Full Metal Alchemist Review

Plot synopsis:

When they were little, Edward and Alphonse Elric lived happily with their mother, but one day, quite suddenly, she died. Using alchemy, a magical-like science based on the law of equivalent exchange ("To receive, you must give something of equal value"), the two attempt to bring her back to life--with disastrous results. They accidentally open a door to the spirit world that tries to pull them both in. Ed loses an arm and a leg (later getting them replaced with a sort of magical robot limb called automail), and Al nearly dies, but Ed is just able to bind his spirit to a suit of armor so that he can survive, using the armor in place of a body. Astonished by their potential, state alchemist Roy Mustang decides to take them in and helps Ed get a position with the state alchemists, where the two hear about a mythical Philosopher's Stone that allows you to do alchemy without obeying the law of equivalent exchange--meaning they could use it to repair their bodies.

Review :

Full Metal Alchemist is way too complicated to stuff into one little synopsis. If you've somehow never heard of this show, you probably have no idea what I was going on about up there. That s okay--I never stop giving away details about the show in my reviews, and this is one time where it ll be a good thing.

To begin with, the science of alchemy in the show is based on the real-life alchemy done from the 15th to 18th centuries. Its main purpose was to use nature's law of equivalent exchange to find a way to transform other metals into gold by adding to them some of the essence of something as superior to gold as gold was to the other metals (gold was thought to be the perfect metal). This "more perfect than perfect" substance eventually became known as the Philosopher's Stone (and if you re wondering, it is the same thing that was in the first Harry Potter, which was changed to "Sorcerer s Stone" in the US because they thought American kids were too stupid to pronounce "philosopher"). Full Metal Alchemist takes place in essentially what late-19th century Europe would have been like if alchemy had been a real science, with everything from technology to environments to architecture to characters' names fitting within this setting.

Any show that gets that involved with its subject matter must have had a lot of work done on it, but none of that would mean crap if the rest of it was worthless--which it's not. What allows this show to get so complicated is the fact that its main storyline is so simple; essentially, it's just a quest for the Philosopher's Stone, but with more stops along the way than any bus could reach. Along the way, villains, tenuous friends, sticky situations, and socio-political issues with relevance much closer than such a fantastic setting would indicate are thrown in front of our two heroes. The only ones Ed and Al can really trust are each other (and maybe Winry, but I don't know--she had an evil look in her eyes when she handed over that tool).

The themes are what really drive this show, but there are two ways to present themes: the boring way, where you just kind of throw them out there in boring, pointless conversations and monologues, or the good way, where each character expresses a different theme through their pasts and personalities. Full Metal Alchemist chooses the good way by using characters to show different mistakes people make or problems they encounter. Heading up the cast is Ed, a completely atypical main character for a shounen anime. Unlike other shounen heroes who are either angsty, easily shaken bleeding hearts or straight-out evil themselves, Ed is confident, intelligent, and knows himself and what he values down to the last drop. When villains attempt to compare themselves and their goals to his, Ed doesn't look down at his hand with wide eyes and go, "No....could it be true? Am I really....like them?" He's immediately ready with a valid, logical reason that sets them apart. And when confronted with the option of continuing life limbless or joining the state alchemists, Ed isn't deterred by the fact that state alchemists have to carry out the government's orders because he knows that he is strong enough not to go against his values and become their machine. Al is Ed's calmer half, who helps him out a lot; but you can easily see that neither can function without the other, unlike other shows where the hotheaded main character is useless without his more cool-headed friends. Al, you see, has no initiative and less will than Ed; so without Ed, Al would never get anything done, but Al is around to see that Ed does things right. Al is also Ed's main motivation to keep going; Ed doesn't mind having automail so much, but he is determined to return Al to a real body--despite being told by a number of characters that Al is really better off living as armor.

Most of the other characters are Ed's colleagues in the state alchemists: Colonel Mustang, Lieutenant Colonel Hughes, Lieutenant Hawkeye, and Major Armstrong. Only Mustang and Armstrong are actually alchemists; Hughes and Hawkeye (I m pretty sure) are just normal people. Hughes becomes quite important to the plot towards the end of Season One, but even I won't ruin that. In contrast, Armstrong and Hawkeye never really become important; Hawkeye is Mustang's stalwart vassal and Armstrong is basically the comic relief, although he's actually one of the strongest alchemists and does have a few fights. (It sometimes seemed like Armstrong was in the manga and they had to have him for the fans, but there wasn't really a place for him within the plot of the anime). Armstrong's power, aside from his giant muscles and the spiked knuckles he wears, is to launch big rocks and stuff at people. I never found out what sort of alchemy that's supposed to be, though.

My favorite character in the show is Roy Mustang, the Flame Alchemist. Mustang is arrogant; he wants to become the Fuhrer (the ruler of the country where the show takes place) and isn't shy about saying so. He's also eminently informed on Ed and Al's doings while they search for the Philosopher's Stone and makes this known at every opportunity. For both these reasons and more, Ed doesn't like him, and he's presented like a villain in the early episodes. But about halfway through Season One, it turns out Mustang has some emotional baggage connected with things he did during a controversial war about ten years ago, and this later connects with his reasons for wanting to become Fuhrer and even with Winry.

