September 2010
September 29, 2010
WE ARE HEADING TO NEW YORK!!! YES, PEOPLE WE WILL BE ATTENDING THE UPCOMING NEW YORK COMIC-CON AND WE NEED EVERYONE TO JOIN US THERE. NEW YORKERS, PLEASE DON'T BE SHY. THE EVENT WILL TAKE PLACE ON OCTOBER 8 - 10. SO COME OUT AND SHOW US YOUR SUPPORT!!!
*Starting tomorrow, due to the upcoming event, there will be a delay in shipping your orders. We will still receive and ship orders, but it will be delayed. If you have any questions regarding this event or our shipping delay, please don't hesitate to e-mail us at info@animebooks.com. Thank you.*
NEWS!!!
Funimation Channel Added to AT&T U-verse Service
U.S. 24-hour anime network on channel 1484 under Premium HD Tier The American telecommunications company AT&T is now offering the 24-hour anime network FUNimation Channel on its U-verse service. The channel is available on channel 1484 under U-verse's Premium HD Tier.
K-On! Anime Sells 20th Consecutive Top-10 CD Single
Mio Akiyama, Yui Hirasawa's image songs each sell 27,000 to rank #4, #5
The K-ON!! Image Songs CD singles for the characters Mio Akiyama and Yui Hirasawa each sold 27,000 copies to rank #4 and #5, respectively, on Oricon's singles chart for the September 20-26 week. (Mio Akiyama's CD edged out Yui Hirasawa's CD.) The two anime series inspired by kakifly's K-ON! four-panel comedy manga have now placed 20 consecutive CD singles in Oricon's weekly top 10.
Both the manga and the anime adaptations follow a group of high school girls who form a band. Voices actresses Aki Toyosaki (Yui Hirasawa), Yōko Hikasa (Mio Akiyama), Satomi Satou (Ritsu Tainaka), Minako Kotobuki (Tsumugi Kotobuki), and Ayana Taketatsu (Azusa Nakano) perform as their respective characters in the anime's soundtrack and the related CD releases. Both the original manga and the ongoing anime are ending this month, and the last television anime episode airs this Tuesday.
Bandai Entertainment announced at Anime Expo in July that it licensed the first K-On! television series, and Yen Press licensed the original manga.
Hikaru Utada Adds Concert in Japan, Pepsi Ad, Twitter
Singer packs schedule before planned 2011 hiatus
Japanese pop singer Hikaru Utada announced on Tuesday that she will perform her first solo concerts in Japan since 2006. The concerts will take place at the Yokohama Arena on December 8 and 9, coinciding with the 12th anniversary of her debut single "Automatic / time will tell." The singer also announced her appearance in a Pepsi Nex television commercial (her first television commercial in five years), a November 24 release date for her best hits CD Utada Hikaru Single Collection Vol.2, and her own Twitter account.
Utada had announced in August that she will go on an indefinite hiatus in 2011, citing a lack of growth.
Utada is an internationally known, bestselling pop artist born in New York City and raised in Japan and the United States. Her debut album, 1999's First Love, is still Japan's bestselling album ever with about 8 million copies sold. Bandai Visual used Utada's "Kiss & Cry" and "This is Love" songs for the Freedom anime project. Utada also sang the theme songs for the Casshern live-action movie remake and the Hana Yori Dango 2 live-action television adaptation.
More recently, she provided a 2007 remix of her 2000 cover of Frank Sinatra's "Fly Me to the Moon (In Other Words)" for the trailer to Evangelion:1.0 You are (Not) Alone (Evangelion Shin Gekijōban: Jo), as well as her "Beautiful World" song for the anime film itself. She also contributed the "Beautiful World -PLANiTb Acoustica Mix-" for the second film, Evangelion:2.0 You Can (Not) Advance (Evangelion Shin Gekijōban: Ha). In addition to her singing career, she played the heroine Pinoko in the 2001-2002 Black Jack net anime series. She toured the United States and the United Kingdom last year.
Angel Beats! Gets Another Epilogue Green-Lit
Alternate ending segment that "no one knows" for final episode of TV anime
Production on "Another Epilogue" for the Angel Beats! television anime series has been green-lit. The "one more ending that no one knows" will serve as an alternate last segment for the final episode of the anime, which aired on June 25. The epilogue will be included in the final home video volume for the anime.
The Neowing retail website had revealed in June that the seventh and final Blu-ray Disc/DVD volume will ship with the 13th television episode ("Graduation") and unaired special footage on December 22.
Saiyuki's Minekura Puts Manga on Hiatus due to Health
Kazuya Minekura was serializing Saiyuki Reload Blast, Saiyuki Ibun
The November issue of Ichijinsha's Monthly Comic Zero-Sum magazine has announced on Tuesday that Saiyuki manga creator Kazuya Minekura is putting her manga serial work on indefinite hiatus due to her poor health. Minekura provided more details on her blog on Tuesday. She explained that she is undergoing one medical check after another for a possible surgery, so she cannot maintain her work schedule.
Until her hiatus, Minekura had been drawing Saiyuki Reload Blast in Monthly Comic Zero-Sum and Saiyuki Ibun in Ichijinsha's Zōkan Zero-Sum Ward magazine.
Subaru, Gainax Plan Collaborative Animation Project
Project with staffers from Mahoromatic, Gurren Lagann, Shana "drops this winter"
The official teaser site for the "Subaru x Gainax Animation Project" has launched on Tuesday. According to the website, the collaborative project between the car manufacturer and the anime studio "drops this winter," and status updates on the animation production and other matters are available from the official Twitter account. The project's staff includes director Shouji Saeki (Mahoromatic, Strike Witches 2 episode storyboarder), concept artist Daisuke Kikuchi (Gurren Lagann, Mahoromatic: Tadaima Okaeri), and character designer Mai Otsuka (Shakugan no Shana, Hanamaru Kindergarten).
Satoshi Kon's Paprika to Run in D.C. on Wednesday
The Japan Information and Culture Center and Asia Society will host a screening of Paprika in the Embassy of Japan's auditorium in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. The event will be a tribute to the late director Satoshi Kon. After the movie, a discussion will be held on Kon's works and his influence in Japanese pop culture. The discussion will be lead by Tom Vick who is the film programmer for the Freer and Sackler Galleries of the Smithsonian Institution and author of Asian Cinema: A Field Guide.
Paprika involves the theft of a machine that can enter people's dreams. With the thief having the potential to cause serious psychological damage, Dr. Atsuko Chiba enters the dream world to stop the culprit.
Source: Anime News Network
September 20, 2010
NEWS!!!
Trigun Film to Bundle Dodongo Brothers Manga in Japan
Creator Nightow to draw DVD/BD cover art; "Kuroneko-sama's Treasure Chest" footage included
The 2010 anime film Trigun: Badlands Rumble- has been scheduled for release in Japan on DVD and Blu-ray Disc on December 15, and the news site Comic Natalie reports that the Blu-ray and the first pressing of the limited-edition DVD will be bundled with the two-part manga Gekijoban Trigun Bangai-hen: Dodongo Kyodai Honeycombed Village no Ketto. The manga, drawn by original Trigun and Trigun Maximum creator Yasuhiro Nightow, originally appeared in the March and April issues of Shounen Gahousha's Young King Ours magazine.
Nightow is also drawing an original illustration to grace the jacket of the Blu-ray and DVD releases. Additional features in the Blu-ray and limited-edition DVD's first pressing include the storyboards for deleted scenes (with notes by director Satoshi Nishimura), cast and staff interviews, a video from a discussion event at an early screening of the film, trailers and commercials, storyboards, and "Kuroneko-sama's Treasure Chest" — a set of exclusive footage and production materials. The standard edition DVD will not feature these bonuses.
The original Trigun manga was published in Tokuma Shoten's Shonen Captain magazine from 1995 to 1997. In 1998, the manga moved to Young King Ours under the title Trigun Maximum. Madhouse animated a 26-episode anime adaptation of the manga in 1998. The possibility of a Trigun movie follow-up first appeared in 2005. In 2008 the film was planned for 2009 before being pushed to spring 2010. The film's world premiere took place at Seattle's Sakura-Con before opening in Japan on April 24.
The Trigun manga is licensed in North America by Dark Horse Comics. The TV anime was originally licensed in North America by Geneon USA, which shut down in 2007. In February 2010, Funimation announced that it would release the Trigun TV anime on Blu-ray as well as re-releasing it on DVD. Funimation announced its acquisition of the Trigun film at Anime Expo 2010, where the film was screened.
Aa Megami-sama Gets New Original Anime DVD
DVD to ship with 42nd volume on February 23
The 42nd volume of Kousuke Fujishima's Aa Megami-sama manga will ship in a limited edition with an original animation DVD (OAD) on February 23, 2011. Hiroaki Gohda is directing the project, and the theme song will be sung by fripSide. The official website will be at http://kc.kodansha.co.jp/megamisama. The original manga is celebrating its 22nd year next year.
NYC Fashion Institute Museum Hosts J-Fashion Exhibit
Exhibit includes cosplay, gothic lolita, other Japanese fashion trends
The Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) is hosting an exhibit devoted to Japanese fashion starting on Friday, September 17 and running until January 8, 2011. According to The New York Observer, the exhibit will include about 100 outfits, including "Gothic Punk Lolita," "Forest Girl," "Princess Decoration," and others. According to the official Museum at FIT website, cosplay is also represented at the exhibit.
