Anime Pulse

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This week we review Simoun, Inukami, Binbou Shimai Monogatari and Tenjou Tenge. Along with the news and our normal reviews.

Simoun – Wait until it hits the US and NetFlix it.
Inukami – Wait until it hits the US and NetFlix it.
Binbou Shimai Monogatari – Wait until it hits the US and NetFlix it.
Tenjou Tenge – Download Now!

Show Notes

News

kki Tousen Author Comes to Comic-Con
Yuji Shiozaki will attend Comic-Con International for an autograph session and the unveiling of his new figure collection. The convention runs July 20-23 in San Diego.

Bleach Bliss: 30 Second Movie Trailer
The first trailer for Bleach: Memories of Nobody is now online. The film premieres in December in Japan.

New Kanon Trailer
A new trailer for Kyoto Animation’s new Kanon series is now online. The series starts in October.

Space Tourist to Cosplay in September
You may have heard the rumors that Japanese businessman Daisuke Enomoto will be dressed as Char Aznable when he goes to visit the International Space Station in September. Well, it’s very much the truth and not only that, but he’s actually building a plastic model to take with him during the trip. Talk about your true otaku.

Sgt. Frog Called up for Mobile Service
The latest Gigabyte phone to hit Japan is styled after Sgt. Frog from the Keroro Gunso anime. It’s limited to 2000, so hop on them quickly.

Madhouse in the Mix for Boondocks Season 2
Madhouse has joined the production team for season 2 of Boondocks. “We’re creating a new system on-the-fly to get an authentic anime style but still have it be written with an American comedic sensibility,” creator Aaron McGruder says.

More Black Lagoon Anime Coming
A second Black Lagoon series is in the works, according to Sunday GX Magazine.

Bleach on YTV
Bleach will air this fall on Canada’s YTV.

Production IG CEO Participates in Japan Society Project
Production IG Chairman and CEO Mitsuhisa Ishikawa recently attended a Japan Society Innovators Project meeting, which included such guests as a current VP of IBM, former senior executive of Hewlett Packard, and founder of Craigslist. The event is chronicled on IG’s site.

Robotech Dub Studio Closes
Intersound Inc., which dubbed anime such as Robotech and Dogtanian in the ’80s, is closing down and auctioning some of its equipment on eBay.

CPM Recall For Out of Print Discs Only
Central Park Media Managing Director John O’Donnel has clarified WEA’s recall notice for ANN: “This notice applies only to older SKU’s of these titles which were released in the past, which we have not been shipping for quite some time.” He also notes Patlabor and Utena are still in print in new versions.

New St. Seiya Hades Anime Announced
Toei’s official St. Seiya homepage has announced plans to produce new anime episodes of the St. Seiya Hades Chapter Inferno storyline. No additional information is available yet.

Detective Conan Goes Live-Action
YTV has announced a live action Detective Conan series. The show will be set before the anime series.

First Conan Movie Out On DVD This Fall
According to Diamond’s Video Vault, FUNimation will release the first Case Closed/Detective Conan movie sometime this fall (probably around October). The full English title is Case Closed: The Time-Bombed Skyscraper, and it originally hit Japanese theaters in 1997–almost a full decade ago.

Bad Cops in Michigan caught on tape
http://dynamic.cnn.com/apps/tp/video/us/20…

ANN on G4’s Attack of the Show: Video and Transcript

Reviews

Simoun
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simoun_%28anime/manga%29
http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=6287
http://www.simoun.tv/

Inukami
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inukami
http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=6077
http://inukami.jp/

Binbou Shimai Monogatari
http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=6603
http://www.avexmovie.jp/lineup/binbo_shimai/index.html
http://www.toei-anim.co.jp/tv/binboushimai/

Tenjou Tenge
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tenjou_Tenge
http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=3541
http://www.tenjhotenge.com/
http://www.avexmovie.jp/lineup/tenten/index.html

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This week we have a special guest, Kaitar. We review Ayashi no Ceres, Zegapain, Kyou no Go no Ni and the Saikano live action movie.

Saikano Live Action – Wait until it hits the US and NetFlix it.
Kyou no Go no Ni – Wait until it hits the US and NetFlix it.
Zegapain – Wouldn’t kick it out of bed for Crackers.
Ayashi no Ceres – Download Now!

