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Welcome to our News archive for May 2006 - to see this month's news
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ADV sponsor Metal Hammer Awards Source:
ADV Films |
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Inu-Yasha for UK release? Spotted by those eagle-eyed guys over at Anime
UK News, Play.com have listed an Inu-Yasha 1st
series box set for release on 25/09/06 for £27.99. Source:
Anime UK News;
Play.com |
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New Live-Action manga adaptation on its way! It's great to see more manga-based live action films join the growing UK catalogue, and next up is The Peacock King, the live action version of the manga series Kujaku O, which is out on DVD on 19th June from Hong Kong Legends. The film looks like a great mix of over-the-top action and supernatural shenanigans, with fireball throwing monks, tonnes of random explosions and armies of evil martial artists, to see what we mean check out the following trailer: Peacock King Trailer Also, check out the Manga Name Generator on the film webpage - www.hongkonglegends.co.uk/peacockkingdvd - it's absolutely hilarious! Refer to us ever more as Rounin Katsu and Forceful Dragon! Source: Hong Kong Legends |
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MCM London Expo News Report! With the MCM London Expo now over and done (and a damn good one it was too), it's now time to report the various bits of news that popped up over the course of the weekend! First up was the big announcement that Jetix will soon be screening the excellent Naruto and that it will be released on DVD by Manga Entertainment! Everyone may have known about this in advance but it rocked nonetheless! Naruto will start screening on Jetix on 22nd July, and Manga Entertainment will be following this up with the first DVD which is pencilled in for the 21st August. Manga are planning to release the series in 13 episode boxsets which will include the cut English dubbed version alongside the original uncut Japanese version with English subtitles. No official word on how much the sets will cost but we believe they will be somewhere in the region of £30, and we can hardly wait to see what kind of boxes and extras Manga have lined up! Generally overshadowed prior to the Expo by Naruto despite being given equal billing, was Oban Star Racers. However, this stylish French/Japanese co-production proved to be a surprise hit with the audience and will definitely be one to look out for when it begins screening on Jetix on 21st October. The show itself blends superb artwork and unusual character designs with really high paced racing action, which bears more than a passing resemblance to the Pod Racing sequence from Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace. No DVD rights were announced for this series, but it is rumoured that they have been picked up by a company other than Jetix, so it will be interesting to see how the series is dealt with. From the other companies news was pretty scarce, with ADV Films working through the red tape on a number of titles which prevented them from announcing anything new, MVM announcing Le Portrait de la Petit Cossette prior to the Expo and Manga concentrating all of their efforts on Naruto and the forthcoming Tetsujin 28 live action movie. Beez didn't make any new announcements either, but their free catalogue did contain plenty of interesting release info. It looks like June will be a busy month for them, with the first volumes of My HIME, Eureka Seven, Panda Z and .hack://LEGEND OF THE TWILIGHT all due for release. They also list Mobile Suit Gundam Seed Destiny, IGPX and Fantastic Children as forthcoming titles. Beez titles have been known to be delayed, and indeed My HIME vol 1 seems to now be out in July, but check out our release schedule for more info! On the manga side of things (as in the books, not the company), Tokyopop were doing a brisk trade which prevented us from really having a chat with them, but it was interesting to hear that Sweatdrop Studios artist and Rising Stars of Manga UK finalist Emma Vicieli has been commissioned to do a manga-style adaptation of some Shakespeare plays. More news on this as and when we get it. To be fair this was the only real Expo news, although ADV Films, Beez, Manga Entertainment and MVM did preview episodes and clips from several anime titles. Hits with the audience - alongside Naruto and Oban Star Racers - included ADV's surreal Cromartie High, Beez's Mobile Suit Gundam Seed and MVM's Spiral, whilst we were also very impressed by ADV's stylish actioner Samurai Gun. Look out for more announcements at the next MCM Expo in October, and check out our Cosplay and Expo features which should be online by the end of the week! Source:
Various |
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MVM Go Gothic! MVM have snuck in with an impressive licensing announcement prior to the MCM London Expo with the news that they will be bringing us the creepy gothic horror Le Portrait de la Petit Cossette. Critically acclaimed on both it's Japanese and US release, this dark tale of supernatural revenge taps into the rich vein of Asian horror that has really exploded in the UK in the last few years. Well done to MVM, who have not only pulled off a major coup in getting this title but have also grabbed the pre-expo headlines! Source:
MVM |
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Manga Announce Expo schedule Manga Entertainment seem to really be pushing the boat out for the MCM London Expo in London's Docklands this weekend, and have a host of displays, events, screenings and giveaways lined up! Early Bird visitors to the Expo will receive a goody bag containing a limited edition 'Tetsujin 28 vs. Terratag' booklet and 'Make your own robot' cards, as well as issue 23 of Jetix magazine and an Atari Driver Bonus DVD. That isn't the end of it though, Manga will be giving out a host of freebies on their stand, and visitors can also gawp at the 10 metre long Cable Street Collective Manga mural and play on PSP game pods. Manga have also confirmed that they will be releasing the whole of the excellent Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex 2nd GIG this year, but the big news at the Expo will be their Special Announcement at 1pm on Saturday. A co-presentation with Jetix, Manga are widely believed to have snagged the DVD rights to the excellent ninja anime Naruto, but we'll have to wait until the expo to be sure! If that wasn't enough they have series of anime screenings lined up, check out the following list for details: Saturday 12.30 - Karas: The Prophecy (Cert: 12) Sunday 10.30 - Heat Guy J volume 2 (Cert: 12) Source:
Manga Entertainment |
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Our own cosplay competition at the London MCM Expo! As everybody's favourite Expo is fast approaching,
we will be giving away a few prizes of our own at the Expo!
