Father Geek here with Scott Green and another great regular mid-week edition of our column concerning ALL things Manga and/or Anime. !st I've got a bit Scott sent in at the last minute, just as I was posting, that I'm just going to put up front...
I got a good article about the anime network...
ADV Films Announces Launch Of The Anime Network(Tm) On
Digital Cable
ADV Films has released a press statement announcing a
24 hour Anime Network on digital cable.
"This has been in the works for some time," said ADV
Films President, Founder and CEO John Ledford. "Until
now, the market and the culture haven't been ready for
it. But today ever-increasing numbers of Americans are
becoming familiar with anime and its distinctive
aesthetic; they're curious about anime, they're hungry
for it, and The Anime Network(tm) is going to deliver
it right to their televisions."
The Anime Network model is structured around four
categorized content areas: Action Zone, Sci-Fi, Comedy
Incorrect, and Horror/Martial Arts. These categories
are designed to include virtually the entire spectrum
of quality anime, while contextualizing content for new
viewers unfamiliar with specific titles.
Father Geek back... now on to the regular...
AICN Anime Report...
Manga Spotlight: Black & White
by Taiyo Matsumoto
Released by Viz's Pulp Line
Black & White is a bit like the comic equivalent of...
name your favorite pre-over commercialized youth music
movement. It's urban Steinbeck by way of Clockwork
Orange violence. It's an honest and spirited story of
a pair of opposites forcing their way in the world (and
much more entertaining, and less pretentious than
sounds). A pair of roof top inner-city avengers
patrolling the city, issuing beat downs to those who
slighted them, or the miscreants they protect. It's
"bloody the guys that that try to screw you", " don't
accept disrespect from anyone", and "don't bend to the
system".
Despite it's unique appearance (schlock pan-culture
amalgam architecture, gangs in Mad Max dress,
conservative "good citizens" in numbered black body
suits), the mechanics of Treasure Town is identical to
any other city in human history. Business, organized
crime, and police contend for control, but at the top
of the food chain is Black and White. Black is the
spirit of the city: scheming, studied, quick thinking,
cynically analytical, both brutally efficient, and
viciously temperamental, and his partner/charge White
is an innocent unaffected by the quagmire of a rotting
city, a mentally deficient boy with a natural, savage
tendency for violence, he can't dress himself, he can
kick and fight like his partner, and unlike Black, he
can dream of apple trees and bright possibilities. No
individual or institution can control them. Those who
try end up beating into unconsciousness with a studded
rod, If anything can shape them, it's the city as a
whole.
Taiyo Matsumoto's art has a heavy European comic
influence. The character design are more abstract
character flaws and slight ugliness, rather than
idealization prevalent in most American and Japanese
illustration.
Between No.5 and Black & White, Matsumoto is
demonstrates a real talent in creating uniquely odd
landscape. Mixes of planet's cultural icons,
architecture, and animal populations. The surreal
touches extend beyond the design. For example Black &
White may walk past a fortune teller, and his costumer
who are bent as if reflected in the crystal ball that
they are studying.
There's a broken record that plays when talking about
translated manga, particularly in Viz's Pulp label.
It's fresh, graphic, and rarely if ever seen anywhere
else. Here's a fun, and maybe the word is too trite,
and tired, but "touching" angry youth story, that
you're unlikely to find in television, that's very rare
in movies, rarely seen or toned down in anime, that you
may find in music, but is buried or less accessible.
Spotlight: Newtype USA
The Japanese Newtype magazine is always a pleasure to
page through, even if you can't read a word of
Japanese. The English edition captures this with the
same oversized format, and full capacity packing of
images from the latest Japanese anime releases. It's
announcement was one of the most exciting and
potentially industry changing moments in the recent
history of the American anime industry. There is a new
immediatecy. For the first time, Americans can see
what they're missing. Brand new shows like Gundam
Seed, or Headguy-J, and shows that are eagerly
anticipated in Japan like Ghost in the Shell: Stand
Alone Complex, all on huge printed pages.
