Archive for the ‘Press Releases’ Category

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

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So, it’s no secret that this hasn’t been the greatest week for Funimation what with that little incident a couple of days ago. But Funimation isn’t the type to sit around, they bounce back in grand style with an anime about… breasts, blood and aliens. Wait, really? Alright, alright.

In a press release sent out this morning, Funimation has announced that they will simulcasting this season’s ecchi action series, Freezing. The sci-fi booby action series takes place in a future where the world has been invaded by aliens from another dimension. To fight back, humans are training special women called Pandoras and pairing them with men referred to as their limiters. This series centers on Kazuya who enters one of these training facilities and ends up pairing with the cold but powerful Bridget.

The first two episodes will premiere on Funimation’s site on Monday, January 24th at 9:30am Central (7:30 Pacific/10:30 Eastern) with new episodes being added weekly. I actually haven’t seen any episodes of this yet. It’s actually the last new show from the season that I haven’t looked at (that I plan to at least). So to be totally fair, I’m reserving all judgment and jokes until I’ve had a chance to do so. If everything that I’ve been hearing from people holds up though, I suspect I’ll be back to making breast jokes and references to Queen’s Blade and Seikon no Qwaser before too long.

Full press release below the cut

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Wow, do you know what that sound is? It’s the sound of me being almost entirely caught up with the early impression posts that have been consuming the blog this month. That means I’ve gotten to spend an entire day catching up on news posts and that’s not a bad thing… it’s a good thing! So, what have I been missing lately?

Well first off, Sentai Filmworks has been busy this week. Earlier this week, a press release went out announcing their April lineup. For most of the month things looked pretty much like you would figure; Special A Complete Collection on 4/5 and Needless Collection 2 on DVD and Blu ray on 4/12. Getting into the second half of the month, things are a little more real with Clannad: After Story being released with a brand spanking new dub track released on 4/19 (head over to Right Stuf to learn how to participate in their trade in/upgrade program). Finally concluding the month, buried down at the bottom of the press release, is the brand new license of Asylum Session scheduled to be released on 4/26.

Produced by CoMix Wave Films and Brosta TV, the 60 minute, 3D movie was originally released in 2009. Following a runaway girl named Hiyoko (played by Aya Hirano), the series takes place in the abandoned stadium nicknamed ‘The Asylum’ which houses other homeless and runaway teens and adults. When plans are started to tear the stadium down, the community inside starts a street festival to fight back. For those who are wondering, the movie will be released to DVD in 2D.

You’d think that Sentai Filmworks would be content with that but last night another press release went out announcing the acquisition of this season’s average (from what I’ve seen) mech school romantic comedy, IS: Infinite Stratos. The series produced by 8-Bit has been getting middling reviews from fans but will be simulcast on The Anime Network starting on Sunday, January 23^rd at 8:30pm Central (6:30 Pacific/9:30 Eastern) anyway. I’m also figuring that this means a DVD release at some point in the future which I imagine makes at least a few of you out there extremely happy. I also imagine that number is around 6.

Full press releases below the cut

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You know Aniplex USA, a few weeks ago I was living in a blissful ignorance. I had never heard of Garden of Sinners and was perfectly content with having no idea what it was. But then you had to open the box a little and announce the release of an 8 disc box set that not only costs more than I can afford but is also useless to me because I don’t own a Blu ray player. I thought that things were going to be fine but then people kept talking about it and whispering about it and generally doing things that made my curiosity reach a point of frustrating curiosity. But this… now you’re just being mean!

In a press release sent out today, Aniplex USA has announced that it will be holding a special theatrical screening of Garden of Sinners Parts 1, 2 and 7 in San Francisco, Saturday February 5th. The screening is in advance of the box set release and will feature a discussion with executive producer and president of ufotable Hikaru Kondo and producer Atsuhiro Iwakami. Why no, I can’t afford to take that weekend off and fly to San Francisco to watch anime movies in a theater. However did you guess. For those of you who can attend (that aren’t me), don’t forget that this is a one day event and so tickets are limited. If you want to reserve your spot early, be sure to hit the official website and buy in advance.

