AKB48's U.S. Debut at NYAF 2009

Rumors have been swirling around and now the New York Anime Festival officially announces AKB48! AKB48 is a female music group created in 2005 by songwriter Yasushi Akimoto. The group was born under the concept of "idols you can visit" and is based in Akihabara, the center of Japanese anime and manga culture. Members of AKB48 regularly appear in movies, television shows, and theater, and they are on top of Japan's pop culture consciousness, singing at Japan's biggest New Year's Eve broadcast, joining Prime Minister Taro Aso for cherry-blossom viewing, hosting their own weekly television show, and collaborating with artist Takashi Murakami on multiple projects. They perform almost everyday at their own theater in Akihabara, have performed internationally in Paris, and now they're coming to NYC!

AKB48 will hold a Q&A session, autographing, and short concert at the Jacob Javits Center on Saturday, September 26, and the musical group will then present a free concert at NYC's Webster Hall on Sunday, September 27th.

AKB48 is an awesome addition and this announcement is sure to perk up fans' ears. If you are still contemplating on whether or not to attend NYAF this year...AKB48 may be there to make your decision a bit easier. [Source: MediumAtLarge]

Far East To East Showcase Returns to NYAF with 4 Musical Acts

Last year, the New York Anime Festival and Karaterice launched the Far East To East Showcase at The Knitting Factory. It was a celebration of indie, punk, rock, and pop both from Japan and NYC. This year, NYAF and Karaterice -- now with the super name Superglorious -- are bringing FETES back, and bringing it into the iconic Webster Hall.

From Japan, FETES hosts Kokusyoku Sumire and Swinging Popsicle, and from NYC, FETES features Echostream and Gelatine. Tickets are $10 in advance and $15 the day of the show and available now at www.ticketweb.com and www.websterhall.com. The show is open to audiences of all ages.

Kokusyoku Sumire, Swinging Popsicle, Echostream, and Gelatine are four amazing bands -- bands selected not because of their involvement in anime, but selected because of the intensity and integrity music.

For more on the Far East To East Showcase, Superglorious will hold a FETES Press Panel on Saturday, September 26 at the New York Anime Festival. Superglorious will also maintain a booth at NYAF all weekend long where various FETES artists will appear. [Source: MediumAtLarge]

Guild Wars 2 Teaser Trailer

The grounds are starting to rumble as NCsoft and ArenaNet bring us the Guild Wars 2 teases we've been waiting for. First we got confirmation that the project is still fully underway, second, some incredibly beautiful concept art, and now straight from GAMESCOM in Cologne, Germany, we have the trailer, just under 5 minutes long!

The few glimpses of concept art was just the beginning -- the trailer boasts stunningly gorgeous concept art that words simply can't describe. And from the look of things, GW2 is shaping up to be the sequel we've been wishing for. A vast amount of environments that not only look beautiful but bring such variation. No two places look alike. Though there isn't any gameplay, you do get some hints as to what the actual game will look like. The characters -- allies and foes alike -- bring just as much diversity as the environment. Let's just say, it seems like they are on the right track. So without further delay, here's the trailer...you HAVE to see it for yourself. Welcome back to Tyria!

Guild Wars 2 Lives On...

Back in 2007, we heard the first word on the official full sequel to NCSoft's original Guild Wars games -- Guild Wars 2. Since then, all has been quiet on the western front. Too quiet, in fact that I, like many other fans, were getting worried and contemplating GW2's release.

Well ArenaNet Mike O'Brien is here to ease those woes. In a letter to the fans on Guild Wars Wiki:

I want to thank all our fans for their patience as we developed the game to the point where we can start talking about it publically. I know you've all been anxiously awaiting this moment. You'll soon understand how ambitious we've been and what we've accomplished during these past two years of development. We still have a lot of work ahead of us, but from here on out we'll be able to provide you with more regular updates.

Guild Wars 2 is going to be a huge leap beyond the original. We have the best team in the industry executing at the top of their game, and I'm very proud of what our team has accomplished so far. As I said last week, I'm confident that when you get your first look at what we've been working on, you're going to love what you see. Stay tuned for an exciting week ahead.

