Be sure to check out The Girl Who Leapt Through Time on DVD This Week
Any commentator who posits that non-motion capture animation cannot re-create the essence of human motion and expression should be sat down with a copy of this movie. Time travel conceit aside, the movie is ingrained in the present day experiences of life in a modern, prosperous nation, set in houses, streets and schools. With light stylization acting as control factor in the demonstration, this work ought to prove that 2D animation is an irreplaceable, artistically viable form. The absence of an actor or physical model allows the image to be as loose or precise as the creator’s decision and ability can dictate. In the case of The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, that level of abstraction is what the movie needs to set the viewer on the same wavelength as its heroine. The seamless flexibility creates room for composition and ambiguity. In the case of this movie, this is what adds new meaning to what is explicitly not a new story.
This technical merit contributes to the artistry that makes The Girl Who Leapt Through Time a joy to watch. Picking a film to recommend to any viewer, regardless of their affection for animation in general or anime specifically, this movie should top the list. Tapping into the universal concerns of what one is doing with one's life and where one's life is heading, the movie offers a mature engagement of youth that is more relevant and interesting than a simple coming of age. Though it cracks in the third act, the fissures complement what is a thought provoking challenge in the powerfully moving film.
If you haven't seen the work in question, it might come as a surprise that The Girl Who Leapt Through Time director Mamoru Hosoda's best exposure to North American audiences would be the cobbled together Digimon movie. Previously hailed for his composition, detailed motion and eye for talented collaborators, given the freedom of his own movie outside Toei's studios he produces a work of art. Hosoda's approach is less obviously experimental than films like Mind Game. Working with Madhouse Studios, his animation makes the motion that one sees every day captivating, and the scenery of life something profound, worthy of close study.
The movie is an updated retelling of a Tsutsui Yasutaka novel, previously adapted into a popular live action film and TV series. In Hosoda's updated version, titular heroine Makoto Konno gains the ability to physically leap and land in a chosen point in her past. Initially she uses the ability as an instrument of escapism, spending her time pursing inconsequential activities and goals. As chaos theory, unintended consequence and the momentum of life conspire to confront Makoto, she is forced to make more significant alterations. What was light hearted, laugh out loud, slapstick hardens into gut twisting drama. As the compounding repercussions become evident, the film taps into powerful emotions felt either in retrospect or in anxiety when concerning the effects of action and inaction in the pivotal moments of one's life.
The revelation of the nature of Makoto's time travel broadens the scope of The Girl Who Leapt Through Time. It re-focuses the film to call attention to questions concerning the direction of the future, and the nature of art. Though essential and thought provoking, the information is introduced in such a way as to shove the film into a new angle. Given that the movie strongly encourages the viewer to share the lead's emotional progression, even if such a development is foreshadow, it still pulls the support out from under the narrative when the shift is introduced abruptly. Especially for a North American audience, the vast majority of which will be unfamiliar with the original story, the twist from what had been accepted as the premise of the movie, to the full set of facts is jarring enough to break the movie's hold. Yet, Hosoda spring it in a particularly heated sequence, where the shock is ensured, suggesting that this may have been his intended reaction.
Studio Gonzo's first venture into feature length anime film is Origin - Spirit of the Past. A pivotal moment in the movie features its newly invigorated hero running as fast as he can. As his legs pound the earth, his torso is held parallel to the ground. This speed skate/run is a position that has been employed animating ninja or samurai running, and it does offer some dramatic heft, but in terms of human anatomy, the animated motion is distractingly nonsensical.
Working off effectively abstract character designs from Evangelion's Yoshiyuki Sadamoto, Hosoda produces a studied recreation of human movement. Whether it is Makoto's titular leaps or an unnamed bystander in a crowd, there is a reality established in that the people move like people. Exact motion, and intensely recognizable expression are applied to design that is attractive and open. The balance creates characters that are very specific, but malleable for a viewer to imprint their own ideas.
What makes The Girl Who Leapt Through Time brilliant also serves as a liability for getting the movie marketed. Rather than chasing after existing fans or serving as a vehicle for marketing other material, the movie doesn't just break out the anime ghetto, it ignores it. There is a degree to which The Girl Who Leapt Through Time does react to popular anime. It is informed by past versions of the story, the evolution of popular ideas of the future and bishoujo ideal. At the same time it rejects the pressure to distill anime production into algebraic formulas: if you like genre X or are of age Y, or previously enjoy Z, then you'll like A.
Manga Spotlight: Black Jack
Volumes 1 and 2
by Osamu Tezuka
Released by Vertical
No genre fan should pass up a chance to read "God of Manga" Osamu Tezuka's Black Jack. Looking at this creator's work can be bittersweet. In admiring his ability to construct stories that are visually striking, humane and topically fascinating, there is an upsetting corollary. Few creators have been able to equal what he did with the medium.
A vital trait of the manga tradition is its willingness to piece together disparate elements and tones. A manga for children may be harsh and sophisticated, while a manga for adults might be innocent and whimsical. A haunting work of horror might be intercut with situation comedy. Few chefs are as adventurous with their ingredients as Tezuka is with Black Jack. It is the work of an interested and knowledge storyteller pursing their curiosity. Chiefly a medical adventure, drawing from Tezuka's own background as a licensed physician, the manga takes a detailed, scientific approach to both trauma surgery and medical oddities, but at the same time, it pulls from everything from robotics to the tradition that would be called "J-Horror" if rendered in live action (eye transplants that repeat visions from a previous owner, jinmenso tumors with a human face) and spins its own morality tales.
To borrow an idea from when I wrote about an earlier translation of Black Jack, it's ER meets Isaac Bashevis Singer. Tezuka seems to be constantly trying exercise to new ideas, looking at dramatic situations, odd bits of history or lore and channeling it all into strange or shocking medical peril, with a moralistic poignancy. There is not much in the way of subtlety or ambiguity in the lessons of the manga. However, as in any Tezuka work, there is a sense that Tezuka is making a case for his beliefs. It's not simply moralizing to fulfill the requisite that shounen manga should have a hero who derives his success through virtue. Tezuka creates a debate in which his surrogate must defend his position from both extreme circumstances and counter examples. While Tezuka is preaching to the reader, it is honestly arrived at and considered rather than calculated.
While it's been argued that Black Jack is Tezuka's most popular manga, the character himself is the antithesis to the other contender for that top spot. The man who goes by the name "Black Jack" is a rogue, unlicensed surgeon. Recognizable in person by a scar that divides the mismatched patches of skin on his face, his shock of white hair and his habit of dressing in an ominous black overcoat, Black Jack's legendary mercenary practices entail taking on any procedure, regardless of the difficulty or worthiness of the patient, as long as his exorbitant fees are paid.
Black Jack stands as an anti-Astro Boy. Where the reader/viewer remembers Astro's origin, the character is not burdened by abandonment, a stripping of his identity, or slavery. He'll always be an innocent, open hearted boy, ready to react to the world. In the collected Astro Boy stories published in English by Dark Horse, Tezuka draws himself into the manga's introductions, complementing Astro Boy's new experiences with his own retrospective impressions.
Like Astro Boy, Black Jack's first story begins with an auto accident. The father of the boy who almost killed himself begins calling in doctors. It's worth noting that the father is a doppelganger for Duke Red, a Tezuka villain who dates back to 1949's Metropolis, the son is the complex, but generally flawed Rock and the first doctor to be cowed by the demand to save the son is a doppelganger for Astro Boy's adopted father Professor Ochamanizu. The father bribes and threatens, but no doctor is willing to take the risk of losing the son on his operating table. Then, Black Jack is flown in. The first image is a full body shot of the character, stiff back, cape dramatically blowing in the wind as he walks down the plane's ramp. Next, there is a close up of Black Jack's scarred face, jaw set, looking piercingly out of the panel. A glance at Astro Boy calls for childhood enthusiasm to be welcome with like emotion. Black Jack radiates determined authority. This is a character that is not just able to stand up to any moral, ethical or physical challenge, he's actively prepared for it. (Except for when he's unprepared. Few Tezuka heroes are flawless)
While Black Jack wears his origin across his face, the actual facts come out a piece at a time across a host of stories. These drips of history set the stage for other interactions that leave impressions. Each of these are powerful, but laid bare, outside the context of the stories in which the details are revealed, the whole truth of his beginnings don't have quite the impact of Astro's. However, even before his origin is known, it is evident from his face that past experience has prescribed its lessons on Black Jack. He's Tezuka's voice of authority, a commanding character, who knows he's one of the greatest talents in his field and who has already laid out his moral map of the world.
