Logo handmade by Bannister
Column by Scott Green
Event News
Man-in-suit giant monster wrestling KAIJU BIG BATTEL will present "The Halls Of Danger" Saturday, June 12 at 8:00pm at Trocadero Theater, as the official after-party of Wizard World Philly Comic ConJoin all your favorite Kaiju Big Battel monsters in our 22nd Hall of Fame Induction ceremony. Witness calamity beyond human comprehension, destruction beyond human intervention and teary induction speeches beyond the human emotional spectrum. Dr. Cube, American Beetle, Neo Teppin, Sekmet, PowaRanjuru, Los Plantaons, Gii and many others are all scheduled to appear. So get your tickets today, or spend the rest of your brief, fleeting moments on planet Earth wondering why you squander such momentous and beautiful occasions worrying about the past. * Patrick Macias and Tomohiro Machiyama will be presenting TokyoScope Talk Vol.4: Hot Tears of Shame at San Francisco's New People Cinema June 11thFrom naughty hot spring geisha, to S&M-addicted salary men, to the latest bizarre innovations in adult video, this pulse-pounding presentation will shamelessly reveal the history of “gettin’ it on” in Japanese cinema. Join hosts Patrick Macias and Tomohiro Machiyama as they sift through the wreckage of Roman Porno, Pinky Violence, and AV in search of the most mind-blowing scenes ever to emerge from the Land of the Rising Sun! * Giant Robot Los Angeles will host "The Jizo", an art show featuring new work by Yukinori Dehara. An opening reception attended by Dehara will take place from 6:30 - 10:00 p.m. on Saturday, June 5th, with the show exhibiting thru July 7th* The Cartoon Art Museum and the Japan Society of Northern California will welcome award-winning author and book designer Chip Kidd on Thursday, June 17 for a special presentation entitled Bat-Manga! A Secret Look at the Secret History of Batman in Japan* Shoujo pioneer Moto Hagio will be a guest at San Diego Comic Con* The line-up has been announced for the New York Asian Film Festival June 25 July 8 at Lincoln Center (June 25 - July 8) Japan Society (July 1 - 4) and IFC Center (Friday and Saturdays at midnight) This is the ninth New York Asian Film Festival. Presented in association with the Film Society of Lincoln Center and Japan Society's Japan Cuts: Festival of New Japanese Film. Official Opening Night Film IP MAN 2 (Hong Kong, 2010, North American Premiere) - Sammo Hung and Donnie Yen throw down in this lavish martial arts flick that blew the Hong Kong box office wide open and beat IRON MAN 2 like a redheaded stepchild. ***The movie's star and action choreographer, Sammo Hung, will be present.Centerpiece Presentation CONFESSIONS (Japan, 2010, International Premiere) - Tetsuya Nakashima (MEMORIES OF MATSUKO) returns to the NYAFF with his brand new movie about a school teacher convinced that her daughter was murdered by one of her own seventh-grade students. This was the most buzzed-about discovery in Cannes this year. Presented with Japan Cuts: Festival of New Japanese Film Official Closing Night Film BLADES OF BLOOD (Korea, 2010, International Premiere) - from the director of KING & CLOWN, the biggest hit in Korean box office history, comes this massive, posh swordplay flick about a hero leading a coup against the king and the blind swordsman who's out to stop him. ***Director Lee Joon-Ik will be at the screening. China COW (2009, North American Premiere) - hick farmer, Huang Bo, tries to survive WW II with his best buddy: a cow. By the time this movie is over you'll believe a cow can cry. *** Actor Huang Bo will be at the screening. CRAZY RACER (2009, New York Premiere) - Ning Hao (CRAZY STONE) has made a movie that's like a Warner Brothers cartoon on crystal meth. Huang Bo plays a disgraced Olympic bicyclist reduced to being a delivery man, and Ning Hao sends him chasing after his dignity in a modern-day China full of con men, creeps, hustlers, scam artists, assassins, gangsters, drug dealers, murder-for-hire morons and all the other joys of modern day capitalism. *** Actor Huang Bo will be present. SOPHIE'S REVENGE (2009, New York Premiere) - Zhang Ziyi produced and stars in this madcap romantic comedy that co-stars Mainland diva, Fan Bing-bing, and Korean stud muffin, So Ji-Sub. Want to see the face of modern China? It's not in any Jia Zhangke movies - it's here in this slick, funny rom com. TIAN AN MEN (2009, International Premiere) - one of the movies created for the 60th Anniversary of the Founding of the People's Republic of China, this is an earnest, unironic film about the struggles and sacrifices of the men and women who...cleaned up Tiananmen Square in 1949? A lavish special effects spectacle, it's like "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" Communist style. Hong Kong BODYGUARDS AND ASSASSINS (2009, New York Premiere) - the story of a ragtag team of bodyguards who gave their lives to protect Dr. Sun Yat-sen on his trip to Hong Kong, it made a ton of loot at the box office, stars an all-star cast and was nominated for more Hong Kong Film Awards than any other movie in history. Plus, Donnie Yen fights a horse. ***Actor Simon Yam will introduce the screening. DEVELOPMENT HELL (2010, North American Premiere) - the uncut, uncensored documentary about the suicides, deaths and disease outbreaks that plagued BODYGUARDS & ASSASSINS, the most famous "cursed" Hong Kong film of all time. (Development Hell will screen in conjunction with BODYGUARDS & ASSASSINS) EASTERN CONDORS (1987) - a once-in-a-lifetime screening of Sammo Hung's Vietnam War blow-out. A true masterpiece. It will be