Hatake Kakashi: Calm and collected

If there's a complex, level-headed and cool character in Naruto, it's none other than Kakashi-sensei.

The son of Hatake Hakumo, the White Fang, he was always angst-ridden and pointed at by the people of Konoha over the fact that his father chose to help his friends instead of carrying out the mission succesfully.

He was a prodigy shinobi from an early age, always obsessed with doing things the right way, that meaning merely 'being a killing tool', which was what ninjas were originally meant to be.

Until he met his teammates Rin and Uchiha Obito. Obito, his dying partner that transferred his remaining sharingan eye to him, is the one that first said these famous words:

"Those that break the rules and regulations are scum. But those who abandon their comrades are worse than scum"

Through the series, we see how Kakashi changes his vision of life and the world, a transition from the old era of ninjas, from the cycle of never ending wars and hatred, to a more human one, and that is also through his disciples Sakura, Sasuke and Naruto (Team 7).

Kakashi-sensei also has a funny side, always arriving late to meetings, and reading the soft porn novels written by Jiraiya (Icha Icha tactics) in his free time, which means he's also a 'closet' perv ^_^

I don't think we will get to ever see his face without the mask, yet the episode with Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke trying to find out is one the classic moments in the series.

Cowboy Bebop tribute album released!

Following with the likes of the tribute Samurai Champloo soundtrack released two weeks ago, musician SinitusTempo, along with Obii Say, released a new Cowboy Bebop tribute album titled 'Cowboy Biibop Soundtrack EP'

Check it out for the awesomeness!

Curiosities: Three lost scripts by Akira Kurosawa found!

Three lost scripts by the legendary Japanese filmmaker (The Seven Samurai, Dreams) have been found in different places and they all date from before he achieved international fame.

The Tokyograph reports that the movie script Kanokemaru no Hitobito was discovered at the Shinobu Hashimoto Memorial Hall in Ichikawa, Hyogo, Japan. The script was written by screenwriter Shinobu Hashimoto, who was a collaborator of Kurosawa, based on an original idea by the director. The script was planned for a 1951 adaptation starring Toshiro Mifune (!!!!!), but the movie was never shot.

The script for Toho’s collaboratively directed 1946 film Asu wo Tsukuru Hitobito has been rediscovered. Since the film had multiple directors, Kurosawa refused to accept credit for the script during his lifetime.

Whereas a script for Kurosawa’s 1942 radio drama Youki na Koujou was discovered in Waseda University’s Tsubochi Memorial Theatre Museum. Kurosawa wrote the play while he was still working as an assistant director.

Funimation will simulcast Kuragehime and SoraOto!

It was about time! From this Thursday, Anime News Network announced that Funimation began its plans to begin simulcasting the current Princess Jellyfish (Kuragehime) television anime this Thursday and the current Heaven’s Lost Property Season Two (Sora no Otoshimono Forte) TV anime series this Friday. Crunchyroll began officially streaming the later series four weeks ago.

Great news, if you know what I mean
;-)

Naruto Shippuden anime November schedule

(courtesy of Insane111 from NarutoFan forums)


This month we've got more good ol' pre-time skip filler mixed with canon material. 


They are handling it very well, forget about those infamous and dreaded 200+ fillerology episodes before the premiere of Naruto Shippuden O_o


November 4 - (episode 184) - [Set Out! Team Tenten]

November 11 - (episode 185) - [Animal No Mans Land]

November 18 - (episode 186) - [Ah, Medicinal Pill of Youth]

November 25 - (episodes 187-188) [Tale of the Gutsy Teacher and Student Ninja] One Hour Special

Upcoming Kuragehime DVD/BD to include manga spinoffs!

The author of this manga, Akiko Higashimura, originally drew a short running series called 'Kuragehime heroes', in Kiss Plus magazine by Kodansha, but it wasn't included in the 'tankobon' (volume book) for the Kuragehime manga we know.

Yet these short mangas are going to included as a bonus in the upcoming DVD/BD for next year, to celebrate the premiere of the anime.

Could this open the possibility for OVAS in the future? ^_^

Smuggler manga will get a movie adaptation!

This story by Shohei Manabe has just got a film greenlit, it isn't still specified if it will be live action or anime. Kodansha will announce more details in the upcoming Monthly Afternoon magazine.

This manga has been serialized by TokyoPop since its publication in 2006.

It is the story of Ryōsuke Kinuta, a mediocre actor with serious debt problems.

