Posts Tagged ‘strike witches’

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Strike Witches Season 1 Collection Released By: Funimation Released: 3/30/10 Reviewed: 12/27/10 Rated: 17+

In an alternate 1939, the world is fighting against an entirely different enemy. Strange life forms called Neuroi have begun attacking earth leaving most of it in ruin. The only effective means that humans have developed to fight back is a team of teenage girls capable of using magic. Sent into the skies with propeller powered personal leg units, these girls fight the enemy in close range aerial combat. The name of this unit is the 501^th Airborne, also known as the Strike Witches.

The series opens on a young girl named Yoshika who uses healing magic. When a brash military officer named Mio comes to recruit her into the war, Yoshika initially refuses but after learning that she might be able to learn more about her missing father she finally agrees to accompany Mio. Still completely oblivious to being manipulated into fighting the war, Yoshika arrives at the base and meets various other girls from around the world also recruited to fight with her and find her place amongst the unit.

Good and the Bad

I’ve had Strike Witches on my radar for months. I always knew I was going to watch it, I was just never in a hurry to get to it. Finally setting aside some time, I stuck it in and instantly found myself wanting more. This is a series that is not only better than I ever thought it would be, this is a series that is better than it has any right to be.

To put it out there, if you’ve heard anything about this series already it’s probably true. It is a military loli series about girls with guns and no pants. It’s also a series capable completely disarming even the most cynical members of the audience with its capable and moving stories of friendship and loss. At first, watching Strike Witches can be almost disconcerting. The panty shots are quite random but impossible to miss as many come in the form of close ups or flybys. It’s never hidden from the audience and animation studio Gonzo never attempts to be coy with how often they appear. If you don’t believe me, watch the breezy episode in the second half.

Generally when a series gets that kind of description, you’ve pretty much hit the limit for finding any real depth. What makes Strike Witches special is that once you get past the shiny loli surface, there are deeper layers. Layers that pull the audience in with an emotional story about girls fighting together and finding new families after losing their own in the war that they’re trying to end.

As the girls bond closer and Yoshika finds her place among the witches, it becomes easy to forget about everything else. Amongst the girls, there are a variety of characters all featuring their own unique looks and personalities. No matter what character type you might like, there will be someone amongst the witches to catch your attention. For the record, Mina, Charlotte, Francesca and, to some extent, Lynne  ended up being my moe switches. Even if there are some amongst the troop that irritate you to no end (looking at you Yoshika and Perrine), there will always be someone else to make up for it.

What hits me as the most impressive fact about Strike Witches is the amazing amount of detail put in by the staff. Even if you wanted to just pass this off as ‘just another moe’ series, no one can deny the fact that it is at least ‘just another moe’ series that has done some serious homework. While it is never directly talked about all of the various names used are references to real life counterparts (i.e. the Akagi was a real ship used in the Japanese navy in this era). Even the various strike units the girls use are modeled after real planes of the era while the girls themselves are all named after real pilots (some of which are still living; wonder if any of them have watched this?).

Music

Before catching this series, I had no idea that the same man who composed the scores for two series I consider beloved, El Hazard and Petite Princess Yucie, did this one as well. But after 12 episodes, I should’ve figured it out. Another category with completely unexpected quality, the score composed by Hagaoka does a wonderful job of adding an extra layer of emotional weight behind the scenes. In the brighter and darker moments, soft melodies are always present to support all of the characters in their moments of happiness, sadness and fear. Constantly using soft duets, heavier moments are captured by a soft harp and string melody. When Mina looks out the window at night in a moment of weakness (which she likes to do because she’s deliciously angsty), this theme shares her burden and carries an emotional weight of its own.

Dub vs. Sub

While switching between the Japanese and English tracks, I noticed that in some cases that were like night and day with both casts containing performances that made me wish I were listening to the other track. In the English track, for instance, Kira Vincent-Davis delivers a completely flat performance for Mio. Every word is delivered in the same low tone and that rarely has inflection beyond ‘loud’ and ‘louder’. But then again, in the Japanese cast Kaori Nazuka  performs Lynne in a constantly high pitched, annoying whine that is the mirror opposite to Kate Bristol’s gentle, sweet and quiet voice that fits the character much more naturally. No matter how many episodes I watched however, I always found myself happier when I was listening to the Japanese track. While not every voice was dazzling, the performances always sounded much clearer and more natural to the ear.