So before I close this up I do have one quick question; why are they showing parts 1,2 and 7? Is there nothing that happens from parts 3-6 that people need to know about to get into part 7? A little confused by that.

Full press release below the cut

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So I’ve been a little quiet the last couple of days thanks to being absolutely swamped in the new season. There is still some pretty interesting things happening in the news though so there’s probably going to be a post blitz near the end of the week when I finally get to play catch up. But before I start getting all my early impressions up (I have 4 waiting to be edited), Funimation has awoken from their season long slumber to send out their first (and quite possibly only) simulcast announcement of the season.

In the release sent out this morning, Funimation has announced that they will be simulcasting the new series, Fractale, from A-1 Pictures and Studio Ordet starting tomorrow (Thursday the 13th). The new series is the second addition to the Noitamina programming block this season (the other being Hourou Musuko). Taking place on a distant island which is suffering from a breakdown of the mysterious Fractale system, a young boy named Crane finds a girl who leaves her pendant behind. Going on a journey to find her, Crane will discover the secrets behind the Fractale system and why it is breaking.

It’s not entirely surprising that Funimation is picking this one up though it is surprising how late they’re announcing it. I also have to admit that I’m a little surprised by how quiet Funimation has been over the last couple of seasons. After simulcasting 7 series last summer, they were completely quiet over the fall and this season they’re only doing 1. Perhaps they’re holding off for later in the year but I have to wonder what Funimation is planning for the future that is keeping them out of the simulcast market now.

Full press release below the cut

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So here I was sitting, kind of pleased that I was able to get caught up with enough time leftover to go get some lunch, completely oblivious that I had forgotten about one more announcement that was going to be made. Fast forward to me glancing at my phone and jogging back to the computer to type this one up and we come to Crunchyroll announcing a simulcast of the the alien slice of life, Level E. The only co production this season (worked on by both David Production and Studio Pierrot), the series focuses on a high school student who finally convinces his parents to let him live on his own only to have an amnesiac alien prince become his roommate.

The series premieres in North, Central and South America, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, the Kingdom of Sweden, the Kingdom of Denmark, the Kingdom of Norway, the Republic of Finland, Iceland, the Netherlands, the Commonwealth of Australia, New Zealand and the Republic of South Africa on January 10th.

Full press release below the cut

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Yesterday was one big blur of activity that started around 5:30am and ended sometime around 1am so sorry that I wasn’t able to get this up sooner. Crunchyroll has been pretty busy this week with the announcement of 4 more simulcasts (which brings the total up to 9 I believe): Saint Seiya: The Lost Canvas, Kore wa Zombie Desu ka, Hourou Musuko and the ‘we already knew that’ pick, Mitsudomoe Zoryuuchi. Four series to cover and not enough time to do it in so here’s the rundown (in order of which ones I’m most excited to watch):

Kore wa Zombie desu ka (Is That a Zombie?): Produced by Studio Deen and based off the light novels, this series involves a high school boy being murdered by a serial killer and brought back to life as a zombie by a necromancer. The series premieres on Monday January 10th for users in North and South America, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Iceland, the Netherlands, the Middle East, Africa, Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines, Brazil and Portugal. The series will also be available to paid users in the UK and Ireland.

As much as I love that Crunchyroll is bringing this series overseas I have to admit there are two things that I’m a bit bummed about. First, I agree with everyone who has said that the title for this series really should’ve been translated to English but that’s a tiny nitpick that doesn’t actually matters. What does matter is that Crunchyroll is only able to offer the series until June 30th so if you plan on watching this series, be careful about procrastination or you might miss your chance.

