00:10: OMG, BEACTRICE. Haha, they used the game image! OMG Akiko Shikata, the song sounds awesome! OMG, I can’t believe that this is an anime!!!!! What the hell, I sound like a rabid fan girl. Ack, I don’t care anymore. 00:35: Gasp, a prettified Kanon! His clothes are as weird as ever, but ahhhhh…… he’s so pretty.00:54: Ah, [...]
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Aoi Hana is a delightful yuri manga, with fascinating characters and moving relationships. Now director Kasai Kenichi (Honey & Clover, Kimi Kiss) has made it into an anime, and the first episode was both excellent and true to the spirit of the manga.Helping Kasai get it right are lead writer Takayama Fumihiko (Rescue Wings), and top sound director Aketagawa Jin (Ichigo Mashimaro, Shakugan no Shana, Nodame Cantabile, Queen's Blade, etc. etc.)None of the main seiyuu cast, Horie Yui aside, are stars. But they are all intriguing choices, as I will outline below, and I trust director Kasai to hire good voices and direct them well -- with the help of Aketagawa Jin.The OP song by Kukikodan and the ED by Ceui are both gentle and pleasant. The OP animation is by Ikuhara Kazuhiko, the director of Revolutionary Girl Utena and many episodes of Sailor Moon. The whirling dance, the nude scene with flowers, and especially the shot of the girls' legs running together are outstanding.Fumi (Takabe Ai) Fumi is a shy, gangling girl who moves back into her old neighborhood just in time for high school. She meets up again with her childhood friend Akira. When they were little, they were inseparable. Fumi was a cry-baby and Akira was her defender and comforter.Fumi is played by Takabe Ai, 21, who is a well-known photo idol, TV actress and TV personality. She was good as the star of the late-night supernatural comedy-drama Guren Onna.This is her first role as a seiyuu, but she has none of the dead voice of a first-timer, and does a beautiful job bringing the character to life. The voice is softer than some people expected, but it seems perfect to me. Takabe-san's voice adds something to the character I know from the manga.For sexy photos from Takabe Ai's idol shoots, search Google Images.Akira (Gibu Yuuko) Akira is a little live-wire who spreads positive energy wherever she goes. She is in the high school of the prestigious Fujigatani Academy for Girls.Gibu Yuuko, 28, burst onto the scene in 2005 with roles in five shows, including a major role in Koi Koi Seven. She had eight roles in 2008, then dropped back to four in 2007. That year, she and her partner Ninomiya Yoshimi were promoting their singing duo BooNo.But Ninomiya quit the entertainment business at the end of that year, and Gibu was left at sea, doing only one seiyuu role the next year. Now she is back with a vengeance, with important roles in both this show and Umi Monogatari.Sayoko (Ishimatsu Chiemi) Sayoko is a bold and handsome girl who is the prince of Matsuoka Girls' High.Ishimatsu Chiemi has had a small number of roles in every year since 2003, under this name and that of Misumi. She was Ellis in Triangle Heart and Michelle in Zero no Tsukaima 2.Kyouko (Horie Yui) Kyouko is a classmate of Akira's at Fujigatani. She has an unrequited love for Sayoko.Horie Yui, 32, is the most successful -- or at least the busiest -- female seiyuu of the 21st century, with over 140 roles in her twelve-year career. Her best-known roles are Naru in Love Hina, Toru in Fruits Basket, and Ayu in Kanon. She already has 15 roles this year.
