Archive for
...
So I guess you’ve heard that LA had an earthquake on Tuesday. It’s been a while since I’ve been in one as big as this one so I almost forgot how it feels to be in one. As the comic suggests, I thought someone was being a jerk and shaking my table, and then I noticed my chair shaking. Finally someone said the word “earthquake” and that’s when I dove underneath my desk.
Whoo Hoo! My very first video! I am so thankful that I found that copy of Pinnacle. Anyways, this is a short video featuring Hiro Mashima (or rather his hands) at work. The character he is drawing is named Natsu from his Manga series “Fairy Tail”. I wanted to tweak the video a bit more but I guess it came out alright for the first video I’ve ever made.
I would like to thank Del Rey Manga for giving me the okay to post this. If you would like to know more about the series just go to http://www.randomhouse.com/delrey/manga/.
- Pedro Rodriguez
Jumping into the race with “Manga Blast!”, “Shonen Jump”, and “Shojo Beat”, Yen Press’s new book “Yen Plus” will begin its circulation on news stands across the US starting tomorrow (July 29th). This husky little book is over 400+ pages and features a full chapter out of nine different stories, ranging from cute and cuddly, to the dark and creepy, and genre’s including comedy, drama, and horror. With most of the stories coming from either Japan or Korea, the book is split into two different sections (Korean is read left to right just like English). For those of you who must know where one section ends, the Japanese portion has the page numbers on the lower corner whereas the Korean section has the page number in the upper corner.
You can buy the book in the newsstands for $8.99 in the US ($9.99 in CAN), but getting it as a yearly subscription is $49.95 (that’s less than half the cost). The order forms are available within the book, or you can also go to the Yen Press web site for more details.
Source:Â Yen Press (Comic Con Panel)
And I’m back. As you can tell by the last half of this list, I had quite an adventure using San Diego’s transit system in order to save some money in parking. And while this is just the tip of the iceberg I will say for the record, that I also could’ve done some things better, and yes I will be using the system again next year. On that note, Comic Con International this year was a BLAST! I was only there for one day, but I will say every panel I went to and every booth that I stopped at was awesome. Having said that, I want to give my congrats to BeKyoot.com for making it to the con. I know it was still up in the air for a while but I’m really glad you guys made it. Also while I was happy with most of the booths that I stopped at, I really want to give the biggest shoutout to both Kodansha and Smith Micro. Even after my schedule was thrown out the window, these guys still treated me well beyond what I deserved.
With all that out of the way, blog entries coming up shortly, reviews and panel transcripts on their way, I got pics, I got video, and there’s still those two articles from Anime Expo that I still need to handle (God Bless July!).
VIZ Pictures, an affiliate of VIZ Media, announced the release of NANA 2, the feature film sequel to the popular rock and roll drama by the same name. Like the original movie, the Nana 2 follows the lives of girls sharing the same name, but with very different lifestyles. Here’s a synopsis of the movie (via press release):
After meeting randomly on a commuter train, becoming close friends, and moving in together in the first film, NANA 2 focuses greatly on Nana “Hachi” Komatsu (played this time by Yui Ichikawa), who has become trapped in a love triangle with Takumi Ichinose, the bass player of her favorite band TRAPNEST, and Nobu, the handsome guitarist of The Black Stones. Things become really sticky because The Black Stones are fronted by the other Nana Nana Osaki (Mika Nakashima), who continues to struggle to find musical success while she continues to harbor a secret relationship with TRAPNEST’s guitarist Ren, who was The Black Stones’ original bass player.
JapanFiles.com announced yesterday that HIMAWARI has joined their label, and their two CDs will now be available for downloading on their website.
Originally meeting in at a Ryuichi Sakamoto event in New York, the groups core members Takeshi Ichikawa and Lena quickly learned that they shared a similar vision in music making. With their base of operations in the Big Apple the duo have performed regularly at club events in the metro area, and large-scale loft parties in Brooklyn with as many as 3000 attendees. They have also made appearances at the CMJ Music Marathon, and were regulars in the Moby VJ Team MOVEMENT events.
