Ol' Father Geek here with Scott's regular weekly issue of Anime & Manga news for you. Soooooo with nothing special to add, prepare to launch into...

AnimAICN

by Scott Green

Manga Spotlight: Berserk Volume 1

By Kentaro Miura

Release by Dark Horse Manga and Digital Manga Publishing Adult, male oriented manga seems to have taken a back seat in the manga industry's expansion. There have been plenty of young hero quests of the Shonen Jump variety, and romance in every flavor, but recently there have been fewer releases like the work of Katsuhiro Otomo or Viz' Pulp anthology, let alone the manga equivalents of a Kill Bill or Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Berserk rectifies the shortcomming with a medieval horror action that would please Raimi or Romero.

Berserk is a work of unparalleled horror imagery and cruelty. Usually in horror there is one force that hates humanity and wants to make it suffer and go away.

In Berserk almost everything under heaven and earth wants to inflict suffering. Creatures with tastes for flesh and blood have assumed power as religious or secular leaders. Men who can, have joined their ranks. Nameless hostile spirits haunt the forests. The dead rise from their ancient battle fields to kill passers by. Even the sky looks like it wants to rip itself open to fall on those under it.

Guts is an unsympathetic beast of a man who willingly subjects himself to torture for an opportunity to meet such creatures. He's been branded, and hounded by some supernatural force. Now he's going to stir up hornet nests until he finds what he's looking for. It's a scarred world divided into torturers, accomplices, victims, and Guts, a man who will toss down the gauntlet, or severed head as the case may beand throw his fury into the thick of the situation. He's the wounded dog who rips himself apart to get at an injurery.

Despite a comic relief pixy/elf sidekick, and a host of supernatural foes, Berserk is low fantasy. There is no magic. No fireballs. instead it is sword cutting through bodies, and gauntlets crushing faces. It isn't shy about crushing a skull or exposing entrails.

Like many long manga series (currently past 25 volumes), Berserk has changed over the course of its run, and in this case it isn't a series that realizes it full potential early on. Even its creator has expressed that the early chapters are quite what he would have wanted them to be.

The first volume is a limited showcase of Berserk's strength. It's purely going to shock, and while it has it puts out images on bar with many classic horror comics, this isn't the Berserk that has earned a reputation for captivating characters, complex plots and innovative modes of cruelty. Guts is little above a cardboard anti-hero.

Illustration isn't as crisp as what appears later in the series. There are excellent, detailed scenes, but every once is a while there is a page or panel that look a little too slack. Often it seems like this is because the author hasn't quite figured how the mechanics of his lead character work. In battle there is frequently something off in the movements and positions.

Dialogue is a little too declarative and a bit stiff. It sounds stock fantasy rather than natural speach, which hurts the effect of ordinary people living in a world of horror. Similarly Guts is a bit too vocal about his distain for the weak, and is sounding too much like a Nietzschian preacher in his self exposition.

Berserk is one of the first manga released by Digital Manga Publishing. The 224 page collection messages 5" x 7" and retails for $13.96. It is presented in Japanese right to left ordering of pages panels with untranslated sound effects.

Anime Spotlight: Fruits Basket: What Becomes of Snow (Volume 2)

Released by FUNimation

Take an hour family drama, filter it into a half hour, filter it again through anime oddity and you have Fruits Baskets. It is strange that a series that is a virtual catalog of anime tropes can have so much universal appeal. A recently orphaned and homeless girl (Tohru Honda) living with a wacky family who turn into animals when embraced by member of the opposite sex (the cursed Sohma clan) sounds goofball anime 101, but its characters convey a deep humanity and tangible need for connection that makes its charm impossible to resist. Especially its in anime adaptation, Fruits Basket is the story of people whose goofy, sitcom-looking life is causing them real pain.

It's the skill of director Akitroh Daichi, a great pop creator, that is able to mix slapstick comedy and bitter sweet drama in such an effective manner. His tool kit has two key implements, sincerity, and energy. With these he is able to make pat speeches touching and tired gag vibrant.

Fruits Basket takes its name from a children's alienation game. You sit around, and the person in charge gives everyone a name. People are named after fruits, until you name someone after something that doesn't belong in a fruit basket, and then everyone discards the branded child.

