Anime News Service - April 28 - July 31 Anime News

5-9-07 (9:18AM EDT)---- Code Geass Sequel World Premiere

STAGE24&25 will debut the Code Geass sequel animation in Japan in a series of 90 minute events On July 21st in Osaka and July 22nd in Tokyo. Several of the key staff and cast of the original will appear.

5-8-07 (8:45AM EDT)---- Macross Director To Animate Life Of Hatta Yoichi

Macross and Space Battleship Yamato Director Noboru Ishiguro will helm production on a new anime film portraying the life of 20th century engineer Hatta Yoichi (1886-1942). The man is known for modernizing the agricultural water supply of Taiwan during the Japanese imperial occupation (1895-1945). Hatta was active in Taiwan from the Taishou era through the beginning of the Showa era. Among his great accomplishments are the construction of the Chianan Irrigation Waterworks and the Karasuyama Dam. Mushi Productions president Ito made the announcement at a memorial festival commemorating the 65th anniversary since the engineer's death held at the Karasuyama Dam on Wednesday. Around 40 Japanese attended. The tentative title of the work will be "Paaten Rai (Hatta Ga Yatteki Ta)!" (Hatta Came!), production budget will be 150 million yen. Ishiguro-san is already developing the scenario. The story will center on a Taiwanese boy who was born to a poor farmer and becomes a hero as an assistant to Hatta. Theatrical opening in Beijing, China and Taipei, Taiwan are planned next summer. Ito said they are quite eager to tell the story of Hatta who loved Taiwan, and is also loved by the Taiwanese people for his selfless dedication to improving society through his agricultural irrigational projects. Hata hailed from Ishikawa Prefecture, Kanazawa city. He graduated from the Tokyo Imperial University Department of Engineering Works in 1910 and first found employment as an assistant engineer of the Taiwanese governor-general prefectural home affairs bureau Civil Engineering Division. He bagan construction of his first major project at age 28. In 1918 he began working on the Karasuyama dam and resevoir which took 10 years and 54 million yen to complete. The dam helped to greatly transform a draught ridden area. The construction is maintained as a park presently and you can see a memorial and bronze statue dedicated to Hatta there. He was killed when a ship he was on was sunk by a United States submarine in the vicinity of the Goto islands in May, 1942. His wife followed him shortly thereafter, jumping from the damn to her death on September 1st, 1945, following hearing the news of Japan's defeat. Hatta's achievements today are evaluated highly (espcially among the elderly), moreso in Taiwan than Japan. They are also still taught in Taiwanese junior high textbooks.

5-8-07 (8:45AM EDT)---- Half Of Nakano Broadway Shops Focus On Otaku

Roughly half of the 340 individual shops that make up Tokyo, Japan's Nakano Broadway mall are said to be related to selling products catering to otaku interests.

5-8-07 (8:40AM EDT)---- Record 220,000 Flock To Tottori During Golden Week

Following up our late April news on manga attractions in Tottori, while the region was originally planning for 150,000 Golden Week tourists, they actually drew 225,502, surpassing last year's number (143,122) by more than 80,000 people. 50799 people alone paid to enter attractions to Gegege No Kitaro alone. Sakaiminato city Tourist Association says they sold about 3 times as many "Yokai Guide Books" to Shigeru Mizuki Road as last year. The opening of the Live Action film and start of a new TV anime was expected to have contributed to the great interest in the spiritual home of Kitaro.

5-8-07 (8:20AM EDT)---- Shinobi Actor Kazuo Kitamura Dies

The Hollywood Reporter notes that Kazuo Kitamura who played Tokugawa Ieyasu in the live-action version of the ninja novel/anime from Del Rey and FUNimation-passed away of pneumonia at 80. Kitamura also had a part in Akira Kurosawa's "Heaven and Hell". In addition, the article notes that the 1994 "47 Ronin" screenwriter "Shoichiro Ikemiya" died of cancer at 83. Thanks to Daniel Zelter for the news.

5-8-07 (7:42AM EDT)---- DC Da Cappo 2008 Franchise Developments

Plans for another DC Da Cappo TV animation have crystalized, look for a broadcast debut between late 2007 and early 2008. Producers are looking at long run this time, possibly exceeding 26 episodes. The story will be based on the 2006 CIRCUS NORTHERN 18+ love adventure videogame D.C. II -Da Capo II- which began comic serialization with a preview in the February edition of Dengeki G's magazine. Proper serialization followed in March. Story by Ameno Chihare, illustration by Unohana Tsukasa. Kadokawa Shoten and CIRCUS are also scheduled to release a new PS2 game in 2008 titled "D.C.IIP.S.".

