Anime News Service - February 16-23 Anime News

2-23-05 (6:16PM EST)---- Zeta Gundam Singles Release
Starchild has announced a set of Zeta Gundam Maxisingles to commemorate the coming Z Gundam Movie Version opening this summer. 4 songs total are due on April 27. The original 85-86 OP themes, Zeta - Toki wo Koete by Maya Ayukawa and Mizu no Hoshi e Ai wo Komete by Hiroko Moriguchi along with the ED theme Hoshizora no Believe by Maya Ayukawa and DRESS will be included. The jacket art actually is a reprint of one the original EP releases of the time period. Retail is 1,260 Yen.
2-23-05 (5:17PM EST)---- Charahobby 2005 Announced
The C3&HOBBY 2005 (aka: Charahobby 2005) show has been announced to occur over 2 days, Saturday, August 20-21st in Chiba and Makuhari Messe. The entertainment event collects the hobby culture of the character etc. from the latest games and the anime. It's considered one of Japan's premiere contents related fan draws. 57,200 people were present at "Charahobby 2004" held last August. A similar scale attendance is expected this year. Admission is 1,300 Yen for Adults. Checkout the official website at www.chara-hobby.com.
2-23-05 (4:50PM EST)---- ADV Films Cromartie High School DVD Reelase
Schoolfs in session with the highly anticipated March 15, 2005 release of the first volume of Cromartie High School: Cromartian Rhapsody. With giant gorillas, a robot with an identity crisis, and a school full of brain-damaged delinquents, this is going to be the craziest academic adventure seen this side of the Pacific!

Produced by Production I.G. (Blue Seed, Ghost in the Shell) and TV Tokyo (Final Fantasy: Unlimited) and based on the wildly popular manga by Eiji Nonaka, Cromartie High School ventures forth into the deranged and wacked-out world of the infamous school for delinquents. Packed to the brim with crazy humor, pithy puns, political satire, and characters youfll love to despise, Cromatrie High School will leave your brain fried and your funny bone sore. Poor Kamiyama! Somehow he has been enrolled in Cromartie High School, the infamous school for delinquents. When your classmates are the meanest, toughest (and often dumbest) students around, you do what you can to fit in. But when you add a 400-pound gorilla, a robot with an attitude, and a macho brute that bears a striking resemblance to a world famous celebrity, it makes blending much more difficult. So put on your best tough-guy swagger and get a lesson in insanity from the hilarious losers of Cromartie High.

Limited Collectorfs Edition Available with First Volume of Cromartie High School Manga You think youfre tough enough to handle Cromartie High? Only the meanest of the mean and baddest of the bad can face the collectorfs edition! This special edition box set includes the volume 1 DVD of the series, the first volume of the manga from ADV Manga, and an attractive custom series art box to house the entire anime series (SRP $44.98). So, if you think youfre up to challengec Cromartie High School: Cromartian Rhapsody (SRP $29.98 DVD) is a DVD-only release, including eight complete episodes in both English 5.1 and Japanese 2.0 language versions with English subtitles. Extras include: cultural notes & comments, clean opening and closing animation, original Japanese TV warnings and ADV Previews.

CROMARTIE HIGH SCHOOL: CROMARTIAN RHAPSODY Volume: 1 of 4 Running Time: 100 minutes Rating: TV 14 (L) CAT: DCHS/001 (DVD), DCHS/BX1 (Collector's Box) UPC: 702727109324 (DVD), 702727129322 (Collector's Box) Pre-Book Date: 02/15/05 Street Date: 03/15/05 Format: DVD SRP: $29.98 (DVD), $44.98 (Collector's Box)

2-23-05 (6:38AM EST)---- Battle Angel (GUNNM) Creator Interview
Manga News Service has conducted an exclusive interview with manga author Yukito Kishiro and is proud to be the first news organization in the world to get his input on Director James Cameron's (Titanic, Terminator, The Abyss) coming Hollywood adaption of his work Battle Angel (GUNNM). You can view the entire piece here.
2-23-05 (6:36AM EST)---- ISID Delivers Toei ERP Solution
According to a Japanese press release out of Toei on Wednesday, the Japanese firm ISID has delivered the backbone system that will supply new contents management functions to the animation house. As previously reported the system being used is the MySAP ERP suite, which includes four individual solutions that support key business processes. The 4 are: mySAP ERP Financials, mySAP ERP Human Capital Management, mySAP ERP Operations, mySAP ERP Corporate Services.

ISID (Dentsu International Information Service Ltd.) is headquartered in Tokyo's Minato Ward with a capital of 8,180,500,000 Yen. They have developed a new key system that mounts animation contents controlling functions with "MySAP ERP" suite. This specific application of this system within Toei is mentioned in the release to be a first for the contents industry of Japan. The rapid expansion of Toei's content properties and media releases such as DVD - Internet Delivery - Pay-Per-View and moves into foreign markets have presented challenges for management on how raise earnings systematically. This new system is supposed to radically change this for the better. ISID consulted with Toei on the solution centered around this backbone system. Contents of each media and classification by countries are managed along with revenue and expenditure. As a result, the user will be able to understand how much to raise earnings with automatic ticketing and accounting of the earnings distribution of contents. All of these functions will be synchronized in real time in-house.

