Old news

From April 2004.


4/26/04 After many unconfirmed reports, I've decided to start posting things about Casshern, as it seems to be loosely based off of an anime, plus I really really want to see it. Check out the two spoiler-free reviews at Ain't it Cool News. And if you haven't seen the totally awesome trailer. Go here and watch it.

Go Fish Pictures has opened its official English language website devoted to the upcoming American release of Innocence (Ghost in the Shell 2).

Mainichi Shimbun reports that the independent anime "Yami wo Mitsumeru Hane" by Tsuji Naoyuki will be screened at the Director's Fortnight (Quinzaine des Realisateurs), an independent spin-off of the Cannes Film Festival.



4/25/04 I added a Pen Thought to the Pen Penny section and moved an old one to Previous Pennys.

The following will be released on this Tuesday on Region 1 DVD:
Arjuna Collection
Azumanga Daioh Vol. 1 (also w/box)
Burn Up Excess Collection
Happy Lesson Vol. 3
Infinite Ryvius Vol. 4
Inu Yasha Vol. 17
Kaze No Yojimbo Vol. 1
Marmalade Boy Collection 1
Saikano Vol. 1
Superior Defender Gundam Force Vol. 3
Superior Defender Gundam Force Vol. 04
Vanilla Series: Love Doll Vol. 2
Witch Hunter Robin Vol. 4
Zoids Chaotic Century Vol. 3

From ADV panel at recent con:
Rights to: Petit Purie Yucie and Parasite Dolls
Eva Platinum same as renewal but not called renewal beccause they don't have the rights to all the renewal material. The 1st of 7 Vol. will come out in July.
New stuff from ADV Toys for Excel Saga & Noir by end of summer/fall.
ADV releasing re-animated version of Mezzo TV
Sturdy Excel box to be available separately

According to Kaeko Sakamoto's guest bio at Sakura-con, she is or has been working on the English dub of Overman King Gainer.

Animate.tv will broadcast, in Japanese, the first episode of This Ugly and Beautiful World online from May 6th to June 3rd for free. This Ugly and Beautiful World is Gainax's 20th anniversary project.

Monkey Peaches is reporting that Taiwanese pop star Jay Chou will play Takumi, Anthony Wong will be his father, and Edison Chen will be Takumi's rival in the upcoming live-action Initial D film.

Tokyopop will begin advertising a number of its manga properties, including Tokyo Tribes, D.N.Angel and Saiyuki, on TV networks starting in May. The networks they have selected for this ad flight are Cartoon Network, MTV, Spike TV, G4, and Tech TV.

In some really good news, there's word from Nausicaa.net of more Ghibli releases coming out this year, courtesy of information provided by none other than Isao Takahata and Steve Alpert during an LA screening of several Takahata films. According to various reports sent to Nausicaa.net, the three films will be My Neighbors the Yamada's, Pom Poko and Only Yesterday.

According to a piece posted to Anime News Network, FUNimation has acquired the series Spiral.


4/22/04 The official Japanese Kaleidostar homepage confirms that a Kaleidostar OAV is early in production.

WOWOW has posted some details and images from Mankatsu, a new TV series from Lupin th 3rd creator Monkey Punch that will air on the WOWOW satellite cable network starting in July with an hour long premiere episode.


4/21/04 According to a post on the Japanese Super Robot Taisen BBS, Sunrise Studios announced yesterday that the Inuyasha TV series will conclude in September and be replaced in October by Mobile Suit Gundam Seed 2. The first report on Gundam Seed 2 will appear in an unspecified Japanese anime magazine next month. This report however should be considered only a rumor until announced otherwise.

The world famous Cannes Film Festival has officially confirmed that Innocence (Ghost in the Shell 2) will be one of the 18 international films competing for best film award recognition.

StarChild Distribution has opened its official Japanese website for the upcoming TV series Soukyuu no Fafner - Dead Aggressor. The show will be produced by Xebec (Nadesico, Love Hina, Zoids) and feature character designs by Hirai Hisashi (Scryed, Ryvius, Gundam Seed). The opening theme will be performed by Angela, the J-pop duo that made its debut with the theme songs to the Uchuu no Stellvia anime TV series.

According to Tokyopop's latest press release for Tokyo Tribes, the previously stated September 7 release date will be bumped up to sometime in August.


