Hello and welcome to another edition of Sunday News Bites! This week we are joined by Light Yagami, here to judge the week’s news with the power of the Death Note.
HaruToki 3 announced
Can’t get enough of bishounen-filled reverse harem shows? Then you’ll be delighted to learn that the latest Harukanaru Toki no Naka De anime adaptation has been announced- a one hour special based on the third game. The special is set to be released in December, and will no doubt be as dull and lacking in any real plot as the other Haruka anime adaptations and their sister series Angelique and La Corda d’Oro.
Light says: These bishounen are unworthy, and shall have their names written in my Death Note.
ADV and Geneon: an alliance that lasted as long as a celebrity marriage
The ink hadn’t even been put on the paper (let alone given a chance to dry) when it was decided that the ‘strategic alliance’ between ADV and Geneon would not be going ahead after all- despite the fact that Geneon has already begun laying off a number of employees. What this means for the long-term future of Geneon is as yet unclear, and has sparked a whole new round of the “fansubs are killing the licensing industry” debate.
Light says: Alliances are for the weak. Kira alone can judge the worthy of the anime industry, and his judgement is that everyone should start buying Death Note merchandise.
Mahou Shoujotai (Tweeny Witches) licensed
Studio 4oC’s tale of one girl’s journey to a world of magic and witches has finally been picked up for US release, courtesy of Media Blasters. Consisting of forty ten minute episodes, this unique series is certainly in need of being made accessible to a larger fanbase, although no details regarding release dates and number of volumes seem to be available as yet.
Light says: Only the weak rely on magic; the strong depend on their own power, and that of special notebooks that enable them to kill.
At last: Kanon license confirmed
Well, it seemed pretty obvious for a while, but nonetheless ADV has finally confirmed that they have indeed licensed KyoAni’s Kanon TV series, which will act as a nice counterpart for the recently released Air. As you should already know, I personally didn’t like Kanon (die, Yuuichi!), but its general popularity pretty much assured it a license, so this comes as no surprise.
Light says: I shall write Yuuichi’s name down in my Death Note.
“What a pleasant sailing vessel!”
When a murder incident in Japan caused the final (and thus presumably bloody) episode of School Days to be cancelled and replaced with a scenery show, it also gave birth to a new internet meme- “nice boat”. The alleged axe murder of a policeman by his sixteen-year-old daughter has also caused an indefinite delay for Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai, which was replaced by an inoffensive cooking show this week.
Light says: I shall punish this girl with the aid of my Death Note.
Queen’s Blade manga
The Queen’s Blade franchise is set to extend into the realm of manga, with two separate series announced for serialisation in different magazines. Starting next month, Minasaki Iku will be drawing a story that focuses on the character of Elina (as designed by Mai-HiME/Otome character designer Hisayuki), whilst “Astroguy II” starts a little earlier with a collection of side stories beginning this week.
Light says: Why do these women have to fight for the throne? Surely they could approach it far more elegantly?
Viz acquires Death Note live-action
Death Note fans, you devoured the manga and lapped up the anime, but now Viz will also be bringing you the two Death Note live action movies. Whilst I’ve been mildly interested in these movies, I’ve yet to be motivated to actually watch them, however, and so the chances of my getting these movies are slim to none.
Light says: Now this is more like it- although my live action counterpart is not really as good looking as myself.
Date set for Aquarion OVA episode 2
Some old news to finish off, but the second and final episode of the Aquarion OVA is set for release on November 22nd. Taking place in an alternate universe, the OVA retells the story of the TV series.
Light says: If the OVA does not end well, I shall personally write down the names of the producers in my Death Note.
I’m now expecting ADV to shave its head, go into rehab, come out of rehab, then make some kind of rubbish comeback.
In all seriousness though, I hope Geneon can recover somehow – I still don’t understand why they laid off staff before the whole deal was 100% sealed though, it seems pretty foolish from my comfy Internet expert’s armchair.
I never really understood the ADV x Geneon situation to start with. Maybe it was all just an elaborate scheme from ADV to nullify one of its competitors?
Watching fansubbed anime has put me out of the loop on American DVD releases anyway. Isn’t it time for another Evangelion repackaging? O WAIT, the films. I’d curious to see the license battle over those little money bags. Please god just don’t let Manga anywhere near them. D;
If I were ADV, I’d want Geneon’s list of titles. But Geneon’s parent company shouldn’t have layed off workers if the deal wasn’t final.
And ADV will probably pick up the new movies. And release it in HD-DVD and the uber-special Blu-Rei version.
So, what, is Geneon going out of business now?
Speaking of the “fansubs are killing the industry” argument: I just don’t see how that is. Yes, I admit, I watch fansubs. But here’s the thing — if I do watch fansubs of a show that’s been licensed, I’ll do it because I want to see if the show’s worth it — I’m sure as hell not going to waste close to $20 bucks a DVD on a show that I dislike. And if I like it enough, I’ll usually shell out the money to get the DVDs (so long as the local retailers carry them; can’t order online because I lack a debit/credit card).
As for HaruToki3, I remember that that might be the one actually worth my time — the chick is actually able to fight, instead of being useless. Then again, I dropped HaruToki only five episodes in because I couldn’t stand the Mary-Sue-ness of Akane (even though she had glimmers of common sense) and the subsequent reactions of all the men in her life, and the pathetically generic Find the Hachiyo/Monster of the week plot.
And on the subject of the DN live-action movies: Get them when they come out on DVD (or watch them on crunchyroll now). I saw the first one when I was in Japan for two weeks last summer (haven’t seen the second one just yet), and it was worth the 1800 yen (roughly $18 American) that I spent to see it in the theaters the week after it premiered. Light’s even more of a evil bastard in this one, if you can believe it, and L is
(heart symbol). The plot’s pretty close to manga canon until the last half hour, when it takes an interesting divergence that only cements the movie’s awesomeness.
(apparently, WordPress doesn’t like the heart symbol. Ah well. And you can ignore the second post.)
Hanners: Hahaha, I can see that happening now.
I guess no one outside of the dealmakers will know exactly what’s going on with Geneon, but since they were about to pull out of DVD marketing and already laid off people, it doesn’t look good for them. Had the deal gone through and ADV released cheap thinpaks of Geneon’s catalogue, though, they would have had plenty of money from me.
Hige: Did you see the Eva gender-reversed OP video? I think it’s going to be the next remake when the movies are done.
Venneh: Maybe I should watch the movies then- I do need something to write about for the Live Action category of this blog (1 post so far…). You didn’t miss much in the original HaruToki series; it ranged between hilariously plotless and just plain dull.
Why must you kill everyone! *Cries* Can’t you all just get along :_: BTW incase your wondering uh my name is uh Xandra~ So please write that down~
I would definitely suggest watching the movies. But, y’know, that’s just me. ^^
And as for other live-action movies, may I suggest Moonchild? It’s basically a Japanese Interview With the Vampire with Gackt and Hyde. If nothing else, it’ll be excellent parody material (going to watch that tonight).
And on the gender-bender EVA… 😮 I’ll take Rei and Kaoru, kthnxbye. The others are kind of disturbing. Especially the NERV/SEELE higher-ups.