AnimeNation Anime News Blog

Sputnik 7, in association with Central Park Media, has announced plans to host the first six episodes of Armored Trooper Votoms for free online viewing beginning Wednesday, April 7th. The subtitled episodes will be available for free viewing for a limited time:

Episode 1 will be available from April 7th until April 20, 2004
Episodes 1 & 2 will be available from April 21st through May 4, 2004
Episodes 2 & 3 will be available from May 5th through May 18, 2004
Episodes 3 & 4 will be available from May 19th through June 1, 2004
Episodes 4 & 5 will be available from June 2nd through June 15, 2004
Episodes 5 & 6 will be available from June 16th through June 29, 2004

Source: Anime on DVD

Viz has announced that the first English translated volumes of the Bleach and Hikaru no Go manga serials will be released on May 26th.

The first English translated manga volume of Red River will be released on June 2nd.

The first volume of Imadoki will be released on June 9th.

The first manga volume of Cheeky Angel (Tenshi na Konamaiki) will be released on June 16th.

The first manga volume of Saikano (Saishuheiki Kanojo) will be released on June 23rd.

Source: Jagged Team

Although it’s presently only a single page, the official Japanese website for Mahou Shoujo Tai Arusu is now open. The TV series, scheduled to premier on April 9th, is the first anime TV series developed by Studio 4C, the animation studio that produced the Princess Arete movie and the “Beyond” segment of The AniMatrix. The series is written by Keita Amemiya, the creator of Zeiram.

The official Japanese homepage for Ragnarok the Animation is now open. The Gonzo produced anime TV series based on the popular online PC game is scheduled to debut on April 6th.

Source: Moon Phase

Game Watch has published a collection of screenshots of “XenoKomi,” an original anime adventure game that will be included on the Xenosaga Freaks Fan Disc for the Japanese Playstation 2, scheduled for Japanese release on April 28th.

Source: The Magic Box

The Japanese Quicktime site currently hosts a new trailer for the live action Devilman movie that includes a few seconds of new footage, the Steamboy trailer in a non-streaming format, and the trailer for the impressive looking live action sci-fi film God Diva.

Other interesting trailers available from the Japanese Quicktime site include the extended Japanese trailer for Kill Bill volume 2, and trailers for the full CG Appleseed movie and the live action Casshern movie.

Source: Jagged Team

Question:
John, can you tell me what the situation is with the Discipline hentai DVD. Wasn’t it released in Japan last year? How come I can’t find anything about it except for the official site. It’s like nobody even knows about it, which I can’t understand! Have you seen the screenshots of the hentai!? The animation looks to be even better than that of Bible Black! I know it was done by the same people and that is why I don’t understand why there is nothing to be found of Discipline. Please give me and the fans any information you can regarding this hentai.

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Buena Vista Home Video has issued an official confirmation that Hayao Miyazaki’s My Neighbor Totoro, Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind, and Porco Rosso will be released on uncut, bilingual, special edition domestic DVD on August 31st.

Each film will be presented in anamorphic widescreen and retail at $29.99.

Source: Animated Bliss

Jake Forbes of TOKYOPOP has clarified that TOKYOPOP has acquired the English language translation rights to Itabashi Masahiro and Tamakoshi Hiroyuki’s shonen romance anthology “Boys Be… 2nd: A Guys Guide to Girls.”

TOKYOPOP will also be co-producing an English language version of a manga anthology based on Star Trek: The Next Generation. According to ICv2 News, the series will be written by American and Japanese authors and drawn by Japanese artists.

Source: Anime on DVD

The official Japanese Stratos 4 homepage now hosts a 40 second long streaming Windows Media trailer for the upcoming 2 episode long Stratos 4: X-1 Return to Base OAV series. The first episode is scheduled for Japanese release on May 28th.

Bandai Entertainment will begin releasing the original Stratos 4 TV series in America later this year.

Source: Natsume Goushin Ryu Dojo

AnimationHQ is very excited to welcome back, for a second chat session, the talented voice actor, David Kaye. You have probably heard him voice such memorable characters as Sesshomaru in Inu Yasha, Professor Xavier in X-Men: Evolution, and Megatron in Transformers: Energon, Armada, Beast Wars and so many other diverse characters. In case you missed out on his first chat session, you can read it here. The chat will be held this Saturday, March 27th, at 7 pm EST in the AnimationHQ IRC chatroom.

Question:
What is Cutey Honey, was it a manga or anime? And what is it about?

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Corsham Entertainment has issued an official press release announcing that Japan’s Madhouse Studios will animate 26 half-hour episodes of Natural Born Kittens.

Excerpted from the press release:

Natural Born Kittens is the brainchild of UK anime artist Larry Bundy Jr., and centers around the anarchic activities of four ancient Egyptian cat goddesses posing as teenage schoolgirls in low rent suburbia, with the ensuing mayhem making South Park look like Noddy. The Natural Born Kittens website is one of the UK’s most visited anime sites, with more than half a million hits a year. Scripts will be written in the UK and the US, while the rest of the production will be handled entirely in Japan by Madhouse.

According to Shinichi Kobayashi, CEO of Madhouse, ‘Natural Born Kittens is a great combination of Western and Japanese animation - we are very excited about the prospects for the series.’ In fact, Corsham Entertainment believes that this will be the first ever genuine UK/Japanese anime co-production.

AD Vision has revealed its acquisition of English language distribution rights to the upcoming OAV Makasete Iruka!, written and directed by Akitaro Daichi (Jubei-chan, Animation Runner Kuromi, Kodomo no Omocha). The English language version of the OAV will be titled Grrl Power. The OAV will be released in America before its Japanese release.

Source: Anime on DVD

At last weekend’s Wizard World convention, TOKYOPOP officially announced its acquisition of translation rights to the Boys Be romantic drama manga series.

Source: Anime on DVD

Avex Mode has opened its official Japanese language homepage for the upcoming Tenjoh Tenge anime TV series. The series is sponsored by Avex of Japan and Geneon USA, suggesting a likely possibility that the series is already licensed for official English language release.

Source: Natsume Goushin Ryu Dojo