Through this second collection of episodes it becomes evident that the members of the Sohma family aren't just quirky, they're damaged. Their problems aren't the too typical in anime single point of origin, but a complex feedback loop of the curse itself, how the family has dealt with the curse, and other, more mundane problems that individual members have brought to the table. Despite their problems, and the characters function, and some horrific episodes and Shakespearian confrontations the past, the characters function. Little introspection is shown along the way. It is difficult to describe the members of the family without spitting out cheapened psychological terms, or describe Tohru's influence without sounding like self help, but watching the progress play out is fascinating and gratifying. Sometimes the step steps in the character's progression are small, sometimes they're large or explicit. When the latter occurs, it is satisfying to notice the smaller step that brought the relationships to that point.

While Fruits Basket play itself as an anime sitcom, ie episodes about house cleaning with repeated breakings of the paper walls, pointless competitions, hotspring trips and the like, it keeps itself on an edge. It maintains a threat the Sohma family will guard their family secret by removing Tohru's memory, and the sense that this act with topple the series' relationships like a house of cards. Working with an interesting pacing that skips months in the middle of the episode there is unspoken sense that the characters are living under a burden.

Fruits Basket is a genuinely humorous series, and not a dour character study. There are characters the will brighten your mood when they appear. It is just that the second side to the coins makes the series so distinct. The motivations and consequence of the characters actions complement the humor.

FUNimation experimented putting collection the series is unusual six episode increments, which have recently been marked down to the price of most 3-5 episode release.

Anime Spotlight: Saint Seiya Volume 1

Released by ADV Films

Saint Seiya, also known as Knights of the Zodiac is a relic of the 80's that is incredibly fun in an uninhibited, tacky way. It is easy to see why Seiya lasted 114 episode, then a number of movies, and still gets is occasionally revived in direct to video series.

Having a Luke Skywalker hero fight weekly death matches is a wrestling ring, and beat his enemies until they spurt day glow blood is a great way to corrupt and enthrall a generation. It is perfect junk food entertainment of the caliber of good kung fu movies, B sci-fi or pro-wrestling.

It opens with a man in a purple unicorn horned armor fighting in a chain roped wrestling ring before jumping into the past of the titular character. Seiya has traveled from Japan to Greece to train, and ultimately retrieve the sacred cloth, a box that will give a super powered armor. As a young child in the land he was beaten bloody by Mad Max villains, now he's going to rip of a few ears before returning to Japan as a champion of Athena, where he competes in a tournaments against other champions, both good and evil.

In terms of length, structure and Japanese popularity , Saint Seiya, or was almost a male oriented precursor to Sailor Moon. It is the familiar threat per episode linked in arcs formula. After the back story in the first episode the remainder of the volume is dominated by on tournament match per episode. It can be a little repetitive, but so far there has consistently been at least one scene in each episode that really made it fun and world match. It cuts loose in a way like similar series like Ronin Warriror/Samurai Troopers doesn't, which makes it fun for the older audiences and memorable for the young ones. It's one thing to fight an opponent who trains by wrestling bears; it's another thing when your opponent trains by putting his fists through the bear's neck.

Despite random bits of odd spirituality, it is without pretense. With its mix of blood and strangeness it could be compared to kung fu movie crossed with silver age comics.

This Week's Releases

Anime

• Brigadoon 4:Hope Amid Chaos
• Cardcaptor Sakura - Revelations (Vol. 18)
• Chobits - Disappearance (Vol. 5)
• Dragon Ball - Commander Red Saga
• Dragon Ball Z - Kid Buu Box Set
• Gall Force:Earth Chapter
• Kimagure Orange Road TV Series Vol. 2
• Martian Successor Nadesico - The Motion Picture
• Najica Blitz Tactics 3
• Otaku No Video
• Reign: The Obsession of Alexander Box Set
• Revolutionary Girl Utena - Finale
• Revolutionary Girl Utena - The Apocalypse Saga Collection
• Sakura Wars TV: Stage Fright
• You're Under Arrest Set 4
• Yu-Gi-Oh - Dungeon Dice Monsters
• Zaion: I Wish You Were Here - Devastation

Manga

• Angels Wing #5
• Astro Boy Vol 20 Tp
• Batman Child Of Dreams Softcover
• Blade Of The Immortal Thorns One Shot #84
• Ghost In The Shell 2 Man Machine Interface #9 (Of 11)
• Maison Ikkoku Vol 2 Tp 2Nd Ed Family Affairs (Note Price) ( $9.95
• Mars Vol 15 Gn (Of 15)
• Phoenix Vol 3 Tp Yamato Space
• Ring Vol 1 Tp
• Wedding Peach Vol 3 Tp
• X 1999 Vol 12 Tp Movement

New TOKYOPOP manga licenses?

