AnimeNation Anime News Blog

FUNimation and Japanese broadcaster Nippon Television Network Corporation (NTV) have entered into an agreement giving FUNi the exclusive rights to simulcast the current anime television series Rainbow – Nisha Rokubo no Shichinin. The dramatic series’ ninth episode will stream on FUNimation.com at 12pm CDT on June 1st, one hour after its Japanese broadcast premiere. The prior eight episodes will also be released online with English subtitles. Rainbow, directed by Hiroshi Koujina (Escaflowne movie, Macross Plus), is animated by Madhouse and adapted from the manga by writer George Abe and illustrator Masasumi Kakizaki. The story depicts the lives of seven juvenile delinquents at a reform school in 1955.

The July issue of Ribon magazine that went on sale in Japan this week reveals that this summer’s touring “Natsu Doki– Ribon–kko Party 5″ publicity event will exclusively screen the “Yumeiro Pâtissière Mune Kyun Tropical Island” short anime movie. The anime TV series adaptation of Natsumi Matsumoto’s shoujo manga has been ongoing since October 2009. The “Mune Kyun Tropical Island” will be the franchise’s first movie.

The Natsu Doki– Ribon–kko Party 5 event, which will stop in Tokyo on July 30, Osaka on August 6, and Nagoya on August 19, will also exclusively screen a short Hiyokoi anime film, based on Moe Yukimaru’s romantic comedy manga.

Source: Anime News Network

Marvel Entertainment has formally announced that the Madhouse produced Iron Man anime television series will premiere in Japan on October 1st on the Animax satellite TV network.

Source: Moon Phase

FROGMAN, the Flash animator famed for creating the popular “Eagle Talon” anime franchise, will work with actor/martial artist Jackie Chan to create a 30 second Flash anime theatrical trailer promoting Chan’s latest film, The Spy Next Door, known in Japan as “Double Mission.” The trailer will mark Chan’s first appearance as an anime character. The trailer will begin screening in Toho theaters across Japan on May 29th. “Double Mission” opens in Japan on June 19.

Source: Anime News Network

Okay, I’ll admit that maybe I’m just old and out of touch because I have no idea who Soulja Boy is or what his latest mixtape is, but from what I can gather, hit rap artist Soulja Boy has just released a new album titled Death Note. The album’s cover art, at least, clearly makes reference to Tsugumi Ohba & Takeshi Obata’s 2003 manga series of the same name. It’s not clear if this is, or will be, perceived as a case of homage or copyright infringement. The Death Note album is widely available now as a free download. The album hits commercial CD on July 28.

Source: Hip Hollywood

Article provided by Daniel Zelter

To refresh your memory or introduce you to an interesting opening animation sequence, I submit to you the third opening from the 1987 Kimagure Orange Road television series. The memorable theme song is “Kagami no Naka no Actress” (Actress in the Mirror) performed by Meiko Nakahara.

Question:
“4th Avenue Cafe” by L’Arc-en-Ciel is a great song and was used as an ending theme in the Ruroni Kenshin anime. However, drummer Yasunori Sakurazawa got in trouble for being a heroin addict. In response, the band immediately kicked him out, the song was never officially fully released until nearly a decade later and the producers of the anime insisted on immediately dumping the new ED even though it worked great for the show.

To me that was really disgusting. Yes, heroin addiction is a very serious crime but Sakura didn’t rape, kill or inflict harm on any person, and the only individual he hurt was himself. The public and industry should have shown more respect and tolerance towards him and tried to help him instead of just turning their backs on him and spitting on him. Shame on them, especially his cowardly bandmates.

In your opinion, do you think it is appropriate how the Japanese public treated him? Also, is it really common for the anime industry to insist on acting as “morality police” and heavily punishing and ostracizing people for what they consider “grave sins”?

