Anime Nano - Series - Gegege no Kitaro

J-List side blog

02/03/2010 06:00 AM EST

Cool Products Wednesday, February 3, 2010 >>

Here are today's "really cool products" that I've picked out for you, out of the 30+ new items we've added to the J-List and JBOX.com sites today. Note that some products may be "not safe for work" but that all links will allow you to redirect yourself either to the J-List or JBOX.com websites. To see all the J-List products, check out J-List or the JBOX.com updated products link. Dengeki G's Magazine Feb 2010 New issue of Dengeki G's, the square-backed anime magazine that's filled with awesomeness if you love anime and bishoujo games. This issue gives you a free Love Plus "waterproof" shower poster and karuta game to learn hiragana! Queen's Blade Hide and Seek vol 3 & 4 Queen's Blade is in the air these days, and we're happy to be posting *two* volumes of the popular manga. It's also a manga series that keeps going in and out of stock with the publisher, so if we run out, we'll get more later. Strike Witches Plush Toys I am a fan of Strike Witches, which combines the genre of moe with World War II-era magical girls with furry features. Enjoy these gorgeous large plush toys we have in stock now. Yui Hirasawa Figma Action Figure Then for fans of the awesome anime K-On! we have the new Figma of Yui, which is positively awesome because she can make any pose you like. Of course she comes with her guitar, case and stand. St. Sister Sexy Cosplay set To the Japanese, western nuns, which the Japanese always call with the English word sisutaa (sister), are enigmatic and mysterious. Here's a fun cosplay outfit from Joybank. Japanese School Bag ~ Sports Type If you watch five minutes of anime, you'll probably see these "sports style" school bags being carried by all the high school kids. Now you can own one yourself -- awesome. Awesome Restocked Totoro Products Then, got some outstanding Totoro items for you, including the soft Fuzzy Totoro Keychain series, a restocking of those dreamy ceramic Totoro Music Boxes, and more. Evangelion Interface Earphones Then: see fresh stock of the Evangelion earphones featuring the distinctive red or white "head interfaces" of Asuka and Rei. Compatible with any standard music player such as the iPod / iPhone. Unofficial Hatsune Mix vol 1 & 2 J-List carries dozens of great products for fans of the Vocaloid singing idol Miku Hatsune. Today we're posting fresh stock of both "official" manga volumes. Youkai Encyclopedia ~ Shigeru Mizuki Japan highly stylized world of yokai or "folk monsters" is simply fascinating, and we've restocked the awesome encyclopedia of the most famous of these traditional Japanese ghosts by the creator of GeGeGe no Kitaro. New Snack Goodness from Japan Today we've got Japan Kit Kat in delicious Maple flavor, UHA Puccho Gummy in Orange Gummy & Yogurt flavor (the package these come in is fabulous by the way), plus Meiji Sweets Gum that tastes like blueberry cheesecake yet is *sugarless*. Ukiyoe Drops (Kinako, Soy Sauce flavor) We have two more flavors of traditional ukiyo-e "food drops" which feature traditional Japanese flavors (kinako and soy sauce) in Sakura Drop-style tins with beautiful art on the side. A fabulous idea! DELI-GOO Happy Bagel Bento Case Introducing the pinnacle in the development of bento boxes from Japan: a lunchbox for your bagels. It holds everything you need for an awesome original lunch. Restocked Hello Kitty Bento Boxes Every time I check the top 50 bento box list at J-List, I can be pretty sure that the top selling item will be this Hello Kitty traditional bento, it's that popular. Fresh stock today. Hello Kitty 3D Cookie Cutter I love finding wacky stuff like this for