In order to pay his debts, his loaner arranges a job for him as part of a corpse disposal team, transporting the bodies of victims of gang hits out of the city and watching that they are never seen again.

The team gets slowly involved in the middle of a mob war, working for both sides, which means trouble and continous danger for them.

The Tokyo International Anime Fair will sponsor 4 new anime pilots for 2011

This is great news since it's an opportunity for independent artists to have their work showcased and possibly with a renewed contract for an entire season of their series.

The four selected works for a sponsored production of pilots were:

-Interior
Creator: French curve/Tetsurō Kodama (Mardock Scramble CGI director, Yasai no Yousei - N.Y. Salad art director, Namie Amuro's "Wild/Dr.")

This story centers around the unprofitable artist Sam, the unprofitable playwright Bowman, and their friend Gurekku. The one thing they all have in common is that they are poor. The three decide to enter a contest to earn money — but since they cannot afford to mail their entries, they decide to take the long trip to the competition site to bring their entries in person. Kodama is planning the project as a series of 10-minute episodes that will last about 13 to 26 weeks.

-Kanai
Creator: Studio RF/Romanov Higa (Catblue: Dynamite, TANK S.W.A.T. 01, Metal Gear Sold: Peace Walker cut scenes, Hellsing Ultimate action director)
The action story follows three girls who grow up on the island of Okinawa — and discover a robot.

-Monster ni Natta Domerika
Creator: Kazuya Ichikawa (Shadow Skill 3/SOS TV Walpurgis Night Fever director, Appleseed: Ex Machina CG layout and motion team leader)
In this "action epic" set in the run-down slums, the title character Domerika is transformed into a monster one day.

-Kaseki Dorobō to Kyōryūseki
Creator: Kenji Mutō (Cavity Express, Gift)/Sugarless Factory/Honesuta
The dinosaur fantasy revolves around a 12-year-old girl named Yuta and her buddy Gobi — who happens to be a fossil. The two embark on a journey to chase a fossil thief and find Gobi's stolen fossil mother. Mutō drew inspiration from Jules Verne's A Journey to the Center of the Earth and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's The Lost World.

(source: Anime News Network)

Curiosities: Bishonen characters in anime and popular culture (1)

'Bishonen' is the Japanese term for 'beautiful boy', meaning a guy that has more feminine than masculine features and is considered pretty by Japanese standards.

These guys in real life are often idols, actors or public figures with an overzealous female fandom.

In anime and manga, these are popular characters, known by their refined personality, or in some cases, a tough personality that serves as contrast.

This would be the case of actor Ken'ichi' Matsuyama, who played L Lawliet in the live action movies. He recently revealed to be gay, but still he has a great fandom worldwide, which is awesome.


One of the ultimate bishonen characters would be the protagonists of the various Final Fantasy series, Cloud.

And the list goes on, with even specific series full of bishonen characters, like Yamato Nadeshiko Shichi Henge, known also as Wallflower or Perfect Girl Evolution.

This week's featured AMV (16)

This is an incredible video done to Marilyn Manson's The Beautiful People, who woulda thought the lyrics would fit so well to Maria Holic's theme? XD




Video done by VivThePrincess  of Youtube

Weekly Special Feature: The quality of animation in Bleach

I don't know if it's only me, but rewatching the first few episodes I could see why I was hooked up so much on this series to the point of madness.

It was that the quality of animation helped convey a more dramatic, mysterious, dark and esoteric tone to the story. That reflected on the fights too.





So, what really happened to the quality of animation in Bleach? Has it really suffered?

I think that given the pace of the story and how we as an audience got used to Bankais and Resurreciones, the quality has just got more mundane. The only exception being the fight between Ichigo and Ulquiorra.



But after watching the latest episodes I think it is picking it up.

Weekly review: Sailor Moon anime

This classic anime, adapted from the manga by Naoko Takeuchi in 1992, is probably one of the series with more dubs available in the world due to its success, and yet it is probably one of the most censored and cut apart ever.

And even the anime as we know it differs greatly from the manga, that it could be well worth it to remake this anime in the future.  With quality we see today in most animes, why not?

It is actually a shojo, 'magical girl' type of story with sentai (squad) elements, but it definitely became popular with male audiences ever since its publication in Kodansha's Nakayoshi magazine.

Sailor Moon is the story of 9 girls that are progressively introduced as they team up to fight the forces of evil that are constantly a menace to the world, and ultimately, the galaxy.