The show's curator and museum director Valerie Steele told the Observer that "Japan is the first non-Western country that's had a really major radical impact on global fashion. […] Designers will go over to Japan and … they will come back and maybe incorporate elements into their collections […]"
Among the designers on display is Naoto Hirooka, a.k.a. h.Naoto, who has personally appeared at the 2010 Otakon convention and the July 1 X Japan benefit concert in Los Angeles. Hirooka is the designer behind the look of the idol project Hangry&Angry, whose Rika Ishikawa will appear at the New York Anime Festival from October 7 to 10.
Gundam iPhone/iPod touch Apps Shown at Tokyo Game Show
Gundam Fighting Spirits, SD Gundam G Generation Touch, NDAM Tool Box in Japan this winter
The video gaming convention Tokyo Game Show opened on Thursday, and Bandai Namco Games is demonstrating three Gundam-themed apps for Apple's iPhone and iPod touch mobile devices. The AppBank website posted videos of its hands-on experience with the three apps and other software at the show.
Two of the Gundam apps are games. Gundam Fighting Spirits (tentative title) is a 2D fighting game with the anime franchise's mobile suits facing each other. Players can fight each other over a wireless Bluetooth connection. An earlier version of the game has been available for other mobile phones in Japan. SD Gundam G Generation Touch (tentative title) is a port of the SD Gundam G Generation tactical simulation game franchise from traditional game consoles. This game series recreates and expands upon the storylines of the anime franchise and allows players to use over 100 mobile suits in turn-based tactics.
The third set of apps is tentatively titled NDAM Tool Box (Gundam Tool Box -RX-78-2 Cockpit ver.- and Gundam Tool Box -RX-78-2 simple icons ver.-). The apps offer alternate ways to access eight common features such as email and phone in a Gundam-theme environment.
The three featured apps will come out in Japan in Winter, but an overseas release has not been announced.
Navarre Has 6 Interested Buyers for Funimation
Anime distributor's president to receive compensation if sale is completed
Navarre Corporation, the Minneapolis-based parent company of North American anime distributor Funimation, held a shareholders meeting on Wednesday and announced that the company "received six indications of interest" from possible buyers of Funimation. Navarre expects that final offers will arrive within 30 to 60 days, but it cannot guarantee that these offers will lead to a transaction.
The CEO and president of Funimation, Gen Fukunaga, started a new contract on May 27 since his previous five-year contract ended on May 10. With the agreement, Fukunaga must cooperate and participate in the efforts for the potential sale of Funimation. If Funimation is sold during Fukunaga's contract, he will receive a "transaction success fee" of US$250,000 or 5 percent of certain transaction proceeds, whichever is greater.
Navarre announced in May that it was evaluating the possible sale of Funimation. Navarre emphasized that "Funimation's recent results have generally met expectations," but CEO Cary L. Deacon said that Navarre will be focusing its strategy on its distribution and software publishing businesses.
Keanu Reeves Discusses Live-Action Cowboy Bebop
Actor: Cost to make script would be "very expensive"; current status is unknown
Actor Keanu Reeves (The Matrix, Animatrix, Johnny Mnemonic) discussed the current status of the proposed live-action Cowboy Bebop film project with the Collider movie news website in a Monday interview. Reeves premiered his new film Henry's Crime at the Toronto International Film Festival on Tuesday.
When Collider asked for an update on the Cowboy Bebop project, Reeves responded:
I haven't heard anything back. They turned in the script and it was very expensive. I don't know if they're going to…it would cost, like, half a billion dollars to make that script. So, I don't know where it's at right now.
Reeves had told MTV News last September that writer Peter Craig was rewriting the script. He added at the time that the producers were "just trying to pull it back" in scope.
The American film studio Twentieth Century Fox, the production company 3 Arts Entertainment, and the original anime studio Sunrise have been co-producing this proposed adaptation of the 1998 anime series. The original series follows the motley crew of the spaceship Bebop as it travels throughout the solar system in search of the next job.
Reeves is slated to star. Joshua Long is acting as a production supervisor, and Erwin Stoff, a film producer who worked closely with Reeves on The Matrix and A Scanner Darkly, is also attached. The associate producers are Sunrise President Kenji Uchida, the original Cowboy Bebop director Shinichiro Watanabe, and the original series script supervisor Keiko Nobumoto. The Sunrise studio itself and Masahiko Minami (former Sunrise producer and BONES studio co-founder) are both acting as production consultants.
Aerosmith's Tyler to Sing Live-Action Yamato Theme
U.S. rocker Steven Tyler writes 1st solo single for December space opera film
Steven Tyler, the vocalist of the American rock band Aerosmith, is singing the theme song for the live-action film version of the Space Battleship Yamato anime franchise. Tyler wrote the "Love Lives" song specifically for the film, and the single will go on sale in Japan on November 24. It is Tyler's first solo single.
After his agent received the official offer from the Yamato production staff, Tyler looked over an English translation of the script and production materials. He responded to the Yamato's theme of "I want to protect the ones I love" and agreed to write a song.
37-year-old SMAP band member Takuya Kimura (Howl's Moving Castle's Howl) is headlining the live-action film based on the 1974-1975 space opera anime classic, Space Battleship Yamato (adapted as Star Blazers in English). The other cast members include Meisa Kuroki (Vexille - 2077 Isolation of Japan's Vexille, Crows Zero's Luca), Toshiro Yanagiba, and Tsutomu Yamazaki. Takashi Yamazaki, the director best known for Returner, Always: Sunset on Third Street, and last year's Ballad, is helming the project for a December 1 release.
Source: Anime News Network
September 13, 2010
Come check out these new titles from our site. They are fresh and they are new!
These two titles are a must if you love art. Shegenori Soejima's work covers a lot of Persona art. If you love Persona illustrations but do not want to own the concept art or the play by play gaming, then this is perfect! We know you would love it once you take one look at this book.
Korean illustrations are everywhere now. We have seen their work in the Korean Illustrations and Fusion Junction series. We have seen the latest sensation with pixiv's books. Now, it is the Koreans turn for their own series - poppic! This features a lot of artists (including the famous maggie from the Fusion Junction series) with their works and a tutorial of their work. It is so great that we know you would love it.
Now, to all of the Oh! My Goddess fans out there, here is something for you below. From the artist of series, Mr. Fujishima explores his love for other Anime as he reveal some of his favorites in this new book Kosuke Fujishima's Character Laboratory. We would not forget the animation aspect of the series. Explore Hidenori Matsubara's illustrations as the artist illustrates, not only Oh! My Goddess, Neon Genesis Evangelion, Sakura Wars, and more.
NEWS!!!
Daily Video: California TV Reports on Pedobear Warning
San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Department issues public safety warning on cartoon bear
According to a news report aired and streamed by the television station KSBY 6 in southern California on Thursday, the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Department is warning the local area about the Internet meme character "Pedobear," a cartoon bear frequently drawn as pursuing or otherwise acting lecherous towards children. According to the news report, the Sheriff's Department believes that pedophiles are using the image as a mascot and advises that if a viewer sees the image, to use caution with whoever may be associated with it.
KSBY is affiliated with MSNBC; as such, the story has appeared on the larger news site. Other outlets are reporting that the warning is a mistake on the part of the sheriff's office, including the Metro, the Telegraph, the Huffington Post, and Gawker.
The cartoon version of Pedobear is derived from ASCII (text character) art popular on Japan's popular 2channel message board. That art, known as "Kumaa," was appropriated by the Fukuoka City Consumer Life Center in Japan last month, to be used as a mascot for consumer tips on avoiding falling into debt and other financial problems.
Voice Actor Norio Imamura Fined 500,000 Yen for Indecent Pics
Voice of One Piece's Ivankov posted 4 pictures on blog to display tattoos
The Tokyo Summary Court levied a 500,000-yen (about US$6,000) fine against 56-year-old voice and stage actor Norio Imamura for posting indecent pictures of his body on his blog earlier this year.
Imamura runs a bar named Toh where tattoo enthusiasts gather in Tokyo's Shinjuku ward, and he has adorned his own entire body with tattoos. According to the police investigation, Imamura said in a deposition that he has been tattooing himself for about a decade, and was wanting to show off the fact that he finished tattooing his entire body. He posted four images of his tattooed body, including his genital area, between April 26 and June 12.
As a voice actor, Imamura is best known for playing Emporio Ivankov in the One Piece television anime series.
City Hunter Manga Gets Live-Action Korean TV Series
Lee Min-Ho to star in re-imagining of action comedy, now set in Seoul in 2011
Actor Lee Min-Ho has been casted as the star of the live-action Korean television adaptation of Tsukasa Hojo's City Hunter detective action comedy manga. In the original manga, Ryo Saeba is a private eye ("sweeper") with unrivaled marksmanship and an over-the-top obsession for the opposite sex.
The new version from the television broadcaster SBS re-imagines manga's setting of Tokyo in the late 1980s as Seoul in 2011. Lee will play a former CIA operative who now works as a gun-for-hire.
In 2008, the American company Fox Television Studios signed a tentative agreement to co-produce and distribute a joint Korean-Japanese live-action adaptation of the manga, although no further developments in that effort has since been announced. Another Korean actor, Jung Woo-sung, had been previously attached to that earlier, proposed live-action version. Another Asian star, Hong Kong martial artist Jackie Chan, played Saeba in a loose 1992 live-action Hong Kong adaptation of City Hunter. Coincidentally, 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment distributes this 1992 City Hunter film in North America.