Anime on DVD has pointed out that the following titles have been listed by Amazon UK as future TOKYOPOP, but the company has not confirmed them":

• Abenobashi - Gainax
• Crest of Stars
• Mikan no Tsuki - Haruko Iida
• Model - Lee So-Yong
• Passionfruit - Various
• Suikoden - Shimizu Aki, Reiko Yoshida
• DV - Takuya Fujima
• Immortal Rain - Kaori Ozaki
• Remote - Seimaru Amagi
• Doll - Mitsukazu Mihara
• Lament of the Lamb - Kei Toume
• Birth - Masakuzu Yamaguchi
• Eternity (No author given)
• Evil's Return (No author given)
• Culdcept - Kang Won Kim
• To-Ma (No author given)
• Metroid (No auhor given)
• Heat Guy J -Akane Kazuki
• Dream Saga - Megumi Tachikawa

Evangelion Director's Cut Details

ADV Films announced a January 13, 2004 release date for Resurrection, the first of two Directors' Cut volumes of the enormously influential anime series Neon Genesis Evangelion. The Directors' Cut is not just a remaster, but a revised and re-edited special edition produced under the careful supervision of creators Hideaki Anno and Gainax to include amazing new footage never before available outside of Japan. The first volume contains Evangelion episodes 21-23 in both the extended Directors' Cut versions and the original broadcast versions, allowing fans to see the creative progression of this seminal title's final moments.

In addition to the Directors' Cut episodes, ADV has obtained special DVD extras that are sure to fuel the excitement for this highly anticipated release. Resurrection will include an exclusive 25-minute interview with Richard Taylor, co-founder and head of Effects and Creatures at Weta Workshop, the multiple Academy Award-winning (for The Lord of the Rings trilogy) special effects studio currently working on the Neon Genesis Evangelion live-action feature. Also included are numerous never-before-seen production images from the theatrical release.

Neon Genesis Evangelion: Directors' Cut-Resurrection ($29.98 SRP) includes episodes 21-23 in both director's cut and original broadcast versions. In both English 2.0-languange and Japanese 2.0-language versions, with English subtitles. Includes ADV previews.

Media Blasters to Release Invader Zim on DVD

Media Blasters has announced that their AnimeWork's division will be releasing Invader Zim. The show, by of Jhonen Vasquez, known for his comic book work on Johnny the Homicidal Maniac, and Squee aired on Nickelodeon starting in 2001.

The ingenious mix of cute and grotesque tells the story of Zim, an alien with an "advanced" robot side kick, assigned to prepare Earth for invasion after all the good posts where taken. Its hilarious look at human life has earned it a cult following among Nickeldoen's viewers, and older audiences.

From the press release: AnimeWorks is ready to rain down Zim's doom upon theheads of animation fans everywhere with its release of Jhonen Vasquez's Invader Zim. Anime fans have been screaming for this DVD release since Zim first aired on Nickelodeon in 2001 and now it's finally here. Coming Spring 2004 will be the first of three double disc sets and a limited edition boxed set which promises to send fans' blood racing through their veins like giant radioactive rubber pants. The pants command them! Invader Zim currently airs on Nicktoons, Nickelodeon's digital home for animated hits.

"We at Media Blasters are thrilled to add Invader Zim to our powerful line-up, and expect it to be one of our flagship titles in 2004," said John Sirabella, CEO of Media Blasters. "Zim has created quite a fan buzz in the anime community and we know that it will be a huge sensation!"

