Adult Swim Gets Three More Anime Series

E-Rock-23 writes "Toon Zone ran a story earlier this month with regards to three Anime series Cartoon Network acquired for it's Adult Swim block. Reign, Lupin III, and Trigun are slated to join the already impressive Anime line-up next year. Lupin is slated to start airing on January 13, and the others are TBA." Trigun is a great match fo Toonami- everyone should check it out. And I've been wanting to see the Lupin III TV series for years, so that ought to be great fun as well.

Comments

I still want a dedicated anime channel, though

[MtViewGuy]

While adding more series to Cartoon Network's Adult Swim programming block is nice, unfortunately CN still has a bad habit of editing Japanese anime series various reasons. =(

I'm hoping that ADV Films' plan for a true dedicated anime TV channel becomes reality very soon. That way, we can see anime series UNCUT the way it was shown in Japan, even if we have to dub the voices. Of course, it would also be nice for some anime series to be shown on this channel in the original Japanese with subtitles for the purists, too. =)

Re:I still want a dedicated anime channel, though

[bludstone]

http://www.theanimenetwork.com/

Lots of info there. Its going to be comcast V.O.D. in the Philadelphia-area.

Looks interesting.

Re:I still want a dedicated anime channel, though

[Rosonowski]

[plug]
UBSARPAUBSARPA had an ADV Panel at their last mini-con. They're interested in coming back, but more to the point.

They said that although they are interested in the network, copyright issues are making it very difficult.

Re:I still want a dedicated anime channel, though

[Minna Kirai]

That was flamebait, you know very well that porn/hentai is just a tiny fraction of anime. (The majority of it is toy commercials for 7
-year olds!)

But I must reply to tell you that "something recently in the news" was that animations of children engaged in sex is legal, even though the Republican Congress is trying to change that.

Re:I still want a dedicated anime channel, though

[BlackGriffen]

Here's an example of a scene that makes no sense in the cut version: Outlaw Star, episode 7. Jean is hurt, and Jim keeps him from falling to the ground, and Jim looks at his own hand. In the original version, his hand had blood on it, and it made sense for him to look at it. In the edited version, I just watched and said, "wtf? It's a hand." It took a while to realize that there was supposed to be blood there, and it destroyed the impact of the scene.

Not to mention Outlaw Star episode 23, Hot Springs Planet Tenrei, all of it (i.e. the whole episode was cut).

BG

my thoughts

[Ferro_Man]

i have wanted to see trigun for some time now...so i guess its a good thing that cartnoon network is picking it up...but will it be edited for content or not is the real question

they butchered the tenchi muyo series with their editing...so will they be editing these series??

I hope not. They are gonna be on adult swim, which is geared for an older audience...but you never know

Re:my thoughts

[outsider007]

Trigun is my favorite anime series of all time. too bad it only lasted 1 season though.

Love and peace!

Re:my thoughts

[cqnn]

It will be edited at the same level as Cowboy Bebop was, ie hardly at all.

Tenchi Muyo was originally broadcast on the CN Toonami Block, and as such
had to be edited to a rating of TV-PG or below. When they added it
(and other shows like Outlaw Star) to the Adult Swim lineup, they didn't
bother re-editing the shows to aim for a more mature rating.

From what I've heard, the only reason for adding the previous Toonami shows
to the AS lineup was because the opportunity to fill the block came up before
they were ready with newer material.

Since then (the start of Adult Swim), Williams Street productions has
gotten a somewhat better hand on their editing policies regarding these
shows. If they give it the same level of respect they've show so far for
newer shows like Yu Yu Hakusho, then I think it will be a respectable edit.
(There will always be people who want to gripe about every little change)

Wow,

[CaptainPsyko]

From the article...

CN's successful block of late night animation for adults, Adult Swim, will air five times per week beginning Sunday, January 12, 2003. Airing from 11 pm to 2 am, ET/PT, Sunday to Thursday, the block will offer the hit series Futurama, quirky original animated series including Home Movies, Aqua Teen Hunger Force and Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law, and stunning action/anime series such as Cowboy Bebop and InuYasha.

And to think, CN used to be the Hanna Barbera and Hanna Barbera Imitators Network.

Wow. This is gonna be awesome. Not just Cowboy Bebop. Not Just Aqua Teen and Sealab (both brilliant!), But now Futurama, Home Movies, Trigun, Reign... whats next, are they going to buy syndication rights to The Critic? it's the only thing I can think of to make CN better. That or a Freakazoid revival. Just for nostalgias sake. I loved that show.

Why 'adult' ?

[RyoSaeba]

Makes me wonder why for instance Lupin is in the Adult Swim (don't know the other 2 series, so can't judge).
From what i know Lupin is for everyone, children to adults... though for once a network promoting anime for adults, instead of thinking anime is for children, is a good thing ^_-
BTW i think Miyasaki worked on Lupin.

Re:Why 'adult' ?

[cqnn]

I think it might also have something to do with the main
protagonists of Lupin almost all being thieves or gangsters.

Lupin does not glorify crime, but at the same time does not
vilify it. In many ways it is the same kind of characterization
that was popular from movies such as The Saint, or Oceans 11.

