Here's a second checkpoint today, so hopefully tomorrow morning I'll get around to do some coding - still plenty of things in need of change around here...

The first volume of Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica's manga version is now set for release on February 12, 2011, with a few sample pages available at the bottom of this page. The Japanese Amazon website is listing volume 1 at a price of 690 yen, with this cute cover ninja'd below. Volumes 2 and 3 should follow on March 12 and April 12, 2011.



Similar to yesterday's novelties about Final Fantasy Versus XIII, some new details about Final Fantasy XIII-2 have also surfaced from the Dengeki PlayStation magazine, through an interview with producer Yoshinori Kitase and director Motomu Toriyama - via andriasang; clicky if you want to read a summary. And if you missed the game's recent debut trailer, you can watch that locally.


The below picture illustrates the new Thundercats anime's design, as showcased today by Bandai at London Toy Fair. The series is in the works at Studio 4°C, (...)

 Continue reading 'Checkpoint: Madoka, FF XIII-2, Thundercats'...

The official website of Anime Contents Expo (ACE) has opened today, bringing more details about this new anime industry event, whose first edition will be held this year at Makuhari Messe in Chiba prefecture, between March 26-27. By no small coincidence, this coincides with the last two days of the traditional Tokyo International Anime Fair (TAF) - which many of the top anime and manga companies will boycott, in sign of protest to Tokyo's recently passed amendment to its Youth Healthy Development Ordinance.



ACE 2011 will be held in Makuhari Messe Exhibition Halls 3 & 4, with visiting hours open between 09:00 and 18:00 on both days (March 26-27). The entrance fee will be 1,500 yen for a single day, and apparently there will be no two-day passes. Those interested in buying tickets early can refer to the "Tickets" section on the official website.

The organizers - and exhibitors confirmed so far - include (...)

 Continue reading 'Anime Contents Expo 2011 Updates'...

Early last December, it was announced that the TV anime series Oreimo - or Ore no Imouto ga Konnani Kawaii Wake ga Nai, if you prefer - will receive 4 new episodes as an alternate, "true ending" version of the story (as opposed to the "good ending" version that was aired as episode 12). Today, the anime's official website reveals that these 4 new episodes will be streamed for free at the end of February, on several Japanese websites.



Although this timeframe is still "tentative", producer Iwakami Atsuhiro has previously said that they will do their best not to postpone the streamings, the way it happened with Bakemonogatari one year ago. Aside from the official websites, the "True End" episodes will be available on the Oreimo channel from NicoNico Douga, on Showtime and on Movie Gate for mobile phones. For more information, fans are invited to (...)

 Continue reading 'Oreimo's "True End" Episodes In February'...

Last update - Jan 25, 19:44 GMT (14:44 EST, 11:44 PST)

The first Naruto game for Nintendo's new 3DS handheld was revealed by Takara Tomy at some toys industry event in Japan, with a March 31 release date attached - making it the first non-mecha anime-based 3DS game (one of the console's launch titles is a Gundam thingie...). An official website is also up, listing the game's full title as Naruto Shippuuden Nin Rittai Emaki! Saikyou Ninkai Kessen!!, but we'll just call it Naruto Shippuuden 3DS. It'll be a side-scrolling action game, with 3D effects most evident during cut-scenes that accompany special moves.



Tetsuya Nomura, director of Final Fantasy Versus XIII, has revealed a whole lot of details about this upcoming PS3 game in a Dengeki magazine article, a summary of which can be read on andriasang. Among many others, Nomura hints at a 2012 release, so the most reasonable thing to wait for right now is the HD version of that latest FF Versus XIII trailer that was shown at Square Enix' event from a week ago - only two more days to go!

A trial version for the upcoming eroge (...)

 Continue reading 'Checkpoint: Naruto, FF Versus XIII, Sisters'...

Last update - Jan 24, 16:53 GMT (11:53 EST, 08:53 PST)

The cover of Megami magazine's latest issue gives the first look at the character designs for the recently announced TV anime series The Idolmaster. More details are expected to be revealed once the magazine's March issue goes on sale this January 29. The character designer is said to be Atsushi Nishigori, best known for his design work on the characters from Gurren Lagann and Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt - so presumably studio Gainax is doing the animation for this project.



Speaking of Gainax, their imminent magical girls anime Houkago no Pleiades is being previewed today in a new trailer that you can watch locally. This "Hi-Def YouTube exclusive" web-anime launches on February 1, as a weird collaboration with car maker Subaru. Weird, but very cute-looking - not unlike Madoka Magica, up until its latest episode...


