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BAKEMONOGATARI SANTA MONICA, CA (2012) – Aniplex of America has just released the product details on the upcoming release of Bakemonogatari. The critically acclaimed series directed by Madoka Magica Director Akiyuki Shinbou follows the story of a high school student named Koyomi Araragi and his encounters with girls who have apparition-related issues. The longawaited release of this hit anime will be in a Limited Edition Blu-Ray Box Set on November 20th, 2012 and will be available through anime distributor Right Stuf.com and official retailers (http://aniplexusa. com/retailers/). This deluxe Blu-ray Box Set features the
entire series (15 TV episodes) on 6 Blu-ray discs, a deluxe 36- page booklet (production designs and Ending Card Illustrations and more!), audio commentary tracks by main characters, textless openings and endings, and more! All of the discs and bonus materials will be packaged inside a study rigid box featuring original illustration by Akio Watanabe (character design).
“We have received numerous requests and input from the fans in North America and we are very excited to finally be able to answer these loyal fans of ours by bringing Bakemonogatari here in the US. We are certain that everyone will be pleased with this release.” says Hideki Goto, the president of Animation Business of Aniplex of America. “The Bakemonogatari In addition, fans will be happy to know Limited Edition Blu-ray Box Set release is that Bakemonogatari will also be availjust another example of how we strive to able streaming online through Crunchyroll. bring the best experience while providing com and Hulu.com. The first episode of the fans highest quality of releases.” This the original TV broadcast will premiere on release is a US and Canada Exclusive and September 14th with new episodes added available while supplies last. each week.
NEWS 2
For The First Time Ever, Yu-Gi-Oh! Championship Series In Guatemala
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l Segundo, CA (August 29, 2012) – The Yu-Gi-Oh! CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES (YCS) makes its first stop ever in Guatemala at the Parque de la Industria in Guatemala City. Guatemala will be the third Latin America location of the year for the Yu-Gi-Oh! TRADING CARD GAME (TCG) presented by Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc. (Konami). Duelists from Latin American cities and around the globe will drop in on the diverse Central American country September 8-9th in hopes of becoming the next YCS Champion. During the two days, enthusiastic Duelists will be facing off against each other for some intense head-to head Dueling. The competition starts from the First Round on Saturday morning and culminates at the Final Round Sunday afternoon, with each and every Duelist hoping that they, along with their Deck, will go down in Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG history as the Champion of YCS Guatemala. Duelists should make time to pre-register for the YCS Guatemala Main Event from 3:00 p.m.
– 7:00 p.m. on Friday, September 7th as those players that preregister and submit a Deck list will receive an event-exclusive YCS Token Card! Registration will begin promptly at 8:00 a.m. on Saturday, September 8th. Upon registering, Duelists will receive four Return of the Duelist booster packs for participating in Konami’s YCS Guatemala. Round One will start at 10:00 a.m. and the Top 16 or 32 YCS finishers (depending on attendance) will earn invitations to participate in their region’s 2013 World Championship Qualifier.
Sentai Filmworks Licenses “Love, Elections & Chocolate”
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OUSTON, — Sentai Filmworks’ is pleased to announce their latest acquisition: Love, Elections, & Chocolate. With series composition by Katsuhiko Takayama (ef: a tale of memories., And Yet the Town Moves), this series is sure to have the right recipe to win at the polls, and to complete the ticket, music In addition, Konami will hold by Elements Garden (Bodatwo Dragon Duels for the youngcious Space Pirates) and charer players (Duelists born 2000 or acter designs by Hiroaki Gohda later). The top four finishers in (Amagami SS, Please Teacher!) each of the Dragon Duel events add the icing that tops it all off. will receive a special Dragon Duel Champion’s Medal, a ReIn Japan, participation in gional Game Mat, a Regional extra-curricular activities is as Deck Box and an invitation to fundamental a part of an educatheir 2013 Dragon Duel World tion as chalk and gym shorts. Championship Qualifier, where However, not all students are they have the opportunity to earn overachievers, and for those an invitation to the second anlike Yuki Ojima, groups like the nual Dragon Duel World ChamFood Research Club are welpionship at the Yu-Gi-Oh! World come havens in which to slackChampionship to be held in off. But what’s a slacker to do August 2013. when the radical new candidate for Student Council president
A New Way Of Learning Manga Book
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ELEM, PA - Many years ago, there appeared in Japan a drawing style called manga. The style spread quickly, embraced by artists of all cultures. Too often, however, these artists ape the surface characteristics of manga, without understanding the artistic principles underlying them. These principles are the subject of this work. Unlike most manga tutorials, which give you generic models to copy, Elements of Manga Style provides genuine insight into the underlying structure of authentic manga style. Using many images from the worlds of manga and fine art as examples, Lopes lucidly explains the secrets of composition, color, dynamic contrast, and simplicity that define the manga style. He also explores unique manga techniques like ‘Notan’, ‘chobo-chobo’, and ‘super-de-
announces her intent to get rid of clubs like the FRC? Well, getting the help of the current Student Council president is a good start, but HIS suggestion is so counter-intuitive that it’s crazy: Yuki should run for the Student Council himself? And yet, it’s SO crazy that it just might work! Especially when Chisato, the chocolate-adverse president of the FRC (and Yuki’s best childhood friend,) and members of other targeted school clubs start to join the swelling FRC army. But can this army of goofs and goofoffs coast all the way to political victory? Or will someone have to step up to the plate and take one for the term? They may savor victory, they may taste defeat, but you’re certain to eat up LOVE, ELECTIONS & CHOCOLATE! Love, Elections, & Chocolate will soon be available through select digital outlets.
