The story of Mai circles around events in the life of an average teenage girl who posses pyschic abilities, and a special heritage, the responsibilities of which she is reluctant to accept until she draws the attention of a secret organization who is actively targeting children with strong psychic powers.
Tim Burton was at one time being reported as a director for the Mai film, later Francis Ford Coppola developed the property further. Kirk Wong directed The Big Hit for Sony and many Hong Kong action films that include Gunmen and Crime Story. Wong is currently developing Six for Warner Bros. Pictures.
Sunrise Interactive's G-Saviour for PS2 is reportedly close to completion. the Mecha action title is set for release in Japan this summer to retail at 7800 Yen. Occuring in Space Year 0224, the game's main character Reed Fox, battles against enemies known as bugu.
The Utena Movie, "Revolutionary Girl Utena: Adolescence Apocalypse," will make its 35mm North American debut at Anime Expo. Directed by AX Guest of Honor Kunihiko Ikuhara and with character designs by AX Guest of Honor Chiho Saito. The Utena movie takes the characters of the popular television series and reveals them in a whole new light. Two showings of this film are being planned, one on Saturday and one on Sunday.
To all concerned,
Due to product improvement, the release date for the Macross Plus line has been moved back to Early August. We apologize for the delay and any inconvenience.
Sincerely,
Toycom Management
Capcom newest Vampire Hunter / Darkstalkers sequel for Dreamcast and Naomi has been announced. The title will feature network-battle support.
After consulting with Disneyland's Hotel, Security and Legal Departments, we have agreed on the following guidelines for costumes at Anime Expo/Disneyland:
Disneyland considers the entire Disney experience to be a "show". This "show" begins from the moment that guests enter the Disneyland properties. This rule applies especially in the case of the Disneyland Park and less so at the Disneyland Resort Hotel.
As this experience is a "show", all Disney employees are "cast members" who participate in this "show" and they all work towards making each guest's experience memorable.
In respect to people in costume for Anime Expo, the most important guideline to remember is that in no situations can any guest, no matter which group they belong to, interfere with the "show". This means that you may not create confusion among guests as to where Disney characters end and Anime Expo Cosplayers begin. Even if not in costume, you may not interfere with a Disney cast member who is trying to play his "role" in the Disney "show".
What does this mean? Put simply, if an Anime Expo attendee wants to wear their Miyu costume and go to Disneyland in a kimono, nobody will probably notice or care too much. If you walk around the hotel or park as Pikachu and pose with kids for photos, there is a huge problem. Much of this will be good common sense. Fortunately, Anime Expo controls all of the function space within the Disneyland Convention Center, so there is little likelihood of confusion among mundane Disneyland Resort Hotel guests within our function space. Please use caution and good judgement when in common space within the Disneyland Hotel.
Despite rumors that Disney will boot out costumers or ban them from the hotel, nobody has those intentions at all. Disney is actually going to the extra trouble of notifying all of their hotel guests that Anime Expo attendees will be wandering the halls in costume. The goal of both Disney and SPJA/Anime Expo is to make sure that ALL guests of Disney, whether they are anime or Mickey Mouse fans enjoy themselves without infringing upon the enjoyment of others.
