AnimeNation Anime News Blog

Question:
What are successors of Sailor Moon?

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The official website of the Sakuran Boy DT anime television series now offers the show’s first episode for free online viewing.

Source: Moon Phase Diary

The J:Com community television channel is now streaming a segment of its Kanto Kenbunroku sightseeing program that features an exclusive inside view of Tokyo’s Ghibli Museum, the museum dedicated to the work of Tokyo based anime production company Studio Ghibli. Photography and videotaping are normally prohibited inside the museum.

The video clip highlights the museum’s “Shikiro” (“Mirage”) zoetrope animation exhibit and the “Theory of Evolution” short film from the museum’s permanent exhibit detailing the history and theory of animation. The video clip also focuses on the museum’s current “Chisana Louvre Bijutsukan” (“Petit Louvre”) temporary exhibition.

Source: Nausicaa.net

At long last, the beloved 1982 anime television series The Mysterious Cities of Gold will be released on American DVD on April 7. DVD distributor Arts Alliance America, in collaboration with series license holder Fabulous Films, will release the entire 39 episode series in two different editions. A deluxe edition retailing at $79.95 will include a 32 page collectors booklet, a 12 page historical facts booklet, 6 exclusive postcards and a double sided fold-out poster. A $49.95 standard release will include just the series’ six DVDs.

The Japanese/French co-produced anime series aired on America’s Nickelodeon television network from June 30 1986 through June 29, 1990.

Source: Anime News Network

Fanboy Review claims that FUNimation holds the domestic distribution rights to the Japanese Fullmetal Alchemist Premium Collection DVD release from 2006 and has already begun work on producing an English dub. FUNimation has not confirmed the acquisition but reportedly is planning a future announcement related to the Fullmetal Alchemist franchise. In the same report, Fanboy Review also claims that Bandai Entertainment now holds the domestic distribution rights to the anime film 5cm Per Second, but Bandai Entertainment has denied this claim.

The Fullmetal Alchemist Premium Collection is an anthology of supplemental Fullmetal Alchemist anime shorts including the “Seven Homunculi VS State Alchemists” movie screened at the Universal Studios Japan amusement park in 2005 and three short OVAs produced after the Japanese release of the Fullmetal Alchemist movie.

Source: Anime News Network

Japanese home video distributor MediaBank has formally announced [Link suitable for adults only] that the complete six episode “renewal mosaic” version of the Discipline erotic anime series will be released on one Blu-ray disc retailing at 8,190 yen on January 30th. The release will be Japan’s first adult anime title available on Blu-ray media.

Japanese consumer electronics corporation Pioneer announced yesterday that it will cease manufacturing laserdisc players after the final 3,000 units of its four models currently in production are completed. Pioneer introduced the laserdisc player in October 1981, eventually selling 3.6 million laserdisc players in Japan alone.

The laserdisc format originated concurrently with the CD format, and stands as the predecessor of the current DVD and Blu-ray disc digital media storage formats. Countless anime titles were released on laserdisc in Japan, many of which have not been re-released on DVD. American anime distribution companies including AD Vision, AnimeEigo, Central Park Media, and Manga Entertainment released domestic anime LDs.

If anyone cares, I’m a proud owner of a Pioneer DVL-700 DVD/LD player.

Source: Anime News Network

Question:
I found out about Genius Party a few months ago. Just seeing trailers of it and learning about the sequel made me angry that something so good totally missed any kind of promotion in America. Even finding hard information on Genius Party in English takes some serious digging. Is there any chance of Genius Party and Genius Party Beyond getting legit US releases of any kind?

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An announcement from the current Toy Forum 2009 trade convention in Tokyo has revealed that the Jewelpet toy franchise, collaboratively produced by Sega and Sanrio, will be adapted into an anime television series.

Source: Famitsu Magazine

The winners of the 8th Annual Japanese Otaku Awards were presented at Tokyo’s Loft/Plus One hall on January 8. The award winners are selected by a panel of 8 judges from among the year’s “otaku” highlights.

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The NHK television network has launched its official homepage for the upcoming Hanasakeru Seishonen anime television series. The series is scheduled to premiere in April.

Question:
I know you’ve been a fan of the series for a while (at least the first few years), so what do you think of it finally airing in North America? Do you think we’ll ever see bilingual DVDs or a decent release?

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Japanese publisher Kadokawa Shoten has launched a trial version of its kadoTV website. The site streams anime that Kadokawa has uploaded to YouTube, adding subtitles in multiple languages including Japanese, English, and French. Users can download, edit, and alter the subtitles freely. The trial version of the kadoTV website will remain online until the end of February.

The kadoTV website offers English captioned sample episodes of anime titles not formally licensed for North American release, including Mushi-uta, H2O ~Footprints in the Sand~, and Goshushou-sama Ninomiya-kun.

Source: Anime News Network

Since the first episode of the new Gupu!! Mamegoma! TV anime doesn’t appear to have circulated yet, viewers interested in seeing what it’s like can find the episode 2 preview on the series official website.

Source: Moon Phase Diary

ADV Films has announced plans to release the Clannad and Princess Resurrection anime television series in half-season DVD sets instead of single DVDs as it had originally planned. ADV Films’ Sales Account Manager Chris Oarr states, “After careful consideration and talking with fans, we decided to release these series as quickly and inexpensively as possible. This kind of release pattern is new for us. We’ll be watching carefully to see how it is received by the marketplace.”

The first 12 episode Clannad DVD set will retail at $39.98 beginning March 3. The first 14 episode Princess Resurrection DVD set will retail at $39.98 beginning March 17. Both titles will be released under the “Sentai Filmworks” label despite Clannad having been previously reported as an ADV Films acquisition while Princess Resurrection was announced as Sentai Filmworks title to be distributed by ADV Films.

Source: Anime News Network