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Californians who are bitter about Vampire Knight songstress Kanon Wakeshima 's performance in far away Baltimore will have a shot at seeing the cellist/singer, if they can get to San Francisco or Los Angeles. The latest word is that Wakeshima will be hitting up Amoeba Music in San Francisco on July 20th, and the Royal T Cafe in Los Angeles on the 21st.Ironically, California is much closer to where I live, but I will be in San Diego that entire time, so I'll have to settle for seeing her in Baltimore. God, my life is insane.Anyway! It was Vampire Knight's first ending theme, Still Doll, that brought Wakeshima to my notice, so here's the PV for the song, complete with madame's cello-playing. You may want to turn off the annoying annotations.<object height="405" width="500"></object><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/BWUxZ7LIUss&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1&amp;rel=0&amp;color1=0x402061&amp;color2=0x9461ca&amp;border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="405" width="500"></embed> 
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Supahh Throw! No srsly, Kanon has badass throwing skillz. To start of my Summer `09 lineup, is Umi Monogatari! In my personal opinion, Umi Monogatari is not a disappointment; neither it is surprising, it’s just decent. Decent in a way that it’s entertaining to watch it as it’s okay and it’s not over the top. I think in [...]
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This fan artist apparently had fans of either the Toei version or the Kyoani version in mind. Very creative.
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Why do so many bishoujo games have a token cute animal (for varying degrees of "cute")? The Key anime adaptations featured theirs, with Piro in Kanon, Potato in Air, and Botan in Clannad. Nursery Rhyme has Azu, and Heart de Roommate had Toshibo. I first noticed this during the fake opening for the last Haruhi-chan [...]
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The Summer 2009 season has officially started, and one of the first shows out of the gates is Umi Monogatari ~Anata ga Itekureta Koto~ (what a mouthful... will be referred to as Umi Monogatari from now on), a magical girl series that is inspired by a line of pachinko machines (a device that's a cross between pinbal and slots). Weird eh? Anyways, below is a brief summary of the first episode and my first impressions.Looks like a cheap ring to me.Cute SD faces are cute.You are never going to destroy a ring like this.Kanon has quite the throwing arm.Basic Premise:Two "pure" sister who live in the sea journey to an island where they meet a high school girl, and this chance meeting awakens a hidden power as the world is threatened by an enveloping darkness.Brief Summary:Marin and Urin are two sisters who live in the sea with the fishes and whales. One day, a beautiful ring falls into the sea and is recovered by Marin, and Marin decides to go above water to return the ring. Marin and Urin journey to a nearby island where a festival is under way. After looking around, the sisters are able to locate the ring's owner, a high school girl named Kanon who tossed the ring into the sea because it was given to her by her nerdy ex-boyfriend. Marin and Urin try to return to the ring, but Kanon tosses the ring into the forest after catching sight of her ex-boyfriend with another girl. The two sister go off to look for the ring and become separated. Marin eventually meets up with Kanon again and they decide to look for Urin instead after the fireworks have started. Elsewhere on the island, Urin is frightened by the fireworks and runs to an abandoned shrine. On the shrine grounds, Urin spots the ring lying in a crack next to a sealed coffin. Urin is able to retrieve the ring but her efforts have broken the coffin's seal, and the young sea maiden starts hearing strange voices telling her to open the coffin. Urin complies and pushes open the lid, and suddenly dark smoke streams out of the coffin and engulfs the island in a fierce storm. The dark smoke also contaminates the ring, but Urin doesn't notice and hides beside a tree with the ring in her hands.Are you sure she's one of the good ones? She looks pretty wicked to me.It's hard to take your eyes off of that.My Precioussss...Isn't it common sense not to follow the order from strange voices?~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The first thing I noticed when watching this episode was that the OP sequence was so bright! Everything has this shiny white tint over it. Thankfully the brightness didn't persist into the episode itself or else my eyes would hurt. I suppose you could say that ZEXCS know how to do their sunlight effects.Anyways, the episode itself was decent. The animation qualify is quite good, especially evident in the underwater scenes. In regards to the story, not much happened in this episode until near the end where Urin opened the coffin. Most of the episode was character introductions and laid-back comedy, which didn't have much substance, but the SD faces of all of the characters were kind of cute. Judging by the absence of a villain going "Muhahahaha!" in the OP sequence, I'm guessing that the primary focus of the series will be on laid-back comedy and bonding between the two main characters Marin and Kanon. We have the standard contrasting personalities setup with Marin being carefree and airheaded and Kanon being cynical and depressed. We also have Urin, and current indications point to some comedic girl-to-girl friendship bonding involving Marin convincing Kanon to loosen up with saving the world on the side.As noted by several other anime bloggers, the most impressive part of this episode was the ED sequence with Marin and Urin watching a slide show of The Little Mermaid. The sequence was cuteness overload on Urin's part and it had a coherent story to boot. The song wasn't bad either and was better than the OP song. It's certainly one of the more memorable EDs I've seen.Overall, the debut of Umi Monogatari was decent but not overly impressive (except for the ED). I'll at least stick around for a few more episodes to see where the story is going. It should be a watchable series if the animation quality can be maintained and the story doesn't go down the toilet. As for whether or not I'll blog this show episodically, I still have to check out the other new shows of the season before making the decision.
