VIZ MEDIA TO RELEASE ANIMATED FEATURE FILM PROFESSOR LAYTON AND THE ETERNAL DIVA
Based On The Popular Nintendo Video Game, Tea-Loving Archaeologist And Polymath Sets Out To Solve His Toughest Puzzle Yet!
VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), the largest distributor and licensor of anime and manga in North America, will release a new anime feature-length film, PROFESSOR LAYTON AND THE ETRENAL DIVA, on DVD November 8th. The movie is based on the highly popular PROFESSOR LAYTON series of video games for the Nintendo DS and will be suitable for All Ages. The DVD features both subtitled and dubbed English dialogue options, and will carry an MSRP of $19.97 U.S. / $19.98 CAN.
Professor Layton, a true English gentleman, renowned archaeologist, and the world’s greatest amateur super sleuth, embarks on his most daring adventure yet when he receives a letter from his old student, the famous opera diva Janice Quatlane. She is set to perform at the legendary Crown Petone Opera House and invites him to attend as her special guest. Meanwhile, a spate of disappearances hits London. Two young school girls are the latest victims and the Professor suspects it’s related to the mysterious occurrences at the theatre. The Professor and his loyal assistant Luke travel to the Opera House to solve their toughest puzzle yet, the mystery of Eternal Life!
“PROFESSOR LAYTON AND THE ETERNAL DIVA combines plenty of action and mystery with intriguing puzzles and a healthy dose of fun English wit to make for an inviting whodunit sure to captivate a wide audience,” says Brian Ige, Vice President, Animation. “The many puzzles that made the original Nintendo DS video game a hit are also present throughout the new feature film, and viewers are allowed time to formulate their own solutions to the riddles and brainteasers before Professor Layton provides the final answer. We invite new and established fans alike to join the fun as the Professor searches to solve the mysteries of Eternal Life hidden at the Crown Petone Opera House!”
The PROFESSOR LAYTON video game series is one of the most successful Nintendo DS exclusive titles. In addition to the popular movie, which was released in Japan in 2009, the property features five games developed by Level-5 for the Nintendo DS as well as two more game titles for the Nintendo 3DS. The games each feature various puzzles and mysteries that must be solved in order to advance to the next level.
For more information on PROFESSOR LAYTON AND THE ETRENAL DIVA, please visit: www.VIZ.com.
TRAILER: Miyazaki’s “The Secret World of Arrietty”
Disney is finally bringing us the official English Dub of Miyazaki’s “The Secret World of Arrietty.” The new trailer launched Tuesday on Youtube and iTunes, and sets the North American release date at February 17th, 2012.
“The Secret World of Arrietty” is Miyazaki’s faithful adaptation of the classic book “The Borrowers,” a 1952 children’s novel by Mary Norton. It follows the adventures of the Clock family, who believe they are the last of their kind and must live in a world surrounded by giants. Dangers and the unknown are ever present, and make for a fantastic tale!
Not only is Miyazaki’s adaptation much closer than that of the prior Borrower’s film and miniseries – it also breathes that very special magic and whimsy that so many Studio Ghibli films possess.
Starring Will Arnett, Luke Allen-Gale, Carol Burnett, Amy Poehler, and Saoirse Ronan – this film is definitely another must-see from Miyazaki and his talented crew. I have always been extremely impressed with Disney’s English dub-work, and they have done a fantastic job marketing and distributing Studio Ghibli’s films in the U.S. – “The Secret World of Arrietty” is sure to be another hit.
In 1984 Carl Macek teamed with production company Harmony Gold to release the animated series Robotech. I was 8 years old and in love with anything that featured spaceships, lasers and explosions. Robotech was unlike anything I had seen previously. Voltron debuted around the same time and Transformers would appear a year later but there was something about Robotech that made it an essential part of my weekdays. I think what really captured my attention was that I had no idea what Protoculture was or why Zentraedi, the Robotech Masters or the Invid wanted it. Which put me in the same position of the human characters featured throughout the series. I’m not sure that I even understood that the Zentraedi, the Robotech Masters and the Invid were separate races (a space trinity of sorts). I certainly didn’t pick up on the fact that the series was made up of three unrelated Japanese series that had been spliced together to fill a year’s worth of programming. What I did know was that giant spaceships that could transform into giant robots were extremely cool.
