Ocean Waves Postponed

The forthcoming release of Studio Ghibli's romantic drama Ocean Waves has reportedly been delayed until next year.  Ocean Waves is the only Ghibli title currently unavailable in either the US or UK, and focuses on a teen crush being rekindled by a school reunion.  Distributor Optimum Asia had originally scheduled the DVD release for next month, but now appear to want to tie it in with the release of Hayao Miyazaki's latest hit film Ponyo, which is now set for release in February 2010.

Grotesque Banned

Not technically anime news, but of interest nonetheless.  4Digital Asia's planned release of the J-Horror title Grotesque has been left in limbo following the BBFC's decision to refuse it a certificate.  The film is in a similar vein to the 'torture porn' horror films that have become popular recently (think Saw and Hostel), but the content - which sees a young couple kidnapped by a sadistic killer and then sexually assaulted and tortured to death - proved too much for the censor.  The decision to ban the film was taken by the BBFC director David Cooke following a drawn out deliberation that caused it to miss its original release date.  A statement read: "Grotesque’ features minimal narrative or character development and presents the audience with little more than an unrelenting and escalating scenario of humiliation, brutality and sadism".  It is only the fourth title banned by the censor in the last four years.  The distributor is considering an appeal.

D.Gray-Man and Evangelion 1.0 Licensed

Manga Entertainment have revealed the acquisition of D.Gray-Man and Evangelion 1.0: You Are (Not) Alone on their Twitter page!  Their message states 'Manga's BIG Ayacon news! Evangelion 1.0 and D Gray-Man launching in Feb 2010.', making them the first major license announcements for next year.  D.Gray-Man is based on the popular manga series by Katsura Hoshino which follows the a young exorcist as he battles demons known as Akuma, whilst Evangelion 1.0 is the first part of Hideaki Anno's cinematic re-imagining of his seminal Neon Genesis Evangelion anime series.  We can't wait for them to hit UK shelves!

Bandai Channel to Launch Next Year

Bandai are set to launch their Bandai Channel anime streaming service in the UK in 2010.  The service has recently relaunched in Japan with a Flash interface and is currently showing the entire original Mobile Suit Gundam series amongst others.  Bandai have revealed that they intend to launch the service in Europe, America and Australia at the start of 2010, once the Japanese trial is complete.

Post-AyaCon News Roundup

A few tidbits have emerged following last weekend's Aya Revolution convention, which we have summarised below:

• Amecon is set to return in 2010 - announced during the closing ceremony, it is unclear if Amecon and Ayacon will run on alternate years like they did in the past

• No re-issue of Sailor Moon or Akira BluRay - rumours were rife after these titles were listed on HMV's online store, but Beez and MVM confirmed that they are not releasing them.

• No denial of Vampire Knight and Sherlock Hound releases - these two titles were also on HMV's website, and were not mentioned by Beez or MVM.  Could they be possible future Manga releases?

• Live action film Geishas vs Ninjas to be released by MVM in 2010.

D.Gray-Man Goes Monthly

It seems like the toll of drawing for a weekly anthology has proven too much for D.Gray-Man author Katsura Hoshino.  After a second prolonged hiatus prompted by the author's health, Japanese manga anthology Akamaru Jump has announced that the popular series will be moved to the monthly Jump Square magazine from November onwards.

Sonia Leong at Tokyo15

On September 12th Sonia Leong from Sweatdrop Studios will be in Tokyo15 in Manchester signing her latest work and doing talks on manga throughout the day.  Tokyo15 is an anime merchandise shop located in Affleck's Palace Arcade 2nd floor from the Oldham Street Entrance.  Sonia rarely visits the North West so this is a great opportunity to meet with her.  More information will be posted on the Tokyo15 website soon.

Takahata Reveals New Film Details

Studio Ghibli co-founder Isao Takahata has revealed that his upcoming film will be based on the Japanese folk tale Taketori Monogatari.  Taketori Monogatari is one of the best known children's stories in Japan, and tells the tale of a princess called Kaguya who was discovered as a baby inside a glowing bamboo stalk.  The film will be Takahata's first since 1999's My Neighbours the Yamadas, a film that actually contained a scene based on the Monogatari story which saw Mr Yamada cutting a bamboo stalk open to discover his baby daughter.