The protagonist, Usagi Tsukino (known as 'Bunny' in Spain and 'Serena' in Latin American dubs), is a 14-year old girl that is introduced as lazy and a drama queen, crying all the time over everything. Until she meets a mysterious black cat named 'Luna', who tells her of her true destiny. Thus she becomes Sailor Moon, a warrior of love and justice.



She then meets Amy (Sailor Mercury), Rei (Sailor Mars), Makoto (Sailor Jupiter) and Minako (Sailor Venus) to conform the Inner Sailor Squad for the first two seasons.



Then, the Outer Sailor Squad, formed by Haruka (Sailor Uranus), Michiru (Sailor Neptune), Setsuna (Sailor Plut) and lastly, Hotaru (Sailor Saturn), who is originally thought to be an evil sailor with enough power to destroy a planet by herself.





The series caused a lot of controversy when it started being licensed and distributed worldwide, due to its relatively mature content in regards to how relationships were depicted, especially in the case of Haruka (a cross-dressing girl) and Michiru (a yuri relationship). It's actually a perfect example of how in Japanese culture, sex and homoeroticism isn't such a great and uptight deal as in Western culture.

Reminder: there's no Kuragehime episode this week

This great series left us hanging from episode 1 last week, but unfortunately there's no episode this week due to a break, and we'll have to wait for next week (october 30) instead for episode 2.

I know, I'm as annoyed as you are :(

Black Lagoon OVAs delayed!

Shogakugan just announced that due to production issues, the last three ovas of the Roberta's Blood Trail series have been delayed for around three months more.

It is now expected that episode 3 is scheduled for a January 7, 2011 release, episode 4 for a March 2, 2011 release. And the concluding OVA will hit DVD and Blu-ray on May 11, 2011.

Maria Holic gets second season greenlit!

The advertising for the seventh volume of Minari Endo's manga also revealed that there will be a second season of this anime, in which director Akiyuki Shinbo returns. The premiere date is still unknown but it is hoped that it will next year.

Maria holic is about a girl named Kanako, who enrolls in a girl school because she has a phobia of men and wants to find her destined yuri partner. She meets a captivating freshman named Mariya who fits her criteria, except that he just happens to be a cross-dressing boy.

(Kuragehime, anyone???XD)




New stream trailer of Megane na Kanojo OVA!

Famitsu, the official site of the anime adaptation of author Tobi's Megane na Kanojo, announced that this series will ship on November 25, and uploaded a 180 second stream trailer on its page.

Megane na Kanojo can be translated to 'A Girlfriend with Glasses', and it is a romantic comedy that features 8 different stories about girls with glasses that represent a particular stereotype. The OVA will narrate four of these stories.

Viz media will release Ao no Exorcist in April!

According to U.S publisher Simon & Schuster, the first volume of author Kazue Kato's Ao no Exorcist (also known as Blue Exorcist) will be released by Viz Media on April of next year. This is great news since it will mean that this manga will have more diffusion across international audiences, and it clearly deserves it!


Ao no Exorcist started being serialized by Shueisha's Jump Square magazine in April of 2009. It is the story of Rin Okumura, a boy who discovers he is the son of Satan.

XD

This week's featured AMV (15)

This is one of the first Bakuman AMVs that have come out since the premiere of the anime in October 2. It's about the friendship of Saiko and Shuujin (and something else? XD, even though the author insists that this is not meant to be yaoi!)



Video done by zoiderkyoushiro  of Youtube.

Moshidora Business will get an anime adaptation!

This light novel by Natsumi Iwasaki is about a high school girl named Minami Kawashima, who is the team manager of the baseball team of her school.

When looking for inspiration and ideas for a better performance in the game, Minami accidentally buys Management: Tasks, Responsibilities, Practices, the classic productivity guide by the Austrian-American management guru Peter Drucker, and uses it to rally her dispirited team. Thus the fun ensues.

Channel NHK will launch a 10 episode anime adaptation that will be aimed to women and men in their 30s and 40s. It's also been three years since this channel aired an anime in its night programming block.

There's even a preview from the official website of this upcoming new series:

What is a fujoshi?

(this is a continuation of the previous entry 'What are these 'neet', 'otaku', 'hikikomori' terms all about?

If you are a girl between 15-25 years of age and love seeing pretty boys kissing, and are obsessed with shonen-ai, ecchi and yaoi stories in general, then you are a 'fujoshi'.

But don't go bragging about it, though, if you ever go to Japan.