Winry is Ed's automail mechanic and the boys' childhood friend. After their mother died, the two lived with her and her grandmother. Winry isn't a character with much depth, but she does have a few moments. The other important characters are Sciesca (pronounced 'Sheska'), a bookworm with a photographic memory who reproduces some documents for Ed and Al and later becomes involved with Hughes; Izumi, Ed and Al's alchemy instructor; Dante, a mysterious old lady; and the seven Homunculi, each named after one of the Seven Deadly Sins: Lust, Gluttony, Envy, Greed, Sloth, Wrath, and Pride. Each of the seven have different powers (except Pride, as far as I can see), but all share the feature of working towards some unknown purpose and being impossible to kill.

Compared with the incredible story and characterization, the technical aspects aren't much to speak of. The animation is clean and generic-looking, but the budget was big enough for them to squeeze a few truly awesome fight scenes out of it (like the battle between Ed and Greed in Season Two) and the character designs are original and mostly good-looking (although watchers of the subtitled version might confuse Ed for a girl--he's short, not very muscular, has a blonde braid, and in the Japanese version is played by a woman). The background music wasn't really my favorite. A lot of sites have complimented the music, and they're all done by well-known j-pop bands (although I've never heard of them), but most of the openings and endings weren't really that good. The first opening, Ready Steady Go, is only okay, and all the endings except the first are pretty mediocre too. My favorite song was definitely the first ending, Kesenai Tsumi, and I did also like the second opening, Rewrite.

The dub voices are all excellent. It's one of those dubs that makes you forget about the difference between dubbed and subbed. The dub was done by FUNimation, but only a couple voices were recycled from their other dubs: for example, Lust was played by Laura Bailey, who also did Keiko in Yu Yu Hakusho and Tohru in Fruits Basket, and Armstrong was played by the same guy who did the voice of Piccolo in Dragon Ball Z. I don't really like it when they use voices from Dragon Ball Z in other shows, but other than that it was a pretty good voice.

Full Metal Alchemist is a huge show, and with good reason. It combines all the elements a good anime should have--an original plot and powers, great fights, excellent characters, drama and comedy, and some (but not too much) social commentary. The last show I enjoyed this much was Rurouni Kenshin, and Full Metal Alchemist is even better.

source : animeworld.com

Cowboy Beebop Review

Plot synopsis :

In the not-too-distant future of 2071, Earth is a bit of a mess as a result of an accident testing a new transportation system, and now nobody is left on it but folks to poor to get away. But, humanity has colonized and terraformed the rest of the solar system, so things are going just fine. Taking advantage of the frontier spirit of the day, there is a new breed of bounty hunters, known as Cowboys, living a loose life, traveling between worlds, and hunting down the most wanted criminals for enough money to keep doing it. Two of the best (if unluckiest) of these folks are the owners of the good ship Bebop, Spike and Jet, both leaving behind pasts they'd rather forget. When they get joined by a couple of unwelcome companions--Fay, a gambler with a huge debt, no past, a penchant for cheating, even worse luck than Spike and Jet, and a lot of people after her, and Ed, a rather odd young hacker (plus the genetically engineered dog Ein)--we get the unusual tale that is Cowboy Bebop.

Quick review :

Rating: 4.5 / 5
Reviewer: Marc
Review Date: 2003-08-25

Cowboy Bebop is a whole collection of classic genres, all mixed into one series and all done right, to the point that it breathes new life into a very stale genre. In one episode it may be dark, stylized, and serious, and in another light and filled with offbeat humor and antagonistic banter, but in every case it's done right. Back that up with a great cast and writing (in both the dub and original Japanese, no less), fine visuals, cool retro-high-technology, and some of the most varied and well written music I've ever heard in a series--Yoko Kanno's score covering everything from heavy metal to worldbeat--and you've got good anime. Cowboy Bebop isn't deep, but it has style and little bits of creativity everywhere to make up for what it lacks in substance, and from start to finish it's a marvelously well-built production.

Massively popular with good reason, Cowboy Bebop is worth at least a chance from almost any anime fan, and is almost guaranteed to be loved by fans of stylish action and sci-fi, as well those into not-too-serious space shows.

source : animeworld.com

Afro Samurai countdown Directors Cut DVD to hit the UK in October

Fans of Afro Samurai in the UK will be pleased to hear that on 15th October 2007 the directors cut DVD of the show will be available in the UK. It includes 15 minutes of extra footage, unedited dialogue, features with the voice actors of title too and much more.

source : otakunews.com

Battle Angel [Gunnm] review

Plot Synopsis :

Scrap Iron City is a city of scavengers below the mysterious floating city of Zalem. Among the residents is a kindly and highly skilled cyber doctor, Ido. One day, scavenging the mountain of scrap dropped by Zalem, he finds what's left of a young cyborg girl--and she's still alive. He rebuilds her body, and, since she has no memory, gives her a name--Gally--and a new life as a sort of daughter for him. However, Ido isn't quite what he seems, nor is Gally, when she discovers that her calling is to become a Hunter-Warrior--a bounty hunter for The Factory--which she mysteriously has the skills for. But Scrap Iron City is a brutal place, and before long she and the hardworking young Yugo that she takes a liking to are trapped in the web of corruption of a Factory boss Vector and an old flame of Ido's, Chiren.