formed’. If you are looking for a chart showing how to draw ‘manga eyes’, or copy your favorite characters, look elsewhere. If you seek the tools to use create personal artistic expression within the manga tradition, and understand manga’s place in the history of world art, this book is for you. “With their Elements of Style, Strunk and White did it for prose, and now – after a great deal of observation and analysis – Joao Henrique Lopes does it for manga with his new and concise Elements of Manga Style.” – Frederik L. Schodt, author of Manga! Manga! The World of Japanese Comics.
INTERVIEW 3 At San Diego Comic-Con this year, we had a short opportunity to chat with the founder of legendary animation company STUDIO4, Eiko Tanaka. Tanaka founded the company in 1986, and she remains president and CEO to this day. Viz Media will release Berserk: The Golden Age Arc I – The Egg of the King on Blu-ray and DVD on November 27th, with an additional premiere on the company’s new PS3-centric anime channel, Neon Alley, this fall.
hours to be loyal to the original manga story.
duce the animation of this magnificent saga to the end!
In your estimation, what sort of STUDIO4 is known chiefly production budget is ideal for a for the wildly creative original project of this scope? films you’ve produced such as Mind Game and Genius Japanese films are produced Party. With the success of these with much lower cost than the Berserk films, do you intend budget of Hollywood movies. to attempt another anthology As the producer, I know the project?
As a founder of STUDIO4, obviously you’ve been around the anime industry long enough to see the dramatic changes it’s gone through in the last 20 years. Which of these changes, do you think, are the most positive? Do you wish certain changes hadn’t happened?
EIKO TANAKA: As a matter of fact, I did not have any knowledge about the original manga. Knowing the fact that the original manga has sold 30 million copies over the world, I really got surprised. Picking up the book and opening the first page, I got overwhelmed with its density (people who have read it may say, “of course you get overwhelmed”, though…)
It is the change that animation used to be only for kids, now has become regarded as the movies that adults can enjoy. That was what I have dreamed of. I am glad to see my dream come true.
What was the biggest challenge in adapting this material? Did you wind up referencing the original television series at all?
Also, another difficult task was that we had to make it feature length, though the original TV series was able to take more
Creatively, do you prefer working on projects like Mind Game or do you appreciate the challenge of adapting existing material more? Either is a creative challenge. STUDIO4 will continue to produce the quality works with the prides, as which it identify themselves. Please look forward to our works.
ANN: What was your first reaction upon being approached to produce the Berserk films? Were you a fan of the manga originally?
The heavy armor and the battle sequences. For the armor, depicting numerous lines and the solid textures that they have is difficult. For the battles, many combatants have to be drawn, such as the cavalry, the archers, the spearmen, the foot-soldiers, and so on. The way they fight also has to be studied. Furthermore, are we really going to show the scene where the body is cut in half? All of these make things more difficult. Any of these is something that isn’t easy to depict using the traditional hand-drawn style that Japanese anime is proud of.
As STUDIO4, we will continue to enthusiastically use CG as a tool to aid hand-drawn animation, aiming to produce expressions which cannot be done with only either hand-drawn animation or CG.
budget for this movie, which is secret. But, I wish I had 3 billion (yen).
Yes, we do. We are always working a variety of projects enthusiastically.
Was there a particular arc of the manga you personally were looking forward to seeing animated?
The Berserk films rely heavily on CG for crowd animation; why was this particular technique chosen? Would you like to see STUDIO4 work with CG more heavily in the future?