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Whew! At long last, the summer season preview is here! As usual, summer is big on comedies and other light-hearted fare, like GA Geijitsuka Art Design Class, Kanamemo, and Yoku Wakaru Gendai Mahou-- but that doesn't mean we have no darker shows. Keep an eye out for CANAAN, from Type-Moon (Fate/Stay Night), and Umineko no Naku Koro ni, from 07th Expansion (Higurashi no Naku Koro ni), as well as BONES' Tokyo Magnitude 8.0 if you want some drama. We're also seeing relatively few sequels compared to past summers, I think; Hetalia 2nd season, Spice and Wolf II, and Zan Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei are the only ones, really. All in all it's shaping up to be a pretty strong summer. So let's get going! <object height="285" width="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Xj9WVTORX7s&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1&amp;color1=0x402061&amp;color2=0x9461ca&amp;border=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Xj9WVTORX7s&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1&amp;color1=0x402061&amp;color2=0x9461ca&amp;border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="285" width="340"></embed></param></object>   Title:   Aoi Hana Japanese Title:  青い花 Studio:   J.C. Staff Genre:   Shoujo Airs:  Fuji TV, Thursdays at 2am, starting July 2nd. Site:   http://www.aoihana.tv Summary: Fumi and Akira, who were best friends ten years prior to the anime's beginning, reconnect in high school as very different students. The girls help each other get through the social vagaries of starting out in high school. I'm told there are at least touches of yuri in the show. Notable: Director Kenichi Kasai has made a name for himself with strong and relatively understated series: Nodame Cantabile , Honey and Clover , and KimiKiss Pure Rouge among them. Total newcomer Ai Takabe will be voicing the primary heroine, Fumi, while the relatively unknown Yuko Gibu ( Koi Koi Seven 's Akiwo) plays Akira. You may want to pay close attention to the soundtrack for this one; Vampire Knight and Vampire Knight Guilty's Takefumi Haketa has been tapped to compose. <object height="240" width="380"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/tSmyq-AgUw4&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1&amp;rel=0&amp;color1=0x402061&amp;color2=0x9461ca&amp;border=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/tSmyq-AgUw4&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1&amp;rel=0&amp;color1=0x402061&amp;color2=0x9461ca&amp;border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="240" width="380"></embed></param></object>   Title:   Bakemonogatari Japanese Title:  化物語 Studio:   Shaft Genre:  Supernatural Airs:  Tokyo MX TV, Fridays at 11pm, starting July 3rd Site:   http://www.bakemonogatari.com Summary: After surviving a vampire attack, Koyomi Araragi begins stumbling upon a wide variety of supernatural mysteries, starting with his nearly-weightless classmate Hitagi Senjougahara. Notable: The series is based on NisiOisiN's series of light novels. You may recognize his name as the author of the Death Note : Another Note and xxxHOLiC novels. There are those who theorize that he is in fact Death Note manga writer Tsugumi Ohba as well. Calling all Zetsubou-sensei fans! Hiroshi Kamiya, who voices Nozomu Itoshiki (as well as Gundam 00 's Tieria Erde and Macross Frontier 's Mihael ), is voicing Koyomi. Chiwa Saito ( ARIA 's Aika, Pani Poni Dash! 's Becky) joins him as Hitagi. Remember how I said Zetsubou fans should be interested? Here's another reason: it's a Shaft/ Akiyuki Shinbo collaboration. They've done Zetsubou and Maria+Holic . <object height="215" width="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/XjihkCCXp3o&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1&amp;rel=0&amp;color1=0x402061&amp;color2=0x9461ca&amp;border=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/XjihkCCXp3o&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1&amp;rel=0&amp;color1=0x402061&amp;color2=0x9461ca&amp;border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="215" width="340"></embed></param></object>   Title:   CANAAN Studio:  P.A. Works Genre:  Mystery Airs:  Tokyo MX TV, Saturdays at 10:30pm, starting