Friday: Saturday: Sunday: Monday:
Registration: 0800-1900 0800-1800 0800-1800 0800-1600
Exhibit Hall: 1200-1800 1000-1800 1000-1800 1000-1500
Live Programming: 1000-2400 1000-2400 1000-2400 1000-1900
Video Theaters: 1200-2400 0800-2400 0800-2400 0800-1500
Midnight Madness: 2400-0800 2400-0800 2400-0800
Karaoke (Open Mic) 2000-0800 2200-0800
Film: 1200-2400 1000-2400 1000-2400 1000-1600
Console Games: 1200-2000 1000-1900 1000-2000 1000-1400
Gaming: 1200-2400 2400-2400 2400-2400 2400-1500
Art Show: 1200-1930 1000-1930 1000-1930 1000-1400
Artist Alley: 1200-1800 1000-1800 1000-1800 1000-1500
Press+: 0900-1700 0900-1700 0900-1700 1000-1500
+ Closed from 12-1 for lunch daily
KEY EVENTS:
Thursday, June 29th
Pre-Registration Opens 4:00 PM - 10:00 PM
Friday, June 30th
Anime Expo Opening Ceremonies 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Karaoke Preliminary Round 12:00 PM - 4:00 PM
Escaflowne: A Girl from Gaea 2:30 PM - 4:30 PM
Meet the Guests Reception 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Karaoke Evening Competition 8:00 PM - 11:00 PM
Dance 10:00 PM - 1:00 AM
Saturday, July 1st
Masquerade 8:00 PM - 11:00 PM
Escaflowne: A Girl from Gaea 8:00 PM - 10:00 PM
Sunday, July 2nd
Live Band 7:00 PM -
Music Video Contest 8:00 PM - 12:00 AM
Monday, July 3rd
Art Auction 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM
Charity Auction 3:00 PM - 5:00 PM
Awards Ceremony 5:00 PM - 6:00 PM
Closing Ceremonies 6:00 PM - 7:00 PM
Fotoball USA Inc. announced today it has signed an agreement with Saban Merchandising Inc. to produce sporting goods for Digimon: Digital Monsters.
The license covers various sporting goods including playground balls, basketballs, baseballs, footballs, and sports sets. Digimon: Digital Monsters is a children's animated episodic television series shown regularly on Fox Kids Network. The license agreement, which runs through June 2002, allows Fotoball to utilize all copyrights and trademarks of the licensed property for special product designs and marketing material. Furthermore, the agreement covers distribution of products to various retail channels in the United States, including mass merchants, specialty shops, sporting goods stores and the Internet. Fotoball expects product to ship during the third quarter of fiscal year 2000.
Michael Favish, president and chief executive officer of Fotoball stated, ``We are very excited to work with another successful brand. As is the case with our various portfolio licenses, our intent is to enhance the value of the Digimon brand by developing a unique array of high quality products for a variety of distribution channels. Over time, as we add exciting new licenses, we will continue to diversify our revenue stream.''
Elie Dekel, president, Saban Consumer Products stated, ``Interest in `Digimon' among licensees, promotional partners and retailers is white hot, proving that `Digimon' has carved out its own unique success in the anime and kids entertainment arenas.''
Fotoball also today announced that, effective July 1, 2000, Jon Schneider will rejoin the company as vice president, promotions and marketing. Schneider will report directly to Michael Favish. Schneider was previously employed by Fotoball from 1993 to 1999, and has significant experience and contacts in marketing, licensing and promotions.
Source: Business Wire
July Issue of "Dragon Ball Z" will ship with 20" x 30" color poster
Viz Comics proudly announces that the July issue of "Dragon Ball Z" (Part 3, #6) will ship with a 20" x 30" folder color poster. This poster, featuring Vegeta, Goku, Piccolo, Yamcha, Tenshinhan and other popular characters, is only available in this issue of the comic and is not for sale separately.
One of America's bestselling manga, with circulation increasing every month, "Dragon Ball Z" is the original story by Akira Toriyama which as made into the anime now playing on the Cartoon Network. Join the adventures of Goku, Earth's strongest hero, and his friends as they fight the good fight against aliens, time travelers, and other villains who want to control the world and the 7 wish-granting Dragon Balls. It's a battle where martial arts power is stronger than guns or bombs... and where even the Gods are getting involved! "Dragon Ball Z" is the ultimate super-action/science fiction story, spwaning over 400 TV episodes, and #1 in Japan for over 10 years! Viz Comics is also printing "Dragon Ball," a separate monthly comic showing the adventures of Son Goku as a child, from earlier in the "Dragon Ball Z" continuity.
