Perseus (Sam Worthington) seeks information from the devious and deformed oracles the Stygian Witches in Warner Bros. Pictures’ and Legendary Pictures’
CLASH OF THE TITANS, distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. Photo courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures. © 2010 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.

Author: Kim Song-ho
Official Website: clash-of-the-titans

CLASH OF THE TITANS is a remake of the 1981 film of the same name. The original film, based on the Greek mythology about the adventures of Perseus, was directed by Desmond Davis and featured stop-motion visual effects by the legendary technician Ray Harryhausen. It was the last film in which Harryhausen produced the visual FX, and many of the fantastic creatures in this film, especially Kraken, Medusa and Pegasus, are still lovingly-remembered by fans.

The 2010 remake was co-produced by Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures which brought us such international hits like BATMAN BEGINS, THE DARK KNIGHT, 300, HANGOVER and WATCHMEN (the companies also recently announced another big property to remake – Godzilla. See the previous SciFi Japan coverage). Louis Leterrier of THE TRANSPORTER, UNLEASHED and THE INCREDIBLE HULK fame, directed.
Continued…

Worldwide Premiere of New School Comedy Series
Source: Anime Network press release
Official Series Site (Japanese): mmv.co.jp/special/daimao
Special Thanks to Christian Lopez

The new series ICHIBAN USHIRO NO DAIMAO will have its
world premiere April 2nd on Anime Network. © 2010
Marvelous Entertainment, Inc.

ICHIBAN USHIRO NO DAIMAO, the latest series from famed director Takashi Watanabe (BOOGIEPOP PHANTOM, NEW FIST OF THE NORTH STAR), will begin simulcasting this April on Anime Network Online.

From Marvelous Entertainment (MUSHI-SHI, AIR GEAR) and Artland (MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM 00, LEGEND OF THE GALACTIC HEROES) comes the story of young Akuto Sai, a new student at Constan Magical Academy. On the day of admittance, his aptitude test has predicted his future occupation as… Devil King. And so begins the trials and tribulations of school life as he is hounded by do-gooders, self appointed protectors, and overzealous followers. In this school, there’s no rest for the Devil King.

The ICHIBAN USHIRO NO DAIMAO simulcast will be available to registered users. Registration is absolutely free and takes very little time. Episode 1 will be available on Friday, April 2, 2010.
Continued…

Legendary Pictures and Warner Bros. will co-produce a new, big budget Hollywood movie based on Toho’s GODZILLA.
© 2010 Legendary Pictures, Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., Toho Co., Ltd.

Legendary Pictures to Develop and Produce Major Motion Picture Based on Toho’s Iconic Monster
Source: Legendary Pictures press release, Warner Bros.
Special Thanks to Gemma Cacho, Melissa Zukerman, Jessica Zacholl, and Erica Zilinskas

Legendary Pictures announced today that they will develop and produce a new film based on Toho Company’s famed GODZILLA character. Through the terms of the agreement, Legendary Pictures has acquired the rights to produce a movie inspired by Toho’s Godzilla, a franchise the Japanese company created and has nurtured for over fifty years.

Toho’s GODZILLA franchise boasts one of the most widely recognized film creatures worldwide, resulting in a series of books, television programs, video games and more than 25 films worldwide. Legendary intends to approach the film and its characters in the most authentic manner possible. The company will, in the near future, announce a filmmaker to helm the film for an intended 2012 release. The film will fall under the company’s co-production and co-financing deal with Warner Bros. Toho will distribute the film in Japan.
Continued…

Source: VIZ Media, MediaLab press releases
Special Thanks to Evelyn Dubocq and Erik Jansen

VIZ Media has assembled a veteran voice cast for the
North American debut of the anime VAMPIRE KNIGHT. Photo
courtesy of VIZ Media. © 2008 Matsuri Hino/Hakushenshaa,
Vampire Knight Project.

VIZ Media, LLC has announced the cast for the upcoming North American debut of VAMPIRE KNIGHT, the gothic-romance animated series based on the bestselling manga by Matsuri Hino.

