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Manga Spotlight: Reiko the Zombie Shop Volumes 5 and 6 By Rei Mikamoto Released by Dark Horse Manga

There is a scene in volume 5 of Reiko the Zombie Shop in which a young woman boomerangs a coat hanger into a helicopter, causing an on-board gunman to kill the crew. The fact that she catches it on return should cement the manga as one of the medium's most brilliantly indefensible works not called Golgo 13 or written by Kazuo Koike. There is certainly a host of out of control, half clever trashy manga series being released in North America, but few of the older-audience variety have survived. Fewer still feature anything as sophomoric as a metal plated zombie quearadactylus (kindof like a pterodactyl) or a zombie serial killer reacting to the loss of her arms by carrying knifes between her toes. Reiko produces instances of the tastelessly bizarre, of that caliber ever other page. It's hard to say that Rei Mikaoto means well, but this splatter horror/comedy is far too ludicrous to be cruel. It's amazing, but you'll see reviews that suggest that new talk-to-the-dead TV dramas feature novel premises. Here's a related high concept that is legitimately novel. Reiko is a teenage girl who looks and dresses like Britney Spears back when she could pull off the virgin/whore dichotomy act. This teen's gift, which she uses to support herself, is the ability to call upon Satan to re-animate the dead. The deceased come back... they solve mysteries...extreme violence and unspeakable acts ensue. The brutality is generally kinked out. At nearly every point, nearly every female character is in small, tight clothes. If you've been affronted by the women's wrestling video game Rumble Roses, this is like that, but less sensible. The action follows suit. A girl is running in something like a stripper's version of a school uniform as she's chased by what looks like a shock rock band. She trips over a root as a guy with a hand held pitch fork is almost on her. She catches herself in a hand-stand. There's a pro-wrestling move called a huracanrana described by Wikipedia as a "headscissors takedown that is performed against a running opponent." In this case, it involves shooting herself, crotch first, into the would-be assailant’s face. Yet, this is easier to take, and less misogynous than many sexual violence driven crime/horror manga. Essentially, it functions like Itchy and Scratchy with zombie people who look like Cabbage Patch Kids by way of Crumb's hyper sexualized caricatures. Like many live action meat grinder horror movies, Reiko tends to be raw. The clunky dialog rattles with exposition. "Midori Yurikawa has an evil soul, just like her sister Saki, who was a serial killer. I know this just by looking at the brutally murdered corpse of this young girl." Storytelling alternates between episodic situations that arrange events for a sharp final climax, and longer shaggy dog tales. The case that falls into the former category from this set of volumes is a classic story of sibling rivalry and altruism, the likes of which have been used in works like Kazuo Umezu's Scary Book. Yet, it's given the Reiko crack in the head, featuring situations like a bulling older sister pretending to be a magical girl anime character, then kicking her sister down a flight of stairs. Most of volumes 5, 6 and presumably into 7 are part of the latter case. The wild narrative starts by recounting the history of Shiro Amakusa, who lead a Christian revolt that was brutally put down by the shogunate; an event that has spawned numerous periodic anime, manga and live action. Then the story crosses between a pair of conservatively dressed sibling sociopaths who have been shooting people with bullets that will either cause the victim to evaporate (with their clothes Left Behind) or resurrected with a skull full of tentacles, and the intersecting adventures of a trio of childhood friends/classmates: the judo vigilante, the Visual Kei shock rocker and the spunky kendo girl. Then Reiko shows up. Then an old enemy of Reiko's joins in. Then a new threat injects himself into the middle of everything. Nor is he the last party crasher. Soon the crazy round robin, dog pile has foes literally dropping in. It's the kind of story where if a gun is fired in act IV, it probably was never seen before it fell out of the sky on the previous page. If nothing else, Reiko will keep you uncertain. Much of the recommendation comes from the fact that Reiko the Zombie Shop a rarity. If the world was full of works like this, the title’s brand of raw exploitation wouldn't be doing anyone any favors. But, it is certainly something uncommon. This is the manga version of Road House, with more throats being ripped out. You don't come for the presentation or the craft. It's compelling because it's so far afield from any notion of what's a good idea that that carefree disregard for taste becomes potent escapism.

