Bleach anime October schedule

Things get more exciting this month as there are no fillers.We have the fight between Aizen and the rest of Gotei 13 while Ichigo and Unohana arrive to Karakura Town! The plot thickens!

October 7 - episode 291 - Desperate Struggle with Aizen! Hirako, Shikai!

October 14 - episode 292 - All Out War! Aizen vs. Shinigami

October 21 - episode 293 - Blade of Hatred! Hitsugaya, Enraged!

October 28 - episode 294 - The Sealed Genryūsai 

(Source: Anime News Network, NarutoFan forums)

3D movies of Toriko and One Piece will open the same day!

Fanboy and fangirl blood must be boiling with excitement as the latest edition of Shonen Jump Magazine by Shueisha announced that both 3D versions of these movies will open on March 19, 2011. Both will be featured as part of the Jump Heroes Film special event by Toei Animation, the studio producing them.

The official site of this event can be found here.

(source: Anime News Network via Kyo Mo Yarareyaku)

So, which animation software do Japanese studios use? (2)

Doing a further research within LinkedIn Animation groups here, it turns out that the program SoftImage XSI is now Toonz and it is used by Studio Ghibli for their productions. This is especifically their Story Planner PRO software:



There are a whole variety of 2D and 3D animation programs out there for professional-looking projects. There is really no standard for the industry, but rather certain programs that certain studios and people use.

For example, a popular program among digital animation students is Digicel Flipbook and also TV Paint.






Another great program is Plastic Animation Paper, or PAP. If you want an organic paper and drawing, classic feel, this is it for you. The PRO version is FREE! http://plasticanimationpaper.dk/ However, this program doesn't have the technology to color your animation, but it's great to achieve basic traditional animation easily.



Whereas Toon Boom has been used by American studios such as Disney, Warner Bros, Cartoon Network, Cookie Jar, O Entertainment, Film Roman, Fox, etc.



But if you want to keep it simple, then Adobe Illustrator along with Adobe Flash can be the route to go. There's plenty of tutorials available in torrentz sites that may help you without spending a dime, and it will let you have the knowledge to achieve what you want. You can add special effects later with Adobe After Effects.

If you want to especifically create anime without much hassle, then SmithMicro's Anime Studio Debut or Anime Studio Pro can be the best option. They are the same developer of Manga Studio Debut and Manga Studio EX. 



The most important thing that you should keep in mind is that you can use any of these programs, as long as they feel comfortable and manageable. No program is really better than the others. The main idea is to achieve the exact results you want in your project :)

This week's featured AMV! (12)

Following on the theme of the upcoming Sengoku Basara movie, this AMV by user KevmonDproductions2 of Youtube. The song is Down with the Sickness by Disturbed, which is always great for capturing the resolve spirit of any samurai fight related AMV :)

Sengoku Basara will have a new film in 2011!

This was just announced in the final episode of Sengoku Basara Two, which aired on Sunday in Japan.

The first season of this series by Hiroyuki Kobayashi is being distributed by Funimation and will come out in DVD next month.

This is an anime based on the videogame Devil Kings developed by Capcorn, and it is based on the constant battle and power struggles in Feudal Japan by the feudal lords, called Daimyos, historical figures such as Takeda Shingen, Sanada Yukimura, Uesugi Kenshin no Echigo, Azai Nagamasa no Omi, and Tokugawa Ieyasu no Mikawa.

The announcement can be seen here, in the official site, (opens in a new window).

Yuri Seijin Naoko-san manga will get an anime!

This surreal, experimental comedy manga by kashmir is about a girl named Misuzu, whose older sister, Naoko, returned from studying abroad, just to find out that she's been substituted (?) with Naoko-san, an alien from planet Yuri-sei (Lesbian planet), who loves eroticism, yuri and girls.

The series started being published in Monthly Comic Dengeki Daioh in 2005 and its second volume was published in 2008. Now ASCII Media Works' Monthly Comic Dengeki Daioh magazine announced that its anime adaptation is currently in the works.

Nintama Rantaro also has an anime movie in the works!

This is great news for the fans of this hilarious ninja gag series by Soubee Amako, as they not only will have their live action release in the hands of director Takeshi Miike, they will also have an upcoming anime film that will premiere in Japanese theaters in March of next year!

This new anime film will be directed and supervised by Tsutomu Shibayama.

