SciFi Japan

    Melon from AKIKAN! © Riko Ranjo, Hiro Suzihara/ Shueisha, Authority A

    Anime - Animation

    Source: Sentai Filmworks press release Official Site: melomelomelon.com (Japan) Special Thanks to David Williams Sentai Filmworks has let the genie out of the bottle... or in this case, can... with the company’s announcement of the acquisition of the latest ‘pop’ culture phenomenon from Japan, AKIKAN! (????!, 2009). Animation industry veteran director Yuji Himaki, already known for his work about a superhero made of bread with the latest Anpanman feature film, switches materials and genders to helm both the 12 episode series and the bonus OVA telling the story of a bubbly young girl who just happens to be a soft drink can, while the process of adapting creators Riku Ranjo and Hiro Suzuhira’s original text and art go respectively to script-master Hideaki Koyasu (BRIGHTER THAN THE DAWNING BLUE, KURE-NAI), and character designer Ryo Tanaka (VIRTUA FUGHTER, LUPIN III, MISSED BY A DOLLAR). Hobbies are often a

    Anime - Animation

    Source: Eleven Arts Entertainment press release Official Movie Site: hagaren-movie.net (Japan), funimation.com/fullmetal-alchemist-the-sacred-star-of-milos (US) Special Thanks to Shun Ohara Eleven Arts and FUNimation Entertainment are bringing the feature length followup film to the popular FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST anime franchise, FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST: THE SACRED STAR OF MILOS (?????? ??????????????, Hagane no Renkinjutsushi: Mirosu no Sei-naru Hoshi, 2011), to more than 100 theater screens across North America this Winter. Eleven Arts is the company that has brought you such celebrated Japanese films as MEMORIES OF TOMORROW starring Ken Watanabe and Yoji Yamada’s LOVE AND HONOR. FUNimation Entertainment is known for releasing quality anime titles to the American market, and they have handled such popular titles as DRAGON BALL and EVANGELION. In 2011, these two companies brought EVANGELION: 2.0 YOU CAN (NOT) ADVANCE and TRIGUN: BADLANDS RUMBLE to North American

    © 2011 FUNimation Entertainment.?© 2011 Nico Nico, Inc.

    Anime - Animation

    Fall Slate of Simulcast Series Announced October 14th Source: FUNimation Entertainment press release Official Site: niconico.com/anime Special Thanks to Jackie Smith and Michelle Lee During New York Comic con, North America’s anime leader, FUNimation Entertainment, and the world’s premier video networking website, niconico.com, announced that they are forming a partnership that will begin with the simulcast of several of the newest anime series debuting in Japan this fall. All simulcast episodes will be available at niconico.com/anime. The companies are forming a joint effort where both companies will be contributing to the acquisition of new anime titles from Japan. “Our goal is to simulcast top-notch anime. It’s an ambitious plan but one in which we are investing heavily,” said Gen Fukunaga, President and CEO of FUNimation Entertainment. Part of that investment includes supporting niconico.com’s growth in the U.S. market and building toward the site

    The highly anticipated BROKEN BLADE debuts this month on Anime Network Online. © 2010 Yunosuke Yoshinaga/ Flex Comix, Broken Blade Production Committee

    Anime - Animation

    Mecha Anime Begins Streaming this Month Source: Sentai Filmworks press release Official Site: breakblade.jp (Japan) Special Thanks to David Williams Sentai Filmworks has announced the company’s acquisition of one of the year’s most eagerly awaited anime titles; BROKEN BLADE (???? ????, Bureiku Bureido, 2010), an epic new series of animated films based on the international manga bestseller from Yunosuke Yoshinaga (Rampage). Created in six 50 minute installments, the mega production is helmed by Chief Director Tetsuro Amino (MACROSS 7, SHIKI, JEWELL BEM HUNTER LIME), and Director Nobuyoshi Habara (DNANGEL, NEGIMA!, FAFNER) working from screenplays by screenwriter Masashi Sogo (BLEACH, GANTZ, SAMURAI X/RUROUNI KENSHIN). Music duties for the blockbuster production will be handled by Yoshihisa Hirano (DEATH NOTE, BEYBLADE, OURAN HIGH SCHOOL HOST CLUB). In Cruzon, children are born with the ability to control quartz. This power allows them to levitate simple objects— or control enormous and

