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.

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.   

The Great Akira Empire!

UK film mag Empire has just launched a special issue commemorating the 500 greatest films of all time, as voted for by readers.  Five anime films have made the list - Princess Mononoke (488), Akira (440), Spirited Away (339), My Neighbour Totoro (275) and Howl's Moving Castle (230) - and Empire have chosen the iconic cover image from Akira as one of the 100 collectible covers for the issue!  Other Japanese films on the list include Yojimbo, Battle Royale and Seven Samurai, which also features on one of the covers. 

You can read about the various choices here, and try to ponder how Howl's Moving Castle was the highest ranked anime film (where's Grave of the Fireflies?) and why Tarantino's weakest film Jackie Brown is apparently better than every anime film on the list.  However, it's worth picking up the magazine itself, as it includes a lengthy article about Akira which is not available online.  Check out your local newsagent to pick up an issue!

UK Premiere of Sword of a Stranger at Sci-Fi London Oktoberfest

Anyone who's been keeping an eye on our Events Diary will probably have noticed the upcoming Sci-Fi London Oktoberfest Anime Allnighter.  For those who are unaware the Oktoberfest is a new Autumn event from the organisers of the Sci-Fi London Film Festival.  Spread over two days the Oktoberfest promises several sci-fi and anime film screenings, as well as the epic Anime Allnighter which features a host of the latest anime films.  Most of the anime lineup is provided by Manga Entertainment, and includes screenings of Bleach: Memories of Nobody, Hellsing Ultimate and Strait Jacket.  However, the big news is the UK premiere of Beez's forthcoming action epic Sword of a Stranger, which has just been added to the Oktoberfest bill!  For more details on the films showing, please check out this Press Release from Manga Entertainment.

Death Note Choice!

Those who have been picking up the Death Note Collectors Edition DVDs that have been released exclusively through high street retailer Zavvi have got a bit of a choice to make next month.  As with the previous collectors editions, Death Note vol 3 Collectors Edition (out on 6th October) will come with a limited edition figurine.  However, this time you will have a choice of either Ryuk or Misa Amane.  Both choices are available in limited amounts exclusively through Zavvi, so get your pre-order in quick to make sure you aren't disappointed!

Out Today

The loss of licenses ADV suffered earlier this year pretty much halved today's scheduled releases, but they still manage to squeeze out a box set.  The special edition of the Fullmetal Alchemist movie comes out this month, but there is a question mark over the release of Beck vol 5, which is now apparently on hold until next year.

Beck vol 5 (Revelation)
Fullmetal Alchemist The Movie Special Edition (Revelation)
RahXephon Complete Box Set (ADV)

Mushishi at the Barbican

The Barbican Cinema in London is continuing it's intermittent 'Japanimation' season with a special double bill of the remarkable Mushishi.  First up is the live action Mushishi film, which boasts Akira creator Katsuhiro Otomo as its director.  This is followed by a double bill of episodes from the superb anime series, and as always both screenings are introduced by Anime Encyclopaedia co-author Helen McCarthy.  The screenings take place on Tuesday 28th of October at 7pm, and tickets cost £9.50 each (£7.50 concessions), although you can get the tickets at the concessionary price if you book online.  Check out the Barbican Website for further info.  Mushishi has been our highest rated anime series of the year, and we can't recommend the chance to see it on the big screen highly enough!

Shonen Ai is the Opiate of the Masses!

The Japanese city of Sakai has answered a complaint from a citizen about the amount of Shonen Ai, or 'boy's love', manga in the city's libraries by saying it's due to public demand.  The complaint claimed that the books were a waste of taxpayers money, a bad influence on children and it constituted sexual harassment to have them on open display in library reading rooms.  The city conceded that the books were on public display, but denied that the collection of 5,499 titles were a waste of taxpayer's money.  The cost of the collection was stated to be over ¥3.5m (approx £18k), but were purchased due to requests from library users so fell within the libraries remit of selecting material that citizens wanted to read.

It Never Rains But it Pours...

Just when you thought things couldn't get worse for ADV, nature decides to deal them a bum hand too.  The beleaguered distributor's head office in Houston, Texas may have survived their cost cutting, but Hurricane Ike wasn't going to let it off the hook.  The Hurricane may have narrowly missed Houston, but it did manage to take out the electricity supply for pretty much the whole city, leaving ADV's office without power and knocking out their web servers.  Their websites are currently down with no news as to when normal service will be restored.  You kind of get the impression that someone up there doesn't like them...

