Karigurashi no Arrietty Teaser Trailers Sneak Online
Posted by: sidereeldom on: February 8, 2010
The first, brief hints of Studio Ghibli’s next movie, Karigurashi no Arrietty, based on the classic children’s book “The Borrowers,” have started showing up in the form of teaser trailers. The teaser shows very little other than some of the forest and house backgrounds, though Cecile Corbel’s “Arrietty’s Song” sounds wonderful. Follow the jump to hear a slightly longer sample of the strange marriage of a French musician, the Celtic harp, Japanese anime, and British children’s books.
Ichiban Ushiro no Daimaou Promo Trailer Online
Posted by: sidereeldom on: February 8, 2010
We’ve been getting a lot of good spring anime previews over the last couple weeks, and Marvelous Entertainment adds to the momentum with its promo for Ichiban Ushiro no Daimaou (“The Demon King in the Back”), now available on the anime’s official site.
The anime is based on a series of light novels (seriously, is there a light novel series that hasn’t been turned into anime yet?) about Sai Akutou (a pun on the word for “Villain”), a young man who comes to the prestigious Constant Magical Academy in the hope of becoming a benevolent wizard. But on the first day, his aptitude test tells him he’s most suited for becoming a demon king, and that starts a chain of events that lead to him being shunned by all the right people and wanted by all the wrong elements…
The ending song will be sung by Asou Natsuko of the BakaTest opening, and the opening will be performed by the popular seiyuu idol group Sphere, which is most notable for Tomatsu Haruka. The stars are lining up for this show to be a very fun series, but we’ll see what happens in April – it could be another BakaTest, but it could also end up being more like Qwaser or Rosario + Vampire. Pray for the former.
Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood Airs on Adult Swim Starting Tomorrow
Posted by: sidereeldom on: February 5, 2010
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Watch me!
For those of you who don’t care for simulcasts because they don’t want to have to read tiny subtitles on a small screen, Cartoon Network and FUNimation have announced that Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood will air on Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim programming block starting Saturday, at 12 AM. Sadly, Anime Almanac’s Twitter reports that the broadcast will be in Standard Definition only, with no High-Def broadcast even on Cartoon Network’s HD channel.
Still, this is a great announcement for Fullmetal Alchemist fans, because it means that dubbed Fullmetal Alchemist will air every week for the conceivable future, making it even easier to follow the series – the first DVD release isn’t until May 25th, so this is a good way to fill the gap until it comes out.
Will you be watching?
Censorship As Marketing – Thursday Talking Point
Posted by: sidereeldom on: February 4, 2010
Thanks, Photoshop, we needed you!
If you’ve watched anime enough, you know what “Steam Girls” are, even if you haven’t heard the term before. “Steam Girls” refers to a time-honored anime tradition: in the obligatory “onsen episode,” the animators show a bunch of naked girls in a bath house, but cover their naughty bits with artfully placed bands of steam to avoid the wrath of the TV censors. Full Metal Panic? Fumoffu has perhaps the most hilarious variation on this decades-old workaround, doing visual gymnastics with everything from butterflies to rubber duckies to keep the viewer from seeing anything truly indecent.
In recent years, advertising revenues have plummeted, and DVD sales have become more and more important to the success or failure of a TV series. Accordingly, the focus of steam censorship has shifted away from making the show fit for TV, and has become a way of telling pervy fans “Buy the show on DVD and we’ll take this digital steam away for your viewing pleasure!” This season, the censorship has hit new heights (or new lows, depending on who you talk to) with the shows Omamori Himari, Seikon no Qwaser, and Ladies versus Butlers!
This week’s episodes of Omamori Himari and Ladies versus Butlers were especially butchered, with giant ham-fisted white splotches all over the screen (see above – other sites have more screen caps, or you can see it yourself on Crunchyroll) that basically scream “I am a crippled version of this show!”
Do you think it’s smart business, or does it just annoy you these days?
Stan Lee’s Heroman Anime Set for April
Posted by: sidereeldom on: February 3, 2010
Square Enix’s anime page announced today that Heroman, the collaboration between Stan Lee (X-Men, Spider-Man) and Studio BONES (Eureka Seven, Darker than Black), is set to air in April. The legendary comic book creator’s story, which follows a boy named Joey Jones after he finds the controller to a super robot he dubs Heroman, is the latest addition to a strong-looking spring anime lineup, which already includes Arakawa Under the Bridge, Giant Killing, and Kaichou ha Maid-sama!
