Ponyo English Dub Cast List Revealed?

Leading Studio Ghibli fansite Ghibli World have reported a partial cast list for the English Language dub of Hayao Miyazaki's latest film Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea.  Produced by Frank Marshall and Kathleen Kennedy (ET: The Extra-Terrestrial, Back to the Future, Jurassic Park), the dub is set to feature Matt Damon, Tina Fey, Cate Blanchett, Liam Neeson, Lily Tomlin, Betty White, Frankie Jonas, Noah Cyrys and Cloris Leachman.  Although big-name casts aren't always a guarantee of quality, at least it means that it should pick up some publicity and hopefully more people will check the film out.  Personally we can't wait to see it!

Naruto to Stream Worldwide 1hr After Japan

Video streaming website Crunchyroll and Japanese broadcaster TV Tokyo have announced that they will start screening English-subtitled episodes of Naruto just 1 hour after they are screened in Japan.  The service will start on 8th January 2009.  Viewers will have a choice of paying a subscription fee to watch the episodes 1 hour after Japan, or waiting a week to watch them for free.  Crunchyroll have also announced that they will stop accepting user-submitted videos on the 8th January and will only host videos approved by the copyright holders.

In related news, VIZ Media have started streaming an English-dubbed trailer for Naruto Shippuuden on the official Naruto website.  The initial streaming of the anime through Crunchyroll, Joost and Hulu will be in Japanese with English subtitles, but it looks like a dubbed version will come to DVD later.

Trailer for New Film from Madhouse Screened

Legendary Japanese studio Madhouse (Ninja Scroll, Vampire Hunter D) have released the trailer for their latest film, the insane looking Hells Angels.  The film is based on a manga by Sin-Ichi Hiromoto and focuses on a girl who gets goes to hell and back - literally.  The animation and style is reminiscent of a more sketchy version of Dead Leaves, but anything that features s devil dressed as Elvis is probably going to be worth watching.  Check out the trailer here (you may need to save the file and open it to run the video).

Manga for Kids Launching!

US publisher Udon Entertainment has launched a website for their upcoming Manga for Kids line that is due to launch next April.  The line will start with The Big Adventures of Majoko and Ninja Baseball Kyuma, and will be joined by Fairy Idol Kanon and Swans in Space in May and June respectively.  Udon are planning to promote the range at school and library conferences across America and will create a brochure about the titles for teachers, parents and librarians.  Click here to check out the website.

Manga & Anime Highlighted in Anti-Child Porn Congress

Representatives of 140 countries at the World Congress III Against the Sexual Exploitation of Children currently being held in Brazil were in attendance as the prominent Irish psychologist Dr. Ethel Quayle criticised Japan's lack of restriction of 'virtual child pornography' in manga and anime.  She asserted that the UK and other countries ban comics with sexual depictions of children and child abuse, but as Japan only does the same with pictures of real children and not drawings in comics it allows 'problematic' images to spread through the rest of the world.  Japan's current child pornography laws are being tightened with a bill currently going through parliament there.  However, the new laws specifically exempts virtual child pornography for three years so that further studies can be made on it, and Japan's Social Democratic Party are petitioning to have illustrations and fictional portrayals of child pornography excluded from the ban permanently.

All of the G8 nations, with the exception of Japan and Russia, have stringent child pornography laws.  However, a US law banning virtual child pornography - the PROTECT Act 2003 - is being tested next week in US courts after an man from Iowa was accused of possessing obscene manga depicting minors.  His legal team, backed by the Comic Book Legal Defence Fund , have challenged the law on the basis it was unconstitutional as it restricted free speech.  Aspects of their challenge were upheld and the man's fate now depends on whether a jury concludes that the material in question is obscene, offensive and has no literary or artistic value.  If convicted he could face 20 years in jail.  Interestingly leading British fantasy and comic author Neil Gaiman has publicly supported the defendant, saying that he himself "wrote a story about a serial killer who kidnaps and rapes children, and then murders them.  We did that as a comic, not for the purposes of titillation or anything like that, but if you bought that comic, you could be arrested for it?  That's just deeply wrong.  Nobody was hurt.  The only thing that was hurt were ideas."

