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Wraith
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Austin, Texas, USA
Aug 1999
time: 23:29
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Zenryaku,
It's been a couple months, and Anime Expo has come and gone. Not as many big announcements as expected, so it's likely the studios have been saving up for the upcoming Otakon.
Still, there has been plenty of news. I'll start off talking with newly announced licenses.
Viz picked up both the anime and the manga for Hikaru no Go. This one was a bit of a surprise for me. The series was very popular in Japan, and I was expecting the manga to get licensed, but I was not expecting anyone to license the anime.
This one is a bit unusual for sports anime, in that the focus is on the game of go. Hikaru (yes, the title character) is rooting in his grandfather's attic for something to sell when he finds an old goban (go board). This board turns out to be haunted by Sai, the spirit of a Go player from ancient times, who's pretty much hanging around as a spirit in order to play more go. Unfortunately for him, he can only be seen by Hikaru, who doesn't really have any interest in the game...
ADV finally formally annouced that they've license Kino's Journey. I've only seen a few episodes of it, but it's one of the few shows that's aired in Japan recently I'm definitely getting when it comes out here.
Funimation's big announcement at AX was their license of Detective Conan. This is a very popular (and long running) show in Japan. I've never actually seen any of it, so I can't really comment further.
Bandai has confirmed their license of Banner of the Stars II, and they've even set the release date of the first disc for October. Unfortunately, we'll probably be seeing the same level of translation as the prior two series, which is to say, lots of problems.
The only other really big news in the anime license is that Pioneer does not have the third Tenchi OVA. They expect the company which does have it to announce soon.
Moving on to a few recent releases, Alien 9 came out not long ago. Definitely not a show for everyone, but I quite enjoy it. The DVD will leave you hanging, however, so be sure to also get the manga. There are a total of three volumes, two of which have been released in the US so far. CPM is planning a box set of the DVD and all three manga, so if you can wait that might be a good buy. CPM has also licensed the sequel manga, but no release date yet.
ADV released Voices of a Distant Star recently. Good show, but with one minor problem. There were originally two versions of the voice track done in Japanese; one by the director and his fiance, and one by professional VAs. Someone at the authoring house messed up, and instead included two copies of the latter track. ADV has set up a replacement program, but it's probably best to wait if you care about this.
ADV also released Sailor Moon series 1 uncut. Fans of the show have been waiting for it for some time now. It's not without problems (in part because of the original studio, Toei Animation), but it definitely isn't what was shown on the air in the US before.
Cowboy Bebop the movie came out on DVD. Just mentioning it.
FLCL volume 3 finally came out. SynchPoint continued doing an excellent job on the release, and the show is just as off-the-wall as ever. It's also scheduled to appear on Cartoon Network next month...
Next month is actually fairly light for new releases in the US. Other than a couple of continuing series, the only noteworthy (to me) title is Haibane Renmei (Careful of the blurb for the second DVD; there's some spoilers there). This one title more than makes up for any other lack of titles, of course. It is being released under the original title, and the first DVD is called "New Feather". Pioneer will also be releasing the soundtrack.
Just as an aside here, but Yoshitoshi ABe was at Anime Expo. Plenty of interesting information from his panel, of course, and he also donated some things to the charity auction. His signed doujins of Haibane (with a little drawing of Rakka saying "charity" on them) did pretty good. What was most impressive was a watercolor he did of Rakka, which was auctioned off for $6,000.
September gets moving more again, with Infinite Ryvius, Animation Runner Kuromi, Cat Soup, and the end of GTO.
In other news, ADV has started a manga division. They're starting out with some interesting titles, including the Azumanga Daioh manga and something amusingly titled "Cat Shite One". Yes, that is the real title.
ADV's also announced that the Anime Network will be moving into 15 new cities, but I don't have a list of which ones yet.
On the manga side of things, the other big news is that Tokyopop licensed Fruits Basket.
I mentioned it before, but more news has come out. The same old survey is up for Legend of the Galactic Heroes, but they had a panel at AX that cleared some things up. The price listed there is just the price of the original; they're expecting their release to be in line with US prices.
This really just leaves what's going on in Japan right now. It's actually pretty quiet. Twelve Kingdoms is still coming out, and it looks like the series will be at least 68 episodes.
Other than that, the most notable anime currently running is Scrapped Princess. I was a bit worried at first (the whole Soopi-kun running gag), but it's settled into a pretty decent fantasy-ish adventure with fun characters.
