As ADV woes continue, Funimation steps in to pick the rights to 30 titles. Those rights include the home video, broadcast, digital, and merchandising rights in North America and other regions so it is posible to see them being released here in Europe also. The complete list are as follows:

# 009-1
# Ah! My Goddess: Flights of Fancy
# Air Gear
# Air movie
# Air TV
# Blade of the Phantom Master
# Comic Party: Revolution
# Coyote Ragtime Show
# Devil May Cry
# Guyver: The Bioboosted Armor TV
# Jing, King of Bandits: Seventh Heaven
# Jinki:Extend
# Kanon
# Kyoshiro to Towa no Sora (once titled as Shattered Angels by ADV Films)
# Le Chevalier D’Eon
# Magikano
# Moeyo Ken TV
# Moonlight Mile
# Murder Princess
# Nerima Daikon Brothers
# Pani Poni Dash!
# Project Blue Earth SOS
# Pumpkin Scissors
# Red Garden
# Sgt. Keroro 1st & 2nd
# Tokyo Majin
# UFO Princess Valkyrie
# Utawarerumono
# Venus Versus Virus
# The Wallflower
# Welcome to the NHK
# Xenosaga

Quite a good list of titles here and lets hope the prices are competitive too if they do make it to our shores.

Yes that lovable, brown fuzzy mascot of the Japanese NHK channel will be making its official debut on the Veoh video streaming website this Friday, 20th June 2008. In a series of 20 new short episodes will be available over the next five weeks. For those who have yet to witness the power of Domo, then here is some of his older works… Introducing Domo.

Manga publisher Tokyopop has announced that it will be decreasing its output of Manga titles in the UK after sluggish sales. This is a direct link from the parent company in the USA as they look to downsize the company to maintain profits. The knock on effect then is that Tokyopop UK will be releasing 20 titles a month down from the previous 25.

According to reports, visual novels in the UK rose over 40% over the past 4 months of the year however sales of Tokyopop books have dropped around 4%. This is significant because previously Tokyopop enjoyed a near monopoly on the market with 80-90% market share in the UK. Now it only has around 50%, a marked reduction.

Should be interesting to see what Tokyopop will try to do, to push its brand to more people in the UK. How many of you currently enjoy their releases also?

Yes it’s that time of year once again where anime, manga and videogame fans invade London and the ExCel Centre! We will be there to cover the event and hopefully will grab some interviews with various cosplayers, list news and announcements, images of the guests and coverage of the Masquerade as many people have worked hard on their cosplay. Sadly I will not be cosplaying for this event however I shall be doing my best to give you complete coverage of the Saturday event!

I am looking forward to this weekend in general and could open things up for a possible vote on the best cosplayer of the weekend. If you notice me or any of the staff, then feel free to say hello. We won’t bite! Look forward though to our coverage once we get back as this is the largest event in the UK for anime and manga fans. Let’s just hope the weather doesn’t dampen things…

Many years ago there was a war with the giants known as the Zentradi which lead to near extinction of the human race by the extraterrestrials. Faced with the threat of destruction, a colony fleet was created entrusting mankind into space as part of future expansion into the galaxy. As the years went on, in 2059 A.D. the 25th vast colony fleet was created known as Macross Frontier as mankind continued to expand towards the centre of the galaxy.
As part of a whirlwind galaxy wide tour the Galactic Fairy a beautiful idol and talented songstress known as Sheryl Norme makes a planned appearance to Macross Frontier and so preparations for the hugely popular concert begins . As work goes underway a group of highly skilled pilots are commissioned to take film footage of the concert live and to put on an acrobatic show. Luka, a young computer specialist double checks the aerobic routine while Michal acts as team leader. Alto, often teased about his beauty however is dissatisfied about having his lead stunts cut down but that is the least of his worries as danger looms…

