Nintendo has decided to promote the upcoming Japanese release of Pokémon Black & White 2 with a lengthy animated short. Like the Final Fantasy XIII-2 DLC trailer we posted earlier this week, the audio is in Japanese only, but the animation itself is pretty gorgeous and worth watching. Japan’s getting their hands on both sequels next month, but we’re stuck waiting till fall for own localized copies. Before you ask, no the game won’t feature any animated cut-scenes like this, but that’s alright since we’re getting to view this online free of charge. I just hope Nintendo of America takes the time to dub the short in the months leading up to our North American release later this year.
Japan has its fair share of strange commercials, but this latest one for Disney’s Tokyo resort has to be one of the most adorable ads I’ve ever seen — so much, that the animated short has me convinced that I’d sit through an entire animated series centered around it. The 30 second anime short tells the story of a little girl and her time spent visiting the theme park over the years, from her first time as a kid, to meeting her future husband, eventually growing old together. It’s well animated, and the cute rendition of “A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes” fits it so well. Am I weird for wanting them to make more of these? I’ve included a bunch of screenshots from it after the jump.
Want to get excited for a new anime? How about a new Lupin III series? Starting April 4th in Japan, viewers will get to see Lupin III -The Woman Called Fujiko Mine- on the small screen. It’ll focus on Fujiko Mine in particular, and is said to want to recapture the “sensuality” of the series in a “daring interpretation” of the original series. Of particular interest? The staff! Sayo Yamamoto, director of the series Michiko to Hatchin (an excellent cult favorite), will be directing the series, and Takeshi Koike (director of the ridiculously awesome Redline – watch it) will be handling character design and animation direction. An excellent lineup! Read more…
Wow, it’s been good recently for anime fans. Not only did Kunihiko Ikuhara recently complete a new anime, we’re also getting a new Leiji Matsumoto show as well. And on top of all that? News came out today that Shinichiro Watanabe, director of Cowboy Bebop and Samurai Champloo, will be returning to the director’s chair to lead a new noitaminA show called Sakamichi no Apollo. It’s about three students who come together over jazz music. Given the focus on music, you may wonder who is handling it for the show, and the answer is none other than Yoko Kanno. Yup, you’re officially allowed to get excited now. A trailer is included after the break. Read more…
Posted by Michael Pinto on Jan 24, 2012 in Animation
If you grew up with Star Blazers, Captain Harlock and Galaxy Express 999 the new Leiji Matsumoto series Ozma will bring a smile to your face! This new show will have a science fiction theme (of course!) and will start airing in Japan on March 16th this year. Below is a look at some of the character designs which remind me a great deal of Captain Harlock: Read more…
Earlier this week Bandai announced that they would cease production of video and manga aimed at Americans: This is huge news as this is the company had amazing A+ titles like Cowboy Bebop which you could hardly say were niche. Is this the end for anime in America? No, but the era of dubbed anime titles and translated printed manga seems to be in very bad shape to say the least. Now you can argue that this is part of a larger transition from physical media to digital — and you can also question how good Bandai was or wasn’t at marketing — however to be fair one has to admit that piracy hasn’t helped the industry: And that’s exactly what Kyle Hebert is talking about in this video: Read more…
According to reports, Bandai Entertainment announced that they’re through localizing new anime and manga. While they will continue to sell their current products, Bandai plans to shift its focus to license distribution. Subsequently, all the upcoming anime and manga series they’ve announced have been officially cancelled. If you were looking forward to Turn A Gundam, you’ll just have to hope someone will be able to re-license it once Bandai’s current license expires. This also applies to several upcoming manga titles like Gurren Lagann volume 7, Code Geass, Kannagi 4, 5, 6 and others.
I’m not a big Dragon Age fan, but even I can tell that fans probably won’t be happy with this latest trailer for the Dragon Age anime film by Oxybot. Let’s face it: the CGI is terrible. The only things passable are the dragons, and even then that’s pushing it. It’s almost humorous when they’re treating it so seriously and the animation fails to help that in any way. Also, to help add legitimacy to the whole affair, GACKT is doing the theme song. Yup. Read more…
Now, I don’t always like to bring up every little new anime series that gets announced, because frankly there are too many out there. However, the popularity of Eureka Seven is undeniable and while I had some issues with the first season, it was still a fairly solid series and the fans adore it. So I’m sure they’re happy to be hearing that a second season, called Eureka Seven AO, has been confirmed for April 2012 by the official website. Read more…
Posted by Michael Pinto on Nov 26, 2011 in Animation, Anime
In the early 80s two short animation films created for the Diacon science fiction convention would give a start to an animation studio that would become known as Gianax. I first watched these animations on well worn VHS tapes in that era and all these years later the animation still holds up. But it seems that some younger otaku have adopted the shorts and made them their own by doing a recreated and updated 3D version which looks pretty nice — check it out: Read more…
Persona 4 was practically an anime to begin with, just like all Persona games before it, but if you’re anything like my JRPG-playing friends, you probably want to watch the new Persona 4 anime anyway. The bad news? It just premiered in Japan. The good news? You can watch it subtitled right now. The Anime Network offers you a heaping helping of streaming Persona animation almost unreasonably soon after it airs in Japan, so get on it! You don’t even need to go to A/V club or flirt with that mousy girl to make it happen. Read more…
Posted by Tim Sheehy on Aug 25, 2011 in Anime, Dr. Who
It doesn’t feature Matt Smith, and might lack in the production department, but this fan-made 80’s style Doctor Who anime has its moments. The artist responsible for the video also noted that if you’re the least bit confused about the Cybermen and their use of the word “excellent” or The Doctor’s martial arts, then you’ve been missing out on the classics. Of course, they also insist that sitting though those classics will instantly make you more handsome, but I’m pretty sure there’s nothing handsome about sticky celery or poorly knit scarves. Nevertheless, the video’s a nifty idea. Now, if only Japan would make a proper Doctor Who anime. That’d be awesome.
