According to rumor out of Japan, Sega and Namco will be working on an arcade shooting game based on the classic Lupin III license. The first arcade shooting game collaboration between Sega and Namco was the System 246-powered Vampire Night.
Source: IGN PS2
Batman Animated Series creator Paul Dini revealed at the recent Wizard World convention that there are plans for at least 3 new Batman animated movies in the relative style of the original Batman Animated Series, the New Batman Adventures series and the new Justice League animation style. Dini also revealed that Warner Bros. is considering a new DVD release of an uncut version of the Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker movie.
Source: Worlds Finest Forums
Konami has revealed that Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty will debut in the US on November 13th, and one month later in Japan, on December 13th.
Source: The Magic Box
Question:
Is Dragonball AF real? There are so many rumors about it. And along the same lines, some sites say that there is a Dragonball AW which has Super Saiyan Goku 5 in it. Is this true?
The release of the English version of popular Japanese anime magazine Newtype is now scheduled to begin in early spring 2002. Digital Manga has issued a press release stating that the extended preparation time “assure a high quality magazine packed with features and accessories befitting the name Newtype - a big magazine with vivid colors, full double page spreads that cover the spectrum of anime.”
Early statements claimed that the magazine would focus mainly on current and upcoming news and anime in Japan and essentially be a English language adaptation of the Japanese magazine, but in what may be a significant priority shift, the most recent press release from Digital Manga suggests that, in actuality, the American version of Newtype will be little different than an expanded version of veteran domestic anime magazine Animerica. According to the press release, “The English language version of Newtype will be tailored to North American and European audiences, focusing on shows that are popular outside of Japan. But the magazine will also publish pieces on shows just released in Japan, providing for a balanced look at the global anime community.”
Anime News website Akadot, affiliated with the domestic version of Newtype, has announced that it will reduce its own publishing to the Akadot website by ¾ in order to concentrate on production of the print Newtype magazine.
Akadot has opened a questionnaire to the English speaking anime fan community seeking imput on what American and European fans would like to see included in the American version of Newtype.
Monkey Punch, the creator of Lupin III, is in the process of creating a series of humorous animated comic shorts focusing on a hapless samurai for his homepage. Two of the short “digital comics” are available for viewing now, and 4 more are still in the works. The first short story is a parody of the traditional wandering samurai tale. The second story is a parody of the Japanese “Momotaro” myth.
Cinescape has posted the first Japanese trailer for the currently in production Godzilla-Mothra-King Ghidorah: Daikaiju Soukougeki! (”Godzilla-Mothra-King Ghidorah: Giant Monster Super Battle”). The new film, directed by Shusuke Kaneko who directed the 1990s Gamera trilogy, will once again be a direct sequel to the first Gojira film from 1954 and will make Godzilla a villainous, destructive monster that must be defeated by Japan’s legendary guardian monsters Mothra, King Ghidorah and Baragon. The film is tentatively scheduled for Japanese release this winter.
Source: Anime News Service
During an interview with Marvel Comics president Bill Jemas conducted by Newsarama, Jemas cited the success of “romantic manga comics” with “simple, stylized art with compelling stories about relationships” in capturing the Japanese market of female comic book buyers. Furthermore, Jemas revealed Marvel Comics’ plan to try to emulate this success in America. Apparently Marvel Comics is preparing plans to begin a line of “Japanese-style” comics intended to appeal to the untapped potential American market of teenage girl comic book consumers. Seemingly the Marvel line, though, will not be actual translated Japanese manga but American produced comics in “Japanese-style.”
Question:
I have been a fan of Bastard! since seeing a fansub of it a few years ago, and was thrilled that it finally came out domestically on DVD. On my fansub copy, the fansubbers realized that there is a running gag where names of people and places are derivatives of American heavy metal bands (the Kingdom of Metallicana, the evil god Anthraxax). Watching the subtitles on the DVD, it looks like the translators went out of their way to remove all traces of these names from the series, and thus destroy a bit of the humor that made the show so much fun. To make this more confusing, we Americans would be even more likely to pick up on this than Japanese viewers, so why go to all the trouble of removing the puns?
In response to yesterday’s news that the Disney Company has no intentions of releasing any further Studio Ghibli films in America, Kevin T. Rodriguez has organized an internet and postal mail petition and letter writing campaign to urge the Walt Disney Company to reconsider its decision.
The similar online petition and letter writing campaign to urge Disney to include a subtitled Japanese language track on the Princess Mononoke DVD gathered 10,000 signatures, national media attention, and ended successfully. This petition will need similar, if not more support to most likely be even partially effective.
As devoted supporters of anime in general and the works of Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli in particular, AnimeNation urges readers to take a moment to read and sign the petition and write letters to the Disney mailing address provided.
Anime News Network has published a short but concise interview with a Cartoon Network representative discussing the success and future plans of the MS Gundam and Gundam MS 08 series on Toonami and the Cartoon Network’s plans for editing and broadcasting Cowboy Bebop.
Saiyanz Rage has published anime related announcements from the recent Canadian CN Anime convention. Among the most noteworthy mentions:
FUNimation plans to release Dragonball Z movies 5 & 6 in America tentatively in January and June 2002 respectively.
FUNimation will most likely begin dubbing Dragonball GT sometime next year for American television broadcast probably sometime in 2003.
Sunrise of Japan is rumored to be working on a new UC continuity Gundam TV series for release in either 2003 or 2004. The new series is said to be set around UC 250, 171 years after the events in Mobile Suit Gundam.
Just in time to coincide with the August 25th release of the new X OAV, the Japanese Chara-Ani.com site has opened the official new X Anime Homepage featuring the 37 second long OAV trailer. The X TV series is scheduled to start on October 3rd on WOWOW.
Source: Anime News Service
Synch Point has updated their release schedule on their upcoming titles. DVD versions of “I’m Gonna Be an Angel” and FLCL are now scheduled for release in late 2001. No word on whether there will be a VHS release for FLCL. JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure is currently slated to begin VHS & DVD release in early 2002.
Figures.com has received confirmation that the new toy production company IF Labs, a partnership between Irwin Toys and FUNimation, will be an entirely new company and will not directly impact the established Irwin Toys or their continued production of toy lines including Dragonball Z, Sailormoon and Reboot. While Irwin Toys will continue to produce mainstream action figures and toys, IF Labs will concentrate on the toy collector market, producing “grittier” and more “Mcfarlanesque” action figure toys.
Figures.com has also discovered that IF Labs will be producing action figures based on the anime and manga Yu Yu Hakusho created by Yoshihiro Togashi. Series 1, which will launch next March, will feature the core characters of the series: Yusuke, Kurama, Hiei, and Kuwabara. Funimation is currently in the process of preparing the anime TV series for American television broadcast. For those unfamiliar with the series, here’s some background:
“Fourteen-year-old Yusuke Urameshi is the toughest kid in town, a young rebel frustrated by his lack of direction in life. But when he unexpectedly gives his life to save a child from a deadly traffic accident, everything changes. Because of his noble sacrifice, Yusuke is given a second chance. He is allowed to return to Earth from the Afterworld - but not to the life he left behind! Yusuke has been granted some amazing new powers, and if he wants to live again he must use them for the cause of good. Yu Yu Hakusho follows the many adventures of this reluctant hero and his uncanny companions as they defend an unsuspecting world from the dark creatures and powerful monsters that lurk in the shadows.”
