AnimeNation Anime News Blog

A number of announcements were made at last weekend’s Anime Weekend Atlanta convention.

FUNimation announced its acquisition of domestic distribution rights to the Samurai 7 TV series.

AD Vision announced its acquisition of domestic distribution rights to the Madlax TV series.

Bandai announced that Overman King Gainer, Scrapped Princess, and Magical Meow Meow Taruto might be released early next year. The Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex volume 3 special edition DVD will include a Stand Alone Complex t-shirt.

Source: Anime on DVD

FUNimation has announced that the first DVD volume of Fullmetal Alchemist will be released on January 18th in a $29.98 disc only edition and $39.98 limited edition.

Source: Anime on DVD

DVD Vision Japan has updated with an exclusive interview with voice actor Beau Billingslea (Jet Black in Cowboy Bebop).

DVD Vision Japan has also published its review of ADV Pro’s first animated film release, Lady Death.

Other new reviews include:
Martian Successor Nadesico Essential Anime Collection volume 1
Dokkoida volume 1
Saikano volume 2
Mysteries and Secrets Revealed book 3: Evangelion
digiElement Magazine on DVD issue 3

According to Anime on DVD, AD Vision will now replace defective copies of Super Gals DVD volume 6 and defective copies of the Rahxephon movie DVD for people that contact the company to request a replacement. AD Vision has neither formally acknowledged that either DVD release is defective, nor publicly revealed the availability of corrected replacements.

On some copies of Super Gals DVD 6, the English language 5.1 audio track only plays from the rear left speaker. DVD-ROM drives that aren’t 5.1 compatible will not play any English audio for episode 26.

On some copies of the Rahxephon movie DVD, through the first half of the film, the Japanese 5.1 audio plays through the front right speaker instead of the front center.

According to the Financial Times Magazine, Sony & Comcast have signed an agreement to launch at least 3 new cable television networks in America. Also according to the report, the Japanese all animation channel Animax may be one of the networks coming to America.

Source: Anime News Network

A French language article published by Telerama quotes Akira creator Katsuhiro Otomo hinting that French director Pitof (Vidoq, Catwoman) will direct the live action adaptation of Akira for Warner Bros.

Source: Ain’t It Cool News

British publisher Boychild Productions has announced plans to release periodical manga anthology in the United States, titled “Manga Mover.” The first issue of Manga Mover will be 68 pages and retail at $5.99, early next year. The first issue will feature new work by Sakura Mizuki and Tomoko Amemiya printed in Japanese right-to-left format, and Western “manga influenced” comic art published in left-to-right format.

Source: ICv2 News

Gainax has announced the development of a Nadia: Secret of Blue Water video game for the Playstation 2. The game will be released next year. No other details are available.

Source: Moon Phase

Magnolia Pictures has announced plans to release the highly acclaimed Thai martial arts film Ong Bak to American theaters. According to Kung Fu Cinema, the film will be released in America in an edited version this November.

Question:
How many episodes does “Detective Conan” have? How many movies? I heard that Cartoon Network will stop airing “Detective Conan” pretty soon and they’re stopping at episode 52. Do you have any ideas why?

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DVD Vision Japan now hosts an exclusive interview with Nana, Reina, Lina, and Aki, the four members of super J-Pop group MAX. In the exclusive interview, the members of MAX talk about their experiences in America, who their influences are, and why family plays a big part in their success.

Sakura Wars creators Red Entertainment now host an 8.26Mb downloadable Windows Media trailer for the upcoming Sakura Taisen Le Nouveau Paris OAV series.

Source: Rakuga Kidou

Galaxy Anime now hosts an interview with Mastiff CEO Bill Schwartz regarding the domestic release of the Playstation 2 game Gungrave OD and its $14.99 retail price.

Galaxy Anime now also hosts its summer recap coverage of domestic anime DVD releases, and an exclusive preview of Devil May Cry 3.

The Kids’ WB has ordered an additional 30 episodes of the anime series MegaMan NT Warrior (Rockman.exe). The new episodes will begin airing next spring.

Source: ICv2 News

Ain’t It Cool News has published reviews of Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence, Steamboy, and Takeshi Miike’s Zebraman, all from their recent screenings at the Toronto International Film Festival.