Excitement!! Let the teases commence. Check out the official Guild Wars 2 website...not much there, but it brings enough affirmation as it is. Follow them on twitter (and Facebook) to get the updates we so crave.

18-m Eva Movie Poster on Charity Auction

Evangelion 2.0: You Can [Not] Advance celebrates its two millionth viewing of the film by auctioning an 18-meter-tall movie poster charity on the Yahoo! Auctions Japan website. The poster features Co-director Kazuya Tsurumaki's storyboard sketch as well as his autograph. 3.5-meter-wide (11.5-foot-wide) poster, which was created with weather-resistant printing on vinyl-covered cloth, hung on the 109-2 department store building in Tokyo's Shibuya district for three weeks starting on June 13. The auction will benefit the Japan Committee Vaccines for the World's Children (JCV).

A separate 2.78-meter-tall (9-foot-tall) character poster is also being auctioned for the same charity. The second poster features an illustration of the three main Evangelion pilots by animation director Hidenori Matsubara as well as Matsubara's autograph. The poster hung during the elaborate opening weekend event just outside a participating theater in Tokyo's Kabukicho neighborhood on June 27 and 28. Both auctions end on August 19; as of August 14, the larger storyboard poster is going for 70,000 yen (about US$734) while the smaller character poster is going for 111,000 yen (US$1,160). [Source: ANN]

Gurren Lagann: The Movie at NYAF 2009

New York Anime Festival will play host to the East Coast Premiere of Bandai and Aniplex's offspring, Gurren Lagann: The Movie - Childhood's End.

Gurren Lagann: The Movie - Childhood's End is a feature film retelling of the first half of the Gurren Lagann series, a feature film that's rarely been seen outside of Japan. So NYAF go-ers...REJOICE!

For those who miraculously haven't jumped on the Gurren Lagann train, the series is about a boy named Simon who's spent his entire life digging in the dirt. But when Simon finds a strange little drill buried deep in the soil, he starts on a journey that'll take him into the sky, into space, and busting through heaven. Gurren Lagann -- from the studio behind Evangelion and FLCL -- is one of the most acclaimed animations in years, and it deserves every ounce of praise it's received. [Source: MediumAtLarge]

Shiny Metal Qees

In a collaborative effort between TOY2R USA and FULLY VISUAL - fans of QEE can now celebrate the release of real metal 2.5" Qees. Available for a limited time in extremely limited amounts - FULLY VISUAL will drop the figures this today, Thursday, August 13th at 11am (PST) on their online store.

In addition - customers who purchase the set of all three will receive a special bonus chase figure that is so cool!![Source: Qee 4 All]

Official Silent Hill Attraction

Sinister Pointe, the mind behind the official "Saw" haunted attraction, teams up with Konami to bring us a fright that is sure to grab your attention and scare you out of your wits. That's right, ever imagined stepping foot in Silent Hill and striking fear onto yourself?

Enter the Silent Hill Haunted Attraction. The Silent Hill maze is located in Brea, California and will feature elements from both video games. The fright begins October 2nd. Be sure to check out Sinister Pointe at www.sinisterpointe.com for more details. Cue the nurses...

Cencoroll US Premiere at NYAF 2009

New York Anime Festival 2009 will host the US Premiere of Aniplex's Cencoroll. Cencoroll was created entirely by one man, award-winning artist Atsuya Uki. Uki originally created a Cencoroll short in 2007 and distributed the animation via the internet. In the same year, the short was screened at NYAF.

With an overwhelming wave of praise and support of this original short, Uki decided to single-handedly create a full film which will debut later this month in theaters in Japan. And lucky for us, the US debut will be at NYAF this September!

Cencoroll is the story of a provincial Japanese town under attack by a mysterious monster, and the young girl Yuki, and boy Tetsu, who hold the secret to fighting back: a strange and even-more-mysterious pet called Cenco. For more information and footage of Cencoroll, check out the film's official site (www.cencoroll.com). [Source: MediumAtLarge]

Gackt Slated for Samurai Warriors 3 Ending Song

Japanese musician Gackt has a lot of accomplishments on his belt and he is no stranger to video games as well. To add another notch, Gackt is apparently in the ropes to do the ending song for the upcoming Nintendo Wii game "Samurai Warriors 3" for developer Koei.