When ever most of us think of anime we mostly think of TV shows or films — however like the US the use of animation was very popular for commercials in the 50s and 60s. Some of the nicer spots here also feature some amazing stop motion animation which reminds me a great deal of the look that Pixar has these day: Read more…
After hours of research most of the cool photos we found this week were cosplay shots from Anime Expo — however we did stumble across a few nice examples of fan art: Read more…
TV Ashii in japan had a nice little segment on Anime Expo which was held in California this weekend. I loved where they were asking American otaku about the earthquake in Japan: Read more…
With simulcasting and the proliferation of digital distribution both legal and otherwise, it comes as no surprise that Hulu has finally decided to take anime seriously. While US distributors are losing the constant battle for shelf space with brick & mortar retailers, companies like CrunchyRoll, Netflix, and Anime News Network have worked to expand their online catalog. While Hulu has managed to ink deals with companies like Funimation and Aniplex to stream several of their titles in recent months, on July 3rd the company will begin to stream the upcoming second season of Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clana mere 3 hours after its Japanese broadcast. Sure, it’s not quite a simulcast, but its impressive.
Recently I was at Anime Boston, and met an interesting cosplayer with a rich in potassium banana. I also definitely attended panels hosted by this person of interest. Meet Charles Dunbar aka Anime Antropologiest of Study of Anime. From the time I have met him to now, his panels at conventions will pack rooms. This is a scholar that has made my appreciation toward anime more interesting and academic in a sense that is away from the college environment. I hope to see more of this man speak, so I happened to be able to conduct an email interview with him. Read more…
Posted by Michael Pinto on Apr 25, 2011 in Animation
This wonderfully done infographic is an informal guide to must see anime which I discovered via a topsy.com search.. The one thing I like about this chart is that it admits that it’s subjective and a matter of taste. I’ll also add that as anime is always focused on the latest and the greatest that often the old gems of yesteryear tend to be overlooked in favor of the latest eye candy. Read more…
There are a lot of people that can call themselves an otaku, but branding, up to designing a personal mascot is definitely something that can be done if a person is quite serious about this niche hobby. Meet Otaku Dan, a blogger who I know who has one cool mascot, and interesting blog entries to share. Here are some of his opinions, and thoughts from an email interview. Read more…
We can’t really call it a trailer, but this video’s the latest in a series of teasers for the upcoming Persona 4 anime. Fans of the series have been freaking out since plans for an anime adatption were recently announced, and I really can’t blame them. So far, it’s looking pretty fantastic. Unlike the Persona: Trinity Soul anime which was loosely based on the world of Persona 3, this one will feature the main characters from the fourth installment of the series. It’s probably safe to assume that it’ll follow the plot of Persona 4, so those of us who haven’t already played it may be in luck. If not, you’ll have a nice excuse to pick up a copy. The series is set to air later this fall.Read more…
As you can see from all of the nin-dogs surrounding Kakashi, dogs are known as “man’s best friend” — and as such they’re very well represented in anime and manga from Japan. Here’s a list of some of our all time favorites: Read more…
Anyone paying attention to Asian news these past several weeks would have realized that a devastating triple threat has happened in Japan. On March 11, 2011 around the Northern east coastlines of this island nation, there was a strong earthquake that resulted in devastating tsunamis, and what is now the concern of Japan in controlling a nuclear incident around its nuclear plants. Every day checking certain tweets on Twitter, there is an official notification of how much casualties there has been, with also thousands of people displaced or suffering. This incident has caused casualties and victims that surpass Japan’s Hanshin Earthquake in 1995. Japan needs an incredible amount of money or resources in order to rebuild. So many people around the world, celebrities, or civilians have banded to join up the cause of fundraising and donating time or money for Japan relief. The better option in other countries, out of Japan, of course is to send money to charity foundations to supply aid. Read more…