We have a feeling that this issue is not going to go away anytime soon, especially as the US law hinges on such subjective concepts as what a 'reasonable person' would find obscene or lacking in artistic or literary value.

Heavy Downloaders Sued in Singapore

Another sign of Japan's increasingly tough stance on anime piracy has emerged with the news that a conglomerate of five Japanese anime companies - including Gonzo, Sunrise and Geneon - are suing four people in Singapore for heavy downloading of their titles.  Unauthorised downloading of copyrighted material is illegal in many countries around the world, but as legal action has to be taken by the copyright holders it generally goes unchecked when the titles in question have yet to be licensed by a local distributor.  However, in this case the titles were licensed locally by a company called Odex, but a district court ruled that only the original license holders could bring a case for infringement, which forced the five Japanese companies to step in.  According to reports warning letters had been sent to the defendants and ignored, and they also refused out-of-court settlements.

Gonzo Offer Staff Voluntary Retirement

Leading anime studio Gonzo have been suffering the effects of the credit crunch recently, and falling DVD sales has forced them to scale back their operations.  As well as cutting the number of anime projects they will complete in 2009 from a planned 8 to just 4, the company have trimmed their top level management and sold off their financing subsidiary.  The latest cost-cutting measures will see the four studios within the GDH group (Gonzo's corporate parent) merged into one, and the company have offered 'voluntary retirement' to its employees with the aim of reducing the current workforce by a quarter.  The voluntary retirement plan could see as 50 people leave the company, pocketing a bonus worth the equivalent of one month's salary.  It's kind of depressing to hear about this, as Gonzo have been probably the most prolific and successful studios of recent years.

4Digital Asia to Release Mnemosyne

Online retailers Play.Com and Amazon have listed Mnemosyne as a forthcoming release for 4Digital Asia.  Mnemosyne is a six episode anime series which revolves around an immortal private investigator who struggles to lead a normal life.  It's quite highly regarded and interestingly it's a first dip into the anime market (if you discount the Darkness Trilogy anyway...) for 4Digital following their successful release of the Death Note live action films.  It'll be interesting to see what else they release in future.

Naruto For Free!

VIZ Media have announced that they will start streaming Naruto Shippuuden for free from 15th January 2009.  The anime will be streamed just a week behind the Japanese broadcast through streaming sites Crunchyroll, Joost and Hulu.  VIZ will also start uploading the earlier episodes of Naruto Shippuuden to their official Naruto website, with eight episodes going up on 2nd January.  A further 8 episodes will be uploaded for free every Friday until the release catches up with the episodes streaming a week behind the Japanese airing.  As a result of this the fansub group Dattebayo - who have been illegally subtitling and distributing Naruto for several years - have announced that they will stop their release of the series.  It's good to see that there are some scruples left, as the group have previously said that they would stop if a viable alternative became available.

Broccoli International USA to Close

Another victim of the global slump has emerged, with the news that Broccoli International USA is to close down.  Broccoli's Japanese parent company Anime Gamers have decided to pull the plug on their US subsidiary in light of falling profit margins and oversaturation of the niche 'Yaoi' manga market.  Broccoli have already closed their physical American shop, their US online store, and their DVD distribution wing.  This last closure will also see the plug pulled on Broccoli Books, the publisher of the likes of Di Gi Charat, Disgaea and Aquarian Age.  They have confirmed that their licenses will revert to their Japanese publishers at the end of the year, and will not be releasing anything in 2009.   This also bodes ill for their release of Cosmode Magazine, although Broccoli will apparently be looking for other American publishers who can rescue their titles.  More news on this when we get it.