That in itself is enough to give them calls from aggreived parents
unless they try to apply the show to a more mature audience.

----
And last I checked, CN also seemed reluctant to show the last few
episodes of Zoids Chaotic Century.

Trigun link for the curious.

[Anonymous Coward]

http://trigunner.giborama.com/trigunner/

The Tick, perhaps?

[LordYUK]

The other night I saw a music video after one of the shows on Toonami for none other than Plank, from the Tick. A few commercials later, the "host" (the guy on the spaceship, Tom isnt it?) thanked the viewers for remaining loyal and promised that there were lots of new shows coming... perhaps the Tick is next?

That was an awesome show, thanks mostly to the Tick having a brain the size of a peanut... =)

Re:The Tick, perhaps?

[NeuroManson]

Ummm, one: Plank is a "character" from Ed, Edd, and Eddy, the imaginary playmate of one of the weird neighborhood kids.

Two: Ed, Edd, and Eddy are not part of Toonami (which seems to oddly enough focus more on non anime, other than Dragonball/Z, shows that have nothing to do with the original subject matter of Toonami). http://ccf.toonzone.net/ed-plank.gif

Three: The character you're thinking of is "Little Wooden Boy", a temporary replacement sidekick for Arthur after he and Tick break up after a spat: http://home.earthlink.net/~auspice/LWBCard.jpg

Re:The Tick, perhaps?

[LordYUK]

Ya know, you're right... its amazing how much Plank and Little Wooden Boy look alike though, except Plank had no arms and legs... god that was a funny episode, though... I guess I liked the tick and had wishful thoughts about his return to TV!!

Re:The Tick, perhaps?

[Mitreya]

--
--- Do electric sheep dream of android Scotsmen?

OK, this is a disturbing sig... a VERY distirbuing sig... Thanks to you I might have difficulties reading a certain Zelazny's book without disturbing images :)

what movies?

[WPIDalamar]

This is slightly off-topic, but if I were to buy anime movies for an anime fan (that doesn't really have a lot) ... what should I get him? What are the must-haves?

Re:what movies?

[jaybird144]

The full title is Martian Successor Nadesico, just for an FYI.

Now, are you looking for anime movies, or anime series that have been released on film/DVD? If you're looking for movies, Princess Mononoke is generally pretty popular. It has also been redone with some pretty decent dubbing, if you don't prefer to listen to the original Japanese (as I do). Really, anything by Miyasaki is good. Escaflowne - The Movie is pretty good, too (better than the series, at least, IMHO). Akira is a classic. The Evangelion movies are decent, but tend to follow along in the "drug-induced insanity" mentioned in the parent. Metropolis is another very good choice.

As for series, there's so much variation, it's hard to say what to get without knowing a bit about the person you're buying for. You're most likely to find a lot of Dragonball and Gundam, which isn't terrible anime, but I personally think that there is plenty better. (I know I'm going to get flamed for this...) Many series have been released in DVD box sets, and I personally feel that this is a good way to go. It's nice to have all of the options that go along with DVD. Some good choices that may not have been mentioned already: Kenshin (both the series and Samurai X, the OVA), Escaflowne (the series), Fushigi Yugi, Serial Experiments Lain (one of my personal favorites), the list goes on and on.

It's sometimes hard to find anime. Suncoast usually has a decent collection. Sam Goody either has a very good collection or nothing past Dragonball...I've seen both. Virgin (If there's one near you) is another good choice. And there's always Amazon...

Hope this helps!

Re:what movies?

[MsGeek]

Excel Saga. Be prepared to laugh your ass off...it's the most surreal and funny anime ever. The world needs a good laugh right about now, and Excel Saga fills the bill. Hail Il Palazzo!

Re:what movies?

[rhavyn]

I don't know why anime fans never mention this but, The Right Stuf International's website has just about every piece of anime released in the US for sale. http://www.rightstuf.com. No need to search thru store shelves, go right to the source.

I don't see anything adult..

[stratjakt]

..about the anime block they have now. Maybe Cowboy Bebop could classify as adolescent, but the others don't seem any more 'adult' than Dragonball Z or Voltron.

Sunday's block I recognize as adult-themed, Harvey Birdman, Aqua Teen Hunger Force, Sealab 2021, The Brak Show, Mission Hill, Home Movies - they all have mature themes and humor.

I've seen some stuff like Akira or Ghost in the Shell or Baoh - that comes off as adult. Inuyasha looks like Sailor Moon, though.

Are the japanese series' editted so much that they just come off as kids shows?

It seems they're just calling the saturday block 'adult' to get more 10-12 year olds to watch it.

Re:I don't see anything adult..

[E-Rock-23]

You're absolutely right, sortof. The only reason these are remotely considered adult series is because of two main groups: The FCC, and the Religious Right. The Pat Robertson crew wants to force it's own moral code, based on a 2000 year old story book, on everybody, and the FCC, a government body, is too afraid of catching flak from them to oppose it and loosen its restrictions on TV broadcasting.

