For those who may be curious, I sent out email to everyone I had addresses for who signed the Urusei Yatsura petition yesterday. Since many aren't frequent visitors, they may not have known the series is coming to DVD. One of the most common replies I got from those who did know but aren't purchasing it is the fact that it's available for US/Canada only. I'm still surprised that there isn't a group out there that will accept shipping for the set and then send it off to the out of area people. But, that accounted for about 50 people right there. Only two mentioned the price as being the reason, and several others informed me that they signed up as soon as it became known.

NEWS: 02/26/99

A couple online stores are showing the Heroic Legend of Arslan as being in stock. Check out Ken Cranes or Digital Eyes. I've also been told that several Electronics Boutique stores have gotten them in stock as well.

Animeigo has posted some new numbers. UY TV DVD 1 - 40 is at 377 sets, UY TV DVD 41 - 80 is at 358 and the UY Movie/OVAs DVD are at 392 sets. Still incredibly far below what people had signed onto the petitions though. The survey they have going for the other shows that people are interested in are going fairly well. Your Under Arrest TV looks like a sure bet, and we're about 200 short of guaranteeing a DVD set for that. The others are understandably lower, as they're titles a lot of DVD fans probably haven't heard of or are willing to take a chance on. I still hope that some of the others make it eventually though.

Heroic Legend of Arslan shipping early? Ken Cranes has it listed as coming out on 3/2. Be warned though, as previously mentioned, CPM's warehouse people sometimes send out a small number of discs/tapes early by accident, so while they may have a couple of couples (as Animania did a week or two ago), it may not be the full release. I'll keep everyone updated on this.

Roman Martel heads back to the interview table with everyone's favorite anime girl, Divi-chan. Check out the latest and very revealing story that he brought back from it!

In a follow-up to an article posted earlier in the week, James Dawsey presents his wish list. Definitely worth reading!

NEWS: 02/25/99

*Exclusive* - I just got some first hand information on some upcoming ADV Film DVD's that are now in their final stages of production. Slayers The Motion Picture DVD and The Legend of Crystania - The Movie DVD. No dates are given, as they're still being worked on, but I should have those sometime in the near future. Both are sub/dub and should include some spiff extras and weblinks. Many thanks to ADV for sending me this news!

Steve Brandon has sent in his alternate angle of the 2nd Tenchi in Tokyo DVD. Check it out!

Many thanks to veteran site visitor Rodrick Su who provided this excellent primer for the Slayers family of shows. I've also sent off a request to CPM to see if the status of the Slayers TV series has changed at all, with news of the ADV announcement.

Preliminary information has been put up for the Slayers Motion Picture DVD and the Legend of Crystania Movie.

NEWS: 02/23/99

Sex sells? Apparently so! I got word from the fine folks over at Animenation that they've blown through their copies of all the new Anime 18 titles, and have ordered several hundred more of each volume to satisfy demand. Someone out there must be smiling....

James T. Dawsey, our Divi-Chan artist, sends in his first column today entitled, "A Minority Among A Minority Among...".

NEWS: 02/21/99

Contrary packaging? I've been hearing from a couple of people that the Venus 5 DVD is dub-only, though the package indicates both. I'll be researching this as soon as my copy arrives...

Okay guys, somewhat big petition news here. I was talking with CPM today about their stance with sub-only DVD's, since they're looking to do the Urotsukidoji Perfect Collection OVA's as subtitled only. While no decision has been made about other titles, I've been asked to set up "petitions of interest" here for the majority of their sub-only shows. This will allow them to gauge the interest in subtitled only discs, though one should expect a slightly higher price for these discs, due to the significantly less numbers that would be sold, and probably less floor space at places like Suncoast. So, the titles are now listed in the petition area, and are all grouped together under the "Sub-Only" section.

Just to follow up, since there seems to be some issue with what's directly above this, the titles we're petitioning are titles that WILL NOT be having dubs made for them for various reasons, be it cost or that they're either too old to be dubbed for today's market, or they simply can't be done well enough. The petitions for these sub-only titles are intended so those who want these shows aren't denied. It's nothing against dubs.

NEWS: 02/20/99

For those of you piqued by the recent news of Urotsukidoji coming to DVD sometime this year, I got some firm information from CPM about it today. Apparently they've decided to do those titles in-house instead of Nutech, but no firm dates have been set. I'll hazard 3rd quarter myself. Also, it seems very likely that there will be two releases. One set of releases will be the Overfiend movies, which were dubbed (I'm unsure if they were subbed, if they were, expect that on it as well) while the Perfect Collection OVA's, which contained much more footage, will be released as a sub-only release. The Perfect Collection is just that, perfect. Still one of the jewels in my fast-dwindling laserdisc collection.

