Father Geek here with the latest edition of our mid-week column on the world of Manga and Anime... this week's report is crammed full of everything you could want to know about the industry...

AnimeAICN...

By Scott Green

Anime Spotlight: Voices of a Distant Star

Released by ADV Films

New movements tend to come from individuals, or small
groups, which is one reason why animation has
tendencies towards stagnation, and following the last
success. Traditionally, despite editorial and economic
factors music, comics or manga, and prose have afforded
the creator more freedom. The time and expense
involved have been walls against entry and risk.
Exacerbated by a bad economy more experimental anime
OAV series, and movies have become rarer.

Voices of a Distant Star is anime produced with the
punk ethic, from a man with a vision, the will to learn
the necessary skills to create it. The 25 minute short
work was created by Makato Shinkai on his Macintosh,
originally voiced by himself, and his then fiancée. The
result is the anime version of a short story. It's an
eloquently, and fully express idea. It isn't a quick
tie in, or a product launch.

A young boy and girl, who are connected to each other,
maybe in love, suffer the common separation in
transition from middle school to school. However,
instead of attending a different school, she is chosen
for an expeditionary/combat force that will travel
outward through the solar system, then to other stars.
They keep in contact through cell phone messages, which
take longer, and longer to reach. Days, then months,
then years. While she suffers the immediate emotional
effect, and it shapes his personal development.

More often than not, things slide backwards, or
undershoot their goal. A formerly well written show
devolves into a sitcom, or a good idea never
materialized. This isn't the case here. Voices of a
Distant Star was never intended as standard giant robot
action sci-fi, and it maintains its orbit over it.

Its human reactions extrapolated through a
science/sci-fi concept. Over the course of the 25
minutes your relationship with the characters change.
You try to rationalize what is happening, you judge
them, and ultimately you feel for them.

The animation is rough, but effective because it
focuses of points often missed, meaning, and
storytelling. Voices has some week looking aliens and
robots, but their movements and action have impact. He
gives attacking CGI blobs poetry.

Voices of a Distant Star isn't disposable
entertainment, and it's not just a novelty. Wow, one
guy did it alone, let's give him extra credit.
There's a great deal of enjoyable anime, but Voices of
a Distant Star is a rare, enduring one, that adds
something. Makato Shinkai had something to say, he had
a vision of how to say it. The intent, the effort, and
results are all stunning.

Anime Spotlight: Cowboy Bebop: The Movie

Released by Columbia Tristar Home Entertainment

The word "cool" might be fatally overused, but few
others are a better fit for Cowboy Bebop. Solar system
hopping bound hunters, Spike Spiegel, Jet Black, Faye
Valentine, and Ed return to do something they seldom
do, save the day, and this time in an action movie
sized caper.

These are the late afternoon days of an era. It was
the wild west, where new technology, and past crises
propelled wild expansion. It was a non-homogenized
world of smokers, pioneers, and frontier justice. But
now things are starting to tighten up. The missing
paternalistic governments and corporations are starting
to re-assert control.

Trying to cash in on a hacker bounty, the Bebop crew
stumbling into a much bigger case, a terrorist who is
about to use Halloween celebrations to release a lethal
protean nano-machine. The case put them into conflict
withVincent and Electra, who, like the Bebop television
series' antagonist Vicious, are veterans of the Titan
war (the parallel to the Civil War in this Western),
making then equal or superior to the crew's
hyper-competence.

The three pillars of Cowboy Bebop cool are characters,
atmosphere, and action.

The magic Spike and company is present in the movie,
but it isn't its strong suit. Spike is still Bruce Lee
meets Mr White. The crew seems to have donated some of
their screen time, and personalities to give Vincent,
and Electra more presence. There are no new moments
Nothing like shooting the virus canister, or stealing
the mushroom.

Bustling crowds, and Yohko Kanno music make the movie
breath with the spirit of a time. The expansion is
starting to settle, and its seeds are starting to
bloom. There isn't alot of right or wrong, but there
is a lot of dangerous. Ironically, though the heroes
are trying to neutralize a terrorist threat (in
addition to cashing in on a bounty), between hacking,
and stick-up, their actions as pretty much those of a
terrorist.

