Getting over the silly description given to this project (kind of hard to imagine a 2D live-action movie), Variety broke the news that the Ghost in the Shell manga / anime series will be adaptated into a live-action movie by Steven Spielberg's company DreamWorks. A movie which, obviously enough, will feature a certain amount of CG imagery, which would explain the pleonastic association of "3D" and "live-action".

Anyway, there's no point in getting over-hyped about this just yet, even if Spielberg himself would direct the movie adaptation (which is in no way official, at this time); and even though he claims that "Ghost in the Shell is one of [his] favorite stories". Keep in mind that we are talking about Hollywood here, and I seriously doubt that anyone there can adapt a Japanese franchise into anything other than a 3D pile of live-action crap. Like that future Akira movie announced a couple of months ago, most probably.

We always knew that the people who create such perfectly sane anime / manga / games as Higurashi (or FLCL, or... Eiken) have to be perfectly sane individuals themselves. And this here news perfectly supports that belief.

As it turns out, Ishii Meguru, a developer on the Higurashi visual novel game based on one of our all-time favorite animes, has been arrested for having committed "indecent acts" with a 15-year-old loli (artworks taken from his website, by the way). And not just once or twice, but for a total of four times, during November and December 2007. gg!

According to Canned Dogs' report of the original article, Ishii Meguru also "got a female fan who posted on his blog last September to give him money if she really liked him, and called her to a hotel and collected 150,000 yen (US$1500) from her". So like... any loli fans out there who want to express their feelings through a generous donation? And in return, we wouldn't mind expressing ours through various "indecent acts".

P.S. In other Higurashi gaming news scooped from Canned Puppies, it was revealed that Higurashi Daybreak is being developed / ported on the PSP, probably based on the doujin game of the same name. Famitsu has some pics from the PSP version.

*yawn*... Ohayo~... While I'm indulging myself in some relatively-early-morning drinking (for a very cheerful reason, I can assure you), let's finish up the spring cleaning with the rest of the anime-related announcements from the past week or so.

New animes

- Cobra the Space Pirate OVA - a second video series (comprised of 4 episodes), not to be confused with the Cobra remake announced back in January. Begins on August 29.

- Dragonball movie sequel - even though we won't see Chi Chi's chi-chi in the first Dragonball live-action movie until April 2009, plans for a sequel are already underway. Which kind of makes sense, since it will be a trilogy.

- Eureka Seven movie - a new "mythos" featuring the original characters Eureka (yay!) and Renton (boo!).

- Hero Man - an animated series in the works at studio Bones, co-produced by Spider-Man and X-Men co-creator Stan Lee. To be ignored.

- Yume Miru Kikai (Dreaming Machine) - the next animation film directed by Satoshi Kon (Paprika, Tokyo Godfathers, Millennium Actress, Perfect Blue), announced by Madhouse at the Tokyo International Anime Fair.

Trailers (and full episodes)

- Batman: Gotham Knight trailer #3
- ef - the latter tale trailer - Win!
- Eve no Jikan trailer
- Fireball episode 1
- Genius Party Beyond trailer
- Kara no Kyoukai movie 4 trailer
- Megumi anime (English dub)
- Nijuu-Mensou no Musume trailer #2
- Sekirei trailer
- Strait Jacket episode 3 trailer

- Blassreiter episode 1 (free on BOST TV, once you register) - sucks
- The Tower of Druaga episode 1 (free on BOST TV, once you register) - not only does it not suck, but - surprisingly - it's pretty fun

Stuff of questionable importance

- The third Ani-Kuri 15 season, comprising the last five mini-productions from some of the top Japanese anime creators, is now streaming online on the official website. You'll see some short and sweet animations again, including Makoto Shinkai's "Neko no Shuukai".

- Clannad, Shuffle! and D.C. II: Da Capo II will each get a "virtual island" where horny fans can interact with the lolis from the original games. All these islands will be connected by a tentatively called "Akihabara Island", and reunited under a 3D virtual world called "ai sp@ce" (website), developed by Headlock with the support of the three games' developers - Visual Art's (Clannad), Omegavision (Shuffle!), and CIRCUS (D.C. II: Da Capo II). More about this on ANN. And, by the way, last month there was also a story linking Clannad to a couple of other no-name MMORPGs...

- The first image from Ponyo has surfaced. Apparently the-other-first image didn't qualify as... whatever.

- Rewrite is the next visual-novel game developed by Key (Kanon, Air, Clannad, Little Busters!). It was announced on April 1, but it's no joke. No, sir!

- Speaking of games, Type-Moon's next PC game was finally unveiled this month - Mahou Tsukai no Yoru: Witch on the Holy Night. More about it on Akihabara Channel, via HD.

- To Love-Ru uncensored in the upcoming DVD version? Maybe. Lala's nipples are clearly visible in these alleged production artworks, so... yeah, time to restock on tissues.

