So, Right Stuf is up to something, and they've issued a press release on it, but even I don't know the details. Suffice it to say, you can win stuff, and it looks like they'll be announcing a new license to boot-- so we can't go wrong there, can we?    PRESS RELEASE: Right Stuf & Nozomi Entertainment New License Countdown & Crack the Code Contest at ComingSoon.RightStuf.comRight Stuf & Nozomi Entertainment New License Countdown & “Crack the Code” Contest at COMINGSOON.RIGHTSTUF.COM License to be revealed at 5 p.m. EDT on Wednesday, March 17, 2010 WHO:    Right Stuf, Inc.’s Nozomi Entertainment WHAT:  New License Countdown and “Crack the Code” Contest The timer is live with a twist! Crack the code, discover the password and possibly guess the latest license! (It’s also a chance to win RightStuf.com gift certificates!) WHEN:  Kick-Off: Monday, March 15, 2010 Contest Entries Due: Wednesday, March 17, 2010 4:15 p.m. EDT / 3:15 p.m. CDT / 2:15 p.m. MDT / 1:15 p.m. PDT License Reveal: Wednesday, March 17, 2010 5 p.m. EDT / 4 p.m. CDT / 3 p.m. MDT / 2 p.m. PDT WHERE: Visit comingsoon.rightstuf.com (   http://comingsoon.rightstuf.  ) and the following areas to take part in the countdown and game: RightStuf.com and Nozomi Entertainment news pages and RSS feeds. Twitter:  http://twitter.com/animetoday  Right Stuf on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ The ANIME TODAY Forums:  http://www.rightstuf.com/ And various locations around the Internet! WHY:  Previous countdowns revealed the fourth season of Maria Watches Over Us (Maria-sama ga Miteru), ARIA, Junjo Romantica and Antique Bakery. What will this countdown reveal?  ABOUT RIGHT STUF, INC.Currently celebrating its 23rd year in business, Right Stuf, Inc. was one of the first players in the U.S. Japanese Animation ("anime") industry, as both an anime producer/distributor and a retailer. Right Stuf works to promote knowledge of its own products, as well as the anime and manga industry, in general, through its online storefront at RightStuf.com and a variety of media including podcasts and special publications. Nozomi Entertainment, Right Stuf’s production division, is dedicated to the highest quality releases. True to the Japanese word that inspired its name, Nozomi’s focus is on “what fans want.” By focusing on a limited number of anime properties each year, the Nozomi production team ensures each release receives the care and attention to detail it deserves. From anime classics like Astro Boy, Kimba and Gigantor to modern comedies, dramas and favorites such as The Irresponsible Captain Tylor, His and Her Circumstances, Gravitation, Shingu: Secret of the Stellar Wars, Ninja Nonsense, The Third: The Girl With the Blue Eye, Emma: A Victorian Romance, Maria Watches Over Us, ARIA,Gakuen Alice and Rental Magica, Right Stuf and Nozomi Entertainment produce quality programming for fans of all ages and interests. For more information, visit  www.rightstuf.com  and  www.nozomient.com .       Antique Bakery First off, there's a countdown to the licensing announcement, which will be revealed on Wednesday, March 17th at 5pm CST (3pm PST/6pm EST), which is pretty standard fare-- past announcements revealed in this fashion have included Antique Bakery and ARIA.   But then there's a twist: on the Coming Soon countdown page is an audio clue-- the first of many that will pop up on the same page, the Anime Today podcast, Twitter, Facebook, and "various locations around the Internet" that will give you the info you need to break the code and guess the license. The first person to guess right will get a $100 gift certificate to RightStuf, and four runners-up will get $25 gift certificates.  I gotta tell you, the audio clue is pretty mystifying to me. I have a few ideas for what it might mean...how about you? And while we're at it, what do you want the license to be?
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My one big fear for the second season of Emma is that it would be too ambitious. You know, when a formula works in one series, the creators try to do the same, only bigger in the sequel, ruining the subtlety that made the original so wonderful. And indeed: Victorian Romance Emma’s second season is [...]
