Father Geek here deep in the Heart of Texas... in the liberal conscience of the Lone Star State... Austin, with a non-election distraction... here is the bountiful text for this week's Manga-Anime column. Yep, its all here on AICN once again, soooo clear your mind of the world's troubles and scroll on down through the latest hot-off-the-presses edition of...

AnimAICN...

by Scott Green

Anime Spotlight:
ROD: The TV
Volume 2: The Undercover Student
Volume 2: The Past

Released by Geneon

In the first five minutes of original Read or Die, director Koji
Masunari is able to utterly convince the audiences that a woman fighting
historical entomologists, aviation tinkerers and philosophers using
paper that can cut through steel, shield bullets, and support a gliding
human is far from as patently stupid as it sound. It snapped like
Indiana Jones running though South American ruins, establishing Yomiko
Readman as a character that should own a franchise.
The prospect of the TV series follow up without Yomiko, and without the
chain of events like Yomiko against Journey to the West's Sanzo and a
submarine in a flooded city seemed a disappointing prospect.

The television follow-up focuses on the Paper Sisters, pretty, outgoing
and care-resistant to spacey Michelle Cheung, tall, socially remote
Maggie Mui, and young, aggressively discontent Anita King. Each of the
trio shares a degree of Yomiko's paper user powers, but has a limited
specialty. Initially their role appears to be an also-run aftershock of
the Read or Die's open war between the British Library and the
re-incarnated geniuses of the I-Jin. The Sisters are hired on as
bodyguards to prominent but creatively struggling Japanese author
Nenene Sumiregawa (who happens to be a friend of the now missing
Yomiko), while occasionally moonlighting as globe trotting
book-retrievers for the Dokusensha company.

ROD: The TV redefines the role of slack time in anime. The majority of
the first half of ROD is generally low key. It is dominated by
bodyguarding Nenene, which in practice accomplishes little more than
filling her apartment with the compulsive book acquisition of Michelle
and Maggie, occasionally interrupted by Dokusensha sponsored field
trips. The expectation is that in an action series, a non action centric
episode is time to scale back the effort and fill time with easy
character humor.

In ROD, to a remarkable degree, plot slackness does not translate to lax
implementation. Koji Masunari gives like to characters who could be
sitcom or overwrought, but instead, in their quirky mannerism own the
screen. From their position in each shot, movements and facial
expression, there is a draw to the presence of the Paper Sisters and
Nenene.

Nor do the character have their feet up looking for arbitrary means of
killing time. There is history at work, and more significantly these
are characters who difficulty personalities require effort to maintain a
semblance of normality. Dramatically, the series pays dividends with
the same strength it apply to providing its show stopping action
sequences, lending almost as much weight to a writer's award dinner as
to a particularly impressive three party battlefield showdown.

The ditz, the strong, silent supporter and the loud child aren't
necessarily likeable types, with without resorting to unnecessary
theatrics or goofyness, it is a set of character who, going about their
daily business, can be engaging and entertaining.

Still, by the end out the third volume, the series seems to have
exhausted its slack space. Original Read or Die-ers begin making their
presence known, some at some unexpected times. The agendas of innocuous
sound British Library, and of the Paper Sister's corporate employer
Dokusensha begin to, if no emerge from the shadows, then at least make
the force of their presences felt.

ROD's action episodes haven't failed to deliver. The episodes offer a
range of exploits, with the Sisters facing Victorian sci-fi, odd
perception gambits, and eventually going to war. The surprising effect
and inventiveness of paper manipulation as a nearly beat-all super
remains intact in the series. It is something that has been thought
through, and maintains an internal logic.

ROD is a good franchise for a mature audience to indulge in some
super-hero wonder. It provides plenty of spectacular, larger than life
visuals without falling back on clobber-fests of fire balls, and it
knows to tweak mental interest and emotional pangs at the right times.