Gackt's music will also appear in TV ads for the game. You may recall his work in Square Enix's "Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII." Fans of Gackt can already be certain that we're in for a treat! [Source: Yahoo JP via Kotaku]

Halo Legends Anime - A First Look

Acclaimed anime and live-action film director Mamoru Oshii will take the reins as the creative director of Production I.G.'s two episodes in the Halo Legends Anime Project, adapted by Microsoft's Halo game franchise. The production team clarifies that he will not personally direct either short. Production I.G. is one of the five Japanese studios that is animating the seven shorts (a al Animatix, perhaps?) in the project, including BONES, Casio Entertainment, Studio 4°C, and Toei Animation.

In addition, Appleseed director Shinji Aramkai will join Oshii in this project and will oversee a short about the history of the Spartan warrior class from the games. The shorts will be available on DVD and via digital media some time next year. According to Kotaku, it will preview on Xbox Live this fall on the Halo Waypoint. [Source: ANN and Kotaku]

And without further ado, I bring you the debut trailer. What are your thoughts?

Viz Acquires Vampire Knight Anime Series

It really has been a long time coming which has been very surprising to me, but Viz Media has finally announced that it has acquired the Vampire Knight anime series, during its second Saturday panel at Comic-Con International. Rejoice!

Viz Media will release Matsuri Hino's eight manga volume next month.

Castlevania Movie Update

Looks like things are brewing for the movie adaptation of the incredibly massive video game series "Castlevania." James Wan, the co-mastermind behind the Saw franchise, and director of Dead Silence and Death Sentence, will be co-writing and directing Castlevania. (Sylvain White was originally slated to direct.)

In an exclusive interview with Bloody-Disgusting, James Wan goes to say:

"I'm very fresh on this project, so its early stages and I'm still trying to work things out, but the producers love my vision for it. I'll be working on the script with a writer to give it a new spin, different to the previous versions. This will have my stamp on it which Konami is very excited about.

The thing I love about what Konami did with Castlevania, was taking the iconic Dracula mythology and Eastern-European setting, and retelling it with a Japanese pop-cultural sensibility. That’s the East-meets-West tone I want to visually expand on for the film. I’m thrilled by the opportunity to make a highly stylized, fantasy, action film that focuses on the gothic storyline and the cool, anime-like characters. For once, the human hero is as sexy and dangerous as the vampire villain, and his weapon of choice was what attracted me to the project in the first place – The Vampire Killer Whip.” [Source: Bloody-Disgusting]

All I can say is the artwork is absolutely striking and impressive, hopefully it will translate well.

FUNimation at Otakon 2009

FUNimation announces several recent acquisitions over the course of Otakon weekend. One in particular has got me excited, so let's get down to it.

First up is four "Detective Conan" movies - The Last Wizard of the Century; Captured in Her Eyes; Countdown to Heaven; and The Phantom of Baker Street. FUNimation will release each movie individually beginning Winter 2009. On the live action realm comes "Daytime Drinking," a comedy produced by StONEwork Film Production. This is set to be released sometime in 2010.

FUNimation has acquired home entertainment, broadcast, digital and merchandise rights to the first season (24 episodes) of the post-apocalyptic sci-fi anime series "Casshern Sins" from Tatsunoko Productions! This sci-fi series is directed by Shigeyasu Yamauchi (“Blood+”, “Digimon”, “Dragon Ball Z”) produced by Tatsunoko Productions (“Speed Racer”, “Robotech”, “Gatchaman”) and animated by Madhouse (“Claymore”, “Hellsing Ultimate”, “Death Note”, “Gungrave”). FUNimation Entertainment will release the first season of the series in two 12 episode sets fall 2010.

Casshern Sins is a revisioning of the early seventies series “Neo-Human Casshern” presented with a unique animation style. This sci-fi android series begins in a time when humans are subjugated by androids. Desperate for freedom, humans summon a mysterious girl named Luna in order to save mankind. Braiking Boss, leader of the androids, fears what this girl may do, and sends three assassins to remove her. The strongest of these assassins, Casshern, manages to track down and kill Luna. This triggers a cataclysmic event which sets in motion the end of the world.