Hellsing Ultimate Release Change

Manga Entertainment have issued a press release concerning their forthcoming release of Hellsing Ultimate.  The first volume of the series, which was due to be released on 13th October, was to include two discs containing the first two fifty minute episodes.  However, it looks like the Japanese publisher has put their foot down and told Manga they have to release them separately.  Here's what the Press Release said:

"Please note that there has been a change with the DVD release of Hellsing Ultimate. The release will now be as follows:

HELLSING ULTIMATE VOLUME 1 – out to buy 13th October 2008

HELLSING ULTIMATE VOLUME 2 - out to buy 29th December 2008

Both releases will now be a single disc retailing at £14.99. Manga Entertainment would like to apologise for any disappointment this may cause fans. Unfortunately Manga do not have consent to release both volumes together."

Live Action Dragon Ball Screenshots

Those who are willing to give the forthcoming US live action adaptation of Akira Toriyama's epic Dragon Ball a chance may be interested to hear that some screenshots have leaked.  The pics are from the trailer which is due for release on 17th October, and show Justin Chatwin as Goku, Chow Yun Fat as Master Roshi and the first shots of James Marsters as Piccolo.  We're keeping open minds on the film and look forward to seeing what it'll be like when it's released next year, check out the screenshots here.

ANN Upload BBC Lum Clips

Some people with long memories may remember that the BBC once dipped their toes into the anime market and dubbed a handful of episodes of Urusei Yatsura, the anime series based on the manga by Inu-Yasha creator Rumiko Takahashi.  Their version of the series was called Lum The Invader Girl and bumped up the swearing and verbal comedy quota to put a distinctly British spin on the madcap Japanese comedy.  The cast for the BBC dub included a pre-Little Britain Matt Lucas, a post-Brookside Anna Friel and ex-pop star Lauren Laverne, and it was one of the best things shown on the short-lived BBC Choice digital channel.

Unfortunately though it's never been released on DVD, or indeed shown again on TV.  But US website Anime News Network have come to the rescue for the curious by including a couple of clips in a 'Dubs that Time Forgot' video, check it out here!

Beez Blu-Ray Release Details Announced

Beez have listed details of their forthcoming Blu-Ray releases, which will be the first by a dedicated anime company in the UK.  The four previously announced titles are to receive a simultaneous worldwide release on the 17th November, and details released include price!  Here's a quick lowdown:

Freedom Box Set (srp: £69.99) - Entire series in a limited edition box set, Freedom is the a cel-shaded sci-fi anime from Akira creator Katsuhiro Otomo.
Gunbuster (srp: £24.99) - Neon Genesis Evangelion creator Hideaki Anno's classic sci-fi anime, often regarded as one of the best ever made.
Gunbuster 2 (srp: £24.99) - The follow-up to one of the best anime of all time, and a great
sci-fi in it's own right.
Gunbuster vs. Diebuster (srp: £49.99) - Movie edits of the Gunbuster and Gunbuster 2 series, together in a single set with an entire disc of extras.

UK to Enter World Cosplay Summit?

Akemi Solloway, Japanese cultural lecturer and regular convention guest, has announced that she is in discussions with the Japanese Embassy to allow the UK to send representatives to the World Cosplay Summit in Japan.  The World Cosplay Summit is something like a World Cup for cosplayers, and several European nations are already involved alongside the likes of Japan, Australia, America, Brazil and Korea.  Each participating nation holds a national cosplay competition with the winners qualifying for the Cosplay Summit final in Japan.  These winners are then flown to Japan to battle against the winners from the other participating nations for the grand international prize.  The UK's inclusion in next year's competition is not confirmed yet, presumably as the Embassy needs to agree to foot the bill for the winners to travel to, and stay in, Japan.  Akemi is working hard to push things through and providing all goes well she will be taking the UK's top cosplayers to Japan next year to compete!  More news when we get it.

Today America, Tomorrow the World...

FUNimation's bid for world domination continues as they announce another major new license in the States.  Kaze no Stigma has been added to their already unrivalled roster of anime, a roster that has seen them grab a third of the US anime market in the first half of 2008.  In fact the true measure of their dominance may be even larger come the year's end, as the half-year figures do not include the licenses they recently acquired from ADV and Geneon or the sales made through the Wal-Mart group.