Extras

Cast commentary featuring ADR Director Scott Sager, Kate Bristol (Lynne) and Cherami Leigh (Yoshika) and clean animations on disc 2.

Overall

I cannot emphasize enough just how much Strike Witches caught me off guard just by being good. In 12 episodes, this series tells a solid stories at a pace that makes hours just completely fly by. Not everyone is going to sit down and see this series as a sweetly told emotional story about girls coming together as a unit but if that’s what you’re looking for I really believe that most anime fans won’t be steered wrong with this one. If you enjoy moe or girls with guns, you owe it to yourself to give this one a chance. This is easily one of the best DVDs of the year and I’m kicking myself for waiting so long.

Alright, finally we’re in the home stretch of this very busy news cycle that Funimation put everyone through today. Saving the best bits for last, Funimation made five license announcements today at their panel at Otakon. Starting with two new summer simulcasts, Funimation revealed today that they will be picking up the “fairy tale parody” series (I use that phrase very loosely and love that even Funimation use the phrase ‘fairy tale-ish’ in their release) Ookami san, the vapid moe harem eroge adaptation Blessed of Campanella (Shukufuku no Campanella) and the popular fan service series Strike Witches 2. Honestly all three of these are kind of a surprise to me; Strike Witches 2 because it started as a Crunchyroll simulcast earlier this month and the other two because they really aren’t that good. Regardless, all three series will begin streaming on the official Funimation site in August with DVD releases all planned for 2011.

In Hetalia news, Funimation also announced today that they have picked up the latest season of the popular series Hetalia World Party along with the movie Hetalia Paint it White. Like the previous announcements, the latest season will begin streaming on their official site in August and the movie will see a DVD release in 2011.

Finally, Funimation licensed two additional movies. The first one is the one that fans have probably long suspected would be coming but here it is anyway: Yes Virginia, Funimation is releasing the second of the four Evangelion remakes Evangelion 2.0: You Can [Not] Advance. The movie originally opened in 2009 in Japan and will finally be getting its North American DVD and Blu ray release in 2011.

Last from Funimation is the one that completely took me by surprise. Released in 2009, the family fantasy movie won the Best Animated Film category at the Japanese Academy Awards and features a family coming together to fight off a real world crisis that occurs after a teen accidently brings down a worldwide social networking site. That’s right, Funimation has picked up Summer Wars. You can tell them thank you for that in all the usual places.

And that does it for today. It’s almost 1am and I’m exhausted! If there are any incoherent rambles, typos or just plain weird passages that you notice I haven’t fixed feel free to point them out and I’ll fix them in the morning. For now though Funimation, thanks for an exhausting night of catch up. For everyone else, all the press releases are below the cut and as always it’s been real, it’s been fun, it’s been… zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

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After the first week, it’s easy to understand why everyone would lose a little excitement for the rest of the month but come on everyone, there’s still so much good stuff to look forward to! Featured in the last two weeks of the summer season are the returns of Strike Witches and Sengoku Basara and the much talked about premiere of Shiki. How can you not be excited? Asobi ni Iku Yo? Alright yeah good point.

So here it is, the last installment of the summer season preview! I know that in part 1 I said I’d be splitting this into three parts but I’d rather just get this all done in one swoop.

 

Strike Witches 2
Studio: AIC
Genre: Moe/Fanservice Action
Adapted From: Manga, OVA, First Season… and here we are 
Premiere Date: 7/7
Trailer 

 

First Impression: Didn’t want to watch season 1, feeling much the same for season 2 right now.

 

The girls who refuse to wear pants while flying around the sky are back for a second season. All pants should beware.

 

Why You Should Care:

- This is the third series that AIC is producing this season (there are four total if you count Asobi ni Iku yo from AIC+). Extra notably, this is also the series that was originally scheduled to be produced by Gonzo before they were replaced with AIC.

- Other than that, it appears that things are going to stay roughly the same with the cast and crew.

- If you had this one on your summer simulcast radar congratulations; Crunchyroll recently announced this one for their lineup.