5-8-07 (7:40AM EDT)---- Sakuran Director Speaks

Anne Ishii of Vertical's blog linked an interview with the director of the live-action Moyoco Anno film at The Los Angeles Times. Thanks to Daniel Zelter for the link.

5-8-07 (7:38AM EDT)---- 19th Anime CG Winners

The 19th Anime CG Contest held their 2007 awards ceremony on May 5th. Winners include: Work Prize - '49' - Ichiro Iwano, Image Prize - 'nakedyouth' - Kojiro Shishido, Entertainment Prize - 'Duel Club After School' - KAN, Fine Work Prize - 'Kuusou Shoujo ' - Noyama Utsu ; 'Ohanashi No Hana' - Kubo Amiko - Inoue Tadashi. The longest running CG competition of its type in Japan, over 400 entrants have submitted their works this year. Past winners include Romanov Higa's TANK S.W.A.T 01 and Makoto Shinkai's Hoshi No Koe.

5-7-07 (9:19AM EDT)---- Tekkon Kinkreet Japanese DVD Release

Aniplex has scheduled the R2 Japanese DVD release of Tekkon Kinkreet in limited edition and 4,725 Yen regular versions on June 27th. A 100 minute omake disc, 120 page making of booklet "ESSENCE", director's notes book and special box will all be extras on the 10,290 Yen limited edition version.

5-7-07 (9:16AM EDT)---- Shin SOS Dai Tokyo Tankentai Theatrical Debut Scheduled

Based on the 1980 manga by Katsuhiro Otomo, Shin SOS Dai Tokyo Tankentai (The New SOS Tokyo Metro Explorers) has been given a Japanese theatrical premiere in Shinjuku on May 19, 2007. ANS principal editor Jonah Morgan was a special guest of Bandai Visual at the world premiere screening of the 40 minute 2D / 3DCG Cell Shaded feature at the 19th Tokyo International Film Festival held in October, 2006 (it's worth noting that we have promotional materials from there referring to SOS as an OAV). The storyline deals with a group of kids who go exploring deep beneath the streets of Tokyo and encouter an enclave of inhabitants (the most colorful of which is the "last soldier" who sought refuge there following WWII). The first trailer has just gone live at the above link.

5-7-07 (8:41AM EDT)---- New Evangelion Movies Parts 2-3 Titled

According to a new trailer running before the Dengeki Bunko Movie Festival tripple feature, the 2nd and 3rd upcoming Evangeriwon movies get subtitles for the first time. Part 2 is being titled Yabu (breaking) and Part 3 "Kyuu" (suddeness). The final part was not mentioned by a subtitle.

5-7-07 (8:02AM EDT)---- Moyashimon To Become Anime TV Series

Following having just been nominated for an 11th Osamu Tezuka Cultural Prize, Masayuki Ishikawa's manga Moyashimon (Tales Of Agriculture) will be animated in the form of a television series. Confirmed staff include: Director: Yuuichi Yano, Series Composition and Screenplay by Takahashi Natsuko, Character Designs by Junichi Takaoka, Music by Nao Sato and Animation Production by Shirogumi, 2D animation cooperation: Telecom Animation Film. Broadcast is set for October, 2007 in Fuji TV's Noitamina block. The manga began being serialized in the Kodansha's evening since August, 2004. The story uses bacterium, viruses and agricultural university course life as a theme. Four collected volumes exist on the market as of December 22nd, 2006. Ishikawa was noted for effectively and extensively including footnoting, reminiscent of what Masamune Shirow did on Ghost in the Shell. Fitting the agricultural theme, a portion of the volumes were printed on 100% recycled paper and using soybean ink. Negima!? TV episode 7 featured an homage to the series.

5-7-07 (7:56AM EDT)---- Masked Maid Guy To Be Animated

Akai Maruboro's spoofy ecchi manga Kamen No Maid Guy (Masked Maid Guy) will be animated according to the July issue of Kadokawa's Dragon Age magazine. ANS passed on early word on the possibility in our April 21st news item.