The original manga had already been adapted into four television anime series, one anime movie, and several video and television specials. ADV Films released most of these anime projects in North America. Hojo has since drawn an Angel Heart spinoff to his City Hunter manga, and that manga has also been adapted into anime for television.
Ghost Hunt Manga to End in Japan After 12 Volumes
Manga version of novels by 12 Kingdoms/Shiki's Ono inspired TV anime
Kodansha will publish the 12th and final volume from Shiho Inada's shōjo supernatural mystery manga Ghost Hunt in Japan on September 30. The manga adapts Akuryō novel series by Fuyumi Ono (12 Kingdoms, Shiki).
In the story, high school girl Mai Taniyama encounters Shibuya Psychic Research, a paranormal investigation agency led by a tall, dark, handsome — and, naturally, aloof — teenager. Before long, Mai joins the ranks of the agency, whose associates include a Chinese occultist, a world-famous psychic, a self-proclaimed Shinto shrine maiden, a former Buddhist monk, and a Catholic exorcist. The agency's adventures throughout modern Japan blend elements of Asian folklore and European mythology.
The manga launched in Kodansha's monthly Amie magazine in 1998, and then it moved to Kodansha's Nakayoshi magazine. It has since moved out of magazines entirely, and Kodansha has been publishing it exclusively in tankōbon (book volumes). The final three volumes have been bundling limited-edition drama CDs, and the final volume will feature an afterword by Ono.
Del Rey published the 10th manga volume in North America last year. Funimation licensed and released the 25-episode television anime version of the manga on DVD in 2008.
Scotland Fest to Debut Trigun, One Piece, Haruhi Films
"Scotland Loves Anime" to also hold Scottish premieres of Summer Wars, Redline, Layton
The British film festival, "Scotland Loves Anime," has announced its October lineup. The festival will hold the British premieres of Trigun: Badlands Rumble, One Piece Film Strong World and The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya. Also announced is the Scottish premieres of Summer Wars, Redline and Professor Layton and the Eternal Diva. The festival will open in Glasgow at the Glasgow Film Theatre on October 8 and close on October 10. The event will also run in Edinburgh at the Filmhouse Cinemas from October 15 through October 17.
Laputa, Yamadas BD Confirmed to Have 6-7 Dubs, Subs
Walt Disney Studios Japan has announced the details of its December 22 Blu-ray Disc releases of Studio Ghibli's Castle in the Sky Laputa and My Neighbors the Yamadas film on Friday. The Laputa Blu-ray Disc will contain soundtracks in Japanese, French, German, Korean, Cantonese Chinese, and Mandarin Chinese. (The Japanese track will be in 2.0ch surround/lossless DTS-HD master audio, while the other tracks will be in Dolby Digital 2.0ch.) The disc will also have Japanese, English, French, Korean, Traditional Chinese (Cantonese and Mandarin), and Finnish subtitles. The Dolby Digital 5.1ch English-dubbed version of the film (with Japanese subtitles) will be a separate video extra. Composer Joe Hisaishi had personally recorded new music for the North American English release of Hayao Miyazaki's film.
The video extras on the Laputa Blu-ray will also include the storyboards — which can be played in a picture-in-picture (PIP) simultaneously with the film itself — as well as the recording script, the credit-less versions of the opening and ending sequences, trailers, TV commercials, and promotional videos.
The Yamadas Blu-ray Disc will contain soundtracks in Japanese, English, German, Korean, and Mandarin Chinese. (The Japanese track will be in 2.0ch stereo/linear PCM or 5.1ch/lossless DTS-HD master audio, while the English and German tracks will be in Dolby Digital 5.1ch. The Korean and Chinese tracks will be in Dolby Digital 2.0ch surround.) The disc will also have Japanese, English, French, German, Korean, and Traditional Chinese (Cantonese and Mandarin) subtitles. The video extras will include NTV's Super TV Jōhō Saizensen "making-of" special (about 45 minutes long) on Isao Takahata's film, storyboards, the recording script, trailers, TV commercials, and promotional videos.
NY Comic Con/Anime Fest to Premiere Star Driver
Also: Tow Ubukata to present world premiere of Mardock Scramble: The First Compression
Aniplex America has announced that New York Comic Con / Anime Festival will host the American premiere of BONES' Star Driver Kagayaki no Takuto television anime series. The "school robot action" story is set on a verdant island called Southern Cross, where a boy named Takuto Tsunashi arrives one night by swimming ashore. He enrolls in the island's high school academy, which conceals a secret — a giant humanoid figure underground. Takuya Igarashi (Soul Eater, Ouran High School Host Club) is directing the series, whcih will premiere in Japan in October.
Aniplex also released a press release confirming a previous announcement that creator Tow Ubukata will personally present the world premiere of the first Mardock Scramble film at New York Comic Con on October 8. Mardock Scramble: The First Compression, the first of three films based on Ubukata's science fiction novel series, will not open in Japan until November 6.
The North American book distributor Simon & Schuster is already listing a Mardock Scramble book by Ubukata for a January 2011 release by Viz Media. Simon & Schuster describes the plot of the book as the following:
Why me? It was to be the last thought a young prostitute, Balot, would ever have…as a human anyway. Taken in by a devious gambler named Shell, she became a slave to his cruel desires and would have been killed by his hand if not for a private investigator and his self-aware Universal Tool, Oefcoque. Now a cyborg, Balot has not only physical powers, but the ability to disrupt social environments. She chases after Shell, his partner-in-crime Boiled, and faces down a variety of insane villains in this pulse-pounding cyberpunk noir adventure.
Megumi Hayashibara will play the main character Rune Balot, and Susumu Kudo is directing the films at the GoHands anime studio with character designer Shingo Suzuki. The project was originally planned in 2005 as an original video anime series with the Gonzo anime studio, director Yasufumi Soejima, and character designer Range Murata, but that earlier version was cancelled in 2006 "for various reasons."
Ubukata won the Nihon SF Taisho Award from his fellow writers in 2003 for his original Mardock Scramble novel series. Besides Mardock Scramble, Ubukata created the stories behind the Soukyuu no Fafner - Dead Aggressor, Le Chevalier d'Eon, Heroic Age, and Pilgrim Jäger anime and manga projects.
Source: Anime News Network
September 4-5, 2010
*WE ARE GOING THROUGH INVENTORY CONTROL IN THE WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 5, 2010 - SEPTEMBER 12, 2010. WE WILL BE ACCEPTING ORDERS, BUT YOUR ORDERS MIGHT BE DELAYED. IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, PLEASE CONTACT US VIA E-MAIL. WE WILL GLADLY ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS YOU WILL HAVE.
NEWS!!!
Da Capo's Circus Studio Head Tororo-Danchō Steps Down
Kazutoshi Matsumura will still produce games in the works, train "next generation"
The official website of the Japanese game studio CIRCUS has announced on Saturday that Kazutoshi Matsumura — the man who is better known as "tororo-danchō" — is retiring as the head of the studio. According to the announcement, Matsumura is stepping down so he can train "the next generation" of staff members and "reform" the studio's corporate structure.
The announcement explained that Matsumura could not simultaneously run the company and cultivate new talent — especially since he is still producing the games that the studio currently has in development.
In addition to serving as the leader of CIRCUS, Matsumura produced numerous games such as the D.C. ~Da Capo~ franchise, My-HiME: Unmei no Keitōju, Gift, and true tears. He was also credited in the anime adaptations of D.C. ~Da Capo~, and he composed music for D.C. ~Da Capo~ and other franchises.
DC's Jim Lee Discusses CMX's Ending, Licenses' Future
The retail news source ICv2 interviewed DC Comics Co-Publishers Jim Lee and Dan Didio at Comic-Con International in July and posted the transcript last week. The two talked about what may happen to its shuttered CMX division's manga licenses. Lee said that a couple of creative studios were interested in obtaining the rights to certain manga. He added, "I think dark horse had expressed interest…."
Lee also explained why the company dropped its manga division. He said that CMX had difficulty obtaining key licenses, because it had to first start with lesser-known titles and then work up to better properties. Manga sales were also comparatively low compared to DC Comics' other sales before the company decided to shut CMX down. Some of the manga stories have remained incomplete.
CMX Manga stopped publishing new titles on July 1. However, the decision did not affect Fred Gallagher's Megatokyo which will continue publication. DC Comics launched CMX in October of 2004 with manga Madara, Land of the Blindfolded, and From Eroica with Love.
Luna Sea Announces Reunion, World Tour
6 dates, locations announced in U.S., Germany, Taiwan, Japan
The members of the Japanese rock band Luna Sea announced their reunion and a world tour at their press conference on Tuesday in Hong Kong. The tour is titled "20th Anniversary World Tour Reboot -to the New Moon-" and will begin in Germany on November 27. Locations in December include Los Angeles (December 4), Hong Kong (December 11), Taipei (December 18), and Tokyo (December 23-24). Other locations will be added and the tour will contain new songs. The band members explained the press conference was held in Hong Kong because it was the city where they announced their breakup in 2000.
Luna Sea was formed in 1989 with Ryuichi as the vocalist, Sugizo playing guitar and violin, Inoran as another guitarist, J playing bass, and Shinya on drums. After breaking up in 2000, the band reunited for a one-night concert on December 24, 2007 in Tokyo.
