quarta-feira, 8 de fevereiro de 2012

Chibi Maruko-chan's 1,000th Episode to Air in February

The family television anime series Chibi Maruko-chan will air its 1,000th episode on February 12, and the original manga creator Momoko Sakura is celebrating the occasion by scripting the 1,000th anime episode herself. (The manga celebrated its 25th anniversary last year.) "Watashi no Umareta Hi" (The Day I Was Born) will be a one-hour special about the birth of the title schoolgirl.

Kadokawa Magazines' The Television Web site posted two images from the upcoming episode.

Anime episode counts differ, depending on how the numbers are tallied; another Kadokawa publication, Newtype, will list the February 12 episode as No. 845 since it is part of the second Chibi Maruko-chan anime series that premiered in 1995. The first series ran from 1990 to 1992.

Sazae-san is still the longest animated television series in the world; it will run its 2,144th episode on February 5. (Each episode is split into three segments, so the segment count is about three times as long.) The 276th episode of the current Doraemon series will run on February 3, although the overall number of Doraemon episodes is over 1,500 now. The 760th episode of Crayon Shin-chan will air on February 3. Added together, there are over 700 Pokémon episodes. Detective Conan's 644th will run on February 4, and One Piece's 534th will air on the following day. The 468th and 469th episodes of Naruto/Naruto Shippūden will then run on February 9.

14-Year-Old Osamu Tezuka's Early Manga Sketches Printed for 1st Time

The publisher Shogakukan released a compilation book of manga artist Osamu Tezuka's production notes and early works last Monday. For the first time, the Tezuka Osamu Sōsaku Note to Shoki Sakuhin Shū 2 (Osamu Tezuka Production Notes and Early Works Collection 2) includes the first creations from the "God of Manga" when he was a 14-year-old middle school student in 1943.

"Oyaji Tantei" (Old Man Detective; pictured right) and "Baritone Kōjō Jiken" (The Baritone Factory Case), Tezuka's earliest manga booklets, are reproduced in the collection. "Oyaji Tantei" was Tezuka's first pen and ink project, and an illustration of its star character serves as the new book's frontispiece.

The title moustached detective provided the basis for Higeoyaji, a prominent member of Tezuka's "star system" cast of characters and a recurring figure in many of his numerous stories. Tezuka modeled the old man after the grandfather of one of his classmates.

Production notes for Gessekai no Keisatsu (Life on the Moon) and Uchūtei Jiken (The Spaceship Affair), works that remain unpublished, appear in the book with notes for Tezuka's popular works such as Jungle Taitei (Kimba the White Lion) and Faust. The materials reveal that Tezuka first imagined Jungle Taitei's title character as a set of twins rather than a single lion.

After obtaining a medical degree, Tezuka abandoned his job as a doctor and went on to become a prominent and prolific manga and anime creator. Diary of Ma-chan, his first published manga, debuted in 1946. Astro Boy, Black Jack, and Phoenix account for some of the more than 150,000 manga pages produced by Tezuka before his death in 1989.

Shogakukan published the first Osamu Tezuka production notes and early works compilation book in December 2010.

Source: Sankei News

The Prince of Tennis II's BDs/DVDs to Include OVAs

Each Blu-ray Disc/DVD volume of The Prince of Tennis II (Shin Tennis no Ōji-sama) will include an original video anime episode, starting with the first volume on April 20. The first Blu-ray/DVD volume from Bandai Visual will also include the first television episode, "The Return of the Prince," as well as liner notes and audio commentaries by the cast for each episode. The first pressing of the first volume will add an illustrated sleeve case and an original illustrated sheet.

The series adapts Takeshi Konomi's original Shin Tennis no Ōji-sama manga, which has been running in Shueisha's Jump Square magazine since 2009. The story begins several months after the national tennis tournament that ended the original Prince of Tennis storyline.