Key Features include:
- Calculating contract structures relating to copyright and the selling agreements for each work.
- Distribution of earnings (distribution of the rental to the right person such as the original writers) is calculated automatically, and it has synchronized with accounting in real time.
- Management accounting of each segment
- Project accounting in which revenue and expenditure of each work is managed

Effect of introduction
- Real-time results summing up &BS/PL output
- Making of Balancing of accounts early stage
- Labor saving of business (automation of distribution money calculation to right person and exclusion of plural input)
- All companies unitary of accounting details information management

2-23-05 (12:35AM EST)---- Ghibli Tackles Yomiuri Commercial
Studio Ghibli has produced a promotional Television Commercial for the Yomiuri Shimbun which began broadcast in Japan from February. This is the snd Tv spot the studio has done for the newspaper. Osamu Tanabe who handled production of My Neighbors The Yamadas supervised the animation production. The CM is broadcasting across Nippon Television Network affiliated stations.
2-23-05 (12:35AM EST)---- New Fund Established For Small And Medium Anime Businesses
The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and Small and Medium Enterprise Agency has established two investment and accommodation funds for production companies of the dealing with movies, animation and games. Small and medium-sized enterprises are supported tied to the contents industry. The first fund is being called the "Indipendent Film Fund" which is 2 billion Yen. The second is setup to handle digital contents production related to animation and the games. The size is about 1 billion Yen.
2-22-05 (11:54PM EST)---- Another Small Cinema Closes
The Nagasaki Takarazuka Theater located in Nagasaki City which screened films such as Doraemon and Godzilla closed it's curtains for the last time on the 18th. The small cinema ran for 34 years. It's currently undecided whether the movie theater will reopen as part of the building complex which will be built on the same site as the classic movie house. Opening in 1971, the original contained about 700 of seats, 1 screen and was state of the art Toho complex for the time. Howl's Moving Castle was the final movie to screen there. Observers are saying the influx of the giant multiplex cinemas are responsible for this loss as well.
2-22-05 (11:33PM EST)---- More On ERP Solution Provider SAP
Our walk up the ERP learning curve continues. As mentioned by the Nihon Keizai article, SAP is being employed to provide both Toei and GDH's new ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) solution suites. Founded in 1972 in Germany, SAP is the recognized by many as a leader in providing collaborative business solutions for all types of industries and for every major market. With 12 million users, 88,000 installations, and 1,500 partners, SAP is the world's largest inter-enterprise software company and the world's third-largest independent software supplier overall. SAP Japan was established in 1992. There, SAP is providing various solutions that enable the construction of supplier relationship management (SRM), supply chain management (SCM) including integrated mission-critical task software (ERP), customer relations management (CRM), corporate portal (Enterprise Portal), and Product Lifecycle Management (PLM), etc. Over 1,200 Japanese companies are already using SAP's services.
2-22-05 (11:33PM EST)---- Gonzo Digimation Holdings ERP Adoption
On February 8th, GDH first announced they were climbing on board the ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) bandwagon, utilizing a solution package, "SAP R/3 Enterprise" provided by the German company SAP. The system was adopted by GONZO to support the firm's rapidly growing animation property holdings and licensing worldwide. With the move, the accounting system will be brought in house fully in the short term. The ERP "SAP R/3 Enterprise" is described as an integrated mission-critical task application. SAP Japan Ltd. whose headquarters is in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward Mangaes the solution. Previously the speed of managing accounts reportedly became a problem costing time and money. Moreover, there was a necessity for speeding up the proccess and attempting the settlement of accounts by the construction of a common accounting system contained in-house. GDH has accounting data results streaming in from every country in the world. With the news system this can all be handled in real-time along with cost accounting and settlement of accounts. Because these functions can be gradually introduced while covering functions of the purchase sale business and the copyright management business, etc. besides the accounting business, the adoption of "SAP R/3 Enterprise" was decided for the reasons of flexible correspondence to worldwide high growth of GDH in the future etc. SAP's solution includes the management of the copyright, the calculation of the royalty, and the demand function, etc. , synchronization with accounting, achieving rights management that is prompt and accurate and contributes to the basic establishment of the global contents business at which GDH aims. SAP Japan plans to introduce the case with GDH in a contents business seminar that will be held this spring.
2-22-05 (10:30PM EST)---- More Animation Companies In Japan Managing Contents Rights With ERPs
