Anime News Service - August 20

Anime News Service - August 20 - 24 Anime News

8-24-99---- Dragon Warrior Monsters

Eidos is bringing Enix's Dragon Quest Monster: Terry's Wonderland to the U.S. on Game Boy Color. Pokemon fans should look out for ths one. The game will feature:

More than 215 monster species
46,010 different breeding results
Randomly generating dungeons
Link Cable support for two players

Release is set for around Christmas.

8-24-99---- Pioneer Updates

*Pioneer has some on news on upcoming DragonBall DVD releases here.
* Anime On DVD is reporting the Tenchi in Tokyo #5 DVD has been delayed until 09/14.

8-24-99---- Anime / Manga Gaming

*Gamefan is reporting that the Sega Saturn will get one last new commercial title. The new title is a sequel to Final Fight, called Final Fight Revenge developed by Capcom.
*Adrenaline Vault has a story on Atari and Wal-Mart teaming up to offer an exclusive package for the Gauntlet Legends release that will feature a limited edition pewter figure from the game.

8-24-99---- Controversy Builds Over Kite Editing

Anime News Network has a very interesting investigative article concerning Media Blasters Editing habits all around, and in particular on they're recent release Kite. Go check it out!

8-24-99---- Mixx Entertainment Names New President

Mixx Entertainment Inc., known to U.S. Otaku for Mixx Magazine, showcasing such popular Japanese Manga as Gundam, Sailor Moon and Magic Knights Rayearth, they're new magazine Smile, and they're e-commerce site: Tokyopop.com, today named John Parker President and C.O.O.
Parker spent five years working in Hong Kong and Taiwan as the managing director of KPS Entertainment. Under Parker's guidance and leadership, KPS more than doubled its Hong Kong retail sales from $30 million to $80 million. He also was instrumental in the restructuring and successful sale of the company's Taiwan business in 1997 despite a difficult economic climate.

Parker joins the management team led by Mixx Founder and Chief Executive Officer Stuart Levy, the creator of one of the first Web sites to converge entertainment with technology in 1994.

"John brings more than 17 years of entertainment retailing experience to Mixx Entertainment," said Levy. "In addition to his extensive industry expertise, John is also a truly multicultural executive who fits well with the global culture of the company."

8-24-99---- Sai Yu Ki / Berserk Dreamcast RPG / New Gundam DC Title / Wild Arms 2

*Koei has a new strategy RPG in the works. Sai Yu Ki: Story of the West features one of Asia's most popular mythological characters, Son Gokou, as the main character. Many are familiar with the anime approximation of this monkey-god, as Son Gokou from Dragonball Z. This game follows the more traditional incarnation of the legend.

*Yuke's new Dreamcast game, Berserk, based on a long-running manga and awesome Anime series, is looking great. Berserk is due out in Japan in the winter (U.S. release not yet confirmed), so far the game is only only about 35 percent complete.

*Bandai's Dreamcast Gundam game, Rise From the Ashes: Side Story 0079, will be available as an import this August 26 for 6,800 Yen.

* The 2-disc set Wild Arms 2 will be out in Japan on September 2 for PSX.

8-24-99---- Digimon / Video Games Being Made Into Movies / Pokemon

IGN has articles up on the new Virtual Pets genre Bandai Anime: Digimon (here), which is currently airing on Fox. They also have a two part article (part 1 , part 2) tallying up the the status of Movies being (and not being) made that are based on Video Games and an article on the Pokemon Movie, set for release in November (here).

8-23-99---- Perfect Blue's Opening Weekend Earnings

Box Office earnings for Perfect Blue's opening in limited release this past Friday (Aug. 20) at Cinema Village in New York City are in. The Japanese animated psychological thriller, released by Manga Entertainment had a dollar showing of $10,000, in it's first official weekend of release.

8-23-99---- Yahoo Digital To Feature Anime

Yahoo officially anounced they're new mega multimedia site today, Yahoo Digital. The site will deliver audio, video and interactive Net events, live chats, streaming of live and on-demand Internet broadcasts, and pay-per-view events. Eight channels of video content are also being offered, including one dedicated to Anime.

