AnimeNation Anime News Blog

FUNimation has announced its acquisition of digital, broadcast, and home video distribution rights, and merchandise rights to the current Baka to Test to Shokanju and Dance in the Vampire Bund anime television series. The English subtitled first two episodes of “Baka and Test – Summon the Beasts” and the first four English subtitled episodes of Vampire Bund are streaming on the FUNimation site now. New weekly episodes will premiere online next week, just days after Japanese TV broadcast. Streaming viewing for both series is free. Episodes will be available for permanent download at $1.99 per episode.

Nice shows, although Vampire Bund could certainly be better. Free simulcasting is nice, although it seems almost pointless considering that both shows are scheduled to end later this month. I wonder if the bizarre half-translated title “Baka and Test” was a licensor demand.

Update: Yes, we’re getting Vampire Bund, but not all of it. FUNimation has confirmed that it will only release the series in America in a censored version.
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Tokyopop has announced that the entire 51 episode “Rave Master” (Groove Adventure Rave) anime television series is now available as an English dubbed DVD-on-demand collection retailing at $39.99 from Amazon’s CreateSpace DVD-R retail service. Tokyopop released three DVD volumes of the 2001 television series in 2003.

Source: Mania

The homepage for the Trigun: Badlands Rumble motion picture is now streaming a new trailer. The movie will shoot into Japanese theaters on April 24.

I’ve been wary of the previously released trailers, but there’s something about the composition and pacing of this trailer that feels more substantial and less like it’s trying too hard. There’s definitely a nice balance of humor, action, and drama in this trailer, not to mention a few really nice scenes.

Source: Anime News Network

The official Japanese homepage for the Pocket Monster movie franchise now hosts a Flash trailer for this summer’s 13th Pokemon theatrical film, along with two teaser trailers. Pocket Monster Diamond & Pearl: Genei no Hasha Zoroark (The Phantom Champion Zoroark) will hit Japanese theaters on July 10.

Source: Anime News Network

The current, highly rated Japanese anime television series Kaidan Restaurant will get its first theatrical film this August. Masayuki Ochiai (Parasite Eve) will direct the film, which will be a combination of anime and live action.

Source: Anime News Network

Japanese entertainment conglomerate Avex Group Holdings has announced that its Avex Entertainment and BeeTV mobile phone video provider service subsidiaries will each launch their own anime production initiatives. Avex has been involved in producing anime since at least 2000, having co-produced series including Maetel Legend, Cyborg 009 (2001), and more recently, shows including Claymore and Needless. However, while Avex has previously co-produced numerous anime titles, the company has never previously produced anime on its own, without a co-producing company.

Source: Anime News Network

Question:
Outside of the Gokusen, which to me seems more like a GTO clone, are there any animes that are yakuza centered?

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Lately I’ve had Oda Kazumasa’s “Sono Mama no Kimi ga Suki” on heavy rotation. Some of you may recognize this as the theme song from Toei’s 1992 anime film Hashire Melos!.

With a movie version of Missile Command essentially set up at Fox and an adaptation of Asteroids in development at Universal, it was only a matter of time before a studio decided to take on the grandfather of all video games, Space Invaders. And now it looks like one could. Warner Bros. is negotiating to acquire feature rights to the landmark shooter from Taito, the Japanese company that originally manufactured the game.

From The LA Times

Question:
A collector just paid over a million dollars for a copy of Detective Comics #27. So then, the question remains… what anime hobby-related item would you be willing to pay $1.08 million dollars for?

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The first 7 minutes of the 58 minute long first Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn OVA is now available as a streaming sample dubbed in English. Although advance copies of the OVA have gone on sale in Japan already, the first episode of the 6 episode series will go on sale in international wide release on the 12th.

Of course, most of the hardcore Gundam fans around the world have already watched the entire episode by now.

Source: Anime News Network

Panda Factory, the Flash animation studio behind the Yo Nimo Kimyo na Mangataro, Boku Otariman, and Fujoshi no Hinkaku anime OVAs, will release a 30 minute Flash anime OVA adaptation of “prima donna of yaoi” Kyushu Danji’s 2003 boy-love manga series Kacho no Koi (Section Chief’s Love) on the 26th. The story revolves around a 33 year-old office manager who comes to the realization that he’s gay.

Source: Anime News Network

Japan’s Animax satellite television network has revealed that a program titled “Magic Kaito” will air on April 17. The program is also scheduled for broadcast on the 18th and the 25th, which are probably repeat airings rather than subsequent episodes. Although the Animax listing provides no details about the program, Japanese speculation theorizes that it will be an anime adaptation of Gosho Aoyama’s 1987 manga series Magic Kaito that introduced the “Kaito Kid” thief character who later reappeared as a recurring character in Aoyama’s better known 1994 manga series Detective Conan.

A Meitantei Conan Magical Kaito compilation manga is scheduled for Japanese release on the 26th. And a Meitantei Conan vs. Kaito Kid compilation manga is scheduled for Japanese release on April 2.

Source: Anime News Network

Tegami Bachi (Letter Bee) manga creator Hiroyuki Asada revealed in a Puff magazine interview that a second season of the Tegami Bachi anime television series will debut this fall. The first Tegami Bachi anime series premiered last October and is scheduled to conclude this month.

Source: Anime News Network

X Japan band leader Yoshiki announced last Friday that the entire X Japan rock group will be moving to Los Angeles. Yoshiki has already been living in Southern California for over a decade. In February the popular group announced plans to perform at the Lollapalooza music festival in Chicago from August 6 to August 8. The group now says that it may hold its first American concert performance at a smaller Loa Angeles “live house” prior to its Lollapalooza appearance.

Source: Tokyograph