Taste and publication models have put an emphasis on novelistic manga in the North American scene. Nothing is more popular than big chunks of running stories. Black Jack does not conform to that format. At least as captured in the first two volumes of Black Jack, the manga series is entirely comprised of short, distinct stories. In past columns I've pointed out a number of manga series that don't hold up well because they were written to be read as part of an anthology rather than in a collected volume. While Astro Boy generally has longer stories than Black Jack, I believe it's one such work.
Though Black Jack's collections catalogue individual short stories, I find that they read well in the compiled form.
Black Jack takes up the exploration of a philosophy. In Tezuka's samurai versus demon manga Dororo, he set the manga as a quest not unlike modern, best selling shonen titles (Naruto, Dragon Ball, ect). By the time that the manga ended at volume three, Tezuka seemed to be struggling with the direction into which the formula boxed him. In contrast, Tezuka could set a given Black Jack story however he wanted. If he desired a sci-fi installation in far off 197X, or an Arctic ice flow, or any other spot on the planet, he could take the manga there without impacting anything other than that specific story. For an author as interested and knowledgeable as Tezuka, but also as responsible, that freedom to test his champion under any circumstances is a great benefit.
I'd speculate that you can trace at least part of Tezuka's innovativeness to his ability to survey the tools with which he had to work as an artist and a storyteller. In the case of Black Jack, foremost among those tools is the moral clarity of its character. Every story in Black Jack is a demonstration or a test of that foundation.
The manga ran in Shonen Champion, home to Go Nagai's sexually goofy transforming magical girl forerunner Cutie Honey, and later to graphically violent manga like Apocalypse Zero and Baki the Grapper and moe concerned with recapturing blithe innocence, such as Nanaka 6/17. This wasn't written as young children's manga, but it wasn't seinen or gekiga for adults either.
As an adult, I'm moved by the life and death consequences of Black Jack, and particularly the cases in which characters live on with what they experience in the story. That said, it's one of the manga series that provoke thoughts along the lines of "wow! if I read this when I was young and impressionable..." There is little wonder that generations of manga readers have kept Black Jack in their thoughts. It's a searing character in a searing manga.
Even Black Jack seems to view himself as a sort of biblical judge in the field of medicine. He comes down with provocative harshness to set matters right. Beyond the two fisted surgeon side to the character, there's a willingness to re-channel the flow of life, whether through a finical charge that would take a lifetime to repay, directing someone to assume a new identity or causing them to rethink their moral perspective.
As an adult reader in 2008, the method by which Tezuka forces Black Jack to demonstrate the justice of his beliefs is involving. While he's not above deck-stacking in his demonstrations, Tezuka seems to arrive at his morals honestly. He's not simply advocating for the sake of advocating. While many of the espoused points of view could spark debate, the humanism fits in well with a modern perspective, with a few sore thumb exceptions. His gender politics tend not to fit with a modern American perspective. At least one story in particular is going to have many readers rolling their eyes if not reacting more harshly.
Beyond the ability to test Black Jack in story specific circumstances, another tool worth calling out in the manga is Tezuka's "star system." Tezuka looked to other media when formulating his approach to manga. He drew from classic animation. He looked at other manga and felt that much of it was too center-on stagey and instead attempted to replicate the flexibility of cinema. However, Tezuka was a theatre fan and borrowed the notion of a cast of "actors" to repeat throughout his manga. There are character designs that appear thorough Tezuka's body of work. Characters reappear in different manga. Specific characters in one manga are other characters in another. For example, Dororo's blind sword master is a blind acupuncturist in Black Jack. And, characters from one story are different characters in another. The above mentioned Rock is busy throughout Black Jack, as are the agents of institutional trouble Ham Egg and Acetylene Lamp (even better than the name, he has a candle attached to his head).
Some of these cross-overs are simply crowd pleasers, such as cameos by Astro Boy, Sharaku the Three Eyed Boy or Dr Tezuka (wearing a fourth wall breaking "Why am I Here Anyways?" emblazoned jacket). Others elaborate on inter-work theme. Saruto/Gao of the complexly angry, deformed, talented and tragic figure of the Phoenix cycle makes a powerful appearance as Black Jack's inspiration.
As mentioned, the gender politics of Black Jack are complex and not entirely at ease with modern positions. Yet the role of repeated women has an interesting mark on Black Jack. There are at least two worth looking out for. There's Melmo, based on a sex-ed manga about a nine year old girl. Following her mother's death, god gave her magical candy pills that would give her the body of a 19 year old so that she could take care of her younger brothers. And there's Sapphire, the heroine of Tezuka's proto-shoujo Princess Knight, about a princess with male and female hearts. These two appear in a number of guises throughout Black Jack, but there is also a particularly charged appearance by a variant on the Zephyrus character from Swallowing the Earth. Even if these character aren't entirely agreeable, the meta themes and star system implications are fascinating.
I would not unequivocally recommend every Tezuka work. Many North American readers seem to be ambivalent about many of his manga title. While they're all what I'd call "book shelf manga," worth putting in a permanent spot in any library, I'd caution a lot of readers to know what they're in for when approaching something like the experimental sci-fi chapters of Phoenix. I have no such hesitation for Black Jack. It's written to be entertaining and provocative. That flexibility that it derives from not sticking to one over-arching story means that Tezuka can exercise his curiosity in pulling just about anything into his manga. From atomic bomb testing to biker gang brawls, Tezuka goes full bore.
Anime Spotlight: Aria - The Animation
Released by Right Stuf International
My formula calculation for Aria is "Hayao Miyazaki meets Azumanga Daioh". Like Miyazaki's work, Aria captures a simple virtuous beauty predicated on hard work. Like Azumanga Daioh, it largely dwells in the transitory moments between scheduled labors or studies, noting that these are typically what are most remembered. It finds a beautiful success in ensuring that the focus on down time and value given to effort are not contradictory.
The sci-fi pastoral is set more than three centuries in the future. Young Akari Mizunashi immigrated from Manhome (nee Earth) to the city of Neo-Venezia on Aqua (terraformed Mars) to learn the trade of being an undine gondolier.
The anime series finds Akari an apprentice in Aria Company. This is the smallest possible of these tour outfits, strictly comprised of Akari, the superlatively easy going, professional rank "prima" Alicia Florence, and the rolly polly cat "president" Aria Pokoteng (undine companies have blue eyed cats who are given the honorary office of president). Too low in rank to take customers by herself, Akari learns from Alicia, explores the corners and history of Aqua with Aria, and trains with two other apprentices. There's her peer Aika from the Himeya Company, a fanatical admirer of Alicia who never the less shoots down Akari's floridly delighted appreciations of the world around her as unallowed "sappy comments." (Whose drill sergeant instructor Akira had a similar relationship with Alicia). Then, there's Akari's younger friend Alice, a prodigy scouted by the Orange Planet company, possessed with a quiet, private demeanor.
There is a genre of pop Japanese media (anime, manga, games) called iyashikei or 'healing' works. These are intended to calm the consumer, and offer a tranquil sense of appreciation and nostalgia. In many cases, these are works created for older, male audience whose female characters and pastel tones cause them to be directed toward female audiences when viewed in North America. This isn't to say that a work like Aria is not universally enjoyable, but, it is still informed by the fact that the original manga was serialized in Comic Blade, and as consequently aimed to express itself through cute girls.
Like many of these iyashikei works, Aqua is largely about mood. It entrances, and one episode flows into the next. (I occasionally find it difficult to watch large amounts of anime one episode after the next, but I made it through half of the 13 episode set of Aria on a Sunday morning). Not much happens. If there's some great sci-fi device or some fairy tale conceit, it merely enables Akari to take in an appreciate some other part of her world. Even when she's working through some seemingly intractable task, there's little stress. She has what she needs, she's in no hurry to get where she's going, and everything is right.
While Akari is not a particularly young character, and she's actively working towards ascending a career path, there's a childlike perspective at work, marked by a lot of splashing in puddles and wanderings. In the tradition of Azumanga Daioh, Yotsuba, and Kamichu, it is a nostalgic flashback to simpler times. At their worst, series with that mindset can be reductive or regressive, as escapism is turned into a full fledge retreat. The results are think-like-a-child shows that could be mistaken for kid's media; Nanaka 6/17 or Bottle Fairy for example.
With the flood of dire financial news, many social critics have speculated that America will enter into a post-consumer culture . We will not be able to buy as much, which will force us to break our search for happiness through consumption. Aria looks to a future in which humanity labored to build a fresh start on a "hand made planet." Much of this new environment is artificial, with a surface flooded by human intervention, "salamanders" laboring to control the weather and "gnomes" working to manage the gravity. However, there is also a realness, in which people focus on maintaining a community, growing much of their own food, and working to earn what they need.
