Anime:
- Above is the newest Gurren Lagann Parallel Works video, to the lovely tune of “Boin vs Boin.” And yes, there does appear to be a Haruhi reference at 2:15. And don’t forget that you can check it out on the official website, too.

- The fifth Kodomo no Jikan DVD is going to include an OVA episode, according to AnimeNation.

- Anime on DVD reports that Right Stuf is going to announce two licenses at Anime Expo, and there are some mysterious hints– “The Dark Lord’s Binge continues with this one, which is looking good.” “Wow.. it’s a title that will be great for us! Will it be in time?” “A new Paradise with this title, finished and waiting for materials…” “And if this last thing goes through, everyone will cheer. Hopefully my hard work will pay off.” Any guesses?

- Aaaand ANN has word that Stone Bridge Press is going to publish a new book about Satoshi Kon titled Satoshi Kon: The Illusionist.

- According to TokyoGraph, Tomomo Kasai, of the jpop girlband AKB48, is going to have a small roll in the Antique Bakery anime, as the vapid daughter of the equally vapid Chikage, the sunglasses-wearing “bodyguard” of the lead character.

- Oh, and Anime on DVD just posted some recent soliciations from ADV, for those of you who are soooo positive that the company is shutting down.

Manga:
- MangaBlog reports that one of TOKYOPOP’s more popular OEL titles, the elegantly gothic Bizenghast, is going to have its first volume available for free.

Games:
- This is too cool: Japanator’s Dale North has word that a new site, MangaGamer, will be localizing eroge for the English-speaking public– legitimately, I assume. Their first titles appear to be D.C. ~Da Capo~ and Suika A.S+. Looks like JAST’s Peach Princess and G-Collections might see some competition– not to mention Kitty Media.

Cons:
- With Anime Expo comin’ up this weekend, companies are starting to talk about what they’ll be up to at the country’s biggest con. Bandai Entertainment drops the cast list for Ghost Slayers Ayashi, and also notes that they’ll be announce the Gurren Lagann cast (finally!) on Thursday at the Aniplex panel.

Toys/Swag:
- Speaking of Gurren Lagann: for the moe fans out there, naked Nia. Yes, the link is a bit on the NSFW side (although it’s also not fully explicit, sadly).

- Over at Topless Robot, Rob is busy speculating on the meaning of a group of Samurai Champloo figures and whether it says anything about the status of Geneon, who had the license (including toy license) for the show. In the comments, AAAAnime’s Eric says that it’s Geneon Japan, and that there are plans for similar figures from Hellsing and Black Lagoon. HALLELUJAH PRAISE THE LORD, I love me some Black Lagoon.

Whew, I think that’ll cover everything for now…

Posted by gia in Features, Roundups • Comments (11)

Japanator has a fun weekly feature called the Tuesday Otaku Debate, where fans pick a side and do battle to the death in the comments. This week’s debate is a pair of anime/game composers, Toshio Masuda and Hitoshi Sakimoto.

Why am I posting about it? Because I’m officially campaigning for a Masuda win– preferably by a landslide. Masuda-sensei composed two soundtracks that have enriched my life personally: Mushishi and Ghost Hunt. The former is probably better known than the latter, but both are really fantastic CDs, and they’re not his only well-known works: see also Jubei-chan and Jubei-chan 2, Hand Maid May, Puni Puni Poemi, Mahoromatic, and even Naruto.

No disrespect meant for Sakimoto, whose work on games like Vagrant Story and Final Fantasy XII, along with the music for the anime Romeo x Juliet, is solid and respectable. But I find Masuda’s music stays with me much more firmly.

If you’re interested in other (non-Yoko Kanno) anime composers, I’d recommend Michiru Oshima, who did the fantastic OSTs for Fullmetal Alchemist, and Kouji Ishii, who (along with Yasukasu Tabei) created the incredibly amazing Hellsing soundtrack.

Posted by gia in Anime, Games, Gossip, Music, News • Comments (6)