July 4th Site:   http://www.canaan.jp Summary: A group of Tokyoites are drawn togther by a series of strange events. These include, among other things, a detective, a writer, a virus researcher, and a catgirl. Notable: Yes, the art should look familiar to you: it's from Type-Moon co-founders Kinoko Nasu and Takashi Takeuchi and features designs by the latter. You know them best as the Fate/Stay Night and Kara no Kyoukai people. One of my favorite seiyuu and singers, Maaya Sakamoto ( Host Club 's Haruhi , Final Fantasy VII's Aeris ), will be voicing the lead, Alphard. Miyuki Sawashiro, best known for cute voices like Puchiko in Di Gi Charat or Mint in Galaxy Angel , will voice the titular Canaan. The series will be directed by Masahiro Ando , who debuted as an anime director with the recently-released BONES film Sword of the Stranger . <object height="285" width="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/DNmUjFgmQbQ&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1&amp;rel=0&amp;color1=0x402061&amp;color2=0x9461ca&amp;border=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/DNmUjFgmQbQ&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1&amp;rel=0&amp;color1=0x402061&amp;color2=0x9461ca&amp;border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="285" width="340"></embed></param></object>   Title:   Element Hunter Japanese Title:  エレメントハンター Studio:  NHK Enterprises x Hiuon Entertainment Genre:  Sci-Fi Airs:  NHK, Saturdays at 6pm starting July 4th Site:   http://elementhunters.com Summary: Set in the year 2089, sixty years after the human population has declined to a tenth of its peak after a huge natural disaster, scientists discover that the planets resources are flowing to a “Nega Earth.” A team of young children (under 13) is formed to save the world and learn the Periodic table. Yeah, I know. Notable: Edutainment it may be, but the staff's not bad: director Yoshiaki Okumura directed Antique Bakery , Bakkyuu Hit!, and episode-directed Eyeshield 21 . I'm more excited about the music, though: Chiaki Ishikawa, who I know best for the Bokurano OP “Uninstall” (but who you may recognize from a considerable amount of .Hack work) is performing the OP. I've got to say, the designs also look pretty neat; the character designs are from newcomer Daigo Okumura. <object height="285" width="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/0h8fyG51boE&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1&amp;rel=0&amp;color1=0x402061&amp;color2=0x9461ca&amp;border=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/0h8fyG51boE&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1&amp;rel=0&amp;color1=0x402061&amp;color2=0x9461ca&amp;border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="285" width="340"></embed></param></object>   Title:   Fight Ippatsu! Juuden-chan Japanese Title:  ファイト一発!充電ちゃん!! Studio:   Studio Hibari Genre:  Comedy Airs:  AT-X, Thursdays at 8am, starting June 25th Site:   http://juden-chan.jp Summary: Rather than bringing back another season of Code-E, Japan has selected a new electric-charged heroine to represent this summer. This time it's Juuden-chan, a visitor from another world sent to perk up downtrodden humans...presumably by zapping them with electricity? And nudity. Can't forget the nudity. Notable: This is another one that may look familiar to you; it's based on the manga by Bow Ditama, who also did Mahoro-Matic . Director Shinichiro Kimura , who helmed Hand Maid May , both Maburaho AND Mahoraba, and Karin, will take on this comedy. Ayahi Takagaki ( Gundam 00 's Feldt Grace , True Tears ' Noe) and Kaori Fukuhara ( Lucky Star 's Tsukasa, Macross Frontier 's Lam Hoa) are playing the two parallel-world visitors, Aresta Blanket and Plug Cryostat, respectively. They're also singing the OP theme.   