Next will be the arc of “Lost Children”. I wish we could see Farnese animated. If these three films are successful enough, is the idea to produce more films and cover more of the manga story? The original manga still goes on with 36 tankobon published. We would like to continue to pro-
We used CG for the parts where hand-drawn animation was the most difficult to use. We were planning to make all the faces, which are easy to look conspicuous, with hand-drawing and then combine them with CG. I am afraid that there are some parts which we could have done better.
The change that I didn’t want to see is the recession that has followed the subprime mortgage crisis and then later the Lehman Brothers shock, the Euro crisis, and the (excessive) Yen appreciation. Now is the era that the global economy has a great impact on anime. I really feel that animation has been getting globalized. I am happy and proud that I came to Comic-con to blow off the recession and can introduce Bersek to everybody.
GAME 4
DEVIL SUMMONER: SOUL HACKERS We find the cover of Soul Hackers intriguing. Originally released for the PlayStation and Saturn, Soul Hackers is a spin-off of the demon-heavy Shin Megami Tensei franchise, and it’s full of strange ideas.
Tensei’s most interesting cases of humandemon symbiosis. Box-art ruminations aside, Soul Hackers remains a dungeon-crawler from 1997,
You’re a seemingly normal computer jockey in a cyberpunk-ish future, but a turn in a new online game leaves you carrying the souls of recently deceased demon-hunters. Meanwhile, your best friend Hitomi has her own identity crisis, as she’s periodically controlled by a demon called Nemissa. The two (or three) of you soon join up with a team of hackers called the Spookies, who go about summoning monsters, unraveling conspiracies, and using hitech pistol COMPs called GUMPs. Yet it’s white-haired Nemissa who gets the cover shot for Soul Hackers, and perhaps her outfit isn’t the only reason. Despite the obvious duality of their roles, she and Hitomi are one of Shin Megami
Finishing the central game unlocks a new bonus dungeon featuring other Devil Summoner protagonists, including Raidou Kuzunoha and the original Devil Summoner’s hero (who looks darned close to an anime Leisure Suit Larry). Players can also adjust the game’s difficulty in the midst of dungeon forays, just in case their StreetPassraised pet hasn’t made enough friends to hold its own. Import Barrier: Japanese 3DS are still region-locked, and Soul Hackers is a textheavy game besides.
with a first-person view, some rather basic graphics, and a menu-based battle system. The 3DS version adds quite a bit, though: full voice acting, lots of new animation, 30 extra demons to summon in combat, and a new devil that grows by grabbing friend tags through the system’s StreetPass feature.
Chances of a Domestic Release: There’s a fair chance that Atlus will release it over here. They’re already choked with Shin Megami Tensei games, though, and the dated core of Soul Hackers puts it well behind its more recent relatives. . DEVIL SUMMONER: SOUL HACKERS Developer: Atlus Publisher: Atlus Platform: Nintendo 3DS
FINAL FANTASY DIMENSIONS Developer: Matrix Software Publisher: Square Enix Platform: iOS Platforms (worldwide) MSRP: $28.99 (or $2.99-$3.99 per episode) Next week is devoid of notable releases, but there’s a groundbreaking game headed our way this Friday. Why is Final Fantasy Dimensions groundbreaking? Well, it’s the first time Square’s had the temerity to charge almost thirty bucks for an iPhone title. That aside, Dimensions is also notable as a game deliberately aimed at the more nostalgic of Final Fantasy nerds, the ones who pine for the franchise’s 16-bit days. Like most of the games prior to Final Fantasy VI, crystals are the driving force behind the story here, and they draw together two disparate groups: the Warriors of Light and the Warriors of Darkness. The Light half is led by a kid named Sol and the Dark contingent gets a leader named Nacht, but the characters aren’t so Manichean; for example, the Dark group includes two of Sol’s childhood friends. Along with these eight leads, there’s a lineup of rotating allies to fill slots in the five-character party. They include a dragoon, a bard, an android, a
dancer, a one-armed ninja, a dwarf, and a drunkard. Old-school RPGs always needed more alcoholism. Dimensions uses the same basic, polishedlooking sprite art seen in Square’s Final Fantasy IV: The After Years, and it adopts a “Job” system reminiscent of Final Fantasy III and V. It covers all the usual suspects in Final Fantasy professions: warriors, monks, thieves, summoners, and three different colors of mage. However, some jobs are exclusive to one side of the dualistic cast. Only warriors of Light can become dragoons, memorists, bards, knights, or elite cat-eared white mages called “devouts,” and only Dark warriors can be rangers, dancers, ninja, dark knights, or high-level black magi. It’s a return to the old-school Final Fantasy style that some praise almost a bit too readily, and let’s be honest: the price isn’t that bad compared to what you’d spend on a new Final Fantasy back in 1993.