However, it's not all rosy, at least not in the UK.  AnimeUKNews have reported that Revelation Films - FUNimation's chosen anime distributor in the UK - has pushed back all of its remaining 2008 releases until next year.  No real reason has been given, apart from to 'concentrate on pushing our existing titles', which kind of suggests that some sales haven't been that great.  It's a shame if this is the case, as titles like Tsubasa and Beck are very good, and Mushishi is the only series we have ever reviewed that has received five stars for every volume.  We'll keep our ears open for more news on Revelation over the coming weeks, but it is worth noting that a number of FUNimation titles, including Black Blood Brothers and xxxHolic, have recently been acquired by Manga Entertainment.

Out Today

A packed release schedule today, including several eagerly anticipated releases.  Also worth noting is the release of the E's Otherwise boxset - the first new release from the company since their well-publicised troubles earlier this year.

Black Lagoon: Barrage Two vol 1 (MVM)
Brave Story (Optimum Asia)
Coyote Ragtime Show Complete Box Set (ADV)
E's Otherwise Complete Box Set (ADV)
Gravitation vol 3 (MVM)
Shakugan no Shana vol 3 (MVM)
Starship Operators vol 1 (MVM)
Tsukihime: Lunar Legend Complete Box Set (MVM)
Ultimate Anime Horror Collection (MVM)

Animetion Panel at Alcon

Yep, you read that right, we're going to be hosting our first ever convention panel this weekend at Alcon in Leicester!  The panel is being held at 10am on Sunday morning, and we'll be talking about the running of our site and giving tips on setting up your own.  We'll also be holding a special one-off competition so make sure you get up in time!

Ponyo UK Release Announced

Hayao Miyazaki is at the Venice Film Festival at the moment and somewhat randomly has been interviewed by the BBC.  The news item is quite interesting as it has some info about Miyazaki's forthcoming film Ponyo on a Cliff by the Sea, and also says that the film will receive a UK release in April 2009!  Check it out here, we're queuing already...

New Stuff

We've been suffering from a dodgy internet connection of late, but we've still put some new stuff up.  Click on the links below to check it out:

Burst Angel Infinity (Anime Review)
One Piece Portrait of Pirates Excellent Model Mild Figure (Merchandise Review)
Starship Operators vol 1 (Anime Review)

We've also added a new feature:

Amecon 2008 Feature

...and a new Editorial!

Out Today

A couple of new releases at the start of September:

Star Fleet The Complete Series (Fabulous Films)
Vexille (Momentum)

August News Roundup

• Manga Entertainment announced the acquisition of Black Blood Brothers, xxxHolic, Always My Santa, Ghost Hunt and Jyu-Oh-Sei.  Baldr Force EXE also popped up on various retail websites as a forthcoming release from them.

• Amecon came and went, and the committee announced that they would have a year off in 2009.  In their place the fondly remembered convention Ayacon will make a return.

• MVM announced several new licenses at Amecon, including Romeo X Juliet, Desert Punk and Solty Rei.

• Beez announced that they have licensed Gurren Lagann and Sword of a Stranger, as well as announcing simultaneous worldwide Blu-Ray releases for Gunbuster vs Diebuster and Freedom.

• Beez also announced they were working out the logistics of bringing the Bandai Channel anime streaming service to Europe.

• Japanese publishers Shueisha and Shogakukan announce that they would launch European operations in 2009.

• A new Anime Allnighter is due to take place in London on 3rd October, for more information click here.

• Tekkonkinkreet: Black & White won an Eisner Award for Best US Edition of International Material.

• A Japanese exhibition of the art of Rumiko Takahashi included new anime shorts for Ranma 1/2 and Inu-Yasha as well as a special intro video featuring characters from both series as well as Urusei Yatsura.

• Singer songwriter Eri Kawai died after suffering from an illness for most of 2008, she was best known for the soundtracks to Utawarerumono, Crayon Shin-Chan and Aria.

• Acclaimed manga author Fujio Akatsuka has died aged 72.  Amongst his famous works is Himitsu no Akku-chan, one of the first 'magical girl' series, and family comedy Tensai Bakabon.

• Leading shojo author Arina Tanemura has written a new one shot Gentleman's Alliance Cross story, despite ending the manga a month or so ago!

• Death Note creators Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata have launched their a new manga called Bakuman in Japan.

• Japanese authorities continue their clampdown on anime piracy by arresting a man who was selling cut price DVD boxsets through auction websites.