San Francisco Fest Shows Summer Wars, Oblivion Island
NY Int'l Children's Film Fest, SF Film Society launch new festival this month
The New York International Children's Film Festival (NYICFF) and the San Francisco Film Society, a non-profit arts and education organization, announced a new collaboration titled NY/SF International Children's Film Festival (NY/SF). The event will take place at Landmark's Embarcadero Center Cinema in San Francisco from September 24 to September 26. NY/SF will host 50 short and feature films. Each feature will be making its West Coast or Bay Area premiere. Films in the festival include Summer Wars and Oblivion Island: Haruka and the Magic Mirror. Both films previously made their American premieres at NYICFF earlier this year.
Summer Wars is the award winning film from the anime studio MADHOUSE, director Mamoru Hosoda, screenwriter Satoko Okudera, and character designer Yoshiyuki Sadamoto. (The same core team worked together on The Girl Who Leapt Through Time.) The film features a modern-day family involved with a conflict that spans their world and the virtual world known as Oz. Summer Wars has been licensed by North American anime distributor Funimation.
Oblivion Island: Haruka and the Magic Mirror was directed by Shinsuke Sato, who is also directing the upcoming live-action Gantz films. Production I.G produced Oblivion Island as its first 3D computer-animated feature. The film focuses on Haruka, an only daughter living with an emotional distant father. One day at a local shrine she encounters a small magical creature that takes her to the land of forgotten items. Here, she finds memorabilia from her childhood and the Baron, the ruler of Oblivion Island who has been watching her.
Tokyo's Haneda Airport Builds 'Tokyo Pop Town'
New terminal includes Hello Kitty café, anime goods stores
On July 20, Haneda Airport in Tokyo, Japan completed a new terminal that includes "Tokyo Pop Town," an area which celebrates Japan's anime and character culture. The area is split into two zones. The "Hot Zone" includes a Hello Kitty mini-theme park and café, a store selling character goods for mascot character Shirotan, a shop called High Collar Yokochō (Street) which sells anime and character goods, a toy shop, and a fast food burger shop.
The "Cool Zone" also features a character goods shop called TrapeFrape, which will offer goods from NHK and Studio Ghibli works, as well as a Design Japan Culture Store, a science toy shop, a fashion store called Mono, and a planetarium café.
In addition to Tokyo Pop Town, the airport is building Edo Koji, an area themed like an Edo-era (1603-1868) town, and a large duty-free shopping mall. The entire 159,000-square-foot (15,000-square-meter) terminal and its 105 stores and restaurants are scheduled to open on October 21.
New Jersey's MangaNEXT Convention to Host Akino Kondoh
Contributor to AX alternative manga anthology in Japan & U.S.
MangaNEXT announced this week that Akino Kondoh will be appearing at the convention as a Guest of Honor. MangaNEXT will be held at the Hilton East Brunswick Hotel & Executive Meeting Center in East Brunswick, New Jersey during the Halloween weekend (October 29-31).
Kondoh is an illustrator, cartoonist, and manga artist. She won Seirinkogeisha's 2nd AX Manga Newcomer's Award/Encouragement Award (Seirin Kogeisha) with her manga "Kayoko Kobayashi" in 2000. In 2003, she received the Jury Recommended Work honor in the Manga Division of the 7th Media Arts Festival Awards. She is one of the contributors in the first volume of AX, Top Shelf's compilation of alternative manga from Seirinkogeisha's magazine of the same name.
Other graphic novel and comic creators who are MangaNEXT guests include M. Alice LeGrow (Bizenghast), Nina Paley (Sita Sings the Blues), and Lea Hernandez (Texas Steampunk, Marvel Mangaverse).
Voice Actor Ryotaro Okiayu to Appear at Yaoi-Con
Acted in FMA, Bleach, Prince of Tennis, El Hazard, Kizuna, Gakuen Heaven, Junjou Romantica
Yaoi-Con announced this week that voice actor Ryotaro Okiayu will be a Guest of Honor at this year's convention. Yaoi-Con will be held at the Hyatt Regency San Francisco Airport during the Halloween weekend (October 29-31).
Okiayu has played numerous roles such as Fullmetal Alchemist's Scar, Bleach's Kuchiki, Prince of Tennis' Kunimitsu Tezuka, El Hazard's Katsuhiko Jinnai, Fruits Basket's Shigure Sohma, Gundam Wing's Treize Kushrenada, and the Harukanaru Toki no Naka de franchise's Akuram. His boys-love/yaoi anime credits include Kizuna, Gakuen Heaven, Gravitation, Junjou Romantica, No Money, and Mirage of Blaze.
Other guests include manga creator Ayano Yamane, manga creator Hinako Takanaga, manga creator Kano Miyamoto, and voice actor Hidenobu Kiuchi.
Anime Production Firm Group TAC Files for Bankruptcy
Firm of Night on the Galactic Railroad/Touch's Gisaburô Sugii is 650 million yen in debt
The financial research firm Teikoku Databank has reported on Friday that the anime production company Group TAC (Manga Nihon Mukashi Banashi, Night on the Galactic Railroad, Touch) filed for bankruptcy at the Tokyo District Court on August 31. The bankruptcy filing lists about 585 million yen (about US$6.95 million) in debts as of the end of the August 2009 fiscal year.
The Tokyo-based company has nine employees and was headed by Atsumi Tashiro until Tashiro's death in July. It reported 10 million yen (US$120,000) in capital.
The company was founded in March of 1968. In addition to Manga Nihon Mukashi Banashi, Night on the Galactic Railroad, and Touch, the studio produced the Arashi no Yoru ni feature film, which was nominated for Animation of the Year in the Japanese Academy Awards in 2007. At that high point in the company's history, it reported 1.53 billion yen (US$18.2 million) in revenues for the fiscal year ending in August of 2007.
However, with the decline of television anime, sponsors scaled back, and Group TAC's revenues fell to 596 million yen (US$7.07 million) in the August 2009 fiscal year. The company attempted to continue operations despite the decrease in new contracts and staff members. However, after Tashiro's death, the difficulties in staying in business proved insurmountable.
As recently as Tokyo International Anime Fair 2008, Group TAC was promoting its remake of The Life of Guskou Budori (Guskou Budori no Denki, pictured at right) fable by Kenji Miyazawa. Miyazawa was also the author of the original Night on the Galactic Railroad novel. Sugii, the director of Galactic Railroad and Touch, would have overseen the project, and Sadayuki Murai (Kino's Journey, Millennium Actress, Steamboy) was scripting.
Source: Anime News Network
September 2, 2010
From the studio that have brought you Spirited Away, Howl's Moving Castle, and Ponyo, enter into a magical world full of wonders and mystery in Karigurashi no Arrietty. We got a lot of Karigurashi no Arrietty (The Borrowers Arrietty) titles that we thought we might want to share it with you. Here are some of the titles from our list. Come check them out!
If you want to check out some more, please check out more Karigurashi no Arrietty
We did not forget all of the Pixiv fans out there who are itching for more from the company. Here are two new titles that we know you'll love! Enjoy!
NEWS!!!
Kozue Amano's Amanchu! Goes Quarterly Due to Pregnancy
Next manga chapter from Aria creator to run in November; Avi Arad launches The Innocent
The October issue of Mag Garden's Monthly Comic Blade magazine has announced on Monday that Kozue Amano is shifting her Amanchu! manga from a monthly schedule to quarterly due to her pregnancy and eventual childcare. The next installment will appear in the January 2011 issue on November 30.
The Innocent manga has launched in the same October issue of Monthly Comic Blade. Jun'ichi Fujisaku (The Beast Player Erin, Blood+, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex) is writing this story based on a concept by producer Avi Arad (Spider-Man, X-Men, Iron Man), and Korean artist Ya-Sung Ko (Innocent Venus character co-designer) is drawing the title.
Amano launched Amanchu! in November of 2008 after having finished her best known manga, Aria, earlier that year. ADV Manga and later Tokyopop licensed the Aria manga for North America. Right Stuf and its Nozomi Entertainment production arim released the various anime adaptations of Aria.
Director: Key Animator Shojuro Yamauchi Passes Away
Yamauchi worked on Spirited Away, Grave of the Fireflies, Lupin III, One Pound Gospel
Writer/director Akitaro Daichi reported on his Twitter account on Wednesday that key animator Shojuro Yamauchi had passed away on Tuesday. The two creators had worked together on Prince Mackaroo (Ojarumaru). A fellow writer/director, Sakichi Sato, had reported on his Twitter account earlier on Wednesday that another "legendary anime director" had passed away in addition to Satoshi Kon.
Yamauchi worked on dozens of anime works as a key animator — the artist who draws the key frames for the other artists to model their frames in an animated sequence. His many works include Conan, the Boy in Future, Dagger of Kamui, Lupin III: The Legend of the Gold of Babylon, Lupin III: The Secret of Mamo. After Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro, he worked on several Studio Ghibli films including Isao Takahata's Grave of the Fireflies and Hayao Miyazaki's Spirited Away.
He also served as animation director on One Pound Gospel, Prince Mackaroo, Sherlock Hound, and Kiteretsu Daihyakka. As recently as last year, he was still drawing frames for Mainichi Kaasan and Kawa no Hikari.
Perfect Blue/Paprika Director Satoshi Kon Passes Away
Award-winning anime director of Millennium Actress, Tokyo Godfathers, Paranoia Agent
Jim Vowles, a member of the Otakorp Board of Directors for the Otakon convention, has announced on Tuesday that director Satoshi Kon has passed away. Kon was 47. The staff of Otakon confirmed his passing with MADHOUSE studio founder Masao Maruyama. Maruyama had wrote on his Twitter account on Tuesday night in Japan that an important director of the studio had suddenly passed away. However, Maruyama declined to name the director at the time.
