To refresh your memory or introduce you to an interesting opening animation sequence, I offer the opening of the 2007 iDOLM@STER Xenoglossia television series. The opening theme song is “Binetsu S.O.S!!” sung by Miyuki Hashimoto.
Question:
We’ve seen it in K-On. We’ve seen it in Angel Beats. We’ve seen it in Haruhi. What do otaku find so appealing about all-girl bands?
A trailer for the Mahou Sensei Negima! ~Mou Hitotsu no Sekai~ Extra OAD, subtitled “Mahou Shoujo Yue” (Magic Girl Yue), has materialized on YouTube. The OAD will be bundled with limited edition copies of the 32nd volume of Ken Akamatsu’s Mahou Sensei Negima manga that hit Japanese stores on the 17th.
Hmm. The first four “Magic World” OADs have been darn cool. Confusing, but darn cool. This fifth one looks like quite a simplistic departure in style. That’s undoubtedly intentional, but I’d prefer more of what the earlier four episodes had to offer.
Source: Anime News Network
The homepage for the upcoming Dragon Crisis television series has launched with a 16 second teaser. The adaptation of Kaya Kizaki’s light novel series revolves around a teen boy who rescues a cute girl only to discover that the girl is actually a dragon. The anime will premiere in January.
A teaser (emphasis on tease) trailer for anime studio Gainax and car manufacturer Subaru’s collaborative anime project Hokago no Pleiades (Afterschool Pleiades) has appeared on YouTube. The Pleiades star cluster is known in Japanese as “Subaru,” from which the car maker takes its name and logo. Shouji Saeki (Mahoromatic: Tadaima Okaeri) will direct the anime. Daisuke Kikuchi (Mahoromatic: Tadaima Okaeri) will provide original character design. Mai Otsuka (Hanamaru Kindergarten) will handle animation character design. Hiroshi Kato (Gunbuster 2) will provide art direction. Toyonori Yamada (Gurren Lagann, Hanamaru Kindergarten) will handle photography.
Source: Anime News Network
G4 has scored the first teaser trailer for next year’s full CG film Resident Evil: Damnation, a sequel to the 2008 CG anime film Biohazard: Degeneration.
Digital Manga Publishing has confirmed its acquisition of four new manga titles. Wedding Peach creator Nao Yazawa’s next manga series, Moon and Blood, will be published in English by Digital Manga ahead of its Japanese release. The manga series will premiere next May.
Digital Manga’s Juné line of yaoi manga will release Tooko Miyagi’s single volume Butterfly of the Distant Day (Tooi Hi no Chou) on May 15, Yuiji Aniya’s single volume Men of Tattoos (Shisei no Otoko) on May 23, and the first volume of Akira Honma’s Rabbit Man, Tiger Man (Usagi Otoko Tora Otoko) series on May 23rd.
Source: Anime News Network
Digital Manga Publishing has announced its launch of a manga localization initiative in association with six Japanese publishers. The Digital Manga Guild will focus on international digital distribution of debut manga titles, translated by freelance fans. Freelance translators may apply to translate manga titles into various languages. Translators approved by the Digital Manga Guild will receive royalties from the digital sale of manga they translated.
Fuji TV producer Kouji Yamamoto has publicly confirmed that last year’s Aoi Hana television series will not get a second season due to poor DVD sales of the first season. Yamamoto said, “We made an extremely high-quality anime called Aoi Hana, but the DVDs didn’t sell so a second season hasn’t been made.”
While not entirely surprising, this is a disappointing confirmation, as Aoi Hana was one of last year’s finest anime (see my best of 2009 picks). Unfortunately, as has always been the case, thoughtful, methodically paced, dramatic and artistic anime has never been as popular as stylish, fast paced, exciting and humorous anime.
Source: Anime News Network
72 year old stage and voice actor Nachi Nozawa passed away on Saturday, October 30 following a fight with lung cancer. Nozawa may be best known to anime fans as the voice of Cobra in the anime adaptation of Buichi Terasawa’s sci-fi action manga.
Source: Anime News Network
To refresh your memory or introduce you to an interesting opening animation sequence, I offer the opening of the stylish but forgotten 1967 television series Boken Gabotenjima. The opening theme song is “Boken Gabotenjima,” sung by Vocal Shop.
Yes, I have actually watched the first episode of this series.
Question:
This might seem terribly ignorant, but it always felt to me like almost all anime is based on work already created, i.e. manga. What percent of the anime made would you say is completely original, and what percent would you say is adapted from work already created?
