Urban Vision told fans at San Diego Comic-Con last month that while some titles will certainly see a DVD release, a few have hit road blocks in their production. Tekkaman Blade II series is still partially owned by Saban, and therefore won't see a release, nor will DNA Sights 999.9, which was an extremely expensive license that sold very poorly.
A few more film festivals will be showing the English version of Princess Mononoke, including the 24th Toronto International Film Festival (which begins 9/9), where Miyazaki himself may be in attendance. (http://www.bell.ca/filmfest/99/index2.asp) Previously announced was the New York Film Festival later this month.
Viz Communications has dropped the price on its Pokémon cardboard standee set from $19.95 to $14.95. The book-sized set contains 20 standees altogether, all of them in full-color, and will go on sale November 12. Also set for a late 1999 release are a year 2000 Pokémon 2'x3' calendar and a graphic novel of the Pokémon animation comic series serialized in Nintendo Power. To make room for the new products, some Viz Video products will see slight delays, and Viz is now reworking its schedule to accomidate them. In their monthly press release, Viz also announced the Pokémon movie film art book, as well as film comics of both Mewtwo Strikes Back and Pikachu's Vacation. Other non-Pokémon material announced includes a Heartbroken Angels graphic novel (oversized and hardcover), the second Fushigi Yuugi graphic novel and the third Banana Fish graphic novel.
With the licensing of Card Captor Sakura by Nelvana, fansubber Studio Hooseki officially closed last week. The scripts from Hooseki's tenure are still available at the group's web site at http://anime.jyu.fi/greyhawk/hooseki/.
UCLA Film and Television Archive announced Monday their newest film festival, the works of Studio Ghibli, including the films dirrected by Hayao Miyazaki (Nausicaa, Totoro, Mononoke, Kiki), Isao Takahata (Grave of the Fireflies, Omoide Poro Poro, Pon Poko), and Yoshifumi Kondō (Whisper of the Heart). To begin on September 30, the screenings will take place at the UCLA James Bridges Theater and will be shown in their original 35mm format. More information is available from the archive hotline (310) 206-FILM and the web site (www.cinema.ucla.edu). The Museum of Modern Art in New York City event announced earlier will also be touring to the Cambridge Brattle Theater in Cambridge, MA from September 19 to October 17.
My Neighbors, The Yamadas has now dropped to 6th place this weekend, taking in only 5,372,000 yen. Japanese cinema magazine Kinama Junpo expects the film to end up taking in less than 1 billion yen total. Production costs were 2.4 billion, making this the only Ghibli film to ever fail financially.
Encore Media, owner of pay-cable channels Starz!, Encore!, and Encore Action, has signed a 10-year agreement with Disney and its theatrical subsidiaries (includign Touchstone, Hollywood, Miramax, and Dimension) that will allow them to show all theatrical releases from each of these labels, according to Kevin Cook of Animania DVD. Since Disney owns the rights to all Studio Ghibli films and has a track record of showing anime in both subtitled and dubbed formats, many fans are considering what this could mean for the works of Miyazaki on US cable.
The Irregular at Magic High School THE MOVIE - Yotsuba Succession Arc - serves as the emotional capstone to the story so far. The truth behind Tatsuya and Miyuki's origins is laid bare, as are their feelings for each other.― *This review contains major spoilers for both the various The Irregular at Magic Highschool TV anime and this film as well. As humans, we love stories about overcoming challenge...
With Atsushi Abe dipping his toes into the realm of cozy isekai this season, we were curious to discuss how he and producer Hiromi Sueta navigated their way through the anime's non-confrontational trenches.― Thanks to A Certain Magical Index, Atsushi Abe will forever be known for lending his voice to something that errs on the dramatic and explosive. Which Farming Life In Another World 2 purposely i...
Ohno composed Lupin III anime's music, iconic theme song since Lupin III: Part II in 1977― Musician and composer Yuji Ohno's official website announced on Wednesday that Ohno died of natural causes on May 4. He was 84. Ohno's production company Office Augusta noted that he died after going to sleep, without any change in his prior condition before going to sleep. Ohno is best known for his work as a...
This series makes the most of its limited runtime thanks to fantastic dialogue that feels unlike anything you run across in the vast majority of modern anime.― With 12 episodes running three-and-a-half minutes on average, the entirety of Milky☆Subway can be watched in 44-minutes—48 minutes if you also include the prequel short, Milky☆Highway. Yet, this series makes the most of its limited runtime th...
Lucas and Sylvia give a salute to as many anime moms as they can fit in one column.― Lucas and Sylvia give a salute to as many anime moms as they can fit in one column. Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by the participants in this chatlog are not the views of Anime News Network.Spoiler Warning for discussion of the series ahead. Crunchyroll streams 100 Girlfriends, Char's Counterattack, ...
Animation cels, production materials, and more are hitting the auction block. Check out "The Art of Anime, Vol. VIII" and see how you too can own a piece of anime history.― As part of its "The Art of Anime" series (now up to Vol. VIII), Heritage Auctions has brought together over 1,200 lots for its upcoming auction featuring cels, drawings, and more from iconic series in anime's history. Starting on...
Who you are on the outside doesn’t matter nearly as much as who you are in your soul.― While prior volumes of Spica Aoki's Kaiju Girl Caramelise have focused on the metaphorical aspects of Kuroe's dual nature as Kuroe the High School Girl and Harudon the Kaiju, these four books take the story to a more grounded place. Kuroe has always assumed she's really a human with the odd ability to transform in...
Jairus Taylor looks back on the unfinished shonen classic to see why it captured a dedicated audience (and whether it's really any good).― Like most teenagers growing up in the late 2000s, I was obsessed with Naruto, and that obsession led me to delve deeper into the murky waters of anime and manga to find something similar. During some of those searches, I would occasionally stumble across an image...
Violet Evergarden's Taichi Ishidate helms John Tarachine's story about filmmaking― Flag Pictures announced on Monday that Kyoto Animation is adapting John Tarachine's Credits Roll Into the Sea (Umi ga Hashiru Endroll) manga into an anime film opening next year. Taichi Ishidate (Violet Evergarden, CITY The Animation, Beyond the Boundary) is directing the anime, and Shochiku is distributing. Tarachine...
Land is neither fantasy nor science fiction, nor is it historical fiction. It's close to all of those, but it settles for none. What it is is an excellent read.― They say that the more things change, the more they stay the same. In Kazumi Yamashita's Land, that takes on a very different meaning. At the end of the first omnibus, An and her twin Anne (this second spelling begins to be used in this vol...
