IGN games did a video review for the new PS3 Afro Samurai game. Their review isn’t that favorable, but looking at some of the gameplay, and the clips of Ninja Ninja’s hilarious dialogue, I think it might be worth a play through.
Here’s a great sample of Samuel L. Jackson as Ninja Ninja in the game.
Technorati Tags: anime, afro samurai, IGN, PS3
Popularity: 42% [?]
D.F. Smith over at IGN reported this interesting tidbit about FUNimation, Fullmetal Alchemist, and the upcoming convention season
Funimation, word has it, will be announcing something Fullmetal Alchemist-related when the convention season kicks off next month. They might have picked up the FMA “Premium Collection” OVAs – an array of cute action and super-deformed comedy shorts – or maybe they’re calling early dibs on the new TV series, which hits the airwaves in Japan this April. Or maybe it’s all of the above. We’ll find out in a week or two.
Mmmm, interesting. Obviously, anything that they snatch up will sell well, but wouldn’t it be amazingly awesome if they were able to pull off something like what Viz did with Naruto and announce streamed episodes within a week of their airing in Japan?
I know, I know. I’m a dreamer. But I’m not the only one.
Read more anime stuff at the second installment of D.F. Smith’s “Ittemiyo” column at IGN DVD
Technorati Tags: anime, Fullmetal Alchemist, FUNimation
Popularity: 23% [?]
Anyone who needed confirmation that Naruto is still selling as strong as ever need look no further than the latest data for 2008. ICv2 reports that the Nielsen BookScan data for 2008 shows Naruto clearly dominated the manga sales last year.
Naruto was the top manga, with nine volumes in the top 20, led by volume 28, the first in the Shippuden series, at #2 over-all. Six of the top ten graphic novels of the year were Naruto volumes. Even volume 1 appeared in the list, a great sign that new readers are still joining the ranks of Naruto readers.
The spikey haired kid still has the goods. Which brings to mind another, long-running, shonen series that featured super-powered blonde characters. Could Naruto have as much of a lifespan as the DragonBall franchise?
Technorati Tags: manga, Naruto, Top Manga of 2008
Popularity: 17% [?]
UPDATE: Anime News Network confirmed the story with Imagi, but President Erin Corbett of IMAGI Studios U.S. told ANN that her company plans to resume production next week with new funding.
The sad news on the internet today is that Imagi Studios is out of cash, and shutting down temporarily. What this means for the upcoming Astro Boy and Gatchaman films is unknown, but it’s not looking good.
We’ve heard from one of Imagi’s Los Angeles animators that he was called at home on Saturday, Jan. 24, and told that the studio was out of cash, and that he should not report to work on Monday.
Reports of Imagi’s financial problems have been swirling around for a while, but this is a really bad sign. Hopefully the guys get back on their feet.
Anime News Network updates with info from Imagi’s President
Read more at the Animation Guild Blog
Technorati Tags: anime, Imagi, Astro Boy
Popularity: 16% [?]
As we approach Barack Obama’s historic inauguration, I felt it would be a good time to dig up a gem from last year. Many of you may recall that Barack made a cameo appearance in Chapter 206 of the Air Gear manga as “John Omaha”:
My Japanese is rather bad these days, but here’s what I’m told is the translation:
Panel Two
Woman: “It’s an honor.”
Panel Three
John Omaha: “Joennaa is an old friend of mine…and because it’s her lifetime wish, I opened up a little time to come here.”
“But now, I do have one regret”
Panel Four:
John Omaha: “Why didn’t I bring my tuxedo on the night I’m meeting such a beautfiul person?”
Text on the side: “Candidate for the next President of the United States!!”
Technorati Tags: manga, barack obama, Air Gear, inauguration
Popularity: 32% [?]
NAMCO Bandai announced that Ultimate Ninja 4: NARUTO Shippuden, is finally coming to the U.S., making it the first video game in North America based on the Naruto Shippuden animated series. It’s coming out in March for the old-but-still-kicking PS2 platform.
