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Welcome to our News archive for March 2013 - to see this month's news please click on the button below.
 


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16th March 2013

New Film4 Ghibli Season

Digital TV channel Film4 has announced that it will be screening a new season of films from Studio Ghibli this Easter.  The season will include 19 films, covering Studio Ghibli's full catalogue from Laputa, Castle in the Sky to Arrietty, missing only My Neighbours The Yamadas.  Also included are the pre-Ghibli films Little Norse Prince, Castle of Cagliostro and Nausicäa of the Valley of the Wind.  Dates and times for the screenings are as follows:

Tuesday 26th March @ 6.35pm - Spirited Away
Wednesday 27th March @ 6.05pm - Princess Mononoke
Thursday 28th March @ 11am - The Cat Returns
Thursday 28th March @ 4.35pm - Porco Rosso
Friday 29th March @ 4.35pm - Kiki's Delivery Service
Saturday 30th March @ 5pm - My Neighbour Totoro
Sunday 31st March @ 4.45pm - Arrietty
Monday 1st April @ 1.35am - Grave of the Fireflies*
Monday 1st April @ 4.35pm - Howl's Moving Castle
Tuesday 2nd April @ 3pm - Pom Poko
Wednesday 3rd April @ 2.45pm - Castle of Cagliostro
Thursday 4th April @ 11am - Ocean Waves
Thursday 4th April @ 2.35pm - Nausicäa of the Valley of the Wind
Friday 5th April @ 3.05pm - Whisper of the Heart
Saturday 6th April @ 4.35pm - Spirited Away
Sunday 7th April @ 5.15pm - The Cat Returns
Monday 8th April @ 2.20pm - Only Yesterday
Tuesday 9th April @ 2.40pm - Tales From Earthsea
Wednesday 10th April @ 2.55pm - Princess Mononoke
Thursday 11th April @ 11am - Little Norse Prince
Thursday 11th April @ 2.55pm - Ponyo
Friday 12th April @ 2.40pm - Howl's Moving Castle
Saturday 13th April @ 2.20pm - Laputa, Castle in the Sky

* as with previous screenings, Grave of the Fireflies is shown in the early hours of the morning.

Source: Film4
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16th March 2013

Manga License Appleseed XIII and Fairy Tail Season 2

Manga have announced two new licenses during their live podcast recording at this weekend's MCM Birmingham Comic Con!  First up is the CGI sci-fi series Appleseed XIII, a new 13 episode re-imagining of Masamune Shirow's classic manga about a post-apocalyptic, computer controlled city.  No release date is confirmed yet.  Also on the cards is the second series of Fairy Tail, which has been in doubt for a while due to the uncertain status of the US release.  The first volume of the fantasy sequel is tentatively set for release towards the end of the year.  Manga have also revealed that they hope to release the Fairy Tail film this year as well.

Source: Manga
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16th March 2013

MVM License Bakemonogatari and Nisemonogatari!

After a year of focusing more on live-action films and re-issues, MVM have gone anime crazy this year!  In their third license announcement in the last week or so they have revealed the surprise acquisition of the supernatural adventure series Bakemonogatari and its sequel Nisemonogatari.  The two series, which focus on a school student who survives a vampire attack and uses his experiences to help others with supernatural problems, have been touted as possible Manga or Kazé releases in the past, so MVM's acquisition of them is quite impressive.  The series are set to be released on both DVD and Blu-Ray from September, and MVM have promised a further new license announcement next week.  Exciting times!

Source: MVM
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14th March 2013

Oblivion Island Delayed

Manga have announced that their forthcoming release of Production I.G.'s CGI fantasy film Oblivion Island: Haruka and the Magic Mirror has been delayed by a week due to production issues.  The film, a charming family fantasy story about a girl who travels to a mysterious fantasy world to recover a lost mirror, is now set for release on 1st April.

Source: Manga
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14th March 2013

Hyper Japan Returns!

The dates for the next Hyper Japan have been confirmed, with the event running from July 26th to the 28th in London's Earls Court Two exhibition centre.  Hyper Japan is a large Expo-style event that focuses on all aspects of Japanese culture, including crafts, food, fashion, anime and music.  Past events have pulled in big name guests including J-Pop stars, performers, anime directors and chefs, as well as several Japanese companies.  It provides a different experience from the MCM London Comic Cons despite being a similar type of event, and tickets are pitched at around the same price, with weekend passes selling for £24 and day tickets costing £12 in advance or £25 on the door.

Check out their website for further details, our roundup of the last Hyper Japan event can be found here.

Source: Hyper Japan
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14th March 2013

MVM License Is This a Zombie?

MVM's revival as an anime distributor continues unabated with yet another big license announcement, this time the in the form of the 12 episode supernatural comedy Is This a Zombie? and it's sequel Is This a Zombie? 2.  The series focuses on a hapless murdered schoolboy who is resurrected by a modern-day necromancer, then ends up standing in for a local magical girl when he inadvertently robs her of her power.  The release date has yet to be revealed but is expected to be in the latter half of 2013, a Blu-Ray release is also a possibility but has not been confirmed as yet.