According to an article published in the Nihon Keizai Shimbun on Wednesday, Japan's animation houses which have previously divided elements of rights handling on contents works among many firms have began creating backbone infrastructures that eliminates the need for such outsourcing. Producers such as Toei Animation and Gonzo Digimation Holdings are 2 of the most recent to do this. The aim in such moves is the integration of domestic / foreign accounting business and copyright management etc. of animation works, thus raising operating effectiveness. Toei reportedly invested 400 million Yen or less their backbone system which will go online in April. They are using an ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) solution provided by Germany's SAP Co. With such a system the full international and domestic rights handlings can be mangaed under one roof (in many cases within 1 computer software program). This includes the revenue and expenditure in each medium classified by countries and media type such as DVD, Internet delivery, etc. In Toei's case they are managing 152 TV animation works and 169 movie works together with the new system. The revenue and expenditure results of each work are tallied, and the data can be used for strategic planning such as overseas deployment.
2-22-05 (8:01PM EST)---- Patrick Stewart Talks Steamboy
Dark Horizons linked a brief commentary from Steamboy voice actor Patrick Stewart at Trekweb praising Steamboy. Big thanks to Daniel for the news.
2-22-05 (8:01PM EST)---- Tokyo Godfathers Wins At Anima 2005
According to information posted at the official website of the 24th Anima 2005 Belgian animation film festival, Director Satoshi Kon's Tokyo Godfathers has taken the Prix Be for a TV Movie length animation. The festival was held in Brussels February 3-13th. Hayao Miyazaki's latest, Howl's Moving Castle was screened as an opening work in festival although was not eligible to compete in the competition.
2-22-05 (6:53AM EST)---- 43 Year-Old Arrested Over Stuffed Totoro Theft
A stuffed animal of the title character from Hayao Miyazaki's film "My Neighbor Totoro" was stolen on the 20th in Akita prefecture in Japan. A subsequent arrest was made of a homeless, unemployed man (43). The suspect reortedly had a large amount of stuffed animals in his car. The stolen totoro retailed at 15,125 Yen. A guard observed the theft and watched the suspect leave the store.
2-22-05 (5:22AM EST)---- Animation Events Announced Surrounding TAF
As previously reported, 4 municpal districts of Tokyo (Nerima Ward, Suginami Ward, Musashino City, and Mitaka City) have announced events they will be holding surrounding the Tokyo International Anime Fair being held from March 31st. "Animation Festival 2005 In Suginami" will occur on March 5th-6th 10:00AM - 6:00PM in Suginami Hall. There the opening of the new library in which the animation museum will take place. Screenings will include Anpanman, Hamtaro and Yamato. Some events are being worked out with seiyuu. Family programming is available. The "Nerima Animation Festival In Oizumi will occur March 13 at the Oizumi-gakuen Station front surrounding of shopping street and Oizumi elementary school. There a bazzar of goods will dominate the event. The "Kichijoji Animation Festival" is set to occur March 19th-20th on the Shopping street around Kichijoji. Details are yet to be announced. Finally, the Forest Animated Cartoon Festival 2005 of Mitaka just wrapped this past weekend on the 19th and 20th of February. There, the "3rd Independent Music Animation Festival" took place including amateur movie and animation screening.
2-22-05 (5:22AM EST)---- Crayon Shin-Chan Merchandising Row In China
Genuine Futaba licensed Crayon Shin-Chan shoes have been removed from stores in China cited as "Infringing Trademark" by the Chinese government because the trademark had already been registered to a domestic company that copies designs. The company has demanded the cancellation of the registration of trademark to authorities in January this year. Officially licensed Shin-Chan Comics only began selling in China from 2002. Apparantly the Chinese firm succeeded in registering the trademark without permission by the Japanese rights holders in 1997. Futaba began selling the genuine licnesed goods last April in China and their goods stocks were confiscated in several places after the license was assumed to be "Infringing Trademark" in July.
2-22-05 (5:22AM EST)---- Kill Bill Anime Director On New Tales Game
Namco officially unveiled it's latest PS2 Tales of Legendia RPG last week in Japan. Kazuto Nakazawa (El Hazard, Wind Named Amnesia, Nadia) will design characters for the game. Nakazawa in the past supervised Linkin Park's Breaking the Habit video and directed the anime sequence from Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill.
2-22-05 (4:20AM EST)---- CGI Anime Pioneer Heads Takarazuka University Course
While few may know his name, those who have been anime fans for more than 20 years should definetly be aware of the first time they saw his influence. Oomura Kouichi (67) had the distinguished honor of being fully responsible for one of the first CGI sequences (if not the first) in a work of Japanese Animation. The year was 1983, the movie: Golgo 13. Oomori supervised and created the infamous helicopter / cityscape scene which appears towards the end of the film. This is the same scene which is trashed endlessly in most English language reviews for Golgo 13 that you can find on the internet today for using "primitive" and "rudimentary" CGI. However, for the time period in which it was created, it was truly groundbreaking and today Oomori is hailed as a pioneer of computer graphics for Japan. Now he is preparing to tackle the role of Image Forming Subject Professor at the Takarazuka University of Art and Design's Graduate School in the spring. In 1996 he served as the Assistant Professor of Electronic Engineering at Osaka University.
2-22-05 (3:33AM EST)---- Tohoku University Announces Contents Course Professors
The Tohoku University of Art and Design (Yamagata City) has announced the outline of it's graduate Sendai school where movie, animation and game production are to be taught this spring. On the filmaking side, Asmik Ace's chairman is sending some who have worked in the prouction of films such as Hideo Nakata's Ring and Takeshi Kitano's Senjou No Merry Christmas. On the gaming side Isao Nakamura of Namco's well known Ridge Racer game series will teach. Finallly on the Anime side, Studio Pierrot will be sending some reprentatives.
