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Welcome to our News archive for December 2006 - to see this month's news please click on the button below.
 


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31st December 2006

Manga Launch Fortnightly Magazine!

Anyone who has been watching Channel 4 recently may have seen an advert for Manga Force, a new fortnightly magazine from Manga Entertainment!  The magazine is will contain plot synopses, filmographies and behind-the-scenes information on a range of Manga titles, but the big draw is the DVD that comes with each issue.  The DVD contains a classic Manga Entertainment film, including the likes of Akira, Ghost in the Shell, Macross Plus, Blood The Last Vampire and End of Evangelion.  It's a great selection that's not to be sniffed at, and goes a long way to justifying the £8.99 per issue price tag (although issue 1 is £2.99).  Interestingly there are due to be 50 issues so it remains to be seen which films will grace the magazine after those named above.  Issue 1 is apparently out now, for more information and for subscriptions check out www.mangacollection.co.uk

Source: Channel 4
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30th December 2006

More Anime with DVD Monthly

DVD review magazine DVD Monthly once again have an anime episode on their cover-mounted DVD this month.  This time the episode in question is MVM's excellent Saiyuki Reload, so if you want to see what the series is all about, pick up the magazine!

Source: WHSmith
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18th December 2006

More anime on TV!

Although we have known about it for sometime, ADV Films have sent us confirmation that zany comedy Excel Saga will be premiering on Rapture TV on Tuesday 2nd January 2007.  All 26 episodes will be showing every Tuesday and Thursday at 8.30pm and repeated in a one hour block on Sundays at 8pm. 

But that is not all.  Gothic show Gilgamesh will be showing every Friday on Rockworld TV from Friday 5th January at 8.30pm and repeated every Monday at 7.30pm. 

But that is not all either!  Bizarre comedy Cromartie High School will be showing also on Rockworld TV every Sunday from Sunday 7th January at 6pm and repeated every Wednesday at 5pm. 

So we all look set for a happy new year!  A promising start to 2007 courtesy of ADV

Source: ADV Films
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17th December 2006

Anime on Telly!

Isao Takahata's excellent ode to the simple life, Only Yesterday, is due to be shown on Film4 at 3pm this afternoon.  Make sure you catch it if you can as it is well worth a look.

Source: Film4
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15th December 2006

Tales from Earthsea for UK!

Online retailer Play.Com have listed Studio Ghibli's latest film Tales from Earthsea for release next year, albeit with an unconfirmed release date.  The film was a big hit in Japan despite getting mixed reviews, but a US release is hampered by licensing issues.  The rights to Ursula K Le Guin's epic fantasy saga are reported to be tied up in the US mini-series which was released a couple of years ago.  Until they lapse in 2009 there can't be a US release for the film, which affects the UK release in that no English dub has been produced.  This means that the UK release (from Optimum Asia by the looks of it) will most likely be subtitled only like Optimum's recent release of Only Yesterday.  More news when we get it.

Source: Play.Com
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15th December 2006

Spirited Away on BBC2

Further to our news item dated 29th October, the Radio Times Christmas TV listings states Hayao Miyazaki's Oscar-winning Spirited Away will be shown on BBC2 at 5.15pm on Saturday 30th December.

Source: Radio Times
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10th December 2006

Sneak Peek at ADV's Latest Titles!

ADV Films USA have put trailers to several series licensed for the UK on their website!  To grab a sneak peek of the series click the following links, then click one of the video options on the left hand side of the page that opens:

Comic Party Revolution
Coyote Ragtime Show
Jinki: Extend
Paniponi Dash
This Ugly Yet Beautiful World

Source: ADV Films USA
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8th December 2006

Revelation to Release Negima!

According to the website of their distribution company, Revelation Films are due to release the anime series of Ken Akamatsu's popular Negima.  The series revolves around a ten-year old trainee wizard who becomes the teacher in an all-girl's school, and has been as big a hit in the US and Japan as Akamatsu's previous series Love Hina.  The timing is good considering the manga is currently being released in the UK by Tanoshimi, and the series will be the first new FUNimation license since they ended their deal with MVM.  The first volume is due for release on 19th February.

Source: Pinnacle Vision
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6th December 2006

Paprika Coming to DVD!