Quick Review :

Gunnm (or Battle Angel, if you prefer) has everything you could ask for in such a short OAV series--gorgeous art, engaging plot, nuanced storytelling, and characters as developed as the compact runtime allows. Based on the opening parts of the lengthy manga series by Yukito Kishiro, the only disappointment about Gunnm is that there isn't more of it. Though the series never resorts to lengthy exposition or unnecessary narration, the characters feel fleshed out beyond their basic stereotypes--the good doctor, the kid with a dream--and it clearly establishes the world as a decaying, corrupt place ruled by greed, inequity and the darkest parts of human nature. This is contrasted with bits of humanity and hope in the face of despair, and while the story is not uplifting, it does make its point. The visuals are simply beautiful--in particular the polished linework faithful to Kishiro's manga--as is the terse musical score. A quality Japanese voice cast supplies the finishing touch.

In all, whether you call Rusty Angel and Tears Sign Gunnm or Battle Angel, the pair are a masterwork among OAVs. Whether you like cyberpunk, dark action, or sci-fi drama, it is a singularly well crafted series that comes with my highest recommendation.

source : animeworld.com

A Wind Named Amnesia Review

Synopsis :
n the very near future, a mysterious wind sweeps the earth, erasing the memory of every human on the planet. All but one--a young boy with an experimental computer implanted in his brain, assisted by the computer's storage, has retained his memories of the way the world was. Before passing on, he educates a young man he dubs Wataru. Left alone as the only educated being in a world populated by humans reduced to their animal instincts, Wataru takes it upon himself to travel across America in an effort to begin rebuilding the great civilization whose ruins still cover the land. He is joined in his journey by a mysterious woman, and they are pursued by an automated war machine left over from past times. They meet meet an interesting array of people and are involved in an unusual series of adventures, but even as he tries to recapture some of the past glory of human civilization, Wataru ponders the question raised by his traveling companion--is this civilization really worth saving?

Quick Review :

Weighty and cerebral, A Wind Named Amnesia is classic science fiction--not space ships and interstellar war, the real "what if" deal. The film makes a real attempt at asking deep questions about the point of civilization and the things that mankind has accomplished. On the down side, coherent plot and believability are frequently sacrificed to make a point, and the whole thing is so heavy on metaphor that it ends up feeling a little like an essay cut together with an action movie.

I usually wouldn't complain about a movie having too much action, but here it's a questionable decision. The heavily metaphorical plot, although far from subtle, would feel more consistent and be easier to suspend disbelief and get absorbed in if it weren't for the periodic bursts of action interrupting it.

The end result is that A Wind Named Amnesia is either a hard-core sci-fi movie with too much action, or a normal sci-fi movie with too much metaphor. There is some sexual content near the very end that also seemed entirely unnecessary as best, and gratuitous and oddly out of place at worst.

On the technical end of things, A Wind Named Amnesia is not particularly noteworthy, though not bad for a film of its age, either. The art is fair to good, and the animation isn't too bad, although the backgrounds are a bit on the simple side and the animation is a little rough. The action is about par for an older OAV, meaning not particularly good.

Fans of philosophical science fiction should love A Wind Named Amnesia, but for more general taste it seems to have either a little too much plot or a little too much action. Certainly not bad, but too many awkward parts to highly recommend unless you go for this kind of thing.

taken : animeworld.com

End of the London Anime Club?

London anime Club is facing one of bad situation of anime iclimate in London, it seems like there is a sign of fatigue for anme fans because there are a lot of anime event and media, make it more less exclusive

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The London Anime Club has been running for 14 years now. If it keeps running the decision it seems will be down to attendance, so if you can, go on the first Sunday of the month to keep it running!

The Otaku News Crew believe that this is a sign of fatigue for anime fans. Lots of new events have sprung up in London for fans to do, such as the London Expo, the Japan Expo, several new conventions around the country, film screenings and so, as a result many anime fans have less time and money to go to all the events, so the London Anime Club (being a monthly event and not a once a year or seasonal event like the others) is bound to have an attendance drop if people assume they can go to the next one, along with people arranging on forums to meet up in London instead of at the LAC. We hope that the London Anime Club can continue, as we do enjoy going, and have made a lot of friends there and met interesting people, and used it to network and meet other organisations that would be hard to meet elsewhere.

source : otakunews.com

Source: London Anime Club

Death Note Cast Selected

The English cast for Death Note has been selected... with 12 episodes already in the bag.

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VIZ Media, one of the best known and longest running distributors of anime in North America, has announced the cast for the English dub on its upcoming release of the hit horror series Death Note. Even better for fans, Ocean Studios, the folks behind the dub, have already recorded twelve episodes for the series, the first volume of which will be released on November 20.

Voicing main character Light Yagami, the sociopathic high schooler who finds a notebook (death note) that allows him to kill anyone whose name he writes in it, is Brad Swaile. A well-known voice actor, Swaile has been a staple of the Gundam franchise, voicing Quatre in Gundam Wing, Dearka in Gundam Seed and Amano Ray in the original Mobile Suit Gundam. He also recently voiced Rock in the series Black Lagoon. With a record of playing "nice guys", it’ll be a switch to hear Swaile play the somewhat disturbed Light, who sets out to create his own idea of a perfect world by killing anyone he thinks is evil... and anyone else who gets in his way.

The character of L, the mysterious detective whose mission is to stop Light, will be voiced by Alessandro Juliani. Having done voice work in numerous cartoons, video games and anime, Juliani is probably best known for his recent live action work, playing Lt. Gaeta on the hit sci-fi series Battlestar Galactica. L’s determination to prove Light is the cause behind so many mysterious deaths is probably not that much different from Gaeta’s need to do what’s right on Galactica, thus making Juliani the right choice for the role.