The word 'Nintama' is a contraction of the word 'ninja' and 'tamago', the latter meaning 'egg', to mean how Rantaro, the main character, and his friends, are 'ninja-in-training', given that they're barely in first grade as apprentices in an elite ninja academy, during Japan's Sengoku Jidai, the Era of the Warring States.

The anime dates from 1993, with 1338 episodes to date!

Penguin will publish the 14th Dalai Lama manga in its second edition

This biographical series about the life of the current Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, will come out in bookstores in September 28.

It is the first published manga in English by Japanese author, Tetsu Saiwai.

This series showcases the life of the 14th Dalai Lama, the leader of the Tibetan "Yellow Hat" Buddhist sect, who believe him to be the reincarnation of a line of enlightened beings. Gyatso was born in 1935 and was recognized as the reincarnation of the 13th Dalai Lama at the age of two. He assumed his role in 1950 at the age of 15, when China invaded Tibet. He began working towards world peace and was awarded the Nobel Peace Price in 1989.

It is rated for audiences older than 18, so it should be an interesting read.

Genshiken manga returns in a second part!

Kodansha just announced in its Afternoon magazine that this great series about the lives of otaku in college will have a second part called Genshiken Nidaime or Genshiken II.

The story continues with Ogiue as the president of The Society for the Study of Modern Visual Culture, known as Genshiken, trying to recruit and manage the new students, and a reappearance of Hato, the lovely and unforgettable cross-dressing character.

This series by Shimoku Kio has had tremendous success with 3 million copies sold and a ready-cut deal with Del Rey that followed for its publication in North America.

If you wanted your perfect manga/anime version of Revenge of the Nerds, this is it for you!

Oh! My Goddess will have a new OAD that will premiere in February 2011!

The series by Kousuke Fujishima will have its 23rd volume coming out in February in a limited special edition, and it will have a bonus OAD episode that will be directed by Hiroaki Gohda, the same director of both the anime and the movie.

Oh! My Goddess or Aa! Megami-sama, as it is also known, is a fantasy romance series that pertains to the seinen genre. It has been serialized since 1989 and it hasn't ended yet as of today.

It is the story of a college student named Keiichi Morisato, a guy who loves motorcycles and cars, but is constantly bitter on his bad luck with women due to his height. One day he meets a goddess called Belldandy by accident, while he was trying to communicate on the phone to send a message.

Belldandy offers her services, granting him a wish. Morisato, finding her extremely hot, asks her to stay with him forever and his wish is granted. The fun ensues when Belldandy's sisters, Urd and Skuld, move on with them as a consequence.

There has been OVAS, a movie and the anime series, but all three of them haven't been exactly accurate to the manga. Here's one of its classic anime openings XD:

So, which animation software do Japanese studios use? (1)

Most professional studios have their own software developed exclusively for them, yet two programs are the most used by professional animation artists:

One is Autodesk Softimage XSI, and the other is Celsys Retas Pro.

However, most of the great quality animation we see today is still hand drawn in the traditional way, scanned frame by frame, and then with the help of these programs you can add additional effects and more realism, in sort of a post-production stage.

OR, with the help of a digital tablet, some artists prefer to draw directly on the computer and then handle and process the frames at their will.

Autodesk Softimage XSI is a complex program that relies heavily on 3D graphics, just like 3D Max Studio. Still, it's incredible what you can achieve with it for any kind of effect, be it in movies, ads or video games.



Yet Celsys Retas Pro is more preferred by animators, because you can create 2D animation that still looks done traditionally, without too much intervention of 3D, except in backgrounds and settings, as we know that making everything look 3D makes it look like a video game or a bad CGI movie and that's not the idea.



Definitely Celsys Retas Pro is more oriented to create the anime we all know and love.

This week's featured AMV! (11)

Just had to feature this video by lotusblossom13 in Youtube. It is probably one of the best combination of song/anime I've ever seen, it's hilarious.

The anime is The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya and the classic song 'Bad Reputation' by Joan Jett XD

More OreImo trailers online!

This is another anime that will premiere on October 3, and meanwhile its official site has uploaded three more trailers that can be seen here.

But there's also HD versions:





The first teaser trailer was released on August, and you can see the original post here  

OreImo stands for Ore no Imouto ga Konnani Kawaii Wake ga Nai!, or My Little Sister can't be that cute!

