We're Off to Japan!

Yes, Animetion is decamping to the Land of the Rising Sun for a couple of weeks!  Look out for some articles about our trip over the coming months, but in the meantime you can keep up with us through Webmaster Tom's Live Journal. 

October Anime All-Nighter line-up revealed!

SCI-FI London have revealed the anime which will be shown as part of the Oktoberfest Anime All-Nighter, held on 24th October 2009 at the Apollo Cinema, Piccadilly Circus, London. 

It is a great list which is even better then the May line-up!  The jaw-dropping Evangelion 1.0: You Are Not Alone is the undoubted highlight of the line-up, but Mamoru Oshii's The Sky Crawlers has got Animetion equally excited! Also showing are the intriguing Time Of Eve and King Of Thorn, as well Eureka Seven - Good Night, Sleep Tight, Young Lovers. 

For those wondering exactly what the Anime All-Nighter involves, you stay up all night in the cinema watching anime, get a free goody bag on arrival and are treated to free coffee, ice-cream and Red Bull!  To see what Animetion thought of the May 2009 Anime All-Nighter, click here. 

Tickets will be on sale soon.  Keep on an on the SCI-FI London website here as they will be available shortly. 

Live-action Cowboy Bebop script to be rewritten

In a recent interview with MTV News, actor Keanu Reeves said that a script has been completed for the upcoming live-action adaptation of Cowboy Bebop in which Reeves is starring.  He said that the script was extremely faithful to the source, but the studio said it would cost half a billion dollars to make.  Needless to say, a rewrite is currently in the works to cut the costs to a more reasonable figure. 

You can read more on this story here. 

X Clip!

Those good folks at MVM have released a clip of their forthcoming fantasy epic X!  The series is based on the manga by all-female creative powerhouse CLAMP, and the first volume of the anime series is due out on 19th October.  Check out the clip below!

Clip 1

Tatsunoko vs Capcom at MCM Expo

Capcom have announced that they will have playable copies of their highly anticipated Wii brawler Tatsunoko vs Capcom at their stand at this October's MCM London Expo!  The game is the latest in Capcom's popular 'Vs' line, which has in the past pitted Capcom's character roster against those from rival company SNK and even Marvel comics.  However, this time the rival characters all hail from anime studio Tatsunoko Productions' extensive back catalogue, ranging from Karas to Yatterman and Gatchaman (Battle of the Planets).  We can't wait to give it a go!

Ayacon afterword

Warwick University have sent us a press release commenting on Ayacon, the anime convention recently held there.  Animetion did attend this great event (feature coming soon) and is pleased to see the venue publicising the success of the event. 

The full press release can be viewed here and contains comments from Peter Chan, the chairman of Ayacon. 

Warwick University have also send us some photographs with the press release, click on the thumbnails below to view them:

BFI London Film Festival to screen new Astro Boy film

The Times BFI 53rd London Film Festival has announced that it will be screening the new CGI remake of Astro Boy.  Animetion are big fans of Osamu Tezuka's works so are delighted by this news! 

Live-action adaptations of the Air Doll manga and The Legend Of Kamui manga will also be showing.  It is an impressive triple anime showing for UK anime fans and will certainly be worth the trip for many. 

The festival runs from 14th October to 29th October 2009.  Click here to visit the official BFI site.   
 

Minamicon registrations to open at 10pm on 1st October 2009

Registrations for one of the longest running UK anime conventions, Minamicon, will open at 10pm on 1st October 2009. 

Held at the Novotel Hotel in Southampton, Minamicon is a very hard convention to get into.  With a limited amount of spaces available, places filled within eight hours for the previous Minamicon so you best act quick on 1st October!  You will need to register on their website here. 

For further information on Minamicon, read our features below which give details on the venue, events, panels and lot more:

Minamicon 15 feature

Minamicon 14 feature

New anime event - WOTA London!

Animetion have been sent a press release about an exciting new anime event - WOTA London. 

Taking place on a Saturday night at one of London's most stylish bars, WOTA London is a new club night by anime fans, for anime fans, mixing anime, otagei and J-pop culture.

Held at the Soho Freedom Bar, London it will play host to 5 hours of the best anime and game music Japan has to offer. DJs include Akihabara club organiser DJ Piloru, and J-Pop Go! founder DJ Genkiboi.

The event will be held on 26th September 2009, entry will be £4 when purchased online or £6 on the door. 

For full details, click here for the press release. 
 

ADV Films Shuts Down

After showing some small signs of recovery following its near collapse, ADV Films has finally succumbed to its financial troubles and announced that it's shutting down.  The company is being broken up and its assets transferred to several new companies, with much of its catalogue passing to AEsir Holdings for distribution by SXION 23 (Section23 Films).  ADV's Anime Network television channel has been acquired by Valkyrie Media Partners and its production unit has been bought up by Seraphim Studios.

ADV Films has effectively been out of action in the UK for some time, with its UK office closing down over a year ago.  ADV's UK rep Hugh David stated at the Industry Panel at last month's Aya Revolution convention that it would probably be his last convention appearance in an official capacity.  It is likely that some of ADV's larger properties may get sublicensed by other UK distributors once the current licensing deals expire.

It is the end of an era for Western anime distribution, ADV Films is the largest victim of the credit crunch anime-wise and join a casualty list that includes former heavyweights Geneon and Central Park Media.  They will be missed.

Tokyopop Loses Kodansha Licenses

US publisher Tokyopop have announced that Japanese publishing giant Kodansha have decided to let their manga licenses with them expire.  The move will prevent Tokyopop from completing several ongoing series and will mean that they will not be able to reprint any Kodansha titles once the current stock runs out.  Kodansha have apparently given no reason for pulling the plug on the licenses, which include popular titles like Love Hina, Chobits, Initial D, Samurai Deeper Kyo and Rave Master.

The move follows similar action taken by Kodansha back in January which saw them let their licenses with Tokyopop Germany expire, again without any reason given.  Kodansha did announce an intention to enter the Western manga market directly last year, but nothing materialised at the time.  However, it now appears that Kodansha will be publishing some series directly in America through distributor Random House, and several licenses have passed to Tokyopop's rivals, including Samurai Deeper Kyo (now held by Del Rey) and several CLAMP titles (now held by Dark Horse).

J-Rock Band An Café to Taka a Sabbatical

The popular J-Rock band An Café have announced that they are to cease activities after their forthcoming concert at Tokyo's Budokan arena on 4th January 2010.  The 'visual kei' group have indicated that they will return at some point in the future, but have given no timeframe.  An Café will be best known to anime fans for their song Kakusei Heroism ~The Hero Without a Name~, the second opening theme to the anime Darker Than Black.

Dororo Clips

ITV Close in on Deal for Hulu

UK TV network ITV are reported to be closing in on a deal to bring the Hulu online streaming website to the UK.  The website is currently only available to US viewers but industry magazine Variety are reporting that they have offered ITV a 25% stake in a UK version of the site in exchange for access to ITV programming.  Hulu in the US currently streams several anime series, including Naruto, Bleach, Inu-Yasha and One Piece.  However, the anime programming will not necessarily be included in the deal if one is signed.