Before sitting down with Robotech: The Complete Series I hadn’t watched the show in over 20 years and I was nervous that all the nostalgia in the world couldn’t save Robotech from being a convoluted mess. I most certainly didn’t intend on watching all 85 episodes along with the additional ten hours of bonus features. But, that’s exactly what I did. 17 discs and 40-something hours later I’m contemplating tracking down a copy of Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles to complete my journey.
The Robotech series begins with The Macross Saga, a 35-episode arc that tells the story of SDF-1, a giant alien spaceship that crashed on Macross Island a decade earlier, and the arrival of an alien race known as the Zentraedi that have come to take the fallen ship. Humanity, rallied together under the banner of the United Earth Government, attempts to fight off the invading forces while attempting to understand the secrets of the alien technology that the Zentraedi are devoted to recovering.
The Macross Saga is an undeniably brilliant story that somehow manages to comment on the emotional impact of war on the human spirit while also examining the importance of art and the role it plays in inspiring humanity through its darkest days. Pretty heady stuff for a children’s cartoon.
The second chapter, or war, in the Robotech series is the 24-episode arc known as The Masters Saga. The Robotech Masters, creators of the Zentraedi race, come to Earth in search of the mysterious Protoculture. Convinced that the approaching spaceships are signs of an impending full-scale invasion the United Earth Government strikes first setting up a war with the Robotech Masters that could spell the end of humanity.
For the first 10 or so episodes The Masters Saga is more of a soap opera than intellectually stimulating science fiction. It isn’t until the tone of the material shifts from romantic jealousy to the investigation of free will, the use of propaganda to justify conflict and the reoccurring impact of war on society that Robotech embraces what made it truly great in the first place.
The third war, 25 episodes known as The New Generation, finds Earth being occupied by an alien race known as the Invid. Having overwhelmed Earth’s forces following the conflict with the Robotech Masters the Invid have enslaved humanity. Tired of their captivity a small group of humans rally together to take on their Invid oppressors.
The New Generation is more even than The Masters Saga but it fails to capture the brilliance of The Macross Saga. It does however echo many of the themes from the previous series as it looks at the cost of war and the sacrifices that are necessary to ensure the freedom of humankind.
Included in the bonus features are extended cuts of various episodes along with 29 minutes that were used in Robotech: The Movie (which Carl Macek disowned) as well as a re-edited version of Robotech: The Sentinels, a series that was intended to extend The Macross Saga narrative but only three of the planned 65 episodes were completed. There are also numerous featurettes that range from international clips, video game adaptations and toy commercials. The set is highlighted by a newly created documentary Carl Macek’s Robotech Universe that tells the story of how Robotech came to be through interviews with the various voice actors and producers of the show. Unfortunately Carl Macek is not included due to his untimely death. There are also numerous still galleries that include pre-production art, character bios, comic book covers and merchandise.
It’s a shame that Macek wasn’t able to provide an audio commentary or contribute to the new documentary. Robotech was his vision and its hard to consider this box set complete without his participation.
Purists can continue to complain that Robotech is a bastardized version of the Japanese original series The Super Dimension Fortress Macross, Super Dimension Cavalry Southern Cross and Genesis Climber MOSPEADA but the history of anime in America would be quite different if it wasn’t for Robotech. Besides, their complaints seem rather hollow considering how good Robotech actually is. Put Robotech: The Complete Series on your Christmas lists because this box set is absolutely essential.
Or you could always just enter to win a copy here.
Wait, there hasn’t been a formal “Anime Update” for like 30 days?!? Sorry about that folks! I got into New York Comic Con / New York Anime Fest mode and it’s taken me this long to get back to the usual. If you haven’t seen it yet, check out our NYCC/NYAF interview with Chris Sabat, Justin Cook and Sean Schemmel from Dragon Ball Z – it was a blast meeting them!
On to this week’s update: We’ve got some great announcements from Viz Media! (And for those of you still following my “Videos from Japan” at the bottom of the Update – I’ve got a new Uncharted 3 commercial with Harrison Ford!)
Press Release: October 21, 2011
VIZ MEDIA ADDS NARUTO SHIPPUDEN THE MOVIE: BONDS TO NARUTO MOVIE MARATHON ON VIZANIME.COM AND HULU
Limited Time Marathon Celebrates Upcoming DVD and Blu-ray Release of Latest Movie, And Includes All Five NARUTO Movies
To celebrate the upcoming DVD and Blu-ray release of NARUTO SHIPPUDEN THE MOVIE: BONDS (in stores October 25th), and the birth month of the Naruto character, VIZ Media has just announced the addition of the NARUTO SHIPPUDEN THE MOVIE: BONDS (dubbed) to the special NARUTO movie marathon on VIZAnime.com, the company’s own website for free anime, as well as on the streaming content provider HULU (www.Hulu.com).