J-List customers. It's a "3D" cookie cutter which you can use to make a fun Hello Kitty cookie that can sit up and be displayed. Can also make Hello Kitty shaped toast. Japanese T-Shirt 'The Absolute Zone' (2XL We just love our popular tribute to zettai ryoiki, the "absolute zone" which is a tiny patch of skin visible between the top of a girl's over-knee socks and where her skirt starts. We love it so much we made a T-shirt of it. The Best Kanji Poster In The World You say you want to learn kanji? Do you? Do you? Then this is your kanji poster, an outstanding giant sheet of laminated thick paper that shows *all* the kanji character you ever need to learn. Back in stock today. DX Green Tea Container ~ Lacquered Sakura Pattern Another beautiful traditional item from Japan, this is a high quality container for green tea, which is made with an elegant lacquered wood styling and sakura petals on the lid. WASHI Yu-zen KIMONO Shaped Coaster Set Also cool: coasters made of washi paper featuring beautiful images of kimonos. A super conversation piece for your guests. Bamboo Mini Sake Cup We sell a lot of cool items from Japan, and one of my favorite categories of products are our sake cups, so fun for throwing some back with friends. Made out of a single natural piece of bamboo. Love Plus T-Shirts *Preorder* Cospa is bringing out these Love Plus T-shirts, and I know I'm going to have a hard time picking which my favorite girl might be. Manaka, the pure girl who loves guys good at sports? Rinka, the tsundere of the game? Or the grown-up Nene? Mari Illustrious Makinami 1/6 Figure *Preorder* Mari is the new character in the Evangelion 2.0 movie, and she was an instant hit with fans due to her fan service, I mean her hard-hitting action scenes. Enjoy this very nice 1/6 scale figure that's up for preorder now. Revoltech Queen's Blade Cattleya Figure *Preorder* Queen's Blade is the popular artbook-based RPG that's become an anime and figure sensation. Enjoy this Revoltech offering of Cattleya, so detailed and able to assume any pose. Ameri Kawaii 1/8 Figure ~ Tayutama *Preorder* Tayutama (A Kiss on my Deity) is a Japanese visual novel/eroge by Lump of Sugar, and this is a fantastic sexy figure of Ameri-chan for your collection. Hadaka no Reon ~ Reon Kadena One day, Yasu looked up from his computer and said, "Well, I've found the most beautiful girl in the world." It was Reon Kadena, and we were compelled to agree with his assessment. Enjoy this dynamite zenra photobook, back in print after many years. Restocked Artbooks Then, what's the best artbook J-List has ever carried? While opinions might differ, I'd have to go with the amazing Dendrobium from master ecchi illustrator Nishieda. This dynamite book, which comes in a protective sleeve, is restocked today. Valentine's Day Sale: Bazooka Cafe Remember, J-List is having a great Valentine's Day sale! Just order the popular game Bazooka Cafe, and you'll get a coupon for $5 off for every game you buy. Want to get three other titles in addition to Bazooka Cafe? That gets you $20 off, in addition to any other discounts. Subarashiki Hibi *Preorder* The latest magnum opus visual novel from writer Suka-ji, known for his work on H2O -Footprints In The Sand-, Integral After And Another, Sakura no Toki, and others. Preorder this game and get it when it ships! Himari 1/8 Scale Figure w/Stretchy Underwear *Preorder* Then an extremely cool prepainted figure from the popular manga Protective Charm Himari: a cat girl figure with cloth pantsu that you can really pull down. Fun!
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Series: Strike Witches Neon Genesis Evangelion Gegege no Kitaro H2O K-ON! Queen's Blade Tayutama -Kiss on my Deity-