screened on a 35mm print that was given to us by a private collector, and there will never be another chance to see it in theaters. ***Director, action choreographer and star Sammo Hung will be at the screening. It will be followed by an in-depth Q&A about his career. ECHOES OF THE RAINBOW (2010, North American Premiere) - a bittersweet eulogy to 1960's Hong Kong, it won a special prize in Berlin, earned Simon Yam his first "Best Actor" trophy at the Hong Kong Film Awards and it saved the street on which it was shot from demolition. ***Actor Simon Yam will be at the screening. GALLANTS (2010, North American Premiere) - like COCOON but with kung fu, this rocking action comedy features a cast of martial arts legends from the 70's, now in their 60's including Chen Kuan-tai, Bruce Leung and Teddy Robin. ***Actor Bruce Leung will be at the screening. IP MAN (2008) - starring Donnie Yen, it's the first movie about Bruce Lee's master and it sparked the current revival of old school Hong Kong martial arts movies that's seeing everyone from Herman Yau to Wong Kar-wai shooting Ip Man projects. IP MAN 2 (2010, North American Premiere) - Sammo Hung and Donnie Yen throw down in this lavish martial arts flick that blew the Hong Kong box office wide open. ***Actor and action choreographer Sammo Hung will be at the screenings. KUNG FU CHEFS (2009, North American Premiere) - Sammo Hung likes to do two things: cook food and kick ass. Finally, here's a movie that lets him do both. The kind of cracked, casual B-movie classic that Hong Kong used to crank out in the early 90's, full of butt-kicking action and mouth-watering cooking. ***Actor Sammo Hung will be present. LITTLE BIG SOLDIER (2010, New York Premiere) - Jackie Chan's return to greatness, it's the best and most moving film he's made since 1994's DRUNKEN MASTER II. Now in his 50's, Jackie can't rely on death defying stunts to wow the audience anymore and instead he's had to dig deep and give his best actual acting performance in a movie with one of the best screenplays he's ever worked with. RED CLIFF UNCUT (2008/2009) - celebrate freedom on the Fourth of July with a screening of John Woo's massive, five-hour plus martial epic shown uncut, the way God - and John Woo - intended. God Bless America! THE STORM WARRIORS (2009, US Premiere) - the closest thing to a Hong Kong comic book ever put onscreen, this is like World of Warcraft via Iron Maiden, a heavy metal martial arts flick full of sword power and fist energy. ***Main bad guy Simon Yam will be at the screening. Indonesia MERANTAU (2009, New York Premiere) - you think Tony Jaa is awesome, then check out this rocking slab of exploitation action starring Iko Uwais, an ace practicioner of Silat, Indonesia's unique martial art. This movie is an excuse for him to put people in traction and to jump off of buildings. Japan 8000 MILES (2009, North American Premiere) - a funnier version of Eminem's 8 MILE about rappers dying on the vine in the boring suburbs. This was Japan's sleeper hit of 2009. ***Director Yu Irie will be at the screenings. 8000 MILES 2: GIRL RAPPERS (2010, North American Premiere) - the same premise (rappers in the sticks, dreaming of Tokyo) only this time they're women and the result is a less funny, more moving and deeply affecting film. ***Director Yu Irie will be at the screening. ALIEN VS NINJA (2010, World Premiere) - the first movie from Nikkatsu's Sushi Typhoon label, it's about an alien that comes to Earth to hunt humans. It is unstoppable. It is unkillable. It is insatiable. But it made one mistake: it's not ninja-proof. ***Actor Masanori Mimoto will be at the first screening. Presented with Japan Cuts: Festival of New Japanese Film ANNYONG YUMIKA (2009, North American Premiere) - part documentary, part personal odyssey, part porn movie, this flick's about legendary adult film actress Yumika Hayashi's career in Korea. ***Director Tetsuaki Matsue will be at the screenings. THE BLOOD OF REBIRTH (2009, New York Premiere) - director Toshiaki Toyoda (BLUE SPRING, HANGING GARDEN) makes a triumphant return to filmmaking with this trippy revenge saga that sticks its throbbing soundtrack deep inside your ears, while its shimmering visuals fry your eyes. ***Director Toshiaki Toyoda will be present. Presented with Japan Cuts: Festival of New Japanese Film BOYS ON THE RUN (2010, North American Premiere) - a movie that will capture the heart of the serial masturbator inside all of us. This sex comedy starts with the borrowing of a bestiality DVD and ends with a Travis Bickle-style fist fight and in between it's humiliating and hilarious in equal measures. Presented with Japan Cuts: Festival of New Japanese Film CONFESSIONS (2010, International Premiere) - Tetsuya Nakashima (MEMORIES OF MATSUKO) returns to the NYAFF with his brand new movie about a school teacher convinced that her daughter was murdered by one of her seventh-grade students. She vows to take revenge on her entire class...and that's just in the first 20 minutes. Presented with Japan Cuts: Festival of New Japanese Film DEAR DOCTOR (2009, New York Premiere) - Miwa Nishikawa's (SWAY) deceptively simple movie about a small town doctor won every major Japanese film award (21 and counting) and it's one of the smartest and most twisted films in our line-up. Presented with Japan Cuts: Festival of New Japanese Film DEATH KAPPA (2010, World Premiere) - the Kappa is a delightful Japanese folk monster that's cute as a biscuit...until Nazis cause it to grow to enormous size and go on a kill crazy rampage! A pitch perfect recreation of the 80's, direct-to-VHS