4/20/04 Geez, looks like ADV has come up with a new way to suck up our money. They're releasing a "Platinum" edition of Evangelion, here's the jist of the press release:
"ADV Films, the #1 producer-distributor of anime in the U.S., has set a July 27, 2004 release date for the first volume of Neon Genesis Evangelion - Platinum Edition. Each episode of the enormously influential Evangelion television series has been officially revised and digitally remastered for this new release by original creators GAINAX to create beautiful, vibrant video and crisp, sparkling new English and Japanese 5.1 surround sound audio, creating the ultimate Evangelion DVD experience."
"Neon Genesis Evangelion - Platinum: 01 is the first release of seven DVD volumes, which over the course of 26 episodes will include new cast and crew commentary, four bonus Directors' Cut episodes and seven animatics (moving storyboards). Each volume also includes a limited edition collector's slipcover in an exclusive metallic finish, limited to the first pressings only."

Adult Swim will air new episodes of Inuyasha this Saturday, check local listings for more details.

Bandai Visual has scheduled the release of a Gunbuster Perfect Guide for August 27th. The latest edition in the "Emotion Plus" series will be a combination book and DVD set retailing at 5,040 yen.

Starchild Distribution of Japan has announced that the concluding second episode of the Eiken OAV series will be released on June 23rd, a year after the release of the first episode. The 30 minute long OAV will be released in a regular edition retailing at 5,040 yen, a limited edition retailing at 7,140 yen, and a "Special Box" edition retailing at 10,000 yen.

According to Anime News Network, FUNimation representative Jeff Dronen has confirmed that the second "Case Closed" (Detective Conan) DVD released in America will contain Japanese episodes 53, 54 and 55, the first 3 episodes of Japanese TV season 3, "To give fans a look at episodes that will not have been seen on television, yet."

The Geneon distribution site has updated with some new official solicitation information this week that fleshes out some of what was posted a few weeks ago. The new Ai Yori Aoshi release looks to have yet another gorgeous art box for its release. The limited edition release is also set to come with a mini Aoi figurine.



4/19/04 The Anime Network has announced its graduation into a full-fledged cable network. On June 30th the Anime Network will become a linear TV network available from Insight Communications Cable, which serves Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio.

Along with confirming that the company has acquired the licenses for Giant Robo and Gin Rei, Media Blasters' John Sirabella confirmed that the company has licensed Gokusen: The Animation.

FUNimation has confirmed that they will be releasing the first two volumes of Case Closed (Detective Conan) on August 24th and that volume 2 will contain episodes 53, 54 and 55, the first 3 episodes of season 3.


4/18/04 I added a Pen Thought to the Pen Penny section and moved an old one to Previous Pennys.

The following will be released this Tuesday on Region 1 DVD:
Knights of the Zodiac Vol. 3
Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi Vol. 4
Mao-Chan Vol. 4
Tenchi Muyo GXP Vol. 2
Wedding Peach Vol. 2



4/15/04 Actor Mark Dacascos' official homepage reports that, at long last, the Canadian/Japanese/French/American co-production Crying Freeman movie from 1995, directed by Christophe Gans and starring Dacascos, will receive an American theatrical release this August. The film will be distributed in America by Universal Focus, the distributor that brought the French Gans/Dacascos film Brotherhood of the Wolf to America.

The official Japanese website for the upcoming Elfen Lied anime TV series is now open.

The Comics Journal has published an interview with Toren Smith, the founder of Studio Proteus and one of the leading forces in the popularization of English translated manga in America, in which Smith basically announces his retirement from the American manga publishing industry and predicts that publishers including TOKYOPOP that prioritize "quantity over quality" are steadily eroding the longevity of the American manga publishing industry and leading the industry toward a market bust.

Similar to the Test Drive discs CPM has started releasing ADV is going into that market as well with the June 15th releases of:
Azumanga Daioh Ani-Mini
Panyo Panyo Di Gi Charact Ani-Mini
Hello Hitty & Friends Ani-Mini
Happy Lesson Ani-Mini
Kaleido Star Ani-Mini
Noir Ani-Mini
Princess Nine Ani-Mini
Pretear Ani-Mini
Super Gals Ani-Mini
Wedding Peach Ani-Mini
Each disc will have one episode of the series on it.