New Dragon Ball & One Piece Anime Streamed

Brand spanking new anime specials from the Jump Super Anime Tour in Japan are being streamed on the official Shonen Jump website Jumpland.  The streaming began last Monday and will continue until 31st January 2009.  The anime being streamed are Romance Dawn, which is based on a manga by Eiichiro Oda which formed the basis for One Piece, and one based on the manga Tegami Bachi.  It's the first time Tegami Bachi has been animated, but the most exciting one is the new Dragon Ball special.  The special features a new character - Vegeta's younger brother Tarble - and was drafted by original creator Akira Toriyama, it's the first anime incarnation of Dragon Ball for over a decade!  To view them, visit the Jumpland site here, please note that you will need to download the Shonen Jump viewing program at the foot of the Jumpland page to watch them.

I Am Legend Writer to Script Oldboy

The planned US remake of Oldboy picks up momentum with the news that Mark Protosevich is in talks to write the script.  Interestingly Will Smith has confirmed in interviews that it will be Garon Tsuchiya and Nobuaki Minegishi's original manga rather than Chan-Wook Park's award-winning film that will be the source for the remake.

Katsura Hoshino Puts D.Gray-Man on Hold

Leading Japanese manga anthology Weekly Shonen Jump has announced that D.Gray-Man is to go on hiatus, citing author Katsura Hoshino's health as the reason.  No date has been given for the manga's return.  Such health-related sabbaticals for manga authors are not uncommon in Japan, where the high pressure of constantly drawing new material for a weekly magazine can take its toll on an author's wellbeing.  So far 16 volumes of D.Gray-Man have been released in Japan, of which 11 have been released in America.  We wish Hoshino a speedy recovery!

Tokyopop News!

Tokyopop have revealed that they have been crowned Best Publisher/Distributor and Best Manga (Welcome to the NHK) in the Neo Reader Awards!  To be fair it's a bit of a coup considering they've had to compete with VIZ Media, who have this year released the awesomely popular Death Note, Naruto and Bleach during the course of the year.  On a random note they also mentioned that Tokyopop manga will be making a cameo appearance in the next series of the IT Crowd.  Apparently volumes of titles such as Devil May Cry and Sgt. Frog can be seen dotted around the basement office the characters share.  Random.

Tokyo15 Launch Anti-Piracy Campaign

Anime merchandise retailer Tokyo15 have launched an online campaign against pirated figures and merchandise.  Although pretty much unknown in Japan, where collectability means that many anime figures rise in value, merchandise piracy is rife in China and many pirated figures make their way to the West.  Many of the fakes are poorly made and painted, and of course the piracy affects the genuine retailers and anime companies themselves.  However, there is also a genuine danger from the lack of quality control, which can lead to toxic materials such as lead-based paints being used.  Tokyo15's post about the matter on the Neo forums certainly makes for interesting reading, click here to read it.

Two Anime Films on Oscar Long List

Two anime films have been included on the list of those eligible for Oscar nomination in the Best Animated Feature category.  Samurai actioner Sword of a Stranger - a future UK release from Beez - and Mamoru Oshii's sci-fi actioner The Sky Crawlers are the two anime films competing against twelve other animated titles for just three nomination slots.  The rules state that three slots are available if 8 or more works are submitted, and five if 16 or more are submitted, so this year's roster fell just short of an additional two nomination places.  To be eligible, a film has to have been shown for a seven-day run in a commercial Los Angeles cinema within the calendar year the Awards cover, and cannot be released on any other media prior to that.

Both anime titles are in for a tough battle for nomination, with the likes of Bolt, Dragon Hunters, Kung-Fu Panda, Madagascar 2: Escape to Africa, Waltz With Bashir and WALL-E also on the list.  We're hopeful one of the two can squeeze in, but we think Pixar's WALL-E is a shoe-in for the Oscar, and the critically acclaimed Waltz With Bashir is likely to gain a nomination too.