Part of the Cowboy Bebop formula has been to play off
action genres. Since the movie is a riff on action
movies, its fight scenes are big spectacles, often in
spectacular places. Spaced through the course of the
movie, there are a number of fights which raise the bar
in animated action. There is an office complex
one-on-one martial arts melee that rivals almost
anything life action.

The disappointment is, it isn't outstanding. In 25
minute bursts you can feel the rush of Cowboy Bebop.
Something that, regardless of it's strength, wasn't
going to be duplicated. At 115 minutes this feels like
a movie. A top rate movie, but one that is where the
script is tangible. These are characters who put
themselves into a situation, then get swatted around
towards its resolution. Given the extended time, the
information gathering antics of the characters become
procedural, and start looking forced and over designed.

The movie works to capture most of the hot spots of the
television series. This gives the unacquainted a view
of what they've missed, and fans a whirl wind tour of
fondly remembered haunts. The drawback is, in the end
it feels like a completed check list. Fist
fight...check; Gun fight....check; aerial dogfight...
check; For the fans you the three old men, Punch and
Judy, Laughing Bull, even an ex-Cowboy Andy cameo.

This Week's Releases

Anime

• Ai Yori Aoshi - Hugs & Kisses (Vol. 3)
  
• Cowboy Bebop - The Movie ~
  
• Devil Lady - The Purging (Vol. 5)
  
• Gate Keepers 21 - Final Gate
  
• Inu-Yasha - Secrets of the Past (Vol. 7)
  
• K.O. Beast - Password to Treasure
  
• Kai Doh Maru
  
• Noir - Death Warrant (Vol. 4)
  
• Pokemon Johto - Crash of the Dairy (Vol. 56)
  
• Pokemon Johto League Champions Vol 3
  
• Samurai Deeper Kyo - Demon Awakens (Episodes 1-5)
  
• Y's II - Castle in the Heavens (Episodes 1-4)
  
• Yamamoto Yohko, Starship Girl - Complete OVA ~

Manga

• Astro Boy Vol 16 Tp
  
• Castle In The Sky Vol 1 Tp
  
• Raijin Comics #28

Manga Entertainments has posted a Kai Doh Maru trailer

href="http://www.manga.com/headlines/kaidohmaru.html">here

Steam Boy Delay

Akira creator Otomo Katsuhiro's new animated movie has
been delayed until sometime next year. The movie was
to be released in October in Japan, and November in the
US.

Live Action Evangelion News

According to Anime
Tourist's Fanime convention report, ADV Films has
stated that the live action Evangelion movie will be
shot in New Zealand with an international cast, and
adapt the television series.

Cartoon Network Plans

Cartoon Network has announced that after a July hiatus,
it will be airing new episodes of InuYasha starting
August 4th.

The dark bug hunt sci-fi Blue Gender will begin August
4th.

The recent Fanime convention has spawned talk that the
strange six episode Gainax OAV series FLCL by the end
of the year.

Millenium Actress Date?

Anime on DVD
has heard that Dreamworks will be releasing Millennium
Actress this September

Tenchi Muyu Third OAV Date

The first volume third Tenchi Muyo OAV series will be
released in Japan on September 18th.

The pernenually popular comedy shifts between its
various television, movie, and OAV (direct to video)
incarnation, but uniformly follows an earnest boy
raised by his father and grandfather in a shrine who
accumulates a crowd of interest women around his,
including an alien princess, a demon/space pirate, an
outlaw mad scientist, and pair of galactic police
offers.

Raijin Goes Monthly

Gutsoon! has announced that as of the September they
will change Raijin
Comics from a weekly anthology, to a monthly one,
with 16 addition pages for $5.95.

