStation 2, Square suffered a financial loss for the first time, prompting Sakaguchi, Takechi, and director Masatsugu Hiramatsu to resign from their positions. Sakaguchi was kept on as executive producer for "Final Fantasy", while Takechi and Hiramatsu were retained as external consultants. This period left Sakaguchi in a state of low morale. In late 2001, Suzuki stepped down as President, and was replaced by Wada. Yosuke Matsuda became Senior Vice President. Ito also left during this period to work as a freelance composer.


title: Square (video game company)

text: Following its financial losses, Square agreed to sell Sony a 19% stake in the company. Due to their still precarious financial situation and the softening console rivalry between Sony and Nintendo with the release of Microsoft's Xbox, Square successfully reached out to Nintendo to begin development for their hardware again. Square began development on "Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles" for the GameCube in late 2001. Under Wada, the company underwent restructuring with the intent of streamlining production and resources, and cutting development costs to increase profits. It also began production on a direct sequel to "Final Fantasy X", titled "Final Fantasy X-2" (2003); this broke with the common approach under Sakaguchi, who disliked direct sequels. "Final Fantasy X-2" was Sakaguchi's last credited project at Square, and he left the company in 2003. Another project in development at the time was "Kingdom Hearts" (2002), Nomura's directorial debut. The game was a collaboration between Square and The Walt Disney Company, blending Disney characters with "Final Fantasy" elements in an original story from Square. "Kingdom Hearts" was also Shimomura's last project as an in-house composer before she left and went freelance in 2002.


title: Square (video game company)

text: A merger with rival company Enix had been under discussion since 2000, but Square's financial losses prompted Enix to halt discussions. Following the commercial success of "Final Fantasy X" and "Kingdom Hearts", talks went ahead on the merger with Enix as Square's finances stabilized; Wada described it as a merger of two companies "at their height". Despite this, some shareholders had doubts about the merger, notably Miyamoto, who would find himself holding significantly less shares and having a smaller controlling stake if the deal went ahead as initially planned. Miyamoto's issue was eventually resolved by altering the exchange ratio to one Square share for 0.81 Enix shares, and the merger was greenlit. The merger resulted in Square Enix being formed on April 1, 2003, with Enix as the surviving corporate entity and Square dissolving its departments and subsidiaries into the new company. Around 80% of Square's staff transitioned into Square Enix.


title: Square (video game company)

text: During reports on the merger with Enix, Takashi Oya of Deutsche Securities described Square as "[doing] everything by itself" compared to Enix's tradition of outsourcing development. During Square's first years, there was no set development structure, with the ten-person staff freely shifting between roles and projects. After the first couple of years, there were two loosely-defined production groups led by Sakaguchi and Tanaka respectively. Following the release of "Final Fantasy IV", Sakaguchi divided the production team, assigning different staff members to the "Final Fantasy", "SaGa" and "Mana" series. A secondary studio was founded in Osaka in 1990, with "Final Fantasy Legend III" (1991) as their first project.


title: Square (video game company)

text: By 1997, the company was divided into seven development divisions, expanded to eight that year with a further two in Osaka. In 1998, the old development divisions were restructured into Production Departments, and the Osaka branch was closed down. The system was reshuffled again in 2002 to promote "greater understanding", and allow for reassignment between divisions. Among the heads of divisions at this time were Kitase, Kawazu, Tanaka, Matsuno and Hirata. Following the merger with Enix, the eight divisions were incorporated into the new company, with two additional divisions brought in from Enix.


title: Square (video game company)

text: Square's first Western branch, SquareSoft, was established in 1989 in Redmond, Washington for publishing and development support. A second Western R&D subsidiary called Square LA was founded in 1995 in Marina del Rey, California, and was renamed Square USA in 1996. In 1997, a second branch of Square USA was opened in Honolulu, Hawaii to focus on new interactive entertainment research. Square Europe was founded in 1998 in London, England, focusing on publishing in Europe. Square also partnered with several different distribution partners in Europe, including Crave Entertainment, Infogrames (later Atari Europe), and Ubisoft.