Concerning the Nausicaa DVD from Anchor Bay, here is a comment from Tokuma International:
"It is our understanding that Anchor Bay no longer releases Nausicaa DVD."
Viz is pleased to announce an agreement with CometZone to provide RANMA ½ cursors for your website and desktop! Fans of anime/manga are sure to enjoy the cursors on your site as well as appreciate learning where to find them. Rather than the standard arrow, customize your sites with cool images from Viz's hit manga and anime series RANMA ½. Choose from six different images featuring P-chan, Shampoo in cat form, Genma in panda form, and Ranma in girl- type, which changes back to boy-type instead of the standard pointing finger! There is no registration, user name or password necessary, and it's free! Get your cursors at www.viz.com.
Standard: 4800 yen.
Pocket Sakura Pack: includes Pocket Sakura - Sakura Taisen (8300 Yen).
Character Pack: Exclusive to Lawson conveniece store (6 variations will feature one of the main characters, each includes game, pin and phone strap) (5800 Yen).
GameBoy Color Pack: includes Sakura Taisen version of Gameboy Color and game (12600 Yen).
Premium Pack: includes game and T-shirt (6800 Yen).
In Japan Bandai will release a Limited Edition of SD Gundam G Generation-F on Aug. 3, featuring crystal glass card folder, plastic model kit, 0079 calendar, and a Gundam V binder. Retail price will be 9980 Yen.
Tecmo has announced new sequels to Monster Farm (Monster Rancher) expected to be released in Japan before March 2001.
From Software's PS2 title Armored Core 2 will feature USB Mouse support. The mouse can be used to do mech customization.
GameArts plans to release two versions of their Grandia II for Dreamcast. The standard version will include the game disc, package and instruction manual (retail 5800 Yen). The Limited Edition version includes game, manual, databook, Soundtrack CD (retail 7800 Yen) Release is set for Aug. 3rd.
Konami's Pop n' Music Animelo is headed to Gameboy Color with scheduled Japanese release of September 7th. Anime theme songs from popular anime including as Galaxy Express 999 and Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon are featured in the title.
The new Vampire Hunter D movie is completely finished, and now, as of 6/1/00, we are still working to get the dubbed version (which was completed before the Japanese version) out in theaters. Since we really want to give the new film the kind of backing it deserves, we are currently determining a plan to release it in theaters. All this is strictly hush-hush, so our apologies, but you'll have to wait until we confirm everything before we can post any info on the website!
A new trailer and character images are now available on the site.
CHIHO SAITO TO COVER SPELLBOUND #1 Revolutionary Girl Utena Creator Comes to Fanboy
New York, NY - Fanboy Entertainment is pleased to announce that Revolutionary Girl Utena creator Chiho Saito will be providing a variant cover for SPELLBOUND: The Magic of Love #1!
"What can I say?! I am thrilled to announce this one!" remarked Fanboy¹s C.B. Cebulski. "Miss Saito is one of Japan's premier shojo manga artists, whose delicate style and detailed artwork is loved around the world. I never expected I'd be privileged enough to have her name associated with ours! Hopefully this will be but the first of many projects she will be doing with Fanboy! (Hint, Hint)"
Miss Saito will be providing the variant cover to Tomoko Taniguchi's SPELLBOUND: The Magic of Love #1. SPELLBOUND is an original manga created by Miss Taniguchi for her foreign fans that will first be published in the United States. The story centers around Ami, a hip, street smart Japanese teenager who also happens to be a practicing witch. For Ami, magic is more for causing trouble and having fun than anything else... except love. However, try as she might, she can't get any love spells to work on the object of her affection, Hiro. And when Hiro's is snatched away by the foreign fashion designer Nicole, it's up to Ami to save him from her evil machinations.