"We pride ourselves on being attentive and responsive
to the interests of our readers and subscribers," said
Horie Nobuhiko, President and CEO of Gutsoon!
Entertainment and its Japan based sister company,
Coamix. "Our move from a weekly distribution to a
monthly distribution reflects our commitment to
providing the highest quality in manga. Based on
numerous conversations and extensive research with our
readers, subscribers, retailers and distributors, we
have been encouraged to move to a monthly magazine,
thereby giving readers more time to read all the
exciting stories in our magazine, and giving retailers
more time and longer shelf dates for the issues to
reach the growing number of manga fans."

Subscribers' weekly subscriptions will be rolled over
to the new monthly format automatically.

Licensing Rumors

Anime on DVD
reports an Anime Expo video programing flyer lists an
English dub of Gunparade March. There have been rumors
that Pioneer will be releasing the title.
Gunparade March is a popular video game based anime
about a team of girl who fight off an alien occupation
of Earth.

Anime on DVD forums uses has experimented with href="http://www.toykopop.com">TOKYOPOP's website,
and found template pages for the following unannounced
manga series licenses: Fruits Basket, Saiyuki, Get
Backers, Ai Yori Aoshi: True Blue Love, Cyborg 009,
Love Won't Stop (being called A.I. Love You), and
Pitaten.

Fruits Basket is a relationship drama-comedy about a
girl who was living in a tent after the death of her
mother until her meets a clan of people who turn into
animals when hugged by a member of the oppisite sex.

Get Backers, about a partnership of two poor young men,
who start a business to get back lost of stolen items
in order to make a living outside the boundaries of
regular society. It's been noted for its yaoi
(homosexual romance) overtones.

Pitaten is a hyper-cute comedy from the creators of Di
Gi Charat.

Saiyuki a retelling of the Monkey-King/Journey to the
West Legend with bishonen, elements of modern
technology, and a pop atmosphere.

Galactic Heroes Drive

From Anime on
DVD

There have been pursistant indication that the makers
of the anime sci-fi war epic, Legend of Galactic Heros
want to bring the series to the US.

The producer of Legends of Galactic Heroes and the
rights holder of the series (110 main story episodes,
54 side story episodes, and 3 features) want to deliver
an American release, subtitled and using brand new
prints, some areas of which where new footage had to be
created from scratch.

They are looking for show of support for pre-purchae
plan. See href="http://www.gineigoods.com/form/">here for the
survey.

Ghibli News

House Foods Corporation has posted a page highlighting
their ad campaign from Studio Ghibli (Spirited Away,
Princess Mononoke) href="http://www.housefoods.co.jp/ghibli/">here.
Commercial clips can be seen href="http://www.housefoods.co.jp/ghibli/cm.htm">here

href="http://www.animaxis.com/en/index.asp">Animaxis.com has an href="http://www.animaxis.com/en/zine/newsletter/view.asp?id=N001067">article language article on Museum
of Contemporary Art's life sized model of Studio Ghibli
characters.

Yu-Gi-Oh to Star in Anti Drug Campaign

4Kids, who translates the Yu-Gi-Oh anime will be
working with the National Youth Anti-Drug Media
Campaign to distribute anti-drug messages on Yu Gi Ph
stickers.

Next NewType USA

The July release of Newtype Usa Vol. Two, Issue Seven
will look at Gainax's Evangelion, an upcoming live
action movie.

Other articles include.

,
• . Mobile Suit Gundam SEED;
  
• . Wonderful Days;
  
• . s-CRY-ed;
  
• . Macross vs. Sentou Yousei Yukikaze;
  
• . Street Fighter;
  
• . TEXHNOLYZE;
  
• . King of Bandit Jing;
  
• . Dai-Guard;

Bonus features include the final installment of Full
Metal Panic, art of Brigadoon, s-CRY-ed postcards, an X
poster, and a DVD with includes Episode 1 of ADV Films'
King of Bandit Jing, and Episode 4 of The Right Stuf's
K.O. Beast.

FUNimation Series Websites

FUNimation has posted websites for href="http://www.kiddygrade.tv/">Kiddy Grade and href="http://www.tenchimuyogxp.com/">Tenchi Muyo
GXP, twho series which they plan to release in 204.

