Toei Animation’s unique series of classic Japanese horror tales has been brought to America as Ayakashi: Samurai Horror Tales. Our first tale brings Izumi Kyoka’s play, Tenshu Monogatari, to life as we follow a young falconer named Zushonosuke Himekawa and his dream-like encounter with Princess Tomihime while searching for a falcon under his care. Zushonosuke can’t erase the woman from his mind, but he is about to step into a world unlike any he has ever known. Princess Tomihime and her servants are “forgotten gods,” and the rules dictate that those who have seen them must perish. Geneon Entertainment brings the first of three classic Japanese stories to the Western world with Ayakashi: Samurai Horror Tales – Goddess of the Dark Tower. (more…)
Elastic Media Corp. has informed us that they have opened up a new ADR studio in Brea, California, and are currently working on Zegapain for Bandai Entertainment, and Sylvanian Families for Japanese Dynamethod.
Recently announced from Geneon’s retailer title solicitations is a title some Ninja Vixens fans will be happy to buy. Minisuka Police, the live-action mini-skirt filled series with cute Japanese girls “arresting” people, is coming to America. Those who are already fans of Minako Tsuge (Ninja Vixens: Devilish Angels) will get to see her and many others in the series starting on DVD this July 17th.
Takeshi Konomi’s long running manga and anime series, The Prince of Tennis, has been brought to America as part of the Shonen Jump line-up. Following 7th grade tennis prodigy, Ryoma Echizen, we watch Seishun Gakuen Middle School’s tennis team get shaken up by the addition of the younger player to its highly praised first string team for inter-school and national competitions. Seigaku, as the school is more commonly known as, presents a mixture of personalities and tennis styles and the addition of Ryoma is going to be no exception. Viz Media introduces us to the 178 episode TV series with The Prince of Tennis Box 1: The Prince Appears. (more…)
For those who have traded in their old copies of Illumitoon’s first three DVDs, you will be happy to know that the replacement discs started shipping May 1st. Since I live only one city over from the Illumitoon office, mine arrived the next day. Remember: the trade-in program will be available for a very short time so I suggest following the steps now to send off your DVDs (DVD case & artwork not needed) to get them swapped out before the May 30th, 2007 deadline.
When it was announced that Peach-Pit’s popular manga title Rozen Maiden would be recieving an anime TV-series, fans were ecstatic. As a hobby, Jun Sakurada enjoys getting mail-order junk, especially occult-related items. One particular offer on his desk asks if he will or will not “wind.” The description is mysterious, but Jun signs that he will wind. A case appears at his feet, inside of which are a doll and a separate little wind-up key. With the doll being so life-like, Jun has to turn the key to see what happens. Geneon Entertainment brings the first of the six-volume series following the Peach-Pit tale with Rozen Maiden: Doll House. (more…)
One evening in 2004, a drunk man began harassing several ladies on the commuter train, including one young, cute girl. A quiet otaku saw this and stood up to the man. The two struggled for a moment while other passengers got a conductor to remove the man. Thankful for his assistance, the cute girl asked for his address and sent a “thank you” gift. The otaku begun to be called Densha Otoko (Train_Man) and detailed the story on 2ch.net with fellow users posting messages of encouragement and help while the two kept in touch. The original event and story are real, but the phenomenon that follows is a universal theme. Viz Pictures brings to America the movie adaptation of the true story that swept Japan, inspiring a novel, manga, stage play, and television series: Train_Man: Densha Otoko. (more…)
Director Yoshimitsu Morita’s award-winning black-comedy about a stereotypical Japanese family in modern, 1980’s-era Japan has been brought to DVD by Geneon Entertainment’s new Foreign Film Favorites line. The Family Game, based on a novel by Yohei Honma, follows the difficult life of the Numata family as they struggle to get the kids a good education in order to survive in the world. Shigeyuki Numata is one of the lowest-ranking students in school and no tutor has been able to motivate him to do anything about it. That is until the family hires Yoshimoto to knock some sense (literally) into Shigeyuki’s head. The question is, can Yoshimoto’s unorthodox methods convince the underachiever to straighten up his act before High School entrance exams? (more…)
Forty years ago, an adulterous woman named Natsu (Satoko Yamamura) was caught cheating on her husband with Yusaku (Akihiro Ooshi). After a cult’s attempt to burn Natsu is thwarted, the group decides to pay a house visit and thank Yusaku and his whore of a lover. Nailing him to the wall and slicing Natsu across the eyes, the two cult members think they have won. As a final gesture of revenge, the men slice Yusaku’s face and pull out his eye. Yusaku screams in pain and curses everyone with his grudge. Masanori Inoue’s 2004 horror film Corpse Grudge -crack- has been brought to America by Neon-g as Virgin Nightmares. (more…)
Following the cliffhanger ending based on the actions of Izumi Kagura, we were left wondering how all the loose ends would be tied up. In a park there is yet another school girl falling victim to a Light Hunter. Just as her clothes are torn off and the tentacles attack, Ryo rushes in and slays the monster with his sword. But… Ryo doesn’t understand what the beast was nor why he knew how to slay it. And the girl he just saved continues to please herself while still in the monster’s deep trance. The only ones who can help are watching from a distance, trying to keep from pulling Ryo back into their mess. From Anime 18 comes Square of the Moon: Phase 2 to explore the concluding adventure of the Astronomy Club versus the blue moon. (more…)