Title:   GA Geijutsuka Art Design Class Japanese Title:  GA 芸術科アートデザインクラス Studio:   AICPLUS+ Genre:  Slice-of-Life Airs:  YTV, Tuesdays at 2:15am, starting July 7th Site:   http://mv.avex.jp/ga Summary: Five freshman girls start out in their high school art club. Hmm...sounds kinda familiar. Ahem, Sketchbook . The manga it's originally based on also featured a lot of art tips, so it'll be interesting to see if the anime follows suit. Notable: The anime is based on the manga by Satoko Kiyuduki, who you may recognize as the creator of Shoulder-a-Coffin Kuro. Yen Press is releasing both of these series, so if you want a real preview of GA, check out first manga volume, which came out in April. Hiroaki Sakurai , director of Cromartie High School and Kodocha (!!) is set to direct, so expect some top-notch comedy. Here are just a couple of the cast credits: Haruka Tomatsu ( Kannagi 's Nagi , To Love-Ru 's Lala ) as the lead, Kisaragi, and Kaori Nazuka ( .hack//SIGN 's Subaru , Eureka Seven 's Eureka , Code Geass ' Nunnally) as Miki Noda.   Title:   Hetalia Axis Powers Second Season Japanese Title:  ヘタリア Axis Powers 第2期 Studio:   Studio Deen Genre:  Comedy Airs:  Mobile Animate, Fridays at 4pm, starting July 24th Site:   http://hetalia.com Summary: Oh, Hetalia: a strange little series of animated short based on a manga which pits personified countries against one another in a school setting-- and every single nation is a cute boy. Notable: The first season of Hetalia was originally scheduled to air on TV, but South Korea was reportedly unhappy with its character and protested. The series was pulled from broadcast and aired online instead...and now the second season is online, too. I wonder if their characterization of Japan is a wuss? Looks like no cast or staff changes. Did you know that the director's name is Bob? Bob Shirohata. He's best known for directing Diamond Daydreams and series-directing the popular yaoi series Gravitation . Heh. <object height="215" width="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/QgZ-Xim5Yps&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1&amp;rel=0&amp;color1=0x402061&amp;color2=0x9461ca&amp;border=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/QgZ-Xim5Yps&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1&amp;rel=0&amp;color1=0x402061&amp;color2=0x9461ca&amp;border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="215" width="340"></embed></param></object>   Title:   Kanamemo Japanese Title:  かなめも Studio:   feel. Genre:  Comedy Airs:  TV Tokyo, Mondays at 1:30am, starting July 6th Site:   http://www.starchild.co.jp/special/kanamemo Summary: An orphan winds up working at a newspaper delivery office, where she also lives, surrounded by strong and beautiful women. Sounds like heaven to me...the PV here is actually an ad for the manga. (There isn't one for the anime yet, as far as I can tell.) Notable: The anime is based on a 4koma comic strip manga by Shouko Iwami, who also created Suzunari!, which is being released by Yen Press. Top-notch voice cast here: Aki Toyosaki ( Shugo Chara! 's Suu ) will voice Kana. And the strong women around her? Aya Endo ( Macross Frontier 's Sheryl Nome , Lucky Star 's Miyuki ), Eri Kitamura ( Kodomo no Jikan 's Rin , Blood+ 's Saya Otonashi ); Kaoru Mizuhara (Lucky Star's Kasukabe, Ga-Rei 's Saki); Rie Kugimiya ( Fullmetal Alchemist 's Al , Combat Butler Hayate 's Nagi ); Ryou Hirohashi ( ARIA 's Alice, Clannad 's Kyou Fujibayashi ); and Yui Horie ( Love Hina 's Naru , Vampire Knight 's Yuuki ). Yeah.   Title:   Kuruneko Japanese Title:  くるねこ Studio:  Studio Dachs Genre:  Comedy Airs:  Kansai TV, Sundays at 8:55am, starting July 5th Site:   http://kuruneko.fc.yahoo.co.jp Summary: It's the crazy cat lady, anime-style! Actually, Kuruneko focuses on a main character with TWO obsessions: cats, and sake. Because nothing is more entertaining than alcoholics with obsessive-compulsive pet collecting disorders. Notable: This anime is based not just on a manga, but on a web-manga, by creator Yamato. It's reportedly the most popular blog manga in Japan. The series has one voice actor, and one alone: Satomi Kobayashi, who will provide all voices. I couldn't find any other credits for her, although it seems she has done some concept design work in the past. Director Akitaro Daichi is pretty used to the unusual, having helmed Animation Runner Kuromi, Gag Manga Biyori, and Kodocha (which had three directors).   