SPOTLIGHT 5
Anime Spotlight Summer 2012 Aesthetica of a Rogue Hero Summary: Starts:Friday, Jul 6 at 10:30AM JST on AT-X An international training organization named Studio:ARMS Bable helps young people returning from anGenre: Fantasy other world. One of those is Akatsuki OtorWebsite: http://kichiku.tv/ Notable Cast/Staff: izawa, who has just returned to the real world from a world of sword and magic called Director: Rion Kujo (Samurai Harem, Ikki Tousen: Areizado, accompanied by a beautiful girl who Shūgaku Tōshi Keppu-roku) Series composition: Ryunosuke Kingetsu (Ninja Nonsense, happens to be the demon king’s daughter. Tales of Symphonia the Animation) Cast: Nobuhiko Okamoto as Akatsuki (Blue Exorcist, Bakuman.) Hakuōki: Reimei-roku Starts:Tuesday, Jul 10 at 2:53AM JST on Yomiuri TV Studio:Studio DEEN Genre: Bishounen, Historical Website: http://www.geneonuniversal.jp/rondorobe/anime/hakuoki/ Notable Cast/ Staff: Director: Osamu Yamasaki (Akai Hayate, Gestalt) Music: Kô Ôtani (Mobile Suit Gundam Wing, Gunslinger Girl II: Il Teatrino) Theme Song Performance: Maon Kurosaki (Highschool of the Dead) Summary: A prequel to Hakuōki, the series takes place in 1863 after the Tokugawa shogunate creates the Roshigumi, a group of masterless samurai meant to aid Aizu forces in Kyoto. However, things don’t go as planned, and the group is soon split into two opposing factions. One man is obligated to enter the conflict because of a blood debt, and must go up against the more powerful faction. Jinrui wa Suitai Shimashita Starts:Sunday, Jul 1 at midnight JST on tvk 7, Tokyo MX Studio:AIC ASTA Genre: Dystopian, Dark Comedy Website: http://www.mmv.co.jp/special/jintai/ Notable Cast/Staff: Director: Seiji Kishi (Galaxy Angel Rune, My Bride is a Mermaid) Cast: Mai Nakahara as main character (Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kira, Kaleido Star) Music: Kô Ôtani (Hakuōki Reimeiroku, Haibane Renmei) Summary: Humanity has been in decline for several centuries. Food is scarce and resources are low. The only prosperous species are Fairies, small creatures with a weakness for sweets, and it’s up to a UN arbitator to liase between the fairies and the humans. One day, a company starts filling the markets with strange products, and it’s up to the arbitrator to figure out what’s going on. Chitose Get You!! Summary: Starts:Monday, Jul 2 at 12:56AM JST on AT-X Based on a four-panel manga by the same name, Chitose Studio: Get You!! follows an elementary school girl named Chitose Genre: Comedy, Slice of Life who pursues the affections of a young man named Hiroshi, Website: http://www.takeshobo.co.jp/sp/tv_chi- who works at the town hall next to her school. tose/ Notable Cast/Staff: Original story: Etsuya Mashima (Koi Neko, Hiyomama) Director and Character Design: Takako Sano (Fairy Tail)
NEWS 6
Solanin’s Asano to Doujin Work’s Hiroyuki to Launch New Manga This Fall End Umibe no Onna no Ko Manga
Manga creator Hiroyuki announced on his Twitter account that he will start a new manga series this autumn. The title will be his next work after his manga Mangaka-san to Assistant-san to (The Comic Artist and His Assistants) ended this month in Square Enix’s monthly Shonen Gangan magazine. On his Twitter feed, Hiroyuki wrote, “Ah, I’m done with next issue’s manuscript, but I’m still going to be working with almost no break! A totally different manga from “ManAssi” will start being serialized in a certain magazine this fall! Please look forward to it!” Hiroyuki’s Dojin Work manga was adapted into a 2007 anime series, which was released in North America by Media Blasters.
The 77th volume of Ohta Books’ Manga Erotics F magazine revealed on Thursday that manga creator Inio Asano (Solanin) is drawing two more chapters of his Umibe no Onna no Ko (A Girl by the Seaside) manga. The manga will end in the 79th issue on January 7, 2013. The story revolves around Koume, an ordinary middle school girl who lives in a small town near the sea. She attempts to have a physical relationship without emotional attachments with an introverted classmate named Isobe, but things do not work out the way she anticipated. The second version of The Comic Artist and His Assistants will end in this year’s 19th issue of Square Enix’s Young Gangan magazine on September 21. Square Enix plans to then ship the 10th and final book volume in December
The manga launched in 2009, and Ohta Books published the first book volume last year. Viz Media published Asano’s Solanin in North America, and that manga was nominated for an Eisner Award in 2009. Viz also published his What a wonderful world! manga.
