The October London Comic Con MCM Expo has just been and gone, and it was bigger and better than ever!  A full article will be coming around the end of the week, but in the meantime here's a roundup of the main anime license announcements from the event.

MVM

Usually the quieter of the licensing companies, MVM nonetheless had a fair few announcements to make.  First up in January will be part 1 of sci-fi actioner Needless, with part 2 following in February, followed by fantasy drama Shana Season 2, girls with guns actioner CANAAN and action comedy Dream Eater Merry in March and supernatural action series Gai-Rei Zero in April.  Also confirmed for 2013 but not yet dated are romantic comedy Mayo Chiki!, slice of life drama Kids on the Slope, sci-fi adventure Bodacious Space Pirates and fanservice-laden action series Majikoi: Samurai Girls.  MVM rep Tony Allan also hinted that good pre-orders of Shana series 2 could persuade him to license series 3, and that - whilst he still isn't completely sold on blu-ray - he would like to release FLCL and Berserk in the format, provided he can secure the license and piggy-back on an Australian production run.

Kazé

Kazé are an interesting one as their licenses are distributed in the UK by Manga Entertainment, so there is always a bit of a crossover between the two companies' announcements.  As always several of Kazé's acquisitions are ones that have been shown on the Anime On Demand streaming website, starting with the sci-fi series K, which is currently streaming for free as part of the site's Autumn schedule.  Also falling into this category is the superhero series Tiger & Bunny, the first volume of which will hit the shelves on the 14th January.  The series is set to be released over four volumes, each of which will contain seven episodes on blu-ray and DVD along with 'hero cards' and a mini-magazine.  Journey to Agartha, the latest film from 5 Centimeters Per Second director Makoto Shinkai, is set for release on blu-ray and DVD on 28th January, and there will be a special edition with an artbook available too.  Both series of mecha drama Code Geass will be released on blu-ray and DVD in the first quarter of 2013, about five weeks apart, whilst Bleach Series 10 Part 1 is due for release in February followed by part 2 in the spring and hopefully Series 11 and 12 over the course of 2013.  Also confirmed for a 2013 DVD release is school comedy Bakuman (which may also come out on blu-ray), drama Mawaru Penguidrum, psychological drama Mirai Nikki and supernatural drama Un-Go.  Kazé rep Andrew Partridge confirmed that he would like to license Magi, another series currently streaming on Anime On Demand, and visceral actioner Deadman Wonderland.

Manga Entertainment

Manga had a flurry of announcements, including a few that will please some fans.  First up was the confirmation that they'd licensed Wolf Children, the latest film from Summer Wars director Mamoru Hosoda, and will release it for a limited cinema run next year.  They are also looking into the possibility of running a Hosoda retrospective in the cinema, covering not only The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, Summer Wars and Wolf Childrem, but also his early directorial efforts on the sixth One Piece film and Digimon The Movie!  Manga's other big announcements were the supernatural actioner Blood-C and its spin-off film Blood-C The Last Dark, parts 5 to 8 of the action horror series Hellsing Ultimate - which will be released on blu-ray along with the original four episodes, and action series Jormungand.  Rounding off their announcements were the comedy series Cat Planet Cuties and confirmation of the previously announced Guilty Crown and Aria: The Scarlet Ammo.  Manga rep Jerome Mazandarani also said that he hoped to release Fairy Tail series 2 and the Fairy Tail film, and was still negotiating for Steins;Gate and King of Thorn with Japanese licensors Kadokawa and Sunrise respectively.  He also said that he would like to release slice of life drama Bunny Drop and sci-fi actioner BTOOOM!

 Sci-Fi London have revealed the lineup of films for their winter festival's Anime Allnighter!  The Allnighter is a bit of a tradition at the biannual festival, and is one of the UK's best events for seeing the latest anime films on the big screen.  The lineup of films this year are the sci-fi actioner Tiger & Bunny: The Beginning, Makoto Shinkai's latest film Journey to Agartha, fantasy game spin-off Tales of Vesperia: The First Strike, horror film GYO (aka. GYO: Tokyo Fish Attack) and the feature length spin-off from the long-running fantasy series Gintama: The Movie.  Check out the Sci-Fi London website for more details and tickets.