And then there’s the rest of the cast. Voicing Ryuk, the shinigami (death god) who drops the death note that Light finds into the human world just to see what would happen, is Brian Drummond (Allen in The Vision of Escaflowne and Andy Waltfeld in Gundam Seed). Shannon Chan-Kent will voice Misa Amane, the pop celebrity who has her own death note and becomes Light’s follower and girlfriend. Colleen Wheeler (Luchs in Saber Marionette J) will voice Rem, Misa’s own shinigami, and Chris Britton voices Soichiro Yagami, Light’s father and the chief investigator who refuses to believe that his own son could be involved. Other actors will include Vincent Wong as Matsuda, John Murphy as Mogi, Michael Adamthwaite as Raye Penber, Trevor Devall as Aizawa, Jeremy From as Ukita, Tabitha St. Germain as Naomi Misora and Brian Dobson as Ide. The characters of Near and Mello, the pair competing against one another to catch Light and become L’s successor, have not yet been cast.

Death Note has already proven to be a hit among North American anime fans, thanks to both the original manga by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata and the subtitled episodes released online through IGN’s Direct2Drive service. With its dark themes, unique characters and suspense thriller-like intrigue, there’s no doubt that the DVD release with its new dub will help make Death Note into a bigger hit.

source : otakunews.com

Source: Anime News Network

Anime set to invade UK TV! Is anime going mainstream?

Nargis's article

My first encounter with anime was when my little brother dragged me to take him to see the Pokemon movie. That little electric fur ball, otherwise known as Pikachu, was a joy to watch as he zapped the baddies all to the chime of “Pika Pika.” Being the doting older sister, I was stuck with the somewhat impossible task of trying to find those elusive trading cards. Thinking about it, back then I didn’t even know that that was anime. Fast forward to 2007 and anime has moved on: a new anime channel coming our way, the rise of fan subs and video streaming websites, the anime community is accelerating at an alarming rate. Naruto has captured the hearts of a new generation and is encouraging kids to check out the manga originals. You only have to go to conventions and see grannies wearing ninja headbands to realise that something unique is happening - is anime going mainstream?

To find out the answer Anime UK News recently spoke to the UK's first ever dedicated anime TV channel "Anime Central", UK DVD publishers Beez and an every-day anime fan (in Darren Richardson) to investigate what the future could hold for anime and to discover what it means to be an anime fan in these changing times.

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As anime invades the small screen, AUKN talks to Anime Central brand manager Mark Buchanan to find out what viewers can expect to see on the new anime channel heading on UK TV screens in September '07.

Anime UK News: How was the idea of "Anime Central" conceived and what convinced Chart Show Channels it was a concept worth supporting?

Mark Buchanan: Originally, I was brought in to research a bunch of concepts for entertainment channels that had been floating around the company for a while. Having enjoyed anime down the years, I was desperate to include an anime block regardless of what channel it would eventually become. Luckily my bosses had a decent awareness of the material and they knew it was strong. It wasn’t difficult to convince them that anime warranted more than just a slot.

Anime UK News: There have been a few short-lived UK TV channels that aired anime, so why do you feel the time is right to launch Anime Central now? How will you attract an audience?

Mark Buchanan: I think you only have to look at the phenomenal work that companies like Manga, MVM, Beez, Revelation, and ADV have done in promoting the discs in the UK to know that interest in anime has grown in the last decade. My hope is Anime Central will be both passionate and all-inclusive, appealing to the hardcore fans while catering to folk who are completely new to it.

Developing the channel’s look has been key along with continued cross-promotion that will occur on channels such as Scuzz, The Vault and Flaunt.

We’re going to have an exciting web presence at www.animecentral.com where we hope to build a strong community of viewers and fans.

Anime UK News: The vast majority of anime lined up for Anime Central is aimed at the young adult demographic, could you explain to us why you decided to go down this route instead of attempting to tap in to children’s anime instead?

Mark Buchanan: The diversity of anime out there is staggering and I truly believe that the ‘grown-up’ shows in our line up like GITS: SAC or Planetes rank up there with the best of American television. With such strong content available, I really wasn’t interested in doing a kids channel. The little folk are already well served with a decent amount of anime on other stations and I feel that it’s time for the big ‘uns to get a look in.

Anime UK News: Anime Central has plans to air a lot of highly acclaimed anime TV series. With this in mind, how do you go about selecting what to air on Anime Central?

Mark Buchanan: I watch absolutely everything that’s sent my way. By far the most difficult part is selection and I’m cursed with taking programming too personally at times. I often have to take a step back and ask myself if this will play well to large audiences. That’s not to say we won’t be broadcasting more challenging titles, but if the channel’s ever going to stand a chance we need to introduce a launch with a line-up that is going to appeal to as many people as possible. As it stands, I‘m immensely proud of the collection and I believe it balances my selfishness with the requirements of the casual viewer!

Anime UK News: Given the recent popularity of fan subs and video streaming sites like You Tube amongst anime fans, how does Anime Central plan to tempt fans away from their computer screens and back in front of their TV sets?

Mark Buchanan: The picture’s a lot better!

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Next up, AUKN had a chat with Darren Richardson, an anime fan from Swindon to discover the joys and perils of being an anime fan and to find out what more anime on TV could mean for fans across the UK.

Anime UK News: How did you get into anime and what's it like being an anime fan?