The original story by authors Tsukasa Fushimi and Hiro Kanzaki revolves around a boy named Kyosuke Kosaka, a high school student that discovers that his sister is secretly a moé otaku, despite her serious and aloof appearance.

As I said before, the art is quite beautiful so it's definitely worth to check it out!

Keanu Reeves talks on the Cowboy Bebop live action movie

Actor Keanu Reeves, known for his roles in The Matrix trilogy, The Devil's Advocate and Johny Mnemonic, stated to Collider.com that the budget for a live action movie adaptation of this anime would cost at least $500 million dollars to make right now:

"I haven't heard anything back. They turned in the script and it was very expensive. I don't know if they're going to…it would cost, like, half a billion dollars to make that script. So, I don't know where it's at right now. "

Even though 20th Century Fox and Sunrise Studios teamed up to make a serious live adaptation, with the participation of original director Shinichiro Watanabe, original script supervisor Keiko Nobumoto and the president of Sunrise Studios itself, Kenji Uchida, it seems the script is too ambitious for Hollywood standards, thus the budget has been set at an abnormally high proportion.

However, Reeves told MTV News last September that writer Peter Craig was rewriting the script. He added at the time that the producers were "just trying to pull it back" in scope.

(source: Anime News Network, Collider and Hollywood Channel)

Do you think it's best if they make no movie at all? O_o  I mean Dragon Ball: Evolution and Speed Racer had high budgets...and look what happened.

New teaser trailer for Psychic Detective Yakumo (Shinrei Tantei Yakumo)

This series based on Manabu Kaminaga's novel will have an anime adaptation that will premiere in October 3 along with other new series.

The official site added a teaser trailer that can be seen here.(opens in a new window)


This is a story that mixes both the supernatural and mystery genre.

Yakumo Saitou is a college student who was born with different eye colors. His red left eye gave him a special ability to see ghosts and spirits. He meets Haruka Ozawa to help him with his investigation of paranormal events, and both look to eliminate the cause behind the fact that ghosts and spirits are still bound to this Earth even after they die, so they can finally rest in peace.

Update: here's the PV trailer, just that it's not in great quality:

New Bleach: Jigoku-hen (Hell chapter) stream promo!

The official site of the Bleach anime began streaming a 32 second preview of the fourth movie in the series, which its original creator, Tite Kubo, is personally supervising.



This is all very exciting and the movie will come out in Japanese theaters on December 4. The manga will celebrate its 10th year anniversary next year.

3 more TV ads for Star Driver Kagayaki no Takuto!

This friggin' awesome mecha anime, reminiscent of the 80's classic anime we'll always love, will first air in Japanese television on October 3.

Here's the main preview:



It is directed by Takuya Igarashi (Soul Eater, Ouran High School Club), along with screenwriter Yoji Enokido (Revolutionary Girl Utena), and composer Satoru Kousaki (The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya!!!1 :O)

The American premiere will take place in New York Comic Con Anime Festival on October 9, courtesy of Aniplex.

It is the story of a boy named Takuto Tsunashi, who one night just arrived unconscious to a verdant island called Southern Cross because he swam ashore from another place.

He enrolls in the island's high school academy, which happens to conceal a secret 20 giant humanoid machines underground.

3 new TV spots, of 15 seconds each, have been uploaded to the official site of the anime (click the link and it will open in a new window)

Spot 1

Spot2

Spot3

Fairy Tail second year confirmed!

Kodansha announced in the most recent edition of Weekly Shonen Magazine that the anime adaptation of this great manga by Hiro Mashima will continue into its second year.

The director, Shinji Ishira, said that the anime will deal with the Nirvana arc. Meanwhile Del Rey will publish the 12th volume in the United States and of course Crunchyroll will continue in its simulcast.

If you haven't checked it out yet, Fairy Tail has been serialized since 2006 in Weekly Shonen Magazine and the anime is done by A-1 Pictures and Satelight studios, it is the story of a young celestial mage (sorceress) named Lucy Heartfilia, who runs away from home and travels to the land of Fiore to join the magical Fairy Tail Guild.

Along the way, she meets Natsu Dragneel, a teenage boy looking for his foster parent, a dragon named Igneel, with his best friend, Happy the cat. Shortly after their meeting, Lucy is abducted by Bora of Prominence, who was posing as Salamander of Fairy Tail, to be sold as a slave.