Ultimate Ninja 4: NARUTO Shippuden features several unique game modes that offer different experiences as players immerse themselves in the world of ninja. The new Master Mode combines role-playing and action-platforming elements, telling the story of how Naruto came to return to the Hidden Leaf Village after his training with Jiraiya; an original narrative arc that fans won’t find anywhere else. Players can collect items in this mode to unlock characters in Free Battle Mode, featuring the series’ trademark one-on-one ninja battles for one or two players. Packed with new NARUTO Shippuden characters such as Deidara, Sasori and Chiyo as well as updated versions of fan favorites such as Gaara, Kakashi and Sakura, the game features 52 total playable characters to take into battle.
Read the full press release at Games Industry
Technorati Tags: anime, naruto, shippuden, namco
Popularity: 32% [?]
Thanks to IGN, I had the pleasure of reviewing Afro Samurai: Resurrection before its January 25th premiere on SpikeTV. If you liked the first series, you’re going to love this sequel. I don’t know if the broadcast version will quite capture the beauty of the animation, and there’s some gratuitous profanity, and some naked chicks, and some sex, all of which Spike will probably censor, so I highly suggest you get the DVD when it comes out on Feb. 3rd.
Read the whole review at IGN’s Afro Samurai: Resurrection Review, and leave comments ^_^.
Technorati Tags: anime, manga, Afro Samurai, Samuel L. Jackson, GONZO
Popularity: 47% [?]
There’s a funny article in the Malaysia Star Online about the upcoming new CG Astro Boy flick. The new design for Astro is “Americanized” in ways you wouldn’t expect, and the estate of Tezuka Osamu weren’t happy:
WHEN they saw the initial designs for Astro Boy in the upcoming computer animated flick, the one thing that the Japanese owners did not fancy was the size of his rear end.
But this did not gel with the estate of Astro Boy’s creator, Tezuka Osamu, who wanted to keep some of the more recognisable aspects of the character.
Tim Cheung, Imagi’s vice president of animation, added: “By request, we needed to have a fuller rear and we added a control where we could control the size of his bum.”
I can envision that review meeting now. A bunch of Japanese people in a meeting, looking at preview screeners, and saying “His butt’s too small!”
I, like many, have some serious concerns about whether this project will completely suck. But we won’t know until it’s out. In the meantime, you can read more of the fairly interesting article on the new Astro Boy’s body proportions at:
Astro Boy’s makeover at Malaysia Star
Technorati Tags: anime, astro boy, imagi
Popularity: 17% [?]
It’s the end of the year, which means anime bloggers everywhere will be posting their “year in review” articles. While trolling the interwebs, I found an article that’s different than the usual “Best Of” fare. Chris Beveridge over at Mania.com wrote a few points on what the industry actually got right in 2k8
From the article:
Distribution of Releases – Just about every company tried to change things up in one way or another this year. There’s a greater emphasis from all of them, aided by the fact that the Japanese now seem to get it, to provide more digital distribution options. And the companies are taking advantage of that. With Viz Media essentially being a Japanese company, they’ve got their shows out through multiple services, some TV deals as well as their DVD releases. Most of them are shows they’re able to cross-promote with their manga as well. FUNimation does some good cross-promotion with Del Rey for their titles and they’re pushing a lot of digital options as well. FUNimation’s aggressive with their on demand channel as well as pushing through on iTunes, Xbox Live and a YouTube channel. There are so many different digital options it’s almost overwhelming for some with no central place to really figure out what’s available.
It’s a short, but sweet article that succinctly sums up some of the more important industry events of the year. You can read it all at:
Top 5 Things Anime Companies did right in 2008
Technorati Tags: anime, industry
Popularity: 13% [?]
Yes, it’s here folks. The official trailer for this god-awful, disgrace to all anime fans. The movie never looked good in the previous sample vids or still shots. Nothing’s changed. But hey, if you’re still curious, or just want a laugh, here’s the new trailer, hot off the presses.
Technorati Tags: anime, DBZ, Dragonball, live action
Popularity: 18% [?]