 

Shiki
Corpse Demon
Studio: Daume
Genre: Horror
Adapted From: Manga 
Premiere Date: 7/8
Trailer

 

First Impression: Horror series haven’t been getting very far this year but this looks interesting.

 

A remote mountain village with 1300 residents are starting to drop like flies shortly after a family moves into an abandoned mansion. After doing some investigating the village realizes that they are under attack by vampires.

 

Why You Should Care:

- While he made a small guest appearance in the Tono no Issho OVA, this is the time pop singer Gackt has voiced a lead anime character.

- Not surprisingly, Shiki has already been announced for simulcast by Funimation. The series will be airing during Fuji TV’s Noitamina block which Funimation started simulcasting in the spring with The Tatami Galaxy and House of Five Leaves.

 

Asobi ni Iku yo
Let’s Go Play
Studio: AIC+
Genre: Sci-Fi Romantic Comedy
Adapted From: Light Novel 
Premiere Date: 7/10
Trailer

 

First Impression: I’m not sure you could drink this series watchable.

 

While attending a memorial service, a boy named Koi meets a mysterious girl with cat ears named Eris who claims to be an alien. Now Koi’s life involves living with a strange alien and protecting her from the government agents and his scheming best friend who want to take her away.

 

Why You Should Care:

- I’ll admit it, this is a tough one.

 

Sengoku Basara 2
Studio: Production I.G
Genre: Historic Action
Adapted From: Video Game
Premiere Date: 7/11

 

First Impression: As Funimation put it, the manliest manly anime ever.

 

The series that re-imagines famous figures from Japanese history as pizza eating shonen warriors (the non-turtle kind) returns for a second season.

 

Why You Should Care:

- Replacing popular Japanese rock band led by Takanori Nishikawa, Abingdon Boys School (Darker than Black, Soul Eater, Tokyo Magnitude 8.0), for the OP will be T.M. Revolution (aka Takanori Nishikawa).

- The cast remains the same for this season but a new director, Kazuya Nomura, will be leading them.

- Yup, Funimation will be simulcasting this one too.

 

OVAs/OADs are notoriously hard to get any sort of information on before their release. Consider below a rough primer for what’s coming up but keep in mind details might be sketchy in places.

 

Kure-nai OAD
Studio: Brains Base
Premiere Date: 7/2

In the original manga and anime series (which aired in 2008), a teenage boy works for a woman doing odd jobs that often involve putting his life on the line. On one occasion, his mission is to protect a young girl who is being hidden from her family for her own safety.

 

Why You Should Care:

- New character designs (that some fans are saying aren’t actually an upgrade)

 

Shin Koihime Musou
Studio: Dogakobo
Premiere Date: 7/7

In the newest release, the lady warriors return for a story set in St. Francesca Academy. After a fierce battle between students, everyone visits a southern island to unwind.

Why You Should Care:

- “visits a southern island” means this is going to be one long beach episode filled with fan service and bikinis.

 

Black Lagoon: Roberta’s Blood Trail
Studio: Madhouse
Premiere Date: 7/17

The long awaited 3rd season takes the form of a 5 episode OVA focusing on warrior maid, Roberta.

Why You Should Care:

- Funimation wasted no time with this one so count this as licensed and set for release in the US next year.

 

 

Hen Zemi
Abnormal Physiology Seminar
Studio: XEBEC
Premiere Date: 7/23
Trailer

 

Based on the manga, the comedy series focuses on Nanko Mutsutaka who has been placed in an Abnormal Physiology class filled with weird students despite being fairly ordinary herself.

 

Why You Should Care:

- A comedy from the director of Hidamari Sketch and the studio that brought you Heroic Age, Kanokon and Shuffle.

 

Aki Sora Yume no Naka
Studio: Hoods Entertainment
Premiere Date: 7/30
Trailer

 

After receiving an OAD earlier this year, Aki Sora returns in an OVA telling the story of a forbidden relationship between siblings and their quest to keep it a secret.

 

Why You Should Care:

 

- Very ecchi in content (one of the trailers for this release was a 30 second sex scene with a voice over) so take that for what its worth.

- I didn’t get into the manga series but the OAD released earlier this year was a surprisingly enjoyable and well done release.

