AnimeNation Anime News Blog

The cover of the January issue of Monthly Ikki magazine announces that an anime TV series adaptation of Natsume Ono’s samurai drama manga series House of Five Leaves (Sarai-ya Goyou) will air in the Fuji TV network’s Noitamina late-night timeslot next year. Viz Media’s SigIkki website has been releasing English translated chapters of the manga series online since last May.

Natsume Ono’s Ristorante Paradiso manga series was adapted into an anime television series that aired earlier this year.

Source: Anime News Network

The Japanese Moon Phase comments site reports uncited word that fourth season of the Ikkitousen anime series, titled Ikkitousen XX (Ikkitousen Xtreme Xecutor) is now in development. Reportedly Media Factory will release a promotional “volume 0″ DVD for the new TV anime at next month’s Comic Market 77 convention, and a formal production announcement will appear in the January 2010 issue of Comic Gum magazine. Aya Endo (Miyuki in Lucky Star, Sheryl Nome in Macross F) will reportedly join the cast as character Bachou Mouki.

Enji Arai’s light novel Sugar Dark: Umerareta Yami to Shoujo (Sugar Dark: The Buried Darkness and the Girl) was awarded a prestigious grand prize at the Kadokawa Shoten Sneaker Awards presentation last week. The novel is only the fourth book in the 15 year history of the Sneaker Awards to be given “grand prize” recognition. The last book to earn the honor was Nagaru Tanigawa’s 2003 light novel The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi.

During the award presentation, Kadokawa Shoten President and CEO Shinichiro Inoue called the novel about a young man forced into working as a grave digger a “ground-breaking work” (presumably no pun intended) combining characteristics of dark fantasy and light novels. Inoue stated that the Sugar Dark novel will “certainly” get an anime adaptation.

Source: Anime News Network

Prolific lyricist Toshio Oka passed away due to acute kidney failure in a Tokyo hospital on Tuesday at 4:02 a.m. He was 92. Oka composed the lyrics for anime theme songs for shows including Gatchaman F, Casshan, Umi no Triton, Tondemo Senshi Muteking

Source: Anime News Network

Question:
Why is Chibi Maruko Chan not released in the US?

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FUNimation has announced its acquisition of domestic translation & distribution rights to the first 12 episode Sekirei television series, both seasons of the Tetsuwan Birdy Decode TV series, and the Full Metal Panic and Full Metal Panic? Fumoffu anime series.

FUNimation has been the domestic distributor for the third Full Metal Panic anime series. The earlier two series were previously distributed on American DVD by AD Vision. All three titles will hit domestic DVD from FUNimation next year.

A second series of Sekirei TV anime is currently in production in Japan.

Source: Anime News Network

FUNimation has hired former president of Austin, Texas-based animation studio Boomstar Inc., Chris Moujaes as Director of Original Entertainment. Moujaes, who has extensive experience in developing international TV programming co-production deals, managing overseas animation production teams, and creating and marketing original entertainment properties will work for FUNimation on acquiring and developing “original anime titles based on major intellectual properties.”

FUNimation previously co-produced the Afro Samurai anime series with Japanese production studio Gonzo.

Veteran manga/anime creator Leiji Matsumoto’s current manga serial Out of Galaxy Koshika will debut in anime form as a music video for Queen’s classic 1975 song “Bohemian Rhapsody.” Queen has previously used animation in its music videos, most noteably in the promotional video for the 1986 song “A Kind of Magic.” Reportedly the present members of Queen specifically requested Japanese creators to produce a new music video for “Bohemian Rhapsody.” Yamato, Galaxy Express 999, and Captain Harlock creator Leiji Matsumoto developed the Interstella 5555 musical anime project for French musical group Daft Punk in 2003. Digital distribution company Sunsoft, which is serializing Matsumoto’s Koshika manga series on the Nintendo Wii Shopping Channel, announced plans to adapt Koshika into anime last April.

Footage of the “Bohemian Rhapsody ~feat. Leiji Matsumoto” video will premiere tomorrow, November 24, at events in Tokyo and Osaka commemorating the 18th anniversary of the death of Queen’s original vocalist and “Bohemian Rhapsody” songwriter Freddie Mercury. The completed video will be distributed on Japanese mobile phones by year’s end.

Source: Anime News Network

An anonymous post on the Japanese 2chan message board cites a photograph of a poster announcing an anime adaptation of Hiroshi Shiibashi’s supernatural action fantasy manga series Nurarihyon no Mago. The manga series premiered in 2007. The presently ongoing serialization in Weekly Shonen Jump magazine premiered in March 2008. The manga story revolves around Rikuo Nura, a young man who is one-quarter youkai (demon) who must accept his heredity position as leader of the Nurari youkai clan despite his own hesitation and opposition from numerous factions.

Source: Anime News Network

The Wall Street Journal’s new article “Discontent Seeps Into Japan’s Anime Studios” reminds us that artists employed by Japanese anime production studios remain underpaid and under appreciated.

A fire at the headquarters of Japanese bishoujo game developer Circus on Sunday, November 22 partially destroyed the office. Reportedly approximately half of the office has been damaged. The cause of the fire has not yet been determined. No injuries related to the fire were reported. Circus is the creator of the Da Capo and Saishu Shikan Kujira PC game franchises, both of which have been adapted into anime. The studio just announced a number of new projects including a Da Capo 3 game and a new Da Capo anime series earlier this month.

UPDATE: The facility which caught fire was a storehouse separate from the Circus work offices.

Source: Canned Dogs

Question:
Are all Bee Train’s anime titles about Girls with Guns?

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Japanese entertainment producer/distributor Avex has officially released the first 5 minutes, and a 6 minute scene, from new anime film Mai Mai Miracle (Mai Mai Shinko to Sennen no Maho) on YouTube. The Madhouse produced film is an adaptation of Nobuko Takagi’s novel about two girls who have a magical and moving experience in rural Japan in 1955.

Source: Anime News Network

The official Japanese website for the next year’s Trigun: Badlands Rumble motion picture now features a streaming teaser trailer. The film based on Yasuhiro Nightow’s Trigun manga is an original story not drawn from or related to the original manga or the 1998 TV anime. The primary cast and most of the core staff from the 1998 TV anime are reprising their duties for the feature film. The movie will hit Japanese theaters on April 24, 2010.

Source: Anime News Network

The official website for the upcoming Katanagatari anime television series now hosts a new 15 second TV spot (in 3 slight variations for the Fuji TV, BS Fuji, and MBS networks). The series, similar to the 2001 Figure 17 television series, will air as 12 monthly hour long episodes beginning in January. Each episode will adapt one of author NisiOisin’s dozen Katanagatari novels. NisiOisin’s Bakemonogatari novel series was adapted into an anime television series earlier this year.

Katanagatari is a historical fiction story of siblings that set off on a quest to collect a legendary swordsmith’s 12 swords scattered throughout medieval Japan.

Source: Anime News Network