Anime Spotlight: Yu-Gi-Oh!
Original Uncut Edition

Volume 1: The Shadow Games;
Volume 2: The Insector Combo

As merchandise tie-in anime goes, Yu-Gi-Oh is fairly watchable. Even if
it isn't an exemplary action anime, thanks to some game geek play
mechanics and a plethora of interesting monsters designs it is a show
that non-players of the original collectable card game can enjoy. The
original Japanese isn't substantially different enough to change
opinions of the series, but it is a bit less over protective of the
viewer. There is shaper edge of mortality and sexuality, along with
some flicks as other socially guarded content (ie pentagrams).

The sentiment can at least be appreciated, and anime fans looks to
collect the series would do well to direct themselves to the Uncut
Edition. Anime fans who are Yu Gi Oh fans will find what they are
looking for in the Uncut Edition, but anime fans who have sampled and
passed on Yu Gi Oh will not find a radically different experience in
this version.

The uncut edition of Yu-Gi-Oh! still starts with what was the 28th
episode of the Japanese series, with the opening volleys of first large
card battle tournament arc. The release consequently skips the
character introductions and a series of game based morality lessons,
darker than the advent of the fighting card-monsters phase due to its
more mundane grounding.

In addition to the original Japanese dialog and content, the Uncut
Edition features the original opening/closing animation and music.
There aren't any surprises in the series' Japanese voice work(nothing to
equate to the first time hearing the gravelly Japanese voice for
Pokemon's Meowth). To an English speaking ear, there seems to be more
of an emphasis on intonation than accent to convey personality. Other
than the more accented character, the English and Japanese voice
generally complement each other. The young master gamer hero Yugi has
an odd, slightly annoying voice that fits his idiosyncratic look . His
alter ego voice isn't quite as deep or distinctive has the English
version. Yugi's rival Kaiba has a good samurai confidence to the work.

Villainous competitors sound a bit more reasonable, which adds more
ambiguity to the characters, and makes it slightly more surprising when
they do something rotten.

The wealthy English speaking arch-villain Pegasus is even more eccentric
sounding character in the Japanese language version. He slips English
into his Japanese. Apparently, referring to the hero as "Yugi boy" came
directly from the Japanese. However, there are some odd choices in
subtitling the character. There are a number of instances where the
subtitled version is a variant of what he is obviously saying in
English, ie "unbelievable" is subtitled "surprise of surprises".

The DVD feature 3 episodes. A non-skippable, front loaded advertisements
(dated wrestling action figures) on the DVD, and a lack of non-previews
extras (and to be pickier, no translation of the Japanese credits or
menu driven inner-episode chapter breaks) marginally sours the package.
Still, there is plenty of value in the anime fan in the eventual
domestic release of an uncut Japanese language version of popular
television edited anime.

Anime Spotlight: My Dear Marie

Release by ADV Films

My Dear Marie is one of the 90's catalogue titles that has long been
awaiting a DVD release. It wasn't remembered as a classic, but as a
fold remember, charming 3 episode direct to video OAV about a boy who
creates a robot that looks exactly like the girl he's chasing (but with
pink hair). The series was the heyday of short anime adaptation of
manga series that would just capture the premise and a few highs points.

The premise of My Dear Marie doesn't necessarily sound appealing to
those who feel the concept of a loser with a magical girlfriend, or
worse yet a harem of interesting girls, has been well over played, but
this series, at least in its anime incarnation, finds a nice way of side
stepping the expected.

Hiroshi Karigari is a gawky, bespeckled student who has a friendly
relationship with the girl of his dreams, tennis ace Marie, but thanks
to his awkwardness he hasn't been able to advance the relationship. His
solution to re-create Marie as an android, and doppelganger Marie, also
named Marie, who likes exactly like her model, except for pink rather
than blue hair, and a few measurement inaccuracies.

The creepy stalking/obsession aspects are quickly exhausted.
Android Marie's personality, and her relationship with Hiroshi is where
the premise starts making some interesting swerves. Android Marie is
literally a self starter who kind of just takes her existence in
strides. She isn't enamored with being a copy, but she has accepts
being a robot and explores the nature of her existence with a happy
disposition. In an amazing feat of Freudian compartmentalization,
Hiroshi continues to pursue human Marie, but his relationship with
android Marie is heavily protective older brother, with aspect of a
benevolent creator, and in instances where her working are addressed, a
mechanics objective and pragmatic view in fixing the often in the nude
Marie.

