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Welcome to our News archive for October 2008 - to see this month's news please click on the button below.
 


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26th October 2008

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 ResurrectionClaymore 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!

Source: Various
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21st October 2008

MVM to Release Slayers!

MVM revealed at Amecon earlier this year that they had received the opportunity to license the immense Slayers franchise, and it now looks like they have taken that opportunity!  Slayers vol 1 has appeared on their PR company's release schedule for 2009, with currently a release date of 5th January.  It's not clear whether this is the original series or this year's franchise-reviving Slayers Revolution, but either way it represents a big risk for MVM to take on.  Despite the undoubted quality of Slayers, the original series is well over ten years old and older series do not traditionally sell well in the UK.  If it is the new series than MVM could be counting on people having watched the original three series on import from America, where they are available in cut-price boxsets.  It will be interesting to see how well the series does, and we're really hoping it sells well.

Source: MVM
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21st October 2008

Revelation Still Releasing Anime

Revelation have today sent through a press release announcing their anime releases for the first quarter of 2009!  Although this does go some way to ending speculation that they had lost their deal to distribute FUNimation's titles in the UK to Manga Entertainment, it is worth noting that the announcements are all for series they had previously released.  The full list is as follows:

Fullmetal Alchemist Season 1 Part 1 Box Set
Spiral The Complete Series Box Set
Tsubasa The Complete Series Box Set

Also announced is the delayed release of the final volume of Tsubasa, which is out in March.  No new titles are announced at present, but the press release does say to look out for "information on many great anime titles throughout 2009", so we'll keep you posted.  Please refer to our release schedule for release dates.

Source: Revelation
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21st October 2008

The Girl Who Leapt To Bath!

Manga Entertainment's forthcoming film The Girl Who Leapt Through Time has been added to the bill of the Bath Film Festival!  The film will be screening on Wednesday 5th November at 9.15pm at Bath's Little Theatre Cinema, and tickets cost £7 (£5 concessions).  The screening will be the first of a series of cinema showings for the film, which made its UK debut at the Sci-Fi London Anime Allnighter earlier this year.  We saw it there and it was absolutely superb, check out our mini-review as part of our Allnighter article, and click here to find out about the Bath Film Festival and book tickets.

Source: Manga Entertainment
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20th October 2008

Naruto, Every Little Helps!

Somewhat randomly we have noticed that probably the final Naruto game for the PlayStation 2 as been released in the UK, but it's only available at...TescoNaruto Ultimate Ninja 3 - known as Narutimate Hero 3 in Japan - is available for the impressive price of £19.71 exclusively at Tesco, which is a bit odd as the ubiquitous supermarket chain is not exactly known for its support of anime.  The game doesn't appear to be listed on their website, but is available in store - we bought a copy ourselves and will be bringing you a review once we've had a chance to really give it a good playtest!

Source: Tesco
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20th October 2008

Minamicon Registrations Are Open!

Registrations for Minamicon - an anime convention held in Southampton - are now open.  Running from 27th-29th March 2009 and costing £49 to register, Minamicon is held in the Novotel Hotel near Southampton docks.  Now in its fifteenth year, it is one of the most popular conventions in the UK. 

Animetion attended Minamicon in February 2008 and we were very impressed, as it was well organised, good fun and offered a large range of events throughout the weekend.  We would like to go again, but registrations are going fast!  At the time of writing, 315 places out of 350 have already been filled!  Register now by clicking here!

Source: Minamicon
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15th October 2008

New Genki Gear Range Unveiled!

UK based, anime-inspired, retailer Genki Gear have sent us their latest t-shirt designs, which will be available at the upcoming MCM London Expo

There are three new designs, one by Genki Gear themselves and the others by guest artists Al Davidson of Astral Gypsy and Jessica Bradley.  The guest artists designs are very much in keeping with Genki Gear's cool fun designs. 

Click on any of the links below for an image of the design:

Evil Robot by Jessica Bradley - unisex in black with grey print - £15.99
Evil Robot by Jessica Bradley - women's fitted tee in pink - £16.99
Filthy Panda by Genki Gear - unisex in blue - £15.99
Filthy Panda by Genki Gear - men's in pistachio - £15.99
Filthy Panda by Genki Gear - women's fitted tee in green - £16.99
Gothic by Al Davidson of Astral Gypsy - women's fitted tee - £16.99

Genki Gear have also told us that a range of badges will be available at Expo, for those of you that already own all of their t-shirts! 