Dragonball Z in its original form, by those Religious Right standards, is nowhere near for kids. They'd have a fit if they knew what a potty mouth Son Gohan really is. One of Son Goku's first lines when he meets Raditz is "Get the fuck off of my planet."

We'll never see a series like Ranma 1/2 on American TV thanks to the Right. Sex is a big part of the comedy on that show, since Ranma is often turned into a girl and back, resulting in breasts and butts hanging out all over the place. In Japan, that show IS for kids, as is Dragonball. Sexually, the Japanese aren't as "pent-up" as we are "supposed" to be.

Only when we get a channel that shows un-cut Anime (which we'll have to pay for, and will probably be an upper tier channel) will we see them in their original form, instead of chopped to hell to appease the FCC, and therefore appease the Religious Right. From here, my .sig speaks for itself...

Re:I don't see anything adult..

[PhoenixFlare]

You dare mock Voltron!!??

Expect my die-cast metal Voltron to arrive later this afternoon, and destroy you by firing lion heads into your...spleen...or something.

Seriously though, at least for Inuyasha....

In some of the episodes i've seen lately-

A small girl dies in a fire, and comes back as a vengeful spirit to murder her brother and mother.

A very close friend of the main character's was killed in the past, and is resurrected by a witch as a sort of pieced-together zombie, then proceeding to try and violently murder Inuyasha.

An evil mask comes to life, and goes around possessing bodies and literally melting random people to get more useable material to make a body from.

Does this sound like kid-show material to you, really? Also, I was never able to force myself to watch Sailor Moon, but i'm pretty sure it's nothing like the two. I have a feeling you saw that there's a school-age girl as a character, and immediately formed the impression.

Oh, and Cowboy Bebop is "maybe" adolescent? Watch the whole series and say that, I dare you.

Re:I don't see anything adult..

[Bicoid]

Maybe Cowboy Bebop could classify as adolescent, but the others don't seem any more 'adult' than Dragonball Z or Voltron.

Bebop, if an American movie, would get a solid R rating. Graphic violence, drug use, graphic language, the list goes on and on, especially if you watch the series uncut. Additionally, most kids and adolescents just don't/won't get the beatnik references that are spread throughout the series. If you had said the OTHER space bounty hunter series on CN (Outlaw Star) I'd agree with you. But not Bebop.

I've seen some stuff like Akira or Ghost in the Shell or Baoh - that comes off as adult.

GitS is certainly an adult film. Not only does it have adult content (nudity, graphic violence, obscene language, etc) but the ideas within the movie are meant for adults, not kids. I don't think it's possible for a kid or even an adolescent to comprehend the commentaries on identity and humanity. They just don't have the experience or context to understand it. Akira IS (in my opinion) an adolescent movie...it's a lot of action and violence, but it lacks the advanced concepts you tend to see in adult anime and instead goes for the big muscles and cool weapons.

There are plenty of adult anime. GitS, GitS: Stand Alone Complex, Neon Genesis Evangelion, Serial Experiments Lain, Perfect Blue, Jin Roh, and a lot of others are all strongly adult in nature. Frankly, I'd say you're suffering from a lack of exposure.

Re:I don't see anything adult..

[Bicoid]

As other people have commented, sex is a lot less taboo in Japan. Stuff like Ranma or even Pokemon have frequent sexual references and Ranma has a great deal of nudity as well. Additionally, death is frequent in kid series like Dragonball and drinking is not looked down on (Japan sells alcoholic drinks in vending machines, for hell's sake). However, Outlaw Star has all these things being mainly lighthearted...compare your said sexual references to the few (much more serious) in Bebop and you see what I mean.

Ok

[.sig]

But they'd better not replace SeaLab 2021 or Harvey Birdman.... Best quality programming on TV these days....
(Seriously though, they are good for a laugh more often than I'd expected, and I loved catching 'The D' on SpaceGhost Coast-to-Coast.)

Re:Ok

[Nightpaw]

Yeah, but what the fuck happened to Sealab this past Sunday? When irreverent postmodernism actually comes around full circle to its non-ironic origin, well, that's just going too far.

Trigun

[Bartmoss]

Trigun is one of my favorite Anime shows, ever. So the end is a little anticlimatic, okay. But the build-up is awesome, the characters are great, and it has a wonderful mix between action, serious drama, and comedy/slapstick. Everybody should check this show out. But do not stop watching, the first few episodes are really pretty silly (in a good way in my eyes), the story unfolds later.

Re:Trigun

[porkchop_d_clown]

It's an anime that will make the National Rifle Assc. proud

Hang on - the hero is a staunch pacifist who doesn't even shoot a person (as opposed to things) for the first several episodes - and when he does hit someone, it's by accident and he drops everything to make sure they get medical care.

Not quite as "gun crazy" as people might seem to think, I think.

Re:Trigun

[Laxitive]

The end is not anticlimactic at all.. well, if you consider the show's end to be episode 24. I kind of mentally erase the last two episodes. Ep24 makes a much better ending for the series than the real ending.

It doesn't resolve all the issues, but leaves it up for the viewer to decide where they stand on the primary issue that's been presented in the show from the beginning.