VIZ Media sought out a cast of talented voice actors and the recording expertise of Bang Zoom! Entertainment to bring this series to life. Yuki Cross, the adoptive daughter of the headmaster of Cross Academy, is played by Mela Lee. Veteran anime voice actor Vic Mignogna plays Zero Kiryu, a student who is a year older than Yuki Cross and comes from a family of vampire hunters. Finally, Kaname Kuran is portrayed by Ethan Murray.

“VAMPIRE KNIGHT is an important series that demanded skilled actors who could portray these complex characters without sacrificing any of the intensity and emotional drama each one exudes,” says William Germain, Director, Programming & Music Sales, VIZ Media. “We also know there are a lot of fans of the manga that have been waiting for this series so we wanted to bring in some very talented people who we know will take VAMPIRE KNIGHT to a whole new level.”
Continued…

Japan’s Leading Anime Broadcaster and World’s Leading Asian Media Lifestyle Brand Expand Partnership
Source: BAM! Marketing, Publicity & Promotions press release
Official Site: Crunchyroll
Special Thanks to Chase Wang

TV Tokyo has bought a stake in Crunchyroll for $750,000. © 2010 Crunchyroll, Inc.,
and TV Tokyo Corporation

Crunchyroll, Inc., and TV Tokyo Corporation have announced the expansion of their industry-defining content alliance and partnership with the February 2010 conclusion of a $750,000 strategic investment by TV Tokyo into Crunchyroll.

TV Tokyo will continue to provide Crunchyroll with content licenses for world-class Japanese entertainment, including hits like NARUTO SHIPPUDEN, TEGAMI BACHI: LETTER BEE, and many others, and Crunchyroll will continue to offer access to TV Tokyo content. In addition, both TV Tokyo and Crunchyroll will continue to explore new business areas and work on mutually beneficial ways of developing TV Tokyo’s rights business to a global audience.
Continued…

Meiko Kaji is the center of attention as the wrongly accused Sasori in FEMALE PRISONER #701: SCORPION, one of thirteen films about Japanese women
who break the rules. Photo courtesy of Japan Society. © 1972 Toei Co., Ltd.

Japan Society Screens 13 Rare Movies Starring Actresses Ayako Wakao, Meiko Kaji and Mariko Okada
Source: Japan Society
Special Thanks to Joel Neville Anderson

Up next from New York City’s Japan Society is the 2010 Globus Film Series “Mad, Bad… & Dangerous to Know: Three Untamed Beauties”, presenting 13 rare movies of actresses Ayako Wakao, Meiko Kaji and Mariko Okada. At the opposite end from the stereotype of docile Japanese women— heroic good mothers, chaste daughters and hardworking faithful wives— the three actresses embodied the transgression of limits, breaking rules, flouting norms and generally upsetting everyone.

This series explores the idea of unconventional beauty that these spellbinding actresses created through an unparalleled body of films. Both Wakao and Okada were muses and inspiration for two major film directors, Yasuzo Masumura and Kiju (Yoshishige) Yoshida, respectively, while Kaji navigated between filmmakers, a wild card of Japanese cinema at the time.

“Mad, Bad… & Dangerous to Know” runs from March 31st to April 18th. Tickets for regular screenings in the series are $11/$7 members, students & seniors.
Continued…

Source: FUNimation Entertainment press release
Special Thanks to Jackie Smith and Manny Alcala

STRIKE WITCHES is one of three new FUNimation DVD collections
being released on March 30th. © 2007 501st Joint Fighters Wing

FUNimation Entertainment has provided details on three new Region 1 anime DVDs going on sale at the end of March…

On March 30th, look for STRIKE WITCHES: The Complete First Season Box Set featuring 12 uncut episodes, SOUL EATER- Part Two Box Set with Episodes 14-26, and SGT FROG: SEASON 2- PART 2 Box Set with episodes 40-51.
Continued…

With Just One Word, You Will Do Anything
Source: Madman Entertainment

DVD cover art for Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s J-Horror classic
CURE. Photo courtesy of Madman Entertainment.
©1997 Kadokawa Pictures, Inc.