The driving force of Newtype is graphical intensity.
The magazine emits a siren's call asking you to flip
threw it again, and again. The size of the images, the
resolution, and their appearance of glossy paper need
to seen to be appreciated. It's not likely to win any
points with design purists, but its an optical black
hole. You can't help but want to look at it.
The issue features a number of what are best described
as extras, include Raxephon post cards, a centerfold
poster of Cowboy Bebop fem fatale Faye Valentine, a
Bandai sample DVD, internal, and detached chapters of
the manga series Full Metal Panic.
The issue features several impressive creator
interviews, including one with director of the manic
comedy Excel Saga Shinichi Watanabe, who included
himself in the series, as afro hair man of action
Nabeshin (though is a little tacky that a statement was
redacted because of spoiler information.
Fears that coverage would be skewed towards anime
licensed by the magazine's products ADV Films turn out
to be completely unfounded. There does not appear to
be any agenda is promoted anime licensed by any
particular company.
The only format complaint is the right to left page
flow (from what's traditionally the back cover, to the
front, though within a pair of pages, reading is done
left to right). There are a number of valid arguments
for right to left publishing of translated manga
(comics), mostly revolving around preserving the
artist's original story telling, but there doesn't seem
to be a call for this degree of authenticity for the
sake of authenticity. The fact that most articles are
only on two pages mitigates the issue, but it because
very noticeable in longer episodes. Maybe there are
production side economic benefits of the format, but it
doesn't enhance the reading experience, it's more like
a minor annoyance.
Though it is impossible to complain about the number
and quality if the magazine's images, the written
content is often a little lacking. It's pretty clear
that at least for this issue, the emphasis was getting
the visual format and style. Some article give a good
sense of the anime being describes, but most are too
superficial, and could stand to include a more
qualitative and background content. Which is
problematic considering the number of poor high concept
anime series, and plenty more with tired concepts that
are well executes.
Articles often consist of descriptions of the series
plot, and characters without much in the way of
execution. For example, a two page spread of the hot
new series "Getbackers" focuses on the special powers
of its two lead characters. The full page images of a
grunge-youth with a fist full of lightning and his dark
haired partner with purple John Lenin glasses hanging
bellow is evil eyes is striking, but a super powers
description is an awful introduction to an anime/manga,
which is generating buzz for its interesting play
character.
There are plenty of exceptions on both ends of the
spectrum. There are articles in back section of the
magazine that are as terse as their more graphical
predecessors, but provide the background and
description to get a good sense of the described show,
but there are also articles that are barely
comprehensible, or completely impossible to follow
without a working knowledge of the series described.
Given the sparsity of text, it is hard to imagine more
adding that much more information, while preserving the
graphic format. More background information, such as
connecting creators to projects known in the US in
particular would be helpful, but it doesn't seem
likely. The initial announcement of an English Newtype
seemed to herald a force that would overshadow all
other providers of anime information, but for better or
worse, the final result is more a visual catalogue,
unlikely to burry its competition. It's a pleasurable
browse, and its going to create a splash, but not a
tsunami,
This Week's Releases
Anime
- Armitage III - The Complete Ova
- Carried By The Wind - Tsukikage Ran - Shocking Secrets
(Vol. 2)
- Excel Saga 3
- Fancy Lala - Taking Center Stage (Vol. 3)
- Inu-Yasha - Down The Well ~
- Mobile Fighter G Gundam - Round 1
- Mobile Fighter G Gundam - Round 2
- Mobile Fighter G Gundam - Round 3
- Mobile Fighter G Gundam Boxed Set - Rounds 1-3
- Yu-Gi-Oh - Attack From The Deep
- Yu-Gi-Oh - Give Up The Ghost
Manga
- Animerica Extra December 2002 Vol 5 #12
- Banana Fish Vol 7 Tp
- Big O Part 3 #1 (Of 4)
- Blade Of The Immortal #73 Fall Frost (Part 1 Of 6)
- Blade Of The Immortal On Silent Wings Tp (Re-Release)
- Blood Last Vampire 2002 Gn
- Dark Angel Vol 5 Tp Legend Of The Sacred Beast Ii
- Gunsmith Cats Bonnie & Clyde Tp (Re-Release)
- Magical Pokemon Journey Vol 7 Tp From The Heart
- Medabots Part 4 #3 (Of 4)
- Oh My Goddess Queen Sayoko Tp (Re-Release)
- Project Arms Part 1 #3 (Of 16)
- Ranma 1/2 Part 11 #9 (Of 11)
- Super Manga Blast #26
- Zoids Gn New Century
Also
Marvel Mangaverse Tp Vol 2
Carried By The Wind Tsukikage Ran is an episodic
samurai tale featuring a wandering samurai woman, and
her Chinese martial artist partner, that riffs on
traditional samurai tales with a humorous take, and
impressive cinematic action.
