Anime News Service - November 4

Anime News Service - November 4 - 9 Anime News

11-9-04

- The San Francisco Chronicle reports former japanese TV commercial star, presently, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger will arrive in Japan this week seeking to strengthen commercial ties between the world's 2nd and 5th largest economies. JBOX's Peter Payne is interviewed and mentions the complications of starting a business in Japan:
"There are a lot of barriers to getting started, like the requirement that you have to have $30,000 in the bank when you incorporate,"
Now, the monetary requirement is rarely enforced, said Payne, who studied Japanese at San Diego State and moved to Japan in 1991 to teach English.
- Cablefax's Cableworld talks Cartoon Network, Ami Onuki and Yumi Yoshimura--better known as Puffy AmiYumi and the launch of their new show.
- The St. Petersburgh Times Business Section profiles one of the leading anime retailers in the USA, Anime Nation.
- Conneticut's TheDay talks about Disney's latest animation effort aimed at boys and drawn in the anime style, Super Robot Monkey Team.

11-9-04---- UPDATE: GoFish Pictures Acquires Casshern

DreamWorks's division Go Fish Pictures has passed on more details of their pending "Casshern" release to ANS. "Casshern" marked the feature film directorial debut of acclaimed Japanese music video director Kazuaki Kiriya, who also wrote the original screenplay. The film opened to rave reviews in Japan and became an immediate hit. It has since gained an international cult following, including in the United States where fans on film and genre websites are already eagerly anticipating its domestic release.

An action-packed sci-fi thriller, "Casshern" blends Japanimation and manga-inspired live action resulting a new kind of hybrid filmmaking that is both visually stunning and thought-provoking. The human cast propels the action against a backdrop of CGI, special effects, and a wide range of animation techniques, from state of the art to simple stop-motion animation.

It is late in the 21st century. After 50 years of devastating war between Europa and the Eastern Federation, the latter has emerged victorious, and the new federation of Eurasia is formed. There can be no glorious peace, however, as the planet has been ravaged by chemical, biological and even nuclear weapons and the entire human race is dispirited and exhausted by half a century of war. A geneticist named Azuma brings hope in the form of a "neo-cell," which can rejuvenate human parts with no risk of rejection. But nature interferes with science to create a new kind of menace that forces the entire human race to fight an ultimate war against its own extinction.

11-9-04---- New Juvenile Orion Gear From Broccoli

Broccoli Gear, the merchandising division of Broccoli International, announces the release of the Juvenile Orion character merchandise beginning in November 2004. The immense popularity of Juvenile Orion in the North American market has sparked the creation of brand new enameled pins and cell phone accessories, each one featuring one of the five main characters from the series in a "super-deformed" style. The cell straps also feature each character's faction insignia and "Juvenile Orion" embossed in white.
Juvenile Orion is a five-volume fantasy-romance graphic novel involving a high school girl and the five young men who gather to protect her, and has been placed on Bookscan's top ten bestseller list with each volume's release. The manga series is a spin-off of Aquarian Age, a top-selling trading card game in Japan that has spawned the creation of numerous graphic novels and anime series. A number of prominent manga artists such as CLAMP, Takada Akemi, Narumi Kakinouchi, Keiji Goto, Koge-Donbo, and Haruhiko Mikimoto have illustrated cards for the game.
The cell phone straps will be available for purchase nationwide in local comic book and anime stores as well as Anime Gamers for $7.95 each. The character pins will be available for a retail price of $4.95 each.
Juvenile Orion Cell Phone Strap . Available in five character types: Kaname, Naoya, Tsukasa, Tomonori, and Isshin. . Rubber strap with detachable character mascot . Street Date: November 2004 . Suggested Retail Price: $7.95
Juvenile Orion Enameled Pins . Available in five character types: Kaname, Naoya, Tsukasa, Tomonori, and Isshin. . 1-1/2 inch enameled pin . Street Date: November 2004 . Suggested Retail Price: $4.95

http://www.broccolibooks.com/

11-8-04---- Japan For Sale Special On PopJapan TV

A special for Sony's Japan For Sale album series will air part as the POPJAPAN TV program. It will feature music videos and comments from the participating artists. Below is the broadcast schedule:
International Channel: Nov. 12 (Fri.) 10PM Nov. 14 (Sun.) 11PM-Repeat
US Nippon (NY): Nov. 12 (Fri.) 9:30PM
Tokyo TV (SF): Dec. 5 (Sun.) 8:45PM

