Right Stuf & Nozomi Entertainment Announce Junjo Romantica, Antique (Antique Bakery), and Aria: The Origination + The OVA ~Arietta~
Anime Expo 2009: New license and project announcements
GRIMES, IA, July 2, 2009 – Anime producer and distributor Right Stuf, Inc. and its Nozomi Entertainment division kicked off Anime Expo 2009 by making several announcements during its July 2nd panel. Right Stuf President and C.E.O. Shawne Kleckner revealed the acquisitions of the anime adaptations of JUNJO ROMANTICA and ANTIQUE BAKERY, plans for the release of the third season and OVA of the ARIA series, and additional details about the future releases for several previously announced projects including RENTAL MAGICA and the fourth season of MARIA WATCHES OVER US.
JUNJO ROMANTICA
Right Stuf, Nozomi Entertainment and Kadokawa Pictures USA announced the license for the first and second seasons of JUNJO ROMANTICA, as well as plans to release the series on DVD in two “season box sets” – with Japanese audio and English-language subtitles – during 2010.
The romantic comedy is a 24-episode anime adaptation of Shungiku Nakamura's ongoing boys' love manga and features direction by Chiaki Kon (When They Cry - Higurashi, Nodame Cantabile: Paris) and animation by Studio DEEN (Gravitation, Kyo Kara Maoh!). The Junjo Romantica manga is published in North America by TOKYOPOP.
Misaki is struggling to prepare for his upcoming college entrance exams, so his older brother, Takahiro, arranges for his friend – the best-selling novelist Akihiko Usami – to be Misaki's private tutor.
However, when Misaki visits the famed author's home, he's shocked: In addition to the critically acclaimed books, Usami also writes boys' love novels with lead characters that bear a striking resemblance to himself and Takahiro! Misaki's angry – and pretty freaked out – but his nightmare is just beginning when Usami wakes up in a bad mood and comes on to him! With a tutor like that, how will Misaki ever manage to pass his exam? And why does he feel so mysteriously drawn to Usami?
It's just the first of three intertwining love stories…
Visit romantica.rightstuf.com for more information about the Junjo Romantica anime and to view the series trailer.
ANTIQUE (a.k.a ANTIQUE BAKERY)
Right Stuf and Nozomi announced its license for the anime adaptation of ANTIQUE BAKERY, also known as “Seiyo Kotto Yogashi Ten -Antique - ” or simply “Antique.” The 12-episode series is currently scheduled for release in 2010, as a single DVD box set with Japanese audio and English-language subtitles.
Based on the manga by Fumi Yoshinaga, the series aired as part of Fuji TV's popular noitaminA animation block – home to series including Honey and Clover, Paradise Kiss, Moyashimon (Tales of Agriculture) and Nodame Cantabile. It features animation by Nippon Animation (The Wallflower, Fantastic Children, Library War) and Shirogumi, Inc. (Moyashimon) and opening and closing music by the band Chemistry.
The original manga received the Kodansha Manga Award for shoujo manga in 2002 and also served as the inspiration for a live-action Japanese television drama and a recent live-action Korean film adaptation that drew approximately 1 million moviegoers during the first 15 days of its release in 2008. The Antique Bakery manga is published in North America by Digital Manga Publishing and was nominated for an Eisner Award in 2007.
As Keiichiro Tachibana abandons his ordinary office job to open a bakery, he envisions a workplace inhabited by a cute (female) wait staff and a predominantly feminine clientele. Instead, his employees include a former classmate whose standing as a gifted pastry chef is almost eclipsed by his reputation as a gay man of irresistible charm, a former boxer with an insatiable sweet tooth, and his childhood friend and sometime bodyguard. Each day brings with it new customers and complications, but at the bakery “Antique,” this unlikely quartet of handsome men may just have the recipe for culinary success!
Visit antique.rightstuf.com for more information about the anime series.
ARIA The ORIGINATION + The OVA ~ARIETTA~
ARIA Lithographs
Kleckner also confirmed Right Stuf and Nozomi's license for ARIA The ORIGINATION. This third and final season of the ARIA anime series will be released in a DVD box set, along with The OVA ~ARIETTA~, in 2010.
For the 2009 holiday season, the anime publisher also has plans to release lithographs featuring artwork from ARIA The ANIMATION and ARIA The NATURAL. Each limited-edition and numbered print will be priced at $49.99 and include a certificate of authenticity. The release schedule for the prints will be determined by a “fan vote” that is scheduled to take place in July 2009.
Visit aria.rightstuf.com for more information about the ARIA anime, its DVD releases and its products.
