This Week: Bandai is bringing Star Driver to Hulu and more shows are finding their way to Netflix streaming.

Aniplex (in partnership with Bandai) announced at their Otakon panel yesterday that they will be streaming Star Driver Kagayaki no Takuto on Hulu starting August 17^th. Crunchyroll will also be hosting the series, and both websites will stream with official English subtitles (no word on the dub yet).

https://youtu.be/-Z5HhK0fTsI

This 25 episode series from 2010 takes place on fictional Southern Cross Isle. As it happens on your typical mysterious island, a boy washes up on shore one starry night and, luckily for him, there is a cute girl nearby who senses his presence and gives him CPR. A rich local student takes him in for the night and (due to obvious anime plot reasons) enrolls Takuto at the local high school (and what kind of anime high school would this be if nothing unusual was going on?)… In fact, there are mobile suits (called “Cybodies”) hidden underneath the island that possess immense power and can be controlled by humans. An evil organization, Glittering Crux, is plotting to steal these suits and only Takuto and his friends can stop them.

The show suffers from some seriously overused anime plot points (an insanely rich kid with moe-inspired maids, a super mysterious guy with an unknown past that will turn out to be the hero, and a girl that I can almost guarantee will fall in love with him by the series’ end…) but overall it’s a decent watch. The interpretations of time and “zero time” are pretty cool and the Cybodies are interesting in that they somehow manage to be both mech suits and magical-girl / magical-boy transformation driven power suits.

…and while we’re talking about streaming, have you been keeping your eyes on Netflix lately? Part Three of Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood has just been made available (until now you had to get the disks). Other great shows on streaming right now include Mushi-Shi, Nana, Speed Grapher, Hetalia, Monster, Excel Saga and 109 episodes of Bleach. I have to fully recommend Excel Saga to anyone that’s been watching anime a long time. It’s an over the top, ridiculous spoof of anime and television and is highly rated by anime fans.

Alongside the new subscription options debuting in September I’m hoping a few more shows will continue to make their way to Netflix streaming. I keep requesting Irresponsible Captain Tylor, but maybe I’m in the minority in actually remembering that awesome show…

I leave you this week with another obscure piece of video from Japan’s youtube. It’s a political satire miniseries (based on the original manga) called The Legend of Koizumi. Very entertaining if you have read up on Japanese politics, and still rather amusing even if you haven’t. The premise of the miniseries is that international diplomacy is settled at the mahjong table, with real-life politicians depicted as masters of mahjong:

A+E have announced plans to release Robotech: The Complete Original Series DVD box set for October 18, 2011. Here’s the press release:

 

THIS OCTOBER, A+E NETWORKS HOME ENTERTAINMENT WILL UNLEASH A LEGENDARY ANIME SERIES – ONE OF THE EARLIEST AND MOST INFLUENTIAL IMPORTS – IN A DELUXE COLLECTOR’S SET FEATURING NEVER-BEFORE-SEEN BONUS MATERIAL

ROBOTECH: THE COMPLETE ORIGINAL SERIES

The Limited-Edition 17-Disc Set of the Program Voted as One of IGN.com’s

“Top 50 Sci-Fi Series of All Time” is Priced to Collect at $99.95srp and Features Four Bonus Discs with Two Hours of Brand New Content Including a “Making of Robotech” Documentary, Robotech Music Videos, a Series Overview and Much More!

Also Available Day-and-Date Will Be Three Individual “Generation Wars” Sets: THE FIRST ROBOTECH WARS (THE MACROSS SAGA), THE SECOND ROBOTECH WAR (THE ROBOTECH MASTERS) and THE THIRD ROBOTECH WAR (THE NEW GENERATION)

IN STORES OCTOBER 18

NEW YORK, NY – Long before the current live action Transformers franchise took over the box office and introduced giant alien robots to a new generation, there was a sweeping animated sci-fi epic that delivered “mecha” to the masses: Robotech.  Arriving on U.S. airwaves in the mid-80s via syndication, the legendary space opera – one of the very first anime imports — helped to usher in the multi-billion dollar anime industry and now, through the cult classic curators at A+E Networks Home Entertainment, the influential series will be reborn on DVD.  Working in close conjunction with original Robotech producer Harmony Gold, the franchise will be available in a handsomely-designed collector’s set featuring all 85 re-mastered episodes of the engaging and dramatic anime classic.  Available for $99.95srp, the specially-priced 17-disc set ROBOTECH: THE COMPLETE ORIGINAL SERIES will also feature four exclusive bonus discs with more than 10 hours of bonus content – much of which is new to DVD. The deal was brokered by Content Media Corporation, the worldwide distributor of the series.