monster movie. Presented as part of Midnights @ IFC DOMAN SEMAN (2010, World Premiere) - Go Shibata (LATE BLOOMER) has made a rocking thrash anthem about pretty boys bashing the homeless, occult conspiracies, mental emissions, magic mushrooms and massive zombie attacks. Like a Richard Lester film transformed into a magikal ritual to stave off the apocalypse, it'll kick down your doors of perception like a psychedelic SWAT team. ***Director Go Shibata will be at the screenings. GOLDEN SLUMBER (2009, New York Premiere) - the director of last year's festival fave, FISH STORY, returns with this twisty conspiracy thriller about a simple delivery man who's framed for the assassination of the Prime Minister. Presented with Japan Cuts: Festival of New Japanese Film LIVE TAPE (2010, North American Premiere) - on New Year's Day, 2009, director Tetsuaki Matsue (ANNYONG YUMIKA) and singer/songwriter Kenta Maeno (sometimes called "the Bob Dylan of Japan") made this amazing concert film: a single 74 minute take of Kenta performing in the streets of Tokyo before ripping it up at an outdoor gig with his full band. More than the sum of its parts, it's a raw and liberating lo-fi miracle. ***Director Tetsuaki Matsuewill be at the screenings. ***Singer/songwriter Kenta Maeno and his drummer POP Suzuki will perform live after each screening. MUTANT GIRLS SQUAD (2010, International Premiere) - at last year's NYAFF, directors Tak Sakaguchi (BE A MAN! SAMURAI SCHOOL), Yoshihiro Nishimura (TOKYO GORE POLICE) and Noboru Iguchi (ROBOGEISHA) got drunk and vowed to make a movie together. Now they have, and this twisted take on the X-Men is here to upset pretty much everyone. ***Directors Yoshihiro Nishimura and Noboru Iguchi will be at the screenings. Presented with Japan Cuts: Festival of New Japanese Film PINK POWER STRIKES BACK - pink films are the uniquely Japanese genre of 60 minute, softcore movies shot entirely analog: 35mm, flatbed editing, no digital mixing. This year's pink film double feature will screen GROPER TRAIN: SCHOOL UNIFORM HUNTER and JAPANESE WIFE NEXT DOOR, PART 2, the sequel to last year's fest fave pink film. Totally smutty and completely nuts, these are date movies for very horny couples. *** Asami, star of GROPER TRAIN: SCHOOL UNIFORM HUNTER will be the screening. ***Presented as part of Midnights @ IFC SAWAKO DECIDES (2010, North American Premiere) - Sawako (Hikari Mitsushima, LOVE EXPOSURE) is on her fifth job, her fifth boyfriend and her fifth year in Tokyo. But it's not until she returns to her family's clam-packing plant that she discovers that it's okay to be a loser. Bizarre and hilarious, it's a chick flick on acid featuring musical numbers, horrible toys and the world's worst boyfriend. Presented with Japan Cuts: Festival of New Japanese Film SYMBOL (2009, New York Premiere) - Japan's #1 comedian, Hitoshi Matsumoto (director and star of DAI NIPPONJIN, aka BIG MAN JAPAN) directs and stars in this flick that's the 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY of J-quirk cinema. The only movie this year to feature President Obama, Mexican wrestlers and five million angel penises. YATTERMAN (2009) - Takashi Miike's biggest box office hit of all time, this slyly hilarious send-up of kiddie show, Yatterman, is like a self-aware, satirical update of "Scooby-Doo" only with giant robots, leather-bondage-clad femme fatales and a pile of all the schoolgirls in Japan. Hilariously stupid, but insanely smart, it's exactly the giant robot movie you thought Miike would make. We hosted the world premiere last year, but we're bringing it back so even more people can feel the sweetness. Korea ACTRESSES (2009, New York Premiere) - six of Korea's biggest actresses play cockeyed versions of themselves in this real-time chronicle of a Vogue photo shoot gone wrong. Endlessly self-referential, it speaks the international language of celebrity and looks like the kind of project Andy Warhol would have come up with if he edited US Weekly. ***Director E J-Yong (DASEPO NAUGHTY GIRLS) will be at the screenings. ANIMAL TOWN (2009, North American Premiere) - a savage, sterile art film, this brutalist nightmare follows an ex-con and the owner of a small business as the economic crisis, and Korea's bleak urban hellscapes, grind them up into pulp. BLADES OF BLOOD (2010, International Premiere) - from the director of KING & CLOWN comes this massive swordplay flick about a hero leading a coup against the king and the blind swordsman who sets out to stop him. ***Director Lee Joon-Ik will be present. CASTAWAY ON THE MOON (2009, New York Premiere) - WHEN HARRY MET SALLY meets LOST by way of J.G. Ballard. And it's a romantic comedy! A businessman tries to kill himself and winds up stranded on an island in the middle of the Han River in downtown Seoul. His only lifeline? An OCD agoraphobe spying on him from her apartment. Ah, true love. ***Director Lee Hey-Jun will be at the screening. CHAW (2009, North American Premiere) - a box office hit, this bacon-flavored version of THE HOST is a send-up of JAWS only with a giant killer pig instead of a giant killer shark and, probably, a lot more pot got smoked while the script was being written. More like a movie from Joe Dante than Steven Spielberg, and that's a good thing. A LITTLE POND (2010, International Premiere) - the most controversial movie of the year, this all-star flick about the American massacre of Korean civillians at No Gun Ri in 1950 is a quiet, underplayed, life-goes-on account of the bloody incident, that unspools as gently as a Hou Hsiao-hsien film. MISE EN