From the inventive mind of comic book creator JhonenVasquez, and co-executive produced by animation veteran Mary Harrington, Invader Zim focuses on a paranoid alien named Zim from planet Irk who believes he is at the forefront of a sinister plan of galactic conquest. Jhonen Vasquez is famous for such fan favorite comics as Johnny the Homicidal Maniac, SQUEE!, and I Feel Sick.

AnimeWorks is a division of Media Blasters. INVADER ZIM will be released in early Spring of 2004.

Viz Announces Anniversary Edition of SHONEN JUMP

The 360 page commemorative issue Anniversary Issue Viz's manga anthology of Shonen Jump will feature the debut of a brand new series - Hikaru no Go. The comic, from creator Yumi Hotta and artist Takeshi Obata, is based around the ancient Chinese strategy game Go and has sat atop Japan's manga sales charts for many years and also spawned a popular anime television series. For its American debut, the opening pages of Hikaru no Go will be presented in full color. Building on a tradition established in the premiere issue of SHONEN JUMP, VIZ will again offer an added bonus to Yu-Gi-Oh! fans - an exclusive, fully playable and tournament legal monster trading card available nowhere else but this issue. Rounding out the edition are the continuing serialized adventures of Dragon Ball Z, Naruto (which has consistently ranked first in VIZ reader response surveys as their favorite manga), Yu-Gi-Oh!, YuYu Hakusho, One Piece, and Shaman King.

Hikaru no Go, or HikaGo (as it's known to fans), tells the story of Hikaru Shindo. An average 12-year-old, Hikaru likes comics and video games, struggles in school, and keeps looking for ways to make money because his parents dock his allowance for bad grades. When he finds a dusty old Go board in his grandfather's attic, Hikaru awakens a 1,000-year-old ghost named Sai. During Japan's Heian period, Sai tutored the emperor in the ancient and complex game of Go, but he was unjustly accused of cheating and died in disgrace. Now Sai lives in Hikaru's mind, and all he wants is to play Go and continue his pursuit of the "Divine Move." However, Hikaru is not interested - he thinks Go is a game for old men. But when he finally relents and lets Sai play a few games, the seriousness and intensity of the game surprises him, and Hikaru finds himself wanting to play Go himself. Soon, inspired by a rivalry with Go prodigy Akira Toya and armed with a natural talent for the game, Hikaru's dedication even surprises Sai, and puts the young boy on the path to become the undisputed Go champion.

English Pretear Site

ADV has opened site for their series Pretear at www.preteardvd.com/

Samurai Champloo Preview

The official site for Cowboy Bedop director Shinichiro Watanabe's upcoming Samurai Champloo has posted a new 15 second preview.

Speed Channel to Broadcast Speed Racer

The Speed Network will be showing the original Speed Racer starting March 18.

I'm Gonna Be Angel Volume 2 Release Info

After a long break between volume, Synch-Point will be releasing the second volume of I'm Gonna be An Angel!, entitled "Send me an Angel" on January 13th. The volume will contain 4 episodes. Originally this volume was to contain 5 episodes, but the instead the fourth volume will be made 5 episodes instead of four.

Black Jack Anime on TV

Central Park Media will be releasing the two OAVs (direct to video in Japan) anime adpatations of Osamu Tezuka's medical adventure Black Jack on DVD on February 10th.

ComicsOne Announces Junk Force

ComicsOne has announced that they will be releasing bishoujo action manga Junk Force in 2004.

From the press release: Tanks, guns, feisty young women who'd rather blow stuff up than get fully dressed... Welcome to Junk Force! It's 2100 and the earth is an ecological wasteland. The people of Earth put their trust in the reckless organization known as Z.P.T which promises to purify the Earth and turn it back into a living planet once again. The plan fails tragically, ending in a massacre of many of the Earth's inhabitants. Was this their plan all along?

Junk Force has all the gritty tech elements that made titles like Dirty Pair and Dominion Tank Police classics, along with a generous dose of the wildly popular bishoujo (cute girls!) genre that has become a modern staple in the minds of anime and manga fans. Junk Force is primed to explode onto shelves in January 2004, just in time to start the year with a bang!

More series information can be found at http://www.comicsone.com/junkForce

Anime Merchandise News

A Japanese Gundam Seed chess set can be seen here

Figures.com has images of Toycom's .hack//SIGN 6" figures of Mimaru and Subaru/ Toycom - ".hack//SIGN". Look for them this December for a SRP of $11.99 each.