Hundreds of years later, the world is in ruin and both humans and androids fear for their lives. Casshern, who has disappeared since Luna’s death, returns to the world with no memory. Thus starts his journey of self discovery and redemption that will determine the future of both humans and androids.

Changing gears a bit,...listen up all you diehard original Dragon Ball fans...the next acquisition is a big one. FUNimation Entertainment has got their hands on the original masters for the ENTIRE Dragon Ball Z anime series, episodes and films. They plan on releasing all as the Dragon Box for the very first time in the U.S. The Dragon Box will be produced from the original Dragon Box masters after a frame by frame restoration and will span the entire 291 episode television series and all 13 of its movies.

You can grab the first of seven Dragon Boxes nationwide on November 10, 2009 and is retailed at $79.98. Dragon Box One will include the first 42 episodes, uncut, on 6 discs. It will feature the original Japanese audio (with options for an English track or English subtitles), the original episode previews, complete opening and closing credits and a collector’s booklet.

Other FUNimation announcements include the cast lists for "Nabari No Ou" and "Spice and Wolf."

Hideo Kojima on MGS: Peace Walker

Metal Gear creator and Video Game genius Hideo Kojima reiterates the significance of the Metal Gear Solid PSP installment deeming it a "MGS5-class game," in a press release Q&A "unveiled" by Konami yesterday.

Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker" picks up where MGS3 leaves off as players take control of Naked Snake. Taking place in 1974, Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker features original game design, story and scenario by Hideo Kojima. The game takes the series in an exciting new direction with its incredible visuals and its unique new game system designed specifically with the PSP in mind.

This game is an MGS5-class game. I am supervising, designing, producing, directing, and editing this title together with the MGS4 team. Therefore in that sense, "METAL GEAR SOLID" has not ended, and the "METAL GEAR SAGA" continues.

Though Kojima had intended to place the project in the hands of the next generation of creators at Kojima Productions, he, in the end, "felt that it was still a little too early to leave it completely in their hands, so [he] decided to take the reins.

While Kojima doesn't give away too much details surrounding gameplay, he does state that the game will be stealth-action based. However, "the game will be a little different from the METAL GEAR that players have come to know. However, the story can be replayed numerous times and the game is full of challenges to complete, so...this title will really satisfy players with its long-lasting play time."

To end, Kojima also gave us a little insight into the strange code that appeared on the teaser website pre-E3 2009.

5=it is an MGS5 class game
S=Snake
巳＝snake in Kanji
E=E3
R=Raiden
3=3 from 360 and E3
6=6 from 360
P and S=PSP and adding 3 makes it PS3

Aside from the Snake and Raiden visuals, we featured a total of 10 "symbols" and when all of these are rearranged, they form connections to the announcements that we made at E3. The first symbols that appeared were the number "5" and the letter "S" for Snake that represented PW which, to me, is a "5" class title. "巳" not only hints at the lowercase lettering of "E" for E3, but it is the kanji for the word "snake." Also, the symbol that appeared at the very end is the kanji "日" and represents a sunny background and the sunrise that links to RISING.

The "RISING" of "METAL GEAR SOLID RISING" implies "the sun rising," "the sun shining," and "the sun shining on Raiden" that was revealed in the visuals on the HP. In addition, RISING" also represents how "METAL GEAR SOLID" will be taking the next step up.

Going back to the symbols found on the HP, they also link to "the day of 360" and also to each of the titles that we announced at E3. When each of the symbols are rearranged, I think you'll be able to recognize E3, PSP, PS3, 360 and others. So everyone, how did you like it? Were your predictions on the mark?

Check out the entire press release here.

Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood Kai Figures

Kotobukiya is back with another set of very cool looking Full Metal Alchemist figures. These Square Enix Play Arts figures comes from the new FMA: Brotherhood series. Each figure comes with additional heads and accessories. I especially like the additional faces of Alphonse and Roy Mustang. They will be released in October this year and is retailed about 4,200 yen a pop. Some very nice detailing make this a must-have addition to any FMA fan. [Source: Tomopop]

1/1 Scale Gundam Photo Op

We all have dreams and for some it may include getting the chance to sit upon a Gundam's shoulder and being immortalized alongside with it via a once-in-a-lifetime photoshoot. Well the planners of the 1/1-scale, "life-size" statue of the Gundam robot are auctioning the opportunity for one person to have a photograph taken at the statue's shoulder!