Source: Genki Gear
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15th October 2008

More New Tokyopop Licenses

AnimeNewsNetwork have reported some more previously unannounced Tokyopop titles that have been listed for pre-order by online retailer Amazon.com.  The titles include Zone-00, from Kiyo Kyujyo, artist of Tokyopop's recent anime tie-in Trinity Blood.  See below for the full list:

Bloody Kiss by Kazuko Furumiya (11/8/09)
Momogumi Plus Senki by Eri Sakondou (11/8/09)
Remember Author Unknown (16/6/09)
Summoner Girl Author Unknown (4/8/09)
Zone-00 by Kiyo Kyujyo (4/8/09)

Although these titles are being released in the US first, they will be easy to get hold of here and it probably won't be long before Tokyopop give them an official UK release.

Source: AnimeNewsNetwork
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14th October 2008

Manga Titles to be Available to Rent Through XBox Live

Things have been busy in the world of Manga Entertainment in the last few days!  Manga's parent company Starz Media have today announced the expansion of their digital distribution deal with XBox Live.  The company's existing deal sees several of Manga's anime titles available to rent through the service in the US, but the new deal sees this rental service expanded to include the UK, Ireland and Canada.  Although no specific start time for the deal is provided, the press release suggests that these anime downloads are available now,

Please click here to read the full press release!

Source: Starz Media
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13th October 2008

Manga License Ouran, Negima and Claymore!

Manga Entertainment have announced that they have obtained the exclusive UK rights for a number of anime titles from US anime distributor FUNimation.  Included in the deal are a number of previously announced titles, including Ghost Hunt, Jyu Oh Sei and xxxHolic, as well as several major new ones.  Most notable amongst the newly acquired titles are Claymore, Darker Than Black, Negima Season 2 and fan-favourite Ouran High School Host Club.  The new titles will start hitting UK shelves this month, and continue into 2009. 

Where this leaves Revelation Films, previously the sole distributor for FUNimation's anime catalogue in the UK, is yet to be confirmed.  However, it is heartening to see specific titles mentioned rather than a wholesale transfer of licenses, and it's worth noting that none of Revelation's releases have been mentioned in the deal.  We'll post more news when we get it, in the meantime keep an eye on our Release Schedule for exact dates when announced.  To read Manga's full press release click here!

Source: Manga Entertainment
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12th October 2008

Terratag -Up To 60% Off Sale!

UK based designer Terratag currently has a sale on with up to 60% off on certain products.  Items from his awesome Mecha range are in the sale, including Gundam t-shirts and hoodies from just £10!  The sale ends this Tuesday - click here to see the sale range. 

Source: Terratag!
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12th October 2008

New Specialist Retailers added To Our Retailers Section

We have updated our retailers section with three new  excellent retailers: Animez, /ik'sentrik and Tokyo15.  For further information on each retailer, click links on our drop-down menu and go to retailers. 

Source: Us!
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12th October 2008

New Tokyopop Licenses

AnimeNewsNetwork have reported that several previously unannounced Tokyopop titles have been listed for pre-order by online retailer Amazon.com.  The titles include Game X Rush, from Mizuho Kusanagi, author of Tokyopop's recent UK shojo release Mugen Spiral.  See below for the full list:

Animal Academy: Hakobune Hakusho by Moyamu Fujino (12/5/09)
Future Diary by Sakae Esuno (12/5/09)
Game X Rush by Mizuho Kusanagi (5/5/09)
Gorgeous Charat L'Esperanza by You Higuri (12/5/09)
Hoshi no Witch: The Witch in the Artemis by Yui Hara (5/5/09)
KimiKiss (Author unknown) (16/7/09)
takeru: Opera Susanoh Sword of the Devil by Kazuki Nakashima (9/6/09)
The Loudest Whisper: Uwasa no Futari by Temari Matsumoto (14/7/09)

Although these titles are being released in the US first, they will be easy to get hold of here and it probably won't be long before Tokyopop give them an official UK release.

Source: AnimeNewsNetwork
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11th October 2008

FUNimation Stream New Anime

FUNimation are going streaming crazy at the moment, and have announced that they will be streaming the first two episodes of Ouran High School Host Club and the first four episodes of School Rumble 2nd Semester on their website.  These episodes are available from yesterday, and FUNimation will continue to post 2 - 4 episodes of other series every Friday.  Upcoming streams include the first 3 episodes of Black Blood Brothers, the first two episodes of Gunslinger Girl and the first two episodes of Guyver: The Bioboosted Armour.  Check out the website here!