While Aria does feature rivalries, envies and insults, all are gentled to the point of being good natured. It's about as utopian as possible without wholly rewriting human nature. There is one reference to a need to be on guard, in which teasing is mistaken for something worse. A quick response consisting of the threat of physical violence and a report to a higher authority, in the board who oversees tourism does suggest that criminal behavior is not entirely alien to Neo-Venezia. At the same time, what passes for conflict in the anime is really rudeness or awkwardness rather than aggression.
I prescribe to the theory that much of human behavior is inherited from the species evolution in an environment of scarcity. We grab what we can, when we can, because instinctually we're considering a horizon in which we'll be without. Aria projects a future in which, once again, there are no supermarkets or big box retailers. Somehow, humanity has also shed that need to grab all it can in favor of appreciating having what is needed, and a little more to be enjoyed.
In place of physical possessions, Aria puts a value on memories. It looks to remember the work and sacrifice that went into building Aqua, but also the undines' role of allowing others (tourists) to make their own memories.
A factor that differentiates Aria from other iyashikei is that it is not entirely about transitory experience. The extent to which Azumanga Daioh is iyashikei is debatable, but it is a good point of reference. The manga/anime largely followed a group of high school girls as they progressed through their lives at students. It delighted in their friendship while tearing up about the ultimate termination point in that stage of life. At the same time, their homeroom teachers reminisced about their own school days and tried to capture a bit of that attitude. Aria acknowledges that Akari's time as an apprentice, in which she can spend her days with Aika and Alice, also have an expiration date. Yet, it does not posit that that is the end of her pleasant days. Alicia and Akira point out that they were happy in their youths and happy as adults. Their current state is not the same as their memories, but one does not trump the other. It's all about turning the present into tomorrow’s good memories.
The great thing about Aria is that it finds a away to depict a character finding joy in the mundane and transmuting inconvenience or challenge into reasons for happiness without turning the mindset into the product of a mania. Akari and Alicia are not chemically imbalanced, pathological inversed depressives, they're honestly upbeat people.
That said, I'm not entirely convinced that Aria isn't cheating or undercutting the on screen message. I'm not sure it welcomes critical thought. Especially stark in opposition to the "rightness" of Moribito mentioned in last week's review of that title, In Aria, it's easy to deduce things far sooner than the anime gives credit for being deduced.
To some extent, either the message of the series is at odds with the intentions behind its creator, or, the message of the series do not evoke the same sentiments in the viewer.
This is especially apparent in what the anime offers to latch onto. There are plenty of notes of geek appeal in Aria, with catch phrases and cutesy sounds, There's no shortage of Aria merch from cat plushie to cell phone straps to gashapon.
Then again, I'm on record questioning Miyazaki, saying "Why do Miyazaki movies inspire wonder and adoration and not the values expressed within the movies themselves: virtue through work and responsibility, ecology, social justice? There have by efforts to save 'Totoro's Forest,', but does the experience of watching Spirited Away or Kiki's Delivery Service suggest that a parent should consider encouraging their child to take on more chores, or a child to take on more responsibility?"
Even within the series itself, while hard work is ostensibly a key factor in Aria's equation, it eyes seem cast towards outings and nice meals. The labor part of forming the fond memories does not entirely come through.
Manga Spotlight: Golgo 13
Volume 4: The Orbital Hit
Created by Takao Saito
Released by VIZ Media
Given that Naruto's North American release hits volume 32 this month, we've seen examples of the gargantuan libraries that a manga title can amass if it remains popular in its Japanese, serialized run. While that's a respectably large collection, Naruto has a while to go before it can really contend with the big boys. Detective Conan is over sixty volumes. Not counting the Steel Ball Run spin-off JoJo's Bizarre Adventure hit eighty volumes. Kochira Katsushika-ku Kameari Koen Mae Hashutsujo (This Is the Police Station in Front of Kameari Park in Katsushika Ward) or Kochikame for short, a title which has never been released in North America, is still running after 160 volume.
Then, there's Golgo 13. Kept in print by legions of fans, who can claim new Prime Minister Taro Aso amongst their numbers, Golgo 13 recently commemerated its fortieth anniversary in an event featuring the manga's 72 year old author Takao Saito, Tetsuya Chiba (creator of classic boxing manga Ashita no Joe), Naoki Urasawa (Monster, Pluto, 20th Century Boys), Go Nagai (founder of the piloted giant robot, and transforming magical girl genres), Mitsutoshi Furuya and Fujiko Fujio (A).
Part of what's interesting about this sustained reader support is that it does not leverage the rolling teen/adolescent audience on which something like Naruto relies. Instead, Golgo 13 is written for an audience that generally does not read many comics or manga in North America. Frederik L. Schodt's 1996 Dreamland Japan describes the Anthology in which Golgo 13 is published, saying:
Big Comic: The grand-daddy of the Big family, Big Comic serializes works by big-gun artists. Long running stories have included the famous Golgo 13, by Takao Saito, about a Zen like professional assassin who always gets his mark; Hotel by Shotaro Ishinomori, about the inner workings of hotel life; and the gag strip Akabe-ei, by Hiroshi Kurogane. Don't look for sex and titillation here, though. This is serious stuff, written mainly by men over fifty and read by a faithful but aging male readership mostly over thirty.... Ads are scarce and are mainly for cars, marriage services, energy drinks, hair tonics, hair pieces, and so forth.
If you read samurai manga Lone Wolf and Cub, you will be familiar with a type of character who lives by the Zen koan, "if you meet the Buddha, kill him." In the case of Lone Wolf, Ogami Itto recognized the truth behind his kill or be killed Road to Hell to the extent that he was willing to risk the life of his infant son.
Named for Golgotha, the site of Jesus' crucifixion and the unlucky number, Duke Togo is the globe hopping, omni-talented gun for hire known as Golgo 13. Think of James Bond, a man who crosses international borders, entering into dicey situations, fighting men and (beep)ing women. (Takao Saito worked with Bond leading up to the launch of Golgo 13) Subtract the tension between the mission and moments of moral compunction or sentimentality. Subtract the glibness. Also, subtract the reason to support the character, whether it's nationalism or that this killer is "our guy," standing between the western world and SMERSH, SPECTRE or QUANTUM. The result is literally and explicitly a man of action, without a history or a motivation. See that expression that Golgo 13 is making on the cover? That's the same one you'll see on the characters face whether he's listening to the proposal for an outrageous mission, sitting in proximity to a man whose betrayal almost cost him his life, or engaged in sexual intercourse.
Bits of Golgo 13 have been released in the US. Osamu Dezaki's 1983 anime movie The Professional: Golgo 13 and the 1998 OVA Golgo 13: Queen Bee (with John Di Maggio as Duke Togo) can still be found on DVD if you do some hunting. No one has announced plans to release the 2008 televised anime series in English. The live action movie Golgo 13: Assignment Kowloon, featuring Sonny Chiba, was released, but if its predecessor with Akio Ohtsuka ever made it over, I've never seen it.
Amazingly, North American audiences did get Golgo 13: Top Secret Episode for the Nintendo, featuring the 8-bit generation version of smoking, sex and violence, but with (most of) the Nazi references excised. And, the game's developer/publisher Vic Tokai, along with Lead, and Viz published short runs and promotions of Golgo 13 manga in the mid, late 80's and early 90's.
In 2006, Viz began publishing a 13 volume set of Golgo 13's greatest hits. The approach of cherry picking Golgo 13 stories is an issue to the extent to which you'd want to read as much Golgo 13 as possible. In terms of fracturing the narrative, with no pretence of an over-arching plot, or developing the character, selecting specific stories doesn't. In fact, the atomic nature of each story is one of the serial's conceits. Duke Togo is born into each story a veteran assassin, with the experience needed to carry out his mission. Many of the stories are exploited from the geo-politics news feed, but whether the president of the US is Carter, Ford, or one of the Bushes, the protagonist is the same age, without any "reboots" or attempts made to reconcile the fact that he has been operating for forty years..
As an aside, this agelessness also applies to the creators of the manga, as Takao Saito and Saito Production have become indistinguishable. While manga is generally produced by a creator or pair of creators, more often than not, a team of assistants contribute to the effort. While these workers are often uncredited, many of the best known manga creators have started in the industry in that capacity (Inu-Yasha's Rumiko Takahashi was an assistant under Kazuo Umezu, One Piece's Eiichiro Oda was an assistant under Nobuhiro Watsuki). Takao Saito might be 72, but a new Golgo 13 story does not look different than one produced decades ago. This isn't a function of Saito being immune to age or new influence. Rather than rely on assistants to fill in the time consuming work or apply their talents to gaps in the chief creator's, Saito Production evidently executes on a model laid out by Saito. As such, the style of almost goofy, exaggerated caricature with stiff figures, set against intricately rendered backgrounds and objects, as well as the mix of weapons tech and inflammatory politics, has persisted throughout the decades.
