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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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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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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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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DVD and Blu-ray cover art for Hayao Miyazaki’s PONYO, now available in North America. Photos courtesy of Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment.
© 2008 Nibariki – GNDHDDT. © Disney Enterprises, Inc.

Source: Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment, Inc.
Official Movie Site: disneypictures/ponyo
Special Thanks to Jackie Cavanagh

Today, March 2, Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment releases several titles from legendary filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli. Miyazaki’s latest, PONYO, will be available in both Blu-ray and DVD, while the classics CASTLE IN THE SKY, KIKI’S DELIVERY SERVICE, and MY NEIGHBOR TOTORO are returning as Special Edition DVDs with brand new extra features.

WDSHE has provided the trailer and a number of video clips from PONYO. For additional information, DVD and Blu-ray specs, and images please see the previous report here on SciFi Japan.
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Source: VIZ Media, MediaLab press releases
Special Thanks to Evelyn Dubocq and Erik Jansen

Packaging art for the NARUTO Uncut Season 2 Volume
2 Box Set. Photo courtesy of Warner Home Video.
© 2002 Masashi Kishimoto

VIZ Media, LLC has announced their list of DVD titles scheduled for release in April 2010. This includes the final box set release of NANA, the next episodic releases of the popular BLEACH and NARUTO SHIPPUDEN series, and the latest box set release of NARUTO SHIPPPUDEN.

Also releasing is the live action feature film, K-20: THE FIEND WITH TWENTY FACES, from VIZ Pictures.

VIZ Media DVD titles are distributed (in English) in the U.S and Mexico by Warner Home Video and in Canada by Allegro.
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Source: Section23 Films press release
Special Thanks to Mike Bailiff

HELL GIRL: TWO MIRRORS COLLECTION 1. Photo
courtesy of Section23 Films.

Home video distributor Section23 Films today announced its May slate of DVD releases, including the second season of the hit anime series HELL GIRL from Section23 client Sentai Filmworks.

Sentai will also release three other anime series sets in May, including YOU’RE UNDER ARREST: FULL THROTTLE COLLECTION 2, SAMURAI HAREM – ASU NO YOICHI COMPLETE COLLECTION and EYESHIELD 21 COLLECTION 1.

Also releasing in May from Sentai Filmworks, APPLESEED BLU-RAY EDITION which includes an all new English dub featuring the cast of APPLESEED EX MACHINA!
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Theatre Also Announces Lecture on Anime Icon Hayao Miyazaki, and Screenings for 2010 San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival
Source: VIZ Media, MediaLab press releases
Official Site: NewPeopleWorld.com
Special Thanks to Evelyn Dubocq and Erik Jansen

The new anime movie MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM UC (UNICORN)
will make its US premiere at VIZ Cinema on March 19th.
Photo courtesy of VIZ Media. © 2010 Sotsu, Sunrise

VIZ Cinema in San Francisco, CA, the nation’s only movie theatre dedicated to Japanese film, has announced a variety of notable film screenings, festivals, lectures and other special events to be held throughout the month of March.

Activities kick off on March 5th with Patrick Macias’s new film/lecture series Tokyo Scope: The Wild and Crazy World of Japanese Cult Films. VIZ Cinema will present the NEW PEOPLE Artist Series Festival, a special collection of six insightful documentaries, from March 6th – 9th. The fest includes the U.S. theatrical premieres of several films featuring the Neo-Japanese “Hip-Hop-Samurai” painter Hisashi Tenmyouya, the cynical artistic genius of Makoto Aida, and the life and work of master sculptor Katsura Funakoshi.

The Allure of Hayao Miyazaki, a lecture given by Fred Schodt and Beth Cary (translators of Miyazaki’s autobiography Starting Point: 1979-1996) will be held on March 10th. VIZ Cinema also partners with the 28th San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival to present DEAR DOCTOR on March 17th.

