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Miyazaki's New Movie

Date: 2007 March 22 22:06 | Posted By: Jeremy

Category > Anime

Hayao Miyazaki currently working on his latest movie!

Read More... | Souce: ICv2

UK MP fears reduction of British children's TV

Date: 2007 March 19 15:30 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime > TV

The Guardian are reporting on British Conservative MP John Whittingdale's recent speech at the Incorporated Society of British Advertisers conference. Mr Whittingdale is the chairman of the Commons culture, media and sport select committee. He's rather worried about a children's TV and the impact of pulling food advertising from children's TV - "[It will] have a damaging effect on children's broadcasting that will lead to money going out of it, the effect will be fewer children's programmes produced in this country except for the BBC," the main concern he stresses is increase in imported Children's TV - "There will be a growth of the likes of Japanese anime cartoons and American animated content which is something we are concerned about and may need to be addressed as part of challenge of maintaining public service plurality."

So in a nut shell he's worried that there won't be enough British produced children's TV, as ITV has been reducing it's children's output. The Otaku News crew want more TV greats like Danger Mouse. ^_^

Souce: The Guardian

Anime Encyclopedia UK release details

Date: 2007 March 14 16:43 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

We've been sent a press release from the folks at Titan Books. They'll be releasing a new updated edition of the Anime Encyclopedia for the UK on 27th April 2007. This edition has a black cover, along with over 40% new material. The Anime Encyclopedia is a must for otaku, as it's a accurate and well researched guide to the subject unlike a few other books which are nowhere near as good. Jonathan Clements and Helen McCarthy know their stuff and we highly recomend this guide. Hunting around on Amazon.co.uk will produce a bargain price below the suggested retail price. You'll save money by reading about the type of anime you'd want to avoid, but the only trouble is you'd want to watch more of the titles you've discovered by reading it.

Geneon Spot audio podcast

Date: 2007 February 24 18:58 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

We've just got an e-mail from the pioneering folks at Genoen who'd like to let us know that they've posted up the latest Geneon Spot audio podcast, featuring an interview with Taliesin Jaffe (the ADR director of R.O.D -The TV-, Hellsing, Hellsing Ultimate, BECK: Mongolian Chop Squad, etc.), who talks about script adaptation work and the realities of being an anime voice actor.

Souce: Geneon Spot audio podcast

Naruto DS game will hit American shores soon

Date: 2007 January 10 14:37 | Posted By: Dallas Marshall

Category > Gaming

Owners of the Nintendo DS will finally be able to get their hands on a brand new Naruto game. TOMY Corporation and D3Publisher of America, INC. (D3PA for short) today announced the upcoming release of Naruto: Ninja council 3 for the Nintendo DS. Expected to be brought to America in the spring of 2007.

Afro Samurai Set for January Release

Date: 2006 November 02 09:18 | Posted By: Jeremy

Category > Anime

Afro Samurai set to make its debut in January on Spike TV.

Read More... | Souce: ICv2

YouTube take down nearly 30,000 Japanese Clips

Date: 2006 October 20 12:36 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Websites

BBC News and many other news sources are currently reporting that 29,549 clips have been removed from YouTube after the Japanese media companies complained of copyright infringement. The popular video hosting site (recently bought by Google for $1.65bn USD) frequently had clips from Japanese TV shows along with some anime as well.

It is not clear from the article what content has been removed, if it's Japanese TV programmes, more extreme quiz shows, comedy sketches and skits such as Matrix Pong, users of YouTube will have to discover that for themselves. What will be interesting to find out is if YouTube will automatically take down any future content or if the Japan Society for Rights of Authors, Composers and Publishers (JASRAC) will have to file more requests.

Souce: BBC News

Kiddy Grade: The Sequel

Date: 2006 October 13 11:26 | Posted By: Jeremy

Category > Anime

Kiddy Grade sequel in the works!

Read More... | Souce: ICv2

Anime Popular Around the World

Date: 2006 October 05 11:00 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

Regular readers of Otaku News will no doubt be unsurprised to find that anime is popular around the world. The Yomiuri Shimbun has an interesting article that reports on how popular anime is, with Captain Majed the soccer anime (better known as Captain Tsubasa) being a big hit in Iraq. The Japanese government used Tsubasa's popularity by putting his image on Japanese supply trucks in Iraq, this proved popular with Iraqi children and it shows that anime characters can be goodwill ambassadors.