Natsu rescues her and reveals that he is the real Salamander of Fairy Tail and has the skills of a Dragon Slayer, an ancient fire magic. He offers her membership into the guild, which she gladly accepts, and as she meets along Erza Scarlet, Gray Fullbuster, and Happy, they become a team performing various missions offered to the Fairy Tail guild.

Ghost Hunt manga will end this month on volume 12th

Kodansha announced that this supernatural mystery manga by Shiho Inada, adapted from the light novels by Fuyumi Ono, will end on September 30. Ono is also known by being the auther of 12 Kingdoms and Shiki.

The story started to be published in 1998 on Arnie magazine, only to move later to Nakayoshi magazine. It has had a cult status success, being published only in book volumes.

It was licensed by Del Rey for its distribution in the United States, and Funimation licensed the 25 episode anime in 2008, being available in DVD.

It is the story of a high school girl named Mai Taniyama, who knows a tall, dark, handsome teenager, who leds Shibuya Psychic Research, a paranormal investigation agency.

Mai ends up joining this particular agency, whose associates include a Chinese occultist, a world-famous psychic, a self-proclaimed Shinto shrine maiden, a former Buddhist monk, and a Catholic exorcist. The agency's adventures throughout modern Japan blend elements of Asian folklore and European mythology.

Is that guy easy on the eyes or what? O_O

(*nosebleeds a bit)

(*reminds herself that this is a two dimensional figure)

Veteran mangaka Takehiko Inoue delays Vagabond finale

Due to health reasons, the creator of Vagabond and series such as Slam Dunk and REAL, announced that the chapter of this historical manga won't return on Kodansha Morning magazine until September 2, and the finale could be delayed to next year.

He was going to continue and finish this series since the beginning of last month, but he preferred to rest and have some tests to his brain and heart, which fortunately turned out fine.

Vagabond is an ongoing series since 1998, with the most recent volume (the 33rd) published by Kodansha in May of this year.  It is also soon to reach its 300th chapter.

Vagabond is the story of legendary samurai Musashi Miyamoto, based on the novels by Eiji Yoshikawa. Despite being depicted as a beast and a murderer, given that his sword style relied heavily on his instint and his strenght, he is depicted here as a key piece between the change of Toyotomi era through the Tokugawa era.

His original name was Shinmen Takezo, but he received the name of Musashi by a Buddist monk called Takuan Soho, which meant a rebirth of his persona and an opportunity to right all of his wrongs. (Samurai X, anyone ^_^)

New trailer for Inazuma Eleven movie!

TV Tokyo just released recently a new trailer for the first film of this anime, adapted from an RPG and sports videogame developed for Nintendo DS, which was launched on 2008.



Its success led to a manga adaptation in Coro Coro Comic magazine and an anime by Oriental Light and Magic transmitted by Tv Tokyo. Now the first movie will hit Japanese theaters in December 23rd.

It is the story of a boy named Mamoru/Satoru Endo/Mark Evans (depends on the version of the game), who is the captain and the goalkeeper of Raimon Institute Soccer club, and the grandson of one of the legendary goalkeepers in the history of Japanese soccer.

Despite his talent, his team is less than mediocre when it comes to forming an authentic team. But then he meets a misterious striker called Shuya Goenji/Axel Blaze who joins the team and stirs things up.

It has had special success in Latin American countries. Indeed this is the successor of Captain Tsubasa XD.

New screenshots of Iron Vendetta + a new trailer!

This is the latest update concerning the new Koutetsu no Vendetta anime series, and it looks impressive from episode 0 and beyond!

The official site of the series, http://www.vandetta.jp has just released new screenshots and a new trailer as well:

Iron Vendetta began as a self published dojin about military robots, which success led to be picked it up as an anime, and this is quite an innovating change in the possibilities for any talented artist to get his/her work recognized beyond editorial publication, which is indeed a huge step ahead for independent manga.

This week's featured AMV (10)

The featured AMV of this week is none other than this video tribute to the great classic series Yu Yu Hakusho, which has inspired series like Bleach with its spiritual and supernatural theme:



Video done by SonataALasDerrotas from Youtube

Yasuo Ohtagaki and Yuusuke Murata team up to create new manga

The creators of Moonlight Mile and Eyeshield 21, respectively, have decided to team up to create a new manga titled Donten Prism Solar Car. It is due to start being published in October in Jump Square magazine.

