Whaaa, it's 2010 already?! And to think we weren't even around for the usual seasonal greetings last month... Ah, well, no time for false regrets or silly excuses (we totally slacked - there, I admit it!), so let's just get to the point.

Since our last checkpoint over a month ago, dozens of relevant anime announcements viciously piled up in my feedreader, not counting some 400 other, less relevant newsbits on ANN (those, I had no problem ignoring). So, having brought the local database up-to-date tonight, the least I can still do before hugging my pillow is list the new anime titles added here in the process. (...)

 Continue reading 'Winter 2009/2010 Anime Titles Round-up'...

- The entire TV anime series Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann is being streamed for free on Manga Entertainment's YouTube channel. All 27 episodes are dubbed in English, but as is often the case with such freebies, the streams are only available in the United States and Canada. Nothing a little proxy can't bypass, of course.

- The 6th season of Major will start airing in Japan from April 3, 2010 - as was announced in the latest issue of the Weekly Shonen Sunday magazine. "The anime is based on Takuya Mitsuda's long-running manga about a young pitcher who aspires to follow in his father's footsteps into the major leagues." Fascinating.

- Higurashi no Naku Koro ni, 07th Expansion's original game from which the insanely awesome anime series was later born, is being released in English by MangaGamer.com this December 15. These will be the first 4 chapters in the story, as the remaining 4 make up the second game (~ Kai) - also planned for an English release, in 2010. Tempting as it may be, do mind the atrocious character art in the original game!

- Planzet was announced (via ANN) as the next CG film directed by Jun Awazu (Negadon), to be published in 2010 by CoMix Wave - better known for (...)

 Continue reading 'Checkpoint: Gurren Lagann, Major, Higurashi'...

"Shin who?" would be a pretty normal reaction to that title. Probably because none of the anime series that Shin Itagaki directed so far - Black Cat (2005), Devil May Cry (2007) and Basquash! (2009) - made much of an impression, for most of us. In fact, so unremarkable was his contribution to the latter title, that he even managed to get himself replaced as director of Basquash!, after less than 10 episodes. So why on earth should we look forward to his next project? Well...



How's that for a good reason? The picture, in case you don't recognize her, is of Hikari from the 2004 ecchi anime series This Ugly Yet Beautiful World (Kono Minikuku mo Utsukushii Sekai). Itagaki worked on that one as storyboard / script writer, key animator and even episode director on a few episodes. If you haven't seen it yet, check the local gallery for a more-or-less misleading impression. And, by the way, there's a complete DVD box set of it coming out (...)

 Continue reading 'New Bishoujo Anime From Shin Itagaki'...

As another year full of lolis soon comes to an end, it's naturally time for our final loli of the month - until 2010, that is. There would still be plenty of new faces (and flat chests) to chose from, but since Darker than Black made such an impressive return this autumn with its second season, this month's seal of approval goes to Yin. A fitting choice, too: a cool loli, for a cool season.



Overall, I'd say this has been the best year yet for studio Bones, whose other anime sequel - Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood - was also highly anticipated. I was also pleasantly surprised by their original series Tokyo Magnitude 8.0, with its powerful ending that caught me somewhat off-guard. I wish I could've said the same about Bones' Eureka Seven movie from earlier this year, but my hopes for that one turned out to be much too high.

The studio's last animation production of 2009 was (...)

 Continue reading 'Loli-Tops December 2009 - Yin'...

10 guys and 1 chick make up the latest batch of poor bastards caught by Japan's long hand of the law, over charges of illegal uploading of copyrighted content on the Internet - most notably anime, games, movies and music. Some of the pirated anime titles include the ancient Ranma 1/2, Fresh Precure!, Fullmetal Alchemist, Gundam 00, Dragon Ball Kai and Lucky Star, and the pseudo-victims' age ranges from 23- to 57-years old.



The arrests are likely to become more numerous starting from next year, because Japan's Copyright Law (which currently targets uploaders alone) will be toughened to also outlaw downloaders of pirated goodies, as of January 1, 2010. At least if they knowingly download such counterfeit content for the first time. (...)

 Continue reading '11 Pirate Uploaders Arrested In Japan'...

We love twins in anime. Well, who doesn't?! From the hordes of twins of all shapes and sizes from Futakoi, to the devious Shion-Mion couple from Higurashi, and - oh - let us not forget Kiss x Sis, among many, many others... we love them all (and apparently so do most of you, by the looks of a recent poll). But it always felt like there was something missing... something like... three loli "twins".



Minami-ke came close to that idea, with its three playful sisters of various ages. But if you absolutely must have a serving of loli triplets in your anime, then do look forward to Mitsudomoe - the newly announced TV anime adaptation based on a gag manga by Norio Sakurai, about three twin sisters in sixth grade. (...)

 Continue reading 'Mitsudomoe Loli Triplets Manga Gets Anime'...

All right, this is starting to get ridiculous. First it was Gonzo who announced the sequel to their best lolicon anime of 2008, back in March. Then, that very same month, there was a rumor claiming that Gonzo was no longer needed by publisher Kadokawa for animating Strike Witches 2. But by June, it appeared as if Gonzo would indeed be "the one", according to the inaugural issue of Kadokawa Shoten's Nyantype magazine.



