Hey there readers! Sorry for the long absence. I have now successfully re-located to the Los Angeles area and can resume writing the Anime Updates!

This week we’ve got some awesome Studio Ghibli releases on the way!

Press Release info: 4/13/2012

I’m starting this week off with a video. Why? Because one of our awesome readers (thanks Matt!) sent me this Gundam Rap album preview and I can’t get the song “White Reflection” out of my head! This was recently featured on TOKYOPOP but if you didn’t catch it you need to watch now:

Richie Branson, keep up the good work. You’ve made my week! You can find more about Branson’s album here.

And now for to the update:

This week we’ve got Hetalia: Axis Powers – the Complete Series out on DVD. What will become of my favorite characters: Japan, Germany and Italy? I suppose I’ll have to pick up the collection and find out! This is one of those series that just has to be seen to be believed, and I highly recommend the English version for the terrible accents and ridiculous translations for U.S. distribution. The release should also hopefully mean that we’ll soon see World Series on the Netflix instant streaming service, too! You can pick up the whole series now for list price $44.98 or the Amazon price at $34.99.

Am I excited about the following news from Warner Brothers that a live action Bleach movie will be made? Well, I suppose I should be honest and say, “Not really,” but only because I was not impressed with the Japanese live action adaptation of Death Note or the absolute train wreck that was the live action Dragonball: Evolution. (As I said in a post last year – “In my opinion, it might be the worst live action adaptation of any anime series. Even the trailer was completely terrible.”)

To be even more honest with you, I don’t really feel that anime translates to live action all that well.  Also, it’s important to note that the Bleach anime series in particular falls victim to one of the unfortunate side effects of long-running-anime – SO MUCH FILLER and unnecessary monologues!!! As usual, they are taking on a pretty huge task by trying to translate a manga / anime like Bleach to the big screen AND somehow make it appeal to a wider audience. The series never really seemed to me like one that would even remotely appeal to non-anime watchers, but hey, you never know, they could surprise me! Here is an example of what I feel would be fairly difficult to pull off in a live action adaptation of the series (unless, of course, they have an excellent CGI budget and fantastic crew):

-nM3VHoM

And here’s the official Press Release from 2/22/2012:

I had the opportunity this weekend to chat with anime voice actor Vic Mignogna. Vic is famous for his portrayals of Edward Elric in Fullmetal Alchemist and Tamaki Suou in Ouran High School Host Club, as well as for his work as Broly in Dragon Ball Z and Death Scythe in Soul Eater. You might even know him from my personal favorite – Fullmetal Panic – as the American soldier Kurtz Weber.

Vic is currently promoting the recently released Fullmetal Alchemist: The Sacred Star of Milos, now playing in cities across the U.S. and Canada. (You can find a full list of locations here). The film, which premiered on January 20th in North America, follows the adventures of the Elric brothers to Table City as they attempt to track down an escaped prisoner. Events in the film take place during the plot of the Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood continuity.

And Vic’s not only a talented voice actor, singer, and media guru – he’s one of the geeks! Listen as Vic shares with us awesome stories about growing up with Star Trek, his trip to Japan where he met Romi Paku, voice actor antics, cosplaying at conventions, and upcoming projects like “Star Trek Continues,”  which I’m psyched to see develop over the next year!

Listen to the interview here!

Above: Vic as Captain Kirk and as a Klingon (at right).

For more about Vic, check out his website at www.vicsworld.net. You can find tons of cool stuff (like upcoming convention appearances) on his official fanclub’s website at www.risemboolrangers.com. Fullmetal Alchemist: The Sacred Star of Milos comes to DVD April 24th (and you can pre-order it now). Also, make sure to check out the Star Trek Continues Facebook Page!

Hey everybody! In case you missed out on this season of Culture Japan, you can now find Season 2 in its entirety on Crunchyroll. Episodes from this season explore north-eastern Japan after the major Earthquake, Wonderfestival, worldwide anime events, Otaroad, Edo Wonderland park (one of my favorite episodes), and more!