A sweeping science-fiction anime epic, ROBOTECH was set at the turn of the millennium, when a mysterious spacecraft crash-landed on a South Pacific island.  The secrets of alien knowledge aboard this vessel were unlocked, leading to the development of “Robotechnology” and the creation of a vast arsenal of robotic “mecha” to defend the Earth against the alien threats that would eventually strike, attempting to lay claim to the mysterious power source known as “protoculture.”  Told through the eyes of characters caught in a successive series of three extraterrestrial invasions, the saga was the first anime series that many fans had seen, and is often credited with the explosion of anime fandom that continues to grow in the U.S. today.

The cornerstone of a blockbuster franchise that has spawned dozens of movies, books, toys, video games and comic books, ROBOTECH was originally licensed from Japan’s Tatsunoko Studios, adapted from three different series and re-edited and re-dubbed into English.  Because ROBOTECH hailed from three completely different anime series, Harmony Gold joined them into a cohesive narrative by splitting them into three distinct chapters, each representing a different generation of the saga:  THE MACROSS SAGA (36 episodes), THE ROBOTECH MASTERS (24 episodes) and THE NEW GENERATION (25 episodes).  These are also informally referred to as “The First Robotech War,” “The Second Robotech War” and “The Third Robotech War” respectively.

Aside from featuring all 85 half-hour episodes of the original series (re-mastered from original elements for this release), ROBOTECH: THE COMPLETE ORIGINAL SERIES also includes over ten hours of bonus programming:

The Making of Robotech Documentary – NEW to DVD

Robotech Music Videos – NEW to DVD

Robotech Overview – NEW to DVD

Alternate versions of select Robotech episodes – NEW to DVD

Robotech: The Movie supplementals (including several sequences NEW to DVD)

Macross Original Pilot – 70 minute extended version – NEW to DVD

Promotional reel of Robotech Launch in China – NEW to DVD

Over an hour of deleted scenes

Robotech: The Sentinels (with optional audio commentary)

Robotech: The Sentinels promotional video

Macross Original Pilot – Parts 1, 2 and 3

Mospeada Original Pilot – Part 1

Original opening and closing animations

Galaxy of the Stars – Harmony Gold promotional reel

Toy Commercial and Videogame presentation reels

International clips for all three Robotech Wars

A vast stills appendix containing character bios, model sheets, pre-production art, comic book covers, and merchandise galleries

And much, much more!

Voted #34 on the “Top 100 Animated Series of All Time” by IGN.com, ROBOTECH will also be released day-and-date in several additional configurations.  THE FIRST ROBOTECH WAR (THE MACROSS SAGA; 5 discs), THE SECOND ROBOTECH WAR (THE ROBOTECH MASTERS; 4 discs) and THE THIRD ROBOTECH WAR (TRHE NEW GENERATION; 4 discs) will also be available for fans both new and old.

With interest in “mecha” at an all-time high, don’t miss out on this landmark in anime history from the guardians of classic TV DVD at A+E Networks Home Entertainment.

 

This week on Anime Update: news from Comic-con, a new Berserk trailer from Japan, and the recently opened Guinness World Record-breaking coaster at Japan’s Fuji-Q!

