AnimeNation Anime News Blog

The “SPECIAL” section of the official website for the 2009 Ai no Kusabi sci-fi yaoi OVA series is now streaming its Comic Market 76 Promotional Video along with an earlier trailer. The first episode of the new 13 episode series is tentatively scheduled for Japanese release later this year. Katsuhito Akiyama and Naoyuki Onda, who respectively directed and drew character designs for the 1992 two-episode OVA series will perform the same duties for the 2009 remake. Original manga series creator Rieko Yoshihara is personally writing the scripts of the 2009 anime adaptation.

Source: Anime News Network

The official website for the recently concluded Umi Monogatari (Sea Story) television series is now streaming a 60 trailer for the home video exclusive “Marin no Kore Naani?” (Marin’s What Is This?) bonus video series. Short “Marin no Kore Naani?” episodes will be included on the Japanese Umi Monogatari DVDs beginning with volume 2, which goes on sale in Japan on November 22.

Source: Anime News Network

Bandai Visual has scheduled March 12, 2010 as the international release date for the first home video volume of the six episode Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn OVA series. The Blu-ray release will feature selectable Japanese & English spoken dialogue and Japanese, English, French, Spanish, and Chinese subtitles. The DVD release will include only Japanese dialogue and optional English subtitles. The first episode will actually premiere in a two-week limited theatrical release at theaters in Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, Fukuoka, and Sapporo beginning February 20. Theaters screening the first episode will also sell advance copies of the Blu-ray disc.

The adaptation of Harutoshi Fukui’s novel series is set three years after the events of the Mobile Suit Gundam: Char’s Counterattack motion picture.

Source: Anime News Network

Question:
I’ve heard certain fans saying this cour is the worst anime cour ever. I’m pretty sure they say that every cour, however, and it would be laughable if so many people didn’t actually believe it heart and soul. Well, anime is DEAD now because no first episode of a new series hit fans like a ton of golden bricks. Can you imagine such hyperbolic bull coming from any other fandom? Do music critics officially declare pop music dead if nothing revolutionary is on any given week’s top ten?

So now that you’ve watched many of the new anime premieres of the season, John, what do think of the opinion that this is the worst cour of anime ever?

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The official website for Production I.G & Transarts’ anime feature film Loupus Garous has released a trailer. However, since the trailer is hosted on Bandai Channel, it’s inaccessible to viewers outside of Japan. It’s been mirrored on YouTube. The “virtual reality werewolf” story based on Natsuhiko Kyogoku’s mystery novel Loups-Garous ~ Kihi Subeki Okami will open in Japanese theaters next year.

Quite an unexpected and interesting visual design style it’s using.

Source: Moon Phase

Kadokawa will stream weekly episodes of the current Kiddy Girl-and television anime on YouTube for 24 hours each. Each episode will be available on YouTube in untranslated original Japanese language from Thursday at 9:00 a.m. to Friday at 8:59 a.m. EDT. The series’ first episode, which premiered on Japanese television last week, is available now.

Kiddy Girl-and is a squel to the 2002 Kiddy Grade television anime, occuring 25 years later.

Source: Anime News Network

The animeanime.jp news site reports that Bandai Visual will begin the release of a new, final Armored Trooper Votoms: Gen-ei Hen (Votoms: Phantom Arc) OVA series on March 26, 2010. The Votoms anime premiered in 1983. Its most recent incarnation was the Pailsen Files movie earlier this year that condensed the 2007-2008 OVA series.

Source: Anime News Network

About.com now hosts an interview with Garrett Boast, the organizer behind the planned English language shoujo manga anthology magazine ShojoBerry. The spiritual successor to Viz Media’s Shoujo Beat magazine is expected to begin serializing translated Japanese shoujo manga next year.

Source: Anime News Network

Yesterday the Meiji University officially announced its plans to develop the tentatively named “Tokyo International Manga Library.” The planned five-story facility on the university’s Surugadai campus in Chiyoda, Tokyo, will archive two million manga, magazines, books, doujinshi, production cels, game consoles & software, character goods, works of original art, and other related items. The university is collaborating on the development of the archive with the management committees of the Comic Market, Comic1, and Comitia doujinshi conventions; the Tokyo Contemporary Manga Library; the Arcade Game Museum Project; and model kit producer Kaiyodo. The library is tentatively planned to open in 2014.