The article then moves to Simona Stanzani Pini an Italian translator of manga, who states that she grew up watching anime on her local television, and how Japanese animation has become a part of Italian culture.

Interesting facts are also revealed, with an Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry estimate stating about 60 percent of the worlds animation coming from Japan. Which leads on the Japanese companies moving into foreign markets, mentioning that in 2004 Toei Animation Co, (now 50 years old), opening local offices in Los Angeles and Paris acting as a direct sales contact instead of through a third party. It's interesting because many industry insiders in the west have predicted that anime companies would one day cut out the middle man and sell directly to their foreign markets.

Toei has also created an anime version of the Powerpuff Girls, giving them a distinctly Japanese look. Called Demashitaa! Powerpuff Girls Z, the series is currently showing on TV Tokyo and is scheduled to be shown worldwide on Cartoon Network in the near future.

Souce: Yomiuri Shimbun

All New Evangelion For 2007

Date: 2006 September 18 11:05 | Posted By: Jeremy

Category > Anime

Four all new Evangelion movies are in the works, with the first to be released summer 2007.

Japanese Animation and the World of Koji Yamaura. Free Event

Date: 2006 September 01 16:45 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

London based anime fans will want to head over to the Japan Foundation for their free event Bringing Pictures to Life - Japanese Animation and the World of Koji Yamamura. It's set to run on October 16th at 6:30pm, although it's free, booking is essential (if you do book don't forget to mention you found this through Otaku News). Anime expert Helen McCarthy will also be giving a talk about Japanese animation.

It's good to see that the Japan Foundation will be doing this, and hopefully they'll be having other events like this in the future.

The Japan Foundation is near Russell Square Tube station, a short walk from The British Museum and Gosh comics, which is known to stock a nice selection of manga.

Earthsea Scores Big in Japan

Date: 2006 August 05 11:40 | Posted By: Jeremy

Category > Anime

Tales From Earthsea tops Pirates of the Caribbean at Japanese box office.

Read More... | Souce: ICv2

IMAF 2006 Launches

Date: 2006 July 20 15:48 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Art

The good folks from IMAF have got in touch with us to tell everyone about their third International Manga and Anime Festival, which will run on Friday 10th to Tuesday 14th November 2006, at the usual venue of County Hall, Westminster, London.

If you're like me and can't draw you can go and look at all the lovely artwork submitted. On the other hand if you are artistically talented you can enter for a chance to win part of the $85,000 overall prize fund! Entrants take note, the deadline is 30th September, 2006, no later than 5:30pm. This is a real chance to show how skilled you are and can lead to even things. So get scribbling!

Mainichi Daily News Release Manglish - Manga in English

Date: 2006 July 03 08:14 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Manga

The Mainichi Daily News have started to release Manga in English on their website. They've called it Manglish (manga in English), taking talents from their MangaTown site, and providing an English translation of the original text by rolling your mouse over the Japanese text.

The debut story is called Six Feet Girl, about a 16 year old girl who is 180cm tall (which actually makes her 5"9'). Apparently she gets depressed every time she starts a new school when the other students laugh at her height. The manga is by Gyugo (or Jugo) Hazuki. Looking at the site it's not clear how good the translation will be, especially if English speaking readers are used to a certain standard, it appears to by translated by a Japanese speaker into English. Currently MDN have posted two pages, and will add a new page each weekday.

Billingual Manga for Japanese people wishing to learn English isn't that uncommon and is frequently sought after by English speaking collectors outside of Japan. However this marks an interesting start - a Japanese publisher releasing free daily manga direct from Japan, some industry analysts predicted this a few years ago and it's good to see that MDN are now publishing manga in English, hopefully more Japanese firms will start soon too.

Souce: Mainichi Daily News

Death Note Manga Proves Popular

Date: 2006 June 18 17:22 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Manga

The Mainichi Daily News is currently running a story about the popular manga Death Note in their national news section, they state it's now established as one of Japan's greatest-ever manga. The 11 volume series of books have already sold a combined total of 18 million issues.

Unusually little is known about the author and artist Tsugumi Oba, not even his/her gender as Tsugumi can be use by a boy or girl.

The story focuses on Raito, a boy who finds a notebook that gives him the ability to kill people by simply writing their name down in it, along with how they die. Anime and video game versions are currently in production.