Crunchyroll has been streaming the anime into several countries as it airs in Japan. Viz Media published the 42nd and final volume of Konomi's original Prince of Tennis manga run in North America in July.

MangaNEXT 2012 Welcomes Makoto Tateno and Tomo Maeda

MangaNEXT is happy to announce and welcome two new guests from Japan for its 2012 convention. Manga creators Makoto Tateno and Tomo Maeda will be joining fans at MangaNEXT 2012.

 Ms. Tateno is a prolific manga artist having created many popular manga series, including Yellow, Happy Boys, A Bloody Kiss Tonight and Romeo/Romeo. Ms Tateno is also currently working on more than one manga series Dear!+, Bessatsu Hana to Yume and MAGAZINE Be x Boy.

 MangaNEXT is also very excited to welcome Tomo Maeda to the 2012 convention. Mr. Maedai is the manga creator of Black Sun, Silver Moon, Kesshou Monogatari and is currently working on Kamitsuki.

 Look for panels and other related events with our honored guests from Japan. We hope that you can join us in welcoming them at the convention. MangaNEXT would also like to kindly thank publishers Shinshokan and JManga for their kind cooperation in bringing our guests to the convention. You can see all the exciting guests lined up for MangaNEXT 2012 on the MangaNEXT web site, www.manganext.org.

 MangaNEXT is the first and only manga convention in the United States. The convention is a fan-run independent convention that focuses on the art and stories in Japanese comics and Japanese culture in general. Anime conventions have been in existence for many years. At these events, manga occationally has a presence. However there have been no North American based conventions dedicated specifically to manga; MangaNEXT was created to correct that. Fans can register for the 2012 convention at www.manganext.org. MangaNEXT is in East Rutherford, New Jersey from February 24, 2012 to February 26, 2012.

STEREOPONY Returning To The US For A Ferformance at Sakura-con In Seattle

For the fourth consecutive year, all-girl rock band STEREOPONY is once again coming back to the U.S. after their remarkable performances at SXSW (2009), AnimeNEXT (2010), and Anime Boston (2011).

This year, the girls were chosen as the Guest of Honor for Sakura-Con, the largest Anime convention in the Northwest, held at the Washington State Convention and Trade Center in Downtown Seattle, Washington on April 6-8.

STEREOPONY is a Japanese all-girl rock band that formed in Okinawa in 2007 and will be attending their first Sakura-Con. Consisting of AIMI (Vocal/Guitar), NOHANA (Bass), and SHIHO (Drums) the band gained their first opportunity on the Japanese rock radio program “SCHOOL OF LOCK!”

STEROPONY should be well known to many anime fans as the artists behind several notable anime themes. Their debut single "Hitohira No Hanabira" was the 17th ending theme for the famous anime series “BLEACH”; released on November 5, 2008 and ranked #25 on the Oricon Weekly Charts. Their 2nd single "Namida No Muko” was the second opening theme for the second season of the Sunrise series “Mobile Suit Gundam 00”; and achieved #2 in the Oricon charts.

STEREOPONY has toured internationally and experienced great success in the Oricon charts. In March 2009, the girls performed in SXSW 2009, and received a thunderous ovation.
Their 3rd single "I do it" is a collaboration with fellow Sony Music Entertainment Japan singer YUI, was released on April 22, 2009. Their debut studio album “A hydrangea blooms” was released on June 17, 2009 and ranked #7 on the Oricon weekly charts. STEROPONY's 5th single "TSUKIAKARI NO MICHISHIRUBE", also released with a tie-in with the second season of hit anime series “Darker than Black” which ranked #8 on Oricon. After releasing 2 singles, in June 2010, the girls released their much anticipated 2nd studio album “OVER THE BORDER”.