HyperJapan continue their fantastic track record of bringing big name Japanese guests to the UK with the announcement that Mitsuhisa Ishikawa will appear at November's event!  Ishikawa is co-founder and president of anime studio Production I.G., working in the production and planning for pretty much all of their major titles from the Ghost in the Shell and Blood The Last Vampire franchises to Eden of the East and Guilty Crown.

Ishikawa is set to have an on stage talk with Japanese animation critic Ryusuke Hikawa at the event, which is being held in London's Earls Court from Friday 23rd to Sunday 25th November.  Ishikawa will appear as part of the Media Arts Festival slot on the main stage, which is scheduled for both the Friday and Saturday afternoon.  It's not clear if Ishikawa will appear both days, but check out the HyperJapan website for more details and tickets.

Further to their recent confirmation that Urotsukidoji (Legend of the Overfiend) creator Toshio Maeda will be appearing at the MCM London Expo at the end of the month, Manga have issued a press release containing more details!  As mentioned before Maeda will be appearing as a dealer rather than a guest and will be selling his unique artwork on his appropriately named Tentacle Master store.  The press release is as follows:

"We are thrilled to announce that Mr. Maeda Toshio (aka @Tentacle_Master), the creator of Urotsukidoji: Legend of the Overfiend will be bringing his unique take on manga and anime to the London MCM Comic Con on 26-28 October at ExCel.

Visit the Tentacle Master shop at the expo to pick up your own signed and numbered limited edition digital lithographic print.  Each A2 sized print is on sale exclusively at the London MCM Comic Con and limited to 200 prints.

There will be two unique designs to collect.  This is a world exclusive.  Maeda-san will also be selling a limited number of art books and T-shirts.  This is a once in a lifetime chance to meet one the undisputed king of erotic manga illustration and the inventor of “tentacle sex”!"

Check out the lithograph designs here and here.

Manga Entertainment have confirmed the new release date for the Fullmetal Alchemist OVA Collection as 19th November, after its release slipped due to subtitle issues.  They have also announced that the 2nd part of Clannad After Story, which was originally slated for release in November, has been delayed and will now be released on the 3rd of December.

A live action film based on Tatsunoko Productions' classic '70's anime series Gatchaman is being made in Japan for a projected release next summer!  Gatchaman is best known in the UK as Battle of the Planets and gamers will be familiar with characters Ken and Jun from the Nintendo Wii game Tatsunoko Vs. Capcom.  The CG-heavy film, which is set to start filming next week and will be distributed by Toho, will be directed by Toya Sato (Kaiji, Gokusen) and scripted by Yusuke Watanabe (20th Century Boys, Gantz).

Gatchaman revolves around a group of five bird-themed heroes who are assembled as a special team to combat the threat of Galactor, a mysterious force bent on world domination.  The original series was widely regarded as one of the original 'super sentai' shows, a genre which is known for its colour-coded masked heroes and for which the Power Rangers is the best known example.  The film will star Tori Matsuzaka, Go Ayano, Ayame Goriki, Tatsuomi Hamada and Ryohei Suzuki as lead characters Ken, Jo, Jun, Jinpei and Ryu respectively.

The MCM Expo Group have announced that they have acquired the monthly anime publication MyM Magazine.  The magazine was the focus of some controversy at its launch when copies of a promotional issue were reportedly sent unsolicited to a number of anime fans, but has since established itself as a credible rival to Neo, which for several years was the UK's only anime and manga magazine.  The press release is as follows:

'Movie, anime and games title MyM Magazine is delighted to announce that it has been acquired by MCM Expo Group, organisers of the popular MCM London Comic Con as well as other events across the UK.

MyM Magazine is currently available in WH Smith and all good newsagents in the UK, Barnes & Noble in the USA and is distributed by COMAG.

Since its launch earlier this year, MyM Magazine has set out to be a breath of fresh air for anime aficionados, film fans and gamers alike, and we can reassure readers that our approach of no-nonsense reviews, in-depth features and stylish design will continue under MCM Expo Group ownership.

As MyM Magazine already covers everything from videogames to anime, movies to cosplay, we believe that partnership with the hosts of an equally wide-ranging event such as MCM London Comic Con is a natural fit - and one that will provide an exciting opportunity to further expand and improve our coverage of popular culture in future issues.

"MCM London Comic Con has always embraced all aspects of popular culture, so when a new magazine launched with the same ethos it immediately caught our eye," commented MCM Group co-owner Paul Miley.  "We are very pleased to add the publication to our portfolio and believe that we can help MyM Magazine grow into an even more successful title."

