Archive for the ‘News’ Category

Admit it. We’re amongst friends and we can all admit that we’ve done it. By ‘it’ I’m naturally referring to putting on a pair of kitty ears either for cosplay or just for fun. What did you think I was talking about? Pervos.

No matter what though, putting ears attached to a headband on our heads just isn’t quite the experience you always hope it is. They don’t move and they slide around if you’re not careful. What we need are the really cute ears, the ones that make you really feel like you’re super cute! Introducing the most advanced and technically awesome kitty ears ever!

Introduced by Neurowear, these ears are not only functional as a cute accesssory but using the special headset can move by reading the brainwaves of its user. Just think the proper emotion and the ears will perk up, droop down or even flatten out all at the fast of a think. It’s brilliant! It’s amazing! It’s something I need to get for the girl I’m dating!

Via Reddit, Originally posted at Ani.me

Voice actress, singer and Twitter drama queen Aya Hirano has taken to the web again to vent her latest frustrations. In a tweet let out this morning, the actress has claimed that she is no longer allowed to appear in any new anime because the agency that she is signed with. In the tweet, Hirano says “I have lots of anime roles this season. As I am currently banned from appearing in any new anime since last year, I’m grateful for second seasons and long-running anime! I’m really grateful!”

A few months ago, I wrote my good byes to Hirano but I always held out hope that maybe she’d come back to us, the loyal who have watched (listened?) to her perform roles for years. But no, it seems that the powers that be have deemed us lowly otaku not worthy of having anything to do with her. Here’s the part where I’m confused though. Maybe this is just because I don’t understand the Japanese entertainment industry, but why not switch to another agency? I’m no genius but it would seem to me that an agency that refuses to let their talent do things to make… oh I don’t know, a freaking living, isn’t that good of an agency. In fact, it seems that this would fall into the opposite category of a bad agency.

Come on Hirano, we’ve known each other for years now. We’ve shared laughs and tears together, maybe it’s time for you to come back to the fold? Sure you have plenty of trolls who love to bait you into more drama and hysterics but you’re unique. An original even. Things just aren’t the same without you doing something in every other series that premieres each season.

Via Yararon, Reposted from Ani.me

 

 

Fakir has managed to save Princess Tutu from the world of Drosselmeyer but he still can’t find the words to save the Prince. Meanwhile, Duck learns something she should have known a long time ago and makes a decision that Rue is completely against at first. Eventually she comes to agree but pays for the decision.

 

Thoughts so Far

Wow, finally we’re moving into the conclusion and despite the position she’s in, I think I was very wrong about where Rue will ultimately end up. Things are not going well for her and she’s in a dicey situation but the declaration she made in this episode makes me believe that things will work out for her. Even if she’s gone just a little nuts thanks to the Prince. What changed my mind about this (and killed me a little in the process) was the touching scene of Duck being comforted by Uzura. This moment alone will undoubtedly stick with me long after I’ve moved on from this series.

I can’t believe there are only 2 episodes left of this. I didn’t expect a lot when I started but this has been such a fun journey towards the conclusion.

A couple of weeks ago when I saw this, I actually didn’t think much of it. I just wasn’t interested in getting my hopes up for a second season announcement and so I convinced myself that it was just going to be a merchandise announcement at most. In hindsight, that may have made waking up yesterday morning to an excited email from another writer that much sweeter. I was still half awake when I read it but then my eyes crossed the words: Ika Musume second season announced… and my day just perked right up!

According to the new issue of Weekly Shonen Champion, a second season of Squid Girl is headed our way! There was no release date attached (of course) but it has confirmed officially that the cute invader from the sea isn’t going anywhere for awhile! I suppose this shouldn’t be that huge of a surprise as the series has been an overall success for pretty much everyone. In its first week on sale, the first volume managed to sell enough Blu ray copies to rank 12th on the charts in Japan. Crunchyroll simulcast the first season and found themselves with an unexpected hit with fans all over the world.

