Note from the Editor:

Back again with the third issue of the month! *Sigh* And yet I STILL have a lot of anime I purchased that I still have yet to watch. This is going to take me a while.

With Ike gone, hopefully things will return to normal for those who live on the Texas Gulf coast. However, I've had my own share of ups and downs this week, from a loss in the family (uncle's mother) to a doctor's appointment (damn nosferatu, took three vials of blood!) to driving around the neighborhood with my dog Sadie, who loved it! Even possibly found someone for me, though she has a very busy schedule (not to mention other things!).

Anyway, I'm getting way too personal, so with that said, enjoy this week's issue!

Have any news you'd like to see here? E-mail me and let me know!

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In Anime News:

Shuffle's Nishimata Illustrates Rice Bag, Strawberries

Aoi Nishimata, the artist best known for her character designs in Shuffle!, Final Approach, Lovedol ~Lovely Idol~, and other games (or their anime adaptations), has created the illustrations that will adorn the rice bags and strawberries from the Japanese township of Ugo-machi. Nishimata said that the design concepts are of characters that are accessible to everyone including even children — in marked contrast to the drawings she did for Shuffle! and other erotic games.

The rice mascot is named Akita Komachi or "the local beauty of Akita Prefecture," while the strawberry mascot is named Ugono Ichigo-chan ("Strawberry-chan of the Ugo fields"). The rice is scheduled to ship on September 27, while the strawberries will ship in the middle of November. Other agricultural items have had anime- or manga-influenced mascots include sake (Urusei Yatsura, Maison Ikkoku, Lucky Star) and whiskey (Cutie Honey, Space Adventure Cobra, Mazinger Z).

Haruhi Suzumiya Poster Appears in Canadian Tylenol Ad

For the past month, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation has been airing a commercial for Extra Strength Tylenol Rapid Release pain relievers that includes a brief shot of a Haruhi Suzumiya poster. In the 30-second commercial, the poster appears at the 18-second mark. The Haruhi character or her likeness has appeared in everything from Belarusian chocolate waffles to a protest sign in the Gaza Strip and a Chinese pamphlet about the Beijing Olympics. She also appeared — with the official approval of her light novel creators Nagaru Tanigawa and Noizi Ito — on a limited release of tissue boxes in Japan.

Genius Party, Live-Action Grave of the Fireflies at NYC

The New York-Tokyo organization has announced that it will be holding its annual film festival, which will open in New York City on September 28 this year. The planned film roster includes Studio 4°C's Genius Party anime anthology films and the live-action adaptation of Akiyuki Nosaka's Grave of the Fireflies novel. Genius Party is a collection of eclectic shorts from 12 acclaimed directors, split into two feature-length omnibus films. Those directors are Atsuko Fukushima, Shoji Kawamori, Shinji Kimura, Yoji Fukuyama, Hideki Futamura, Masaaki Yuasa, Shinichiro Watanabe, Mahiro Maeda, Koji Morimoto, Kazuto Nakazawa, Shinya Ohira, and Tatsuyuki Tanaka. New York-Tokyo has not confirmed if it will show just one of the two Genius Party anthologies, or both anthologies with all 12 directors' works.

The festival will also hold the North American premiere of Taro Hyugaji's 2008 film version of Grave of the Fireflies. Nosaka wrote a semi-autobiographical work about surviving in Japan during and after World War II. The novel was already made into a 1988 animated film by director Isao Takahata (Only Yesterday, Pom Poko) and Studio Ghibli, as well as a live-action television special in 2005.

Another North American premiere at the festival, Wang Yemin's Tea Fight, features a story, cast, production staff that span the two countries of Japan and Taiwan. The story follows a Japanese family with an ancient "tea curse," as the daughter searches for a special tea in Taiwan that can reverse the curse. The opening of the film was animated by Studio 4°C (The Animatrix,Tekkonkinkreet, Genius Party).