For those of you not familiar with his work, Danny Choo is pretty much the expert of popular Japanese Culture. He runs several websites, releases his own television series, and has his hand in a ton of projects with several high-profile Japanese companies. I have spent hours on his website just looking at photo articles since 2006, and there is so much to look at nowadays that there’s pretty much something for anybody even remotely interested in Japan, anime, manga, figures, etc. (He’s even hiring lots of Japanese translation and web programming gurus lately so if you think you’ve got the skills head on over to this page and check out his most recent job postings. Some come with visa sponsorship and a free plane ticket to Japan!)

Missed Season 1 of Culture Japan? You can check out the entire Digest of Season One right now:

Roughly ten years ago I watched a 26 episode anime called Cowboy Bebop and it changed my life. It’s still my favorite show of all time and the music is to die for. A couple of years later the creator of Cowboy Bebop Shinichirō Watanabe came out with another series titled Samurai Champloo which was not better then Cowboy Bebop but still better then most everything that has come out. Basically I realized at that point that Watanabe was a master, but he was the type to wait long periods in between shows. However the wait is finally over as he is officially starting his third show in April. The Japanese title is Sakamichi no Apollon and the English title might end up being called “Kids on a Slope”. We’ve got the 30 second teaser trailer for you right here which came out on Thursday.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8b8M4pO4tBs

The other big news is that he is teaming once again with the amazing composer Yoko Kanno, who brought the amazing soundtrack of Cowboy Bebop to life. Anyone who could find and place this song into a series is a genius.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EuAzPR0ACVw

Press Release 1/26/2012:

VIZ MEDIA BRINGS THE WONDROUS MINIATURE ADVENTURES OF STUDIO GHIBLI’S

THE SECRET WORLD OF ARRIETTY TO READERS IN A NEW SERIES OF BOOKS

Releases Based On The New Film By Hayao Miyazaki’s Famed Animation Studio Include Film Comics, Art And Picture Books

San Francisco, CA, January 26, 2012 – VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), the largest distributor and licensor of anime and manga in North America, brings the miniaturized adventure of famed Studio Ghibli’s newest animated creation – THE SECRET WORLD OF ARRIETTY – to readers everywhere with a collection of ARRIETTY film comics, art and picture books set to debut on February 7^th, 2012. THE SECRET WORLD OF ARRIETTY is scheduled for North American theatrical release on February 17^th, 2012.

THE SECRET WORLD OF ARRIETTY is based on the celebrated novel, The Borrowers, by Mary Norton and was produced by Studio Ghibli, the famed animation company founded by Hayao Miyazaki, which also created Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke, Howl’s Moving Castle and Ponyo. The new film, with planning/screenplay by Hayao Miyazaki and directed by Hiromasa Yonebayashi, will feature the voice talents of Bridget Mendler, Amy Poehler, Carol Burnett and Will Arnett for its English language release.

Arrietty isn’t your ordinary fourteen-year-old girl – she is small enough to make her home under the floorboards of a typical house, “borrowing” what she and her family need from the giants in whose shadows they live. A young boy named Shawn befriends Arrietty, but when adults discover the Borrowers, Arrietty and Shawn must work together to save her family.

THE SECRET WORLD OF ARRIETTY PICTURE BOOK · Rated “A” for All Ages · MSRP: $19.99 U.S. / $22.99 CAN · Available February 7^th, 2012

The colorful and easy-to-read THE SECRET WORLD OF ARRIETTY Picture Book is a full-color hardcover edition that will appeal to younger readers especially. The book uses the vividly colored animation cel art from the feature film combined with simplified text to retell the story of Arrietty and her adventures.

THE SECRET WORLD OF ARRIETTY FILM COMICS · Rated “A” for All Ages · MSRP: $16.99 U.S. each / $19.99 CAN each · Available February 7^th, 2012

The official 2-volume film comic of THE SECRET WORLD OF ARRIETTY re-tells the film’s story with vivid full-color frames.