Known as one of the top J-Horror directors, Kiyoshi Kurosawa has made such well-known hits as SEANCE (Kourei: Ushirowo Miruna, 1999), CHARISMA (Karisuma, 2001), PULSE (Kairo, 2001), BRIGHT FUTURE (Akarui Mirai, 2003), DOPPELGANGER (Dopperugengaa, 2003), and LOFT (Rofuto, 2005). One of his most acclaimed works is CURE (Kyua, 1997) which is now coming to Region 4 (Australia) DVD from Madman Entertainment.

Against the backdrop of a decaying Tokyo, Detective Kenichi Takabe (Koji Yakusho) investigates a series of baffling murders occurring all over the city. In all cases, each victim is killed the same way, but the murderers are always different, always ordinary people who remember nothing of the crime afterward.

The only link appears to be a mysterious man named Kunio Mamiya (Masato Hagiwara) who came into brief contact with each of the murderers, and who seems to possess an unusual power of suggestion over others. Detective Takabe must place his own sanity on the line in an attempt to end this wave of inexplicable terror.
Continued…

Source: Section23 Films press release
Special Thanks to Mike Bailiff

Click on this image to download a pdf file of the CLANNAD
upgrade order form. Photo courtesy of Section23 Films.
© 2007 Tokyo Broadcasting System Television, Inc.

The hit anime series CLANNAD is being reissued on DVD by Sentai Filmworks with a brand-new English dub. Originally released in a subtitled only format, CLANNAD is receiving the dub as part of an agreement in which several affiliated groups have come together to create English language versions for five of Sentai’s most popular titles.

In appreciation of those who supported the subtitled only release of these shows, Sentai Filmworks and Section23 Films have set up an “Upgrade” program which will allow owners of the subtitled versions to upgrade their DVD’s for the new release containing the English dub.
Continued…

Gary Oldman and Toho Actors Star in First Film of ‘John Rain’ Series
Source: The Associates press release
Special Thanks to Farhana Shaikh

UK DVD cover art for RAIN FALL, coming March 29th.
Photo courtesy of The Associates. © 2009 Rain Fall LLP.

Based on the first book in the series of bestselling ‘John Rain’ novels by acclaimed author and former CIA operative Barry Eisler, the action-packed crime-thriller, RAIN FALL, brings Eisler’s half-Japanese, half-American anti-hero to the screen for the first time in the form of award winning Japanese star, Keppei Shiina (THE LAST PRINCESS; SAKURAN). RAIN FALL (cert. 15) will be released on DVD (£15.99) by Momentum Pictures on 29th March 2010.

Adapted for the screen and directed by Max Mannix (DANCE OF THE DRAGON), this slickly mounted, tense thriller co-stars Gary Oldman (THE DARK KNIGHT; HARRY POTTER AND THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX), veteran Japanese actor Akira Emoto (GODZILLA VS SPACE GODZILLA; ICHI; MEMORIES OF MATSUKO; SINKING OF JAPAN), Kyoko Hasegawa (NANAYO), Misa Shimizu (THE UNBROKEN; THE HARIMAYA BRIDGE) and Dirk Hunter (UNDEAD).
Continued…

Source: Section23 Films press release
Special Thanks to Mike Bailiff

TAYUTAMA: KISS ON MY DEITY COMPLETE
COLLECTION. Photo courtesy of Section23
Films.

Section23 Films has announced that TAYUTAMA: KISS ON MY DEITY is now on sale on DVD across North America.

TAYUTAMA: KISS ON MY DEITY COMPLETE COLLECTION contains all 12 episodes of the magical comedy series on 2 discs. TAYUTAMA began life as a popular adult PC game, but it has since been adapted to many other media, including anime.