Di Caprio to Produce Akira & Ninja Scroll Films

It looks like the long-mooted live-action Akira film is once more back on track, with actor and producer Leonardo Di Caprio confirming that his Appian Way production company is waiting for a final draft of the script.  Speaking about Akira on MTV's Splash Page, Di Caprio said, “I’m a big fan of Japanese anime — that and another project called ‘Ninja Scroll’ we’re trying to get developed and made into a movie, and I know there a lot of loyal fans out there of the project and die-hard fans, so we’re going to try to do the best job we possibly can and we’re not going to make the movie until the script is in the right shape.”

Di Caprio did emphasise that he had no plans to act in either film, and was instead focusing purely on producing them.  A live-action Akira film has long been in the pipeline in the US, but has never got past the planning stages before now.  Interestingly Appian Way are reported to be using Katsuhiro Otomo's epic Akira manga as the source for their adaptation, rather than the classic anime film.  The six-volume manga series is intended to be adapted into two movies, more news when we get it.

Live Action Dragon Ball Film Rescheduled

20th Century Fox have announced an new US release date for the delayed live-action Dragon Ball film!  The film is now due for release in America on 8th April 2009, which is the Wednesday before Easter.  The film was originally slated for US release on 15th August 2008, but was initially put back to 10th April 2009 to allow time for post-production and additional shooting.  The latest date change seems to be in order to take full advantage of the Easter holiday period.  No UK release has been announced as yet.

Naruto Burst?

Amazon and several other US retail sites have listed eleven new volumes of Naruto, which are scheduled to be released in just three months next year.  Volumes 34, 35, 36 and 37 are due on 3rd February, 38, 39, 40 and 41 are due on 3rd March and 42, 43 and 44 are due on 7th April.  There is then a three month gap till the next volume, which is due to be released on 7th July.  It's not the first time VIZ Media have done this - they released twelve volumes in four months last year - however, last time was to keep the manga ahead of the US release of the Naruto Shippuuden anime.  If confirmed, this latest release burst will actually bring the US release of Naruto to within six months of the Japanese release.  However, it isn't clear at this point if the accelerated US schedule will be mirrored in the UK release of the series as well.

FUNimation Stream More Free Anime!

FUNimation has announced that Slayers, Shuffle! and Peach Girl have been added to the Hulu online video streaming site!  The three series join a host of others FUNimation have uploaded to Hulu in the last month or so, including Black Blood Brothers, Blue Gender, Galaxy Railways, Kiddy Grade, Moon Phase, Mushishi, School Rumble and xxxHolic.  The site is also currently legally streaming Shikabane Hime, a new series from studio Gainax, just three weeks behind the Japanese TV broadcast.  It also has series from VIZ Media and Gong.  FUNimation also continue to add titles to their own website, alongside other video streaming sites YouTube and Joost.

Spielberg to Remake Oldboy?

Reports have emerged that leading US director Stephen Spielberg and actor Will Smith are in the early stages of discussions regarding a potential remake of the violent Korean revenge film Oldboy.  Yes, you read that correctly.  The rights to the remake of Chan-Wook Park's film, which is in turn based on a manga by Garon Tsuchiya and Nobuaki Minegishi, are currently held by Mandate Pictures but Spielberg is seeking to obtain them for his Dreamworks studio.  Reports suggest that Spielberg would direct, with Smith taking the lead role of a man seeking revenge against captors who held him prisoner for 15 years without explanation.  Considering the themes of the original film, which included incest, mental torture and some pretty extreme violence, it'll certainly be interesting to see what the director of family-friendly fare such as E.T. and Indiana Jones will make of it...

New Tenchi, Well Kind Of...

The latest issue of the Japanese NewType magazine will confirm that a spin-off for the popular Tenchi Muyo! franchise is currently in production.  The spin-off, Isekai no Seikishi Monogatari, has been in development for more than ten years, and focuses on Tenchi's half-brother Kenji Masaki who is transported to a war-ravaged alternative world.  It doesn't look like any of the regular Tenchi cast will be in the series at the moment, but more news when we get it.