First up on this week’s update: Viz Media held a 25th anniversary party at Comic-con this weekend and had lots of announcements to share with fans. On top of the news recently shared at Anime Expo, Viz also unveiled their new and improved VizManga.com,which will now support more than just Apple digital content. In their official press release they discussed the following additions:

“With this new expansion of our existing digital platform, fans can browse and access from ANY computer or web-enabled device (Android, Blackberry, etc) the rapidly growing library of the most popular manga in the world on the VIZ Manga App for iOS devices, currently offering 40 series and over 300 volumes, including NARUTO, BLEACH, BLUE EXORCIST, VAMPIRE KNIGHT, and more! And, as before, registered users can view and access their purchased manga on VIZManga.com and through the VIZ Manga App, no matter which device or digital experience they prefer! To celebrate the launch of VIZManga.com, all Volume 1 manga titles will be 40% off through July 31st! The first chapters of all manga titles will also be available as a free preview!”

Next on this week’s update: An amazing new Berserk trailer has just appeared for the upcoming re-imagined series of animated films (originally, the manga was turned into an anime series in 1997). Part one of the upcoming films,  Berserk Golden Age Arc 1: Egg of the Supreme Ruler, is set to premier in Japan in January 2012. This film series is aiming to more closely follow the story in the manga, and director Toshiyuki Kubooka is an excellent choice for the project having extensive experience in the anime and videogame world. He has contributed his many talents to Batman: Gotham Knight, Gunbuster, Giant Robo, several of the Lunar games, and Yamato 2520.

Berserk is a fantasy epic that follows the story of a young mercenary, Guts (Gattsu); a female soldier who has suffered a difficult past, Casca (Kyasuka); and the leader of mercenary group “Band of the Hawk,” Griffith (Grifisu). The story is set in medieval Europe and forces readers/viewers to question the true meaning of humanity, and the places that ruthlessness, compassion, and death take during a violent war.

Let’s hope these new films get picked up for U.S. distribution. So far they look to be quite promising, and the animation quality is stunning.

Last on this week’s update: Fuji-Q Highland in Japan has added another amazing roller coaster to their park – this time breaking the Guinness World Record for World’s Steepest Coaster with the addition of Takashiba. Recently opened on July 16th, Takashiba is 141 feet high with a vertical fall of 121 degrees. The coaster travels up to speeds of 100 mph:

Takashiba isn’t the first amazing and mind-bending coaster to be added to Fuji-Q. Roller coaster lovers around the world travel to Fuji-Q every year to check out their cutting edge rides. Click over here to their website and you’ll see video of some of the most intense roller coasters in the world.

I leave you this week with a Japanese classic I’ve been re-watching (and enjoying tremendously) – Takeshi’s Castle aka Most Extreme Elimination Challenge. It’s great to watch in the original Japanese or the humorously re-written, dubbed English version:

https://youtu.be/SdPWfFsrgf4

Pop culture mall retailer Hot Topic has thrilled Sailor Moon fans everywhere with the recent introduction of four new T-shirts based on the classic anime series.

Though the show last aired an original episode in 1997, the tale about a klutzy pony-tailed girl destined to grow up to become the Queen of Crystal Tokyo still proves to be incredibly popular.  If you have any doubts about its lasting impression, my last Sailor Moon article demonstrates the loyalty still found in fans, both young and old.

The Hot Topic T-shirts appear to be online exclusives, and they are available in sizes XS to 3X. That’s quite a size range, so they’re sure to fit any Sailor Scout perfectly.  Prices range from $22.50 to $26.50, depending on which size you choose.

One design features a solo Tuxedo Mask (Sailor Moon’s love interest) with the phrase “I Need A Hero” written across the top with white letters on a black shirt.  No sign of his
trademark red rose, though.

Another black shirt has the phrase “We’re Purrrfect Together” and features Luna and Artemis, Sailor Moon’s guides as she learns how to be a fighter for love and justice.

A white t-shirt shows has Sailor Moon with her crescent moon wand and the words “Sailor Moon” written across the top.  I think I like this one the best; it’s fairly simple in design but colorful.

The final design is another black shirt with the five original Sailor Senshi:  Sailor Mercury,Sailor Jupiter, Sailor Moon, Sailor Mars, and Sailor Venus.