-Laxitive

Re:Trigun

[gorsh]

Don't forget Vash's motto:

LOVE AND PEACE!

(repeat ad infinitum)

Re:Trigun

[Bartmoss]

Well I guess there is a point to be seen in the "real" end, and I liked the end as it is... it just seemed too easy. Vash had a lot more problems in the episodes leading up to the end... the end then seemed to be like a five minute deal. I'd really expected something much more dramatic, much meaner, much more saddening etc.

As I said, anticlimatic... not necessarily bad.

Re:I assume..

[Apreche]

Actually you assume wrong. Adult swim will be changing its viewing times. Cartoon Network feels that by showing Adult Swim on the weekends it leaves too many kids able to watch it. Since they can stay up late. So they are moving toonami or somethign else to late night weekends and moving adult swim to EVERY WEEK NIGHT when kids wont be awake to watch it.
This means 5 new episodes of lupin a week. Every day M-F at midnight. ph33r me watching all of them and buying all the DVDs. Lupin is SO AWESOME.

Quality line-up?

[kakos]

While Toonami is a good and cheap way of watching anime, I would have never called their line-up quality. At best, they have the mediocre shows that are cheap to get. Dragonball, Dragonball Z, Gundam, etc. These are all alright, but not great. Definately not what I'd call quality.

Inuyasha is the only really good anime at the moment. Trigun will add another, but it is still a lackluster line-up.

Re:Quality line-up?

[kakos]

I have mixed feelings regarding Tenchi. I'd call it classic, but not necessarily quality.

As far as DBZ, I watch as much DBZ as the next person. It is a good brainless show to sit down and watch. That doesn't mean it is quality. I watch a lot of Star Trek and Star Wars too, doesn't mean they are quality.

Oh shit. I just insulted Star Trek and Star Wars. *waits for the vengeful geeks to mod him down to oblivion*

Anime fan from way back...

[farrellj]

I started out with the orignal Macross...had a girlfriend who was obscessed with Captain Harlock...still love the art & music from the opening and closing sequences in Cats Eye.

Lupin is a very funny series...sort of a James Bond taken to the extremes that you can only do with animation. I still wouldn't mind a Veritech VF-1A to commute with...

ttyl
Farrell

Trigun

[Deathlizard]

I Figured they would show this series sooner or later, considering that a lot of their series are licenced from Pioneer and all.

For those of you not familar with the series, it's best Described as a Post Apocalyptic Western. Lots of gunfighting, more gunfighting and even more gunfighting. It's an anime that will make the National Rifle Assc. proud.

3 things should be considered about it however.

1) Vash (the Main Character) is really crazy in the beginning. If your expecting a Cowboy bebop character like spike from the beginning you're going to be disappointed. He gets more serious towards the end of the series.

2) It's story builds over time. Things will happen that will make you say "How the hell did he do that". Just keep thinking to yourself there's a $$60,000,000,000 reward on this guy for a reason.

3) Dont ask about the Cat. :)

CN: Down the tubes

[Ripp]

Come ON, CN, just create an all-anime channel like the silly "all-60s-70s-craptoons" boomerang and get it over with, and return CN to its former glory.

Anyone else severely distraught with their near annihilation of their looney tunes programming?

*ALL* of your new CN original shows blow, and blow quite hard. This is almost like Sci-Fi turning into the "Anything but sci-fi" network...

Re:CN: Down the tubes

[JimPooley]

Come ON, CN, just create an all-anime channel like the silly "all-60s-70s-craptoons" boomerang and get it over with, and return CN to its former glory.

You mean like CNX?

Annoyingly, CNX is only on Sky satellite or NTL Cable, and I have Telewest cable and Telewest wouldn't buy it. And there looks like some stuff on there I'd like to watch.

The Reason

[tomzyk]

I can't help but think that they reason they have changed so drastically is that they have realized that they get more ADULT viewers that CHILDREN viewers. Well, at least in the evenings.

It just makes sense for business: when the preschoolers/toddlers are at home, they should be showing cartoons like Smurfs or whatnot. (ok, I have no idea what they show during the day. Fortunately, I have a job.); when the gradeschoolers get home, show the new He-Man and Transformers; when the adults get home (and after the kiddies go to bed) show the more adult toons, which would include the "classics" like Bugs and Daffy and Hanna-Barbera shows (which we grew up watching) as well as the more "adult" oriented animation series as well... ones that have more of a plot (or more violence or whatever your tastes may be) rather than just big-headed, happy-voiced characters that have a problem and solve it (sometimes TWICE) in a half-hour show. (referring to PowerPuff Girls... which I personally like to watch, but I'm a freak like that so... eh. I digress.)

I like the change they've made. Others may disagree (college students who now have to wait until late-night to watch their shows, unemployed people, people whoe work the graveyard shift, etc...) but to each, their own.

Re:The Reason

[Masem]

One thing that I've laughed at more than a few times: I've seen ads for the Brak Show and for their recent The Kids Next Door advertized in a 1/4page ad in the business section of the Chicago Tribune. I think they know who their audience is with these ads.

You're basically right on the schedule. There's a few old H-B shorts typically tossed in the mid-afternoon before the late afternoon block is in place.