Inu-Yasha is the first volume of the anime series based
on Rumiko Takahashi's "feudal fairytale", a mix of
horror, action, and romance, about a girl from the
modern era, and a half dog demon from Japan's era of
warring states (not be mention of host of other
interesting characters, including fox demon trickster,
cursed priest with a lecherous street, and life long
demon hunter with enormous boomerang).
See last week's column for a review of G Gundam, the
tournament fight take on the traditional giant robot
war story.
Super Manga Blast, Dark Horse Comics' manga anthology
began Ghost in the Shell creator Masamune Shirows
Appleseed Hypernotes in issue 25. Translators Studio
Proteus has reiterated that the story will not be
collected until Shirow finishes Appleseed 5, which
given Shirows schedule, temperament and work rate is
not likely in the forseeable future, if ever.
Cowboy Bebop Movie Theatrical Plans
Anime News
Service reports Columbia Tristar plans to start a
limited theatrical release of January 2003, with
English dub, and Japanese prints provides to each
theatre.
FLCL Volume 2 Release Date Set
Synch-Point has set a February 25th release date for
the second volume of Gainax and Production IG's FLCL.
Features: -Bilingual DVD -Subtitles -2 episodes
-Translation notes -Reversible cover -Bonus Booklet
-Image Gallery -Commentary by Original Japanese
Creator/Director And more!
Naota wants to be normal. But with a talented brother
leaving Japan for the US to play baseball, everyone now
looks at him a bit differently. His brother's
girlfriend is acting strange and now there's an even
stranger girl hitting on him. Literally. With a bass
guitar. Oh, did I mention the robots that keep
springing from his head? Produced by GAINAX (Neon
Genesis Evangelion) and animated by Production I.G.
(Ghost in the Shell), FLCL takes animation to yet
another level. Get ready for this shocking and funny
digital animation about adolescence, expectations and
alien intrigue. Ready, steady, GO!
Volume 2
Episode 3 Marquis de Carabas Naota is tired of being
harassed to star in the school play, Puss and Boots, by
that obnoxious class president Ninamori, but when she
gets hurt in an accident with that violent alien
Haruko, Ninamori is stranded at Naota's house for the
night. Soon, Naota finds out that Ninamori has more
personal reasons for wanting him in the play..
Episode 4 - Full Swing
Naota feels bad enough that he can't live up to his
brother's reputation as a star baseball player, but
when Haruko - who's been shamelessly flirting with his
father - presumes to take him under her wing and teach
him a thing or two about baseball.well, it's the last
straw. But things take a strange turn after Naota
confronts his Dad about Haruko: Who is that weird guy
with the eyebrows searching for Haruko, anyway? And if
Haruko doesn't stop a runaway satellite from hitting
the town, who will?