A total of 5 feature films featuring the spunky ninja are now available to stream from both sites thru October 23rd. The marathon includes NARUTO THE MOVIE: NINJA CLASH IN THE LAND OF SNOW, NARUTO THE MOVIE 2: LEGEND OF THE STONE OF GELEL, NARUTO THE MOVIE 3: GUARDIANS OF THE CRESCENT MOON KINGDOM (all movies rated TV-14), available with either subtitled or English dubbed dialogue tracks. NARUTO SHIPPUDEN:THE MOVIE is also available dubbed on both streaming sites.
In NARUTO SHIPPUDEN THE MOVIE: BONDS (rated TV-14), a group of mysterious flying ninja have arrived from overseas to launch a sudden attack against the Hidden Leaf Village, leaving behind a wake of destruction. The group is revealed to be the “Sky Ninja” from the Land of Sky, a nation thought to have been destroyed by the Hidden Leaf Village long ago. To save their village, Naruto and his friends set out to stop this new threat. During the course of the mission, Naruto crosses paths with Sasuke, his friend who has parted ways from the Leaf Village.
VIZ MEDIA PARTNERS WITH JAPAN’S ANIMATE AND LIBRE PUBLISHING TO LAUNCH
SuBLime, A NEW YAOI MANGA LINE
North American Manga Publishing Powerhouse Launches A Bold New Initiative To Deliver Acclaimed Boys’ Love Titles Digitally And In Print To An Eager Fan Base
San Francisco, CA, October 24, 2011 – VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), the largest distributor and licensor of anime and manga in North America, has announced the launch of its highly anticipated new yaoi manga (graphic novel) line – SuBLime – which represents an innovative new partnership between VIZ Media and Japan’s Animate, Ltd. (Animate) and Libre Publishing Co., Ltd. (Libre Publishing).
This bold, global publishing initiative will present English-speaking fans everywhere with a broad selection of high quality titles. SuBLime will offer titles digitally worldwide on its dedicated web site at SuBLimeManga.com, with many available in Download-to-Own format, and selections in print also available in English-language editions worldwide. From the supernatural men of Naono Bohra’s tales of fantasy to the sexy actors portrayed in some of Youka Nitta’s best works, SuBLime will offer something for even the most discerning yaoi manga fan.
“The yaoi manga genre enjoys a sizeable and very passionate following, and the launch of SuBLime will give fans around the world an entirely new outlet that will deliver an exciting range of titles,” says Leyla Aker, Vice President of Publishing, VIZ Media. “We invite fans to join us as we prepare to bring some of the best new boys’ love manga titles to North America and beyond!”
“I’m very excited to open the way to providing boys’ love manga to fans all over the world,” says Shingo Kunieda, Director of Animate’s Overseas Division. “There are many wonderful yaoi manga titles released every month in Japan, and we know that fans want to read them as soon as possible. We are always moving forward to find new ways of doing business, and by partnering with VIZ Media, we can make yaoi fans happy and release boys’ love titles as quickly as possible!”
Toshiko Ohta, President of Libre Publishing, concurs, saying, “Libre’s dream is to bring our content to yaoi fans around the world. In partnership with VIZ Media, this is now a reality. We look forward to readers’ support for SuBLime!”
SuBLime’s first round of digital manga titles are scheduled to launch this December, and will feature LOVE PISTOLS Vol. 1, by Tarako Kotobuki, and the North American debut of DANNASAMA TO MITSUGETSUCHU Vol. 1, by Haruka Minami. January 2012 sees the debut of OUSAMA NO BED, by Sakae Kusama, and in February, SWEET POOL Vol. 1, by Nitro+CHiRAL. Additional new titles slated for 2012 include SHIZUKU HANABIRA RINGO NO KAORI Vols. 1 and 2 by Toko Kawai, DEVIL’S HONEY by Isaku Natsume, KEKKON ZENYA by Kou Fujisaki, ADULT TEACHER WA OSUKI? by Kiu Aion, and YOKUBOU NO SHIZUKU by You Higashino.
SuBLime’s first print titles are scheduled to be THREE WOLVES MOUNTAIN, by Naono Bohra, and HACHIMITSU DARLING, by Norikazu Akira, which will both be released in Spring 2012, followed by PUNCH UP Vol. 1, by Shiuko Kano, and AITSU NO DAIHONMEI Vol. 1, by Suzuki Tanaka, to be released in the Summer of 2012.