Souce: Mainichi Daily News

Tomo Dachi Northern Irish Anime Covention Coming Soon

Date: 2006 May 11 14:27 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Events

Those good people at Tomo-Dachi have just sent us there latest press release, it contains more details about the Northern Irish convention set for 7th July to 9th July. Highlight's include US guests Tiffany Grant and Matt Greenfield, they'll both provide an interesting insight into the anime industry. Unfortunately, due to personal reasons anime and manga expert Jonathan Clements had to pull out, but has promised to attend the 2007 Tomo-Dachi.

The convention also promises a great selection of panels, workshops and other cool anime events. They'll also be playing a selection of traditional Japanese games such as Go and Shogi . Booking closes on May 30th, so get moving if you're interested! ^_^

Neon Genesis Evangelion Features

Date: 2006 May 09 17:41 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

The Mainichi Daily News are currently running an interesting set of features about Neon Genesis Evangelion, they contain all sorts of great bits of information. Be warned there a lot of spoilers in each article!

Evangelion Special: From phenomenon to legacy - Forms an overview of the series and how it differs from previous anime titles, along with the impact Eva had on the Japanese media and public.

Evangelion Special: For producer Otsuki, success not always a bed of roses - Interviews producer Toshimichi Otsuki who talks about some of the history of Evangelion and the difficulties in being a producer, along with how influential Eva is.

Evangelion Special: Genesis of a major manga - Focuses on the history of Gainax and the origins of Evangelion, fans of Gunbuster will already know that this is referred to as it's original Japanese title Top wo Nerae!" (Aim for the Top).

Then they have the episode synopsis which form a brief outline of each episode.

Evangelion Episode Synopsis - Episodes 1 to 5
Evangelion Episode Synopsis - Episodes 6 to 10
Evangelion Episode Synopsis - Episodes 11 to 15
Evangelion Episode Synopsis - Episodes 16 to 20
Evangelion Episode Synopsis - Episodes 21 to 26

Souce: Mainichi Daily News

The Success of Dragon Quest

Date: 2006 April 26 03:22 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Gaming > Consoles

Although it's a few weeks old we haven't found anyone else that's covered it yet, the Times On-line have published an interesting article about the popular RPG Series Dragon Quest, released in the US and Europe. The article mentions that the game series was so popular that in 1988 Japanese parliament passed a motion that requires the games makers to limit new releases to school holidays, as too many schools kids were skipping school to buy it!

The article goes on to mention Yuuji Horii the creator of Dragon Quest who was originally a freelance manga story writer, and was inspired to create the game after buying his first computer.

Part of the games success is down to the regular collaborators such as Dragon Ball creator Akira Toriyama, who provides the character designs for all the Dragon Quest Games. This helps keep the game consistent through out its 20 years of releases.

The article also explains why Horii has been reluctant to release it in the UK, apparently because the game is caption based lots of the games success depends on the language you use. In Japanese Horii can phrase things to match the character on screen, but things could be lost in translation, so to avoid this voices have been added to the character captions, so the accents can emphases key character traits (the Japanese version has no voices).

Refreshingly the voice talent used for this game are British rather than American, after a lot of consideration Horii thought it would be worth the risk and hired English actors to speak in regional accents.

Souce: Times On-line

Paranoia Agent Volume 3 Cut in UK

Date: 2006 April 09 16:14 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime > DVD

As many anime fans may have heard, the BBFC have made a cut from the UK DVD edition of Paranoia Agent Volume 3, the scene in question involves a girl attempting to hang herself, which goes against the BBFC policy, as a result compulsory cut of 1 minute and 20 seconds was made. An interview with Sue Clark from the BBFC can be found on aNIme, which goes into more details about the cut.

Souce: aNIme

Italian Police Raid Firm Selling Pirate Anime

Date: 2006 April 03 15:00 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime > DVD

According the Mainichi Daily News, Italian police have raided firms in the first European case of pirated anime DVDs. As the author of the Pirate Anime FAQ, I've been aware of pirated anime DVDs ever since the format was released, however, it seems that the Italian authorities have started to clamp down on them, seizing around 400 titles, which included Naruto, New Getter Robo, Hinotori and Mazinger. The company raided originally sold leg anime, but started to sell Hong Kong bootlegs in 2002. Around 20,000 to 30,000 copies were sold each month for 25 euros each. The article states that the company and other companies being investigated are accountable for 90% of all pirated copies on the Italian market, as well as 60% of the legitimate market! It also shows that these companies make huge profits, (900,000 euros a year apparently), and that the companies in question are also being investigated for tax evasion.