- Naruto Shippuuden: Kizuna (Bonds) is the official title annouced for the upcoming second Naruto movie, which will premiere on August 2.

- The Gurren Lagann animation film remake announced last month now also has an official title - Gekijouban Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann: Guren-hen (Crimson Chapter) - and also an official release date: September 6.

Enough is enough! Our self-indulged WoW abuse extended break has been going on for far too long, so it's time to do some spring cleaing around here, and get back to our usual lolicon program. Since our last update a couple of centuries ago, there's been enough anime news to stuff a life-size plush pedobear, so you'll have to pardon me if I miss a thing or two, as I'll be trying to catch up with all the new anime announcements, trailurz, and various other novelties of questionable importance (e.g. licenses). Right then, here goes nothing...

New animes

- Blade of the Immortal (Mugen no Juunin) - based on a manga about "a ronin swordsman condemned to immortality unless he kills a thousand evil men for all the good men he killed". Begins this summer (website).

- Bounen no Xamdou - confirmed to be the title of studio Bones' new anime series, from the animators of Fullmetal Alchemist and Eureka Seven. Looks totally "WTF", in a totally good way (website).

- Casshern - based on the Shinzo Ningen Casshan sci-fi robotronic classic, in the works at animation studio Madhouse. Begins this autumn.

- Clannad After Story - self-explanatory sequel. And a damn great news! Too bad the debut trailer is so brief...

- Hayate no Gotoku! 2nd season - self-explanatory.

- Hyakko - based on a slapstick school comedy manga.

- Kodomo no Jikan 2nd season - talk about great news! The Kojikan lolis will return in a "second term" series, and a promo video is expected to surface in July.

- Maimai Shinko to Sennen no Mahou (Maimai Shinko and the Millennium-Old Magic) - an animated film in the works at Madhouse, from the director of Black Lagoon and Princess Arete.

- Mobile Suit Gundam MS IGLOO 2: Juuryoku Sensen (Gravity's Warfront) - a 3D CG mecha anime series, sequel to The Hidden One Year War film series (website, with a not-so-bad artwork).

- Negima OVAs - aye, more of them incoming, for a total of three episodes. Each one will be bundled and released with a volume of the ongoing Negima! manga: the first one on July 17, the second one on October 17, and the third one on January 17, 2009.

- Rainbow: Nisha Rokubou no Shichinin - based on a slice-of-life manga set in the 1950s, about 6 junior delinquents (or 7, ANN doesn't seem too sure, and I can't be arsed to look it up). Begins in spring 2009.

- Rosario + Vampire Capu2 - the second season of Rosario to Vampire, which pretty much says it all. Begins this October.

- Seto no Hanayome OVA - self-explanatory. And another great news, by the way.

- Someday's Dreamers sequel - this time focusing on "a character named Sora, a budding mage learning to use her powers in Tokyo". Begins this summer.

- Toradora! - based on a light novel series about the love-hate relationship between "a sweet, ordinary boy shunned by others because his face looks like a troublemaker's", and "a tiny but ferocious girl also shunned - even by her own family - as the Handheld Tiger".

- Ultraviolet: Code 044 - confirmed to be based on the 2006 movie starring Milla Jovovich. Begins on July 1, and here's the debut trailer.

- Yozakura Quartet - based on a supernatural action manga about a quartet of teenage heroes. Make that a trio, since the fourth member is a powerless loser-type dude.

Trailers

- Amatsuki trailer
- Blassreiter trailer #3
- Blassreiter trailer #4
- Clannad After Story trailer
- Kyouran Kazoku Nikki trailer - Win!
- Library War trailer
- Library War trailer #2
- Michiko to Hatchin trailer
- Mission-E trailer
- Monochrome Factor trailer #2
- Real Drive trailer #2
- To Love-Ru trailer #2
- True Tears preview #3
- Ultraviolet: Code 044 trailer
- Winter Sonata anime trailer

Stuff of questionable importance

- Bleach the Movie: Memories of Nobody - licensed by Viz Media in the Americas, Europe and Oceania.
- Kiba - licensed by ADV Films in North America.
- Rocket Girls - licensed by Bandai Entertainment in North America.
- Seirei no Moribito - licensed by Media Blasters in North America.

- Two 90-year-old anime films (from 1917 and 1918) were discovered in an antique shop in Osaka. Animes are so last century!

No more "Ganbatte, Bandai-kun!", cause this time they blew it. I mean really blew it. Barely had they given us a reason of joy by licensing three top-notch animes for release in North America - Shigofumi, True Tears and sola (the first two of which are still ongoing in Japan) - and now they're taking all that joy away, by delaying all three of them. Indefinitely!

Anime on DVD has the press release with the announcement, and Bandai Visual USA's ex-president (he's going back to Japan) Tatsunori Konno also addressed this issue on his blog, claiming that the decision was made in light of the recent ending of the HD-DVD vs. Blu-ray format war, and the need for a change in the currently sinking anime market.