8-23-99---- U.S. Anime Releases Expected This Week

08/24
GUNDAM 0083 Vol. 7: Storm Raging Through VHS Dubbed - Anime Village 28 min.
GUNDAM Movie II VHS Dubbed - AnimeVillage.com 142 min.
BUBBLEGUM CRISIS Vol. 1 Shadow War VHS Dubbed - A.D.Vision 90 min $24.95
BUBBLEGUM CRISIS vol. 1 Shadow War VHS Subtitled - A.D.Vision 90 min. $29.95
DEBUTANT DETECTIVE CORPS VHS Dubbed - A.D.Vision Approx. 35 min. $14.98
NINJA RESURRECTION: HELL'S SPAWN VHS Dubbed - A.D.Vision 50 min. $19.98
NINJA RESURRECTION: HELL'S SPAWN VHS Subtitled - A.D.Vision 50 min. $29.95
KIMAGURE ORANGE ROAD TV SERIES Vol.1 VHS Subtitled - AnimEigo 100 min. $34.95
08/31
BATTLE ATHLETES VICTORY Vol. 7 VHS Subtitled - Pioneer
BATTLE ATHLETES VICTORY Vol. 7 VHS Dubbed - Pioneer
TENCHI FOREVER! VHS Subtitled - Pioneer
TENCHI FOREVER! VHS Dubbed - Pioneer
TENCHI FOREVER! DVD Bilingual - Pioneer
WINGS OF HONNEAMISE DVD - Manga $29.95 Approx. 120 mins.
MACROSS PLUS Vols.1 & 2 DVD - Manga $29.95 Approx. 90 mins.
BLACKJACK: The Movie DVD - Manga $19.95 Approx. 95 mins.
FIST OF THE NORTH STAR Vol. 05 VHS Dubbed - Manga Entertainment
FIST OF THE NORTH STAR Vol. 05 VHS Subtitled - Manga Entertainment
VIRUS Vol. 1 VHS Subtitled - Manga Entertainment Approx. 90 mins. $24.95
VIRUS Vol. 1 VHS Dubbed - Manga Entertainment Approx. 90 mins. $19.95
IRRESPONSIBLE CAPTAIN TYLOR Vol. 3 VHS Dubbed - Right Stuf International

8-23-99---- Bandai U.S. News

This week's Village Weekly is online from AnimeVillage.com. here' some of whats new:
*Brainpowerd is out in September.
*Some nice looking Final Fantasy VIII Action Figures are up there for sale, just in time for the U.S. release next month.
*An excerpt from a really cool Animerica article on the world of Gundam.
*And lots more!

8-22-99---- 4 New Team Sonic Games On The Way

Sega of Japan has officially announced that four Sonic Team developed titles will be revealed next month through various Japanese magazines and trade shows. Famitsu magazine gets the first peek September 3rd, with a new game being unveiled weekly untill the 24th.
So far, 3 of the four titles are pretty much known, they are: Nights 2, Sonic Adventure 2, Sonic Pocket for the Neo Geo Pocket. The fourth is an unamed Sonic the Hedgehog arcade title, rumor is, it may incorporate the hardware allowing cross platform network play with Dreamcast consoles.

8-22-99---- Ronin Warriors Returns

Ronin Warriors is coming back to Cable! Cartoon Network is bringing it back, starting Sept. 27, air time is 5:30 PM ET. (Thanks to Akelexre for the news.)

8-22-99---- New Anime TV Series In Japan

Here's a few more new Anime TV series starting next month:

Kiju Shinseiki Zoid: Starts September 4th

Colorful: Starts September 6th

Card Captor Sakura: (Continues) Starts September 7th

8-21-99---- Black & White

Pulp has a new addition. Black & White by Taiyo Matsumoto, artist of several manga series including Ping Pong (Club). If you've seen his previous works, you know his bizarre art and story style are very unique. The story is about Street punks, fighting anyone and everyone from high level bureaucrats, to Yakuza and lesser thugs. After a run in Pulp, Black & White will get it's own comic, issue #1 is out this month (August).

8-21-99---- Anime On Cable Tonight

(8/21) Saturday Night Anime

Sol Bianca - 11:25 ET PM Encore Action Channel
Galaxy Express 999 - 3:00 ET AM Sci-Fi Channel

8-21-99---- Dog Of Flanders

The Warner Brothers Live Action Dog Of Flanders Movie is out August 27th. Based on the classic 1874 children's book by the author Louisa "Ouida" de la Ramee. This is the fourth movie version of this story and of course there was also a 1975 Japanese anime TV series and the 1997 anime movie, which Pioneer is set to release soon: Official Pioneer Dog Of Flanders Site. The story's about a young boy in late 19th century Belgium who finds comfort in the friendship of his dog as he dreams of becoming a painter and copes with the ill health of his grandfather.

