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Welcome to our News archive for July 2006 - to see this month's news
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First Naruto clip! Manga Entertainment have released the first of a series of clips in the run up to the release of Naruto Unleashed Series 1 vol 1 on 21st August. The series is a firm fan favourite all over the world, and Manga are bringing it to us in its full uncut glory! Check out our review and the following clip, and make sure you enter our competition while you're at it!! Naruto Unleashed Clip 1 - High / Medium / Low Source: Manga
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Castle of Cagliostro to Screen on 4th August It looks like the Anime season on FilmFour is going to start next Friday, with Hayao Miyazaki's Castle of Cagliostro scheduled to be shown at 4.55pm on 4th August. The film is part of the Lupin III franchise and was Miyazaki's first big screen directing job back in 1979, it ranks as one of his most enjoyable too. Hopefully it will be the start of the season of Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli films promised when FilmFour re-launched as a free service earlier this month, we'll post the date and times of the subsequent films as and when we get them. Source: TV Quick |
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Why Lupin III gets the Girl! Lupin III may be a hit with the ladies but it seems it may not be his personal magnetism and winning personality that is his secret! Top Gear magazine has voted the lowly Fiat 500 the world's sexiest car, Lupin's vehicle of choice pips the Aston Martin DBS and Maserati Quattroporte into 2nd and 3rd respectively. The magazine says "It works irrespective of age, beauty, wealth and position; even a nun in a 500 seems to telegraph a faint tingle of the procreative urge.". On this basis Lupin in his Fiat should cause women to swoon simply by being in the same country! Source: Metro |
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New Series of Japanorama for Autumn Japanorama, the Jonathan Ross fronted show on all things Japanese, is returning for a new series this Autumn. The series will be shown on BBC3, and promises to focus on six aspects of Japanese culture and from the press blurb (make sure you scroll down) it looks like it will cover everything from Gothic Lolita fashion to the battling beetles of Sega's arcade smash Mushi King. Good old Wossy is a well known fan of anime and it is very likely that anime and manga will feature prominently in the series. Last time round he found time to interview the likes of Hayao Miyazaki so odds on there will be some good stuff in store. Now if only the BBC would screen some anime... Source: BBC |
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Howl's Moving Castle to get Open Air Screening Howl's Moving Castle is to be screened as part of FilmFour's Summer Screen event at Somerset House in London next month! The screening is takes place in the open air in the grounds of the historic mansion on Wednesday 16th August, with the gates opening at 6.30pm and DJs to keep you entertained until the film screens at 9.15pm. Tickets for the event cost £12.50 and are available from Ticketmaster at the following link: http://www.ticketmaster.co.uk/event/18003CDED290D562?artistid=944424&majorcatid=&minorcatid= . Source: Channel 4 |
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Ghibli on FilmFour! As anyone who has seen a billboard or been watching Channel 4 will know, the subscription only channel FilmFour is being relaunched as a free-to-air service today on Cable, Sky and digital Freeview. As a precursor to the launch Channel 4 screened a list of '50 Films you Must See Before you Die' last night, which featured Hayao Miyazaki's Princess Mononoke at number 43! The film was given a surprisingly lengthy segment which saw Anime Encyclopaedia co-author Helen McCarthy discussing it (whilst no doubt wishing her favourite Miyazaki film My Neighbour Totoro had been included...), but if you missed it fear not! More is to come if the FilmFour preview that has been running on E4, Channel 4 and More4 is anything to go by. The preview highlights a forthcoming season of Studio Ghibli and Hayao Miyazaki films which will be screened on the channel, something that's great news for anime fans now that the channel is free! FilmFour has screened seasons of Ghibli films before, screening their entire catalogue currently available in the UK as well as the pre-Ghibli films Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, Little Norse Prince and Castle of Cagliostro. Needless to say these films are must sees, so with Freeview boxes available for as little as £29.99 you have no excuse!! Source: Channel 4 |
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New UK convention in September! A new anime and manga convention is joining the pretty sparse UK convention calendar in September - Mangattack! The convention is a one day event held in Kingston Upon Hull in Yorkshire on 30th September 2006, and promises to focus on the fun side of anime fandom. For a single day event there is a hell of a lot to enjoy, ranging from cosplay and art competitions, cosplay and drama workshops (including one on making furry cosplay outfits and anime pillows), trading card tournaments, a cosplay ball, a maid café (yes!) and a tea room. If all this is a bit tiring you can chill out in a designated room with manga, anime, magazines music and drawing materials! Other highlights include the kid's corner (a nice touch that's unusual to find at an anime convention) and an 'Omake Theatre' where attendees can take to the stage and do pretty much whatever they want as longs as it's entertaining and anime related! The day starts at 10.30am and the final event - a J-Party featuring Japanese music, party games and a host of other randomness - ends after midnight. It sounds like it'd be a fun and completely random day, for more info on what's going on, how to get tickets and how to register for the events check out the official website at www.mangattack.co.uk. Make sure you're quick though, there are only 200 places up for grabs at this inaugural event! Source: Mangattack! |
