Japan Style

The british anime distributor Beez Entertainment has announced at it's Amecon panel on Saturday that it licensed The Girl Who Leapt Through Space ( Sora no Kakeru Shoujo ), Sora no Woto, Lucky Star, Outlaw Star television anime series.

Beez Entertainment intends to release Lucky Star in two half season sets with the original video anime (OVA) spinoff also include, and Outlaw Star will be released with the Anime Legends line.

Keyword: Beez Entertainment, Sora Kake, Sora no Woto, Lucky Star, Outlaw Star

The official website for the television anime adaptation of Lim Dal-Young and Kim Kwang-Hyun's Freezing manga has begun steraming it's first promotional video on Monday. The Production company Media Factory ran the same videoat it's booth at Comic in Tokyo this past weekend.

The Story revolves around Kazuya, a boy who lost his sister in humankind's fight against beings from another dimension. He enrolls in Genetics, a military academy for combat training againts the dimension beings. There, a group of girls known as " Pandora " prepare to fight the unknown enemy. The enemy will premiere in Japan next spring.

Keyword: Freezing, TV, Manga, Anime, Stream

The official Twitter account of Bandai Namco's Collectors devision has confirmed on Sunday that a music video (music clip) collection for the Macross Frontier anime franchise will ship in Japan on December 15. The announcement was made at Girasama Carnival, the summer Macross Frontier event which ran at the Pacifico Yokohama on Sunday. The music videos will feature new footage in addition to animation from the Macross Frontier television and film projects.

The Girasama Carnival event also revealed that the second Macross Frotier film (Macross Frontier ~Sayonara no Tsubasa~, will open in Japan on February 26, 2011. A two-night Macross Frontier event will run on December 22 at Tokyo's Nippon Bdoukan, and on December 24 in Kobe's Port Island Hall. Macross Frontier composer Yoko Kanno is presenting the event, and more details will be revealed on September 9 at 9.00 p.m Bandai will release the trasformable DX Chougokin toy version of the VB-6 Kounig Monster bomber and transformable SD infinty toy version of the VF-25 Messiah Valkyrie Fighter in September.

Keyword: Macross Frontire, Music, Video, Anime, Toy, Carnival, Event

Kun Gao, CEO of the Cruchyroll media distribution website, has announced on this week's  ANNCast podcast episode that his company licensed the North American DVD rights to Mokoto Shinkai's 5 Centimeters Per Second film. This will be the first DVD release by Crunchyroll. Cruchyroll  hopes to ship the new DVD with Bang Zoom! Entertainment's recent English dub in late September or early October.

Byousoku 5 Centimeter - a chain of short stories about their distance. is the second full lenght film from the auteur director and writer Makoto Shinkai ( Voices of a Distant Star, The Place Promised in Our Early Days, She and Her Cat. The film is split into three individual segments, and it premiered in Japan in 2007. Shinkai is already working on his next anime feature film with most of his 5 Centimeters Per Second staff, and he posted initial imageboard art from the upcoming project in December.

Crunchyroll is handling the production, promotion, and financing og the new DVD release for 5 centimeters Per Second, While Bandai Entertainment helping to manufacture, package, and distribute the DVD. The Viz Cinema theater in San Francisco's " New People culture entertainment center will screen the film on September 14. Crunchyroll had Streamed the film along with other Shinkai works to mark Global Shinkai Days on February 28 last year and this year. ADV Films had licensed the film and released a DVD with the Company's own dub in 2008. 

Keyword: Crunchyroll, 5 Centimeters per Second, DVD

The offical website of the Freezing franchise has coonfirmed that a television anime of Lim Dal-Young and Kim Kwang-Hyun's manga will premiere in Japan in Spring of 2011. The production company Media Factory also made the announcement at it's Comic Market 78 booth at the Tokyo Big Sight event center on Friday. The story revolves around Kazuya, a boy who lost his sister in humankind's fight against being from another dimension. He enrolls in Genetics, a military academy for combat training against the Dimension beings, There, a group aof girl known as "Pandora" prepare to fight the unknown enemy.

Keyword: Manga, Comic, Spring, Anime

Keyword: Gatchan, CM's Corp, Toy

Japanese cosplay retailer COSPATIO is currently selling limited-edition licensed costumes based on the plugsuits worn by character Asuka Langley and Rei Ayanami in the TV Neon Genesin Evangelion. The Costumes are made to order and cost 553,350 yen within a standard realm of measurements. Costumers outside of these measurements may have to pay higher price.

To order the Costume, costumers must fill out a form and either bring it to one of COPATIO's six participating store location, or mail the form in and pay for the costume to be delivered. However, the retailer warns that the costumes are tight and recommends that costumers have the costume fitted.

Keyword: Costume-Fitted, Evangelion,

A popular " Gundam Videographer " who goes by the name darwinfish105 has posted video footage of the full-scale gundam statue in Shizuoka on the YouTube website over the past mont. The high definition footage features the statue time-lapsed day into night, when the statue lights up and moves its head.

The " Life size " Gundam statue was first announced in march of 2009 as part of the Gundam 30th anniversary celebration. The statue was complated and unveiled in Jully of that year on Odaiba, and artifacial island in Tokyo Bay. The exhibit closed in September 2009 after its closing ceremony cancelled due to an approaching typhoon. In December 2009 its was announced that the statue would be relocated to Shizuoka, where it was expected to bring in 40 billion yen (approximately US $ 463 million). The statue was unveiled in its new home on July 24, 2010, and will stand until January 10, 2011.

