YouTube now hosts a trailer for Madhouse’s upcoming full CG anime children’s film Yona Yona Penguin, courtesy of international film distributor Golden Network Asia. The film is scheduled for worldwide theatrical release next year.
Source: Anime News Network
Turn A Gundam & Inuyasha screenwriter Ai Ota has revealed that she and veteran anime mecha designer/director Shinji Aramaki are developing a hard sci-fi anime TV series titled Vipers’ Creed. The series will illustrate the tensions between a private mercenary organization and official military organizations following a massively destructive war. A preview special about Vipers’ Creed will air on the Animax network on December 30, prior to the series’ premier in January.
Ota reports that she’s also presently developing a 13 episode horror suspense project.
Source: Anime News Network
The just released December issue of adult PC game magazine BugBug has announced that the 15 Bishojo Hyoryuki (15 Beautiful Girls Adrift) multimedia franchise will be expanded with an anime OVA. Created by adult game creator Takahiro (Kimi ga Aruji de Shitsuji ga Ore de) and Vandread character designer character designer Kazuya Kuroda, 15 Bishojo Hyoryuki is a risqué parody of Jules Verne’s novel Two Years’ Vacation, known in Japan as “15 Shonen Hyoryuki” (15 Boys Adrift). As the title implies, 15 Bishojo Hyoryuki is a story about 15 pretty girls stranded on a deserted island.
It’s not clear yet if the 15 Bishojo Hyoryuki OVA is planned as an erotic adults only anime, or a racy mainstream release.
Source: Anime News Network
The official website of the Anime Festival Asia convention, held in Singapore, now hosts an interview with Japanese vocalist May’n (May Nakabayashi), best known to anime fans for singing several of character Sheryl Nome’s songs in the Macross Frontier television series. May’n will attend the Anime Festival Asia as a guest, and will perform in concert at Singapore’s Suntec Convention Center on November 23.
Source: Ramblings of Dark Mirage
Question:
Are anime horror films usually smarter than live action horror films?
The official Japanese homepage for the Hellsing OVA series, known as “Hellsing Ultimate” in America, now hosts a 17 second trailer for the series’ fifth installment, which is due out in Japan on November 21st.
Source: Moon Phase
Reportedly the December issue of Jump Square Magazine, scheduled to go on sale in Japan next week, will include a confirmation that Hiroshi Sakurazaka’s five volume Yoku Wakaru Gendai Maho (Properly Learned Modern Magic) light novel series will be adapted into anime.
Yoku Wakaru Gendai Maho is the story of Koyomi Morishita, a petit & clumsy high school freshman often mistaken as a grade-schooler, who becomes an apprentice to 25-year-old Misa Anehara, one of the world’s most powerful magicians.
Source: Anime News Network
Kadokawa Group Holdings, the parent company of businesses involved in the anime & manga field including Kadokawa Shoten, ASCII MediaWorks, Enterbrain, and Fujimi Shobo, has reported 1.854 billion yen (US $18.95 million) in stock securities losses during the first half of its 2008 fiscal year (April through September). The loss represents a 6.8% decline from 2007 first half revenue.
However, Kadokawa cites strong DVD sales of titles including Lucky Star, Junjo Romantica, and Keroro Gunso movie 3; Full Metal Panic Blu-ray disc sales; and sales of manga titles including Yotsuba to!, Lucky Star, MPD Psycho, and Shakugan no Shana as mitigating factors cushioning the financial loss.
Despite the first half loss, Kadokawa Group Holdings expects to end the 2008 fiscal year with a 100 million yen (US $1 million) profit.
Source: Anime News Network
The official Imagi Studios homepage now hosts a short interview with David Bowers, the director of the currently in production full CG Astro Boy movie. The interview is accessible through the website’s “What’s New” section or the Astro Boy link the website’s “Our Films” section.
Imagi’s Astro Boy movie is scheduled for international release on October 23, 2009.
Source: Twitch
Pop Japan Travel has announced that its upcoming Cold Steel Tour 2009 will now include an exclusive face-to-face meeting with Mori Chack, the artist best known as the creator of the twisted mascot character Gloomy Bear.
The 2009 Cold Steel Tour will also include an exclusive tour of Studio Pierrot, a visit to the Ghibli Museum, stops at the Sapporo Snow Festival, the Kamakura Setsubun festival, and more.
Question:
Do you think that Candy Boy and Blue Drop will be released in America?
FUNimation is scheduled to meet California based businessman Hae Yong Ro for a conference in a Los Angeles courtroom on November 17th in association with FUNimation’s charges that Mr. Ro’s N Trading, Inc, Discount Anime DVD, BuyDVD.com, and DOES companies have willfully engaged in commerce of counterfeit anime DVDs since March 2002. FUNimation issued a cease-and-desist letter to the offending retailers in February, and filed suit in August when the four online retailers failed to respond.
FUNimation is seeking the seizure or destruction of all counterfeit DVDs and material used in the production of counterfeit DVDs, $23.7 million in damages for the sale of counterfeit DVDs infringing on FUNimation copyrights, $80,000 in legal fees, $5,005,000 plus legal fees for violation of copyrights belonging to TV Tokyo, Square Enix, and Shueisha, and an order that the violating retailers “notify all customers who purchased [an infringing] DVD” … “that said DVD is an unlawful copy, and may be returned for a full refund, including shipping.”
The defendants named in the suit have responded to the allegations with references to “fair use,” statute of limitations, and claims of good faith that the offending products were legally authorized releases.
Source: Anime News Network
The official Tamagotchi movie homepage has released a full trailer for this December’s Eiga! Tamagotchi Uchū Ichi Happy na Monogatari!? motion picture. A teaser trailer for the film was released last July.
This second feature length Tamagotchi movie – the third theatrical Tamagotchi movie overall – will debut on December 20th.
Source: Anime News Network
ICv2 has published a new interview with Yen Press Publishing Director Kurt Hassler on the merging of Hachette Books’ Orbit and Yen Press publishing lines and the current state of the North American manga market.
ICv2 has published a new interview with ADV Films Sales Account Manager Chris Oarr about ADV’s switch from licensor to “localizer” for live action Japanese exploitation films from Switchblade Pictures.
