-
Feb 17 – Otaku Madness - Posted By Hisaishi
Anime News of the Week (2/11 - 2/17)
Ichigo's Voice Actor Assures Fans of Recovery
Masakazu Morita, the voice of Ichigo Kurosaki from Bleach, tweeted to his fans that he was hospitalized on Tuesday for anaphylactic shock. While he is currently in stable condition, he did state he was “hovering between life and death” during an operation. He also stated he will return to work this following week. Link
Barefoot Gen Unfinished Sequel Revealed
Misayo Nakazawa, widow of recently deceased mangaka Keiji Nakazawa, discovered an unfinished portion of a sequel to her husband’s legendary manga Barefoot Gen. The planned story would have been about Gen’s life shortly after World War II, as he pursued a career in manga. The sequel was abandoned in 2009 after Mr. Nakazawa’s eyesight worsened due to cataracts. Mrs. Nakazawa will donate the sixteen pages to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum. Link
FMA Creator Gets Own Figure
Mangaka Hiromu Arakawa, known for her cow persona as much as her works was given her own collectible figure at the 2013 Wonder Festival. Her appearance as a cow can be traced to her 2006 autobiographical work Hyakusho Kizoku, in which she recounted her life on a Hokkaido farm. Link
VIZ Media Welcomes The Kitty
Hello Kitty has done so much in the past 39 years that you'd think she’d have a manga series by now. Thanks to a deal between Viz Media and Sanrio, two completely original manga will hit American shores this summer and fall. The first, Fashion Music Wonderland, will have Kitty in vignettes regarding her life and personality “as you’ve never seen her!” The second, Hello Kitty, He We Go!, will focus more on the entire Sanrio cast. Link
What, You Want More Kitty?
Well, in association with NECA Inc., there will be several merchandising deals with Hello Kitty. These deals include games, toys, and novelty items. Kitty will even become a character in the game HeroClix, which pits such classic characters as Spiderman, Master Chief, and Gandalf the Grey against each other in a game of chance and statistics. Time to put to rest the age-old question: could Kitty take down Batman? Link
Fall of the Roman Empire
The cult hit manga Thermae Romae by Maki Yamazaki will end in the March issue of serialization Comic Bean. The comical story follows Lucius, an Ancient Roman architect who can travel through time to various bathhouses in modern day Japan. Link
From Mound to Miku
Recent snowfall in Sapporo hasn't hampered the spirits of attendees to the annual Snow Festival, an event that draws millions of people to see snow statues and ice sculptures. Joining the lineup of masterpieces is "Snow Miku" by Tsutomu Hatakeyama, an homage to Hatsune Miku. In an interview, he states that prior to making his first statue, he had no clue who Hatsune Miku was, thinking her "one of the animation characters for kids." However, his first work was so likened to the diva that he became a fan.
Anime Releases:
- Eden of the East – The Complete Series DVD/Blu-Ray (English)
- Fushigi Yugi Season 2 Boxset DVD (English)
- InuYasha: The Final Act – Set 2 DVD/Blu-Ray (English)
- New Fist of the North Star – Complete Collection DVD (English)
- Waiting in the Summer – Complete Collection DVD (Japanese)
Manga Releases:
- Awkward Silence Volume 3
- Ayako Paperback Edition
- Bond of Dreams, Bond of Love Volume 3
- Cage of Eden Volume 9
- Hayate the Combat Butler Volume 21
- InuYasha (VIZBIG Edition) Volume 14
- Neon Genesis Evangelion: Comic Tribute
- The Book of Human Insects Paperback Edition
- The Wallflower Volume 30
