As is all too frequently the case, it seems another product has been announced via an online store. Well, according to this play.com page Manga Entertainment have Hellsing Ultimate, the new OVA version of Hellsing. Of course this isn't an official confirmation but it's hard to imagine play.com going to the trouble of faking the cover.

Forgot to post about it when I uploaded it a few days ago so here it is now. Reducing my .hack backlog a bit, I've reviewed .hack//Roots Volume 4.

Interested in in attending a variety of lectures on various aspects of anime and its impact? Well the King's College in London are holding a series of seminars in May with a fairly wide variety of speakers (surprisingly no Jonathan Clements or Helen McCarthy) it should prove to be interesting for fans looking for more intellectual studies of anime than you'd expect to see on TV. You can read the website here (although it seems to be down at the time of writing) or you can click more for some more detailed info from the press release.
(more...)

The Register are reporting that the sinister Criminal Justice Bill is moving forward and along with it Clause 63, a section that makes ownership of 'extreme' pornographic material illegal. For those wondering what the issue with this is and how it relates to anime, I'll explain. This law will make ANY form of violent pornography illegal, even if it isn't real and is clearly fake and carried out by consenting adults. As such, a vast proportion of hentai gets covered. Even worse, you could be arrested just for browsing the 'wrong' sections of 4chan and having images of this type cached on your PC.

One of the clearest examples of a 'thought crime' being put into place since labour came to power, an amendment to the bill, removing the parts relating to extreme porn, has just been rejected by the house of lords meaning that, pending an unlikely public outcry, this sinister law will be passed. If you're someone who ever enjoys hentai (*cough*) or just don't want to be criminalised through no fault of your own, time to start writing letters to your MPs.

Hidden away in the latest edition of Manga's newletter was a piece of news that made my day. It appears the company has licence The Girl Who Lept Through Time. An extremely well received movie that I've been praying would get a UK release for a while now. Looks like it isn't too far off either with it getting a screening at Sci-Fi London's Anime All Nighter on 3rd May.

Another ViZ title from Manga Ent. I've reviewed the first volume of Death Note which contains a rather generous 8 episodes for a series its length.

Indulging in a bit more cross promotion, Zavvi (formerly known as Virgin Megastores), 4digital Media and Manga Entertainment have all teamed up to hold a Death Note event to celebrate the DVD release of the first Volume of the anime version of Death Note (from Manga) and the Death Note Live Action film (presumably the first one, courtesy of 4Digital). The event is being held in the Manchester Arndale store on Monday 28th April at 7PM. To attend you must obtain a wristband from the Zavvi store which are available from Saturday at 9am (over 15's only)

A series I'm a little behind on, I've reviewed volume 3 of Beez's .hack//Roots.

Perhaps a sign that ADV's troubles aren't going to let up any time soon, Bandai have announced they they will be releasing the incredibly popular series Gurren Lagann, initially releasing it in subtitled only form then releasing it in dub form (scrapping ADV's existing dub) and possibly on Blu Ray. It will apparently be released over three volumes (unusual for a 26 ep series) and may be released in download form. No doubt Beez will be releasing the series over here sometime after the US release in July.

Meanwhile there will no doubt be endless speculation on how ADV gave up or lost the rights to what is likely to be the biggest series of 2008.

source: Anime on DVD

It's always interesting to see anime and manga explored in mainstream media, unfortunately long time fans have been pretty used to a big focus on the adult side of things. In recent times media outlets have gotten over their obsession with hentai and fans have been able to watch documentaries they wouldn't be be embarassed if their families watched. Unfortunately Radio 4 have done a short feature on manga that talks almost exclusively about hentai and lolicon. Jonathan Clements and Helen McCarthy do a reasonable job in trying to downplay the proliferation of hentai in comparison to other genres and at one point there's a hint of exasperation at one point by the two as yet as they realise that (probably for the umpteenth time) they're fighting against the perception that manga is mostly porn.

You can listen to the 6 minute feature by clicking here.

Another of ViZ's many Shonen series, I've reviewed the first three volumes of the manga, Buso Renkin.

Manga Ent. may be releasing more new series than they have done since the 90's but it looks like they're not ignoring their older titles. According to Amazon.co.uk the company will be releasing the retro classics Lupin III : The Secret of Mamo (you can never have too much Lupin) and Space Adventure Cobra on DVD. It's not clear with these will be VHS transfers or shiny remasters but it still should please those who've been waiting for these to get a DVD release.

Another series from MVM that goes by multiple names, I've reviewed the first disc of Shana, also known as Shakugan No Shana.

Definately looks like business as usual for ADV as they've resumed their stream of press releases detailing their upcoming releases. To view info on the titles they're releasing on April 14th, click more.
(more...)

Manga Entertainment are certainly building up a large selection of shonen titles. According to this press release, Manga Ent. have secured the rights two a further two Viz properties: Buso Renkin and MAR (Marchen Awakens Romance).