Now, however, that same Nyantype magazine returns with an important update on the project, announcing that Gonzo is in fact being replaced by AIC (Anime International Company) as the animation studio behind the second season. Would anyone care to explain what the hell is going on here? As of September, Gonzo had already exhausted its decimated 2009 line-up. And without Strike Witches 2, it looks like 2010 could bring even more troubles for the struggling studio.

Fortunately, in this case, Gonzo's worries are not necessarily our worries. Even if (...)

 Continue reading 'Strike Witches 2 Not From Gonzo, After All'...

Some old news are still exciting, one week later. Such is the case with the recently announced anime Ikkitousen Xtreme Xecutor. This will be the 4th TV anime series based on Yuji Shiozaki's action-packed manga with an ever so fragile balance between ass-kicking and boobs-bouncing, otherwise known as Battle Vixens.



Ikkitousen XX is expected to begin airing in Japan from April 2010, but an early glimpse at it will be offered this December at the Comic Market 77 event, as a teasing "Volume 0 DVD". The project is animated by studio TNK in collaboration with studio ARMS (who animated the previous chapters), and GENCO is producing it.

The main novelty, in case you were wondering who that brown-haired chick above is, (...)

 Continue reading 'Ikkitousen Xtreme Xecutor Anime Announced'...

We were quick to pick Miki, the upcoming Vocaloid character, as our loli of the month this November. But what we didn't know then, is that the same company (AH-Software) will be launching a total of 3 Vocaloid / Voiceroid lolis (plus another 2 male characters, which we'll pretend to know nothing about). Date of birth: December 4, 2009.



So then, Miki's full name now appears to be SF-A2 Kaihatsu Code Miki, and the other two lolis are even more flat, quite disturbingly so: Kaai Yuki, an elementary school girl; and Voiceroid Tsukuyomi Ai, a 5-year-old girl - from right to left in the picture above.

That said, we've just updated our Vocaloid gallery with the latest in terms of Miki and Kaai Yuki drooling material. (...)

 Continue reading 'Three New Vocaloid Lolis, Not Just One'...

Freeloaders sure make some fun characters... in anime, yes, but less so when they breathe alcohol fumes down your neck in real life, interfering with your hedonistic (and every once in a while lucrative) activities. On the other hand, such interference is the perfect excuse for our latest "radio silence", that eventually prompted this here round-up.

- Eden of the East the Movie II - the 2nd anime film to follow this year's excellent TV series is being not only expanded, but - saldly - delayed as well. The extra 30 minutes of footage planned by Production I.G will translate into 2 more months of waiting, until March 2010. The first film, by the way, is premiering tonight in Japan.

- Fate/stay night TV Reproduction - just ahead of the Fate/stay night: Unlimited Blade Works anime film's theatrical debut, the 2006 TV series will be condensed into 2 specials, with new opening sequences and new ending theme songs. The TV reproduction's DVD and Blu-ray release is set for January 22, 2010 - one day before the new movie premieres.

- House of Five Leaves (Sarai-ya Goyou) - a new TV anime series based on a historical samurai manga by Natsume Ono (Ristorante Paradiso). The original storry follows the lives of the House of Five Leaves gang members in Edo-era Japan, during the height of the shogun's rule. Begins in 2010.

- Kiss x Sis - epic joy! Yet another OVA episode has been green-lit, oh-so-hawt on the heels of the freshly revealed TV anime series. This will be the 4th OVA volume, but since the first one was titled "Episode 0", this one will be "Episode 3". Releasing on June 4, 2010.

- Mayoi Neko Overrun! (Stray Cats Overrun!) - based on a romantic comedy light novels series created by Tomohiro Matsu and illustrated by Peco (of some eroge fame), which is also spawning an upcoming manga adaptation. Specific details about the anime's format or release timeframe are missing for now.

- Mini-Skirt Space Pirates - if you were expecting it anytime soon, (...)

 Continue reading 'November Anime News Round-up'...

With another solid round of trailers again eating up most of the time I had reserved for non-hedonistic activities today, this one single news post is all I could manage to slip through my free-falling eyelids. But what a orgasmic piece of news is it! Or perhaps I should say "piece of rumor", since the source for the image that stirred it has not been verified at this time. Not that any verification was needed, really...



So as all of us who still keep rolling all over the floor while watching the 2 OVA episodes of Kiss x Sis have been hoping for, a TV series was reportedly announced for spring 2010. And now we can finally rest at ease, knowing that when the 3rd OVA episode comes out this November 20, the incestual world as we know it will not come to an end.

A huge, pre-emptive ARIGATOU to whoever will be animating the TV series, and of course to the disturbed mind of Bow Ditama, who created the Kiss x Sis manga in the first place.

Well, this is particularly nice of FUNimation. Only a few days ahead of their November 17 DVD release of Evangelion: 1.01 You Are (Not) Alone - the enhanced version of Eva 1.0 (albeit not quite as enhanced as Eva 1.11) - they are offering the film's first 8 minutes for free HD streaming. They tried advertising it as the first 9 minutes, but technically there's just a bit over 8 minutes of animation. Which certainly is fine, too!



There's not much else to say about this, so I'll fill the rest of this post with a list of trailers that we added today. There were 25 more clips aside from this one, and I wouldn't be surprised if you missed most of them. So here they are. (...)

 Continue reading 'Evangelion: 1.01 The First 9 (Not) Minutes'...