"Two top-notch, respected shojo manga artists together on one book! Tomoko herself couldn't be happier. Although not a big anime fan, Tomoko fell in love with that Saito-sensei's Revolutionary Girl Utena. They met for the first time in Chicago at Anime Central last month and Tomoko was starstruck! But they immediately hit it off and here you see the result of a newfound friendship!" Cebulski commented. "As far as I know, this may be the first time a shojo manga artist has ever done a variant cover for another shojo manga artist. Unfortunately, none of Saito-sensei's manga have been published in English yet so we're happy to be publishing a new piece of her artwork for all her hungry fans here to see. Tomoko Taniguchi + Chiho Saito = Happy Manga Fans!"
SPELLBOUND: The Magic of Love #1 ships in August for $2.95. It is currently preordering in the new issue of Diamond Previews. The variant cover will be shipped in a 50/50 ratio. To find a comic store near you, call 1-888-COMIC BOOK.
Be sure to check out http://www.fanboyinc.com for more information and artwork on SPELLBOUND: The Magic of Love #1 as well as lots of other anime and manga news.
6/11 12:00 am Goku: Midnight Eye
6/11/00 1:00 am Golgo 13: Queen Bee
6/18/00 12:00 am Wicked City
6/25/00 12:00 am Vampire Hunter D
MANGA ENTERTAINMENT PRESENTS THE SUPERNATURAL ANIMÉ THRILLER OF THE SUMMER
ON HOME VIDEO JULY 25, 2000
FROM ACCLAIMED DIRECTOR RINTARO BEST KNOWN FOR THE TV SHOWS KIMBA THE WHITE LION AND ASTRO BOY WITH ART DIRECTION BY SHUH-ICHI HIRATA (BACKGROUND DESIGN GHOST IN THE SHELL)
Chicago, IL - (May 31, 2000) Manga Video proudly presents "X," their most recent Japanese animation theatrical hit (50 U.S. cities) to be released on home video July 25, 2000 (English dub version). The DVD and subtitled versions will be released this fall.
Based on the popular manga of the same name, X brings together Japan's most talented team of animators and storytellers. A mythic legend with an evocative musical score, X is based on the best-selling comic book featuring the striking artistry of Clamp four women animators who head up an all female animation studio in Japan (Magic Knight Rayearth) and the stunning animation of Mad House Studios (Ninja Scroll and Perfect Blue).
A post-apocalyptic sci-fi adventure, X is the story of Kamui, a young man with special powers who goes to Tokyo to protect his childhood friends Fuma and Kotori. Unbeknownst to Kamui, his arrival sets off a war between two opposing armies, The Dragon of Earth and The Dragon of Heaven. The Dragon of Earth plan to destroy civilization before humans destroy the Earth and the Dragon of Heaven fight to save humanity. It isn't until Kamui realizes that his two childhood friends are in grievous peril that he decides to step into his fated position in a climactic struggle against the Dragons that will decide the fate of the universe.
Critics hail X as: "...a visually stunning film that blends drawn animation and computer graphics...The animation detail, from huge city buildings down to small creases in the cloth, is much better than most Disney pictures, and the haunting score gives a nice touch." - Seattle Post Intelligencer
"X is one of the greatest orgies of battle and destruction ever seen in a live-action film or an animated one...a feast for the eyes." - Fantasia
Be sure to stop by a Manga booth this summer and enter to win X-citing
prizes:
Project A-Kon June 2 - 4,
Dallas, TX
Anime North June 16 -
18, Toronto, Ontario
Anime Expo 2K June 30 -
July 3, Anaheim, CA
Comic-Con International July 20 - 23, San
Diego, CA
Wizard World August 4 -
6, Chicago, IL
Otakon August 4 -
6, Baltimore, MD
Anime Weekend Atlanta October 6 - 8,
Atlanta, GA
X
Street Date: July
25, 2000
Pre-book Date: June 5, 2000
Rating: R
Running Time: 98 minutes
Category:
Sci-fi anime
Order number:
6-60200-40443-7
Price: $19.95
To view the X trailer, go to www.sputnik7.com/vod and select anime.
All Stories, Graphics And Material © Anime News Service Unless Otherwise Cited
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