Images to Toymani's Lego-man-esque I-Men of Dragon Ball (and Futurama) can be seen here

Diamond comic's exclusive 2 pack of 4" Berserk Black Swordman and Skeleton Knight can be seen here.

Toycom's Onegai/Please teacher Mizuho in bathing suit statue, scheduled to be released in December for $24.99 can be seen here

Toycom's Speed Racer Mach 5 playset, to be released next summer can be seen at here. the set will include the famous card, and figures of Speed, Sprittle and Chim Chim.

Images of Toycom's second series of Kenshin mini figures, which are to be released this December can be seen here. The line include Kenshin as the Hitokiri Battousai, Aoshi Shinomori, Shishio Makato, and Seta Soujiro.

Evangelion Manga Volume 9

The ninth volume of Sadamoto Yoshiyuki's Evangelion manga is schedule to be released in April in Japan. The special edition of the manga will be released with a Rei figure which can be seen here and here

HK Comics Splits From ComicsOne

HK Comics Ltd. will be splittings from ComicsOne. Its offering will includ the English translations of the Hong Kong comics by the likes of Wang Du Lu and Andy Seto, including Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon.

TOKYOPOP CLAMP Releases in 2004

TOKYOPOP has announced tat they will be releasing CLAMP titles RG Veda, Suki, Legal Drug, The Legend of Chun Hyang and The One I Love in 2004/

RG Veda (Fantasy, Volume 1 Release: TBD)

CLAMP's first professional work, RG Veda ran for 10 volumes, inspired an anime of the same name, and cemented the team's reputation as one of Japan's top manga talents. In this clever and beautifully illustrated story-which draws loosely from Hindu mythology-an evil emperor has controlled the once peaceful world of Tenkai for 300 years. The only hope of ending his tyrannical reign lies in a stargazer's prophecy, which foretells the union of six warriors known as the "Six Stars."

Suki (Romance/Drama, Volume 1 Release: 2/10/04)

In this three-volume series, CLAMP explores what it means to be in love, a theme central to their biggest hits, Chobits and Cardcaptor Sakura. Suki is about a teenage girl's first crush... the story of Hinata Asahi, a quiet and painfully shy high school student whose teddy bears are her only form of companionship. Her life becomes much more exciting when the handsome Shirou moves in next door. Not only is he really cute-and much older-but he's also her new teacher!

Legal Drug (Action/Fantasy, Volume 1 Release: 10/12/04)

One of CLAMP's newest series still running in Japan, Legal Drug is a perfect dose of mystery, psychic powers and those ornately drawn characters the femme-four creators are famous for. With cameos from the cast of Suki, the story revolves around the adventures of Kazahaya and Rikuou. By day, they're two ordinary pharmacists. By night, their boss has them filling prescriptions for the peculiar... for clients' "special" ailments that can't be cured using ordinary elixirs.

The Legend of Chun Hyang (Fantasy, Release: 8/10/04)

A departure from CLAMP's usual fare, this stand-alone historical fantasy is set in Korea and features striking brushstrokes reminiscent of their work in Shirahime-syo. Its story follows a beautiful warrior princess who must protect a village from the tyrannical government.

The One I Love (Romance, Release: TBD)

Combining CLAMP's legendary manga storytelling, color artwork and elegant prose, The One I Love is a wonderfully unique 12-story anthology. The volume opens with a special eight-page full-color feature before diving into the single subject CLAMP seems to know best... love.

Other bestselling CLAMP manga published by TOKYOPOP include Chobits, Cardcaptor Sakura, Magic Knight Rayearth, Angelic Layer and Clover.

December ADV Manga Releases

The following manga titles will be released by ADV on December 16th:

Steel Angel Kurumi: Volume 1

With a kiss, a young boy inadvertently awakens a lovely girl-but she's not quite a girl at all! She's the Steel Angel Kurumi, a top-secret robot warrior in a deceptively cute outfit, and she thinks the young kisser is her new master. Proper military procedure and discipline go straight out the window in Steel Angel Kurumi Volume 1!