THE ART OF THE SECRET WORLD OF ARRIETTY · Rated “A” for All Ages · MSRP: $34.99 U.S. / $39.99 CAN · Available February 7^th, 2012

Co-founded by the legendary filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki, Studio Ghibli films enthrall and enchant audiences across the world. The Art of series gives fans the opportunity to follow their favorite film from initial concept to the silver screen, thanks to hundreds of sketches, concept drawings, and animation cels, plus in-depth interviews with the creators.

“Fans and readers of all ages won’t want to miss these new additions to VIZ Media’s Studio Ghibli Library of titles,” says Masumi Washington, Senior Director, Editorial. “Studio Ghibli has mastered the ability to tell poignant and engaging stories that captivate both children and adults, and their latest film, THE SECRET WORLD OF ARRIETTY, continues this tradition. Our forthcoming picture book and film comics are fun ways for young readers to visit the world of ARRIETTY while the gorgeous art book will be a must-have for the ardent Studio Ghibli fan or those who want to know more about the evolution of the film. Discover the adventures in-store for this band of ‘borrowers’ in these new releases scheduled for February!”

More information on VIZ Media’s Studio Ghibli titles is available at www.VIZ.com.

Haven’t seen the U.S. trailer yet? Check it out here:

Big Shiny Girlcast is back and due to several requests we will now be recording about once every two weeks (so there’s lots of the Girlcast in your future!). The latest episode of the podcast, “Issue #2: The Guinea Pig of the Sea,” discusses Bandai, SOPA and Cosplay, DC’s New 52 2nd Wave, Thor, Avengers, Ghost Rider, Green Arrow’s possible CW Pilot, Otaku / Geek Dating, Skyrim and more! This week’s “Ask the Geek Girls” segment finds us discussing the pro’s and con’s of online geek dating – you won’t want to miss it!

On this week’s podcast: Jessie – Miss Mecha on Big Shiny Robot!, Kelly – Scarlett Robotica on Big Shiny Robot! and Darcy from geekgirlsftw.blogspot.com

You can find it here on the site or download it over on our Big Shiny Robot iTunes feed.

To comment on this week’s episode, send us a question, or answer on of our burning questions, just leave a comment here at the bottom of the post or email the podcast at jessie@bigshinyrobot.com

Topic Timeline (for your fast forwarding pleasures):

Bandai Leaves North America = 3:58 – 18:23; SOPA and Cosplay: Yes? No? Bad? = 18:23 – 25:02; DC’s 2nd Wave of New 52 Comics: The How, What, Why and an overview of the DC Earths…there are a lot of them, and we’re somewhat confused by it. = 25:02 – 31:20; We hear ourselves echoing but forget to edit it out later (don’t judge us!)= 31:20 – 23:03; Fox News wants you to be afraid of everything – Comic Books included = 23:03 – 44:22; Movies and TV: Thor is sexy even during re-writes, The Avengers rock our world, and Ghost Rider…yeah… = 44:22 – 59:39; Green Arrow might get a CW Pilot! Is this good news or bad news, both? = 59:39 – 1:12:05; “Ask The Geek Girls” – Otaku/Geek Dating = 1:12:05 – 1:34:25; Recommendations / Ending stuff = 1:34:25 – 1:40:24.

Though the manga series ended and the anime hasn’t been aired in the U.S. for years, Naoko Takeuchi’s Sailor Moon characters continue to live in the hearts and minds of its fans.  And there must still be a lot of them, because the re-release of the manga was the second best-selling of 2011 (just beneath Naruto).

Volume 3 was just released this past week, and Volume 4 will be released on March 13, with more following.

And when I came across Jared MacPherson’s page at DeviantArt, I just knew I had to share it.  He also has a Facebook page where you can view his art.  His Sailor Moon images are extraordinary.  Though I prefer some over others, he has created a series of movies posters for the characters and depicted them more realistically than their cartoon counterparts.