The OAV follows the Best Of adaptation scheme of similar series,
providing three enjoyable stories but not the complete arc generally
expected in an. An introductory episode quickly leads to a meeting
between the Marie's and Android Marie's Job-ian journey to rendezvous
with a first date between Hiroshi and the human Marie. The episode has
fun with the level of disbelief that the series casually asks for, and
cements android Marie as a sympathetic character. Hiroshi is far from as
annoying as others of his archetype, but the series more asks for him to
be indulged than welcomed. Human Marie and Hiroshi's male friend are
situational place holders. They have some personality, but nothing not
enough of the presence to establish them.

In the second episode, a violent entrepreneur falls for Hiroshi, who has
gets blackmailed into a date and has some interesting experiences with
screwdriver (the drink, called a "screwdriver" in Japanese). It's a fun
exercise in the case of an interesting woman who inexplicably (or in
this case, eventually explicably) falls for the loser hero with pleasant
decisiveness on the parts of android Marie and Hiroshi.

The collection ends with a rather good dream episode, not overly pleased
by its vision of metaphysics or caught up in loud bursts of surrealness.
It is an engaging look at the character's personality composition
without disappearing too far down the "what is a human" hole.

Character design is a distinctive feature of My Dear Marie, namely in
the character's monkey ears, which service to keep the tone a bit
lighter and more comedic.
The characters' wealth in the series is an odd, uncommented upon feature
in the look of the anime. Even the hard up character has a pretty
comfortable apartment.

My Dear Marie is exactly a feminist parable, but more balanced than
most harem or magic girlfriend anime. It serves as a good antidote to
Love Hina and the like. For those who saw the series in the VHS days is
it a fondly remembered series, and now in its re-release, its charming
character bear out how fun it remains.

Manga Spotlight: Until the Full Moon
Volume 1
By Sanami Matoh

Released by Broccoli Books

Yaoi is an exceedingly strangely founded genre that, if done well, can
be fun beyond its directly targeted audience. The appeal of homosexual
male romance for a female audience sounds very target specific, and in
many it is, but there are also instances that use it as a launch point
to have some fun with romance conventions.

Sanami Matoh, the creator of yaoi favorite Fake, Until the Full Moon is
more soap opera than out right comedy, but it does more than wink at its
contrivances. Cases like Until the Full Moon aren't laughing at
homosexuals or homosexuality, but circumstances of relationship dramas.

The series follows the relationship between the sons of two well heeled
supernatural families. David Vicent is a vampire. Marlo Vicent is
David's childhood friend. Marlo's father is a vampire, his mother is a
werewolf, and thanks to some odd genes from up his mother's family tree,
on the full moon Marlo becomes a woman. To solve Marlo's affliction,
David's doctor father suggest that Marlo and David wed. The two had
always been very affectionate, so the suggestion is greeted with
acceptance, and Marlo's mother is soon finding gowns for Marlo and
planning the event.

Trouble soon besets the couple in the form of wake from David's past
womanizing, Marlo's past relationships, and the perspective of a
relationship after Marlo stops becoming a woman once a month.
Marlo and David are both attractive bishonen (beautiful, feminine
looking me, typically with lithe bodies and long hair). Both in design
and personality, they firmly in the mold yaoi fans enjoy.
The character's parents and contemporaries help to establish the series.
Small details, like Marlo's mother's sunglasses to keep her from
transforming into a wolf, his father in Ward Cleaver mode with pipe and
newspaper, or his frazzled hippy-meets-Flashdance attired American
ex-girlfriend give the series plenty to smirk at. It is exotic people
reacting to exotic circumstances, taking larger than life character
types, and hyper-inflates them to a degree where the series is only
making occasionally passes at recognizable experience.