    Hotori Arashiyama, the main character in AND YET THE TOWN MOVES. © 2010 Masakazu Ishiguro

    Anime - Animation

    Source: Sentai Filmworks press release Official Site: tbs.co.jp/soremachi (Japan) Special Thanks to David Williams Sentai Filmworks has put a chocolate on the pillowcases of anime fans everywhere with the announcement of the company’s acquisition of the acclaimed slice of life anime AND YET THE TOWN MOVES (???????????, Soredemo Machi wa Mawatteiru, 2010). Based on hit manga by Masakaza Ishiguro, the story of trouble prone Maid-Waitress Hotori is familiar ground for director Akiyuki Shinbo, whose previous body of work includes handling the HIDAMARI SKETCH, NEGIMA and MARIAHOLIC franchises. Script supervision is by genre stalwart Katsuhiko Takayama, whose resume includes such familiar titles as LOVE HINA, FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST, GODANNAR and SORCERER HUNTERS, while character design for the 12 episode series is being handled by chief animation director Hiroki Yamamura (MAHOROMATIC). Hotori Arashiyama loves mysteries, but there’s one she just can’t solve: Why does the solution to one problem

    The characters Mary and Sakuya inhabit The World R:X in .hack//QUANTUM. © 2011 .hack Conglomerate?© Quantum Project

    Anime - Animation

    Source: FUNimation Entertainment press releases Official Sites: hack.channel.or.jp/quantum and guilty-crown.jp (Japanese) Special Thanks to Jackie Smith Distributor FUNimation Entertainment recently announced that it has acquired North American rights to the action fantasy .hack//QUANTUM and the sci-fi series GUILTY CROWN. .hack//QUANTUM (?????? ?????, Dotto Hakku Kuwantamu, 2010) is the latest installment in the .hack franchise from Showgate. An anime adaptation of the .hack role-playing games created by Bandai Namco Games, this three episode OVA is animated by Kinema Citrus Studio and directed by Masaki Tachibana (TOKYO MAGNITUDE 8.0). Tobias, Mary, and Sakuya are way into the world’s largest online fantasy role-playing game known as The World R:X. Together, they form an inseparable group, grinding toward the break of day and running dungeons in search of the artifacts of adventure. But when the trio becomes lost in this virtual labyrinth, a chance encounter with the

    Anime - Animation

    Japanese NARUTO Voice Actress Junko Takeuchi to Attend Special Premiere Event Held During 2011 New York Comic Con Source: VIZ Media, MediaLab press releases Official Site: naruto.com Special Thanks to Jane Lui and Erik Jansen VIZ Media, LLC, the largest distributor and licensor of anime and manga in North America, complements its presence at the 2011 New York Comic Con with the exclusive U.S. theatrical premiere of the latest NARUTO SHIPPUDEN feature film, NARUTO SHIPPUDEN THE MOVIE: BONDS (??? NARUTO????? ??? ?, Gekijooban Naruto Shippuuden: Kizuna, 2008). The English subtitled anime will screen on Saturday, October 15th at 7:00pm at the New York School of Visual Arts Theatre. A special pre-show red carpet event featuring Japanese voice actress Junko Takeuchi, who provides the original voice for Naruto, will take place at the theatre beginning at 6:00pm.

    The hit PlayStation game PERSONA 4 has been adapted as a new 12 episode anime series. © 2011 Index Corporation/ Persona 4 the Animation Production Committee

    Anime - Animation

    First Episode Available October 6th Source: Sentai Filmworks, Anime Network press releases Official Site: ww.p4a.jp (Japan) Special Thanks to David Williams and Christian Lopez Sentai Filmworks proudly brings the hit PERSONA game franchise to anime with the acquisition of the red-hot new series PERSONA 4 THE ANIMATION (????????????, Perusona Foo the Animation). Based on the megahit game-within-a-game from Atlus, PERSONA 4 THE ANIMATION is the story of a group of students, their ability to harness the powers of supernatural Shadows, and the grisly murders that connect their two worlds together. The series is produced by AIC A.S.T.A. (BAMBOO BLADE, BLOOD+), and being helmed under the direction of Seiji Kishi (ANGEL BEATS!, MAGIKANO, RAAGNAROK THE ANIMATION) with script supervision by Yuuko Kakihara (SPECIAL A, STITCH!, HEAVEN`S LOST PROPERTY), while the signature original character designs by Shigenori Soejima are being adapted by Kazuaki Morita (NYAN