Kon began working as a manga creator on such works as Kaikisen (1990) before deciding to delve into the anime industry with the art design of Hiroyuki Kitakubo and Katsuhiro Otomo's Roujin Z video in 1991. He then worked on the script and art direction of "Magnetic Rose," a segment of Otomo's 1995 science-fiction anthology film Memories.
Kon first drew worldwide attention with his feature film directorial debut, the psychological suspense film Perfect Blue, in 1997. He would follow that with a string of critically acclaimed anime projects: Millennium Actress (2001), Tokyo Godfathers (2003), Paranoia Agent (2004), and Paprika (2006). At the time of his passing, Kon was working at MADHOUSE on a new feature film called Yume-Miru Kikai.
ANN interviewed Kon in 2008 as he was beginning work on Yume-Miru Kikai.
Gundam 00 Film to Premiere at NY Anime Fest in October
Sequel to Mobile Suit Gundam 00 TV anime to open in Japan on September 18
The Japanese anime studio Sunrise has announced on Wednesday that Mobile Suit Gundam 00 the Movie: A wakening of the Trailblazer will have its North American premiere at New York Anime Festival on October 10 at 2:00 p.m. The premiere will be in Japanese with English subtitles.
The two-hour film serves as a sequel to the two-season Mobile Suit Gundam 00 television anime. Director Seiji Mizushima returns with his team at Sunrise to make this project. The film will open in Japan on September 18.
Funimation Adds Disgaea Anime
1st episode streaming now; DVD set of former Geneon license ships in early 2011
The North American anime distributor Funimation has announced on Wednesday that it licensed the Disgaea fantasy anime series. The complete 12-episode series will ship on DVD in early 2011, but the first episode is streaming now with English dubbing on Funimation's website.
In this 2006 television anime series, director Kiyotaka Isako and Oriental Light and Magic adapted Nippon Ichi Software's popular Disgaea role-playing game franchise. Geneon Entertainment had previously licensed and released the anime in North America.
Source: Anime News Network
IF YOU MISS OUT ON ANYTHING FOR THESE MONTHS, COME CHECK IT OUT UNDER THESE SECTIONS.
NEWS!!!
U.S. 24-hour anime network on channel 1484 under Premium HD Tier The American telecommunications company AT&T is now offering the 24-hour anime network FUNimation Channel on its U-verse service. The channel is available on channel 1484 under U-verse's Premium HD Tier.
Mio Akiyama, Yui Hirasawa's image songs each sell 27,000 to rank #4, #5
The K-ON!! Image Songs CD singles for the characters Mio Akiyama and Yui Hirasawa each sold 27,000 copies to rank #4 and #5, respectively, on Oricon's singles chart for the September 20-26 week. (Mio Akiyama's CD edged out Yui Hirasawa's CD.) The two anime series inspired by kakifly's K-ON! four-panel comedy manga have now placed 20 consecutive CD singles in Oricon's weekly top 10.
Both the manga and the anime adaptations follow a group of high school girls who form a band. Voices actresses Aki Toyosaki (Yui Hirasawa), Yōko Hikasa (Mio Akiyama), Satomi Satou (Ritsu Tainaka), Minako Kotobuki (Tsumugi Kotobuki), and Ayana Taketatsu (Azusa Nakano) perform as their respective characters in the anime's soundtrack and the related CD releases. Both the original manga and the ongoing anime are ending this month, and the last television anime episode airs this Tuesday.
Bandai Entertainment announced at Anime Expo in July that it licensed the first K-On! television series, and Yen Press licensed the original manga.
Singer packs schedule before planned 2011 hiatus
Japanese pop singer Hikaru Utada announced on Tuesday that she will perform her first solo concerts in Japan since 2006. The concerts will take place at the Yokohama Arena on December 8 and 9, coinciding with the 12th anniversary of her debut single "Automatic / time will tell." The singer also announced her appearance in a Pepsi Nex television commercial (her first television commercial in five years), a November 24 release date for her best hits CD Utada Hikaru Single Collection Vol.2, and her own Twitter account.
Utada had announced in August that she will go on an indefinite hiatus in 2011, citing a lack of growth.
Utada is an internationally known, bestselling pop artist born in New York City and raised in Japan and the United States. Her debut album, 1999's First Love, is still Japan's bestselling album ever with about 8 million copies sold. Bandai Visual used Utada's "Kiss & Cry" and "This is Love" songs for the Freedom anime project. Utada also sang the theme songs for the Casshern live-action movie remake and the Hana Yori Dango 2 live-action television adaptation.
More recently, she provided a 2007 remix of her 2000 cover of Frank Sinatra's "Fly Me to the Moon (In Other Words)" for the trailer to Evangelion:1.0 You are (Not) Alone (Evangelion Shin Gekijōban: Jo), as well as her "Beautiful World" song for the anime film itself. She also contributed the "Beautiful World -PLANiTb Acoustica Mix-" for the second film, Evangelion:2.0 You Can (Not) Advance (Evangelion Shin Gekijōban: Ha). In addition to her singing career, she played the heroine Pinoko in the 2001-2002 Black Jack net anime series. She toured the United States and the United Kingdom last year.
Alternate ending segment that "no one knows" for final episode of TV anime
Production on "Another Epilogue" for the Angel Beats! television anime series has been green-lit. The "one more ending that no one knows" will serve as an alternate last segment for the final episode of the anime, which aired on June 25. The epilogue will be included in the final home video volume for the anime.
The Neowing retail website had revealed in June that the seventh and final Blu-ray Disc/DVD volume will ship with the 13th television episode ("Graduation") and unaired special footage on December 22.
Kazuya Minekura was serializing Saiyuki Reload Blast, Saiyuki Ibun
The November issue of Ichijinsha's Monthly Comic Zero-Sum magazine has announced on Tuesday that Saiyuki manga creator Kazuya Minekura is putting her manga serial work on indefinite hiatus due to her poor health. Minekura provided more details on her blog on Tuesday. She explained that she is undergoing one medical check after another for a possible surgery, so she cannot maintain her work schedule.
Until her hiatus, Minekura had been drawing Saiyuki Reload Blast in Monthly Comic Zero-Sum and Saiyuki Ibun in Ichijinsha's Zōkan Zero-Sum Ward magazine.
Project with staffers from Mahoromatic, Gurren Lagann, Shana "drops this winter"
The official teaser site for the "Subaru x Gainax Animation Project" has launched on Tuesday. According to the website, the collaborative project between the car manufacturer and the anime studio "drops this winter," and status updates on the animation production and other matters are available from the official Twitter account. The project's staff includes director Shouji Saeki (Mahoromatic, Strike Witches 2 episode storyboarder), concept artist Daisuke Kikuchi (Gurren Lagann, Mahoromatic: Tadaima Okaeri), and character designer Mai Otsuka (Shakugan no Shana, Hanamaru Kindergarten).
The Japan Information and Culture Center and Asia Society will host a screening of Paprika in the Embassy of Japan's auditorium in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. The event will be a tribute to the late director Satoshi Kon. After the movie, a discussion will be held on Kon's works and his influence in Japanese pop culture. The discussion will be lead by Tom Vick who is the film programmer for the Freer and Sackler Galleries of the Smithsonian Institution and author of Asian Cinema: A Field Guide.
Paprika involves the theft of a machine that can enter people's dreams. With the thief having the potential to cause serious psychological damage, Dr. Atsuko Chiba enters the dream world to stop the culprit.
Source: Anime News Network
September 20, 2010
NEWS!!!
Creator Nightow to draw DVD/BD cover art; "Kuroneko-sama's Treasure Chest" footage included
The 2010 anime film Trigun: Badlands Rumble- has been scheduled for release in Japan on DVD and Blu-ray Disc on December 15, and the news site Comic Natalie reports that the Blu-ray and the first pressing of the limited-edition DVD will be bundled with the two-part manga Gekijoban Trigun Bangai-hen: Dodongo Kyodai Honeycombed Village no Ketto. The manga, drawn by original Trigun and Trigun Maximum creator Yasuhiro Nightow, originally appeared in the March and April issues of Shounen Gahousha's Young King Ours magazine.
Nightow is also drawing an original illustration to grace the jacket of the Blu-ray and DVD releases. Additional features in the Blu-ray and limited-edition DVD's first pressing include the storyboards for deleted scenes (with notes by director Satoshi Nishimura), cast and staff interviews, a video from a discussion event at an early screening of the film, trailers and commercials, storyboards, and "Kuroneko-sama's Treasure Chest" — a set of exclusive footage and production materials. The standard edition DVD will not feature these bonuses.
The original Trigun manga was published in Tokuma Shoten's Shonen Captain magazine from 1995 to 1997. In 1998, the manga moved to Young King Ours under the title Trigun Maximum. Madhouse animated a 26-episode anime adaptation of the manga in 1998. The possibility of a Trigun movie follow-up first appeared in 2005. In 2008 the film was planned for 2009 before being pushed to spring 2010. The film's world premiere took place at Seattle's Sakura-Con before opening in Japan on April 24.
The Trigun manga is licensed in North America by Dark Horse Comics. The TV anime was originally licensed in North America by Geneon USA, which shut down in 2007. In February 2010, Funimation announced that it would release the Trigun TV anime on Blu-ray as well as re-releasing it on DVD. Funimation announced its acquisition of the Trigun film at Anime Expo 2010, where the film was screened.
