Media Blasters will release both episodes of the Kanokon OVA series on a single bilingual DVD on June 21. Media Blasters’ adult anime line, Kitty Media, will release “Invisible Stud Returns” (Toumei Ningen R) and Urotsukidoji 3: Return of the Overfiend in bilingual editions on May 31.
Discotek has formally announced its acquisition of the 1983 Golgo 13 anime feature film. The movie will be re-released domestically in a remastered anamorphic widescreen edition that includes the original Japanese dialogue and the Streamline Pictures’ English dub. Both Streamline Pictures and Urban Vision have previously released the movie on American home video.
Diamond Comic Distributors has published a short, exclusive interview with Dark Horse Comics manga editor Carl Gustav Horn covering topics including Dark Horse’s selection process for new acquisitions, Dark Horse manga sales, and Horn’s personal perspective on manga.
Source: Anime News Network
Japan’s Gaga Corporation has confirmed that Hiroshi Nishikiori (Azumanga Daioh, Kaiketsu Zorori) is directing an anime feature adaptation of American author Mary Pope Osborne’s Magic Tree House children’s book franchise. Ichiro Okouchi (Azumanga Daioh, Brave Story) will compose the screenplay. Yoshiaki Yanagida (You Are Umasou movie, Genshiken) will provide character designs and serve as animation director. The book series has released 45 books since 1992. The 29 volumes released in Japan so far have sold 3.3 million copies. The film about Jack and Annie, siblings that go on adventures through time with a mysterious tree house, will premiere in Japanese theaters on January 7, 2012.
Source: Anime News Network
Japanese game company Nihon Falcom has launched a website to announce an anime adaptation of its Eiyu Densetsu: Sora no Kiseki (Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky) RPG. Anime production studio Kinema Citrus (.hack//Quantum) will animate with Masaki Tachibana (.hack//Quantum, Tokyo Magnitude 8.0) directing. Atsuko Nozaki (Tokyo Magnitude 8.0) will provide character designs. Makoto Uezu (School Days, Utawarerumono) will provide the screenplay. Nihon Falcom revealed tentative plans for an Eiyu Densetsu anime adaptation last year.
Source: Anime News Network
The advertising obi found on new Japanese editions of the 14th collected volume of Yasunori Mitsunaga’s Princess Resurrection manga announce the development of a third OAD based on the manga. The horror/adventure/comedy manga series has a 2007 anime television series and two subsequent OADs.
Source: Anime News Network
Manga creator and illustrator Moribi Murano passed away due to heart failure in a Tokyo hospital on Monday, March 7, at 10:00 p.m. He was 69, and is survived by his wife Taeko Sato. Murano may be best known as the creator of the Hoero! Bun Bun (Howl! Bun Bun) children’s adventure manga that was adapted into a 38 episode anime television series in 1980 and a 1987 anime film. Murano also directed the 1983 Unico: To The Magic Island motion picture and provided the character designs for the 1985 Dagger of Kamui feature film.
Source: Anime News Network
To refresh your memory or introduce you to an interesting opening animation sequence, I submit the atmospheric opening of the 1998 Midnight Detective Nightwalker television series. The opening theme is “Gessekai,” performed by Buck Tick.
Question:
Apparently, some controversy has surfaced regarding the Madoka Magica series and that it’s possible that the series could be canceled. Apparently, some watchdog groups are petitioning for the series to be canceled and there have been complaints over the series due to “magical girl abuse.”
The homepage for next month’s Sket Dance anime television series has added its first “SD Character Flash Anime” short, this one introducing Bosun. The anime short is accessible in the website’s “Special” section (second from the bottom navigation button on the right side of the website).
Japanese consumers that purchase all three upcoming Sayonara Zetsubo Sensei Blu-ray boxed sets will be qualified to receive an exclusive mail-away Zetsubo Sensei OVA episode. Ironically, after purchasing the Sayonara Zetsubo Sensei, Zoku Sayonara Zetsubo Sensei, and Zan Sayonara Zetsubo Sensei anime series on Blu-ray, consumers will receive the exclusive bonus episode on DVD. Total SRP on the three Blu-ray sets including tax is 66,400 yen ($808 USD).
Source: Anime News Network
Bandai has formally blocked American viewers from watching the freshly released trailer for the upcoming Appleseed XIII OVA series, but that hasn’t stopped Canadian movie blog Twitch from securing the trailer.
I have a mixed reaction to the footage. The action looks good, and the set design is nice. The character rendering and animation is a bit underwhelming, though. The man cowering at 60 seconds in reminds me of 1992 era CG animation quality. And I don’t see much expression in Deunan’s face.
Tokyopop CEO Stu Levy has confirmed that the publisher laid off several staff members (possibly five) last week. Levy explained, “Borders — our biggest customer — went bankrupt, owed us a lot money, which they didn’t pay us, and as a result we are in a very challenging situation, and have had to react quickly to the situation. We did need to let a few people go — and it’s horrible for everyone involved to ever have to let people go. We will continue to do everything we can to evolve the manga business and we very much appreciate the support of our fans, our partners, our creators, and out retail customers.”
Source: ICv2
I’m glad that NIS America is offering a free replacement box for “Our Home’s Fox Deity” volume 2. I noticed the problem last week, before the replacement was announced. The front and back images used on the second volume collector box look like low resolution images that have been enlarged to more than double their native size for use as box art. They look very grainy and blurry. The effect is immediately noticeable even to people that don’t look very closely or don’t usually have a sharp eye for crisp image detail. I bought one of these sets myself, so I’m eager to get a replacement box that uses proper resolution images, or which has proper printing quality.
The Hellsing OVA series seems to be turning into this generation’s Giant Robo, except while I remember a lot of constant anticipation and demand for further episodes of Giant Robo back in the 1990s, I have the feeling that these days very few people seem to especially care if or when an eighth Hellsing OVA gets completed and released.