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Medium: Manga (23 volumes) Genre: Action, Adventure, Comedy, Science Fiction Author: Osamu Tezuka Publishers: Kodansha (JPN), Dark Horse (NA/UK) Release Dates: Apr. 1952 – Mar. 1968 (JPN), Mar. 15, 2002 (NA/UK) Age Rating: Not Rated To be honest, much of Tezuka's work is old. We can talk about how influential his series are on anime and manga, and we can discuss the depth of his themes, but the fact remains that many of his early works, including Astro Boy, just don't age very well. Astro Boy volume three, a Dark Horse release that compiles two stories from the Astro Boy universe, is no exception, but it is still completely worth reading for a quite unexpected reason. Specifically, this volume is a treasure trove for fans of Tezuka adaptations. The bulk of the book's 208 pages is filled with a story called "The Greatest Robot on Earth," which pits Astro against Pluto, a giant, horned robot programmed to destroy the seven most powerful robots in the world (including Astro), thereby making him king of the robot world. The kindly Dr. Ochanomizu tries to keep the boy robot from fighting Pluto, as the colossal enemy proves time and again that Astro's 100,000 horsepower isn't enough to defeat Pluto's own one million. Meanwhile, Pluto forms his first and only friendship with Astro's robot sister Uran, and faces a fundamental moral dilemma: to destroy Astro would be to rob his only friend of the most important person in her life. "The Greatest Robot on Earth" is, according to Tezuka's brief introduction at the beginning of the book, among his most popular Astro Boy story arcs, and its popularity has even spawned Naoki Urasawa's fantastic seinen retelling, Pluto. However, readers expecting the dark murder mystery tones of Pluto will be sorely disappointed to find a comic squarely aimed at children, as this was naturally the demographic for which Tezuka wrote Astro Boy. The pacing is also brutally fast, forcing much-needed exposition into a mere two speech bubbles in a single tiny panel. The truth is that this story has simply not aged well. It is often hard to understand what's going on as Tezuka barrels through the story at a breakneck pace, and many of the robots that Pluto destroys are barely given more than a page for character introduction before they are wiped out. Even the fight scenes, which Tezuka builds up with commendable tension in so few pages, are tragically brief, a shame considering the exciting style with which the artist depicts them. Despite all this, "The Greatest Robot on Earth" is worth it because, despite the shortcomings of the storytelling style, Tezuka has important things to say about love, friendship, family, and most of all duty (in Pluto's case) and self-acceptance (in Astro's case). Pluto faces a classic military conundrum: to obey a corrupt order or to do what you believe is right, while Astro must choose to raise his horsepower from 100,000 to one million, even though Dr. Ochanomizu insists that being the greatest robot in the world is all about his heart, not his horsepower. In the end, even though Pluto chooses to do the right thing, it is Astro's decision to embrace the philosophy of "might-makes-right" that leaves an appropriately unsatisfying conclusion to the tale. With so much going on between the lines, it is no wonder that this one story has been adapted into arcs in all three Astro Boy anime series as well as Urasawa's Pluto. Each of these four adaptations provides an entirely different look at the same themes. For example, Urasawa's manga delves into the private lives of each of Pluto's robot victims, while the 1980 Astro Boy anime reverses Astro's decision regarding his horsepower, painting a much less grim picture than Tezuka does at the end of this manga arc. The 2003 anime takes the story a step further, casting Dr. Tenma (Astro's father) as the scientist behind Pluto's creation. With such an adaptation-friendly chapter in this volume, it is only natural that the balance is taken up by "Mad Machine," a brief story about a machine, crated by Dr. Fooler (a regular character in Tezuka's "Star System"), that causes every robot in Tokyo to go haywire. Dr. Ochanomizu manages to take Astro Boy apart before the Mad Machine is turned on, and sends the boy to destroy it as it takes a three-minute break to recharge. Keen readers will remember that a similar machine is used by Duke Red in Rintaro's Metropolis to fry the circuits of all of the robots in Metropolis. Unsurprisingly, the scientist at the helm of Rintaro's Mad Machine is the very same Dr. Fooler. On its own, volume three of Astro Boy is hardly enjoyable for anyone but Tezuka addicts and children, but in the context of the adaptations that it has spawned, this particular volume just might be one of the most important in the whole series. If you haven't read any adaptations of "The Greatest Robot on Earth" yet, the original manga version is easily the best one to start with. It will provide a basis of comparison as well as a few interesting themes to toy around with before you move on to Pluto or any of the anime story arcs. [Recommended] This review is based on a Dark Horse graphic novel purchased by the reviewer. Post a Comment!