5-7-07 (7:38AM EDT)---- 300 Groups And 2630 Cosplayers Compete In China

2630 people and over 300 groups participated in the nationwide costume play festival in China which culminated in the event at The Third China International Cartoon & Animation Festival (www.cicaf.com) held in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province last week.

5-7-07 (7:29AM EDT)---- Macross Plus - Macross 7 HD Remaster / PCM Audio Versions Headed For R2 DVD

As part of the Macross 25th anniversary project, both the Macross Plus OVA's / Movie and the Macross 7 TV / OVA's / Movie are going to be released to R2 DVD in Japan toawards the end of summer courtesy Bandai Visual. The Macross Plus Remaster Box will consist of OVA's 1-4 and the movie on 3 1 sided dual layer discs and 1 single sided single layer omake disc (289 minutes / 30 minutes on the omake disc). Audio will be Linear PCM stereo (excluding DISC 3 which will feature Linear PCM surround. Retail is 15,540 Yen. Release is August 24th. Macross 7 will deploy in 2 remaster box set installments. Box 1 will inlcude 8 single sided dual layer discs (eps. 1-30 / 787 minutes) for 39,900 Yen. Release is September 25th. Box 2 also inlcudes 8 single sided dual layer discs (707 minutes) for 39,900 Yen. Release is October 26th. All video is being sourced from high def remastered sources. For Macross Plus, this will represent the highest quality audio and video conversion publicly available on a home video format for at least a several years to come. Full PCM audio useage is extremely rare on DVD. Extras include the FMV sequences from the PSX videogame. A 24 page booklet will also be included as a bonus along with the storage box. This set will be a limited production commodity and will be pulled from the market on August 24, 2008. The Macross 7 set will also be limited edition and will be pulled on September 25, 2008. Discs will be encased in a digipack case with 8 illustrations cortesy original character designer Haruhiko Mikimoto. A 24 page booklet and several new music video clips will be extras.

5-7-07 (6:51AM EDT)---- Simoun PS2 Game Site Goes Live

Marvelous Interactive launched an official website for their upcoming ADV + Tactical SLG videogame Simoun Ibara Sensou - Fuuin no Rimajon for PS2. A limited 9,240 Yen and regular 7,140 Yen version will be sold. Release date is June 21, 2007.

5-7-07 (6:37AM EDT)---- First Images Of Jun Ji-hyun As Saya Update

Recently leaked pictures of Korean actress Jun Ji-hyun (Gianna Jun) as Saya apparatnly first appeared on Chinese portal site www.sohu.com. To obtain the images, a reporter seems to have quietly taken five photographs with a camera equipped with the telephoto lens. Photography on the set is otherwise forbidden. In the photograph, she can be seen dressed in a sailor style uniform as a Japanese high school student. Filming began in March in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Cast and crew will transition to China at the end of June and to do some scenes there. The scheduled opening for Blood is next summer.

5-7-07 (5:33AM EDT)---- 3rd China International Cartoon & Animation Festival Wraps

The closing ceremonies of for the The Third China International Cartoon & Animation Festival (www.cicaf.com) held in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province were held on May fourth. Preliminary attendence figures say 430,000 people attended. 2630 people participated in nationwide costume play festival. 280 companies from around the world had exhibition booths and total business dealings have been estimated at 600 million won.

5-7-07 (5:18AM EDT)---- Miyamoto Makes 2007 Time 100 World's Most Influential People List

USA based Time Magazine has revealed its 2007 list of 100 men and women whose power, talent or moral example is transforming the world. Among their number are 2 Japanese: Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto and Toyota's President Katsuaki Watanabe. In the past anime director Hayao Miyazaki's name has graced the list. Nintendo's Wii console has been the hands down breakout hit of the latest round of video game platform offerings in the USA. Meanwhile's auto maker Toyota's earnings have just surpassed those of General Motors.

5-7-07 (4:36AM EDT)---- Western Reaction To Barefoot Gen Anti-Nuke Manga Diplomacy

Following up our April 30th news item on the Japanese government taking Barefoot Gen to a nuclear non-proliferation treaty conference being held in Vienna Austra this past week, Australian International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear weapons (ICAN) NGO member, Felicity Hill, saw the efforts and made these comments to Daily Sports: "It's the first time I've seen the animation, although I've read the comics. I think that it's a idea good for appealing against the misery of caused by nuclear weapons".