Tezuka's Manga and Anime to be Posted Online for Free

Tezuka Productions have announced that 700 manga and 100 anime titles by the 'God of Manga' Osamu Tezuka will be posted online for free over the course of the next three years.  To start with these will be available in Japanese, but there are plans to launch sister sites in English and Korean in future.  A software plugin for Windows is required to view the manga, which includes the likes of Astro Boy, Black Jack and Princess Knight.  More news on this when we get it.

Sgt. Frog Test Episode on YouTube

FUNimation have uploaded a 'test episode' of the anime comedy Sgt. Frog to YouTube, asking for feedback on it in the video's notes.  The episode is dubbed in English, making it the first time the English dub has been released.  It's an unusual move for FUNimation, but then Sgt. Frog has experienced a somewhat difficult road to the West.  The anime is very popular in Japan, where it has run for several years and enjoyed four cinematic outings, whereas the manga has been well received in the West following its release by Tokyopop.  However, the anime has not fared so well here, and despite being licensed for US and UK release a couple of years ago by ADV it was never released.  ADV cited worries of how best to market and release it, and eventually lost the license to FUNimation, who seem to be uncertain about it as well.  We hope it does come out as it's great fun, to see the episode for yourself click here!

New Arina Tanemura Manga on the Way

New Dragonball Anime to be Streamed Online

Shonen Jump have announced that they will be streaming the recent Dragonball, One Piece and Tegami Bachi anime shorts on their website from 24th November.  The three anime specials were created to be screened at the annual Jump Super Anime Tour events, which end the day before the specials are launched online.  The specials are all pretty interesting, with Tegami Bachi making its anime debut, and Dragonball returning for the first time in several years with a new story featuring Vegeta's younger brother Table.  Yes, that's actually his name.  The One Piece special is also interesting as it is actually an anime version of Romance Dawn, the manga short that formed the basis for One Piece.  It is unclear at present whether the anime streams will only be open to Japanese IP addresses, or whether they will be open to all.  Check out the Jumpland website here to check on the 24th!

ADV US License Princess Resurrection

The US arm of ADV Films have announced the acquisition of the horror comedy Princess Resurrection, a new series from major anime studio Madhouse.  The license is another sign of the company's cautious return from the brink, and follows the recent acquisition of Clannad for the US market.  There's still no confirmation of whether either of these series will be coming to the UK, but we live in hope!

ADV US License Princess Resurrection

The US arm of ADV Films have announced the acquisition of the horror comedy Princess Resurrection, a new series from major anime studio Madhouse.  The license is another sign of the company's cautious return from the brink, and follows the recent acquisition of Clannad for the US market.  There's still no confirmation of whether either of these series will be coming to the UK, but we live in hope!

Fruits Basket Stage Play!

The popular romantic comedy drama series Fruits Basket is being brought to the stage by the Japanese theatre troupe Gekidan Studio Life!  Strangely Gekidan are an all-male group, and aim to cast some unknowns in the play, which is due to open at Tokyo's Galaxy Theatre on 28th February 2009.  If you're in Japan at the moment, and are a 'healthy male 23 years old or younger' you could check out the auditions which are running until 28th November!  Click here to check out the troupe's website (in Japanese).

Ayacon 2009 Website Launches

The fondly remembered anime convention Ayacon returns in 2009, and the website for the event has just gone live!  The site gives a few details about the event, including a confirmed date, venue and accommodation prices.

Aya Revolution 09, as the con now appears to be called, will be held in Warwick University's Arts Centre on the 14th, 15th and 16th August 2009.  Onsite accommodation consists of 900 rooms (600 en-suite) at a cost of £50 per night, and will be bookable online with a credit or debit card.  Details on events and guests is still to be finalised, and registration is due to open in a few weeks.  For more details check out www.ayacon.org.uk!