“Chiisana Mahou”, the opening theme of anime series “Letter Bee Reverse” was released on December 8th. STEREOPONY collaborated with the band Kariyushi58 to produce the single "Tatoeba Utaenakunattara" released on August 10, 2011. The band's 10th single, "Arigatō", was released on September 28, 2011. The music video for "Arigatō", released on September 1, 2011, features film actor Abe Hiroshi; he is also on the cover of the version B release of the single.

www.stereopony.com
www.myspace.com/stereopony

Sakura-Con is the first and largest Japanese Animation Convention in the Northwest and the main realization of ANCEA's non profit mission to support Asian Cultural Education. Sakura-Con is committed to providing people of all ages an opportunity to learn more about anime, manga, gaming, and Japanese culture-both traditional and contemporary.
www.sakuracon.org

Dir en grey Band Cancels N. American Tour Due to Vocalist's Health

The Japanese rock band Dir en grey announced on Tuesday that it is canceling its March-April "The STILL RECKLESS Tour" in North America because of current health problems with the band's vocalist Kyo. Kyo's doctor had diagnosed him with vocal nodule dysphonia, or nodules on his vocal chords.

The band additionally revealed on Wednesday it is also suspending its March and April headline shows while Kyo undergoes treatment. While Kyo's condition does not pose any major obstacles to his daily life, Kyo has been asked to limit the use of his voice and to rest so he can recuperate. There is also a possibility that Kyo may have to undergo surgery in the future.

The band posted a message on its website apologizing to fans and and thanking them for their support, saying "To all our fans and affiliates, we are deeply sorry and please understand that this has been a very difficult decision for us as a band. To all our fans, please know that we are always thankful for your continuous support."

The band previously toured 13 cities in North America last December.

Dir en grey performed in such anime works as Baki the Grappler, Grappler Baki Maximum Tournament, and Urayasu Tekkin Kazoku.

Vagabond's Takehiko Inoue to Resume Manga Next Month

Source:  Moe Ota-News Sokuhō

Manga creator Takehiko Inoue revealed on Wednesday that he is planning to resume his Vagabond series next month. The next installment is now being colored.

Inoue put Vagabond on indefinite hiatus due to his health in August of 2010. While he reported later that month that the brain and heart tests revealed that he was fine, he continued to rest his body and delayed Vagabond's return. He later explained in December of 2010 that the hiatus will not end until he regains his enthusiasm for working on the series.

He then revealed last November that he was drafting the layouts for the return of the manga. Being mindful of his health, he is also finding a good pace for himself and consulting with his editors.

Inoue launched Vagabond in Kodansha's Morning magazine in 1998, and Kodansha published the 33rd compiled volume in Japan in May of 2010. Viz Media published the 33rd volume in North America in October in 2010.

Viz also publishes Inoue's Slam Dunk and REAL manga. The 11th volume of REAL shipped in Japan on November 11, and Viz published the 10th volume on November 15. The 20th volume of Viz's edition of Slam Dunk shipped this week.

Rock Band nano.RIPE Performs Sankarea Anime's Theme

The three-member rock band nano.RIPE is performing the opening theme song "Esoragoto" (Impossible Dream) for the Sankarea television anime series, while Yukari Hashimoto is composing the anime's soundtrack. The nano.RIPE band performed both opening theme songs for the Hana-Saku Iroha anime, as well as three of its ending theme songs. Hashimoto composed theme songs for several anime, but she also composed the soundtracks themselves for Kanamemo, Mawaru Penguindrum, Mayo Chiki!, MM!, Modern Magic Made Simple, Omamori Himari, and Toradora!

The anime adapts Mitsuru Hattori's Sankarea "zombie moe adolescent romantic comedy" manga about Chihiro Furuya, a high school freshman who is obsessed with zombies. Even his dream is to "kiss a zombie girl." Through an unexpected set of circumstances, Chihiro gets to know an elegant, pretty girl named Rea Sanka, and together, they try to revive Chihiro's pet cat Baabu who died in an accident. Chihiro discovers that Rea wants to get away from her many responsibilities by becoming a zombie herself.

The anime will premiere in Japan this April.