Yuuri Mito is a typical, normal Japanese teenager. He goes to school, works on people’s motorcycles and performs exorcisms. Okay, that last part’s a little bit unusual, but his family lives in a shrine and they do that sort of thing. Still, you would think he’d know enough to be careful with an ancient relic he finds in the woods, especially when a mysterious goddess appears and tells him to leave it alone. Unfortunately, despite Mito’s best efforts, the seal gets broken anyway and a number of dangerous “tayuti” that it held in stasis get loose. This is bad. Mito also ends up with a beautiful goddess girl who decides that she’s going to marry him. This might not be so bad, if he wasn’t already caught up in the middle of a war between the entities he’s released.
Continued…

Robot pilot Hiroshi Akishima stands in defense during what may be the last battle of mankind. Photo courtesy of CoMix Wave Films.
© 2010 Jun Awazu/Media Factory/CoMix Wave Films

New Computer Animated Feature from the Makers of NEGADON
Author: Keith Aiken
Source: Kazuki Sunami, CoMix Wave Films Inc.
Official Movie Site: planzet.jp
Special Thanks to Elliot Gay

A SciFi JAPAN EXCLUSIVE

PLANZET is a new Japanese computer animated sci-fi adventure from writer/director Jun Awazu and production company CoMix Wave Films, the creative team behind the popular CG monster short NEGADON: THE MONSTER FROM MARS (Wakusei Daikaiju Negadon, 2005). The film will be theatrically released in Japan on May 22, 2010.

SciFi Japan is pleased to present an early look at PLANZET with exclusive information and images provided by CoMix Wave.
Continued…

The Exciting Finale of Naoki Urasawa’s Mega Popular ASTRO BOY Update
Source: VIZ Media press release
Special Thanks to Evelyn Dubocq

A new take on Astro Boy wraps up with the 8th volume
of Pluto: Urasawa X Tezuka. Photo courtesy of VIZ
Media. © 2008 Naoki Urusawa /Shogakukan Inc.

VIZ Media will be releasing the much anticipated 8th and final volume of Naoki Urasawa’s manga masterpiece Pluto: Urasawa X Tezuka on April 6th.

Pluto: Urasawa X Tezuka is a modern reinterpretation of the work by the master of manga, Osamu Tezuka. In an ideal world where man and robots coexist, someone or something is after the seven great robots of the world. Interpol assigns robot detective Gesicht to this most strange and complex case – and he eventually discovers that he is one of the targets!

In the final volume Atom is back, and the fate of the earth is in his hands! Now that Atom has all the answers to the unsolved mysteries around Pluto, Bora and more, he’s prepared to put everything on the line. With the memory of his fallen brethren – Gesicht, Mont Blanc, North No. 2, Brando, Hercules and Epsilon – etched deeply into his heart, Atom is headed for one last battle to save the world!

Pluto: Urasawa X Tezuka is rated ‘T+’ for Older Teens and has a MSRP $12.99 U.S. / $16.99 Canada.
Continued…

Hong Kong Classic Gets Ultimate Edition Treatment
Source: The Associates press release
Special Thanks to Paul Smith

Cover art for the FIST OF LEGEND two-disc Ultimate
Edition DVD. Photo courtesy of The Associates. © 1994
Golden Harvest /Eastern Production Ltd.

Directed by Gordon Chan (THE MEDALLION; BEAST COPS) and starring martial arts superstar Jet Li (THE MUMMY: TOMB OF THE DRAGON EMPEROR; THE FORBIDDEN KINGDOM; FEARLESS; HERO), FIST OF LEGEND gets the Ultimate Edition treatment courtesy of Cine Asia with an extra features-packed Blu-ray and two-disc DVD release on 22nd March 2010.

A stunning reinvention of Bruce Lee’s timeless 1972 classic, FIST OF FURY, FIST OF LEGEND delivers scene upon scene of intense and magnificently composed martial arts action for what is now considered by many to be the greatest kung fu movie of all time. Showcasing exceptional action-choreography from ace martial arts director, Yuen Woo-ping (THE MATRIX Trilogy and KILL BILL), FIST OF LEGEND is a brilliant martial arts masterpiece that justifiably has been awarded iconic status by fans and critics worldwide.