Prose Spotlight. The Guin Saga Book One: The Leopard Mask By Kaouru Kurimoto Translation by Alexander O. Smith with Elye J. Alexander Released by Vertical Hardcover available now Paperback to be released Dec 11, 2007

For a domestic point of comparison to the Guin Saga's improbable length, you have to look to something like The Destroyer-Remo Williams, except, presuming the claims are true, and Kaouru Kurimoto is not a Maxwell Grant inherited role, it is written by one pseudonymous author. Begun in 1979, the fantasy cycle has run a staggering 114 novels. Planned for the 100 novel mark, Guin Saga's immediate approach is one of dense excitement. All of the danger is mortal. It is all dire in the moment in which it happens. Yet, clues and meetings of lasting importance are mixed in with confrontations that might be less significant in retrospect than they first seem. "Leopard Mask" spans a little over two days of in-story time. In turn, its events occur two days after the fall of the kingdom of Parros, which precipitated the involvement of two of the story's protagonists. Employing the philosophy of a fast track to fast track DJ mix of the genre, Kaouru Kurimoto strings serial moments of tension for a Zerg Rush narrative. This could cut a convoluted path, but rather than veer out of control with this momentum, Kurimoto enforces a coherent arrangement of events. The particular circumstances might be authorially driven chance... make that the dictates of fate weaving god Janos, but the flurry of situations being set up and resolved makes each incident, as well as the novel itself, satisfying. Kaouru Kurimoto manages it like the trick of putting a hand on a table with finger spread out, then stabbing a blade between the outstretched digits. The speed and coordination is that amazing. In part, as a function of introducing, rather than developing the players, Leopard Mask's chief protagonists are more utilitarian than interesting in their own rights. They're filling roles in the fantasy algebra. Essentially in line with the hero's journey, standards, there's a warrior who has forgotten his past, the male and female twin heirs to a forgotten kingdom, the irreverent mercenary, the "Black Count", even a small hairy monkey girl. Guin is spit up from the depths of Doal with the body of a perfect warrior, a permanently affixed life-like leopard mask, and a mind free of personal history except for the name "Guin" and the word "Aurra". Disorientated, unable to eat or drink, he's almost in as dire straights as Remus and Rinda, respectively, the heir to the thrown and the heir to the powers of prophesy of the kingdom of Parros. Several key qualities set the work apart from over-processed genre fill. First, it reads like the product of a mind to page outpouring. Even if the outline looks like Star Wars on a dusk jacket or a review, there is not the sense that Kaouru Kurimoto has spend time refactoring genre standards. A lack of baggage casts the experience in the direction of classic pulp fantasy from the likes of Fritz Leiber or Robert E. Howard. It's not like Ryo Mizuno (Loddoss War) fantasy, in that refreshingly, it is not informed by games. As such it does not suggest the impression of mechanics, projected to or from a page or a programming code rule scheme. Nor does it follow in the steps of, or react against the Tolkien model. The presumptions involved are more in line with mythology than the modern fantasy epic. Despite the conflict of high born children against a black clad, militaristic state, the world does not appear to be aligning itself for a Zoroastrian clash between the armies of light and darkness. With Guin and his history, the direct but ambiguous foreshadowing that while non-warrior, non-gifted Remus might currently be a weak link, he is destined for an important place in history, or the mercenary who has been told that he will one day rule a kingdom, all the primary players seem to be heroes in the classic sense. You almost expect weird sisters, a sword in a stone, a stag horned hunter, or a prophesy that some one is going to kill their father and marry their mother. The roles have been mysterious rather than explicit, but still decidedly grandiose. Berserk creator Kentaro Miura credits Guin Saga as a key influence for his iron and blood fantasy epic, and the heritage is evident. The key elements that make Berserk a tense, viscerally shaded take on the battles between men with swords and monsters are present in Guin Saga. First is the impression of a world in conflict. It's not Black and White, Empire and Rebels. It's states versus states. The brief insight into sympathetic point of loss, Parros is that it had ancient roots. The confederation that toppled it are decidedly a bellicose people, battle hardened from a frontier existence. Yet, they are practically ambitious rather than rule the world maniacal or nihilistic. These people might represent a threat to the heroes, but it is still possible to empathize with a citizen army that is tired of fighting border wars even if the its skirmishing with ape-men and infernal beings. To the extent that militaristic fascists can be, the patriotic zeal of these antagonists in action is awe inspiring. Rather than the overplayed Death Knight deal, Kurimoto produces something more Spartan. Secondly, Guin Saga has the haunting notion that, if you just dust off the top soil of the world, you expose a malevolent reality. Guin immediately rescues Remus and Rinda from a squad of riders, and as soon as that engagement is complete, the trio find themselves in the Marshes after dark. Sheltered in the flimsy protection of torch light, they are quickly surrounded by the animated dead, taunting imps, the noises of things cracking the bones of other things. It's the Lovecraftian idea that there is a deeper and darker world that operates under its own laws, that's to ready to swallow the humans that cross over. So, like Berserk, you have an abyss and a warrior who knows nothing else. Both the darkness and the person starring into it are powerfully convincing.