5-7-07 (4:25AM EDT)---- Vexille Star Working With Miike

18 year old Japanese / American actress Meisa Kuroki just finished wrapping the filming of a scene in Takashi Miike's Close Zero where she sings in a nightclub. The scene for the live action movie, now in production in Osaka, involved 200 extras and was completed in April. Following past animation and TV drama work, this was the first role where she both sings in dances in the presence of others. The film opens in theaters in Japan this fall. Meisa also a starring role in the upcoming cg anime film Vexille.

5-7-07 (4:06AM EDT)---- Mink To Perform Vexille Theme Song

23 year old South Korean singer Mink will take on the main theme of the CG anime film Vexille: 2077 Nippon Sakoku. She'll perform both English and Japanese versions of the title track "Together Again". Release for the single is undetermined. Her past work on the Innocent Blue theme to the film Aoki Ookami was released in 60 countries. She's mastered singing in Japanese, English, and Korean languages and has been recognized as a world performer. ANS recently compiled an an exclusive first look at Vexille which you can read here.

5-7-07 (3:45AM EDT)---- Vexille To Be Released In 53 Countries

ANS has confirmed negotiations are either complete or ongoing to have Vexille: 2077 Nippon Sakoku be released in 53 countries. ANS recently compiled an an exclusive first look at Vexille which you can read here.

5-7-07 (3:40AM EDT)---- Vexille Soundtrack Scheduled For Simultaneous Worldwide Release

Warner Music plans to release the CD soundtrack to the science fiction CG anime film Vexille: 2077 Nippon Sakoku simultaneously in ten countries worldwide on August 18th, 2007. This marks first time ever that a OST for a Japanese film has been distributed on this kind of large scale. Contributing artists include Basement Jaxx, The Prodigy, Mink, Paul Oakenfold and DJ Shadow. Apparantly many are contributing brand new material created exclusively for the movie. Confirmed markets are the USA and the UK. ANS recently compiled an an exclusive first look at Vexille which you can read here.

5-7-07 (3:09AM EDT)---- Wii Dragon Quest Art Revealed

GWN has game images and Akira Toriyama cover art from the upcoming Dragon Quest Swords. Thanks to Daniel Zelter for the link.

5-7-07 (2:02AM EDT)---- Yaguchi Takao Exhibition

AKITA SAKIGAKE SHIMPO has an image from a recent Yaguchi Takao (Takahashi Takao) illustrations exhibition "Shin Seiki-san Taira Ten". The showing is focused mainly on his Heisei ban - Konbini ban Duri Kichi Sanpei work. Yaguchi revived Heisei ban as a serial in 2001 after an interval of 18 years. Eight books have been put on the market to date. 80 items were featured including silk screens and a Yokote City summer sightseeing poster the artist illustrated. An autograph session was held on the fourth and fifth. His creations are know for their nature themes. He was awarded 1974's 4th Kodansha publication culture prize - child section award and Grand Prize at the 5th Japan Cartoonists Awards for "Matagi". His many works include the well-known "Yasei Densetsu" (Legends of Wild Nature), and "Tsurikichi Sanpei" (Sanpei the Fishing Fanatic). Many of his stories are based on his own childhood experiences growing up in a small village. Becoming fascinatied by Osamu's Tezuka work early on, he'd save his pocket money to purchase manga magazines. He learned to draw by tracing the panels and adopted his pen name after living in an apartment in Yaguchinowata in Ota Ward.

5-7-07 (1:55AM EDT)---- Touhou Bou Gatsu Shou Silent Sinner In Blue

Based on the 2006 manga by ZUN, Touhou Bou Gatsu Shou Silent Sinner In Blue is scheduled to begin serialization in Comic REX from the July, 2007 edition. The illustrator will be Aki - Eda.

5-7-07 (1:44AM EDT)---- Sola TV Episode Schedule

The official Sola Project Blog has mentioned the TV series will run 15 episodes total. 13 will be broadcast and 2 will become DVD exclusive to appear on the 4th and 5th volumes. Additionally a secret extra episode will appear on the 5th DVD.