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Oooh, I can see the clouds below. Yup, I'm writing this post on a plane to Fort Lauderdale. ^^ (Although it's not the city where I'm staying for spring break.) I'm quite excited about a new anime series being green-lit for Shimura Takako's Hourou Musuko manga, which is running monthly in Comic Beam, the same seinen magazine that serialized Mori Kaoru's Emma. It's a very good series (what I've read of it so far, at least), and I'm looking forward to seeing it when it airs. Hopefully whichever studio is producing it will put as much care into it as J.C. Staff put into my beloved Aoi Hana. (Maybe it'll be J.C. Staff? I wonder if Kasai Kenicihi will sign up for it...this seems like his type of series, also. Of course, it's pointless speculating now.) Hourou Musuko is a slice-of-life series about a feminine "boy" (really a closeted transgendered girl) named Nitori Shuuichi, who is starting 5th grade at a new school. She makes friends with Takatsuki Yoshino, a transgendered boy who most people assume is a tomboyish girl. In true Shimura fashion, there is a large, generally likeable supporting cast. (Although Shuuichi's big sister Maho makes me glad that I'm an only child... >___>; Aside from her, pretty much everyone is likeable.) Also- my yuri panel at Conbust is going to be at 8:00 p.m. on Saturday, March 27. Directions to the con can be found here, and the schedule for all of the con events can be seen here. I hope to see plenty of people there! ^^ Plus, Takashima Rica's Rica'tte Kanji!? made a certain mainstream comic site's top gay comics list. ^_^ (I love seeing yuri- and manga in general- receive press from outlets that aren't normally into yuri/manga- hence my giddiness over Afterellen streaming yuri this past summer and autumn.) See Okazu's Yuri Network News tomorrow for more. Ack...battery running low. Anyway, major kudos to Takashima for getting more recognition and to Shimura for getting her second manga-to-anime adaptation! ^^
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I’m a bit late to the Manga Moveable Feast, but as previously written reviews seem to be acceptable, I’d like to pitch in with my reviews of vols. 1-3 and vols. 4-7 of Emma as well as my review of Shirley. I think this passage from my review of the second half of Emma sums up [...]
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With Chizuru's issues more or less resolved last episode, Sawako gets to re-take centre stage in episode twenty-two of Kimi ni Todoke... and just in time for Christmas too.However, this festive season ends up bringing something of a dilemma for Sawako, as she finds herself torn between spending Christmas with her parents (something that they love to do, largely on account of Sawako's birth being
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Matt Blind is hosting the latest Manga Moveable Feast, and he is taking his duties seriously. The book this time is Emma, and he has posted his thoughts on vol. 1 and vol. 2 at Rocket Bomber. posting his thoughts at his blog, Rocket Bomber. Checking in with their reviews are Garrett Albright, Johanna Draper [...]
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[shima] Kaoru Mori should be a familiar name among manga fans, known for her unorthodox – or is it completely orthodox? – depiction of the life of a maid. The TV series for the Emma manga aired a few years ago, which happens to be her most famous story, but I opted into buying the one [...]
