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Quote: *** BANDAI ENTERTAINMENT MORATORIUM/DISTRIBUTION UPDATE ***
Last issue I talked about Bandai's distribution change over and the moratorium
on some titles. Most of their catalog titles were scheduled to be available again
on March 2nd.
Well, it seems to be taking Bandai a little longer to get things ramped up than
they originally thought. So far, they are still filling retailer orders from
January, and we have not received any of our scheduled shipments from February
except for new releases. Bandai has assured us that their shipping operation will
be ramped up by next week, and we should see any stock-outs on Bandai titles
resolved by the end of March. Currently, we still have most of Bandai's line in
stock, but if you place an order and any of your items are backordered, we are
asking everyone to be patient and bear with us a little longer...
.until Bandai get's their act together. -_^
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*** CHOBITS VOL #7 DVD - NOW IN STOCK! ***
Hideki and Chi have been through a lot which gives their friends many things
to think about and reflect upon. What mysteries and revelations will they
encounter now that they have a chance to sit down and review their lives..?
Includes the hilarious 'Chibits' mini-skit featuring Sumomo & Kotoko!
http://www.animecornerstore.com/chobits1.html
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*** ANIME NEWS & INTERESTING TID-BITS ***
+Detective Conan (Case Closed) Won't Air Until June - FUNimation Productions
has announced that Case Closed (the American title of the long-running Detective
Conan anime series) will start its run on the Cartoon Network's Adult Swim Block
on June 7, when it will commence its Monday through Thursday late night run.
Earlier reports had the series debuting on April 5, but the series has been
shifted to June. FUNimation is currently adapting the first 52 episodes of the
anime series, which remains the top-rated anime series in Japan, where it has
lasted through 356 episodes (and counting).
+Bandai Announces Two New Anime Series -This May Bandai Entertainment will
launch two new anime series, Dragon Drive and .hack//Legend of the Twilight.
Dragon Drive, which is rated '7UP', is a popular kids' series in Japan, where
it has spawned quite a bit of merchandise including a collectible card game
and several video games. Bandai's other major new release for May is .hack//Legend
of the Twilight, the second anime series from the multimedia fantasy property.
+Tokyopop Launches 'Manga Novels' - Tokyopop has announced the September debut
of a series of manga novels, prose versions of manga-type stories complemented
by a stream of manga-style illustrations. The first three Tokyopop manga
novels include the Slayers text novel by Rui Araizumi and Hajime Kanzaka, which
formed the basis for the popular and humorous manga and anime misadventures of
Lina Inverse, Clamp School Case Files: Paranormal Investigators, which is set in
the Clamp School milieu popularized by the Tokyopop manga series, and Karma Club,
the latest project from D.J. Milky, the creator of Princess Ai and Juror 13. All
three manga novels are set to debut on September 7.
+Another JoJo's Bizarre Adventures Anime Series - Natsume Maya is reporting that
a new JoJo's Bizarre Adventures anime series has been announced in the latest
issue of Shonen Jump in Japan. Hirohiki Araki, the creator of JoJo's Bizarre
Adventures, is also responsible for the Steel Bull Run manga series, which is
running in Jump. In the introduction to the latest chapter of Steel Bull Run, the
Jump editors indicated that a new JoJo series was in the works.
+Ghost in the Shell: Innocence Gets U.S. Theatrical Release in '04 - Natsume Maya
is reporting that a spokesman for Dreamworks told the Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper
that Mamoru Oshii's Ghost in the Shell: Innocence, the second anime feature film
based on the Ghost in the Shell manga of Masamune Shirow, will get a U.S. theatrical
release in at least ten cities in the fall 2004. Dreamworks, which is distributing
the film outside of Asia, will also release Ghost in the Shell: Innocence in Europe
this year. The film opens in Japan on this Friday, March 5.
+Naruto Trailer - TV Tokyo now has a trailer for the upcoming Naruto movie on their
website here:
http://www.tv-tokyo.co.jp/anime/naruto/
+Viz Licenses Red River - Viz quietly released a press release dated February 13th,
announcing their June 2004 manga releases. Saikano, Cheeky Angel, Imadoki and Red
River will all premiere in June.