Manga Spotlight: Slayers - Super Explosive Demon Story Volume 6
By Hajime Kanzaka & Shoko Yoshinaka

Rekeased by CPM Manga

Beyond the explosive teen chick sorceress Lina Inverse who still holds
the crown for anime's volatile warrior-esses, one of the achievements of
the Slayers franchise is how it dealt with the problem of having to
repeatedly create demon overlords to threaten existence.
While the story line did hamstring the heroin's powers after she zapped
the first all powerful demon king, but it also began an interesting
cosmology with a mixture of mystery and appealing characters.

Super Explosive Demon Story beings to integrate the mysterious,
perpetually smiling priest Xellos into the ensemble cast, now including
sorceress Lina, her dim swordsman companion Gourry, the sour
stone-chimera Zelgadis, justice obsessed spitfire sorceress Amelia, and
her burly, similarly obsessed father Phil. The group begins to become
involved with the politics of the demon world beyond the stock raise the
dark lord plot.

Fans of Slayers lore will not see too much of a new perspective on the
material, but there are several nice moments, including a depiction of
Lina's older sister.

The volume is substantially more coherent that past entries in the
manga. The detrimental factor in the manga incarnation of Slayers has
been that the mad cap bounce is taken too far. Jumping for jumps from
point to point, it has allowed little attachment to a scene.

Manga gets blamed making what has become known as "decompression" in
American comics, stretching the story telling to spend more pages on a
scenes. Think of the single confrontations that span multiple chapters.
This works well in anthologies or graphic novel collections, but not on
single issues.

Slayers story telling pace is more ultra compressed, or maybe just more
similar to the pacing on American single issue comics.

Manga Spotlight : Geobreeders
Volume 2
by Akihiro Ito

Released by CPM Manga

The world probably has a sufficient supply of blockbuster action
spectacles, but Geobreeders take the institution of where it belong,
undiluted, unpretentious action.

There is not much plot in Geobreeders to speak of; a point of view
techie character, and surrounded by a group of cute personality dolls
comprising a security firm that takes on eclectic cat spirits and maybe
a shadow government. It's familiar in inconsequential enough to
relegate the series to manga background noise if not for the series' jaw
dropping action.

Each volume of the series contains at least one smash action gauntlet
per volume. In the case of volume 2, it is The Great Battle of Ayagane
Harbor, a confrontation that starts with a jetsky and speed boat
exchanging volleys of fish and ends with an assault on a battleship.

Comics tend to be better as moments than progressions, you'll find far
more good explosions than chases. Akihiro Ito gets away with a what you
wouldn't expect in manga. He imaginatively chain event, catch the right
highlight instances to leave the impression of blockbuster-beater
escalation of feats.

Next Round of Miyazaki DVDs Delayed Again?

Numerous sources are indicating that Disney's next round of Studio
Ghibli/Hayao Miyazaki DVD releases, set to include Porco Rosso,
Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind, and My Neighbor Totoro have again
been removed from Disney's release schedule. The DVDs have previously
been scheduled for August 31 2004 and February 22 2005.

There is still no word on the set of Studio Ghibli movies directed by
Isao Takahata, which included "Pom Poko", "My Neighbors the Yamadas" and
"Only Yesterday". The set was initally scheduled for November 2004 when
Porco Rosso, Nausicaa and Totoro were scheduled for August.

Cartoon Network Premieres

Cartoon Network will commence weekly episodes of Full Metal Panic and
Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex starting Saturday November 6th
between 12:00 and 1:00 am (technically Sunday). Episodes will be
repeated Thursday between 12:30 and 1:30 AM (technically Friday).

The official site for
Full Metal Panic has been updated with a new href="http://www.fullmetalalchemist.com/characters.htm">character
page and English dub clips

Clip 1

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mall

href="http://media.funimation.com/trailers/FMA/dvd1_clip_01_Medium.asx">
Medium

href="http://media.funimation.com/trailers/FMA/dvd1_clip_01_Large.asx">L
arge

Clip 2

href="http://media.funimation.com/trailers/FMA/dvd1_clip_02_Small.asx">S
mall

href="http://media.funimation.com/trailers/FMA/dvd1_clip_02_Medium.asx">
Medium

href="http://media.funimation.com/trailers/FMA/dvd1_clip_02_Large.asx">L
arge

Domestic Theatrical Releases

Sony Picture has annoucned that Akira creator Katsuhiro Otomo's Steamboy
will begin its theatrical run starting March 18th, 2005. The movie has
received a PG-13 rating by the MPAA.