ADV Films Waits Out Hurricane Ike

The website and servers for the North American anime distributor ADV Films have been offline this past weekend as the company's staff deals with the aftermath of Hurricane Ike. Last Saturday morning at 2:10 a.m. CT, Hurricane Ike made its Texas landfall just southeast of Houston, which is where ADV Films is headquartered. Much of the metropolitan Houston area is without power, but almost all the areas that were in danger of flooding were evacuated well in advance of the storm's approach. (ADV Films' headquarters is about 50 miles or 80 kilometers inland.)

ADV Films Senior Vice-President of Sales Mike Bailiff has told the Paradox Entertainment Group that his company's staffers are planning to return to their offices and turn equipment back on last Wednesday, now that Hurricane Ike has left Texas. However, much of the Houston/Galveston metropolitan area is still without power, particularly in the low-lying neighborhoods closer to the coast of the Gulf of Mexico.

12-Hour Anime After Dark Film Fest at Boston in October

The licensing company Resonance Features and The Boston Science Fiction Film Festival announced that they will host a 12-hour Anime After Dark film festival in Boston from sunset on October 18 to sunrise the next day. The films will include Grave of the Fireflies, Project A-Ko, Millennium Actress, Cat Soup, Tekkonkinkreet, and Ghost in the Shell: Innocence, with more planned. The event will be held at the historic Somerville Theatre on Davis Square. Since the festival will last all night, the organizers encourage attendees "to bring blankets, pillows and other items to help settle you in."

New Mameshiba Anime to Run on TV, Web in October

The official Japanese website of the Mameshiba characters announced last Friday that a new anime production is in the works for an October release on television and on the website. Mameshiba are mysterious creatures that are not quite beans nor Shiba dogs, but something in between. The new animation will be previewed on Taito Booth arcade amusement machines from Thursday until Saturday. Taito Booth machines have been offering Mameshiba plush figures and keychain mascots since the end of August.

Oshii's Sky Crawlers to Compete at Sitges

Mamoru Oshii's The Sky Crawlers will be one of two Japanese movies, and the only animated feature, shown in the main program at Spain's Sitges International Film Festival 2008 next month. Film critics consider this festival to be the most important showcase in the world for fantasy and science fiction cinema. The other Japanese film selected is Takashi Miike's Crows Zero, a live-action prequel to Hiroshi Takahashi's 26-volume Crows manga.

The Sky Crawlers opened in Japan in August. It held its international public premiere at the Venice Film Festival earlier this month, and has also been screened at the Toronto Film Festival. Although it did not win any of Venice's main honors, it did pick up the Future Film Festival Digital Award there. Sony Pictures will distribute it in the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Latin America.

Sitges 2008 will run from October 2 to October 12 in the Spanish town of that name, southwest of Barcelona. In recent years, other anime films that competed for awards there have included Metropolis, Spirited Away, and Oshii's previous anime feature, Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence. Many others have run in Sitges' Anima't section, whose 2008 participants have not been announced yet.

Sammy's Hard Boiled Slot Machines Get Anime, Manga

The pachinko parlor game maker Sammy is adapting the detective action story behind its upcoming Hard Boiled: Mirage of the Griffon slot machine into anime and manga. The official website for the franchise is streaming both a promotional video (select the "PV" link from the top menu) for the game machine itself and a trailer for Hard Boiled the Movie (select the "Hard Boiled the Movie" link on the right). Hard Boiled the Movie will tell the prologue to the game's story when it premieres on October 10, while the actual game will launch in November. Grenadier manga and anime creator Sousuke Kaise will be drawing the manga version that launches on October 7 in this year's 20th issue of Kadokawa Shoten's Comic Charge magazine.

Mirage of the Griffon continues the story of 2001's Hard Boiled 2 game; it takes place in the fictional country of Ukunatoru "where East meets West." Johnny (Takehito Koyasu) is a gun for hire who learns of a conspiracy involving Nana, the daughter of his old friend Edgar, and a killer virus named Griffon.