Those Who Hunt Elves: Volume 1

An actress, a martial arts expert and a military specialist are magically transported to a strange land, filled with magic and mystery. Obviously, they have to get back to Japan, but how can they when the return spell has been cut to pieces and tattooed on the bodies of six female elves? Even with a battle tank for transportation, Airi, Junpei and Ritsuko clearly have their work cut out for them-there are lots of female elves out there, and they're going to have to start stripping!

Demon City Hunter: Volume 2

The Defense Agency is battling the Dark Order with the help of sword-wielding high-school nenpo expert Kyoya Izayoi. The Defense Agency's Super Soldiers have their hands full with the fearsome priests of the Dark Order and the monsters they control; when Major Uemura tries to infiltrate the Dark Order, things only get worse! It's a bruising fight, and even Kyoya's in danger this time!

New Shadow Skill OAV

According to Natsume Maya a new 45 minute long full CG, cel shaded Shadow Skill OAV (direct to video release) will be released in Japan on December 12th. Images and clips can be seen at here

Shadow Skill is an action series pitting Street Fighter-esque martial artists against were wolves and other monsters. Manga Entertainment released two volumes of the anime on OAV. The first one featured eye catching animation, and was greeted with considerable buzz, but interest fell off after an inferior second volume.

New Manga Series TOKYOPOP in January

Ai Love You Volume 1 Gn (of 9)

by Ken Akamatsu

From the creator of Love Hina! Behind every great man is a great Artificial Intelligence. Hitoshi Kobe is a poor student, a bad athlete and may be the unluckiest man alive . . . though he does have a knack for creating Artificial Intelligences. Number Thirty is Hitoshi's favorite A.I. and the only girl he can talk to. But if a freak accident can turn Thirty into a real girl, can Thirty turn Hitoshi into a real man? SC, 5x7, 216pg, b&w (1 of 9)

Fruits Basket Volume 1 Gn (of 11)

by Natsuki Takaya

Tohru Honda was an orphan when one day fate kicked her out of the house and on to land belonging to the mysterious Sohma family. After stumbling upon the teenage squatter, the Sohmas invite Tohru to stay in their house in exchange for cooking and cleaning.

Everything goes well until she discovers the Sohma family's secret, when hugged by members of the opposite sex, they turn into their Chinese Zodiac animal!

Getbackers Volume 1 Gn (of 21)

by Yuya Aoki & Rando Ayamine

The job of a retriever is not a very lucrative one, at least not for Ginji Amano and Ban Mido. So dire are their circumstances that death by starvation seems imminent until a homeless man takes pity on them and shares some of the food he's been able to scrounge. Upon learning that they are the GetBackers, he offers them all he has to get his daughter back from the Yakuza.

CPM To Release Lady of Pharis 2 in January

CPM Manga will be releasing a second collection Record Of Lodoss War: The Lady Of Pharis Book 2 in January (the first volume was initially released in 2000).

Lady of Pharis is a prequel to the Lodoss War anime other manga series. It's tone is a little more mature and Conan-style pulp than the other Lodoss titles.

FUNimation Relese Dates

January 20:

• Yu Yu Hakusho Vol. #20: Terrible Truths

Janurary 27:

• Dragonball Z TV #60: Cell Games: A Moment's Peace
• YuGiOh Vol. #17: The Mystery Duelist
• YuGiOh Vol. #18: Obelisk the Tormentor

February 3:

• Dragon Ball GT Vol. #11: Evolution
• Dragon Ball GT Vol. #12: Revolution

February 10:

• Kiddy Grade Vol. #1

February 17:

• Yu Yu Hakusho Vol. #21: The Seven

Seven Samurai Influenced Anime

From Natsume Maya Gonzo Digimation has announced anime anime series named Samurai 7, which will be based on Kurosawa's Seven Samurai. The series which will air this Springs features work by Takizawa Toshifumi as director , animation character design by Hashimoto Hideki and Kobayashi Makoto as mechanical designer. think that's the name), mecha design by (mecha design in a jidai-geki anime...?)

Upcoming Gainax Update

From Natsume Maya GAiNAX's upcoming TV anime Kono Miniku mo Utsukushii Sekai (This Ugly and Beautiful World) will be directed by Saeki Shouji, with character design by Takamura Kazuhiro, animation by GAiNAX and Shaft.