Wednesday, August 30th, 2000

ADV cancels more (08:17 PM EST):

Manga & Worldcon (06:55 PM EST): At the upcoming Worldcon convention, Manga will be sponsoring an anime showing and will have 50 of their films on hand for the event. Check out their press release.

ADV less sinful (05:43 PM EST): And I'm not talking about their Sin DVD release either. According to a post in our forum earlier today, an ADV Films representative gave out the official (or as official as can be) word on where their company intends to stand on the often dreaded overlays that appear in several of their titles, most noticeably in Neon Genesis Evangelion and the upcoming Nadesico release. "[...] word has come down that going forward, ADV will NOT be overlaying text in any more videos." From my understanding, I believe that the remainder of Neon Genesis Evangelion will not have overlays, but the already started (and extremely text heavy) Martian Successor Nadesico will retain their overlays. This last part is just my guess and I'm sure I'll be corrected if I'm mistaken. Regardless, this is excellent news for those who have been against this practice and shows again that ADV does indeed listen to their customers, contrary to the belief of many.

Bandai press (05:41 PM EST): The folks at Bandai have taken up the task of releasing press releases for their upcoming titles now, which helps server as a reminder for retailers as well as notification of various minor changes (such as the Outlaw Star pricing). You can see their October press release list here.

Tuesday, August 29th, 2000

ADV goes back to the 'pick (08:16 PM EST): ADV Films has cranked out yet another press release today, this time with some 'icepick' news, which basically means there's some DVD related stuff in this one. Lost Universe Vol. #3 is set for a 11/14 date. Samurai X: Betrayal / Rurouni Kenshin: Betrayal is the final two OVA's on one DVD set for an 11/14 release as well. Reboot Vol. #1 is mentioned again for the 11/14 release date and Gasaraki Vol. #2 is set for the 11/28 release date. Please note that all of these are day and date with their VHS counterparts. You may also expect plenty of discussion on the way the Kenshin OVA is named. Check out the full press release here which also contains some great bargain priced VHS reissues.

Quick note (05:00 PM EST) Today is the day that several Pioneer price reductions take official hold. You can check out which ones they are here.

Meow (03:13 PM EST) LadyCat is back again this week with a wide variety of questions and answers, as well as her showing off what she's learned in her Japanese class. A lot of people are taking Japanese language classes these days, as they're becoming more and more widespread at universities and secondary learning places around the country. Your esteemed webmaster is no exception, as my wife and I will be starting our own classes at the end of September. Sugoi!

Pressing news (02:53 PM EST) A few bits of news have come out today that may be of interest to some folks. ADV sent out a full press release on their upcoming Reboot release and also sent out one with a new date for Lucinda's Spell, which is 10/24 instead of 10/3. TRSI has also sent out their latest with their November releases, all VHS. Viz has also sent out their latest with some December release information.

Upcoming artwork (02:14 PM EST) We got in a few new pieces of cover artwork today from the good folks at ADV Films. We should have more from them as well as Bandai and one or two other studios sometime soon. In the meantime, check out the gallery for pictures of Gasaraki Vol. #1, Lost Universe Vol. #3, Reboot Vol. #1, Sakura Diaries Vol. #3, Sin and Samurai X Vol. #1.

Sunday, August 27th, 2000

Release news (06:58 PM EST) A bit more information has trickled in today regarding some upcoming releases. First, Gappa from Media Blasters has been moved to the Special Interest page as it's a live action title. It's due on 12/19 with an MSRP of 19.99. According to Right Stuf, here's the info on the rest of the titles, all of which are due on 12/19 as well: Devil Fighter Kocho (30 minutes) for 19.95, Fake (60 minutes) for 24.95 and Gestalt (60 minutes) for 24.95. Due on 11/7 from Urban Vision is their second DVD release, the much anticipated Wicked City (90 minutes) for 29.95. This is the anime version, not the live action one.

In memory of... (04:44 PM EST) I apologize for the delay in the creation of this page, but we've begun work on our memorial page for Bethany and Justin Neal. You'll be able to find it linked in our left column from today on.

Your input is requested (08:13 AM EST) As mentioned in last nights news, Media Blasters is looking for your input on what to release during their catalog conversion month in January. We've got a list of ten titles from them that are the candidates (though one or two may not make it due to varying issues), but this list should give a good glimpse of what you may see in January. Take a minute or two and make your selections. The poll will be up for about 2 weeks on the main page.

Saturday, August 26th, 2000

Bandai up north (10:09 PM EST) The folks from Bandai are currently in Canada at the CNAnime convention, and a bit of news has filtered down, courtesy of site regular "tas". Saber Marionette R is now on hold. Saber Marionette J will be the first release due in early 2001 followed by J Again and J to X. R will follow sometime after the initial series is done. Bandai also went over things we've heard (Gundam TV next, Tenamonya being DVD only experiment, etc).