SCENE SHORT FILM PROGRAM - two 90 minute programs of short films from the genre film festival curated by E J-Yong, Park Chan-Wook, Kim Ji-Woon and Bong Joon-Ho. These short flicks pack more of a punch than many longer features, and it's your chance to see Korea's future filmmakers trying their hands at weird little romances, gore and animated films. This year's line-up has an unhealthy obsession with children and tiny, four-inch-tall women. SECRET REUNION (2009) - the director of ROUGH CUT returns with this two-hander for Song Kang-Ho (THE HOST) and Gang Dong-Won (THE DUELIST) playing retired spies battling it out long after their missions are over. It's a throwback to 80's style buddy movies (LETHAL WEAPON, 48 HOURS) set against the backdrop of the Cold War between North and South Korea. Thailand POWER KIDS (2009) - do you like to see children thrown face-first through plate glass windows? We do! Johnny Nguyen (THE REBEL) plays a terrorist who takes over a hospital. The only people who can stop him? A team of tikes with killer muay thai skills. Like a Hong Kong movie from 1988, it's totally reckless, the action is breathless and child labor laws are completely ignored. Presented as part of Midnights @ IFC RAGING PHOENIX (2009, New York Premiere) - Jeeja Yanin, Thailand's only female action star, burst onto the scene with CHOCOLATE and now she's back in this flick where she learns how to combine muay thai beatdowns with sick B-boy moves. Truly jaw-dropping, it's full of high impact kicks, lethal breakdancing and the discovery that the greatest martial art of all is "Drunken Muay Thai." Come drunk! USA L.A. STREETFIGHTERS (USA, 1985) - a longtime favorite of the Subway Cinema crew, we finally found a 35mm print of this unseen 80's exploitation movie. As if Ed Wood directed a Korean-American martial arts film set in totally tubular L.A. it will shock you, dazzle you and leave you quoting the immortal dialogue. Bill "Superfoot" Wallace and a host of other exploitation actors appear in this retro classic that's on a par with last year's HOUSE. Only instead of being a deconstruction of the haunted house movie, it's a bizarre, inadvertent takedown of the 80's action film. Presented as part of Midnights @ IFC Tickets Go On Sale June 10 Walter Reade Tickets: Single Screening Tickets: $12 general public $8 students & seniors $7 Film Society members Weekday Matinee Screenings @ WR (Mon-Fri shows starting before 6pm) $9 general public $6 students & seniors $5 Film Society members Subway Ten Pack @ WR (admits one person to any ten films screening at the Walter Reade as part of the NYAFF, certain restrictions apply) $99 general public $69 students & seniors $59 Film Society members Japan Society Tickets: $11 general public $7 Japan Society members, students & seniors IFC Center Tickets $12.50 general public $7.50 IFC members Japan Society's Japan Cuts is partnering with New York Asian Film Festival to screen the anime adaptation of manga Yuji Iwahara's King of Thorn, the live-action film adaptation of Erica Sakurazawa's Love Vibes yuri manga, and the live-action film adaptation of Kengo Hanazawa's Boys on the Run boxing manga in a line-up that includes About Her Brother (Ototo) Directed by Yoji Yamada North American Premiere Accidental Kidnapper (Yukai Rhapsody) Directed by Hideo Sakaki New York Premiere Alien Vs. Ninja Directed by Seiji Chiba World Premiere Bare Essence of Life: Ultra Miracle Love Story (Urutora mirakuru rabu sutori) Directed by Satoko Yokohama New York Premiere Blood of Rebirth (Yomigaeri no chi) Directed by Toshiaki Toyoda New York Premiere Boys on the Run (Boizu on za ran) Directed by Daisuke Miura North American Premiere Confessions (Kokuhaku) Directed by Tetsuya Nakashima U.S. Premiere Crying Out Love, in the Center of the World (Sekai no chushin de, ai o sakebu) Directed by Isao Yukisada New York Premiere Dear Doctor Directed by Miwa Nishikawa New York Premiere Electric Button (Moon & Cherry) (Tsuki to Cherry) Directed by Yuki Tanada U.S. Premiere The Foreign Duck, The Native Duck and God in a Coin Locker (Ahiru to kamo no koinrokka) Directed by Yoshihiro Nakamura North American Premiere Golden Slumber Directed by Yoshihiro Nakamura New York Premiere Hanging Garden (Kuchu teien) Directed by Toshiaki Toyoda Kakera: A Piece of Our Life (Kakera) Directed by Momoko Ando North American Premiere King of Thorn (Ibara no O) Directed by Kazuyoshi Katayama North American Premiere Memories of Matsuko (Kiraware Matsuko no issho) Directed by Tetsuya Nakashima Mutant Girls Squad (Sento shojo: Chi no tekkamen densetsu) Directed by Noboru Iguchi, Yoshihiro Nishimura, Tak Sakaguchi International Premiere Nightmare Detective 2 (Akumu Tantei 2) Directed by Shinya Tsukamoto U.S Premiere Oh, My Buddha! (Shikisoku zenereishon) Directed by Tomorowo Taguchi New York Premiere One Million Yen Girl (Hyakuman-en to nigamushi onna) Directed by Yuki Tanada U.S. Premiere Parade Directed by Isao Yukisada New York Premiere Sawako Decides (Kawa no soko kara konnichi wa) Directed by Yuya Ishii North American Premiere Sweet Little Lies Directed by Hitoshi Yazaki U.S. Premiere Villon's Wife (Viyon no tsuma) Directed by Kichitaro Negishi New York Premiere Zero Focus (Zero no shoten) Directed by Isshin Inudou U.S. Premiere * Baltimore's Otakon announced North American guests Amy Howard Wilson (Star Blazer's Nova), Clarine Harp, Patrick Seitz (Monster's Grimmer) and Todd Haberkorn (Sgt. Frog's Keroro).* Louisiana's MechaCon will be hosting Mari Iijima, voice of Macross' Lynn Minmay* Somerset, New Jersey's AnimeNext will host Kenji Kamiyama, director of Ghost in the Shell Stand Alone Complex and the to be released by FUNimation Eden of the East* Digital Manga Publishing announced Hinako Takanaga (Little Butterfly, Croquis, The Tyrant Falls in Love) will be a guest at San Franciso's Yaoi-Con October 29-October 31.voice actor voice actor Hidenobu Kiuchi will also be attending * Black Lagoon creator Rei Hiroe (also known as doujinshi artist Tex-Mex) will be at Anime Expo for the premiere of the new anime OVA Black Lagoon: Roberta's Blood TrailMacross Frontier singers Megumi Nakajima and May "May'n" Nakabayashi will be performing at Anime Expo Blogging celebrity Danny Choo was also recently added to event's guest list * Destroy All Podcasts DX report from Fanime Eva Geeks on the Gainax panel
