Archive for December, 2002

Ask John: What is Ge Ge Ge no Kitaro?

Tuesday, December 31st, 2002

Question:
I’m a big fan of anime involving monsters and ghost from Japanese folklore and legends. Well, I heared some days ago that there is an anime about ghosts and such things called Ge Ge Ge No Kitaro, but I didn’t found too much info about it. Can you tell how much Kitaro is there? Any manga or OVAs? When was it released? Anything! I simply can’t miss anime about that.

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AnimeNation Closed Tomorrow

Tuesday, December 31st, 2002

The AnimeNation offices and retail store will be closed on New Year’s Day and re-open for normal business hours on January 2nd.

Jojo’s Bizarre Adventures Release Scheduled

Tuesday, December 31st, 2002

Super Techno Arts has revealed that the first domestic JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure DVD will be released on March 11th. The disc will be available alone for $29.99, or with a collector’s box to hold all 6 DVDs for $44.99.

Source: Anime on DVD

Newtype USA Interview Online

Tuesday, December 31st, 2002

Anime News Network has published a short, exclusive interview with Newtype USA editor in chief Kimberly Guerre.

Manga Dominates Mainstream Comic Sales

Tuesday, December 31st, 2002

While the American comic book and specialty store market is still heavily dominated by American comics and puiblishers including Marvel, DC, and Image, independant marketing consultation firm Bookscan has confirmed that translated manga overwelmingly dominate trade paperback sales at mainstream retail outlets including Barnes & Noble, Target, Borders, Amazon.com, and independent bookstores. For the week ending December 15th, translated manga graphic novels from publishers including TOKYOPOP and Viz accounted for 38 of the 50 best selling comic trade paperbacks in American mainstream retail outlets.

Source: Newsarama

Cowboy Bebop Movie US Release Delayed

Monday, December 30th, 2002

According to Yahoo Movies, the American limited nationwide theatrical release of the Cowboy Bebop movie has been delayed from January to April. The film is now scheduled to open in New York and Los Angeles on April 4th then expand to additional venues later.

Source: Jagged Team

Pokemon Movie 5 US Debut Announced

Monday, December 30th, 2002

According to Yahoo Movies, Pocket Monster movie 5: Mizu no Miyako no Mamoigami, Ratiasu to Ratiosu will open in limited American theatrical release on May 16th, 2003.

Source: Jagged Team

Real Bout High School Boxed Set Announced

Monday, December 30th, 2002

TOKYOPOP has announced plans to release all four DVD volumes of Samurai Girl: Real Bout High School in a single DVD set retailing at $79.99 on April 15th.

Source: Anime on DVD

Mandarake USA Closing

Monday, December 30th, 2002

Roughly three years after opening its American retail operations, Japanese anime retailer Mandarake has decided to withdraw from the American market. Mandarake USA confirms that its American retail store located in Santa Monica, CA, and its American mail order business, will close permanently by the end of this month. No reason is given. Mandarake specializes in pre-owned, rare, and out of print anime merchandise. The main Mandarake store in Shibuya, Japan, is one of the largest anime retail stores in the world.

Source: Anime News Network

New FF X-2 Trailer Online

Monday, December 30th, 2002

The Magic Box is currently hosting screen captures and a link to the latest MPG trailer for Final Fantasy X-2.

Anime Games Coming to America

Monday, December 30th, 2002

According to Games Are Fun, Bandai has confirmed plans to release 4 anime based GameCube games in America. Two of the titles will be the Gundam and Digimon games announced for upcoming Japanese release. The other two games coming to America will be One Piece: Treasure Battle and Kinnikuman: Legends vs. New Generation. One Piece is a cel shaded multi-player fighting game in the style of Capcom’s Power Stone. Kinnikuman is a cel shaded wrestling game based on the anime TV series American fans may be familiar with under the title “Ultimate Muscle.”

Ask John: Why are Anime Magazines So Expensive?

Monday, December 30th, 2002

Question:
Why are anime and manga magazine subscriptions so expensive? I’d say that the average price for an American magazine subscription is about $20. So why do anime magazines cost on average from $60-$120?

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AnimeNation in the News

Friday, December 27th, 2002

The Tampa Tribune Newspaper has published a brief introductory article about AnimeNation.

Steamboy Confirmed for 2003 Release

Friday, December 27th, 2002

According to ICv2 News, Toho will release Katsuhiro Otomo’s latest anime film Steamboy next year. The film is Otomo’s first full length directorial effort since 1988’s Akira and is the most expensive animated film in Japanese history with a budget of 2.4 billion yen (roughly $20 million) covering more than 180,000 drawings and 400 CG cuts.

Source: Anime News Network

First Godzilla vs Mecha Godzilla Review Online

Friday, December 27th, 2002

AICN has published a brief, spoiler free, highly positive review of Gojira Tai Mecha Gojira, the latest Godzilla film to open in Japanese theaters only days ago.