Whether you’re appreciative of the service Crunchyroll provides or just hate them because you feel you’re obligated to “free” fansubs, it still doesn’t change the fact they’re trying to provide oversea viewers with legitimate access to the latest and greatest shows straight from Japan. In essence, you’re paying for an anime TV specialty channel, which for roughly five bucks a month isn’t all that expensive. In addition, some of that money goes back to the creators and supports the anime industry, which really needs all the help it can get. Anyway, Crunchyroll’s big thing started with Naruto and now they have Bleach after petitioning for it.
Dattebayo has already announced that they will cease their fansubs of it much like they did with Naruto now that there is a legitimate viable alternative. Personally, I think this is a good direction for both the industry and fans alike but hey, that’s just me. Crunchyroll says they’re trying to secure rights to stream to more regions, but for the launch of Bleach they already have North America (US, Canada, Mexico), the Caribbean, Central and South America, the United Kingdom, Ireland, the Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Iceland, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. Not too shabby.
Who says there aren’t any surprises at the end of the year? At the conclusion of the K-ON “Let’s Go!” live concert in Yokohama yesterday, an announcement was made for a second season of the ever-so-popular light music anime. The official website has already been updated to confirm what attendees of the live event found out, along with an image of Yui looking inconspicuously over her shoulder.
While the thought of a sequel in the near future never really crossed my mind, it was only a matter of time given the original’s popularity. It’s safe to say there’s already one series on my list that’s a guaranteed watch next year. I can already picture the new opening and ending themes (whatever they may be) taking the Internet air waves by storm. Speaking of which, I’d love to see what went down at that live concert.
Anyone else looking forward to seeing more of Yui, Mio, Ritsu, Mugi, and Azusa in the new year?
So it looks like we can revive the discussion about whether Lelouch is dead or alive. According to a graphic on the mobile phone site for Code Geass, a new Geass project has been green-lit. Somehow, I’m not too shocked that this is happening, and really it was only a matter of time before Sunrise came back to this successful franchise. Two of the possibilities that came to mind are that it could be a direct sequel to R2, or it could be a completely different take, like Mai-Otome was to Mai-HiME. Astute observers will note that this announcement coincides with Lelouch’s birthday. There’s no word yet either whether it’ll be an OVA or full series or what, but apparently there’ll be more news in the new year.
The Wall Street Journal posted an interesting article along with the video above about the current state of the anime industry. I’m sure everyone’s heard of the decline in sales for the past few years, but they also discuss the low wages of animators and competition from China and South Korea. There was a big online discussion a few of years ago about the unglamorous life of animators and seiyuus (which Riuva did a nice job summing up), so the ridiculously low paying wages and long working hours were really no surprise to me. Regardless, it’s still a worthwhile read, especially if you aren’t aware of how poorly things are going on the other side of your weekly anime fixes. The video also gives you a good idea of what Akihabara and the inside of a studio are like.
Note: If the video doesn’t start for you, try pausing it and pressing play again.
After the final episode (Someday in the Rain) of the current broadcast run finished today, it was announced that there would be a movie version of the next volume, the Disappearance of Suzumiya Haruhi, coming Spring 2010. No other important information is given, other than the extended shot of Yuki. I’m actually a bit apathetic towards more Haruhi at this point, but I guess we’ll see how it turns out.
More exciting to me right now is the first episode of Darker than BLACK Ryuusei no Gemini which just finished airing. I’ll have a full post up a little later, but it was as good as I’d hoped it’d be, and they did a nice job reintroducing the series and its concepts. It had a surprising amount of lighthearted moments in the first half, but then things got really exciting, building up to a great cliffhanger, and they even killed off some characters already (or so it would appear).
Production I.G. announced that they will be releasing a limited edition CD single for the Oasis song, “Falling Down“. It will also include a DVD with a music video for the song animated by Production I.G. and it is set to be released in Japan on May 27th. If anyone was concerned the DVD will include the original “Falling Down” music video.
A promotional video is up for Saint Seiya: The Lost Canvas, which will be released on DVD in Japan on June 24th, an OVA prequel to the original series. The OVA is about the friendship of Tenma and Alone who later become mortal enemies. TMS Entertainment are also streaming the trailer on their Youtube page.