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Manga Company Websites Launched & Updated Manga newcomer Tanoshimi are getting ready for their first batch of releases next month by launching a mini-site with a competition to name their five new mascot characters. There's an iPod Nano and a batch of their August manga releases up for grabs for the winner, check out their site at www.randomhouse.co.uk/tanoshimi Also giving their website an overhaul are leading UK manga publisher Tokyopop, who have created a UK section on their extensive US website. The UK section can be found here, and contains details on the UK & Ireland Rising Stars of Manga competition as well as release schedules and news. It's still a work in progress and some sections don't appear to be up and running yet, but keep an eye on it for updates in future. Source: Tokyopop
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Ghost in the Shell Tin to be Released! Some people may remember the special edition tin for the first Ghost in the Shell series that was available through online retailer Play.Com. You may remember how all of the series' seven DVD volumes could fit into it, and how damn good it looked. You may remember wishing that there were more boxes similar to it released here. If so you'll be pleased to hear that Manga Entertainment have decided to do one for the second series! The Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex 2nd GIG tin will be available exclusively through Play.Com, and includes the 7th volume of the series along with a Tachikoma figure and an exclusive t-shirt designed by Terratag! For pictures and more info, check out the Press Release! Source: Manga
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UK Goes Boxset Crazy! Anime boxsets are like buses, you wait ages for one and then fifteen turn up at once! All of the UK anime companies are getting in on the act, with Manga Entertainment leading the charge in September with Naruto Unleashed Boxset 1 and Heat Guy J Complete Series 1 Boxset. September sees (according to Play.Com) them follow up with the Ghost in the Shell 1 & 2 set (previously an HMV exclusive) and the Manga Essentials Boxset which contains Ninja Scroll, Akira and Ghost in the Shell. Not to be outdone MVM release their Ultimate Anime Horror Boxset (containing Bio-Hunter, Twilight of the Dark Master and Psycho Diver Soul Siren) in September, whilst ADV Films unleash their Burn Up Excess Complete Collection and Fremantle debut in the anime market with the Inu-Yasha Season 1 Part 1 boxset. If you think it ends there then think again! Manga look to be putting out two budget boxsets in October in the form of Astro Boy: Greatest Astro Adventures and Robotech The Macross Saga Complete Boxset, whilst MVM bring cut-price Serial Experiments Lain and Paranoia Agent boxsets to the shelves the same month. On top of this MVM will be putting out boxsets of Battle Vixens (aka. Ikki Tousen) and the Ninja Scroll TV series in November, whilst Manga bring us Naruto Unleashed Boxset 2 and ADV Films release the Neon Genesis Evangelion Premium Collection too. Check our Release Schedule for exact dates, can your wallet take the strain? Source: Manga
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New Ghost in the Shell Film!! Some fans may be aware that Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex spawned two spinoff films in Japan, but now a third is on the verge of release, and it's a bit different. The first two films - named Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex The Laughing Man and Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex Individual Eleven - are made from clips from, and summarise, the first two seasons of Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, but the third is an entirely new 105 minute long stand alone feature. This third film, called Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex Solid State Society, is set two years after the end of the second anime series and is directed by series director Kenji Kamiyama. If premieres straight to Japanese Pay-Per-View TV at the start of September, but has already been snapped up by Bandai for US release along with the other two films. No news as yet on a UK release, but as the Ghost in the Shell franchise is one of Manga Entertainment's cornerstones we wouldn't be surprised to see all three films hit UK shores next year... Source: ICv2 |
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Ghost in the Shell clips! Manga are giving a sneak peek at the next instalment of the excellent Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex 2nd GIG! Out on 31st July, the fourth volume of this series is great as always - check out our review and the following clips if you don't believe us! Clip 1 -
High /
Medium /
Low Source: Manga
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Ultimate Goddess boxset coming to DVD Further to our earlier news item regarding new DVD box sets from MVM, another has appeared on their official site. The Ultimate Goddess box set is coming soon, although no release date has been confirmed as yet. Keep an eye on our release schedule for further information as we get it. Source: MVM |
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Rapture to screen Mezzo DSA Following successful showings of Full Metal