DVD to ship with 42nd volume on February 23
The 42nd volume of Kousuke Fujishima's Aa Megami-sama manga will ship in a limited edition with an original animation DVD (OAD) on February 23, 2011. Hiroaki Gohda is directing the project, and the theme song will be sung by fripSide. The official website will be at http://kc.kodansha.co.jp/megamisama. The original manga is celebrating its 22nd year next year.
Exhibit includes cosplay, gothic lolita, other Japanese fashion trends
The Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) is hosting an exhibit devoted to Japanese fashion starting on Friday, September 17 and running until January 8, 2011. According to The New York Observer, the exhibit will include about 100 outfits, including "Gothic Punk Lolita," "Forest Girl," "Princess Decoration," and others. According to the official Museum at FIT website, cosplay is also represented at the exhibit.
The show's curator and museum director Valerie Steele told the Observer that "Japan is the first non-Western country that's had a really major radical impact on global fashion. […] Designers will go over to Japan and … they will come back and maybe incorporate elements into their collections […]"
Among the designers on display is Naoto Hirooka, a.k.a. h.Naoto, who has personally appeared at the 2010 Otakon convention and the July 1 X Japan benefit concert in Los Angeles. Hirooka is the designer behind the look of the idol project Hangry&Angry, whose Rika Ishikawa will appear at the New York Anime Festival from October 7 to 10.
Gundam Fighting Spirits, SD Gundam G Generation Touch, NDAM Tool Box in Japan this winter
The video gaming convention Tokyo Game Show opened on Thursday, and Bandai Namco Games is demonstrating three Gundam-themed apps for Apple's iPhone and iPod touch mobile devices. The AppBank website posted videos of its hands-on experience with the three apps and other software at the show.
Two of the Gundam apps are games. Gundam Fighting Spirits (tentative title) is a 2D fighting game with the anime franchise's mobile suits facing each other. Players can fight each other over a wireless Bluetooth connection. An earlier version of the game has been available for other mobile phones in Japan. SD Gundam G Generation Touch (tentative title) is a port of the SD Gundam G Generation tactical simulation game franchise from traditional game consoles. This game series recreates and expands upon the storylines of the anime franchise and allows players to use over 100 mobile suits in turn-based tactics.
The third set of apps is tentatively titled NDAM Tool Box (Gundam Tool Box -RX-78-2 Cockpit ver.- and Gundam Tool Box -RX-78-2 simple icons ver.-). The apps offer alternate ways to access eight common features such as email and phone in a Gundam-theme environment.
The three featured apps will come out in Japan in Winter, but an overseas release has not been announced.
Anime distributor's president to receive compensation if sale is completed
Navarre Corporation, the Minneapolis-based parent company of North American anime distributor Funimation, held a shareholders meeting on Wednesday and announced that the company "received six indications of interest" from possible buyers of Funimation. Navarre expects that final offers will arrive within 30 to 60 days, but it cannot guarantee that these offers will lead to a transaction.
The CEO and president of Funimation, Gen Fukunaga, started a new contract on May 27 since his previous five-year contract ended on May 10. With the agreement, Fukunaga must cooperate and participate in the efforts for the potential sale of Funimation. If Funimation is sold during Fukunaga's contract, he will receive a "transaction success fee" of US$250,000 or 5 percent of certain transaction proceeds, whichever is greater.
Navarre announced in May that it was evaluating the possible sale of Funimation. Navarre emphasized that "Funimation's recent results have generally met expectations," but CEO Cary L. Deacon said that Navarre will be focusing its strategy on its distribution and software publishing businesses.
Actor: Cost to make script would be "very expensive"; current status is unknown
Actor Keanu Reeves (The Matrix, Animatrix, Johnny Mnemonic) discussed the current status of the proposed live-action Cowboy Bebop film project with the Collider movie news website in a Monday interview. Reeves premiered his new film Henry's Crime at the Toronto International Film Festival on Tuesday.
When Collider asked for an update on the Cowboy Bebop project, Reeves responded:
I haven't heard anything back. They turned in the script and it was very expensive. I don't know if they're going to…it would cost, like, half a billion dollars to make that script. So, I don't know where it's at right now.
Reeves had told MTV News last September that writer Peter Craig was rewriting the script. He added at the time that the producers were "just trying to pull it back" in scope.
The American film studio Twentieth Century Fox, the production company 3 Arts Entertainment, and the original anime studio Sunrise have been co-producing this proposed adaptation of the 1998 anime series. The original series follows the motley crew of the spaceship Bebop as it travels throughout the solar system in search of the next job.
Reeves is slated to star. Joshua Long is acting as a production supervisor, and Erwin Stoff, a film producer who worked closely with Reeves on The Matrix and A Scanner Darkly, is also attached. The associate producers are Sunrise President Kenji Uchida, the original Cowboy Bebop director Shinichiro Watanabe, and the original series script supervisor Keiko Nobumoto. The Sunrise studio itself and Masahiko Minami (former Sunrise producer and BONES studio co-founder) are both acting as production consultants.
U.S. rocker Steven Tyler writes 1st solo single for December space opera film
Steven Tyler, the vocalist of the American rock band Aerosmith, is singing the theme song for the live-action film version of the Space Battleship Yamato anime franchise. Tyler wrote the "Love Lives" song specifically for the film, and the single will go on sale in Japan on November 24. It is Tyler's first solo single.
After his agent received the official offer from the Yamato production staff, Tyler looked over an English translation of the script and production materials. He responded to the Yamato's theme of "I want to protect the ones I love" and agreed to write a song.
37-year-old SMAP band member Takuya Kimura (Howl's Moving Castle's Howl) is headlining the live-action film based on the 1974-1975 space opera anime classic, Space Battleship Yamato (adapted as Star Blazers in English). The other cast members include Meisa Kuroki (Vexille - 2077 Isolation of Japan's Vexille, Crows Zero's Luca), Toshiro Yanagiba, and Tsutomu Yamazaki. Takashi Yamazaki, the director best known for Returner, Always: Sunset on Third Street, and last year's Ballad, is helming the project for a December 1 release.
Source: Anime News Network
September 13, 2010
Korean illustrations are everywhere now. We have seen their work in the Korean Illustrations and Fusion Junction series. We have seen the latest sensation with pixiv's books. Now, it is the Koreans turn for their own series - poppic! This features a lot of artists (including the famous maggie from the Fusion Junction series) with their works and a tutorial of their work. It is so great that we know you would love it.
Now, to all of the Oh! My Goddess fans out there, here is something for you below. From the artist of series, Mr. Fujishima explores his love for other Anime as he reveal some of his favorites in this new book Kosuke Fujishima's Character Laboratory. We would not forget the animation aspect of the series. Explore Hidenori Matsubara's illustrations as the artist illustrates, not only Oh! My Goddess, Neon Genesis Evangelion, Sakura Wars, and more.
NEWS!!!
San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Department issues public safety warning on cartoon bear
According to a news report aired and streamed by the television station KSBY 6 in southern California on Thursday, the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Department is warning the local area about the Internet meme character "Pedobear," a cartoon bear frequently drawn as pursuing or otherwise acting lecherous towards children. According to the news report, the Sheriff's Department believes that pedophiles are using the image as a mascot and advises that if a viewer sees the image, to use caution with whoever may be associated with it.
KSBY is affiliated with MSNBC; as such, the story has appeared on the larger news site. Other outlets are reporting that the warning is a mistake on the part of the sheriff's office, including the Metro, the Telegraph, the Huffington Post, and Gawker.
The cartoon version of Pedobear is derived from ASCII (text character) art popular on Japan's popular 2channel message board. That art, known as "Kumaa," was appropriated by the Fukuoka City Consumer Life Center in Japan last month, to be used as a mascot for consumer tips on avoiding falling into debt and other financial problems.
Voice of One Piece's Ivankov posted 4 pictures on blog to display tattoos
The Tokyo Summary Court levied a 500,000-yen (about US$6,000) fine against 56-year-old voice and stage actor Norio Imamura for posting indecent pictures of his body on his blog earlier this year.
Imamura runs a bar named Toh where tattoo enthusiasts gather in Tokyo's Shinjuku ward, and he has adorned his own entire body with tattoos. According to the police investigation, Imamura said in a deposition that he has been tattooing himself for about a decade, and was wanting to show off the fact that he finished tattooing his entire body. He posted four images of his tattooed body, including his genital area, between April 26 and June 12.
As a voice actor, Imamura is best known for playing Emporio Ivankov in the One Piece television anime series.
Lee Min-Ho to star in re-imagining of action comedy, now set in Seoul in 2011
Actor Lee Min-Ho has been casted as the star of the live-action Korean television adaptation of Tsukasa Hojo's City Hunter detective action comedy manga. In the original manga, Ryo Saeba is a private eye ("sweeper") with unrivaled marksmanship and an over-the-top obsession for the opposite sex.
The new version from the television broadcaster SBS re-imagines manga's setting of Tokyo in the late 1980s as Seoul in 2011. Lee will play a former CIA operative who now works as a gun-for-hire.
In 2008, the American company Fox Television Studios signed a tentative agreement to co-produce and distribute a joint Korean-Japanese live-action adaptation of the manga, although no further developments in that effort has since been announced. Another Korean actor, Jung Woo-sung, had been previously attached to that earlier, proposed live-action version. Another Asian star, Hong Kong martial artist Jackie Chan, played Saeba in a loose 1992 live-action Hong Kong adaptation of City Hunter. Coincidentally, 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment distributes this 1992 City Hunter film in North America.
The original manga had already been adapted into four television anime series, one anime movie, and several video and television specials. ADV Films released most of these anime projects in North America. Hojo has since drawn an Angel Heart spinoff to his City Hunter manga, and that manga has also been adapted into anime for television.