I think the biggest change that they've made, intelligently, is that they've drastically cut back on Scooby Doo (particularlly after the movie came and went without much fanfare in the theaters). At one point within the 2 years prior to that, someone estimated there was a full day of Scooby programming on CN every week between the old shows, the various movies they'd show, and the new shows. That was overkill, and the failure of the movie to make massive profits may have convinced WB->CN to cut back on the Scooby programming. It's still there, but in much more reasonable amounts. Now, they've got their focus on tightening their biggest assets: getting more of the quality prime time shows (PPG, Samurai Jack, etc) in place, and securing strong shows for Adult Swim. Both areas right now are starting to show signs of wearing down, without a lack of new material: endless repeats of Dexter's Lab and PPG can get tiring, and while we are still in a period of new Sealab/ATHF/Brak episodes, we're nearly done with those as well, leaving nothing new on the ASwim comedy block, though with the changes in the schedule come Jan, that will be fixed as well.

I'm glad someone at CN has the guts to try Toonami, which eventually branched out to give the evening Toonamis, and lead to Adult Swim being put into place. It has really found it's niche and my understanding is that CN is having no significant problems filling ad time in those slots, so it's good for ratings and future profits. If they had simply stuck to the classic HB and WB toons, CN may be stuck in the ratings basement and potentally in trouble with the current growing pains on the AOLTW merger.

settle on a schedule PLEASE

[emptybody]

It would be nice if they could settle on a schedule.
They introduced a bunch of mature comics and then went and shuffled them around.
I understand that January was supposed to be when the newer schedule was launched. Why was InuYasha ALREADY on twice in a row this weekend? ( I liked it but it was not supposed to be till Jan.)

I am psyched that they have many more series. They just don't have to slam them through. Take the lesson from SouthPark and others. Show last weeks show AND this weeks show this week. This keeps folks caught up that would otherwise drop out after missing a key episode.

20 years ago UHF25 in boston got it right with ForceFive. Each weekday had it's own speficic 30min show. PLUS 30min of starblazers (their big hit) Not sure if it was new one day/wk, reruns the rest. Just expand this concept to a 2-4 hour block.

I am still waiting for the rental stores to have as much anime as there is in the record stores.
(record stores? what're those?)

SamGoodie has more anime this fall than I have ever seen in one place. Why can't blockbuster etc. get a real anime section? They don't really need to have 10 copies of each. 2-5 of each series would be fine. (Heck there are 5 blockbusters within 10 miles so they could each carry one So long as they have a public accessible linked availability system.)

NOTE TO TOONAMI:: DO NOT CENSOR THE ANIME

The block is called ADULT swim.
If it is on CABLE the FCC has no say about "adult scenes, language, nudity) Only if it is on airwaves. It starts at 10:PM any parent who lets an impressionable kid watch at 10:PM deserves to have their trailer burned up in a pseudo beavis-copycat way. (yeah right - your kid - who has always been allowed to light fires in the living room - was copying BnB when he torched the trailer. I must have missed that episode.)

If you want to include transformers and GIJOE in the block, start at 8:PM with them. Don't waste my adult time on shows for kids who should already be asleep.

Re:settle on a schedule PLEASE

[Genom]

20 years ago UHF25 in boston got it right with ForceFive. Each weekday had it's own speficic 30min show. PLUS 30min of starblazers (their big hit) Not sure if it was new one day/wk, reruns the rest. Just expand this concept to a 2-4 hour block.

OMG - someone else who remembers the pre-FOX channel 25 out of Boston! I grew up on that stuff =)

Star Blazers (AKA: Space Battleship Yamato), StarVengers (AKA: Getter Robo G), Gaiking, Danguard Ace, Spaceketeers, and Grandizer...those were the days... Set me up for a healthy anime addiction now that I'm older ;P

I'd love to see some of those old series brought back over, and *not* hacked to pieces...of course, I'm not sure if Terry's rights to the ForceFive versions of the series would prohibit that...probably =(

NOTE TO TOONAMI:: DO NOT CENSOR THE ANIME

I second that. It'd be even better if they also showed it in the original japanese ("Adults" should be able to read, right? Therefore subtitles won't be a problem ;P )

Re:settle on a schedule PLEASE

[NeuroManson]

"What they do have is advertisers. Unless you want to see a pay version (I know I would), I wouldn't expect to see uncut anime on CN anytime soon. Who else would pay for a Toonami channel?"

Well, there's the advertisers that regularly cater to Comedy Central, and they run some semi controversial/nude/tasteless humor regularly there.

Re:settle on a schedule PLEASE

[emptybody]

aside - Blockbuster brought on the shut down most of the small video stores in my area about 5-10 years ago

Anywhoo.. The fruits at the BB's near me have decided that all non-new titles should be aranged alphabetically by title and not by genre.

Trying to find the Anime means you have to look at every title in the store.

I walked in - and out agin in 1 minute flat after seeing this screw up.