title: Square (video game company)

text: After opening their North American offices, Square began publishing selected titles under the "SquareSoft" brand. Square's presence in the West during the 1980s and 1990s was small; RPGs were not popular in the North American market, and Square's presence in Europe was limited. A notable third-party game localized and published by Square in North America was the original "Breath of Fire", as developer Capcom had a busy schedule at the time. In the 1990s, Square's first six PlayStation releases were published by Sony.


title: Square (video game company)

text: In May 1998, Squaresoft formed a North American and Japanese joint-venture partnership with Electronic Arts in order to presence the company's titles in North America and Japan. The North American partnership - Square Electronic Arts L.L.C. was 30% owned by Electronic Arts and handled the publishing of Square's titles in North America following the end of Sony's publishing contract. The Japanese partnership - Electronic Arts Square Co, Ltd. was 30% owned by Square, and handled the publishing of EA's titles in Japan following the end of their partnership with Victor and their Electronic Arts Victor subsidiary. On February 19, 2003, to coinside with the Square Enix merger, Square announced that both ventures would cease operations in March, with the company certifying that the North American venture achieved the above-mentioned initial purpose of its establishment. EA's stake in Square Electronic Arts was purchased by Square, while Square's stake in Electronic Arts Square was purchased by Electronic Arts. The SquareSoft company itself remained, rebranded under the Square Enix name.


title: Square (video game company)

text: The original "Final Fantasy" was published in North America in 1990 by Nintendo of America near the end of the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) lifecycle, resulting in its two NES sequels being passed over for localization at that time. Many other Square titles also remained exclusive to Japan, for reasons including design complexities, low graphical quality, and technical difficulties. Notable localization staff during the 1990s included Kaoru Moriyama, Ted Woolsey, Seth Luisi, Michael Basket, Richard Honeywood, and Alexander O. Smith.


title: Square (video game company)

text: Between 1986 and 1988, Square led a collective of game developers dedicated to the production of games for the Famicom Disk System. The Square-owned label, called Disk Original Group (DOG), included Square, HummingBirdSoft, System Sacom, Microcabin, Carry Lab, Thinking Rabbit and Xtalsoft. The coalition was formed to pool financial resources, as individual development for the then-small companies would have been potentially crippling. The Famicom Disk System was rendered defunct by 1988 due to increased storage capacity in standard Famicom ROM cartridges.


title: Square (video game company)

text: In 1995, Square helped establish DreamFactory as an affiliate studio, which developed fighting-based titles for the PlayStation and PS2. DreamFactory became an independent company in 2001 after Square transferred their shares. A later subsidiary called Escape was established in March 1998 and featured staff from DreamFactory. It only produced "Driving Emotion Type-S" (2000) before being liquidated in 2003. The company held a stake in "Bushido Blade" developer Lightweight, until it was bought out by Genki.


title: Square (video game company)

text: A publishing brand called Aques was established by Square in 1996. Standing for "Advanced QUality Entertainment and Sports", and also acting as an anagram of Square's name, the brand was intended for publishing non-RPG titles such as sports games. That same year, DigiCube was also established. Founded by Square as a product distributor through convenience stores in Japan, it expanded into book publishing, stocked games from other companies, and at one point published games under its own brand. DigiCube survived the Square Enix merger, though it declared bankruptcy in 2004 after years of declining sales.


title: Square (video game company)

text: In 1999, Square created a number of subsidiaries with dedicated roles: Square Visual Works to focus on producing CGI animation, Square Sounds for music and sound effects, Squartz for quality control and user support, and Square Next to support smaller game projects. Following the success of "Final Fantasy VII" in 1997, Sakaguchi founded a dedicated CGI film studio called Square Pictures in Hawaii; his aim was to both develop "The Spirits Within" and help with further development of Square's CGI technology. Square Pictures produced only one more feature following "The Spirits Within"; a CGI short called "Final Flight of the Osiris" that later formed part of the 2003 anthology film "The Animatrix". By the end of 2001, Square Pictures was dissolved and merged into Visual Works.