Upcoming Dark Horse Releases

Berserk Volume 22 Kentaro Miura (W/A) On Sale Mar 26 B&W, 224 Pages $13.95 Tpb, 5 1/8" X 7 1/4" The world of Guts, the Black Swordsman, is changing in a hurry. Though a demonic maelstrom has leveled the dreaded Tower of Conviction and ended the reign of terror of its grand inquisitor, Mozgus, peace has not returned to Midland. The Tower’s fall has heralded the unexpected return of Griffith, Guts’s former leader, last seen transformed from a shattered husk into one of the demon lords of the Godhand. But Griffith looks like his old self again-and with his dreams of carving out a kingdom by his own hand still intact. He’s raising a new Band of the Hawk, but this time he’s recruiting from the dark side to fulfill his deadly destiny! Blood+ Volume 1: First Kiss Ryo Ikehata (W) And Chizu Hashii (A) On sale Mar 19 b&w, 224 pages $8.95 Novel, 5 1/8" x 7 1/4" Featuring sixteen pages of illustrations by series character designer Chizu Hashii. The official novelization of the animated series Suffering from extreme amnesia, high school student Saya Otonoshi can’t remember anything from her life beyond the last year. Living with a foster family outside a military base in Okinawa, Japan, Saya’s attempts to live a normal life are shattered when a Chiropteran, a horrific vampire-like monster, attacks her. Saved at the last minute by a mysterious man named Hagi, Saya is presented with a sword that awakens in her a warrior’s skills and bloodlust, and sets her on a course that will lead her to the answers of her missing memories, and into battle against a race of creatures intent on destroying the world. The epic adventure that began in the groundbreaking film Blood: the Last Vampire and has continued through the worldwide phenomenon TV series Blood+ is brought to life in this all-new series of novels adapting the hit show. Saya’s journey of horror, magic, romance and mystery will stretch across time and around the world, expanding on the television series with new characters, new adventures and breathtaking action. Color Of Rage Kazuo Koike (W) Seisaku Kano (A) On sale Mar 19 B&w, 416 pages $14.95 TPB, 5" x 7" Two slaves free themselves from a slave ship, one a Japanese man, the other an African American. After escaping they find themselves on the shore of Edo-era Japan, a society with a strong chaste system, isolated from the world. How will the Japanese people perceive this giant black man, how will they survive? But first things first, how will they get these shackles off their feet? Fans of Kazuo Koike know how he loves to turn out a sensational samurai-era yarn with a certain sense of chauvinist violence and pulpy sexiness, and Color of Rage is by no means a slacker in these categories. Drafted by pinup artist and mangaka Seisaku Kano, Color of Rage features plenty of action, fighting, blood, sexiness, and more fighting. MPD-Psycho Volume 4 Eiji Otsuka (W) Sho-U Tajima (A) On sale Mar 5 B&w, 184 pages $10.95 TPB, 5" x 7" Feeling the weight of personal and professional rejection, stylish one-eyed reporter Toguchi embraces his dark side. The horrors he’s both documented and participated in haunt him also, and a "perfect storm" of frustration and anger builds until he resolves to pull off a violent "performance art show" in order to get the widespread attention he feels he deserves. Unfortunately, this involves killing a lot of people, transforming the happy-go-lucky guerrilla journalist into a modern monster. Crazed Toguchi also makes some sensitive information public, enraging Zenitsu, another unbalanced villain with a knack for murder and a resistance to pain. Kazuhiko Amamiya arrives at the scene a little too late, but Amamiya-our favorite multiple personality detective-feels that there’s some hope yet, and he risks his life to negotiate with Toguchi. Vampire Hunter D Volume. 10: Dark Nocturne Hideyuki Kikuchi (W) Yoshitaka Amano (A) On sale Mar 26 B&w, 224 pages $8.95 Novel, 5 1/8: x 7 1/4"