Wraith
"That's not how you spell genius!"
-- Washu ("Magical Project S")
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Wraith
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Austin, Texas, USA
Aug 1999
time: 23:29
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--"another anime fan! w00t! "
There's several around here. They just aren't all that communicative sometimes ^_^
--"How good is Haibane Renmei?"
Well, it is my favorite series, so I'd say very good. I can't promise you'd love it, of course. People who need action will hate it. If you like slice-of-life shows you should give it a try, though. It isn't one, but it does have a lot of the same general tone.
It really doesn't have anything to do with the angel myths, either. ABe was asked about how much influence there was on the series by Western religion, and he pretty much said none at all. Their appearance was chosen for aesthetic reasons. Which means that, like most anime, they've got wings because it's cute ^_^
(Not that he doesn't make good use of them, though. They do serve to highlight how the haibane are set apart, among other things. It's also the only show I've seen that addresses some of the practical issues of the whole people-with-wings motif.)
There is a real story in there, and it's very character driven. If you like the characters (you should at least have an idea about Reki and Rakka from the first episode), it'd be worth at least borrowing to see.
I know I'm being vague, but it's a hard series to describe without giving away spoilers. I've never said something like this about a show before, but if I had to use one word to sum it up, I'd use beautiful. And I don't just mean the artwork.
Wraith
"You've got pretty wings. Neither white nor black. A pretty gray."
-- Reki ("Haibane Renmei")
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Jon Miller
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has anyone yet heard of soul keeper yet?
care to tell me anything about it?
it seems to be the most tripped up thing I have ever seen
(a random episode of Lain makes more sense)
Jon Miller
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Wraith
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Austin, Texas, USA
Aug 1999
time: 23:29
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--"I just watched Grave of the Fireflies."
That's a good one. Definitely not a movie for when you need to be cheered up, though ^_^
--"What's this about CN showing FLCL?"
Next month. Rather sooner than I had though, actually. Looks like they've got it scheduled for August 4th, starting at midnight (ET, PT). It'll be the dub version, of course, but it's a decent dub as far as I've listened to it.
--"Awr?? o_O"
It's actually an online webcomic.
http://www.zdnet.co.jp/games/ga/cat
It's sort of a Watership Down meets Vietnam thing. I just had to mention it for the title, which ADV is apparently not going to change. I just wish I could see the looks on retailer's faces when they spot that on the list.
--"has anyone yet heard of soul keeper yet?"
Heard of it, but haven't seen any of it. From what I've read it's a pretty standard sci-fi story, really.
--"I have the movie but I'm seriously considering picking up the series as it's only seven(?) episodes"
I've seen a couple episodes of it. I'm pretty sure it's a 26 episode series, but 7 may be all that's out at this point. It seemed okay, but it's a title I'd want to borrow and see more of before buying.
Wraith
"Kids: You do this, YOU DIE."
-- ("Just Kidding, Mr. Vampirian")
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Wraith
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Austin, Texas, USA
Aug 1999
time: 23:29
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--"How do you keep so current on anime?"
As Skanky points out, I'm quite interested in it. So I keep up with it. If you're looking for specific resources, the best place to start is Anime on DVD (www.animeondvd.com). Very comprehensive collection of pretty much everything that's happening on DVD in the US. Also consider Newtype USA for getting a look into what's happening in Japan (unless you can read Japanese, of course, in which case you can just get Newtype).
It doesn't hurt to know a few people in Japan ^_^ Failing that, there are anime clubs all over the place. If you can find one near you to join, there's generally people involved who are pretty up to date.
--" I know you've gone to the major annual expo"
I've gone to the major one for Texas, which is A-Kon. I haven't been to the major annual expo, which is Anime Expo in California. I would have dearly loved to have gone this year, since Yoshitoshi ABe was a guest, but what with buying a house I couldn't really afford it.
The other major annual expo is coming up soon, too. Otakon. AX is really the big industry con, and Otakon is the big fan con.
--"That still doesn't explain the other half though. (sense motive: 19)"
Naisho... ^_^
Wraith
"Sore wa himitsu desu."
-- Xellos ("Slayers Next")
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Jon Miller
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I like fooly cooly
E gender's main character is too sucky
Jon Miller
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Jon Miller
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no
I would expect some freaking out
so that is ok
and being somewhat shell shocked
but the shear stupidity is what makes him sucky
Jon Miller
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26-07-2003 23:09
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