NEWS: 02/19/99

The fine folks over at Animenation has let me know that they have the four Anime 18 titles in now. If you're still looking for them, head on over and check 'em out, and check out the even better deal of getting all the La Blue Girl set.

With no new anime discs generally considered available next week, I'll toss of a recommendation for you film fans. If you haven't seen it before, take a chance and get the Last Emperor: Directors Cut. Clocking in at almost 3.5 hours, this is a film like Grave of the Fireflies that people should just have in their collection.

NEWS: 02/18/99

Roman Martel has provided us with his alternate angle review of the Venus Wars DVD today. Check it out!

I finally received some contact from Image Entertainment today, and got a bit of the lowdown with three remaining anime titles that they have. First up, as mentioned on the Digital Bits recently, Project A-Ko is still in product. Voltage Fighter Gowcaizer is as well, and there are no legal/license issues with either title. Just the usual we've heard of production issues. However, the third title, Space Adventure Cobra was one that was left over from the Streamline group that they had, is officially cancelled. No reason given, but I'll hazard the guess that the rights are with Urban Vision now since they own the VHS rights after snagging it from Streamline.

NEWS: 02/17/99

The folks over at Animania emailed me and let me know that they now have all 3 La Blue Girl discs, Venus 5 AND the Heroic Legend of Arslan.

Mike Whybark sent this press release to me this afternoon regarding a manufacturing error on the 3rd disc of the new keepcase version of Bubblegum Crisis. This is an amazingly fast response time for just about any company.

Animeigo posted the first numbers for the Urusei Yatsura sets. Looks like they're all neck in neck in the halfway point. I'm getting excited! Darling!

All right, bit of disc sightings today. DVD Empire (in their adult section) has the first three La Blue Girl DVD's in stock. I also called and confirmed with Nutech Entertainment, the company behind the discs, and they have those three discs and the Venus 5 disc as well. Looks like a bit longer of a wait for Twin Angels. John O'Donnell of CPM mentioned to me this morning that the dates listed for the non-adult stuff isn't accurate, and we should see them in about 30 days or so.

Urotsukidoji to come to DVD? One poster in the anime newsgroup mentioned that on the flyer he received from Nutech Entertainment, the sub licensee of La Blue Girl and other CPM anime, was listed as an upcoming release on a 2 disc set. While I won't part with my Perfect LD collection from a few years back, this'll be a great addition to the DVD library!

For those who follow the forum, you'll note that a Multimedia 2000 representative posted last night that the keepcases people ordered are indeed shipping now, so you should have them sometime soon.

I received a follow-up from Pioneer regarding a portion of my review of Tenchi in Tokyo Vol. 2. Apparently the shimmer at the end of the opening credits is on the source master, something that the original creators were possibly using to show a nervous character, though that part's just speculation. Pretty much what I figured, but nice to know it's not poor encoding on Pioneers part. Now, if we can get something on the volume numbering.....

I didn't make proper mention of it the other day, but the article reprinted here by Oliver Chin should merit some reading if you're interested in some of the views of a Viz employee. His position? Director of Sales and Marketing, Viz Communications.

NEWS: 02/16/99

Pioneer has announced the second volume to Battle Athletes: Victory TV series for 05/04/1999.

My review for Tenchi in Tokyo: A New Start is now up for your viewing. Direct all comments to the forum.

Looks like the ADSC is updating again, and has some interesting news from the Katsucon 5 convention this past week. Check it out to see what we might be seeing from Viz this year...

Speaking of seeing things, I've added the preliminary information for the Urusei Yatsura TV DVD Box Set 1, 2 and the Movies & OVA's. Information is subject to change of course, and Robert from Animeigo mentioned that they are updating the page with FAQ stuff on an almost daily basis, so be sure to check it out on their site as well.

NEWS: 02/15/99

Be sure to check out the three new polls added to the main polling page!

Hopefully we'll be hearing more information as people return from Katsucon 5, but the first report I received from regular visitor Eirias indicates that Viz is looking to do a lot of their back catalog, and Key was one of the mentioned titles, in that it would be put out on less than the 8 volumes it took for VHS. Could that be another petition to come down sometime soon? Let's hope so!

NEWS: 02/14/99

Reprinted with permission from the author, Oliver Chin talks in Comics Retailer about anime & DVD in this article.

Continuing his busy streak, Pete's sent us a review for the region 2 disc of Midnight Panther Vol. 1. Check it out!

NEWS: 02/13/99

My reviews for Battle Athletes Vol. 3: Go! and M.D. Geist are now up and available for your reading.