Keyword: Shizuoka, Gundam, Statue,

TBS Holding, the parent company of the Japanese television station TBS, revealed in it's financial results for the first quarter of the 2011 fiscal year that it earned 1.8 Billion yen in sales of K-On! anime t-shirt and other tie-in character goods. Home video sales and licensing rights for the anime itself are not counted towards that 1.8 Billion yen total. The financial results cover the three-month period from April 1 to June 30. 

K-on!, The second television anime series based on kakifly's four-panel comedy manga about high school girls who form a rock band, premiered on April 6. Bandi Entertainment announced at Anime Expo in July that it licensed the first K-On! television series, and Yen Press licensed the original manga.

Keyword: K-On!, TBS

Geneon Universal Entertainment began streaming two commercials that combine the America live-action medical television series House and Osamu Tezuka's classic medical manga/anime Black Jack on Wednesday. The titular doctors House (Played by British actor Hugh Laurie) and Black Jack appear together in the commercial, which are the first collaborative afforts between an overseas live-action television series and a Tezuka anime.

The fist 30-second commercial is the one that is actually running on the CS satellite television system's Fox channel in Japan. The second 73-second commercial is the extended web version. The Premise of the commercial has Black Jack flying to America ( with his young companion Pinoko in tow ) as Dr. House's potential new team member.

Geneon Universal Entertainment is the DVD distributor of House in Japan, Where it is known as Dr. House. Wednesday happens to be the DVD release date for the fourth season of House in Japan.

Keyword: ads Streamed, Osamu Tezuka's, Dr. House, Japan, America

The Anime distributor Aniplex of America has announced that it will release R.O.D - The Complete - Blue Ray Box set this winter. The five-disc set will include the original three R.O.D video anime episodes as well as the 26 episodes in the R.O.D - The TV - anime sequel. The set will have Japanese and English Language soundytacks.

Manga Entertainment once released the 2001-2002 R.O.D video anime series in North America, and 2003-2004 Geneon Entertainment.

Keyword: Aniplex, R.O.D, Anime, Blue ray

The September issue of Shueisha's Jump Squere magazine is announcing on Wednesday that Kentaro Yabuki is Launching a To Love-R spinoff manga Series in The November issue on October 4.

Keyword: Manga, To Love-Ru,

Grant Miyamura Reel Anime 2010 has listed the location of it's festival screenings in Australia and New Zealand and announced its special guests. Yuko Miyamura, the Japanese voice actess who played the character Asuka, will be present in the Australia premiere of Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance (Evangeion Shin Gekijouban:Ha) Miyamura also performed as Asuka in Evangelion television series and The End of Evangelion film. Another guest will be Tiffany Grant, Who voiced Asuka in the english dub of the television series. They will appear at the Dendy Newton theater in Sydney on August 5 at 6:30p.m.

Keyword: Japanese, English, Actress, Evangelion:2.0, Series

Jeph Loeb, Executive Vice President, Head of Television of Marvel, has confirmed at the Iron Man Anime Panel in Comic-Con International on friday that the four Marvel Anime Television series wil launch in the United States on The G4 television network in 2011. The four Anime Series
 are Iron man, Wolverine, Blade, and X-Man.

Keyword: Anime, Marvel, U.S, G4 Television

The production company Anchor Bay Entertainment has revealed in a Monday media alert for it's Comic-con International plans that Redline is one of the "upcoming Manga Release" along with First Squad - The Moment of Truth. Both Anchor Bay Entertainment and the anime distributor Manga Entertainment are currently subsidianes of Starz Media.

The Film will open in Japan on October 9 after advance screenings at international film festivals. Three new trailers were launched late last week.

Keyword: Manga, Anchor Bay, Released

According to a Friday Post on the official Disney Parks Blog , the Japan Pavilion at Walt Disney World Resort's Epcot theme park has opened a new axhibit called "Spirit Beasts: From Ancient Strories to Anime Stars." The Florida-based exhibit showcase classic creatures from Japanese folktales that have seved as inspiration for modem day anime and manga series.

Among the examples pictured are the kappa, the kitsune, the tsuru, the saru, and the moon rabbit. Project Manager and show producer Wyatt Winter says that exhibit should run for several years. Prior to the Spirit Beasts exhibit, the location housed exhibits on World Heritage Sites of Japan and Tin Toy Stories.

Disney's involvement with anime in North America consists primarily of it's localization and distribution of Studio Ghibli titles. Recently, however, Disney added Naruto to it's Disney XD Television channel's lineup. Disney has alaso been creating original content for the Japanese market, including three television series spinoffs of it's film Lilo and Stitch with anime studios MADHOUSE and Shinei Animation.

Keyword: Walt Disney, Anime, Beasts

The Tokyo-born artist began drawing his four-panel Chibikko Shinshi manga strips in the Tokyo Shimbun paper in 1956. He renamed his work as Honobono-kun on February 6, 1984 — the day after publishing his 5,000th strip. He would finish the manga on March 8, 2007 after 57 years and 15,451 strips. Tsukuda won the Manga Artist Society's grand prize in 2004 for Honobono-kun, which was known as the "Japanese Charlie Brown" for its gentle, humorous touch.