Title:   NEEDLESS Studio:   Madhouse Genre:  Sci-Fi Airs:  Tokyo MX TV, Fridays at 1:30am, starting July 3rd Site:   http://needless.jp Summary: Set in Japan in the year 2130, NEEDLESS is the tale of the unnecessary: the world is split into the city, and the outside of the city. Those who live outside the city have developed unique abilities and powers, and are known as the “Needless.” Notable: This series is such a pain to search for because the word “needless” is so common in English. Needless to say. This show will be a fun reunion for Emiri Katou ( Lucky Star 's Kagami ) and Aya Endou (Lucky Star's Miyuki ). Endou is voicing lead Cruz Shild, and Katou will voice Disc. Director Masayuki Sakoi has worked all over the place, from the recent Kamen no Maid Guy to Princess Resurrection to Strawberry Panic! . <object height="285" width="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/QvPNay6U7n8&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1&amp;rel=0&amp;color1=0x402061&amp;color2=0x9461ca&amp;border=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/QvPNay6U7n8&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1&amp;rel=0&amp;color1=0x402061&amp;color2=0x9461ca&amp;border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="285" width="340"></embed></param></object>   Title:   Princess Lover! Japanese Title:  プリンセスラバー��� Studio:  GoHand Genre:  Romantic Comedy Airs:  Chiba TV, Mondays at 12:30am, starting July 6th. Site:   http://www.prilover.tv Summary: After his parents die, Teppei is due to inherit a shit-ton of money from his grandfather. In order to inherit, though , he has to graduate from a super-elite prep school full of super-elite hot chicks. Notable: Based, of course, on the Ricotta-made eroge, Princess Lover will doubtless be full of fanservice. The designs are nice though. Director Hiromitsu Kanazawa directed Macross Frontier , if that piques your interest-- we know a few things about how he handles multiple women after the same guy. Relative newcomer to the seiyuu world Takuma Terashima, best known for playing Wataru in Princess Princess , Kaname in Shigofumi , and Jin in Sisters of Wellber , will play the lead here. <object height="215" width="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/d74SRTJ55uk&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1&amp;rel=0&amp;color1=0x402061&amp;color2=0x9461ca&amp;border=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/d74SRTJ55uk&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1&amp;rel=0&amp;color1=0x402061&amp;color2=0x9461ca&amp;border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="215" width="340"></embed></param></object>   Title:   Sora no ManiMani Japanese Title:  宙のまにまに Studio:  Studio Comet Genre:  Drama Airs:  AT-X, Tuesdays at 10:30am, starting July 7th Site:   http://www.mmv.co.jp/special/soramani Summary: Are you ready for some star-gazing? And probably some navel-gazing, too. Sora no Mani Mani tells the tale of a high school boy named Saku Ooyagi who, after seven years, returns to his hometown. He tries to be friends with his childhood pal Mihoshi, but their last encounter was disastrous and it's awkward. But Mihoshi also wants to restore their friendship, so she drags Saku into her astronomy club. Notable: I'm actually really excited for this series, and for one primary reason: Kanae Itou, who voices Amu-chan in Shugo Chara! (and wonderfully), is voicing Mihoshi. I like her style a lot, with her naturally pleasant voice that doesn't sound saccharine like so many other seiyuu who play young females. Joining Itou is Tomoaki Maeno as Saku. Some of you may remember him as Atsushi Doujou in the anime of Toshokan Sensou (Library Wars), or as Tooru in Ga-Rei -Zero- . I think a lot of you are familiar with director Shinji Takamatsu 's work, such as School Rumble and Gintama . <object height="215" width="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Plle67SzqN4&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1&amp;rel=0&amp;color1=0x402061&amp;color2=0x9461ca&amp;border=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Plle67SzqN4&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1&amp;rel=0&amp;color1=0x402061&amp;color2=0x9461ca&amp;border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="215" width="340"></embed></param></object>   Title:   Spice and Wolf II Japanese Title:  狼と香辛料II Studio:  Brains Base Genre:  Fantasy/Drama Airs:  TV Kanagawa, Thursdays at 1:15am, starting July 9th Site:   http://www.spicy-wolf.com Summary: Probably the show I'm most excited about this season, Spice and Wolf