Anime News

by Duke

There are very few anime documentaries out there, and most of them poke fun at the fandom instead of looking at it in a neutral light like other documentaries are supposed to do. Who knew a college kid’s final project would be the one to get things right?

For his final project, anime fan Eric Bresler had a dream: To make a documentary about anime fandom and explore the world of the otaku. After taking two years to compile research, acquire licensing rights and interview a LOT of people, Eric’s dream has come true. From cosplay to dancing to Robotech to kaiju, Otaku Unite! covers a generous portion of the anime fandom, and does so in a way that newcomers can see what everything is all about and actually be interested, while veteran fans won’t feel like they are being portrayed in a negative light.

To start out, we oddly go to a feature about monster wrestling with a look at Kaiju Big Battel (Yes, it’s supposed to be Battel). For those who don’t know, kaiju stuff is basically when you dress as a giant monster, such as in the Godzilla and Gamera films. This beginning is pretty interesting once it gets going, but its inclusion in the film seems odd. Maybe it should’ve been saved for the extras or a second volume. After that, we get the intro to the documentary and various people (including anime fans, convention chairpeople, and manga editors) explaining what the word “otaku” means, both in the literal and in the figurative sense. This is a really interesting segment, as nobody is able to give a true definition of what “otaku” means in American culture.

Next, there is a look back at anime through the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s, specifically Speed Racer and Robotech. The Speed Racer material is interesting because they managed to get an interview with Peter Fernandez and Corrine Orr, who voiced Speed and Trixie in the aforementioned series. Though they don’t do much anime anymore, it was interesting to hear how anime was recieved back then. Most of the Robotech material is taken up by Carl Macek, who was the head supervisor and story editor for the series (and who now works for ADV) as he explains why the changes were made, how he made them, and how it was recieved way back when. While I never watched either Robotech or Macross, this was still a really nice look into anime dubbing back into the 80’s, which is extremely rare nowadays.

Other segments on this disc include a look into Yaoi-con, the Sailor Jamboree, the very first anime convention wedding, the first Anime Friar’s Club Roast and even a look back at the supposedly-first anime convention, AnimeCon ‘91. All of these segments are relatively brief, but they get the essential details such as how each of them got started and, for most of them, where they are today. Each segment gets a healthy running time and the editors do a good job of not painting each of these things in a negative light. They could have made fun out of a wedding where over 3/4 of the people attending were cosplayers or said any number of jokes about Yaoi-con, but they let the visuals speak for themselves. There’s a lot more segments, such as visits to Anime Weekend Atlanta, AnimeExpo and Project-Akon, as well as a look at the various Masquerades and how they’re conducted.

Read the full story here!

Yukiko Furusawa / Yomiuri Shimbun Correspondent

Japan’s own “Afro Samurai” is set to hit the small screen in the United States as an animated series, to be followed up by a feature film starring Samuel L. Jackson. Comic book aficionados in Japan, though, may be scratching their heads as they have likely never heard of this manga export.

Though in Japan “Afro Samurai” only appeared in a self-published magazine, it has attracted interest from Hollywood, and there are even plans under way for a nationwide release of the manga. Japanese manga as a whole has caused a stir in the U.S. film industry, but it is extremely rare for a series that is so little known in Japan to make such a high-profile U.S. debut.

“Afro Samurai,” written by 31-year-old Tokyo-based graphic designer Takashi “Bob” Okazaki, is the story of a black samurai fighting his enemies as he sets out to find the person who killed his father. With a sci-fi twist, the violent story is akin to a fusion of historical drama and hip-hop culture.

Originally carried in Nononhow, a self-financed magazine put together in 1998 by Okazaki and his friends during their time at art school of which fewer than 100 copies were published. Stumbling across the comic while looking for “new stuff from Japan,” at the U.S. office of Shinjuku Ward, Tokyo-based animation house GDH, GDH International Creative Director Eric Calderon recalled that he had a gut feeling about Okazaki’s story. “It was high-quality art–very innovative and cool,” he said. “I thought it would go over well with kids here.”

When envisioning an animated series, Jackson, an African-American actor whose most recent credits include the role of a Jedi master in the “Star Wars” prequels, jumped on the project, signing on as both lead voice actor and coproducer.

Jackson’s involvement served as momentum for the project, which has since found a home at major U.S. cable television network SpikeTV, and is scheduled to debut around November.

Following its debut in the United States, the anime will be reimported and broadcast in Japan, complete with subtitles.

The project also attracted Charles Roven, producer for “Batman Begins,” and plans were under way for a live-action version of the manga to be filmed in collaboration with a Japanese studio, and starring Jackson in the lead role.

Comics and video games based on the series likely will hit the stores in the United States ahead of its release in Japan.

This is the first time Okazaki has illustrated a manga, though he has spent much of his time as an illustrator. According to the artist, the idea for a story centering on an afro-coiffed samurai was greatly influenced by his love for American movies and music. “The work has a really unique look, and it’s even popular with some readers in Japan,” Okazaki said. “I never would have thought a bunch of Americans would be reading my work.”

“Japanese animation is well respected [in the United States], and the original manga are drawing a lot of attention as well,” said Masaki Kaifu, who has experience with joint anime projects between the two countries. “But there’s still a high hurdle to overcome in producing live-action adaptations, and as a result there have been very few made. It’s truly groundbreaking that ‘Afro Samurai’ is spreading out in a all different directions.”

Read the original article here!

BEST MANGA AWARDS FOR 2005 ANNOUNCED
LANCASTER, MA, FEBRUARY 13, 2006: Readers at the website AnimeOnDVD.com were given the opportunity in late January to vote upon the numerous titles released during the calendar year of 2005 from all publishers of Japanese manga and Korean manhua in order to determine which titles ranked as the best releases of the year. The competition was tight for many titles through the nomination process and only got closer when the final votes were tallied.

In the Best Overall category, TOKYOPOP took the award with their title Fruits Basket which was followed by Berserk from Dark Horse and then Bleach from Viz Media.

In the Best Shoujo category, TOKYOPOP took the award with their release of Fruits Basket which was followed by Basara and Full Moon, both from Viz Media.
In the Best Shounen category, Viz Media took the award for their release of Bleach which was followed up by Fullmetal Alchemist from Viz Media and Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles from Del Rey Manga.

In the Best New Series category, Viz Media took the award with their release of Death Note which was followed up by Genshiken from Del Rey Manga and Yotsuba from ADV Manga.

In the Best Mature category, Del Rey Manga took the award with their release of XXXHolic which was followed up by Berserk from Dark Horse and Planetes from TOKYOPOP.

In the Best Manhwa/Manhua category, TOKYOPOP took the award with their release of Rebirth which was followed up by Queen’s Knight from TOKYOPOP and Angel Diary from Ice Kunion.

In the Best Youth/All Ages category, ADV Manga took the award with their release of Yotsuba which was followed up by Cardcaptor Sakura’s reissue by TOKYOPOP and Hikaru no Go from Viz Media.

In the Best Anthology/Periodical category, Viz Media took the award with their release of Shojo Beat which was followed up by Shonen Jump also from Viz Media and A-G: Super Erotic Anthology from Icarus Publishing.
In the Best Yaoi/Boys Love category, TOKYOPOP took the award with their release of Gravitation which was followed up by Earthian and Love Mode, both from TOKYOPOP.

In the Best One-Shot category, Viz Media took the award with their release of Sexy Voice and Robo which was followed-up by Brother from DramaQueen and Rizelmine from TOKYOPOP.

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