Alternate reviews & region 2 (09:18 PM EST): We've got a few new reviews up today for your reading pleasure. Thomas Kinnen takes Sailor Moon Super S to task and Ivan Oro provides his latest Spanish language review, this time for Burn Up W. In our region 2 section, Ryan Carmichael takes a look at the second and final release of one of the only shows I know that actually has an Idol Dimension. Check out his review for Idol Project D-2!

Vision of an Escaflowne DVD (09:18 PM EST): Some news surfaced today on the American Anime Dubbing mailing list about the 10/3 release of Vision of Escaflowne #1 DVD. According to a post made by Richard Kekahuna, Bandai's ace DVD producer, had this to say about the first checkdisc that he got to look at this week:

"just watched the first DVD of esca, it has first 4 episodes, uncut sub/dub (original OP/EDs), and the 4 music videos (same ones that are on the Japanese LDs) with subtitles and romanji for those that have an urge to karaoke along. (Except the first one, which is a textless OP)"

Media Blasters news, round 2 (08:30 PM EST): We received a follow-up from John Sirabella of Media Blasters today regarding our speculation as to the delay for the second installment of the Rurouni Kenshin TV series on DVD. As expected, it is going through some extra checks to ensure its quality. While the retailers are being given a date of 9/12 for it, Mr. Sirabella is hoping to get it out before then.

Media Blasters news, round 1 (08:25 PM EST): We've got a spot of what I believe to be some exclusive news. Media Blasters is intending to make December a DVD month for themselves. They've got four titles they're planning on releasing; Demon Fighter Kocho, Gestalt, Fake and  Gappa. They're also intending to do something similar in January, and we'll be getting your ideas on what titles they should do with a poll early next week. It won't include Rayearth season 2 though, since that's something that's a bit more of an undertaking, so don't ask. I believe the season 2 box set is being planned for March/April timeframe next year. 

December and January this year are going to be odd months, at least in my opinion. This release strategy makes sense for both months as they are historically very slow video sales months as everyone's recovering from the holidays. December is quite possibly going to be different than usual this year though, with the release of Playstation 2 with it's DVD playback ability. Getting a few extra titles out that are aimed at that crowd will definitely help sales. But oh my aching wallet!

Friday, August 25th, 2000

Gather round (05: PM EST): You know a site is reaching some sort of "critical mass" when the membership starts planning get togethers around the country. We had a great get together at Otakon earlier this month, and a few months ago we had a smaller one up here in Boston, since so many of us demented folk live here and like it here. Well, September looks to have two get togethers in the planning stages. Check out the main forum if you're in the San Francisco area or the Boston area if you're interested in meeting your fellow readers.

Kenshin slips? (05:40 PM EST): According to today's update at Express, Kenshin has slipped to a 9/12 release date. This is unsurprising as it probably gives hope that the audio problem from the first disc and their move to a new authoring house will mean a better release.

Toei joins DVD market (05:39 PM EST): Toei Animation in Japan has recently announced that they will begin producing titles on DVD beginning this October. They are the best known and largest anime producer in Japan, with titles such as Sailormoon, Dragonball, and Digimon behind their name. Their entry into the world of DVD means a lot to the world at large. Our very late columnist, Crono, has written a full article, and contacted a source at Toei. Click here for more.

Thursday, August 24th, 2000

New next week (05:10 PM EST): Next week is light in terms of anime overall, but there's something good there indeed. Ruroni Kenshin Vol. 2 will be out from Media Blasters as the final anime release of August. Prepare now for the coming months. Speaking of the coming months, one thing to keep in mind as we all complain and hem and haw about delays that are going to be inevitable. This fall is inarguably the biggest release season for DVD to date with a ton of big name mainstream titles coming out. Replication plants, packaging folks, distributors, the whole nine yards are going to be up against the wall. Delays are inevitable. I know how we all want it all right now and so on, but this is something that you'll be hearing me say over the remainder of the year. Have patience.

Pioneer details (05:05 PM EST): We've managed to uncover a few details about those bargain priced Pioneer discs coming out in November. Hyperdolls will have non-credit openings and closings while Phantom Quest Corp will have image gallery, secret files (hidden frames of text), non-credit openings and closings. Novembers looking up with some sweet titles I'm really looking forward too. Phantom Quest Corp is one of my favorites from the original Pioneer releases in the early 90's.

Correction (05:04 PM EST): When we reviewed Genocyber last night, we inadvertantly used our old hardware in the review equipment listing as opposed to our new HDTV setup. We'll be fixing our template shortly.