Keyword: Honobono-kun, Manga, Kimihiko Tsukuda,

The fourth Blu-ray Disc/DVD volume of the Senkō no Night Raid television anime series will ship in Japan on September 22 with two unaired episodes. The volume will contain episode 6 ("Rankai no Yoru" or Ominous Night), which did air on television, and episode 7 ("Jihen" or Incident), which was streamed for free instead of televised. In addition, the volume will add another unaired episode called "Ahenkutsu no Akuma" (Devil of the Opium Den) as well as "Yogen" (Prediction) — the special episode that replaced "Jihen" in the television broadcast.

Like the previous volumes, the fourth volume will also include an alternate "Japanese dubbing" track (in which the original cast dubs the anime entirely in Japanese instead of both Japanese and Chinese) and an audio commentary. The Limited first edition will bundle postcard and booklet extras.

Keyword: Ahenktsu no Akuma, Yogen, DVD, Blue-ray Disc, Japanese

At it's Anime Expo 2010 industry panel, Digital Manga Publishing announced the following licences:

DMP Licenses:

June Licenses: 

801 Media Licenses:

DMP has also announced that mangaka Nao Yazawa, creator of Wedding Peach, will create a manga specifically for DMP's eManga. Additionally , DMP has partnered with Viz Media to act as the exclusive distributor for a small series of hand-painted Naruto animation cels priced at $60 each.

Keyword: DMPA, Manga, Anime Expo 2010

The Japanese Studio Toei Animation announced at a June 16 press conference in Shanghai that it is jointly producing a new Ikkyuu-san anime film with the Chinese conglomerate Shanghai Media Group and SMG's Toonmax channel. Toei animated the original Ikkyū-san historical comedy television series about a young monk-in-training from 1975 to 1982, when the studio was still known as Toei Dōga. The new Ikkyū-san anime film will open in China in February of 2012 — during the traditional Chinese New Year holidays.

The story of Ikkyū-san is loosely inspired by Ikkyū Sōjun, a real-life Buddhist monk who lived in 15th-century Japan. The anime imagines Ikkyū's childhood as a mischievous but clever monk-in-training at Ankokuji Temple. The original television series
already inspired a 1978 Ikkyū-san to Yancha-hime (Ikkyusan and the Mischievous Princess) film. The television series premiered in China in 1983 and became a popular hit among children there.

SMG operates the children's television channel Toonmax, which is popular in China and particularly in the Shanghai area. Another Japanese anime studio, MADHOUSE, is collaborating with China Film Group Corporation, director Yuji Ikeda (Fushigi Yuugi, Monster), and original character designer Naoki Urasawa (Monster, 20th Century Boys) on a film titled Tibetan Dog (Tibet Inu Monogatari).

Keyword: Toei, Shanhai Media Group, Animate, Ikkyuu-san, Film

Not So Daily Link of the Day: Voice actress Aya Hirano ( Lucky Star, The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, Deathnote, and among many another ) announced on her blog on Tuesday that she will use Twitter for one day only. Her 10th CD single, "Hysteric Barbie," will ship on Wednesday, and to mark the occasion, she is temporarily using the "Hysteric_Barbie" Twitter account. As of Tuesday at 9:00 p.m. Japan Time (Tuesday at 8:00 a.m. EDT), she has made three posts and attracted over 4,600 followers.

Keyword: Aya Hirano, Twitter

The Watarase Film Commission, a non-govermental organization that support film production afforts in Gunma Prefecture northwest of downtown Tokyo, posted a casting call for a film based on the life of the late gag comedy manga pioneer Fujio Akatsuka. (Tensai Bakabon, Himitsu no Akko-chan). According to the posting for extras, Toei and Central Arts are basing the Kore de Ii no da! Eiga Akatsuka Fujio film on Akatsuka Fujio no Koto o Kaita no da!!, the book by Akatsuka's Weekly Shonen Sunday magazine editor Toshiki Takei.

Ryoichi Kimizuka (Bayside Shakedown, Nobody to Watch Over Me) wrote the script and Hideaki Sato (The Suspect: Muroi Shinji, The Unbroken) is directing. Filming will last from the beginning of July to the middle of August, and the film is slated to open throughout Japan next spring.

Fujio Akatsuka, the creator of many popular comedy gag manga and one of the earliest magical girl manga (Himitsu no Akko-chan), passed away of pneumonia on August 2, 2008.

Keyword: Film, Shonen, Tensao Bakabon's

Aniplex of America will stream the first 22 minutes of Welcome to The Space Show on the YouTube website on Monday at 8:00 a.m. Unlike with another anime which streamed on Youtube, The biginning of Welcome to THE SPACE SHOW will be specifically available to online viewer outside Japan and The same streamed will be available to Japanese viewers on the GyaO! service on Tuesday at midnaight, and the Tokyo MX station already aired on June 13.

Streamed Link: 

GyaO!