Manga version of novels by 12 Kingdoms/Shiki's Ono inspired TV anime
Kodansha will publish the 12th and final volume from Shiho Inada's shōjo supernatural mystery manga Ghost Hunt in Japan on September 30. The manga adapts Akuryō novel series by Fuyumi Ono (12 Kingdoms, Shiki).
In the story, high school girl Mai Taniyama encounters Shibuya Psychic Research, a paranormal investigation agency led by a tall, dark, handsome — and, naturally, aloof — teenager. Before long, Mai joins the ranks of the agency, whose associates include a Chinese occultist, a world-famous psychic, a self-proclaimed Shinto shrine maiden, a former Buddhist monk, and a Catholic exorcist. The agency's adventures throughout modern Japan blend elements of Asian folklore and European mythology.
The manga launched in Kodansha's monthly Amie magazine in 1998, and then it moved to Kodansha's Nakayoshi magazine. It has since moved out of magazines entirely, and Kodansha has been publishing it exclusively in tankōbon (book volumes). The final three volumes have been bundling limited-edition drama CDs, and the final volume will feature an afterword by Ono.
Del Rey published the 10th manga volume in North America last year. Funimation licensed and released the 25-episode television anime version of the manga on DVD in 2008.
"Scotland Loves Anime" to also hold Scottish premieres of Summer Wars, Redline, Layton
The British film festival, "Scotland Loves Anime," has announced its October lineup. The festival will hold the British premieres of Trigun: Badlands Rumble, One Piece Film Strong World and The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya. Also announced is the Scottish premieres of Summer Wars, Redline and Professor Layton and the Eternal Diva. The festival will open in Glasgow at the Glasgow Film Theatre on October 8 and close on October 10. The event will also run in Edinburgh at the Filmhouse Cinemas from October 15 through October 17.
Walt Disney Studios Japan has announced the details of its December 22 Blu-ray Disc releases of Studio Ghibli's Castle in the Sky Laputa and My Neighbors the Yamadas film on Friday. The Laputa Blu-ray Disc will contain soundtracks in Japanese, French, German, Korean, Cantonese Chinese, and Mandarin Chinese. (The Japanese track will be in 2.0ch surround/lossless DTS-HD master audio, while the other tracks will be in Dolby Digital 2.0ch.) The disc will also have Japanese, English, French, Korean, Traditional Chinese (Cantonese and Mandarin), and Finnish subtitles. The Dolby Digital 5.1ch English-dubbed version of the film (with Japanese subtitles) will be a separate video extra. Composer Joe Hisaishi had personally recorded new music for the North American English release of Hayao Miyazaki's film.
The video extras on the Laputa Blu-ray will also include the storyboards — which can be played in a picture-in-picture (PIP) simultaneously with the film itself — as well as the recording script, the credit-less versions of the opening and ending sequences, trailers, TV commercials, and promotional videos.
The Yamadas Blu-ray Disc will contain soundtracks in Japanese, English, German, Korean, and Mandarin Chinese. (The Japanese track will be in 2.0ch stereo/linear PCM or 5.1ch/lossless DTS-HD master audio, while the English and German tracks will be in Dolby Digital 5.1ch. The Korean and Chinese tracks will be in Dolby Digital 2.0ch surround.) The disc will also have Japanese, English, French, German, Korean, and Traditional Chinese (Cantonese and Mandarin) subtitles. The video extras will include NTV's Super TV Jōhō Saizensen "making-of" special (about 45 minutes long) on Isao Takahata's film, storyboards, the recording script, trailers, TV commercials, and promotional videos.
Also: Tow Ubukata to present world premiere of Mardock Scramble: The First Compression
Aniplex America has announced that New York Comic Con / Anime Festival will host the American premiere of BONES' Star Driver Kagayaki no Takuto television anime series. The "school robot action" story is set on a verdant island called Southern Cross, where a boy named Takuto Tsunashi arrives one night by swimming ashore. He enrolls in the island's high school academy, which conceals a secret — a giant humanoid figure underground. Takuya Igarashi (Soul Eater, Ouran High School Host Club) is directing the series, whcih will premiere in Japan in October.
Aniplex also released a press release confirming a previous announcement that creator Tow Ubukata will personally present the world premiere of the first Mardock Scramble film at New York Comic Con on October 8. Mardock Scramble: The First Compression, the first of three films based on Ubukata's science fiction novel series, will not open in Japan until November 6.
The North American book distributor Simon & Schuster is already listing a Mardock Scramble book by Ubukata for a January 2011 release by Viz Media. Simon & Schuster describes the plot of the book as the following:
Why me? It was to be the last thought a young prostitute, Balot, would ever have…as a human anyway. Taken in by a devious gambler named Shell, she became a slave to his cruel desires and would have been killed by his hand if not for a private investigator and his self-aware Universal Tool, Oefcoque. Now a cyborg, Balot has not only physical powers, but the ability to disrupt social environments. She chases after Shell, his partner-in-crime Boiled, and faces down a variety of insane villains in this pulse-pounding cyberpunk noir adventure.
Megumi Hayashibara will play the main character Rune Balot, and Susumu Kudo is directing the films at the GoHands anime studio with character designer Shingo Suzuki. The project was originally planned in 2005 as an original video anime series with the Gonzo anime studio, director Yasufumi Soejima, and character designer Range Murata, but that earlier version was cancelled in 2006 "for various reasons."
Ubukata won the Nihon SF Taisho Award from his fellow writers in 2003 for his original Mardock Scramble novel series. Besides Mardock Scramble, Ubukata created the stories behind the Soukyuu no Fafner - Dead Aggressor, Le Chevalier d'Eon, Heroic Age, and Pilgrim Jäger anime and manga projects.
Source: Anime News Network
September 4-5, 2010
NEWS!!!
Kazutoshi Matsumura will still produce games in the works, train "next generation"
The official website of the Japanese game studio CIRCUS has announced on Saturday that Kazutoshi Matsumura — the man who is better known as "tororo-danchō" — is retiring as the head of the studio. According to the announcement, Matsumura is stepping down so he can train "the next generation" of staff members and "reform" the studio's corporate structure.
The announcement explained that Matsumura could not simultaneously run the company and cultivate new talent — especially since he is still producing the games that the studio currently has in development.
In addition to serving as the leader of CIRCUS, Matsumura produced numerous games such as the D.C. ~Da Capo~ franchise, My-HiME: Unmei no Keitōju, Gift, and true tears. He was also credited in the anime adaptations of D.C. ~Da Capo~, and he composed music for D.C. ~Da Capo~ and other franchises.
The retail news source ICv2 interviewed DC Comics Co-Publishers Jim Lee and Dan Didio at Comic-Con International in July and posted the transcript last week. The two talked about what may happen to its shuttered CMX division's manga licenses. Lee said that a couple of creative studios were interested in obtaining the rights to certain manga. He added, "I think dark horse had expressed interest…."
Lee also explained why the company dropped its manga division. He said that CMX had difficulty obtaining key licenses, because it had to first start with lesser-known titles and then work up to better properties. Manga sales were also comparatively low compared to DC Comics' other sales before the company decided to shut CMX down. Some of the manga stories have remained incomplete.
CMX Manga stopped publishing new titles on July 1. However, the decision did not affect Fred Gallagher's Megatokyo which will continue publication. DC Comics launched CMX in October of 2004 with manga Madara, Land of the Blindfolded, and From Eroica with Love.
6 dates, locations announced in U.S., Germany, Taiwan, Japan
The members of the Japanese rock band Luna Sea announced their reunion and a world tour at their press conference on Tuesday in Hong Kong. The tour is titled "20th Anniversary World Tour Reboot -to the New Moon-" and will begin in Germany on November 27. Locations in December include Los Angeles (December 4), Hong Kong (December 11), Taipei (December 18), and Tokyo (December 23-24). Other locations will be added and the tour will contain new songs. The band members explained the press conference was held in Hong Kong because it was the city where they announced their breakup in 2000.
Luna Sea was formed in 1989 with Ryuichi as the vocalist, Sugizo playing guitar and violin, Inoran as another guitarist, J playing bass, and Shinya on drums. After breaking up in 2000, the band reunited for a one-night concert on December 24, 2007 in Tokyo.
NY Int'l Children's Film Fest, SF Film Society launch new festival this month
The New York International Children's Film Festival (NYICFF) and the San Francisco Film Society, a non-profit arts and education organization, announced a new collaboration titled NY/SF International Children's Film Festival (NY/SF). The event will take place at Landmark's Embarcadero Center Cinema in San Francisco from September 24 to September 26. NY/SF will host 50 short and feature films. Each feature will be making its West Coast or Bay Area premiere. Films in the festival include Summer Wars and Oblivion Island: Haruka and the Magic Mirror. Both films previously made their American premieres at NYICFF earlier this year.
Summer Wars is the award winning film from the anime studio MADHOUSE, director Mamoru Hosoda, screenwriter Satoko Okudera, and character designer Yoshiyuki Sadamoto. (The same core team worked together on The Girl Who Leapt Through Time.) The film features a modern-day family involved with a conflict that spans their world and the virtual world known as Oz. Summer Wars has been licensed by North American anime distributor Funimation.