Upcoming in Japan
Promos More here Gundam Unicorn episode 2 Gothic and Lolita Psycho Anime A look at the upcoming Nausicaa blu-ray AnimeNews.biz notes Marvel Entertainment and Animax annonced an October 1 premiere for the Madhouse animated Iron Man anime.Catsuka reports Studio 4°C has developed a short adaptation of Masamune Shirow's battle of religions, Orion to be shown at the Short Shorts Film Festival in Tokyo this June. Batman: Gotham Knight's Yasuhiro Aoki directed the 3D work a 3D Doraemon short is also being unveiled Nausicaa.net reports that Ghibli is working on shirts Yomiuri Online reports that Studio Ghibli is working on two new shorts titled "Pandane to Tamagohime" and "Takarasagashi" for the Ghibli museam A secon season of Baka Test will air on Japanese TV next year Keiichi Arawi's Nichijou gag comedy manga will be adapted by Kyoto Animation Azure Konno's manga about voice actress in adult anime Koe de Oshigoto! will be adapted into adapted into anime via Anime News Network Hiroyuki Yamaga confirmed that Gainax has another series in the work beyond the very stylized Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt. the other will be "more refined" work set in Great Britain during the 20th century. Britain's Got Talent's Susan Boyle has sung the theme song for Welcome to THE SPACE SHOW, the movie from the team behind Read or Die Mobile Suit Gundam 00 the Movie: A wakening of the Trailblazer is scheduled to hit Japanese theatres on September 18th. Flash animator FROGMAN (Eagle Talon) will produce a trailer for the Japanese release of Jackie Chan's Spy Next Door, to be release under the title Double Mission Also, involved with Eagle Talon, DLE, will be animating a TV tie-in to Monster Hunter. A limited edition XXXHOLiC OVA will be offered to readers who send in cards from the 25th issue of Weekly Shonen Magazine, sixth issue of Magazine Special, and July issue of Bessatsu Shonen Magazine Tsutomu Mizushima is directing a second Production I.G produced adaptation of demonic comedy Yondemasuyo, Azazel-san * Shinichi Kimura's Kore wa Zombie Desu ka? light novel series, about a high school boy murdered by a serial killer and brought back by a necromancer, will be adapted into anime Manga Canned Dogs reports famously on again, off again manga Hunter x Hunter is going on hiatus after Jump 2010 issue 26.* In a historical fiction swap, Makoto Yukimura's (Planetes) Vikang manga Vinland Saga is dropping out of Afternoon for a while to go on hiatus while Hitoshi Iwaaki's (Parasyte) Historie, about Eumenes of Cardia is returningvia ANN Yukiko Seike is launching an adaptation of Makoto Shinkai's 5 Centimeters Per Second anime film in the July issue of Kodansha's Monthly Afternoon * Shojo manga creator Kariko Koyama will launch Macross F tie-in Sheryl ~Kiss in the Galaxy~, Bessatsu Friend, based on an idol singer from the sci-fi franchise Live Action Kinji Fukasaku's son, and director of Battle Royale II will be supervising a 3D converted re-release of original Battle Royale movie via Anime News Network Hiroshi Tanaka's cycle gang manga Bad Boys will be adapted into a live action movie directed by Takashi Kubota* The Last Message: Umizaru, the third theatrical film adaptation of Shuho Sato's Umizaru coast guard manga, is being converted from 2D to 3D.* James Wong (Dragonball Evolution) will write and direct a new adaptation of Neighbor No. Thirteen, based on the violent Santa Inoue manga* Riisa Naka (The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, Kami no Shizuku, Yankee-kun to Megane-chan) will play her the lead character in a live-action TV adaptation of manga Nihonjin no Shiranai Nihongo, about a language teacher in a school for foreign students Marimite cast photos Misc The final light novel is the military mecha/highschool dramady series Full Metal Panic will be published in August* Classic comedy manga Tensai Bakabon, from Fujio Akatsuka, will be adapted for the stage
Upcoming in North America (and other English Speaking Territories)