December ADV Releases

12/4/07 Air Gear: Kill ‘Em Dead! (6 of 6) Dragon Half / Puni Puni Poemy Double Pack ($19.98) Magikano: A New Witch In Town (1 of 3) Welcome To The NHK: Second Conspiracy (2 of 6) Magikano A "jiggly new magical comedy" produced by Studio GONZO (Welcome to the NHK, Chrono Crusade) and directed by Seiji Kishi (Ragnarok The Animation) Synopsis: Haruo Yoshikawa was your run-of-the-mill middle school student: Great attendance record, no real plans for the future, and three adorable, loving sisters. Normal, right? Wrong. Haruo and his sisters are, by blood, magic-users. However, Haruo is seemingly unaware of his powers. So his three witch sisters-Maika, Chiaki, and Fuyono- keep him in the dark, in the hopes that he’ll live a normal life. And they have succeeded, until now! In the blink of an eye, Haruo’s "normal" life does a 180 degree turn into the insane with the appearance of another witch, Ayumi, who for some reason is very interested in turning him into a "real man"...as well as awakening his dormant powers!

Viz Announces Holiday Releases

Anime NARUTO THE MOVIE: NINJA CLASH IN THE LAND OF SNOW DELUXE EDITION • Rated "T" for Teens • MSRP: $49.98 • Available November 13, 2007 An unedited version of the movie packaged in a 3 disc collector's tin wth the film, disc of bonus features, a CD of the feature soundtrack, bonus collector’s NARUTO THE MOVIE: NINJA CLASH IN THE LAND OF SNOW art prints and a movie program guide. THE PRINCE OF TENNIS DVD Box Set Volume 3 • Rated "A" for All Ages • 13 Episodes • MSRP: $39.98 • Available October 23, 2007 POKÉMON Season One Box Set, Part II • Rated "A" for All Ages • 26 Episodes • MSRP: $39.98 • Available November 13, 2007 DEATH NOTE • Rated "T+" for Older Teens • 4 Episodes • MSRP: $24.98 • Available November 20, 2007 The first 15,000 units of the first volume of the DVD will contain a Ryuk Limited Edition Collector’s Figurine for an initial suggested retail price of $39.98. Later volumes will include Limited Edition Collector’s Figurines of Light, L, Misa, and other popular characters. BLEACH BOX SET 1: THE SUBSTITUTE • Rated "T" for Teens • 20 Episodes • MSRP: $89.98 • Available November 20, 2007 the entire first season in this 5-disc BLEACH Special Edition – limited to only 15,000 copies – that also includes an exclusive BLEACH Chain Of Fate wallet chain as a bonus. RANMA ½ Season 4 Box Set • Rated "T" for Teens • 5 Discs • MSRP: $49.98 • Available November 27, 2007 Books THE CAT RETURNS PICTURE BOOK • Rated "A" for All Ages • MSRP: $14.99 • Available October 23, 2007 THE ART OF NAUSICAÄ OF THE VALLEY OF THE WIND: WATERCOLOR IMPRESSIONS • MSRP: $34.99 • Available November 6, 2007 THE ART OF NARUTO: UZUMAKI • MSRP: $19.99 • Available October 25, 2007 over a hundred pages of gorgeous full-color images. The book also includes an extensive interview with Kishimoto, step-by-step details on the process of creating a Naruto illustration, 20 pages of notes from the author about each image in the book and a