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.
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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.
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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.
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Akira Takizawa poses for the mirror after discovering a stash of weapons. Photo courtesy of FUNimation Entertainment. © 2009 EDEN OF THE EAST.

Author: Elliot Gay
Official Site: juiz.jp
Special Thanks to Jackie Smith and Manny Alcala, FUNimation Entertainment

EDEN OF THE EAST (Higashi no Eden) is a tricky show to look at in a lot of ways. Coming from Kenji Kamiyama, the man behind the GHOST IN THE SHELL: STAND ALONE COMPLEX (Kōkaku Kidōtai Sutando Arōn Konpurekkusu) TV series, it’s something of a departure. The character designs have a decidedly more feminine edge, the season itself only ran an awkward eleven episodes and the story has yet to be concluded via a series of theatrical films. Yet despite all of this strangeness, the story manages to engage the viewer, making it maddening to have to wait for a proper ending. For those of you who don’t wish to read my reasoning beyond this paragraph, I’ll make it simple: I highly recommend EDEN OF THE EAST if you have any interest in Japanese animation on the whole. This is a series crafted with a lot of love.
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RIN: DAUGHTER OF MNEMOSYNE © 2007 Xebec- Genco/ Yggdrasil Executive Committee. DRAGON BALL Z SEASON 2: DRAGON BOX © Bird Studio/Shueisha,
Toei Animation. ©1989 Toei Animation Co., Ltd. ONE PIECE: SEASON TWO- SIXTH VOYAGE © 1999 Toei Animation Co., Ltd., Japan. © 2001 Eichiro Oda/Shueisha.
EVANGELION: 1.11 YOU ARE (NOT) ALONE Blu-ray © 2007 Khara/Gainax

Source: FUNimation Entertainment press releases
Special Thanks to Jackie Smith

FUNimation Entertainment has provided details on several new and upcoming Region 1 anime DVDs.

Read on for cover art and specs for SOUL EATER- Part One, RIN: DAUGHTER OF MNEMOSYNE Complete Series, CASE CLOSED MOVIE 6: THE PHANTOM OF BAKER STREET, SANDS OF DESTRUCTION: THE COMPLETE SERIES, ONE PIECE: SEASON 2- FIFTH VOYAGE and ONE PIECE: SEASON 2- SIXTH VOYAGE, KENICHI: THE MIGHTIEST DISCIPLE- Season Two, Part Two, SGT FROG: SEASON 2- PART 1, DRAGON BALL SEASON 3 COMPLETE COLLECTION and DRAGON BALL Z SEASON 2: DRAGON BOX, THE SLAYERS REVOLUTION: The Complete Fourth Season, and EVANGELION: 1.11 YOU ARE (NOT) ALONE on DVD and Blu-ray.
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Author: John “Dutch” DeSentis
Source: La La Land Records
Special Thanks to Mark Banning

La La Land Records’ GODZILLA 50th ANNIVERSARY EDITION SOUNDTRACK
CD is going out of print this month. Photo courtesy of La La Land
Records. © 1954 Toho Co., Ltd.

La La Land Records has made the announcement on their website that their great 2004 release of Akira Ifukube’s career defining score for GODZILLA (Gojira aka; Godzilla, King of the Monsters, 1954) is going out of print on March 31st. There are reportedly less than 120 copies left in their inventory so fans who missed out on this when it initially came out would do well to act fast. Another great incentive to purchase this CD is that it’s price has been reduced to $4.98!

To order the GODZILLA 50th ANNIVERSARY EDITION, go to lalalandrecords.com/Godzilla.

La La Land’s release boasts a significant upgrade in sound quality and is a no-brainer alternative for fans who cannot afford to track down a rather expensive copy imported from Japan. The only Japanese import still in print is the version from the GODZILLA SOUNDTRACK PERFECT COLLECTION which cannot be bought on its own. The 1993 Toshiba/EMI release as well as the version that came packaged with the score to RODAN are both long out of print.
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Police study the victim and scene of the murder; an especially rare crime in their town. Photo courtesy of Magnolia Pictures.
© 2009 CJ Entertainment and Barunson

Suspense thriller arrives in U.S. theaters May 12
Author: Richard Pusateri
Source: Magnolia Pictures
Official Movie Site: motherfilm.com (US), mother2009.co.kr (Korea)
Special Thanks to Marina Bailey

Director Bong Joon-ho (THE HOST) brings the Hitchcock flavor to MOTHER. First, well, it’s called “MOTHER” and takes maternal issues and other family matters to a length not seen in Alfred Hitchcock’s movies. It also has a “wrong man” theme, more than one McGuffin, a little voyeurism, a lot of suspense and several plot twists.