ADV & Beez Price Reductions on Play.Com

Online retailer Play.Com have been running cut price offers on a host of anime DVDs for some time, but now they have slashed some prices even further.  A large number of ADV Films DVDs are on offer for jaw-dropping prices, with highlights including Guyver: The Bioboosted Armour (£2.99 per volume), plus Utawarerumono and Le Chevalier D'Eon (£3.99 per volume).  Their boxsets are even better, with seven-disc sets of Last Exile, Noir and Full Metal Panic! going for just £23.99!  Beez also get in on the act with four-disc boxsets of Cowboy Bebop, Planetes and Witch Hunter Robin for £13.99 each.  However, the biggest bargains are probably Ghost in the Shell: Solid State Society for just £3.99 and a double pack of the first two Patlabor films for just £17.99!  It's not the standard release either, but the stunning limited edition releases with stacks of extras and bonus 140+ page companion books.  This is one of the best deals Animetion has seen for a very long time, and any self-respecting anime fan should snap a set up asap.  Check the full list of offers here.

Tarantino Confirms Kill Bill Anime Details

Director Quentin Tarantino has revealed further details for the expanded Kill Bill anime The Origin of O-Ren which is being currently being produced by Production IG.  In a press conference for his latest film Tarantino stated that the segment, which forms part of the third act of his epic homage to oriental cinema, will be significantly lengthened in his forthcoming final cut of the Kill Bill films.  The two films are due to be re-combined under the title Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair, and rather than remake the existing anime segment Tarantino intends to add a new part to it.  He is quoted as saying "I actually wrote a much longer script for the anime section during O-Ren's revenge chapter.  Remember the guy with the long hair that kills her father?  It's like, what happened to that dude?  Well, I wrote it and it was the biggest, most elaborate thing I wrote — her taking him down."  Sounds pretty good to us...

New One Piece Movie Trailer Streamed

The official Japanese website for the forthcoming One Piece: Strong World film has started streaming the trailer.  One Piece: Strong World is the tenth One Piece film but unlike the previous nine Eiichiro Oda - author and artist of the One Piece manga - is overseeing the production and design.  The trailer makes the film look excellent and we really want to see it, unfortunately though the One Piece anime has yet to see a UK release - check out the film trailer here though!

Anime Network Returns to the UK!

ADV Films' short-lived anime TV channel Anime Network has returned to the UK as a subscription based streaming service.  The www.theanimenetwork.co.uk website will allow subscribers to stream several anime series for just £4.95 per month, with some episodes also offered for free as tasters to non-subscribers.  For some reason the site wouldn't work when we tried to access it, but keep an eye on it and check it out as soon as it's operational!

Yu-Gi-Oh! Earns World Record

The Yu-Gi-Oh! trading card game has officially become the world's most successful to date after being awarded a Guinness World Record.  The game has received the record for the Best Selling Trading Card Game after clocking up a whopping 22,587,728,173 tally of cards sold as of April 2009!

Ponyo Delayed

The latest issue of Empire Magazine states that Hayao Miyazaki's highly anticipated new film Ponyo is set for a UK release early next year.  The film was widely expected to come out here this year, particularly as it is already licensed (by Optimum) and the US release is just a matter of weeks away.  Unfortunately though it looks like we'll have to wait a few months longer than our American cousins to see a film that we've heard plenty of positive things about.  Gah!

Manga Artists Design for Tekken 6

Namco seem to like manga artists at the moment, they commissioned several to design characters for 2008's Soul Calibur IV, and now they've got them to design costumes for some of the cast of Tekken 6.  The highly anticipated game, which is due out on the PlayStation 3 and XBox 360 this Autumn, features a ninja-inspired costume for new character Lars Alexandersson designed by none other that Naruto creator Masashi Kishimoto!  All-female manga artist powerhouse CLAMP are also involved in the game, designing a spectacular costume for franchise stalwart Jin Kazama.  Check them out here and here.

Anime in Empire Magazine

Film magazine Empire features a six page feature on the films of Hayao Miyazaki this month!  The feature quizzes the great man himself on each of his films, giving some interesting (and often bizarre) insights into their creation.  The article rounds off with Miyazaki's comments on the forthcoming Ponyo, which appears to have slipped back to a 2010 UK release.

Fate/Stay Night Game Coming to the UK

Capcom have announced that Fate/unlimited codes is to be released on the Sony PSP in the UK in September!  The game is a one-on-one beat-em-up based on the popular Fate/Stay Night anime and manga franchise, but it is notable as it is set to be released solely though the PlayStation Store download service.  This is intriguing as it suggests that companies could use the download service to distribute niche interest titles that they would not consider for a full release.  Hopefully we'll get to see some more anime games come to the UK through the PlayStation Store, XBox Live or the Wii Virtual Console.