AnimeNation Anime News Blog

Viz Pictures has licensed the North American theatrical and DVD distribution rights to the live-action 20th Century Boys feature film trilogy. The films are based on Naoki Urasawa’s critically acclaimed manga, which has sold over 20 million copies to date. The first film will be screened at the grand opening of Viz Media’s NEW PEOPLE commercial venue in San Francisco on August 15. Advance tickets go on sale on Friday, July 31. The first two 20th Century Boys films will hit American DVD later this year, with the third film following next year.

Japanese doujin PC shooting game Acceleration of Suguri, the sequel to the original Suguri game developed by “Orange Juice,” is now available in English from Rockin’ Android. The game is available for download from Gamersgate and Direct2Drive for $9.95.

Viz Media will release its first Naruto Shippuden DVD on September 29th. The $24.92 DVD will contain the series first four episodes uncut and bilingual. The second Naruto Shippuden DVD volume will follow on October 27th. Unlike the first Naruto TV series, which is only available uncut in multi-disc collections, Viz has not yet confirmed any plans for multi-disc collections of Naruto Shippuden.

Viz has also announced plans to release the first Naruto Shippuden motion picture in November. No further details are available yet, however.

Uncut Naruto boxed sets have been selling well. Individual DVD releases and sales are now nearly obsolete. So Viz is going to switch away from uncut boxed sets to uncut singles. Sure. That makes sense.

Source: ICv2

The official homepage for the upcoming Playstation 3 action game Mobile Suit Gundam Senki has released a brilliant new trailer featuring gameplay and original anime footage. The two promotional videos are linked on the game’s homepage, but they’re restricted to viewers located in Japan only. The latest trailer is now accessible worldwide on YouTube. The game goes on sale in Japan on September 3rd.

The game is also supplemented by a new original Gundam anime exclusively available through the Japanese Playstation online store.

Source: Famitsu Magazine

Animage Magazine revealed the development of a third Nodame Cantabile anime television series last January, reporting that the new anime would premiere in late 2009. The Mainichi Newspaper now reports that the new anime will premiere in January 2010. Nodame Cantabile: Finale will continue the story from the 2008 Nodame Cantabile: Paris Chapter television anime and will be, as its name suggests, the final Nodame Cantible anime.

Source: Anime News Network

Yahoo Entertainment News reports that the July 3rd Japanese television broadcast of the Evangelion 1.0 motion picture, which included an exclusive revised ending, earned a 12.7% viewer rating. Reportedly, that rating is significantly lower than the number of viewers that tuned in for other, earlier anime movies broadcast on TV. For (unconfirmed) reference:

Spirited Away (first TV broadcast) 46.9%
Princess Mononoke (first TV broadcast) 35.1%
Howl’s Moving Castle (first TV broadcast) 32.9%
Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind (ninth TV broadcast) 23.3%
My Neighbor Totoro (ninth TV broadcast) 23.0%
Castle in the Sky, Laputa (ninth TV broadcast) 22.2%
Ged Senki 16.4%
Miyori no Mori 15.8%
Brave Story 13.9%

Source: Itai News Blog

During a July 5 press conference in Tokyo to announce the completion of filming on director Hiroyuki Nakano’s samurai action film Tajomaru, illustrator Ippei Gyoubu revealed that he is now developing anime and manga spin-offs based on the movie. The movie itself is an adaptation of Ryunosuke Akutagawa’s famous 1922 short story “Yabu no Naka” (“In a Grove”).

Tajomaru, the movie, revolves around Naomitsu, the fiance of Princess Ako. When a conspiracy forces Naomitsu and Ako to escape their home, they’re attacked on the road by the bandit Tajomaru. Naomitsu kills the bandit and assumes his identity.

Source: Anime News Network

Last weekend, during the Anime Expo convention, Production I.G Vice-President Maki Terashima-Furuta confirmed that, “somebody has the live-action rights, and somebody was planning to make a live-action Jin-Roh.” Mamoru Oshii created the concept of the “Kerberos saga” fictional alternate universe in 1986. Oshii directed the live action Red Spectacles (1987) and Stray Dog (1991) movies that featured the armor clad Panzer Cops that are the signature of the Kerberos saga and also appear in the 1999 anime film Jin-Roh.

Source: Anime News Network

Question:
I was just watching Iria: Zeiram the Animation the other day and I find it very unique with the settings of the background and gadget interface. Is there any possibility of Iria being remake or a sequel coming? If not, is the creator of Iria planning on releasing any other anime?

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Crunchyroll is now simulcasting the new Kanamemo TV anime, and will provide online distribution of the Yoku Wakaru Gendai Maho and Fight Ippatsu! Jyuden-chan!! TV series that premiered in Japan earlier this month. Jyuden-chan will be distributed internationally under the title “Charger Girl.”

Crunchyroll is also now streaming the 2006 anime television series Happiness!, which has otherwise never been officially released in America. ANd Crunchyroll is now streaming the 1986 Galaxy High School animated series, which was written, produced, and broadcast by American TV network CBS but animated in Japan by TMS Entertainment.

FUNimation has announced plans for a September 15 release of a remastered, digitally restored Dragon Ball season one DVD set that will contain the first 31 episodes of the original 1986 television anime. Later “season” sets will follow. FUNimation has previously released Dragon Ball episodes 14-153 on American DVD, and Dragon Ball theatrical movies 2-4. But Dragon Ball episodes 1-13 (and the first theatrical film) have never been officially released uncut in America.

Funimation has also confirmed its acquisition of distribution rights to at least the first Sengoku Basara TV anime series, produced by Production I.G based on Capcom’s action game franchise. Production I.G recently confimed development of a second Sengoku Basara anime series.

FUNimation has confirmed that it has not yet acquired North American distribution rights to the Evangelion 2.0: You Can (Not) Advance motion picture.

Kino Video will release its The Astonishing Work of Tezuka Osamu DVD on the 28th. The $29.95 DVD contain 13 of the late creator’s short anime films, with optional English subtitles for the films that include dialogue, and an 18 minute interview with Tezuka conducted in 1986, three years before his death.

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Japanese publisher Shueisha has announced the titles that will receive short, exclusive anime movies that will screen during the touring Jump Super Anime Tour promotional event. This year’s half-hour films will be Katekyo Hitman Reborn, Naruto, Tegami Bachi, Toriko, Yu-Gi-Oh, and a preview of this December’s tenth One Piece feature film. Mitsutoshi Shimabukuro’s food/cooking manga series Toriko has never previously been adapted into anime. The tour screenings will begin October 12th.

Three of the seven 2008 Jump Super Anime Tour exclusive movies were officially released online last year with subtitles in multiple languages.

Source: Anime News Network

Online distributor of Japanese PC games MangaGamer has announced plans for English translated releases of Navel’s erotic visual novel game Shuffle! and 07th Expansion’s mystery horror “sound novel” game Higurashi no Naku Koro ni (“When They Cry”). Shuffle will be released as a commercial download later this summer. The first four chapters of Higurashi will be released as a commercial download in October, with chapters 5-8 to follow about two months later.

Both titles have been franchised into successful manga and anime spin-offs.

Source: Anime News Network

Production I.G has confirmed its plans to contribute one segment to Film Roman’s animated anthology film Dante’s Inferno, a spin-off of Electronic Arts’ upcoming console action game. Director Yasuomi Umetsu (Kite, Mezzo Forte) confirmed last May that both he, director Shukou Murase (Ergo Proxy, Witch Hunter Robin), and other Japanese animators would be contributing segments to the American produced film.

Source: Anime News Network