I thought I was the only one who thought Sailor Moon resembled Sarah Michelle Gellar, but the comments on his page reveal that others thought so, too.  Still, I thought the poster images were very interesting and dynamic.  Definitely worth a look.  I’ve shared a few here:

And while I like the artistic style of the Sailor Moon piece below, I think the girls are a bit overly sexualized.  Aren’t they supposed to be teenagers?   Ah, a little artistic license, I suppose. (and they do age as the series goes on . . .)  MacPherson admits that he used swimsuit models as templates for the poses, which helps explain that to some degree.

What are your thoughts?

Press Release 1/9/2012:

VIZ MEDIA SIMULCASTS THE NEW SCI-FI ANIME SERIES LAGRANGE – THE FLOWER OF RIN-NE ON VIZANIME.COM

Kinetic Action Comedy Series Created By Production I.G. Features An Arsenal Of Robots Designed By Nissan;

First Episode Available To Stream Now!

San Francisco, CA, January 9, 2012 – VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), the largest distributor and licensor of anime and manga in North America, excites anime fans with the announcement of the U.S. online simulcast premiere of the brand new series, LAGRANGE – THE FLOWER OF RIN-NE, on VIZAnime.com, the company’s own website for free anime, as well as on the free, ad-supported Hulu service and in high-definition on the Hulu Plus subscription service (www.Hulu.com). The first episode (subtitled) is available now with new installments scheduled to debut each Sunday!

In addition, Kazé SAS will be the official partner in the United Kingdom for the simulcast of LAGRANGE – THE FLOWER OF RIN-NE. Episode 1 is now available on www.anime-on-demand.com, with new episodes debuting every Sunday.

LAGRANGE – THE FLOWER OF RIN-NE just launched on Japanese television on January 8^th, and is produced by Studio XEBEC (Broken Blade, Martian Successor Nadesico, Fafner), created by the famed animation studio, Production I.G. (Ghost in the Shell S.A.C Sengoku Basara: Samurai Kings), and directed by Tatsuo Sato (Martian Successor Nadesico, Ninja Scroll: The Series, Stellvia). The robots are designed in collaboration with Nissan Motor Co., LTD’s creative team, chosen from more than 60 designs from an internal Nissan design competition.

LAGRANGE – THE FLOWER OF RIN-NE (Rated TV-MA) depicts the adventures of a 17 year-old girl whose mission becomes to defend her city from invading space aliens. Madoka Kyono is an energetic girl who is full of passion. As the proud, and only, member of the Kamogawa Girls’ High School Jersey Club, she goes around helping people in need. But Madoka’s life is turned upside down when she is suddenly asked by a mysterious girl named Lan to pilot a robot. Motivated by her desire to protect the people and city of Kamogawa, Madoka agrees to pilot the resurrected Vox robot to fight against extraterrestrials that have come to attack Earth.

“LAGRANGE – THE FLOWER OF RIN-NE is a hilarious, action-packed story about a determined teenager that devotes herself to protecting Kamagawa City and its peaceful inhabitants against mysterious alien invaders,” says Brian Ige, Vice President, Animation. “The story features a stylish cast of lead characters, as well as an arsenal of sleek, battle ready robots conceived by a team of top car designers from Nissan Motors. The series plays an important part of our 2012 roster which will deliver near-simultaneous release of many top anime properties throughout the year.”

VIZAnime.com is a free-to-use web destination that is now the permanent home to some of the company’s best-loved animated series. Over 1,800 episodes are currently available, and new content is added on a weekly basis. Series currently simulcast on VIZAnime.com include TIGER & BUNNY, BLUE EXORCIST, NARUTO SHIPPUDEN and BLEACH. Other fan-favorite series available include CROSS GAME, DEATH NOTE, FULL MOON, INUYASHA: THE FINAL ACT, KEKKAISHI, NAOKI URASAWA’S MONSTER, NURA: RISE OF THE YOKAI CLAN, ONE PIECE, VAMPIRE KNIGHT, and more!

For more information on LAGRANGE – THE FLOWER OF RIN-NE and other VIZ Media anime titles, please visit www.VIZAnime.com.