Comparison to the works of the Master of Suspense Hitchcock, should in no way diminish Bong’s achievement in MOTHER. MOTHER is a thoroughly engaging and satisfying film experience. There are almost no weak spots and the viewer remains focused on Mother’s obsessive quest. This movie is much more than a suspenseful crime drama. Overall, the universally enduring bond of love between a mother and her child is depicted with a subtle but insistent subversion for our entertainment, delivered with a gently twisted Hitchcockian touch. Bong delivers a thoroughly entertaining and technically accomplished movie that keeps the pace up with shocks and surprises.
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Australia’s Madman Entertainment brings the Korean hits HAEUNDAE and CHAW to DVD. Photos courtesy of Madman Entertainment.
HAEUNDAE © 2009 JK Film / CJ Entertainment. CHAW © 2009 Big House/ Vantage Holdings and Lotte Entertainment

Natural Disasters and Mutant Animals Terrify and Entertain
Source: Madman Entertainment

Two of the biggest box office hits in Korea last year were the mega-tsunami thriller HAEUNDAE and the killer wild boar horror/comedy CHAW. The Australian distributor Madman Entertainment has picked up both films and is releasing them on Region 4 PAL DVD. HAEUNDAE went on sale last month, and CHAW is scheduled for April.

Neither movie has been released on home video in North America.
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New Anime and Live Action Region 1 DVDs
Source: Section23 Films press release
Special Thanks to Mike Bailiff

DVD cover art for YOU’RE UNDER ARREST: FULL THROTTLE
COLLECTION 1, now on sale. Photo courtesy of Section23
Films.

Genre distributor Section23 Films has announced two new DVDs hitting shelves today. From Section23 client Sentai Filmworks comes the first collection of YOU’RE UNDER ARREST: FULL THROTTLE, the outrageous follow-up to YOU’RE UNDER ARREST: FAST & FURIOUS. Next up is BUYUSENKI BATTLE CHRONICLE, a motorcycle gang action thriller from Switchblade Pictures.

The ladies of Bokuto Police Station are back in YOU’RE UNDER ARREST: FULL THROTTLE, but there have been some BIG changes! Miyuki’s been in the U.S., studying American police techniques while Natsumi’s actually been serving in the military! So have these world-changing experiences had any effect on how everyone’s favorite girls in blue carry out their duties protecting the Japanese public? Have they gained a more “mature” perspective? Well, let’s just say that, if anything, they may be even wilder and less cautious than before!

The streets of Japan will be paved with blood in BUYUSENKI BATTLE CHRONICLE! Kyosuke Jinnai was the leader of the “Buyusenki,” the largest group of its kind in the Kanto region, but sick of the violence, he had planned to give it all up to make a family with his pregnant girlfriend. Instead, all of that was stolen from him in a moment of savage betrayal, and the man who dreamed of a life of peace has instead been transformed into an angel of death!
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SJ Championship Tournaments Offer Exciting Experiences For New And Existing Players Beginning April 2010
Source: VIZ Media, MediaLab press releases
Special Thanks to Erik Jansen

The NARUTO SHIPPUDEN CCG SHONEN JUMP Championship
Tournaments begin next month. Photo courtesy of VIZ
Media. © 2002 Masashi Kishimoto /2007 Shippuden

Bandai America Inc. and VIZ Media, LLC are pleased to announce the new NARUTO SHIPPUDEN Collectible Card Game (CCG) SHONEN JUMP Championship Tournaments in North America. There will be multiple tournaments held throughout the United States at select hobby retailers culminating in the National Championships to be held at the Gen Con Indy taking place in Indiana on August 7th and 8th.