BCI Eclipse to Ship Live-Action Kitaro in N. America

BCI, Navarre Corporation's video and audio distribution subsidiary and a sister company of Funimation, is releasing the 2007 live-action film adaptation of Shigeru Mizuki's GeGeGe no Kitarō manga this fall. The BCI Eclipse label will ship the DVD version on October 28 and the Blu-ray Disc version on November 18. The film's sequel, GeGeGe no Kitarō: Sennen Noroi Uta (GeGeGe no Kitarō: The Thousand-Year-Curse Song), opened in Japan this past summer. The title character, Kitaro, is a half-human, half-yokai (supernatural creature) boy who struggles to maintain the peace between the two worlds.

Chō! A&G+ Anime & Game Radio Station Plans Anime

Chō! A&G+, a Japanese digital radio station that focuses on anime and game topics, has announced plans to create its own original anime. The station plans to distribute the anime online, and it already has plans to begin releasing rudimentary video supplements to its audio programs on October 6, while the original anime project is in development. Those video supplements will complement the weekday Chō Radi and Chō Radi! Girls programs, which are hosted by voice actors and personalities such as Aki Toyosaki, Eri Kitamura, Kanae Itō, Hiroyuki Yoshino, Yuko Sanpei, Mayumi Iizuka, Satomi Akesaka, Mitsuo Iwata, Yuka Iguchi, and Takeshi Washizaki. The anime project will be the first such animation created for digital radio in Japan.

UK's Barbican to Screen Anime, Live-Action Mushishi

The Barbican performing arts center in London will be holding a October 28 double-billing of both the anime and live-action adaptations of Yuki Urushibara's Mushishi manga. The titular "Mushishi" ("Bug Master") character is a doctor who travels a mystical version of Japan to cure people affected by Mushi, the supernatural creatures that he is investigating. The screenings will begin with two episodes from the 2005 animated Mushishi television series by Hiroshi Nagahama (Fruits Basket assistant director, Detroit Metal City video) and Artland (Legend of the Galactic Heroes, Macross). Then the center will screen the 2006 live-action film version of the story by acclaimed director Katsuhiro Otomo (Akira, Memories). The Anime Encyclopedia co-author Helen McCarthy will introduce the screenings.

Manga Entertainment Anime Hosted on Jaman VOD Service

Manga Entertainment has signed an agreement to distribute many of its anime films and episodes digitally through Jaman, an online service which focuses in foreign and independent works. Manga's Ghost in the Shell, Black Jack The Movie, Read or Die, Kai Doh Maru, Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro, and episodes of Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, Noein, and Robotech are all already available for high-definition download at Jaman.com. The titles are priced at US$2.99 per movie or US$1.99 per episode. Additional anime from Manga's catalog are being added to the service. Once downloaded, files can be watched for seven days with the proprietary Jaman Player software, and new users who register on the site will get two free rentals.

Iwakaze Capital's Takeover of Gonzo Parent Proceeds

Japanese investment company Iwakaze Capital KK finalized its bid to become the majority owner of GDH, the parent company of the Gonzo anime production studio. Last week, Iwakaze made a significant investment in GDH by buying 1.9 billion yen (about US$18 million) in newly-issued shares. It is also increasing its stake in GDH to a controlling interest by paying 8,000 yen (US$74.65) per share to purchase 13,189 shares, or 15% of the current outstanding total. The acquisition is expected to be complete by October 10.

For the most recent financial year ending in March 2008, GDH posted an operating loss of US$32.6 million, and Iwakaze's takeover will effectively force out three of GDH's top corporate leaders. Shinichiro Ishikawa, the chief executive officer who has held the position since 2001 and was the executive producer of numerous Gonzo anime, will leave the company on October 1. Also leaving are director/chief financial officer Fumiaki Goto and executive vice president/chief operating officer Yasushi Uchida. No details are available yet on who will replace them, or on how this will affect Gonzo's current projects, such as S.A, Strike Witches, Rosario + Vampire Capu2, Linebarrels of Iron, The Tower of Druaga: the sword of Uruk, Afro Samurai: Resurrection, and Slap Up Party -Arad Senki-.