title: Square (video game company)

text: In 2002, Square Next was rebranded as The Game Designer Studio, with ownership between Square's Product Development Division 2 and Kawazu. The aim was to allow for development of games for Nintendo consoles without impacting production on Sony platform games. The Game Designers Studio was absorbed back into Square Enix after the completion of "Crystal Chronicles", first renamed to SQEX Corporation and eventually dissolved entirely in 2010. Square Sounds was dissolved into the main company in March 2002 as an internal division, a move attributed to cost cutting. All the other subsidiaries were folded into Square Enix during the merger, with Visual Works becoming its own dedicated department.


title: Square (video game company)

text: In January 1994, Square acquired developer Cobra Team, turning it into a subsidiary called Solid and focusing their work on cooperating with external developers. G-Craft, developers of the "Front Mission" series, had a close relationship with Square due to their support of the property. Square bought out G-Craft and incorporated it in 1997 during production of "Front Mission 2". In 2002, "Ogre Battle" developer Quest Corporation withdrew from game development and was bought by Square. Absorbed and repurposed into a production division, their first project was "Final Fantasy Tactics Advance" (2003).


title: Square (video game company)

text: In a 2006 interview on the history of Square Enix, César A. Berardini of "TeamXbox" noted that many considered "Final Fantasy VI" to be one of the best RPGs and games of the 2D gaming era. In 1992, Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto noted the impact of "Final Fantasy" on Japanese role-playing games, stating "Final Fantasy"s "interactive cinematic approach" with an emphasis on "presentation and graphics" was gradually becoming "the most common style" of Japanese RPG at the time. "Makai Toushi SaGa" was not only the first RPG developed for the Game Boy, but the first of Square's games to sell one million units.


title: Square (video game company)

text: The "Final Fantasy" series and several specific games within it have been credited for introducing and popularizing many concepts that are today widely used in console RPGs, both in story and gameplay. "Final Fantasy VII" for the PlayStation is attributed with boosting sales for the PlayStation console, and popularizing the RPG genre both for that platform and in general, after a prolonged lack of success outside Japan. In a 2012 interview article with Sakaguchi, "Eurogamer"s Simon Parkin noted Square's legacy as being defined by the "Final Fantasy" series despite having developed multiple other notable series and games. Several of its standalone releases including "Parasite Eve" and "Vagrant Story" have also remained popular and well-remembered since their release.


title: Square (video game company)

text: Several former Square staff members went on to found notable development studios and other ventures, sometimes working with Square Enix in later years. Kikuta, frustrated at the rigid hierarchy of Square, left and founded Sacnoth in 1997, which would become known for the "Shadow Hearts" series; he left Sacnoth in 1999 following the release of his project "Koudelka" and founded the music label Nostrilia. Takahashi and Tanaka, along with other "Xenogears" developers who wanted to work outside the "Final Fantasy" series, founded Monolith Soft in 1999 and went on to develop multiple projects, including further "Xeno" titles.


title: Square (video game company)

text: Nishi and a few others he knew founded several studios over the years including Love-de-Lic (""), Skip Ltd. ("Chibi-Robo!"), and Punchline ("Rule of Rose"). Kameoka and other developers who worked on "Legend of Mana" (1999) founded Brownie Brown in 2000, and ended up working with Square Enix on the "Mana" series with "Sword of Mana". Mizuno founded developer AlphaDream in 2000, with Fujioka joining soon after; the company is best known for its work on the "Mario & Luigi" series. Staff members from Square Pictures, including "The Spirits Within" co-director Motonori Sakakibara, established Sprite Animation Studios in Hawaii in 2002.


title: Square (video game company)

text: Sakaguchi, following a period of low morale after the failure of "The Spirits Within", decided to re-enter game development. He founded Mistwalker in 2004, which has since produced series such as "Blue Dragon" and "Terra Wars" and standalone projects such as "Lost Odyssey" and "The Last Story". After his resignation from Square, Takechi founded music label Dreamusic with Kazunaga Nitta. Both Mitsuda and Sakimoto formed independent music studios; Mitsuda formed Procyon so he could work while maintaining his health, while Sakimoto founded Basiscape to give himself freedom to work on a wider variety of projects.