Wednesday, August 23rd, 2000

Cover artwork (08:26 PM EST): The folks at CPM have put up some new DVD cover artwork. You can check out the cover to the Slayers Next box set here and the Photon cover here. Be warned, it's large! You can see the tiny one for Record of Lodoss War TV box set here.

Newly reviewed (07:08 PM EST): Do you dare to watch it? I did and I've come back with a review of the recently released Genocyber: The Collection.

Press (06:00 PM EST): ADV Films has sent out their latest press release. Though not anime related, I know it's got its share of fans here. Check out this press release for their acquisition of the sci-fi series Farscape. While it met with a yawn from me (I've never seen it), my wife was more excited than she has been for any anime title outside of Utena. One more series to go on the racks...

It's coming! (05:22 PM EST): Old school and new school can indeed co-exist. After the new school's Bubblegum Crisis 2040 Vol. #1 gets released on 9/12, AnimEigo will be releasing their new version of the old school original OVA series on 9/15. The Bubblegum Crisis Megaset will arrive for an MSRP of 69.95 containing the new corrected volumes 1-3 and the fourth volume, Hurricane Live, with all the music videos and a ton of never before seen artwork and other goodies. This disc will also be available separately for 19.95 on the same day. As of this posting, there are no details on the upgrade path that AnimEigo has mentioned that they intend to do. It should become known soon.

Tuesday, August 22nd, 2000

Updated (07:32 PM EST): Due to a ton of requests, we've updated our Anime 2K Checklist through the beginning of October. Bear in mind that this list is taken from fully announced titles that retailers are listing. Others may get added in.

Diamond new listings (06:55 PM EST): The folks at Diamond Comics have updated again, though there's little that's really a surprise in there for the November timeframe. Dual Vol. #2 is listed as well as the second Fushigi Yugi box set. Hyperdolls gets it's listing with the very nice 14.98 price point as well as my personal favorite, Phantom Quest Corp for the same price. The limited edition Lain box set containing all four DVD's (same as the previously released ones) with the lunch box and the CD single for Duvet from Boa is due during November as well, for the MSRP of 119.98. Also listed is the Wicked City SE from Urban Vision. I spoke briefly with them to see if they had any details to release and found that said release is currently being penned. Tomorrow perhaps!

AE on UY (06:09 PM EST): This showed up on the AnimEigo site today regarding Urusei Yatsura: We are receiving replacement DVDs to cover the defective discs soon, and because we're paranoid, we're sending them out to a few fans that we know have finicky DVD players to make sure there are no further problems. We expect that, if all goes well, we'll resume shipping complete sets out (and shipping replacement DVDs to those of you who already have your set) in the second week of September.

Revolutionary tidbit (06:05 PM EST): According to an email forwarded to us today, a correspondence with Central Park Media reveals that Revolutionary Girl Utena's next licensed block (episodes 14-26) are being tentatively set for an early 2001 release. No information on whether the DVD will be coming out at the same time or if there will be a subtitled VHS.

New title announcements (06:01 PM EST): We've gotten wind of a few new title announcements today coming from ADV Films. Several were already known titles, so we'll skip those and go right to the new stuff. Lost Universe Vol. #3 is set for 11/14, Gasaraki Vol. #2 is set for 11/28 and Generator Gawl Vol. #2 is set for 12/5. Also of note for some fans is Reboot Vol. #1 on 11/14 and Reboot Vol. #2 on 12/5.

Monday, August 21st, 2000

A very important petition (02:03 PM EST): Every now and then a petition comes along that's not necessarily more important than the others, but carries a different meaning to it. With the summer convention news regarding the licensing of parts of You're Under Arrest, fans are hitting the grass roots style to get ADV Films, which has the domestic license for the movie, to use the same dubbing studio that AnimEigo is using for the TV series that they announced this summer. This particular cast comes out of the Coastal Carolina studio and is considered one of the best dubs done. Even I liked their dub for the You're Under Arrest OVA's. To date, ADV Films has done all their dubbing in house at their various studios, so while odds are slim, there is a chance. With the dub market so large, continuity between the movie and the TV series is something that I think should be attempted with the voice cast. You can sign the petition here.

New title announcement (02:01 PM EST): The Right Stuf site is listing that Fox Home Video will be releasing the dub only TV series Digimon to DVD in late November after the release of the theatrical movie. The discs will contain the first 13 episodes.

More on Macross Plus (01:58 PM EST): Stewart Mauck has been doing some digging to figure out the various pressings on Macross Plus and has confirmed with Manga the way to tell which ones are the good ones and which ones are the bad ones. Click here to find out.