I’m getting more and more excited as I think about what’s coming up in April, and it’s getting harder to wait two months for the new spring season to start…
FUNimation Acquires Dragon Ball Kai to Nobody’s Surprise
Posted by: sidereeldom on: February 2, 2010
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My gosh! Who was expecting this?
Dragon Ball Kai, meet your American cousin, Dragon Ball Z Kai. FUNimation finally let the cat out of the bag today, posting the above logo with the title “The Answer is Yes.” There isn’t much to say beyond that – FUNimation hit it big with the original Dragon Ball Z, so it’s only natural that they acquire and release the recently edited/censored remake of the mega-hit sci-fi action series..
The problem is that FUNimation has already started releasing a repackaged and remastered version of DBZ here in the states, so it remains to be seen if people will want to buy Dragon Ball yet another time. However, DBZ has strong numbers and FUNimation’s usually a pretty shrewd dealer, so with any luck and a patient timeline, they’ll be more than fine. It’s just that the timing is a little strange for this announcement, since it’ll be a few more months before the Dragon Boxes finish their run and avoid bumping into the new Kai series.
Highschool of the Dead Anime in Production
Posted by: sidereeldom on: February 2, 2010
Zumbahs!
Highschool of the Dead, the long-dormant horror-action manga from Satou Shouji and Satou Daisuke, is coming back in a big way this year. After over a year on hiatus, the Western-style zombie apocalypse manga is not only restarting its manga in March’s Dragon Age manga magazine, but it is also set to confirm the existence of an animated TV series project.
Highschool of the Dead is a series I’m really looking forward to, as it brings a lot to the table for fans of zombie movies. The story is pretty basic, as with all zombie stories – a plague outbreak has turned a large portion of the country’s population into flesh-eating zombies. In the midst of the chaotic outbreak, a small group of uninfected high school students team up with the school nurse to find a way out of the danger zone alive. It’s full of references and homages to its predecessors, from Day of the Dead and 28 Days Later to Shaun of the Dead, and it’s a lot of fun to read. Check it out! I command you! It’s even fun for a horror wuss like myself.
Omamori Himari “Hardcore” Trailer Posted
Posted by: sidereeldom on: February 2, 2010
Over on Kadokawa Anime’s YouTube channel, they’ve posted a trailer for the second half of Omamori Himari, or as they call it, the “Hardcore” portion of the series. According to the trailer, the already service-heavy boobs-’n'-brawls series is about to introduce the most popular character from the source material, yandere queen Quess. The short video also promises that the show is about to become “Sexier, wilder, and more dangerous,” so those of you who are already watching the show should be pleased at the progress it’s making. Those of you who are ignoring it, feel free to keep ignoring it…
And those of you who are still reading, I ask you: how messed up is this Himari figure from CharaAni, where the main feature is the sliding panties? I mean, really?
What to Watch Tonight – February 1st
Posted by: sidereeldom on: February 1, 2010
The weekend is over, and that means that the usual suspects are up on the official streaming sites – the new One Piece is up on FUNimation’s side, Fairy Tail and Sora no Woto on Crunchyroll, and InuYasha: The Final Act on Viz. The new One Piece is interesting, since it’s one of the few times you’ll ever see Luffy utterly beaten, while Fairy Tail has a lot of topless Gray for your fangirl pleasure.
There are two older shows that deserve your attention, though: first, Crunchyroll has decided to get people ready for the upcoming Gundam Unicorn by posting the original Mobile Suit Gundam series, and while it’s incredibly dated, it’s still worth seeing as a historical piece. The second is Buso Renkin, a series that has old-school action sensibilities and perhaps the most awesome opening theme in the history of anime.
Out of the two, I’d suggest skimming Gundam for a few minutes as a historical frame of reference, but you really should go back and watch Buso Renkin because it’s actually way more fun in anime form than it was in manga form.
Kuroshitsuji II’s All-New Cast Announced
Posted by: sidereeldom on: February 1, 2010
Ladies rejoice, Kuroshitsuji (Black Butler) is coming back this summer with an all-new cast of characters! Innovatively titled Kuroshitsuji II, the season will start airing in July and feature a new master-butler pair. Claude Faustus, played by Sakurai Takahiro, will be the titular butler, and Aloise Trancy, played by Mizuki Nana, will be the new master.
Even with the all-new cast of characters, it looks like the next Kuroshitsuji will be more of the same, as the “Faustus” name brings with it the same demonic undertones that came with the first series, and character designs from Toboso Yana cement the connection. So, if you want to see more picture-perfect butlers carrying out seemingly impossible tasks for their masters, you only have a few months to wait!
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