double-sided poster THE ART OF FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST 2 • MSRP: $19.99 • Available October 16, 2007 The new edition includes original color artwork and each illustration is presented in sequential order with added commentary from Arakawa herself. Also included are 9-pages of detailed character designs for the FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST PS2 video game plus two pages of brand new manga panels. DRAGON SWORD AND WIND CHILD • Rated "T" for Teens • MSRP: $16.99 • Available November 20, 2007 VIZ Fiction offers a new printing with an updated translation of this acclaimed novel by Noriko Ogiwara. In the land of Toyoashihara, the forces of the God of Light and the Goddess of Darkness have waged a ruthless war for generations. But for 15-year-old Saya, the war is far away and unimportant – until the day she discovers that she is the reincarnation of the Water Maiden and a princess of the Children of the Dark. Raised to love the Light and detest the Dark, Saya must come to terms with her heritage even as she is tumbled into the very heart of the conflict that is destroying her country. The armies of the Light and Dark both seek to claim her, for she is the only mortal who can awaken the legendary Dragon Sword, the fearsome weapon destined to bring an end to the war. Can Saya make the dreadful choice between the Light and Dark, or is she doomed like all the other Water Maidens who came before her? Noriko Ogiwara was inspired to write by the classic Western children's books she read as she was growing up. Dragon Sword and Wind Child is her first book and part of the award-winning Magatama Trilogy.

VIZ to Release Gackt DVD

VIZ Pictures, an affiliate of VIZ Media LLC that focuses on Japanese live-action film distribution, has announced the DVD releases of GACKT: The Greatest Filmography 1999-2006 Blue and Red editions. The two DVDs, sold separately, each feature a collection of 12 music videos by the talented Japanese rock star. GACKT: The Greatest Filmography 1999-2006 will debut on October 9 with a suggested retail price of $19.98 for each edition. The DVDs will be distributed by VIZ Media. Gackt Camui is a "Visual-Kei" or "Visual Rock" musician, songwriter and actor, most notable for composing the theme songs for several popular anime and video game titles including New Fist of the North Star, Texhnolyze, and Bujingai and Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII. These contributions have made the artist very popular among anime fans both in Japan and North America.

December Bandai Visual Releases

In addition to SOS! TOKYO METRO EXPLORERS: THE NEXT, Bandai Visual will be releasing the following titles in December 1. Super Robot Wars: OG - Divine Wars Price: $39.99 Running Time: main 48min. (Ep 1 & 2) Release Date: 12/11/07 2. FREEDOM3 Price $39.99 Running Time: HD DVD: main 25 min. extra 3 min. (partially Internet connection required) DVD: main 25 min. + extra 1 min. Release Date: 12/11/07

