AnimeTrader ramblings

Olympusat, Inc. has announced that they will be bringing back the FUNimation Channel HD service to subscribers on the Verizon FiOS On Demand television service. Titles currently include Fullmetal Alchemist: The Sacred Star of Milos, X, Vandread and Okami-san. According to the announcement, FUNimation Channel HD is currently the only On Demand television network that exclusively airs anime, and the Verizon FiOS system currently has about 4 million subscribers.

It was announced this February that the FUNimation Channel would be would be dropped from the Verizon FiOS television service, citing “low-viewership.” The channel ceased airing on March 15.

The official website for the upcoming “original new animation project” collaboration between ASCII Media Works‘ Dengeki G’s Magazine and Aniplex began streaming a television commercial for the project on Friday. The commercial does not feature any animation.

The official website is also currently listing four hints as to details of the upcoming show. The four hints are as follows:

• The theme is “friendship”?
• The heroine is a 14-year-old girl
• The director is also designing the characters
• The genre is “girl science-fiction action”

This year’s July issue of Dengeki G’s Magazine will provide more information on the upcoming project when it ships on May 30.

Spoiler warning: the results of the poll spoils plot points for series including Zeta Gundam, Gundam Seed Destiny, Gundam 00, Gundam Wing, Gundam X, Gundam AGE, and G-Gundam.

On May 1, the Gundam.info portal site posted the results of a poll that asked fans to name their favorite teams of former rivals throughout the Gundam franchise.

Among the 7,362 votes cast by the self-selected respondents, these were the results:

1. Char and Amuro during U.C.0087 – 46.55%
2. Kira and Athrun (Gundam Seed) – 30.20%
3. Gundam Meister and Graham (Gundam 00) – 12.35%
4. Zechs and the Gundam Pilots (Gundam Wing) – 3.31%
5. Jamil and Lancerow (Gundam X) – 2.99%
6. Asemu and Zehart (Gundam AGE) – 2.88%
7. Domon and the Gundam Alliance (G-Gundam) – 1.73%

The survey was conducted among the users of the Gundam.info portal site between April 16 and April 22.

Studio Ghibli producer Toshio Suzuki offered comments last month on the subject of “Western influence” as a part of the release campaign for the upcoming Blu-ray Disc editions of My Neighbor Totoro and Grave of the Fireflies. He also made comments about Japan’s loss in World War II.

Suzuki began his comments by talking about how the meaning of “Seiyō-kabure,” a derisive Japanese term for “Western influence,” saying that after the end of World War II, the center of that influence shifted from the United States to Europe, with its deep history and culture. He then said that Ghibli directors Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata were no exception to this, which is why they created titles in European settings such as Heidi, Girl of the Alps and 3000 Leagues in Search of Mother.

However, Suzuki went on to state, both men later started to want to create titles with Japanese protagonists in Japanese settings, quoting Miyazaki as saying that he had a “debt to Japan” that he “wanted to repay,” creating the impetus for both My Neighbor Totoro and Grave of the Fireflies.

Finally, Suzuki related a quote said to him by an unidentified person that stayed in his mind: “It was a good thing that Japan lost the war. If it had won, I feel like it truly would have become an awful country.”

Studio Ghibli‘s My Neighbor Totoro and Grave of the Fireflies films will ship on individual Blu-ray Discs and in a special combination set of both in Japan on July 18.

Source: AV Watch via My Game News Flash

Studio Ghibli producer Toshio Suzuki offered comments last month on the subject of “Western influence” as a part of the release campaign for the upcoming Blu-ray Disc editions of My Neighbor Totoro and Grave of the Fireflies. He also made comments about Japan’s loss in World War II.

Suzuki began his comments by talking about how the meaning of “Seiyō-kabure,” a derisive Japanese term for “Western influence,” saying that after the end of World War II, the center of that influence shifted from the United States to Europe, with its deep history and culture. He then said that Ghibli directors Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata were no exception to this, which is why they created titles in European settings such as Heidi, Girl of the Alps and 3000 Leagues in Search of Mother.

However, Suzuki went on to state, both men later started to want to create titles with Japanese protagonists in Japanese settings, quoting Miyazaki as saying that he had a “debt to Japan” that he “wanted to repay,” creating the impetus for both My Neighbor Totoro and Grave of the Fireflies.

Finally, Suzuki related a quote said to him by an unidentified person that stayed in his mind: “It was a good thing that Japan lost the war. If it had won, I feel like it truly would have become an awful country.”

Studio Ghibli‘s My Neighbor Totoro and Grave of the Fireflies films will ship on individual Blu-ray Discs and in a special combination set of both in Japan on July 18.

Source: AV Watch via My Game News Flash

Josh Brolin (True Grit, W., No Country for Old Men), the actor who will be starring in Spike Lee’s upcoming remake of Park Chan-Wook’s live-action film Oldboy, which was itself influenced by Garon Tsuchiya and Nobuaki Minegishi‘s manga Oldboy, stated in an interview posted on Thursday that he sought Park’s “blessing” before accepting the role.

Brolin told the interviewer: “I love Oldboy and I’m close with Chan-wook Park and I emailed him a couple months ago just asking for his blessing to do this movie, because if he had said no I wouldn’t have done it. I really respect his movie and we’ll make a little different movie, and this whole idea of a more Hollywood version of it, whatever – we’re just going to do a different version and have respect for the initial story and premise.”