NARUTO SHIPPUDEN CCG, Bandai America’s top selling collectible card game, is a game of strategy where players construct card decks of Ninja that use their powerful Jutsu to complete Missions and protect their villages. The NARUTO SHIPPUDEN CCG, currently has hundreds of tournaments held each week at local hobby retailers throughout the United States.

SHONEN JUMP Championship Tournaments will be accessible to NARUTO fans, beginners and experienced CCG players. Experienced players will test their skills against other players in the SHONEN JUMP Championship Tournaments to win special prizes. New players may redeem special coupons found in Shonen Jump magazine and receive a free NARUTO SHIPPUDEN CCG demo kit. Bandai volunteers will also be on location to teach new players how to play. NARUTO fans will have the opportunity to receive special SHONEN JUMP promo cards through special promotions and attendance at the tournaments. Finally, one lucky person will win an autographed promo card signed by Masashi Kishimoto, the creator of NARUTO.
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New Murder Mystery from the Director of THE HOST
Source: Magnolia Pictures
Official Movie Site: motherfilm.com (US), mother2009.co.kr (Korea)
Special Thanks to Marina Bailey

US poster for MOTHER, the new film from writer/
director Bong Joon-ho. Photo courtesy of Magnolia
Pictures. © 2009 CJ Entertainment and Barunson

MOTHER (Madeo, 2009), the latest film from award-winning Korean director Bong Joon-ho (THE HOST) is a unique murder mystery about a mother’s primal love for her son. The movie has been picked up for release in the United States by Magnolia Pictures and begins its theatrical run on March 12th. Check magpictures.com/dates for theaters and screening times.

Mother is a devoted single parent to her simple-minded twenty-seven-year-old son, Do-joon. Often a source of anxiety to his mother, Do-joon behaves in foolish or simply dangerous ways. One night, while walking home drunk, he encounters a school girl who he follows for a while before she disappears into a dark alley. The next morning, she is found dead in an abandoned building and Do-joon is accused of her murder. An inefficient lawyer and an apathetic police force result in a speedy conviction. His mother refuses to believe her beloved son is guilty and immediately undertakes her own investigation to find the girl’s killer. In her obsessive quest to clear her son’s name, Mother steps into a world of unimaginable chaos and shocking revelations.
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Gangster Wong Po (Sammo Hung) battles Detective Ma Kwun (Donnie Yen) in KILL ZONE, coming to this month to Blu-ray and DVD in Britain.
Photo courtesy of The Associates. © 2005 ABBA Movies Company Limited, Stage Empire Ltd

Hong Kong Legends Donnie Yen and Sammo Hung Face Off in Martial Arts Hit
Source: The Associates press release
Special Thanks to Farhana Shaikh

Cover art for the KILL ZONE two-disc Ultimate Edition
DVD. Photo courtesy of The Associates. © 2005 ABBA
Movies Company Limited, Stage Empire Ltd

Winner of the Best Action Choreography Award at the 2006 Hong Kong Film Awards and hailed by Variety as “a must see” for martial arts and action movie fans, the action-thriller KILL ZONE (aka SPL: Sha Po Lang, 2005) comes to Blu-ray and DVD (as a two-disc Ultimate Edition) in March packed with special features that include behind the scenes featurettes, plus exclusive interviews with the stars and filmmakers.

Directed by Wilson Yip and featuring the work of many of the creative talents who helped him in bringing IP MAN, FLASHPOINT and DRAGON TIGER GATE to the screen, KILL ZONE stars Donnie Yen (IP MAN; AN EMPRESS AND THE WARRIORS), Simon Yam (IP MAN; TRIANGLE), Sammo Hung (THREE KINGDOMS; KUNG FU HUSTLE; THE MEDALLION) and Jacky Wu (INVISIBLE TARGET; FATAL CONTACT) and combines hard-hitting martial arts action with gritty police thriller conventions.

Climaxing in a long-awaited, extended screen showdown between martial arts legends Sammo Hung and Donnie Yen and featuring a breathtaking mano-a-mano face-off between Yen and Jacky Wu, KILL ZONE is an electrifying and suspenseful thriller guaranteed to keep action fans on the edge of their seats from start to finish.