Hourou Musuko (Wandering Son): Hourou Musuko is notable for multiple reasons. First, it’s arguably the most important series of the season for dealing with such a serious topic. Second, this is the title airing in the noitaminA television block this season which indicates that Funimation’s deal has expired (or is currently not active for whatever reason I’m not privy to) freeing up the titles to be picked up by other streaming sites. It will be interesting to see if Crunchyroll is able to pick up the other series slotted for the noitaminA block, Fractale.

As for the series itself, the AIC produced drama follows two transgender elementary school students (a boy named Shuichi and a girl named Yoshino) as they slowly begin to realize who they are. Finally finding friends who accept them, the two deal with the harshness of growing up. It premieres next Thursday the 13th for users in United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Ireland, Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Iceland, Australia, New Zealand, Brazil and Portugal. I urge everyone to watch at least a couple episodes of this title after it premieres.

Saint Seiya The Lost Canvas: So this one actually isn’t a simulcast but it’s an interesting addition regardless. Announced yesterday, Crunchyroll has revealed they will be adding all 15 episodes of the OVA series Saint Seiya: The Lost Canvas. Based on the manga, this series had its first 13 episodes released starting in 2009 and will soon be getting two additional episodes released on DVD next month. The press release for this one was pretty vague but it does indicate that the first 13 episodes will be added to the site in the near future while episodes 14 and 15 will be uploaded next month to coincide with the Japanese release. The streams will be available to users in United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Ireland.

Finally wrapping things up, we have the announcement that pretty much everyone knew about a few days ago; Mitsudomoe Season 2. This one gets to be at the bottom of the list for multiple reasons though which makes it special. The first reason is the obvious everyone heard about this a few days ago. Second, it’s a terrible series that I’m glad is only getting 8 episodes. For the many of you out there who do like this series however (I’m pretty sure my opinion is the minority actually), the series will be available on Saturday the 8th for users in United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Ireland, Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Iceland, Australia, New Zealand, Brazil and Portugal.

Alright, that’s it for Crunchyroll streams up to this point. There are still a couple of blank slots left to fill before the end of the week. Anyone want to take any guesses on what the final announcements are going to be? I’m still holding out hope for Fractale and Freezing myself since I’m pretty sure that Madoka Magica is now a long shot to be picked up.

Full press releases below the cut

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The announcements keep coming (and are going to keep coming until long past my point of exhaustion) from Crunchyroll with three more simulcasts announced today! Here’s the thing though, I’m only going to tell you about two of them right now. Why? Because no one has said what the third announcement is going to be and probably won’t until I’m already at work and can’t write about it. Enough of my grumbling about never enough time though, we gots anime to talk about!

First to be announced today is new card fighting series, Cardfight Vanguard. Animated by TMS Entertainment and co-created by YuGiOh mangaka, Akira Ito and Bushiroad founder Takaki Kitani; the series follows a middle schooler who gets involved with a brand new, intergalactic card game. Using the card he was given as a child, Aichi is pulled into the game of Vanguard and strives to be the very best at it (this is the point where you can’t actually see me rolling my eyes but trust me, it’s happening). The series will begin streaming in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Ireland on January 7th starting at 4:30pm Pacific.

The second series to be announced today is actually one of the titles on my wish list and so Crunchyroll earns some preemptive excitement for this one: YAY!

Produced by Studio Bones, GoSick takes place in the fictional country of Sauville during 1924. After a student transfers into the school, he meets a strange girl named Victorique. She skips class all the time and would prefer to read books and solve local mysteries. Becoming fast friends, the pair make their way around town solving cases and befriending those in the area. It’ll premiere this Friday at 10am Pacific for viewers in North and South America, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Iceland, the Netherlands, the Middle East, Africa, Malaysia, the Philippines, Brazil and Portugal. Additionally, viewers in the UK and Ireland who have a paid membership will also have access which at least falls in the ‘better than nothing’ category if you really wanted to watch this series from Europe.