Darren Richardson: I got into anime at university back in 2002, I was living with a few guys and one night we all came back from the pub drunk and Paul one of my housemates put on a series called Trigun. We ended up watching the first 10 episodes that night and since then I have been hooked on anime. I love being an anime fan especially discovering new series, like Lovely Complex or Air Gear, they just make me smile and I want to watch them again and again. Also I love to go to anime conventions, talk to other people about how they are finding the latest series and trying out new things like cosplaying. There are some downsides, which includes work mates making fun of anime when I watch DVD’s in the office or my girlfriend not being a fan but these don’t really affect me.

Anime UK News: Do you feel there is enough anime on TV? What would you like to see more of?

Darren Richardson: There is no such thing as enough anime, the anime currently on TV is the more mainstream series like Pokemon, which lets face it is designed to sell vast amounts of merchandise hence the addition of hundreds of new characters every series so the trading cards can never be fully collected. Or we have the other end of the spectrum with channels like Film4 showing the Studio Ghibli films, which are some of the best movies around but are still very mainstream in my opinion.

Anime UK News: More anime will soon be on it's way to UK TV. With the rise in popularity of fan subs and video streaming websites, will you be persuaded to switch over to watching anime on TV?

Darren Richardson: Unfortunately I doubt I will switch over to anime on TV, although as a fan I am happy to see more series appearing on satellite and terrestrial TV but there are still way too many problems with the releases. Take Naruto for example, the UK edit is appalling, the violence stripped away and the dubbing is awful. The story is about a ninja’s personal growth through missions and battles, however with the cuts in certain scenes (blood and death mainly) the story begins to lose it’s meaning and becomes just another happy little series to please the masses. I in no way wish to sound elitist but anime is a hugely varied medium and series don’t appeal to everyone, I am not a fan of Evangelion (ducks to avoid bricks being thrown) but I love Bleach and Love Hina, I hate it when series are edited to suit the majority. In a way I feel it cheapens the medium as a whole.

Another huge problem with UK TV over online services is the release schedules, just looking at the UK magazines advertising the latest series I can already say I have seen them all online or bought them using R1 import websites so I find that the UK is very backward when it comes to available releases.

Anime UK News: Obviously anime is dubbed on UK TV, will this deter you from regularly tuning in?

Darren Richardson: This is another problem for me, the voices in the original releases are picked to best suit the characters personalities. For example Full Metal Panics lead character Sosuke Sagara has a rough voice in the original release designed to show that since a young age he has been fighting in wars all over the world, but in the dubbed version he sounds plain and boring, like he has spent his life working as an accountant. I am a huge fan of subbed anime, I find that the original Japanese dialogue adds to the experience of watching a series. Yes I will agree there are exceptions, for example the Studio Ghibli films are excellently re-dubbed and I am a huge fan of the UK version of Porco Russo and The Cat Returns.

Anime UK News: Anime has often received negative press in the last few years. Do you think having more anime on TV will change people's perceptions of anime?

Darren Richardson: It can only help to increase both its fan base and its popularity, Pokemon has done a great job laying a fan base for anime but what it would really need is for people to actually realise that it is anime. Unfortunately a lot of series are aired on channels very few people have heard of or even have access to. True we are getting more anime on the Jetix and Cartoon Network channels but they are edited and sliced up to suit the younger audience and this ruins the original works. Someone has to tell the people running these channels that just because a show is animated it doesn’t mean it can be cut up to suit young audiences. Yes Bravo brought us Afro Samurai but until more mainstream channels start to bring us unedited anime it will remain predominantly an internet medium with fans having to rely on fan subs and video steaming for their fix of their favourite shows.

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Finally, AUKN spoke to Andrew Partridge from Beez (UK anime DVD distribution company behind the likes of Cowboy Bebop) to see what kind of an impact more anime on TV will have on the UK anime industry.

Anime UK News: It's interesting how the vast majority of anime airing on Anime Central is from Beez, are you tightly affiliated with the new channel or was it simply a case of right place, right time?

Andrew @ Beez: It's true that the vast majority of titles are from Beez. We have been working closely with CSC since they first approached us - but the venture itself is one that belongs to the CSC group! As a result they approached us during talks for one of the licenses on the channel - so in a way it was a case of right place and time. Ever since then though, we have had a very close working relationship - they're fantastic people to work with!

Anime UK News: Did Beez specifically offer the likes of Planetes to Anime Central? Or did they cherry pick your catalogue for the best anime?

Andrew @ Beez: That's an interesting question, really! I would say that in all negotiations there are titles that one company would like to see on TV and others the other side of the table would like. In the end it comes down to a matter of what fits for the channel given the screeners provided.

In the case of Planetes though, I know Mark is a big fan of space related shows though - as am I - so that title was a no-brainer really as it is a very much underrated series!

Anime UK News: Anime Central has appeared in the wake of ADV's own Anime Network – is the relative success of Anime Network one of the major reasons behind Beez's own "invasion" of UK TV?

Andrew @ Beez: That one's a resounding "No." Really - it's a natural question to raise though. In reality both projects began at about the same time conceptually really - with the launch dates being different. I think it's been all of our goals in the industry to get anime onto TV for a long time though - so we're all incredibly lucky that two excellent stations have come along to air series.

In a way you would hope the two channels would help fuel one another really too - as they compliment each other nicely - you can watch both without missing any content from either!