    Anime - Animation

    Source: FUNimation Entertainment press release Official Movie Site: hagaren-movie.net (Japan), funimation.com/fullmetal-alchemist-the-sacred-star-of-milos (US) Special Thanks to Jackie Smith Following its July release in theaters in Japan, FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST: THE SACRED STAR OF MILOS (?????? ??????????????, Hagane no Renkinjutsushi: Mirosu no Sei-naru Hoshi, 2011) now comes to the U.S.! The feature-length animated film, the second of the FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST franchise, has begun its North American film festival run. The movie, from the animation studio BONES, follows a fugitive alchemist with mysterious abilities who leads the Elric brothers to a distant valley of slums inhabited by the Milos, a proud people struggling against bureaucratic exploitation. Ed and Al quickly find themselves in the middle of a rising rebellion, as the exiled Milos lash out against their oppressors. At the heart of the conflict

    Key art for HORIZON IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE. © 2011 Minoru Kawakami /ASCII Media Works /Horizon in the Middle of Nowhere Production Committee

    Anime - Animation

    Series to Debut on The Anime Network on October 4th Source: Sentai Filmworks press release Official Site: genesis-horizon.net (Japan) Special Thanks to David Williams Sentai Filmworks has acquired the upcoming anime mega-series HORIZON IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE (??????????, Kyookaisenjoo no Horaizon, 2011), based upon best-selling author Minoru Kawakami’s ongoing, eight-book franchise that has already sold over 750,000 copies in Japan. Directed by Manabu Ono (MY HIME, SAKI) the huge and epic story that combines everything from giant robots and aerial ships to witches and werewolves will employ a staff of four Character Designers - Tomoyuki Fujii, Shinya Nishizawa, Yukiko Aikei and Kanta Suzuki- to adapt the original concepts by Satoyasu (TENKY), while script supervision and adaptation falls into the capable hands of Tatsuhiko Urahata (NANA, MASTER KEATON, MONSTER, STRIKE WITCHES 2). ‘History’ is coming to an end. When humans came down from the sky they

    Sentai Filmworks has licensed North American rights to the new anime MAJIKOI ~ OH! SAMURAI GIRLS before the series has aired in Japan. © 2011 MinatoSoft/ Majikoi Production Commitee

    Anime - Animation

    Brand New Japanese Anime Gets US Release Source: Sentai Filmworks press release Official Site: anime-majikoi.com (Japan) Special Thanks to David Williams Sentai Filmworks fulfills the fantasies of fans of feudal fighting females with the company’s newest announcement, MAJIKOI ~ OH! SAMURAI GIRLS (??????????, Maji de Watashi ni Koi Shinasai!, 2011). Based on the mega-hit PC game from MinatoSoft, the 12 episode series focuses on a city where almost everyone has a Samurai obsession. Direction is by Keitaro Motonaga (GETBACKERS, YUMERIA) using character designs by Mayumi Watanabe (FANDORA, FAIRY TAIL, FREEZING) and story supervision by Katsuhiko Takayama (AND YET THE TOWN MOVES, e.f. A TALE OF MEMORIES). MAJIKOI ~ OH! SAMURAI GIRLS will debut in Japan on the AT-X network on October 1st. It’s one thing to honor your ancestors and keep old traditions alive, but there is such a thing as taking it

    Key art for B GATA H KEI - YAMADA`S FIRST TIME. © 2010 Yoko Sanri / Shueisha Inc. B-Gata H-Kei Project

    Anime - Animation

    Source: FUNimation Entertainment Official Site: bgata-hkei.com (Japan), funimation.com/b-gata-h-kei-yamada-s-first-time (US) Special Thanks to Jackie Smith FUNimation Entertainment has begun streaming the first two episodes of the risque romantic comedy B GATA H KEI - YAMADA`S FIRST TIME (B?H?, Bii Gata Etchi Kei, 2010) at funimation.com. This series, from director Yusuke Yamamoto (SGT FROG, WELCOME TO THE NHK), is based on the manga series of the same name published by Shueisha. Both follow Yamada, a boy-crazy school girl with distracting daydreams about future bedmates – but before she can get this saucy sex life underway, she realizes she first needs to lose her virginity! She knows to whom she will bestow this prize: her classmate Kosuda. However, a successful seduction of Kosuda is more difficult than this lusty teen had counted on. These streaming episodes are the Japanese broadcast version. However, FUNimation’s product release in 2012 will contain