Fujoshi is a despective japanese term that means 'perverted' or 'rotten girl' that encourages or glorifies homosexual relationships between men for her own satisfaction. It also has the connotation of a 'fallen girl'.

But wait, wouldn't this term be applied to the majority of fangirls like us?





Probably, yes. ^_^

Older women that like this genre refer to themselves as 'kifujin', or 'ochofujin', meaning 'noble rotten woman' or 'Madame Butterfly'. This is because the word 'fujoshi' is an homophonous take on the word of the same sound that actually means 'fine, educated lady'.

Fujoshi enjoy imagining what it would be like if male characters from manga and anime, and occasionally real-life male performers as well, loved each other.

New Samurai Champloo soundtrack available for free download!

Musician Sinitus Tempo has released his Samurai Champloo: Nujabes tribute album “Born Legends EP” for free online streaming and download.

The download page can be accessed here! 

Samurai Champloo is the cult classic series by Shinichiro Watanabe (Cowboy Bebop!), produced by Manglobe studios in 2004.

The manga was serialized by Kadokawa Shoten in its Shonen Ace magazine on the same year, in where it had a small run, given that it was meant to be a short series.

ANN's CEO Chris MacDonald apologizes for Oreimo episode leak: OreImo simulcast suspended

The CEO of Anime News Network apologized in the following statement on the Oreimo episode leak that occurred las week, offering a refund for those who paid for the episode:

"On October 9th the second episode of Oreimo was downloaded from Anime News Network's contracted content delivery network when security measures believed to be in place on our video server failed and were unlawfully circumvented. Anime News Network assumes all responsibility for these failures and emphatically confirms that Aniplex and its partners in Japan were in no way responsible for this occurrence.


Anime News Network would like to apologize to all of the fans of Oreimo in North America and Japan for the disappointment caused by this unfortunate situation.


As of this time all simulcasting on Anime News Network Oreimo and togainu no chi ~Bloody Curs~ will be suspended indefinitely while we continue to investigate this breach and correct the security lapses that allowed it to occur. At this time it remains unclear if, or when the simulcasts will resume. Anime News Network will issue a full refund to all our members that purchased a premium streaming account for Oreimo or togainu no chi ~Bloody Curs~."

This also means that both Oreimo and Bloody Curs' simulcast have been suspended indefinitely :-(

There's not word yet over if ANN will simulcast series in the future due to this incident.

Bandai acquired the distribution rights of Mobile Suit Gundam 00

This is great news for mecha fans!

Bandai acquired the distribution of the Mobile Suit Gundam: Awakening of the Trailblazer motion picture and it plans to re-release the original 1979 Mobile Suit Gundam television series in a bilingual edition; and plans for a domestic DVD release of the Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn OVA series.

This means that the movie will finally be released in America and the series will be in its original Japanese with English subtitles for the first time.

This is an original anime written and developed by Yoshiyuki Tomino in 1979, based on the Starship Troopers books. Given that its story differed too much from other more successful super robots series it had little aceptation between Japanese audiences and had to be canceled. However, it stayed as a cult classic that has had its reinvindication on this decade.

R-15 will have an anime adaptation!

Japanese publisher Kadokawa Shoten announced that this series by Hiroyuki Fushimi and illustrator Takuya Fujima will get the anime adaptation treatment.

It is the story of an exceptional student who attends an elite school for geniuses and secretly works as a professional erotica novelist in her free time.

There's not much information on this novel, but it started being published last year and it's around five volumes. It has met considerable success for its niche.

This week's featured AMV! (14)

The featured video of this week is a tribute to Camus of Aquarius, the cold and mysterious Gold no Saint from Saint Seiya.

Not to mention that he's probably the most hand drawn beautiful guy ever!!! Shingo Araki's art puts all bishonens to shame!



Video done by Amarichanek of Youtube. The song is 24 by Jem.

New Supernatural anime promo trailer! DVD will ship on February 23, 2011!

This is looking better and better and more exciting, as Warner Bros. Japanese site has just posted a new 131 second trailer with more scenes and previews of the anime version of this TV Show.



The anime is being produced by MADHOUSE, the studio behind series like Death Note and Vampire Hunter D, and it follows the adventures of the Winchester brothers, recreating key episodes and deleted scenes from previous seasons.

The definitive date of shipping of the DVD and Blu-Ray in Japan will be on February 23, 2011, given that it was delayed a month. Two more boxes will ship on March 9 and April 6.