YouTube Aniplex of America

Kamichu Box Set

Best Price $30.00
or Buy New $36.99

 

Anime Expo has confirmed reports that actrss Saki Aibu will attend the July 1-4 convention for the world premiere of her new film Eternal First Love in Los Angeles. Aibu starred as Riiko Izawa in the live-action adaptation of Yu Watase's manga Absolute Boyfriend, as well as voicing roles in Doraemon, Professor Layton and the Eternal Diva, and Kaiketsu Zorori.

European game publisher MangaGamer has also announced two additional guests: voice actress and singer Minami Kuribayashi and artist Fujimaru. Kuribayashi starred as Haruka Suzumiya in Rumbling Hearts and Erstin Ho in My-Otome. She has also sung themes for Blassreiter, School Days, and others. Fujimaru worked on the Kira Kira Curtain Call and Dear Drops adult games from the Japanese brand OVERDRIVE.

Anime Expo announced on Thursday that voice actor Masakazu Morita will also appear as a Guest of Honor. MangaGamer guests include UR@N, Yuka Kayura, Shinji Katakura, Hiroshi Takeuchi, Kazutoshi Matsumura, and Japanese game publisher Age (with Sou Miyata and Kyousuke Himukai).

T-shirt featuring Black Butler lead appears in retail clothing chain
Not-So-Daily Link of the Day: Retail clothing chain Hot Topic has added merchandise from Yana Toboso's manga Black Butler to its lineup. The merchandise currently consists of a t-shirt featuring the series' titular butler, Sebastien Michaelis, in red on a black background. The shirts are available in sizes ranging from extra-small to XXXL.
The Black Butler manga launched in Japan in September 2006 in Square Enix's Monthly GFantasy shounen manga anthology. Yen Press licensed the manga for North American release and began serializing it in its Yen Plus anthology in July of 2009. In October 2008 a TV anime was produced based on the manga, and Funimation licensed it for North America. A follow-up anime series will air in Japan starting this July. The anime inspired a fashion show in Tokyo in 2008.

Keyword: Black Butler, Merchandise, Toboso's Manga, T-shirt

The Oricon entertainment news source reports that a second stage play and an anime adaptation are in the works for Gakuen Hakkenden, Kō Amami and Aki Kuruwa's fantasy romance boys-love manga. In this multimedia project, scriptwriter Amami re-imagines Nansō Satomi Hakkenden, Kyokutei Bakin's famous epic novel about eight samurai who serve the Satomi clan during Japan's tumultuous Sengoku (Warring States) era.
Just as in traditional kabuki plays, male actors are auditioning for all of the roles in the second play — including all of the female characters. Already casted in the first play are several veterans of The Prince of Tennis musical, such as Kenn (Miracle Train ~Ōedo-sen e Yōkoso~, Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monster GX), Yuki Tsujimoto, and Ryuko Isogai.
STC Jimukyoku collaborated on a stage musical adaptation of Idea Factory's female-oriented Hiiro no Kakera visual novel game before working on the stage versions of Gakuen Hakkenden. Masatsugu Takase (The Last Samurai) is serving as the plays' action director. The first play will run in Tokyo's Ikebukuro Theater Green from July 14 to July 19, while the second play will run in Tokyo's Shinagawa Rikkōkai Hall.
The original Hakkenden novel already inspired the Hakkenden: Legend of the Dog Warriors video anime series (Geneon Entertainment) and the 1999 science-fiction television anime re-imagining, Shin Hakkenden.
The original manga just launched in Kobunsha's Purial magazine this past April, and the first compiled book volume is slated for next year.

Keyword: Oricon, Anime, Boys-Love, Gakkuen Hakkenden

The American video distributor Anchor Bay Entertainment has acquired First Squad - The Moment Of Truth, Yoshiharu Ashinoand Studio 4°C's animated video version of a story by Russian artists Misha Sprits and Aljosha Klimov.

First Squad is set during the opening days of World War II on the Eastern Front. A group of Soviet teenagers with extraordinary abilities has been drafted into a special unit to fight the invading German army. A Schutzstaffel (SS) officer attempts to raise from the dead an army of crusaders from the 12th-century Order of the Sacred Cross and enlist them in the Nazi cause.

The film premiered at the Moscow International Film Festival in June and won the Kommersant newspaper's prize. It also played at Locarno, at Cannes in France, at Sitges, and at Waterloo, Canada.

Ashino had previous directed Tweeny Witches, and Studio 4°C animated Tekkonkinkreet, Genius Party, and parts of The Animatrix.

The American video distributor Anchor Bay Entertainment has acquired First Squad - The Moment Of Truth, Yoshiharu Ashinoand Studio 4°C's animated video version of a story by Russian artists Misha Sprits and Aljosha Klimov.

First Squad is set during the opening days of World War II on the Eastern Front. A group of Soviet teenagers with extraordinary abilities has been drafted into a special unit to fight the invading German army. A Schutzstaffel (SS) officer attempts to raise from the dead an army of crusaders from the 12th-century Order of the Sacred Cross and enlist them in the Nazi cause.

The film premiered at the Moscow International Film Festival in June and won the Kommersant newspaper's prize. It also played at Locarno, at Cannes in France, at Sitges, and at Waterloo, Canada.

Ashino had previous directed Tweeny Witches, and Studio 4°C animated Tekkonkinkreet, Genius Party, and parts of The Animatrix.