Finally: Here is the new Japanese Uncharted 3 commercial starring Harrison Ford, in which he says “Sugei” (the Japanese explanation for “WOW! It’s awesome!”). Enjoy!
NYCC INTERVIEW: Chris Sabat, Justin Cook and Sean Schemmel from Dragon Ball Z!
We got the opportunity to interview three of the most awesome voice actors / creative cast in anime history this past weekend at New York Comic Con, 2011. As someone who has watched Dragon Ball since it first premiered in North America 15 years ago – I have to admit I was really psyched to meet Chris Sabat, Justin Cook and Sean Schemmel. Dragon Ball Z is legendary – it helped to carry anime into the mainstream and has been shown all over the world. Watch our interview with Chris, Justin and Sean as they discuss the 15th Anniversary of Dragon Ball Z in North America, Dragon Ball Z Kai, and the upcoming Blu-ray 1.1 release of Dragon Ball Z!
Part One:
Part Two:
Be sure to pick up the new Dragon Ball Z Level 1.1 on Blu-ray November 8th. The set includes painstakingly remastered 1080p video and Dolby True HD audio. You’ll get the first 17 episodes on two discs with over 410 minutes of action and awesome extras.
Here’s a bit more about Chris, Justin and Sean (Bios courtesy of NYCC/Funimation):
Chris Sabat: “Christopher R. Sabat has lived on a diet of Senzu Beans for nearly 15 years. As the Voice Director for Dragonaball Z as well as the actor behind Vegeta, Piccolo, Yamcha, Mr. Popo, Kami, Jeice, Recoome, Korin, Burter, Shenron, Zarbon, Guru, Porunga, and countless others, you could possibly say he is the voice of Dragonball Z. Christopher currently owns Okratron 5000, a game audio and voice-over production studio in Dallas, Texas.”
Justin Cook: “Justin Cook has been working in the world of anime exclusively for FUNimation since the beginning of 2000. Beginning as an ADR engineer and Production Assistant then Voice Director, Line Producer, Production Manager, and currently he is the Director of Production. He has voiced a number of characters including, Raditz and Super Buu from Dragon Ball Z; Yusuke in Yu Yu Hakusho, Chiba in Mongolian Chop Squad; Hatsuhara Soma in Fruits Basket and Capt. Bellamy in One Piece. He has voice directed episodes from the series Fruits Basket, Yu Yu Hakusho, Dragon Ball and Kiddy Grade.”
Sean Schemmel: “Sean Schemmel gets paid to stand in a sound proof padded room and make wacky voices all day with good reason. He’s good at it. Ever since he was discovered doing so at an undisclosed mental institution (read Marionette Theatre) Sean has been gainfully employed as a voice actor for some of the most popular titles in Anime history. He is best known as the voices of Goku, King Kai and Nail in the internationally acclaimed anime series, Dragonball ZDragonball Z Kai, and Dragonball GT. Other notable roles include, Amidamaru, and Rio inShaman King, Constable Biggles, Sh’Okanabo, Master Kahn (and many others) in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Onsokumaru in Ninja Nonsense, about 12 different thumbs in Thumb Wrestling Federation and Gonard in Kappa Mikey. In addition to Dragonball Z Kai Sean can currently be heard as Paradox in the feature film, Yu-Gi-Oh 5d’s Bonds Beyond Time and as Grings Kodai in (Pokemon) Zoroark: Master of Illusions.
In the realm of audiobooks, Sean won a 2010 Earphones Award for his work in The Big Splash by Jack D. Ferraiolo and has been nominated for a 2011 Audie Award in the category of humor for his work in Shit My Dad Says, by Justin Halpern
Sean has also adapted for English and directed the following anime series: Space Pirate Mito, Sadamitsu: The Destroyer, Midori Days, and Ah! My Goddess. Sean currently resides in New Jersey, and in his spare time enjoys playing the French Horn, writing parodies, playing guitar and bass and moving heavy objects with his mind.”
NYCC/NYAF 2011 – VIZ Media To Debut Weekly Shonen Jump Alpha
Hot off the presses! Just announced today at a press event at New York Comic Con – the countdown to the launch of digitalWEEKLY SHONEN JUMP ALPHA!