It’s too bad none of the other gals have their own T-shirt; I’ve always been a fan of Sailor Mercury and her love of reading and learning.  And where is a shirt with Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask together?  Instead, the only romantic shirt is the one with the two cats on it! I’d like to recommend a shirt from the Moon Kingdom era, or perhaps Crystal Tokyo.  Those eras are always under-represented on Sailor Moon merchandise.

Still, beggars can’t be choosers, and there has been a distinct lack of any new Sailor Moon merchandise in recent years.  I’ve been to a few anime conventions, and it’s disappointing to see how little is available.  Of course, I became a fan of the show while new episodes still aired in Japan, and the merchandising and fan frenzy was at its height at that time.

Hopefully the shirts will sell well, and this is only the beginning of what Hot Topic (and even other retailers) will have to offer.

Turns out that the Akira project was not “shelved” as several reputable sources had reported over the past week.

The Hollywood Reporter said today that the project is still moving forward, has a script, and will be directed by Spanish Unknown director Jaume Collet-Serra.

“The anime property has been in development with a succession of writers and directors since WB grabbed the rights in 2008, but now the Spanish Unknown director has the helm for the live-action film version.”

All this makes me wonder how exactly the rumors started flying about that the project had been shelved, but I suppose that’s just Hollywood as usual.

The Reporter also stated: “Harry Potter adapter Steve Kloves has written the most recent draft of the screenplay, which is designed to turn Katsuhiro Otomo‘s classic graphic novel into a tentpole with a mid-level budget along the lines of WB’s Clash of the Titans.” This seems like an interesting development to me. I have really enjoyed most of the Harry Potter movies, and I feel like the right people could turn this project into something most fans would love.

Then again, I still can’t help but wonder why they have gone through so many potential writers, directors and rumored actors. I’m still skeptical, but I’m willing to give this project hope if people start pouring in some serious effort. Also, I think most fans would agree that a live action version of the motorcycle chase scene – if done well – could be absolutely incredible.

Can I make a recommendation to those working on this for Appian Way? The source material is good – damn good in fact – so don’t stray too far from it and you could make Akira into an excellent live action adaptation. Call in some of the creative team from the 1988 Japanese animated release, and while you’re at it make a friendly call to Katsuhiro Otomo.

Oh, and if it’s true that the project is still going to happen, was all that news about the motorcycle re-design false? Stay tuned to Big Shiny Robot and we’ll be sure to give you all the updates!

Transformers is big money right now and for those long time fans some of the older cartoons are finally making their way onto DVD thanks to those magnificent people at Shout Factory. But there’s one series which many people didn’t ever know about and that is Transformers: Headmasters. The Transformers series though incredibly popular in America may have been slightly more popular in Japan, and so after broadcasting all of the episodes of the American version in Japan and finding the series was soon coming to a close Takara (The Japanese toy company in charge of Transformers) decided to keep the show going, thus Transformers: Headmasters was born.

The story of Headmasters takes place six years after The battle with Unicron when a renegade group of transformers known as the Headmasters attack Cybertron. These Headmasters have special powers unknown to the original transformers but luckily for the Autobots a select few good Headmasters come to spoil the fun and help lead the charge against the Decepticons.

This 35 episode series is in it’s original Japanese Language with English subtitles and is a bit darker then the original series. There is some mild language and some characters even die. The human Spike is still in the show but his son Daniel and his friend “Wheelie” a motorbike Transformer are the main “kid portion” of the show. Also I was delighted because the only Transformer toy I ever owned as a kid apparently was from this series, that being Sixshot a transformer which had six different forms. The story is somewhat hard to follow at first especially if you had forgotten most of what happened in the original series, but after a quick refresh of the characters I started to remember who everyone was.

The series is actually pretty good, and probably a must have for any big transformers fan. If you weren’t big into the original US series, I would get those first which are also available at Shout Factory and run through them before picking this one up, but it’s a great addition to the story. The Headmasters DVD is currently available for $24.98 plus S&H from Shout Factory’s website.

UPDATE: Project was not shelved as previously reported! Click here to read the details!