So that’s all I have for now. I couldn’t care less about Cardfight Vanguard but it seems like everywhere I go someone is talking about how amazing GoSick is so I’m pretty curious to check this one out. Either of these series look decent to you?

Press release below the cut

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I’m not really one for the holidays but even if I didn’t have access to a calendar I’d still know that the season is almost ready to reach its big climax. Everywhere I look signs are there… people at the store are worse drivers than usual, my housemate is in the living room on the verge of a panic attack trying to get gifts together and companies are working hard to get their last minute press releases out before the end of the week. Ah, the magic of the season.

So on that note, Funimation put out a press release this morning announcing the English cast for the upcoming Hero Tales. You might remember Funimation announcing the title back in January during their 2010 license roll out. If you need a refresher, the Studio Flag (the only series they’ve been the primary animation producer by the way) produced series premiered in 2007 and will be released in half season sets starting March 15th of next year. I haven’t seen the series myself and so I think in this case I’m going to let Funimation describe the story for me:

For citizens of the Ken Empire, justice is a myth. Lord Keiro, the deranged Shogun of the Imperial Army, blazes a trail of terror across the countryside in search of the sacred sword that will make him a god. Standing in his way is Taito, an omnipotent star reborn in human form – a young hero who vows to use his celestial strength to avenge those slaughtered by the villainous Shogun. Taito’s mystical powers steer him toward a violent showdown with Keiro, and if used recklessly, his newfound abilities could shred the very fabric of his being. To master the art of control and become a heroic martial artist, Taito must seek the guidance of others like him: the seven star-born warriors with the strength to shatter a corrupt empire.

And filling in the cast:

ADR Director/Line Producer: Tyler Walker
Taito: Newton Pittman
Keiro: Brian Mathis
Ryuko: John Burgmeier
Koyo: Jonathan Brooks
Shokaku: J. Michael Tatum
Rinmei: Colleen Clinkenbeard
Hosei: Josh Grelle
Laila: Alexis Tipton

Full press release below the cut

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Once upon a time I bet there were people who were absolutely committed to watching every series that Crunchyroll had to offer. And now I bet that if there were any of those people left, the rate of series being added to Crunchyroll lately must at least have those few remaining souls curled up in a corner shaking.

Two more series were added to streaming site Crunchyroll from completely opposite directions; the 2009 parody comedy Seitokai no Ichizon (translated as Student Council’s Discretion) and the 2006 supernatural action romance Demonbane. So very excited about both of these series!

In Student Council’s Discretion, the series takes place almost entirely in one small room where the Hekiyou Academy student council holds their meetings. The student council is made up of four girls and only one male; a student named Ken Sugisaki who is only there because he managed to become valedictorian of the student body and earned the right. Good thing his only intention is to turn the other girls into his own personal harem. Produced by Studio Deen, this was another overlooked title of 2009 that too many people missed out on. Just be warned that this is another series that will test your recent anime knowledge with its silly in jokes.

The second series to be added is the slightly older title from Viewworks (Someday’s Dreamers and a little OVA based on the video game Armored Core) called Demonbane. Released in 2006, the series follows a private detective in Arkham City. When he’s hired to find a magic book, he also finds a girl with the ability to awaken a giant mech. After the two form a contract, they are forced to fight of an enemy called the Black Lodge. It’s actually good timing for this series to get added as Nitro+ and JAST USA are on the verge of making it relevant again with the release of the Demonbane eroge (NSFW) sometime next year.

As has been usual, both series are now available in their entirety to premium subscribers to users in North America, South America, United Kingdom, Ireland, Finland, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Iceland, Netherlands, Portugal, Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines, Middle East and Africa. Free stream users in those regions will be able to watch the first 3 episodes now with 3 additional episodes being added weekly.

I’m glad that Crunchyroll have finally added an Android app because the number of series that are getting added to the ‘Need to watch at some point’ pile is getting pretty stupidly ridiculous.

Full press release below the cut

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