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These past week I been detracted myself from my once inert otaku that become interested in economy, body languages, micro-expressions, business, financial and countries that I want to live in. All while doing a part time job as an accountant assistant in a firm at Puchong that is out of KL. I have miss out a [...] Related posts:The Exchange Rate Dilemma Major Otaku Convention in Malaysia Look Dim The End Have Just Begun
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How could this episode not awesome when the twisted gorgeous woman and the heartrob bastardly dude had so much screentime in it?! Ohohohohohohoho~Shinra, Selty, Mikado and Shizuo also made this episode so enjoyable~ Seiji x Miwa is getting on my nerves though... but my annoyance to them doesn't make the series less awesome. Hehe.[ AWESOME WOMAN: NAMIE YAGIRI ]Namie: My love is different. It is more vast and absolute. The narrator of the episode has been mentioning about love most of the time, haha!She seems to be a really remarkable woman, for being able to get to her position at such a young age. It looks like she's related to the person who stole Selty's head. She only sees it as a mere doll; and she's not fond of dolls. I guess we're similar in that sense. I only rejoice when I see a doll as my present but the next day I either throw it away or behead it (wait, that makes me morbid since childhood O_O)[ HUMAN-LOVING BASTARD: IZAYA ]Izaya: *spinning with his chair* I'm so excited. I'm so excited! I'm so excited! Even though I'm an informant, there are so many things I don't know about in this city! They appear and disappear! This is precisely why I can't leave a city where humans gather! HUMAN LOVE! I just love them! I'm in love with them! And that's why humans should come to love me as well.This bastard is declaring about his love for humans again, haha! He wishes it to be mutual; but how could humans love you if you're such a jackass? Oh you are such an idiot for having idea how you can make yourself genuinely likable to people. Hehe.By the way, he's so damn rich. Look how spacious his office is! And it's also so neat, and he has two computers, and he has a bunch of books too. And he calls his room filthy? Haha, I dunno if he's being "humble" or it's just not good enough for him. Hehe.Looks like he's more alone than he seems... he has a chessboard but it doesn't appear that he ever had any playmates. So he's playing the game according to his rules or something. You poor damaged darling~So, you don't only need a detective or a cop to search for people, but informants will do as well. Izaya had been really really fast in finding Seiji. He does his job so well. He's so incredible. Even if he's got a twisted mind, he's still freakin' talented *_* I love him~[ OTP: IZAYA x NAMIE ]Izaya: It's not good to meddle too much.Namie: I'm not meddling! I'm the only one who can protect him!Izaya: I've heard that stalkers don't realize they're stalking. Apparently, they believe that they're "protecting"-Namie: Don't you dare put me on the same level as a stalker!Izaya: You're frightening. I'm just pulling your leg.THEY FINALLY MET FACE TO FACE!!! YESSSSSSSS!!!!!!I know Namie just didn't have anyone else to ask, but the idea of Namie asking help (or hiring to find someone rather) from Izaya delights me~I also know that Izaya is most likely just trying to get more information or waste time while he does his job when he was chatting with Namie, but the idea of him flattering and messing with her delights me as well~Namie's awesome enough to cut-off Izaya's attempted chit-chat delays. Her pissed off mode when she was likened to a stalker made Izaya start his work already. Haha!And why does Izaya keep on asking about Namie's love for her brother xD Well, most likely he's just interested because "he wants to understand human relationships", but still, for that to be his favorite topic with Namie... squeee~ I would like to have delusions of Izaya not giving a damn about Seiji because he wants Namie to get over her one-sided love. Hehe.