Composer Hajime Kikuchi Steps Away From Band eufonius Composer Hajime Kikuchi confirmed on Sunday that he will not participate in the rock band eufonius for now, after making what he described as “careless remarks.” On the band’s website, he expressed his profound apologies for his comments and for the resulting consequences for eufonius and the band’s fans. As a result, he decided to exercise self-restraint by not taking part in the production of the band’s music for the time being. Kikuchi (standing left in photograph) had made denigrating comments toward singer Halko Momoi on Twitter last month. Kikuchi later apologized for his comments, but both Kikuchi and Momoi have stopped using the service since then. Online posters discovered a number of controversial statements in a subsequent search of Kikuchi’s earlier Twitter posts. One of Kikuchi’s Twitter posts led to another controversy about the Kokoro Connect staff’s treatment of voice actor Mitsuhiro Ichiki. Ichiki had auditioned for an anime-original character, but he was informed at a June advanced screening event that he would instead act as the Head of Public Relations for the series, not as part of the voice cast. After the fan backlash for the “Candid Camera-style project,” the anime’s production committee said that it had planned from the beginning to make Ichiki part of the voice cast for the last episodes of the series. The production committee apologized for “insuffi-
cient consideration regarding performers” leading to “widespread discomfort and misunderstanding” in its publicity campaign. The rock band eufonius was involved in the soundtracks of many anime titles, including True Tears, Clannad, Futakoi, Polyphonica, Himawari!, Noein - to your other self, Yosuga no Sora, Bungaku Shōjo, and most recently, Kokoro Connect.
NEWS 7
Kannagi Director, Idolm@ster Writer Make ‘Wake Up, Girls!’ Anime The production company avex entertainment announced on Monday that director Yutaka Yamamoto (Kannagi, Fractale, pictured in center) is helming a new anime titled Wake Up, Girls! in collaboration with Avex and the voice talent agency 81 Produce. Avex is billing the anime as a reunion of the Lucky Star staff, since Yamamoto (often nicknamed as “Yamakan”) will be working again with scriptwriter/ series script editor Touko Machida (Lucky Star, The IDOLM@ STER, fourth from the left in photograph) and monaca composer Satoru Kousaki (Lucky Star, The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, fifth from the left in photograph). On Monday, Avex and 81 Produce launched open auditions for new female talent who will not only star as the main characters of the new anime, but also sing the anime’s theme song. The Avex Group has worked with Ayumi Hamasaki, Kumi Koda, AAA, Super Girls, and other idols and musical artists, while 81 Produce has managed such voice cast members as Kana Asumi, Emiri Katō, and Megumi Toyoguchi. Kato (first from the left in photograph) and Avex talent Kaori
Fukuhara (second from the left in photograph) appeared at Monday’s press conference as “official supporters” of the new anime; they will not necessarily be in the new anime’s cast. The anime’s key visual showed seven girls, but the staff emphasized that it is not certain if the final group will still have seven girls.
region.
The new anime is tentatively set in the Tohoku region, an area that was heavily affected by the earthquake of March 11, 2011. Yamamoto has been visiting the Tohoku region frequently, particularly the damaged hometown of Kannagi manga creator Eri Takenashi, and he already made blossom, a charity anime for the
This is the second time Avex and 81 Produce worked together to audition new talent this way; the six winners of the first contest earlier this year eventually formed the group i☆Ris, which sang the ending theme song “Color” for the Battle Spirits: Sword Eyes anime which premiered on Sunda
Mimori’s Oda-San ke no Ran Hoshi to Run in Gangan Online Mimori, artist for the Higurashi no Naku Koro ni: Yoigoshi-hen manga announced on her official Twitter account today that she is beginning a new manga series in Square Enix’s Gangan Online Magazine starting in September. The work is titled Oda-San ke no Ran Hoshi (The Rebellious Monk at Oda-San’s House). The series was previously published in the company’s twice-yearly Gangan Ikusa -IXA- Asian fantasy manga magazine, but will be rebooted with this new serialization.
Mimori’s other work includes Koishite Twinkle, published by Akita Shoten in 2011 with one stand-alone volume, and Jigoku-dou Reikai Tsuushin, a novel adaptaton published in Kodansha’s Good! Afternoon magazine and compiled into four standalone volumes. Gangan Online is available to read every week on the iPad and iPhone. Currently serialized series include Daily Lives of High School Boys, The IDOLM@STER: Cinderella Girls comic anthology, and many others.