The official website for the television anime adaptation of Tozen Ujiie's Seitokai Yakuindomo slice-of-life comedy manga began streaming a 30-second program announcement commercial and a 15-second one on Saturday. The website is also streaming a promotional video. The anime will premiere in Japan on July 3.

The official website for the television anime adaptation of Takaya Kagami's Densetsu no Yūsha no Densetsu fantasy light novel franchise is streaming its second, 207-second high-definition promotional video via the YouTube video service. Both the official website and YouTube are still streaming the first promotional video, which premiered at March's Tokyo International Anime Fair. The Legend of the Legendary Heroes anime will premiere in July.

Boys Over Flowers' Group 8 to adapt shōjo classic for this fallA live-action Korean television series adaptation of Kaoru Tada's classic shōjo manga Itazura na Kiss is in production for airing this fall. Group 8, the production company behind the live-action Korean version of Boys Over Flowers (Hana Yori Dango), is producing the new project. Hwang In-Roe (Palace) is slated to direct.

In the original romantic comedy manga, a high school girl named KOTOKO finally tells a fellow senior named Naoki (Ren Yagami) that she has loved him from afar since she saw him on their first day of high school. However Naoki, a haughty "super-ikemen" (handsome male) with smarts and sports talent, rejects her offhand. Fate intervenes when a mild earthquake ruins KOTOKO's family house. While the house gets rebuilt, KOTOKO and her dad stay at the home of her dad's childhood friend...whose son is Naoki. The manga's story follows Naoki and KOTOKO through high school and beyond, but it never ended because Tada lost her life in an accident in 1999.

The manga was already adapted as a television drama series in Japan (1996), another drama series with a sequel in Taiwan under the name It started with a kiss (2005), and a television anime series (2008). The 23 manga volumes have sold 27 million copies just in Japan alone.

Digital Manga Publishing published the second volume of the manga in North America earlier this month

Keyword : Itazura na Kiss, Manga, Korean, Live Action

The series "tells the saga of The Shadow Lord, an evil sorcerer who has taken over the kingdom of Deltora by destroying a magical object known as The Belt of Deltora. Throughout the course of the series, young warrior Lief, his mentor Barda and young Jasmine travel around the land of Deltora to return the seven gems to the belt and save the kingdom."

DCI Los Angeles, the U.S. division of Dentsu, Inc., had already announced in February that it is running the series on the Cartoon Network in Australia and New Zealand this spring. The anime ran in Japan from 2007 to 2008.
Discovery Communicatuons and Hasbro will launch The Hub on October 10 in 60 million homes.

Having read and owned the Hagakure, which is a collection of prose and writings by samurai warrior Yamamoto Tsunetomo that were collected near the end of his life that detail the Bushido honor code while telling the story of a young samurai eager to learn from an old former warrior turned Zen monk; I always wondered why the book had not been adapted into a manga anthology, as much of the descriptive prose lends itself to lush visuals.
It seems the newly formed Kodansha International has done just that, with the forthcoming release of the manga adaptation based off of William Scott Wilson’s English translation. Sean Michael Wilson (no relation to the aforementioned translator) adapted the prose for the manga layout while illustrator Chie Kutsuwada provided the illustrations and translator Wilson also provided the afterword for the adaptation.The 145 page manga is slated to be released in January of 2011 for $14.95.

The North America anime distributor Funimation has announced at its Anime Central panel on Saturday that it has licensed the Rosario + Vampire, Rosario + Vampire Capu2, Chaos;HEAd, Chrome Shelled Regios, Rideback, Heaven's Lost Property (Sora no Otoshimono), and GUNxSWORD anime series. All of the new titles will ship in 2011 — except for GUNxSWORD and Regios, which will ship in late 2010

Funimation has also announced the English dubbing casts for Eden of The East, Casshern Sins, and Shikabane Hime. The company is offering a "free ride" to Comic-Con International in San Diego this July to the most ardent Fullmetal Alchemist fan; fans can enter by posting their video pleas on YouTube and http://www.fullmetalalchemist.com/comiccon/.

Takayuki Inagaki (Desert Punk, Indian Summer) and Gonzo's 2008 Rosario + Vampire television series and its Rosario + Vampire Capu2 sequel adapt Akihisa Ikeda's supernatural school comedy manga of the same name. The story follows an ordinary high school boy who fails to get into any private academy except one — which happens to be populated by supernatural creatures (yōkai) disguised as humans. To survive, Tsukune Aono has to pretend that he is also a yōkai and blend in. Viz Media publishes the manga in North America

Earlier this year, the NYICFF hosted the U.S. premieres of three anime features and several shorts, including the Summer Wars family anime film from The Girl Who Leapt Through Time director Mamoru Hosoda, MADHOUSE's Mai Mai Miracle anime film, and Production I.G's Oblivion Island: Haruka and the Magic Mirror fantasy film.

The official website and blog of the Tono to Issho anime franchise has announced on Thursday that the fifth volume of Ohba-Kai's original 4-panel gag manga will bundle a new anime DVD "volume 1.5" on August 23. The manga follows the humorous exploits of generals during Japan's tumultuous sengoku (Era of the Warring States) period. The anime DVD's voice cast remains largely unchanged from the one used in the previous drama CD, but the character Honda Tadakatsu (pictured at right, played by Raikō Sakamoto) will debut on the anime DVD.
A video anime adaptation had already shipped in March, and the official website has also announced that a television anime series adaptation will premiere in July. Mankyuu is directing, scripting, and storyboarding the "volume 1.5" anime DVD, just as he did for the earlier video anime. Frontier Works is producing the music, and Gathering is producing the animation.