Update: Another twist today in FUNimation's no-longer-terminated simulcast of Fractale saga... Yesterday it appeared that Hulu would stream episode 2 today, but during the night they removed their listing. Now, however, FUNi has just issued a new (...)

 Continue reading 'Checkpoint: Idolmaster, Pleiades, Fractale, PSP2'...

So you know Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica, this season's "cute healing anime" packed full of magical girls and hot transformations? Well, a few days ago episode 3 aired in Japan, making a pretty shocking revelation that this is actually a *spoiler* bloody horror anime. Scenario writer Urobuchi Gen eventually apologized for having mislead us. And just like that, my previously-mild interest in this title has soared through the roof.



A somewhat slow to surface news relays the announcement of a Macross F virtual concert hosted on Sony's PlayStation Home service, using 3D graphics. This actually seems to have been revealed one week ago, in a video program with Megumi Nakajima and Aya Endo - the voice actresses of Ranka and Sheryl from the anime adaptations. A good way to promote the 2nd Macross Frontier movie, that premieres in Japan this February 26.

A small non-controversy broke out after the first Blu-ray and DVD volume of (...)

 Continue reading 'Checkpoint: Madoka, Macross F, Ika Index, PSP2'...

If you're not one of those creepy insectophiles who get turned on at the mere sight of an ootheca, who spend their Friday nights listening to cicadas cry, and have wet dreams about skinny-dipping in a pool full of bugs, before waking up every morning to feed their itzy bitzy spider... well, that might yet change, once you meet the moe cockroa'chans from Gokicha!!.



This cute cockroach originally comes from a doujinshi (self-published) manga created by Rui Tamachi. The first volume, titled "!!", was released in December 2009 at Comiket 77, and was followed by a second volume titled "!!!", released last August at Comiket 78. But if you understandably missed those, fret not! An anime adaptation is now in the making, (...)

 Continue reading 'Gokicha!! Moe Cockroach Doujinshi Gets Anime'...

Not since the days of that legendary pedobear hat from a great many winters ago (actually from earlier this week), has there been something more deserving of the lustful utterance "OMG GIEF!" - as this here pair of Fate/stay night curtains, with which to adorn your otaku sanctuary... *drool*... Damn you, random twitterer!



The upcoming anime Hyouge Mono is the first of this spring's new TV series to receive a precise starting time: April 7 at 23:00 hours, on Japan's NHK network, according to its freshly updated official website. The anime adapts Yoshihiro Yamada's historical manga Hyouge Mono: Tea for Universe, Tea for Life, about a man obsessed with tea ceremony and material desires in his pursuit of a fortuitous life.

Another upcoming TV anime (of decidedly more interest) is (...)

 Continue reading 'Checkpoint: Fate/stay, Hyouge Mono, BakaTest 2'...

Last year's Tamayura OVA will be continued with a TV anime series at some point in the future, according to an announcement made today at a Tamayura event in Tokyo, where the OVA had been screened. The same joyous news now also sits at the top of the anime's official website, which features the same image as the event poster that first revealed the TV anime - also reproduced below, save for the ugly text.



And that's about it for now, details about the release timeframe and such will follow at a later time. The OVA's four episodes were released between September and December last year, and marked the third "healing anime" directed by Junichi Sato (Aria, Umi Monogatari), and produced by Hal Film Maker. The story's heroine is Fuu Sawatari, a girl who lives in a waterside town near the Seto Inland Sea and likes photography.

A drama CD titled "Tamayura Radio Drama Plus" is also on the way, (...)

 Continue reading 'Tamayura TV Anime Series Announced'...

FUNimation has finally addressed the issue that arose from their recent termination of Fractale's simulcast in North America, through an article titled "Anime Simulcasts, Territory Rights and the Future" posted on the official blog. But despite the sizable length of their argument, they either don't get, or they intentionally "ignore the elephant in the room", as one commenter best puts it.



The entire article pretty much heralds territorial lockouts as the second coming of Loli Jesus, but somehow avoids the real piracy-related (or, rather, piracy-inducing) problems that plague the anime industry. All the while making no effort whatsoever to dodge the truckload of guilt that was unjustly dumped onto them, by that "bullshit" Fractale Production Committee - when they had every right to take a defensive stand against an accusation that's simply out of their hands. Instead, they just dropped the soap and bent over. (...)

 Continue reading 'FUNi Talks Licensing, Piracy... But Doesn't Get It'...