Anime UK News: Following on from the last question, does having anime on UK TV give a major boost to other areas of your business (DVD sales, OSTs and so on)?

Andrew @ Beez: You would hope so - we're one of the few companies who had titles in the last decade to have had shows like Cowboy Bebop, Escaflowne and Gundam Wing and I have to say, despite being "old" licenses - they are still strong sellers to this day! However - as with a lot of things it depends on the kind of exposure the channel gets as well as the focus of the channel as well!

I would say a channel like Anime Central will more importantly raise awareness and suck in a new audience hopefully too! Which indirectly, over time, gives a boost to other areas of business!

Anime UK News: Will Beez one day have the power to commission their own dubs and licence whatever they want rather than waiting for an American license first?

Andrew @ Beez: Unlike several of our counterparts, we're in the unusual situation of having to produce our own dubs already for France (as well as on occasion Germany) so it's a bit of a tough one to answer there. As the cost of the dub easily costs more than the cost from start to finish of mastering a DVD including the encoding process, materials etc.

In a perfect world I would like to see that happen one day! However it all depends on the fans out there supporting our releases and tuning into channels like Anime Central and Anime Network to create a market for the DVD releases as well as a desire for UK dubs!

Anime UK News: Many people think that part of the appeal of anime is that it is not part of mainstream culture in the UK and that if anime became too popular, it may diminish the original appeal. Andrew, as an anime fan yourself, what do you think?

Andrew @ Beez: *laughs* Now that is an interesting question! I came from the other side of the looking glass so to speak - I was a fan before I started working for Beez and I'm the first to admit my views have changed over the past few years.

I think it's natural for people to feel uneasy at the idea of something that wasn't mainstream before becoming popular. It kind of feels like it would lose what made it special really - and those who can't adjust to it normally can find some new niche area of J-culture to move into! That being said it's worth considering the film industry for a minute, as the easiest comparable situation to what is the view you describe above.

Although Hollywood churns out film after film every year, fans of films still pride themselves in knowing films that weren't big budget or distributed widely. It means there's still plenty of anime out there not many will know about - so fans will always be able to pride themselves in educating new generations of anime fans about the "hidden gems" that are only available on DVD as well as make yet new friends in the process!

taken from :

http://www.animeuknews.net/article/45/anime-set-to-invade-uk-tv-is-anime-going-mainstream

New Evangelion movie scores big at Japanese box office

The first (out of four) of the new Evangelion movies (titled "Evangelion: 1.0 You Are [Not] Alone") opened in Japan late last week and wasted no big in impacting on the national box office - it went straight in at number one, in the process collecting 2.4 million US dollars!

Many have essentially described the apocalyptic mecha movie as a re-animating of the first six TV episodes, while the now hugely anticipated second movie (due for release in 2008) is said to feature new characters and a fresh narrative direction.

source : http://forums.animeuknews.net/viewtopic.php?t=7683

Live action male lead in Negima! to be played by female

In an amusing twist the lead male role for the soon to air (October-due) live action TV version of "Negima!" has gone to a 13 year-old girl (Yukina Kashiwa)!

Being an adaptation of the popular Ken ("Love Hina") Akamatsu manga, the main character, called Negi, is a young magician from Wales teaching English at a Japanese all-girls school, where romance and adventure inevitably ensues. There are no intentions to change the sex of the Negi character, so Kashiwa shall be crossing genders and playing Negi as a male!

source : http://forums.animeuknews.net/viewtopic.php?t=7682

Makoto Shinkai animated TV commericals

Anime auteur Makoto Shinkai has turned his talents to a TV advertising campaign, having recently produced two animated TV commercials for the Shinano Mainichi Shinbun (Japanese newspaper).

Shinkai is the popular creative force behind several nostalgic-sci-fi anime films, including both Voices of the Distant Star and The Places Promised.... His most recent movie was "5 Centimeters per Second", a romantic drama released in Japan during 2007 that has already been licensed for Western release (US and presumably, UK too) by ADV Films.

source : http://forums.animeuknews.net/viewtopic.php?t=7681

MANGA MESSIAH AND BIBLE

Reported by Michael Aronson 09-01-2007

It's the hottest thing you might not pronounce correctly. With over $125 million in sales in 2006 alone, the Japanese word for comics known as “manga” is a major hit with American teens and tweens as well as adults. It’s also one of the fastest growing genres in American publishing and a widely popular comics category. Tyndale House Publishers is pleased to release an authentic manga series starting with Manga Messiah in September 2007 as well as the Manga Bible in November 2007.

Offering an eye-catching rendition of the Gospels, Manga Messiah combines cutting-edge art with a fast-paced story to deliver biblical truths in a compelling and relevant way, targeting those that might not have interest in reading a traditional Bible. Features of Manga Messiah that provide context of the four gospels include illustrated character profiles and family trees of key Biblical characters, as well as maps of Galilee, Samaria and Judea.

Manga Messiah contrasts with secular manga and also stands out in the Christian marketplace. Unlike general market manga, which may reveal a Shintoist influence or contain erotic elements, Manga Messiah offers positive content with accurate Biblical messages. And unlike the “manga-style” art offered in other books in the Christian market, Manga Messiah features art made by some of Japan’s most popular manga artists.

“We’re thrilled to offer the greatest story ever told, about the most controversial man who ever lived, in the most popular graphic novel format on earth,” explains Kevin O’Brien, Director of Bibles and Bible Reference at Tyndale House Publishers.

