The Canadian version of the Amazon online retailer is listing the first volumes of Katsuhiro Otomo's Akira manga and Masamune Shirow's Ghost in the Shell manga for an October 13 release from the publisher "Kodansha Comics." Amazon's listings do not necessarily indicate definite release plans or dates, and listings that first appear on the Canadian site will not necessarily be limited to Canada only. Kodansha is the Japanese publisher of these two world-renowned science-fiction titles, and it made plans to establish a manga publishing foothold in New York last year. Dark Horse Comics once released both titles in North America, and Marvel Comics' Epic imprint had published Akira before Dark Horse.

Not incidentally, Kodansha licensed the live-action film adaptation rights for Akira and Ghost in the Shell last year to Leonardo DiCaprio's team at Warner Brothers/Appian Way and Steven Spielberg's team at DreamWorks, respectively. Both titles are well-known outside manga-reading circles through their animated film adaptations.

Update: Corrected Ghost in the Shell's author. Thanks, DRWii.

Vote

Add Comments

[ Link ]

Posted By: Omar - Category: No Category

Email this Post to a Friend

Exile-Song-&-Dance-Unit's-Examurai-Anime-Spawns-Manga

July 3rd 2009 23:10

Exile Song & Dance Unit's Examurai Anime Spawns Manga - Anime News

The June issue of Akita Shoten's Monthly Shonen Champion magazine launched the manga version of Examurai Sengoku, the television anime re-imagining of the EXILE entertainment group, on Saturday. Both the anime and the manga recast the seven EXILE members as samurai, such the wanderer Hiro, the dual-sword-wielding Atsushi, the lone wolf Makidai, and the young bow-wielding Takahiro. The story is set in Yasaka, the fictional capital of outlaws, during Japan's Warring States Period (sengoku jidai).

EXILE leader Hiroyuki "Hiro" Igarashi produced the project himself with original character designs by manga creator Hiroshi Takahashi (Crows, Worst). (Takahashi draws the Worst Gaiden manga and designed the characters in Dai Suzuki's Drop manga; both titles run in Monthly Shonen Champion.) Yoji Yamaguchi draws the actual manga for Examurai Sengoku. Monthly Shonen Champion's June issue also includes a Examurai Sengoku poster and a feature article on the television anime. The Examurai project began as DVD anime shorts that shipped with EXILE's recent albums.

Vote

Add Comments

[ Link ]

Posted By: Omar - Category: No Category

Email this Post to a Friend

College-Lecturer-Pretending-to-Be-Eva:-2.0's-Honda-Resigns

July 3rd 2009 23:07

College Lecturer Pretending to Be Eva: 2.0's Honda Resigns - Anime News

Khara, the anime studio founded by Evangelion creator and director Hideaki Anno, announced on Friday that a person had been misappropriating the name of Khara animator Takeshi Honda to teach at two universities. Honda has been a key animator and mechanical animation director on the original Neon Genesis Evangelion series and its theatrical remakes, including the next month's Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance. He was also a character designer on The Animatrix's "Beyond" short, Blue Submarine No. 6, Denno Coil, Metal Fighter Miku, and Millennium Actress. His skills have been so revered by his colleagues that during the production of Bubblegum Crisis, fellow animation director Takahiro Kishida (Spring and Chaos, Tenchi Muyo! Movie 1) nicknamed him "Shisho" ("Master").

However the real Honda has not been teaching classes in universities or vocation schools. In an investigation that it began last year, Khara has been gathering evidence from students about a part-time lecturer teaching under Honda's name at the Joshibi University of Art and Design's College of Media Arts and Shobi University. The fake Honda had been teaching at Joshibi from April of 2001 to January of 2009.

The fake Honda told people at Joshibi that "Takeshi Honda" is his working name, and that he left the field after having "trouble" with director Satoshi Kon during the production of Millennium Actress. The fake Honda further claimed that the real Honda is a disciple of his who took over his name and production résumé. Khara says all of these claims are false. The fake Honda has since resigned from his teaching positions.

Vote

Add Comments

[ Link ]

Posted By: Omar - Category: No Category

Email this Post to a Friend