Upcoming Anime DVD Releases for September 23rd:
Bleach Volume 12
Gantz Complete Collection Thinpak
Haruka Volume 6
Hellsing Ultimate Volumes 1-4
Kamichu Complete Collection
One Piece Season One Part Two Box Set
Paradise Kiss Box Set
Yu Yu Hakusho Season Two Box Set

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In Manga News:

Ayumi Tachihara's Gokudō no Shokutaku Manga Gets Film

This year's 18th issue of Akita Shoten's Play Comic magazine has announced on Thursday that Ayumi Tachihara's Gokudō no Shokutaku (Yakuza's Dining Table) comedy manga will be adapted as a film. The manga centers on a middle-aged, divorced yakuza boss who happens to be a food connoisseur taking night school to better himself. The film will star Ken Matsudaira, an actor best known for historical period dramas, as the yakuza boss Raizō Kuji. This is not Matsudaira's first role based on a food manga — he also starred as the food critic father who disowned the main character of 2007's Shin Oishinbo television drama remake. Tachihara's earlier Maji! and Jingi manga have both been adapted as video anime series.

Pyu to Fuku! Jaguar Manga to Get New Anime Film, Series

This year's 42nd issue of Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump magazine has announced on Saturday that Kyosuke Usuta's Pyu to Fuku! Jaguar comedy manga will be animated in a film and a new DVD series. The manga follows a hapless budding guitarist nicknamed "Piyohiko" who gets steered into the music business by a mysterious man named Jaguar — if Piyohiko would play a recorder instead of a guitar. Kaeruotoko Shokai, the Flash animation studio best known for Eagle Talon The Movie - The Chancellor Only Lives Twice and Sguy and The Family Stone the Movie, will be producing the new projects. Jaguar had already been adapted as a live-action film this past January and an earlier Flash-animated video series last year. The new anime film is scheduled to open in January 2009, and the new DVD series will be timed to coincide with the theatrical release.

Sakai City Answers Complaint on BL Books in Libraries

The city of Sakai, located in the central Japanese prefecture of Osaka, posted a citizen's July 30 complaint about the massive amounts of boys-love materials in the city's four main libraries. The citizen not only claimed that the books in the reading rooms are "sexual harrassment," but also expressed concern for the books' "bad influence" on children and the citizens' tax burden. According to the complaint, neither the nearby Osaka Municipal Libraries nor the Osaka Prefectural Libraries have such a large boys-love collection. The citizen asked about the size and cost of Sakai's boys-love collection; the city responded that its internal inquiry currently indicates that 5,499 volumes were purchased at the cost of 3,668,883 yen (about US$34,500).

However, the city also noted that the books were purchased due to requests from library users. The city maintained that the role of a public library is to respond to the other citizens' wishes by selecting material that people want to read. The city did acknowledge that the books were openly displayed in the reading rooms as the complaint indicated, and said that the books were quickly placed into archives.

Tokyopop to Print The Faerie Path Spinoff Trilogy

The North American publisher Tokyopop will be adapting Frewin Jones' The Faerie Path fantasy novel series into a graphic novel trilogy with a new story. Alison Acton will draw the first volume, The Faerie Path: Lamia's Revenge #1: The Serpent Awakes, which will ship on January 27.

Crunchyroll to Preview Princess Ai Anthology

The Crunchyroll website will be previewing the entire Princess Ai: Encounters book — Tokyopop's English-language anthology of stories about the character inspired by Courtney Love — from September 16 to September 30. The site indicates that it will be using the same Flash-based web manga reader that Tokyopop is using on its own official site. The book's print version is scheduled to ship this week in North America.