Additional Release Dates and Info for
RENTAL MAGICA – Part 1, MARIA WATCHES OVER US and More
Finally, Kleckner revealed release dates and additional details for several ongoing and upcoming series:
- The Irresponsible Captain Tylor OVA Series Remastered DVD Collection is scheduled for July 28, 2009, and the value-priced His and Her Circumstances (Kare Kano) DVD Collection is scheduled for August 25, 2009. A trio of releases helmed by legendary anime creator Osamu Tezuka – Astro Boy DVD Mini Set 1, Astro Boy DVD Mini Set 2, and Kimba: The White Lion DVD Mini Set 1 – will be available on October 6, 2009. And a value-priced DVD set featuring the Boogiepop Phantom animated TV series and its live-action prequel film Boogiepop and Others will arrive just in time for Halloween on October 27, 2009.
- RENTAL MAGICA DVD Collection 1, the first of two planned box sets for the 24-episode series, is scheduled for November 2009. As previously announced, the set will offer fans the option of viewing the show in both “broadcast order,” as it aired on Japanese TV (and appeared on the Japanese DVD release), or “chronological order,” according to the timeline presented in the novels that served as the anime series' inspiration. Additionally, each box set will include a book that features well over 100 pages of background information about the series and its mythology.
Visit rentalmagica.rightstuf.com for more information about Rental Magica, to view the trailer and to pre-order the first box set.
- The MARIA WATCHES OVER US (Maria-sama ga Miteru) – Season 4 DVD Collection is currently scheduled for 2010.
- And in addition to producing shirts and apparel with art from licensed properties, Nozomi has plans to continue its line of original designs (Sounds of the Samurai, Ninja Crossing and Crane Inspiration).
ABOUT RIGHT STUF, INC.
Currently celebrating its 21st year in business, Right Stuf, Inc. was one of the first players in the U.S. Japanese Animation ("anime") industry, as both an anime producer/distributor and a retailer. Right Stuf works to promote knowledge of its own products, as well as the anime and manga industry, in general, through its online storefront at RightStuf.com and a variety of media including podcasts and special publications.
Nozomi Entertainment, Right Stuf's production division, is dedicated to the highest quality releases. True to the Japanese word that inspired its name, Nozomi's focus is on “what fans want.” By focusing on a limited number of anime properties each year, the Nozomi production team ensures each release receives the care and attention to detail it deserves.
From anime classics like Astro Boy, Kimba and Gigantor to modern comedies, dramas and favorites such as The Irresponsible Captain Tylor, His and Her Circumstances, Gravitation, Shingu: Secret of the Stellar Wars, Ninja Nonsense, To Heart, The Third: The Girl With the Blue Eye, Emma: A Victorian Romance, Maria Watches Over Us, ARIA and Gakuen Alice, Right Stuf and Nozomi Entertainment produce quality programming for fans of all ages and interests. For more information, visit www.rightstuf.com and www.nozomient.com.
GRIMES, IA, July 2, 2009 – Anime producer and distributor Right Stuf, Inc. and its Nozomi Entertainment division kicked off Anime Expo 2009 by making several announcements during its July 2nd panel. Right Stuf President and C.E.O. Shawne Kleckner revealed the acquisitions of the anime adaptations of JUNJO ROMANTICA and ANTIQUE BAKERY, plans for the release of the third season and OVA of the ARIA series, and additional details about the future releases for several previously announced projects including RENTAL MAGICA and the fourth season of MARIA WATCHES OVER US.
JUNJO ROMANTICA
Right Stuf, Nozomi Entertainment and Kadokawa Pictures USA announced the license for the first and second seasons of JUNJO ROMANTICA, as well as plans to release the series on DVD in two “season box sets” – with Japanese audio and English-language subtitles – during 2010.
The romantic comedy is a 24-episode anime adaptation of Shungiku Nakamura's ongoing boys' love manga and features direction by Chiaki Kon (When They Cry - Higurashi, Nodame Cantabile: Paris) and animation by Studio DEEN (Gravitation, Kyo Kara Maoh!). The Junjo Romantica manga is published in North America by TOKYOPOP.
Misaki is struggling to prepare for his upcoming college entrance exams, so his older brother, Takahiro, arranges for his friend – the best-selling novelist Akihiko Usami – to be Misaki's private tutor.
However, when Misaki visits the famed author's home, he's shocked: In addition to the critically acclaimed books, Usami also writes boys' love novels with lead characters that bear a striking resemblance to himself and Takahiro! Misaki's angry – and pretty freaked out – but his nightmare is just beginning when Usami wakes up in a bad mood and comes on to him! With a tutor like that, how will Misaki ever manage to pass his exam? And why does he feel so mysteriously drawn to Usami?
It's just the first of three intertwining love stories…
Visit romantica.rightstuf.com for more information about the Junjo Romantica anime and to view the series trailer.
ANTIQUE (a.k.a ANTIQUE BAKERY)
Right Stuf and Nozomi announced its license for the anime adaptation of ANTIQUE BAKERY, also known as “Seiyo Kotto Yogashi Ten -Antique - ” or simply “Antique.” The 12-episode series is currently scheduled for release in 2010, as a single DVD box set with Japanese audio and English-language subtitles.