Now we just need that elusive release date. And a full 26 episode run. Yeah, just those. And another episode featuring Mini Squid Girl. Just those three. Oh and definitely more scary Chizuru! All we need are those four things. Though it might also be nice to have…

Image via Moetron

Alright, I need to write this quickly because it’s getting to that point of my Sunday where my attention span is less than ideal for writing. So while I still have enough focus, here is a quick wrap up of all the stories that I wrote for Ani.me this week!

 

ANIME

Live Action Akira Gets Steve Kloves as Scriptwriter: So dude who wrote Harry Potter is now writing Akira? Alright sure. And they offered a role to Brad Pitt? Oh why not?

 

MANGA

Viz Media Launches Bakuman Fan Art Contest: We give out awesome prizes at Ani.me but if you like to draw manga (or just draw in general) Viz Media has got some drool worthy prizes ready for you.

 

JAPAN

Gov. Ishihara to TIAF Boycotters: Please Come Back!: Everyone’s favorite Japanese politician is back in the news. This time he’s groveling to get people back into TIAF… and then screws it up seconds later. I swear, this guy is like a TV character at this point.

 

 

Radiohead Does Something in Shibuya: This turned into one huge non event and it was all thanks to one stupid tweet.

 

The Ring’s Sadako Gets 3D Movie: A new 3D movie to scare you to death. Have fun, I’ll be over here looking at absolutely anything else.

Anime Context Expo Plans 2 Day Anisong Event: I know that they’re going to be busy with other things but oh man am I jealous of some writers I know who are going to be at this event.

 

That’s it for this week! Sorry to be so brief but I’m feeling my attention starting to drift away once again… this time towards food.

This is a REPOST. The original article appeared at Ani.me

 

A press release went out earlier this week announcing the May release slate for Sentai Filmworks. As usual, this comes along with the low key announcement of new licenses. In this case, there are 3 new titles licensed by Sentai Filmworks including two shorts from Comix Wave and a 2008 fantasy series from Madhouse.

Being released as a 60 minute double feature, the first new license is for two 30 minutes shorts produced by Comix Wave, Coffee Samurai and Hoshizora Kiseki. For these two I have to plead ignorance so please press release, tell us what we should know about these titles.

CoMix Wave, the studio behind Voices of a Distant Star and the Place Promised in Our Early Days, returns to the twin themes of love and human relationships with a startling new pair of stories that could only be told through the medium of animation.  In Hoshizora Kiseki (Starry-Sky Miracle) Kozue, a young girl who loves astronomy encounters Ginga, a boy with a mysterious ability to understand the stars that is being exploited by others.  As her friendship with Ginga grows, Kozue realizes that she must help him learn to make his own decisions, but that do that, he must remove the protective suit he always wears.  For Hemi, the heroine of Coffee Samurai, however, a boyfriend in a protective suit would be an easy thing to deal with compared to her own problem: she’s in love with a Coffee Vending machine!  Of course, it all makes perfect sense once you realize that he’s actually an ancient Samurai who wished to be reborn into an indestructible steel body.  But it certainly makes the dates uncomfortable and somewhat prone to scalding!  Twin tales, twin couples, twin conundrums – it’s twice the magic in a single package in Coffee Samurai / Hoshizora Kiseki!

Well, those certainly sound interesting at least. The DVD for these two will be released on May 10th carrying a $19.98 MSRP.

The last new license revealed in the press release belongs to the 2008 series produced by Madhouse, Allison & Lillia. In this fantasy series, two countries have been at war for over a century. After they finally agree on a cease fire, a pilot named Alison will reunite with her childhood friend and venture into enemy grounds with him. Their quest is to find a fabled treasure which could bring an end to the war once and for all. The first set will be released on May 17th with an MSRP of $49.98.

Rounding out the rest of the month for Sentai Filmworks are the continuation of other series that have been gaining their own attention.