11-8-04---- eigoMANGA: Women Manga Artists Educates New Generation Of Fans

Fandom comes full circle for women artists featured in Sakura Pakk, an anthology of short manga stories that takes a new approach to furthering the black-and-white graphic novel as a medium in the United States. Manga has been an entertainment staple for sub-cultures of American fans for over two generations, but only for those who are either able to read Japanese, or have taken the time to investigate and immerse themselves in the language and culture. Book series were only available in specialty Japanese bookstores or by mail order straight from Japan. Over the past decade, mainstream readership of manga has increased due to widespread availability of popular manga titles translated into English. According to a recent article from a national publication, manga "is the fastest-growing segment of the publishing industry, with 2004 sales estimated at more than $120 million, up 20% from 2003."
Set for release in early November by multimedia company eigoMANGA, Sakura Pakk aims to stand out from the abundance of manga already available to fans and new readers. Sakura Pakk stories are not translated from Japanese, but are written and drawn by primarily English-speaking artists who are enthusiastic manga fans themselves. As a result, literary elements that usually get lost in translation are virtually non-existent. Writers and artists make it a point to define any obscure Japanese terms or historical references in order to educate readers who are unfamiliar with the nuances of Japanese culture.
Columns dispersed between stories feature activities for manga fans, such as basic drawing lessons, articles on Japanese traditions, holidays and customs, and costume competition events known as "cosplay." The range of artistic styles and stories from artist to artist reflect an evolution of the art form t hat has taken place here within the U.S. Melissa K. Smith, anthology editor comments, "I hope that we can offer a wide variety of quality stories and art to our readers. I like the anthology style books because they offer the opportunity for many artists to be discovered and for the reader to possibly find something they may not have picked up had it been a single title manga."

For more information, contact: Carina Mifuel eigoMANGA 4610 Mission St. 4th Floor San Francisco, CA 94112 Phone/Fax: 877.880.8615 http://www.eigomanga.com carina@eigomanga.com

11-7-04

- What's the real story on the reported infamous "kamikaze attacks" of World War II? The Asia Times looks at the hype, fact and fiction.
- Thanks to Daniel who sends in word that a post to Love HK Film Community relays Beat Takeshi plans to do a sequel to the blind swordsman remake.

11-7-04---- Broccoli Books Prepares Galaxy Angel Vol. 4 Release

Broccoli Books, the publishing division of Broccoli International USA, announces the North American release of Galaxy Angel Volume 4 on December 15, 2004. Galaxy Angel; featured in games, novels, anime, manga, and merchandise; is one of the many hit series released by Broccoli Co. Ltd. Artist Kanan teams up with renowned writer Ryo Mizuno (Record of Lodoss War) for the manga series. Galaxy Angel is part of the Broccoli Books Deluxe line, which features additional bonus materials that were not included in the original Japanese edition. Aside from the original 4-page color insert, Broccoli Books’ version of Galaxy Angel will feature character profiles and bonus manga by Kanan. Each book will have a voucher redeemable for a limited edition dust jacket featuring an alternate illustration by Kanan.
About Galaxy Angel The Angel Troupe is composed of five beautiful and talented female pilots. When a coup d’état threatens the life of Prince Shiva, they are called to action. Takuto Meyers is put in charge of the Angels and is ordered to escort Prince Shiva to safety. With their enemy right behind them, Takuto and the Angels have enough to worry about—and the multiple love triangles don’t seem to be helping!
Volume 4 Synopsis It's the calm before the storm for the Angel Troupe. As they head toward Planet Lome, home of the anti-Eonia headquarters, the danger is growing. With Prince Shiva threatened, the Angel Troupe must focus on the mission at hand. If only Milfeulle could manage to think straight! So what if Ranpha and Takuto kiss? Why should it matter to her? For some reason, it keeps eating at her, but the enemy waits for no woman. Eonia and the Hell Hounds are on the move and the Elle Ciel is in for the fight of its life!