The prizes will mainly be for what we deem to be the 'most random'
cosplay at the Expo and possibly a few others... |
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ADV sale! ADV Films are currently clearing out some
of their back catalogue in sale on their site with prices starting
from just £5.99! With top titles Neon Genesis Evangelion,
Dirty Pair Flash and
Gunsmith Cats on offer for £5.99 as well Spriggan:
Special Edition for just £8.99, this is a great chance to stock
up on some cheap quality titles. They will even give you a
free poster if Spriggan is part of your order! And
there is free postage and packaging from Bank Holiday Monday (29th
May) onwards!! Source:
ADV Films |
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Naruto UK premiere to screen at London MCM Expo!! After months of rumours and 'mmms' and 'ahhhs'
there is finally confirmation that the mega popular Naruto is
coming to the UK! Source:
MCM Expo |
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Gunslinger Girl free! This month's issue of DVD Monthly contains another free episode of anime on the cover disc, this time being the impressive Gunslinger Girl. See our review of the latest volume by clicking here. Source:
DVD Monthly |
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More Ghost in the Shell 2nd GIG Clips! Following on from the two clips linked last week (see below) we have now been provided with two more! Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex vol 3 is due out on Monday, but whet your appetite with these clips and check out our review: Clip 3 Clip 4 Make sure you enter our amazing new competition too! Source:
Manga Entertainment |
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Tokyopop Goes Live-Action! Chatting to the Tokyopop reps at the recent Manga Night held in the Trowbridge branch of Ottakar's bookshop turned up some very interesting news about some major US film projects based on their titles! There are several films in production but at the moment the excitement is all about Priest, the action-packed Western about a fallen priest with demonic powers from Korean author Min-Woo Hyung. The epic series is being made into a cinematic trilogy with an impressive budget of $60m per film and backing from Sony, but the excitement really comes in the star power attached - not only is Sam Raimi executive producer but Lord of the Rings star Viggo Mortensen is confirmed for the lead role! Not to be outdone by their Korean peers, the works of two Japanese authors are also set for Hollywood treatment. First up is Matsuri Akino's creepy series Pet Shop of Horrors, an interesting horror series that has drawn comparisons with The Twilight Zone, and secondly is the manga classic Cyborg 009, Shotaro Ishinomori's action-packed epic which critiques the Cold War arms race. We are really excited about the prospect of these titles coming to the big screen (especially Webmaster Tom, who nearly had a hernia from sheer joy at the Cyborg 009 news...), and just hope that the US producers can do justice to these great stories! Source:
Tokyopop |
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Ottakar's Manga Night Webmaster Rich attended the Manga Night held at the Trowbridge branch of Ottakar's last night and had a really good time, picking up some great manga bargains and also winning some more books in a prize draw! The Tokyopop-sponsored night was a great success with over fifty people crammed into the store to take advantage of the Ottakar's 4 for 3 manga offer, pick up some free preview books and enter the prize draws, quiz and cosplay and art competitions. There are several similar nights running around the country and it is worth popping into your local Ottakar's branch and seeing if they have one coming up. You'll come out with some real bargains and you get the opportunity to talk directly to the guys from Tokyopop, you may even win some stuff too so don't miss out! Source:
Ottakar's |
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Ghost in the Shell 2nd GIG Clips! With all of Manga Entertainment's great new releases to attract your attention, you could be forgiven for forgetting about Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex 2nd GIG! No matter though, as Manga have released a couple of clips of the forthcoming third volume to whet your appetite, check out our review and have a look at these clips: Clip 1 Clip 2 Keep your eyes open for an awesome competition too! Source:
Manga Entertainment |
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