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Zenryaku,
It's time once again for Anime Apolyton. This one has been a bit delayed, since I've been getting ready to go to A-Kon next weekend. I'll bump the thread next week if I heard anything interesting, of course.
Now, on to the news.
Lots of new titles are coming out. If anything, the pace is increasing, so a little focus is necessary if you don't happen to have a few spare bank accounts lying around.
Starting off with upcoming releases, some of these will be repeats, but in general worth the repeat.
Media Blasters will be starting a release of Twelve Kingdoms soon. This is one of the few series that will be released in the US at the same time as it is still airing in Japan. Currently over 40 episodes, it's an epic fantasy with a bit of a magical girl spin. No wands or transformations, but the main character is taken off to another world where she's supposed to be an Empress. Things don't quite work out at first, of course... Very good dark fantasy series.
They've also recently announced Figure 17, which examines the question "what happens when you add together two nine year old girls?" and decides "you get an 18 year old girl". I'm joking, of course, but it's not that far off the mark. The main character is a young girl who has recently moved to the country with her father. She finds something odd in the woods one night and gets caught up in a fight between a sort of intergalactic policeman and some rather unusual monsters. She comes in contact with a suit of intelligent armor that isn't quite functioning properly, and later decides it's going to be her twin sister while on Earth. Definitely a coming of age anime, but with plenty of action.
US Manga is going with their usual track record. Not many titles at all, but big name ones. Read or Die will be released soon, and advance reviews are promising. They haven't done a major release right yet, though, so we'll see. Read or Die itself could be best summed up as James Bond, anime style. Yomiko Readman is a substitute teacher and secret agent for the British Library. While off buying books (bibliophile doesn't do her justice) she becomes involved in stopping a plan to destroy the world.
ADV has a large, large number of titles coming out, which is no surprise. The live-action Evangelion movie has already been subjected to a thread, so I'll skip it here.
More interesting to Evangelion fans will be the news that they've also aquired the rights to the Director's Cut versions of the episodes. Six episodes had altered, extended footage that has been available in Japan for some time. It'll soon be available in the US as well.
I've mentioned it before, but just as a reminder, Voices of a Distant Star will be released soon.
On their upcoming titles list is also Magical Shopping Street Abenobashi. I personally don't care for it at all, but it is a Gainax title, so I'm sure there are some people anticipating it.
Bigger news is that ADV annouced that they've licensed Azumanga Daioh. If you remember my Year in Review thread, this is the show that I gave the nod to as top comedy of last year. It's a pretty plotless slice-of-life show, following the lives of a number of odd Japanese schoolgirls (and their even stranger teachers).
CPM is getting a number of interesting titles recently. Soon to be released is Alien 9, a very unusual story. The schoolgirls-capturing-aliens motif isn't all that odd, but the characters are. Very good story that is, unfortunately, not complete, as there are only four episodes in the OVA (the last one appropriately titled "The End of the Beginning"). Luckily CPM is also releasing the manga, so you can find out what happens afterwards.
Also coming up is Animation Runner Kurmoi. This is an unusual title, kind of an Otaku no Video Lite, about the industry itself. Kuromi is a fresh college graduate just starting her first job out of college. After being shown around the studio she's told she's in charge, and has to cope from there.
CPM does seem to be favoring the unusual titles this year, and will be releasing Cat Soup this year as well. This is a short movie (or long episode, take your pick) thats... well, kind of hard to describe. Basically, it deals with a cat journeying to save his sister's (I think) soul, but it's kind of an art film on acid, so it's hard to tell.
Bandai has finally rescheduled Infinite Ryvius. This was supposed to come out earlier this year but was removed from the list for some unknown reason. It's finally been given a new release date. This one is pretty much Lord of the Flies in space, so be prepared for lots and lots of angst.
They're also soon to be releasing Witch Hunter Robin, which has been a rather popular title. The basic premise is made clear by the title, and it's a rather dark show with lots of politics in the background. Unfortunately, it's a really slow starter, and keeps the mosnter-of-the-week theme running too long. Bandi is gracing this with a Platinum Line Limited Edition release, so there is also a pricy LE version of the first disc with lots of extras.
Disney is apparently getting ready to release more Studio Ghibli films, as news has come out that Porco Rosso is being dubbed. This is my favorite of Miyazaki's films. It's set in a kind of alternate history, between the world wars in the Adriac. The main character is a guy with the head of a pig, thanks to a curse from the last war, who is currently a bounty-hunting seaplane pilot (and yes, it's much better than it sounds from this).
