News

Daily Links of the Day: Disney, Urushihara, Gundam Seed

Some of these news items will have full articles written in ANN.

Disney, Jinni's Fireball Staff, Cast, Premiere Announced

Walt Disney Japan has announced that Wataru Arakawa is directing and writing Fireball, Disney's joint computer-graphics (CG) comedy project with Jinni's Animation Studios of Japan. Hitoshi Fukuchi, a mechanical designer on Mobile Suit Gundam 00 and Blue Gender, will design the characters. Hiroki Kawasaki and Jinni's staff on the Limit of Love movie are producing the CG. The first two-minute episode will premiere on April 7 on the Tokyo MX broadcast station and on April 11 on Japan's Disney Channel. Miyuki Kawasho (Kekkaishi's Toshimori) will voice Droselle, the daughter of a duke, while Toru Ohkawa (Fullmetal Alchemist's Roy, Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children's Rufus) will voice the robot Gedächtnis. March 27-30's Tokyo International Anime Fair 2008 will premiere footage from the series. Source: animeanime.jp

Plastic Little's Urushihara Draws Evil Heart 1-Shot Manga

The Japanese publisher Kill Time Communication revealed in its blog that Satoshi Urushihara (Plastic Little, Legend of Lemnear, Chirality) will be drawing a one-shot color manga called Evil Heart: lost one's deadline in the May issue (on sale on March 27) of the Comic Valkyrie magazine. Source: Ultimatum

Ami Shibata's Papuwa Returns in 1-Shot Manga

Square Enix's Monthly Shonen GanGan magazine announced that Ami Shibata will revive her popular comedy manga Papuwa in a special one-shot extra in the May issue (on sale on April 12). Shibata had just ended this series about an island boy's misadventures in the February issue. The 2002-2008 run was itself a sequel to Shibata's earlier 1991-1995 Nangoku Shounen Papuwa-kun series. ADV Films released the anime version of Papuwa in North America. Source: Ultimatum

New Manga from Ushio & Tora's Kazuhiro Fujita: Gekkō Jōrei

Shogakukan's Weekly Shonen Sunday magazine confirmed that Gekkō Jōrei is the new manga series that Kazuhiro Fujita (Ushio & Tora, Karakuri Circus) is launching in Issue 18 (on sale on March 26). The magazine also confirmed that MiXiM 12, the newest work from Nobuyuki Anzai (Rocket Princess, Flame of Recca, MÄR), will start in Issue 21/22 (on sale on April 23). Source: Muhyojo

Writer Morosawa Explains Delay in the Gundam Seed Movie

The April issue (released on March 10) of Tokuma Shoten's Animage magazine included an update on the planned Mobile Suit Gundam Seed movie from writer Chiaki Morosawa. Morosawa explained that the plot is done, but she has been ill since the end of 2004-2005's Mobile Suit Gundam Seed Destiny sequel. She then asked for the fans' patience. Source: Gunota Headlines

Kadokawa Discusses Google Partnership in Interview

The Nikkei Business Publications' Tech-On! website has posted the English translation of a Nikkei Electronics interview with Tadashi Fukuda, president of Kadokawa Digix Inc. In the interview, Fukuda discusses Kadokawa's partnership with Google on the YouTube video-sharing website and the challenges the companies faces. Fukuda compares Google to the "Black Ships" (kurofune), or the fleets of America's Commodore Matthew Perry and other foreigners that opened Japanese society in the 19th century. Source: ComiPress

DLE Confirms Crunchyroll Partnership for Eagle Talon

The Japanese production company DLE has confirmed that it has a revenue-share partnership with the Crunchyroll video-streaming website. The first episode of the Eagle Talon series was made available for free, and the second episode will have an ad in it.

2,000 Turn Out for Tokyo Anime/Manga/Game Job Fair

Raku-Job Career Festa, Japan's first-ever career fair specifically for the "content" (anime, manga, videogame, and other entertainment) industries, was held in Tokyo on March 9. Initially, about 1,000 job-seekers were expected to show up for interviews with 18 companies. Twice as many actually turned out, with about 40% coming in from outside Tokyo. Some travelled from as far as Kobe and Kyoto. Raku-Job, an anime/manga/videogame industry career website, and Toranoana, which operates a chain of doujinshi shops, organized the event. The anime studios Production I.G, Gonzo, and Toho Animation; the publishing companies Hobby Japan and Kodansha; the online shop Amiami; and Toranoana itself participated in the event. Source: AkibaBlog