FIST OF LEGEND (cert. 18) will be released on DVD (£17.99) and Blu-ray (£24.99) by Cine Asia on 22nd March 2010.
Continued…

The new VIZ Anime website allows fans to watch hundreds of streaming episodes for free. Photo courtesy of VIZ Media. © 2010 VIZ Media, LLC

Free Site Kicks Off with More than 400 Episodes from Hit Anime Series
Source: VIZ Media press release
Official Site: VIZAnime.com
Special Thanks to Evelyn Dubocq

In a significant news announcement, VIZ Media, LLC has detailed the launch of VIZ Anime – a brand new, free-to-use interactive web destination that will become a permanent home to some of the company’s best-loved animated series as well as new content which will be added on a weekly basis.

VIZ Anime kicks off with more than 400 episodes from hit series such as BLEACH, BUSO RENKIN, DEATH NOTE (complete series), HIKARU NO GO, HONEY & CLOVER, INUYASHA (complete series) and INUYASHA: THE FINAL ACT, NANA, NARUTO (complete series) and NARUTO SHIPPUDEN as well as THE PRINCE OF TENNIS.
Continued…

Premieres this Month on Anime Network VOD
Source: Sentai Filmworks, Anime Network press releases
Special Thanks to David Williams and Christian Lopez

The popular anime CLANNAD will be dubbed in English this
year. Photo courtesy of Section23 Films. © 2007 Tokyo
Broadcasting System Television, Inc.

Sentai Filmworks is pleased to announce that the hit series CLANNAD will be receiving an English dub. Originally released in a subtitled only format, CLANNAD is receiving the dub as part of an agreement in which several affiliated groups have come together to create English language versions for five of Sentai’s most popular titles.

In addition to the 24 episode CLANNAD, the four other series that have been selected for this limited program are: the science fiction drama BLUE DROP (13 episodes,) the psychological thriller GHOST HOUND (22 episodes,) LEGENDS OF THE DARK KING ~ A FIST OF THE NORTH STAR STORY (13 episodes) and the 26 episode historical fantasy TEARS TO TIARA. English dub production duties for all five series will be handled by Seraphim Digital under the auspices of a team of veteran ADR directors such as Steven Foster, who will oversee the English dub for CLANNAD.

In appreciation of those who supported the subtitled only release of these shows, Sentai Filmworks is developing an “Upgrade” program which will allow owners of the subtitled versions to upgrade their DVD’s for the new release containing the English dub. The shows will also be available both through broadcast, streaming and retail outlets over the coming months. Further details will be announced as they are available.
Continued…

New VIZ Signature Release Comes from the Talented Creator of House of Five Leaves and not simple
Source: VIZ Media, MediaLab press release
Official Site: VizSignature.com
Special Thanks to Evelyn Dubocq and Erik Jansen

Food and romance come together in Ristorante
Paradiso. Photo courtesy of VIZ Media. © 2006
Natsume Ono

On March 16th, VIZ Media, LLC released the manga – Natsume Ono’s Ristorante Paradiso. The story, a romance among the staff at a bistro in Rome, is offered in a single volume and will be published under the VIZ Signature imprint. Ristorante Paradiso is rated ‘T+’ for Older Teens and will carry an MSRP of $12.99 U.S. / $16.99 CAN.

Natsume Ono made her professional debut in 2003 with the web comic, La Quinta Camera, and subsequent works not simple, Ristorante Paradiso, and Gente (a continuation of Ristorante Paradiso) have met with both critical and popular acclaim. In 2009, Ristorante Paradiso was adapted into an animated TV series. Her manga drama House of Five Leaves is currently published in Japan in IKKI magazine.