Being a massive fan of Macross Plus I have been anticipating this series for quite some time, and it doesn’t disappoint. Production values are high as the art direction from mixing shiny, detailed CG models of the aircrafts to liberal use of alpha blending to illustrate holographic displays, the world is set alight with vibrant scenery, rich colours and detailed traditional cel animation.
The premise of the story is set around the three talented cadets that are hired to put on a show during the Sheryl concert and is fairly stereotypical. Luka, a young male of pink hair is a computer expert often seen analysing and organising routines and missions while Michal is your established, professional pilot with above average skills in every area. Alto however is a young, brash male, confidant in his abilities but still lacking in direction and wanting to beat Michal to prove himself. Obsessed with being set free from the constraints of the ceiling height set by the artificial sky of Macross Frontier, Alto wishes to pilot a Valkyrie, an aircraft built for space combat and not the Ex-Gear they currently use.

His paths cross with an upbeat, fun loving female called Ranka Lee, a worker at a Chinese Restaurant called Nyan Nyan, who gets lost while looking to get to the Sheryl convert that her brother managed to get tickets for. One thing that struck me when watching this was the seiyuu’s debut for Ranka Lee - Megumi Nakajima. I swore I recognised her voice as one of the lead females for a Studio Ghibli movie but was proved wrong. Her debut not only as a seiyuu (voice actor) but as a singer also is stunning. Her warm tones, energised performance and strong projection of performance gives her a strong presence for her character where emotions often ebb and flow. Speaking of high performances the music is once again being handled by famed composer Yoko Kanno which sets the mood perfectly with the visuals. From ambient soothing tunes to the lavish productions of Sheryl’s concert music, Maaya Sakamoto also chips in with the them tune.

Action heats up though as alien forces start to attack during Sheryl’s concert, outside of Macross Frontier forcing everyone to evacuate into the underground shelters. Dogfights are fluid and well choreographed as it is all handed in 3D however it is done in a way that it complements the traditional 2D animation rather than alienating it. The angles used and composition really does make this a visual treat and a joy to watch, which is credit to CG artists.

Macross Frontier Episode 01 is a good introduction of what’s to come with a small revelation at the end making you want to watch more. If you are a fan of drama, mecha, great production values, music and characterisation then I would recommend this. One of the highlights for me of the new anime season because it isn’t your usual fluff and a keeper for me.

Mnemosyne is a 6 episode supernatural Horror/Thriller series from Xebec. I will first say it is pretty graphic, with scenes of torture, experimentation, nudity and sexual content. You have been warned this isn’t a series for the faint of heart, if you are in any way squeamish don’t watch it. Mnemosyne is named after the mythological Greek titaness who was the personification of memory. As this is what this series is about discovering buried memories, of course these memories are often brutal, disturbing, gruesome and graphic.

The story revolves around Rin Asogi a mysterious woman who runs a private investigation agency. She takes on various cases which cause her to delve deeper into a dark, mysterious, action packed and often graphically violent world.

This is definitely a show to watch. The animation is top notch I really like the character designs and even though the show is dark it is still very compelling and interesting to watch. I must add that I was drawn to the show by the Yuri element which does seem to be quite apparent between Rin and her secretary Mimi, with additional scene’s that are strictly ‘business’ throughout, it‘s nice to see a yuir-ish show without school girls for once. This isn’t for everyone but if you can cope with copious amounts of blood, gore and nudity this could be a journey you wish to take, but remember this does at times make Elfen Lied look like a walk in the park. Highly recommended but I do think that 6 episodes will seem incredibly short and possibly will be the one major disappointment.

Voices of a Distant Star tells the story of a long-distance relationship between Mikako Nagamine and Noboru Terao whose only source of communication is through text messaging across space. Mikako is a middle school girl recruited by the U.N Space forces to fight against a race of aliens. Mikako is sent in space to pilot a fighting mech leaving her memories behind on earth including Noboru. As the film progresses Mikako journeys further into the depths of space taking it longer for her text messages to reach Noboru which brings in the theory of time dilation. It approaches to a situation that messages Mikako send will take 8 years to reach Noboru.

Makoto Shinkai created this 25 minute animation in his spare time using only the resources available to him from work as a graphic designer. To create such a film as Voices of a Distant Star under such circumstances is an inspiration in itself and shows that you don’t necessarily need a huge studio to make a touching animation with a remarkable story as well as stunning visuals. Originally the voiceovers were done by Makoto himself and his wife.

