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!!”
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.
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.
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:
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.
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.
Times are tough, folks. With this economic slowdown, many industries are hurting bad. Anime/manga sales have already been declining both here and abroad. If our favorite entertainment segment is going to survive these tough times, we need to do one thing…
Buy stuff.
Don’t buy just for yourself, because ’tis the season for giving. If the industry is going to prosper ultimately they need to increase their customer base. So make it your mission this holiday season to give anime/manga ’til it hurts.
To be most effective, try to bait in non-otaku with titles that cater to the interests they already have. Buy Vampire Hunter D for your sister that loves vampire movies, or purchase a copy of the Eden: It’s an Endless World manga for the dad that loves sci-fi books. Got a socially inept, lonely brother going to college? Buy him some hentai (though chances are, he’s already a fan).
Manga, like all books, make especially good gifts. They’re portable, durable, relatively cheap, provide hours of entertainment, and they can be easily loaned or re-gifted. It’s the gift that keeps on giving! And maybe, just maybe, you might make some anime-manga converts. There’s a special place in Otaku heaven for people like that.
Surely most of you have heard the news that there’s a Live action Akira movie coming out of Hollywood. Here’s one fan’s fears on how it could turn out:
Of course, the initial script review shows a film that should be very faithful to the original movie, and Katsuhiro Otomo, the creator of both the original Akira manga and its animated adaptation, is on board as the film’s executive producer. Still, it’s funny to see Americanized Akira spoofs
Now that Sci Fi is done airing Gurren Lagann, they’ve moved on to Gundam 00. I’m reviewing the show for IGN, and I’m not really digging it…yet. There’s promise, definitely promise, but the first two episodes didn’t overwhelm me. The dub didn’t do the show any favors, either. But hey, that’s my opinion.
So I’ve been reviewing anime at IGN.com for a while, and one of the shows I’d been assigned was Gurren Lagann as it aired on Sci-Fi. Honestly, I wasn’t thrilled about it at first, but by the end of the show I had enjoyed myself. IGN does a season review for all the shows it reviews, and since Gurren Lagann only has one season, well, it turned out to be a review for the whole series.
So I’ve been reviewing anime at IGN.com for a while, and one of the shows I’d been assigned was Gurren Lagann as it aired on Sci-Fi. Honestly, I wasn’t thrilled about it at first, but by the end of the show I had enjoyed myself. IGN does a season review for all the shows it reviews, and since Gurren Lagann only has one season, well, it turned out to be a review for the whole series.