Source: AnimeNewsNetwork
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11th October 2008

New Anime on Crunchyroll

With the credit crunch affecting most people nowadays, it is good to find that you can still enjoy your hobbies without spending lots of money.  Crunchyroll, the US video website who we have previously reported have been streaming licensed anime are now legally showing two more brand new series free of charge!  They are The Linebarrels of Iron, a mecha series from Gonzo, and the sci-fi drama Time of Eve.  What is great about this is that these anime series are only just being released in Japan.  It is great to see that there is finally a legal alternative to fansubs, and that UK viewers can watch the screenings without restriction.

Source: AnimeUKNews
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10th October 2008

FUNimation to Launch Free Anime Streaming

FUNimation have recently announced that it will be launching a streaming channel on Joost (a similar website to YouTube).  The channel will contain sample episodes with English dubs, and some with Japanese dubs as well.  Episodes will be taken from their new and existing catalogue of series including:

Basilisk
Black Blood Brothers
Blue Gender
Galaxy Railways
Kiddy Grade
MoonPhase
Mr. Stain
Mushi-Shi
Peach Girl
Rumbling Hearts
School Rumble
Slayers
Suzuka
XXXHOLiC

  Source: AnimeNewsNetwork
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10th October 2008

Street Fighter IV Anime Film!

Capcom have announced an anime film based on their hit game Street Fighter IV!  The announcement came at the Tokyo Game Show, and the company has confirmed that Studio 4°C - the studio behind Memories and Tekkonkinkreet - are handling the production.  Studio 4°C have already produced promotional and in-game animation for Street Fighter IV, and if what we've seen is anything to go by we're hopeful that a film will be worth watching!

  Source: AnimeNewsNetwork
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10th October 2008

Matt Lucas Joins CGI Astro Boy Cast

Yes, you read that title right!  Little Britain star Matt Lucas has joined the likes of Nicholas Cage, Donald Sutherland and Bill Nighy on the cast list for the forthcoming CGI Astro Boy film.  It's not known which character he will voice as yet, but it's good to see him getting involved in anime again after his previous turn as Ataru Moroboshi in the BBC dub of Urusei Yatsura.

  Source: AnimeNewsNetwork
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10th October 2008

New Pokémon Teaser Online

The official Japanese Pokémon film website has posted a teaser for the forthcoming Pokémon Diamond & Pearl film.  The film is the third based on Diamond & Pearl, and does not yet have a title, to watch the teaser visit the site here.

  Source: AnimeNewsNetwork
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10th October 2008

Wonder Festival Cancelled

The organisers of the legendary Japanese model kit expo the Wonder Festival have announced that their next event has been cancelled.  The event is the biggest model kit expo in the world, and is held twice yearly in Tokyo's immense Big Sight exhibition centre.  However, the last event saw several people injured when a four story escalator inexplicably reversed direction whilst people were using it.  Although none of the injuries were serious, the ongoing investigation has put paid to the next Wonder Festival, which was due to take place in February next year.  However, the organisers are working to ensure that the event returns in the future.

  Source: AnimeNewsNetwork
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7th October 2008

Death Note: The Last Name Trailer

Anyone who saw the first live action Death Note film will no doubt be eagerly awaiting the sequel, Death Note: The Last Name.  So for a taster of the new film - out on DVD on 13th October from 4Digital Media - check out the trailer below!

Death Note: The Last Name Trailer

Low / High

  Source: 4Digital Media
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7th October 2008

New Evangelion Film Details

Details have been released for the upcoming new Neon Genesis Evangelion anime film, which is due out in Japan next summer!  The film is the second instalment of the Rebuild of Evangelion, Hideaki Anno's four-part cinematic revisit of his seminal series.  It's official title is Evangelion 2.0: You Can (Not) Advance, and the film promises to feature the fiery Asuka Langley plus re-designed Evangelions and an all-new character.  We really can't wait to see this, especially after seeing the first Rebuild film - Evangelion 1.0: You Are (Not) Alone.  More news when we get it.

  Source: MVM
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30th September 2008

Revolutionary Girl Utena Clips!