The story of a live action adaptation of Mai the Psychic Girl has gone from legend to news again. Latino Review reports Tim Burton has re-acquired and re-started his film adaptation of MAI THE PSYCHIC GIRL, based on the manga by Kazuya Kudo and Ryoichi Ikegami. He first started this one in the late eightiesMAI had been bought 8 years ago by Sony Family Films. Then the Prez of Sony, Amy Pascal, killed it. Sony has been having serious money problems since October and didn’t want to make the film so they gave it all back to Burton. If it ends up making a BILLION dolares como Alice in Wonderland then Sony will not be seen as all that smart, eh? * The Hub will be broadcasting fanasy anime Deltora Quest, which was going to be released in North America by Geneon before its North American operations were shut down.* TOKYOPOP and Australia's Odin's Eye have partnered to produce a live action adaptation of Queenie Chan's OEL manga series The Dreaming. Michael Favelle and Tokyopop CEO Stu Levy will co-produce the horror work.* A Green Lantern animated series is slated for Fall 2011 4Kids 4Kids has acquired to Ann Gutman & Georg Hallensleben’s Pénélope, including Nippon Animation's adaptation AnimEigo Famous English dubbed edit of the first two Lone Wolf and Cub movies, Shogun Assassin, will be released on Blu-ray by AnimEigo July 30thDirected by Academy Award-winner Robert Houston, the English dubbed SHOGUN ASSASSIN was created by editing together footage from the first two Lone Wolf and Cub (Kozure Ookami) films, SWORD OF VENGEANCE (Kozure Okami: Kowokashi Udekashi Tsukamatsuru, 1972) and BABY CART ON THE RIVER STYX (Kozure Okami: Sanzu no Kawa no Ubaguruma, 1972). It uses about 11 minutes of footage from the first film and 70 minutes of footage from the second. The Lone Wolf and Cub films are based on the original manga (story by Koike Kazuo, illustrations by Kojima Goseki), a 142-episode epic, which ran in Manga Action between September 10, 1970, and April 1, 1976. In 2006, AnimEigo’s first official release of SHOGUN ASSASSIN set the bar for high quality with its crystal-clear DVD picture. This time around, they once again reconstructed the film, this time using uncompressed 1080p 24p source materials. But that’s not all! For this special edition of samurai slaughter, they’ve compiled some incredible exclusive extras, only available on this disc. For starters, there’s a must-see 10+ minute interview with Samuel L. Jackson about his fondness of SHOGUN ASSASSIN and other samurai films, shot exclusively for this release in 2009. And to top it all off, AnimEigo gathered three of the original American cast and crew for a brand new, highly-informative, feature-length audio commentary. This new commentary features never-before-heard insider perspectives of the 1980 film’s creation from some of the key players who made it all happen: producer David Weisman, poster illustrator Jim Evans, and Gibran Evans, who provided the epic voice narration of Daigoro! Beez Entertainment Upcoming UK releases include urban mystery Durarara (streaming on Crunchyroll), Mobile Suit Gundam 00 Season 2, and the Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam: A New Translation movie compilation trilogy Dark Horse Editor Tim Ervin has confirmed the publisher will be bringing back horror manga Ghost Talker Daydream for September It was about one-and-a-half years ago when we cancelled Ghost Talker’s Daydream. Times were tough, and we had to cut a few projects. GTD was one of them. I’d miss it, because I appreciate the lighter stories amongst the dark and bloody tales I edit. For every Trigun, there are two serious and bloody samurai series. For every Gunsmith Cats, there are a few dark (though sometimes hilarious) vampire tomes. Don’t get me wrong, I love every one of them. Each one is my baby, no matter how troubling that child’s mind might be. But Ghost Talker’s Daydream is different. It takes the subject of a person who can communicate with the dead and adds some lightness and fun. Okay, well, the fun derives from the fact that the protagonist is an albino, pubic-hairless, neurotic woman who moonlights as a dominatrix. How can that not be fun? Even if she spends her days talking down suicidal, murderous, troubled spirits. It was fun to me. And it will be fun again when Ghost Talker’s Daydream returns to Dark Horse Comics’ Manga line, restarting at volume four in September! And why did this series come back? Because readers demanded it. I received email after email asking for the return of GTD. It’s a great bit of manga oddness, and the readers love it. The characters are endearing, the art is excellently drafted, and the writing is perfectly timed and funny, while addressing some serious issues in society. It was a joy to edit, and so it shall be again. FUNimation New license acquisitions include Supernatural comedies “Rosario + Vampire” and “Rosario + Vampire CAPU2” from studio GONZO. The anime series are directed by Takayuki Inagaki (“Desert Punk” and “To Heart”) and based on the manga by Akihisa Ikeda, licensed by VIZ in North America. Rosario + Vampire follows the exploits of Tsukune, a teenager who finds himself rejected from the private high school of his choice. In fact, his grades are so bad he can only get into one school and it happens to be for monsters! There he meets a beautiful girl, Moka, who is a vampire with a dark secret hanging around her neck. Will Tsukune win the heart of the vampy beauty or does she just want his tasty human blood for lunch? Action drama “Rideback” from Madhouse Studio, Inc. The 12-episode anime series is directed by Atsushi Takahashi (“Detroit Metal City” OVA and “Spirited Away”). In the year 2020 an organization called the GGP has taken control of the world. In Japan, this has been met with insurgency by the university students. One of these students is Rin Ogata, a once promising ballet dancer who has suffered a career-ending injury. She stumbles across a transforming motorcycle-like robot vehicle and discovers that her unique skills, grace and agility make her a natural to ride the Rideback and fight back against the GGP. FUNimation Entertainment will release the series on DVD starting in 2011. Romantic comedy “Heaven’s Lost Property” from Kadokawa. The 14-episode anime series is directed by Hisashi Saito (“Bamboo Blade”). About Heaven’s Lost Property A beautiful, voluptuous angel