Anime Vice

02/03/2010 04:00 AM EST

Take Your Daughters to Manga Day? >>

Anime Vice

01/01/2010 06:00 AM EST

And a Happy New Year: 10 License Requests for 2010 >>

A lot of really fun stuff came out or was licensed in 2009, but not eeeeverything. Here are some items that I feel someone needs to pick up the slack on. In some cases, they could/should have been licensed ages ago...I've also mentioned whether I think it's likely that they'll get picked up, and who might license it. I've got ten each for manga and anime. These aren't all-inclusive or even "top" 10 lists, mind, so be sure to include your own license requests in the comments below. Oh, and these are in alphabetical order, by the way. Manga GE ~Good Ending GE ~Good Ending. This shounen romance was recommended to me by a friend and I picked up a few copies of Weekly Shonen Magazine and really enjoyed Kei Sasuga's art. The story is neither particularly unique nor completely boring, but it looks like there's a lot to play with in the characters: a shy young man wants to get close to his crush, and a gorgeous classmate makes it her mission to pick him up and help him out. This is a Kodansha title so it could go to Del Rey, or perhaps Kodansha would publish it themselves...then again, it might stay unlicensed. Who knows? LIKELIHOOD: 5/10 LIKELY LICENSOR: Del Rey Manga/ Kodansha. Gegege no Kitarou Gegege no Kitarou. Credit goes to David Welsh for pointing out that this one is unlicensed, but Kitarou is a classic manga and it's responsible for a lot of Japanese peoples' views on what youkai look and act like-- and that includes uber-popular shows like InuYasha, for example. Having learned some about Shigeru Mizuki's classic manga at the New People Center and from the popularity of its recent movie, I'd really like to get a chance to read the manga myself. Gurren Lagann Gakuen-hen Gurren Lagann Gakuen-hen. I was impressed that I liked the main Gurren Lagann manga so much, but let's face it: a lot of us are itching for new content, not rehashes of old (even if it's well-done). So how about this version of Gurren Lagann, in which the characters are all Japanese students? It also doubles as a sort of parody of the Shinji Ikari Raising Project (and the Neon Genesis Evangelion episode that inspired it). LIKELIHOOD OF LICENSE: 7/10 LIKELY LICENSOR: Bandai Entertainment. Hataraki Man Hataraki Man. I hear a lot of debates about Moyoco Anno's works, and having enjoyed a few episodes of the Hataraki Man anime back in the day, I'd really like a chance to see that work first-hand myself-- I'm much more interested in the trials and tribulations of a workaholic female journalist (ahem) than in the cuties of Sugar Sugar Rune or the love life of the young woman in Happy Mania (though I'm sure they're strong works too). LIKELIHOOD OF LICENSE: 4/10 LIKELY LICENSOR: Del Rey Manga/Kodansha. Hetalia Axis Powers Hetalia Axis Powers . A zany comedy featuring countries personafied, generally with a vaguely World War II aesthetic. With its own cult fandom-within-a-fandom, I can't help but be curious about this manga, whose anime has turned into such a popular item as well. Published by Gentosha in Japan, who I believe has worked mostly with TOKYOPOP (Rozen Maiden, Gravitation). LIKELIHOOD: 9/10 LIKELY LICENSOR: TOKYOPOP. Suzumiya Haruhi-chan no Yuuutsu (The) Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi-chan. See what I said above about Gurren Lagann: this manga is selling WAY better than the manga based on the Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya novel/anime is. Why? Because it's cute, funny, and new material! So let's get this one out here too. It'd probably be a great tie-in with the second season and movie, cough cough...LIKELIHOOD OF LICENSE: 7/10 LIKELY LICENSOR: Yen Press Ookiku Furikabutte Ookiku Furikabutte (Big Windup). I really enjoyed FUNimation's release of the anime, about a young man who would be pitcher but, while he has perfect control of the ball, has no idea what pitch to pick when and lacks a bit of speed and power...until he meets the catcher of his dreams. I'd really like to read the original manga as well! Yet another Kodansha title, so...LIKELIHOOD OF LICENSE: 6/10 LIKELY LICENSOR: Del Rey Manga/Kodansha Princess Knight Princess Knight. A perennial entry on these lists, Princess Knight is one of Osamu Tezuka's most well-loved works and one of the hardest to find in English, although Kodansha International did release a bilingual edition in 2001-- out of print and hard to find now. VIZ published a "preview" in the July 2007 Shojo Beat, but since it's owned by Kodansha, competitor to VIZ owners Shogakukan and Shueisha, it's unclear whether VIZ would be given the opportunity to do a full release. Honestly, I'd bank on this on coming out as a Kodansha Comics release someday, but if Kodansha doesn't plan to do that, I hope Vertical gets it.. LIKELIHOOD OF LICENSE: 4/10 LIKELY LICENSOR: Kodansha Saint Oniisan Saint Oniisan. I've talked ab out this manga before, several times: Jesus and Buddha take a vacation after the turn of the millennium and become roommates in modern Japan for a bit. A surreal but very sweet comedy, for some reason readers assume it's too "risky" to license in the US. I think it's just too hotly contested...LIKELIHOOD OF LICENSE: 9/10 LIKELY LICENSOR: Del Rey Manga/Kodansha, with a possible surprise from Vertical. Urusei Yatsura Urusei Yatsura. This is another more classic manga: Rumiko Takahashi's first series of length, and in many peoples' opinion her best. (In mine: definitely a favorite.) VIZ released some of it a while back under the title LUM but never finished it, and I know I'm not the only person who would REALLY like to see some more of it come out, or at least