 

 

Queen’s Blade: Utsukushiki Toushi-tachi
Studio: ARMS
Premiere Date: 8/25

 

The warriors of Queen’s Blade return though no information is available on what they’ll be doing besides fighting.

 

Why You Should Care:

 

- Media Blasters has already picked up the TV series, could an OVA license be far behind?

- The ED theme features all 19 characters!

 

Sora no Otoshimono OAD
Premiere Date: 9/9

The super dangerous 14th episode of the TV series that was deemed too risqué to even be released as a DVD extra finally gets to see its release along with Vol. 9 of the manga.

 

Why You Should Care:

- Another one where the TV series has already been picked up (Funimation currently has it) so perhaps we’ll see it stateside eventually?

- The title of this bonus episode roughly translates to "Here and peep locker room girls!" And that sound you hear is my head banging against my desk as I think about how many people probably already have this pre-ordered.

- So apparently this episode was too hot for TV and too risky to be included as an extra on the DVD but it’s just safe enough to be released as a limited edition manga extra? Whatever.

 

And that’s it for the summer season! Be sure to keep checking back over the next couple of weeks as I make my way through as many of the new premieres as I can before the end of the month/end of the season wrap up post. So what’s been good for you so far this season? Anything coming up that you’re really excited about?

Crunchyroll announced its third summer simulcast this morning and it’s a big one: Strike Witches is returning to the streaming site with the premiere of Strike Witches 2 later today! In the press release, Crunchyroll announced that the series will premiere at 4pm Pacific today and will be made available in the United States and the rest of North America, South America, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, the Middle East, and Africa. The first season streamed on Crunchyroll when it premiered in 2008 but has since shifted to the Funimation video site who also released the first season on DVD earlier this year.

Interestingly, this simulcast breaks Crunchyroll’s streak of simulcasts being made available in the UK. Out of their last 10 announced simulcasts, this is the first to be specifically excluded from the UK and Western Europe after Occult Academy, Tono to Issho, Giant Killing, Bleach, LilPri, Uraboku and Heroman were all made available to our friends across the Atlantic (though I’m not 100% on if Shin Koihime Musou or Demon King Daimao are also unavailable in the UK).

While there a ton of fans who I’m sure are going to be thrilled with being able to watch Strike Witches 2 it’s a shame that UK fans will have to miss out. Maybe you can ask your friends in Africa how it looks after it airs?

Full press release below the cut

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Today, an announcement went up on Japanese site Nico Nico Douga which has taken Japan one step further into the dangerous waters of paid online content. Throughout the summer, six series will be offered for free on the streaming site for free after their TV premieres: Strike Witches 2, Seikirei –Pure Engagement-, Shukufuku no Campanella, Kuroshitsuji II, High School of the Dead and Sengoku Basara 2. After 1 week the episodes will then become paid content for fans to view.

While slow to jump on the band wagon, it’s been fun to watch Japan slowly test the waters of streaming anime the last few months. While there were online exclusive series before, Hetalia is the first high profile series to be successful online before Bakemonogatari upped the bar with their exclusive episodes. It wasn’t until recently though that Japan finally started experimenting with offering episodes online for a fee (naturally it was Seikon no Qwaser that broke that mold). Which I always found odd, Japan slowly became OK with letting American companies offer their content online years ago but are only just now doing it in Japan? I believe the term, ass backwards is appropriate here but moving on.

Admittedly, this isn’t going to directly impact many of your lives (unless you speak fluent Japanese and have an account on NicoNico). But for a country like Japan that has been scared to death of moving onto the internet this is a huge step forward. We’ll have to wait and see how fans in Japan take to the new system but that’s going to be the easy part. Who knows though? If this ends up working out pretty soon we might even get to see something really wild like a worldwide subtitled online premiere… and while I’m dreaming, I’d really like to be able to click my heels together and be at Anime Expo right now.

<Via krnerdnews>

Update: It was pointed out to me on Twitter that TBS in Japan actually offered paid episodes of K-ON online before Seikon no Qwaser. I believe this would make it the earliest example of paid TV anime being offered online in Japan but if I find another, earlier example I’ll be sure to post it up.

