Heavens to betsy, lookit all that news!

TV Anime:
- ANN has confirmed that Bandai Visual (that’s the Japanese one) is going to be releasing some of its titles globally on Blu-Ray, i.e. with subtitles in English and other languages.
- Meanwhile, Slayers REVOLUTION just looks better and better: Megumi Hayashibara has announced on her official site that she’ll be singing both the OP and ED themes.

Manga:
- ICv2 has released its Anime/Manga Guide, and Naruto remained the top property while anime sales continue to decline (although box sets seem to be doing well).
- An absolute must-read: Christopher Butcher goes way in-depth with VIZ’s original content line.
- God help us all, the 48-person girl group AKB48 is getting its own manga.
- A mysteriously unnamed set of “anime artists” (I can only assume they actually draw manga?) took part in a breast cancer fundraiser.

Movies/OVAs:
- An official trailer for Mamoru Oshii’s Sky Crawlers is up at the official website. Score!

Music:
- Anime on DVD has a press release from Jpop group Budo Grape, with two Texas appearances (including A-kon) and one in New York City.

Toys/Swag:
- Kotobukiya is a Japanese company, and Batman is getting made into an anime, so I can call this anime-ish news, right? ‘Cause it’s absolutely badass.
- In other toy news, Japan is working on a line of eco-friendly toys.

Misc:
- I finally have a good reason to hunt down a copy of Otaku USA– Japanator’s Zac Bentz is in the new issue.
- If my preview of Manga Cafe Mika wasn’t enough for you, here’s Deb Aoki’s coverage of the grand opening over at manga.about.com.

Weehaw!

Posted by gia in Features, Roundups • Comments (5)

Okay, I don’t know who she is or where she’s from (okay, fine, she’s Clalaclan and she’s from Shining Wind), and I don’t know why she stole the Statue of Liberty’s crown. But for some reason, I keep digging on this figure. I think it’s because in addition to the very nice breasts (which you can find on plenty of figures), her face and hair are really nicely done. Go Kotobukiya!

…Especially compared to Fasilana (from GunXSword), who also just came out. Fasilana’s hair is okay except for the random extra-long lock of bangs in the front (what’s up with random extra hair?). Her boobs are okay, but only as long as you keep the staff there (trust me, it looks weird without it), and then there are her hands. The first one is in a “call me” position (which doesn’t add any attractiveness to that dopey facial expression), and the lower one is WAY TOO FREAKIN’ LONG. Boo, Max Factory. BOOOO!

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