The eponymous first story in Golgo 13: The Orbital Hit is a fine example of the manga's sentiments and its character's hyper-competence. In 1975, the American government backed itself into an affair comparable to a "sci-fi version of Watergate." Operation Damocles was put into orbit by a shadow space program. A manned, nuclearly armed false Soyuz would be prepared for retaliation against the Soviets, if the time came. Unfortunately, on the eve of the Apollo mission's rendezvous with the real Soyuz program, the false craft was battered by debris, leaving America's dirty laundry out for the Russians to see. For plausible deniability, and so the press could not track the preparation, President Ford okayed the recruitment of a man rated highly reliable by the CIA, with jet pilot qualifications... Duke Togo.
This is the sort of manga written to read after being buffeted by a storm of ugly news headlines. The "sci-fi Watergate" bears out, with cataclysmic mistakes warranting cover-ups and cover-ups to the cover-ups, with the din of street protests and journalistic investigations hammering in the background. Golgo 13 comes through as a catalyst, a self-preserving instrument. With his crystallized MO, he's the one person not co-opted, foolish, or channeled by the flow of events. There's something classically cool about being the one needed to clean up the mess, rather than be part of it, but there's also an antisocial edge in being above the fray..
The second story assassinates class, then audaciously throws its calling card on top of the body. Published in November 1997, Golgo 13 is hired to kill a Dodi Al-Fayed doppelganger as the Egyptian magnate-heir Ahmad Al-Farid rides through a Paris tunnel with Princess Di. Another assassin from MI6 is on the job, and the results we recognize from August 31, 1997 take place. Between the reaction by the entrenched power players to Di's AIDS activism and the juxtaposition between exotic mechanisms and the horrifically real scene of the crash, the manga seems intent on tweaking the reader's sense of real events. The intent does not appear to be to come away thinking that there was a real conspiracy theory. However, it starts with what we accept as plausible: that a reaction to the accusation that past colonialism has caused modern woes, such as the African AIDS epidemic, would be to lash out at the accuser. It ends with graphically real consequence. In the middle, it throws us for a loop with byzantine plotting and Duke Togo involvement.
Part of Golgo 13's appeal is related to enjoying the manga ironically. A staple of gag manga is to have Golgo 13's granite face loom over some mundane situation. Seeing such an absolute figure not react to lust, danger, pathos or incredible circumstances is laughable. The exploited from the headlines approach to current events is similarly worthy of an irreverent grin.
At the same time, Golgo 13 is serious business. The evident effort plotting, and rendering set pieces, weapons and locations is frequently jaw-dropping. While manga is written for almost every conceivable audience, most of what we get in North America is published for a prominent subset of what was intended for teenage and younger readers. (The strongly recommend Electric Ant zine has a conversation with manga guru Frederik L. Schodt that touches on why few look to expand the scope of manga published in North America.) A manga written for 30+ year olds, one that seeks to let its reader process the complexities of history being made through the lens of an omnipotent killer, is something exceptional in the field of manga in North America. Golgo 13 has lasted forty years for a reason, making it an essential part of any thorough comic/manga collector's library.
Manga Spotlight Gankutsuou: The Count of Monte Cristo
Manga by Mahiro Maeda
Released by Del Rey Manga
Anime to manga adaptations do not have a particularly sterling record. Too often, they seem like creations offering fans something to evoke memories of the anime or offering a substitute fix for those itching for more of what they enjoyed. At three volumes, the Gankutsuou manga is not some spectacularly realized epic. But, it does feature inspired illustration by Mahiro Maeda. Regardless of if you feel you need more Gankutsuou, the chance to see Maeda's captivatingly particular technique justifies seeking out the manga.
"Gankutsuou," which translates to the "King of the Cave" was the title of Kuroiwa Ruiko's 1902 translation of Alexandre Dumas' classic vengeance adventure The Count of Monte Cristo. In 2004 GONZO produced an anime adaptation, distinguished by its sci-fi context and approach to animation in which the rich decor of the novel was captured by animating the characters and objects in front of elaborate textures.
GONZO declared their position on the anime scene in 1998 with the CG animated OVA Blue Submarine No. 6. The piece was directed by Mahiro Maeda whose credits included animation on Ghibli films Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, Castle in the Sky, and Porco Rosso, and design work on Evangelion's angels (some might subtract some points for directing Birth aka Planet Busters). Post Blue Sub, he would go on to direct Second Renaissance in the AniMatrix and work as an animator on Kill Bill's Origin of O-Ren.
While Maeda's vision for Gankutsuou has come into some criticism for being showy and obvious, the dominant reaction credited Maeda with creating a kaleidoscopic marvel.
Without the space to grapple with the complexities of Dumas' novel, the manga leaves out significant figures and subplots, and still turns out overburdened with the task of introducing generations of characters and their relationships. While the manga offers a number of effecting scenes, these derive their impact from stand alone presentation rather than from the larger narrative. Strictly from the perspective of relating a plot, the manga falls into a no-man's land. As someone who made it through the novel, ostensibly for pleasure, I can understand the need for the manga's simplifications. When the manga deviates from what Dumas' laid out, it alters his themes, often straying into more unsatisfactory, nebulous territory. While a novel reader might find bits of the manga ill advised, I'm not sure that a fresh set of eyes will entirely know what to make of the plot. While it is certainly discernable to see what Gankutsuou does with its context, lunar Italian carnivale and mixing talk of Marseilles and with outer planets seems uncomfortably overloaded. When you run out of fingers to count the number of newly introduced characters significant enough to warrant a name plaque on the bottom of a panel, I have to wonder what the complexity has to offer the uninitiated.
Despite the trouble of adapting a lengthy classic novel into an anime series, then adapting that anime into a brief manga series, Gankutsuou is still recommendable by virtue of Maeda's illustrations. There is an impression of an artist at work in Maeda's inked lines. You can almost see where he's sketching out the images and trying to work out the effects. If there hadn't been a Gankutsuou anime, the manga would make you wish that there were one. Maeda is not projecting backwards or re-creating the anime, but he is suggesting ideas that would be breath taking if fleshed out on a more substantial stage.
The sketched character design is pleasant to look at, but the manga really comes into its own with its phantasmagoric scenes. Perhaps unexpectedly, these are reminiscent of Hayao Mayazaki work, such as Howl's eponymous castle, Princess Mononoke's Iron Town, Hayao Mayazaki's work on Nausicaa manga and mosaics of the anime's opening credits. If you're interested in manga technique, give Gankutsuou a look.
Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame Accepting 2009 Induction Nominees
EMP|SFM members are now able to nominate up to four creators in the field of science fiction to be inducted into the Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame.
Nominations will be accepted through December 31, 2009. Once the deadline has passed our Hall of Fame Induction Committee, which is comprised of talented science fiction authors, artists and other professionals, will begin their deliberations and choose inductees from the names you provide. The museum will announce winners in early 2009. Finally, on the evening of June 27, 2009, EMP|SFM will hold the Science Fiction Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony.
Each member may nominate one person in the categories of literature, art, Film/television/media and the open category (e.g., publishing, education, research, music).
In 2008, the Science Fiction Hall of Fame honored Betty and Ian Ballantine (Literature Category), William Gibson (Literature Category), Richard M. Powers (Art Category) and Rod Serling (Film, Television and Media Category).
Digital Distribution
Crunchyroll announced a new strategic initiative with Tv Tokyo Corporation, Shueisha Inc. and Pierrot Co., Ltd. that will see episodes of episodes of the Naruto Shippuden, Gintama, Shugo Chara!, and Skip Beat! series, as well as a lineup of other "simulcast" on www.crunchyroll.com immediately following their broadcast in Japan, starting January 8, 2009.
One objective of the partnership is to combat online piracy. "Crunchyroll's goal has been to provide a fully legitimate viewing platform so that anime fans can access the most popular titles in a timely manner from Japan via an authorized outlet. We are redesigning the site to ensure that all professionally-produced content is approved by licensors. This partnership with TV TOKYO, Shueisha and Pierrot is great validation for online distribution", said Kun Gao, CEO of Crunchyroll. "By providing more viewing options to fans and closing the release gap with domestic broadcast in Japan, Crunchyroll helps fans satisfy their craving for the latest anime while supporting rights holders' efforts to monetize their content. This is a very exciting time to be an anime fan!"