title: Estelle Parsons

text: After studying law, Parsons became a singer before deciding to pursue a career in acting. She worked for the television program "Today" and made her stage debut in 1961. During the 1960s, Parsons established her career on Broadway before progressing to film. She won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Blanche Barrow in "Bonnie and Clyde" (1967), and was also nominated for her work in "Rachel, Rachel" (1968).


title: Estelle Parsons

text: She worked extensively in film and theatre during the 1970s and later directed several Broadway productions. Later work included perhaps her best known role, as Beverly Harris, mother of the title character, on the sitcom "Roseanne", and, later, on its spinoff "The Conners". She has been nominated five times for the Tony Award (four times for Lead Actress of a Play and once for Featured Actress). In 2004, Parsons was inducted into the American Theatre Hall of Fame.


title: Estelle Parsons

text: Parsons was born in Lynn Hospital, Lynn, Massachusetts. Her mother, Elinor Ingeborg (née Mattsson), was a native of Sweden, and her father, Eben Parsons, was of English descent.


title: Estelle Parsons

text: She attended Oak Grove School for Girls in Maine. After graduating from Connecticut College in 1949, Parsons initially studied law at Boston University, and then worked as a singer with a band before settling on an acting career in the early 1950s. In 1983, when co-starring with fellow Academy Award-winning actor Jack Lemmon in a new Ernest Thompson stage play in Los Angeles, Parsons appeared on the November 1 episode of "The Tonight Show", telling Johnny Carson that Lemmon had been her first boyfriend, when they were both teenagers in the 1940s.


title: Estelle Parsons

text: Parsons moved to New York City, and worked as a writer, producer and commentator for "The Today Show". She made her Broadway debut in 1956 in the ensemble of the Ethel Merman musical "Happy Hunting". Her Off-Broadway debut was in 1961, and she received a Theatre World Award in 1963 for her performance in "Whisper into My Good Ear/Mrs. Dally Has a Lover" (1962).


title: Estelle Parsons

text: In 1964, Parsons won an Obie Award for Best Actress for her performance in two Off-Broadway plays, "Next Time I'll Sing to You" and "In the Summer House". In 1967, she starred with Stacy Keach in the premiere of Joseph Heller's play "We Bombed in New Haven" at the Yale Repertory Theater.


title: Estelle Parsons

text: Parsons has received Tony Award nominations for her work in "The Seven Descents of Myrtle" (1968), "And Miss Reardon Drinks a Little" (1971), "Miss Margarida's Way" (1978), "Morning's at Seven" (2002), and The Velocity of Autumn (2014). She played Leokadia Begbick in the American premiere of the Weill–Brecht opera, "Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny" (1970), and performed as Mrs. Peachum to Lotte Lenya's Jenny in "Threepenny Opera" on tour and in New York City. In 1978 she played Lady Macbeth in the Kauai Community Players production. She also played Ruth in Gilbert & Sullivan's "The Pirates of Penzance" on Broadway in 1981. From June 17, 2008, through May 17, 2009, she played the role of Violet Weston in "". She continued playing the role during the show's national tour beginning July 24, 2009, in Denver.


title: Estelle Parsons

text: As a director, Parsons has a number of Broadway credits, including a production of "Romeo and Juliet", "Macbeth" and "As You Like It" in 1986. Off-Broadway, she directed Dario Fo's "Orgasmo Adulto Escapes from the Zoo" (1983). She served as the Artistic Director of the Actors Studio for five years, ending in 2003.


title: Estelle Parsons

text: In 2016, she starred in Israel Horovitz's new play "Out Of The Mouths Of Babes" along with Judith Ivey directed by Barnet Kellman at The Cherry Lane Theater in New York City.