This is how the boxset will look :-)









What are these 'neet', 'otaku', 'hikikomori' terms all about? (1)

The very rich popular Japanese culture has a lot to offer that it is quite a world in itself. Just like with the 'fanboy' or 'fangirl' culture going on worldwide, with generations of people that are obsessed with comics, Japan is not the exception with the thousands and thousands of self-appointed 'otakus' in every country.

While we know that 'otaku' is not precisely a good term to define yourself ('otaku' actually means someone who glorifies being at home and not going out anywhere, which is a despective term in Japan), other terms have surfaced to define alternative 'sub-cultures'.

What these 'sub-cultures' or 'urban tribes', have all in common is that they all reject the so-called 'normal' way of doing things.

In this world, we are expected to graduate high-school, get the best grades enough to go to a top college, graduate with some experience so you can find a job, escalate the corporate ladder, get married, have kids, have a lot of money at the end to buy Real Estate, etc.

With the current financial crisis and the constant increasing and asfixiating competitiveness in employment spots have made all these ideals almost unachievable, except for a 'cream of the crop' who actually manage to do it.

But what about the rest? What about those who feel they aren't good enough for this money-hungry-obsessed-my-dick-is-bigger-than-yours world?

Thus, aside from otakus, we have neets, fujoshis, hikikomoris, and the sort. This phenomena is not exclusive to Japan, but the use of these terms have spread worldwide.

For example, NEET was originally a term used in the UK by the government to denominate those who are "Not in Education, Employment or Training". Of course, this means people between 16 and 34 years of age who don't study, and don't work, they are maintained by welfare or live off their parents, while they dedicate to 'unproductive' activities, such as surfing on the web all day, playing videogames, reading comics, watching TV, anime, etc, and it is casually linked to the 'hikikomori' phenomena.


New Yozakura Quartet OAD in the works! a second one!

Kodansha announced yesterday that a second OAD of this series by Suzuhito Yasuda is currently in production and it will be released on April 8, 2011, along with the special limited edition of the 10th volume of the manga.

Meanwhile, the first OAD just shipped today with the ninth volume of the manga!

The story revolves around four teenagers; Akina, Hime, Ao, and Kotoha; each of them having their own unique abilities.

They run an office called Hiizumi Life Counseling Office, where their job is to help and protect the townspeople of Sakurashin, a town where humans and youkai co-exist with one another.

The town is protected by a barrier created by the spiritual sakura known as The Seven Pillars. The Seven Pillars exist in both the human world and the youkai world and is the only thing that keeps both worlds connected to each other.

However, recent bizarre incidents have occurred in their town and someone has threatened the safety of their town. It is up to the four of them to protect the town they love.

This manga started being published by Kodansha in 2006, and with its fair share of success the anime premiered on TBS on 2008.

(source: Anime News Network, Wikipedia)

How to make some extra cash with Neobux

I know this doesn't pertain to the main subject of my blog, but I felt the need to explain what that 'Neobux' banner that you see over the categories menu was all about.

I was skeptical too and now that I'm reporting an income good enough to pay some bills, I made a special page to share my technique. You can either click on the link here in this post or in the permanent link just above the Neobux banner.

New Koe de Oshigoto! stream trailer!

The official site of this series by Konno Azure posted yesterday a new 92- second promotional trailer for its upcoming OVA that can be seen here.

It is the story of Aoyagi Kanna, a 16 year-old girl who was asked to become a seiyuu (voice actress) for eroge (adult videogames) by her 28 year-old sister at her adult entertainment company. She refused at first but she finally decided to do it given all the things her sister did for her. Thus the trouble ensues in hiding it from her teachers and friends O_o.

The manga started being published in 2008 in Comic Gum magazine by Wani Books and this anime adaptation will premiere on November 2010.






Update: there are actually two promos.



New Kuragehime teaser online!

The official site of this outstanding series by Akiko Higashimura has added a new teaser trailer, that can be seen here (opens in a new window).

The anime will premiere on October 14 on Fuji TV's 'Noitamina' block.

It is the story of an otaku, jellyfish-obsessed college girl called Tsukimi who lives in a shared women-only apartment full of otakus, neets and fujoshis. After she invites a stylish lady friend to become her short-term roommate because she saw her saving a jellyfish from dying, she discovers that the stylish “lady” isn’t a lady at all.

In fact, this stylish and pretty gal is a cross dressing man who is a runaway from the inheritance of his father's occupation.

The manga is published by Kodansha in Kiss magazine since november 2008 and has received the Kodansha Shojo Award for best shojo manga and was nominated this year for Manga Taisho award. It has sold over a million copies already.