2-22-05 (3:25AM EST)---- Gegege No Kitaro Sightseeing
Mizuki Shigeru fans may be interested to know a special Gegege no Kitaro sightseeing service is being added by ANA. The focus of this service will be his home prefecture of Tottori. Actually a giant costume version of Kitaro has been seen roaming the Chubu International Airport in Tokoname City in recent days. The Kitaro service began on the 17th. Sakai Minato is city in which author Mizuki Shigeru was born and there is a street there where 86 bronze statue replicas likened after the many supernatural creatures that appear in the story can be seen lining either side of the way. The stories in Kitaro are all based on real Japanese myths and legends. Mizuki himself is a devoted student to the horror legends of Japan and beyond.
2-22-05 (3:00AM EST)---- Another USA Manga Market Figure
According to Japan's Sankei Shimbun, the Manga market in the United States is about a $140 million dollar annual market. It's grown 3x in size in the last 4 years and about $50 million in 2004 alone.
Source: Manga News Service
2-22-05 (2:40AM EST)---- Beijing: Culture Industry To Represent 9% of GDP By 2008
Beijing is planning an agressive campaign over the next 3 years to position itself at the center of China's cultural fields. The goal of 9% of China's total gross domestic product ratio being represented by activity in this sector by 2008 is currently targeted. 6 fields total within the cultural arena are to be supported. These are: Theatrical Art, Publications and Copyright Dealings, Movie - Television Entertainment, Comics - Animation and Online Gaming, Culture - Conference and Exhibition, Antiques.
2-22-05 (1:55AM EST)---- Pokemon Center Yokohama To Open
The official Pocket Monster store, the Pokemon Center Yokohama opens on the fourth floor of the Landmark Plaza in the city on March 5th. There are nationwide in Japan in cities such as Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, and Fukuoka. Merchandise such as stuffed animals, stationery, cards, and original goods are sold within the store. Some city branded items to Yokohama will be marketed like pins, key rings, mini towels etc.. More than 1000 items will be sold within the Pokemon Center's doors. Game fans will be able to play the latest Pokemon titles on plasma displays. The hours will be 11 AM - 8 PM daily.
2-22-05 (1:51AM EST)---- Howl Piracy In Tokyo
Tokyo's Metropolitan Police Department has made an arrest on a 43 year old homeless and unemployed man Tuesday suspected of selling pirate edition DVD's including Howl's Moving Castle. The man was charged on breaching of the Copyright Act. The shadow of a person can be seen crossing the path of the movie image which leads the police to suspect the master was taken in a movie theater. 54 DVD's were recovered total, they were being sold for 1500 Yen a piece.
2-21-05 (11:41PM EST)---- Northern Kyushu City Anime Plans
Northern Kyushu City is wanting to get in on Anime promotion and is planning several events in the near future to do just that. Big names like Hojo Tsukasa of City Hunter fame and Leiji Matsumoto have signed on to develop some their initiatives like a memorial and cartoon festival. The city also wants to and promote new animation talent. An investigative expense to explore these possibilities to the tune of five million Yen was included in the initial budget in fiscal year 2005. After a manga festival was held last Novemeber it was decided such planning could be quite successful for the city.
2-21-05 (10:05PM EST)---- Megazone 23 20th Anniversary DVD's
Atlus has posted it's official website for the coming Megazone 23 DVD release. Each of the 3 works in that OVA series directed by Noburo Ishiguro featuring chara designs by Hiruhiko Mikimoto (Macross) will debut simultaneously on March 25th, retailing at 5,145. Those who buy all 3 can reserve a bonus DVD being titled "Megazone 23 Part II International & Part 1 Special Film" which covers the making of the overseas version (ADV Films release?).
2-21-05 (8:58PM EST)---- Japanese Box Office Over The Wekeend
Kogyo Tsushinsha has published it's Japanese Box Office snapshot for the weekend of Feb. 19-20. Therein, the anime story is rather light this week with Howl's Moving Castle holding the 4th position and The Prince Of Tennis slipping of the chart of 10 highest grossing films.
2-21-05 (8:51PM EST)---- Katsucon In The Mainstream
Yahoo News is carrying a piece via AFP on this past weekend's Katsucon anime convention. According to the article the event drew over 9,000 attendees. Thanks to Daniel for the news.
2-21-05 (8:46PM EST)---- Steamboy Dub Video
Yahoo Movies currently has four video clips from Otomo's latest epic. Note that these segments are dubbed. Thanks to Daniel for the link.
2-21-05 (8:14PM EST)---- Terada Voice Roles
Gamespot says that Makoto Terda-who plays Orochi Doppo in Grappler Baki-will be one of the voices for the next Suikoden game. It also mentions Terada's involvement in Erementar Gerad. Thanks to Daniel for the link.
2-21-05 (7:24PM EST)---- ADV Films Announces Tree Of Palme Release
The futuristic fairy tale A Tree of Palme takes root on March 8, 2005 as the DVD makes its way to home theatres everywhere. Prepare to be awed and amazed with the visually luscious and exotic feature-length animated film which was created by a team of over 500 animators. A Tree of Palme is a modern retelling of the classic Pinocchio story with a sc-fi/fantasy twist. The cinematic Japanese animated feature was written and directed by highly respected animator Takashi Nakamura, who first came to the attention of American fans with his work as chief animator for the cyberpunk masterpiece Akira.