Anime News Network reports
the new CGI movie based on Ghost in the Shell creator Masamune Shirow's
Appleseed will begin its theatrical run in New York, Los Angeles,
Chicago, San Francisco, Philadelphia and Miami starting January 14th.

Casshern Licensed

Dreamworks has licensed the right to the live action version of cyborg
action Casshern.

Live Action MPD Psycho Domestically Licensed

Anime Nation and href="http://www.kfccinema.com/index.php">Kung Fu Cinema point out
that Takashi Miike's (Ichi the Killer) live action television adaptation
of gruesome manga series MPD Psycho will be released domestically by
Adness Home Video. The first volume is scheduled for release in
February, with subsequent volumes in April and June.

New Full Metal Panic

Anime News Network reports
Kadokowa Shoten has officially announced that a new Full Metal Panic! TV
series, Full Metal Panic! The Second Raid, is to be produced. The series
will once again be directed by Yasuhiro Takemoto, but is expected to be
a serious adaptation of the two Full Metal Panic! Owaru Day By Day
novels.

Anime Nation reports that
Kadokawa Shoten also announced the following new series.

Trinity Blood, based on the novel series by the late Sunao Yoshida, will
be produced by Gonzo Digimation. The series will be supervised by
Tomohiro Hirata (Peacemaker Kurogane) and feature character designs by
Atsuko Nakajima (Get Backers).

Shuffle, adapted from the popular adult anime computer game, will be
animated by Studio Aslead.

New Viz Shojo Anthology?

Viz's web site is currently href="http://www.viz.com/news/surveys/shojo.php">survaying visitors
to their preferences for the name of potential new shojo (female
demographics) manga anthology.

Viz has not confirmed the cancellation of their current anthology
Animerica Extra, but the periodical is not listed among their January
releases.

Winners of 9th Kobe Animation Award Announced

From Anime News Network

• Individual Award: Kenji Kamiyama (his works include Jin Roh, Blood: The
  Last Vampire and Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex)
  
• Special Award: Shigeru Watanabe (a lengthly career as producer from
  Akira, The Wings of Honneamise and Memories to Stand Alone Complex)
  
• Best work, Theatrical category: Innocence Ghost in the Shell
  
• Best work, TV category: "Hagane no Renkin Jutsushi" (Full Metal
  Alchemist)
  
• Best work, OVA category: "Jungle Wa Itsumo Hale Nochi Guu Final "
  
• Best work, Network category: "Skiijanpu Pea" (official English title:
  Ski Jumping Pairs)
  
• Radio Kansai award (theme song award): "Danzen! Futari wa Pretty Cure"
  (artist: Gojou Mayumi)

Hyperion to Publish Manga

ICV2 reports that Disney's publishing
arm Hyperion has won a bidding war with Henry Holt and will publish
manga created by Misako Takashima, who grew up in Japan but currently
lives in Madison, Wisconsin. Takashima, whose first published effort
was a 15-page story ("Rock'n Roll Love") in the British anthology Manga
Mover (see "New Manga Anthology From England"), went to New York and
made presentations to Marvel, Scholastic Books, Henry Holt, Hyperion
Books and Nickelodeon. Both Holt and Hyperion were very interested and
Hyperion ended up signing her to a multi-book contract.

Yu Yu Hakusho Pre-Priced

FUNimation has announced that starting November 2nd the first 7 volume
story line of supernatural action anime Yu Yu Hakusho will be re-priced
to $16.98 for DVD and $11.98 for VHS

Earthquakes Delays Pokemon

TV Tokyop has delayed a November 4th episode of Pokemon Advance
Generation due to connections between its earth quake content, and a
recent 6.1 magnitude earthquake in northern Japan.

Bandai to Release Zatch Bell Card Game

Bandai America has announced that it has licensed the card game based on
anime/manga series Zatch Bell. The anime version of the series will be
shown on Cartoon Network in 2005.