Online retailer Play.Com have listed a DVD release for Satoshi Kon's critically acclaimed forthcoming anime film Paprika.  At the moment it's unclear which company is releasing the film, and its acquisition has not been previously announced, but it's due to hit DVD on 5th March 2007.  Get your pre-orders in now!

Source: Play.Com
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6th December 2006

New Anime Magazines Out Today!

The latest issue of Neo Magazine hits the shelves today, with a not-to-be-missed look into the world of Studio Ghibli by Hayao Miyazaki: Master of Japanese Animation author Helen McCarthy inside.  Also released today is a one-off magazine special from sci-fi mag SFX devoted wholly to anime!  The magazine retails at £5.99 but boasts free posters, a cover-mounted DVD (featuring the first episode of ADV Films' Samurai Gun) and interviews with anime directors Satoshi Kon and Goro Miyazaki!  For those who don't know, Satoshi Kon is the director of such great films as Perfect Blue and Millennium Actress and will be discussing his new film Paprika, whilst Goro Miyazaki is the son of the great Hayao Miyazaki (director of too many great films to mention) and talks about his directorial debut, Tales from Earthsea.  The magazine is a must for any self-respecting anime fan, make sure you pick it up!

Source: WHSmith
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6th December 2006

Anime on Telly Again!

Everyone's favourite film channel Film4 is to screen Hayao Miyazaki's 1988 masterpiece My Neighbour Totoro again.  Sky, Cable and Terrestrial Digital viewers can tune in at 5.35pm on Friday 15th December for a wholesome slice of anime goodness.

Source: TV Quick
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6th December 2006

Fist of the North Star on TV!

Sadly, it's not the, errr, 'classic' anime series, but the live action US movie starring Gary Daniels, Chris Penn, Malcolm McDowell and Costas Mandylor.  Still, it contains plenty of head popping action for fans of the original series, and a zombie Malcolm McDowell, so it's worth a watch if you still happen to be up at 1.25am this Saturday night/Sunday morning...

Source: TV Quick
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5th December 2006

More Free Anime

Anime friendly DVD review magazine DVD Monthly is once more giving away an anime episode on it's cover-mounted DVD!  Pick up this month's issue for a free episode of MVM's Ninja Scroll TV series.

Source: WHSmith
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3rd December 2006

Create Your Own Doujinshi!

Ever wanted to draw your own comic but find you are crap at drawing?  Well US company Planetwide Media have the answer in the form of their Comic Book Creator software!  The simple to use program presents you with a comic book template and a vast library of images to drag and drop onto the page, and allows you to add speech bubbles and text too.  A Marvel Comics version of the software was released earlier in the year, but Planetwide has just announced a Tokyopop one!  The Tokyopop Manga Creator is out in Spring next year and allows users to create their own manga comics using official characters, backgrounds, logos and screenshots.  The completed comics can then be printed out or saved as PDF documents and distributed online.  At the moment the software looks like it will only be available in the US, but we're sure it would be quite popular here should it get a UK release.

Source: ICv2
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3rd December 2006

Manga Considering Anime Downloads?

In a constantly evolving marketplace a number of major US film distributors have started to look to paid download services as a new way to sell their products, and anime companies are starting to embrace the technology too.  In America ADV Films already offer episodes of anime series for download through their website for a small fee, and recently Manga Entertainment USA and Central Park Media have followed suit.  At present this distribution method hasn't been implemented in the UK, but in a recent interview with us for our Manga 07 Preview, Manga's marketing exec Jerome Mazandarani stated that he wanted to 'to broaden the reach of anime into UK homes via TV, the internet and downloads.'  Of course it may be that nothing comes of this, or that it won't happen for a long while, but if it does it may be a way to get some more niche titles into the UK, so here's hoping... 

Source: Manga Entertainment
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29th November 2006

Spirited Away to premiere on BBC2 over Christmas period

UK Anime have spotted that Hayao Miyazaki's masterpiece Spirited Away is to premiere on BBC2 over the Christmas period!  No news on time and date yet but as the equally successful French cartoon Belleville Rendezvous was shown on Christmas Day a couple of years ago, there is every chance that Spirited Away could be shown on the big day itself. 

Hopefully this will lead to BBC2 showing more Studio Ghibli films next year.  This may sound unlikely but hey, you could not buy most of Ghibli films on DVD a couple of years ago.  A lot can change in a year so make sure you tune into BBC2 and watch Spirited Away - high viewing figures will mean more anime showings! 

Source: UK Anime
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