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)

I’m not going to fool myself into thinking y’all don’t follow plenty of other anime blogs, so here’s the quickie version. Now that my current major deadlines are over and I seem to be seeing the light on this cold, I should be back on track. ♥

Current Mood:  FAITO!

Ahh, the first episode of Zombie-Loan. I won’t say that it’s brilliant TV, but it’s not bad so far. The art style is a bit weird for me compared to Rozen Maiden (chins and noses are so…damn…POINTY!), but I can live with that. As long as Michiru grows some balls, anyway.

And that’s my first summer show so far (got a few raws to check out though, plus the BSS Higurashi release - so quit trying to tell me about the damn show, people!). Now, on to the usual suspects:

Bokurano - Where are my fucking subs?!
Claymore - I kind of miss Raki, actually. Can it be timejump tiem nao plzz?
Darker than Black - See Bokurano
El Cazador - see Bokurano
Emma season 2 - see Bokurano
Gurren Lagann - Kinda dull right now, honestly. Waiting on another timejump here…
Hayate no Gotoku - The most consistently funny series from spring, definitely.
Heroic Age - Why do I keep watching this? And why has no one killed Deianeira’s retarded brothers loooong before now?
Kamichama Karin - Why do I keep watching this? And why has no one put me out of my retarded misery looooong before now?
Kaze no Stigma - Why do I keep watching this? And will Ayano and Kazuma stop being complete douches to each other?
Lovely Complex - Holy shit, a romantic comedy that doesn’t suck!
Lucky*Star - Dale and I kept doing “bye-bee” symbols at each other at AX. That’s all you really need to know about that.
Romeo x Juliet - Where are my fucking hormones? (No, really?)
Sisters of Wellber - Just started picking this up, and it’s not as bad as I expected. But, protip, subbers: CYRANO DE BERGERAC. Not Bulgerock. Not Voljirakku. THEY’RE TRYING TO SAY BERGERAC. Read maor!
Sumomomo Momomo - …see Bokurano, damnit.

And now, a fanfiction manifesto. Continue Reading »

Posted by gia in Spring '07 Series, Summer '07 Series • Comments (7)