Anime Merchandise Previews

Figures.com's images from the Fall
Toy Show 2004 include the following previews:

href="http://69.93.119.2/photo/1/showgallery.php?cat=1782">Playmantes> (Speed Racer)

href="http://69.93.119.2/photo/1/showgallery.php?cat=1762">Toyamani
(Chobits, InuYasha, Robotech, Voltron)

Yamato
USA ( .Hack//Sign, Appleseed, Berserk, Bubblegum Crisis, Cutie
Honey, Gergory Horror, Guilty Gear, Hellsing, Kenshin, Love Hina, ROD,
Trigun)

New ImaginAsian Anime

Asian entertainment network href="http://TheImaginAsian.com">ImaginAsian TV has announced that
they have acquire the broadcast rights to Roujin Z, A Wind Named
Amnesia, GoShogun: The Time Étranger , The Heroic Legend of Arslan,
Venus Wars and They Were 11.

January Manga Premieres

The following manga titles, available for pre-order in specialty comic
shops through Diamond Distributor's Previews catalogue commence in
January 2005.

BOYCHILD PRODUCTIONS

MANGA MOVER #1
by Sakura Mizuki, Misako Rocks, & Tomoko Amemiya

Showcasing new Japanese manga to a Western audience! Mature
Readers-level stories
with an intelligent mainstream flavor. This first issue features a new
story, seen for the
first time anywhere, by Sakura Mizuki, artist of the popular Ringu
series. Also Misako
Rocks of The Onion newspaper, and Tomoko Amemiya in her
English-language debut.
68pgs, B&W SRP: $5.99

Boychild Manga describes the new anthology as a showcase for new manga
ka (creator) to a western audience. This will be a distinctive effort in
comparison to many manga translations as most of these creators will be
new and upcoming manga ka, who are unknown in the west.

The stories will be mature level, some with an intelligent mainstream
flavour, others being more alternative in approach. The book is split
into two sections, with two stories being read in western format from
the front and two in Japanese format from the back - meeting in the
middle. One of these Western format stories will normally be by non
Japanese creators in a broadly manga style or influence.

COMICSONE.COM

Lunar Legend Tsukihiime Volume 1 Tp
by Type-Moon & Shyonen Sasaki

A life threatening accident leaves young Shiki Tohno with an incredible
ability and a
deadly impulse. Upon awakening from in his hospital bed, Shiki Tohno
begins to see
lines on people objects and even himself. Theses lines allow him to cut
through an object
like a hot knife through butter. With the urge to slice and dice any and
everything, and
vampires running amuck - Shiki Tohno' life just got whole lot "messier."

Pretty Maniacs Volume 1 Tp
by Shinsuke Kurihashi

The final volume of Maniac Road has come and gone, but author Kurihashi
delves deeper
into the otaku crazed world of fandom with Pretty Maniacs! Hoping to
further the
manga/anime craze, Takezou sets up and sister shop in the U.S. Watch as
this new zany
bunch of cute otaku girls match wits with other fans in this humorous
and off beat romp
through the world of Japanese fandom.

CPM MANGA

SLAYERS PREMIUM VOLUME 1 GN
by Hajime Kanzaka & Tommy Ohtsuka

All Lina and Gourry want is to enjoy a delicious seafood dinner at a
world-famous
seaside restaurant, but when Lina offers to rid the townsfolk of a
vicious sea monster, you
can bet that her actions will be far more destructive than the actual
monster!

SWORD OF SHIBITO VOLUME 1 GN
by Hideyuki Kikuchi & Missile Kakurai

In the hidden bowels of a strange castle where it's rumored that demons
reside, the
Saezuki family performs a forbidden rite when they attempt to bind a
living soul into the
cold flesh of a sewn-together corpse. From eternal sleep, Shibito
returns!