Kiddy Grade is a pair of women operatives series (like
Dirty Pair or Noir), with a sci-fi setting.

GXP is a sci-fi comedy about an Earth boy who end up
with two Galactic Police offers who fall for him. It
is tangentially connects with titular Tenchi, and the
cast of his anime.

Arislan on Moratorium

Central Part Media has put The Heroic Legend of Arislan
on DVD. In the past when they have done this, they
have re-packaged the title, and re-released it at a
deduced reprice.

Upcoming Pioneer Releases

Anime on DVD
reports after a long delay Pioneer has licenses the
second Card Captor Sakura movie. Bang Zoom will be used
for the English dub rather than the cast who provided
the voices for the CardCaptors edit of the series.
Unlike the first movie, Japanese and English dubs will
be on the same DVD.

Other upcoming releases include:

Soundtracks:

Cardcaptor Sakura The Movie 2: The Sealed Card - 95
minutes - $29.98 - 11/18/2003

Cardcaptor Sakura Vol. #18 - 75 minutes - $19.98 -
11/11/2003

Someday's Dreamers Vol. #1 (also w/box) - 75 minutes -
$29.98/$39.98 - 11/11/2003

Chobits Vol. #5 - 100 minutes - $29.98 - 11/11/2003

Mao-Chan Vol. #1 - 89 minutes - $29.98 - 10/28/2003

Mahoromatic: Something More Beautiful Vol. #2: Hectic
Holidays - 100 minutes - $29.98 - 10/28/2003

Haibane Renmei Vol. #2 - 75 minutes - $29.98 -
10/28/2003

Anime:

L/R Original Soundtrack - 48 minutes - $14.98 -
11/05/2003

Someday's Dreamers Original Soundtrack - $14.98 -
11/05/2003

X TV Soundtrack #2 - 53 minutes - $14.98 - 11/05/2003

Friends of Lulu Nominates Manga

Friends of
Lulu, an organization dedicated to promoting women
in comics, has announced their award nominees for the
year, which includes Rumiko Takahashi (Maison Ikkoku,
Ranma 1/2) for the hall of fame, and CLAMP (Card
Captor Sakura, Magic Knight Rayearth, X/1999, etc.)
for "Lulu of the Year".

The award will be presented at the San Diego Comicon on
July 17th.

CPM Talks Upcoming Releases

Cat Soup, the breathtaking anime featuring mind-blowing
visuals and whacked-out imagery will paw its way into
stores on September 9th with the DVD release by Central
Park Media. Offered at $19.99 (SRP), the Cat Soup
Collector's Series Edition will show that it truly has
nine lives with the simultaneous release of the Cat
Soup Collector's Series Limited Edition "Liquid Art"
Package at only $24.99 (SRP). The "Liquid Art" Package,
an innovative packaging concept that has never been
done before for a DVD release, is so daringly different
and unique that Central Park Media will not let the cat
out of the bag until street date and no sneak peaks
will be given prior!

"Cat Soup is a visual extravaganza, a 'Hello Kitty On
Acid' of sorts, that will appeal to a much wider
audience than just anime fans," says Sam Napolitano,
Director of Sales, Central Park Media. "However bizarre
or disturbing this release may be, it is sure to
attract attention because of its brilliancy,
groundbreaking imagery and Liquid Art packaging. No
cat-napping allowed!"

Cat Soup has a surreal style and compelling plot.
Produced without any verbal dialogue, Cat Soup features
a Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround soundtrack that is rich
with audio effects and an impressive score. While there
isn't a dialogue track, there are periodic Japanese
word balloons which contain dialogue and other
information relevant to the story. English subtitles
have been included for each of these occurrences.
However, the subtitles are not needed for full
comprehension of the storyline.