With MVM's upcoming release of the Revolutionary Girl Utena movie just round the corner, they've released some clips to whet your appetite!  Written by the same guy who did FLCL, Revolutionary Girl Utena The Movie is a surreal and ambitious film that deserves a look, so check out the clips below:

Clip 1 - Low / High
Clip 2 - Low / High
Clip 3 - Low / High
Clip 4 - Low / High

Revolutionary Girl Utena The Movie is released by MVM on 13th October, priced £15.99.

  Source: MVM
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28th September 2008

Manga Make-up!

On a recent shopping trip, Animetion writer Amy was surprised to find Manga-inspired Eyeko Beauty cosmetics available in high-street pharmacist Superdrug

Also available on the Eyeko website, the packaging has a very cute design of a pink haired anime character and has been worn by celebrities such as Gwen Stefani, Kylie Minogue & Helena Christensen.

Part of the vast range includes 'manga books' which are crammed with five eye-shadows, three lip-glosses, concealer and cream blush to create the 'perfect date face'.  However with a tag-line of 'wanna make out with me?' and tacky peach lip-gloss, Amy said she will stick with the stuff she uses already.

Click here to see a picture of the Eyeko Manga Book make-up set.  All other types of cosmetics are available from Eyeko, including mascara, creams and balms.   

  Source: Superdrug
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1st September 2008

September News Roundup

  • Alcon came and went, it's move to a new venue in Leicester's De Montefort University and a concerted effort from the committee making it one of the most enjoyable anime events of the year.

  • Animetion made it's full convention debut with a panel at Alcon!

  • Regular con guest and Japanese culture lecturer Akemi Solloway is in discussions with the Japanese Embassy to allow the UK entry into the World Cosplay Summit.  The Summit is an international cosplay competition that already features representatives from the USA, Japan, Australia, Korea, France and Brazil.

  • The "500 Greatest Films of all Time" special issue of UK film magazine Empire was released, featuring five anime films in the list.  The magazine is release with a selection of different covers, including one of Akira.

  • A new range of manga-inspired makeup is available in Superdrug.  The range, known as Eyeko, includes eyeshadow, lip gloss, cream blush and concealer.

  • Rumours abound as Revelation Films put their remaining 2008 anime releases on hold until the new year.  Manga Entertainment have recently agreed a sublicense deal for a couple of shows from FUNimation, who have previously put out all of their anime through Revelation.  With this news the sudden suspension of releases looks a little more ominous.

  • A screening of the Mushishi Live Action film introduced by Anime Encyclopaedia co-author Helen McCarthy was announced for the Barbican cinema.  The screening's at the end of October, check out our events diary for details.

  • The UK premiere of Beez's forthcoming anime film Sword of a Stranger is announced for Sci-Fi London's Oktoberfest Anime Allnighter.  Check out our events diary for details.

  • Beez announced details of their forthcoming Bu-Ray releases, including price and box art.

  • Manga Entertainment was forced to split their intended double disc release of Hellsing Ultimate into two separate DVD releases at the request of the Japanese license holders.

  • Manga Entertainment also offer a choice of special edition releases for volume 3 of Death Note, which is out on 6th October.  The special editions are available exclusively through high street retailer Zavvi, and you can choose from a set which contains a Misa Amane figure, or one that contains a Ryuk figure.

  • A BBC news story states an April 2009 release for Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea, the latest anime feature from Oscar winner Hayao Miyazaki.

  • Anime News Network upload a couple of clips from the long-lost BBC dub of the anime Urusei Yatsura.  The clips are part of their 'Dubs That Time Forgot' video and features Matt Lucas, Anna Friel and Lauren Laverne voicing Ataru, Lum and Shinobu respectively.  Click here to watch it!

  • FUNimation continue their bid for US dominance with the license of Kaze no Stigma, which adds to a catalogue of titles that has already seen them grab a third of the lucrative US anime market.

  • Some screenshots of the forthcoming live-action Dragon Ball film leaked, showing a decidedly un-green Piccolo looking quite evil.  Look out for the trailer on 17th October.

  • ADV's problems went from bad to worse in the US when their remaining office in Houston, Texas caught the edge of Hurricane Ike and lost power for best part of a week.

  • A Japanese Library authority had to defend its purchasing policy after a customer complained about the amount of Shonen Ai (boy's love) comics in its libraries.  The city of Sakai stated that the 5,499 titles were stocked due to reader demand.

Source: Various
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