Oblivion Island: Haruka and the Magic Mirror was directed by Shinsuke Sato, who is also directing the upcoming live-action Gantz films. Production I.G produced Oblivion Island as its first 3D computer-animated feature. The film focuses on Haruka, an only daughter living with an emotional distant father. One day at a local shrine she encounters a small magical creature that takes her to the land of forgotten items. Here, she finds memorabilia from her childhood and the Baron, the ruler of Oblivion Island who has been watching her.
New terminal includes Hello Kitty café, anime goods stores
On July 20, Haneda Airport in Tokyo, Japan completed a new terminal that includes "Tokyo Pop Town," an area which celebrates Japan's anime and character culture. The area is split into two zones. The "Hot Zone" includes a Hello Kitty mini-theme park and café, a store selling character goods for mascot character Shirotan, a shop called High Collar Yokochō (Street) which sells anime and character goods, a toy shop, and a fast food burger shop.
The "Cool Zone" also features a character goods shop called TrapeFrape, which will offer goods from NHK and Studio Ghibli works, as well as a Design Japan Culture Store, a science toy shop, a fashion store called Mono, and a planetarium café.
In addition to Tokyo Pop Town, the airport is building Edo Koji, an area themed like an Edo-era (1603-1868) town, and a large duty-free shopping mall. The entire 159,000-square-foot (15,000-square-meter) terminal and its 105 stores and restaurants are scheduled to open on October 21.
Contributor to AX alternative manga anthology in Japan & U.S.
MangaNEXT announced this week that Akino Kondoh will be appearing at the convention as a Guest of Honor. MangaNEXT will be held at the Hilton East Brunswick Hotel & Executive Meeting Center in East Brunswick, New Jersey during the Halloween weekend (October 29-31).
Kondoh is an illustrator, cartoonist, and manga artist. She won Seirinkogeisha's 2nd AX Manga Newcomer's Award/Encouragement Award (Seirin Kogeisha) with her manga "Kayoko Kobayashi" in 2000. In 2003, she received the Jury Recommended Work honor in the Manga Division of the 7th Media Arts Festival Awards. She is one of the contributors in the first volume of AX, Top Shelf's compilation of alternative manga from Seirinkogeisha's magazine of the same name.
Other graphic novel and comic creators who are MangaNEXT guests include M. Alice LeGrow (Bizenghast), Nina Paley (Sita Sings the Blues), and Lea Hernandez (Texas Steampunk, Marvel Mangaverse).
Acted in FMA, Bleach, Prince of Tennis, El Hazard, Kizuna, Gakuen Heaven, Junjou Romantica
Yaoi-Con announced this week that voice actor Ryotaro Okiayu will be a Guest of Honor at this year's convention. Yaoi-Con will be held at the Hyatt Regency San Francisco Airport during the Halloween weekend (October 29-31).
Okiayu has played numerous roles such as Fullmetal Alchemist's Scar, Bleach's Kuchiki, Prince of Tennis' Kunimitsu Tezuka, El Hazard's Katsuhiko Jinnai, Fruits Basket's Shigure Sohma, Gundam Wing's Treize Kushrenada, and the Harukanaru Toki no Naka de franchise's Akuram. His boys-love/yaoi anime credits include Kizuna, Gakuen Heaven, Gravitation, Junjou Romantica, No Money, and Mirage of Blaze.
Other guests include manga creator Ayano Yamane, manga creator Hinako Takanaga, manga creator Kano Miyamoto, and voice actor Hidenobu Kiuchi.
Firm of Night on the Galactic Railroad/Touch's Gisaburô Sugii is 650 million yen in debt
The financial research firm Teikoku Databank has reported on Friday that the anime production company Group TAC (Manga Nihon Mukashi Banashi, Night on the Galactic Railroad, Touch) filed for bankruptcy at the Tokyo District Court on August 31. The bankruptcy filing lists about 585 million yen (about US$6.95 million) in debts as of the end of the August 2009 fiscal year.
The Tokyo-based company has nine employees and was headed by Atsumi Tashiro until Tashiro's death in July. It reported 10 million yen (US$120,000) in capital.
The company was founded in March of 1968. In addition to Manga Nihon Mukashi Banashi, Night on the Galactic Railroad, and Touch, the studio produced the Arashi no Yoru ni feature film, which was nominated for Animation of the Year in the Japanese Academy Awards in 2007. At that high point in the company's history, it reported 1.53 billion yen (US$18.2 million) in revenues for the fiscal year ending in August of 2007.
However, with the decline of television anime, sponsors scaled back, and Group TAC's revenues fell to 596 million yen (US$7.07 million) in the August 2009 fiscal year. The company attempted to continue operations despite the decrease in new contracts and staff members. However, after Tashiro's death, the difficulties in staying in business proved insurmountable.
As recently as Tokyo International Anime Fair 2008, Group TAC was promoting its remake of The Life of Guskou Budori (Guskou Budori no Denki, pictured at right) fable by Kenji Miyazawa. Miyazawa was also the author of the original Night on the Galactic Railroad novel. Sugii, the director of Galactic Railroad and Touch, would have overseen the project, and Sadayuki Murai (Kino's Journey, Millennium Actress, Steamboy) was scripting.
Source: Anime News Network
September 2, 2010
We did not forget all of the Pixiv fans out there who are itching for more from the company. Here are two new titles that we know you'll love! Enjoy!
NEWS!!!
Next manga chapter from Aria creator to run in November; Avi Arad launches The Innocent
The October issue of Mag Garden's Monthly Comic Blade magazine has announced on Monday that Kozue Amano is shifting her Amanchu! manga from a monthly schedule to quarterly due to her pregnancy and eventual childcare. The next installment will appear in the January 2011 issue on November 30.
The Innocent manga has launched in the same October issue of Monthly Comic Blade. Jun'ichi Fujisaku (The Beast Player Erin, Blood+, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex) is writing this story based on a concept by producer Avi Arad (Spider-Man, X-Men, Iron Man), and Korean artist Ya-Sung Ko (Innocent Venus character co-designer) is drawing the title.
Amano launched Amanchu! in November of 2008 after having finished her best known manga, Aria, earlier that year. ADV Manga and later Tokyopop licensed the Aria manga for North America. Right Stuf and its Nozomi Entertainment production arim released the various anime adaptations of Aria.
Yamauchi worked on Spirited Away, Grave of the Fireflies, Lupin III, One Pound Gospel
Writer/director Akitaro Daichi reported on his Twitter account on Wednesday that key animator Shojuro Yamauchi had passed away on Tuesday. The two creators had worked together on Prince Mackaroo (Ojarumaru). A fellow writer/director, Sakichi Sato, had reported on his Twitter account earlier on Wednesday that another "legendary anime director" had passed away in addition to Satoshi Kon.
Yamauchi worked on dozens of anime works as a key animator — the artist who draws the key frames for the other artists to model their frames in an animated sequence. His many works include Conan, the Boy in Future, Dagger of Kamui, Lupin III: The Legend of the Gold of Babylon, Lupin III: The Secret of Mamo. After Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro, he worked on several Studio Ghibli films including Isao Takahata's Grave of the Fireflies and Hayao Miyazaki's Spirited Away.
He also served as animation director on One Pound Gospel, Prince Mackaroo, Sherlock Hound, and Kiteretsu Daihyakka. As recently as last year, he was still drawing frames for Mainichi Kaasan and Kawa no Hikari.
Award-winning anime director of Millennium Actress, Tokyo Godfathers, Paranoia Agent
Jim Vowles, a member of the Otakorp Board of Directors for the Otakon convention, has announced on Tuesday that director Satoshi Kon has passed away. Kon was 47. The staff of Otakon confirmed his passing with MADHOUSE studio founder Masao Maruyama. Maruyama had wrote on his Twitter account on Tuesday night in Japan that an important director of the studio had suddenly passed away. However, Maruyama declined to name the director at the time.
Kon began working as a manga creator on such works as Kaikisen (1990) before deciding to delve into the anime industry with the art design of Hiroyuki Kitakubo and Katsuhiro Otomo's Roujin Z video in 1991. He then worked on the script and art direction of "Magnetic Rose," a segment of Otomo's 1995 science-fiction anthology film Memories.
Kon first drew worldwide attention with his feature film directorial debut, the psychological suspense film Perfect Blue, in 1997. He would follow that with a string of critically acclaimed anime projects: Millennium Actress (2001), Tokyo Godfathers (2003), Paranoia Agent (2004), and Paprika (2006). At the time of his passing, Kon was working at MADHOUSE on a new feature film called Yume-Miru Kikai.
ANN interviewed Kon in 2008 as he was beginning work on Yume-Miru Kikai.
Sequel to Mobile Suit Gundam 00 TV anime to open in Japan on September 18
The Japanese anime studio Sunrise has announced on Wednesday that Mobile Suit Gundam 00 the Movie: A wakening of the Trailblazer will have its North American premiere at New York Anime Festival on October 10 at 2:00 p.m. The premiere will be in Japanese with English subtitles.
The two-hour film serves as a sequel to the two-season Mobile Suit Gundam 00 television anime. Director Seiji Mizushima returns with his team at Sunrise to make this project. The film will open in Japan on September 18.
1st episode streaming now; DVD set of former Geneon license ships in early 2011
The North American anime distributor Funimation has announced on Wednesday that it licensed the Disgaea fantasy anime series. The complete 12-episode series will ship on DVD in early 2011, but the first episode is streaming now with English dubbing on Funimation's website.
In this 2006 television anime series, director Kiyotaka Isako and Oriental Light and Magic adapted Nippon Ichi Software's popular Disgaea role-playing game franchise. Geneon Entertainment had previously licensed and released the anime in North America.
Source: Anime News Network
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