Posts Tagged ‘lucky star’

I am really late with posting this up this month but now is as great a time as any for this month’s salute. Around this time of year, there are kids and adults all around graduating from school and joining the real world (haha suckers!). But who are the ones who are thanklessly working against the odds to get these youths ready? The teachers! So educators around the world, this month Otaku Review gives it’s salute to… teachers!

Mizuho Kazami (Please Teacher) : ANY excuse to reference Mizuho Kazami is a good one. Wish I had her for a homeroom class or two growing up.

Eikichi Onizuka (Great Teacher Onizuka) : Some of the quotable quotes that makes Onizuka one of the great teachers of our time: “Fuyutsuki, sometimes violence is the only way to get the message across,”; “If you’re gonna be a pervert, don’t get found out. Common sense man, common sense,”; “Give a kid a smoke he’ll be happy for a day. Teach him how to smoke… he’ll be happy for a whole shortened life.”

Yukari Tanizaki (Azumanga Daioh) : She can do math better than a gym teacher and that’s something right? Eh… alright, just don’t leave your bike unattended or drive with her.

Kuroi Nanako (Lucky Star) : She tries so hard and yet is the one who buys the lonely leftover Christmas cake. Hey, at least she’s a teacher you can always count for for a buff spell while you’re clearing out the room.

Negi Springfield (Negima) : The first time my housemate saw Negima she loved the series but was left with one question, “Why can’t these girls leave him alone? He’s a kid!” This led an interesting conversation that involved doing my best to explain ‘boy loli’ characters.

More importantly, who are your favorite anime teachers that I’ve forgotten here? There are a lot out there that I’ve completely ignored due to space. Leave them in the comments and let’s give them the attention they deserve!

Last month, a small storm was created when CEO of Bang Zoom Eric Sherman put up a now infamous blog post which declared the state of anime in a dire state. A week later on ANNCast, Sherman elaborated that he wasn’t referring to anime as a whole but more the English dubbing out of LA. Additionally, Sherman noted that Bandai was in a particular amount of trouble. So much so that they (Bandai) were riding on two major titles this year and if those weren’t successful there were going to be some very dark times ahead for the anime mainstay.

Naturally, Bandai was quick to reply and in a comment to ANN, President of Bandai Entertainment Ken Iyadomi, stated that Bandai had a very good 2009. He did agree that if things didn’t change that Bandai would be forced to produce sub only releases but hoped that this wouldn’t happen. Here’s where I got a little fuzzy though, a good 2009? In exactly what way was 2009 a good year for Bandai? If Iyadomi is referring to sales figures than I have no reason not to believe him. I have no numbers to disprove that and even if I did I’m not sure I would understand them. But what if we looked at it from a different perspective… like making entertainment available to fans in the US who are still managing to purchase anime on an even semi-regular basis.

Last year there were a little over 500 anime releases in the US and 50 were scheduled by Bandai. Out of those 50, 23 different series were represented (though that number goes down a bit if you count every Gundam title as just one series) with a fairly wide range being solicited. Out of those 50, 2 were canceled not long before their scheduled release (3 if you count the limited edition Lucky Star Vol. 6 which still got a standard release). Out of those remaining titles, 25 were delayed past their original street date. Some were only delayed once or twice but some were being pushed back over 3 times! This resulted in an average of 1.6 announced delays per title averaging close to 2 months each. Some of these were a lot easier to notice than others (Code Geass R2 Set 2 was delayed from Aug until Dec) but soon it became just standard.

At first it was like a running joke to string posts together, ‘Here are the latest title solicitations from Bandai, I’ll let you know when their release dates change.’ Now we’re now almost five complete months into 2010. So far this year Bandai has put out 6 releases, 5 of them were delayed. At least they got the Lucky Star Complete Collection out on time right?