If you’ve been experiencing symptoms of despair as of late then would you please let out a collective sigh of relief. A third season of Sayonara Zetsubō Sensei has been green-lit and will premiere in July. Zan Sayonara Zetsubō Sensei will continue to follow Itoshiki Nozomu, the most negative person in the world who just so happens to be a high-school teacher. Don’t you feel better already?
Sunsoft producer Tomohiro Seki announced that his company has upcoming anime plans for Leiji Matsumoto‘s latest manga Out Of Galaxy Koshika. It’s about a beautiful woman and a young boy aboard a dimensional ship who journey to save the Earth. Sounds a bit familiar. Too familiar. Seki also revealed that the manga will be available on Apple’s iPhone and iPod touch.
Dragonball: Evolution has officially dropped out of the Top 10 in the U.S. box office. It opened up at #8 with a $1,575,000. Since the new numbers it’s estimated at $7,825,000 and $44,692,875 worldwide. Anybody see this yet?
The title of Rumiko Takahashi‘s brand spanking new manga is Kyōkai no Rinne and it follows a girl named Sakura Mamiya. She has the ability to see ghosts after something happens to her when she was younger. It’s not exactly what you’d call original, but I hope this is in the vein of Takahashi’s darker Mermaid Forest manga. The series will premiere in Shogakukan‘s Weekly Shonen Sunday magazine and in North America through Viz Media on TheRumicWorld.com on April 22nd.
Good news for those of us who’ve started the Zac Efron as Sousuke Sagara bandwagon; the young actor told the MTV Splash Page that discussions for the live action Full Metal Panic! are still “very early” and that the film is “to the point where it’s more than likely not going to happen.” I’m assuming that after the disaster known as Dragonball Evolution I’d be a bit reluctant to jump on board too.
It’s been announced that the eighth and final DVD installment of the ClannadAfter Story anime will include a special episode that is an alternate world arc about Kyou Fujibayashi. The episode is titled, “Another World: Kyou Arc” and the DVD will be released in Japan on July 1st.
A second season has been green-lit for the Hetalia – Axis Powers anime and will premiere this summer on the internet and mobile phones (in Japan only.) The series re-imagines various historical eras where its characters are archetypes of their countries.
For those of you who have been waiting for the English reiteration of Honey And Clover and NANA can finally get excited about something. Viz Media announced that they have set up websites for both anime where viewers will be able to buy, download-to-own, and/or stream the two series in the near future.
It was announced in the EVA-EXTRA01 paper magazine that Maaya Sakamoto is set to play a brand new character in the second film in the Rebuild Of Evangelion quadrilogy. The character’s name is Makinami Mari Illustrious and she shares the EVA tradition of having parts of her name to be named after World War II ships. It was also confirmed that Yuko Miyamura will reprise her role of Asuka, however with the new name of ShikinamiAsuka Langley instead of Sohryu.
If you haven’t already seen it then head on over to TMS Entertainment‘s new Youtube page to watch the anime classic, Sherlock Hound. The series features Sherlock Holmes, his assistant Watson, and the housemaid Mrs. Hudson re-imagined as animals solving mysteries. The first six episodes are directed by Hayao Miyazaki.
If any of you out there played “Typing Mania 4“, it appears that “Typing Mania 5” is now up. Play at your own risk! (Thanks to David for the link.)
Ulquiorra Cifer artwork courtesy of 餅和 on pixiv (account needed to access)
A live-action feature film adaptation of Full Metal Panic! is being developed by Mandalay Pictures with Zac Efron as the potential star. Mandalay hasn’t set up a studio for the film yet, but the company does have a first-look deal with Universal. I can only see this adaptation going two ways – the Dragonball Evolution way and then the Transformers route. Personally I vote for the latter.
Leonardo DiCaprio is considering casting SMAP as the Ninja Scroll live-action feature film adaptation’s main cast. It was announced last year that DiCaprio’s production company Appian Way had picked up the rights for the film. DiCaprio expressed that he wanted to make all the fans of the original film happy and to make sure that they put their best effort into the making of the film. At least Ninja Scroll sounds like it’s in “good hands,” but Leo just doesn’t come off as someone who’d be into anime.
