See what I did there?

I saw a report on this on my 2ch navigator, but then I couldn’t actually get the page to load. Fortunately, it seems to have worked for Sankaku Complex, who got the details: Satelight has lost the rights to the Hellsing Ultimate OVA for reasons unbeknownst (2ch’s disrespect for Satelight is noted; after what they did to the Kamichama Karin adaptation, I can’t blame them).

Taking over? Madhouse! Talk about your upgrades. So, Hellsing Ultimate episode 5 will be created by Madhouse, although no release date has been announced yet.

Honestly, it’s also kinda nice to be reminded that this sorta thing happens in Japan, too.

Posted by gia in Anime, Gossip, JP News, News, OVAs • Comments (1)

Another report from Sankaku Complex: Japan’s newest Intellectual Property Strategic Program specifically mentions both anime and overseas piracy, which probably refers to both the pirated DVD type and the P2P downloading type, though whether YouTube-type sharing is included isn’t clear.

There doesn’t seem to be a lot by way of specifics, but it’s probably worth noting that American licensors aren’t the only people a fansubber has to worry about…

Posted by gia in Anime, Legal, News • Comments (4)

Yes indeedy, Nausicaa.net has caught word of NiikeiBP’s most-valued brands of Japan list. Last year Ghibli placed 12th on the business-to-consumer list, but this year they’ve leapt up to #2, second only to Nintendo itself. And Nintendo was #7 last year; it swapped spots outright with Toyota this year.

It’s an interesting list, with Disney at #3, Sony at #4, and Nintendo DS having its own rank at #5. I highly recommend checking it out, if only because you’ll recognize the vast majority of the names on the list…and not because they’re anime-related. (Although FujiTV is on there.) One of the biggest leaps is Japanese fashion chain UNIQLO’s, who went from #52 to #12.

Full list behind the jump. Continue Reading »

Posted by gia in JP News, Misc, News • Comments (5)

Canned Dogs brings a report that Tamiki Wakaki, creator of Sekesshou Albatross, which has run in Shounen Sunday for a year, is broke. He complains that he hasn’t gotten the raise he was promised and that his fellow mangaka get paid better than him. I don’t really have much to say on this front, knowing as little as I do about the mangabon industry in Japan, but this part at the end interested me:

Though, it should be noted that mangaka are seldomly able to live off the amount that they get from the magazine and they only really get a substantial amount from tankoubon sales.

Just a little tidbit to add to that small pile of knowledge…

Canned Dogs reports that at least 17 seiyuu have left Haikyo, aka the Tokyo Actor’s Consumer’s Cooperative Society (a seiyuu agency). No official reason has been given, but rumor has it that the seiyuu are joining forces with Toshiyuki Morikawa, a seiyuu probably best known as Dante in the Devil May Cry anime, or InuYasha’s Naraku, or maybe Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children’s Sephiroth.

Among the seiyuu who have left: Gara Takashima, Cowboy Bebop’s Julia; Daisuke Namikawa, Tsubasa Chronicle’s Fai; and Kouichi Yamadera– a biggie; he was Cowboy Bebop’s Spike Spiegel (and Ein), plus Ghost in the Shell’s Togusa.

Should be interesting to watch!

So while I was in the FUNi panel I got an alert that the Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation, a.k.a. that company that runs Anime Expo, has announced the finalists for its SPJA Indusry Award.

Bandai Entertainment, a.k.a. “that company that put out Haruhi in ‘07,” has the most nominations. VIZ Media is in second place. Interestingly, Geneon has a hold on 3rd place– the pity vote? –followed by Bandai Visual (really!?) and FUNimation.

Wait, really? Bandai Visual USA is beating out FUNimation? That’s wacky. That’s the number of nominations in various categories, not votes for a particular company by the way.

Want to vote? Here’s your shot. There are nominations for best voice actor (separate votes for Japanese and English), best voice actress, best casting director, best character design, best mech design, best male character, best female character, best mascot character, best background design, best original video, best feature film, best TV series, best score, best original song, best director, best manga (in comedy, action, and drama), and best publication.

Whew, that’s a lot. Get voting! I’ll share my own votes after the jump.

Continue Reading »

Posted by gia in Features • Comments (1)

The Yomiuri reports that Kyoto Seika University, which has a dedicated manga faculty, has made millions of yen by taking orders for students to develop materials with manga-style illustrations.

The orders come from businesses, governments, and other organizations, who like the illustrations because they’re lively and can convey information with text or visuals as necessary. The students love it because they get professional experience, the university loves it because they get money…all happy times and fun!

We already have a few edu-manga type things out and about, like TOKYOPOP’s OEL SAT prep manga. Maybe someday we’ll start having manga guides to, say, income taxes

Posted by gia in JP News, Manga, Misc, News • Comments (2)

Via Simon Jones (NSFW)– Japanese Internet service providers have announced that from now on, they will immediately and permanently terminate Internet service for users who download pirated materials.

Jones points out the concerns with user privacy, which is not addressed in the article at all. The article does note that the plan, in which users are warned via e-mail and then cut off from the ‘net if they don’t stop downloading, is similar to one being set up in France by President Sarkozy.

Posted by gia in Anime, JP News, Legal, News • Comments (4)

Or at least, that’s what Roland Kelts quotes one Japanese exec as saying in this article from the Yomiuri.

In the article, Kelts talks about the pessimistic attitude that many Japanese business people have towards Japan’s prospects, on account of the weak yen, the low birth rate, and various other hot topics among Japan’s elites.

The interesting point is the reaction of Americans to this pessimism, which is roughly: “Wait, wtf? We just found this stuff. Give us more!”

Still, in the midst of constant talk over how poorly the anime industry is doing– both inside AND outside of Japan –it’s worth keeping in mind the anime industry in the context of the rest of Japan, which is also having a weak economic period.

Posted by gia in Anime, JP News, Misc, News • Comments (1)

So sayeth Koichi Murata, the president of Oh Entertainment, in this article talking about the increasingly unpleasant working conditions of animators in Japan. This unstable and low-paying environment is turning potential animators to other careers, and many animation companies to seek animators in other countries to help out.

The article mentions fansubs as a growing and important concern (especially for smaller studios, who lack the resources to mount a lawsuit), but at least in part taking a back seat to concerns for the animators– a refreshing change on the one hand, but on the other hand, the industry hardly needs MORE problems.

But then, it’s not a new problem, either. A very interesting read for anyone who keeps an eye on the industry, I should think.

Posted by gia in Anime, JP News, Misc, News • Comments (1)