Galaxy Angel Volume 4 ISBN: 1-932480-43-9 Rating: 13+ 208 pages Suggested Retail Price: $9.99 Street Date: December 15, 2004 Genre: Sci-Fi / Comedy

11-6-04

- Mickey News talks paintbrush vs pixel in regards to the modern, global animation industry.
- Newsrama interviews prominent comic shop owner J.C. Glindmyer is the owner of Earthworld Comics in Albany, New York. A good portion of the article is devoted to how manga continues to influence the retail landscape in the brick and mortar arena.
- Gameindustry.biz has news Capcom will expand more of it's properties into the Movie realm. Pre-production is reportedly already underway on cinematic conversions of several of its key titles following the success of the Resident Evil movie. Devil May Cry and Onimusha will be adapted with live action versions slated for 2006. Rockman will spawn an animated feature shortly, having already been developed into an enormously successful anime TV show. On the flipside, the company is also planning to engage with movie producers who are seeking original games based on their properties, with the firm hoping to create titles which continue the universes of popular films rather than simply creating licensed tie-ins.

11-6-04---- New York-Tokyo eNerGy 2004 Anime And Game Festival

ANS has received exclusive details on the coming NEW YORK-TOKYO eNerGy 2004 Anime And Game Festival occuring in NYC FRI, NOV.19 – SUN, NOV. 21.

New York-Tokyo and FCI are proud to present the culmination of a year of successful events, bridging the cultural gap between the two cosmopolitan cities in fine style with the weekend-long "eNerGy Festival." With the monthly events Gamer's Night Groove (GNG) and Monthly Director's Series (MDS) bringing to New York the best in cutting edge games & music, and film/anime respectively, "eNerGy" brings all the ingredients together into a multimedia blend for three special days in November.

FRI, NOV. 19 is the Game day. We kick off the Festival with NYT’s advanced Interactive night featuring new gaming softs and products amidst Live Chiptune music performances. SAT, NOV. 20 and SUN, NOV. 21 are two full days of the best Anime from 2004. All premiere screenings of full length films and shorts fresh from Japan in the huge theater (931 seats!) Through all 3 days, Vendor Pavilion introduces the best Japanese Anime production studio.

Lots of exclusive content direct from Japan, discussion panels, tasty Japanese snacks, free gifts, and enter to win round trip tickets to Tokyo ! For anyone else who has ever had a glimmer of curiosity about the unstoppable artistic force coming out of modern Japanese culture, then you cannot afford to miss this weekend-long festival of eNerGy!

Supports : The City of New York Office of the Mayor, Manhattan Borough President Office, Tribeca Performing Arts Center Official Sponsors : Japan Airlines, Nippon Express, Sharp Subtitle Sponsor : ImaginAsian TV

TICKET PRICES 3 DAY PASS : General $50 / Student $25 / Group (more than 30) $25 PER SESSION TICKET : General $12 / Student $10 / Group (more than $30

BOX OFFICE HTTP://WWW.TRIBECAPAC.ORG 212.220.1460

SCHEDULE [A] GAME DAY Session 1 : Friday 8pm - 0am GAMERS NITE GROOVE Big of 2004 Game Special Chiptune Music Surprise !!

[B] ANIME DAYS Session 2 : Saturday 11am - 4pm SATURDAY MORNING ANIME with WORLD HERO · Game and Brunch Party Screening : 3 premieres including Hello Kitty and Pokemon Session 3: Saturday 5pm - 10pm ANIME MOVIE : GIANTS for 2005 Creator Panel Screening : 3 premieres including Kakurenbo Session 4 : Sunday 11am - 4pm TV ANIME : PREMIER from PRODUCTION HOUSE Industry Panel Screening: 12 premieres including Samurai Champloo (by Director of Cowboy Bebop and animator for Killbill) , Naruto (current US anime fans’ #1 choice) , Samurai 7 Session 5 : Sunday 5pm - 10pm ANIME GOES LIVE Guest Appearance Screening : 3 premieres including Cutie Honey and NinNin the Ninja Hattori

[C] VENDOR DAYS Friday 8pm – Sunday 5pm BOOTHS OPEN BOTH TO INDUSTRY AND GENERAL Aniplex : Best known for Fullmetal Alchemist, Blood, Ruroni Kenshin(tv) Gonzo : Best known for Gantz, Samurai7, Gankutsu Oh Yukikaze, Yukikazem Studio Pierrot: Best known for Naruto, Saiyuuki, Asatsu DK : Best known for Yu-Gi-Oh, Kochi Kame Toei Animation : Best known for One Piece, Dragonball, Digimon, Gashbell

11-6-04---- Yaoi Manga Tops Charts

According to Central Park Media, 3 out of the Top 5 Graphic Novels sold in America are Yaoi content as per Amazon.com's Top Selling Manga, November 4, 2004.

