The official Japanese homepage for the upcoming Guin Saga fantasy anime television series now hosts a streaming trailer. The adaptation of Kaoru Kurimoto’s epic 124 volume (and still continuing) sword & sorcery story will premiere on April 5th.
Source: Anime News Network
The official Japanese Kiddy Grade homepage has revealed the development of a sequel anime titled “Kiddy Girl-and” (pronounced “Kiddy Grand”). Unlike the unproduced Kiddy Grade 2 anime which was to star first series protagonists Eclaire and Lumiere, Kiddy Girl-and will be set 200 years after the events of the Kiddy Grade anime and star new characters Asakuru and Ku, partners in training to become elite intergalactic special agents.
While Gonzo produced the Kiddy Grade anime, Kiddy Girl-and will be animated by Satelight. Original series director Keiji Gotoh and character designer Megumi Kadonosono will perform the same duties for Kiddy Girl-and.
Source: Anime News Network
An official website has launched to announce a summer premiere for the Umi Monogatari ~Anata ga Ite Kureta Koto~ anime television series, based on Sanyo Bussan’s long running line of Umi Monogatari pachinko arcade games – reportedly the most popular line of pachinko machines in Japan. Zexcs (SisPrin, Macademy Wasshoi, Koukaku no Legios) will animate the show under the supervision of Junichi Sato (Aria, Princess Tutu). Yuu Kou (Chrono Crusade, Zero no Tsukaima: Princesses no Rondo) will serve as series director.
The series’ story centers on Marin and Urin, two mermaid sisters that long to visit terra firma. When the sisters find a ring that has fallen into the sea, they decide to venture onto land to return the ring to its high school girl owner.
Source: Anime News Network
AIC ASTA (Bamboo Blade, GUNxSWORD, Godannar) will release an original “Kigurumikku V3 Best Episode Collection” OVA on May 20th. (The title is a joke, as no Kigurumikku anime has existed before.) Bamboo Blade director Hisashi Saito conceived of the concept and will also direct the project, serve as animation director, and provide the storyboards and character designs. The Kigurumikku anime stars Azuki and Mutsumi, two girls that dress in Kigurumikku Swan and Kigurumikku Falcon heroine outfits and “protect” their hometown.
Source: Anime News Network
Yaoi Generation has acquired translation and distribution rights to artist Shinri Fuwa’s two volume Tender Affairs (Yasashii Kankei) and three volume Perfect World yaoi manga series.
Source: MangaBlog
Bang Zoom! Entertainment has announced its completion of a new English language dub for the 2007 anime film 5 Centimeters Per Second. The new English dub stars Johnny Yong Bosch as Takaki, Erika Weinstein as Akari, and Kira Buckland as Kanae. Bang Zoom was commissioned to produce a new English dub for the film by its original Japanese distributor CoMix Wave Films. Bang Zoom’s English language translation of the film will premiere on Saturday, February 28, when it will stream on Crunchyroll for 24 hours to commemorate Global Shinkai Day – a day of recognition for the film’s auteur creator/director Makoto Shinkai.
ADV Films released its English dub of 5 Centimeters Per Second in March 2008. ADV formally ended its distribution of the film in July 2008.
The Sports Hochi newspaper reports that a live action television series adaptation of Minoru Itoh’s 2007 manga series Aishiteru (“I Love You”) will premiere on the NTV network on April 15th. The original dramatic manga details the difficulties a mother faces in her relationship with her 10-year-old son after he kills a 7-year-old boy. While the original manga took the perspective of the victim’s family, the Aishiteru ~Kaiyou~ (“I Love You ~Forgiveness~”) television series will concentrate on the assailant’s family.
Source: Tokyograph
Question:
There is probably one “catch phrase” (for want of a better word) which virtually every anime enthusiast in the Western world is familiar with – the one-word exclamation, “Baka” (“Idiot”), which, if I recall accurately, was made prominent via Ruri Hoshino (Nadesico TV series). Are there any other examples of “catch phrases” – either commonly recognized by Western fans, or those which may be relatively unknown outside of Japan – that come to mind?
If you’re a motorcyclist and anime fan like myself, you’ll enjoy this gallery of bikes from Japan. Very cool 
Newtype Magazine has formally confirmed the development of a Strike Witches 2 anime project.
Source: Moon Phase
Square Enix has announced a legal victory in a copyright infringement suit against four American based wholesale retailers accused of distributing unlicensed replicas of prop weapons based on the Final Fantasy game and movie franchise. A judgement by the Central District of California Federal Court awards $600,000 to Square Enix and levies an injunction against Edgework Imports, Top Swords, Wholesale Gallery, and, through a separate settlement, Pacific Solutions Marketing to end the continued sale and distribution of unlicensed props. These settlements come after prior out-of-court settlements against KingofSwords.com, Master Cutlery, SwordDemon.com, and TrueSwords.com.
Square Enix representative Yasuhiko Hasegawa stated, “We appreciate the efforts of our fans in identifying those who seek to sell them cheap replicas that undermine our efforts to bring only top quality goods and content to our customers” and, “We will continue to actively pursue those who commit intellectual property infringement against our companies.”
The defendants in the legal settlement issued the apologetic statement, “We regret having sold unauthorized replica merchandise based on the Final Fantasy franchise to our customers. We would not have begun importing and selling these swords if we knew that Square Enix would respond so aggressively to stop us. We will never make this mistake again.”
A wise and praiseworthy move from Square Enix to protect the integrity of its intellectual property rights, and an amusing, albeit heartfelt, response from the defendants. Certainly, most guilty parties wouldn’t “make the mistake” of engaging in copyright infringement if they knew they would get caught and punished for doing so.
Source: Anime News Network
Tokyo based Meiji University has reportedly announced plans to convert an un-used high school building into the world’s largest anime and manga museum. The museum will house over 2.5 million manga volumes, magazines, fanzines, videos, toys, figures, and other items, along with screening rooms, library, and possibly also a manga/anime research center open to international scholars.
The Kyoto Seika University opened its own dedicated manga & anime museum, to great success, in 2006.
Source: Anime News Network
Toon Radio, an Internet radio station specializing in animation soundtracks, will open its Friday evening broadcast schedule to listener submissions. The “Open Source” block will allow listeners to have their own audio clips and podcast recordings play on Toon Radio’s audio stream. The Open Source block will play listener submissions on a “first in, first out basis” pending broadcast approval. Basic streaming service is free. A paid premium service is available for material longer than 60 minutes.
The official Japanese homepage for the upcoming anime television series Charady no Joke na Mainichi (“Charady’s Daily Joke”) has opened. The daily series will air 365 episodes starting April 1st (April Fools Day, naturally) on Japanese television while the Japanese Biglobe multimedia site will stream episodes for international viewers. The series stars “Charady,” a 26-year-old American graduate from Kyoto University of Art and Design’s Department of Character Design. Charady loves jokes from around the world, and will present a new joke every day.
The unusual series from executive director Ryuji Masuda (Garakuta: Mr. Stain on Junk Alley) will actually be produced by students from Kyoto University of Art and Design. Students will direct episodes, produce the series character designs, and render the CG animation. Japanese fashion label Crystal Ball will provide “visual support” by assisting in the design of Charady’s clothing.
Source: Anime News Network
The Nihon Keizai newspaper reports that the Tatsunoko Productions anime studio is developing an anime television series that will feature both Tatsunoko and Marvel Comics characters. The tentative series is planned for international distribution in 2012. This new production comes under the umbrella of a new arrangement from Tatsunoko’s parent company Takara Tomy to begin producing toys and merchandise based on Marvel Comics properties for the Japanese market this fall.
Source: Anime News Network