is set in a medieval Europe-style fantasy world full of trade and barter-- and also full of gods, like Holo, the Wise Wolf goddess. Holo will continue her adventures with the wandering merchant Craft Lawrence. Notable: Joining the stellar leads, Ami Koshimizu ( Geass 's Kallen ) as Holo and Jun Fukuyama (Geass's Lelouch) as Lawrence, is another seiyuu superstar: Romi Paku ( Fullmetal Alchemist 's Ed ), as a new character, Abe, who appears in the novel series. ROCKY CHACK, the artist who blew many of us away with the awesomeness of the first season Spice and Wolf ED “Ringo Biyori ~The Wolf Whistling Song~,” is back again with a new ED for the sequel: “Perfect World.” If you were curious, director Takeo Takahashi from the first season is helming the second, as are screenwriter Naruhisa Arakawa and music composer Yuuji Yoshino. So expect similar quality to the first season. v<object height="215" width="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/HsR9h2VLzdc&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1&amp;rel=0&amp;color1=0x402061&amp;color2=0x9461ca&amp;border=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/HsR9h2VLzdc&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1&amp;rel=0&amp;color1=0x402061&amp;color2=0x9461ca&amp;border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="215" width="340"></embed></param></object>   Title:   Taishou Yakyuu Musume. Japanese Title:  大正野球娘。 Studio:  J.C. Staff Genre:  Comedy Airs:  TBS, Fridays at 2am, starting July 3rd Site:   http://www.tbs.co.jp/anime/taisho Summary: Is this Japan's answer to the film A League Of Their Own? Perhaps! Set in 1925, before women even got the right to vote in Japan, a pair of girls decide to form a girls' baseball team. But they don't know anything about the game... Notable: Based on Atsushi Kagurazaka's popular novel series, a manga adaptation also exists, by Shinpei Itou. If you read the description for Sora no ManiMani , you'll remember my mentioning Kanae Itou, the seiyuu who voices
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As you have probably read somewhere by now, Japanese eroge industry has become a target of many verbal attacks by foreign politicians and feminists who don't have anything better to do. Everything began when a very ero game, RapeLay, appeared at Amazon UK and it got noticed by some people who most likely called media attention to it. Unfortunately, it was a game that was really evil, and should not have been produced at all. Therefore, everything went very quickly and feminists and even other people started to criticize eroge. I don't really know the details about what happened next, because I didn't think that it could bring about any changes or bans. However, I was wrong and it resulted in taking measures very unpleasant to foreigners.In order to keep Japan's eroge industry working, the Japanese government decided the best possible solution is to cut off any connection of eroge market with foreign countries. Eroge isolation. A beginning of another isolation of Japan? I hope not.Minori, one of the leading eroge companies, have taken action and blocked access to their sites from abroad. The reason as they have stated is the recommendation by politicians, but they are not happy about it. Yet, they have done it because their freedom of game-making was in jeopardy. Nobody knows if it will ensure it to them, though.Minori encourage foreign people to spread this news and also write some mails to influential people, like politicians. Only a mutual understanding can do something about this situation and some action needs to be done to convince non-Japanese people to stop their attempts to ban ero games.If you think that eroge are evil, think twice about it. Only a small part of eroges are those like RapeLay. In most cases, eroges focus on a story, relationship developments, characters and their development, daily concerns, common troubles, etc. Many popular anime series are in fact based on eroge visual novels. They are those kind of eroge where you must concentrate on relationships and there's just some sex scene at the end of the game. I believe everyone of you knows at least some of them, they are for example Kanon, Clannad, and AIR by Key Company, ef - a tale of memories and ef - a tale