reprints of the original English releases-- especially with all the Rumiko Takahashi blitzing of Rinne and InuYasha the Final Act. Technically it is "licensed," however, so we'll say LIKELIHOOD OF RELEASE: 5/10 LIKELY RELEASER: VIZ Media. Honorable Mention: Rose of Versailles. I just ran out of room, honestly, but let's face it, anyone with any interest in shoujo manga probably wants to read Rose of Versailles, or perhaps should. It's a Shueisha title, so LIKELIHOOD OF RELEASE: 2/10 LIKELY LICENSOR: VIZ Media. Anime Aoi Bungaku Series. Look, this retelling of four works of Japanese literature is animated by Madhouse and features some of anime's greatest directors and designers, include Death Note's Takeshi Obata, Bleach's Tite Kubo, and Gunslinger Girl's Morio Asaka, to name only a few. Why wouldn't we want it? That said, it may not be very accessible to the mainstream anime fan, so I'm betting it'll go to one of the studios that aims more niche. LIKELIHOOD OF LICENSE: 5/10 LIKELY LICENSOR: Media Blasters or Nozomi Entertainment. Bakemonogatari Bakemonogatari. Immensely popular. Brought to you buy Shaft and Akiyuki Shinbo a la Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei and others. And it's based on a NisiOisiN light novel series? Sold. Done. Let's do this. And unlike Zetsubou I don't think it's QUITE as intensive in dialogue and background text and whatnot, so it's probably actually dub-able. Section23 picked up MariaHolic and the last rumor was that Media Blasters might have Zetsubou, so let's see...LIKELIHOOD OF LICENSE: 9/10 LIKELY LICENSOR: Free-for-all. Could be anyone. Bokurano Bokurano. In the tradition-- if you can call it a tradition --of Ender's Game, Bokurano takes the idea of kids taking on the responsibility of saving the world and takes it to its natural-- and dark, and cruel --conclusion. VIZ is releasing the manga, so now let's get into the anime, which has a somewhat different ending as I understand it. LIKELIHOOD OF LICENSE: 7/10 LIKELY LICENSOR: VIZ, but if they decide not to go for it, FUNimation will take it. Dragon Ball Kai Dragon Ball Kai. Dragon Ball Z, minus all the filler episodes and minus all the filler junk within episodes? The only mystery is why FUNimation isn't already printing this; it's like solid gold bricks to them. But perhaps they're waiting for the current Dragon Ball Z release first? LIKELIHOOD OF LICENSE: 9/10 LIKELY LICENSOR: FUNimation. Kaiba Kaiba. I hate to throw around terms like "absurdist" and "surreal" in the same sentence, but both can be used to describe this futuristic take on the human condition and our views of our identities, set in a world where people who can afford to will upload and download memories into the bodies of their choosing. Might do better with the art house crowd than the mainstream anime viewers though...LIKELIHOOD OF LICENSE: 3/10 LIKELY LICENSOR: ... Minamike Minamike. A cute, goofy comedy about three orphaned sisters makin' it on their own. It's more about their wacky selves than about them being orphans or loving each other, and that's what makes it a great comedy. I'd love to see someone pick this one up, even though I'm sure it's more of a B- or perhaps even C-tier title to anime licensors...LIKELIHOOD OF LICENSE: 6/10 LIKELY LICENSOR: I could see this going to Section23, unless it goes to FUNimation as part of a larger package. If they pass it up, perhaps Media Blasters or Nozomi will run with it. Revolutionary Girl Utena Revolutionary Girl Utena (TV). FUNimation rescued the license of the movie from Central Park Media, but there have been so many different releases-- and some of them are hard to find and really expensive to boot. How about a nice affordable slimpack for those of us who'd like to (finally) get around to watching? LIKELIHOOD OF LICENSE: 4/10 LIKELY LICENSOR: FUNimation. Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei. Rumor has it that Media Blasters picked up this title, but we haven't heard any word lately, so I still want it to get picked up. Unfortunately the sheer speed of the dialogue combined with all that stuff in the background means that companies that rely heavily on dubs (FUNimation, VIZ) seem unlikely to expend the effort. LIKELIHOOD OF LICENSE: 8/10 LIKELY LICENSOR: Media Blasters, but Nozomi, Section23, and Bandai are all candidates as well. Taishou Yakyuu Musume Taishou Yakyuu Musume. This was a title I was really excited about for the summer '09 season, and then I heard absolutely nothing about it. At the time I was in a big baseball phase (thank you San Francisco Giants and Big Windup), plus the music in the trailer was super cool and jazzy. So, how about someone taking this one on? LIKELIHOOD OF LICENSE: 4/10 LIKELY LICENSOR: FUNimation, licensor-of-all, or perhaps Section23, although with this one I can also picture Nozomi snatching it. Valkyria Chronicles. Maybe it's just lingering guilt over never playing more than a couple of hours of the game, but it was so pretty! And I love Marina Inoue! And it's sort of AU historical fiction, which is also awesome. I'm kind of surprised no one's picked this one up yet. LIKELIHOOD OF LICENSE: 7/10 LIKELY LICENSOR: Could go to anyone. HONORABLE MENTION: K-On!. I feel obligated to point out that K-On! is still completely unlicensed, though it's easy to forget considering how many people have watched the show in its entirety (cough, cough). LIKELIHOOD OF LICENSE: 9/10 LIKELY LICENSOR: Bandai did well with Kadokawa's Haruhi property, but Lucky Star didn't sell quite as well, so it could go to BEI, but they could shift to someone else instead. Whew! Hope you guys enjoyed the list, and be sure to share your own license requests in the comments!
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