Archive for November 2009
Ratman – Manga Mondays
Posted on: November 30, 2009
- In: Manga Mondays | Reviews
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This week’s Manga Monday is from an artist very near and dear to my heart: Inui Sekihiko, who made his professional debut drawing the excellent Comic Party manga. His latest work, Ratman, is both a love song to and a critique of the superhero genre, be it the Japanese tokusatsu hero or the American comic book superhero. It’s one of my current favorite manga, combining great art with a story and theme I can relate to from both an American and Japanese standpoint.
Over on the English Shonen Jump page, you can find two new videos from the Jump Anime Tour in Japan – one is a Naruto short done in all CG, set back when Sasuke was still on the side of Team Kakashi. Another is the very first anime ever made from the Toriko manga, which is an odd little story about a hunter who tracks down exotic wildlife for the tables of gourmets.
Meanwhile, the Japanese version of the Jump video page is streaming a trailer for the One Piece Strong World movie, which comes out in theaters in mid-December. The page also promises a Yu-Gi-Oh! movie trailer in the near future, for the upcoming crossover between the original Yu-Gi-Oh! and its successors, 5D’s and GX.
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After an abrupt end to the popular but pointless To Love-Ru! manga, Shonen Jump artist Yabuki Kentarou has been chosen to adapt and illustrate Matsu Tomohiro’s Mayoi Neko Overrun! light novels into manga form. The manga will start its run in the February 2010 issue of Jump Square, which goes on sale in early January.
The light novels, which have gained so much popularity since the first book last year that seven books are already in print, follow Tsudzuki Takumi, a boy who runs a little candy shop named Stray Cats with his “older sister” Otome. After the kind-hearted Otome brings home a stray girl named Kiriya Nozomi, Takumi’s business starts to improve, even as his romantic life suddenly gets more and more complicated.
An anime version has already been green-lit, but there are very few details about it so far – in the meantime, the manga should be enough to tide people over – Yabuki Kentarou is a great artist, especially when he doesn’t have to worry about writing his own plot (see: Black Cat).
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While I sat around and waited for my copy of Baldr Sky Dive2 to come in the mail over the long weekend, the anime world was far from idle, with plenty of announcements and other news.
– The upcoming Key (Clannad, Kanon) anime Angel Beats! announced the performers for its opening and ending themes.
– Heartcatch Precure!, the seventh season of the Precure magical girl series, was announced.
– Strike Witches 2 was given to a new studio, after the dissolution of Gonzo.
– Asahi Productions (Hello Kitty) opened a new animation studio outside of Tokyo, which will make an all-new anime property based on… a rice ball samurai?
Read all the fresh news after the jump.
It may be that some of you newer fans don’t know who TM Revolution is. He was a hot artist a few years ago, providing popular songs for Rurouni Kenshin, Gundam SEED, and even the Japanese release of Spider-Man 2, but his star lost some of its twinkle a few years ago after endless name changes and image makeovers.
These days he’s prancing about as the frontman for Abingdon Boys School (you may have heard them in Darker than Black), but his contribution to Weird Wednesday is his music video for one of his earlier songs, Madan ~der Freischutz~. It’s presented as its own little movie, and let me tell you – I’m really glad that he hasn’t made any more of these.
See you guys next week, and have a happy Thanksgiving!
Ono Natsume, the author of Ristorante Paradiso, now has two manga that have anime adaptations on his resume. The latest is House of Five Leaves (Saraiya Goyou), a period piece about a gang of kidnappers, headed by the silver-tongued and inscrutable Yaichi, who hire a timid ronin named Akitsu Masanosuke as their bodyguard.
According to the ANN article on the announcement, House of Five Leaves will air on Fuji TV in the Noitamina programming slot, which has hosted such popular anime as Nodame Cantabile, Paradise Kiss, and Moyashimon. Viz has been posting translated chapters of House of Five Leaves for several months now on their SigIkki website, and I have to say that in spite of the strange-looking art, House of Five Leaves is a fascinating read so far. I’m looking forward to 2010 more and more, after a dry spell in 2009!
The official Broken Blade site (AKA “Break Blade”) has posted up a trailer for the first segment of its upcoming OAV series, and while sadly you can’t watch it unless you’re in Asia, you can at least see the cast and story of the fantasy/mecha hybrid.
Ikki Tousen: Xtreme Xecutor Anime Announced for 2010 – Winter Anime Preview
Posted on: November 25, 2009
- In: News | Previews
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You knew it had to happen, and it’s indeed here. The fourth installment of boobs-‘n’-brawls anime Ikki Tousen was officially announced today, with a preview site now live. Titled Ikki Tousen: Xtreme Xecutor, the anime promises to introduce many characters from the manga never before seen in the previous anime seasons. The big attraction this season is Bachou (AKA Ma Chao), who will be voiced by Endou Aya (Sheryl Nome in Macross Frontier) and, presumably, will spend a lot of her time having her clothes blown off in fan servicey fights. There will also be a special “Episode 0” preview DVD available at Comic Market.
Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood Simulcast Released Early for Thanksgiving
Posted on: November 25, 2009
Image from the FUNimation blog
We’re entering a long, long weekend here in the states, and because of that, FUNimation is accelerating the schedule for this week’s Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood streaming broadcast. Episode 33, “The Northern Wall of Briggs,” will go up at 3 PM Central time (1 Pacific) today on FUNimation’s streaming video site. Have a happy Thanksgiving, folks!
Today’s tunes are inspired by my love for Mizuki Nana as a singer, with a nod to Kouhaku Uta Gassen for acknowledging that Mizuki Nana isn’t just for otaku anymore – though they definitely make up a strong core of her audience. She sure has come a long way from her early appearances a decade ago, though. Let’s take a musical journey through the many genres, styles, and songs of my favorite Japanese singer!
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