According to Shonen Sunday's news section (Japanese) a fourth Inu Yasha movie is in the early planning stages. At this point there are no details about the title or the script available.



4/14/04 As part of the new Saturday Toonami block several new series are premiering on CN. Gundam Seed will debut on the Cartoon Network on April 17th at 10:30 PM Eastern Time. Wolf's Rain will debut on the Cartoon Network on April 24th at 11:30 PM Eastern Time. Case Closed (Detective Conan) will premier on the Cartoon Network on May 24th at midnight Eastern Time. This Sunday, the network premeire of The Animatrix will be played twice as part of the program block. Yu Yu Hakusho is being placed in this block and will start off where it left off on the weekly viewings.

Manga Entertainment has officially announced that the first DVD volume of Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex will be released domestically on July 27th.

The sequel to director Ryuhei Kitamura's hit movie adaptation of Koyama Yuu's samurai manga Azumi is now in production in Japan under the direction of Shusuke Kaneko (Pyrokinesis, Gamera 1-3). The film, scheduled for Japanese theatrical release in January 2005, picks up where the first film ended and will co-star Chiako Kuriyama (Battle Royale, Kill Bill vol. 1) with Aya Ueta returning to play Azumi.



4/12/04 Media Blasters has also had the contracts/licenses for Varoom One and Tales of Eternia canceled. There were reports last year of a few titles that for various reasons underwent this and the titles themselves have been slow to come about, as the other two known ones were Mao Dante and Mezzo TV.

Funimation will be releasing the Blue Gender movie, The Warrior on July 20. On August 24, the first DVD from Detective Conan. A Yu Yu Hakushou boxset will be coming out in late July that holds the first six volumes of the Dark Tournament Saga. Kodacha will be coming out in Spring/Summer 2005.

The Ai Yori Aoshi Enishi CD coming out in July will have a drama track on it and a translation will be available in the website. For the Ai Yorhi Enoshi DVD release, a capsule figure will come with the box, and with each subsequent DVD volume. Memories will be released as a double CD set, and a remastered Akira soundtrack will also come out in August.

Dokkoider will be coming out in August. Stellvia will be coming in September. And Satoshi Kon's new TV series Paranoia Agent will be coming out in October.


4/8/04 According to The Hollywood Reporter, John Woo's production company Tiger Hill has secured the option to produce a live action Metroid movie. John Woo will produce the origin of Samus film, and possibly direct as well. Tiger Hill and Nintendo plan to develop the film as a big-budget franchise picture for international release.

Studio Ghibli has produced a new animated television commercial for the Yomiuri Newspaper, which turns 130 years old this November. The TV spot will begin airing on Japanese television later this month. Last year, Studio Ghibli created a series of animated TV commercials for the House Foods Corporation

Yesterday's news article about Quentin Tarintino's plans for a new Kill Bill anime movie has been edited to remove the rumor of an animated sequel featuring the character Nikki Bell. In fact, the actual rumor suggests only that Quentin Tarintino is considering the possibility of a new film starring the Nikki Bell character, not that such a film will be animated.

April 7th was Gundams 25th anniversary. On April 7th, 1979 the first episode of Mobile Suit Gundam was first broadcast in Japan



4/6/04 According to the Internet Movie Database, Quentin Tarintino will write and produce a Japanese animated prequel to Kill Bill, animated by Production IG. The film will "focus on the three men - pimp Estebian Vihaio and martial arts masters Hattori Hanzo and Pei Mai - who turned Bill into a ruthless killer." Tarintino is also reportedly considering an animated sequel set 15 years later in which Nikki Bell, the daughter of Vernita Green whom The Bride killed in Kill Bill volume 1, returns seeking revenge.

Moon Phase has reported, based on an announcement scheduled to appear in the next issue of Animedia Magazine, that Alien 9 director Irie Yasuhiro will helm the bishoujo sci-fi action anime TV series Kurau Phantom Memory, animated by Studio Bones (RahXephon, Angelic Layer, Scrapped Princess). The series will air in Japan this summer.

Silver Millennium Radio and Keiichi.net Radio have organized a tournament style polling competition, open to all anime fans, to ultimately determine the greatest anime series of all time. Fans may submit as many as twenty-five title nominees then vote on show versus show comparisons, ultimately leading to a single winner. Visit the Crown of Anime Tournament for more information, and to participate in the extensive online poll.