Figures News

Art of War has sold out of their 300 piece limited run of the blood-splattered limited run of the Guts: The Black Swordsman PVC statue, featuring the lead character from Berserk with his trademark Dragonslayer sword, but the company is now taking names for a new waiting list here Organic Hobby, Inc in conjunction with Kaiyodo will be introducing the Fuka Ayase (Uniform Version) in November for $35.00 "Fuka Ayase," is a fictional character from the ongoing manga series "Yotsuba&!," as well as the one-shot manga Try! Try! Try!, both by Kiyohiko Azuma. Fuka is the middle Ayase sister. She is a 16-year-old student at a local high school and she is the most responsible of the three sisters. According to Yotsuba, she is "the unpretty one." "Fuka Ayase" introduced in her "uniform version" is 7" tall, has a custom base for display and comes in a window box.

Cultural Notes

Murder mystery franchise Higurashi is having more difficulties being distributed in Japan since the publicized case of a teenager murdering her father with an axe. Canned Dogs reports that TV Saitama has joined TV Toukai in announcing they have pulled the second season of the anime, Higurashi no naku koro ni kai as of episode 13. The manga "Higurashi no naku koro ni comic ala carte" and "School Days vol. 2", which were supposed to be released on the 26th of October by Kadokawa Shoten have been delayed indefinately. As of volume 3, the fate of North American released of the first season of the anime, localized as "When They Cry" is uncertain due to the decision by licensor/distributor Geneon USA to cease anime distribution. Speaking of violent crimes and anime, Vertical note a message stating "Watashi wa Kira desu" ("I am Kira"), a reference to Death Note, was sound at a murder scene southern Brussels. According to the Taipei Times, Pingtung County Government officials have issued instructions for teachers to keeps tabs on students who are fans of Death Note. The officials also urged the teachers to strengthen talks on appreciation of life, but Hsu Wen-bin , executive-general of the Publication Appraisal Foundation, expressed the opinion that Death Note is bad for students and Tongli Publishing, the publisher of the manga's Chinese version in Taiwan, said the manga actually has educational meaning as "the main character receives his share of punishment in the end of the story". Kodomo no Jikan, about sexual innudendo between an elementary school girl and her teacher, has been pulled from Japanese Toukai TV and TV Saitama networks. According to Anime News Network, the October 1 arrest of 54 year old elementary school vice principal Takayuki Hosoda on the charges of obscene behavior from a 16-year-old girl have inspired networks to cancel Kodomo no Jikan. The detector is accused of soliciting obscene photographs and movies of about 600 girls, which he in turn sold to magazines, earning an estimated 18,000,000 yen (US$150,000) between 2000 and 2007. The manga version of Kodomo no Jikan was to have been released in North America as "Nymphet" before objections to in content provoked a preemptive cancellation. According to ministry official Tsutomu Shimomura, "The agriculture ministry is not in charge of Gundam." The wire was abuzz with the mini-scandal of a A Japanese bureaucrat being reprimanded for shirking his duties to make hundreds of Wikipedia contributions about Gundam. The agriculture ministry verbally reprimanded five other bureaucrats who contributed to entries on movies, typographical mistakes in billboard signs and local politics. The six employees together made 408 entries on the popular Internet encyclopedia from ministry computers since 2003. A new protein-based ultrathin memory technology has been named after a gadget from Detective Concan/Cade closed. Using ferritin, a protein commonly found in both eukaryotes and prokaryotes that facilitates iron storage, scientists from Japan's Nara Institute of Science and Technology came up with a way to build memory on thinner substrates, thus avoiding the need for energy-intensive, high-temperature processing (often in excess of 1,000°C). "We are well on the way to developing computers built on thin films that can be integrated into eyeglass lenses or into clothing. Conan’s eyeglasses are no longer a dream," said team leader Yukiharu Uraoka. On the North American front, the "First Annual Naruto-Star Trek Convention" has been announced for March 2008. The Ft. Lauderdale, Florida based event is now accepting pre-registration. From the press release That's right. Unlike typical conventions, the content of the Naruto Star Trek Convention will be driven by the fans. We're asking the fans to tell us what content they would like like to see in panel discussions and have them become the chair person. And while you're at it, participate as panels members, join in 'game show' fun, enter our costume call, bid at a live auction, meet our guests, watch your favorite movies and episodes, and join the party! ...find out why Naruto and Star Trek are more alike than you think. For more see www.narutotrek.com

