801 Media has formally announced a number of its planned 2008 yaoi manga releases:
The Prime Minister’s Secret Diplomacy by Youka Nitta
Love Circumstances by Aco Oumi
The King of Debt by Sanae Rokuya
A Foreign Love Affair by Ayano Yamane
The President’s Time by Tamaki Kirishima
Weekend Lovers by Kiriko Fuwa
Question:
Why are anime so overt with their messages? It’s always been very visible to me that a lot of anime intentionally carry strong messages that are mainly presented through character dialogue. However, what’s struck me recently when comparing anime to Western (mainly American) film is that anime usually display their central messages much more loudly than many films do. While many films I’ve seen display their messages subtly through action and symbols, most of the anime I’ve seen almost “beat you over the head” with their messages and symbols.
Examples include shows like Naruto with it’s dialogue about how the characters will never give up and how some characters are similar to each other, shows like Gundam where characters repeatedly find out that there are good people on both sides of war, or RPGs that constantly say that the church is lying to you. I have seen relatively few anime shows where I was able to catch a somewhat subliminally displayed message like Gankutsuou in how it shows (without overtly talking about) the collateral damage that results from revenge.
Do you think this has something to do with the audience that each anime is aimed at? Or are there some subtle messages in a lot of anime that I have in fact missed?
Mecha Anime HQ now hosts an exclusive interview with ImaginAsian Entertainment’s manager of strategic development and programming Justin Sevakis. The interview concentrates on ImaginAsian’s distribution and upcoming DVD release of Orguss, Cat’s Eye, and Nobody’s Boy Remi.
Source: Anime on DVD
Media Blasters is seeking a volunteer to work as an unpaid intern proofreader for yaoi and risqué manga titles. Interested applicants must be able to commute to the Media Blasters office in New York City on a daily basis. To apply for the position, e-mail frankp@media-blasters.com.
Source: Anime on DVD
Question:
How do they decide whether an anime series should be continued or not? Is it due to costs to produce the anime? I read somewhere that the anime series Fushigi Yugi was continued due to popular demand.
Japanese multimedia website BIGLOBE now hosts a 2:30 streaming trailer for the Gode Geass stage 24-25 special scheduled to air on the 28th. Note that the trailer may contain spoilers for the earlier episodes of the TV series.
Source: Moon Phase
Starchild has formally announced development of a 4 episode OVA series tentatively titled, “Ryofuko-chan.” The Ryofuko-chan anime originated as a fictional anime watched by the characters in Jiro Suzuki’s manga series Souta-kun no Akihabara Funtouki, which is itself scheduled for an anime adaptation. The first episode of the Ryofuko-chan anime will be released in December.
Source: Moon Phase
Interior pages in the August issue of Shueisha’s Cobalt Magazine contain a confirmation of plans for a fourth Maria-sama ga Miteru anime series. No release date or format are mentioned.
Source: Canned Dogs
Sony Pictures has announced that Tekkonkinkreet will be released on domestic DVD and Blu-ray disc on September 25th. The DVD edition will retail at $26.96. The Blu-ray disc will retail at $38.95.
Source: Anime on DVD
Question:
I was wondering why, in certain anime, when the main character or a supporting character are short, they have a major issue with any mention of their hieght?
Is there some context you can give for young girls in anime being teased about their foreheads? Sakura in Naruto gets teased about it by both Naruto and Sasuke. And recently on cable I’ve been watching Petite Princess Yucie and she gets teased mercilessly about her forehead, and her complaint seems to be that this stigmatizes her as a little kid when she is actually 17. What is the deal about foreheads in an anime context?
Afro Samurai producer Eric Calderon has formally announced development of a 12 episode animated television series titled “The Five Killers.” The upcoming action show created by Calderon will be written by American animation screenwriter George Krstic and American comic writer Mark Waid, directed by Tomohiro Hirata (Trinity Blood director) and animated by Tokyo’s Studio Gonzo. Up-and-coming manga artist Shigeki Maeshima provides character designs.
Calderon’s homepage now hosts a teaser trailer for the upcoming show.
Source: Anime News Network
The official Japanese homepage for the 2008 Doraemon movie “Eiga Doraemon: Nobita to Midori no Kyojin Den” (Doraemon Movie: Nobita and the Green Giant Legend) now hosts a streaming teaser trailer. The movie is scheduled for Japanese theatrical release next March.
Source: Anime News Network
The 2006 Ryusei no Rockman anime television series has been scheduled to air in America on the Cartoon Network. The series, under the American title “MegaMan Star Force,” will debut online through the Toonami Jetstream website on July 23rd and will premier on the Cartoon Network in August.
Source: IGN
Question:
Lucky Star seems to have hit the Japanese fan community by storm: ads are everywhere in Akiba, many stores play the anime on their screens, the limited edition DVDs sold out quickly, it’s popular enough to receive 2 Nintendo DS games, an upcoming PS2 game, more CDs, a full 2-season TV run, and the OP/END CDs have both broken into the Oricon Top 10. Why do you think it’s so popular?
The “Trailer” section of the Stranger homepage now hosts a full length trailer for the upcoming film. The movie is scheduled to open in Japanese theaters on September 29th.
Source: Moon Phase