VIZ MEDIA TO DEBUT WEEKLY SHONEN JUMP ALPHA
NORTH AMERICA’S ONLY NEAR-SIMULTANEOUS
DIGITAL MANGA MAGAZINE
WEEKLY SHONEN JUMP ALPHA Brings Fans The Most Popular Manga In The World Faster Than Ever Before
October 14, 2011 – VIZ Media, the largest distributor and licensor of anime and manga in the North America, announces the countdown to the launch of WEEKLY SHONEN JUMP ALPHA (WEEKLY SJ ALPHA), a weekly serial anthology of some of the most popular manga series in the world: BAKUMAN｡, BLEACH, NARUTO, NURA: RISE OF THE YOKAI CLAN, ONE PIECE, and TORIKO. The first issue of WEEKLY SJ ALPHA goes on sale January 30, 2012, and will be available through VIZManga.com and the VIZ Manga apps for iPhone™, iPod™ touch and iPad™.
Each new digital issue of WEEKLY SJ ALPHA brings manga fans in North America the latest chapters of their favorite series only two weeks after it debuts in Japan’s massively popular WEEKLY SHONEN JUMP Magazine. Currently, Japanese releases are often several months to years ahead of North American print titles; WEEKLY SJ ALPHA eliminates the delay in unprecedented fashion.
“Simultaneously publishing an official translation of the most popular comics magazine in the world has been a dream since manga publishing began in North America in the 1980s,” said Alvin Lu, Senior Vice President & General Manager. “This is how manga is meant to be read in English – weekly, current, authorized and on the go. Now with WEEKLY SHONEN JUMP ALPHA, it’s about to happen for real.”
WEEKLY SJ ALPHA will be made available through an annual membership that provides access to 48 weekly issues for 52 weeks for just $25.99. Single issues of WEEKLY SJ ALPHA can be read for a four-week rental from the time the reader purchases it for only $0.99. Each issue, once received on one device, can be read on all other enabled devices through the easy-to-use integrated VIZ Manga app and website.
To prepare fans for the debut of WEEKLY SJ ALPHA, VIZ Media is also offering the SHONEN JUMP DIGITAL WARP, a limited collection of digital graphic novel speed-ups that will bring North American readers up-to-date with Japanese releases. In some cases, the digital speed-ups will jump ahead of the print releases in North America. The SHONEN JUMP DIGITAL WARP will begin with NARUTO Volume 53 (available now) and BLEACH Volume 49 (coming soon).
As more fans migrate to the digital WEEKLY SJ ALPHA edition, VIZ Media plans to phase out the print edition of SHONEN JUMP Magazine. The popular, one-of-a-kind monthly magazine led the rapid growth of the manga market for much of the last decade and was VIZ Media’s flagship publication since it launched in 2003. The farewell April 2012 issue hits newsstands March 2012.
For more information on WEEKLY SJ ALPHA and exclusive subscriber offers, please visit ShonenJump.viz.com or VIZManga.com.
The second day of New York Comic Con has come to a close and I’m resting my feet back at a friend’s place in Queens. Today was fantastic – lots of great interviews, panels and special events. The highlights of my day included interviewing Chris Sabat, Justin Cook, and Sean Schemmel from Dragon Ball Z, seeing Joe Simon (who just turned 98 years old on Tuesday) at his panel “My Life in Comics,” and getting an up-close glimpse of Stan Lee meeting colleagues at the Archie Booth on the show floor. We’ve got a lot of great stuff coming up for you once we get a chance to get it all edited and web-ready, but for now I wanted to share some photos with you from Thursday and Friday. Enjoy!
Be sure to check back soon for our interviews with Tom Morello, the Skullgirl’s creative team, Kevin Conroy, Bruce Timm, Andrea Romano, Chris Sabat, Justin Cook, Sean Schemmel and more!
Marvel Television Invades New York Comic Con With New Footage & Announcements
Big Shiny Robot! will be at New York Comic Con 2011. Will you? Check out our complete coverage of NYCC 2011 events, news, screenings, interviews, and more!
Official Press Release – 10/06/2011
Marvel Television Invades New York Comic Con With New Footage & Announcements
The biggest pop culture event of the fall is almost here and Marvel Television will be at New York Comic Con with never-before-seen footage and exclusive announcements!
First, join Jeph Loeb, Marvel’s Head of Television, on Friday, October 14th in Room 1A22 for Marvel Television Presents: Anime on G4 from 5-6pm for news on this cutting edge animation! Who will voice Blade when G4’s Blade anime premieres? You’ll find out…and see exclusive footage from the hotly-anticipated series. Plus, don’t miss the world-premiere of the X-Men anime with a special screening of Episode 1!