Ghost Sweep Mikami Collection 4 – 5/3 [MSRP: $49.98]
Shin Koihime Muso: Otome Tairan – 5/24 [MSRP: $49.98]
Guin Saga Collection 2 – 5/31 [MSRP: $59.98]

This is a REPOST. The original article appeared at Ani.me

 

According to a recent interview in Kera magazine, the director of Sailor Moon and Revolutionary Girl Utena, Kunihiko Ikuhara, will be returning to TV anime this year. After directing both magical girl series, Ikuhara stepped away from anime almost entirely, instead focusing on his serialized novel Nekomomo to Hanayome and the subsequent manga adaptation of the same for the last few years.

At this point it seems like it’d be an obvious choice to say that he’s going to be working on an anime adaptation of his novel, but that’s not official at all. Then again, it could be something entirely new, as the only clue he’s provided so far has been that the story will feature a teenage protagonist. Does this mean that he’ll be returning to his magical girl roots or will he stick with what he has been doing? I have no idea, but it’s already killing me to find out!

How about just one more hint? You don’t even have to speak it, I’m also good at charades!

No?

Fine.

Via ANN

 

The unknown enemy finally appears and start making their move to stop Fakir from completing his story. Duck continues her search for heart shards but discovers an amazing truth behind the world she lives in instead. Meanwhile, Rue is struggling with her duty to her father in finding a heart to sacrifice for him.

 

Thoughts so Far

In this episode, there were a few parts where I really had to question the writing. Near the end especially, Fakir goes into this long ‘Can I? Could I? Should I?’ rant of self questioning which ended up being more than enough to get an eye roll. Up to this point though, this is another very solid episode that finally begins to answers questions. Bringing in an entirely new force, Princess Tutu completely changes the playing field here and obliterates almost every idea or prediction I had for the final episodes. I do still think that Rue is headed for a tragic sacrificial ending but I also don’t have the faintest idea on who might be lucky enough to get a happy ending. Predictions or thoughts?

I’m a bit late to this party again but Crunchyroll has announced recently through a press release that the entire second season of The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya has been added to their site! The sequel to the original series was the long awaited darling of 2009. That is until fans realized that most of the airing was a rehash of the original episode with 13 new episodes sprinkled in along the way (that is if you’re counting the Endless Eight arc as separate episodes).

So if you’re one of the few out there who haven’t watched this series, now is your chance. Like other series, the series is available in its entirety to premium users in Americas, Norway, Denmark, Finland, Turkey, Sweden, the Middle East and Africa. Members with a free account will be able to watch 4 episodes right away with another 4 being added every Friday afterwards until completed.

Regardless of how you feel about the series or the way its been released in the past, there’s no arguing how inescapably popular it is. Though I have to admit that I’ve yet to actually watch this series. I know, I know but I just never got around to watching season 1 and so this season just kind of blew past me as well. Though now that both seasons are waiting for me to stop procrastinating and devote a few nights to crossing this off my list hopefully I can change that in the near future.

 

Full press release below the cut

Read the rest of this entry »

Why not? The last anime I can think of that was directly about tennis was Prince of Tennis so why not bring it back with a dash of moe?

According to the official website launch and cover of latest Comic Blade magazine, a new anime has been green lit for middle school tennis anime, SofuTeni (Soft Tennis) based off the manga by Ryo Aduchi. The ecchi sports comedy has been running since 2008 and centers on a team of junior high girls who are aiming to reach the national tennis championships while having mishaps along the way. With the website being launched, a few crew details have been revealed along with the initial announcement:

Animation Production: Xebec (Rio Rainbow Gate, To Love Ru)
Director: Ryouki Kamitsubo (Abnormal Physiology Seminar, Hidamari Sketch)
Character Design: Yuichi Ouka (To Love Ru)

Eh, it’s been awhile since I’ve seen a good sports comedy (… actually, I’m not sure if I’ve ever seen a sports comedy period) so this might be worth looking at for a little while. If it’s anything like the ecchi comedy that Xebec usually tries to put out though I can see myself just as quickly dropping this one and finding something else to do with my time.

Via SaiAni