If you couldn’t tell by every blogger and their uncle posting summer previews this week (mine is… on its way), the new anime season is just about ready to begin. Every quarter, Dengeki Magazine polls its readers to find out which shows for the upcoming season they are expecting to be the best. Keeping in mind how moe friendly readers of this magazine tend to be, it should be no surprise that taking the top two spots are AIC produced Strike Witches 2 and Ookami-san to Shichinin no Makamatchi (Mr. Wolf and His Seven Friends) from J.C. Staff. The rest of the list rounds out like this:

1. Strike Witches 2
2. Ookami-san to Shichinin no Nakamatachi
3. Sengoku Basara Ni
4. Nurarihyon no Mago
5. Amagami SS
6. Digimon Xros Wars
7. Sekirei ~Pure Engagement~
8. Kuroshitsuji II
9. Seitokai Yakuindomo
10. Shiki
11. Mitsudomoe
12. Densetsu no Yuusha no Densetsu
13. High School of the Dead
14. Asobi ni Iku yo!
15. Seikimatsu Occult Gakuin
16. Shukufuku no Campanella

I’m actually kind of surprised that viewers are expecting so little from titles like High School of the Dead (Madhouse) and Shukufuku no Campanella (the debut production for animation studio Bridge… which may explain things a bit) and yet so much from the romance title from people with no romance experience, Amagami SS (ZEXCS).

Simultaneously to this poll, readers were also asked to name which spring series they liked the most. As opposed to the summer list, this list contained a few surprises (numbers in parenthesis represent previous expectation rank) beyond the battle of the exclamation marks in the top 3:

1. (2) Angel Beats!
2. (1) K-ON!!
3. (3) Working!!
4. (6) Ookiku Furikabutte ~Natsu no Taikai Hen~
5. (3) Durarara!!
6. (4) Arakawa Under the Bridge
7. (18) Yojouhan Shinwa Taikei (The Tatami Galaxy)
8. (17) Ichiban Ushiro no Daimaou
9. (5) Mayoi Neko Overrun!
10.(20) Kaichou wa Maid-sama!

Three series ended up over performing jumping up as many as 11 ranks while Kaichou wa Maid sama (which is still criminally underrated in my opinion) managed to dark horse their way in jumping up to rank 10. Not quite as surprising is the dominance of Angel Beats and K-ON!! (though does the switching of positions indicate a slow evolution in viewer preferences?) and the disappointment of Mayoi Neko Overrun. Because it was TERRIBLE.

<Via MyAnimeList>

It’s been awhile since I’ve been able to post two Trailer Roundups in the same week but got to love that new season feeling. New series, new footage, girls who refuse to wear pants, new siblings engaged in forbidden relationships… ah, it’s definitely summer again.

Three new trailers have gone up for the upcoming Aki Sora OVA series produced by Hoods Entertainment. The manga series about two siblings in a secret, forbidden love affair received an OAD earlier this year and is now ready to go much more in-depth with its story on July 25th before concluding with the second volume on October 6th.

All of the new trailers are only around 30 seconds long but you’d be surprised how much NSFW content you can squeeze into only half a minute (the second trailer is one long sex scene). Unfortunately I can’t post any of the trailers here directly but they can all be found on the official website. Oddly, I enjoyed the OAD that was released earlier this year but then I tried to read the manga and got bored very quickly. Anyone else given this series a chance?

Also posted to the official website this week is a new trailer for the upcoming AIC+ fan service series, Asobi ni Ikuyo. The hero of this series is a teen named Kio who meets a girl during a memorial service who claims to be an alien but looks like Holo if she were a cat. The series premieres on July 10th and already makes me want tell AIC to stop with the freakin cat girl series! We get it already!

Finally, a new trailer has been posted for the highly anticipated (well, by some of you at least) sequel, Strike Witches 2. As previously reported, the animation this season is being taken over by AIC after Gonzo was *cough* replaced. Normally I would make a crack about another cat girl showing up just because but I’m pretty sure they’ve already got that pretty well covered. The war on pants resumes on July 10th.

Wait, Rojas puts what into his hair?

Today Funimation held their second virtual convention panel via Ustream. Much like last time, it mostly featured Funimation brand manager Adam Sheehan answering questions that had been submitted by fans. Unlike last time however it also featured special guests, merchandise plugs and the hair of Rojas (which is apparently styled with glue and the blood of children).

