Posts Tagged ‘sailor moon’

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

So a few nights ago on Twitter, a message started circulating that a user on YouTube had his video featuring Sailor Moon footage removed. Yeah, whoop de doo right? Well, according to this person the reason why the video had been removed was because of a copyright claim by Funimation. Naturally (because this IS the internet after all) this was followed by rampant speculation and rumor mongering that Funimation had finally rescued the classic and beloved magical girl series from obscurity.

I, for one, am a proud member of the Sailor Moon generation of anime fans so this intrigued me quite a bit. I was never able to afford the DVDs upon their original release and still can’t as an adult because of the extraordinary collector prices it’s fetching now (Used copies of the Season 1 Box Set released by ADV sells for over $100 on Amazon). I’m not one to put stock in Twitter rumors however and so I went straight to the source and asked, does Funimation have Sailor Moon? Short answer: No.

In an email from Funimation rep Jackie Smith, I was told very firmly that while Sailor Moon is ‘”one of the most popular anime series of all time and most U.S. licensing companies would love to add it to their respective libraries”, Funimation doesn’t have it.

Sorry everyone, guess we’re going to have to wait for another day to fight evil by moonlight. But don’t worry, hopefully someday there will be a company always ready for a real fight who will be able to acquire the one named Sailor Moon.

Updated: Here’s the full quote from Jackie Smith at Funimation that should’ve been included with the original posting of the article:

Updated Again to make the quote readable

Yes, there is no doubt Sailor Moon is one of the most popular anime series of all time and most U.S. licensing companies would love to add it to their respective libraries, but we do not have it.

Other than a couple of larger than average announcements, this has been a fairly quiet week for anime news. Only two new anime were announced this week but another was finally confirmed to exist so it wasn’t a terrible week at least.

Star Driver -Kagayaki no Tact: The first studio to make a new announcement this week was Studio Bones who have revealed a brand new original robot story. The new series will be titled Star Driver -Kagayaki no Tact and feature a boy named Tact who pilots a robot named Tauburn. No details were given about a release date but the crew attached so far includes Takuya Igarashi (Ouran High School Host Club, Sailor Stars, Soul Eater) as director, Yoji Enokido (FLCL, Neon Genesis Evangelion [TV], Sailor Moon S) writing the script, Ito Yoshiyuki doing character designs and Kosaki Satoru (Bakemonogatari, Lucky Star, Kannagi) composing the music. – A boy pilots pilots a giant robot; wow that sounds… exactly like hundreds of other series. Still, two former Sailor Moon staffers doing a giant mech series? I’m intrigued.

Crackdown 2: It was announced this week that four special comedy anime episodes will be produced by Gonzo for the upcoming game, Crackdown 2 from Microsoft. The game centers on a battle machine named Agent who has been sent into Pacific City to take out all the gangs. The episodes will be directed by Takahiro Yoshimatsu (Trigun, Shingu: Secret of the Stellar Wars, Slayers Great, Slayers Return). – You have got to love how hard Gonzo has been fighting this year. While the popular rumor is that the studio is still circling the drain, they sure are putting up a fight along the way.

To aru Majutsu no Index Returns: Originally rumored in an earlier Catch Up post, it’s now been confirmed that the action series To aru Majutsu no Index will be getting a second season. There was no official release date announced but a new PSP fighting game will be released this winter so I’m going to go out on a limb and say the anime will be released around that time. – Hopefully there will be a little less Touma and a little more Index, Koeme, Misaka and Kuroko this time around.

Wrapping things up this week, Japan has decided to take a little piece of Anime Expo away. Why? Just to bother you I’d imagine.

Japan Takes Away Black Lagoon AX World Premiere: Alright, ‘take away’ is a really strong phrase but it’s certainly not exactly exclusive anymore. The official website for the new Black Lagoon: Roberta’s Blood Trail OVA series has announced that the first episode will be getting TV premieres on various stations between June 26th-29th, a week before the California convention. The episode will be edited for television and so the screening at AX will still be the first US, uncut premiere but still, they couldn’t just wait until the same weekend so that US fans could feel just a little special?

Recently over at 2ch, users created a new thread in order to decide on the most unforgivable acts in anime history. Naturally the first reply was to nominate the Nagi-sama non virgin scandal from last year. Luckily people who actually have a brain ignored that answer and started submitting some interesting choices:

~ Gurren Lagann Episode 4

~ Nice Boat School Days Finale

~ Katsukawa Katsushi sues Nippon TV, Tatsunoko Pro and Kuri Ippei for allegedly plagiarizing character designs.