title: Estelle Parsons

text: Her film career includes an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her portrayal of Blanche Barrow in "Bonnie and Clyde" (1967), and a nomination for "Rachel, Rachel" (1968). She received a BAFTA Award nomination for her role in "Watermelon Man" (1970), and appeared in "I Never Sang for My Father" (1970), "Two People" (1973), "A Memory of Two Mondays" (1974), "For Pete's Sake" (1974), "Dick Tracy" (1990) and "Boys on the Side" (1995).


title: Estelle Parsons

text: On television, Parsons played the recurring role of Beverly Harris, the mother of the title character on "Roseanne"; her Beverly character is the daughter of character Nana Mary, played by fellow Academy Award winner Shelley Winters. Other television credits include appearances in "The Patty Duke Show", "Love, American Style", "All In The Family", "Archie Bunker's Place", "Open Admissions", "Frasier", "", and "The Good Wife", as well as "The UFO Incident: The Story of Betty and Barney Hill" and the PBS production of "June Moon". She played the part of Babe in three episodes of the second and fifth seasons of "Grace and Frankie".


title: Estelle Parsons

text: She was honored with a Woman of Achievement Award from the Women's Project Theater in 2009. In 2010, she appeared in London, playing psychic Helga ten Dorp in "Deathtrap" at the Noël Coward Theatre in the West End.


title: Estelle Parsons

text: Parsons' most recent Broadway appearances include "Good People" (2011) and "Nice Work If You Can Get It" (2012).


title: Estelle Parsons

text: In April 2018, Parsons returned to television reprising her role as Beverly Harris, mother of Roseanne Barr's title character, in season 10, episode 5 of "Roseanne".


title: Estelle Parsons

text: Parsons married author Richard Gehman in 1953. They had twin daughters, reporter Abbie and actress Martha Gehman, before divorcing in 1958. Her grandson, Abbie's son, is former Chicago Bears and Jacksonville Jaguars guard/tackle, Eben Britton, named for his great-grandfather, Estelle's father. In January 1983 she married her partner of 10 years, Peter Zimroth, who has served as Assistant U.S. Attorney, Assistant District Attorney and court-appointed monitor of the NYPD's policies and practices regarding stop-and-frisk. They adopted a son, Abraham, born in February 1983. Zimroth died on November 8, 2021.


title: Rebel Moon

text: Rebel Moon is an upcoming American epic space opera film directed by Zack Snyder from a screenplay he co-wrote with Shay Hatten and Kurt Johnstad, based on a story he also created with Johnstad. It features an ensemble cast, starring Sofia Boutella, Charlie Hunnam, Ray Fisher, Djimon Hounsou, Jena Malone, Corey Stoll, Ed Skrein, Cleopatra Coleman, Fra Fee, Cary Elwes, and Anthony Hopkins.


title: Rebel Moon

text: "Rebel Moon" is a co-production of Netflix, The Stone Quarry and Grand Electric, and is set to release on Netflix with a limited theatrical release. A follow-up, "Rebel Moon Part 2", is scheduled to be shot with the film back-to-back.


title: Rebel Moon

text: "A peaceful colony on the edge of the galaxy is threatened by the armies of a tyrannical regent named Balisarius. The desperate civilians dispatch a young woman who has a mysterious past to seek out warriors from nearby planets to help them challenge the regent."


title: Rebel Moon

text: "Rebel Moon" is inspired by the works of Akira Kurosawa and the "Star Wars" films. The film also began development as a "Star Wars" film that Snyder had pitched to Lucasfilm, in the time period between the of the prequel trilogy in 2005 and the sale of Lucasfilm to The Walt Disney Company in 2012. This pitch was to be a more mature take on the "Star Wars" universe. Following the acquisition, the project was redeveloped by producer Eric Newman and Snyder, first as an original television series, before settling on a film.


title: Rebel Moon

text: On November 2, 2021, it was announced that Sofia Boutella had been cast in the film. On February 9, 2022, Charlie Hunnam, Djimon Hounsou, Ray Fisher, Jena Malone, Staz Nair and Doona Bae joined the cast. Later that month, Stuart Martin and Rupert Friend joined the project. On April 8, 2022, Cary Elwes, Corey Stoll, Michiel Huisman and Alfonso Herrera joined the cast. On May 16, 2022, it was announced that Ed Skrein has replaced Friend as the film's main antagonist due to scheduling conflicts, with Cleopatra Coleman, Fra Fee and Rhian Rees joining the project. On June 8, 2022, it was announced that Anthony Hopkins had joined the cast as the voice of Jimmy, an impossibly sentient JC1435 mechanized battle robot and one-time defender of the slain King.