Show Notes

News

Illumitoon Lights Up With Beet the Vandel Buster
Illumitoon Entertainment Ltd., a new Forth Worth company founded by former Funimation executives, has acquired Beet the Vandel Buster and its sequel, Beet the Vandel Buster Excellion. Based on the Shonen Jump manga, Beet is the company’s first announced title. From the press release: “Already Illumitoon has acquired some serious titles, and is looking forward to launching DVD releases as early as January 2007.”

Wachowskis on Board for Speed Racer
IGN FilmForce has reported that the Wachowski Brothers, made famous via their Matrix trilogy, are starting to write the screenplay for the live-action Speed Racer movie that actor Vince Vaughn pitched to Warner Bros. back in 2004. Also, it hasn’t been confirmed, but Vaughn may have a part in the movie as Racer X whenever production starts up.

Missing Cat, Please Help

Jay Chou’s next role is a Slam Dunk
Yao Ming to have cameo in upcoming live-action “tribute”

Gainax Announces New Anime
Maiking Break-Through Gurren-Lagann

CMX on Tenjho Tenge Edits Again
Director of Manga responds to complaints

More on Ghost in the Shell: Solid State Society
Production IG has opened a new page on Bandai’s newly licensed Ghost in the Shell: Solid State Society film. The movie will run on Japanese pay-per-view starting September 1 and will be released on DVD November 24 in Japan. US release details are yet to be announced.

Makoto Shinkai’s Latest Project
Yahoo Japan has opened an official site for Makoto Shinkai‘s upcoming Byousoku 5 Centimeter, including a high-definition trailer. The film is compilation of short animated movies that premieres next spring in Shibuya theaters.

Appleseed Sprouts on Encore Action
2004’s Appleseed will air August 26 on Encore Action’s Animidnight.

Brazil Welcomes Nausica, Kare Kano Manga
Panini Comics and Conrad Publishing recently issued Kare Kano and Nausica of the Valley of the Wind in Brazil. Also, the Papo de Budgea blog traces manga’s recent growth in the country.

Reviews

Ayashi no Ceres
http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=12
http://pierrot.jp/title/ceres/index.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ayashi_no_ceres

Kyou no Go no Ni
http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=6245
http://www.5-2.jp/
http://www.avexmovie.jp/lineup/5-2/index.html

Zegapain
http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=6145
http://www.tv-tokyo.co.jp/anime/zegapain/
http://www.zegapain.net/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zegapain

Saishu Heiki Kanojo – Live Action
http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=5828
http://www.saikano-movie.com/

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This is the TOKYOPOP panel. Rangiku was kind enough to record this for us. Everyone give props to our wonderful East Coast Correspondent.

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This week Batou gives the first portion of his Anime Expo wrapup, and I review Ouran High School Host Club. It’s a great episode, so give it a listen.

Ouran High School Host Club – Wouldn’t kick it out of bed for crackers.

Show Notes

News

French Girls Flee to Japan, Get Stuck in Poland
Two girls from Paris were caught Sunday in Poland after running away from home to “visit the land of manga.”

Hayao Miyazaki’s Reaction To Earthsea
Tales From Earthsea–the latest feature film from Studio Ghibli–was directed by Hayao Miyazaki’s son, Goro. Many were surprised that Goro helmed the… full story »

Manga Added to the Dictionary
“Manga” will join a host of other words that have made their way into our everyday vocabularies in print when Merriam-Webster publishes its next edition of its widely-used dictionary. “Google” and “drama queen” are a few of the other entries that will be joining it in the next edition.

Miyazaki Invited to Join Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
Hayao Miyazaki is one of 120 people that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has invited to join the Academy in 2006. Miyazaki is one of 8 invitees to have won an Oscar. The 120 invitees will be the only additions to the Academy this year.

Puffy AmiYumi in Cincinnati
Puffy AmiYumi has added a July 14 stop at Bogarts’s in Cincinnati to their east coast tour. Their first stop is Saturday in Philadelphia.

AX 2006 Licensing Roundup
17 anime, 22 manga, 2 novels

Ugly Yet Beautiful World on TAN
The first episode of This Ugly Yet Beautiful World will run on The Anime Network’s video-on-demand service starting today.

Adult Swim: Inu Yasha Movie Next Month, Bleach in Sept
Adult Swim has announced the third Inu Yasha movie will premiere August 12 at 11 p.m., followed by Bleach on September 9 at 11:30 p.m. Eastern.