Based on the manga by Fumi Yoshinaga, the series aired as part of Fuji TV's popular noitaminA animation block – home to series including Honey and Clover, Paradise Kiss, Moyashimon (Tales of Agriculture) and Nodame Cantabile. It features animation by Nippon Animation (The Wallflower, Fantastic Children, Library War) and Shirogumi, Inc. (Moyashimon) and opening and closing music by the band Chemistry.
The original manga received the Kodansha Manga Award for shoujo manga in 2002 and also served as the inspiration for a live-action Japanese television drama and a recent live-action Korean film adaptation that drew approximately 1 million moviegoers during the first 15 days of its release in 2008. The Antique Bakery manga is published in North America by Digital Manga Publishing and was nominated for an Eisner Award in 2007.
As Keiichiro Tachibana abandons his ordinary office job to open a bakery, he envisions a workplace inhabited by a cute (female) wait staff and a predominantly feminine clientele. Instead, his employees include a former classmate whose standing as a gifted pastry chef is almost eclipsed by his reputation as a gay man of irresistible charm, a former boxer with an insatiable sweet tooth, and his childhood friend and sometime bodyguard. Each day brings with it new customers and complications, but at the bakery “Antique,” this unlikely quartet of handsome men may just have the recipe for culinary success!
Visit antique.rightstuf.com for more information about the anime series.
ARIA The ORIGINATION + The OVA ~ARIETTA~
ARIA Lithographs
Kleckner also confirmed Right Stuf and Nozomi's license for ARIA The ORIGINATION. This third and final season of the ARIA anime series will be released in a DVD box set, along with The OVA ~ARIETTA~, in 2010.
For the 2009 holiday season, the anime publisher also has plans to release lithographs featuring artwork from ARIA The ANIMATION and ARIA The NATURAL. Each limited-edition and numbered print will be priced at $49.99 and include a certificate of authenticity. The release schedule for the prints will be determined by a “fan vote” that is scheduled to take place in July 2009.
Visit aria.rightstuf.com for more information about the ARIA anime, its DVD releases and its products.
Additional Release Dates and Info for
RENTAL MAGICA – Part 1, MARIA WATCHES OVER US and More
Finally, Kleckner revealed release dates and additional details for several ongoing and upcoming series:
- The Irresponsible Captain Tylor OVA Series Remastered DVD Collection is scheduled for July 28, 2009, and the value-priced His and Her Circumstances (Kare Kano) DVD Collection is scheduled for August 25, 2009. A trio of releases helmed by legendary anime creator Osamu Tezuka – Astro Boy DVD Mini Set 1, Astro Boy DVD Mini Set 2, and Kimba: The White Lion DVD Mini Set 1 – will be available on October 6, 2009. And a value-priced DVD set featuring the Boogiepop Phantom animated TV series and its live-action prequel film Boogiepop and Others will arrive just in time for Halloween on October 27, 2009.
- RENTAL MAGICA DVD Collection 1, the first of two planned box sets for the 24-episode series, is scheduled for November 2009. As previously announced, the set will offer fans the option of viewing the show in both “broadcast order,” as it aired on Japanese TV (and appeared on the Japanese DVD release), or “chronological order,” according to the timeline presented in the novels that served as the anime series' inspiration. Additionally, each box set will include a book that features well over 100 pages of background information about the series and its mythology.
Visit rentalmagica.rightstuf.com for more information about Rental Magica, to view the trailer and to pre-order the first box set.
- The MARIA WATCHES OVER US (Maria-sama ga Miteru) – Season 4 DVD Collection is currently scheduled for 2010.
- And in addition to producing shirts and apparel with art from licensed properties, Nozomi has plans to continue its line of original designs (Sounds of the Samurai, Ninja Crossing and Crane Inspiration).
ABOUT RIGHT STUF, INC.
Currently celebrating its 21st year in business, Right Stuf, Inc. was one of the first players in the U.S. Japanese Animation ("anime") industry, as both an anime producer/distributor and a retailer. Right Stuf works to promote knowledge of its own products, as well as the anime and manga industry, in general, through its online storefront at RightStuf.com and a variety of media including podcasts and special publications.
Nozomi Entertainment, Right Stuf's production division, is dedicated to the highest quality releases. True to the Japanese word that inspired its name, Nozomi's focus is on “what fans want.” By focusing on a limited number of anime properties each year, the Nozomi production team ensures each release receives the care and attention to detail it deserves.
From anime classics like Astro Boy, Kimba and Gigantor to modern comedies, dramas and favorites such as The Irresponsible Captain Tylor, His and Her Circumstances, Gravitation, Shingu: Secret of the Stellar Wars, Ninja Nonsense, To Heart, The Third: The Girl With the Blue Eye, Emma: A Victorian Romance, Maria Watches Over Us, ARIA and Gakuen Alice, Right Stuf and Nozomi Entertainment produce quality programming for fans of all ages and interests. For more information, visit www.rightstuf.com and www.nozomient.com.
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