NEWS 8
Kana Hanazawa, Daisuke Ono Join Nerawareta Gakuen Cast
Kana Hanazawa and Daisuke Ono have been announced as the latest cast members for the upcoming anime film adaptation of Taku Mayumura’s science-fiction children’s novel Nerawareta Gakuen. Ono will play the role of Ryuichi Kyogoku, a mysterious transfer student, while Hanazawa will play Kahori Haruka, a friend of the title’s protagonist Natsuki. Sunrise’s Studio 8 (My-HiME, Horizon in the Middle of Nowhere, Accel World) is producing the adaptation with director Ryosuke Nakamura (Mōryō no Hako, Aoi Bungaku Series). supercell will perform its opening song. The Cinema Today website began streaming a teaser video for the film in June. AKB48 member Mayu Watanabe, also known as “Mayuyu,” was previously announced to be starring as the character Natsuki in the film and also as singing its theme song, while Yuutaro Motoshiro will play the role of Kenji. A manga version of the upcoming film
Tales of Xillia 2 RPG’s TV Ad Previews ufotable Animation A new commercial for Tales of Xillia 2, the latest role-playing game in Namco Bandai Games’ “Tales of” franchise, began airing on Saturday. The commercial features a glimpse of the new anime footage from the studio ufotable, and it launches the franchise’s first-ever weekly seven-part ad campaign. The “RPG where choice weaves the future” is set one year after the ending of the first Tales of Xillia. The key to the story is an eight-year-old girl named Elle Mel Marta (played by Mariya Ise). Daigo Okumura (Tales of the Tempest, Yumeria game, Elementhunters) is designing the new characters, in addition to the ones previously designed by Mutsumi Inomata (Windaria, Future GPX Cyber Formula, Utsunomiko) and Kousuke Fujishima (Aa Megami-sama, You’re Under Arrest, Sakura Wars). Buyers can add an official Dual Shock 3 Tales of Xillia 2 X (Cross) edition controller for a total of 12,980 yen (US$163).
began serialization in the 12th issue of Kadokawa Shoten’s Newtype Ace magazine on August 10. Tatsuru Ishikawa is drawing the manga. The film is slated for release in Japan on November 10. The Scotland Loves Animation event will host the film’s world premiere in Edinburgh between October 19-21. The event’s website describes the “new interpretation” of Mayumura’s novel as follows: Spring marks the start of another new school year at a junior high school in Kamakura. A new transfer student, Ryoichi Kyogoku joins the 8th grade. Kyogoku has a very special proficiency in telepathy and has been ordered by his father to use this ability to scan other people’s minds and take over the school. He instantly gains popularity at school
from his good looks and charisma and he sets about taking control of the school. As people begin to fall under Kyogoku’s spell, he covertly manipulates his followers and pushes aside anyone who gets in his way. With the school almost completely under the control of Kyogoku, only one boy seems unaffected – Seki. Does Seki have what it takes to save everyone from the clutches of mind control? Mayumura has written scores of novels, and some of them — Manie-Manie Meikyu Monogatari (NeoTokyo) and Toki no Tabibito -Time Stranger- — have inspired earlier anime films. The Nerawareta Gakuen novel already inspired four live-action television adaptations and two live-action films, but Sunrise’s film will be the first anime adaptation.
NYC Idol Unit’s Yūma Nakayama Stars in Manga-Based Piece Show Yūma Nakayama (Tsubasa yo! Are ga Koi no Hi da, Koi Shite Akuma ~Vampire Boy~), the 18-year-old member of the Japanese idol group NYC, will star in this fall’s live-action television adaptation of the Piece - Kanojo no Kioku shōjo manga by Hinako Ashihara (Sand Chronicles). The series will premiere on the NTV network on Saturday, October 6 at 0:55 a.m. (effectively Sunday, October 7 at 12:55 a.m.) The other cast members include 20-year-old Tsubasa Honda (2012 GTO) and 17-year-old Johnny’s Jr. member Hokuto Matsumura. Nakayama will play the aloof college student who meets the girl he dated in high school again, and faces his dark past. Honda will play the girlfriend of Nakayama’s character. The story of the manga begins a few years after high school graduation, when the main character Mizuho receives an unexpected phone call. She learns of the passing of a high school classmate named Haruka Origuchi. Haruka was a plain girl who did not draw attention, but Mizuho discovers to her shock that Haruka was pregnant during high school.
Now, Haruka’s mother wants Mizuho’s help in finding the father of Haruka’s unborn child. Even as she assembles the puzzles pieces of Haruka’s life, Mizuho fears delving too far in her past. Mizuho shared her first kiss with a boy named Hikaru Narumi in high school, and their lives may cross paths again.
