Here are the headlines to come out of the anime industry since the last newsletter:
- Eriko Kishida, a Japanese children's author and anime theme song lyricist, passed away on April 7, 2011 at the age of 82 in a hospital in Kanagawa Prefecture due to meningioma. Her lyrics could be heard in the theme songs for Alps no Shojo Heidi, Anne of Green Gables, and A Dog of Flanders.
- It is being reported that 4Kids Entertainment has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Under Chapter 11, a company is able to maintain business assets in order to make an attempt at reorganizing.
- Ai-Kon 2011 has announced the convention's final guest list. The two guests for this year's convention are voice actors Johnny Yong Bosch and Christopher Sabat. Bosch's credits include providing the voices for Renton in Eureka Seven, Ichigo Kurosaki in Bleach, and Lelouch Lamperouge in Code Geass. Sabat's credits include providing several voices in Dragon Ball Z (such as Vegeta, Piccolo, and Yamcha), Yu Yu Hakusho (Kuwabara and Rizen), Ayame in Fruits Basket, and Alex Luis Armstrong in Fullmetal Alchemist. Ai-Kon 2011 is taking place in Manitoba July 15-17, 2011.
- Nozomi Entertainment has announced that the company is releasing the So-Ra-No-Wo-To under the English title, Sound of the Sky on July 5, 2011. The series will be released in a single limited-edition collection that includes a collector's art box and a 40-page book with art and staff commentary. Included on the discs will be the twelve broadcast episodes of the series, as well as two specials. The set will cost US$49.99 when it is released.
- It has been announced that Supernatural: The Anime Series will have a preview screening at this year's Anime Expo in Los Angeles in July 2011. Later in July, there will also be a preview screening at Comic-Con International in San Diego.
- It has been announced that FUNimation and Japanese studio T.O. Entertainment are co-producing an anime feature film based on the Mass Effect video game released by BioWare. The film is already in production, and it is hoped that the film will be released via digital means and home video in the summer of 2012.
- Aniplex of America has announced that the company will broadcast the Blue Exorcist television anime via the Internet in both the United States and Canada. The series will premiere at 10:00 a.m. PST on April 20, 2011. In the U.S., the simulcast can be seen on Hulu / Hulu Plus, Anime News Network, Crunchyroll, and Viz Anime. In Canada, the simulcast can be seen on ANN and Crunchyroll.
- Right Stuf, Inc. and Nozomi Entertainment have announced that an encore presentation of Junjo Romantica will be streamed on Nozomi's YouTube channel to celebrate the upcoming release of the Junjo Romantica 2 DVD Collection. The DVD set is being released on May 3, 2011. The first four episodes of the series are now available for streaming at the YouTube channel. Two additional episodes will be added each week for the next four weeks, and can be viewed for free for a limited time in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand.
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.
| Title | Format |
|---|---|
| Ga-Rei: Zero Complete Series | Blu-ray/DVD Combo |
| Needless Collection 2 | DVD |
| Needless Collection 2 | Blu-ray |
| Pokemon Heroes | DVD |
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This week, I posted three new articles to the Anime site. The first is an article about the simulcasting of anime. The second is a review of Dragon Ball: Curse of the Blood Rubies. The third is an overview article for Gravitation. I have also added words from Gravitation to the list for the anime word games. Dragon Ball: Curse of the Blood Rubies has been added to the Anime Shop, and it is also an Editor's Recommendation this week. |
Here's the latest articles from the Anime site at BellaOnline.com.
What is Simulcasting?
This article takes a look at what anime simulcasting is and some of the problems that have happened with simulcasting.
http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art171369.asp
Dragon Ball: Curse of the Blood Rubies
Dragon Ball: Curse of the Blood Rubies is the first film released for the Dragon Ball franchise.
http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art171368.asp
Gravitation
Gravitation is an anime based on the manga series written by Maki Murakami.
http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art171367.asp
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Lesley Aeschliman, Anime Editor
http://Anime.bellaonline.com
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