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Registrations for UK anime conventions
Ayacon, Alcon,
Fuyucon and Tokonatsu are open, click
here
to sign up for Ayacon,
here
to sign up for Alcon,
here to
sign up for Fuyucon and
here to sign up for Tokonatsu.
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Panda Go Panda, an early anime
title from Ghibli co-founders Isao Takahata and
Hayao Miyazaki, was announced for UK release on the 16th
of July.
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UK release dates were announced for the
live action manga adaptations Dragonball Evolution
and Blood The Last Vampire, which are out on the
10th of April and 16th of June respectively. The
Blood The Last Vampire trailer can be seen on the
this
Youtube link.
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It also emerged that the script for a
sequel to Dragonball Evolution has already been
written, and that the current film is likely to feature
Goku's Oozaru (giant monkey) form.
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Kunio Kato's anime short La Maison en
Petits Cubes won the Oscar for Best Animated Short Film
at the 81st Academy Awards. Japan also won
Best Foreign Language Film for the live-action
Departures.
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American anime voice actor Greg Ayres
suffered a mild heart attack at a US convention, and is
now recovering at home following a short hospital stay.
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Manga distributor Yen Press
nabbed the rights to Spice and Wolf, Crescent
Moon Story, Isuna Hasekura and volume 6 of
the excellent Yotsuba&!.
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Udon Entertainment announced that
they will re-issue Kia Asamiya's epic manga Silent Möbius,
and release an additional three volumes not previously
available in English.
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Bandai
acquired two manga series and one light novel series
based on the mecha anime Gundam 00.
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On another
Gundam note, a new anime series was announced in
Japan to tie in with the franchises' 30th Anniversary.
The new series is set shortly after the events of the
original Mobile Suit Gundam series, and features
an updated incarnation of the original RX-78 mobile suit
called the RX-78-7.
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FUNimation picked up loads more
anime titles for the US. Titles licensed this
month are Blassreiter, Bamboo Blade,
Dragonaut: The Resonance, The Tower of Druaga:
The Aegis of Uruk, Tower of Druaga: The Sword of
Uruk, My Bride is a Mermaid and El
Calzador de la Bruja.
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Collectable toy manufacturer Triad
Toys acquired the license to make premium figures
and statues based on the long-funning samurai manga
series Lone Wolf & Cub.
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Japanese company Kadokawa started
streaming two series of anime shorts based on The
Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya on Youtube.
To see the bizarre Melancholy of Haruhi-Chan Suzumiya
and Nyoron Churuya-San check out Kadokawa's channel
here.
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A 10th Anniversary Edition of the
Azumanga Daioh!
manga was announced for Japan. The new version is
set to include brand new material too!
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Manga authors Tomoko Ninomiya and
Katsura Hoshino overcame their health problems and work
on the popular series Nodame Cantabile and
D.Gray-Man resumes.
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Oscar winning anime director Hayao
Miyazaki will be drawing a special factual manga about
the creator of the Mitsubishi Zero fighter plane, and
has started planning his next anime project.
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Also in the works is a 14 (yes
fourteen) hour making-of documentary for Hayao
Miyazaki's most recent film, Ponyo on the Cliff by
the Sea.
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A new manga from Inu-Yasha author
Rumiko Takahashi was announced by Shonen Sunday
magazine in Japan, and VIZ Media snapped up the
overseas distribution rights before any details of what
it will be about have even been announced!
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A new Street Fighter anime short
featuring schoolgirl fighter Sakura has been made.
It is set to be shown after the ending credits of the
live-action Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li
film in Japan.
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Japanese anime studio Gonzo and
US distributor VIZ Media became the latest
industry players to shed staff as the credit crunch
bites in the Far East and America.