Lasting a good 50 minutes or so there was a lot of chatter but amidst it all there were a few announcements made! Instead of making you wade through all of that though, here are all the highlights from FuniCon 2.0:

Strike Witches:

The full dub cast for Strike Witches was finally made public during the panel:

Yoshika: Cherami Leigh
Mio: Kira Vincent Davis
Gertrud: Stephanie Sheh
Charlotte: Jamie Marchi
Francesca: Tina Nishimura
Erica: Luci Christian
Lynette: Kate Bristol
Perrine: Jad Saxton
Sanya: Jennifer Forrester
Eila: Caitlin Glass
Mina: Anastasia Munoz

The first 12 episode season will premiere in one box set on March 30^th 2010 and the first official trailer has gone up on the official English site. While many names in the list are familiar, it’s unusual to see Stephanie Sheh listed in a Texas dub.

Q&A:

Shikabane Hime will be getting a DVD release in summer 2010. When Funimation announced the license earlier this year, they actually did not have the DVD rights yet. Now that the series has been released on DVD in Japan, production can move forward here in the states.

Also being released in March will be the first newly dubbed Initial D release released by Funimation. The first release will be the never before dubbed Stage 3 movie with other releases set to follow.

The last noteworthy announcement of the panel came in the closing moments when Sheehan and Rojas confirmed that Funimation will be doing another license spree to close out 2009. This year it is being referred to as a ‘rollout riot’ and details will be posted to the Funimation blog early next week (after which it will be summarized and likely teased a little here). Hm, wonder if they got my letter about what I wanted to see licensed?

<Image Source>

But we don’t wanna get to know Uncle AIC…

So how was everyone’s break? Lucky for some who are still enjoying their extended weekends but break time is over for the rest of us and that means back to the grind. Lucky for me, this is what I get to look forward to after finishing a long day braving Black Friday crowds.

So as recently as April of this year, Strike Witches 2-ki (season two) was absolutely green lit to go with Gonzo as the helm. Fans were happy and then it just kind of disappeared from the news. Good news, later this week Nyantype magazine will report that Strike Witches season two is still going to be made so no need to fret there. Bad news is that the article will also report that AIC is replacing Gonzo as producer of the series.

For the most part, it doesn’t seem as though this is going to affect fans all that much. Most of the staff are returning for the second season including the director/anime character designer Kazuhiro Takamura and AIC is not entirely unfamiliar with furry or loli or military (Nyan Koi, Tenchi Muyo, Virgin Fleet… ug, actually let’s forget about the last one).

I think the real story is what this means for the future of Gonzo. Besides Strike Witches, I honestly can’t think of any other major franchises that Gonzo had left to hold onto. Some (NSFW) are already calling Gonzo a ship that is close to sunk but only Gonzo and their parent GDH know for sure. So… if anyone from either place happens to be reading and wants to shoot me an email so that I can tell everyone else. I’m all ears. Easy to reach too.

<Via ANN>

So I’m back with another wrap up of any news that I missed earlier this week. Surprisingly I’ve been able to keep up with things fairly well lately and so I hope you’ll all stick around. I’ve been toying around with some new ideas for the site so you may see some changes, additions or updates to the layout in the coming weeks. I’ll leave it at that for now though and let you know that highlights from this column include yaoi, a short rant on anyone who complained to Funimation and a Storm Trooper with breasts.

HIGHS

Sex Pistols Release Loaded With Extras: For those of you who are looking to the upcoming Sex Pistols release for your BL needs, the official website gave out new reasons to be excited. Shipping on March 26^th, the first OVA will include a mountain of extras including: an art box illustrated by series author Tarako Kotobuki, a video extra which will include an entirely original character named Hoikushi, an OP/ED single CD and an illustrated art book from Kotobuki. Also tentatively set to be included is the school ID card of series hero Shiro Fujiwara and two “candid” photos of Yonekuni Madarame. The second of two releases will ship on June 25^th with more extras that fall along the same lines as the first. No word on how much all of this will set back the average otaku on the street but I’d start saving pennies now regardless. A PV for the series is already streaming from the official site.