Winner of the "Best Short Film" at The 6th Fantasia
Film Festival and "Excellence Prize" at Japan's Media
Arts Festival, Cat Soup features the psychedelic
imagery of the late artist Nekojiru. From the director
of Nadesico, Tatsuo Sato's Cat Soup tells the story of
a little kitten, Nyaako, who embarks on a bizarre
journey with her brother Natta, to get her soul back,
which has been stolen by Death. In the surreal
dreamscape of the Other Side, they encounter many
fantastic characters and embark on various remarkable
and disturbing adventures. From a hallucinatory sea
voyage to a rambunctious carnival, the two kittens
travel far from home and discover just how strange and
miraculous the world can be.

Following the launch of a special Web site in early
July, 2003, Cat Soup will have its North American
theatrical premiere at the Big Apple Anime Fest (BAAF),
August 29-31 in New York City.

The Cat Soup Collector's Series Edition DVD and Cat
Soup Collector's Series Limited Edition "Liquid Art"

Package DVD feature:

• Ø Director's Commentary (Japanese with English
  subtitles)
  
• Ø Interview with Director Tatsuo Sato (Japanese with
  English subtitles)
  
• Ø Art Gallery
  
• Ø Cat Soup Trailer
  
• Ø Previews
  
• Ø Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround

TITLE: Cat Soup Collector's Series Edition

RUNNING TIME: 66 minutes (33 minutes/program, 33
minutes/commentary)
RATING: 16 & UP
SRP PRICE: $19.99
$24.99 (Limited Edition Liquid Art Package)

Animation Runner Kuromi

On September 9, Central Park Media will hit the ground
running with the highly anticipated DVD release of
Animation Runner Kuromi from acclaimed Director,
Akitaroh Daichi (Fruits Basket, Now and Then, Here and
There, Jubei-Chan the Ninja Girl). The release will
follow the film's North American premiere during the
Big Apple Anime Fest (BAAF), August 29-31, in New York
City.

Winner of the "Best OVA" award at the Tokyo
International Anime Fair 2001, Animation Runner Kuromi,
is the ultimate behind-the-scenes tale of Kuromi, who
just landed her dream job at the famous animation
Studio Petit. Unfortunately, Kuromi is in for a rude
awakening! Moments after Kuromi arrives for her first
day on the job, her boss, who gave his life to anime,
is hospitalized, and suddenly Kuromi is the new head of
the ultimate team of slackers! It's up to her to race
against the clock and finish production on Time
Journeys Episode 2, or else anime fans everywhere will
be let down. Inspired by her love of animation, and
with the help of good friends, high spirits, and a
little bit of luck, Kuromi will help deliver the best
episode of Time Journeys ever.

"We are delighted to bring this runaway anime hit to
North America," said Sam Napolitano, Director of Sales,
Central Park Media. "Moreover, there is no better venue
than the Big Apple Anime Fest to launch the DVD release
of Animation Runner Kuromi and introduce her to a whole
new audience."

The Animation Runner Kuromi DVD Features:

• Ø Commentary by Director Akitaroh Daichi
  
• Ø Animation Process Featurette
  
• Ø Interview With Voice Actress Lisa Ortiz.
  
• Ø Art Gallery
  
• Ø Sketch Gallery
  
• Ø Animation Runner Kuromi Trailers
  
• Ø Previews
  
• Ø English & Japanese with English Subtitles
  
• Ø DVD-ROM Features: Art Gallery, Script, Cast &
  Production Credits. and more!

TITLE: Animation Runner Kuromi

RUNNING TIME: 80 minutes (40 minutes/program,
40/minutes commentary)
RATING: 16 & UP
SRP PRICE: $24.99

STREET DATE: September 9, 2003

AD Launches Voices of a Distant Star Website

ADV announced the launch of a webite for Voices of a
Distant Star href="http://www.advfilms.com/favorites/voices/">here

The newly launched website includes: an information
section, with details about Voices of a Distant Star
and its creation; detailed character backgrounds;
downloadable desktop backgrounds; interviews with key
staff and English voice talent; and an exclusive cell
phone riddle game, allowing visitors to access hidden
"omake" on the site.

