News Articles
Site News
Favorites
Anime / Manga
Press Releases
Conventions
Industry News
Fashion
Video Games
Staff Blogs
Search Articles
Submit Article

NAMCO Bandai Games America has confirmed that they have licensed the exclusive North American rights to publish videogames for the Dragon Ball franchise from 2010 to 2014. While Atari currently holds the agreement with FUNimation for the Dragon Ball game rights, the agreement ends this year. FUNimation Entertainment has made attempts to terminate Atari's license in October of 2007, but Atari negotiated the continuation of the license in December of that year.

The games are based on Akira Toriyama's fighting action manga and Toei Animation's anime adapatation of that manga. NAMCO Bandai Games America negotiated with Toei and FUNimation for the new agreement. The new agreement not set to officially start until 2009, will be preceeded by the publisher releasing 3 Dragon Ball games for the Xbox 360, PS3, Wii and DS.

The games are:

Dragon Ball: Raging Blast for the Microsoft Xbox 360 and Sony PlayStation 3 consoles,
Dragon Ball: Revenge of King Piccolo for the Nintendo Wii console
Dragon Ball Z: Attack of the Saiyans for the Nintendo DS system

Source: Anime News Network

CMX Manga has announced the licenses for the following titles:

Rampage / Yunosuke Yoshinaga (Softbank Creative's Flex Comix) / February 2010
My Darling! Miss Bancho (Aa Itoshi no Bancho-sama) / Mayu Fujikata (Hakusensha's Hana to Yume Comics) / March 2010
Diamond Girl (Shiratama Shojo) / Takanori Yamazaki (Softbank Creative's Flex Comix) / April 2010
Polyphonica: Cardinal Crimson / Ichiro Sakaki and Tomo Hirokawa (Softbank Creative's Flex Comix) / May 2010
Nadeshiko Club / Miku Sakamoto (Hakusensha's Hana to Yume Comics) / June 2010

Source: Anime News Network

FUNimation annoucned that is has licensed Production I.G's Sengoku Basara television anime series. In addition they have also announced they will release the first season of Dragon Ball in a DVD box (the first 31 episodes) will ship on September 15th.

The license to One Piece has not been lost, said FUNimation Entertainment and the DVDs will still continue to be released. Though they have also said they do not have a license for the Evangelion 2.0 You can (NOT) advance yet.

This was all announced at their Anime Expo Saturday panel.

Source: Anime News Network

The award-winning actor Kenichi Matsuyama will reunite with Tatsuya Fujiwara onscreen for the first time since the Death Note films. Toya Sato is directing the live action film adaptation of Nobuyuki Fukumoto's Tobaku Mokushiroku Kaiji manga.

Fujiwara will be playing the star rolefo Kaiji, a gambler who is 3.49 million yen in debt. (That's about 36, 000 USD) Yuki Amami plays Rinko Endo a loan shark, a character that is originally a male in the manga. The character convinces Kaiji to board a gambling ship to clear his debt. Matsuyama will be playing the supporting role of Makoto Sahara, Kaiji's acquaintance who is in a similiar life or death situation.

Kaiji will be opening on October 10th in Japan.

Source: Anime News Network

VIZ Media announced that it will publish volumes 24 through 53 of Eiichiro Oda's One Piece manga series between January and June of 2010. (Or five per month). Volume 53 was just shipped in Japan (march) and VIZ's own Shonen Jump magazine will publish the latest chapters from Japan starting this fall.

Along with the announcement of One Piece, VIZ is also releasing;

Akihisa Ikeda's Rosario + Vampire season II manga starting April 6, 2010.
Crown of Love by Yun Kouga -- Feb 2, 2010,
The Cactus Secret -- Mar 2, 2010
Stepping on Roses from Tail of the Moon's Rinko Ueda -- Apr 6, 2010
Flower in a Storm -- May 4, 2010
Biomega, from Blame! author Tsutomo Nihei - Feb 9, 2010

Bandai Visual began serializing Rion Senju's AIKa ZERO Cute manga on Yomban, its free Japanese magazine website on Wednesday. The manga, like the previously announced anime series, centers on the 19-year-old female agent in training Aika Sumeragi while she is in college. Unlike the anime though, the manga will tell another separate story. The first volume of the anime series is set to ship on August 25th and the second manga installment will be posted on August 3rd.

AIKa ZERO Cute's official blog (for the anime project) reports that the Amazon.co.jp website is streaming a 90-second promotional video for the anime's first volume.

Central Park Media released the first Agent Aika series in North America, while Bandai Entertainment reissued the first series and licensed the AIKa R-16: Virgin Mission prequel.

Source: Anime News Network

FUNimation Entertainment has screened the original Evangelion 1.0 You are (Not) Alone film at Anime Expo and will be in North American theaters this summer.

The anime Entertainment company has also confirmed it will release the updated Evangelion 1.01 You are (Not) Alone version on DVD this fall followed by the Evangelion 1.11 You are (Not) Alone version on DVD and Blu-ray next spring. The staggered releases of the different versions in North America are in mirror of how the film's versions were released in Japan.

Source: Anime News Network

Bandai Entertainment announced friday at their Anime Expo panel that they acquired Kokyo Shihen Eureka Seven: Pocket ga Niji de Ippai movie and will stream the anime series on the Anime News Network.

Bandai Entertainment will use Fathom Entertainment for Eureka Seven theatrical release on the 300 to 400 theatres on September 24, 2009. The tickets will go on sale on August 21st and the participating theatres will be listed on Fathom's website soon. Bandai's website for the film is already online.

Source: Anime News Network

Bandai Namco is finally joining Geneon Entertainment and will be distributing anime songs on iTunes. Lantis, the music label subsidiary of the Bandai NAMCO Group company Bandai Visual, has announced on Friday that it will sell anime songs in North America via Apple's iTunes Store starting this summer.
JAM Project will have the first release and will be followed by additional songs every two to three weeks. Along with work from JAM Project, Lantis will offer songs from The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, Lucky Star, and other anime by Aya Hirano, Ali Project and other artists.

Manga.com (US Site) is reporting that there might not be an end all to end all for the Live Action adaptation of Katsuhiro Otomo's Akira.

According to Manga.com Joseph Gordon-Levitt, the star of 500 Days of Summer, said "You never know" when asked if the project was truly dead. Though this is far from a confirmation it may be just the flicker of hope that most fans were looking for. Besides it's a lot better than his comments last year which did not even acknowledge any connection to the project.

News Links Here

Recent Reviews here

Recent Articles Here