The third NarutoShippūden film, which shares the same title as the 99th episode in the original Naruto series is Hi no Ishi o Tsugumono (lit. The Will Of Fire Still Burns), will open in Japanese theaters on August 1st.
Detroit Metal City singer Hideki Kaji was beat up and robbed in Sweden while watching over filming equipment which was stolen. It was reported on Kaji’s official website that he was doing well. The Swedish police have yet to determine the identity of the assailants.
It was reported that a new Hidamari Sketch special had been green-lit for production. The announcement was made at the “Chō Hidematsuri Z” event that was held in Tokyo.
A promotional video is up for the slice of life, romance anime series Hatsukoi Limited on its official website.
Day Of Whale artwork courtesy of nnfsh on pixiv (account needed to access)
According to Gigazine’s website the “renewed” airing of The Melancholy Of Haruhi Suuzumiya anime series is 28 episodes long. Gigazine said that they had contacted the Teletama broadcasting station and a representative had reportedly told them that “we hear from the client that it is 28 episodes long.” J-Cast had also contacted Teletama upon hearing the news and they were told that the “renewed” airing will also include new material due to the planned 28 episode allotment. Interesting…
The official website for the anime adaptation of Guin Saga is streaming an English dubbed trailer. I can’t say much for the dubbing, but this series looks like its going to be great.
FUNimation is offering the new Fullmetal Alchemist anime on their website for streaming on April 9th at 12pm; four days after the Japanese airing.
With it becoming increasingly popular these days for companies to distribute anime on the web, Bandai Namco plans to join all the others by offering its Gundam franchise in ten different languages on the internet sometime this year.
It was announced that a manga spinoff of the popular Capcom video game Gyakuten Saiban (Ace Attorney) will be on the prosecution’s side and it is entitled Gyakuten Kenji. The manga will premiere in Kodansha‘s Weekly Young Magazine on April 13th.
A new manga adaptation of Tales Of The Abyss entitled Tales of the Abyss -Tsuioku no Jade- is scheduled to start April 24th in Kadokawa Shoten‘s Asuka magazine.
A second promotional video is being streamed for Shangri-La on its official website.
It was announced at the end of the 25th episode of Mobile Suit Gundam 00 Second Season that a film was in the works and will open in Japanese theaters in 2010. So that should be plenty of time for me to catch up with both seasons.
The second promotional video for Sengoku Basara, a video game adaptation for the Playstation 2, is up for streaming at the official website. It premieres April 1st.
It was announced by GDH that the company will sell off its game development subsidiary Gonzo Rosso. The company plans to refocus itself on its animation business with Gonzo. I’ve never played any of their games, but I’m sure this is sad news indeed for somebody.
The manga series Twin Spica is getting a live-action TV drama on June 11th. The series will be broadcast on the NHK and actress Nanami Sakuraba is set to play the lead.
The next manga for Hellsing creator Kouta Hirano will be featured in the Shonengahosha‘s Young King Ours magazine and its title is Drifters. I’m curious if this will include Hirano’s trademark craziness or not.
Gundam 00 artwork courtesy of makki on pixiv (account needed to access)
The president of Sunrise, Kenji Uchida, had previously announced at the Tokyo International Anime Fair that the deciding factor to go ahead with the 20th Century Fox live-action adaptation of Cowboy Bebop was the casting of Keanu Reeves. Reeves made two visits to the studio to express his interest in the project which Uchida states was what made the deal go through. Interestingly enough Uchida noted that negotiations between the two companies went on for two years until it was agreed upon that Sunrise assert quality control. His exact words were, “If the script is terrible, the live-action film adaptation will not be approved.” Perhaps the film will exclude Reeves’ popular “I know kung fu” and “Woah” quotes.
Senjō no Valkyria -Gallian Chronicles- promotional video from the Tokyo International Anime Fair is streaming at the official website. The video game sounds interesting, but since I’m too lazy for video games these days hopefully the anime will be a good substitute.
FUNimation and GDH have announced a strategic alliance in which FUNi will stream its current and future works on their official website. There will also be a download to own feature on their site and others yet to be announced.
Tact Aoki is directing The Asylum Session 3D, a 60-minute 3D computer-animated film, that’s scheduled for release in two theaters this summer in Tokyo and Osaka.