Lupin III Links (Hayao Miyazaki)

[StCredZero]

• Lupin Encyclopedia
• Hayao Miyazaki's Lupin III works
• Alan's Webguide

Lupan the Third

[ProfBooty]

For those who don't know, Lupan the third is a show that has been on forever with movies(one by miyazaki) tv shows etc. Its actually based on a french book. Its about a thief with a good heart and him escaping from the cops (esp Inspector Zenagato or something like that).

As my college roomate put it, Lupan is like a crazy inspector gadget that scores.

DVD links

[overunderunderdone]

I've been wanting to see the Lupin III TV series for years, so that ought to be great fun as well.

Well you can get Lupin III on DVD, as well as Trigun and Reign

Re:DVD links

[rhavyn]

Please, if you're going to link to shows, link to the Right Stuf (www.rightstuf.com). They not only have an online store with damn near every piece of anime released in the US, but they also publish anime as well (Boogiepop Phantom, Irresponsible Captain Tylor). And if you give them $10 for a Got Anime membership, you get 10% off your orders. Really, go there, see their site, you'll be happy you did.

Edited Trigun?

[zaren]

I recently finished watching the Trigun series on DVD thanks to Netflix [yes, it's an affiliate link, so sue me ;)], and other than a bit of blood here and there, and maybe a bit of excessive gun violence, I can't see too much that would be edited; certainly there isn't much in this series that isn't shown on various police dramas these days.

I've also seen the first few Bebop DVDs thanks to Netflix, and other than a shot of a nudie mag that was edited, I don't recall much in the way of "edited" segments that CN ran. If someone could point out any major edits between the Bebop DVDs and what's shown on CN, I'd appreciate it :)

Re:Edited Trigun?

[Microlith]

Language mostly.

First episode - The bartender, on the dvds, gets a hole clear through his forehead from front to back. You can even see the shooter on the other side.

Later they painted over some blood on the vehicle window when they try to run.

I didn't watch the whole run through to compare for edits, but there were not as many as for Tenchi, for instance.

And ADV's Anime Network will be premiering in Philly first, on a VOD service. Only down side is there's no word if there will be any subtitled stuff shown at all.

Oh well. I'll just keep buying my DVDs and enjoying them (Legit licensed R1 DVDs).

Re:Edited Trigun?

[Kintanon]

Does cartoon network still have Spike smoking tooth picks?
In the original run (When they ran it at 3pm or thereabouts) a few years ago they editted out all of the cigarettes and replaced them with tooth picks. But they didn't edit out the smoke. So there were about 2 dozen shots of spike standing around with a flaming toothpick in his mouth....

Kintanon

Re:Edited Trigun?

[Kintanon]

I'm damn near certain that in the original limited run of Cowboy Bebop in 1998 or 1999 it was shown in the afternoons. I remember watching it in fact. And I remember specifically the scene where Spike and Jet are leaning on the railing of a bridge and Spike has a toothpick in his mouth and smoke is coming from it. Where in the DVD it's an actual cigarette.
And yes, I'm talking about CBB, the original poster was talking about Cartoon Network edits and I was curious.

Kintanon

Re:Edited Trigun?

[Kintanon]

I was right, but the original limited run wasn't on Cartoon Network, it was on the Sci-Fi channel. I knew it had happened somewhere....

Kintanon

Re:Edited Trigun?

[racerx509]

Sorry guy, the show your talking about is Blue Sub 6. I have the CN version and the uncut version on tape and yes, they do have smoking toothpicks. Spike always smokes real cigaretts on this one thank God. Lets just hope that the next three animes get similar if not better treatment than did Cowboy Bebop. I can't stand to have another Pilot Candidate or Gundam 0083 censored to TV-Y7 rating. It defeats the purpose of adult swim!

Space Ghost?

[Slarty]

*sigh*

Wonder what this means for Space Ghost? I have nothing against anime (although I personally can't stand it) but Space Ghost is one of my all time favorite shows and Cartoon Network seems to be itching to cancel it. They used to run it a fair amount, then knocked it down to two episodes twice a week (well, once a week, the Thursday ones were repeats of the Sunday ones) then just once a week, then they dropped it for a while, and now it's just one episode, once a week. That's right, Space Ghost gets 15 lousy minutes of their time once a week. Not fair. How long until it gets canceled entirely?

You'd think that at least they could release them on DVD or something... I'd buy those.

You outgrew Anime when you outgrew Gigantor?

[hackwrench]

Well, I suppose if you've seen one camel, you've seen them all. Wait... Anime isn't a camel.

Don't complain about the anime selection

[British]

I remember being first exposed to The Cartoon Network about 7 years ago. It was nothing but old, tired, unwatchable Hanna Barbera toons from the '70s, played ad nauseum. Seeing The Transformers, DBZ, Cowboy Bebop(the only Anime I actually like) is much more welcome than The Amazing Chan.

And nothing will beat the Aqua Teen Hunger force in terms of humor with the regards to the episode about pop-up ads(wyzzrd.net?)

Say it ain't so!

[.sig]

Sure, there were only a few episodes, but when you don't get to watch much tv anymore that's forgivable. (Especially the classic scooby-doo episode...) Well, they'd better not touch sealab then.