Ranma Farewell Party

From Viz:
July 4, 2003
9:00 p.m. - Midnight

House of Blues Anaheim
(located in Downtown Disney)
1530 S. Disneyland Dr.
Anaheim, CA 92802

The Ranma 1/2 TV series finale is near...

But don't worry--we still have more graphic novels on
the way! Join VIZ in celebrating one of the most
acclaimed and recognized anime series on the market,
from the best-selling Rumiko Takahashi (Inuyasha and
Maison Ikkoku).

Food & Drinks! Giveaways! Music!

Don't miss this exclusive event for wacky martial arts
at its best!

RSVP* to rsvp@viz.com
no later than JUNE 27, 2003

* RSVP does not guarantee entry. One person per
invite/ticket. Entry on first come, first serve basis.
Must be at least 18 years of age to enter.

.Hack Anime Trading Card Game

Bandai has announced that Decipher will be launching
.hack//ENEMY, a collectable card game this October.

From the press release:

In recreating the .hack universe for the tabletop
gaming community, Decipher introduces an exciting and
fast-paced game system, combined with an organized play
environment t hat will immerse the players in The
World, just as the fictional roleplaying community
would do. Within The World, you try to beat your
opponent from the perspective of the monsters attacking
and killing your opponent's characters. Only in
.hack//ENEMY will you experience The World from the
point of view of the monsters and mysterious AI
entities corrupting the system.

As you accumulate enough Victory Points to win the
game, you are simultaneously trying to stop your
opponent from beating you to the punch. And in an
innovative feature that captures the feel of the
massive online roleplaying game, a unique tournament
structure allows players to collect experience points
to "level up" their abilities and gameplay experiences.

As you gain experience and levels through the
organized play system, you increase your ability to
gain access to exciting and exclusive gameplay.

Long Awaited Tranforming Escaflowne Figure Unveiled

After a two year delay, Toycom has finally revealed the
transforming Escaflowne Gymelf figure. The 18 inch
figure will retail for $59.99
Figures.com has
photo's href="http://www.figures.com/databases/action.cgi?setup_file=fignews2.setup&category=actionfigures&topic=73&show_article=186">here.

Go Nagao Collection Comes Then Goes

ADV announced then days later indefinitely delays a
three disc collection of Go Nagai works.

From the intial release:

The Stories:
From the master of horror and off-beat comedy, Go
Nagai, come three completely different and completely
entertaining anime masterpieces. In Shuten Doji,
time-traveling trolls enlist the aid of human boy to
defeat a nameless horror that threatens the entire
universe. The battle rages in the past, present and
future as Jiro and his companions fight to save all
they know and love. Kekko Kamen is the ultimate
super-hero. Dressed only in her mask and red leather
boots, and armed with an array of highly unusual
attacks, she fights crime wherever she finds it. And
the Delinquent in Drag isn't perverted, his parents
just bought him the wrong the school uniform. What's a
boy to do?

Go Nagai's Collector's Set (SRP $44.98) is a DVD-only
release, including all four episodes of Shuten Doji,
both episodes of Kekko Kamen, and all of Delinquent in
Drag in one three-disc package. In Japanese, with
English subtitles.

Ninja Scroll Releases

The first DVD release of the Ninja Scroll TV series
will be released on September 2nd for $24.95.

A site for the soundtrack is online href="http://www.domo.com/cgi-local/SoftCart.exe/Pages/animation/ninjascroll.htm?L+scstore+hrtl0017ff780d78+1095190620">here

Live Action Skyhigh

Takahashi Tsutomu's (Ice Blade) vengance horror manga
Skyhigh is being adapted into a live action movie,
which will be released in Japanese theatrs November
8th.

The official site can be seen href="http://www.tv-asahi.co.jp/skyhigh/">here

Lupin III Games

Bandai announced at E3 that they will be releasing
Lupin the Third: Legacy of the Magical King in the US
this Novembner.