    Anime - Animation

    Source: Japan Society Official Site: filmsforhope.org Special Thanks to Shannon Jowett Films for Hope ** Curated by Justin Leach with Appearances by Enrico Casarosa and Dai Sato ** Sunday, September 11, 2011, 1:00-8:00 pm, at Japan Society 333 East 47th Street New York, NY 10017-2399 New York, NY – Conceived and developed in response to the disasters following the March 11 earthquake in Japan, Films for Hope is a showcase of thrilling, diverse short animated films from around the world celebrating the creativity of artists inspired by Japanese animation techniques and storytelling. Taking place Sunday, September 11, at Japan Society, Films for Hope commemorates the half year point after the earthquake, as well as the 10-year anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the U.S.

    ICE. © 2007 Project-ICE/Enet Frontier

    Anime - Animation

    Source: Sentai Filmworks press releases Special Thanks to David Williams Sentai Filmworks` recent run of new anime series acquisitions continues with the licensing of the popular ROZEN MAIDEN animated series and the all-female, future epic ICE. Directed by Makoto Kobayashi (DRAGON`S HEAVEN) and with character designs by Masaya Onishi (GHOST STORIES), ICE (???, 2007) is ultimately the creation of Renaissance man Yasushi Akimoto, whose varied and prolific career as writer, TV producer and professor includes the creation of the Japanese Idol super-groups AK48 and Onyanko Club. With that background, it’s no surprise that many members of the huge girl group AK48 ended up contributing their voices to the apocalyptic tale in which all humans bearing a Y chromosome have been wiped from the face of the Earth. Some strange virus, whether planned or accidental, has wiped out most of the population. The survivors? Beautiful women. Faced

    Anime - Animation

    Post-Apocalyptic Anime Debuts this Sunday Source: Sentai Filmworks, Anime Network press releases Official Site: no-6.jp (Japan) Special Thanks to David Williams and Christian Lopez Sentai Filmworks continues its recent string of anime series acquisitions with the futuristic thriller NO. 6. The broadcast and digital distributor Anime Network will add the 11 episode series to their Online Streaming Service starting this Sunday, August 7th. The entire series will be available to watch online for free (registration is required), with new episodes released online weekly on Sundays at 12:15 PM Central. Based on the manga written by Atsuko Asano and illustrated by Hinoki Kino, the post-apocalyptic mystery anime is the first series directed by storyboard and opening animation master Kenji Nagasaki (KIBA, MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM 00) with series script duties being handled by Seishi Minakami (HEAVEN`S

    Japanese poster art for HEAVEN’S LOST PROPERTY THE MOVIE: THE ANGELOID OF CLOCKWORK. The anime film will be released in North America in 2012.

    Anime - Animation

    Source: FUNimation Entertainment Official Site: kadokawa-anime.jp/soraoto (Japan), funimation.com/heavens-lost-property (US) Special Thanks to Jackie Smith FUNimation Entertainment recently announced that it has acquired the home entertainment, broadcast, digital and merchandise rights to the follow-up movie to the romantic comedy anime series HEAVEN’S LOST PROPERTY (????????, Sora no Otoshimono, 2009) and HEAVEN’S LOST PROPERTY: FORTE (???????? f ?????), Sora no Otoshimono: Forte, 2010) from Kadokawa. The animated film HEAVEN’S LOST PROPERTY THE MOVIE: THE ANGELOID OF CLOCKWORK (??? ???????? ??????????????????, Gekijoban Sora no Otoshimino: Tokei-jikake no Enjeroido, 2011) premiered June 25th in Japanese theaters and is directed by Tetsuya Yanagisawa. Based on the manga series of the same name by Suu Minazuki, the 13 episode HEAVEN’S LOST PROPERTY anime tells the story of Tomoki Sakurai, a girl-crazy young man whose quiet life gets turned upside down when beautiful, winged woman named Ikaros falls from the sky— and starts

