AnimeNation Anime News Blog

Veteran anime theme music composer Takashi Miki (real name Tadashi Watanabe) passed away in a Okayama City hospital on Monday at 6:05 a.m. He was 64. Miki composed the theme song for director Gisaburo Sugii’s 1974 Jack & the Beanstalk movie, as well as the theme for the 1978 Hoshi no Ouji-sama ~ Puchi Prince television series. Miki may be most remembered as the composer of “Anpanman no March,” the Anpanman television series theme song that launched the series in 1988 and is still used now. Miki underwent surgery for throat cancer in 2006.

Source: Anime News Network

During this past weekend’s Anime Central convention, Media Blasters representatives reportedly confirmed that the Adult Swim network will broadcast the entire 26 episode Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit television series beginning this summer. Adult Swim broadcast the series’ first 10 episodes fall before putting the broadcast on hiatus. Media Blasters is the official domestic DVD distributor for the series while Adult Swim negotiated television broadcast rights directly with the series’ Japanese licensor.

Let’s hope a full broadcast actually happens this time around. I’m sure Adult Swim also intended to air the entire series last year, but we all know that didn’t happen.

Source: Nebs Blog

The homepage for director Yoichi Sai’s live action adaptation of Sanpei Shirato’s 1965 Kamui Gaiden manga now hosts its first full trailer. The action film about a ninja trying to escape his clan will open in Japan on September 19.

ComingSoon.net now hosts an exclusive new trailer for director Chris Nahon’s Blood: The Last Vampire film, based on the 2000 anime film. The movie will open theatrically in America this summer.

Say what you will about excessive use of slow motion, but the Kamui Gaiden trailer looks stunning. The new Blood trailer reveals that the live action film draws much more inspiration from the original anime film than previously revealed.

Source: Wildgrounds & Affenheimtheater

China’s Prime Minister Wen Jiabao last month made a point by complaining that his grandson watches Ultraman (Japanese entertainment) instead of homegrown Chinese cartoons. Wen then encouraged Chinese animators to “play a leading role in bringing Chinese culture to the world … let Chinese children watch more of their own history and its own country’s animation.”

According to the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, China’s animation industry increased its animation production by 66% from 2007 to 2008. But Wang Jianhua, vice president of the China Industry-University-Research Institute Collaboration Association admits that there’s still a wide gap in quality between original Chinese created animation and cartoons originating from America, Japan, and South Korea.

Source: Variety

Article provided by Daniel Zelter

Douglas Glen, the chairman and CEO of Hong Kong-based Imagi Intl. Holdings Ltd., has resigned. Company board member William Courtauld will take over CEO duties while a new chairman is sought. Acting chairman Richard Witts says that Glen’s departure will not impact the animation producer’s continuing operations and continued development of animated films including Gatchaman and Astro Boy, which is scheduled for theatrical release in October. Glen will continue to serve as a company consultant for six months.

Imagi reported financial difficulties earlier this year, leading to a temporary suspension of production work on the animated Astro Boy film.

Source: Variety

Article provided by Daniel Zelter

Let me get this straight. X-Men Origins: Wolverine leaked to the public more than a month prior to theatrical opening, and the flick has been widely panned. Yet it still had a $9.1 million bigger opening weekend than Star Trek, which got universally positive reviews and even advance Thursday night screenings. And with a $235 million total box office so far, including international receipts, ICv2 anticipates that Wolverine will continue to outgross Star Trek.

I’m not arguing that the leaked workprint compromised Wolverine ticket sales, but doesn’t this also imply that unauthorized peer-to-peer distribution contributes to word of mouth advertising and anticipation? Setting aside speculation, this competition evidently does underscore the fact that super heroes are more accepted and popular among American movie goers than sci-fi action is.

Question:
I don’t watch a lot of anime, but I do watch Cartoon Network’s block of animated series called Adult Swim. I have noticed that from one show to another (Bleach, FLCL, Cowboy Bepbop, Samurai Champloo, Code Geass, Blood Plus) I hear some of the same voices. Is there a small amount of voice actors that do anime? If so, why?

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The official Japanese Evangelion homepage is now streaming a new 85 second trailer for this summer’s Evangelion 2.0: You Can (Not) Advance motion picture. The film is scheduled for Japanese theatrical premiere on June 27.

Wow! This new trailer is absolute “must watch” material for Eva fans.

Source: Anime News Network

The official website for this summer’s Umi Monogatari ~Anata ga Ite Kureta Koto~ television series has added a streaming promotional video of vocalist “marble” performing the show’s opening theme song, “violet.” The series is scheduled to premiere in July.

Source: Moon Phase

NIS America, the domestic arm of Japanese game developer Nippon Ichi Software, has announced plans to release “Sakura Wars: So Long, My Love” on the PS2 and Wii this fall. The strategy adventure game originally released in Japan in 2004 as “Sakura Taisen V ~Saraba, Itoshiki Hito yo~” is the final game in the core Sakura Taisen console game franchise. It will be the first and only Sakura Wars game to be officially released in America.

Sega & Red Entertainment’s Sakura Taisen franchise launched in 1996 and lasted over ten years. The most recent Sakura Taisen anime series, Sakura Taisen: New York NY., ended in 2007. Tokyo’s Sakura Taisen cafe closed last year, and the Sakura Taisen stage musical performed its final show last August.

While it’s nice to see Sakura Wars finally getting an American release, it’s a little bit disappointing that we’re not getting one of the games with the original “classic” cast.

Source: Anime News Network

Japanese advertising company Dentsu is reportedly actively seeking American licensors to market the Japanese Mameshiba bean-dog mascot franchise. Dentsu is specifically looking for licensors interested in producing Mameshiba plush dolls, toys, fashions, accessories, and collectibles. The franchise originated as interstitial animations about characters that resemble beans with dog faces that offer odd trivia like, “Did you know that the color of a hippo’s sweat is pink?”

Japan now sports over 250 assorted Mameshiba products, and Dentsu expects the franchise to earn over $50 million in Japanese sales this year.

Source: ICv2

Question:
What are some great ecchi comedies? Like in the vein of Indian Summer or KissXSis?

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Nico Nico Douga has begun its free streaming release of Kigurumikku V3 “episode 18″ (actually the second OVA). Click the right hand button on the player control bar to switch off scrolling viewer commentary.

Source: Moon Phase

The Kiniro no Corda anime -La Corda D’oro- ~Secondo Passo~ homepage has announced that a second “Secondo Passo” TV special will air on the Kids Station network on June 5. The site now hosts a streaming trailer for the upcoming special.

Source: Moon Phase

Viz Pictures and its affiliate J-Pop Center Project have announced the development of New People, a 20,000 square foot contemporary building located at 1746 Post Street in San Francisco’s Japantown that will host a variety of contemporary Japanese pop culture venues. The complex will hold its grand opening this August.

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