Four additional titles in Tyndale’s manga series will roll out in four consecutive years. Fans can look forward to Manga Mutiny (Fall 2008), Manga Metamorphosis (Fall 2009), Manga Malech (Fall 2010), and Manga Messengers (Fall 2011).

Tyndale House Publishers has purchased exclusive English language rights for all of the titles in the manga series from NEXT Inc., a nonprofit corporation formed in 2006 to produce and distribute biblically based manga materials worldwide. Behind NEXT is a group of dedicated professionals with years of experience in Japanese printing and publishing. For additional information, please see www.nextmanga.com.
[b]
Manga Messiah[/b]
978-1-4143-1680-2, 5 ½ x 8 ¼ , 288 pages
Softcover, $12.99, September 2007

In November 2007, Tyndale House Publishers will release the Manga Bible. This New Living Translation SlimLine edition features three 32 page four-color manga tip-ins designed to give the overview of the narrative sections of the Bible and encourage readers to delve in and read it for themselves. While targeting the tween/teen market, the Manga Bible may appeal to comic lovers of all ages.
[b]
Manga Bible[/b]
978-1-4143-1679-6, 5 5/16 x 7 5/8, 1098 pages with three 32 pg. tip-ins
NLT SlimLine Edition, sale price $14.97 (reg. $19.99), November 2007

taken from : http://www.mangalife.com/news/PRMANGAMESSIAHANDBIBLE.htm

Poison Candy v1 Review

Reviewed by Robert Murray

David Hine is one of my favorite comic book writers, scripting such quality work as District X, Daredevil: Redemption, and the current run of Spawn. So, when I heard that Mr. Hine was taking his considerable talents to the realm of manga, I was both excited and nervous considering the possibilities. Nervous, you may ask? Well, in the manga circles I roll with, American manga writers (with the exception of Fred Gallagher and a few others) are seen as little more than poseurs, albatrosses diminishing the unique talents of Japan’s elite scribes. Yeah, I think it’s kinda short-sighted too, but we all know you can’t drastically alter a fanboy’s comfort zone without a lot of resistance. So, looking at this first volume of Poison Candy, I thought about the possible reactions some of my mates might have toward this foray by a man better known for his work with Marvel mutants. In general, I think most American manga fans (particularly those that interlace their reading with American comics) will enjoy this vibrant, action-packed first volume. However, the hardcore otaku out there will despair the lack of some traditional Japanese conventions, as well as Hine’s attempts in making his dialogue and human interactions more manga friendly.

In my opinion, these attempts by Hine to make his dialogue more manga-like is evidence of his playfulness as a manga writer. He’s gently poking fun at the conventions of translation that would make an average English reader chuckle, such as overly descriptive soliloquies that don’t follow the patterns of normal speech or short exclamations of surprise such as ‘Huh’ and ‘Wah’ that normally accompany anime. Plus, the inclusion of nosebleeds, a teenage rock band, and a serene drop of water for scene transition illustrates the many Eastern influences that have gone into this first volume. But, there are some Western influences thrown into the pot as well. Take, for instance, the final chapter of the first volume (SPOILERS AHEAD!). Sam Chance has been cryogenically frozen so that an organization run by the mysterious Henry Raven can find the cure for the SKAR virus, the deadly mutagenic strain that has infected Sam and other teenagers throughout the world. Sound a little like an X-Men storyline? Well, stay with me... When Sam is awakened, one of the first people he sees is his old buddy Yusuf, who is a 1950s-obsessed video game greaser (Well, that’s unique!). The only problem is that Yusuf now appears to be elderly, looking life the older Biff in Back to the Future II, completely with cane and crotchety attitude (Hey, I wonder if he’ll give Sam a sports almanac?). We all know what happened without Yusuf saying it: Sam has been frozen for much longer than he expected. Actually, he’s been frozen for 100 years. Yipes! Of course, the normal questions are asked by Sam, regarding his parents and his girlfriend, Donna. When Yusuf informs Sam of Donna’s fate, he explodes with grief, rending a circle of destruction a la Akira. Lot’s of pop culture candy to taste in this first volume! Here’s hoping it’s not poisonous!

Illustrating the action is Hans Steinbach, whose work I am totally unfamiliar with. Judging from this volume, he is a capable artist who lacks a lot of the flash of other mangaka. This is not really a criticism, but it certainly doesn’t make Steinbach stand out as an artist of merit. The characters and the actions of the characters are illustrated in the least distracting way possible for Hine’s story, creating a look that is probably very close to what Hine has imagined with this series. Hine is creating both an homage to a comic form he truly loves and a parody of this same art-form. As we have seen from such entertainers as Mel Brooks and Tom Stoppard, parody is the sincerest form of flattery. True, this isn’t parody in the same vein as the two aforementioned examples, but Hine is definitely having some fun with the manga genre, and I think most readers will have just as much fun reading this series. High manga art it’s not, but it is a skillfully presented graphic story with thrills aplenty.

taken from : mangalife.com

Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle v14 Review

Reviewed by Dan Polley

It’s hard to not hear or read about CLAMP, the collection of female manga-ka. But “Tsubasa: Resevoir Chronicle,” volume 14, was my first foray into their manga world.

The title is a collection of their characters from other books, but “Tsubasa” posits those characters — with a little revamp, of course — into an alternate structure. In that structure, Princess Sakura has powerful memory feathers. After the group, which consists of Syaoran, Kurogane and others, collects one of those feathers, they are able to transport to another dimension, where the process starts anew.

