AnimeNation Anime News Blog

The official homepage for the Tekkon Kinkreet motion picture now hosts a new trailer in small and large Windows Media and small and large Quicktime formats. The movie is scheduled for Japanese release on December 23rd.

Source: Catsuka

Avex has opened its official homepage dovoted to the upcoming anime television series LoveDoll ~Lovely Idol~ (”Rabudolu ~Lovely Idol~”). The series is scheduled to premier in October.

Source: Moon Phase

Tokyo resident Jason Gray has watched Studio Ghibli’s upcoming new film Gedo Senki and published his spoiler-free response to the film.

Source: Twitch

Question:
I’m a heavy Japanese fan of Ask John. I decided to ask you a question when I read your “Dub is good or bad?” piece. Do you know of “Rakugo Tennyo Oyui”? It is not liking to me, but I find it interesting that famous Rakugo performers joined the show especially for its actual Rakugo scenes. So I’d like to ask you how Americans enjoy Rakugo-related anime like Ghibli’s “Ponpoko.” (It is known that Rango stars joined the movie as seiyuu), or anime shows heavily depending on Japanese puns or linguistic sense of rhythm.

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IGN now hosts the two minute long trailer for Gonzo’s upcoming TV mini-series Afro Samurai.

The Fullmetal Alchemist: Conqueror of Shamballa motion picture won the 2006 Fantasia Film Festival audience award for best animated film.

Source: Twitch

Question:
I just read the plot for one of the most incredibly far-fetched anime series I’ve ever heard about: Kashimashi-Girl Meets Girl. To give you the Reader’s Digest version of the story: boy loves girl; boy confesses love to girl; girl turns him down cold; boy, while walking home from school is killed in crash of UFO; remorseful aliens bring boy back to life, but accidentally switch his gender; boy, now female, returns to school where girl comes on to him because she’s a lesbian. Like I said, incredible. What’s your opinion of Kashimashi, and do you think something like that would fly in the States?

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Software developer CuriousFactory and Japanese creator circle Buredo have partnered to create and release of “Blade Engine,” a free program designed for creating English language visual novel computer games. Japanese visual novel games may be described as complex, story and character driven interactive illustrated novels. The Blade Engine homepage offers free downloads of the Blade Engine program, along with sample visual novel games created with the Blade Engine software.

The first trailer for director Satoshi Kon’s upcoming anime film Paprika, an adaptation of Yasutaka Tsutsui’s sci-fi novel of the same name, is now online in a variety of sizes and formats. The film is scheduled to open in Japan next year.

Source: Catsuka

Production IG animator Koushi Kishida’s self-produced Jin-Roh digital anime short film “Images of the Last Battalion” is now available for online viewing. The short film based on Mamoru Oshii’s Jin-Roh franchise won the Digital Frontier Grand Prix Best VFX Award last year, and is now being used to promote Oshii’s new “Kerberos: Koutetsu no Ryoken” radio drama.

Reportedly Oshii has announced plans to film a new live-action Jin-Roh movie for release in 2009.

Source: Catsuka

The original Flash sci-fi anime series HANOKA (”Ha no Ka”) will premier during the Anime Paradise! program on the Japanese Kids-Station television network on August 7th. The series will consist of 12 three minute episodes produced by amateur Flash animator Morino Aruzi, best known for his web animation YUKINO.

Morino Aruzi also animated the very cute short Flash movie now available on the top page of the Yujin Figure Special Page.

Source: +D Games

At the recent San Diego Comic Con, Manga Entertainment announced that it is co-producing a new anime series with Studio APPP (Honey & Clover, Risky Safety). The new anime is described as a sci-fi adventure set in fedual Japan and featuring a large female cast surrounding one male protagonist.

Karas DVD volume 2 has been delayed until June 2007. The domestic release of volume 1 has shipped 150,000 units so far.

Manga is currently negotiating for distribution rights to Gainax’s remastered “Renewal Version” Evangelion movies.

Ghost In The Shell: Stand Alone Complex - Solid State Society is tentatively planned for a summer 2007 American release.

Source: Toon Zone

At the recent San Diego Comic Con, Viz announced its acquisition of translation rights to several print titles:

Brave Story novels 1-2 by Miyabe Miyuki
Shakugan no Shana manga, by Sasakura Ayao & Takahashi Yashichirou
Shakugan no Shana novels, by Sasakura Ayao
Dragon Drive manga, by Sakura Kenichi
Count Cain manga, by Kaori Yuki
Houshin Engi manga, by Ryu Fujisaki
Gintama manga, by Hideaki Sorachi
Love Con manga, by Nakahara Aya
Millenium Snow manga, by Hattori Bisco

Source: Anime on DVD (article one, two), Anime News Network, Toon Zone

At the recent San Diego Comic Con, CMX announced its acquisition of translation rights to 8 new manga titles:

GoGo Heaven!!, by Yamada Keiko
Time Guardian, by Kishi Daimurou & Ichinose Tamao
Canon, by Shiomi Chika
Apothecaries Argentum, by Yamashita Tomomi
Orfina, by Tennouji Kitsune
Variante, by Sugitomo Ikura
Dorothea, by Cuvie
Key to the Kingdom, by Shitou Kyoko

Source: Anime on DVD

At the recent San Diego Comic Con, Digital Manga announced its acquisition of translation rights to the Moon and Sandal manga by Yoshinaga Fumi and Megami DX magazine.

The Megami Deluxe magazine/book will be published twice annually. Six issues are currently available in Japan.

Source: Anime on DVD