title: Rebel Moon

text: Filming commenced as of April 19, 2022, with Snyder sharing the first images from the set on Twitter that day. It ran until December 2, with 152 days of filming taking place in California, to tap into $83 million in qualified spending and tax incentives.


title: Rebel Moon

text: Speaking about the film's future as a franchise, Snyder said: "My hope is that this also becomes a massive IP and a universe that can be built out." In February 9, 2022 it was revealed that "Rebel Moon" would be a two part film, with both parts being shot back-to-back. In August 22, 2022, the follow-up was confirmed and revealed to be titled "Rebel Moon Part 2".


title: Max Mittelman

text: Maxwell Braden Mittelman (born September 5, 1990) is an American voice actor who provides voices for English versions of anime, animation and video games. Some of his major roles include Saitama in "One-Punch Man", Kousei Arima in "Your Lie in April", in "", King from "The Seven Deadly Sins", Ritsu Kageyama in "Mob Psycho 100", Inaho Kaizuka in "Aldnoah.Zero", Atsushi Nakajima in "Bungo Stray Dogs" and Io Flemming in "Mobile Suit Gundam Thunderbolt", "Kira Yamato" in "Mobile Suite Gundam Seed Remastered" and "Mobile Suite Gundam Seed Destiny Remastered", Nacht Faust from "Black Clover," and Plagg from "Miraculous Ladybug". In video games, he voices McBurn and Lechter Arundel in "", Shigure Rangetsu in "Tales of Berseria", Ryuji Sakamoto in "Persona 5", Troy Calypso in "Borderlands 3", Peter Boggs in "Grounded", Fidel Camuze in "", Andy Arlington on The PBSKGo! Series M&M, Claude Wallace in "Valkyria Chronicles 4", Louis in "Code Vein", Red XIII in "Final Fantasy VII Remake" and Arataki Itto in "Genshin Impact".


title: Max Mittelman

text: Mittelman was born on September 5, 1990, in Los Angeles. His family is of German Jewish descent, and he is descended from Holocaust survivors. In the fall of 2009, Mittelman began his studies at UCLA.


title: Twice albums discography

text: The albums discography of South Korean girl group Twice consists of seven studio albums, eleven EPs, one reissue studio album, three reissue EPs, four compilation albums and one compilation EP.


title: Twice albums discography

text: Formed by JYP Entertainment in 2015 through the survival show "Sixteen", Twice debuted in October 2015 with the release of their debut EP, "The Story Begins". Twice's second EP, "Page Two" was released in April 2016. In October 2016, the group released their third EP, "". The EP became one of the best-selling albums by a girl group in the history of Gaon Album Chart, with over 475,000 copies sold. Its reissue, "", was released in February 2017 and the group's fourth EP, "Signal", was later released in May. In October, their debut studio album, "Twicetagram" and its lead single debuted at number-one on the "Billboard" World Albums chart and World Digital Song Sales chart, respectively, becoming the first female Korean act to top both charts simultaneously. The album was subsequently reissued as "Merry & Happy" in December. The former three releases became the top three best-selling albums by a girl group in 2017.


title: Twice albums discography

text: In 2018, the group released their fifth EP, "What Is Love?", in April, and was reissued as "Summer Nights" in July. "Yes or Yes", their sixth EP, followed in November, with a reissue titled as "The Year of "Yes"" in December. The group maintained their best-selling girl group of the year status. Selling over 250,000 copies, "What Is Love?", "Summer Nights" and "Yes or Yes" each earned a platinum certification from the Korea Music Content Association (KMCA).