Comics Alliance and several other sources confirmed today that the Live Action Akira project has been shelved (probably for good).

If you’ve been keeping up with our coverage of the project over the past couple of months, you probably know that most fans were in no way excited for the would-be live action adaptation headed up by Leonardo DiCaprio’s production company.

Honestly, I would have been able to accept a lot if the film was handled well…but where I drew the line was the complete tearing apart of the plot and the fact that they never even thought of consulting the still-alive creator and creative team that worked on the original manga and movie. This adaptation honestly could have been awesome – but the studio made wrong turns at nearly every major decision. The casting rumors (though unconfirmed) were the worst – that damned sparkly vampire from Twilight…ugh!

It was reported that Director Albert Hughes walked away in May and that Keanu Reeves refused the offer to play the leading role of Kaneda. This just confirms to me that the project was so terrible that nobody wanted it anywhere near their names. (In the words of Ted Theodore Logan, this project was “Bogus!”)

More shocking is that creative designer Chris Weston was asked on one of his first days of work to re-design the trademarked red motorcycle. Re-design?!? That’s insane! Has anybody out there noticed that the image of the famous motorcycle is what the movie is most commonly associated with, even after more than 20 years since the film’s release!?

Weston admitted that he was “horrified” and did not want to stray from the original design, but the studio pushed him forward and apparently somewhere in Hollywood there are concept drawings of the new bike. I would be curious to see them but am also pretty glad that they’ll probably never see the light of day.

So, what do you think? What would you have wanted to see in a live action Akira film? (I for one would want a gritty, futuristic Tokyo to fit with Otomo’s inspirational art and imagination.) Sound off in the comments below!

In this Anime Update we bring you news and an Episode One review of the soon-to-be hugely successful Mawaru Penguindrum. The show is already gaining momentum in Tokyo and (hopefully) will get picked up for U.S. distribution very soon.

Episode One of most of the Japanese Summer Anime Series aired this past Friday in Tokyo, and I got the chance to watch two of the shows that are very likely to get picked up for U.S. Distribution later this year. The first show I want to talk about this week is the fun and original Mawaru Penguindrum. (Soon I’ll be reviewing Usagi Drop as well!)

Penguindrum revolves around Sho, Kan, and Himari – three orphaned siblings living in a cute and wildly colorful Tokyo house (Many Japanese homes tend to favor modest coloring when it comes to walls, tiling, etc., but this home is full of cheery decor!) Everything about the house tells us that these young adults have probably been living alone for a long time – but have taken care to keep the house in relatively good condition considering their situation. The walls are lovingly decorated with photos from the past and colorful trinkets most likely from memorable trips. Himari (the sister) has been ill and unable to attend school for quite some time, but the brothers still somehow are able to attend and it is unknown how they manage to afford groceries and daily life.

In a whirlwind of events (that you should definitely see for yourself), there are soon three adorable penguins helping the teens around the house, and we find out that the brothers are now tasked to go out and find something called the Penguin Drum. (This is, of course, after a scene in which Himari undergoes a magical-girl-esque transformation into a penguin goddess…thing…Let’s just say that in this regard it is definitely on par with other crazy-but-awesome anime plots I’ve seen in the past.)

These helpful Penguins are so cute!

So far the show is fantastic. What pulled me in from the beginning was the characters – who actually give us a good amount of depth and emotion within the first ten minutes of the episode (and it’s not cheesy, over-acted emotion…something that honestly tends to get on my nerves in anime after a while!). These are believable characters going through totally unreal circumstances. I rarely find characters in anime that I will really become attached to in the first few episodes of a series, so this is definitely a break from a standard series opener.

Penguindrum is also fairly original for a fantasy/drama anime of this nature. (I’ve read that people are comparing to an updated Utena, but I think it may go even beyond that in terms of originality). I’m definitely looking forward to upcoming episodes and I fully support any company that decides to bring this to the States. If you’re living in Japan – go watch! If not – start talking about it and it will soon show up in the U.S.!

I wish I had an adorable penguin to spray the Gokibukuri (cockroaches) for me!