The first DVD box will contain the "episode 0" special and the first 13 episodes along with a making-of video, candid shots, and a poster. The second DVD box will contain the last 13 episodes with a making-of video for the ending scene.

Keyword : Anime, DVD box, The Japanese

This year's 19th issue of Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump magazine announced on Monday the title of its relaunched spinoff magazine for new manga creators. Shonen Jump Next will ship its first issue on April 30. Each issue will contain one-shot manga stories by new manga creators, as well as side stories based on manga series currently running in the main Weekly Shonen Jump magazine. Creator Hiroshi Shiibashi is illustrating the first issue's cover and contributing a side story from his Nurarihyon no Mago story.

The May issue of Shueisha's Jump Square magazine announced on April 3 that an another spinoff magazine called Jump SQ.19 (pronounced "Jump S Q Ichi Kyū") will launch on May 19. The first issue will contain one-shot manga such as Mizuki Kawashita's G-Maru Edition, Usamaru Furuya's Teiichi no Kuni, the return of Yasuhiro Nightow's Kekkai Sensen, and Kentaro Yabuki's adaptation of Tomohiro Matsu and Peco's Mayoi Neko Overrun! light novel series.

Ichijinsha has dated the launch of its previously announced WAaI! boys in skirts magazine for April 24. As the English subtitle of the magazine suggests, the magazine will focus on "male maidens." The first issue will contain several manga stories, how-to tips on women's clothings, and coverage of anime and games with the theme of males in women's clothes.

Anime Expo has announced that it will host six Japanese DJs at the July 1-4 convention in Los Angeles. Anime Expo will host DJ CHUCKY, M-Project, m1dy, GUHROOVY, NO+CHIN, and DJ Schwarzenegger. These DJs will be performing for Anime Expo's dance events on both Friday and Saturday night. DJ CHUCKY on Anime Expo has created music for the game series Beatmania IIDX, and GUHROOVY has been featured in Beatmania Gottamix, Beatmania IIDX, GuitarFreaks, and DrumMania.
In Anime Expo The six DJs will join previously announced guests: director Shinichi "Nabeshin" Watanabe (Excel Saga, Puni Puni Poemy, Tenchi Muyo GXP), voice actress Yuu Asakawa (Love Hina, Azumanga Daioh, Bubblegum Crisis 2040), animation director and co-founder of the BONES animation studio Toshihiro Kawamoto (Cowboy Bebop, Wolf's Rain), and J-rock band SOPHIA.

Satō was born with the given name Chiyoko, but she adopted the pen name Shio Satō as a wordplay on "sugar salt" (pronounced "Satō Shio" in Japanese). She made her professional debut in 1977 and soon focused on contemplative science-fiction stories such as One Zero and Yume-miru Wakusei.
The North American manga publisher Viz released Satō's The Changeling in its Four Shōjo Stories manga anthology — one of the first attempts to translate and print Shoujo manga into English.

The North American anime distributor Sentai Filmworks has announced that it will release English dubs for the Clanned, Blue Drop, Ghost Hound, Legends of the dark king: A Fist of the Nort Star Story, and Tears to Tiara anime series. Seraphin Digital, the company formed from the assets of A.D. Vision's Amusement Park Media dubbing outfit, is overseeing the dubbing process with veteran ADR directors such as Steven Foster.

Microsoft Corp Japan will give small local governments free software to help with clerical work related to providing child-rearing allowances the national government will introduce in fiscal 210, company sources said Monday. Microsoft intends to start offering the software via download from its website, possibly on Tuesday, to local governments that might find it financially too burdensome to have software written for the clerical work, the sources said.
Microsoft plans to give the template for its Excel spreadsheet program to local and municipal governments with 100 or fewer employees and 10,000 residents or fewer, they said, adding it aims to get more than 40 local governments to take advantage of the free software.
Costum ordering such a template would cost some 1.5 million to 3 million yen per order, they said.
Employees at local governments will be able to transfer data on residents from the Basic Resident Register, a computerized comprehensive list of Japanese citizens, onto the template, and use that to check qualified households, confirm payments and compile reports, the sources said.

The British anime distributor Manga Entertainment has begun streaming the first five episodes of the Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood anime series for audiences in the United Kingdom. Each week the company's website will add five more episodes of the series, which will replace the previous ones. Manga Entertainment Youtube Chanel will run the same episodes for one week after they are taken down from Manga Entertainment's website. Once the streaming episodes catch up with the Japanese broadcast, the company will then stream one episode per week, one week after each episode airs in Japan.

Japanese astronaut Soichi Noguchi on Wednesday installed a robotic arm outside the country’s Kibo laboratory module on the International Space Station, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency said. Working together with NASA astronaut Timothy Creamer, the 44-year-old Noguchi opened the air lock for the first time, brought out the 2.2 meter-long arm into a space and attached it at the tip of a longer, 10-meter arm. The installation of the smaller arm is aimed at allowing astronauts to engage in more delicate operations, including fixing problems with experimental devices, from inside the space station.

