Two announcements from Anime USA this week. has announced that voice actress Monica Rial and Tony Oliver will be appearing at their convention. Her resume includes titles such as Burst Angel, High School of the Dead, Kiddy Grade, and RahXephon. Most old school anime fans (self included) know Tony by the the small role he played Robotech when he portrayed Rick Hunter. His humble resume includes Lupin (Lupin the 3rd) and Hibiki Toukai (Vandread). Also Anime USA will be taking place November 18th to the 20th at the Hyatt Regency Crystal City in Arlington, VA. For more information visit animeusa.org.

Pacific Media Expo announced that their Anime Nightclub will include the roast of Richard Epcar. Some of you may know him as the voice of Zangetsu from “Bleach”, others may know him as Batou from “Ghost in the Shell”. No matter what he has been a major influence to the Anime industry here in the US. Pacific Media Expo will be taking place from November 11th to the 13th at the LAX Hilton in Los Angeles, California. For more information visit PacificMediaExpo.com.

FUNimation announced on Thursday that it has acquired the rights to Hellsing Untimate OVA 8 in addition to 1 through 7. The OVA series is a retelling of the series with even darker elements than the TV series. FUNimation will begin releasing the series next year.

Nobuo Uematsu and his group Earthbound Papas will be performing at the upcoming MAGFest. MAGfest X will be taking place January 5-8, 2012, in and around National
Harbor, MD. CAKE! MAGFEST! CAKE! MAGFEST! CAKE! MAGFEST!

Sorry about the lack of Weekend Update last week. There was a death in the family and it’s been a pretty insane October.

Sentai Films has announced that they have acquired the distribution rights to “The World God Only Knows”. The story about a cynical young man that is a visual novel fanatic who must help exorcise demons out of women by making them fall in love with him. The first season is planned for released on DVD and Blu-ray this coming January.

Exist†trace announced that they are planning an American tour starting in March. There are currently three East coast cities including Boston, MA, New York, NY and Philadelphia, PA

Pacific Media Expo made two GOH announcements this week, first off we have Anime Director Yasuhiro Imagawa from mecha titles like Giant Robo, Tetsujin 28, Mobile Fighter G Gundam and Shin Mazinger Sh?geki! Z-Hen. Later on PMX announced that Mecha Designer Tsuyoshi Nonaka who also worked in Shin Mazinger Shougeki! Z-Hen. Pacific Media Expo will be taking place November 11th to the 13th at the LAX Hiltion in Los Angeles. For more information visit PacificMediaExpo.com.

FUNimation announced on Friday that they acquired two new titles first off is the melancholic series and movie “Fafner”. They then immediately after announced that they have acquired distribution rights to the movie “Oblivion Island: Haruka and the Magic Mirror”. No word on when they will be released.

Seven Seas Entertainment has announced the licence for two new titles Alice in the Country of Clover plus Angel Para Bellum. Alice in the Country of Clover is based on the character of Lewis S. Carroll’s “Alice in Wonderland”, while Angel Para Bellum is about a young man named Mitsuru who must be protected by two beautiful angels after his family is murdered. Both titles are set for release in June and July 2012 respectively.

Rock Star games announced that will now be ported to the iOS and Android. Just in time for the ten year anniversary.

Pacific Media Expo announced on Monday that Visual Kei Band D will be performing at the convention this year. Due to the high demand, the group will be performing TWICE, on November 11th and 12th. The convention also announced later that week that Manga-ka Suzumi Atsushi will be a guest of Honor this year. Pacific Media Expo will be taking place from November 11th to the 13th at the LAX Hilton at Los Angeles, California. For more information visit pacificmediaexpo.com.

Kawaii Kon announced two more guests for this year’s convention. The list now includes martial artist, voice actor, Johnny Yong Bosch, and the group Eyeshine. Kawaii Kon will be taking place at the Hawaii Convention Center from March 16th to 18th. For more information please visit: kawaii-kon.org.

Florida Anime Experience announced this week that Terri Hawkes will be appearing at their convention next year. If you don’t know her name, you’ll know her by the phrase “In the name of the moon, I’ll punish you” – it’s all coming back to you ain’t it? Florida Anime Experience will be taking place May 27th to the 29th at the nternational Palms Resort and Convention Center in Orlando, Florida with registration opening tomorrow. For more information visit floridaanime.com.

Attendees at the upcoming London Comic con will be getting an opportunity to demo Soulcalibur V, Dark Souls.

Sentai Films announced that they have acquired the distribution rights to the anime series “And Yet the Town Moves”. The series revolves around a girl named Hotori Arashiyama, who has started a job at a Maid Cafe. The series will be available digitally this winter and the DVD release is set for next year.

Otakuthon announced on Wednesday that Halko Momoi will be appearing as a guest of honor this year. Her voice actress includes titles such as Nurse Witch Komugi, Ai Yori Aoshi, and Final Fantasy: Unlimited. Otakuthon will be taking place from August 12th to the 14th at the Palais des congr?s de Montréal in Montreal, Quebec. For more information visit otakuthon.com.

