Bandai Visual has formally announced plans the launch of a promotional anime streaming service. Beginning in late March, Bandai Visual will host the entire first episode of its “Haruka: Beyond the Stream of Time - A Tale of the Eight Guardians” for free online viewing for North American viewers. Free sample episodes of True Tears, Shigofumi, and Sola are also planned for the future.
Pop Japan Travel has announced its “Mind Over Manga” package tour of Tokyo, Japan. The guided tour will include attendance at the August Comitia doujinshi (amateur comics) convention, along with an exclusive visit to a prominent Tokyo anime production studio, the Ghibli Museum, and other Tokyo landmarks. For the first time ever, the “Mind Over Manga” tour will offer participants with the opportunity to participate in the Comitia convention as a seller. For qualifying participants, Pop Japan Travel will:
Translate your book into Japanese so that the locals can understand it
Print your book and deliver it directly to the event at Tokyo Big Sight
Help you sell your book and discuss it with readers at a booth at the event
The summer Comitia convention is scheduled for August 24th. The “Mind Over Manga” tour will run from August 21 to 28.
Question:
What are the avant garde anime series that have been overlooked by American licensors?
The “Outline” section of the Mnemosyne anime series homepage now hosts a 3:19 streaming trailer for the six episode series’ second episode, which is scheduled to air on March 2nd. Please note that the trailer contains graphic, adult oriented imagery.
The April issue of Japan’s Dragon Magazine has formally announced development of a new Slayers anime television series. The primary animators of studio J.C. Staff that developed the first three Slayers anime television series will work on the new, original story, but whether any of the characters from the previous Slayers anime will appear in the new series has not been revealed yet. The new anime is planned for two seasons (roughly 52 episodes) beginning in May.
Source: Anime News Network & Moon Phase Message Board
A 12 episode anime adaptation of Fumi Yoshinaga’s romantic comedy manga series Antique Bakery (Seiyou Kotto Yougashiten) will air as part of Fuji Television’s ongoing “Noitamina” series of late night anime series beginning this July. The bestselling manga about a quaint bakery run by four young men was originally published from 1999 to 2002 and was adapted into a live action television series in 2001. The manga series is distributed in English by Digital Manga.
Source: Anime News Network
Official Japanese websites for the upcoming Golgo 13, Himitsu ~Top Secret~, Zettai Karin Children television series have opened. And the official xxxHOLiC anime TV series homepage has updated to promote the April premier of the xxxHOLiC Kei anime television series.
Source: Moon Phase
The Nippon Television network has formally announced development of a live action television series adaptation of Shota Kikuchi’s manga series Osen. Actress Yu Aoi will play the role of Sen Handa, the proprietress of a popular Tokyo traditional resturant who deals with daily operations and situations with her charm and skills in numerous fields. The series will premier in April.
Source: Ultimatum & Tokyograph
Question:
What lies in the future that will bring more anime sales to the US or do you believe that the current market trends will only continue until very little is released?
According to the Japanese Moon Phase message board, the advertising “obi” on the freshly released Japanese Trigun Maximum volume 14 manga includes a confirmation that “Trigun the Movie,” an original story motion picture promising “Vash vs Wolfwood!?” will hit Japanese theaters next year. The movie will be animated by Madhouse, directed by Trigun television series director Satoshi Nishimura, and written by Yasuko Kobayashi, the screenwriter of the Gilgamesh and Guyver TV series.
The Japanese Moon Phase message board reports that BaseSon’s adult PC adventure game Koihime Musou will be ported to the Playstation 2 and will receive a manga and TV anime adaptation.
Domestic manga and manhwa publisher Infinity Studios has announced plans to begin releasing all future titles in commercial ebook format beginning March 1st. Select unfinished catalog titles will be revived for continued release in ebook format. “A few titles” will also be released in printed “hard copy” book format.
Source: Anime News Network
TV Tokyo has opened the official website for its upcoming 51 episode live-action sci-fi detective drama television series Keitai Sousakan 7. The series revolves around a high school boy and his transforming cel-phone robot, and his six detective partners that fight against an internet-based criminal organization. The series will be supervised by Takeshi Miike. Planned episode directors include Mamoru Oshii and Shusuke Kaneko (director of the live action Death Note movies).
Keitai Sousakan 7 will premier on April 2nd.
Source: Tokyograph
Question:
Why do hentai manga scantalators occasionally post cultural notes for a particular title? Do American fans who read H doujinshi genuinely care about the duel meaning behind a sexual innuendo or the different interpretations of an erotic sound effect? Or are the scantalators hoping it’ll lead to legit work?
Bandai Visual USA has revealed plans for an American release of the thirteen episode 2007 television series Sola. The first DVD volume will hit American shelves on June 10th.
Source: Anime on DVD