+More on Saber Marionette R - Media Blaster's recent announcement that they had
acquired the rights to Saber Marionette R (SMR) has raised a lot of questions among
the Internet anime fan community. Most notably, what happened to Bandai, will Media
Blasters re-dub it, and when will it be out? Bandai Entertainment released SMR on VHS
but never came through with a DVD release, one was scheduled for release in late 2001,
but it was canceled. According to a statement made by a Bandai rep, the masters for
SMR had been lost.
+Media Blasters has since picked up the rights to Saber Marionette R, as well as the
English translation used by Bandai for their VHS release. Media Blasters stated that
they plan to use the original dub, and that they will only re-translate for the
subtitles if they are unhappy with the existing script. As for when it will be
released, Media Blasters plans to release it on July 13th 2004.
+ADV Forms Alliance With Japanese Publisher - Natsume Maya has reported that
according to the Japanese business newspaper, Nihon Kiezai Shimbun, ADV Films has
formed an alliance with the Japanese publisher Mag Garden. ADV is reportedly
putting up 25% of the production cost to create an anime TV series based on the
manga, Erementar Gerad by Azuma Mayumi, which is published by Mag Garden. ADV will
have global rights (outside of Asia) for the anime series as well as merchandise
based on the anime. Plans are for the Erementar Gerad anime series to be broadcast
simultaneously in both Japan and the U.S. in the spring of 2005.
+Advent Children Trailer - A new trailer for the upcoming Final Fantasy VII:
Advent Children is now available from IGN here.
http://media.ps2.ign.com/media/608/6...html?fromint=1
+Inu Yasha and Chobits Action Figures - Toynami has announced that it has acquired
rights to produce action figures based on Inu Yasha and Chobits. While their website
does not currently have any images from their Chobits line-up, Toynami did inform
us that the Chobits figures currently planned are Chi and Yuzuki. The second set
of Inu Yasha figures is scheduled to include Kikyo and Sesshomaru.
+Geneon Announces Five New Anime Series - Geneon (formerly Pioneer Animation) has
announced five new anime series, which will be available in English for the first
time when they are released this June and July. Gad Guard, a 26-episode series
from Gonzo, is out first on June 22. On June 29 Geneon will release the first DVD
of R.O.D. the TV Series, the sequel to the very impressive Read or Die anime
released last year by Manga Entertainment. Geneon will release the first volumes
of three new (to the U.S.) anime series on July 6. Ai Yori Aoshi Enishi, which
is the sequel to the highly romantic (and very popular) Ai Yori Aoshi, while the
Gungrave anime is based on the popular arcade and PS 2 games. The third anime to
receive its U.S. debut on July 6 is Hajime no Ippo (retitled Fighting Spirit for
its American release) which is a 75-episode series which aired in Japan from 2000
to 2002 and is simply one of the best sports anime productions ever.
+Del Rey Alters Negima Manga - It has been reported today that author Ken Akamatsu
was shocked by changes made to the English edition of his Negima manga, the first
manga title announced by the Del Rey imprint of Random House, the first major U.S.
book house to enter the manga market. From what we hear, underwear was drawn in to
cover some exposed posteriors and strategically placed towels obscure breasts bared
in the Japanese version. Akamatsu, best known in the U.S. for his tremendously
popular Love Hina manga series, made his comments about the American edition on his
personal website. Dallas Middaugh, Director of Manga at Del Rey, confirmed that
some changes were made, but insisted that they were very minor. Please be assured
that the panel changes do not affect the storyline in any way. These changes were
an editorial decision based on our goal as a publishing house to get Ken Akamatsu's
brilliant work into as many U.S. bookstores as possible, and in no way reflects on
the quality of the original art.
Personally, we think this sucks. Del Rey sold manga fans out to the big book chains
with their first release. What a shame....
+Toonami Gets Saturday Night Fever - Major changes are ahead for the Cartoon Network,
chief among them the replacement of the weekday Toonami Block with the new Miguzi
Block. Starting Saturday, April 17, Toonami will move to Saturday night, where it
will air from 7pm to midnight. The Toonami block will feature numerous anime series
including Gundam Seed and Rave Master as well as Dragon Ball Z, Yu Yu Hakusho,
Transformers: Energon, Dragon Ball GT and Rurouni Kenshin; but it will not be all
anime, it will also include Cartoon Network original series such as Justice League
and Megas XLR. Instead of focusing on the after school needs of 6 to 11 year-olds,
Toonami will now be targeted at teens, with the top anime and action series on the
Cartoon Network. | |
03-06-2004, 01:18 PM 
