Slashdot Mirror

zalas writes "AnimeOnDVD reports that David Williams of ADV Films is testing out using BitTorrent as a distribution method. Currently, he has a promotional video of Madlax, one of their titles, up for download via a torrent and has "much larger plans in mind." He is looking for feedback regarding this and can be left on the AnimeOnDVD Forums. ADV Films licenses Japanese animation from Japanese studios for distribution in North America and the UK."

The Fool writes "Anime News Network is reporting that Cartoon network will be airing All of Neon Genesis Evangelon. You can also read the Toon Zone speculation as well as some more."

Neil Halelamien writes "As reported on robots.net and other sources, researchers at Tokyo have used the HRP-2 Promet humanoid robot to help preserve moves from ancient Japanese dance for future generations. The researchers used motion capture to record the movements of a dancing master, then encoded and replayed them on the robot. The HRP-2 Promet robots are themselves quite interesting, capable of standing up after lying down and non-autonomously operating a backhoe. The external appearance was created by a designer known for his work on several anime series."

E-Rock-23 writes "Anime News Network has the scoop on more Anime series Cartoon Network plans to bring to the Adult Swim block next year. Witch Hunter Robin (2) has been confirmed for a February run. On the "Probably" list are Wolf's Rain in April and Ghost in the Shell in July, though they didn't specify if it'd be the Mamoru Oshii film or the Stand Alone Complex TV series. Either way, the latter will most likely have to be rather heavily edited for TV. Looks like I have a few more reasons to stay up past my bedtime..." Or get a tivo. Witch Hunter Robin & Wolf's Rain are both really excellent shows- it's very cool to see them hit mainstream TV.

E-Rock-23 writes "Anime News Network has the scoop on more Anime series Cartoon Network plans to bring to the Adult Swim block next year. Witch Hunter Robin (2) has been confirmed for a February run. On the "Probably" list are Wolf's Rain in April and Ghost in the Shell in July, though they didn't specify if it'd be the Mamoru Oshii film or the Stand Alone Complex TV series. Either way, the latter will most likely have to be rather heavily edited for TV. Looks like I have a few more reasons to stay up past my bedtime..." Or get a tivo. Witch Hunter Robin & Wolf's Rain are both really excellent shows- it's very cool to see them hit mainstream TV.

E-Rock-23 writes "Anime News Network has the scoop on more Anime series Cartoon Network plans to bring to the Adult Swim block next year. Witch Hunter Robin (2) has been confirmed for a February run. On the "Probably" list are Wolf's Rain in April and Ghost in the Shell in July, though they didn't specify if it'd be the Mamoru Oshii film or the Stand Alone Complex TV series. Either way, the latter will most likely have to be rather heavily edited for TV. Looks like I have a few more reasons to stay up past my bedtime..." Or get a tivo. Witch Hunter Robin & Wolf's Rain are both really excellent shows- it's very cool to see them hit mainstream TV.

E-Rock-23 writes "Anime News Network has the scoop on more Anime series Cartoon Network plans to bring to the Adult Swim block next year. Witch Hunter Robin (2) has been confirmed for a February run. On the "Probably" list are Wolf's Rain in April and Ghost in the Shell in July, though they didn't specify if it'd be the Mamoru Oshii film or the Stand Alone Complex TV series. Either way, the latter will most likely have to be rather heavily edited for TV. Looks like I have a few more reasons to stay up past my bedtime..." Or get a tivo. Witch Hunter Robin & Wolf's Rain are both really excellent shows- it's very cool to see them hit mainstream TV.

E-Rock-23 writes "Anime News Network has the scoop on more Anime series Cartoon Network plans to bring to the Adult Swim block next year. Witch Hunter Robin (2) has been confirmed for a February run. On the "Probably" list are Wolf's Rain in April and Ghost in the Shell in July, though they didn't specify if it'd be the Mamoru Oshii film or the Stand Alone Complex TV series. Either way, the latter will most likely have to be rather heavily edited for TV. Looks like I have a few more reasons to stay up past my bedtime..." Or get a tivo. Witch Hunter Robin & Wolf's Rain are both really excellent shows- it's very cool to see them hit mainstream TV.

