Not that there was any doubt about it, but the Naruto gaming franchise drags on, with the announcement of Naruto: Path of the Ninja 2 for the Nintendo DS (based on the second game in the franchise, Naruto RPG 2: Chidori vs. Rasengan). Like its predecessor, the sequel will be a role-playing game developed by Tomy Corporation and published stateside by D3 Publishing, promising to feature "an all-new original storyline, a huge roster of playable characters, an improved combat system and for the first time, exciting Wi-Fi battles".

The release date is currently set for September 2008, and below are some more details about it, complemented by the first batch of screenshots.

"Naruto: Path of the Ninja 2 is set to give players a portable outlet for their inner ninja this fall. A deep, original storyline will allow players to access 30 major characters from the series, from standards such as Naruto and Sakura to unlikely allies like the weapons-based Tenten. The improved and intuitive battle system will make it easy for even the newest fighters to get into the combat, using the DS Touch Screen to unleash devastating melee and jutsu attacks on any opponent foolish enough to get in their way. The new Squad Leader and Ninja Tag systems provide even more squad-building options, while the Wi-Fi multiplayer feature offers aspiring ninja the chance to take on challengers from around the world."

Rumour has it that Geneon's withdrawal from the North American anime scene in November 2007 might not be the end of it. What's left of the company is still trying to save its anime catalogue, and to that end, they are said to be "in serious talks with a major US home entertainment distributor". If all goes well, at least some of their anime licenses may yet see the light of day again. Or at all.

The story originated from Robert's Anime Corner Store newsletter, and Anime UK News was kind enough to scribble its relevant contents, which we are conveniently copy-pasting below:

"Geneon has been in serious talks with a major US home entertainment distributor for about the past three months to get their titles back on the street. I know exactly who it is, how far along they are, and the details that are going to make or break the deal. The trouble is I can't make any of that info public without jeopardizing our relationship with the new company, but perhaps it's helpful to let you guys know that there is something serious in the works. Whether the deal is completed or not remains to be seen, and I would advise everyone to not get their hopes up, but I will tell you this:

- If we don't hear anything by mid-summer we probably won't hear anything.
- Even if a major deal is struck, it won't involve Geneon's entire catalog circa Sept 2007. The new company will cherry pick those releases like people at Ruby Tuesday pick over the salad bar.
- The 'major distributor' they are in talks with is NOT one of the existing US Anime studios."

I should probably be more excited about this, but I'm kind of not.

Sure enough, yesterday's hint was spot on: the third new North-American license officially announced by FUNimation this week is Gunslinger Girl: Il Teatrino, which they snagged from Marvelous Entertainment. The 13-episode series will be released stateside as a single DVD during 2009 (again, what the hell is taking them so long?!).

For the time being, FUNi's Gunslinger Girl 2 website only carries a brief synopsis and the cover artwork below, so we'll leave it at that, too. Till tomorrow.

"When the Social Welfare Agency investigates the disappearance of an operative, their inquiry leads them right into the lair of their rival, the Five Republics. The assassin Triela infiltrates the hostile organization, but her search is cut short when she finds herself staring down the barrel of a gun..."

And a card game, I should add. As reported on ANN, game developer Level-5 (Dragon Quest VIII, Rogue Galaxy) has just announced that Inazuma Eleven - their upcoming game for the Nintendo DS blending role-playing with... *gasp*... soccer - will be adapted into a manga, an anime, and a card game. Granted, the manga and anime adaptations were known to be coming since last year.

Although the game itself is only slated for release in Japan on August 22, the manga will already start tomorrow, May 15, in the CoroCoro Comic magazine. ANN adds that "OLM is planning the anime version as a 2D-animated project with the stadiums rendered in 3D computer graphics", and that's the last thing we'll likely have to say about it. Sports animes aren't exactly our soft spot.

- The live-action movie adaptation of Honey & Clover has just been released on DVD by Viz Pictures, featuring English subtitles and a price tag of $24.98. "Special bonus features on the disc include cast interviews, and a dedicated website about the film is available at www.honeyandclover.us".

- Mobile Suit Gundam MS IGLOO 2: Juuryoku Sensen (Gravity's Warfront) will be an OVA, with the first episode to be released this October 24. As mentioned one month ago, it's a 3D CG mecha anime, sequel to The Hidden One Year War film series.

- Axe murders are so last year. The latest murderistic trend seems to be placing needles inside food in stores, Rena-style. On the same day, Mainichi reported about a needle found in cabbage (Cryo backup), and a nail found in ham package (Cryo backup). Itadakimasu!

- And for our closing HD linking, Shingo went through the trouble of researching the story behind Himajin's disappearance. It was the ero-anime studio which closed its doors last summer, and the story involves titles like Sora no Iro, Mizu no Iro (episode 2 finally coming this June), and Spice and Wolf... And the story goes on with various offspring studios, including one called Shelf, working on its debut eroge Kagiroi - pictured bellow.