A new Space Battleship Yamato set 21 years after the original will see a theatrical release in 2009. The project was revealed in August when Yoshinobu Nishizaki announced Yamato Studio was built in Tokyo.
Ken’ichi Kasai will be directing the Aoi Hana anime which is based off the yuri manga. The official website has launched a staff list and a promotional video (which apparently doesn’t have any actual animation).
Toei Animation revealed Toei Robot Girls anime at the Tokyo International Anime Fair. The project will include girls dressed up as the various mecha in Toei’s catalog.
Masamune Shirow and Lucent Pictures Entertainment shared their Squad collaboration at the Tokyo International Anime Fair. A tagline of, “A battle for the front mission — I’ll cover your back” was included, but no other release details were presented by the company.
At the Tokyo International Anime Fair the Toei booth announced that they were hard at work on a feature film entitled Niji-Iro Hotaru ~Eien no Natsu Yasumi~ (Rainbow-Colored Fireflies: The Eternal Summer Vacation~.) There were two pictures taken of the booth: 1 | 2.
A promotional video for Hellsing Ultimate VI has been posted after it made its rounds at the Tokyo International Anime Fair this week.
Sunrise and Summer Days With Coo director Keiichi Hara revealed at the Tokyo International Anime Fair that they are working on a new film adaptation of Eto Mori’s Colorful for a possible 2010 opening.
The Fanroad anime magazine ended it’s 29 year old run this Saturday with it’s April issue. The magazine was a spinoff of Big Comic magazine and it specialized in reader-submitted art and manga.
Toy maker Yamato posted in their blog a multimedia project called Enka Ōdō Dai Shōgun. The project will include an anime adaptation by Studio Anima, illustrations, figures, novels, manga, drama CDs, and 3D computer graphics.
The live-action Dragonball film opened as the #1 film in five of the eight Asian markets. The film opens in the United Kingdom on April 3rd and the United States on April 8th. I imagine this film turning out to be so bad that it’s good. Anybody else agree?
Shirow Miwa debut manga Dogs will get an anime adaptation this summer with the fourth volume of the manga Dogs: Bullets & Carnage. The official website has launched with a promotional video.
The adult-adventure game Princess Lover! will be getting an anime. Hiromitsu Kanazawa will be helming the project as director with Makoto Nakamura doing the scripting. The official website promises an update March 18th.
Lucent Pictures Entertainment and Studio 4°C are launching a new animation studio called Lucent 4°C (LFC). The first joint project will be announced sometime at the end of the year.
The Fushigi Yuugi: Genbu Kaiden manga will not resume until spring of 2010. Manga-ka Yuu Watase announced through her website that the delay is due to her physical condition and her commitment to her other titles.
4Kids Entertainment announced yesterday net losses of US $19.6 million in the last three months of 2008. Net revenues dropped to $14.3 million and contributed to the increase of total losses of the year as a whole. Doesn’t look so good for 4Kids. Hopefully 4Kids sees this as a sign that it’s time to stop focusing so much time selling toys to kids and spending a bit more time on the original material.
Manga-ka Rumiko Takahashi‘s latest work starts in the 16th issue of Shogakukan‘s Weekly Shonen Sunday magazine on April 22nd. The issue also marks Shonen Sunday’s 50th anniversary in which a special 30-page one-shot by Takahashi and Mitsuru Adachi will be published called My Sweet Sunday.
According to Yahoo! research, Wikipedia is the third most credible source of information media in Japan. It fell behind newspapers and radio, but surprisingly it beat out television.
Crunchyroll has announced that it will stream a worldwide simulcast of the Katekyo Hitman Reborn! anime. The episodes will be available for it’s Anime Subscribers within an hour they premiere on Japan’s TV Tokyo station every Saturday at 10:30 AM (Friday at 9:30 PM EDT).
At the Tokyo International Anime Fair Studio Bones announced an original series entitled Tokyo Magnitude 8.0 this July. The series is about the 70% or higher possibility that a magnitude 7.0 earthquake will happen in Tokyo sometime in the next 30 years. The anime will follow a what-if scenario if an 8.0 earthquake took place. I really enjoyed Xam’d Lost Memories so I think this will be a series I’ll watch.
Clannad artwork courtesy of 茨乃 on pixiv (account needed to access)