E-Rock-23 writes "Anime News Network has the scoop on more Anime series Cartoon Network plans to bring to the Adult Swim block next year. Witch Hunter Robin (2) has been confirmed for a February run. On the "Probably" list are Wolf's Rain in April and Ghost in the Shell in July, though they didn't specify if it'd be the Mamoru Oshii film or the Stand Alone Complex TV series. Either way, the latter will most likely have to be rather heavily edited for TV. Looks like I have a few more reasons to stay up past my bedtime..." Or get a tivo. Witch Hunter Robin & Wolf's Rain are both really excellent shows- it's very cool to see them hit mainstream TV.

da3dAlus writes "Starting next week, Monday Feb 24th, from 4-5pm est Cartoon Network's Toonami starts a Giant Robot Week. The lineup currently includes episodes of Nadesico, Dia-Guard, Robotech, and Evangelion (yes, NGE is slated for the block, but only on Mon/Tues). Also in Evangelion news, AnimeNewsNetwork reports Gainax is finalizing the re-release of the boxed set of NGE. This set includes re-worked (audio/video enhanced) versions of the original 26 episodes, the 4 'remake' eps from laser disc, and a bonus disc with creditless opening/closing video, trailers, and live-action edition of the film. The final cut of the Evangelion movie-- Death(True)2, Air, and Magokoro wo Kimi ni--will also be included. The discs will be in a limited edition art box, and will retail for ~$322 on or about June 25th, with a reservation deadline of April 14th. After that, the new set will be released separately without the box."

Ninja Master Gara writes "Anime News Network reports New York University is offering a new courses on the anime industry and culture. Anime is slowly expanding from University Clubs into mainstream college courses, many of which begin at the 'What is anime?' level. Several Universities and Community Colleges already offer similar courses, or incorporate anime into existing studies." If any school decides to offer a course on the Gundam series, I'd be happy to teach a class.

peter_gzowski writes "Anime News Network is reporting that, 'The Japanese consumers in the Kyoto and Hyogo prefectures of Japan have filed a lawsuit against Walt Disney Japan over the red tint on the Japanese DVD release of Spirited Away.' Japanese consumers who purchased the Spirited Away DVD were very disappointed when they discovered a red tint to the film. A hundred thousand consumers complained, but Buena Vista Home Entertainment Japan (a subsidiary of Walt Disney) pretended nothing was wrong with the disc. The original source of news of the suit can be found (in Japanese) at Mainichi. No response from Disney yet."

peter_gzowski writes "Anime News Network is reporting that, 'The Japanese consumers in the Kyoto and Hyogo prefectures of Japan have filed a lawsuit against Walt Disney Japan over the red tint on the Japanese DVD release of Spirited Away.' Japanese consumers who purchased the Spirited Away DVD were very disappointed when they discovered a red tint to the film. A hundred thousand consumers complained, but Buena Vista Home Entertainment Japan (a subsidiary of Walt Disney) pretended nothing was wrong with the disc. The original source of news of the suit can be found (in Japanese) at Mainichi. No response from Disney yet."

Juanvaldes writes "ADV Films has confirmed reports that they are working to create a cable television channel dedicated to Anime. Currently they are releasing very few details about the channel itself. All that has been publicized at this time is that the channel will run 24 hours a day and will break its content into four categories, Action Zone, Sci-Fi, Comedy Incorrect, and Horror/Martial Arts." Hope I can get access to this one as soon as it comes out.

peter_gzowski writes "Dreamworks has acquired the license for the worldwide distribution of Satoshi Kon's latest picture, Millennium Actress. Satoshi Kon is best known for directing the anime classic Perfect Blue, but has also worked on Patlabor 2 and Roujin Z (the latter two from the director of Ghost in the Shell & Akira, respectively). Read about it from Yahoo! Movies or Anime News Network, whichever you prefer. I guess Dreamworks was feeling left out after Miramax (with Princess Mononoke) and Columbia Tri-Star (with Final Fantasy and Metropolis) got into the anime distribution business. Maybe Spielberg and company will fare better trying to convince North American audiences to watch serious animated films."

Bonker writes "Anime News Network is featuring an interview with Jason Demarco, senior writer and producer for Cartoon Network's 'Toonami' block. Mr. Demarco explains why and how the editing process for several anime shown on Toonami, Midnight Run, and Adult Swim happen, as well as the pressure they're under to produce a product acceptable not only to fans but to parents as well. " Gives an interesting perspective on what CN goes through to get certain anime on US TV. I've said it before, but I'd still love a Toonami channel that didn't need to edit (or maybe just less). I watch more Toonami then any channel.