Then, on Saturday, October 15th get in line early for Marvel Television Presents, from 3:45-4:45pm in Room 1A10! Join Loeb as he updates fans on everything Marvel TV, from upcoming animated series on Disney XD to the latest on live action shows in development. Want to see a new clip from next year’s Ultimate Spider-Man animated series? Or the second season premiere of Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes!? This is the only place to see them…and some other cool stuff we can’t dare reveal!
“Everyone at Marvel Television knows we have the best fans in the world and we’re coming to New York Comic Con with some new material worthy of those fans,” explained Loeb. “If you’re an Avengers fan, Spider-Man or, just a fan of awesome television, then you’re going to want to be at these panels. And you never know which celebrities might surprise us with a visit!”
Can’t make it to the convention? Follow along on the Marvel Events App & events.marvel.com, the best way to get exclusive videos, real-time announcements from the convention floor and up-to-the-minute panel, in-booth, and signing schedules of all your favorite Marvel creators!
Anime Update: 09/20/2011 – the X-Men Anime is Coming to G4
Madhouse’s exceptional X-Men anime will finally be here October 21st on G4. After watching the series this past Spring from Japan (you can read parts 1 and 2 of my review here), I’ve been dying to see what the North American audience reaction will be. According to Marvel, both the Iron Man and Wolverine anime series have been a huge ratings boost for G4 in the 11 PM – 2 AM time slot – “jumping +50% over the August 2010 time period average with homes and climbing +75% among Total Viewers.”
“Actor Scott Porter takes on the voice of Cyclops in “X-Men,” the optic-force blasting deputy leader of the team.In the series, the X-Men are reunited following the death of a teammate, and are summoned by Charles Xavier to track down Hisako Ichiki, a missing teenage girl in Northern Japan. There, they encounter the fanatical and anti-mutant group, the U-Men, and discover what was important enough for Xavier to bring them back together. The answer is something that could potentially bridge the gap between mutants and humans, or tear the two species apart forever. ”
Personally, I feel that X-Men has been Marvel’s strongest anime series thus far. The characters were pretty well fleshed out and the story had me hooked by the end of episode two (a feat for an anime considering they generally take several episodes just to “get going” on the plot end of things). I was also extremely pleased with the animation and artistic direction.
Episode One begins with Phoenix – how awesome is that?!?
Here’s the awesome intro that ran in front of the series in Japan:
So, make sure to check out the X-Men anime this October 21st on G4. Later this Winter we’ll also get to see Marvel’s fourth anime production – Blade.
Years ago, Mixx Entertainment released English versions of Naoko Takeuchi’s Sailor Moon manga. The main issue I had with the release was that they opted to call Usagi “Bunny,” which sounded silly and didn’t mesh with the English anime version of her name, Serena. Her name, Usagi Tsukino, does actually translate to “Rabbit of the Moon,” but I suspect a lot of people purchasing the manga were already familiar with the show, and consistency between the two English versions would have been nice.
Now, thankfully, the manga is being re-released by Kodansha USA in 12 bi-monthly volumes, and the updated editions feature new cover artwork and bonus material from creator Naoko Takeuchi, according to Anime News Network. Beginning with Sailor Moon Vol. 1, the new volumes will have the original Japanese names of the characters. This may be a bit jarring for those familiar with the anime (and as I’ve said, consistency is nice), but this keeps the translation as close to the original material as possible.
Anything has to be better than “Bunny.” How can anyone named Bunny be the future Queen of Crystal Tokyo?
Besides the names, the text of the stories has also been updated with a “new, incredibly accurate translation,” according to the Amazon page. List price for the first book is $10.99, but Amazon offers it for $6.86.
The schedule for the next books in the series is as follows:
The cover artwork is gorgeous, with a single Sailor Scout shown on each volume.
And if that isn’t enough for you, Codename: Sailor V Vol. 1 is also currently available, with Volume 2 releasing in November. This is a prequel series to Sailor Moon and follows the adventures of Minako Aino (Sailor Venus in the Sailor Moon series) as she fights for love and justice as Sailor V.
This is a great time for Sailor Moon fans. Retail chain Hot Topic recently began selling T-shirts, and I’ve heard that they will also be offering a Sailor Moon costume for Halloween. And the characters continue to be popular at conventions like Dragon*con.
Hopefully someday I’ll have good news about the show being re-released on DVD, or even Blu-Ray. But for now, the manga is all we have, and by the time this article is posted, I’ll probably have ordered the first volume.
