AnimeNation Anime News Blog

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Gutsoon! has announced that the premier of Raijin Comics and Fujin Magazine are now officially scheduled to premier in America on December 4th. Diamond Comics is now the official American distributor of the magazine, so copies should be available at anime retailers as well as local comic book stores. Furthermore, cover price for the weekly magazine has been reduced from $6.95 to $4.95 per issue, but the Japanese pop culture magazine Fujin will no longer be a free insert but will instead be sold weekly for $.99 an issue. Subscribers, however, will still receive a free issue a Fujin with each issue of Raijin Comics.

Source: Anime News Network

Super Techno Arts has announced that the Jojo’s Bizarre Adventures anime will finally see US release this fall, in late November or December. The American DVD release will include the 7 episode prequel series and 6 episode original OAVs on 6 DVDs priced at $29.99 each or volume with art box for $44.99.

Source: Anime on DVD

According to Saiyanz Rage, FUNimation has confirmed plans to alter the name of Vegeta’s and Bulma’s daughter Bra to “Bulla” in the English dub of Dragonball Z. The name change (actually closer to a very loose translation) avoids criticisms of sexism or the inclusion of inappropriate sexual references in a children’s cartoon, but also eliminates part of the running joke with Bulma’s family being named after clothes: Bulma as in “bloomers”; Professor Briefs; Trunks, as in shorts, underwear or swim trunks; and Bra.

53 new episodes of Dragonball Z are scheduled to premier on Canada’s YTV network on September 2nd. However, the final English language season of Dragonball Z is 57 episodes long, meaning that the final 4 American Dragonball Z episodes will not be broadcast in Canada. It’s unlikely that YTV will renegotiate its broadcast contract for Dragonball just to acquire broadcast rights to 4 additional episodes.

Source: Dragonball Z/GT Legacy
Article provided by Saiyanz Rage

Bandai has announced that the second .Hack Playstation 2 RPG, titled “.Hack Vol. 2: Malignant Mutation,” will be available in Japan on September 19th. The game will allow players to import their data from the first game, and the game will include a brief re-cap of the events of the first game for those who have not played it. The second .Hack RPG will also include the second volume of the .Hack Liminality anime OAV series.

Source: The Magic Box

Question:
First came The Guyver, then Evangelion, 26 mega hit episodes which got everyone’s attention. Then Escaflowne, another mega hit series. From there comes Cowboy Bebop, Outlaw Star, Gasaraki, and etc. So my question is, what’s the next big thing coming to the U.S.? What’s the next series that will definitely catch viewers’ attention?

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After first breaking into anime licensing in the early 1990s with the acquisition of Sailormoon, DIC Entertainment is now back in the market with the worldwide (excluding Japan) TV, licensing and merchandising rights to Mach Go Go Go, better known in America as “Speed Racer.” According to Animation Magazine, DIC has acquired the distribution rights to 65 original episodes (presumably the 52 original Japanese episodes from 1967 & the 13 episode American produced “New Adventures of Speed Racer” from 1993) and all 34 episodes of the 1997 series. Nickelodeon is now broadcasting 13 episodes of the 1997 Japanese revival series.

Source: Anime News Network

Akadot has published an exclusive insider’s look at the recent Viz hosted premier party for the American debut of Shonen Jump. Ironically, for a magazine intended to “bring manga into the mainstream of American youth and, in so doing, bring them closer to other youth around the world,” the premier party was an exclusive press and professional, invitation only event featuring “waiters bearing wine and champagne, two open bars, dessert tables, a Tex-Mex buffet and even sushi.”

At the press party, details of the Cartoon Network’s upcoming Adult Swim Reactor website were revealed. Adult Swim Reactor will have two sections: a free section and one available only to Shonen Jump subscribers. The website will feature digital manga selected from Shonen Jump and will be published on a weekly basis beginning in November. Adult Swim Reactor will also be used as a testing ground for new manga series.

Source: Anime News Service

Anime News Network has published a new exclusive interview with Nobuhiko Horie and the editors of Raijin Comics transcribed from the recent San Diego Comic Con.

During the spring and summer of each year, Toei animation releases a new “Animation Festival” to Japanese theaters that consists of 3-4 short anime movies. Each of these screenings usually brings in roughly 2 billion yen. Such was the case with this year’s spring festival from last March, which included One Piece movies 3 & 4. However the recent summer festival that included theatrical movies of Digimon Frontier, Crash Gear Gekito Turbo, and Kinnikuman Second Generation failed at box offices by drawing only 400 million yen in ticket sales. Rival studio Toho won the box office receipts during the same period with the latest Doraemon movie (2,300 million yen), the latest Detective Conan movie (3,300 million yen) and the fifth Pokemon movie, which earned a massive 3 billion yen.

Toei is expected to recover from the poor box office performance of its most recent anime films with strong attendance at its current and upcoming live action films including the Kamen Rider Ryuki movie and the latest Morning Musume movie, “Dan, The Tale of a Little Dog.”

Source: Anime News Service

Due to a “problem with the replicator” the second Live Action La Blue Girl DVD and Best of Kitty Volume 4 DVD, both originally scheduled for release on August 27th, will be delayed 3-4 weeks.

Question:
I am a big anime fan, but I rarely get to buy or see any anime since it’s so expensive. When I do have enough money to buy anime, the length is very important to me. When I bought Street Fighter Alpha and Blood: The Last Vampire the info on the back cover said they were 120 minutes and 85 minutes respectively, but when the movies end and the credits rolls, my DVD timer says only 90 minutes (Street Fighter) or 45 minutes (Blood) have passed. Even with the special features the time doesn’t add up. The movie doesn’t even go where the plot on the back states. What’s up with this because I feel ripped off?

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The official Matrix movie homepage now offers a teaser trailer for the upcoming “Animatrix” series of short “anime” films expanding the Matrix storyline and universe.

Bandai will release the first of 2 DVD volumes of Gonzo Studio’s video game adaptation sci-fi OAV series Melty Lancer on January 7th. The 3 episode DVD will retail for $29.98.

The first DVD volume of Banner of the Stars, the sequel series to Crest of the Stars, will include 5 episodes and also retail for $29.98 beginning on January 23rd.

Source: Anime on DVD