Together the group needs to master its magic and martial arts mastery in order to take down those who stand in the way of them collecting another one of the princess’ feathers.

At first glance, it’s quite odd how the characters are drawn: Humanly un-proportionate and gangly, almost like a spider with half as many appendages. However, all pretenses to the seemingly unrealistic art configurations were soon forgotten once the first page cracked open.

The plot was whimsical and fun. It also felt new — at least in part — which helped to push the volume forward.

However, the characters felt as though they lacked originality. For groups, they seemed to fit in with niches that had been worn out long before. There was the princess who was key to the journey, but was hardly able to fend for herself. There was also a dark and mysterious man who filled the hero’s position, but who still seemed to be holding back.

The 14th volume of “Tsubasa: Resevoir Chronicle” was good, not great. There were some interesting points, and those outweighed the non-interesting points, which is always good. Yet there were parts that seemed to be a retread off of group fantasy adventures, which didn’t help the volume elevate higher than a moderate flatness.

taken from : mangalife.com

Lunar Legend Tsukihime, Volume 5 street date announcement

San Jose, CA, September 2007. DrMaster Publications Inc. has just announced the street date of volume 5 of the popular series Lunar Legend Tsukihime. Fans of the hit Japanese anime, not to mention those of you lucky enough to play the import PC game, will revel in the thrilling continuation of Tsukihime.

A childhood accident has left young Shiki Tohno with a very special ability. He can now see the hidden lines or weak points in all things- be they organic or inanimate. By striking or cutting along these lines Shiki can slice through virtually anything like a hot knife through butter. Unfortunately the gift comes packaged with a nearly irresistible urge to kill using this new ability.

After rescuing Shiki from his dangerous encounter with Roa, Ciel warns him in vain to stay away from Arcueid, who may have an ulterior motive. Meanwhile, Shiki cannot shake off the feeling that he knows Roa, and a visit to the garden of his house jolts his memory, piercing him with visions of Roa as a child, along with a voice telling him that he will become a "true monster" someday.

source : comipress.com

Random House has taken position as Distributor of DC Comic rather than Warner Bros

Publishers Weekly reports that DC Comics is switching its book trade distribution from Warner Books/Hachette to Random House Publisher Services:

DC Comics is switching its book trade distribution to Random House Publisher Services after more than 20 years using Warner Books/Hachette for bookstore distribution. The switch will take place in spring 2008.

ource : comicpress.com

Learn Online Gaming Etiquette By Reading Manga Online From CESA

Impress GAME watch is reporting that CESA (Computer Entertainment Suppliers Association), which organize TGS (Tokyo Game Show) and used to be responsible for gaming rating age has already released a free online manga on online gaming etiquette.

You might want to try to get the manga

here : http://onlinegame.cesa.or.jp/pdf/onlinegame.pdf

edit from : comipress.com

Eiichiro Oda Reveals Weekly Shonen Jump's Secret Ranking Formula

Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump is well known for canceling its series (even the 2ch Early Sales info is called the "Cancellation Survival Race"). Each issue of Shonen Jump comes with a survey postcard that asks its readers to vote for their favorite series. Every week, manga serialized in Jump are ranked from most popular to least popular. Usually the less popular series tend to enjoy a very short lifespan.

Jump does not order the manga based on popularity from the week before. It's true that popular series are in front, but the actual order is decided from week to week by the editor-in-chief.

Basically, it may show the postcards do affect ranks, but it's mostly up to the editor himself.

Interview with TOKYOPOP Publisher Mike Kiley

Pop culture news site ICv2 recently got the chance to interview TOKYOPOP publisher Mike Kiley about the growth of manga, and TOKYOPOP's place in the manga market. The interview is divided into three parts, each dealing with various manga-related topics. Here's a brief excerpt:

Can you talk a little about some of the components of that growth--specifically we're interested in your thoughts on different rates of growth between Japanese, Korean and original English language content.

That's a really interesting question. I don't know that I typically look at it in quite those terms. Cleary the blockbusters in the category continue to be extremely well-known Japanese licenses. Even more specifically, they tend to be more often than not to be Japanese licenses that have multiple incarnations across different formats. I think specifically the Naruto's and Fruits Basket's and Tsubasa's continue to be the market leaders in terms of unit sales. I believe the growth in those areas is still significant--every new volume in each of those really high profile series tends to chart a little higher than it did before, so I think there's a lot of growth there.

You can read the entire interview at the following links:

Part 1: The over-all manga market and its breakdown by country of origin.

Part 2: Manga releases coming up this fall, the market in Japan, and digital distribution.

Part 3: TOKYOPOP's fiction program, the differences between Japanese light fiction and the U.S. market, and what’s next after Fruits Basket.

taken from : http://www.manganews.net/news.php?article=816

"Akihabara Enta" Hosting Manga Festival

The Akihabara Entertainment Conference has added a four-day manga festival to its list of pop culture festivities. The manga festival will take place from October 25th to October 28th.

According to ANN, "The festival will focus on the international popularity of manga, digital content, copyright issues, and other topics."

A full schedule for the event (which is co-hosted by Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, the organizing committee for the Tokyo International Film Festival, and the Japan Institute for Film Development) has yet to be announced.

[Source: manganews.net]

[Source: Anime News Network]