I never really got into Ripping Friends and Home Movies, but I'd watch Mission Hill just for the opening bars of Cake's 'Itallian Leather Sofa'

Now you're going to tell me that they cancelled Brak too.... Oh well.

Re:I assume..

[PinkStainlessTail]

This means 5 new episodes of lupin a week.
Aren't there only 13 episodes of the Lupin tv show? Seems like we'll be cycling pretty quickly.

Denis Moore.....

[richlb]

We Don't Need Any Bloody Lupins!

Look, the cat's choked on a lupin.

Little More than Trailers

[shagoth]

Cartoon Network has become of little interest in satisfying my anime habit. Their track record for butchering series reduces shows like Tenchi and Outlaw Star to little more than trailers for the DVDs. Really, this has even largely happened to Dragonball and Dragonball Z as well, but it has less impact on the overall storyline.

If the block is adult swim, why are anime series reduced to a Y-7 rating? Yes, it's costing me alot to watch anime on DVD, but the series are much more enjoyable in their entirety with directly translated subtitles to go with the English dubs (which in the case of Funimations work is often inexplicable reworked).

Toonami

[CrazyJoel]

So, why does Toonami have non anime in it? The title seems to suggest japanese toons?

Re:Toonami

[cqnn]

AFAIK,
1. Partly it was a play on words:
(Tsunami being a giant wave, Toonami presented as a giant block of animation)
There was also some effort to emulate the Japanese broadcast style, changing
the scheduling of commercial breaks, etc...

2. Partly it was an effort to showcase animation influenced or sourced
from Japan that were not officially recognized as anime.

3. Partly it was an effort to put the shows aiming at the older teen
demographic in a single, easy to promote, package.

I think the original management idea was for #3, but there are a few anime
fans on staff at Cartoon Network who saw an opportunity to build on
the ideas from #1 and #2.

If your interested in that:

[NetGyver]

I recently saw an ad on TechTV about a new anime show coming entitled: Anime Unleashed.

Quote TechTV Press Release:

"For the first time ever, TechTV's Anime Unleashed will import series and movies from Japan to television viewers in the United States. Anime Unleashed encompasses the many forms of Japanese animation that truly know no boundaries. This program features not just a style of animation, but explores an entire genre where viewers may find sophisticated science fiction, fantasy adventure, romantic comedies, teen dreams or evenadult-only titles. Anime Unleashed exemplifies the difference between its titles and Western animation by exploring the depths of characters and contortions of plot. Viewers will encounter realistic scenarios, complex relationships and flawed personalities. Despite their deficiencies, the subjects of Anime Unleashed are beholden to their desires, their hopes and their dreams."

The format of the show will be in 30min slots, and the premiere starts on Dec. 30th. So mark your calanders and set your tivo's if you go them.

TechTV is also running ads for Anime Unleashed, and i believe(forgive me if i'm wrong) Akira was in the ads was well along with a few other popular anime characters that i don't know off hand.

--

I'm not much of an anime fan myself, but given the choice over general cartoons and anime, i'd go with the latter any time. hopefully this'll be to some interest for someone who's really into this sort of thing. I plan on watching it, just to satisfy my curiousity.

CN's gonna git sniped.

[Mulletproof]

Yeah, it's too bad for CN that there'll be an ENTIRE channel DEDICATED to Anime. I especially like the "There maybe new-comers, but we're the first/best" spot they've been running lately. It reeks of desperation.

In Soviet Russia, the cartoons watch you?
(Where in the hell did this come from...?! I missed something, didn't I?)

Re:I assume..

[tuffy]

Aren't there only 13 episodes of the Lupin tv show? Seems like we'll be cycling pretty quickly.

The original series had 23 eps, the second series had 155 and the third had 50. So, that *should* be enough to run weekdays for some time before cycling around - depending on how much of it is dubbed.

Re:G-Force

[farrellj]

G-Force, AKA Battle of the Planets, was a bad english dub/re-edit of Gatchaman (sp?). It was very, ah...adult Anime. Things like the two villians, one male, one female...well, they were the same person, I guess they figured that the US public couldn't take a "transexual"...and various charactors were having relationships with others...and the one that talked in beeps and chirps...well, in the original Anime, he had the foulest mouth on air. And that stupid robot was created to fill in places where things that were not suitable to senstative NA audiences...like the leader in a physical fight with the princess, etc.

ttyl
Farrell

Lupin!

[Lumpish Scholar]

Lupin III is a third generation French thief with a heart of gold; sort of a cross between James Bond and Bugs Bunny. He has two sidekicks, a Chicago hitman and a Japanese samuri (who were both sent to kill him and teamed up with him instead), and is constantly chased by an Interpol inspector and an army of Japanese police in riot gear.

The Castle of Cagliostro is one of my favorite movies, and probably Lupin at his best. It was directed by Hayao Miyazaki (Spirited Away, Princess Monokone, My Neighbor Totoro, Kiki's Delivery Service, Castle in the Sky, Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind); several of his animated films have set records for biggest theatrical release of any films in Japan, live action, animated, whatever.