~ Endless Eight (naturally)

~ The 17^th episode of Ronin Warriors is accidently aired two weeks in a row causing the series to be shortened by one episode.

~ Hetalia forced off air by Korean protests (yeah, that was pretty lame)

I think my favorites are the suggestions that the mere existence of certain series is a crime against anime humanity. Some of the unlucky series to get that honor included Idolmaster, Final Fantasy: Spirits Within (wow really? It was a bad movie but an unforgivable act?), Rebirth of Buddah and Minami ke: Okawari. But really, if we’re going to be over dramatic and hyperbolic about this let’s really go for it.

So what do you think are the most unforgivable acts in anime history? For me, Geneon taking their ball and going home in 2007 is one of my big ones. Most of 2009 for Kyoto Animation and Kadokawa still bugs me (Yes, I understand the whole marketing thing but still… pain in the ass!). Then I think I would top off the list with the existence of Debutante Detective Corps, Sailor Moon Super S and the lack of a Sailor Stars or Higurashi: Kai license and a second season for Princess Nine.

<Via Welcome Datacomp>

A lot has happened in the last week: Astro Boy has officially bombed in US theaters and the new fall season continues to occupy the minds of otaku all over the world. Still, I press forward and attempt to get the site looking the best that I can. I know I keep teasing everyone with promises of new additions to the site and they are coming but I’m thinking I might unveil everything gradually over the next few weeks instead of all at once. Regardless, it’s a new month and at the very least my list of content to add is huge. Hope I can get through it all before the end of the month!

HIGHS

Tales of the Abyss Gets Special Fan Disc: A special fan disc will be released on December 22^nd for the series Tales of the Abyss in Japan. The disc includes a bunch of extras aimed at the more diehard members of the fan base such as two anime skits focusing on Jade becoming a doctor and Tear dressing up as a maid. Other extras include a discussion of the franchise with the cast and answers to questions submitted on the main site.

Aoi Bungaku Gets Movie: One of the few series from the fall season that I haven’t checked out yet, Aoi Bungaku has been getting its own share of talk from fans. I mean, not enough to make it a major hit as far as I can see but obviously enough to get a movie deal. The movie, which premieres in Japan on December 12^th, will re-edit the four episodes based on No Longer Human by Osamu Dazai into a feature length movie and include special ‘Director’s Cut’ animation.

Weiss Survive Collaborating With Nanoha and Fate/Stay Night? : Most of this announcement centers on the news of a second season of Weiss Survive. The card battle anime ran earlier this year as a tutorial on how to play the game and has apparently done well enough to warrant a second season with a brand new character. What strikes me as odd in this news is the last sentence though: “A collaboration with Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha StrikerS and Fate/stay Night anime and game properties has also been green-lit.” How exactly are these three properties going to be brought together? I have no idea but I know that my curiosity is piqued.

Ponyo Ships on March 2^nd: If you didn’t catch in theaters (that includes me because I couldn’t be bothered to drive all the way to Portland), the North American DVD and Blu ray release will ship on March 2^nd. The DVD is also scheduled to include a limited two disc set complete with plushy Ponyo doll. Very cute!

New Tamayura OVA Details: New details emerged regarding the upcoming Tamayura OVA scheduled for released in 2010. Directed by Junichi Sato (Aria, Kaleido Star, Sailor Moon, Umi Monogatari), the release is being billed as Sato’s third ‘healing’ anime and will feature animation created by Hal Film Maker (who worked with Sato on Aria and Princess Tutu). The story is an original creation from Sato and follows a girl living near the sea with a penchant for photography. Sounds interesting but honestly, the first two ‘healing’ anime series released by Sato failed to impress me so I doubt this one will either.

LAMES

My Favorite Director Attending PMX: Pacific Media Expo announced last week that one of their special guests will be anime director Shinichiro ‘Nabeshin’ Watanabe (Excel Saga, Puni Puni Poemy, The Wallflower, Cowboy Bebop). The event takes place November 6-8 in Los Angeles at the Hilton LA Airport location. So, why is an appearance from one of my favorite anime directors being listed in the lame section? Because I’m not going to be there! Any attendees want to get an autograph for me? ^_^;;

Original Sailor Moon Cast Reunites: As many of you know, I am a product of the Sailor Moon generation so when this news came up, it filled me with a small amount of glee. On December 6^th, Kotono Mitsuishi (Sailor Moon), Aya Hisakawa (Sailor Mercury), Michie Tomizawa (Sailor Mars), Rica Fukami (Sailor Venus) and Emi Shinohara (Sailor Jupiter) will be brought together in Tokyo to share their memories about recording the series in the 90′s while also showing favorite episodes as chosen by fans to celebrate the 20^th anniversary of the franchise. It’s worth noting here that the series didn’t actually start until 1992 which means this is only the 17^th anniversary but with Toei pushing a DVD re-issue I’m guessing that means we’re ignoring that for now. Why is this lame? Once again… because I’m not going to be there!