Hitachi Ltd, NEC Corp and Casio Computer Co said Friday the launch of their merger on mobile handset operation will be delayed by about one month beyond it's original schedule in April. The three companies agreed in September to integrate their mobile phone operation in April this year by forming a new joint venture to boost their global competitiveness amid a saturated domestic market. But in joint statement issued Friday, Hitachi, NEC and Casio Computer said they put off the launch of their venture called NEC Casio Mobile Communications Ltd to lessen the impact on their businesses due to imminent delays in overseas antitrust screening procedures. NEC Casio Mobile Communications will be formed by merging NEC's mobile phone business with Casio Hitachi Mobile Communication Co, and existing venture firm founded by Casio and Hitachi in 2004.

Other films to be shown at the festival include Anno and Khara's Evangelion:1.11 You Are (Not) Alone (Evangelion Shin Gekijouban: Ji) Makoto Shinkai's 5 Centimeters Per Second, Hosoda and MADHOUSE's The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, and Hiroyuki Kitakubo and Production I.Gs Blood: The Last Vampire. Blood: The Last Vampire will share a double-billing with a "mystery film". Jonathan Clements (Author of Shoolgirl Milky Crisis and co-author of The Anime Encyclopedia) and industry guests Hugh David and Andrew Partridge will host a panel on the future of anime during the festival.
Evangelion: 2.0 You Can(Not) Advence is the second film in the theatrical film remake of Anno and Gainax's Neon Genesis Evangelion television anime series. The film continues the story of a group of 14 years old enterusted with gaint biomechanical units to protect Earth from mysteryous Angels. It opened in Japan in June 2009. It then ran in Spain's Sitges, Scotland's Glasgow Film Festival, Canada's Waterloo Festival for Animated Cinema, and France's Lyon Asian Fi Festival had released versions of the first film, Evangelion: 1.0 You are (Not) Alone, in North Aerica in 2009 in theaters and on home video.
The light hearted "action entertainment" story of Summer Wars revolve around a modem-day family on midsummer adventure. The project reunites many of The Girl Who Leapt Through Time's staffers, including scriptwriter Satoko Okdera ( Angel, The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, Miyori no Mori ) and character designer Yoshiyuki Sadamoto ( Evangelion, The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, FLCL ). The film opened in Japan on August 1, 2009, and has since been scheduled in Spain, England's Leeds Film Festival, Germany's Berlin International Film Festival, The Massachusetts Institute of Thecnologhy, and in the New York International Children's Film Festival

Threatened with the loss of the cherry blossoms of their cultural icons, Japanese scientist have used the ion bearn to create a new kind of cherry trees that bloom throughout the year. For centuries Japanese people celebrate the coming of spring by sitting under a cherry tree when the flowers bloom every year, but due to global warming and impact of rising temperatures in cities caused by vehicle emissions, air conditioning and various forms of pollution, the interest on these trees blooming earlier each year.
Not only bloom earlier, but five days ahead of schedule last year. But research shows that these trees produce fewer flowers.To create super cherry tree recently, researches using carbon ion beam to induce mutation in the branches Zakura Keiou-13 strains of sakura trees. The branches are then grafted and cultivated to create ne generation called Nishina Otome. Unlike conventional descendant species, these trees do not need a period of cold weather to triger growth in the spring. As a result, they can bloom in all four season while in the room and in the spring and fall when planted outdoors

Terrible winter in Niigata, Japan produces an abundance of snow, whic can cause problem for resident especially parents are faced with the tedious task of cleaning the street. To do it, now proudly present Yuki-taro ^_^, an automatic snowplow robot developed by a team of researchers from five organization in Niigata area. Yuki-taro measures that appear friendly 160 x 95 x 75 cm and weight 400 kg. Equipped with GPS and a pair of Video cameras embedded in the eye, which guides the robot itself is looking for snow and swallowed into the huge mouth. Part of Yuki-taro consist of a system to compact the snow into hard bricks measuring 60 x 30 x 15 cm, which Yuki-taro expelled from the rear. These bricl can then be tacked and stored until summer, and can be used as an alternative cooling source.

Giant of the sea is captured in the Pacific Ocean and now living in Britain. With long legs for straddling the car, Japanese Spider Crab is really a Huge marine animals such as those found in the novel of Jules Verne.
The Crabs along the 10 feet from claw to claw and still continue to grow. These creatures can live to 100 years. but nobody knows for sure how old this crab with body size like a basketball. ^_^

The japanese govermenr urged a total ban on smoking in restaurant & hotels. Minstry of Health, Labor and welfare of Japan encourage all local goverment to introduce a total ban on smoking in public places to help prevent health hazard caused by cigarette smoke. After assessing that sparate smoking area is not enough to protect people from secondhand smoke, the ministry will implement a total ban in school, hospital, restaurant and other public places. The ban will also be extended to the movie, market, public and private office, station, hotel, and entertainment facilities. Taxis and buses will also be included in the ban. The Ministry will allow thr operators of facilities such as restaurant and hotels to create a separate smoking area if the ban would cripple their business seriously.
However, these ministries will eventually implement a total ban on these facilities as well. Notification will be issued by the Ministry of Health in accordance with the Law of Health Promotion. The law requires that the facility used by many people to introduce measures to prevent those non-smokers are effected by cigarette smoke. However offenders will not be subject to punish.