And anime fans won’t want to miss VIZ Cinema’s just-added week long screening of the MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM UC (UNICORN) feature film (58 min) running March 19th – 25th. The movie makes a special U.S. debut only one month after its original premiere in Japan.
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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 MARIA-HOLIC COMPLETE COLLECTION,
now on sale. Photo courtesy of Section23 Films. © 2009
Minari Endo/Shaft

Section23 Films, America’s fastest-growing genre film distributor, is pleased to announce two new DVDs that will blow your mind. From Section23 client Sentai Filmworks comes the fun new anime MARIA-HOLIC COMPLETE COLLECTION, collecting the entire series in one cool set. Next up is RYUJI THE YAKUZA, a hard-boiled thriller from Switchblade Pictures. Both DVDs were released on February 23rd.

MARIA-HOLIC COMPLETE COLLECTION is a romantic comedy set in an all-girls school, where androphobic transfer student Kanako searches for her yuri partner but instead runs into a cross-dressing boy with a sadistic personality. Featuring unusually lush, playful art direction from studio Shaft, MARIA-HOLIC veers wildly from serious send-up to outrageous parody of popular anime tropes. This is one over-the-top series!

Every man needs a code, and RYUJI THE YAKUZA is no exception. Ruthless, cunning and loyal, Ryuji is the perfect Yakuza. But violate his sense of honor, and he’ll take you down – no matter who you are! Like the Man with No Name, Ryuji is an enigmatic, indomitable force for justice.
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PONYO, the latest masterpiece from Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli, will be released on DVD and Blu-ray in North America on March 2.
Photo courtesy of Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment. © 2008 Nibariki – GNDHDDT. © Disney Enterprises, Inc.

Source: Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment, Inc. Press release
Official Movie Site: disneypictures/ponyo
Special Thanks to Jackie Cavanagh

On March 2, 2010, Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment will release several titles from legendary filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli. Miyazaki’s latest, PONYO, will be available in both Blu-ray and DVD, while the classics CASTLE IN THE SKY, KIKI’S DELIVERY SERVICE, and MY NEIGHBOR TOTORO are returning as Special Edition DVDs with brand new extra features.
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Source: Section23 Films press release
Special Thanks to Mike Bailiff

DVD cover art for TO LOVE RU COLLECTION 2, now on
sale. Photo courtesy of Section23 Films.

Section23 Films, America’s fastest-growing anime distributor, is pleased to announce the TO LOVE RU COLLECTION 2 DVD set from Sentai Filmworks, which goes on sale today at finer retailers everywhere.

TO LOVE RU is the story of the alien princess Lala who runs away from home and ends up on Earth, where she ends up with a high school boy named Yuuki Rito. Lala falls for the hapless Rito, even while he tries to hook up with his long time crush. It’s a cosmic love triangle with lots of laughs and plenty of fan service.

As if being accidentally engaged to a demon-like alien princess while attending high school and still making points with the girl he REALLY likes wasn’t enough to keep Rito on the edge of insanity, he’s now stuck with an more dangerous challenge: living up to the expectations of Lala’s devil-like father, King Deviluke! And if that’s not bad enough, the girl Run (aka, sometimes, the guy Ren) decides to make her move on Rito, the school is overflowing with even more not-so-well disguised ghosts and aliens (some of whom need an education on how to emphasize their feminine side,) SOMEBODY lets word slip that Lala is actually an alien princess, and to cap it all off there’s a trip to the waterpark PLUS the obligatory Hot Springs episode! Love isn’t a battlefield… it’s the War of the Worlds in TO LOVE RU COLLECTION 2!!!
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Source: VIZ Media, MediaLab press releases
Special Thanks to Evelyn Dubocq and Erik Jansen

Cover art for BLEACH Volume 26. Photo courtesy of VIZ
Media. © Tite Kubo/Shueisha, TV Tokyo, dentsu,
Pierrot

VIZ Media, LLC has announced their list of DVD titles scheduled for release in March 2010. This includes the final box set release of HONEY AND CLOVER, the next installments of the POKÉMON ELEMENTS series, as well as the latest episodic releases of the popular BLEACH and NARUTO SHIPPUDEN series.

Also releasing is the live action feature film – HISASHI TENMYOUYA: SAMURAI NOUVEAU from VIZ Pictures.

VIZ Media DVD titles are distributed (in English) in the U.S and Mexico by Warner Home Video and in Canada by Allegro.
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