The Green Tokyo Gundam Project will be adding the Tokyo 2016 Candidate City logo to the statue on August 1, to promote Tokyo's bid to host the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The winner of the charity auction on Yahoo! Japan will take part in the Tokyo Olympics bid logo ceremony in a high-altitude construction lift. (The statue stands at 18 meters or 59 feet.) [Source: ANN]

Otakon Q&A: Calling all Fans...

With Otakon just about a week away and all the guests having been announced, I have started thinking about what I really want to learn about this year's guests. And as I am brainstorming and wait for the press schedule, I figured why ponder alone? So I call out to my readers...What do you wish you could ask if given the chance? What would you be interested in learning more about? Is there something you've been dying to ask VAMPS, for example, or maybe Mary Elizabeth Glynn? Perhaps you'd be interested in hearing about Yutaka Yamamoto's future projects? Check out the entire guest list here.

I'd be intrigued to know what some of you have to say. And for those with inquiring questions, especially those who won't be able to make it to Otakon, I'd be happy to try and relay your questions..so with that, I'm all ears. Feel free to comment to this post or email me directly at eva001berserker@aol.com.

Happy 4th of July!

As I prepare to enjoy this three-day weekend, I figured I'd bid everyone Happy Independence Day...even if it's one day too early! Whatever your plans may be today and tomorrow (mine will include trying to console my fireworks-fearing doggie), be sure to add this on your list of things to do.

Download the new (and free) LittleBigPlanet costume to commemorate our Independence -- LBP presents The Sacktue of Liberty. Happy 4th everyone!

More Otakon 2009 Guest Announcements

Just when I thought we were wrapping up the guest announcements for Otakon this year, I was pleasantly mistaken. We've got not one, not two, but three, count them...THREE more guests to announce!!!

First up -- director, producer, and president of Artland, Noboru Ishiguro will make his first visit to Otakon. As a director, some of his notable titles are Space Battleship Yamato (first series and first two movies), Macross (original TV series and Do You Remember Love), Megazone 23, Legend of the Galactic Heroes, and Tytania. Ishiguro wrote the story for Megazone 23, based on his personal experience: having witnessed how easily the government mechanism can make the public believe distorted truths and motivate them into war. Ishiguro founded his studio, Artland, and still runs it as president after its acquisition by Marvelous Entertainment.

If that wasn't good enough, let's add Matsubara to the mix. Character designer, illustrator and animator Hidenori Matsubara, perhaps best known for his character design work on the Oh My Goddess! OAV series and the Sakura Wars games, will be a guest at Otakon 2009. As a young and hungry animator, Matsubara worked as an in-betweener on the Project A-Ko movies. From there, he served as an animator on Bubblegum Crisis and Gunbuster. Graduating to animation director for Nadia: Secret of Blue Water, he completed the opening animation for Bubblegum Crash, and then served as animation director on Otaku no Video (the inspiration for Otakon). Other credits in this period include work as an animator on Perfect Blue, Gunsmith Cats, and the original Neon Genesis Evangelion series. For the Oh My Goddess! series (and later for the movie), Matsubara served as character designer and chief animation director; more recently, he was character designer for The Count of Monte Cristo. He also served as the character designer of the hit game series Sakura Wars. Currently, Matsubara is working under Hideaki Anno as an animator and animation director on the new series of Evangelion movies.

And to round up the last of this triad of announcements, Otakon brings us Yukio Kikukawa. Producer Yukio Kikukawa has invested over a decade of his career producing the 162 episodes and three features of the epic Legend of the Galactic Heroes. His most recently producers the 26-episode series Tytania, another space opera based on the books by LoGH author Yoshiki Tanaka. As a rare member of the Japanese anime industry from an American-style fandom background (a science-fiction convention-goer), he achieved the status of alpha fan when he chaired Anime Expo Tokyo in 2004. [Source: Otakon]