For more reviews of the newest anime coming out of Tokyo and to North America – stay tuned to Big Shiny Robot.com!

Oh, and before I go: How crazy is this new Hatsune Miku Toyota Corolla commercial about Bacon Wrapped Hot Dogs?!?!?

Funimation released several really cool announcements at their Industry Panel yesterday. Here’s the roundup of the biggest news:

Funimation.com is hosting “The Summer of Streaming” in which you will be able to watch over 5,000 episodes of anime for free. The reporters over at Funimation “did the math” and informed us that 5,000 episodes is roughly “100 days of anime” which is pretty awesome! Even better – you can track what you’ve watched using their Summer of Streaming Checklist. On top of all the free anime, they’re also hosting several contests in which they’ll be giving away neat anime-themed stuff, so I’d say anime fans should definitely rush right over to their website and enjoy the awesomeness! Currently the theme is “Beach Week” so when you head over you’ll see beach themed episodes from shows like Ouran High School Host Club, Hetalia, Witchblade, Air Master, School Rumble and Heaven’s Lost Property.

"Ouran High School Host Club"

Funimation also announced that they’ve acquired North American distribution rights to Deadman Wonderland for 2012. The show will be available streaming on their website this year, so I’m glad that they’ll also be bringing the show to us on DVD and Blu-ray. I watched through a few episodes this spring in the original Japanese and found it pretty interesting. (You can read my review of episode one here.)

Baka and Test – Summon the Beast‘s second season (Baka to Test to Shokanju Ni!) – has also been picked up by Funimation to stream online for free just days after it airs in Japan later this month. If you haven’t watched Baka and Test yet, you are definitely missing out! The show is a crazy blend of high school comedy and drama; rpg-esque, summoning-based video game themes; and mayhem. Yes, I’m aware that what I’ve given seems like a strange description – but it fits. “Class F” is a group of complete and absolute failures… and you’ll find yourself rooting for them all the way.

“>Watch episode one and see what you’ve been missing!

Also acquired by Funimation for release in the U.S. are [C] – Control – The Money and Soul of Possibility,  Steins; Gate, and the “risque comedy” B Gata H Kei – Yamada’s First Time.

B Gata H Kei follows “Yamada, a boy-crazy school girl with distracting daydreams about future bedmates – but before she can get this saucy sex life underway, she realizes she first needs to lose her virginity! She knows to whom she will bestow this prize: her classmate Kosuda. However, a successful seduction of Kosuda is more difficult than this lusty teen had counted on.” (…Oh my!)

“B Gata H Kei – Yamada’s First Time”

That’s all for now. Stay tuned for more updates from Anime Expo 2011 here at Big Shiny Robot!

Anime Expo in Los Angeles is now under way and there are already some big announcements being made.

Viz Media announced today during their panel that they will be releasing both the Professor Layton Film – Professor Layton and the Eternal Diva (2009, Japan), and the Bleach Film – Bleach: Fade to Black (2008, Japan) – this fall on DVD and Blu-ray. (I know I’ve said this a lot about DVD and Blu-ray releases from Japan lately but…Finally! Two to three years is a long time!)

Viz also announced that they will be premiering Season Two of Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan: Demon Capital – simultaneously with the Japanese premier on Sunday, July 3rd over at their website.

“Based on the bestselling manga series by Hiroshi Shiibashi, the story follows young Rikuo, a typical junior high school student… But little does anyone know – he’s 1/4 yokai, and heir to the fearsome Nura Clan, leader of all the yokai! He’s successfully navigated the territory conflict against the Shikoku yokai in Season 1, but now he must contend with the most powerful enemy yet – the Hagoromo-Gitsune and her Kyoto yokai!”

If you need to catch up, go marathon through all of Season One at Viz’s Webite or over at Hulu. This cool trailer for Season One should give you a good idea of what you’re in for.

To celebrate the premier of Season Two, Viz is also giving away Volume 1 of the Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan manga for a limited time through their digital device Manga App (for iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch). Go download it now before it’s too late!

Stay tuned for more updates from Anime Expo 2011 here at Big Shiny Robot!