Sentai Filmworks has announced its acquisition of distribution rights to the 52 episode Zettai Karen Children (Absolutely Lovely Children) anime television series from 2008. The adaptation of Takashi Shiina’s adventure manga about a government organization that manages (and babysits) three psychic preadolescent girl crime fighters will be released online and on subtitled DVD later this year under the American title “Psychic Squad.”
Sentai’s acquisition appears to include just the TV series, and not the 2010 spin-off OVA.
Sentai Filmworks has license rescued the former AD Vision title GetBackers. ADV released the 49 episode TV series domestically in 2004. Sentai will re-release the series digitally and on DVD later this year.
FUNimation has announced its acquisition of broadcast, home entertainment, merchandising, and streaming rights to the 2001 magical girl anime TV series Shin Shirayuki Hime Densetsu Pretear (New Legend of Snow White, Pretear). ADV Films released the 13-episode series on domestic DVD in 2003.
AnimEigo has announced that its 40 episode Yawara! DVD boxed set will go out of print on August 31. AnimEigo secured an initial domestic distribution license for the 1989 shoujo/sports anime series in 2006 and released the first 40 episodes in a 6 disc DVD collection in 2008. In 2010, AnimEigo announced that it was unable to secure a distribution license for the TV series’ remaining 84 episodes.
The remaining copies of this set are quite affordable now [a whole lot cheaper than it was years ago when I bought it], and 40 episodes of Yawara! is preferable to no episodes. So if you’re tentative about this, pick it up now while you still can.
Weekly Young Jump magazine is now streaming the first of three web anime installments of an adaptation of Takanori Kawai’s historical supernatural action manga Sekiei Ayakashi Mangatan. The story revolves around an artist known for only painting monsters. Secretly, the artist actually paints the ayakashi he actually encounters in his daily life. The ongoing manga premiered in 2010 and has six collected volumes. The second of the three anime episodes will debut on the 16th. The final episode will go online March 1.
The Fuji TV network has revealed the fifth Noitamina anime series to be directed by Kenji Nakamura (Ayakashi, Mononoke, Kuchu Buranko, C). Tsuritama, a fishing anime set on Japan’s Enoshima island starring four teen boys and a pet duck, will premiere in April. Yuichi Takahashi (Macross Frontier, Iron Vendetta) is providing the animation character designs based on concept designs by Atsuya Uki (Cencoroll). A-1 Pictures is animating the series.
Looks amusing, and it has a very unique, interesting production staff.
TV Tokyo has announced that the current Pretty Rhythm Aurora Dream television series will conclude in March and be replaced by a new sequel series, Pretty Rhythm: Dear My Future. The sequel will be set three years later and will star anime versions of five real-life junior members of Korean pop group Kara: Somin, Shiyoon, Haein, Chaekyung, and Jae Eun. The girls will be taught by Aira, Mion, and Rhythm, the now adult stars of the first Pretty Rhythm series. The four real-life members of Japanese pop group Prizmmy☆, who appear in the final story arc of the first TV series and perform the first series’ ending theme song, will also appear in the sequel series as anime characters and in live-action segments. Pretty Rhythm: Dear My Future will premiere on April 7.
Media Works has released three lengthy trailers for its upcoming Dengeki Anime Bunko OVAs. Although originally scheduled for release last fall, all three episodes are now scheduled for Japanese release on February 15. ufotable is producing the three anime adaptations of Mikage Chihaya’s comedy manga Minori Scramble!, kashmir’s comedy manga Yuri Seijin Naoko-san, and Junji Ito’s horror manga Gyo.
TMS Entertainment has released a trailer for its upcoming ZETMAN horror/superhero anime television series, based Masakazu Katsura’s 2002 manga, itself inspired by Katsura’s 1989-1994 ZETMAN mini-series manga. The show will premiere in April.
Since the 2002 Barom-One anime failed to do the job, might this finally be the present generation’s Guyver?
Japanese website Cinema Today has premiered the teaser trailer for Toei Animation’s forthcoming feature film Niji-Iro Hotaru ~Eien no Natsu Yasumi~ (Rainbow-Colored Fireflies: The Eternal Summer Vacation~). The adaptation of Masayuki Kawaguchi’s 2007 novel tells the story of Yuta, a sixth-grade boy grieving over his father’s death who gets the opportunity to experience a joyous summer vacation after time-slipping 30 years back in time. Yuta will be voiced by 14-year-old actor Akashi Takei (Kamen Rider Decade).
Konosuke Uda (Galaxy Express 999: Eternal Fantasy) is directing with Hisashi Mori (Samurai 7) providing character design and serving as animation director. The film will hit Japanese theaters on May 19.
I recognize that the simplified character design is intentional style, but I’m still a little disappointed to see fluid animation come at the cost of detailed art design.
Champion RED Ichigo magazine has announced that Hideaki Yoshikawa’s ongoing “science trouble” risqué romantic comedy manga series Kagaku na Yatsura will be getting an OAD. The manga starring “a cyborg girl and a half-dog girl who go to extremes with the power of science,” premiered in 2010.
Limited edition copies of the fifth volume of Chako Abeno’s Dantalian no Shoka manga released this August will include a bonus anime episode DVD. The cast and staff of last year’s Dantalian no Shoka television series from Gainax will reunite to produce the new “Ibara Hime” (Rose Princess) episode. The ninth volume of Gakuto Mikumo’s original light novel series released last month was initially announced to include an OAD, but the bonus anime was canceled last September.
The Japanese branch of the Johnnie Walker whiskey label is now streaming a 5-minute promotional anime comissioned from Studio 4°C. Tekkon Kinkreet character designer Shoujirou Nishimi directed the “Haru wa Kuru” (Spring Arrives) short to illustrate the Johnny Walker slogan “Keep Walking.”
While I have a little difficultly associating the whimsical design and tone of this animation with whiskey, this short does re-confirm that 4°C does its best work when it’s producing esoteric, experimental animation rather than mainstream, conventional anime.
TV Tokyo has launched an official website formally announcing a live-action TV series adaptation of Tetsuhiro Hirakawa’s juvenille delinquent action/comedy manga series Clover. The ongoing manga launched in 2007 and presently has 24 compiled volumes. The TV series will premiere later this spring.
Question:
A couple of posts ago while announcing the second season of Phi Brain, you mentioned your misgivings about watching a second season of a series that “wasn’t that good”. My own opinions about the show aside, if you do not like the show, why do you keep watching? Are there specific animes you commit you’re self to watching no matter what?