Also rounding out our reviews today, our on the rebound from illness region 2 reviewer, Pete Plank, sent a new review for the 3rd volume of Virus Buster Serge (picked up domestically by Manga) and an updated review of Blue Submarine #6 Vol. 1 (released on VHS by Anime Village).

NEWS: 02/12/99

Looks like Tenchi in Tokyo Vol. 2 is the only new release for next week. No sign of the DVD Ltd. discs anywhere, though I've been told that they're out there and ready. Something's holding them up in shipment somewhere.

Animeigo has added Yawara! (124 episodes) to their list of titles that they're looking to find an interest level in to bring over. Click here if you're interested in signing up or learning more.

NEWS: 02/11/99

Okay folks, the time has come. Animeigo has posted their new information for the Urusei Yatsura TV, OVA and Movie DVD releases. This is, to me and those who've seen it on the forum so far, extremely impressive. I seriously tip my hat to Mr. Woodhead and hope that we get the orders indicated. As he said, it should be easy unless we're all liars. And with over 1100 signatures on the Urusei Yatsura petition here, we can bring the cost down to 44 bucks a release. With this announcement, the first petition is now able to come down.

Wondering where my January editorial might have gone? Wonder no longer. Due to my complaining to the people at DVD Express about their lack of anime coverage, they asked me to write an article for their new DVD.com site. You can check it out here.

New release news, sort of. Dominion Tank Police from CPM now has a firm date of 4/6/99, same day as the previously mentioned Wrath of the Ninja: The Yotoden Movie DVD will be out. It's worth noting, as Kevin Cook pointed out in the forum as well, that this disc does contain all four episodes (40 minutes each) and represents the entire original OVA series. The Vol. 1 & 2 numbering is from the dub packaging release.

I spoke with Mr. O'Donnell from CPM today about the Anime 18 titles and the other DVD Ltd. releases. These titles should be showing up now at various places, and hopefully through normal DVD retailers next week. There's some behind the scenes issues that weren't given out directly to me regarding distribution, but it looks like CPM will be eventually distributing the DVD Ltd. titles. Also worth noting, the Anime 18 discs were pressed overseas in Taiwan. Mr. O'Donnell mentioned that they got their review copies of all 3 La Blue Girl DVD's and Venus 5 earlier this week, so they are out there. If you see them listed as actually in stock somewhere, share it on the forum!

I want to take a quick moment to thank those people for helping to temper flaring emotions on the forum about the Tenchi box set. Incidents as occurred yesterday go a long way towards pushing more companies to listen less for fan input and just go directly for mass market end results, so remember that the old axiom of you get more with honey than C-Ko's cooking.

NEWS: 02/10/99

Have some of the Anime 18 titles shipped? Animania has two of them listed, and sent me these scans at my request today. Looks like they're starting to show up!

For those of you following the forum today, you may have noticed an important thread about Pioneer's upcoming Tenchi THX box set. Though I could have sworn that early press releases indicated that the specials would be included, apparently this only means the #7 OVA/Special. The Mihoshi Special is not included in this box set. Now, before you get your DVD's in a bind, the folks at Pioneer were quick to point out that the box set is identical to the one released in Japan in this respect; the Mihoshi Special was not submitted for THX remastering, so they didn't include it in the box set. While no details are available, it sounds like we will see the special at some later date.

Also, in its very very very earliest stages, the Anime on DVD FAQ is starting up. Send your suggestions to the email address contained within there!

NEWS: 02/09/99

Pioneer has officially announced Tenchi in Tokyo Vol. 3 for a street date of 4/20/1999.

My review for the Fatal Fury: The Motion Picture DVD is now up and available for your reading pleasure.

Once again, ADV Films web page has snuck in a DVD related poll at the bottom of the interviews page (thanks to Sean Kemp for pointing this one out). You can check it out here. The only problem with the poll is that it doesn't account for sick people like myself who get upwards of 20-30 discs a month....

Don't forget to check late last nights news from Animeigo and go check their site out!

NEWS: 02/08/99

Animeigo has a new survey up on their page. They're doing sign-ups to do some new TV series, in the same style as the Kimagure Orange Road sign-up that had gone on for awhile. So, if you're interested in the You're Under Arrest TV series, Yuu Yuu Hakusho or Magical Stage Fancy Lala, check out this page and read all the details. If everyone who signed the petition for the You're Under Arrest OVA, we'll have that title locked in no time. Our petition is up to 770!

Want to help us out? I need to hear what kind of possible browser incompatibilities or general comments on what the Anime on DVD website may eventually look like. We're doing some testing and want to make it as compatible as possible, so hop over here and check it out. Only the main page works properly, FYI!

