Rough Guide to Anime Coming

Rough Guides have announced that they will soon be releasing the Rough Guide to Anime!  The guide is written by the author of the Rough Guide to Japan and we will be running a competition for the book in the near future.  In the meantime check out the full press release here!  If you want to buy the book, check out the official Rough Guides shop here.

VIZ & Dark Horse Raise Some Manga Prices

US manga publishers VIZ Media and Dark Horse appear to have raised the price of several upcoming titles.  The price rises currently only affect US releases and see the latest volumes of Naruto and Berserk retail for $9.99, up by $1-$2.  At the moment no price rises have been announced for UK releases, but expect to see import prices rise both online and in shops like Forbidden Planet.

Expo License News!

Following MVM's pre-Expo announcements of X, Gunparade March, Moribito, Aquarion and Dororo, here's the lowdown from the other companies:

ADV - Nothing new to announce and no likelihood of anything to come in the future either.

Beez - Confirmed that they had the hugely popular Code Geass, a sci-fi actioner that brings together manga collective CLAMP and Gundam creators Sunrise.

Manga Entertainment - Tonnes to announce!  They've picked up the highly anticipated Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, the game tie-in Devil May Cry, the former ADV title Guyver: The Bioboosted Armour, Shigurui: Death Frenzy, kiddie fodder Tamagochi The Movie, the Death Note OVAs and Mamoru Oshii's latest film The Sky Crawlers.  They also have the live action samurai film Ichi.

Manga To Start Streaming Anime

Manga Entertainment announced at the MCM London Expo that they will begin to stream anime for free through their website and YouTube.  The first of their titles on the service will be Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, which will be streamed shortly after each episode airs in Japan.  Manga plan to upload several episodes to start with in order to bring us up to speed with Japan and America.  This will be the first of many titles to be streamed, and both Beez and MVM will be working with Manga to put their titles online.  First up from this linkup will be Gurren Lagann from Beez, which will be streamed through Manga.co.uk and Manga's YouTube channel.  Exciting times ahead!

MVM Licenses and Expo News!

MVM have sent through a press release prior to their appearance at the MCM London Expo, announcing the acquisition of five new titles!  The new series are sci-fi actioner Gunparade March, fantasy Guardian of the Spirit (aka. Moribito), giant robot show Aquarion and CLAMP's fantasy epic X.  Our very own Ami-Chan is already having palpitations about the latter.  The license announcements are rounded off with the live-action adaptation of the classic Osamu Tezuka manga Dororo, a samurai epic about a cursed boy who has to defeat demons to regain parts of his body.  It's a fantastic set of acquisitions, and it is very good to see MVM following up the excellent Cutey Honey with what sounds like another great live action film.  We can't wait to see them!

More Claymore Clips!

Those good people at Manga have supplied us with some more clips from Claymore!  The fantasy actioner is due to hit the shelves on 8th June, but if you can't wait have a look at the following...

Clip 1
Clip 2
Clip 3
Clip 4
Clip 5

Manga will also be attending this weekend's MCM London Expo, and have plenty of special deals on their stall.  Don't miss the opportunity to pick up a free Misa Amane figure when you buy a Death Note DVD, or the specially priced Afro Samurai double pack!  Manga will also be giving away promotional posters and showing sneak previews of the live-action Blood The Last Vampire film, don't miss it!

Tatsunoko vs. Capcom Coming to Europe!

Despite licensing issues that many believed would see it confined to Japan, Capcom have announced the latest in their popular line of 'vs' console beat-em-ups will be heading to the West.  At the moment the game is only being released on the Nintendo Wii, and if you're wondering why we're reporting this then it's worth noting that Tatsunoko is a long running Japanese anime studio, and the game features many of its characters.  The Japanese release saw characters from Karas, Gatchaman and Casshan join Capcom's usual suspects, and rumours persist that additional characters may be added for the West.  We hope they include Speed Racer!

New Genki Gear range!