of melodies by minori, School Days or Fate Stay Night. You can see that many great anime would never have been made if it weren't for eroges.If you still doubt the worth of eroges, I encourage you to read this article. I'd like to point out this line from it:Although many eroge still market themselves primarily on sex, eroge that focus on story are now a major established part of Japanese otaku culture.I hope that this whole issue will reach a conclusion that will please those who understand the values of eroges and all the bans and seclusion will be lifted. Because if this had unhappy ending for eroge, the people who seek "public safety and purity" could decide to continue the purification of Japan and turn their attention for example to moe aspects of anime or something like that. And I'm sure that would induce a tidal wave of anger, hatred, and despair. In order to prevent the worst from happening, let's try to destroy any possible threat in its roots. I'm not telling you to resort to some threatening or anything like that. I'm just asking you to help to spread this news, if possible then to people who have connections or power and are willing to do something to bring an end to these attempts to eradicate eroge.
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Bad-boy director Yamamoto Yutaka 山本寛 (Yamakan) will direct a 90-second OP animation to be released with vol4 of the comic Tonari no 801-chan, on September 10.Maybe it's more common than I realize, but I've never heard of releasing an OP animation with a manga. A special anime epsiode, yes. But OP/ED animations are Yamakan's forte (Suzumiya Haruhi ED, Lucky Star OP, Kannagi OP), and it could work so well as publicity for the manga that it starts a trend.In an added twist, the vocalist for the OP will selected by public vote on NicoNico Douga, based on an open audition call.Character design will be by Yamakan's close collaborator Kadowaki Satoshi. Music will be produced by Nishimura Masatoshi (City Hunter, Prince of Tennis) and written by A-bee (who did the remix for the Kannagi OP).Info from anineanime.jp, via Anime News Network.In other Yamakan news, the man himself will be at Otakon in Baltimore July 17-19. Other guests include Inoue Kikuko and Kanon Wakeshima. Info from Anime Vice.I also came across a report of an interview with Yamakan published earlier this year in Behind the Nihon Review. Among other things, he says he does not believe in originality, that what we see as original is actually just "deft plagiarism."<object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/B5PAkntjs5M&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1&amp;rel=0"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/B5PAkntjs5M&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1&amp;rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="344" width="425"></embed></object>He criticizes anime fandom for having become too exclusive, and anime producers for just catering to niche audiences. He also criticizes Miyazaki, for having retreated to an ivory tower and not kept contact with the rest of the industry, while just lobbing criticism at it.<object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/rdERUrLvIW4&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1&amp;rel=0"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/rdERUrLvIW4&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1&amp;rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="344" width="425"></embed></object>Yamamoto Yutaka directed Kannagi for his own company, Ordet. He also directed the first four episodes of Lucky Star, until Kyoto Animation fired him, for reasons that are still not fully explained. He was assistant director of Suzumiya Haruhi, writing and/or directing four episodes, including the movie and concert episodes, as well as doing the storyboard for the Yuki reading episode.<object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/rbrA2E_yprU&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1&amp;rel=0"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/rbrA2E_yprU&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1&amp;rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="344" width="425"></embed></object>
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