Hello and welcome to the first Sunday News Bites of 2008! After its long hiatus, this was a feature I was reluctant to revive- unlike the Tuesday Rumble and Weekly Round-Up, it just didn’t seem as much of a part of the whole Azure Flame experience, and trying to get one of these ready every Sunday may have contributed to my lack of enthusiasm of blogging. Nonetheless, I want to give it one more chance to prove itself, and also hear from you, the readers- does Sunday News Bites press your buttons?
Anyway, joining us in the newsroom this week is the tiny artist Issun, as seen in Okami.
Take your PiQ
ADV’s Newtype was reported to have ceased publication this week, but just as read cried into their peach juice about the loss of its shininess, it was announced that the magazine would be replaced with a new one entitled PiQ, with subscribers set to receive two free copies for each copy of Newtype their current subscription entitled them to. Or, to put in short, one magazine is being replaced with another, whose content and quality won’t be known until release.
Issun says: My art is far better quality than these magazines!
Bandai product recall
Bandai have always been infamous for having temperamental DVDs creep up with alarming regularity, but this time around errors on copies of new releases Gundam Seed Destiny #12, Eureka 7 #1, Flag #2 and Mai-Otome #4 have forced a product recall. Replacement stock is to be sent out to all stores, but for those who have already purchased the discs, and exchange program will be made available on Bandai’s website.
Issun says: This new-fangled technology sounds problematic- when paintings have errors, we call them ‘special features’.
Code Geass R2
It seems fashionable these days to append an ‘R2’ to the end of anything that’s entering its second iteration, and indeed, this April Code Geass will be entering its second season. For those who cannot wait, however, the show website has been updated with new character and mech info for the second season, whilst some 3800 lucky people in Japan will get to see a preview screening of the second season around a month before it airs. A whole month- oh my!
Issun says: If I could just master those celestial brush techniques, I’d be a match for any mech.
New manga licenses
A couple of new manga licenses to report this week- Seven Seas will be releasing Inukami, whilst Del Rey have decided to complement Genshiken with some Kujibiki Unbalance.
Issun says: That dog-girl looks hot!
Emma DVD release
Having been brought forward from December 2012, the first season of the Victorian Romance Emma anime has now been given a release date of June 2008- series fans, get your orders in now.
Issun says: That maid girl can’t hide it- she’s one tasty babe!
Viz halts releases
The single DVD releases of MÄR and Hikaru no Go have both been interrupted mid-run, with indications that Viz are planning to switch to box set releases for both series. Whilst this won’t sit well with people who have gone ahead and bought the singles, box sets do seem the natural choice for series of their length.
Issun: I wonder if I can get a job painting cover artwork…
I’m looking forward to Viz releasing HnG boxsets and good to see the return of Sunday News Bites 😉
Although I only bought NewType USA a hanful of times, I’m kind of sad to see its demise… Its aforementioned shininess did give it a great sense of value, way above what it was probably actually worth. No doubt PiQ (stupid name, by the way) will continue that grand tradition, but it just won’t quite be the same.
More Code Geass news is also very welcome – I don’t care if they call it R2, XP, OMGBBQ…. I want to see it!!!
Heh, I’ll probably check out PiQ, just to see if it measures up to Newtype (it probably won’t). And it’s nice to hear that Emma finally has a release date — now, to start saving some moneys.
I do like these Sunday News Bites, as they do keep me up to date on which of the series I’m currently watching subbed have been licensed and will shortly disappear, and it’s nice to know if a show I like got a second season, and other random tidbits. However, don’t feel like you have to do it every single week; biweekly would be good (and probably a bit less stressing on your end).
Necromancer: One day we will have those HnG boxsets in our hands, at which point we can laugh evilly ;p
Hanners: I now sincerely hope that one day there will be a second season called OMGBBQ
Venneh: Bi-weekly isn’t a bad idea- I think what will work best for me is if I just leave it on slow news weeks instead of trying to make an article out of random bits of crap I don’t really care about. That was what really got me down- I don’t mind writing when there’s good stuff to say, but when the most interesting story of the week is “Z-list celebrity admits to being an anime fan” it’s hardly worth mentioning.