Expo License Roundup

Despite there being no official industry panel at the MCM London Expo, the big anime companies still had some releases to announce!  MVM and Manga were predictably the ones with the most to say, with MVM announcing the acquisition of all four series of the classic fantasy comedy Slayers alongside the eagerly anticipated samurai actioner Blade of the Immortal, fellow samurai title Samurai Deeper Kyo and the live-action Cutie Honey film!  MVM confirmed that the first three series of Slayers would be released at a rate of four volumes per series, with the intention being to have all three released by the end of 2009.  They will then release Slayers Revolution, the franchise's latest instalment which was only released in Japan a couple of months ago!  The Cutie Honey film is the company's first foray into live-action, and they hope to release more Asian film in future.  However, Blade of the Immortal was the big announcement although it's not expected to hit UK shores until late 2009.

Manga confirmed the previously announced Darker Than Black, Ouran High School Host Club, Claymore and Negima Series 2, as well as confirming the acquisition of the remaining Naruto episodes and the follow-up Naruto Shippuuden.  They also have the Negima OVAs and the forthcoming Gonzo release Afro Samurai Resurrection.  Claymore will apparently be released in multi-volume, four episode per disc format due to authoring restrictions but Manga intend to price each volume at £14.99.  They also said that the Negima OVAs would be released in advance of the second Negima series.  They will also be the second UK anime distributor to embrace the Blu-Ray format, with a host of titles lined up for the format including Ghost in the Shell, Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence and Karas.

Beez confirmed the widely expected acquisition of Mobile Suit Gundam 00, but with a number of licenses in the pipeline they were unable to say more.  However, they did confirm that Sword of a Stranger would be shown as part of next months' Leeds Film Festival.

ADV Films, somewhat predictably, had nothing to announce apart from Box Sets of series that are already available.  ADV USA have recently licensed titles including the popular Clannad, but it is still unclear if these licenses cover the UK.  More news when we get it.

All in all it's a good selection of titles, watch this space for more information!

October News Roundup

• The MCM London Expo came and went, with several licence announcements made:
  - Beez announced Gundam 00
  - Manga announced Afro Samurai Resurrection, Naruto Shippuuden and Negima
    OVAs.  They also confirmed they would be releasing BluRay titles next year.
  - MVM announced Blade of the Immortal, all four series of Slayers, Samurai Deeper
    Kyo and the live action Cutie Honey film

• Registration for Minamicon 15 opened and filled up the same day!

• Manga Entertainment announce the acquisition of Claymore, Darker Than Black, Negima Season 2 and Ouran High School Host Club for the UK!

• Manga also announce that several titles will soon be available to rent through XBox Live.

• Revelation Films announce the 2009 release of Fullmetal Alchemist, Spiral and Tsubasa box sets.

• Animetion discover that Naruto Ultimate Ninja 3 has been released on the Sony PlayStation 2, however, it's only available at Tesco - seriously!

• UK t-shirt designers Genki Gear launch a brand new range, click here to visit their site.

• Tokyopop license manga titles Animal Academy, Bloody Kiss, Future Diary, Game X Rush, Gorgeous Charat L'Esperanza, Monogumi Plus Senki, The Witch in the Artemis, Kimikiss, Remember, Summoner Girl, Sword of the Devil, Zone 00 and The Loudest Whisper for US release.

• FUNimation stream several titles, including Ouran High School Host Club and Black Blood Brothers, on their official website.

• Japanese anime studio Gonzo launched two new series on US video streaming site Crunchyroll.  Linebarrels of Iron and Time of Eve stream legally and for free within hours of each episode screening in Japan.

• FUNimation announced that it has launched a channel on video streaming website Joost.

• Capcom announced a new anime film based on their game Street Fighter IV.  The film will be animated by Studio 4°C (Memories, Tekkonkinkreet).

• Matt Lucas, of Little Britain fame, has joined the cast list for the forthcoming CGI Astro Boy film.  It has yet to be announced who he will play.

• A teaser for the forthcoming Pokémon Diamond and Pearl film was posted on the film's official Japanese website.  To watch the teaser visit the site here.

• The name of the second part of the Rebuild of Evangelion film series was announced as Evangelion 2.0: You Can (Not) Advance.

• The Wonder Festival, Japan's biggest model kit event, has been cancelled following an accident on an escalator at the last event which saw several people injured.