At this point I’d like to talk Bandai directly. Bandai, is it time for you and fans to have a talk about how things are going? Fans really want to support you and the great things that you continually do like supply us with Gundam, Code Geass, Kannagi, Haruhi Suzumiya, Lucky Star, Kurokami (eventually) and many other titles and we’ve loved you for it. Sure, our relationship has been rocky at times but we’ve always managed to push through the tough times together.

Here’s the thing though; as I’m sure you’re aware times are pretty tough on all of us right now. You’re hurting, we’re hurting and it’s putting our relationship at risk. Budgets are tighter than ever and for some of us, having any kind of monthly disposable income is a luxury that comes around when paired with a week of instant ramen for dinner. Because of this quite a few of us who need to plan our anime purchases in advance. A feat made that much more difficult when those purchases have to be constantly juggled in and out monthly budgets. I bet you can see where I’m going with this about now right?

For a year it’s been harder and harder to report on, review or plain keep up with what Bandai has coming out and when. I try really hard, I do. But every time I think I know when something is coming out there’s a press release somewhere telling me that the title has actually been delayed again. I realize that the anime industry on both sides of the Pacific is highly secretive. You all do enjoy being able to whisper behind closed doors don’t you? And as fans, we’ve come to accept that. Some of us may choose to deal with this by speculating wildly about numbers, sales or how things actually work but for the most part, we’ve let you have your secrets and respected your personal bubble space.

Lately though, I’m finding myself really missing those good old days when things were still fresh and new for everyone. You’d show up every couple of months and show us the pretty new things that you saw and knew we had to have (I even still use that wonderful Please Teacher and Please Twins you showed me years ago!). After awhile though you started to come around a little more often. We never complained because you always had such nice things but then last year things started to change a little.

You were still coming around once a month like clockwork to show us all the new pretties but soon you were also showing up with reasons why we couldn’t have the new shiny toys that we had bought previously. At first it was OK because you had your reasons. A replication error? That totally happens! Just get it to us when you can. Problems with manufacturing? Oh alright, just bring it out when it’s ready I suppose. Pretty soon though you weren’t even giving us that much. You still showed up to tell us about all the pretty things that we could buy from you but that friendly back and forth we had had faded away. Come on Bandai, where’s the magic gone? We used to have so much fun together but now it’s just so empty.

Some things are still the same. Once a month you show up on our doorsteps with new shiny items that you promise we’re going to love… whenever it’s eventually released. But Bandai, do your release dates even mean anything anymore? We still love you and think you’re plenty good people. We want to help you in your time of crisis and woe but you have to meet us halfway. If just meeting basic release dates is too much for you right now, give us some reasons again? Perhaps that’s a good first step. I mean, it’s not like you’re seeing other anime fans behind our backs… right?

<Kagami image via Pixiv>

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

Read the rest of this entry »

So it’s the end of the week (well, technically the beginning but since this is late getting up we’re going to do some pretending) which means it’s time for another edition of Highs and Lames. Though, by the way, Highs and Lames is a pretty lame title for this weekly segment of internet pollution, anyone got a better suggestion? Feel free to leave them in the comments and if there are enough interesting choices I’ll let readers pick the new title in a later edition.

23 Toei Titles Getting New Dubs: Earlier this week, William Winckler Productions (WWP), based out of California, announced a new partnership with Toei and Rioloco Productions. Under the new agreement, 23+ classic titles from the Toei library will be getting brand new English dubs. No actual US release or broadcast dates have been mentioned but in a comment to ANN, Jim Tousignant said “Winckler Productions and Rioloco Productions have been tapped to become involved in the U.S. distribution of these titles.” More titles are promised for the future but here is the initial list:

Gaiking , Gaiking II, Gaiking III, Danguard Ace, Danguard Ace II, Danguard Ace III, Space Pirate Captain Harlock, Space Pirate Captain Harlock II, The Adventures of Nadja ,The Adventures of Nadja II, Fist of the North Star – The Shin Saga, Fist of the North Star – The Ray Saga, Fist of the North Star – The Souther Saga, Fist of the North Star – The Toki Saga, Fist of the North Star – The Raul Saga, Fist of the North Star – The Kaioh Saga, Starzinger, Starzinger II, Starzinger III, Lun Lun The Flower Girl, Lun Lun The Flower Girl II, Kitaro’s Graveyard Gang and Kitaro’s Graveyard Gang II

Aoi Bungaku Will Bring Two More Stories to Life: The Madhouse produced series, Aoi Bungaku, will be animating six classic stories instead of the previously revealed four. Along with No Longer Human (created by Osamu Dazai), Kokoro (Soseki Natsume), Hell Screen (Akutagawa) and Run, Melos! (Takeshi Konomi), the staff has announced that they will also be creating animations for In the Forest, Under Cherries in Full Bloom (Ango Sakaguchi) and The Spiders Thread (Ryunosuke Autagawa). Call it a hunch that this series is going to be overlooked by quite a few fans after it premieres on October 10^th. For those of you who are making this series into appointment TV, the full cast and crew have been posted to the official website (translated by ANN).

Kuchu Buranko Gets Live Action Treatment: Speaking of upcoming fall premieres, the upcoming series Kuchu Buranko will be a mix of live action and animation. Yumi Sugimoto will be playing the sexy nurse/assistant to Dr. Ichiro Irabu as he sees his string of eccentric patients. The series premieres on October 15^th.

JASTUSA Posts Demonbane Character Profile: JASTUSA is just starting their process of getting fans excited about Demonbane. Step one: get to know the characters. In what I assume is the beginning of a series, JASTUSA has posted a character profile for the hero of their upcoming game Demonbane. For the most part the profile is an introduction to the general story of the game but I’m sure that once fans start checking out the early artwork all will be forgiven. I hope that JASTUSA makes this a steady new feature that builds up to a big release for this title… but while I’m sitting here hoping for things I could use a new car. ^_^;

Anime Charity Auctions on MySpace: In a vague follow up to a story posted earlier this week, a new MySpace profile has been opened specifically for anime charities. Organized to serve as a go between for conventions, the people behind the profile will help provide rare and autographed items to conventions around the country for their charity auctions. Very cool!

LAMES

Washable Pokemon Maxi Pad Takes Furry to a Whole NEW Level: And that level will be called ‘Oh my gods get that thing away from me!’ Exactly who are these pads being marketed towards? Are there women who would show this off to her girlfriends in a ‘guess what I have in my pants?’ sort of a way?

Shueisha Apologizes for Helium: Japanese publisher Shueisha posted a public apology for a scene in the manga series Sket Dance. In the scene, a group of the main characters are shown inhaling helium straight from the can. The publisher apologized for the scene and noted that people can suffocate from doing this too much. Seriously, if seeing this scene is enough to make someone suck in enough helium to suffocate maybe its just natural selection?

STUFF YOU DIDN’T KNOW YOU NEEDED UNTIL NOW

Dragonball Frying Pan: Alright, so Dragonball is an incredibly tired anime cliché. If you haven’t come to grips with that quite yet, I’m sorry to be the one to collapse your world. I’ll wait for you to recover… you good? Just because it’s a tired and overused cliché doesn’t mean that there aren’t still ways that you can make money off of it (a lesson that K-ON has taken to heart for the last six months or so) thus I present to you the Dragonball frying pan. It’s not going to create anything particularly amazing but you do get to have pancakes and other flat impressionable foods complete with stars or a Kame character! <Via Japanator>

Macross Frontier Meets Lucky Star: I’m not a huge fan of the Macross series or collecting figures. I AM a big fan of Lucky Star and I do have a brain that is capable of picking out an awesome crossover!

So, what were your highs and lames for the week?