Cameron Still Churning Battle Angel Rumor Mill
James Cameron says Battle Angel will be the second of two trilogies he plans to film. “Battle Angel is actually designed as a three-film cycle. So the logic there is to make one and, if it hits, boom-boom on the other two.”

Anime Expo 2006 – CLAMP announcements
Anime News Network’s coverage of Anime Expo 2006 continues with the announcements made at the CLAMP panel and Viz Media’s anime panel.

Anime Site/Trailer Update
Negima season 2, Asatte no Houkou, Hatarakiman, Tekkon Kinkreet movie

Reviews

Ouran High School Host Club ()
http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=6122
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ouran_High_Host_Club

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Hey everybody. We’re reviewing Escaflowne and Fist of the North Star, plus we’ve got some NEW winners of the Podcast Pickle Contest.

Escaflowne TV – Download Now!
Escaflowne Movie – Wouldn’t kick it out of bed for crackers.
Fist of the North Star – Wouldn’t kick it out of bed for crackers.

Show Notes

Podcast Pickle Contest

skeeter27 won
Episodes 1-76 of Naruto on HK DVD
Signed Yaoi Fanart

OtakuTNT won
US DVD’s Episodes 1 – 20 of Revolutionary Girl Utena
Volume 1 of Wolf’s Rain
Signed Yaoi Fanart

MAKE SURE YOU SEND US AN EMAIL IF THIS IS YOU!

News

Bleach Movie Site Now Open
The website for the Bleach movie, Memoires of Nobody, is now open and available for viewing. Not much in the way of content except a trailer and a few text ads in Japanese, but will likely be something to look at as the December premiere date gets closer.

Batou will be at AnimExpo!
Put your ninja hat on and FIND BATOU!

Miyazaki Likes Cars, Not Reporters
Hayao Miyazaki recently met with Pixar’s John Lasseter, who was in Tokyo to promote Cars. After seeing the film, Miyazaki reportedly told Lasseter, “Good job. I got tears!” Also, in his latest director’s diary, Gedo Senki director Goro Miyazaki asks that reporters stop trolling for problems between him and his famous father.

Optimus Prime statue in Southern China
Check out this 40 foot statue of Optimus Prime in this remote southern China province
http://www.karateparty.org/content/view/387/37/

Anime Expo Volunteers wanted
ANN is looking for a few volunteers for Anime Expo. Details are available here.

Train Man Leaves Station in September
Train Man will premiere in September in New York and “major cities,” followed by a DVD release in January. Viz will also volume 1 of the Train Man manga this October.

Monkey Punch, Ueda at AnimeFest
Monkey Punch and Yasuyuki Ueda will be guests at AnimeFest, September 1-4 in Dallas.

Funimation Channel Comes Home to Houston
Houston residents who subscribe to OEN’s FISION service will have access to Funimation Channel’s 24/7 broadcast starting this fall.

Death Note Tops Box Office Again
Death Note topped the Japanese box office for the second straight week, again pushing the Da Vinci Code to second place.

AD Vision Gets Financial Support
Japan’s Sojitz Corporation announced Monday that Japan Content Investments (JCI), an investment group run by Sojitz, Development Bank of Japan, and film distribution company KlockWorx, will contribute money to AD Vision in return for equity in the company. AD Vision founder John Ledford will remain the majority shareholder and CEO. JCI subsidiary ARM will also contribute money for AD Vision to use in acquiring new distribution licenses. The investment will allow ADV Films to raise its output of new anime titles, which had dropped in 2006, back to previous levels or above. In return, AD Vision will assist Sojitz with the acquisition of North American and European content for importation into Japan. AD Vision also reportedly, “has big plans for its manga business.”Atari to Make Saint Seiya Game
Namco Bandai is developing a follow-up to Saint Seiya: The Sanctuary titled “Saint Seiya: The Hades”. The PlayStation 2 game will be based on the manga and will include footage taken directly from the anime. The game will be released in Europe, where Saint Seiya is extremely popular, in Autumn 2006. Saint Seiya:The Sanctuary, released in 2005, was never released in North America.

Video Clip of CLAMP at Work
A five minute video segment providing a look at manga creator group CLAMP at work in their Tokyo studio, taken from a 2005 episode of Japan’s Top Runner television series, has turned up online.