Alchemist and Wolf's Rain, digital channel Rapture TV
will be showing the actioner Mezzo DSA. Starting on
Thursday July 6th at 8.30pm and repeated on Sundays. Source:
ADV Films |
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Waterstones Sci-Fi Sale Waterstones are currently running a 3 for 2 deal on sci-fi and fantasy books, and due to the way they categorise books (in the Bristol store at least) this also covers graphic novels and manga! Pretty much every manga title in stock was included in the deal in the Bristol Galleries store, including the more expensive once like Akira and Ghost in the Shell. If this is the case countrywide it is a great opportunity to save a lot of money on some truly classic series, other premium priced titles covered included Lady Snowblood and Ozamu Tezuka's Buddha series. Source: Waterstones |
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Paranoia reminder Further to our earlier news item, this is just a
quick reminder that The Barbican in London will be showing
the first four episodes of Paranoia Agent this Sunday (9th
July) at 1.45pm. Source: Barbican/MVM |
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MVM DVD Boxsets on the Way? Online retailer Play.Com have listed three DVD boxsets of MVM titles, all due for release in September and October. First up is the Ultimate Anime Horror Box Set on 4th September which, despite sounding like another release from Animazing, contains three MVM horror titles - Twilight of the Dark Master, Psycho Diver Soul Siren and Bio-Hunter - for just £24.99. Following on October 9th are the Serial Experiments Lain Box Set and Paranoia Agent Box Set, both of which contain the respective four volume series for just £39.99 each. These dates aren't set in stone, so keep an eye on our Release Schedule for ay changes. Source: Play.Com |
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More Special Editions on the Way? You may have noticed the awesome limited edition boxset of Mamoru Oshii's seminal classic Patlabor hitting the UK this month, and it looks like it could by the first of many such limited boxsets. Bandai Visual USA have teamed up with Image Entertainment to release a series of such sets under the label 'Honneamise', taking Image's legendary extras-laden (US only) Criterion Collection DVDs as inspiration. Obviously this is a deal for the US, but with Beez picking up the Honneamise edition of Patlabor signs look good that the next limited edition set - Patlabor 2 - will also make it's way across the Atlantic. It is also interesting that the label has been named after the Gainax classic Wings of Honneamise, a fan favourite anime that is long overdue a DVD release, although the Patlabor films are the only announced releases so far under the new label the name must hint at a release for this hugely popular anime - in the US at least... Source: ICv2 |
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Tokyopop Music launches! Manga distributor Tokyopop have signed a deal with the Digital Rights Agency to launch Tokyopop Music, a music label that will distribute anime music through iTunes and other music download websites. Tokyopop Music will launch with three collections of music under the series name Tokyopop Presents... Drift 2 Die, Anime Trax Volume One and Beats 4 Riderz, which contain hip hop and electronica from Initial D, GTO, Rave Master, Princess Ai and Street Fury. All three collections are produced by b_nCHANt_d and DJ Milky and will be available exclusively for download, they won't be released on CD. It's unclear whether the tracks are actually from the anime series of the titles in question, or simply inspired by them - we think it may be a mix of the two, especially considering the Princess Ai anime has yet to be completed. Source: Tokyopop |
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More Priest News The live action film version of Tokyopop's manhwa series Priest is due to start shooting in October with Andrew Douglas (Amityville Horror) attached to direct. Priest will be the head of a new generation of live action films based on anime and manga, with the adaptation of the manga series Pet Shop of Horrors also on the way and the recent release of a live action Japanese film based on Death Note. It has also been reported that Roy Lee, producer of pretty much every US remake of an Asian horror film, wants to make a TV series based on Witch Hunter Robin. Other anime film projects are still languishing in pre-production though, with Sailor Moon, Neon Genesis Evangelion, Speed Racer and Battle Angel Alita all on the back burner, although James Cameron insists he'll make the Battle Angel Alita film before the decade is out... Source: ICv2 |
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Bleach Merchandise Coming to the West American merchandising companies Great Eastern and Toynami have signed deals to produce merchandise based on the hit anime series Bleach for the US market, ready for the anime series' debut on US Cartoon Network in September. A huge hit through 'fansubbed' anime downloads and Viz Media's release of the manga series, Bleach is second only to Naruto in terms of underground popularity, and the official release of the anime is highly anticipated. Keep an eye open for the new merchandise, which is due to include statues, figures, keyrings, plush toys and statues, on merchandise websites like Tokyotoys and Anime-on-Line. Source: ICv2 |
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Naruto Press Release Manga Entertainment have officially released details of their forthcoming Naruto boxset! Check out the Press Release for the full lowdown. Source: Manga Entertainment |
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