Warner Bros. of Japan now hosts a totally new two minute long streaming Real Media trailer for the live action Cutie Honey motion picture. The film opens to Japanese theaters on May 29th.

Kasugabe city has announced that Crayon Shin-chan will soon become a citizen of the city, while an Astro Boy Currency will be distributed in the Takadanobaba area of Tokyo's Shinjuku. The currency is not being distributed by city officials, but rather a committee formed of local merchants and students with the purpose of supporting local community activities. The money will only be accepted at participating stores and will be supplied freely to local volunteer organizations. Shin-chan isn't the first Anime character to be honored in this manner, Astro Boy was made a resident of Niiza last year.

Tokyopop announced today an agreement with Disney Publishing Worldwide to release cine-manga based on a number of Disney movies and TV series. In total there will be more than 24 Disney Cine-Manga projects slated for release over the next three years.


4/5/04 I added a Pen Thought to the Pen Penny section and moved an old one to Previous Pennys.

The following will be released tomorrow on Region 1 DVD:
Behind Closed Doors
Black Jack Vol. 2
Captain Herlock, Space Pirate Vol. 2
Inu Yasha Vol. 16
Kino's Journey Vol. 2
Last Exile Vol. 3
Maison Ikkoku Box Set 3
Patlabor TV Collection 2
Patlabor TV Vol. 8
Puni Puni Poemy
Saint Seiya Vol. 5 (also w/box)
Sibling Secret
Spirit Warrior Vol. 4: Castle of Illusion
Steam Detectives Vol. 5
TexhnolyzeVol. 1 (also w/box)
World of Narue Collector's Series Box Set

The fifth and final DVD of Nurse Witch Komugi-chan Magikarte was recently released in Japan and included an announcement about a new Nurse Witch Komugi anime. Unfortunately there were no details as to when this new anime would be coming out, or how it will be released. The new anime is titled, "Nurse Witch Komugi-chan Magikarte Z"

The animation staff behind the cult hit anime series Legend of the Galactic Heroes has announced its next anime project, a samurai adventure titled "Shinshaku Sengoku Eiyuu Densetsu Sanada Jyuu Yuushi." (The "Shinshaku" is written in the logo, but not included in the spoken title during the TV commercial.) The official website includes a streaming Windows Media TV commercial, but the teaser does not include any animation footage from the project.

According to a Mangazoo report from the recent Tokyo Anime Fair, John Ledford of AD Vision has announced that, contrary to AD Vision's original announcement from several weeks ago, the Makasete Iruka! OAV will not be released in America before its Japanese release. In order to minimize bootlegging (read: fansubs) that would arise from a Japanese release prior to an American release, the OAV will be released simultaneously in Japan and America. In America, the OAV will be re-named "Grrl Power!"


4/1/04 No April's Fools jokes here, but if you want some go to anime news network. Some good stuff there.

The Big Apple Anime Fest (BAAF) has officially canceled plans for its 2004 convention due to scheduling conflicts with the Republican National Convention. Instead, BAAF planning will now concentrate on the 2005 convention.

The Associated Press has reported that Scholastic Inc. has decided to no longer offer Shonen Jump Magazine for sale at school book fairs across America. The decision comes as a response to a complaint from the Hillcrest Intermediate School in Pennsylvania, where a 5th grader purchased a copy of the magazine. School principal Rosemarie Dvorchak cited empowered by smoking cigarettes, mild profanity, a character with a swastika on his forehead and a female character who asks readers to buy the comic again so they can see which "hot guy" would die in the next issue. According to Dvorchak, "It's against what we're teaching, it's against our DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) program." I disagree with this, and besides the swastika was most likely the use of the Buddhist symbol.

This month Tokyo's Waseda University will begin offering liberal arts international courses, taught primarily in English. One of the courses is titled "Manga and Anime: Expressions of Japanese Culture and Society." The course will feature guest lectures from Japanese animation industry professionals, and is aimed at establishing an understanding and appreciation of contemporary Japanese art and culture through examination of Japanese manga and anime art.

The Rozen Maiden manga by "Peach-Pit" will be adapted into an anime TV series later this year.

Koikaze lists Geneon Entertainment USA as being on the production side during both the opening and ending sequences of the first episode.


Home