The group completed their second CD “Pompsos”, under the close guidance of longtime engineer Kidoh Taki, and the CD jacket design was done by Virgilio Santos of Dzark. Their live performances also feature cutting edge new digital images and Takesi Ichikawa’s motion graphics.
I’ve posted their music video below. It’s from the resonant song “Pulse”. For more information about the band you can go to their official website at http://himawaring.com or simply go to http://JapanFiles.com/himawari.
Just days before the big con in San Diego, VIZ Media announced that they have launched a new wholly-owned Hollywood-based company named VIZ Productions. It’s main agenda is to produce and license live-action theatrical film and television projects that are based on anime and manga titles. The new company will be drawing from a vast catalog of manga properties from companies such as Shogakugan, Shueisha, and Hakusensha. VIZ Productions will also serve as a liaison between Japanese creative licensors and other Hollywood production houses, studios, and agents, and plans to produce or license live action films using a wide variety of genres. The newly appointed Head of Production, Jason Hoffs, had this to say:
VIZ Productions will give Hollywood a unique conduit to some of the most innovative and unique entertainment properties from Japan. Hollywood has always looked to comic books and graphic novels and has recently discovered the untapped pool of Japanese manga for development into live action features. Worldwide, the creators of manga are viewed as artists, and the rich storylines are already a hit with the coveted 12-34 demographic.
With our pool of resources of dramatic storylines and incredible characters coming from manga and animation, we are confident that the development of many new projects will attract the best talent, actors, directors, writers and bring a new array of films to domestic audiences.
Hidemi Fukuhara, President and CEO of VIZ Media was also quoted on Mr. Hoffs new position:
We are proud to have Jason Hoffs as Head of Production for VIZ Productions; he brings a great deal of knowledge gained from over 15 years in Hollywood and has a keen eye for great stories. Our parent companies Shogakukan and Shueisha are the top manga publishers in Japan and hold a wealth of rich characters and storylines in their extensive catalog. Jason Hoffs will helm the effort to bring these wonderful stories to Hollywood and to build a bridge between the creative talents both in Hollywood and in Tokyo.
No word on what their first project will be. Though I’m personally holding out for the one where the teenage couple has an arranged marriage, and the guy turns into a girl whenever he’s splashed with cold water.
Source:Â VIZ Media (Via Press Release)
Before heading on to that big Comic Con in the Sky (a.k.a. San Diego), I wanted to post a few pictures of two resin statues that caught my eye back in Anime Expo. The first is Rin Natsume from the Key’s own “Little Busters!”. Posing in her black uniform, she stands almost eight inches tall, and will come with bonus parts such as her cat ears and an ecstatic cat face. With her initial release set this August, be sure to keep your eyes open. The next character comes from us from the Shining Tears/Wind Universe. Another character known for her cat like appearance, Mao the Princess of Bestia. Taken from the original character designs of Tony Taka, she has been sculpted by Hiroshi Nakamura. Standing at 6 and a half inces, she dons her ever popular Chinese fighting outfit, which is revealed when you remove her jacket. Mao is due to hit the streets around the end of August.
For more information about Kotobukiya, be sure to check out their updated English website!
This article was originally going to be about thier recent CD Release and then I went to their myspace page:
A press release was sent out today on behalf of Right Stuf, Inc. and Nozomi Entertainment, announcing the new “Aria” Trailer featured on the Right Stuf Website. This is in prelude to the DVD release set in late September. The series takes place in the early 24th century in the planet Mars. After centuries of terraforming, the red planet is now mostly covered in water and is now known as Aqua. The main protagonist, Akari Mizunashi, has left Earth to become an undine in the city of Neo-Venezia. Much like the gondoliers of present day Venice, her goal is to tour people around her new cherished home by navigating the canals throughout the Aquan city.
Having a very light-hearted and sophisticated feel to it, the show’s target audience seems to be the same as “Emma: A Victorian Romance”. Another interesting note about all this is rather than releasing the DVDs one at a time, the entire first season will be released in one box set with an MSRP of $49.99. Preorders are also currently being taken for an even lower price!
The image above will take you to the Aria’s official website (English) or just go to http://aria.rightstuf.com to find out more about the series.
Source: Right Stuf, Inc, Nozomi Entertainment