This article is interesting since I've always had trouble getting solid figures for pirate anime merchandise, as a result it's been hard to gauge how much it's been hurting the anime industry. These figures present an insight to how much anime fans are being ripped off by pirate DVD companies and the retailers that sell them. Apparently this is the first time authorities have exposed a case of pirated Japanese anime Europe, I have a list of many other retailers and will be happy to pass them on the authorities if requested.

Maybe this is the first of many such raids, a sign of things to come to those other bad anime retailers out there, but I also hope that the authorities do not mistake legitimate import DVDs from other countries (often called grey imports) as pirate DVDs.

Souce: Mainichi Daily News

Tokyo Anime Center, Yet Another Reason to Visit Akihabara

Date: 2006 March 27 16:45 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

Akihabara has always been a dream for every otaku with it's electronics and anime stores, but now there is another reason to visit. The Tokyo Anime Center promises to be the worlds first anime information outpost opened March 15th. The industry backed center is aimed for Japanese and overseas fans alike to get the most up-to-date information and also participate in events and even public radio recordings with industry figureheads like creators and voice actors! They'll also be selling merchandise! *drools*

The Akiba 3D Theater looks like a real treat too, which will screen popular titles and also preview the "latest visuals" too.

Souce: Tokyo Anime Center

Tokyo International Anime Fair 2006 Gets Underway

Date: 2006 March 22 17:59 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Production

The Tokyo International Anime Fair, Japan's largest animation fair is set to start this week from the 23rd of March to the 26th of March.

The Mainichi Daily News has an interesting article about the event which is every otaku's dream, with over 220 anime related companies and organizations, from animation studios, film and TV production companies and even toy and game makers, now all we need to do is get some plane tickets to Japan! ^_-

Souce: Mainichi Daily News

South Bank Show Anime Special

Date: 2006 January 26 18:30 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime > TV

The Folks at Manga Entertainment UK have sent us a press release about an anime special South Bank Show, which is due to air on Sunday 19th of February. Some researchers for the South Bank Show even made the steps of visiting the London Anime Club to get the low down from British anime fans. Interestingly enough the press release also has some details about Jonathan Ross' recent Asian Invasion, stating that it got over 310,000 viewers, a BBC4 record (it's now clear however if this figure is for just the first screening of the show, or if the repeat screened later in the week is included too).

ITV4 will also be screening the original Ghost In The Shell movie on Saturday 4th March (we belive it's the dub version), so if you haven't seen it yet catch it!

Three Ghibli Shorts: An Interview with Hayao Miyazaki

Date: 2006 January 15 17:01 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Production > Studio Ghibli

The Daily Yomuiri have a very interesting interview with Hayao Miyazaki, Japanese cultural icon and the Oscar winning director of Spirited Away. He talks about three shorts which can only be seen at the Ghibli Museum. It also focuses on the films Miyazaki would like to animate, along with children's relationships with visual imagery. It also briefly touches on the tension between Miyazaki and his son Goro, although it's not exactly clear what the issues are between, although this doesn't stop fans speculating. The article concludes on a high note, stating that Studio Ghibli is the world's best studio in terms of potential, something that many fans had known, since they first saw Nausicaa, many moons ago.

Souce: The Daily Yomuiri

Negima Voice Cast Announced

Date: 2006 January 12 10:03 | Posted By: Jeremy

Category > Anime

Following up on a recent announcement of FUNimation Entertainment, Ltd's acquirement of Negima, the anime series based on Ken Akamatsu's latest manga about a boy wizard teaching English at a girl’s school in Japan, Anime Insider announced in their 2006 Preview issue some more of the cast for the English dub. The series is due out later this year, though there is no official date for the release.

Greg Ayres is still up to voice main character Negi Springfield, while Luci Christian (Full Metal Panic, Azumanga Daioh) will play his hot tempered student Asuna. Other actresses for the mostly female cast include Laura Bailey (Fruits Basket), Monica Rial (Excel Saga, Burst Angel) and Caitlin Glass (Fullmetal Alchemist). With the 30+ students in Negi's class (including fortune teller Konoka, shy bookworm Nodoka, haughty rich girl Ayaka, half-demon kendoist Setsuna, vampire girl Evangeline, ninja girl Kaede and many more) and Akamatsu’s plans to develop them all with their own storylines, Negima could very contain one the largest voice casts for an anime series, Japanese or English.

