AnimeNation Anime News Blog

Soreike! Anpanman has formally attained the Guinness World Record for largest number of characters in an animated series. As of March 27, Guinness World Records credited the Anpanman TV and movie franchise with introducing 1,768 different characters. The anime producers actually submitted a world record application for over 2,000 characters, but Guinness disqualified certain “characters” by applying stricter qualifications for determining exactly what constitutes a “character.”

The Anpanman TV anime premiered on October 3, 1988 and will broadcast its 1,000th episode on August 28. The franchise’s 21st theatrical film opened in Japanese theaters earlier this month.

Source: Anime News Network

Japan’s otaku community was abuzz early this week when manga artist Yoshikawa Hideaki confirmed that publisher Square Enix had evidently expunged his risqué fantasy manga series Akuma to Ore Shirudaku. The publisher has canceled its release of the collected print version manga, scheduled to go on sale on the 22nd. Furthermore, the manga story and all references to its author have been removed from the GanGan Online website where the manga was originally serialized. Hideaki has already received offers to publish the manga from other publishers.

Also this week manga creator Mohiro Kitoh has announced that publisher Shogakukan has entirely canceled plans to publish his Bokurano Tokubetsu-hen one-shot manga story. Shogakukan’s American subsidiary Viz Media will begin serializing Kitoh’s original Bokurano manga story online in English on the 23rd.

Source: Anime News Network & Anime News Network

In September 2008 anime studio Radix mobanimation filed suit against production company Micott & Basara, alleging that Micott & Basara had contracted Radix to create an Appleseed: Genesis television series, based on Masamune Shirow’s manga, then suddenly canceled the commission without explanation and without paying Radix for the work already done on the project. On July 14, 2009 Micott & Basara filed a countersuit against Radix, alleging that there were no unpaid production costs and that Radix refused to engage in further discussion about the development of the Appleseed: Genesis project. Micott & Basara is seeking an award of 159 million yen (US $1.7 million) in compensation for the cancellation of the production contract and additional damages. Micott & Basara produced the 2004 Appleseed movie and its sequel, Appleseed: Ex Machina.

Source: Anime News Network

Question:
Is there any chance that Saint Seiya: The Lost Canvas ever gets to be a full anime series? I know that the new OVAs are just out, but reading the manga one can see that OVAs won’t be enough. Are the OVAs just a test to see if it will hit, or are they just throwing fans a bone?

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Popular online lesbian community website Afterellen.com has begun streaming the current girl-love themed anime television series Aoi Hana. The video is mirrored from Crunchyroll. The Afterellen website attracts 700,000 readers a month. Aoi Hana is the first anime series streamed by the site.

This is certainly a tremendous positive new exposure for anime, and in particular yuri themed anime. The current Kanamemo TV series, also available through Crunchyroll, contains very prominent yuri content, but Aoi Hana has the atmosphere and aesthetics of a respectable, literary drama while Kanamemo is less subtle (read: exploitive) and may be much less accessible to non-anime fans.

Source: Anime News Network

Nippon Animation has opened an official website for its upcoming anime adaptation of Jean-Philippe Arrou-Vignod and Olivier Tallec’s French picture book series Rita et Machin. The storybook series about five-year-old Rita and her easy-going dog Machin premiered in France in 2006. The series will be hitting Japan in a multimedia blitz including an anime, a Japanese translation of the books, and merchandise.

Source: Moon Phase

Studio Ghibli’s official “Itsumo no Ghibli Nikki” (“The Habitual Ghibli Diary”) blog has announced that the studio’s next feature film will hit Japanese theaters next year. The studio has released a new feature film every two years since 2002. The studio’s most recent feature, Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea, premiered in July 2008.

Ponyo will open in North American theaters on August 14.

Source: Nausicaa.net

Viz Pictures has picked up domestic distribution rights to the 2009 live action fantasy comedy film Battle League Horumo. Director Katsuhide Motoki’s (Kitaro and the Millennium Curse) live action adaptation of Manabu Makime’s best-selling fantasy novel Kamogawa Horumo stars Takayuki Yamada (Densha Otoko) and Chiaki Kuriyama (Kill Bill) and features extensive digital effects from former Gonzo animation studio subsidiary Genero. The movie centers around present day teams of college students that compete in mock battles engaged between small armies of 100 pint-sized “oni” spirit monsters.