Source: MVM
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11th March 2013

Manga Reveal Lupin III License

Manga Entertainment's latest podcast is out now (click here to find it), featuring as always interesting discussion between Manga's Jerome Mazandarani, Jeremy Graves, Andrew Hewson and anime expert Jonathan Clements.  Not a huge amount of news from the podcast this time, although they did reveal a new license in the form of the 12-episode series Lupin III: The Woman Named Fujiko Mine.  The series is a recent spin-off from Monkey Punch's classic Lupin III series, and focuses on the enigmatic femme fatale Fujiko.  No release date has been confirmed, although the series will be released on both Blu-Ray and DVD.  Also revealed was the release date for Aria: The Scarlet Ammo, a previously announced DVD release which is now slated for 8th July.  The release of the sci-fi series Steins;Gate has also been brought forward a week and is now scheduled for 15th July.

On a sadder note was the news of the recent death of translator Toren Smith, a man who may not be well known to many modern fans but was hugely influential in bringing manga and anime to the West in the 1980's and 1990's.  Smith worked on localising huge numbers of manga titles, including Akira, Ghost in the Shell, Oh! My Goddess and one of our personal favourites 3x3 Eyes, and is credited with co-founding the first Western anime convention - AnimeCon - back in 1991.  Smith spent time in Japan in the 1980's, briefly living with the fledgling anime studio Gainax who named a character in Gunbuster after him, and was active in manga translation until 2004 when he sold his company Studio Proteus to Dark Horse Comics.  He was a divisive figure with some fans for the time his painstaking translations could take and some of his editorial decisions, but his work was based on quality over quantity, it formed the basis of our anime fandom and will always hold a special place for us.  Read Jonathan Clements' moving obituary on the Manga Blog here to find out more about his life and legacy.

Source: Manga
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9th March 2013

Warner to Release Supernatural: The Anime Series

Warner Brothers have announced that they'll be releasing Supernatural: The Anime Series on DVD on the 27th May.  The series is an anime remake of the popular US action series Supernatural, and follows two brothers who hunt demons and other supernatural creatures across modern-day America.  The original US actors Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles reprise their roles as Sam and Dean Winchester in the 22-episode series' English dub, and also feature prominently in a number of extras on the DVDs, including interviews and episode introductions.

Source: Warner
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8th March 2013

Penguindrum to Be Released in Two Parts

Manga have confirmed on their Facebook page that the forthcoming release of Penguindrum will be in two half series sets, rather than the complete series set they originally listed.  Manga Entertainment are distributing the series on behalf of Kazé, so do not control the license or decide the format it is released in.,  The first volume of Penguindrum is set for release on 6th May with the second half expected in the third quarter of the year.

Source: Manga
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8th March 2013

MVM to Release Sankarea

More license announcements this month!  MVM have announced via Twitter that they have license the 12 episode macabre comedy series Sankarea for release later this year.  The series focuses on a student who's obsessed with zombies, and ends up accidentally turning his friend into one.  No release date has been confirmed as yet, but keep an eye on our Release Schedule for further updates.

Source: MVM
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4th March 2013

Ghibli Release Dates Revealed

The next two Studio Ghibli films to get the Blu-Ray treatment have been revealed, with the charming coming of age tale Kiki's Delivery Service and harrowing war drama Grave of the Fireflies slated for a 27th May Blu-Ray release by a number of online retailers.  Studio Canal have confirmed Kiki's release date but say that the date for Grave of the Fireflies is provisional and may change, it already missed one release date (it was supposed to released alongside My Neighbour Totoro last year, but was postponed) so don't get your hopes up too much.

However, also given a provisional release date is Studio Ghibli's most recent film From Up on Poppy Hill, which is tentatively scheduled for a cinema release in July.  The film, which follows a group of students who try to save a school clubhouse from demolition, is directed by Goro Miyazaki and scripted by his illustrious father Hayao, and we really can't wait for it to come out!

Source: AnimeNewsNetwork
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4th March 2013

Evangelion Manga to (Finally) End in 2013

After what must be one of the most drawn-out runs in manga history, leading character designer and artist Yoshiyuki Sadamoto has confirmed his official manga adaptation of Neon Genesis Evangelion will end this year.  The manga launched back in 1994 (!) and with Sadamoto busy on numerous other projects he has averaged less than one volume per year, with the most recent being volume 13 in November 2012.  The manga will resume serialisation in the Japanese magazine Young Ace from 4th April.

Source: AnimeNewsNetwork
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4th March 2013

Anime Ltd Confirm Shinkai Blu-Ray

New anime label Anime Ltd continue to reveal more of their plans for future releases, and following last month's confirmation that they have licensed Makoto Shinkai's The Place Promised in Our Early Days, they have now revealed that it will be released on Blu-Ray.  The Blu-Ray release of the film, which focuses on two students attempting to fulfil a childhood wish of flying a aeroplane to a mysterious tower, is also set to include Shinkai's self-made breakthrough hit Voices of a Distant Star and the anime short Travelling Daru - a recent title made by Shinkai and the team behind his film Journey to Agartha.  No release date has been revealed as yet, but keep an eye on our Release Schedule for updates.

Source: Anime Ltd
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