Three announcements from Otakon this week, first producer, author, and journalist Takamasa Sakurai will be appearing at the convention this year. His books include Anime Bunka Gaiko and Sekai Kawaii Kakumei. Attendees will also get a sneak peak at the martial arts film Bunraku. The movie stars Josh Hartnett and Gackt. Finally Director Kazuya Murata will be debuting his film Full Metal Alchemist: The Sacred Star of Milos to the other side of the Pacific. Otakon will be taking place from July 29th to the 31st at the Baltimore Convention Center in Baltimore, Maryland. For more information visit otakon.com.

Black Rock Studio will be closing its doors soon. According to Eurogamer, Disney Interactive has decided to shut down the UK based company. Black Rock Studio is responsible for such hits as Pure and Split/Second.

Modern Warfare 3 will be colorblind friendly. That is according to a response by Michael Condrey in the Sledgehammer Games blog. Color blindness affects 6% of the population, with men twenty times more likely to affected than their female counterpart.

Sentai Filmworks announced that they have acqired the licence of Mardock Scramble on Monday. The first of the triolgy (Mardock Scramble: The First Compression) will be released on DVD this September and on Blu-ray sometime in 2012.

FUNimation announced on Wednesday that it has acquired distribution rights for Last Exile: Fam, the Silver Wing. Fans will also get an opportunity to watch the premiere at Anime Expo taking place at the Los Angeles Convention Center next month.

Maiden Japan announced on Thursday that it has acuqired the licence for the anime series Hiwamari! After being rescued by a ninja when she was younger, Hiwawari Hinata has wanted to become one herself. Hilarity ensues when she is admitted to Shinobi Gaukuen. No given date on how and when the series will be released.

Manga Gamer has announced that they will be bringing over Kazue Yamamoto to Anime Expo. She is the president and illustrator of Debonosu Works. This is her second appearance at AX.

ManeSixDev posted a footage from a their video game MLP: Fighting is Magic. The build is Pre-Alpha, so it is a loooong way from what the final product may look like.

MADHOUSE’s Producer Masao Maruyama and director Sunao Katabuchi will be appearing at AM2 this year. AM2 will be taking place from July 1st to the 3rd at the Anaheim Convention Center. For more information visit am2con.org.

Anime Expo announced on Wednesday that it Stephanie Yanez and Dig Jelly will be performing at Club Nokia during the weekend of the convention. Taking place July 2nd it will take place from 9 PM to 2 AM and is open to all attendees. Anime Expo will be taking place from July 1st to the 4th at the Los Angeles Convention Center. For more information visit anime-expo.org.

Wendee Lee will be appearing at Anime USA this November according to a press release that came out on Thursday. Known best for her role as Faye Valentine from Cowboy Bebop, her voice acting range has also led her to such as Konata from Lucky Star and Tina from Ai Yori Aoshi. Anime Usa will be taking place on November 18th to the 20th at the Hyatt Regency Crystal City in Arlington VA. For more information visitanimeusa.org.

Kaos Studios, the developers behind Homefront has closed shop according to Gamasutra. THQ told the webzine that this was part of a “strategic realignment. THQ went on to say that they are actively hiring at the Montreal and Austin studios, which lended a hand in making Homefront, and employees from the shuttered studios will have an opportunity to interview for both.

A telecom employee from Shanghai named Wang Kang is apparently a very big Iron Man fan. According to The Telegraph, Mr. Kang went to work in a replica of the Mark 1 suit, and scarred the crap out of his fellow workers. The suit took three months to make and is made up of high density foam wires and tubes, and weighs around 112 lbs.

Anime Expo announced a slew of guests this week starting on Monday. Their guestline now includes Vocaloid Songwriter Onyx Kobayashi, ASCII Media Works Editor Toshiro Fukuoka Kimagure Orange Road creator Izumi Matsumoto, Megatokyo creator Fred Ghallagher, Slayers Next director Seiji Mizuhima, and Voice Actors Toshiyuiki Morikawa, and Taliesin Jaffe. AX is set to take place July 1st to the 4th. For more information visit anime-expo.org.

FUNimation was also busy today when announcing that they had acquired three new titles. They include We Without Wings – Under the Innocent Sky, Zebraman 2: Attack on Zebra City, and City Under Seige. Zebraman 2 is set to be released on Blu-ray this year with the other two following the year after.

BBC caught up with a company called Neurowear this week that invented a cat ear headset that matches your mood by reading your mind (as seen in the video above). No news yet on how much it will cost to buy one – or if it will be released here in the US.

Konami released an e-mail to the press, which hinted that the Silent Hill Collection will be released exclusively on the PS3. After talking with Silent Hill’s producer Tom Hulett, Joystiq reported that he said “It’s always been a primarily Sony platform series. So, right now we’re just aiming at a Sony exclusive, which isn’t to say [that] in the future it won’t be available anywhere else, but right now it’s a Sony exclusive.”

Austraila has pulled a 180 with Dead or Alive: Dimensions, banning the 3DS game. The Australian Classificiation Board initally gave it a PG rating, and then changed their minds after making the conclusion that it wasn’t given sufficient information to give it a correct classification. The game can no longer be sold in stores and all games have been pulled off the shelves.

Source: Youtube (Reggie21)

Source: Youtube (taigavision)