Sentai Filmworks has announced its acquisition of creator/director Jun Awazu’s 2010 CG anime film Planzet. The 53 minute movie details the last remaining member of a human military resistance against an alien invasion who initiates “Plan Z,” Earth’s final hope to repel the overpowering aliens. Creator Jun Awazu leapt to prominence with his 2007 independent CG anime short film Negadon: The Monster from Mars. Sentai will release the film digitally and on domestic DVD and BD later this year.

Not a bad acquisition, but regretably like Negadon, Planzet isn’t without its weaknesses, including a climax that feels abbreviated and underdeveloped.

Media Blasters has placed its scheduled February 29 release of the second DVD volume of Bakuman and the March 31 DVD release of the Ikki Tousen: Great Guardians Complete Series set on indefinite hiatus. Media Blasters did lay off 60% of its full-time staff last month but at the time reported that the downsize would not affect the company’s release schedule. No explanation for the hiatus of these two releases has been provided.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Disney’s domestic release of The Secret World of Arrietty, studio Ghibli’s 2010 film Karigurashi no Arrietty, will screen in over 1,200 US theaters beginning February 17, the widest American theatrical release of a Ghibli film so far. Director Hiromasa Yonebayashi’s film is an adaptation of British author Mary Norton’s 1952 novel The Borrowers, with its setting shifted to present day Japan. The film will screen nationally with an American dub starring Bridgit Mendler, Will Arnett, and Amy Poehler.

Ugh. This dub. Call me elitist if you will, but I can’t even bear to listen to the whole trailer.

Source: Anime News Network

Toei has announced that its original Saint Seiya Omega television anime series will premiere on April 1. The series inspired by but not directly based on any of creator Masami Kurumada’s manga will introduce a new generation of bronze saints led by 13 year-old Koga, who seek to rescue Koga’s adopted mother, the reincarnation of the goddess Athena, who is kidnapped by the villain Mars. Masami Kurumada’s St. Seiya manga premiered in 1986 and was first adapted into a 114 episode TV anime airing from 1986-1989. Kurumada is currently writing & illustrating the Saint Seiya: Next Dimension manga series.

Heartcatch Precure! episode director Morio Hatano will helm the series. Heartcatch Precure character designer Yoshihiko Umakoshi is providing character designs and serving as animation director. Reiko Yoshida (D.Gray-man, Bakuman) will supervise the scripts.

Source: Anime News Network

Sanrio’s Onegai My Melody and Jewelpet anime franchise will get a double-feature film presentation on August 11. The “Jewelpet Sweets Dance Princess” and “Onegai My Melody: Yu & Ai” movies will be the first anime features for both titles. Onegai My Melody has had four anime TV series since 2005. Jewelpet has had three anime TV series since 2009.

The fourth Jewelpet TV series, tentatively titled “Jewelpet Kira☆Deco—!” will premiere on April 7.

Source: Anime News Network article 1, article 2

Production I.G & SANZIGEN Animation Studio have released a new teaser trailer for director Kenji Kamiyama’s upcoming CG anime film 009 RE:CYBORG. However, the new trailer doesn’t appear to include any new, previously unreleased footage.

This latest anime adaptation of Shotaro Ishinomori’s classic 1964 manga Cyborg 009 will tentatively open simulataneously in theaters in Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, and South Korea this fall.

Source: Anime News Network

Sentai Filmworks has announced its acquisition of distribution rights to the 52 episode Zettai Karen Children (Absolutely Lovely Children) anime television series from 2008. The adaptation of Takashi Shiina’s adventure manga about a government organization that manages (and babysits) three psychic preadolescent girl crime fighters will be released online and on subtitled DVD later this year under the American title “Psychic Squad.”

Sentai’s acquisition appears to include just the TV series, and not the 2010 spin-off OVA.

Sentai Filmworks has license rescued the former AD Vision title GetBackers. ADV released the 49 episode TV series domestically in 2004. Sentai will re-release the series digitally and on DVD later this year.

FUNimation has announced its acquisition of broadcast, home entertainment, merchandising, and streaming rights to the 2001 magical girl anime TV series Shin Shirayuki Hime Densetsu Pretear (New Legend of Snow White, Pretear). ADV Films released the 13-episode series on domestic DVD in 2003.

AnimEigo has announced that its 40 episode Yawara! DVD boxed set will go out of print on August 31. AnimEigo secured an initial domestic distribution license for the 1989 shoujo/sports anime series in 2006 and released the first 40 episodes in a 6 disc DVD collection in 2008. In 2010, AnimEigo announced that it was unable to secure a distribution license for the TV series’ remaining 84 episodes.

The remaining copies of this set are quite affordable now [a whole lot cheaper than it was years ago when I bought it], and 40 episodes of Yawara! is preferable to no episodes. So if you’re tentative about this, pick it up now while you still can.

Source: Fandom Post

Weekly Young Jump magazine is now streaming the first of three web anime installments of an adaptation of Takanori Kawai’s historical supernatural action manga Sekiei Ayakashi Mangatan. The story revolves around an artist known for only painting monsters. Secretly, the artist actually paints the ayakashi he actually encounters in his daily life. The ongoing manga premiered in 2010 and has six collected volumes. The second of the three anime episodes will debut on the 16th. The final episode will go online March 1.

Source: Anime News Network

The Fuji TV network has revealed the fifth Noitamina anime series to be directed by Kenji Nakamura (Ayakashi, Mononoke, Kuchu Buranko, C). Tsuritama, a fishing anime set on Japan’s Enoshima island starring four teen boys and a pet duck, will premiere in April. Yuichi Takahashi (Macross Frontier, Iron Vendetta) is providing the animation character designs based on concept designs by Atsuya Uki (Cencoroll). A-1 Pictures is animating the series.

Looks amusing, and it has a very unique, interesting production staff.

Source: Anime News Network

TV Tokyo has announced that the current Pretty Rhythm Aurora Dream television series will conclude in March and be replaced by a new sequel series, Pretty Rhythm: Dear My Future. The sequel will be set three years later and will star anime versions of five real-life junior members of Korean pop group Kara: Somin, Shiyoon, Haein, Chaekyung, and Jae Eun. The girls will be taught by Aira, Mion, and Rhythm, the now adult stars of the first Pretty Rhythm series. The four real-life members of Japanese pop group Prizmmy☆, who appear in the final story arc of the first TV series and perform the first series’ ending theme song, will also appear in the sequel series as anime characters and in live-action segments. Pretty Rhythm: Dear My Future will premiere on April 7.

Source: Anime News Network

Media Works has released three lengthy trailers for its upcoming Dengeki Anime Bunko OVAs. Although originally scheduled for release last fall, all three episodes are now scheduled for Japanese release on February 15. ufotable is producing the three anime adaptations of Mikage Chihaya’s comedy manga Minori Scramble!, kashmir’s comedy manga Yuri Seijin Naoko-san, and Junji Ito’s horror manga Gyo.

The Gyo trailer is only streaming on the Dengeki homepage.

I’ve been anticipating these three OVAs for a year, and all three of them look tremendously entertaining. Can’t wait!

Source: Anime News Network

TMS Entertainment has released a trailer for its upcoming ZETMAN horror/superhero anime television series, based Masakazu Katsura’s 2002 manga, itself inspired by Katsura’s 1989-1994 ZETMAN mini-series manga. The show will premiere in April.

Since the 2002 Barom-One anime failed to do the job, might this finally be the present generation’s Guyver?