Souce: Anime Insider

Matt Greenfield to Appear At Tomo-Dachi

Date: 2006 January 10 14:54 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Events

The folks from Tomo-Dachi have just sent us their latest press release, which reveals that Matt Greenfield will be one of the guests. Matt Greenfield is best known to anime fans as the co-founder of ADV Films, and has directed the dubbing of Neon Genesis Evangelion (making sure that "Father I hate you!" sounds just right! ^_-).

IGN Seek Otaku Writers

Date: 2006 January 03 15:20 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

Unfortunately for us hugely popular gaming site IGN aren't seeking the Otaku News Crew, but they are seeking freelancers who love anime and manga! So if you live in the US, are over 18 and fancy being a freelance writer, why not drop them a line, they'll even pay you! If on the other hand you want to work for free and support grassroots anime fandom then why not contact us! We can't pay you, but we can always give you a sense of satisfaction that is better than money, (honest) and since we're also a lot slacker about deadlines too! ^_-

Souce: IGN

2005: Words From the UK Anime Industry

Date: 2006 January 03 15:08 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

Paul over at Anime UK News.net has sent us the low down on a very interesting article they've just put on-line. Getting the views from the major players in the UK anime industry, the article recaps 2005 and gets various companies views on 2006. It's interesting to see all their separate takes on the achievements of the last 12 months.

The Otaku News Crew consider 2005 a very important year for the UK anime industry since it's the year that anime really went in the public eye, with more stores willing to stock it, more news papers writing positive and factually correct articles. Even Howl's Moving Castle got good fair write coverage too, while manga continues to be more easy to obtain in the UK. Taking into account where the UK anime scene was 3 or 4 years ago things have really progressed.

Souce: Anime UK News.net

Evangelion Character Contest

Date: 2005 December 22 09:49 | Posted By: Jeremy

Category > Anime

Gainax, the anime studio behind Neon Genesis Evangelion (currently airing Thursday nights on Adult Swim), has announced a new contest for the latest video game spin-off for the hit series. The contest is calling for fans to design a new character for the second part of Neon Genesis Evangelion Supplementary Story: A Midsummer Night's Dream, a game designed for cellular phones.

The guidelines for the contest can be found on Gainax’s website. Unfortunately for American Evangelion fans, they are in Japanese. The few guidelines that are known is that the character must be female, and must be in the same class as EVA pilots Shinji, Rei and Asuka. Contestants will not simply be limited to only submitting designs for the physical appearance of the new character, but can also create her personality, manner of speech, and so on. There is no explicit statement saying that the contest is only open to Japanese residents. Other rules and guidelines, such as a final submission date, are not known at this time.

Souce: Anime News Network

Studio Ghibli's Next Movie Will be Earthsea

Date: 2005 December 15 17:15 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime > Film

Studio Ghibli have officially announced their next movie, which is due to hit Japan in July 2006. Gedo Senki (Gedo War History) is based on Ursula K. Le Guin's Tales from Earthsea Collection. Controversially Hayao Miyazaki son, Goro Miyazaki will be directing the film.

Howl's Moving Castle and Steamboy On Long List for Oscars

Date: 2005 November 17 18:33 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime > Film

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, have just published a press release revealing the long list of ten films to compete for the Animated Feature Oscar. Three of the top films on the list will then go on to be nominated for the Oscar. Anime fans should be cheering for Howl's Moving Castle and Steamboy.

It's clear to see that the competition is very tough this year, with Madagascar, Tim Burton's Corpse Bride, and Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit; also in the running.

OEL Manga To Be Syndicated in the US Press

Date: 2005 November 10 01:58 | Posted By: Azure

Category > Production

OEL manga Van Von Hunter and Peach Fuzz will soon be published in American newspapers including: Los Angeles Times, Denver Post, Vancouver Sun and Seattle Post-Intelligencer, as part of a move by newspaper editors to encourage younger readers to start reading the papers.

Souce: AOL news

Nana At the Top of Shoujo Manga List

Date: 2005 November 07 11:54 | Posted By: Davie

Category > Manga

According to Anime News Network, Oricon a Company that Ranks everything related to Japanese entertainment has conducted a survey in which ranled the top 10 Shoujo Manga.