TOKYOPOP

ALICHINO GN
by Kouyu Shurei

Beautiful creatures called "Alichino" grant any wish to thos in need -
but at a price! A
young lady searching for an Alichino wants to bring her brother back to
life. She meets a
man who has a mysterious connection with the rare creatures that brings
him and those
around him grave danger!
SC, 5x7, 192pgs, B&W (1 of 3)

GUNDAM SEED: ASTRAY R GN
by Hajime Yatate, Yoshiyuki Tomino, Tomohiro Chiba, & Yasunari Toda

The year is Cosmic Era 70. The world is a dangerous place, and the
universe has been
taken over by thieves and pirates. Lowe Gear, a brilliant junk-tech
mechanic, discovers a
top-secret Mobile Suit in the midst of space debris. This mysterious
Mobile Suit seems to
have been at the top of everyone's holiday shopping list - and now
everyone is after
Lowe!
SC, 5x7, 192pgs, B&W (1 of 3)

LILING PO GN
by Ako Yutenji

Master thief Liling Po has finally been captured! However, the
government gives him a
second chance and proposes to release him, if he "retrieves" some
special items for them.
Liling Po must work with two agents to test his skills as he travels to
recover mysterious
treasures that can grant wishes when all assembled.
SC, 5x7, 192pgs, B&W (1 of 7)

Viz

YU GI OH: DUELIST VOLUME 1 TP
by Kazuki Takahashi

Duel Monsters is the world's most popular collectible card game-but to
Yugi Mutou,
whose body contains the spirit of the world's greatest gamer, it may be
the most
dangerous game he's ever played! A mysterious videotape sends Yugi and
his friends to
Duelist Kingdom, the island home of super-rich American game designer
Maximillion
Pegasus. There, Yugi must compete with the world's greatest Duel
Monsters players for
the honor of fighting the man who made the game!

NO NEED FOR TENCHI VOLUME 1 2ND EDITION TP
by Hitoshi Okuda

First Time in Previews! Previously offered in Previews Update #641.The
trouble and fun
all began when ordinary teenager Tenchi Musaki inadvertently released
the legendary
demon Ryoko from his grandfather's shrine. It turned out Ryoko was
actually a marooned
space pirate! Since then, she's become Tenchi's unwanted houseguest,
attracting a host of
other troublemaking alien women: Ayeka, a haughty alien princess;
Sasami, her
mischievous little sister; and Washu, Ryoko's mad-scientist "mother."
Add Ryo-Oh-Ki,
an adorable little carrot-eating spaceship, and you've got one full
Shinto shrine!

WOLF'S RAIN VOLUME 1 GN
by Toshitsugo Iida

First Time in Previews ! Previoulsly offered in Previews Update
#641.Four wolves on the
run from mankind answer the highest, most dire calling - they seek the
legendary
Paradise. From the creators of Cowboy Bebop and Escaflowne comes this
new manga
take on the hit suspense anime Wolf's Rain. Humans thought the wolves
died off two
centuries ago in this bleak post-apocalyptic wasteland. But some
survivors lurk among
the humans by mentally cloaking their animal bodies. One white wolf,
Kiba, scours the
land for the scent of the Lunar Flower that will lead them all to
Paradise.

Canadian Arrested in Japan for Anime Pirating

According to Anime News
Network, a 24-year Canadian citizen living in Japan has been
arrested for DVD piracy by selling bootlegs of Gundam SEED DVDs on Yahoo
auctions.

Tai Seng Releases Condor Hero

Tai Seng has announced the release
of the first volume of Hong Kong TVB and Nippon Animation's anime
adpation of Louis Cha's classic Kung-Fu nove Legend of the Condor Hero.
The 26 episide serues will released across 7 volumes.

Upcoming Broccoli Releases

Broccoli Books will be
releasing Leave it to Piyoko Volume 1 December 18th and 2005 calendars
based on Aquarian Age, Juvenile Orion in November

Based on the fan-favorite comedy series Di Gi Charat, Di Gi Charat
Theater - Leave it to Piyoko is a two-volume series that focuses on the
lovable DGC villains Piyoko and her Black Gema Gema Gang, and the
obstacles they face as they attempt to carry out their nefarious plans
to kidnap Dejiko and hold her for ransom.