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The Navarre Corporation has hired investment bank Houlihan Lokey to assist in the potential sale of the FUNimation subsidiary. Navarre’s announcement states that “Funimation’s recent results have generally met expectations,” but FUNimation’s future will necessitate “co-productions of original anime content, social networks and digital broadcasting” that fall outside of Navarre’s core future concentration on distribution and software publishing. No prospective buyer for FUNimation is named, and Navarre emphasizes that its strategic analysis may not result in a sale of the FUNimation subsidiary.

Navarre acquired Funimation Productions, afterward known as FUNimation Entertainment, in 2005.

Source: Mania

20-year-old actress Riisa Naka (The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, Yankee-kun to Megane-chan) will star in a live action TV series adaptation of writer Nagiko Umino and illustrator Hebizou’s humorous essay manga Nihonjin no Shiranai Nihongo (The Japanese the Japanese Don’t Know). Naka will star as Haruko, a Japanese language teacher in Japan whose students include numerous foreigners. The foreign students that include French and American otaku will be played by actual foreign actors. The television series will premiere on the NTV network on July 15.

Source: Anime News Network

To refresh your memory or introduce you to an interesting opening animation sequence, I submit to you the opening of the 1999 Iketeru Futari television series. The catchy theme song is Yuki Kimura’s “Fall In YOU.”

The Yomiuri newspaper reports that Studio Ghibli is now working on two new short films for exclusive release at the Ghibli Museum in Tokyo’s Mitaka district. Production of the “Pandane to Tamagohime” (Yeast & Princess Egg) and “Takarasagashi” (Treasure Hunting) short films will screen in the museum’s theater beginning this fall. The museum already has 7 exclusive short anime films that screen on a rotating schedule.

Source: Nausicaa.net

Latino Review reports that director Tim Burton has reacquired the film adaptation rights to Kazuya Kudo and Ryoichi Ikegami’s 1985 adventure manga Mai the Psychic Girl (known in Japan as just “Mai”). Burton began development of live action film adaptation in the late 1980s, but the production never reached fruition. Reportedly Sony Pictures acquired the film production rights 8 years ago and just recently transferred the rights back to Burton, who has made producing and directing the film a priority.

Article provided by Daniel Zelter

To refresh your memory or introduce you to an interesting opening animation sequence, I submit to you the opening animation sequence from 2008′s Kyouran Kazoku Nikki television series. The energetic theme song is “Chosai Kenbo Sengen” performed by “Akiba-pop” musical duo MOSAIC.WAV.

Yes, the show really is as crazy as its opening animation suggests.

Question:
Why hasn’t Crayon Shin Chan caught on in the U.S.? It’s got the same low-brow humour of a Ken Akamatsu series – albeit with more a sophisticated take; it occasionally embraces popular shonen fantasy tropes; and the FUNimation re-write of the dub has gotten positive reviews. My theory for why the manga never took off with Comics One is that the newer casual fans never heard of the series, and that, looking only at the covers, they thought it was for little kids. But it baffles me why it didn’t do well with CMX – at least judging by their recent announcements. Is it the simplistic art? The age of the series? The fact that it’s a gag manga, and not a wish-fulfillment series? Personally, I don’t feel it’s aged as bad as some older titles like St. Seiya, but that latter manga at least finished its U.S. run. So what’s kept Shin from being a success here?

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Following Sentai Filmworks’ recent announcement of plans to release a (subtitled – as far as we know) double disc complete collection of the sola anime TV series this August, Bandai Entertainment has confirmed that its domestic distribution license for the same sola television series is still active, and Bandai has no plans to discontinue sale of its subtitled double disc edition. Bandai Entertainment spokesman Robert Napton has explained that Bandai is “not involved with anything [Sentai Filmworks] are doing.”

As far as I know, two unaffiliated domestic licensors simultaneously distributing the same series – and at different SRPs – is unprecedented. It’s also bizarre that such an obscure and unpopular title would get simultaneously distributed by two different distributors.

Source: Anime News Network