5-7-07 (1:35AM EDT)---- Babel Scene Causes Pokemon Seizure Flashback

The Hollywood Reporter says a dance scene featuring the actress amongst strobe lights in Babel is making Japanese viewers nauseous. The article also brings up the Pokemon seizure incident from a decade ago for comparison's sake. Thanks to Daniel Zelter for the link.

5-7-07 (1:30AM EDT)---- Ghibli Channel Opens

NTV has launched the new animation delivery service called the "Ghibli Channel". There you'll find special programming including a "I want to ask this person" segement and interviews with the staff, studio and museum. Several short animations that remain as-yet unrelased to the public will be available there as well. Ghibli Channel is free although you need to signup and become a member in order to access it.

5-7-07 (1:23AM EDT)---- Italian Go Nagai Interview Translated To English

Michele Fidati, administrator of Italian manga site, Manga Forever has informed us their group has translated an interview with Go Nagai conducted during the master's visit in Italy during a comic convention in Naples (at Castel Sant'Elmo) called Comicon 2007.

5-7-07 (1:18AM EDT)---- Animax Awards Adds Judges

Following up our April 17th item on this year's 6th Animax Awards, mangaka Hirohiko Araki (Jojo's Bizarre Adventure) and novelist Baku Yumemakura (Onmyoji) have been added to the judges panel.

5-7-07 (12:59AM EDT)---- Inoue On Vagabond

IT Planning discusses the process of adapting the Miyamoto Musashi novel from Eiji Ysohikawa, and how he's still decided to avoid incorporating one of the more controversial scenes-at least by today's standards-into the Vagabond manga. Thanks to Daniel Zelter for the news.

5-7-07 (12:51AM EDT)---- The Last Seiyuu?

Amino and Celsys are cooperating to develop a new human voice synthesis software based on artificial-voice technology called "Finespeech". Expectations are both amature and pro developers will use it in the entertainment fields such as anime and games. Release is planned between May and July, 2007.

5-7-07 (12:44AM EDT)---- Old Boy - Battle Royale Hollywood Remakes Threatened By VA Tech Shootings?

The New York Times mentions April's Virginia Tech shootings could have setback plans for Hollywood remakes of Oldboy, Battle Royale and others. Thanks To Daniel Zelter for the news.

5-7-07 (12:30AM EDT)---- Nakano Broadway To Internationalize

Tokyo otaku hotspot, the Nakano Broadway shopping mall will implement some new features to cater to foreign visitors. The complex has long been a locus of activity to Japanese fans due to its numerous pop culture, anime, manga, figure, costume play, and the movie related shops. Foreign visitors are traditionally not drawn to the locale due to the fact that lies off the circular Yamanote train line. Via train it's usually accessed via the Chuo subway line. This is changing though, and NB is gaining a reputation among gaijin otaku. A new pamphlet is being published in four languages (Japanese, English, Chinese, Korean), their homepage will soon get a revamp for foreigners and an English welcome board will be st at the mall's entrance in the future.

5-7-07 (12:11AM EDT)---- Frank Miller Samurai Comic To Become Movie

The Hollywood Reporter notes that "Ronin", a graphic novel about a Japanese feudal warrior in New York, has been optioned for a film adaptation from Warner Bros. The creator, Frank Miller, is himself an avid fan of Lone Wolf and Cub, and has contributed cover art for the American editions of the manga. Thanks to Daniel Zelter for the news.

5-7-07 (12:10AM EDT)---- 11th Osamu Tezuka Cultural Prize Nominees

Final nominees have been revealed for the 11th Osamu Tezuka Cultural Prize. The award, sponsored by Asahi Shimbun honors noteable contributors to the development of manga culture. All candidates were released in 2006. Sub-categories include: the "Newborn Prize" which commends fresh talent, the "Manga Grand prize" that chooses the most excellent work of the year, the "Short Prize" intended for short stories, single and four panel manga and the "Special Prize" intended for a person who contributed to manga culture. The winners will be named in the May 10 edition of the Asahi Shimbun newspaper. The 8 nominees include: Ooku: Fumi Yoshinaga (Hakusensha), Osaka Hamlet: Hiromi Morishita (Futabasha), Koukoku no Shugosha: Story: Daisuke Sato - Art: Yu Ito (Shueisha), Danchi Tomoo: Tobira Oda (Shogakukan), Death Note: Story: Tsugumi Ohba - Art: Takeshi Obata (Shueisha), Hyouge-mono: Yoshihiro Yamada (Kodansha), Maihime Terepushikoora: Ryoko Yamagishi (Media Factory), Moyashimon: Masayuki Ishikawa (Kodansha).