Manga's latest podcast has revealed that the release of the Fullmetal Alchemist OVA Collection will be delayed after authoring issues left the subtitle track out of sync with the Japanese dialogue.  Manga have admitted that they will not be able to announce a new release date for at least two weeks, but say that it should be out by the end of November.

Manga Entertainment have confirmed that Urotsukidoji creator Toshio Maeda Will be appearing at the MCM London Expo!  As reported a couple of months back Maeda Is not attending as a guest, but as a dealer.  His stall will presumably be located alongside the many other professional artists in the Expo's Comics Village, from where you will be able to buy limited edition prints and self published artbooks.  Maeda has also produced two exclusive lithographs for the Expo, both of which are limited to 100 copies each and come numbered and signed by the artist!

In Manga's latest podcast, which can be downloaded from their site here, Jerome Mazanderani has revealed some details of the forthcoming UK release of the Tiger & Bunny series. The sci-fi series, which previously streamed on Anime On Demand, is set to be released in four volumes which will come with issues of the Tiger & Bunny magazine Hero as a bonus! The first volume is due for release in early 2013.

Anime On Demand has announced that there will be a delay to its free simulcasts of To Love-Ru - Trouble - Darkness, Busou Shinki, Hidamari Sketch x Honeycomb and Chunibiyo Demo Koi ga Shitai!.  All four series should have been available this week, but according to a post on Anime On Demand's Twitter feed have been delayed due to 'issues outside our hands'.  They hope it will only be an issue for the first week and should simulcast normally going forward, but at the moment they have not confirmed what the problem is.  This leaves the supernatural action series K as the only running free stream at the moment, with Magi due to start screening in Japan tomorrow.  Visit Anime On Demand's website to watch K, and keep an eye on this news section for updates on the other series!

In sad news for anime fans in the North East, NemaCon - for a long time the region's only anime and manga convention - has announced that next year's and all future NemaCon events have been cancelled.  The convention, which was held in Middlesbrough Town Hall, had been running annually since 2010 and had grown in stature, even attracting big-name guests like voice actor Greg Ayres.  However, as with the more established Ayacon, a number of committee members have left leaving it with too few staff to successfully organise and run future events.  Check out their full statement here.

Legal anime streaming website Anime On Demand have confirmed that the 6th and final simulcast for their Autumn anime season will be Magi, a fantasy series which re-imagines the classic folk tales of One Thousand and One Nights such as Aladdin and Ali-Baba and the Forty Thieves.

As with the previously announced series To Love-Ru - Trouble - Darkness, Busou Shinki, Hidamari Sketch x Honeycomb, Chunibiyo Demo Koi ga Shitai! and K, Magi will be simulcast for free by the normally subscription-based website as part of a special promotion.  Check out Anime On Demand's website for more details.

With the MCM London Expo only a couple of weeks away Manga Entertainment are getting the ball rolling by announcing their plans for the event.  The Expo, which is well established as the leading media and comics event in the UK, boasts Doctor Who's Matt Smith amongst its guests this year, and Manga aren't scrimping on its plans either.  Check out their full press release below:

"October MCM EXPO (26th - 28th October) is almost upon us and Manga Entertainment UK are delighted to be in attendance.

Highlights for this October's event include -

Live Manga Podcast

Manga Entertainment will be entertaining fans and visitors with a live podcast in Theatre B with Special Guests (to be announced), and include the screening of exclusive clips from the forthcoming Ninja Scroll Blu-ray release (a taster of this awesome Blu-ray in all its HD loveliness) - so come along to see the podcast in action and ask a question live!

Exclusive Signings

Manga Entertainment are thrilled to have Liam O'Brien in attendance, famous for the voice of fan favourite character Gaara from Naruto!  Liam O'Brien will be signing for free on the Manga stand on Saturday and Sunday.

Manga Booth

Head over to the Manga booth which includes the Cosplay Area, the VizMedia Book Shop, Terratag and the Manga stall - all catering to your retail needs.

Exclusive Announcements

Manga will be treating fans and press to some very exciting and exclusive early news about forthcoming releases and acquisitions!

Manga Sale

Visit the Japan Area of Expo where Manga will be holding an amazing sale with DVDs starting from £1!

More details to be announced soon, we look forward to seeing you there!"