"Bandai Visual (Japan) and Bandai Visual USA are now rushing to reschedule all future releases, focusing on Blu-Ray. Due to the recent quiet market, we will postpone standard single DVDs for TV series. We are assuming that the market does not prefer that format. (...)

[Shigofumi, True Tears and sola] will be released in the future in some format, but not this summer for sure."

You heard the man: crack your piggy bank open, Higurashi-style, and go spend those savings on figures or something. There's absolutely no point in waiting for these animes to be released delayed once again, potentially.

I'm beginning to think that we should have a dedicated section for news about figures, figurines and figurettes here on Animekon. And with some positive feedback from you guys, we just might... But for now, here's another "random news" about a select few figures scheduled for release in the following months.



By unanimous decision (it only took one vote, since my comrade is busy playing with his loli dwarf in Lineage II, but I'm sure he would agree), we I quickly decided that the hottest upcoming figure is the above version of Shana (from Shakugan no Shana) offered by Griffon - more pics of it here. We first spotted it among the many other zillions of figures showcased at Wonderfest 2008 Winter, and it was PVC love at first sight. It should be released in June 2008, at a price of 6,825 yen.

Next up, (...)

 Continue reading 'Shana, Horo, Lala And More Figures'...

Do I have an obsession with Ookami to Koushinryou? You bet! And a perfectly well justified obsession it is, if I may say so myself. Still, one of the things missing after the anime, doujin and figure, was an Ookami to Koushinryou cafe. But missing it shall be no more, soon enough!

Once the anime series' first first DVD volume comes out at the beginning of April, the Spice and Wolf cafe shall open its neko-mimi gates in Akihabara, at Toranoana's "Cafe with Cat". The yummy menu will include an apple tart with ice cream (600 yen), grape juice (500 yen), and a "meal for a traveler" (1,000 yen) - which is basically a set of butter rice, hot soup, and chicken cooked with spices. Presumably served by spicy chicks.

There will also be some sort of event with gifts for avid fans who meet certain requirements detailed on AkibaBlog, but the bad news is that the whole charade will only last for a couple of days, between April 4-6.

Few animes come even close to Elfen Lied's story (or brutality, or exquisite ecchiness for that matter), and considering that the original manga it's based on was only completed in 2005 - with the anime adaptation airing in 2004 - we can certainly hope we'll see more of it in a sequel. Elfen Lied 2 is, after all, the most yearned-for anime sequel in our current poll.

But that's not what this story is about, unfortunately. The only reason I mentioned it is that the author of Elfen Lied, Rin Okamoto (a.k.a. Lynn Okamoto) has released his (yes it's a "he", despite the misleading name) collection of short stories, titled Flip Flap. More info about it, via AkibaBlog, after this cover pic.

 (...)

 Continue reading 'Elfen Lied Author's Short Stories Released'...

There are more reasons for the (un)godly existence of the Internetz. First off, we have porn. Undoubtedly, the main and best reason: one could not - and certainly would not - live without it. Second, that’s why funsubs were magnificently created by not-so-lesser beings - for us to download. Via the Internet. Third, World of Warcraft. One word: Night. Elven. Chicks. Naked. Nuff said.

Still, there is one more reason for it. A mighty strange one, but there is. Enter goth lolita Ai Enma and her MySpace copycat, Jigoku Tsuushin, where any retard with an issue or two can log and troll the forums, wishing death, FFS NOOB DIE, l2p, and various other skilled Internet memes, upon other people. The cursed individual dies, Ai has an orgasm, and the guy who put the curse online goes to non-loli Hell as well, sooner or later. Then, Ai has another orgasm.

Yes, you have guessed it, we’re talking about Jigoku Shoujo. Recently, the series’ Japanese website announced that the third installment in this spooky / sometimes not rational anime will be called Jigoku Shoujo Mitsuganae - even more, this year’s Tokyo International Anime Fair will host an event on March 30th, with seyuus Mamiko Noto and Masaya Matsukaze ranting about the show.

What a crap news to point out the fact that Ai has an orgasm, eh?

There's no genuine kidnapping without a little kid (and a complementary nap with him / her), and North Korea knows this best. During the late 1970s and early 1980s, those bastards kidnapped several Japanese little girls and youngsters, forcing them to do this, and that, and various other things, in order to train their agents for easier infiltration into Japan - in order to kidnap more little girls and keep looping this vicious lolicon circle.

Well anyway, long story short, the youngest of said abductees was 13 years old Megumi Yokota, whose real fate still remains a mystery (the Koreans say she committed suicide, the Japanese beg to differ). Among the various media efforts ment to raise the public's awareness on this unresolved issue, there was also a "documentary manga" about Megumi a few years ago, and now ANN reports that the manga will be adapted into a single-episode anime - which will be available both on DVD and online free to download, in multiple languages (including English).

I wonder what kind of sick doujin they could make out of this...