“Natsume Ono continues to push the manga genre in intriguing new directions with her minimalist art style and strong, character-driven stories that deliver surprising quirks and touching endings,” says Gonzalo Ferreyra, Vice President Sales & Marketing, VIZ Media. “Two of Ono’s other works, House of Five Leaves and not simple, both now available for free preview on SigIKKI.com, have garnered accolades from older readers looking for more sophisticated stories. Don’t miss the opportunity to explore the unique work of this very talented manga creator.”
Continued…

Screening in London on April 28
Source: Barbican Centre, Sarah Harvey Publicity press release
Special Thanks to Helene Muron

Key art design for DEATH NOTE RELIGHT. Photo courtesy of
Madman Entertainment. ©Tsugumi Ohba, Takeshi Obata/Shueisha.
© DNDP, VAP, Shueisha, Madhouse

The Barbican Centre in London continues their JAPANIMATION event series in April with a promotional screening of DEATH NOTE RELIGHT, the rogue shinigami-eyed view of an epic battle between two great minds. The film is presented courtesy of Manga Entertainment and VIZ Media, and will be introduced by anime expert and author Helen McCarthy (The Anime! Movie Guide, Hayao Miyazaki: Master of Japanese Animation, and founder of the magazine AnimeFX).

DEATH NOTE RELIGHT retells the groundbreaking DEATH NOTE psychological crime drama from an entirely new perspective. The feature-length version of the first half of the original television series tells Death God Shinigami Ryuk’s story of what happens when he deliberately drops his Death Note down to earth in a moment of boredom. Found by genius human high school student Light Yagami, the Death Note kills the person whose name is written in it and Light soon realizes its potential to rid the world of evil. When criminals begin dropping dead one by one, genius detective L steps in to track down the elusive killer known as Kira.
Continued…

ULTRAMAN TIGA is now airing on the Los Angeles station UTB. © 1996 Tsuburaya Productions Co, Ltd., MBS

Source: Tsuburaya Productions
Official Site: United Television Broadcasting Systems, Inc.

Tsuburaya Productions’ popular 1996 series ULTRAMAN TIGA (Uritoraman Taiga) has returned to television in Southern California. The show is currently airing on the independent Japanese language TV station UTB (United Television Broadcasting Systems, Inc.) Channel 18 in Hollywood. UTB is showing the episodes uncut and in their original Japanese language with English subtitles.
Continued…

Pilot Banagher Links activates the RX-0 Unicorn Gundam for the first time. Photo courtesy of VIZ Media. © 2010 Sotsu, Sunrise

New 6 Part Original Video Animation Released Worldwide this Month
Author: Andrew Nguyen
Official Site: gundam-unicorn.net (Japanese), gundam-unicorn.net/en (English)
Special Thanks to Erik Jansen (MediaLab) and Evelyn Dubocq (VIZ Media)

MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM UC (UNICORN ) (Kidō Senshi Gandamu Yunikon, 2010) is the latest chapter in the long-running MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM metaseries.

Created by Yoshiyuki Tomino and produced by the Japanese animation studio Sunrise, GUNDAM, which began in April 1979, is one of the premier mecha anime shows in Japan. GUNDAM was one of the first shows that used giant robots (called mobile suits) as actual military weapons. It has spawned numerous sequels and merchandise, particularly in the form of plastic model kits from Bandai of the numerous mobile suits that appear in the metaseries. Furthermore, as the launch pad for the Real Robot genre boom of the 1980s it served as the influence for following shows such as SUPER DIMENSIONAL FORTRESS MACROSS (better known as the first 3rd of ROBOTECH in the US) and PATLABOR.

The first episode of MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM UC premiered February 20, 2010 on PlayStation Network Japan followed by a Blu-Ray release in Japan and the US from Bandai on March 12th. Also Sunrise has shown previews of the first seven minutes of the first episode in both Japanese and English languages. The US will also have a theatrical premiere of the first episode in San Francisco by VIZ Cinema, running March 19th-25th. Sunrise plans to release the next episode of this series in the fall.
Continued…