5-6-07 (5:49AM EDT)---- North American Toei Animation Plans For Pretty Cure And Nanoha

The official North American site for Toei Animation has updated with a new page for their Futari Wa Pretty Cure animation. At TIFFCOM, 2006 a Toei representative told ANS that seperate spaced releases were being planned for their latest magical girl anime franchises Pretty Cure and Maho Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha. Thanks to Daniel Zelter for the link.

5-5-07 (1:13AM EDT)---- Vexille Movie Details Revealed

We've dug a bit deeper into our material from TAF2007 and pieced together an extended feature on Shochiku's upcoming CG anime film VEXILLE. We've got some never before seen images, exclusive data you won't find anywhere else (such as the film's production budget), and are happy to host an as yet unreleased official English lead-in synopsis directly from the producers.

5-4-07 (3:34AM EDT)---- Will School Days TV Reprise Controversial Game Ending(s)?

Updating our April 19th item, an English language promotional flyer we obtained from Marvelous Entertainment at this Year's Tokyo Anime Fair confirms their forthcoming anime TV series adaptation of School Days will consist of 13 30 minute episodes. Additionally, according to their official synposis, the animation could very well include some of the more graphic elements of the PC love adventure game's 21 self contained storlines / endings. "A PC Game with the unexpected ending will turned into the animated series...! In the original PC game, which is the second best game in sales in the first half of 2005, is noteable for its shocking, unexpected, and unbelievable scenes and endings among PC game fans. The suspense-based story depicts the relationship of 3 students - complicated love triangle - and well-planned scenarios for the game are highly evaluated. Since the animation is still on production and no one is unable to know whether the controversial development of the story and the ending is reproduced and can be seen in the animation...?" Broadcast slated to begin this summer.

5-3-07 (2:25AM EDT)---- First Look At Live Action Saya

Korean site DVD PRIME has posted some of the first pics of actress Jun Ji-hyun as Saya in the forthcoming live action adaptation of Production I.G.'s Blood The Last Vampire. www.kfccinema.com notes the actress will be called Gianna Jun for American audiences. Thanks to Daniel Zelter and "khitcher" for the news.

4-30-07 (7:15AM EDT)---- Sequel Hopes As Live Action Kitaro Opens In Japan

Based on 85 year-old mangaka Shigeru Mizuki's manga Gegege No Kitaro, the live action film adaptation "KITARO" debuted nationwide on 342 cinema screens across Japan this past weekend. Hopes are high that will be the biggest movie of the Golden Week holiday period. Shochiku is anticipating a 3 billion Yen box office haul from the release when all is said and done. Eiji Wentz and other key cast and staff attended a world premiere stage greeting, there he expressed hopes at making a sequel. The producer / distributor backed that statement up by announcing a possible "part 2" will be examined based on the response.

4-30-07 (6:51AM EDT)---- SOUL'd OUT Concludes 11 City Tour

J-Group SOUL'd OUT wrapped their latest "Single Collection" tour at Tokyo's Nippon Budoukon on April 27th. The album of the same title was released last December. The venue was the largest the group has played at to-date and drew an overcapacity crowd of 10,000 spectators. A DVD with this show will be sold in July. The unit has a decent following in otaku circles followig their animation work. The track VOODOO KINGDOM became a theme of Jojo's Bizarre Adventure Phantom Blood. Additionally they provided the theme to the Japanese release of the American animation The Boondocks which is airing on Animax. Their new song "MEGALOPOLIS PATROL" is expected to be released soon.

4-30-07 (6:01AM EDT)---- Govt. Exhibits Barefoot Gen In English To Show Nuclear After Effects

An English translated version of Keiji Nakazawa's Barefoot Gen will be exhibited by a Japanese Government delegation to educate readers as to the after affects of nuclear war exposure felt in Hiroshima at the end of WWII. The comic will be publicly shown at a Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons review conference that starts on the 30th in Vienna Austria. Japanese Foreign Minister (and huge manga fan) Taro Aso reccomended the move to show the misery wrought by fission bombs. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs inherited 30 English copies from a publisher. They've issued a formal statement asking each country at the talks to read it. This example of so called "Manga Diplomacy" by Japanese officials has been a recurring theme in recent times.