Cartoon Network Anime Line-up Changes
Starting November 4thm Pokemon, and Yu-Gi-Oh will
airing on Cartoon Network weeknights 9:00-10:00pm, and
G-Gundam returns at midnight weekdays, and 2:00-3:00pm
on Saturdays.
Dragon Ball Z Finally on DVD in Japan
Toei has finally announced that Dragon Ball Z will be
released on DVD in Japan. The 291 episode series will
be released in two 26 disc sets on March 19th and
September 18th 2002 for 100,000 yen each.
Viz Experiencing Licensing Problems
There have been recent issues with licenses comic
properties being distributed outside the agreed license
issue, stemming from issues around the hot new
Transformers comic from DreamWave. Reports such as
this week's "Lying in the Gutters" comic rumor column have
been stating manga licensor/translator Viz has become
entangled in the issue.
From the column:
Brazil has already suffered the loss of "DragonBall,"
"Akira," and "Lone Wolf And Cub" (the latter two being
released by Dark Horse) when comics distribution
company Devir Liveria had licensing restrictions placed
upon it, and now has and Viz Communication titles
withdrawn.
Viz has only just started to be mentioned - and non-US
customers of the massive Diamond distributors can also
expect to lose a number of Viz titles as well. Viz
manga titles sell very well across Europe, some
estimates being from 10 to 20% of total sales. South
America makes up another sizeable chunk.
The implications of these restrictions is expected to
have a number of knock on effects. First, the increase
in online ordering, for both shops and customers -
while Diamond and Devra may be unable to go against the
licensing agreements, individual businesses and people
are more likely to create a "grey" market, the same
that fuels region specific DVDs being sold outside
their respective regions. If businesses don't, then
individuals will just bypass them.
Also, expect price increases across the board.
ADV Talks Up Anime TV Network
At ADV Films recent 10th anniversary party, ADV CEO,
President and Founder John Ledford announced that ADV
has just made arrangements to have a 24 hour All anime
Cable channel.
Satoshi Kon Presents Millennium Actress
Director Satoshi Kon will be present for question and
answer sessions at two screenings of his latest anime
film, Millennium Actress, at the American Film
Institute Film Festival on Saturday the 16th and Sunday
the 17th at ArcLight Hollywood in Hollywood, California.
Millennium Actress is the Perfect Blue director's
dramatic tribute to Japanese cinema.
Upcoming and New Anime In Japan
The new official Zoids pages opened at ZoidsCore.com
Winter Anime Releases:
November 15
Princess Tutu:"Hiyoko no Shou"
Starting 11/21
Pokemon Advance Generation 1 (tv)
Starting 11/28
Weiz Kruez Gluehen
Start 1/8
Gunparade March ~Aratanaru Kougun See here and here (tv)
.hack//Tasogare no Udew Densetsu starts (tv)
Nekketsu Denpa Club/Try Try Try/D.N. Angel starts (tv)
Mahou
Tsukai Ni Taisetsu na Koto(tv)
Transformer Legend of Micron (tv)
Raimuiro Senkitan from Love Hina auther Akahori Satoru
also starts in January.
February 19th
Hunter x Hunter OVA: Greed Island Story (2nd OAV series)
Upcoming OAVs
Sakura Taisen (Sakura Wars) website OVA Kanzaki Sumire Intai Kinen (Retirement
Commemoration).
Makasete
Iruka!based on a manga series by Daichi Akitaroh
and Takashita Takashi
VAP's site for the
Space Pirate
Captain Harlock ~ The Endless Odyssey
New Manga From GTO Creator
From Natsume
Maya
Volume 22 of the bi-weekly Young Magazine Upcoming will
include the first entry in Fujisawa (GTO) Touru's new
manga Rose Hip Rose. . It's about Asakami Kasumi, the
"cute hip" highschool girl (with a gun, of course),
who's a specialist at dealing with terrible crimes.