One Outs Manga to Relaunch in October

This year's 20th issue of Shueisha's Business Jump magazine has announced on Wednesday that Shinobu Kaitani will restart his ONE OUTS baseball manga in the next issue on October 1. Madhouse's Akagi and Kaiji team is adapting the manga into an animated television series that will premiere on October 7. The story centers around Tōa Tokuchi, a 134-kmph (83 miles per hour) pitcher who is the undisputed king of a gambling form of baseball called "One Out."At the urging of a professional player he meets, Tokuchi joins the big leagues under an unusual contract: he gets 5 million yen (about US$46,000) for every out he pitches, but loses 50 million yen (US$460,000) for every point he gives up.

The manga relaunch will be called ONE OUTS: Miwaku no All-Star-Hen (ONE OUTS: The Enthralling All-Star Edition). The manga originally ran in the same Business Jump magazine from 1998 to 2006, and 19 compiled volumes have already been published.

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In General News:

U.S. Senate Committee Approves New Net Copyright Bill

The United States Senate Judiciary Committee has approved the Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights Act of 2008, which includes a section that would allow the Justice Department to bring civil lawsuits against intellectual property infringers on behalf of content owners. In the proposed law which now goes before the full Senate, any restitution imposed by the lawsuits would be given to the intellecutal property owners as compensation. After receiving complaints from consumer groups and privacy advocates, the committee did revise other sections in the bill to limit the use of information seized during an infringement investigation. The advocates noted that certain provisions allow for seizure of "property used, or intended to be used, in any manner or part to commit or facilitate" a copyright or trademark infringement" — which broadly interpreted, could apply to computers used for file-sharing video and audio content.

MSNBC Reports on Sex in Otaku Culture

The MSNBC news network has posted an article about sex in otaku culture and how that has affected mainstream culture in America. Brian Alexander, the author of the book America Unzipped: In Search of Sex and Satisfaction, interviewed Lawrence Eng (a researcher who wrote his doctoral thesis on how otaku interact with technology), Patrick Macias (the editor-in-chief of Otaku USA magazine), and Sharon Kinsella (a British sociologist who wrote a book on adult manga).

Yoshitoshi ABe to Speak at Minneapolis Art Conference

The annual "Schoolgirls and Mobilesuits" (SGMS) workshop at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design (MCAD) has announced that anime creator Yoshitoshi ABe will be a guest speaker at this year's event from September 26 to September 28. The full schedule for this year is not yet available, but the lineup of sessions will include screenings of some of ABe's anime and at least one panel discussion with his participation. ABe designed the characters in the Serial Experiments Lain and Texhnolyze anime, and he also created the Haibane Renmei and Niea_7 manga and anime projects.

The SGMS event was founded in 2001 and has been held at MCAD every year since. It combines the characteristics of a formal academic conference and a fan gathering; it features speeches by professors researching Japanese popular culture, presentations from voice actors and industry professionals, and a "cosplay fashion show." Besides ABe, participants in this year's workshop will include Tokyopop Director of New Product Development Jeremy Ross, scholars Christopher Bolton and Thomas Lamarre, Studio Ghibli expert Marc Hairston, voice actor Crispin Freeman, and gothic lolita fashion designer Samantha Sangster.

Cosplaying Otaku Blogger Danny Choo Profiled on CNN

The CNN news source has posted a televised profile on Danny Choo, the otaku blogger known for cosplaying in Tokyo as an Imperial Stormtrooper from the Star Wars films. Choo says that the report "is the first to officially mention that Jimmy is my dad." Jimmy Choo is the women's shoe designer often name-dropped in the Sex and the City television series. The report also showed Choo's new office at Good Smile, a maker of figures from anime, manga, games, and light novels.

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Conventions:

Aurora-Con
September 27-28, 2008
William A. Egan Civic & Convention Center
Anchorage, Arkansas

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