KILL ZONE (cert. 18) will be released on DVD (£17.99) and Blu-ray (£24.99) by Cine Asia on 8th March 2010.
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Next month Kaiyodo launches a line of highly detailed and articulated figures based on popular science fiction and fantasy characters.
Photos courtesy of Anime Jungle. Alien © Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. Daimajin © 1966 Kadokawa Pictures, Inc. © 2010 Kaiyodo Co., Ltd.

The Popular Toy Line is Expanded to Include Kaiju and Special Effects Movie Characters
Author: John “Dutch” DeSentis
Translations: Jim Ballard
Source: Anime Jungle
Official Site: kaiyodo.co.jp/revoltech
Special Thanks to Tetsu Shiota

Fans and collectors are probably familiar with the brand Revoltech, which is owned by the Kaiyodo Company of Japan. It is a series of super-articulated figures in the 4-6 inch scale and based on various popular characters from manga, video games, television, film, and anime. The name itself reportedly means “Revolver Technology” as the revolver joint is what gives the figures their super-articulation.

Of interest to kaiju fans is the upcoming line, SCI-FI REVOLTECH, which will showcase popular characters from both east and west. The first figures up for release on April 1st are the Xenomorph from Ridley Scott’s ALIEN and the vengeful god DAIMAJIN from the Daiei movie series of the 1960s, followed on May 1st by Tsuburaya Productions’ friendly beast Booska and Toho’s Baragon (from FRANKENSTEIN CONQUERS THE WORLD).
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HALO LEGENDS is now available on Blu-ray and DVD. Photo courtesy of Madman Entertainment. © 2010 Microsoft Corporation

HALO LEGENDS on DVD and Blu-ray; DEATH NOTE RELIGHT and NARUTO SHIPPUDEN
Source: Madman Entertainment

The Australian distributor Madman Entertainment is releasing the following anime titles this month on Blu-ray and Region 4 DVD…

HALO LEGENDS
Go deeper into the Halo universe than ever before with HALO LEGENDS, an all-new, CG and traditional anime experience that presents enthralling new stories from one of the world’s most popular video game franchises. HALO LEGENDS is a seven-story anthology – told across eight spectacular episodes – that explores the origin and historical events of the Halo universe and its intriguing characters.

NARUTO SHIPPUDEN Collection 01 (Eps 01-13)
Naruto Uzumaki is back! After two and a half years of training on the road with Jiraiya of the Sannin, Naruto is back in the Village Hidden in the Leaves and he’s ready to show off his new skills. He and Sakura team up to take on their old master Kakashi.

DEATH NOTE RELIGHT – L’s SUCCESSORS (Director’s Cut)
Light and L have battled to the bitter end over the Death Note – but what does the story look like from Ryuk’s point of view? Go back to where it all began and watch the epic battle from a new perspective – through the eyes of the one who started it all!
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Source: Monster Attack Team
Special Thanks to Michael G Keller and Edward Holland

Cover for Monster Attack Team Issue 8. Photo courtesy of
MAT. © 2010 Monster Attack Team

After far too long an absence, the popular fanzine Monster Attack Team returns!

Edward Holland and the late Joe Riley began Monster Attack Team (the name taken from the anti-monster team in RETURN OF ULTRAMAN) began in the early 1990s as a fan club for aficionados of Japanese science fiction and fantasy. It soon evolved into a Dallas, Texas cable access television show and a small newsletter that grew to become a fan favorite mag. The print version of Monster Attack Team ran for seven issues, edited by Ed Holland with the assistance of David May and Michael G Keller, and featured articles and contributions by authors such as Ed Godziszewski, Kip Doto, Bob Johnson, Kevin Grays, August Ragone, Daisuke Ishizuka, Norman England, and Damon Foster.

Nearly 15 years after the last issue, Ed Holland and Michael Keller have brought back Monster Attack Team with Issue 8. The editors have rounded up an “all star” group of tokusatsu writers and historians and produced a massive, 132 page edition that matches the quality of those truly great English language genre publications The Japanese Fantasy Film Journal, Markalite, and Japanese Giants.
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