The Story: Palme, a wooden puppet, has been created to care for the dying wife of his master. After her death, Palme looses his sense of purpose and ceases to function. He remains inactive until a mysterious woman, followed by a group of ruthless pursuers, arrives at the masterfs workshop. She is desperately seeking aid in delivering a precious package to its destination across the world. When his master is mortally wounded by the womanfs pursuers, Palme agrees to aid the woman with her mission, thus taking the first step in his long and incredible journey to discover who he truly is. Palme will also be playing at selected theatres in major cities including Boston, San Francisco, Nashville, Hartford, Portland Oregon, Houston and Austin. Specific dates and theatres are listed on the ADV Theatrical website at www.ADVFilms.com/theatrical

A Tree of Palme ($29.98 SRP) is a DVD-only release with a 136 minute feature-length film presented in English 5.1 and Japanese 5.1 with English subtitles in anamorphic widescreen. Extras include: Making of A Tree of Palme, character design sketches, mechanical and prop design sketches, story art, character art, mechanical art, world view art, storyboards & animatics, Japanese promos & trailers, and ADV previews.

A Tree of Palme Volume: 1 of 1 Running Time: 136 minutes Rating: TV 14 (V, L) CAT: DTP/001 UPC: 702727114526 Pre-Book Date: 02/08/05 Street Date: 03/08/05 Format: DVD SRP: $29.98

2-21-05 (6:45PM EST)---- Latest On Tokuma - Ghibli Split
The official announcment of Tokuma and Ghibli's split was published in the Nihon Keizai Shimbun on Friday, making the finalized arrangement between the 2 companies public. Two companies will emerge from this change including the publication section and "Studio Ghibli" section at the end of March. Debt of about 60 billion Yen will be compressed into about 40 billion Yen via the capital obtained by the transfer of operations will be liquidated in 1-2 years. A concrete liquidation plan is expected to be requested along with financial support that centers on a substantial debt waiver of about the full amount through Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation that finances the majority of the loan. The publication firm created in the split will open it's headquarters in Tokyo's Minato Ward with Matsushita Takeshi as president. About 120 employees of the current company will transfer to the new publication division. The capital of the new company will be about 50 million - 100 million Yen, and the present Tokuma Shoten will invest the full amount.
2-21-05 (4:16PM EST)---- Black Jack Exhibition
The "Secret Exhibition Of The Charm Of Black Jack" featuring featuring illustrations of the rogue surgeon will be held from March 1 through June 8th at the Osamu Tezuka memorial in Takarazuka City. The original Black Jack manga ran for 10 years over 242 stories from 1973. About 160 original images will make up the show. Admission is 500 Yen for adults, 300 Yen for high school students and 100 Yen for children.
2-17-05 (9:28PM EST)---- First Obscenity Judgement Against Manga
In a landmark ruling in the Japanese court system, the first judgment stemming from obscenity charges has come down against a manga. The key figure in the case is Motonori Kishi (54) who first started his publishing company Shobunkan in 1968. He was arrested pending the release of his manga Honey Room, the charge being distributing obscene material. Tokyo's District Court found Kishi guilty on January 13, sentencing him to one year in prison and suspension for three years. The verdict has the adult rich comics industry in Japan in quite a nervous state. Ashita No Joe mangaka Tetsuya Chiba appeared in court as a defendant side witness. According to the testimony of A Tokyo Metropolitan Police inspector, the investigation was started based on a memo from LDP Diet member Katsuei Hirasawa. The defendant's side argued that charge violated the constitution that secures the freedom of expression. An appeal is currently underway and a hering is scheduled for March 17th. Source: Manga News Service
2-17-05 (8:21PM EST)---- Naruto Licensing Reaction In Japan
News of Naruto's American licensing has been announced in Japan and some new details have come to light. According to the Japanese announcement Shopro holds the rights to Naruto in North America and South America. The master license was acquired from TV Tokyo and Shueisha. Broadcast is currently scheduled for Cartoon Network in autumn of this year. This is the first major license the recently announced combined Viz / Shopro / Shueisha / Shogakukan entity will work with. SPE, mentions it wants to introduce the work of Japan like 'NARUTO' to children and adults across North America and South America to promote the foreign market, to succeed as a license business, and to contribute to the development of the contents business from Japan.
2-17-05 (3:02PM EST)---- Cartoon Network Adds Anime
Cartoon Network has unveiled it's 2005 programming lineup in a press release you can read here. Below are some of the anime highlights:
IGPX: IGPX (The Immortal Grand Prix) is set to debut in November and takes viewers inside the world of the gImmortal Grand Prixh with a team on their way to the championship race. For the new series, Cartoon Network partnered with Production I.G., the famed Japanese animation studio responsible for Ghost in the Shell and animation sequences in Kill Bill. The year is 2048 and the gIGPXh has become the worldfs most-popular sport. Itfs so big that an entire city was built for the racing industry and competitions are held on a huge, 60-mile track called gThe Big Eye.h Two teams of three robots, each with a human pilot, race at speeds greater than 350 mph for the checkered flag. Team Satomi, a crew of amateur pilots, has just won a minor-league championship and now find themselves vaulted into the sportfs highest level- the IG-1. Now, the untested rookies of Team Satomi must overcome impossible odds and beat the worldfs most skilled pilots (and ruthless opponents) in the planet's biggest event, the gImmortal Grand Prix.h

Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi: One of Japanfs biggest pop music acts will return to Cartoon Network for a second season in June. Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi follows the adventures of two very cool, but very different, pop stars as they travel from gig to gig or just hang out in their hometown of Tokyo.

D.I.C.E: D.I.C.E (DNA Integrated Cybernetic Enterprises) is a large organization established to deal with emergencies occurring throughout the Sarbylion galaxy. D.I.C.E F-99 is the only unit comprised entirely of highly trained kids. When a problem arises in the Sarbylion galaxy, D.I.C.E is called to the rescue. And when their special training isnft enough, they rely on their Dinobreakers to help get the job done. Twenty-six episodes will air in 2005.