Warning: There was a great dub of The Castle of Cagliostro, and that translation is used for the subtitle; but the Americal release uses a really inferior dub instead (more swearing, completely missing the point of most jokes), so stick with the subtitled VHS release, or play the DVD with subtitled Japanese.

Re:I assume..

[PinkStainlessTail]

Aren't there only 13 episodes of the Lupin tv show? Seems like we'll be cycling pretty quickly.

The original series had 23 eps, the second series had 155 and the third had 50.
I bow deeply to your superior knowledge. And now I'm drooling about all that upcoming Lupin.

This is great, but...

[hoppo]

It does nothing to remove their infestation of Scooby Doo content. Can I turn around without an episode of Scooby Doo, A Pup Named Scooby Doo, Scooby Doo Theatre, etc. coming up???

I do like that they're catering to some of the older crowd, though. The Anime Adult Swim is nice, and I always catch the Adult Swim on Sundays. Is it me, or does The Ripping Friends totally blow. John K. has pretty much lost it.

Important detail about Anime Unleashed on Tech TV

[MsGeek]

SERIAL EXPERIMENTS: LAIN is one of the series that will be aired on this show. This is one of the finest series ever made in Japan. Get ready for the REAL STUFF.

About Reign...

[MsGeek]

Do you remember Aeon Flux? Did you like it? If so, Reign will be right up your alley. Peter Chung created the show, and his distinctive artistic style is all over it. I suspect that the dubscripts will probably be extremely accurate considering that Chung speaks fluent English as well as Korean and Japanese.

Trigun had guts, but will it be mangled?

[phorm]

The first episodes were silly, but I think it's to surprise you as to the real depth of Vash and also show his varying personalities.
It also doesn't sound too bad dubbed (at least from the first few episodes I watched before going to subbed), but I'm hoping that a lot of the blood and innuendo doesn't get killed by the censorship police.

All in all, definately worth seeing, although -like all anime - if you can see the uncut subbed with original voice actors you may enjoy it more. And it's one of the few shows with enough guts to wipe out a main character. I won't mention which so as not to offend those who haven't seen it, but many shows get attached to characters and end without really having any final development on them.

Re:One show they need to add to this lineup ...

[Cyclometh]

Wow, now *there's* a blast from the past.

I'm in my 30's now and I remember watching Star Blazers when I was a kid- I'd get up around 6 AM, grab a bowl of cheerios and park it on the living room floor about 2 feet from the TV with my sleeping shirt pulled over my knees to watch Star Blazers and whatever else was on the local station in the AM. But Star Blazers was definitely the reason I got out of bed that early.

It'd probably be terrible now (most of the shows I watched as a kid seem peurile when I see them as an adult) but I'd love to see Star Blazers again. Seriously old-school.

Nitpick

[Have Blue]

Adult Swim is not Toonami. Trigun has been rejected from Toonami before due to excessive gun use.

What?!

[Shade, The]

But with 25 and 26 the whole point is missed, like stopping before you get in too deep. 25 was probably my favourite episode, if only for the Rem/Meryl bit. 26 was a bit anti-climactic, I agree, but I'd rather have that then have it end at 24, which would just make it all predictably sad and sorrowful.

I'm rambling, but I really liked the ending, if only that it was happily optimistic and nicely profound :)

Re:What?!

[Laxitive]

*Note* Don't read on if you havn't watched the end of the show.

It's not that the ending would be sad.. but that it would leave certain things to the viewer, instead of resolving it all in an nice little package and presenting it.

The fundamental issue being addressed is wether Vash's philosophy, which he has adopted from Lem, is feasible. And I don't think that the show's producers (let's leave the manga alone for a sec), have a good basis for saying "philosophy A" is the correct way of going about it.

It seems to trivialise the issue a bit. Vash confronts this grosse moral decision, and then in two episodes' time, rebounds to back to kick some ass and spread love and peace again. I thought the ending was a bit frivolous.

-Laxitive

Wrong Lupin III

[tempmpi]

CN will show the second Lupin III TV series, you provided a link to a Lupin III Movie made much later. If someone is going to buy a Anime DVD why should he buy an edited version ?
If you want to get an impression about Lupin III now, you should rather buy the famous Castle of Caliostro. It was made by Miyazaki and one of the top rated anime features in Japan. The other Lupin III features are nice entertainment, but they are not something that really stands out.

The first and second Lupin III TV series was made with the help of the famous Hayao Miyazaki. (Princess Mononoke, Sprited Away)

If you want to buy Anime, go to RightStuf

[rhavyn]

I've seen people in many threads in this story with links to anime on Amazon. DON'T GO THERE. http://www.rightstuf.com is the online store for The Right Stuf International. They have been selling anime in the US for 20 years or so, publish anime (Boogiepop Phantom, Irresponsible Captain Tylor) and partnered with ADV to make AnimeTrax (AnimeTrax produces the soundtracks for various anime and anime related shows). They have just about every piece of anime released in the US in their store. Go there, buy from them, they support getting anime into the US.

Re:One show they need to add to this lineup ...

[Cyclometh]

Woah... is this for real? I haven't heard anything about it. Wish I read Japanese. :)

When's it supposed to come out?