"We understand that digital distribution is important in keeping our overseas fans happy and engaged with our titles", states Mr. Soichiro Hashi, General Manager for TV TOKYO's Animation Business, speaking on behalf of the three Tokyo-based partners. "We are listening to the needs of our overseas fan base and they clearly want to have access to titles earlier. We hope our online offering will increase legitimate viewing of our titles while making sure our worldwide fan-base is content as we attempt to fulfill the growing need for quality anime titles. Crunchyroll is an ideal partner for us because we both specialize in anime. Together, we will cater to an audience that will appreciate and support all the hard work of the creators and animators."
Anime News Network reports that on January 8, Crunchyroll will stop accepting user-submitted videos and other content from individuals, and only host videos approved by copyright holders.
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VIZ Media has announced near-simultaneous Japan-U.S. release of Naruto will stream on the official Naruto website www.Naruto.com,
Beginning on January 15th the latest episode of the Naruto Shippuden (English-subtitled) animated series will be available for free viewing within days of its original airdate in Japan. A new English-subtitled episode will be added every Thursday thereafter.
On January 2nd, VIZ Media will also debut, for free, 8 uncut, English-subtitled episodes from the beginning of the Naruto Shippuden series on www.Naruto.com. Each Friday thereafter there will be an additional 8 uncut, English-subtitled episodes added on Naruto.com until the series eventually catches up to the current third season of the hit program. Also, coming this week, an exclusive sneak peek of Naruto Shippuden (English-subtitled) debuting on Naruto.com.
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Dentsu Inc. and Nippon Television Network Corporation have reach a joint agreement with the video streaming site Joost to provide content to the US market. Show to be offered include anime Buzzer Eater (basket ball sports anime) and Kaiji (gambling action) among six anime titles as well as variety shows Downtown no Gaki no Tsukai ya Arahende!!, Susume! Denpa Shonen, and HITOSHI MATSUMOTO VISUALBUM.
The variety shows will be streamed free through the Japanese Humor ~Owarai~ channel. while the anime shows will be streamed through individually dedicated channels. The site will stream original Japanese versions of the shows with English subtitles. The service, which is scheduled to begin in December, will only be available in the US.
The ambitious comic rendering of Das Kapital is designed to parcel the complex economic theories of Marx’s hefty original in a format which Japanese adore digesting their information from; it will also be compressed into a size that can be slipped discretely into a Chanel evening bag, or slid into the top drawer of a desk when the bosses are looking. A sneak preview given to The Times reveals that Marx’s central themes are relayed in the comic via a cast of suitably down-trodden workers.
Japanese publishers have historically used cartoons to explain thorny diplomatic relations with China, advanced wine-tasting and even the spread of bird flu: the manga version of Das Kapital takes on even the toughest concepts thrown up in the original, from “commodity fetishism” to the precise process by which “the expropriators are expropriated”.
A trailer for Isekai no Seikishi Monogatari, the spin-off from the sci-fi action/relationship comedy Tenchi Muyo, from Masaki Kajishima, directed by Koji Yoshikawa (the second season of Grappler Baki)
The first of five Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Rei (When They Cry) direct to video OVAs will be released on DVD on February 25, 2009, and Blu-ray disc on March 25, 2009.
Weekly Shonen Jump has announced that the Japanese serialization of of D.Gray-man has been put on hold while Katsura Hoshino attends to health problems.
Via Anime News Network, Masahiko Ibaragi told KIDS STATION's Anime Paradise news program on Tuesday morning that he "thinks" that there will be a Tegami Bachi (Letter Bee) anime on television in 2009.
A 30 minute short has been produced for the Jump Super Anime Tour.
Viz will be releasing the manga in North America.
Natsume Ono's Ristorante Paradiso, about a young woman working in the kitchen of a Roman restaurant will be adapted into an anime series that will replace Michiko to Hatchin on Fuji TV's "Noise" timeslot.
Ultra Jump revealed that Shirow Miwa's Dogs sci-fi hitman action will be adapted into an anime series directed by Tatsuya Abe (Tona-Gura!) and written by Kiyoko Yoshimura (Chocolate Underground, Linebarrels of Iron).
The original manga is scheduled to be released in North America by Viz in April 2009.
Mayori Sekijima (Angel Sanctuary, MoonPhase, Video Girl Ai) will be overseeing a Xebec produced adaptation of Jun Mochizuki's Pandora Hearts supernatural action manga.
The online listings for Enterbrain's Charaberrys magazine posted, then remove a notice that the magazine will feature "preview guide book for the new 07-Ghost show in April." There has been now official announcement of an anime adaptation of the manga, set to be released in North America by Go! Comi.
Mayuri Yamamoto's horror manga anthology The Reset will be adapted into a live action TV show, to air on Japanese TV starting in January.
Naoki Tanaka of the comedy duo Cocorico will star as a "time guide" who visits each episode's main character as he or she chooses whether to reset their lives at a time of crisis.
Cool Figures News
Yamato USA is accepting pre-orders of Fantasy Figure Gallery: Medusa’s Gaze now through November 21, 2008 with a Spring 2009 release on YamatoToysUSA.com
The statue features Luis Royo’s stunning Medusa’s Gaze as interpreted by sculptor Shungo Yazawa.
The second piece in Yamato USA’s Fantasy Figure Gallery, Medusa’s Gaze stands approximately 11.80” tall and comes complete with display base all packaged in a collector’s style window box.
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Kotobukiya has announced a new slate of upcoming figures to be imported to the US from Japan.
THE KOTOBUKIYA COLLECTION – MARVEL STUDIOS
IRON MAN MOVIE MARK II FINE ART STATUE
A KOTOBUKIYA Japanese import
Sculpted by Kouei Matsumoto, the Iron Man stands nearly 13 inches tall (1/6th scale), and features metallic silver paint over cold cast porcelain construction. The Mark II features multiple LED lights: eyes, Repulsor Ray palms, and the Unibeam on his chest – each which glows with a cool blue hue. Iron Man stands confidently atop an ornamented base in the shape of his chest symbol, and sculpted with the Iron Man film logo. Each statue is individually numbered on the bottom of the base as part of a Limited Edition of 3000 pieces.
MARVEL COMICS PRESENTS: THE KOTOBUKIYA COLLECTION
CAPTAIN AMERICA: NEW CAPTAIN AMERICA FINE ART STATUE
A KOTOBUKIYA Japanese import
13" tall old cast porcelain statue
The base forms the other half of the Captain America shield symbol, matching up with the Winter Soldier Fine Art Statue.
MSG: MODELLING SUPPORT GOODS
ARMORED CAR UNITS 001-002
Each Armored Car is modular, with two distinct configurations. Scaled to most robot kits between 1/144 and 1/72 scales such as Armored Core or Super Robot Taisen, as well as other manufacturer’s figures or kits, from Gundam to Evangelion, these dark green model kits are easy to assemble and configure.
ARMORED CAR 001 is “caterpillar-style” with tracked wheels and can be configured as a tank or crane.
ARMORED CAR 002 has standard wheels and can be configured as a missile car or recovery vehicle.
SUPER ROBOT TAISEN: GRUNGUST TYPE-3 FINE SCALE MODEL KIT
A KOTOBUKIYA Japanese import
7" non-scale figure
The included pictorial assembly instructions make assembly easy, and painting is optional since the pieces are cast in different colored plastic. With over 335 parts, the giant robot has 30 points of articulation.
KANNAGI –CRAZY SHRINE MAIDENS- ~ ZANGE CHAN ANI*STATUE
A KOTOBUKIYA Japanese import
Based on the manga, soon to be adapted into anime.
Included with Zange Chan is a cushion base made of soft, silky fabric. In scale with the other Kannagi –Crazy Shrine Maidens- girls (1/7th), she is 6 inches tall and comes packaged in a beautiful window box.
LINEBARRELS OF IRON: EMI KIZAKI in SWIMSUIT ANI*STATUE
A KOTOBUKIYA Japanese import
From the Bishoujo-themed LINEBARRELS OF IRON (Kurogane no Linebarrels) Ani*Statue series
Sculpted by Sho Kojima, Emi is 3 ½ inches tall reclined, in 1/8th scale like the other Linebarrels Ani*Statues.
TO ARU MAJUTSU NO INDEX: KUROKO SHIRAI ANI*STATUE
A KOTOBUKIYA Japanese import
The Japanese novel series and brand-new anime To Aru Majutsu No Index tells the story of a world where science-based superhumans live side by side with magic-users.
Kuroko-chan stands almost 8 inches tall, in 1/8th scale with the other To Aru Majutsu No Index Ani*Statue girls. The pvc plastic sculpture is sculpted by Shoukaku Kitaike and comes packaged in a window box.