The
Magic Box has images of Lupin III: Umi nor Kieta
Hihou href="http://www.the-magicbox.com/game061703f.htm">here. The interactive Gamecub game will feature 15000
frames of animation and 500 clips.

Mahoromatic Images

Gainax has posted images of Mahoromatic Adventure href="http://www.gainax.co.jp/soft/maho_avg/index.html">here

Convention News

Tom Yoda Chairman and CEO of Avex, Inc will be
attending the Big Apple Anime Fest (BAAF). Avex is the
parent company of several record labels and animation
studios.

Ministry of Sound will be attending the Fanime
convention to reseach anime fan demographics and music.

Yasuhiro Irie, director of the Alien Nine anime, will
be attending BAAF.

A number of ex-Anime Expo staff members have announced
the creation of a new anime, "The new con isn't an
anime only con, it is planned to be a general media
event with anime, Hong Kong film, J-Horror, J-Rock/Pop
convention called the Pacific Media Expo, which will
held on Memorial Day 2004 in southern California.

Voice actor Kazuki Yao will be a guest at Anim Expo

New Rumiko Takahashi Anime

The new Rumiko Takahshi Theatre anime series, named for
the creator of Ranma 1/2 and Inu Yasha will air
starting on July 5th

Anime Economics

Anime News
Service reports that a quote from Turner
Entertainment Network senior VP Ian Diamond which
states the network Globally has a budget of $500
million over five years for original animation.

From href="http://natsumemaya.terminus.net.au/news.htm">Natsume Maya

A recent article in Newsweek Japan, entitled "From
Niche to Mass" comments on how anime and manga have
grown into a global business. In many regions manga
trends have been bucking decreasing trends in the local
publishing industry.

In France, Japanese manga now makes up 12% or 260
million Euros of the market. There's been rapid growth
in North America as well.
Toei, which produces anime such as Pokemon and Digimon,
earned 6,253 million yen or approximately 35% of its
revenue from overseas operations last year.

The president of Coamix (publishers of Raijin Comics)
states that the US market for Japanese manga grew
threefold from 2000 to 2002. The US market for Japanese
manga is estimated to be worth US$40 million. As to
anime, 60% of the animation which is broadcast in the
world today (80% in Italy) is made in Japan.

The US market for Japanese anime is estimated to have
been about US$100 million in 1999 but is estimated to
be about US$500 million today.

The broadcasting license fee for one episode of anime
has increased from about US$1,000 to about
US$2,000-$4,000 (I think that's for cable TV, perhaps
for the US or France).

Despite all this growth in recent years, these US and
European markets are still relatively small compared to
the domestic Japanese market where the manga market is
520 thousand million yen (approx. US$4.4 thousand
million), the anime market is 160 thousand million yen
(approx. US$1.35 thousand million) and the character
goods market is worth one billion yen (approx. US$8.45
thousand million). (Note that since I'm Australian, I'm
referring to the Australian/British "billion", which
people in the US would call "one trillion", that is -
one million).

Comparison of markets for Japanese manga:

• US - 4,760 million yen
  
• Germany - 2,500 million yen
  
• France - 36,140 million yen
  
• Japan - 520,000 million yen

Breakdown of Toei Animation's sales:

• In 1999, 8,233 million yen from Japan, 1,561 million
  yen from abroad.
  
• In 2000, 9,393 million yen from Japan, 5,452 million
  yen from abroad.
  
• In 2001, 8,876 million yen from Japan, 7,154 million
  yen from abroad.
  
• In 2002, 11,442 million yen from Japan, 6,253 million
  yen from abroad.

Anime Specials in Japan

The Japanese television station TBS will be airing
specials of Sugar: A Little Snow Fairy and Mahoromatic
Natsu no TV Special this August.

Interesting Non-Anime Releases

FUNimation will be releasing home video version of the
new animated Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles starting with
the first two volumes on September 2nd. The DVDs will
feature an interview with co-creator Peter Laird.

Rhino Home Video will be releasing the Transformers
Beast Wars Season I DVD Box Set on August 12th. The
collection will retail for $59.95.