After Save Me! Lollipop, the second title from FUNimation's latest licensing spree was announced today. And the winner is... Kenichi the Mightiest Disciple. Much better.

The 26-episode martial-arts comedy anime finished airing last autumn in Japan, so it's a relatively fresh license from TMS Entertainment. On the downside, it might not be so fresh anymore in January 2009, when FUNimation will start releasing it in North America, split into two volumes. For a synopsis, hop over to their Kenichi page.

As for tomorrow's license, that one's pretty much spoiled already, since FUNimation posted a picture of Triela from the Gunslinger Girl series on their website, in a box reserved for tomorrow's announcement (darkened-out, but still distinguishable). And since they already have the first part, ANN's deduction is that this year's Gunslinger Girl: Il Teatrino is next.

- The first picture for the upcoming Dragonball live-action movie popped up on various fansites. It's just a promotional photo scanned from the Weekly Shonen Jump magazine, showing Justin Chatwin as Goku, so... nothing to see here, move along. The movie's delayed premiere in set for March 2009 in Japan, and April 3 in the US.

- In other manga-to-live-action news, the Crows Zero movie adaptation will be getting a sequel, "set about 8 months after the first movie".

- Super Robot Wars: OG - Divine Wars episode 1 is now streaming on Bandai's dot-anime.us website - "available in the United States and Canada only". Ah well, no loss.

- By the way, English dubbing sucks ass? Then go dub it yourself. In a maid cafe, no less!

- The 32nd Annual Manga Awards were announced this Monday by Japanese publisher Kodansha. "The winners are all comedies, but of decidedly different styles: a magical girl comedy, a baseball comedy, a high school slice-of-life comedy, and a medical comedy". Because amputations and vasectomies are so bloody funny!

- Speaking of which, the 37th Japan Mangaka Association Awards and the 12th Annual Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize were also announced over the weekend.

- 3 new manga titles will begin serialization in the Weekly Shonen magazine, from the makers of Suzuka, Inugami and Samurai Deeper Kyo.

- Japanese youth: IQ and lust in decline?... IQ? Most probably. Lust? I doubt it. And to prove it, there's another crapload of ero-news on HD; and again.

Just a few days after its inauguration, the official website of Gegege no Kitarou: Nihon Bakuretsu!! announces that the movie will have 6 slightly-different versions, one for each region of Japan. Nihon Bakuretsu will celebrate 40 years of Gegege'ing since the original TV series, but ironically it's the first full-length animated movie in the franchise through all this time, following quite a few series and shorts. And that's not counting the two live-action films, from 2007, and from 2008 (the latter will premiere this July 12).

According to one report, "several minutes of animation are expected to change for each version", however the only example so far is the change in Neko Musume's cosplaying outfit (see the loli-Santa in the picture below). She will appear as a yukinko (snow sprite) in Hokkaido/Tohoku, a maiko (apprentice geisha) in Kinki, or a shisa (lion-dog creature) in Kyushu/Okinawa. And maybe, just maybe, an Akihabara maid in the Kanto area.

Currently in the works at Toei Animation, the Gegege anime movie should premiere this December. In the meantime, we took the liberty to add the first trailer here on Animekon.

Last night, ANN and Giapet were both quick to report the announcement of a second season for Nodame Cantabile, last year's highly regarded melomanic anime. The sequel will be known as Nodame Cantabile: Pari-Hen (or Nodame Cantabile: Paris Chapter), leaving little doubt as to the story's main location.

Other than the fact that it will be broadcast in a late-night timeslot in Japan, the only other known thing about the Paris Chapter is that it will start airing this October. Conveniently leaving us plenty of time to catch up with the first season. Yeah, shame on us...

Guess they were right about FUNimation going on a licensing spree before next weekend's Anime Central convention, now that the first new license seems to have been announced in a very unique way: "by sending a press release with a Whirly Pop Lollipop via UPS". Unfortunately, it's nothing big, just a funny little anime from 2006 called Mamotte! Lollipop (not "Momotte" as the original story reports).

FUNimation will will release all 13 episodes in one complete DVD release in late 2008, under the title Save Me! Lollipop. The following typo-stained synopsis was included with the announcement:

"Nina was just another girl who dreamed of finding a prince to defend her honor and protect her from harm. Little did she know, two such boys would fall from the sky! Zero and Ichii are sorcerers from another world taking part in a test. The only way to pass the curious quiz? Find the coveted Crystal Pearl.

It's going to be tough - other examiness seek the jewel as well, and some will stop at nothing to capture the prize. Oh, and Nina ate the Crystal Pearl after mistaking it for a piece of candy! Ichii and Zero vow to protect her until the coveted bauble can be reclaimned.

Nina's fantasy of a devoted guardian has come to life... but with danger at every turn, there's a chance this dream come true might end up a nightmare!"