AME-COMI: BLACK CANARY
PVC FIGURE
DESIGNED BY UDON STUDIOS
This limited-edition, non-articulated, 9” PVC statue comes with a base, is packaged in a 4-color window box with J-hook and is manufactured to order.
on sale July
22, 2009 * Statue * $55 US
AME-COMI: HUNTRESS PVC FIGURE
DESIGNED BY PAITOON RATAN
This limited-edition, non-articulated, 9” PVC statue comes with a base, is packaged in a 4-color window box with J-hook and is manufactured to order.
on sale July 22, 2009 *
Statue * $55 US
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Super7 will be showcasing the ceramic art of Munktiki, aka Miles Nielsen, December 13th, 7pm at the Super7 Store.
Following an artist residency in Japan, Nielsen's Super7 Ceramic Show features new works inspired by traditional Japanese Ceramics, and modern Japanese Monsters and Cartoon imagery.
The Slime Green Escaregot will be offered by Super7
The Slime Green Escaregot is composed of a lifeless blue-grey pearl vinyl body and a clear green Zombie head and gloves, with gold, maroon, white, black and yellow-green spray.
CMX
MARCH ON EARTH VOL. 1
Written and illustrated by Mikase Hayashi
CMX. A young girl must grow up quickly in the face of tragedy and care for her nephew. After the death of Yuzu and Tsubaki’s parents, Tsubaki became a single mother. But when she died in a fatal car accident, her younger sister Yuzu was left to care for the little boy by herself. With only the help of her friends and a kindly landlady, will she be able to meet the
challenge of raising a baby?
on sale March 25 • 5? x 7.375? • 192 pg, B&W, $9.99 US • TEEN
ORFINA VOL. 5
Written and illustrated by Kitsune Tennouji
on sale March 4 • 5.5? x 8? • 282 pg, B&W,
$12.99 US • MATURE READERS
TEARS OF A LAMB VOL. 5
Written and illustrated by Banri Hidaka
on sale March 18 • 5? x 7.375? • 200 pg,
B&W, $9.99 US • TEEN
PENGUIN REVOLUTION VOL. 7
Written and illustrated by Sakura Tsukuba
on sale March 25 • 5? x 7.375? • 192 pg,
B&W, $9.99 US • TEEN
EMMA VOL. 8
Written and illustrated by Kaoru Mori
CMX. The critically acclaimed series resumes with a collection of short stories focusing on the lives of several supporting characters. A young Mrs. Stowner and her husband both secretly try to save up money to visit England’s Great Exhibition. Eleanor Campbell spends a day at the beach trying to get over William, with surprising results. Experience a new insight into Emma’s Victorian world!
on sale March 11 • 5” x 7.375 • 208 pg,
B&W, $9.99 US • TEEN +
GO WEST! VOL.2
Written and illustrated by Yu Yagami
on sale March 4 • 5? x 7.375? • 194 pg,
B&W, $9.99 US • TEEN +
APOTHECARIUS ARGENTUM VOL. 7
Written and illustrated by Tomomi Yamashita
on sale March 11 • 5? x 7.375? • 192 pg,
B&W, $9.99 US • TEEN
Viz
Viz's slate of Q4 anime releases include:
New Series Debut:
Hunter X Hunter DVD Box Set Volume 1 • Rated “T+” for Teens • MSRP: $49.98 US / $64.99 CAN • Available December 9
Based on the popular Hunter X Hunter manga series by Yoshihiro Togashi (also published by VIZ Media), this new fantasy action series introduces audiences to Hunters, a special breed of adventurers dedicated to tracking down treasure, magical beasts, and even humans. But such pursuit requires a license, and less than one in a hundred thousand can pass the grueling qualification exam. Gon might be a country boy, but he has high aspirations. Despite his aunt's protest, Gon decides to follow in his father's footsteps and become a legendary Hunter. The journey begins on the long, arduous road to the Exam Hall, where he meets Leorio and Kurapika, two applicants with the same determination. Gon and his two companions must now prove their worth and earn the right to call themselves Hunters! The Hunter X Hunter DVD Box Set Volume 1 contains the series’ first 15 episodes on 3 discs.
Buso Renkin DVD Box Set Volume 2 • Rated “T+” for Older Teens • MSRP: $49.98 US / $64.99 CAN • Available Now
Buso Renkin is based on a popular 10-volume fantasy adventure manga series by Nobuhiro Watsuki
The Buso Renkin DVD Box Set Volume 2 features episodes 14-26 on 3 discs as well as bonus material including special behind the scenes footage and a full-color collectable booklet.
Blue DragonVolume 2 • Rated “A” for All Ages • 4 Episodes • MSRP: $14.98 US / $19.99 CAN • Available Now
Bleach The Movie: Memories Of Nobody • Rated “T” for Teens • MSRP: $29.98 US / $39.99 CAN • Available Now
Bleach Volume 13 • Rated “T” for Teens • 4 Episodes • MSRP: $24.98 US / $34.99 CAN • Available Now
Death Note Releases Include:
Death Note Volume 7 With Limited Edition Collector’s Figure • Rated “T+” for Older Teens • 4 Episodes • MSRP: $39.98 US / $49.99 CAN • Available Now
The special Collector’s Edition includes a limited edition figurine of Mello.
Death Note Volume 7 Standard Edition • Rated “T+” for Older Teens • 4 Episodes • MSRP: $24.98 US / $34.99 CAN • Available Now
Death Note DVD Box Set Volume 1 • Rated “T+” for Older Teens • MSRP: $69.98 US / $89.99 CAN • Available Now
Volume 1 box set features episodes 1-20 of the animated supernatural mystery series based on the hit manga by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata (also published by VIZ Media). Meet Light Yagami, a brilliant but bored high school student whose life is changed when he finds the Death Note, a notebook dropped by a rogue Shinigami, or god of death, named Ryuk. When Light discovers that any human whose name is written in the book dies, he vows to use its power to rid the world of evil. But every action has its consequences, and Light soon finds himself in a life or death battle of wits with the mysterious genius detective called L. Humanity itself becomes the battleground to determine what form of justice will prevail! Bonus features of this set include audio commentary, behind the scenes interviews with the voice cast and a production art gallery.
Death Note Volume 8 With Limited Edition Collector’s Figure • Rated “T+” for Older Teens • 4 Episodes • MSRP: $39.98 US / $49.99 CAN •
Available December 30
The special Collector’s Edition also features a limited edition figurine of Shidoh.
Death Note Volume 8 Standard Edition • Rated “T+” for Older Teens • 4 Episodes • MSRP: $24.98 US / $34.99 CAN • Available December 30
Naruto The Movie 3: Guardians Of The Crescent Moon Kingdon • Rated “T” for Teens • MSRP: $29.98 US / $39.99 CAN • Available Now
Naruto Uncut DVD Box Set Volume 10 Special Edition • Rated “T+” for Older Teens • MSRP: $69.98 US / $89.99 CAN • Available Now
The Naruto Uncut Box Set Volume 10 features 15 episodes (121-135) on 3 discs as well as an exclusive Katsuyu (6 of 6) Summoning Creature collectable figurine.
Naruto Uncut DVD Box Set Volume 10 Standard Edition• Rated “T+” for Older Teens • MSRP: $49.98 US / $64.99 CAN • Available Now
Naruto Volume 29 • Rated “T” for Teens • MSRP: $19.98 US / $24.99 CAN • Available Now
Naruto Volume 30 • Rated “T” for Teens • MSRP: $19.98 US / $24.99 CAN • Available November 25!
Naruto Uncut DVD Box Set Volume 11 Special Edition • Rated “T+” for Older Teens • MSRP: $69.98 US / $89.99 CAN • Available December 16
The Naruto Uncut Box Set Volume 11 features 14 episodes (136-149) on 3 discs as well as an exclusive Naruto Mininja (1 of 6) collectable figurine.
Naruto Uncut DVD Box Set Volume 11 Standard Edition • Rated “T+” for Older Teens • MSRP: $49.98 US / $64.99 CAN • Available December 16
InuYasha Season 6 DVD Box Set Deluxe Edition • Rated “T” for Teens • MSRP: $119.98 US / $149.99 CAN • Available December 2
The InuYasha Season 6 Special Deluxe Edition features 20 episodes (127-146) on 4 discs and also includes an InuYasha Collector’s Watch.
InuYasha Season 6 DVD Standard Edition • Rated “T” for Teens • MSRP: $99.98 US / $129.99 CAN • Available December 2
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Kuriousity lists a number of unconfirmed upcoming releases from Aurora Publishing, Udon Entertainment, and Yen Press.
a geek by any other name was directed to Broccoli’s website and the Japanese press release that announces that cites the extensive competition in the manga and character merchandise fields in North America as reasons for shutting down Broccoli International USA (publisher of Murderer Princess, Cowboy Ragtime Show, Disgaea)
In the comments, Humberto Saabedra states;
To clarify the situation further, Broccoli Books, Synch-Point and everything under the Broccoli USA umbrella will be liquidated and shut down.