It has quite wonderful and unique art, hasn't it?

Below is the teaser trailer in youtube version :)

The Anime News Network will simulcast OreImo!

The Anime News Network (ANN) has joined forces with Aniplex to simulcast its first series, and it will be none other than OreImo!

OreImo is known by the large name of Ore no Imouto ga Konnani Kawaii Wake ga Nai, meaning Your Little Sister isn't that Cute, and it's a TV comedy on the life of a closet female otaku and her annoying big brother who chases her to expose her for what she truly is!

The anime just premiered on Tokyo MX TV last Sunday.

Notice that Anime News Network (ANN) is not the same as the The Anime Network, which is streaming Hyakka Ryoran Samurai Girls.

New Berserk anime teasers!

The official site of this series by Kentarou Miura has posted five new teasers. It hasn't exactly been revealed if the return of this anime will be in the form of a TV series, movie or OVAS yet.

The teaser trailers can be seen here:
here (opens in a new window)

You can also see them here in this very page:

Teaser 1:



Teaser 2:



Teaser 3:


Teaser 4:


Teaser 5:

Thus the new anime season begins!

We have new exciting series as well as the return of classic ones.

The significant change we're seeing this year is the emergence of Crunchyroll as an alternative to free fansubs, which means that studios are aware of the anonymous gigantic audience worldwide that demand to see their work.

These will be the series streamed for the remaining of this year:

Crunchyroll Fall Streams:

Letter Bee 2,
The World God Only Knows (Kami Nomi zo shiru sekai)
Squid Girl
Sora No Otoshimono Forte
Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt
Fortune Arterial
Super Robot Wars OG
Otome Yokai Zakuro

Funimation will stream: Toaru Majutsu no Index II

Whereas The Anime Network will stream Hyakka Ryoran Samurai Girls

This week's featured AMV! (13)

With all of the 80's old school anime nostalgia going on and the upcoming new Berserk anime, the AMV of this week is a tribute to Griffith and Guts to the song 'What hurts the most' by Rascal Flatts.



Video done by Ririon of Youtube :-)

Impossible is nothing

Impossible is nothing

Curiosities special: Japanese supermodel confesses that she's a man

This piece of news is quite old, but given that it only came in Spanish for some reason, I decided to wait a bit, do some further research and it turns out that it's true. And then you wonder how Japanese mangakas get their  *Ranma 1/2* and *To-love-ru trouble* inspiration for stories from O_O

Her name is Kayo Satoh, she's 22 years old and you may probably have never heard of her, but in Japan she is the IT girl everywhere. She is the host of a videogame news TV show and a local top model. Her 'Lolita' and constant 'cosplay' image, due to her sweet and innocent traits make her the fantasy of Japanese men.

Haku from Naruto, anyone?? ^_^

The persistent rumors on social media about the truth on her gender identity forced her to admit that she is actually a man in a Japanese TV interview show.

Given the people's fascination with her 'idol' figure, the hosts of the show ignored what she was saying until she proceeded to explain that she comes from a rural town, that she had to change her name and that she didn't go through any surgical intervention at all to achieve her image, but purely make up and natural beauty.

The truth started to slowly sink in in the baffled audience and thus a national scandal was born, along with the debate over if transexuals should go through surgical intervention to achieve the gender they truly want of feel they are.



It's a shame since she's really pretty and the truth on her gender shouldn't interfere with her job. But we know how these things go...

Bakuman anime premieres today! Teaser promo streamed!

Better late than never, the official site of the anime adaptation of the series, by authors Takeshi Obata and Tsugumi Ohba of Death Note fame, has streamed a new short trailer that can be seen here. (opens in a new window)

The story, with that always great combination of intrigue and comedy, revolves around two high school boys who decide to become mangakas and work to enter the comic and animation industry in Japan.

This is the opening of the series, with the song Blue Bird by Kobukuro:



LOL it's nothing like you expected, huh?

Naruto Shippuden anime October schedule

We get a nice mix of pre-timeskip filler material along with the debacle over who could be the next Hokage!

October 7 -  episode 180    "Inari, Tested Courage"

October 14- episode 181   "Naruto, Revenge Lessons"

October 21- episode 182   "Kazekage Gaara Begins"

October 28 - episode 183  "Outbreak"


There will be a new opening on October 7th, "Touches the Walls" by NICO, and the ending is "U can do it!" by DOMINO.


(Source: 2chan and NarutoFan forums)