The survey was published on their magazine Oricon Style on November 4th. In total 1137 respondents took part in this survey. Nana won the top spot as the most liked Shoujo Manga. Below is the full list:

1 NANA (Shueisha)
2 Hana Yori Dango (Shueisha)
3 Honey and Clover (Shueisha)
4 Nodame Cantabile (Kodansha)
5 Tenshi Nanka ja Nai (Shueisha)
6 Kareshi Kanojo no Jijyou (Hakusensha)
7 Renai Catalogue (Shueisha)
8 Glass no Kamen (Hakusensha)
9 Fruits Basket (Hakusensha)
10 Chibi Maruko-chan (Shueisha)

Souce: Anime News Network

Miyazaki on TCM in January

Date: 2005 October 26 23:18 | Posted By: Jeremy

Category > Anime

Turner Classic Movies will be airing anime films by Hayao Miyazaki in January.

Swansea Animation Days 2005

Date: 2005 October 01 11:27 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Events

It's almost time for SAND 2005, Swansea Animation Days, "a prestigious, international digital animation event that is establishing Wales as a premier location for leading animation business". Anime fans will be interested to know that Jonathan Clements will be there giving a talk entitled "Wrong About Anime"

The Western world has "discovered" anime half a dozen times since the 1960s. Jonathan Clements examines the history of our tempestuous relationship with Japanese animation, from hidden imports and secret deals, through the video nasty controversy, corporate subterfuge at toy corporations and political intrigues at the Oscars.

We've been to Jonathan's Newtype Anime Talk before and found it well worth attending.

Souce: Swansea Animation Days

IMAF 2005 Lines Up Top Speakers and New Anime

Date: 2005 September 26 17:29 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Events

With the competition deadline edging ever close, the nice folks at IMAF have sent us some more details for their London event.

Highlights include Sweatdrop Studios, a special screening of Millennium Actress, along with the Europe Premiere of Streetfighter - Alpha Generation. Even Garnier will be their with its Manga haircare range. The IMAF is certainly worth attending to see the wonderful range of entrants.

CPM Outlanders Fan-Casting Contest Begins

Date: 2005 September 24 10:03 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime > DVD

The nice people at Central Park Media have sent us details of their Outlanders Fan-Casting Contest. More details can be found on-line here along with the chance to win some Outlanders goodies.

Franz Ferdinand to Provide Paradise Kiss Ending Theme

Date: 2005 September 19 22:23 | Posted By: Voxie

Category > Anime

I've had my eye on the manga for years, and when hearing the recent news of the anime being in production, well, now I've got to read the manga ASAP!

Anyway, the anime is being produced by Madhouse, and th site recently opened the music section. UK anime fans might be happy to hear British rockers Franz Ferdinand's hot single "Do You Want To", will be the ending theme for this highly anticipated series!

Souce: Paradise Kiss TV Official Website

Anime Novels Big Sellers in Japan

Date: 2005 September 19 20:25 | Posted By: Jeremy

Category > Retail

Anime-related novels turn out to be big sellers in American bookstore market.

Read More... | Souce: ICv2

Antarctic Press Release How To Break Into Comics Guide

Date: 2005 September 04 18:03 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Manga

The folks over at Antarctic Press have sent us the details for their new guide to becoming a professional comic book creator. It covers all aspects from writing, drawing and submitting comic book work. We think it's worth a look into since it's only $2.99, and concise at 22 pages long.

Honey & Clover Live Action Movie in Production

Date: 2005 August 28 19:34 | Posted By: Voxie

Category > Anime > Film

Having watched and enjoyed the anime series Honey and Clover (Hachimitsu to Clover) recently at the London Anime Club, I was shocked to read that the series has been highly successful in Japan and that there are now reports of a live action movie on the burner!

The film is currently set for nationwide theatrical release (Japan) Summer 2006.

Souce: Memento

Press Blow Oldest Anime Claims Out of Proportion

Date: 2005 August 23 17:34 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

Following on from our report of the oldest anime in Japan, it appears that it is more press hype than solid fact.

Anime expert Jonathan Clements sent us an e-mail with his take on the situation and highlights that most of the reports are merely speculative. Apparently the press have over exaggerated Matsumoto's guess into facts, currently their is very little evidence to support the claim that the film dates to 1907

Millennium Actress to Feature Atlantic Accents

Date: 2005 August 22 17:38 | Posted By: Azure

Category > Anime > Film

It seems that Millennium actress will have Atlantic accents according to reports from Eyeonanime.co.uk. It’s a bit of a shame for fans that were genuinely excited to see a real British dub, but it seems that Manga Entertainment feel that it will be too jarring to hear English voices on a dub.