4-30-07 (4:50AM EDT)---- China Pledges To Protect Foreign Animation Copyrights

The national copyright bureau of Chinese State Council has announced it will move to strengthen copyright safeguards regarding foreignly produced comic and animation properties. The statement came at a symposium at the Hangzhou Animation Festival (www.cicaf.com) held in Zhejiang Province, China on the 29th. The nation has long gained a negative reputation as a piracy heaven regarding Japanese contents works.

4-30-07 (4:41AM EDT)---- Anime Mannequins Come Into Fashion

Tokyo-based Heiwa Mannequin is riding the crest of a wave in Japan that has been steadily building over the past 5 years. The trend involves the growing popularity of mannequin dolls which exhibit the features (facial, etc..) of Japanese animation characters. The anime models have slipped into displays in mainstream department stores right next to the traditional ones. Their Charamore 2 line has just debuted featuring 6 mannequins, comporable to men, women and children. Overall sales are up 15% this year, their children models are most popular, up 35% in sales over last year.

4-30-07 (3:56AM EDT)---- Gedo Senki Opens In Australia

Goro Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli's Gedo Senki will open for a limted engagement screening to occur between May 17th - 31st at Dendy Newtown Cinemas in Dendy, New South Wales. This marks the first sustained theatrical screening of the animated feature in Australia. Subsequent runs are planned in Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth and Brisbane. The Australian Premiere occured on the 15th of April, Brisbane also had a screening on April 25th. The official Aussie website is www.talesfromearthsea.com.au

4-30-07 (3:50AM EDT)---- Cosplay Options In Bandai Opens Children's Photo Studio

Bandai will open their Kids Photo Bandai Studio in the Kohoku Tokyu Department Store Shopping Center Akachanhonpo on June 16th. Besdies the usual kimono, suit and dress clothing options, the studio will offer cosplay style costumes based on Bandai animation and live action works for kids up to 9 years old and 130cm tall. Power Rangers, Masked Rider, Ultraman, Pretty Cure, Reservations will begin being taken on May 7th.

4-30-07 (3:37AM EDT)---- Death Note Live Action Wins In Belgium

The Death Note live action films scored a one two victory at Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival in April, taking the The Pegasus (Le Pegase) Prize of the Public (viewer's choice award). 74 other movies contended for the honor. The recently released DVD complete set has sold 220,000 copies in Japan to date.

4-30-07 (3:21AM EDT)---- Lucky Star TV Director Shakeup

Kyoto Animation has announced Hiroshi Yamamoto will no longer be the director of their Lucky Star TV series production team as of 4th epiosde. Taking up the reigns after that time will be Yasuhiro Takemoto of Full Metal Panic Second Raid Fame. Kyoto says Yamamoto has not yet reached their standard of direction. This marked his first gig as a total anime series director although he had in the past ascended to Episode Director on The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya and other shows.

4-30-07 (3:06AM EDT)---- Yojimbo Playing At New Beverly

Los Angeles, California's New Beverly Cinema mentions that the Kurosawa/Mifune film which inspired the anime Kaze No Yojimbo, will be screening with Sanjuro from June 3-5. Also of interest is the Sergio Leone remake of Yojimbo, "A Fistful of Dollars", which will double with the Thai Western "Tears of the Black Tiger" from May 9-10. Thanks to Daniel Zelter for the news.

4-28-07 (7:42AM EDT)---- Gedo Senki Japanese DVD Details

Buena Vista has announced Director Goro Miyazaki / Studio Ghibli's Gedo Senki will be released to R2 DVD on July 4th in Japan. 2 varieties will be sold. The regular version will include main disc and omake disc, with Japanese (DD 2.0ch), Japanese (DD EX) and an English (DD 2.0ch) audio track for 4,935 Yen. The special collection version will include the above, another omake disc, a Japanese (DTS-ES) audio track on the main disc, and multilanguage disc with English (DD 2.0ch), French (DD 2.0ch), Korean (DD 2.0ch), Mandarin (DD 2.0ch) and Cantonese (DD 2.0ch) audio tracks. Retail is 7,875 Yen. Japanese and English subtitles are included with both versions as well. An attractive offer for American fans who don't want to wait until 2009 to see Ghibli's latest in English.