title: Twice albums discography

text: In 2019, the group's seventh and eighth EP, "Fancy You" and "Feel Special", were released in April and September respectively. In 2020, the group's ninth EP "More & More", was certified 2× platinum by the KMCA and entered the "Billboard" 200. Twice's second Korean studio album, "Eyes Wide Open", also charted on the "Billboard 200".


title: Twice albums discography

text: In 2021, Twice's tenth EP, "Taste of Love", peaked at number one on the "Billboard" Top Album Sales chart, making it the first EP from a girl group to do so. It was also the first EP from a girl group to enter the top 10 of the "Billboard" 200. Later in the same year, their third Korean studio album, "", was released. In 2022, Twice's eleventh EP, "Between 1&2" became their best-selling album in South Korea, selling over a million copies.


title: Twice albums discography

text: In Japan, Twice debuted in June 2017 with their first compilation album, "#Twice", earning their first platinum certification from the Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ). The group's first Japanese studio album, "BDZ", was released in 2018 and was later platinum-certified. The repackaged edition of the album was released in December 2018. In 2019, their second compilation album, "#Twice2", was released in March and is platinum-certified by the RIAJ. In November of the same year, they released their second Japanese album, "&Twice". In 2020, a repackage of "&Twice" and their third compilation album "#Twice3" were released. In 2021, their third Japanese studio album, "Perfect World" was released. In 2022, the compilation album "#Twice4" and the studio album "Celebrate" were released.


title: Twice albums discography

text: As of 2022, Twice have earned ten number-one albums in South Korea, nine number-one albums on Japan's Oricon Albums Chart and six number-one albums on the "Billboard Japan" Hot Albums. The group is the highest-selling girl group in South Korea, with over 7.2 million albums sold as of 2021. They have sold over 14 million albums in South Korea and Japan, cumulatively, as of 2022.


title: Gautami

text: Gautami Tadimalla (born 2 July 1969), known mononymously as Gautami, is an Indian actress and politician who has worked mainly in Tamil and Telugu, in addition to Malayalam, Hindi, and Kannada films. She was one of the leading South Indian actresses from 1987 to 1998. She is also a television actress, television host, the founder of Life Again Foundation, and a costume designer.


title: Gautami

text: Gautami was born in Nidadavole, Andhra Pradesh to T. R. Seshagiri Rao and Vasundhara Devi. Her father was a pioneering radiation oncologist and her mother was a pathologist and diagnostician. Gautami attended Bishop Cotton Girls' School, Bangalore.


title: Gautami

text: Gautami married Sandeep Bhatia, a businessman, in 1998, and the couple have a daughter, Subbulakshmi born in 1999. They later got divorced in 1999.


title: Gautami

text: Gautami was in a relationship with actor Kamal Haasan from 2004 till 2016. In 2016, Gautami had announced on her blog that she had ended her relationship with him. Gautami wrote on her blog: ""It is heartbreaking for me to have to say today that I and Mr. Haasan are no longer together. After almost 13 years together, it has been one of the most devastating decisions that I have ever had to make in my life"".