Source: Anime News Network

The Guardian newspaper has published an article tracing the influence of Mamoru Oshii’s 1995 anime film Ghost in the Shell on Hollywood directors and films.

Article provided by Daniel Zelter

Following a parental complaint to the Wicomico County, Maryland school board earlier this month – a complaint about offensive nudity and sexual content in a Dragon Ball manga found in the local Pittsville Elementary and Middle School library – the Wicomico school board has now banned copies volumes of Akira Toriyama’s Dragon Ball manga from the shelves of all school media centers in Wicomico county. The continuing availability of the Dragon Ball Z manga series in Wicomico county school libraries is still under review.

The original parental complaint came after a 9 year-old borrowed the offensive manga from a school library. During the review process, the school board learned that the book was labeled with a recommendation for young adult readers; however, the series has still been removed from county middle and high schools without explanation. Wicomico County Superintendent of Schools Dr. John Fredericksen did state his belief that appropriate graphic novels are a useful educational tool, implying that graphic novels will continue to be available in Wicomico schools.

Source: WBOC News

During my years as an anime fan certain titles and images have stuck in my head – many of them from my earliest days as an anime fan. I’ve been curious about these shows seemingly forever, possibly because they looked interesting, or just because their titles sounded cool. Over the years, a combination of luck, perseverance, and sometimes simple cold cash have enabled me to selectively satisfy my curiosity. I’m grateful to have been able to cross anime including Fan Fan Pharmacy, Takamaru, Tetsujin 28 FX, Hiatari Ryoko, Yadamon, Fighbird, Appfleland Monogatari, Warau Salesman, Watt Poe to Bokura no Ohanashi, Wonder Beat Scramble, Hidari no O’Clock!!, and Rayca off my list. There are a small handful of other anime that I’ve long been curious about which I do have access to, but haven’t gotten around to watching yet, including Jura Tripper, Eien no Filena, Dokushin Apartment Dokudami So, and Yagami-kun no Katei no Jijou. Then there are a handful of obscure anime that I’ve wanted to watch for many years but never had access to. I have no idea if these shows are good, nor whether I’ll like them. In fact, I expect at least one of them to be pretty bad. But I’d still love to see these particular anime first hand, just to satiate my curiosity. They include:

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FUNimation’s official site for the domestic release of RIN ~Daughters of Mnemosyne~ now features an English dubbed streaming Flash trailer. The trailer for this grim supernatural action/horror mystery contains brief shots of violence.

FUNimation has also released a new English dubbed trailer for Soul Eater.

Source: Anime News Network

The Disney XD network has scheduled Naruto Shippuden to premiere on October 28.

Homecoming: 8:30pm
A fearless teen trains to become a ninja while battling the demon who lives inside of him. Sequel to “Naruto,” a popular anime series. In the opener, Naruto returns to his home place after two-and-a-half years and receives his first assignment.

The Akatsuki Makes Its Move: 9:00pm
Naruto and Sakura challenge Kakashi to a survival test to show off their skills.

The Results of Training: 9:30pm
Naruto’s years of training pay off in a battle with Kakashi.

The Jinchuriki of the Sand: 10:00pm
An aerial battle takes place between Deidara and Gaara; Kankuro assembles troops to fight Akatsuki.

The series has been officially available online to American viewers since January, and the series’ first American DVD is available now. However, the Shippuden series has not previously aired on American television.

Source: Anime News Network

The Akachan (56) original cel phone anime series launched on NTT Docomo’s BeeTV mobile phone video service yesterday. The 36 episode series about a baby born with the brain of a 56 year-old man is the brainchild of comedian Yoshiyuki Hirai. Hirai conceived, composed, and designed the anime. He also serves as one of the series’ voice actors.

Known anime fan Yoshiyuki Hirai has previously lent his voice to the Arashi no Yoru ni anime feature film and the Natsume Yujin-Cho anime television series.

Source: Anime News Network