July, 2010

Funimation made several announcements today featuring the acquirement of a handful of anime titles. Most of them are currently being aried in Japan.

First we have the release of the full feature film, EVANGELION: 2.0 YOU CAN (NOT) ADVANCE. This is the second film to be released in a four part series. Taking place some time after the first film “You are (not) alone”, several characters make their formal appearance in the tetraolgy including Asuka Langley So- ‘scuse me, Shikinami. The movie will be released on DVD and Blu-ray sometime in 2011.

The next is another feature film from the director that brought us “The Girl who Lept Through Time”, it’s “Summer Wars”. Here’s a short description of the film from the press release:

The story begins with Kenji, a timid math prodigy who seems better suited for virtual worlds than his more intimidating high school. When class cutie Natsuki asks Kenji to accompany her on a family trip to celebrate her great-grandmother’s 90th birthday, he instantly agrees, not realizing she intends to present him to her family as her fiance – a ruse that forces Kenji, who hides behind an avatar online, to role-play in the real world as well.

Oh yeah and there was also something there about cracking a code and a self aware computer code with the intent on destroying life on Earth, but I skimmed through that part…

Look for Summer Wars to be released in US Theaters later this year with the DVD and Blu-ray to follow in 2011.

The next three are all currently being aired in Japan. First we have “Blessing of the Campanella”. This features a young technician named Leicester Maycraft, who witnesses a falling object making a crash landing. When he gets to the site he discovers a mysterious girl who has a tendency to call him Father. The series will be available online this August followed by the DVD relese in 2011.

Number two is the sequel to the show about girls who have no problem feeling a draft. Yup, I’m talking about “Strike Witches 2″. The Neuroi are still at it, and it’s up to the the 501 to step into the battlefield once again. Like Campanella, the series will be available online via funimation.com/video. Otherwise you can pick up the DVD in 2011.

Last but far from least is the series Okamisan to Shichinin no Nakama-tachi. The series takes place in your average Japanese High School, and revolves around a group of… shall we say “Loan Sharks”? In better detail, the group does “favors” for the students, with the expectation that the students will be “paying back” their debts later on. Oh yeah and the series takes a new spin on old fairy tales, and there’s a guy that openly admits to liking the main character but has Ophthalmophobia, etc. Look for Okamisan on DVD in 2011 (no Blu-ray or immediate release on Hulu? aww…)

8/9 Update: Oh my, it looks like Okamisan will be available online under the Hulu “umbrella”…