The visuals are superb and whilst the individual character designs are not sophisticated in comparison to other anime, they are kept simple with the accompaniment of the stunning backgrounds which really escalate the anime. The background art are full of life with vibrant colours and exceptional lighting seizing the animation’s atmosphere and continually taking it forward as well as resembling the innocence and constant memories within Mikako and Noboru. Tenmon a friend of Makoto creates a soundtrack that blends well with the atmosphere and highlights the mood of Mikako and Noboru as well as their memory for each other.

There are ideas in the anime which complement the great storytelling. A creative touch here is Mikako’s field of vision when piloting the mech. It is brilliantly imagined and designed as from the view inside everything around her can be seen as if she was floating in mid-air creating at times a sense of loneliness and a lapse in time for the character.

Voices of a Distant Star is not the type of anime where full scale wars take place and full of action. There are a few action scenes of mecha fighting throughout, but the main aspect of this short film is the narrative and character between Mikako and Noboru which may impact on a sense of nostalgia for the viewer reminiscing on a past memory where the tides of life had to change. Voices of a Distant Star undoubtedly shows the enthusiasm and devotion that Mikako has for animation by crafting a beautifully and inspired film.

Freshly announced by VIZ Media is Blue Dragon on Cartoon Network! Here is the official press release:

Blue Dragon is coming to Cartoon Network, and it’s dynamite! Based on the awesome Xbox 360 video game, the Blue Dragon anime will mesmerize you with its fantastic tales of magical powers, ancient civilizations, mythical creatures and unbounded heroism! Join a boy named Shu and his friends on an epic quest to rescue the world from the clutches of the evil ruler Nene! And if the characters look familiar, it’s because they were designed by Dragon Ball creator Akira Toriyama.

Catch the premiere of the first two episodes
on Cartoon Network on April 5:

Episode 1 at 9:00 A.M.
Episode 2 at 9:30 A.M.

And be sure to watch Blue Dragon every Saturday morning at 9:00 A.M.
on Dynamite Action Squad, starting on April 12!

Check out future issues of SHONEN JUMP for more upcoming coverage of Blue Dragon!

You can check out trailers and more goodies such as Widgets on their website here - bluedragon.viz.com!

Koharu Biyori (OVA) is a series of 3 OVA’s about Takaya Murase an otaku who purchases the maid robot Yui. Unlike the usual cooking and cleaning duties carried by a maid robot Takaya has purchased Yui with the soul purpose of making her dress up in various outfits and to live out his fantasies.

What follows is a moe, fan service fest which puts other shows to shame. At least with this being OVA’s I can handle the overload. The animation is adorable and the predicaments poor Yui is put in by Takaya are hilarious. There is even one sequence where I swear one of the characters is doing the Caramelldansen dance. This show is what would happen if Chobits had it’s fan service dial cranked to 100. Though short on plot the episodes are big on comical scenarios and make a refreshing break from any intense series. I do think anymore than 3 episodes of this would be overdoing it, this series just about manages to stay short and sweet. Only watch this if you like fan service as that is pretty much all this series consists of but 30 minutes of maid outfits, cosplay, bouncing objects, loli’s, power rangers and a kawaii robot tied up in ribbons is never going to be dull.

Candy Boy is a 10 minute long ONA by AIC, This short anime follows the daily life of sisters Yukino and Kanade Sakurai. One day another girl Sakuya Kamiyama confess her love for Kanade to Yukino, which sets about a realisation of Yukino’s true feelings towards her sister.

For a 10 minute long yuri anime it is surprisingly good if you don’t mind the incestuous plot line. The animation is very cute and at only 10 minutes long it is worth watching, with the characters of Yukino and Kanade both being extremely likeable. In light of Candy Boys success a 7 episode series is in the works, the first of which will be released on May 2nd 2008 via the online video sharing website Nico Nico Douga. The first episode was intriguing enough for me to pursue the series and see what happens next to the incestuous sisters.