Reviews

Fist of the North Star
http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=204
http://www.toei-anim.co.jp/lineup/tv/hokuto/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fist_of_the_north_star

Escaflowne
http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=240
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Escaflowne
http://www.b-ch.com/cgi-bin/contents/ttl/det.cgi?ttl_c=134
http://www.bandai-ent.com/

Literature Authors
Natsume Soseki
Akutagawa Ryunosuke
Abe Kobo
Mishima Yukio
Oe Kenzaburo
Murakami Haruki
Murasaki Shikibu

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This is the Hentai Fandubbing panel. Rangiku was kind enough to record this for us. Everyone give props to our wonderful East Coast Correspondent.

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This is the Lupin III Outtakes panel with Richard Epcar. Rangiku was kind enough to record this for us. Everyone give props to our wonderful East Coast Correspondent.

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This is the Funimation panel. Rangiku was kind enough to record this for us. Everyone give props to our wonderful East Coast Correspondent.

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This is the E3 panel. Rangiku was kind enough to record this for us. Everyone give props to our wonderful East Coast Correspondent.

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This week we review The Twelve Kingdoms and Read Or Die. Rukia joins us and there is much wackiness.

The Twelve Kingdoms – Wouldn’t kick it out of bed for crackers/Download Now!
Read Or Die OVA – Download Now!
Read Or Die TV – Download Now!

Show Notes

Podcast Pickle Contest Winners!

Prize 1: appleorange
6 Volumes of Evangelion Manga
US DVD Disc 1 of Tactics
Signed Yaoi Fanart

Prize 2: naronto
HK DVD’s Episodes 1 – 76 of Naruto
Signed Yaoi Fanart

Prize 3: jsharp
US DVD’s Episodes 1 – 20 of Revolutionary Girl Utena
Volume 1 of Wolf’s Rain
Signed Yaoi Fanart

Grand Prize: AnimeWorldOrder *sigh*
Box Set of Tenchi Universe
Death Note Journal
Signed Yaoi Fanart

Make sure you send us a message through Podcast Pickle to verify who you are and email us a mailing address so we can send you your prizes.

News

Death Note Tops Japanese Box Office
On a World Cup weekend with below average ticket sales, WB’s Death Note film ended The Da Vinci Code’s four-week run atop the Japanese box office.

Flash: Advent Children is Popular
Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children has sold over 2.4 million copies worldwide, according to a report on Square-Enix. About 1.3 million have been sold in the US, 1 million in Japan, and 100,000 in Europe.

34 NuTech Shows to Adult Source Media
Will be sold under new “Anime Erotica” line

Japanese Guests to Present FMA Premiere at AX
According to a press release from Funimation and the SPJA, Japanese guests Seiji Mizushima and Romi Paku will join Mike McFarland and Vic Mignogna to present the English premiere of the Fullmetal Alchemist movie. Between them they represent the Japanese and English directors and the Japanese and English voices of Edward Elric.

AX to Stream Events Online
Anime Expo will offer live streaming of several events, including opening and closing ceremonies, the Masquerade, and AX Idol.

What’s in an Exaxxion Edit?
Dark Horse editor Chris Warner explains the decision to alter Cannon God Exaxxion volume 5: “In the case of Exaxxion, work with very strong adult content was created in Japan long after the series began running in the States, content much stronger than what had been established when the license was secured.”

Nausicaa Vehicle Comes to Life
A flight-capable prototype of the Mehve vehicle from Miyazaki’s “Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind” has recently been completed by Petworks. Videos of the maiden flight can be viewed here. Am I the only one wishing they’d make a real Catbus next?

Transformers Actors Train with Air Force
When Michael Bay wants something done right, he goes all out. Actors for his live-action Transformers movie are reported to have been training with the United States Air Force to get them in touch with the military roles they’ll be playing. You can read up on what they went through here.

Reviews

The Twelve Kingdoms
http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=840
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twelve_Kingdoms
http://www3.nhk.or.jp/anime/12kokuki/
http://www.12kingdoms.us/

Read Or Die
http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=1989
http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=819
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Read_or_die
http://www.sonymusic.co.jp/Animation/ROD/media/ovaindex.html
http://www.fujitv.co.jp/b_hp/rodthetv/

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