[ BROTHER COMPLEX: NAMIE->SEIJI ]Ah how distorted these siblings are. I think Seiji does love his sister but not in the same way as Namie does.I think she became more attached to her brother because they were the only ones alone together in a big quiet household when they were kids. Too bad the head that she showed Seiji made him madly in love with it as well. It doesn't seem that Seiji's into incest, so she really didn't have a chance from the very beginning. But with him falling in love with the head, made her chances even slimmer. She says revealing that secret to Seiji was her first and only regret.She may have spoiled Seiji too much, to the point of giving him as much cash as he needs and protecting him when he had killed someone. Her love was so unconditional, but it doesn't appear that she's that selfish/possessive either. I think she what she prioritizes is making Seiji happy (aside from protecting him); and even it will hurt her if he spends more time with another woman, she still did him such a favor. Oh Namie... I understand sibling love *has a younger brother as well* but you love him too much. You should go out with another guy (I vote Izaya! w00t! He's not the ideal boyfriend, but you can handle him Namie xD Yay!). Besides, Seiji's a jerk...[ FACEPALM: SEIJI ]Seiji appealed to me before because he had killed someone but he was still calm enough to eat noodles with a dead body lying inside his room. I saw him as such a romantic person as well... but he's too in love; it's sickening. He declares that he loves the girl just because she has the face of the head he fell in love with. He doesn't care about knowing who she is or what she's like. Ugh. Point is, not only is this guy's love distorted, but he's not showing true love either (He should learn from his sister). I was so happy when Shizuo had given him a lesson (the ballpen/stick/whatever was pathetic. Thank goodness Shizuo's no ordinary human).[ MY CHAINSAW IS PREPARED: MIWA ](I'd call her "Miwa" because "Selty" is too good to be her alias or temporary name T_T)Ugh, this girl.... she creeped me out with her former self; but now she's just damn annoying. Damn confusing as well. She loves Seiji but she doesn't want anyone in her way (I think that's the reason why she threw away the phone. For Namie to stop calling/interrupting. Damnit, what a waste).And now she's acting like a fragile flower (I think I read that character type from tv tropes) with Mikado.And it also appears that she's another Izaya fangirl. Nakura... I'm amazed on how you managed to get her contact and even report diligently to you.That's it. I'm annoyed. She doesn't deserve Selty's beautiful face. Ugh.[ EVER SO NICE: MIKADO ]Ugh... you bumped into her AGAIN.Oh Mikado... the type to help even strangers nice. You're such a nice person. I'm loving you more and more~However, jeez, why bring her to your apartment... she doesn't deserve your concern or protection. Oh damn, I wish them separated asap.[ OTP#2: SHINRA x SELTY ]Selty talks about her troubles to Shinra. Seems that Shinra's such a strong emotional support for her. That's so sweet~ And when he held her hand.... Kyaaaa~It was so cute that Selty was talking (or typing rather) so fast when Shinra wondered why she's with Shizuo~ Don't want to make Shinra jealous or have other thoughts about it? Heeeheeehee~Selty's so frustrated to see her head on someone else. But she doesn't seem to be the type who'll cut off the head for her sake. Oh what a dilemma for Selty...[ KYAAAA: SHIZUO ]Shizuo: *winks* Leave this to me. You go on ahead.It's always so awesome when Shizuo's helping Selty out even if he doesn't know exactly why he needs to. He trusts her that much. They're such friends xD But hhhmmm, he seems nicer to Selty than to Shinra. Perhaps he's the type who's more fond of women? He didn't even harm Miwa even though she has been noisy enough to piss him off I think, hehe.I love the parts when Shizuo's beating up Seiji. Not only because I've come to dislike Seiji, but he has also been questioning Seiji about his "love". Shizuo knows more about true love than that guy!!!And yay to no reaction to injuries. Also for the power of superglue xD Haha. Oh I love Shizuo~[ NEXT EPISODE ]IZAYA AND SELTY WORKING TOGETHER!!!!!!!!!Shizuo's her usual sidekick. But since she's off to find someone, Mr. tracking device will be more useful in this case. Haha!I can't stop laughing on the part when Izaya's pretending to be riding a motorcycle with his hand while walking with Selty (who's on a bike). Bwahahahaahaha!!!!And Kida's back~ More best friend moments I hope~ And Mikado finally meets Selty!!!Oh the next episode seems really exciting~
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