They are becoming more and more popular, so its great that Genki Gear are to launch a new range!  The retailer, inspired by Japanese culture, are to launch t-shirts, jackets and even greeting cards with their next range!  Click on the titles below to view images of each new product:

Greeting cards (all designs)
Rah! Jacket (men's and women's)
Panda Trio Jacket (men's and women's)
Fugu Green - unisex t-shirt and women's fitted tee
Fugu Red - unisex t-shirt and women's fitted tee
Panda Trio Royal Blue - unisex t-shirt
Panda Trio Charcoal - unisex t-shirt and women's fitted tee
Panda Trio Hawaiian Blue - women's fitted tee
Rah! Charcoal - unisex t-shirt
Rah! Blue - unisex t-shirt
Rah! Orange - women's fitted tee
Rah! Sport Grey - women's fitted tee

Available sizes are small to extra large.  Prices are £14.99 for the unisex t-shirts and £15.99 for the women's fitted tee.  The jackets are £24.99 but will be sold at the special price of £19.99 at the forthcoming MCM London Expo, which Genki Gear will attending as a retailer.   

London Film & Comic Con to feature more anime events

London Film & Comic Con, traditionally a event which features many sci-fi and cult figures, is to increase the number of anime events happening at its next show.  Held in Earl's Court 2  London on 18th - 19th July 2009, fan community AnimeLeague will be helping LFCC run a number of anime based and gaming events.  For more details, view the press release here. 

New Terratag Competition

Anime inspired designer Terratag are running an awesome competition this month, which gives you the opportunity to win a 1m-wide canvas print worth £250!  In order to enter all you have to do is buy something from them during May, so check out their website and fill your basket!

Claymore Sneak Peek!

Those good folks at Manga Entertainment have released a clip from their forthcoming fantasy series Claymore!  The series follows the mysterious swordswoman Clare as she travels the world hunting demons masquerading as humans, but each kill takes her closer to becoming a demon herself.  The first volume is out on the 8th of June, so to whet your appetite check out the clip here!

Evangelion 2.0 Trailer Posted Online

The official trailer for the latest instalment of the Neon Genesis Evangelion franchise has been posted on the official Japanese website.  The trailer is for Evangelion 2.0: You Can (Not) Advance, the second film in the four part cycle that re-imagines the seminal Evangelion anime series.  This latest film actually seems to include a brand new character and a new Eva unit, as well as improved visuals - check out the trailer here.

Original Author to Oversee New One Piece Film

Eichiiro Oda, the author and artist behind the phenomenally successful pirate manga One Piece, has announced that he will be personally overseeing the forthcoming tenth One Piece anime film.  The new film is set to be released in December in Japan, and although Oda is not directing he has written the film's story and provided over 120 rough sketches.  Some of the sketches were published in the recent issue of Weekly Shonen Jump magazine in Japan, including one of Roronoa Zolo with a bazooka!  We can't wait...

FUNimation License Vandread OVAs

The seemingly omnipotent FUNimation have announced another license acquisition in the US, this time of two sci-fi OVAs - Vandread Integral and Vandread Turbulence.  The two feature length episodes compile the story of the first and second Vandread anime series respectively.  No release date has been announced as yet.

Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood Streamed for Free!

The highly anticipated new Fullmetal Alchemist anime series is being streamed for free by FUNimation!  Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood is a new interpretation of the classic series that follows the original manga more closely.  To see the episodes visit FUNimation's website here.

Anime Inspired T-shirt range from Uniqlo

Clothing chain Uniqlo are selling exclusive t-shirts which show off art work from old school anime.  These t-shirts are available for both genders and offer a variety of designs from Osamu Tezuka's Kimba the White Lion and Astro Boy to Speed Racer and Great Teacher Onizuka, to name a few.  At present there is also a special offer online where you can pick up women's designs for £9.99 instead of their usual £12.99 price.  Check it out now at www.uniqlo.co.uk.

Harajuku Lovers Perfume

Gwen Stefani has released not one perfume but five recently!  The name of each of the perfumes is based on her highly successful solo album and clothing range Love, Angel, Music, Baby (L.A.M.B).  The final perfume is called little G and is supposed to represent Gwen's own personality.  Each bottle of perfume comes with a different Harajuku girl standing on top.  Check out the extremely cute web site here.