The story centers around a young man who works at an ironworks factory to save money for college. One day, a group of engineering students visit the ironworks storehouse where he lives and ask for his technical expertise in building a solar car.

*waits for a green eco version of Speed Racer story to develop* ^_^

New SoraOto Forte trailer! The series' second season will premiere on October

Kadokawa animation has just released a new trailer of this series by Suu Minazuki.

Sora no Otoshimono Forte (its real long name) is a romantic comedy manga with some elements of fantasy. It started to be serialized in Shonen Ace magazine in 2007. The rapid success of this story impulsed its adaptation to anime in 2009 with 13 episodes.



Now the second season will premiere on October 1.

This is the story of a boy named Tomoki Sakurai, a high school boy that just looks to live his life peacefully. The perverted type, he often looks to spy on girl's locker rooms and/or bathrooms.

He always wakes up in the morning crying because he always has a same horrible nightmare that he cannot remember well. His friend, Sohara Mitsuki, tells him to go meet Sugata, who may know the answer to his worries. Sugata believes that it's all related to a strange black hole in the sky that appears every night in the sky of the city, Soramani, so they decide to investigate.

But Tomoki goes alone and sees that from the black hole came a rain of meteorites, along with a girl with the aspect of an angel. He rescues the girl, turning out to be an angeloid, a special being created in New World Synapse, the other dimension if you get into the black hole. They must follow the orders of the Master at all cost, being always united by a mythical chain to him.

New Tamayura OVA streamed trailer!

The official site of the Tamayura anime has begun streaming a new 15 second trailer, which has the feature theme song, Yasashisa ni Tsutsumareta Nara, by singer Maaya Sakamoto.

You can see it here (it opens in a new window)

The DVD/Blu-ray of this series directed by Junichi Sato will come out on November 26 in Japan.

This is a 'healing' type of story, in which the main character begins the new journey in a new life and a new setting, after a series of traumatic events or a series of events that created a major turning point so that the character has to move on.

This is the story of Fū "Potte" Sawatari, a high school freshman girl who enjoys photography. Fū moved to Takehara, a quiet city nestled between Japan's Seto Inland Sea and the mountains of Hiroshima Prefecture. In this city where her late father grew up, Fū begins her new life and makes new friends.

source: Anime News Network

A really weird glitch

I don't know what happened today, but I almost got a heart attack when I tried to access my blog and it appeared that it was deleted??? O_O

Just to find out after logging to my blogger account that it wasn't such and that my blog was alive, entirely intact.

What is going on?? Are they trying to pull an April Fool's joke in advanced or something?

Dororon Enma-Kun will have a remake!

Kadokawa shoten has just announced the remake of this story by Go Nagai, which originally got adapted into a 25 episode anime in 1973 (!!! O_O)

There was an OVA of this series in 2006 called Kikouchi Enma (Demon Prince Enma) which featured the original characters in a mature way, yet it didn't retain the darkness and edgyness of the original.

This remake anime will be title Dororon Enma-kun Meeramera.

Here's a preview of the 1973 anime by Toei animation:

Funimation picks up Disgaea

Funimation has announced that it has acquired the rights of distribution for the transmission of the Disgaea anime, a 2006 series formerly distributed by Geneon, which is based of a SRPG game called Makae Senki Disgaea, developed by Nippon Ichi Software in 2003..

The 12 episodes will now have the possibility of being seen worldwide, as they will come out in DVD rereleased next year.

Coppelion will also get an anime adaptation!

Kodansha announced in the current edition of Young Jump magazine (the one from its 40th anniversary) that an anime adaptation for this science fiction manga by Tomonori Inoue has been green lit.

Coppelion is a cult status story that has been running since 2008, and it's about three high school girls that are sent to the dead city of Tokyo. It's year 2036 and the city is contaminated with radiation due to a nuclear accident. The girls are invulnerable to radiation since birth and form a special force codenamed Coppelion that serve as a part of Japan Ground Self-Defense forces.

Beelzebub anime to air in January!

Friggin' awesome!!!

An advertisement of the upcoming Super Jump Anime Tour revealed that Beelzebub anime will first air in January 2011. This is the first anime adaptation ever for this great manga by Ryuhei Tamura.