Brolin did not give specifics regarding the extent to which the remake will stay faithful to Park’s film, but he did acknowledge that the original’s trademark fight scene would be kept. The article also states that the film will begin shooting in October.

Mandate Pictures is developing the project with producers Doug Davison and Roy Lee (The Ring, Dark Water [2005], Death Note and Godzilla remake plans) of Vertigo Entertainment and Lee’s 40 Acres & A Mule Productions. Mark Protosevich (Thor, I Am Legend) wrote a script, and Mandate Pictures President Nathan Kahane is serving as executive producer.

Variety earlier described the Korean film’s story about “a man who’s kidnapped and imprisoned for 15 years. When he’s finally released and begins looking into the reason for his captivity, he soon finds out that his kidnapper has even more torturous plans for him.” (The original manga has the protagonist imprisoned for a different number of years and does not have the Korean film’s added plot twist ending.)

Source: Movieline

Josh Brolin (True Grit, W., No Country for Old Men), the actor who will be starring in Spike Lee’s upcoming remake of Park Chan-Wook’s live-action film Oldboy, which was itself influenced by Garon Tsuchiya and Nobuaki Minegishi‘s manga Oldboy, stated in an interview posted on Thursday that he sought Park’s “blessing” before accepting the role.

Brolin told the interviewer: “I love Oldboy and I’m close with Chan-wook Park and I emailed him a couple months ago just asking for his blessing to do this movie, because if he had said no I wouldn’t have done it. I really respect his movie and we’ll make a little different movie, and this whole idea of a more Hollywood version of it, whatever – we’re just going to do a different version and have respect for the initial story and premise.”

Brolin did not give specifics regarding the extent to which the remake will stay faithful to Park’s film, but he did acknowledge that the original’s trademark fight scene would be kept. The article also states that the film will begin shooting in October.

Mandate Pictures is developing the project with producers Doug Davison and Roy Lee (The Ring, Dark Water [2005], Death Note and Godzilla remake plans) of Vertigo Entertainment and Lee’s 40 Acres & A Mule Productions. Mark Protosevich (Thor, I Am Legend) wrote a script, and Mandate Pictures President Nathan Kahane is serving as executive producer.

Variety earlier described the Korean film’s story about “a man who’s kidnapped and imprisoned for 15 years. When he’s finally released and begins looking into the reason for his captivity, he soon finds out that his kidnapper has even more torturous plans for him.” (The original manga has the protagonist imprisoned for a different number of years and does not have the Korean film’s added plot twist ending.)

Source: Movieline

Anime Expo announced on Thursday that Japan-based pop culture blogger and television show host Danny Choo will appear as the Master of Ceremonies at the June 29 – July 2, 2012 event in Los Angeles. Anime Expo 2012 will mark Choo’s third consecutive appearance at the event.

Choo first became well-known for cosplaying in Tokyo as an Imperial Stormtrooper from the Star Wars films. He has since launched Culture Japan, a television series which airs in Japan and runs on Animax Asia. Choo was profiled on CNN in 2008.

AX previously announced that LiSA, the singer of the Fate/Zero anime’s “oath sign” theme as well as songs for the in-anime band “Girls Dead Monster” in the Angel Beats! television anime series.

Anime Expo announced on Thursday that Japan-based pop culture blogger and television show host Danny Choo will appear as the Master of Ceremonies at the June 29 – July 2, 2012 event in Los Angeles. Anime Expo 2012 will mark Choo’s third consecutive appearance at the event.

Choo first became well-known for cosplaying in Tokyo as an Imperial Stormtrooper from the Star Wars films. He has since launched Culture Japan, a television series which airs in Japan and runs on Animax Asia. Choo was profiled on CNN in 2008.

AX previously announced that LiSA, the singer of the Fate/Zero anime’s “oath sign” theme as well as songs for the in-anime band “Girls Dead Monster” in the Angel Beats! television anime series.

The latest issue of Kadokawa Shoten‘s online magazine Kadokawa Niconico Ace includes an English translation of Strike Witches: The Witches of Andorra, a Strike Witches spinoff manga by Takeshi Nogami (Panzer fräulein ALTESEISEN, Sailor-fuku to Jūsensha). Users of the service can view the manga for free viewing after registration.

Nogami worked on a previous Strike Witches project that has also been translated into English. He co-created The Witches of the Sphinx dōjinshi with Takaaki Suzuki, the historical advisor on the Strike Witches anime series.

A fully bilingual compilation of this earlier semi-official project was released last May, and the series began serialization in Kadokawa Shoten‘s COMPTIQ magazine the following November. Nogami personally commissioned translator Dan Kanemitsu to translate the dōjinshi as he was creating it. Nogami also made news in 2010 when he responded to CNN’s article regarding the controversy over the Japanese erotic game Rapelay.

Kadokawa Niconico Ace magazine launched last year on Nico Nico Seiga, the online still-frame counterpart to Nico Nico Douga (now known as niconico). Like the video service, Nico Nico Seiga allows visitors to post comments on top of manga and novels for others to see.

Thanks to Dan Kanemitsu for the news tip.