11-6-04---- FUNimation Talks Project Fullmetal Saturday

Fullmetal Alchemist premiers on Cartoon Network's [adult swim] on November 6th at Midnight E/P. Our goal is to make Fullmetal Alchemist the highest rated anime show in [adult swim] history and we want to get fans involved.
FUNimation Productions, Ltd. is handling the U.S. release of the show. We are positive that Fullmetal Alchemist has the potential to introduce more people into anime. There are only a handful of anime series that have had this type of impact.
How can fans help? We have created a special section on www.fullmetalalchemist.com that has downloads including a banner, a flyer, reminders to send to friends and sig line text for message boards and forums. Check out the goodies here: http://www.fullmetalalchemist.com/promote.htm.
We are only a two days away from the premier of Fullmetal Alchemist on [adult swim] on November 6th at midnight E/P and 11pm C/M. Can't catch it on Saturday? Then check out the encore on Thursday November 11th at 12:30 am E/P and 11:30 pm C/M.
>>> Additional News Item - November Triple Threat Covers
Edward and Alphonse Elric grace the covers of not one, but three magazines in November! Images of the covers can be found at www.fullmetalalchemist.com.
Check out Anime Insider #17 that has an exclusive interview with manga-ka Hiromu Arakawa and the Fullmetal Alchemist anime production crew of Studio Bones. Read why Associate Editor Zac Bertschy calls Fullmetal Alchemist "Entertaining, heart-breaking and thought-provoking. One of-if not the-greatest anime ever."
NewtypeUSA features an 8-page spread with interviews from Vic Mignogna, voice of Edward Elric and co-ADR directors, Mike McFarland and Colleen Clinckenbeard.

Fullmetal Alchemist is the Animerica Spotlight for November. "With all the right ingredients for a hit series, Fullmetal Alchemist doesn't disappoint." -Gina Gallego, Animerica.

11-5-04

- Taiwan's Taipei Journal says local publishers have faired well at the world's largest publishing trade show, the Frankfurt Book Fair, held in Germany Oct. 6-10. Indirectly benefiting from these promotional activities was Chung Meng-shun, creator of a comic book version of the same story, who was at the comic book pavilion to give autographs. Chung has been asked by a Japanese publisher to illustrate a comic book version of the well-known Chinese classic novel "Romance of the Three Kingdoms."
- Indian Television updates viewers on the latest programs to broadcast on Animax there:
Arjuna, a show based on Indian mythology, will air on 12 November at 11 am. The animated show centers around a vehicular accident leaving Arjuna clinging between life and death as her spirit rises out of her body where she has a premonition of the Earth's destruction. Arjuna is bestowed with the powers of the Earth, a power she must wield to stop Earth from being destroyed by demons called Rajas.
Another programme, Baby Ba-chan premiers on 13 November at 11 am. The animated series projects Amika’s rich grandmother's sudden demise and an unexpected arrival of a baby sister. This baby is none other than her grandmother, who’s back to groom Amika to become the family heiress.
UFO Baby will also be rolled out on 13 November at 2 pm. The show chalks out a hilarious anime about two aliens from outer space, who arrive in Miyu's house when their spaceship crashes. Another anime show Daigunder will showcase on 14 November at 11 am. Batorobo is a new futuristic sport where robots battle each other. Akira is a Komanda, a person who commands a Batorobo robot. His goal is to become a champion in this sport. Well, can he succeed? Remains to be seem.
- WMU News reports the Japanese Samurai and Anime Film Nights series at Western Michigan University concludes its fall schedule with "Castle in the Sky," one of Hayao Miyazaki's most popular animated films, Thursday, Nov. 11, at 5:30 p.m. in Room 2452 of Knauss Hall. The event is free and open to the public.
- Planet Gamecube has press by Atari on their coming slate of DBZ related video games.