Souce: Eyeonanime.co.uk

Range Murata talks about the US Release of Robots Vol 1

Date: 2005 August 05 07:16 | Posted By: Davie

Category > Manga

Everyone has heard about the genius designer of Art & Fashion Range Murata who left a mark on the design world of today. His portfolio of works include: media, anime character design, art books to fashion and industrial design.

Here is a summary of the Akadot Interview to Range Murata where he talks about the US release of his upcoming comic / art book Robots Vol 1 where he plans to conquer the manga world as well.

eigoManga Teams Up with Viz

Date: 2005 August 02 17:03 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Manga

The folks at eigoManga have sent us the details of their partnership with Viz Media. Apparently eigoManga will produce the English language versions of Basara and Flame of Recca. The press release is very thin on details and doesn't really explain what they mean by producing. It's uncertain if they'll be translating it directly or hiring a third party company or individual to do all the work and if they'll manage the logistics such as printing and so on.

ICE Kunion Brings Manhwa to the US

Date: 2005 July 12 15:58 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Manga

We've just got a press release from ICE Kunion, a joint enterprise between Korean publishing companies Sigongsa, Seoul Cultural and others. They mention their October line up, which includes Angel Diary, Chocolat, The 11th Cat and Bring It On, which have sold a combined total of almost a million copies in Korea alone.

The Otaku News crew note that this press release is interesting, since Korean comic books are normally incorrectly marketed as manga to people who automatically assume it is from Japan. ICE Kunion are marketing their titles are Korean and are taking pride in it claiming that "Korean Manhwa has taken over Japanese Manga to be the hottest books in the market".

Planet Tokyo Talks Anime Business Blues

Date: 2005 July 01 18:24 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime > DVD

Planet Tokyo have posted an interesting article called Talking Anime Business Blues, it covers the current concern about the boom on anime in the USA, and the double edge sword that is fansubbing, which both creates a hype for a series and also takes away DVD sales since fans would already have it on fansub (this is a long running debate in anime fandom and most fans operate on the policy that if they have the fansub and like it, they'll buy the DVD, otherwise they'll delete it).

Souce: Planet Tokyo

Highlander: The Anime

Date: 2005 June 17 18:36 | Posted By: Jeremy

Category > Anime

The Highlander is back. And this time, he’s anime. Anime News Network announced that a 43-second trailer for a new anime film based on the cult sci-fi classic is available at Highlander-official.com. The 80-minute film, entitled "Highlander: Vengeance", is animated by Madhouse and directed by Yoshiaki Kawajiri. It is expected to come out in spring of 2006.

No Spirited Away Special Edition In The UK

Date: 2005 May 09 18:57 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime > DVD

We've just heard from Optimum Releasing who inform us that there will be no Spirited Away Special Edition as they are "sadly unable to release it due to the difficulty of acquiring new extras".

The Otaku News Crew had heard rumours about Optimum intending to release such a special edition of Spirited Away to tie in with the Cat Returns in June, however we decided not to publish sketchy information, preferring to wait until we could get more solid details. The Special Edition would have been made exclusively for the UK (and perhaps Australia too through Madman Entertainment), it would have not been a reauthored US DVD like many UK anime DVDs.

Souce: Optimum Releasing

Geneon Release Anime On PSP

Date: 2005 May 09 18:29 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

Anime News Network are currently highlighting a story on Modojo.com about anime on Sony's PSP Handheld system, Geneon Entertainment plan to release Appleseed and Samurai Champloo on UMD on July 5 in North America. Appleseed will be priced at $19.95 only a few cents less than the DVD version, while Samurai Champloo will be $14.98, with the DVD version around $23. It should be noted that the UMD versions will not have the extras that the full DVD versions will have. For more details check a full report on Video Business Online

Souce: Anime News Network

ANN Interview Yoshitoshi ABe and Yasuyuki Ueda

Date: 2005 April 03 16:46 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

Those nice people over at Anime News Network have just published an interview with Yoshitoshi ABe and Yasuyuki Ueda. ABe is best known for Serial Experiments Lain and Haibane Renmei, while Ueda the producer has been involved in everyone of ABe's shows.

Souce: Anime News Network

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