AnimeNation Anime News Blog

Kadokawa has unveiled a second, far more revealing trailer for creator/director Hiroyuki Okiura’s forthcoming motion picture Momo e no Tegami (A Letter to Momo). Okiura spent seven years planning and producing the film, his first since 2000′s Jin-Roh. The film from an all-star animation staff at Production I.G will hit Japanese theaters on April 21.

Best trailer I’ve seen since the Summer Wars announcements. This looks exceptional!

The homepage for next summer’s Blood-C: The Last Dark feature film has added a streaming teaser. The sequel to Clamp & Production I.G’s 2011 television series will open in Japanese theaters on June 2, 2012. TV series key animator Naoyoshi Shiotani is directing the film with the TV series’ original screenwriters, animation director, and voice talent reprising their roles.

Blood = obligatory swordplay on a train, I suppose.

Source: Anime News Network

The homepage for next month’s school comedy TV series Kill Me Baby has added a low resolution streaming teaser. The anime is based on the Baby, Please Kill Me! gag manga by Kaduho. The show will premiere on January 5.

Source: Anime News Network

Japanese promotional solicitations have given the public a first look at the new cast of next spring’s ninth Pretty Cure television series, Smile Precure. The new series will debut on February 5th.

I get a Rayearth vibe from this. It also clearly looks like it’s returning to a design and style reminiscent of Yes! Precure 5, which disappoints me a bit because Heartcatch (by a lot) and Suite Precure (by a little) have been better than the two Yes! Precure series were.

Source: Anime News Network

Square Enix has announced the launch of a multi-media franchise titled Chou Soku Henkei Gyrozetter (Super High-Speed Transforming Gyrozetter) [It's pronounced with a soft "G," like "gyroscope"] that will include an arcade card game and anime television series. The franchise will revolve around cars, from real-world developers including Mazda, Mitsubishi, Mitsuoka, Nissan, Subaru, and Toyota, that transform into robots. A-1 Pictures (Ao no Exorcist, The Idolm@ster) will animate the TV series. The Gyrozetter franchise will also include a manga premiering in next week’s issue of Saikyo Jump Magazine, a 3DS game, and an assortment of toys and collectables.

Source: Anime News Network

This month’s touring Jump Festa promotional event will include a screening of a short Battle Break anime film based on Bandai collectable figure battle game. The Battle Break movie will screen at 10am on December 17th.

Last January Bandai released the promotional Battle Break anime ad seen below. This month’s short movie will be entirely new animation footage.

Source: Anime News Network

Anime studio Gonzo is producing a promotional prologue anime for developer Chunsoft’s upcoming 3DS and PlayStation Vita game Kyokugen Dasshutsu ADV: Zennin Shibou Desu (Extreme Escape Adventure: Good People Die). The anime, which will appear on the game’s website, will depict how the game’s characters assembled immediately prior to the beginning of the game. The game will be released in Japan on February 16.

Gonzo has previously produced promotional anime for video games including Street Fighter IV, Tower of Druaga, and Crackdown 2.

Source: Anime News Network

Dwango will commemorate the 5th anniversary of its popular streaming video service Nico Nico Douga on December 12 by unveiling an exclusive commemorative anime short produced by Studio Ghibli. The anime short will premiere at the temporary Nicofarre Hall exhibition in Roppongi, Tokyo.

Dwango chairman Nobuo Kawakami is now also a producer-in-training at Studio Ghibli.

Source: Anime News Network

72 year-old veteran animator and animation character designer Shingo Araki passed away on December 1 due to acute circulatory failure. Araki contributed designs to anime including St. Seiya, Rose of Versailles, Ashita no Joe, and more recently, Yu-Gi-Oh! Araki co-founded the Araki Productions anime studio in 1975.

Source: Anime News Network

From Hobo With A Shotgun director Jason Eisener:

Source: Twitch

Question:
Why do you think no effort’s been made to bring over the Tokyo Tribes anime and/or rescue the manga? The success of The Boondocks and Afro Samurai proves there’s a market for action anime with an urban theme, so Tokyo Tribes should be a shoe-in for a come-back. Or do you think the rights are somehow tied up in that failed MTV movie?

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