I've added information for Macross Plus and Barefoot Gen. I've also talked with Multimedia 2000 about the keepcases. They'll be updating their site with the new information tonight, but if you've already put in for them, expect them to be shipped this week.

NEWS: 02/06/99

Justin Sevakis sent me this very interesting link this morning. He conducted an interview with Bandai's Sales and Marketing manager for his always excellent Anime News Network site. Be sure to check out this portion of the interview regarding their thoughts on DVD....

NEWS: 02/05/99

So, 50% of the discs made it out (so far). Battle Athletes #3, Fatal Fury and MD Geist should all be available next week. No word on Cyber City, Odin or Tokyo Babylon yet.

I was in touch with a rep from Urban Vision today to see how their plans for 1999 are going. No specific titles or dates were mentioned as they're having a bit of a delay in finalizing plans, but this much was passed onto me; Starting in or after May, they expect to have a minimum of twelve new titles through the rest of 1999. And all new titles will have DVD rights included. In fact, they are only licensing titles that include DVD rights. There is also one title that's been completed in Japan that they are acquiring but will be a DVD ONLY release. That's right, NO VHS. Also, it looks as if there will be plenty of extras on many of the releases as the dubbing studio they use have held onto many out-takes and other things. DVD is apparently a big buzz over there, and we should see some great things this year.

Through my feverish haze (which seems to have afflicted many a webmaster lately), here is our first installment of Profiles in Anime. Many thanks to Jeremy for taking the time out for this!

The Anime DVD February Resource Newsletter has been sent out to those on the list. An MS-WORD version is available here.

NEWS: 02/03/99

Plumbing deep into the Orion catalog, Image is again attempting some more anime. Tonight's announcements included Barefoot Gen, a region 0 subtitled release. Curiously, there IS a dub of this copy (I could not find a sub release listed on a couple of anime retail sites), but the DVD is being offered subtitled only. Definitely a title worth keeping an eye out for when it streets in April.

Manga has officially announced Macross Plus Vol. 1 (containing episodes 1 and 2 for a running time of 90 minutes) for May 25th. That should be a relaxing watch, though I'll probably be pretty distracted with the Phantom Menace....

And we thought January was a lull month! Things have been pretty quiet overall the past few days. Some small behind the scenes things are going on, which should help flesh things out nicely. I've completed the first Profile in Anime and am just waiting on approval before putting it up. I'm also got something in the works with one of the logo artists for something fun, so we might be having a new feature in the near future.

For those who read the forum, you'll note a few comments today regarding ADV possibly making a few announcements in the near future. Nothing with hard definites (after all, how many people believe the street dates anymore?) but something more along the lines of "Here's what we're going to be working on, sometime in quarter X 1999". From the buzz, it sounds like ADV has seriously caught the DVD bug and my "gaze into the future" shows that we should have an incredible holiday season this year.

Just about everybody is confirming the three rogue titles from CPM via DVD Inc. next Tuesday. If you noticed in the calendar, there are SIX titles due out then (which will surely get people going) which is the biggest single anime DVD release day so far. I'll be reviewing them as soon as I get them!

And for those of you who've been thinking of a getting a modded player, but cringe at some of the prices out there, check out DVD City who has a Pioneer 606D modded for only 599$ US plus shipping. Oh, the temptation!

NEWS: 02/01/99

For those who've ordered the keepcases for BGC from M2K, they should be shipping by the end of the week. Looks like a few issues have cropped up with the post-move area and things are taking a bit longer to settle down than originally planned. There should be updates to their site within a week or two.

DVD Express is now listing the individual releases of Bubblegum Crisis with keepcases for 17.49 after discount. If you passed on getting them because of the software box, now's your time to check it out! Unfortunately, they don't (yet) have the images of the cases, but you can check them out from the review here, with the pictures supplied from M2K.

Starting sometime soon (this week maybe) will be a series called Profiles in Anime. First up will be a couple of great guys over at Pioneer who have graciously accepted my invitation to do some short Q&A, talk about themselves, and about anime and DVD of course. This is open to all companies, not just DVD producing ones, so if you're interested, be sure to email me. Otherwise I'll be emailing you about it soon!

With February comes a slight format change. In an effort to streamline things a bit more, we've updated the pages, most are smaller than before, so you should see some improved load time. If all you're seeing right now is the main news page with no links on the side, please re-bookmark THIS PAGE as your entry page.

Congratulations to Andy Allman for having the most votes for his logo and banner submission! Send me some mail so we can talk about your prize! And thanks to everyone else who entered, all the entries were about a thousand times better than anything I could ever do!