4-28-07 (6:41AM EDT)---- New Suzumiya Figure Changes Color In Varrying Temperatures

Amazon Japan is now taking orders for Bandai's new "Metamo Figure - The Melancholy Of Suzumiya Haruhi - Suzumiya Haruhi Bunny Version". The 3,980 Yen figure ships in June, 2007. The costume color can supposedly change from black to white by mere touch. Temperature sensitive paints become affected at over 30 degrees C and returns at around 16 degrees C.

4-28-07 (5:11AM EDT)---- Gainax Blog Drew 1114 Comments In One Day

It's come out that Gainax's official blog drew 1114 responses (most of them negative) in one day (between April 23-24) responding to former director Takami Akai's mixi blog commentary. The wider fan expression of "discomfort" regarding the words played a main role in forcing his resignation.

4-28-07 (3:15AM EDT)---- Astroboy Music Renewed For The 21st Century

Team Entertainment has revived the music of Osamu Tezuka's Astroboy for the 21st century with the release of the new CD compilation Tetsuwan Atom (21st century ver.) which hit the Japanese market on April 11th. Included original tunes such as "Astroboy" and this "Robot March" have become timeless anime theme classics. These and others appear in various remixed renditions. Kazuya Sato the Hibari Jidou Gasshou Dan children's chorus perform the 8 track 38 minute 54 second album. Retail is 2,100 Yen.

4-28-07 (2:59AM EDT)---- Fruits Basket Manga Sets New USA TODAY Booklist Record

Tokyopop's Fruits Basket Volume #16 has attained the highest ranking yet for a manga on the USA Today Booklist 150 for the week ending April 15th. The Takaya Natsuki manga serialized for nine years in Japan in the girl's manga magazine Hana To Yume. The work drew a large number of both male and female readers. The achievement surpasses previous record holder Naruto Volume 11 which ranked #21 in September 2006. Fruit Basket was first published in the United States in February, 2004. Volume 16 was released on April 10th. Booklist's rankings are widely looked to by book retailers and libraries as a major benchmark for book sales in the USA. USA Today has the largest circulation numbers of any American newspaper with 2.2 million copies printed daily. Fruits Basket already has achieved the #1 bestselling comic status in the US for 2 years running (2005-2006). In Japan the 23 volume series recently concluded in Japan. It's sold over 16.54 million copies since the first volume was released in 1999. Accolades include the 25th Kodansha Publishers Ltd. manga prize. In the USA the first 15 volumes of the manga have sold over 2 million copes.

4-28-07 (2:31AM EDT)---- New Pierrot Exhibits Arrive At TAC

The Tokyo Anime Center in Akihabara has announced their latest exhibition will be centered around the new Studio Pierrot Naruto Shippuuden animation. The first of a 2 part display will run between April 27 and May 13, 2007. A special Naruto themed corner has been installed at TAC and new related goods can be found at the official shop. Fans purchasing a Naruto item 500 Yen or more will be entered into a prize lottery. Rotating in next between May 15 and May 27th will be a BLEACH exhibition.

4-28-07 (2:08AM EDT)---- Female Railway Otaku Boom Underway In Japan

As Tatsuko No Tabi heads to animation a new wave of female train fandom seems to be hitting Japan this spring / summer. TBS has just started a new TV show Special Express Tanaka 3 which features women train otaku.

4-28-07 (1:12AM EDT)---- Evangeriwon Headphones

Merchandising is well under way for Hideaki Anno's new Evangeriwon Shin Gekijou Ban film series. One of the first examples is a set of limited edition commemorative headphones from Audio Technica, available through chara-ani.com. The design is modled after Eva Unit 1. Engineers from King Records own sound studio are responsible for tuning the tone output of the speakers. Release is September 29, 2007 for 24,800 Yen.

4-28-07 (12:26AM EDT)---- Kansai Airport Adds Anime Shop

Osaka's Kansai International Airport has added an anime goods shop as part of a new facilities expansion project. With the aid of a new runway also, the airport is aiming at facilitating the arrival and departure of 130,000 planes per year in 2007 and rivaling Narita and Haneda's terminals. Donguri Kyowakoku (Acorn Republic) specializes in Studio Ghibli merchandise. It's located on the third floor of the passenger terminal complex and opened on April 20th.

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