Tatsuya Abe, the director of the Dogs: Bullets & Carnage anime and a key animator on Cardcaptor Sakura: The Movie and other titles by the MADHOUSE anime studio, reported in a February 7 blog entry that an unnamed theatrical film project from "Ma_house" has been put on hold. He added that the contracted staff members have been dismissed. Abe noted that he was not directly affected by this, but the nevertheless expressed his concern.
Abe lists himself as the director of the Dogs: Bullets & Carnage video project in his profile. (Dogs: Bullets & Carnage was animated by David Production and not MADHOUSE). He has also been discussing his recent and upcoming animation work on the Seikon no Qwaser and B Gate H Kei anime series in recent blog posts. Seikon no Qwaser and B Gate H Kei are being animated by hoods Entertainment and Hal Film Maker.

The January/February issue of Marrs' Canadian horor magazine Rue Morgue reports that 60-years-old author Hideyuki Kikuchi ( Also writing new Yashakiden Novel ) "is busy working on a[Vampire Hunter D (VHD)] Live -action film with the producer of the biohazard video game (a.k.a Resident Evil in North America), writing a new novel about vampires, entitled Yashakidan, and planning a new VHD anime series in japan."
Hunter D novel in North America, and it is also publishing a manga version by Saiko Takaki as well as the first novel volumes of Yashakiden. Streamline Picture and Urban Vision both released the 1985 anime video adaptation of Vampire D in North America , while urban Vision also released the 2000 movie version, Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust.

The 5-member band Anzen Chitai announced this week that they will tour japan for the first time in seven years. They will start their "Completely Revival tour at the Yokusuka Arts Theatre in Kanagawa Prefecture on July 3, and then perform in 27 prefectures for a total of 35 concert.
The band is asking their fans to request songs the would like to hear on their website. Anzen Chitai, who announced their comeback suddenly on Jan 8, will also release a new album, Aoi Bara", on March 3.

The Official website of the K-ON! anime series has announced on Friday that the second season will premire this April on TBS and other affiliated television stations in Japan. The website has also confirmed that the main staff and main cast will return from the first season unchanged. The official blog updated with a report on "Lets Go!"-the December 30 live concert where the second season was officialy announced.

If you needed an added incentive to forego that taxi ride home of a brisk stroll, this should do the trick. In Addition to logging distance walked and calories burned, this pedometer from Happinet Toys also tells you how much money you're saving by striking out on foot rathet than hailing a cab. Dyed in the wool pedants will particularly enjoy the "roykin up" function, which counts down the final 50 paces before your hypothetical fare rises again. Bening tight fisted never felt so good.
Available for 2,079 yen at major electronics store, Amazon Japan and other retailers


source : JT Taxi Walker

UTSUNOMIYA, Tochigi Pref. Kyodo In a courtroom showdown Friday, a former prosecutor refused to apologize for the interrogation that led Toshikazu Sugaya to apparently confess to the murder of a 4 year-old girl. Instead of offering an apology to Suguya, 63, who spent 17 years in prison for the 1990 murder in Ashikaga.Sugaya also asked Morikawa during fifth session of his retrial at the Utsunimiya Districk Court, He has been held fol a long time for a crime I never commited. When morikawa is heard presenting Sugaya with DNA test result that matched his DNA with body fluid found in the underwater of the victim.
And than Sugaya said, who had danied any involvement the previous day, went silent for a moment and Sugaya was freed last june from prison after avidence indicating his innocence arose frome new DNA test.

Actress Hikaru Asami and actor Eisaku Yoshida on friday promotedthe upcoming opening of the japanese play " Roman Holiday ," based on the popular 1953 U.S. film that launched Audrey Hepburn on the road to stardom.

The About.com website has posted an interview with Jason Thompson, former editor of the Shonen Jump Magazine and Eisner-nominated author of manga: The Complete Guide, and animator/illustrator Victor Hao about their shonen-manga inspired King of RPG's graphic novel. Del Rey will publish the grapich novel on January 19.
In the interview, They are talking about how their love of role playing games and shonen manga led them to create this. They also gave the list of the specific shounen manga titles that influenced their work, and its ''geek humor'' and in- jokes which both console and tabletop RPG. They also discussed the process of creating the novel and gave tips to aspiring artist.
The duo confirmed that a second volume is already in the works, with the script currently going through the finalization stage for a tentative release date of spring 2011.

The Chosun llbo reports that a representative a Bae said that he is pursuing project for now. Key East, Bae's production company, had signed an agreement with the japanese publisher kodansha for the Korean drama adaptation right in 2008. However, the drama plans were held up by Korean regulations on product placement for the various real-life wine brands that would have appeared in drama.
Kimi no Shizuku writer Agi's family members are big fan of Bae, and Agi had actually modeled Kimi no Shizuku's young wine critic character, Issei Toumine, in Bae. The manga has been running in Kodansha's Morning magazine since 2004. The manga has been so populer in japan, South Korea, and Taiwan and other Asian Countries.
A separate live-action Japanese drama adaptation of Kimi no Shizuku premired in Japan January 2009.Bae and his winter Sonata co-star Choi Ji Woo are reprising their roles in the Korean /Japanese animated film version of the Winter Sonata drama.