On Friday, March 11, 2011, Japan was hit with a 9.0 earthquake that also triggered a tsunami. As of this writing, there have been 3,300 confirmed deaths, as well as people missing and injured. Many of the coastal cities around the city of Sendai have been destroyed.

My thoughts and prayers are with the people of Japan during this time. Many of the news items in this week's newsletter focus on efforts being taken by the anime community to raise funds for disaster relief.

Here are the headlines to come out of the anime industry since the last newsletter:

• Anime voice actor Kan Tokumaru passed away on March 6, 2011 at the age of 69 after battling a long illness. His credits include Cyborg 009, Lupin III, Mobile Suit Gundam, Fist of the North Star, Berserk, Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion, Millennium Actress, Rune Soldier, and Wolf's Rain.
• Crunchyroll is working to help fund the emergency response and the long-term recovery efforts that will be needed to rebuild damaged communities in Japan after the earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011. For every dollar donated, Crunchyroll will match donations. After the donations have been collected, Crunchyroll will choose an approproiate charitable organization that will best assist the on-ground efforts to aid those affected.
• Right Stuf, Inc. and Nozomi Entertainment announce the release of Revolutionary Girl Utena: The Student Council Saga DVD Set L.E. (Remastered Box Set 1) will be available on June 7, 2011. This is the first of three limited edition DVD box sets that will feature remastered video and a newly created Dobly Digital 5.1 Japanese audio track from the recent Japanese DVD release. There will also be Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo for English and Japanese audio, as well as English-language subtitles and on-screen translations. On-disc extras include the clean opening and closing, both a live-action video and TV spot for the opening single, and TV commercials for the Japanese release. The set will be housed in a collector's art box and include a booklet with content from the limited edition Japanese release. Only a limited quantity of this premium set will be produced. This set contains the first twelve episodes of the series, which will span three discs.
• The One Piece Podcast site, in addition to a conglomeration of many other podcasts (including Konoha Corner, the SSAA Podcast, and That Anime Show) are banding together for Anime Fans Give Back to Japan: A 24 Hour Podcasting Marathon. This group will be running a 24-hour live podcast on UStream from 6:00 P.M. EST on Saturday, March 19th through 6:00 P.M. EST on Sunday, March 20. The stream will be available through this website, and the goal is to earn $25,000 through GlobalGiving. Haunted Flower will also be matching donations up to $5,000 during the marathon for those who donate and join their Facebook page. The guests currently lined up for this podcast include: Steven Jay Blum, Terri Doty, Crispin Freeman, Stephen Hoff, Reuben Langdon, Michelle Ruff, Stephanie Sheh, Micah Solsoud, J. Michael Tatum, Zac Bertchy, Todd Cochrane, Scott "KaiserNeko" Frerichs, LittleKuriboh, Justin Sevakis, Ed Sizemore, and Tony Yao.
• Crunchyroll has announced that the company has released a major update to their Anime video streaming application for Android devices. This new release supports free ad-supported streams of all shows, as well as premium member access to exclusive early released content of anime broadcast in Japan. The new update can be downloaded from the Android store and requires Android OS 2.1 or above.
• Anime voice actress Stephanie Sheh has put together We Heart Japan, which will be a series of events to raise funds for earthquake and tsunami relief in Japan. The first event is Thursday, March 17 at Meltdown Comics in Los Angeles. At the event will be an art auction. anime screenings, voice actor autograph sessions, and more. 100 percent of the proceeds from the event will benefit Japanese Earthquake Victims through the Japan NGO Earthquake Relief and Recovery Fund. If you don't live in Los Angeles, you can still donate to We Heart Japan.
• AllAboutManga.net's Daniella Oriheula-Gruber has set up Anime and Manga Bloggers For Japan. This effort is raising cash for Doctors Without Borders and Shelterbox.
• Anime Expo's weekly live podcast AX Live will be doing an extended live broadcast on Thursday, March 17, at 7 p.m. PDT and will take donations for disaster relief during the show. They'll also be checking in with their staff members in Japan.
• This weekend's Zenkaikon anime convention in Prussia, Pennsylvania will be taking donations for the American Red Cross' Japan Earthquake and Pacfic Tsunami fund; opportunities to donate will be available at collection stations throughout the convention and at some of the major con events.
• The UK-based anime site Anime Picks is hosting a fundraiser focusing on Shelterbox.

There are topics in the anime forum for these news stories. If you'd like to join in on the discussion, there's a link to the forum later in the newsletter. You need to have a BellaOnline forum account in order to post, but signing up for a forum account is free.

This week, I posted three new articles to the Anime site. The first is a biography of Kan Tokumaru. The second is an overview article for Soul Eater. The third is a review of the Dragon Ball Season Five DVD box set. I have also added words from Soul Eater to the list for the anime word games.

Here's the latest articles from the Anime site at BellaOnline.com.

Biography of Kan Tokumaru
This is a biography for anime voice actor Kan Tokumaru.
http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art170943.asp

Soul Eater
Soul Eater is an anime series based on the manga written and illustrated by Atsushi Okubo.
http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art171033.asp

Dragon Ball Season Five DVD Box Set
The Dragon Ball Season Five DVD box set includes five DVDs that contain thirty-one episodes.
http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art171035.asp

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