STUFF YOU DIDN’T KNOW YOU NEEDED

Shower Poster: I’ve made fun of waterproof posters in the past; this takes things in a whole new direction though. Are you single but still want to have fun, sexy shower time with someone special? Well, I can’t help you entirely with that but how about I meet you halfway with this? A new waterproof poster is on its way from Max Factory but this one is different from others as this one is specifically meant to go in the shower with you. Featuring Izumi from the upcoming eroge Sekirara, all you gotta do is add a bit of hot water and voila… instant sexy, fun shower time! Not entirely sure if this is going to be getting a wide release or if it is going to be packaged with the game but either way the future is now!

Over the years, I’ve watched quite a few series that involve fight sequences. No matter how long I’ve been watching though, my inner fanboy is always going to think that part of what makes an anime fight sequence so cool are the sometimes insultingly long special power attacks. Sometimes these attacks end up being so amazing that you know that they’re going to be talked about for years to come (I still love Hiei’s Dragon of Darkness Flame attack from Yu Yu Hakusho). Then there are the ones that make you wish the villain would kill the one wielding the power just to make sure they never try to use it again. We’ve all seen some pretty classic examples of those and I’ve compiled a list of some of my favorites.

5) ‘Pink Sugar Heart Attack!’ as used by Chibi Usa in Sailor Moon S: I remember very clearly when I watched the S series on Cartoon Network back in high school. I also remember being introduced to Chibi Usa and having a deep hatred of her. She’s annoying on almost every level and as soon as I saw her attempt this attack, I knew it was fated to always remain that way. It’s bad enough that one of the first times she tries to use this attack it ends up falling short and just kind of piddles onto the ground. But even when it does hit it doesn’t actually do anything but annoy the villain!

4) ‘Power to Turn Trash into Trees’ as used by Ueki in Law of Ueki: To be fair, my first instinct was to just make this entire series into an entry for this list. But then I remembered some of the cooler powers chosen by the characters such as Ringo’s ‘Power to Turn Beads into Bombs’ and decided to just pick on Ueki. I will grant one point right away; the staff behind this series does a phenomenal job of finding more and more inventive ways for Ueki to use this power but it’s still just a very dumb power. Right in line with his character but there was really no better way to phrase that power? ‘Power to Turn Garbage into Plants’? No? Oh well.

3) Tripping People with Witchcraft as seen in Episode 1 of Witch Hunter Robin: I tried to find the name of this witch because I desperately wanted to mock him in horrible ways by name but alas, I can mock without it. Ok… so this guy is a witch. With you so far He has found a way to manipulate his witchcraft into giving him some vague powers of telekinesis. That actually sounds kind of cool Which he then uses to trip the people who are trying to capture him. It would be far too easy to actually, you know… use the power to attack them so he’ll just trip them. Maybe they’ll just get so frustrated that they’ll leave on their own? Witch Hunter Robin is another series that I feel a strong, unapologetic dislike for various reasons; it’s not my fault that many of them resemble this one.  

2) Throwing Fairies as used by Orihime in Bleach: I may get some heat for this one but really, no one can blame me. Orihime was my favorite character in Bleach up until that point. It’s bothersome enough that Orihime is given a power that involves her throwing magic fairies but the fact that one is a gruff sass talker just loses me completely.

1) Star Gentle Uterus as used by Kou Taiki/Sailor Star Maker in Sailor Stars: I know it’s a little unfair to pick on Sailor Moon twice in one list but this one absolutely needed to be included in the list. Arguably one of the best in the franchise, Sailor Stars did suffer from an insane amount of bad naming. Sailor Lead Crow and Sailor Aluminum Siren aside though, this one wins hands down. It’s not a bad attack in the least, it’s exactly what you would expect a Sailor Moon attack sequence to look like. The name however makes me believe that there are others out there like me. Those who sat glued to their screen until they heard that and had to stop for a few seconds to process it.

So there are mine, what are your favorite ‘terrible’ attack sequences or special powers?