title: Gautami

text: She was introduced to Tamil film industry through "Guru Shishyan" (1988), a film that starred Rajinikanth and Prabhu. She was most active in Tamil cinema from 1987 to 1998 and was a tough competitor to the other heroines of her time, Khushbu, Revathy, Amala and Bhanupriya. Gautami went to GITAM University in Visakhapatnam to pursue engineering. Gautami made her debut in Telugu with the film "Dayamayudu" (1987). that was produced by her cousin. She then appeared in films like "Srinivasa Kalyanam" with Venkatesh and Bhanupriya.. Her notable performances in Malayalam films include "His Highness Abdullah" (1990) with Mohanlal, "Daddy" (1992) with Arvind Swami, "Dhruvam" (1993) with Mammootty and "Ayalathe Adheham" (1993) with Jayaram. Her role in "Sukrutham" (1994) was penned by the writer M. T. Vasudevan Nair. She has acted also in Kannada films "Elu Suttina Kote" (1987), "Chikkejamanru" (1992), "Cheluva" (1997), and in the Hindi movies, "Pyar Hua Chori Chori" (1991), "Aadmi" (1993), "Janta Ki Adalat" (1994), "Trimurti" (1995), "Dhaal" (1997) and "Haiwan" (1998).. Her notable Tamil movies like "Apoorva Sagodharargal" (1989), "Raja Chinna Roja" (1989), "Panakkaran" (1990), "Ooru Vittu Ooru Vanthu" (1990), "Namma Ooru Poovatha" (1990), "Dharma Durai" (1991), "Nee Pathi Naan Pathi" (1991), "Rickshaw Mama" (1992), "Thevar Magan" (1992), "Honest Raj" (1994), "Nammavar" (1994), "Kuruthipunal" (1995) as well as Mani Ratnam's "Iruvar" (1997). She had a good chemistry with all superstars of Tamil cinema like Kamal Haasan and Rajinikanth. She was very much content to do all glamour roles mostly with Kamal Haasan. But she was equally at ease when she was paired with R. Sarathkumar, Sathyaraj or Prabhu. She made a guest appearance in the song "Chikku Bukku Railu" with Prabhu Deva in the film "Gentleman" (1993). Her film "Sasanam", featuring Arvind Swami, released in 2006, but it was shot in 1996. She played the lead in the Tamil serial "Indira". She had hosted a talk show in Sun TV titled "Anbudan". She acted in the serial "Abirami" which was telecast on Kalaignar TV. She made a comeback to the film industry in the late 2000s as a costume designer for films starring her partner Kamal Haasan. She won the Vijay Award for Best Costume Designer for "Dasavathaaram" (2008). She would go on to style several of his other films, including "Vishwaroopam" (2013) and "Uttama Villain" (2015). After sixteen years, she returned to acting, by starring in the Tamil film "Papanasam" (2015), in which she was paired with her real-life domestic partner, Kamal Haasan- a remake of director Jeethu Joseph's original Malayalam picture, "Drishyam". In 2016, her Telugu film (after almost 20 years of absence in Telugu cinema): "Manamantha" (2016) with Mohanlal Viswanathan Nair and other two junior artists has garnered positive reviews alike from the audience. She made comeback to Mollywood industry after a 14-year sabbatical from acting in the horror-thriller titled "E" (2017) by playing the lead role. She would be seen currently in "Thupparivaalan 2" directed and starring Vishal, where she'd be playing a pivotal character.


title: Gautami

text: Gautami is a member of the BJP since 1997. She was BJYM vice president She joined the party in 1997 under the leadership of LK Advani. She extensively campaigned for Atal Bihari Vajpayee during that period in Andhra, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. She took a break from politics after her daughter was born. She is back into BJP in 2017. In 2021, she was appointed as in-charge of the Rajapalayam Assembly constituency.


title: Gautami

text: Gautami founded Life Again Foundation (LAF) to help cancer patients. Life Again Foundation has conducted more than 360 motivational camps for cancer patients, cancer awareness campaigns, and food drives. It also conducts Yoga and Alternative Therapy programs. It also periodically conducts health camps to conduct tests that screen for cancer and overall health. LAF also runs 2 Mobile hospitals. It also sponsors under-privileged students for higher education. It runs Supplementary Education Centres and Vocational Training Centres.


title: Create, read, update and delete

text: In computer programming, create, read, update, and delete (CRUD) are the four basic operations of persistent storage. CRUD is also sometimes used to describe user interface conventions that facilitate viewing, searching, and changing information using computer-based forms and reports. The term was likely first popularized by James Martin in his 1983 book "Managing the Data-base environment".


title: Create, read, update and delete

text: Together these four operations make up the basic operations of storage management known as CRUD: "Create", "Read", "Update" and "Delete".


title: Create, read, update and delete

text: The acronym CRUD refers to the major operations which are implemented by databases. Each letter in the acronym can be mapped to a standard Structured Query Language (SQL) statement.


title: Create, read, update and delete

text: Although relational databases are a common persistence layer in software applications, numerous other persistence layers exist. CRUD functionality can for example be implemented with document databases, object databases, XML databases, text files, or binary files.