Synch Point doesn't have the resources to do a whole lot at once, but they're almost done with FLCL, and have announced that they've licensed the Digi Charat movie. I suspect they're trying to get the TV series as well, but it seems caught in a major licensing tangle, so they probably won't have much luck.
The last big news is Pioneer, which has formally announced a release date for Haibane Renmei. Again with the Year in Review, this one earned my pick for best anime series of last year, and indeed, my favorite anime series period. It's hard to describe the charm of the series, but it's about a group of people called haibane. Not quite human, they hatch from cocoons with no memories of their past, grow wings, and live in a walled city they aren't allowed to leave.
On the manga side of things, I'm mostly repeating myself here, but there are some interesting things going on. NieA_7 has been licensed by Viz, and while it probalby isn't everyone's cup of tea I enjoy it. This one is by my favorite man-of-anime, yo****oshi ABe (also the writer of Haibane Renmei).
In something of a surprise move, Berserk has been licensed. Running 24 volumes so far in Japan (that I know of) it's a long and dark one. This one's squarely in the hack and slash genre, with a bit of a fantastic touch in the way of demons. Very good story.
A number of good series are about to or have recently finished their US releases. I'll just list some of the big ones for now:
Berserk
Excel Saga
Fruits Basket
Banner of the Stars
Utena
Card Captor Sakura
FLCL
Biggest news here is His and Her Circumstances, which has turned out to be an edited version of the original series. Right Stuf was unaware of this, and is currently trying to find out what happened, but I suspect it was just Gainax being Gainax. This one is rather disappointing, however, as not all the changes were minor. An entire episode and a half are completely different, which makes you wonder why no one noticed it while it was being dubbed...1
As for stuff currently running in Japan, I haven't seen much that's particularly impressive. There are a number of decent titles, like Stellvia no Uchuu, but little that really stands out. The best of the bunch right now is definitely Kino no Tabi, something that ADV has apparently pre-licensed, although they haven't confirmed it yet. This series is about a boy who's just wandering around the world with his companion, the cynical talking motorcycle. It's more dramatic than it sounds, and so far is turning out quite good.
Wraith
"Nyaaaaaa!"
-- Kazumi ("Alien 9")
It's time once again for Anime Apolyton. This one has been a bit delayed, since I've been getting ready to go to A-Kon next weekend. I'll bump the thread next week if I heard anything interesting, of course.
Now, on to the news.
Lots of new titles are coming out. If anything, the pace is increasing, so a little focus is necessary if you don't happen to have a few spare bank accounts lying around.
Starting off with upcoming releases, some of these will be repeats, but in general worth the repeat.
Media Blasters will be starting a release of Twelve Kingdoms soon. This is one of the few series that will be released in the US at the same time as it is still airing in Japan. Currently over 40 episodes, it's an epic fantasy with a bit of a magical girl spin. No wands or transformations, but the main character is taken off to another world where she's supposed to be an Empress. Things don't quite work out at first, of course... Very good dark fantasy series.
They've also recently announced Figure 17, which examines the question "what happens when you add together two nine year old girls?" and decides "you get an 18 year old girl". I'm joking, of course, but it's not that far off the mark. The main character is a young girl who has recently moved to the country with her father. She finds something odd in the woods one night and gets caught up in a fight between a sort of intergalactic policeman and some rather unusual monsters. She comes in contact with a suit of intelligent armor that isn't quite functioning properly, and later decides it's going to be her twin sister while on Earth. Definitely a coming of age anime, but with plenty of action.
US Manga is going with their usual track record. Not many titles at all, but big name ones. Read or Die will be released soon, and advance reviews are promising. They haven't done a major release right yet, though, so we'll see. Read or Die itself could be best summed up as James Bond, anime style. Yomiko Readman is a substitute teacher and secret agent for the British Library. While off buying books (bibliophile doesn't do her justice) she becomes involved in stopping a plan to destroy the world.
ADV has a large, large number of titles coming out, which is no surprise. The live-action Evangelion movie has already been subjected to a thread, so I'll skip it here.
More interesting to Evangelion fans will be the news that they've also aquired the rights to the Director's Cut versions of the episodes. Six episodes had altered, extended footage that has been available in Japan for some time. It'll soon be available in the US as well.
I've mentioned it before, but just as a reminder, Voices of a Distant Star will be released soon.
On their upcoming titles list is also Magical Shopping Street Abenobashi. I personally don't care for it at all, but it is a Gainax title, so I'm sure there are some people anticipating it.