Bonker writes "Anime News Network is featuring an interview with Jason Demarco, senior writer and producer for Cartoon Network's 'Toonami' block. Mr. Demarco explains why and how the editing process for several anime shown on Toonami, Midnight Run, and Adult Swim happen, as well as the pressure they're under to produce a product acceptable not only to fans but to parents as well. " Gives an interesting perspective on what CN goes through to get certain anime on US TV. I've said it before, but I'd still love a Toonami channel that didn't need to edit (or maybe just less). I watch more Toonami then any channel.

peter_gzowski writes "Disney has finally announced that it will be bringing Miyazaki's anime masterpiece Sen to Chihiro (Spirited Away) over to North American theaters. Sen to Chihiro is the most successful non-U.S. produced movie in the world. It has grossed about 30 billion yen ($226 million U.S.), which is more than Titanic (the previous record holder). We can expect it to be here around July." John Lasseter of Pixar fame is lined up to consult on the dub. No voices yet confirmed, but John: I'm available and willing.

Bonker writes: "Anime News Network Says: The Tenchi Muyo! Galaxy Police TV/OVA series (also known as Tenchi Muyo! GXP) as well as the first episode of the third Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-Ohki OVA series are scheduled to be released in Spring, 2002 in Japan." Both very exciting bits of news for anyone who happens to be a fan of Tenchi and the gals. I'm especially excited to see another OVA since those are far superior to the television shows.

tenchiken asks: "Disney is at it again. A while ago they were accused of (ahem) lifting portions of Kimba for use in 'Lion King'. Now their newest movie, Atlantis has an amazing amount of similarity with GAINAX's classic Anime: 'Nadia, The Secret of Blue Waters'. Take a look at Ain't it Cool News's write up which has comparisons from the Anime point of view and of the Disney point of view. Details about the 'Lion King' and 'Kimba the White Lion' can be found here. Well, give Disney a little credit for The Little Mermaid and Aladdin, after all, those were original stories, right?" You know, I was looking at the ads for this movie just this week and I thought the exact same thing! While fiddling around on the web, I found this comparison, and it appears that both pages are using information from this Anime News Network feature. Check out the above links as they may put the similarities (and any differences) into better perspective. So are the creative juices running dry over there in Disneyworld? Or is this just your average case of an earlier work's influence on a new release?

paranormalized sent us this link to Animenewsnetwork.com's Interview with Hayashi Hiroki. He talks a lot about his work on El Hazard, Black Heaven, and of course, Tenchi Muyo, which are coincidentally enough, three of my favorite series. Interesting points about Ryoko's relationship to 'I Dream of Jeanie,' and why he tends to make shows about a young boy surrounded by hot girls (and why he strayed so far from that to make Black Heaven)."

da3dAlus writes: "Toonami Revolution (check link for exact schedule) has spread the word on the new Toonami lineup beginning the week of November 6th. Basically, Cartoon Network is moving around a few shows to make room for the 4-part Blue Submarine #6 series and the weekly Toonami movies showing every Friday in November at 5pm EST. Gundam Wing will be dropped from the Midnight Run, DBZ will take its place, and Tenchi will fill the 12:30 slot (with NO uncut episodes). Currently, Outlaw Star is scheduled for airing on November 11 at 11 am EST." I highly recommend Blue Sub #6. The Japanese audio track is amazing (great surround sound) but I s'pose CN will air the English track.

randomErr write: "AIC, the people who did the good Tenchi episodes, has announced here that they are doing another series. They haven't said if it would be a based on the OVA series or a continuation of Tenchi in Tokyo. BTW, if you can't read Japanese, Click Here for a bad translation by Anime News Network." You guys know about Tenchi, right? It's about the high school kid that meets up with a demon, and the creepy 700-year-old mummy morphs into a girl space pirate? I love anime.

randomErr write: "AIC, the people who did the good Tenchi episodes, has announced here that they are doing another series. They haven't said if it would be a based on the OVA series or a continuation of Tenchi in Tokyo. BTW, if you can't read Japanese, Click Here for a bad translation by Anime News Network." You guys know about Tenchi, right? It's about the high school kid that meets up with a demon, and the creepy 700-year-old mummy morphs into a girl space pirate? I love anime.