8-21-99---- '99 Last Year For New Bandai Japanese LD Releases? Rumor

There was a rumor going around at the San Diego Comic Con last weekend that Bandai Japan will no longer release any new titles on LD as of the beginning of next year, they will continue to release any ongoing LD series, but will release all other titles on DVD starting next year. Bandai America (Anime Village) said they did had no information about this.

8-21-99---- Perfect Blue U.S. Theatrical Screenings

Opening August 20: Cinema Village - NYC (Heard it was an awesome turnout last night!)
Opening October 1: Varsity Theater - Seattle
Opening October 8: Laemmle Monica - Santa Monica, CA
Opening October 8: Laemmle Playhouse - Pasadena, CA
More dates on the way. Suggest a theater near you that might screen Perfect Blue, send as much information (ie. name, address, phone #, contact name, number of theaters, etc.) as you can to screenings@manga.com

8-21-99---- Batman Beyond / "Ameri-me"

Paul Dini, creator and producer for Batman Beyond, revealed at the San Diego Comic-Con that the BB movie, will be animated by Tokyo Movie Shinsha (TMS). The film is said to have a fair budget, although currently planned for an OVA release here (And probably Japan too, a little later) of November 7, 2000. Theres also a slim chance it could make it into theaters here.

Spawn started this, the Lady Death movie is getting an "Anime" look too. I think that if, Mononoke Hime, Pokemon and others enjoy sucess at the box office then this OVA will be put out in theaters, just on the bet that Anime looking stuff can pass as Anime, and cash in on the craze that could develop in the coming year (I'm not saying Batman Beyond is'nt a very sucessful American Animation in it's own right, it is). I can also see other American comic books being farmed off to Japan to be animated. (But this could backfire, will slick looking "Ameri-me" be able to match with an intelligent story and strong character design? Will it even need too? I think so. Why did Americans stop buying American comics books a few years back? Well personally I did bacause I'd plunk down $6 for a "double sized, triple gatefold chronium enhanced foil cover with a limited edition hologram" and then the next issue of the same comic would have exactly the same thing, but no story.) This all kinda reminds me of the scene in Rising Sun when Sean Connery turns to Wesley Snipes and tells him the game that Americans play best: "Catch Up".

8-20-99---- New Anime Movies In Japan

Today, both the Card Captor Sakura and The Case Book Of Young Kindaichi 2 Films premiered in Japanese theaters.

8-20-99---- Frank Leaves For The Orient

Theres a new show on Comedy Central airing on Thursdays at 10:30 PM ET called "Frank Leaves for the Orient". It premiered last night and chronicles an "Ally McBeal" sort of guy who takes his friends advice to totally change his life and buys a one way ticket to Japan. Frank's internal confusion episodes are portrayed using Anime, video games and talk-show formats, sorta like a twisted Ally Mcbeal Otaku Nightmare. Even if you're not a fan of Ally Mcbeal sort of shows (which I'm not) it's interesting to see the Anime, videogame references.

8-20-99---- Manga Hit's The Box Office

Manga Entertainment Poised To Sizzle the Big Screen with Three New Japanese Animated Feature Films, "PERFECT BLUE," "X" and "BLACKJACK"

Updated 11:29 AM ET August 18, 1999 CHICAGO (ENTERTAINMENT WIRE) - Manga Entertainment, the largest distributor of Japanese animation outside of Asia, blasted onto the international scene in 1996 with Mamoru Oshii's anime masterpiece, "Ghost in the Shell" and has been dubbed "The Disney of Japanimation" by the Boston Globe. After "Ghost in the Shell"'s successful worldwide theatrical run, Manga Entertainment released two video versions as well as a critically acclaimed DVD release with combined sales nearing 500,000 units.

Continuing its tradition of presenting the best quality Japanese animation, "anime," films for the big screen, Manga Entertainment is set to present three groundbreaking anime films: Satoshi Kon's petrifying thriller, "Perfect Blue"; Osamu Desaki's suspenseful medical drama based on the best-selling manga, "Blackjack"; and the highly anticipated sci-fi fantasy, "X" from the team of female animators at CLAMP Studios in Japan.

"Perfect Blue" will hit theatres nationwide beginning in New York on August 20th. "Perfect Blue" breaks the mold for anime - a psychological thriller set in the present that more closely resembles Dario Argento in look and scope than Katsuhiro Otomo's "Akira." Interestingly, Otomo served as a consultant on "Perfect Blue" urging Satoshi Kon to direct this brilliant project. Roger Corman enthused "If Alfred Hitchcock partnered with Walt Disney, they'd make a picture like this." (www.perfectblue.com)

"Blackjack," based on the manga by Osamu Tezuka, the father of Japanese animation and creator of such popular characters as 'Astro Boy' and 'Kimba the White Lion'. A paperback sensation, the manga of "Blackjack" presently has 10,000,000 copies in print with 35 million copies aggregate published to date. The film version remains true to the book - with direction and animation & character design by two of Tezuka's disciples, Osamu Desaki and Akio Sugino, respectively. "Blackjack" is in limited release around the country.