Dragonball GT: Goku, Trunks and Pan set out on their quest to recover the bizarre Black Star dragon balls, which were scattered across the entire galaxy after Goku was transformed into his boyhood state. If Goku cannot succeed in collecting the dragon balls, the planet on which the wish was made will explode. Goku has only one year to save the Earth. The quest continues with 16 new episodes in 2005.

Duel Masters: The anime series about Shobu, a master of an engrossing playing card game who can bring the cardsf creatures to life, will return in March with 26 new episodes.

Zatch Bell: The new series takes viewers to the world of good and evil demons as Zatch Bell seeks to become the benevolent king over all of the demons that have come to Earth to conduct the ultimate battle. Reluctant as he may be to fight against the evil demons, Zatch battles his adversaries with the help of his human friend, Kory. The power of the duo grows stronger as their relationship develops. Cartoon Network has acquired 52 episodes of Zatch Bell, which will debut in March.

One Piece: A boy, whose body has the properties of rubber, and his friends are on the search for the treasure left behind by a pirate king called gOne Piece.h Whoever finds this treasure will become King of the Pirates. One Piece will begin in May.

Naruto: Twelve years ago, a nasty demon decimated a village but was contained in a baby who is now a student at a ninja academy. But this antisocial boy does not know that he is possessed. As he evolves as a ninja, his inner demon gives him more and more powers. To become a master ninja, he must learn to control his powers without destroying those around him. The series is scheduled to air in third quarter.

Bobobo-bo Bo-Bobo: In this silly action series, BoBoBo can talk to and understand hair. With the help of his blond hair, he is out to save the land from the Hair Patrol posse and their leader, Baldy Bald, who is forcing everyone to be bald. The action series is scheduled to air in fourth quarter.

2-17-05 (1:50PM EST)---- Anime Within Sight Of 10 Trillion Yen Global Market
A great piece with lots of interesting figures has been published at J-Marketing.net. Much of this has been reported in the past but the article condenses it all rather nicely.

Across the United States during 2004, one could find an anime fan event going on in at least one location every month. More than 20 such events are held every year, together attracting over 100,000 visitors, a number nearly rivaling the core anime fan base in Japan, the estimated size of which is 50,000 to 100,000 people. According to a study by the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO), Japanese anime sales, including anime character products, in the United States in 2002 surpassed the 520 billion yen. Mr. Masaki Kaifu of Wowmax Media who assisted the study and conducts anime-related business in the United States says that sales figure grew in 2003 by another 60 billion yen, and products based on characters from Japan are always very popular.

2-17-05 (1:35PM EST)---- Latest Doraemon Film Update
The official Doraemon website has posted first details on the upcoming tentatively titled animated film Nobi Ta No Kyouryuu 2006. The New movie will be based on Fujiko-sensei's original masterpiece with a release date of 2006. New staff and cast along with the latest CG technology will be used. Mr. Watanabe returns as director after working on the film "Doraemon Comes Back". Source: Dora-World
2-17-05 (1:16PM EST)---- Odd Sazae-san Stock Market Correlation
According to a new report released by the Daiwa Institute of Research, prices of stock on the Tokyo market could be charted against changes in the audience ratings numbers of the Sazae-san TV anime. The research found that viwership of Sazae-san was high when the national market was down. Even stranger, the synchronization in this observable trend was strong enough to exceed the correlation of the Tokyo market with American market. The study was conducted between the ratings of Sazae-san and relation to the Tokyo Stock Price Index (TOPIX) after 2003.
2-17-05 (1:27AM EST)---- Starchild History
The Japanese animation distributor Starchild has published a complete history of all the works it has been involved with stretching back to 1978. Noteworthy releases over the years include Slayers, Evangelion and Gundam.
2-17-05 (12:45AM EST)---- Historic Toei Theater Closes
Hosting a trove of movie memories spanning 50 years, the Aomori Toei Cinema will close on April 15th in Japan. The small theater which is managed by the animation giant has faced increasing competition with the great multiplexs that have sprung up in the area in recent years. Aomori Toei opened in 1957, with it's own building "Toei plaza" being added in 1986, it's remained in the same state with 3 screens since then. Japanese films out of the studios of Toei and Toho could be seen within over the years. Upon the closing, the Toei plaza building which includes Aomori Toei will be managed as a tenant building.
2-16-05 (11:24PM EST)---- Intermedia And Kadokawa Remake Miike Film
"Intermedia and Kadakowa USA will produce and finance the English-language remake of the Japanese horror film "One Missed Call," Variety reports. The movie centers on a college student receiving a cell phone message from herself three days in the future as she is being killed. The Japanese original was directed by Miike Takashi. The sequel is currently playing in Japan and has thus far made more than $6 million over two weeks."
Source: Daniel and Rotten Tomatoes
2-16-05 (6:30PM EST)---- Grapevine Unveils MeMe And My World
Bright colors, music, hip clothes, diverse cool friends are at the center of young girls and boys relationships today. "MeMe and My World(tm)" captures and reflects those emotional relationships in its stories and products. This global focused property includes Publishing (Manga), TV, Video, Toys and Games.