11-5-04---- Benihana Anime Commercial

Following up on its successful ad campaign featuring a tongue-in-cheek spoof of many martial arts box office hits, Benihana (www.benihana.com) is thrilled with the launch of its latest television commercial featuring the magic of anime and guaranteed to capture the attention of younger diners who make up the new generation of Benihana loyal customers.
The fast-paced, action-packed thirty-second spot took over seven months to produce and included more than 9000 sketches developed in a collaborative effort of anime artists spanning two coasts and three continents. While it may look slick and sexy to the average eye, anime enthusiasts will recognize the deeply rooted Asian authenticity of the commercial created by professional stylists who were brought in to legitimize every aspect of the commercial, from the look of the wardrobe to the make of the motorcycle.
Produced at a time when American interest in Asian culture is at its peak, the commercial features a storyline both creative and authentic. Audiences will experience an animated action adventure featuring a young couple in love, a dramatic motorcycle chase scene and eventually a surprise birthday party at Benihana. The end result is an esthetically powerful vision originally created by Gad Romann, creative director of The Roman Group. "This is the first generation in American history that is not European-influenced," said Romann. "The agency's vision was to create something cutting-edge and stimulating that would talk to today's generation of Asian-influenced restaurant goers."
Kevin Aoki, Benihana Vice President of Marketing, recognizes the impact of effective branding in grasping the attention of new generations. "Benihana is fortunate that our branding efforts are capable of evolving with each new generation of diners. Young people today surround themselves with high-tech gadgets and are extremely perceptive to visual stimulation. Our anime campaign addresses these factors, showing that while the tradition of the Benihana experience has not changed, the face of the future is guaranteed to get your attention."

Benihana, now in its 40th year and one of the nation's largest chains of Asian restaurants, currently operates 70 restaurants nationwide, including 57 Benihana teppanyaki restaurants, five Haru sushi restaurants, eight RA Sushi Bar Restaurants and one Doraku restaurant. Under development at present are five restaurants -- one Benihana, two Haru and one RA Sushi. In addition, a total of 23 franchised Benihana teppanyaki restaurants are now open or under development in the U.S. and Latin America.

11-5-04---- Lady Death Creator At Wizard World In Dallas

Lady Death’s® creator Brian Pulido, best known as the founder of Chaos! Comics, the place “where darkness dwells,” is scheduled to attend the November 5-7, 2004 Wizard World Tour convention in Dallas, Texas. Be sure to bring your favorite picture of Lady Death® to be signed by Brian Pulido himself! The voice of Lady Death®, Christine Auten, as well as the motion picture’s director Andy Orjuela will be on hand to meet and greet the legions of fans. Also, Lady Death® will grace the screen with two convention showings of the feature length motion picture on Friday and Saturday. The Wizard World Tour will be hitting Dallas, Texas November 5th-7th at the Arlington Convention Center. For more information check out http://www.wizarduniverse.com/conventions/ or www.arlington.org.

11-5-04---- Akira Fan Trailer Becomes IFILM Pick

Joshua Siegel and ARCADIAN ENTERTAINMENT are proud to announce that AKIRA has become an IFILM Pick!
A new cut of our short film, The AKIRA Fan Trailer, has been designated an "IFILM Pick" by the IFILM Programming Committee and is now hosted by iFilm.com
http://www.ifilm.com/ifilm/product/film_info/0,3699,2646362,00.html

Los Angeles filmmakers Joshua Siegel and Juan Avilez have collaborated on a live action movie trailer for Katsuhiro Otomo's AKIRA. What began as a fun low-budget digital video project soon became a work of passion for artists across the world to honor one of the greatest anime and manga stories of all time. Please view our fan film even if you've seen it on the Arcadian website or at one of our convention screenings. IFILM videos are ranked by popularity!

11-4-04

- From The Korea Times comes more on the pending Puchon festival in Kyonggi, South Korea to show the current trend in animations and promote the industry.
- According to Mosnews, The famous Russian animator and director of animated films, Yuri Norstein, has been awarded with the Order of the Rising Sun by the Japanese government, the NewsRu.Com web-site reports. The Rusian animator received the award for “remarkable services to Japan,” an official release reads. Norstein made the Hedgehog in the Fog, and the Tale of Tales animation films which have been voted the best in the world by top movie critics.
- The New York Times has a review of the Carnegie International exhibition in Pitsburgh. Featured there is the anime style mural by Japanese artist Chiho Aoshima.
- Silver Bullet Comics has a mention that Wizard is planning a new event in Boston to include anime content.
- Masslive.com reports Sci-Fi cons are luring less attendees. Amazingly, one of the reasons cites is the proliferation of the internet. To draw up more visitors, one con, United Fan Con, will place a greater emphasis on anime and horror films than in the past.

Questions,Comments,News Submissions

Back To Anime News Service