Finally, in the first quarter of 2000, Manga Entertainment will unveil CLAMP Studio's "X," a film based upon one of Japan's top 10 selling manga, about the destruction of earth and one man's fight to save the universe. The film has already be hailed by Protoculture Addicts Magazine: "the animation is superb...and the backgrounds the best we have ever seen."

Last year, a record setting four animation films grossed over $100 million at the box office ("Mulan," "A Bug's Life," "The Rugrats Movie," "The Prince of Egypt"). With Dimension's upcoming anime release of "Princess Mononoke," the hugely popular TV shows 'Pokemon' and 'Sailor Moon' and the proliferation of animation sites online and animated television programs, the animation craze has become a bonanza. Anchored at the forefront of the animation tidal wave that has hit North America, Manga Entertainment continues its reign as the source for the finest international animation anywhere.

Manga's plans for the year 2000 include the theatrical release of the three Evangelion films and a series of groundbreaking direct to video releases including: the newly remastered "Castle of Cagliostro" directed by Miyazaki ("Princess Mononoke"), Tezuka's "Astro Boy," and "Rayearth" and Masami Obari's "Virus."

Manga Entertainment is the international animation label of Palm Pictures, Chris Blackwell's audio/visual entertainment company. Palm is actively involved in the acquisition, production and distribution of music and independent film projects with a particular focus on the DVD format.

*Story From: Entertainment Wire/Excite

8-20-99---- Special Edition Evangelion Death+Rebirth & The End of Eva DVD

A special edition 2 disc DVD (Region 2) of Death and Rebirth and The End of Evangelion, including Masayuki's re-edited Death (True)2 goes on sale Sept. 22 in Japan, for 8800 Yen. Purchasers will receive a special telephone card, illustrated by director Masayuki.

8-20-99---- The Big O

The Big O is a new Sunrise Mecha TV series, begining October 13th in Japan. Direction is by Kazuyoshi Katayama (animation director, Giant Robo), with character and mecha designs by Keiichi Sato, script by Chiaki Konaka (Serial Experiments Lain, Armitage III). The story takes place on Earth about 100 years in the future. A huge cataclysm has happened forty years ago erasing everyone on Earth's memory to prior events. Roger Smith, the lead character is a man called "The Negotiator". He's also the pilot of the giant robot called Big O. Forty years previous, giant robots called Megadeus were contructed and are now being used for evil, Roger must fight them in Big O, and in the process begins to unravel the mysterious forgotten events of the past.

8-20-99---- Kaitoranma

A new 2 Volume OAV seires Directed by Masahiro Sekijima (an animation director for El-Hazard), a boy gets mixed up with 4 lovely ladies, war and a magic sword. Based on the PC and PSX game, screenplay by Mitsuhiro Yamada, character designs by Shuichi Shimamura (Saber Marionette J). Kaitranma. First volume goes on sale 22 September.

8-20-99---- Oh My Goddess Movie

The Oh My Goddess movie is in production and set to be released in Spring 2000, directed by the OAV series director Hiroaki Goda, with character designs and animation supervision are by Hidenori Matsubara, also from the OAV series. Original story is by Michiko Yokote, the script by Yoshihiko Tomizawa.

8-20-99---- Anime/Manga Gaming News

*Super Robot Wars Alpha for Dreamcast and PSX will feature Mecha from Macross, Evangelion (From the After Evengelion manga) and Voltas 5.
*Gamefan Has info and pics on Macross Digital Mission V-FX 2 set for release this month.
*Gamespot has details on the first title in a new Gameboy Zelda trilogy called Legend of Zelda: Fishigina Kinomi as well as screen shots.
*Willing to Cosplay as Sonic for a lifetime supply of Dreamcast Games? FGN Online has details on Sega's new promotion.

8-20-99---- Sailor Moon Movies Delayed

The Bishojo Senshi Sailor Moon Movie R, S And Super S video releases from Pioneer have been slightly delayed. Pioneer has told Anime Nation that "problems" are to blame, the tapes should ship in a few weeks (Sep 9).

*Story from Anime Nation

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