    HEAVEN’S MEMO PAD is one of three new anime series premiering in America in late July. © 2011 Ascii Media Works / Hikaru Sugii, Heaven`s Memo Pad Production Committee

    Anime - Animation

    CROISÉE IN A FOREIGN LABYRINTH, HEAVEN’S MEMO PAD, and RO-KYU-BU FAST BREAK! Launch This Month Source: Sentai Filmworks, Anime Network press releases Special Thanks to David Williams and Christian Lopez Sentai Filmworks has launched a full court press on the anime marketplace with the the acquisition of the slice-of-life period series CROISÉE IN A FOREIGN LABYRINTH ~ THE ANIMATION, the psychological detective mystery HEAVEN’S MEMO PAD, and the sports comedy RO-KYU-BU FAST BREAK! Broadcast and Digital Distributor Anime Network will begin simulcasting the three new series on their Online Streaming Service this month. The 12 episode CROISÉE IN A FOREIGN LABYRINTH ~ THE ANIMATION (??????????, Ikoku Meiro no Croisée, 2011), based on the popular manga by Hinata Takeda, is a unique East meets West drama set in 19th century France. Script supervision for the historical drama is being handled by the legendary Junichi

    Logo for the 2011 J-POP SUMMIT FESTIVAL. Photo courtesy of NEW PEOPLE, Inc. © 2011 NEW PEOPLE, Inc.

    Anime - Animation

    Pop Culture Celebration Features Japanese Fashion Designers, Film & Anime Premieres, and the “Vocaloid” Phenomenon Source: MediaLab press release Official Site: J-pop.com Special Thanks to Erik Jansen NEW PEOPLE, San Francisco’s dynamic entertainment destination showcasing the latest examples of Japanese popular culture, has announced the expansion of its annual J-Pop Summit Festival. The 2011 J-Pop Summit Festival will take place August 27th- 28th across the city’s Japantown. The weekend-long celebration brings back many popular attractions that have made the J-Pop Summit Festival a must-attend event for fashion, film, anime and music fans as well as hipsters, pop culture enthusiasts, Bay Area residents, and as tourists visiting the city. A dedicated web site is now available at J-pop.com and will feature regular updates. “The expansion of the J-Pop Summit Festival is a result of the overwhelming support from our partners and sponsors and strong attendance by a

    25th Anniversary logo for VIZ Media. Photo courtesy of and © 2011 VIZ Media.

    Anime - Animation

    VIZ Media Celebrates 25th Anniversary With a Full Slate of Activities, Panels, and Special Giveaways at Comic-Con Source: VIZ Media, MediaLab press releases Special Thanks to Jane Lui and Erik Jansen VIZ Media, LLC, the largest distributor and licensor of anime and manga in North America, gears up for the 2011 Comic-Con International with a packed agenda of exciting events, product giveaways, panel discussions, interactive activities, and convention exclusives. Comic-Con is the nation’s largest comic book, science fiction and pop culture event, and takes place July 20-24 at the San Diego Convention Center, CA. VIZ Media will be located in Booth 2813. Complete details on Comic-Con are available at comic-con.org. VIZ Media’s Booth (#2813) will be a hub of continual activity on the main show floor. The VIZ MANGA APP is the latest technological innovation for digital manga comics for the Apple iPad, iPhone and iPod

    Anime - Animation

    Anime Film Begins US Run on July 7th Source: Eleven Arts Entertainment press release Official Movie Site: funimation.com/trigun (US), trigun-movie.com (Japan) Special Thanks to Shun Ohara The US theatrical run of the anime film TRIGUN: BADLANDS RUMBLE (????? The Movie ?????, 2010) continues with several new theaters and screening dates announced by distributors Eleven Arts and FUNimation Entertainment. The following screenings will be in addition to those listed in the previously announced schedule. Set on a remote planet in the near future, TRIGUN is a popular sci-fi action anime series created by Yasuhiro Naito. It portrays the life and actions of a wanted man named Vash, an extreme pacifist by nature with the unique nickname the “Human Typhoon”. The movie TRIGUN: BADLANDS RUMBLE debuted on April 24th 2010 in Japan, and

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