ICv2 is announcing that Nicktoons will be premiering Voltron Force on June 16. See the trailer below provided by ICv2, through YouTube. Link over for the brief article.
New Restrictions on Manga & Anime
ICv2’s site, linked below, is reporting that the Tokyo Metropolitan Government revised it’s “Youth Healthy Development Ordinance” were the industry’s Publishing Ethics Convention and Publishing Ethics Discussion Group will determine what works fall under “harmful publications” that must not be sold or rented to people under the age of 18. The Group has already listed 6 titles that will fall under this revised ordinance. Link on over to see the 6 titles that the full article lists.
Chobits Haiku Contest
Dark Horse is having a Haiku contest for it’s Chobits title. Entries must be submitted by May 20th for a chance to win a FUNimation anime box set of Chobits or copies of Dark Horse’s Chobits Omnibus‘. Give the link below to your patrons that would be interested in this so they can enter.
http://www.darkhorse.com/Blog/397/no-bits-chobits-haiku-contest
Sadie to Perform in U.S.
AnimeNews Network’s site, linked below, has announced that the Japanese Band Sadie will be the music guest of honor for the Japanese Pop Culture Convention AM2, July 1-3. Librarians, in the Anaheim California area, can pass this along to their patrons that enjoy JPop and other Japanese music.
http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2011-05-06/california-am2-to-host-visual-kei-band-sadie
Trigun Movie Coming to U.S.
Anime News Network’s site has an article on the new Trigun: Badlands Rumble movie. This is an older series so some newer librarians might not be familiar with the title. This was one of the funnier series that I have seen. The site also states that the movie will get a limited release in were some theaters will show the English Dubbed version of the film and others will receive the original Japanese undubbed verision. Follow the link to get the English cast listing and the full article. No dates yet on when it will be released on DVD.
http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/interest/2011-05-05/funimation-confirms-english-trigun-movie-cast
TokyoPop Garage Sale
Libraries in California let your anime and manga fans know that TokyoPop, which is closing it’s North American headquarters, is having a “Garage Sale” in mid-May. No specific date yet. Anyone can attend the public sale, if you want to travel to California for the sale go for it. The company is also having a contest on Facebook were ten fans will be chosen to get a pre-sale goody bag and be allowed to attend the Private Sale on May 4. The only catch is that you have to be able to go to their headquarters to claim the prize. To enter you have to post fan art, costumes, videos and the like on their Facebook page by May 1. Follow the link to AnimeNews Network for more details.
http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/interest/2011-04-28/tokyopop-to-hold-garage-sale-in-los-angeles
Akria Cast Questioned
Akira is facing the same question that arose with the cast of The Last Airbender. Akira is being looked at for a live action movie from Hollywood. At this time Warner Bros. is wanting the location of the story changed from Tokyo to New York. By doing this they are also recasting the movie with Anglo actors, instead of casting actors with an Asian background. The question is why does Hollywood feel the need to change the ethnicity in a story to make a movie? Even with the location changed to New York, we are the United States where all ethnic backgrounds are to be blurred. Check out the full story at ICv2’s site linked below.
Legend of the Fist
The movie Legend of the Fist: The Return of Chen Zhen will more than likely appeal to your anime and manga fans. It does have a superhero feel to it, since the character wears a mask, so your patrons that like comic books might like this to. If nothing else the martial arts angle will be appealing to many people. This moive has a limited release so librarians will have to check local movie houses to see if it is showing in your area. Thanks to Yahoo Movies for the trailer below.
Cosplayers take heart
This video is one of my favorites. It doesn’t really bash cosplay, it has fun with cosplay. More people cosplay than you might think. I have to admit my kids and I have cosplayed.
Hero Tales Available
FUNimation has released Part 1 & 2 of Hero Tales to DVD. Libraries that have fans of Fullmetal Alchemist will want to pick this up. The mangas are both written by Hiromu Arakawa and one can tell by the character artwork that it is by the same creator.