New Anime Announced: With the fall season now well underway (full preview guide available here which is still being continually updated with my early impressions of each series), news about new anime has been slim. A few new titles did hit the news wires this week though starting with a new movie based on the novel Loups-Garous being produced by Bandai Visual. The anime movie will be out in 2010 with animation produced by Production I.G. and Transart, music from SCANDAL and Junichi Fujisaku as director.

Also announced this week was as OVA for the comedy manga Boku, Otaryman being released in January 2010, three anime shorts based on the Katekyo Hitman Reborn! airing this month in Japan based on the Kaibutsu Tsugai Tsuna side-story and a CG animated TV series based on the Kokekko-san picture books which will premiere in December. 

Bakemonogatari Beats K-ON Sales: Despite all the crap SHAFT took over the summer for airing an anime that wasn’t actually finished, Bakemonogatari is still a hit with fans. In its first week, sales of the DVD and Blu ray sales in Japan reached a very impressive 44,000 copies in its first week leaving the previous record set by K-ON earlier this year (41,000). The first volume is available now on DVD or Blu ray from YesAsia.com.

Broken Blade to be Six Films: The official website for the upcoming Broken Blade has revealed that the anime version is going to be a movie. Actually, it’s going to be more than a movie. It’s going to be six movies with the first one getting released in 2010. Wow… I can only imagine what kind of scope they are trying to pull off with six separate movies for a series that has only been running for two years. Anyone read the manga of this one?

LAME

Funimation Streams Uncensored Strikes Witches… Then Stops: Let’s be clear, it is NOT lame that Funimation showed major balls by streaming the uncensored version of Strike Witches. Despite liberals being the majority, the US is still a relatively conservative nation and I was surprised that Funi put the loli series out for everyone to see. What IS lame however are the prudes who complained to Funi about it causing them to replace the free streams with the censored version. Did you just glaze over the warnings about mature content or just have a notion that ‘mature’ might have just been one of those silly buzz words that occasionally gets thrown around?

Yes, the uncensored versions are still available on the pay to play/VOD system and the uncensored versions will be on the DVDs. But seriously, if you were one of the few who complained about the uncensored version: get over it. It’s a loli fan service series, if that sort of content bothers you there are dozens of other series you could have watched instead. But alas, if only the rest of us were as enlightened as you.

Don’t want to rant so I’ll be quickly fair; probably better in the long run for Funi to play it safe but it irks me that it has to be that way.

Moero Downhill Night Delayed: The latest eroge to be localized by JAST USA had its release pushed back a week due to a delay in the packing and shipping of the game. For those unfamiliar with the game, it follows a delivery driver who gets pulled into the dangerous world of street racing by a girl named Michi. So don’t worry if you’ve been looking forward to this one, it’s only going to be a week delay. It’s still available for preorder from J-List (NSFW) and Right Stuf and my early review is here.

Bandai Delays: You know the drill by now, Bandai has delayed some more releases:

Code Geass R2 Set 2: Moved from 10/20 to 11/17
Toward the Terra [Anime Legends]: 10/6 to 11/17
My Otome [Anime Legends]: 10/6 to 11/17
Mobile Suit Gundam 00 Part 3: 11/3 to 11/17 (this includes the special edition)
Hayate the Combat Butler Part 3: 11/3 to 11/17

Also announced was Hayate the Combat Butler Part 4 solicited for 1/5/10.

STUFF YOU DIDN’T KNOW YOU NEEDED UNTIL NOW

Eki Golf: I waited all week for some kind of opportunity to use this link as a joke. After it came up in my Google Reader, I knew that if I waited long enough something would come up to make this the perfect punch line to a joke. Unfortunately no one did anything stupid enough this week to make me want to hit them with golf balls (well, in the anime world at least). Either way, earlier this week Japanator posted an awesome flash game where the whole point is to hit people with golf balls. I’m not sure how many hours of my life I lost this week thanks to this game but I’m sure it’s more than enough to account for this being a longer than average Highs and Lames. Maybe I should stand outside and wait for someone to hit me with a golf ball as punishment. Bad joke? Yeah, it was worth a shot. Oooh, bad pun.

Oppai Storm Trooper Mousepad:  It’s already sold out but hopefully Mega Tokyo will restock the official Danny Choo Storm Trooper in Tokyo Oppai Mousepad. Truly this man is a genius.