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INFO 10
8 Most Visually Striking Anime Productions This week’s countdown works as a double-list of sorts. There was no way to list off the most visually striking works without mentioning the directors who led them. If you explore through ANN’s encyclopedia enough, you’ll notice that several directors in the list worked as staff members on other entries. There’s certainly a creative community for artists thinking, or in this case drawing, outside of the box.
8. Puella Magi Madoka Magica’s Labyrinths (Gekidan Inu Curry) Inucurry’s otherwordly designs for the witches’ labyrinths in Madoka Magica appeared in the series’ first episode and they hit hard. The audience is initially introduced to a by-the-numbers magical girl series with some futuristic elements. We start with a disastrous dream sequence (à la Card Captor Sakura, Sailor Moon, etc.), the cute-but-shy lead, her family, and her school life. It’s when Madoka stumbles into a witch’s lair and we’re introduced to Inu Curry’s Freudian-like art that the stage is set for something extraordinary. The environments leave a lot for the audience to analyze with their cryptic transcriptions and psychological themes. Other works of note: Maria Holic ending sequence
7. Serial Experiments Lain (Ryutaro Nakamura) Serial Experiments Lain was the 1990s allegory for the soon-to-come NEET and hikkomori phenomenon would draw media and government attention a half-decade later. Isolation and communication are major themes within the series, a point the art drives home. Buzzing telephone lines cast shadows on the stark white ground, flecked with an unsettling red. Lain walks to school each morning, almost blinded by the world outside her room. Wires, computers and cellphones are abstract characters unto themselves. The character designs are credited to none other than Yoshitoshi ABe, whose iconic designs appear in the post-apocalyptic Texhnolyze and supernatural drama Haibane Renmei. Other works of note: Ghost Hound, Kino’s Journey
6. Mononoke (Kenji Nakamura) Mononoke takes a stylistic approach similar to this season’s Uta Koi, albeit a more committed one. The series’ itself is gorgeous to look at, featuring a pastel palette with layers of blocked texture. Every scene appears drawn on creased rice paper, emphasizing the show’s roots in traditional Japanese art. Symbolism plays a large part in the show’s arcs while recurring themes such as shoji doors and overwhelmingly large structures cower around the characters. Unfortunately, Mononoke has yet to be released stateside and it’s predecessor, Ayakashi - Samurai Horror Tales was released by Geneon USA in 2007, but was not rescued. The art staff (Takashi Kurahashi, Yumi Hosaka, and Takashi Hashimoto) are currently involved in Toei’s Kyousogiga project. Other works of note: Kūchū Buranko, tsuritama
5. Kemonozume (Masaaki Yuasa)
It could be argued that Kemonozume’s art is ugly and it wouldn’t be an entirely unfair assessment. It sloughs off the audience’s expectations of anime aesthetics in place of fluidity. It bares some similarities to Production I.G’s Kill Bill anime segments but more grotesque. The series’ monsters and subsequent gore are lovingly detailed while human faces are ever-moving wheels of expressions. It’s surprising the series never received a stateside release, because while the artistry may not jive with the typical anime fan it might find its niche with [adult swim]’s Western animation fans. There’s enough sexual content to titillate, gory-action for horror fans, and an interesting love story. Other works of note: Kaiba, Mind Game, The Tatami Galaxy
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4. Dead Leaves (Hiroyuki Imaishi) Imaishi’s debut work with artist Imaitoonz is a 50-minute adrenaline rush of action-comedy that deftly introduces Imaishi’s style. The aesthetic and color palette is tweaked in his later series, Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt but its Western influences are still present. The art makes heavy use of black shading, similar to Viewtiful Joe, but with a darker color scheme and postapocalyptic destruction. The visuals lend itself to comedy easily, although it helps when the lead character has a TV for a head. Other works of note: Gurren Lagann, Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt
3. Revolutionary Girl Utena: The Movie (Kunihiko Ikuhara/Be-Papas) The Utena movie sometimes gets a bad rap from fans of the series. It’s understandable, especially if you watch the two back-to-back, but to do so misses Ikuhara’s point entirely. The film is supposed to be a “celebration” of the series, and it achieves this artfully. It’s hard to pick a defining moment for this film; it’s a moving series of art pieces from start to finish with references to artists like photographer Edward Weston. The ending might go off the rails and characterization leaves something to be desired compared to its predecessor, but it is a beautiful film. Other works of note: Mawaru Penguindrum