 

I admit that it’s been awhile since I’ve been forced to take a step back and say ‘alright, time out!’ Today something came across my reader that just makes one stop and think. The prefecture of Saitama in Japan has received an official request from the “Prefectural Anime Tourism Investigative Commission” to change their school uniforms to the ones used in ‘Lucky Star‘. The idea behind the change is to promote tourism in the area by baiting otaku in from all over the world to take pictures of school girls on a daily basis (my words, not theirs). This appears to be just one of the many suggestions that will be coming from the group when they make their final report next year on how to boost anime tourism in the prefecture.

Now, before I proceed with the making fun of these people, let’s look at this from their perspective. ‘Lucky Star’ has been a pretty lucrative title for the prefecture since its premiere. The shrine where the Hiiragi sisters receives otaku visitors all the time (as has been documented by many different sites) and a museum is in the works as well. In an economy that is still struggling and a prime minister who is actively pushing the country to use their ’soft power’ cultural exports cashing in on Lucky Star just makes sense.

However, who is going to think that this is going to be a good idea in the long run? Yes, it would be very cool to see an entire prefecture littered with uniforms from a hugely popular anime. No one is denying the awesomeness that could be generated in one concentrated place through this. But do you really want to turn your entire schoolgirl population into walking exhibits for foreign otaku? And you don’t think that it won’t be just the tiniest bit distracting for them? Things are already rather dicey with eroge coming under attack for promoting abuse towards women, so naturally the government is going to come up with the idea of turning their teenage girls into attractions. Apparently in this case it’s only a crime when the girls are 2D.

These could quite possibly be the greatest underwear ever created in the history of underwear. More than that,

this may be the ultimate pinnacle in underwear that inspired the invention of underwear to begin with. Years and years ago, a tailor got the idea of creating garments to be worn under your daily clothing because they KNEW that it would someday turn into this… Lucky Star boxer shorts! Kagami or Konata covering my naughty bits? Sold!

Four designs featuring Konata (who is featured on two different boxers), the main quartet and Akira are being offered exclusively through Japanese retailer chara-ani.com starting this summer. Though that does look like American fans are out of luck without a connection in the country. Sadness!

Mixed in the shuffle of Bandai’s title delays revealed this morning, it completely bypassed me that they also revealed some further August release dates which will be of interest to fans. Both the Lucky Star OVA and Sola have finally been given release dates! After almost a year after initial announcements were made about either release by Bandai last year! Yes we get it, suspense is fun. You know what else is fun? Release dates.

For fans of the oddball otaku comedy, Lucky Star, the OVA will be shipping the 43 minute OVA on August 4^th. In Lucky Star OVA, the girls go through a number of new daily escapades including getting the twins to venture into online gaming and long summer days. Sola will be shipping as a complete box set on August 18^th. The Anime Legends collection will contain all thirteen episodes of the television series plus the two subsequent OVAs which were commonly referred to as episodes 14 and 15. Both series are currently available for pre-order through Right Stuf.

During their panel at WonderCon today, Bandai announced that they have licensed the Lucky Star OVA released last fall in Japan. A follow up to the wildly successful parody slice of life TV series, the OVA followed a similar pattern which featured short stories about the characters. The OVA found wide acceptance from fans though there was also a mild taste of disappointment. There were no details regarding a release date revealed but I already have an email out asking for details.

 

After the announcement that the limited edition Lucky Star Vol. 6 was going to be delayed indefinately, it has been confirmed this morning that the release has been outright canceled though the regular release will go out as planned. Bandai’s Director of Marketing Robert Napton said today “”It’s very regrettable — the Limited Editions did not perform up to expectations, therefore, we’ve made the tough decision to eliminate the last volume LE.”

 

Real life kept me from posting these two reviews up in a timely manner but I have sprinted to catch up. Two more reviews have been posted to the site with my thoughts on the hilarious otaku comedy; Lucky Star Vol. 4 and Lucky Star Vol. 5 distributed by Bandai.