An animated OVA series of the same name comprised of 8 episodes will
also be released by Synch-Point next year.

Anime Game News

From The Magic Box

Bandai announced a new PS2 title called SteamBoy, which is based on the
movie of the same name in Japan.

Images of Dragon Ball Advence Adventure, with the story from the
original Dragon Ball can be seen href="http://www.the-magicbox.com/0410/game041021e.shtml">here. The
game will be released in Japan on December 18th.

Nintendo has revealed some additional characters in its Nintendo DS
dream match fighting game Jump Super Stars. The game now includes Goku,
Gohan, Vegeta from DragonBall Z; Luffy, Zorro from One Piece; Naruto and
Sasuke from Naruto.

New images of Dragon Ball Z fighting game Budokai 3, to be released
domestically in November, can be seen href="http://www.the-magicbox.com/0410/game041024a.shtml">here.

Screen shots of Bandai's PS2 detective adventure game Detective Conan:
Legacy of the Great Empire can be seen href="http://www.the-magicbox.com/0410/game041024h.shtml">here

TOKYOPOP Appoints Jim De Vico Director Of Operations

TOKYOPOP Inc has announced that Jim De Vico has been named Director of
Operations. Jim will oversee the company's Human Resources, Information
Systems and Administration team. With an impressive background that
includes posts at Saronyx, Inc, 1-800-Dentist and Systems Development
Corporation, De Vico offers TOKYOPOP a wealth of leadership and
operational expertise.

Stone Bridge Press Announces Spring 2005 List

Stone Bridge Press will be releasing the following books in Spring 2005:

Stray Dogs & Lone Wolves: The Samurai Film Handbook

Finally, a readable book about the ever-popular genre of samurai film!
"Stray Dogs & Lone Wolves" provides essential background on the samurai
warrior in Japanese culture to help explain what makes these tales of
loyalty, revenge, and explosive swordsmanship so watchable. Covering top
directors and stars, this guide has over 50 original reviews of a wide
variety of films, from classics such as Oscar-winning Samurai Trilogy
and Yojimbo (remade five times including A Fistful of Dollars) to
influential films such as Lady Snowblood, plus newly released hits such
as Takeshi Kitano's Zatoichi. With American directors such as Tarantino
increasingly influenced by Japanese films, this book is as much a guide
to style as it is a solid film reference.
Available in May 2005, $19.95, Paper, 7"x9", 240 pages, 40 b&w
photographs,

jrock, ink.: a concise report on 40 of the biggest acts in japan

The growth of anime and new radio stations has spurred fan interest in
Japanese music. Unlike its sweet-confection sister J-pop, Jrock is edgy,
all about talent, and filled with dazzling musicality. This book
introduces 40 of the hottest names in Jrock with histories, musical
pedigrees, critiques, and up-to-date discographies, all in a stunning
full-color package highlighted by original art. Among the more familiar
artists featured are Shonen Knife, B'z, Love Psychedelico,
L'Arc~en~Ciel, and Gackt plus Japan favorites like X Japan, Glay, and
Luna Sea. Many of these bands have toured and released CDs in North
America, and are known for their work on anime and movie soundtracks.
Available in June 2005, $18.95, Paper, 8"x8", 128 pages, 50 color
illustrations

The Anime Companion 2: More What's What in Japanese Animation?

This long-awaited "companion" volume boasts over 500 all-new
glossary-style entries to help you decipher anime's distinctive content,
images, and cultural motifs. Ranging from Aikido to Zero fighters (with
Japanese Mountain Vegetables in between), Gilles Poitras covers the
minutiae of anime in fascinating detail, including illustrations, anime
images, film citations, and numerous references to the related art of
manga. More than a guide, "The Anime Companion 2" is a pop survey of
Japanese art, kitsch, history, food, and daily life. Now with entries in
kanji (Japanese writing) and English, "The Anime Companion" remains the
best friend an otaku (anime fan) ever had, and a fun way for the
non-otaku to learn about Japan.
Available in June 2005, $18.95, Paper, 7"x9", 176 pages, 50 B&W
illustrations