Posts Tagged ‘gintama’

Fans of Gintama (including one certain boss-like individual currently living it up in Japan) rejoice as the historic parody series is returning to television! Based on the manga of the same name, the Sunrise produced anime first made its debut on television back in 2006 and ran for OVER 200 episodes before coming to an end earlier this year. Luckily after the series went off the air, one of the primary directors Shinji Takamatsu, was quick to console fans with a promise that the series would return and that it wasn’t over yet. And it turns out that he wasn’t lying, who would’ve thought?

In the latest issue of Shonen Jump magazine (to be released this coming Monday), it will be announced that the popular series will be returning. No specific date was given for when Gintoki would be back to take on more jobs but my anime senses are telling me that it will probably be sometime within the next 12 months. Call it a hunch.

If you’re one of the many (like me) who have yet to watch this series, now is probably a good time to get caught up. Crunchyroll has all 201 episodes uploaded for fans to watch while Sentai Filmworks has been releasing it to DVD since April (Collection 3 will be available on December 28th).

So someone sell me on this series. I’ve heard quite a bit about it over the last few months and while no one has had anything particularly bad to say about it, I’m still not entirely convinced that I want to sit through 200 episodes. Is this one really worth picking up?

<Via ANN, Image via Pixiv>

The title wasn’t meant to be a Needless pun. <- That right there. That’s a Needless pun.

Sometimes it’s meant to be. You’re sitting there looking for something to write about and a press release just magically appears in your inbox. Sentai Filmworks have announced their February release schedule which includes the continuations of Eyeshield 21 (Collection 4 due out 2/8) and Gintama (Collection 4 due out 2/22), a You’re Under Arrest Fast and Furious Complete Collection due out 2/1 and the license of comedy action series, Needless.

If you’re unfamiliar with Needless consider yourself one of the lucky ones. Produced by Madhouse and premiering in the summer of 2009, the series takes place in a future where the world has been ravaged. Survival is hard but humans make it even harder by exiling humans called Needless who have contracted a disease giving them special powers. The main character is an orphan named Cruz looking for his family when he meets the odd Eve and her friend, the Kamiya on steroids clone Adam Blade. The series will be released in multiple sets with the first collection being released on DVD and Blu ray on February 15th.

Eh… I know that any license is a good license and I hope this one does well for them. I recall giving this one a chance once and having one of the strongest instinctual rejection reactions ever. It’s a lie to say that I’m looking forward to giving this one another spin though.

Full press release below the cut

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When starting a new year, it’s important for a company to finish the first month with strong momentum. Funimation started theirs with the roll out riot, Crunchyroll got into the mix with five new simulcasts… hell, even Media Blasters managed to shake things up a little by licensing Kanokon. Finally, Sentai and Bandai are ready to crank things up to 11 by announcing their April lineups.

In press releases sent out over the last couple of days, Sentai has announced the license of the long running comedy from Sunrise Gintama along with Asatte no Houkou (Living for the Day After Tomorrow), Hidamari Sketchx365 and the rescue of Le Portrait de Petit Cossette from Geneon. Meanwhile Bandai has announced… more delays. Hm, guess which company didn’t the January momentum memo?

Hidamari Sketchx365 (4/6)
Asatte no Houkou (Living for the Day After Tomorrow) (4/13)
Le Portrait de Petit Cossette (4/20)
Gintama Set 1 (4/27)

All of the listed series will be released in one complete set except for Gintama which will thankfully be broken up since it has over 200 episodes. For the most part, this looks like a strong lineup for Sentai. Hidamari Sketchx365 will be a welcome addition for fans of the series and Asatte no Houkou has my attention. Sure it’s a 2006 series from J.C. Staff that sounds sort of like the anime version of Freaky Friday but it looks cute if nothing else.

If anything in that list creates a tangible uncertainty it would be Gintama. Fans have been enjoying the series for free on Crunchyroll for the last year. Is that going to translate into enough fans who want to buy that many box sets that won’t even have an English track? Then again, it’s not like I’m an expert who has any hard data behind me so here’s hoping this is one that pans out and finds its audience.

Enough Sentai talk though, Bandai has also made some new announcements so let’s give them the spotlight. Never one to be outdone, Bandai has also announced their April lineup which will look something like this:

Lucky Star (Anime Legends Collection) (4/6)
Kannagi Complete Collection (4/6)

Delays:

Kukokami the Animation Part 1 (DVD/Blu ray) moved from 2/9 to 3/2
Hayate the Combat Butler Part 4 moved from 2/9 to 3/2
Eureka Seven – good night, sleep tight, young lovers (DVD/Blu ray) moved from 2/9 to 3/10

So to recap, Sentai has picked up four licenses (three new, one used) that contain enough variety to spark the interest of most fans while Bandai is continuing to trying to get out of a ditch by digging downwards. Seriously Bandai, just tell the fans what’s going on. Internet fans can be really forgiving if you’re just upfront and hon… *snerk* sorry, I knew I wasn’t going to be able to say that with a straight face.

Press release below cut

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I have to work during Golden Week!?

In an update to a couple of stories that I’ve written about previously (here and here), release dates have been announced for the upcoming Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya and Gintama movies. Technically this isn’t entirely confirmed because Kyoto Animation has yet to say so themselves but a theater listing says that the new movie is going to open in Japan on February 6^th. After the year that Kyoto Animation and Haruhi Suzumiya have had, it might be good to get a fresh start in 2010 though I still wonder if it’s too late to salvage what fan base this franchise has left.

In more official news, the brand new teaser site for the upcoming Gintama movie has announced that the movie will be released during Golden Week in 2010 which lasts from April 29^th to May 5^th. The movie will be titled Gintama Shinyaku Benizakura-Hen (Gintama: Benizakura Arc – A New Retelling) and retell the Benizakura manga arc. If you haven’t already started, Crunchyroll has 181 episodes available so fans can get caught up before the premiere next year.  

<Via ANN>

Ever feel like there's a big weight on your mind?

No actual details are going to be released until Monday in Weekly Shonen Jump but it has been revealed that a movie based on the manga Gintama will be produced. All that is currently known is that earlier this month, Warner Bros. Japan registered a site address which currently points back to their own site. The manga itself has been running since 2004 and follows a samurai named Gintoki in an age when samurai aren’t needed and oppressive aliens live the neighborhood forcing him to work odd jobs to make ends meet. This isn’t the first time Gintama has been animated having been adapted into an OVA in 2004 and a 189 episode TV series starting in 2006 by Sunrise (Crunchyroll currently has 179 episodes up with episode 180 scheduled to go up within a matter of hours).

So, historical samurai comedy is getting a movie. Yay?

<Via ANN>