Buisness News

From Anime News Network Trans World Entertainment ( F.Y.E., Sam Goody, Saturday Matinee, Suncoast, and Wherehouse Music chain) will be working with Bookazine to develop a manga section in its 900 stores. Anime News Network learned that A.D. Vision (ADV) has laid off 13 staff members. In October, ADV has laid off a number of positions, pretty much across the board. During the same period, we've also hired several new people. The changes in our staff levels and the allocation of staff across departments is a reflection of our priorities for the coming year." A number of Japanese firms will be showing properties American Film Market (AFM), an event that brings producers, investors and distributors togeth, running in Santa Monica, California from October 31 to November 7. The ADV representative commented that the company remains committed, in particular, to home media and digital media, but did not state what areas of its business were becoming de-prioritized Golden Network Asia Limited will be pitching Masaki Mori's Barefoot Gen, Masaaki Yuasa's The Beast Claw, and Toshio Hirata's Yap! Bun Bun. The media distributor Pony Canyon is offering Koichi Chigira's Brave Story. Nippon Television will be showing Hideaki Anno's Evangelion: 1.0 You Are [Not] Alone. GAGA Communications is bringing a promotional reel for Fist of the North Star and the live-action Cyborg She film from My Sassy Girl's Korean director Jae-young Kwak. The broadcaster TBS has Gisaburô Sugii's Stormy Night while the film distributor Shochiku is pitching Keiichi Hara's Summer Days with Coo. Eleven Arts, Inc. is showcasing Setsuko Shibuichi's The Glass Rabbit, a dramatization of the Hiroshima bombing. Toei is offering Takashi Minamoto's Akihabara@deep film about the otaku shopping district in Japan and the live-action Yo-Yo Girl Cop film based on the Sukeban Deka manga. Geneon Entertainment is bringing ten films, including Mamoru Oshii's Eat and and Run - 6 Beautiful Grifters (Shin Onna-Tachiguishi Retsuden). TBS is previewing four manga-inspired movies: Takashi Miike's Crows - Episode 0, the live-action adaptation of Osamu Tezuka's Dororo, the live-action NANA movie, and the upcoming NANA 2 sequel. Twitch notes that after it screen at the Pusan Film Festival, the American rights to Crow Zero were sold to Media Blasters. Also, Geek in Name Only notes that while Geneon USA is in limbo, Geneon Japan will distribute films for Universal Pictures Japan, according to Variety, starting with The Bourne Ultimatum in March.

Ghibli Music

From Ghibli News, the theme song for Hayao Miyazaki's next film, Gake no ue no Ponyo (Ponyo on a Cliff), will be released on December 5th. Hayao Miyazaki requested composer Joe Hisaishi (56) to "please make a happy-go-lucky song" for which animation director Katsuya Kondo was in charge of writing the lyrics. The song will be performed by Takaaki Fujiaoka (55) and Naoya Fujimaki (55), who form the duo Fujioka Fujimaki, together with Nozomi Ohashi (8) who belongs to a children's theatrical company. The movie itself is scheduled to be released in Japanese theatres in Summer 2008.

Worth Checking Out

Post EvaMonkeys.org, there is EvaGeeks.org A Geek By Any Other Name has been blogging through the first episodes of the fall season AniPages Daily posts thoughts on recently seen anime Via Awesome Engine, the opening credits for Kawaii Jenny What if Haruhi Suzumiya was an actual human... The poster for the North American release of Persepolis can be seen here

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