VIZ issued a press release a little while ago announcing that those who buy a Death Note tee or DVD at “select” Hot Topic stores will get free tickets to showings of the Death Note live action flick. Hot Topic will also be hosting some signs and other promos for the event.

I haven’t yet seen a list of the participating Hot Topic stores (though admittedly I’m in a bit of a rush, not to mention that slow airport internets are SLOW), but here is Hot Topic’s mention of the plan.

Okay, I ended up intentionally waiting on someone else (who turned out to be ANN) to cover this because I wasn’t at all sure I was translating it right. But apparently the new Gegege no Kitarou film is going to have SIX different versions, one for each region of Japan.

The difference is minor; specifically, the costume that the character Neko Musume (in the lower-right of the image) will wear in a particular scene will be different based on the location. Wacky, no? But very cute, and a very clever idea. Although too much regional adjusting on movies might be a little awkward, a little tidbit like this sounds really fun.

Yes, yes, roundup-tastic– I’m back working on more database stuff for the new site, so a bit less time for the lengthy posts (though there’s always time for more CPM/Libre speculation!).

Anime:
- Man, we do a Spoiler-san for Haruhi on Japanator, and suddenly the Haruhi news just keeps popping up. First the Wii game, and now Canned Dogs reports that details on The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya, aka Haruhi Second Season, are due in the July issue of Newtype. Huzzah!

- A video for the Mashura remake is up.

- This one’s a day or two old now, but I sucked at getting it up (Golden Week makes me lazy!): Zune is going to carry some FUNimation titles, including Afro Samurai and Witchblade.

- Meanwhile, Bandai Visual USA plans to stream Super Robot Wars and Galaxy Angel Rune– just the first episodes –within the next few weeks.

- The Higurashi no Naku Koro ni third season OVA has been confirmed and will start being released this winter. (Via Moon Phase.)

Movies:
- ICv2 has details on the DVD release of Naruto the Movie 2.

- Ain’t It Cool News has a few reader reviews of the Speed Racer film. Here’s another and another and more and more and more…

Games:
- The Wii Fit is a bad, bad person machine. Seriously.

- Meanwhile, Japanator reports on a board game featuring characters from anime romcoms– and Project A-Kon and Dominion Tank Police. Sounds like someone got a little too wacky with their copy of BESM one night…

Misc:
- Various website updates: apparently ADV is now outsourcing its online shop to Right Stuf in yet another cost-cutting move (though FUNimation did it first). Meanwhile, Bandai Entertainment’s temporary site promises a new website at 5pm PST tomorrow, or else a firing.
- And in a final bit of “awww!” news, FUNimation has been visited by a very special VIP: Jay Dunn, a 15-year-old who visited FUNimation with assistance from the Make-a-Wish Foundation. The image above is some of Jay’s art. How’s that for a warm-and-fuzzy way to sign off?

According to Yahoo!JP, Haruo Mizuno’s Hitchcock-inspired suspense film series Siberian Express is going to be remade into an anime by Madhouse and Takashi Shimizu, of The Grudge fame.

The anime doesn’t appear to be related to the manga adaptation that Akita Shoten started running in the bi-monthly Susperia Mystery anthology in 2006, which is currently still running as Siberian Express FINAL…though I can’t find any tankoubon for it. Hmm. But the manga isn’t mentioned in the Yahoo! article, so I’m assuming the two are unrelated.

This is NOT the complete list of theaters that Bandai Entertainment will play Toki wo Kakeru Shoujo/The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, at, but it is the first few: from June 13th through 19th it will play subtitled in Los Angeles (at the ImaginAsian Center) and dubbed in New York City (at the ImaginAsian Theater), and August 29th through September 4th it will play subbed at the Varsity Theater in Seattle, WA.

So, to repeat:

Los Angeles, ImaginAsian Center, June 13-19, SUBBED.
NYC, ImaginAsian Theater, June 13-19, DUBBED.
Seattle, Landmark’s Varsity Theater, August 29 - Sept. 4, SUBBED.

More dates pending!

So! Right Stuf has preorders for the first 9 episodes (on two discs) of Gurren Lagann, Bandai Entertainment’s sub-only release.

Interestingly, they also have a special edition of the bare bones release o_o; It’s unclear what all the features are, but don’t be fooled by the two discs; the regular edition has two as well. It looks like it comes with just a CD, presumably the “Sorairo Days” OP single or something along those lines.

And hey, speaking of Gurren Lagann– the official website has opened on up. It looks like they’re pre-selling movie tickets on May 30th, during which time the first 10,000 purchasers will get a free poster, and again on July 18th, when they’ll give away 10,000 limited-edition illustration anthologies (DO WANT). And the movie, of course, hits theaters September 6th.

Okay, the first time I’d even heard of Neko Rahmen* was when Azureus VUZE got the exclusive rights to air a subbed version of the flash anime adaptation on its ‘net TV program, but now TokyoGraph reports that the 4koma strip is now being developed into a live-action flick.

The film is going to be called Neko Rahmen Taisho and follows the surreal adventures of a cat running a ramen shop. Minoru Kawasaki, director of the ‘93 Silent Mobius live-action flick, among others, will helm the film.

* Okay, Neko Ramen probably makes more sense, but in the official website they romanize it “Rahmen,” and I try to go with the official when I can.

Yeees, Moon Phase reports that a sequel to the live-action Higurashi no Naku Koro ni film is being made.

More will be announced at the Higurashi road show event on May 10th, and the announcement talks about whether the film’s mystery will be made public and to carefully enjoy the new movie.

Over at Topless Robot, Rob has gossip from Uma Thurman stating that a new Kill Bill special edition featuring both movies is in the works– and it’ll contain more anime bits:

“Right now he’s putting the two films together with an intermission with an added anime sequence he had already written,” she said of the ongoing saga of Beatrix Kiddo. “So additional stories are in there, in animation.”

Sweet!

(If you didn’t catch the Streetcar Named Desire reference in the title, you’ll make me cry and feel old. Just sayin’.)

Anyway, VIZ has sent out a press release announcing that they’re screening the slapstick geisha comedy (no, seriously!) Maiko Haaaan!!! in New York, L.A., and…woot, Seattle! Looks like I’ll be making the ol’ 3-hour trek up this May.

The film is in New York right now through the 24th, at the ImaginAsian Theater. In L.A. it’ll screen from May 23rd through the 29th at the ImaginAsian Center, and Seattle will have it from May 2nd-8th. Which luckily happens to be a time I’m NOT travelling anywhere else. Yay!

The film, which was written by Kankuro Kudo (who also wrote VIZ Pictures’ Ping Pong, Media Blasters’(/Tokyo Shock’s) Yaji and Kita: the Midnight Pilgrims, and Takashi Miike’s Zebraman), features a Maiko otaku, obsessed with the apprentice geisha who are so rare these days. He dumps his girlfriend so he can try to find a Maiko to romance, leading the girlfriend to try and become a Maiko and other various hijinks ensue. You can check out a trailer at the film’s official English website.