Live Action Jin-Roh Movies on Japanese DVD
The live action movies in Oshii Mamoru's "Kerberos
Saga" (stylistically and themeatically connected to the
anime Jin-Roh), will be released in Japan. on DVD
February 25th. The three DVD set will cinlude two
movies from the "Kerberos Saga", Kurenaii Megane
(Crimson Glasses) and Kerberos ~ Jigoku no Banken
(Kerberos ~ Watchdogs of Hell), and the separate movie
Talking Head.
Super Milk Chan Episode 2
The Super Milk Chan site has been updated with the
second episode of Oh! Super Milk-chan Milk no IT
Kakumei here.
Anime Game News
From The Magic
Box
Images Bandai's 3D cel-shaded GameCube Shaman King:
Soul Fight can be seen here
Images of the Playstation 2 SD (super deformed big
head, small body) Gundam G Generation Neo battle
simulation can be seen here.
Bandai's site features four movies of the game:
TVCM #1 (15 secs, WMV)
Broadband,
56K/ISDN
TVCM #2 (15 secs, WMV)
Broadband
56K/ISDN
TVCM #3 (15 secs, WMV)
Broadband
56K/ISDN
TVCM #4 (15 secs, WMV)
Broadband
56K/ISDN
Konami's PS2 beat'em up action GetBackers: Recapture!
All Sets! can be seen here.
Newtype Usa Doubles Print Run For Issue Two
With the entire 30,000-unit print run of Newtype USA
Issue One shipped to subscribers and stores, and
continuing retail demand for the magazine far
outstripping aggregate availability, Newtype USA is
doubling the print run for Issue Two, to a total of
60,000 copies.
More Anime Produced than Ever
From Natsume Maya
A Japanese Language newspapers seen at Asahi.com is
reporting that demand for anime in Japan is at an
unprecedented level. More anime is being produced for
broadcast, internet, and network television than ever
before. International, and economic depression
interest in the medium is encouraging further
investment from major corporations.
In April 2000 there were 20 new anime TV series
broadcast. Now there are 34 new works being broadcast,
but critics have been concerned about reduced quality
in what is being produced..
IC Entertainment Price Drops
IC Entertainment (formerly Studio Iron) will be
dropping the prices of Vampire Princess Miyu, New
Vampire Miyu & Vampire Yui from $17.95 to $15.95.
New ComicsOne Manga Sample
ComicsOne.com
has include new sample of Bride of Deimos and Wild 7 on
their site at here
Fushigi Yuugi: Eikoden Website Open
Pioneer has openned their site for the new Fushigi
Yuugi: Eikoden OAV at FushigiYugiDVD.com. The series is schedule to be released November 12th.
Lone Wolf and Cub Back on TV in Japan
ICV2 reports Lone
Wolf & Cub has returned to Japanese TV with a new live
action series featuring Kinya Kitaoji as the awesome
swordsman Ogami Itto, and three-year-old Tsubasa
Kobayashi as Itto's son Daigoro. The new series, which
is being broadcast in a widescreen format, includes
some minor changes from the original manga series in
the interests of greater historical accuracy.
Upcoming Funimation Releases
January 7
January 14:
- Yu Yu Hakusho: The Spirit Detective Box Set 1 (the
first 8 volumes for $99.95_
- YuGiOh Vol.#05: Evil Spirit
- YuGiOh Vol. #06: The Scars of Defeat
January 21
- Fruits Basket Vol. #2: What Becomes of Snow?
- Yu Yu Hakusho Vol. #09: Deathmatch
- Yu Yu Hakusho Vol. #10: The Evil Dr. Ichigak
January 28
March 4
- Yu Yu Hakusho Vol. #11: Fairplay
- Yu Yu Hakusho Vol. #12: The Rising Storm
March 11
- Kirby: Kirby's Egg-Cellent Adventure
- Kirby: Escargoon Squad
March 18th
- YuGiOh Vol. #07: Double Trouble Duel
- YuGiOh Vol. #08: Face Off
March 25
- Fruits Basket Vol. #3: Puddles Of Memories
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