This means that all licenses will revert to Broccoli Japan.
Animation Magazine also reports that DreamWorks Animation SKG has elected David Geffen Co. CEO Richard Sherman to its board of directors. The news follows the recent departure of DreamWorks co-founder David Geffen.
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Film Roman (the Simpsons, King of the Hill, Tripping the Rift, Wow! Wow! Wubbzy!) has promoted Jay Fukuto to oversee all of the studio's animation production. He will be in charge of television, feature film, home entertainment, commercial and visual effects operations, working out of the Burbank, Calif. headquarters of the Starz Media company.
"It's a very exciting time for independent animated films," said Chris O'Reilly, one of the founders of Nexus. "We're finding that there's a lot more interest now from financiers and studios in making films that use animation techniques to tell stories.
...
Adds the company's co-founder, Charlotte Bavasso, "Before, you had the manga books at one end, and 2D animation for children at the other, and there really wasn't anything in between. Apart from Asia, and Japan in particular, where anime was very strong, there wasn't a platform for this. But there is now an interest in techniques and approaches that are coming from commercials and music videos, which is where Nexus started."
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gamesindustry.biz reports that Namco Bandai's second quarter 2009 figures show a 94.2% drop in profits from PY 4.4 billion (USD 45.5 million) the previous year to JPY 337 million (USD 3.4 million) this year. Games revenue dropped from 37.2 billion (USD 385 million) in the same quarter last year to JPY 30.9 billion (USD 319 million).
One of the few bright spots was strong performance by Dragon Ball Z Burst Limit, with 728,000 units shipped on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.
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According to Variety, the studio behind Weinstein distributed animated movie “Igor,” Sparx has closed its Paris location.
“We’ve been hit by the shockwaves of the U.S. financial crisis,” said Thomas Schober, Sparx’s head of production. “Since our industry relies heavily on private financing, the crisis has made it extremely difficult for us to get work on features.”
“Eventually we’ll be back working on big, sophisticated animated features from our Vietnam facility,” said Sparx CEO Renaud Biscarrat, pointing out that the Asian studio provided all the modeling and animation for “Igor.” “But for now, we’re going to focus on what we used to do before: commercials, TV series and videogames.”
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Eye on Asia Blog 2.0 has reported on some significant shake-ups in the figures scene.
For starters, Organic Hobby Inc. has terminated their relationship with Kaiyodo. All Kaiyodo Revoltech releases Due have been cancelled effective immediately.
From Organic's press release
“We would like to take the time to inform you that Organic Hobby, Inc will no longer be importing Kaiyodo’s product lines Revoltech, Fraulein, etc…, effective immediately. We would like to extend our sincerest apologies for all inconveniences that this might have caused your company/establishment. In addition, we would like to say that we feel terribly sorry about the non-release (cancellation) of the following items.
Please make a note of the changes (above) and make the necessary adjustments in your system. We look forward to continue doing business with your company/establishment as you are a valued customer.”
Good Smile Company later announced the acquisition of the Revoltech release from Kaiyodo.
Eye on Asia noted
Good Smile now holds the licence for Kaiyodo’s Revoltech, Max Factory’s Figma and their own series of Nendoriod. I think one of the results for this might be the discontinuation or at least a big re-thinking of the Fraulein Revoltech line, that seems to have under-performed.
The buzz goes on to suggest that remaining figures from the original Revoltech Yamaguchi line (Enkidudu and Black King Gainer) have been made magazine exclusives. The line will be discontinued to be relaunched in a 3.0 REBOOT in May 2009.
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An estimation of the size and potential growth of the Indian animation industry
Event News
Super7 will be presenting "Our Salvation is Your Fiery Death"with artists Martin Ontiveros and Skinner starting this Saturday, November 22nd.
While the details are still shrouded in mystery, our Oujia Board has assured us that Martin and Skinner will blow everyone away with their Heavy Metal Monster Imagery, and also something about our souls or being doomed or whatever. Rock on.
Both artists will be in attendance for the opening.
New York-Tokyo will be presenting screenings of Shinobu Yaguchi's (Waterboys, Swing Girls) Happy Flight on December 3rd. The two showings (2:00 and 6:45pm) will be accompanied by Director Yaguchi, Lead Actor Seiichi Tanabe, and Lead Actress Haruka Ayase. Admission is free, but you have to RSVP.
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Bandai Entertainment Inc. announced that it will be showcasing two of its new blu-ray releases from their HONNEAMISE label with a free public screening of the Blu-ray discs in high definition at the Downtown Independent (formerly ImaginAsian Center) in downtown Los Angeles.
To coincide with the event, Bandai will be
holding it’s first ever “Black Sunday” in the lobby where the company’s line of anime DVDs will be sold at a highly discounted price just in time for the holiday season. The event will occur from 12pm to 4:30pm in the theater lobby and auditorium. The Downtown Independent is
located at 251 South Main Street, Los Angeles, Ca 90012.
The feature presentation in the auditorium will be a free screening projected on blu-ray of two new HONNEAMISE titles in TrueHD5.1.
At 1pm, GUNBUSTER THE MOVIE is a feature version of the classic OVA series.
As humanity sets out for distance space, a squadron of Machine Weapons is created to combat the onrushing opposition of the Space Monsters! To avenge her father’s death and to win victory for all mankind, Noriko Takaya, scouted for her potential, joins her “Oné-sama,” Kazumi Amano, aiming to become an elite pilot-a “Top”!
The film as well as a feature version of DIEBUSTER
THE MOVIE and GUNBUSTER vs. DIEBUSTER: Aim for the Top! The GATTAI Movie will be released on blu-ray on December 9 th from Bandai Entertainment under the HONNEAMISE label.
From 2:30-3:30pm, FREEDOM
FREEDOM is set in the 23rd century -- mankind has fled earth and
emigrated to the moon. The last outpost of civilization is the Lunar Republic of Eden, where the omnipresent Guidance Council grants residents everything they need. But, what do you do when you discover everything you believe is a lie? A single photograph with an inscribed message found inside a rocket launched from Earth leads a group of young men to question the Council ruling the seemingly utopian city. But to what length will they go to discover the true meaning of Freedom?
The series is currently available on blu-ray from Bandai Entertainment under the HONNEAMISE label
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GKIDS has announced upcoming New York International Children's Film Festival screenings
MALLI
India, Santosh Sivan, 1999, 87 min
In Tamil with English subtitles
RECOMMENDED FOR AGES 7 TO ADULT
Sat & Sun, Dec 6 & 7 at 11:00am - IFC Center, 323 Sixth Ave (at West Third)
After over two years of wrangling, NYICFF is very pleased to finally bring back the beautiful and enchanting film Malli, that some were lucky enough to catch in our 2005 Indian retrospective. Director Santosh Sivan made Malli immediately on the heels of his 1998 film, The Terrorist, which critics hailed as one of the most beautiful films ever to come from the subcontinent. The film is a portrait of the inner life of Malli, a poor girl who helps her parents by gathering firewood and spends her free time playing games of fantasy in the forest, spying on the local veterinarian, and wandering the countryside with her new friend, a deaf and mute girl from a middle class family. Malli's one wish is for a colorful new dress to wear to the festival; but one day the ancient and wrinkled village storyteller, Manu, tells her of a peacock-blue wishing stone that can cure her friend's affliction, and so she sets out to seek the elusive peacock god and find the treasure. Malli is a magical film--a lyrical tribute to the strength, purity of heart, and innate goodness of young people.
AZUR & ASMAR
France, Animation, Michel Ocelot, 2006/2008, 98 min
IN ENGLISH - FOR AGES 6 TO ADULT
Sat, Nov 29, 11am and 2pm - Symphony Space, 2537 Broadway (at 95th)
Nov 27 to Dec 3 - Brooklyn Heights Cinema (tickets available through box office 718-596-7070)
Azur and Asmar is the story of two boys raised as brothers. Blonde, blue-eyed, white skinned Azur and black-haired, brown-eyed, dark-skinned Asmar are lovingly cared for by Asmar's gentle mother, who tells them magical stories of her faraway homeland and of beautiful, Fairy Djinn, imprisoned in a crystal palace. Years later, as a young adult, Azur remains haunted by memories of the sunny land of his nanny, and sets sail south across the high seas to find the country of his dreams. Reunited but now as adversaries, the two brothers set off on a dangerous quest to find and free the Fairy of the Djinns.