robot (angelroid) falls to earth…into the lap of a lazy high school boy. When its revealed that he is her new master and that she will grant his every request…things get a little crazy FUNimation Entertainment will release the series on DVD in 2011. Sci-fi western anime “Gun X Sword” from d-rights. The 26-episode series is directed by Goro Taniguchi (“Code Geass” among others) with character design by Takahiro Kimura (“Phantom ~ Requiem for the Phantom,” “My Bride is a Mermaid,” and “Ah! My Goddess”) and written by Hideyuki Kurata (“Bamboo Blade,” “Hellsing the Ultimate Series”). On the planet of Endless Illusion, a lone man adorned in a tuxedo roams the wild and lawless frontier...Armed with a shape-shifting sword and a powerful Mechanized Armor, Van's sole purpose in life is to find the mysterious clawed man who had murdered his bride. After saving a town from vicious outlaws, he reluctantly takes on a travel companion-a young Wendy Garret. In exchange for his help in finding her brother, she offers herself to Van as a bride, but that's the least of his worries, as more deadly enemies await! FUNimation Entertainment will release the series on DVD in late 2010. Sci-fi action anime “Chrome Shelled Regios” from Kadokawa. The 24-episode series is directed by Itsuro Kawasaki (“Sengoku Basara” and “Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle The Movie” among others) and based on the light novel series by Shusuke Amagi and illustrated by Miyuu. In a barren future where mankind has retreated into mobile cities, a young man with a mysterious past seeks a fresh start. Reluctantly recruited into a student military unit he must once again wield his special powers in defense of his new home against the Filth Monsters that plague the wastelands. In a polluted world where cities battle over scarce resources, even students are used in the fight for survival. FUNimation Entertainment will release the series on DVD starting in late 2010. Action anime “Chaos;HEAd” from Madhouse Studio, Inc. FUNimation will release the 12-episode dramatic series directed by Takaaki Ishiyama in 2011. Takumi lives a secluded lifestyle as a hikkikomori. One day, after chatting online with a mysterious stranger, a visit to a URL and a blog lead him to a real life murder. * FUNimation Entertainment has announced the English cast of the 11-episode original animated series “Eden of the East. The main cast: Akira Takizawa - Jason Liebrecht Saki Morimi - Leah Clark Juiz - Stephanie Young Kuroha Diana Shiratori - Christine Auten Daiju Mononobe - John Gremillion Micchon - Stephanie Sheh Haruo Kasuga - John Burgmeier Sis - Lydia Mackay Kazuomi Hirasawa - J. Michael Tatum Satoshi Osugi - Michael Sinterniklaas Panties - Newton Pittman The line producer and ADR director is Mike McFarland. The series was originally written and directed by acclaimed director Kenji Kamiyama (“Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex”, “Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit”) and produced by Production I.G. In addition, celebrated manga artist Chica Umino (Honey and Clover) was brought onto the production to create the original character design. Also, the DVD release of the series will be using the show opening sequence, with original music, as used in Japan in addition to the international version of the show opening.* The cast and crew for the post-apocalyptic sci-fi anime series "Casshern Sins" will be Braiking Boss - Paul Slavens Casshern - Eric Vale Luna - Trina Nishimura Lyuze - Brina Palencia Leda - Shelly Calene-Black Ohji - Jerry Russell Ringo - Monica Rial Dio - Jerry Jewell Dune - Jason Douglas ADR Director: Jason Grundy ABOUT CASSHERN SINS Casshern – a cybernetic assassin with no memory of his past – awakens in a corrosive wasteland where nothing survives for long. A plague known as the Ruin sweeps across this once-vibrant world, reducing everything in its path to rubble and scattering any chance for salvation. Robots and humans alike – or what little remains of them – seek vengeance against Casshern for the life he took and the role he played in their Ruin. A machine built to kill, Casshern murdered the last hope for this world, but now, lost in a future he does not recognize, he will fight to save the dying. FUNimation Entertainment will release the first season of the series in two 12 episode sets in August 2010.* The English dub cast for the 13-episode supernatural anime series “Shikabane Hime” (Corpse Princess) will be Keisei Tagami - J. Michael Tatum Makina Hoshimura - Luci Christian Ouri Kagami - Aaron Dismuke Rika Aragami - Cynthia Cranz Saki Amase - Monica Rial Takamasa Sogi - Joel McDonald Itsuki Yamagami - Cherami Leigh The line producer is Christopher Bevins and the series is directed by R. Bruce Elliot, Terri Doty and J. Michael Tatum. Shikabane Hime (Corpse Princess) is a horror-action anime which tells the tale of a girl named Makina Hoshimura who is one of the living dead. If the girl is to ever find peace, she must hunt down and destroy her own kind. Aided by a secret society of monks, Makina’s quest to rid the world of the undead begins. FUNimation Entertainment will release Corpse Princess Part One: AKA and Corpse Princess Part Two: KURO on DVD September 14, 2010. Madman (Australia) June region 4 releases include YU-GI-OH! 5D’S COLLECTION 2 SOUL EATER COLLECTION 2 ROBOGEISHANARUTO SHIPPUDEN COLLECTION 02 CLAYMORE (TV) COLLECTION GOEMON KKI TOUSEN DRAGON DESTINY S2 VOL 1 BAMBOO BLADE COLLECTION 2 KING OF BANDIT JING: SEVENTH HEAVEN (OVA) THE CRUCIFIED LOVERS FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST: BROTHERHOOD COLLECTION 1 BLEACH VOLUME 23 CODE GEASS: LELOUCH OF THE REBELLION R6 VOLUME 6 EVANGELION 1.11 OCEAN WAVES - " hidden gem of Studio Ghibli! Rarely seen outside of Japan" Manga UK Manga UK confirmed that they will be releasing Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance, Vampire Knight and the Eden of The East movies Paramount Home Entertainment Avatar: The Last Airbender The Complete Book 1 Collector’s Edition will be released on DVD June 22nd for $57.99 This newly designed limited edition 7-disc collector’s set includes the entire Book 1: Water compilation with special features and bonus disc. A behind-the-scenes documentary from the creators Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko that reveals the story behind the creation of the epic animated series including never-before-seen development art, interviews with the creative team, fan testimonials and more. DVD Bonus Features: • Behind-the-Scenes with the Avatar Cast & Crew • Avatar Pilot Episode with Audio Commentary • The Making of Avatar – Inside the Sound Studios • The Making of Avatar – Inside the Korean Animation Studios • Avatar Documentary Palisades Tartan A UK DVD of live action Sleeping Bride has been released Synopsis: From Osamu Tezuka, godfather of manga, and Hideo Nakata, godfather of J-horror, comes this quirky romance between a boy and the comatose girl with whom he falls in love. Born asleep after a terrible crash, Yumi (Risa Hoto) grows up unaware of the world around her. Yuichi (Yuki Kohara) grows up convinced that one day his kiss will awaken her like the princess of legend. When she finally does awake, they find that the real world is no fairy tale. Can they face the harshness of reality together? Or will it be too much for them to bear? Right Stuf Anime producer and distributor Right Stuf, Inc. and its Nozomi Entertainment pleased to announce the license for the EL-HAZARD: THE WANDERERS television series. The 26-episode series will be released in one complete set on September 7, 2010. The EL-HAZARD: THE WANDERERS DVD Collection will feature Japanese and English-language audio options, English subtitles, and on-disc extras. It will be housed in a single, litebox-style keepcase. The four disc set will retail for $39.99 This alternate-universe reimagining of the El-Hazard franchise was produced by AIC, the studio behind fan-favorite series including Tenchi Muyo!, Battle Athletes and the anime adaptations of Ah! My Goddess, and it features direction by Katsuhito Akiyama (Dual!, Pumpkin Scissors) and character designs by Kazuto Nakazawa (House of Five Leaves, Samurai Champloo, Starship Girl Yamamoto Yohko). About EL-HAZARD: THE WANDERERS Makoto always upstages Jinnai without trying, which just aggravates the delusional rivalry that Jinnai has concocted within his own mind. However, when Jinnai attempts to sabotage Makoto's newest invention, the machine creates a dimensional rift and throws Makoto, Jinnai, and several others from their school into a strange, new world that is filled with amazing creatures, beautiful sights, and dangerous enemies. If they ever want to get home, it's going to take wits, courage, and a lot of luck! Contains the complete 26-episode series! EL-HAZARD: THE WANDERERS © 1998 AIC • Pioneer LDC, Inc. • TV Tokyo • SOFTX • MANNENSHA Section23 August releases include: PRINCESS RESURRECTION COMPLETE COLLECTION Published by: Sentai Filmworks Distributed by: Section23 Films Run Time: 650 min. Street Date: 8/3/2010 Format: DVD SRP: $59.98 SYNOPSIS: When Hiro Hiyorimi tries to save a beautiful young woman from certain death, he ends up a dead hero himself! However, since the drop dead girl is Hime, daughter of the King of the Monsters, his "reward" is to come back as a not quite living soldier in her honor guard of horror! That means helping fight off the army of supernatural monstrosities Hime's siblings are unleashing against her in hopes of moving up the ladder of succession; and if facing off with vampires and zombies isn't bad enough, how can anyone be prepared for the REALLY weird ones like were-sharks, pandas and killer dumplings? This sure as hell isn't the afterlife Hiro was hoping for, but the really sad part is that Hime is the good girl in all of this… or at least as close to good as you can come when you're on the wrong side of the gates of hell! Get ready for the wildest animation about reanimation ever in PRINCESS RESURRECTION - The Complete Collection! SOLA COMPLETE COLLECTION Published by: Sentai Filmworks Distributed by: Section23 Films Run Time: 375 min. Street Date: 8/3/2010 Format: DVD SRP: $49.98 SYNOPSIS: A boy with a secret he does not know. A girl who cannot live beneath the sun. And the sister whose own mysterious past ties them together. Welcome to SOLA, the extraordinary series selected as best anime of 2007 in a poll of Japanese viewers, winning double the votes of its nearest competitor and over a third of the 2 million vote total! After a chance encounter while preparing to photograph a sunrise, Yorito Morimiya finds his life becoming dangerously involved with a strange girl named Matsuri. By giving her shelter in his own home while his sister lies sick in the hospital, Yorito sets into motion a sequence of events that will shake everything he thought he knew about his world to the core. For even under a pure blue sky, there are secrets that begin on Earth and reach past the heavens, secrets that must never be revealed! Prepare for an experience like no other in SOLA - The Complete Collection! Sola appears to be Follow aicnanime
