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!

More important than the website or the visual for the upcoming Slayers Revolution series is the cast list! Megumi Hayashibara returns as Lina, which is undoubtedly one of the most important parts for many fans.

For me, though, the biggest news is the characters that will be back and their returning seiyuu: Yasunori Matsumoto reprises as Gourry; Hikaru Midorikawa is back as Zelgadis, and Masami Suzuki will once again play Amelia.

As some of you know, my biggest concern was that it would be a TV series with nothin’ but Naga. (Eep.) Now that I know that the old crew is back, I am 150% excited about the show!

Though I can’t help but notice: Xellos appeared in a magazine spread, but his original seiyuu Akira Ishida isn’t on the list yet…