Bigger news is that ADV annouced that they've licensed Azumanga Daioh. If you remember my Year in Review thread, this is the show that I gave the nod to as top comedy of last year. It's a pretty plotless slice-of-life show, following the lives of a number of odd Japanese schoolgirls (and their even stranger teachers).
CPM is getting a number of interesting titles recently. Soon to be released is Alien 9, a very unusual story. The schoolgirls-capturing-aliens motif isn't all that odd, but the characters are. Very good story that is, unfortunately, not complete, as there are only four episodes in the OVA (the last one appropriately titled "The End of the Beginning"). Luckily CPM is also releasing the manga, so you can find out what happens afterwards.
Also coming up is Animation Runner Kurmoi. This is an unusual title, kind of an Otaku no Video Lite, about the industry itself. Kuromi is a fresh college graduate just starting her first job out of college. After being shown around the studio she's told she's in charge, and has to cope from there.
CPM does seem to be favoring the unusual titles this year, and will be releasing Cat Soup this year as well. This is a short movie (or long episode, take your pick) thats... well, kind of hard to describe. Basically, it deals with a cat journeying to save his sister's (I think) soul, but it's kind of an art film on acid, so it's hard to tell.
Bandai has finally rescheduled Infinite Ryvius. This was supposed to come out earlier this year but was removed from the list for some unknown reason. It's finally been given a new release date. This one is pretty much Lord of the Flies in space, so be prepared for lots and lots of angst.
They're also soon to be releasing Witch Hunter Robin, which has been a rather popular title. The basic premise is made clear by the title, and it's a rather dark show with lots of politics in the background. Unfortunately, it's a really slow starter, and keeps the mosnter-of-the-week theme running too long. Bandi is gracing this with a Platinum Line Limited Edition release, so there is also a pricy LE version of the first disc with lots of extras.
Disney is apparently getting ready to release more Studio Ghibli films, as news has come out that Porco Rosso is being dubbed. This is my favorite of Miyazaki's films. It's set in a kind of alternate history, between the world wars in the Adriac. The main character is a guy with the head of a pig, thanks to a curse from the last war, who is currently a bounty-hunting seaplane pilot (and yes, it's much better than it sounds from this).
Synch Point doesn't have the resources to do a whole lot at once, but they're almost done with FLCL, and have announced that they've licensed the Digi Charat movie. I suspect they're trying to get the TV series as well, but it seems caught in a major licensing tangle, so they probably won't have much luck.
The last big news is Pioneer, which has formally announced a release date for Haibane Renmei. Again with the Year in Review, this one earned my pick for best anime series of last year, and indeed, my favorite anime series period. It's hard to describe the charm of the series, but it's about a group of people called haibane. Not quite human, they hatch from cocoons with no memories of their past, grow wings, and live in a walled city they aren't allowed to leave.
On the manga side of things, I'm mostly repeating myself here, but there are some interesting things going on. NieA_7 has been licensed by Viz, and while it probalby isn't everyone's cup of tea I enjoy it. This one is by my favorite man-of-anime, yo****oshi ABe (also the writer of Haibane Renmei).
In something of a surprise move, Berserk has been licensed. Running 24 volumes so far in Japan (that I know of) it's a long and dark one. This one's squarely in the hack and slash genre, with a bit of a fantastic touch in the way of demons. Very good story.
A number of good series are about to or have recently finished their US releases. I'll just list some of the big ones for now:
Berserk
Excel Saga
Fruits Basket
Banner of the Stars
Utena
Card Captor Sakura
FLCL
Biggest news here is His and Her Circumstances, which has turned out to be an edited version of the original series. Right Stuf was unaware of this, and is currently trying to find out what happened, but I suspect it was just Gainax being Gainax. This one is rather disappointing, however, as not all the changes were minor. An entire episode and a half are completely different, which makes you wonder why no one noticed it while it was being dubbed...1
As for stuff currently running in Japan, I haven't seen much that's particularly impressive. There are a number of decent titles, like Stellvia no Uchuu, but little that really stands out. The best of the bunch right now is definitely Kino no Tabi, something that ADV has apparently pre-licensed, although they haven't confirmed it yet. This series is about a boy who's just wandering around the world with his companion, the cynical talking motorcycle. It's more dramatic than it sounds, and so far is turning out quite good.
Wraith
"Nyaaaaaa!"
-- Kazumi ("Alien 9")
). 
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