The future is bright for Children and Family properties developer and innovator; Grapevine Entertainment Company....who is launching "MeMe and My World(tm)" featuring the Emotionals(tm) in New York at Kidscreen Summit and the International Toy Fair. Executed in the traditional Japanese animation style, the wonderful world of MeMe Yoshida begins in Japan. MeMe, a traditional Japanese girl having fun, living life as a young teen, when her father's job transfer brings her reluctantly to America where after considerable misunderstandings she makes new and very diverse friends.

The excitement and fun continues in America as she experiences and learns about the diversity of America, its fashion, its slang, its food, its music and most importantly its people. Her new friends include personality types that include grunge, valley girl, geeks, and surfer dudes to hip hop. Also included are three adorable pets and a never ending array of lovable, huggable Emotionals(tm). These Emotionals are magical animal reflections of a teenager's emotions both good and bad.

MeMe and My World, a one of a kind property, captures the diversity, energy, emotional relationships, music, and fashion of young teens across America and the world. Designed to reach the fans of Raven Symone, Lizzie McGuire, Hilary Duff and Utada Hikaru the property is uniquely positioned to capture the tween girl audience.

"This property is relevant and on trend in style and attitude to today's young girls. There is no question that every young girl or boy will be able to find a reflection of them selves in the wonderful cool world of MeMe Yoshida," said Jacob Miles, President and Founder of Grapevine Entertainment Co.

"We are sure that every retailer and potential licensee will immediately recognize the appeal of the MeMe and My World brand and how it can drive revenue."

Grapevine Entertainment will be introducing this new exciting brand at the KIDSCREEN SUMMIT and The International Toy Fair in New York through private meetings with potential licensors in retail, toys, TV/Film, publishing, videogames, sportswear, stationary and gift products. Initial focus will be on building the brand through long term licensing and marketing programs with industry leaders across all product categories.

To assure that the buzz and excitement gets out on the street and in the stores for MeMe and My World, Grapevine Entertainment and its partners will launch a comprehensive marketing and licensing campaign beginning in the spring that will include national advertising and promotions, outreach to the Anime community, girl and teen publications. Celebrity seeding, endorsements and promotions in the music, TV, Film, Fashion and Anime industry and an updated interactive web environment at www.memeandmyworld.com, that will feature one-of-a-kind relationship based activities and introduce the individual characters.

2-16-05 (6:22PM EST)---- Shopro Gets Naruto Anime
ShoPro Entertainment, Inc. which recently announced itfs upcoming merger with VIZ, LLC to form one of the entertainment industry's most innovative, comprehensive manga and animation licensing and publishing companies, announced today that it has secured from worldwide licensors, TV TOKYO Corporation and Shueisha Inc., the television, home video and merchandising rights to Naruto for North America and Latin America. The appointment of ShoPro Entertainment as Master Licensor was facilitated by TV TOKYO Medianet, the licensing arm of TV TOKYO.

ShoPro Entertainment, the San Francisco based affiliate of ShoPro Japan, plans to introduce a dynamic roll-out strategy that will leverage the strong manga and entertainment brand into a broad licensing and marketing program. Narutofs television broadcast partner and key licensing partners will be determined shortly.

gWe are ecstatic about Naruto! It is a great privilege to be bringing such an outstanding property to the Americas,h said John Easum, Senior Vice President of ShoPro Entertainment. gNaruto became an explosive hit in Japan after it was first launched in Shueishafs Weekly Shonen Jump magazine in 1999 and it continues to be an enormous success. Naruto has also established a very large American fan base through the US manga series published by VIZ. We anticipate a huge success.h

First introduced into the Weekly Shonen Jump magazine in Japan in 1999, Naruto quickly became Japanfs most popular ninja manga. In 2000, Naruto was expanded into a series of graphic novels and is currently in its 26th volume, with nearly 49 million copies sold in total in Japan. Weekly Shonen Jump, published by one of Japanfs largest publishers, Shueisha Inc., is considered the worldfs most successful comic magazine with over 3 million copies printed weekly in Japan alone.

Since 2003, the Naruto series has been serialized in the US edition of the monthly Shonen Jump, and published as a graphic novel series by VIZ, LLC. At retail, Naruto consistently ranks as one of the top graphic novel titles in the US and one of the most popular titles serialized in SHONEN JUMP. The manga has also been published in most major markets in Europe and Asia to great success.

Targeting tweens and teens, the Naruto animated series, produced by PIERROT CO., LTD. debuted in Japan in October 2002 on TV TOKYO and quickly established itself as one of TV TOKYOfs highest rated animated series. Today, Naruto is considered one of the most popular animated series in Japanfs history and has achieved immense success not only as a manga and TV title, but also in the realm of licensed categories such as toys, trading card games and video games.

The story of Naruto takes place in another world where ninjas are the ultimate power. In the village of Konohagakure live some of the stealthiest and most respected ninjas in the land. But 12 years prior, Konohagakure faced a fearsome threat - a nine-tailed fox demon, which terrorized the village and caused massive destruction before it was finally defeated. The Hokage, the village leader and most powerful ninja, was able to subdue the fox by sealing its soul inside the body of an orphaned baby boy. Now that boy, Uzumaki Naruto, has grown up to become a ninja-in-training, learning the art of ninjutsu with his classmates Sakura and Sasuke. The trio of student ninjas study under the instruction of their teacher, Kakashi. With Kakashi, the group faces a series of dangerous and daunting tests and challenges. Through their adventures, the young ninjas learn the importance of friendship, teamwork, loyalty, hard work, creativity, ingenuity, and right vs. wrong.