2. Bakemonogatari (Akiyuki Shinbo) Akiyuki Shinbo’s style of quick angle changes, flashy colors, and interlaced symbols is becoming quickly identifiable thanks to his ever growing body of work. It was difficult for me to pick which series best exemplifies his artistic take on the medium but Bakemonogatari and its subsequent sequels are one of the most striking (with Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensei a close second). The series relies heavily on geometric-patterned backgrounds and light and shadow. The repetitive shapes feel confining and overwhelming, tying to the series’ focus on characters cursed by their pasts or insecurities. The use of interlaced frames of kanji and images lets the audience in on character thought patterns while symbolic objects multiply between cut scenes. Bakemonogatari is a fast-paced visual overload, but its unequivocal uniqueness stands out in a sea of expected offerings. Other works of note: Arakawa Under the Bridge, Maria Holic, Le Portrait de Petite Cossette, Puella Magi Madoka Magica, The SoulTaker, Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensei
1. Paprika (Satoshi Kon) Satoshi’s Kon final completed work is a perfect blend of psychological symbolism, lush attention to detail, and immersing environments. It’s rare to find an animated work whose visual cues reveal so much about the characters’ motivations, psyche, and relationships. The world of dreams blur with reality (a similar concept is touched on in Perfect Blue) in a mix of the fantastic yet disturbing displays of the minds of the mentally ill. Paprika herself is always on the run, and it’s in her transforming chase scenes (Goku to Fairy to Sphynx to Mermaid) that the animation direction takes a life of its own. The community lost a great visionary with the passing of Kon, but Paprika stands tantamount to visual perfection. Other works of note: Perfect Blue, Paranoia Agent, Kaikisen (manga)
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Anime USA Welcomes Professor Charles Dunbar Charles Dunbar is an anthropologist. He studies a lot of things, be it fandom, anime culture, the supernatural or mysterious men in blue boxes. He received his MA in Sociocultural Anthropology in 2011, after utilizing ancient Mayan techniques to hypnotize his department into believing that he was, in fact, the reincarnation of Victor Turner. His thesis, entitled “Pilgrimage, Pageantry and Fan Communities,” was published soon after, and focused on anime convention participation, including stereotyping, spending
habits, cosplay and con culture. Currently, he travels around lecturing on topics like mythology, sacred practice, anime culture, Hayao Miyazaki, Pokémon, Time Lord physiology, folklore and fandom. In his spare time, Charles hunts yokai and indulges in the occasional JRPG. You can keep track of his current ramblings on www.studyofanime.com For biographical information and pictures,
Aiura 4-Panel High School Girl Manga Has Anime in the Works An anime of Chama’s Aiura four-panel manga is in the works. The story centers around Amaya, Iwasawa, and Uehara — three “annoying, spirited high school girls with zero motivation” — and their classmates. Their daily life is “what happens when there is nothing happening.” The manga launched on niconico Seiga, the online still-frame counterpart to the niconico (formerly Nico Nico Douga) video service last year, and then Kadokawa Shoten’s 4-Koma Nano Ace magazine began serializing the manga last summer. Kadokawa just published the manga’s second book volume last month.
OniAi Romantic Comedy TV Anime’s 1st Ad Streamed
The production company T.O. Entertainment began streaming a television commercial for the television anime adaptation of Daisuke Suzuki’s Onii-chan Dakedo Ai Sae Areba Kankei Nai yo ne— (Oniai) light novel series on Monday. The video features the ending theme song “Life-ru is Love-ru!!” by the “Liliana Sisters,” a group composed of Asami Shimoda, Eri Kitamura, Minori Chihara, and Ibuki Kido. This anime from the studio SILVER LINK will premiere on Japan’s premium anime channel AT-X on October 5. The story centers around Akito Himenokōji (Ryota Ohsaka), a boy who was separated from his twin sister Akiko (Kido) six years ago, but they end up living under the same roof together during high school. Suzuki launched the romantic comedy light novel series in 2010 with illustrations by Gekka Urū, and Media Factory’s MF Bunko J imprint is shipping the seventh volume this month. The light novel series has over 430,000 copies in print. Kurō Rokushō launched a manga adaptation in Media Factory’s Monthly Comic Alive magazine last year. Suzuki previously wrote the Goshūshō-sama Ninomiya-kun light novel series that inspired the anime of the same name.
please check out our Guests page at http:// animeusa.org/guests About Anime USA: In 1999 Anime USA began as a northern Virginia convention started by fans, and in 2004 become a nonprofit educational organization. Our mission is to educate the public about and promote Japanese arts and popular culture. As in the beginning, we remain a convention of fans, by fans, and for fans. Anime USA is a 501 (c) 3 nonprofit.