The film will be screened later this month at the Fantasia Festival in Montreal, Canada. The film will also screen at the 2009 Fantastic Fest in Austin, Texas, and at the 2009 Hawaii International Film Festival. Details regarding a DVD release will be forthcoming.

The Kyoto Seika University established Japan’s first formal curriculum in manga study in 2000. In 2006 the university established a formal manga and anime study department, known as the Faculty of Manga. The college has now announced plans to offer a post-graduate study curriculum in manga beginning next year. The college will administer exams next February to select 20 students to begin an educational course leading to a master’s degree in manga study.

The Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music established Japan’s first post-graduate curriculum in manga and animation in 2007.

Source: Anime News Network

Question:
Why do a lot of yuri anime/manga series feel the need to include a gimmick to sanction the relationship, such as an all-girl boarding school (e.g. “The Last Uniform” and “Strawberry Panic”) or gender reversals (“Simoun” and “Kashimashi”). These two gimmicks in particular say to me that relationships between girls is okay only when there aren’t any boys around or when the person the girl is in love with is really a boy or will be a boy in the future. There are plenty of yuri series about honest, lesbian relationships that don’t rely on gimmicks, so why do a lot of series feel they have to justify a girl-girl relationship either by the situation or by someone’s true gender?

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The official Japanese Gundam homepage has announced that the upcoming Japanese Blu-ray release of the 1986 Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ TV series will include two new “Gundam Frag.” CG anime shorts that provide, “a glimpse of the daily and not-so-daily life on the battlefield in the Universal Century.” The first 5 disc collection will including episodes 1-24, non-credit opening and endings, and the first Gundam Frag short will retail at 36,750 yen beginning September 25th. The second Memorial Box will include episodes 25-47 and the second Gundam Frag short and go on sale November 25th.

Source: Anime News Network

I want to point out to our adult readers that the official Japanese homepage for next month’s first 15 Bishoujo Hyouryuuki (15 Beautiful Girls Adrift) ero-anime OVA is now streaming an opening animation sample and two short character promotion videos. The opening animation includes nudity, and the promo videos contain graphic sex, so no underage viewers, please.

Vandread & Spice and Wolf character designer Kazuya Kuroda and They Are My Noble Masters creator Takahiro came up with the concept of this erotic bishoujo remake of Jules Verne’s 1888 adventure novel Two Years’ Vacation. Kazuya Kuroda also served as character designer & animation director for the popular Sora no Iro, Mizu no Iro adult anime series.

Serving as the latest reminder that Japanese gamers love Dragon Quest, IT Media reports that Square Enix has shipped over 3 million copies of the Nintendo DS RPG Dragon Quest IX: Hoshizora no Mamoribito (Dragon Quest IX: Defenders of the Starry Sky) since its release, four days ago. In fact, 2,318,932 copies sold within the first 48 hours of official release (stat from GameSpot. The Dragon Quest game series has sold over 50 million units since its 1986 debut.

Article provided by Daniel Zelter

Japan’s Good Smile Company has announced a November release for a Nendoroid figure version of Princess Drössel (19th Lord of Uranos’ Kingdom’s Tempest Domain, Drössel Juno Vierzehntens Heizregister Fürstin von Flügel) from Disney & Toei’s cult hit 2008 anime TV series Fireball. She’ll include alternate heads, spring-loaded action, and even battery powered light-up eyes!

The Figure Maker Good Smile Company Employee Mika-tan Blog hosts a selection of additional images and video clips of the upcoming fig.

Can’t wait for this one!

The official homepage for Production I.G’s new CG anime feature film Oblivion Island ~Haruka and the Magic Mirror~ (Hottarake no Shima ~Haruka to Maho no Kagami~) has added a second streaming teaser. The site also hosts a full theatrical trailer (third link).

Twitch mirrors the two teasers and trailer found on the official site, along with a five minute long Japanese language featurette introducing the film.

The movie will open theatrically in Japan on August 22.