The key characters are Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura. Naruto, shunned by the village because he bears the taint of the fox demon imprisoned within him, is a rascally orphan who has grown into an attention-seeking troublemaker. Although his preoccupation with playful pranks leaves him struggling to graduate from Ninja Academy, he's determined to become the next Hokage. Sasuke, the top student in Narutofs class, comes from the prestigious Uchiha clan. Sasuke is driven by a secret desire to win revenge against a mysterious person who wronged him in the past. And the smart and studious Sakura is the brightest of Narutofs classmates, but she is constantly distracted by her crush on Sasuke. She hopes to some day win Sasukefs heartcif Naruto doesnft get in the way.

2-16-05 (3:33PM EST)---- More On Genius Party
The Blog of Patrick Macias has been updated with new info on Studio 4 degrees C's Genius Party project. Thanks to Daniel for the link:

"10 leading Japanese Animation creators of today come together to offer a stunning visual feast of cutting edge imagery and artistry. 10 geniuses, 10 completely new works. In production NOW!"

Dimension Bomb Dir: Koji Morimoto

Twilight World Dir: Shinichiro Watanabe

Nayorani Dir: Mahiro Maeda

Space-Time Wars Dir: Shoji Kawamori

Dream Machine Dir: Masaaki Yuasa

Genius Party Dir: Atsuko Fukushima

Moondrive Dir: Kazuto Nakazawa

Touni Dir: Tadashi Hiramatsu

Limitcycle Dir: Hideki Futamura

gWanwah the Puppy Dir: Shinosuke Harada

*Information contained herein, including titles and content are subject to change.

2-16-05 (1:55PM EST)---- Mandarake Announces Earnings
Giving a rare inside peek into the performance of a Japanese-based anime goods retailer, Mandarake has released some earnings figures as well as news it has been balancing some accounts in the first quarter of the year. During this period, Mandarake had gross slaes of 1 billion 206 million Yen (An 11.9% increase compared with the previous year), operating profit was 54 million Yen (A 135.4% increase), and current profit was recorded as 4 million Yen (A 77.5% decrease). Books represented 26.4% of the total sales while Toys were 22.2%, magazines 27.3% and DVD and CD slaes making up 23.9%. Besides strengthening it's brick and mortar assets, Mandarake is expanding it's Web mail ordering division and auction business in the future.
2-16-05 (1:33PM EST)---- ADV Films Release Of Gravion: Zwei
Sandman and his ragtag crew of misfits and loners are back at it again on March 8 2005 with the volume one release of Gravion Zwei: Eye of the Storm. Hold on to your feather duster! With a legion of perky maids and more fan service than you can shake a stick at, Gravion Zwei has all the action, comedy and madcap adventure youfve been looking for!

Directed by Masami Obari (Bubblegum Crisis) and animated by world renowned animation studio GONZO Digimation (Full Metal Panic!, Gantz, Chrono Crusade), Gravion Zwei continues the hit Gravion series with a new season of surprises featuring the well-armed (and well-endowed) fighting force Earthgertz. Their mission: defend the earth from the deadly Zeravire invasionc only this time, they wonft be the only ones on duty! Therefs a new player in the game of Earth Defense. Enter the elite G-Soldier Squadron, the first of the governmentfs attempt to mass-produce Gravion technology. Led by ace pilot Faye, will the G-Soldiers push the Earthgertz gang out of a job? While facing a series of stepped up Zeravire attacks, Sandman decides his team needs some time offc at a hot springs resort.- What better way to form a cohesive fighting unit than to see everyone in their skivvies? Towels fly and karaoke maids abound as the Gravion team battles a hidden danger deep within a nearby volcano.

Limited Collectorfs Edition Available! The first volume of Gravion Zwei is also available as a Collectorfs Edition, which includes the volume 1 DVD and an attractive custom series art box to house the entire series (SRP $39.98). Gravion Zwei: Eye of the Storm (SRP $29.98 DVD) is a DVD-only release, including four complete episodes in both English 5.1 and Japanese 2.0 language versions with English subtitles. Extras include: Earthgertz character profiles and art gallery, EFA character profiles and art gallery, episode art gallery, original Japanese commercials, clean opening and closing animation, super sexy cover art and ADV previews.-

GRAVION ZWEI: EYE OF THE STORM Volume: 1 of 3 Running Time: 100 minutes Rating: TV MA (VS) CAT: DGV/004 (DVD), DGV/BX2 (Collectorfs Box) UPC: 702727064524 (DVD), 702727084225 (Collectorfs Box) Pre-Book Date: 02/08/05 Street Date: 03/08/05 Format: DVD SRP: $29.98 (DVD), $39.98 (Collectorfs Box)

2-16-05 (1:29PM EST)---- Suginami Animation Museum Opens
Closed for expansion, Suginami's animation pavilion will reopen as the Suginami animation museum on March 5th. The original anime pavilion opened it's doors in April 2003. The new exhibition will include original pictures, cells and animation production materials which have been preserved. The number of exhibits will be increased due to the expansion of space with the remodel. The story of the history of animation in Japan will be told and a workshop plus anime theater and library will be established as annexs. Four major exhibitions per year will occur with the first being focused on Gundam. The official museum website can be accessed at www.sam.or.jp.

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