DUCK SOUP
SPECIAL 75TH ANNIVERSARY SCREENING
USA, Leo McCarey, 1933, 68 min
FOR AGES 6 TO ADULT
Sat, Dec 20 at 1:30pm & Sun, Dec 21 at 1:00pm - Symphony Space, 2537 Broadway (at 95th)
BABES IN TOYLAND
USA, Gus Meins, 1934, 77 min
This film is also known under its alternate title, March of the Wooden Soldiers.
FOR ALL AGES
Sat, Dec 20 at 3:30pm & Sun, Dec 21 at 11:00am - Symphony Space, 2537 Broadway (at 95th)
LOTTE FROM GADGETVILLE
Estonia, Ernits/Poldma, 2006, 81 min
IN ENGLISH - FOR AGES 3 TO 8
Sat, Jan 24, 11am and 1pm - Symphony Space, 2537 Broadway (at 95th)
This first feature-length animated film from Estonia is a gentle spirited film full of wacky contraptions, silly/happy songs, and a warm and refreshingly uncynical sense of humor. Lotte is a cheerful girl-dog who lives in Gadgetville, a village crazy about inventing Rube Goldberg-esque machines. Every year Lotte's father wins the competition of best homemade inventions. But this year, the town is abuzz about the Japanese bee Susumu, who introduces Gadgetville to the concept of judo. After the town becomes obsessed with the sport, Lotte and her three friends try to help Susumu get back to Japan, to test their new skills in an international judo contest.
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New York International Children's Film Festival also announced the return of the ridiculously popular NYICFF Film Production Workshops/ The completed film, "What Not To Do On Mars", was showcased at the 2008 NYICFF Awards Ceremony with all filmmakers in attendance.
During the February 16-20, 2009 winter break, children ages 6-16 will have a chance to be on the other side of the camera, learn from the experts, and make their visions come to life on the big screen! Don't just come and watch the films in this year's festival, make one!
Claymation
Ages 6-14 register online via ticketweb
Using wire armature, clay, and fabric, children will work as a group to conceive of, develop and construct characters, and learn how to make their characters move and speak.
Documentary
Ages 10-16 register online via ticketweb
Exploring subject choice, interview techniques, visual storytelling, and presentation style, participants will collectively produce a short documentary.
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Anime Hell will be at YuleCon (December 5-7 at the Dallas/Fort Worth Marriott Hotel & Golf Club at Champions Circle)
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Katsucon 15, held in Arlington, Virginia at the Hyatt Regency Crystal City on February 13-15, 2009, announced that the event will features appearances and live performances by international musical artists YMCK and AURAL VAMPIRE.
"We're excited to have YMCK and AURAL VAMPIRE coming to Katsucon 15," said Katsucon Programming Director Nick Ferris. "With AURAL VAMPIRE's energetic synth-pop style and YMCK's retro 8-bit gaming sound, we'll have a broad spectrum of Japanese musical genres represented. We're going to put on some amazing concerts with these groups that people will be talking about for years to come."
AURAL VAMPIRE and YMCK's appearances at the Virginia-based convention come courtesy of Japanese record label Avex Inc.
"On behalf of Avex Inc. and both confirmed artists, YMCK and AURAL VAMPIRE, we are thrilled and honored to be attending this historical 15th anniversary of a great Asian pop culture convention known as Katsucon!" said Steve Harrell of Avex to those planning to attend Katsucon. "Of course it's not the same without you all there, so we look forward to meeting and speaking with you all in attendance at the various scheduled artist activities."
A product both of Tokyo's vibrant goth subculture and the city's underground dance music scene, synth-pop duo AURAL VAMPIRE puts even their most image-obsessed J-pop contemporaries to shame with their flamboyant stage presence.
Japanese electronic pop group YMCK formed in Tokyo in 2003 and quickly became flag carriers for Japanese chiptune, the electronic music subgenre based on 8-bit video game sounds. Consisting of vocalist Kurihara Midori, programmer Yokemura Takeshi and video producer Nakamura Tomoyuki, the group combine the sounds of Nintendo game music with a kind of jazz-inflected pop that has its roots in the 1990s Shibuya-kei scene of artists like Flipper's Guitar, Cornelius and Fantastic Plastic Machine. Their unique style of live performances using 8-bit pixel animation is highly acclaimed.
Animated Comic Adaptations
During October's MIPCOM audiovisual content market, Marvel Animation unveiled a slate of animated TV shows that included a 26 episode run of adaptation of Thor. The Thor series will be self-produced by Marvel and is scheduled to launch fall 2010 following Marvel’s live-action Thor feature film in summer of 2010.
As described
The Thor animated series is an all new-property featuring one of Marvel’s longtime favorite characters a Super Hero based on the thunder god of Norse mythology. The animated series will follow Thor as he defends his mythical home of Asgard against fantastical villains, fiendish hordes, winged creatures and angry giants. The show will take place in various wondrous worlds from mountainous landscapes to places of icy mists and fiery voids. Thor will be surrounded by many companions on his journey that are sure to add to the action and adventure of this series.
Eric Rollman, Marvel’s President of Animation commented; “The Thor animated series continues Marvel’s strategic plan to follow each of our tent pole feature films with an animated series and will offer a continued awareness in the marketplace for this exciting new franchise. Through animation we can openly explore and tell the rich stories which are unique to the worlds of Thor.”
Animated incarnations of Wolverine and Iron Man are scheduled to run on Nicktoons in 2009. The two shows, Wolverine and the X-Men (a co-production with Toonz Entertainment Pte Ltd., Singapore and First Serve International Ltd.) and Iron Man Armored Adventures (a co-production with France based Method Films) will each feature 26 half-hour episodes
Marvel Animation has also partnered with BET Networks to produce an animated series based on the legendary Marvel hero, the Black Panther. The all-new Black Panther Animated Series is slated to premiere on BET Networks in the summer of 2009.
In fall of 2009, Marvel will premiere Super Hero Squad animated series featuring super-stylized versions of its most popular characters including Captain America, Silver Surfer, Hulk, Wolverine and Iron Man.
Following Marvel’s live-action feature film release, Avengers, in the summer of 2011, Marvel will premiere its self-produced The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, in the fall of 2011.
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According to Variety Asia, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has created a new business unit devoted to producing and acquiring international properties for worldwide distribution. Properties to be handled included the four Madhouse (Ninja Scroll, X, Paprika) animated adaptations of Marvel character. The series will air on Japan's Animax TV network and be distributed internaitonally by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.
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The animated Wonder Woman movie is scheduled to be released on March 3, 2009. The DVD will retail for $19.98, with the two disc special edition going for $29.98 and the Blu-ray for $34.99. Special features inclde the documentaries/featurettes Wonder Woman: A Subversive Dream, Wonder Woman: The Daughters of Myth and Wonder Woman: The Amazon Princess, as well as audio commentary by Gregory Noveck (Senior Vice President, Creative Affairs, DC Comics), Bruce Timm (Producer), Lauren Montgomery (Director), and Michael Jelenic (Screenplay), a selection of Bruce Timm’s Top Picks of Woman Woman centric episodes from Justice League/Justice League Unlimited
Anime x Games
Anime influenced online collectionable card game Alteil has announced the new EX-Pack 2 with art by by Rei (Aquarian Age, Code Geass manga), Miho Midorikawa (Culdcept Saga, Duel Masters), Masaki Hirooka (Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia, Magic the Gathering), and more.
Each Ex-Pack has four cards, two entirely new with new art, plus two cards from Set 2.
Dragon Ball Z: Infinite World 1up's developer interview IGN
Tatsunoko VS. Capcom : Cross Generation of Heroes art
Street Fighter II HD Remix will be up on Xbox Live Arcade on November 26, and probably on November 27 for the Playstation 3.
Ignition Entertainment confirmed that King of Fighters XII will be released in North America and Europe in 2009. Ignition states that all sprites used over the past 14 years have been dropped and replaced with new 2D high definition, high resolution sprites, on detailed 2D backgrounds, drawn 100% by hand.
Anime Expo is working with MTV to cast three anime fans for MTV Network's "True Life" series.
Individuals must appear to be between the ages of 16 and 28 and must identify as a fanboy/fangirl. Interested applicants can click on the "True Life" link on the Anime Expo website to be part of this ground breaking documentary series.
In honor of the release of Right Stuf's release of EMMA: A VICTORIAN ROMANCE – Season 2 DVD Collection on November 11, 2008, emma.rightstuf.com features a contest where the entrants can win reproduction of Kaoru Mori’s artwork. the site also features news trailers and other downloads.
A look at Cartoon Network's MMO for kids, FusionFall