New title announcement (10:49 AM EST): The announcements keep rolling in with another from ADV Films. On 12/5 we can expect to see the 2nd volume of Generator Gawl arrive, day and date with the VHS. Click here to see the full press release and details.

Sunday, August 20th, 2000

August contests (03:15 PM EST): We've got two new August contests up that are worth checking out!

Looking for different? (02:59 PM EST): Tong Lin has sent in his latest region 2 review today for Kochira Kameari kouenmae hashutsujo The Movie, which he's politely described as one whacked show. For region 2 fans, this is an easier purchase as it contains English subtitles and even easier for me, it's anamorphic. I should have a review of this up myself in the next week or two. 

Alternate angle (10:55 AM EST): Roman Martel is back again today with another detailed content review. This time around he's taken his critical eye towards Viz's release of Key The Metal Idol Vol. #1.

Saturday, August 19th, 2000

Ask the 'cat (10:22 PM EST): LadyCat is back again this week with another big fun filled issue of knowledge. It's also probably the last regular one for awhile as she's starting her Japanese class next week, and we all know how school can interfere with things.

Madman responds (10:12 PM EST): Tim Anderson of Madman, the Australian company who recently released Ghost in the Shell to that market, has sent out a general email regarding the recent problems with the title that have been spreading out on the web. Click here to read it.

Funimation on the 'ball (09:05 PM EST): The folks at Express have updated their anime section a bit and there's a plethora of new Dragonball discs listed there. Dragonball Z: Androids Vol. #1 on 10/31, Dragonball Z: Androids Vol. #2 on 11/7, Dragonball Z: Androids Vol. #3 on 11/28, Dragonball Z: Androids Vol. #4 on 12/5. But wait, that's not all... Dragonball Z: Trunks Vol. #1 is due on 9/5 and Dragonball Z: Trunks Vol. #2 on 9/19. Not enough? Well, one more for those of you who just don't have enough shelf space... Dragonball: Saga of Goku is due on 10/24. This one is an English dub only however as it's released by Trimark. It's also a 2 disc set with 13 episodes. All the others are from Funimation so the uncut sub and dub versions are expected. No running times were listed.

Kenshin tidbits (08:13 PM EST): According to a post on the forum today by John Sirabella of Media Blasters, they are currently replicating a new batch of volume one of Rurouni Kenshin that should have the Japanese audio issue resolved. "[I]if we can not help you via tech support, call us and we can exchange it with one of our new batches. It has not been crazy with complaints though. As for the Kenshin #2 DVD, trust me it is being tested with many different audio configs."

Kudos to Media Blasters for letting folks know what's going on.

Friday, August 18th, 2000

Advance review (09:15 PM EST): Granted it's only a few days early, but we sat down tonight and took in the latest release from Pioneer, Sol Bianca, The Legacy Vol. #2: Separation.

Anime Friendly (09:10 PM EST): The folks over at User Friendly launched their first animated cartoon online today. While User Friendly is definitely one of my favorite strips in general, this animated one proved something I've long suspected about it. A.J. is a Sailor Moon fan. Of course, he tries to cover this up in the cartoon when his desktop shows a Sailor Moon background and he quickly gets in the way of it. Kudos to Illiad for a fine showing!

Anime genre (04:59 PM EST): The folks at AnimeNation posted some interesting information from this past weeks Video Store Magazine in relation to anime:

"A two-page article in this week`s Video Store Magazine retailer and distributor journal cites anime as a $65 million dollar-a-year growth industry, excluding the "Pokemon phenomenon." The article refers to "otaku" as one of the leading forces in the evolution of the DVD market. "Anime fans closely match the DVD demographic: They are mostly male, early adopters of new technology- and have a great deal of money to spend." According to the article, "anime fans are a vocal customer base with a great deal of influence over the decisionmakers at anime labels." The article reveals, though, that "The vocal bunch is the minority while the more casual fans take what they can get." For example, the article claims that "the ardent fans who frequent the Internet anime forums were in an uproar" over digital editing in ADV Films` releases of Evangelion on DVD, yet the disc is still ADV`s top-selling DVD title.

Mike Pascuzzi, sales director for CPM, is quoted, "You simply can`t please both [the casual fan and the "otaku"] 100 percent...[but] DVD is the best of both worlds. We`re offering a choice of dual languages, subtitles and piling on lots of added features." The article continues to cite anime fans as not only a significant factor in the virgin DVD market, but also as an influence on the manufacture and release of DVD boxed sets. Lance Schwulst, sales director for Media Blasters, claims that the rush to release a boxed set of Rayearth on DVD was due to fan demand, and in return, "these new and different types of releases `will demonstrate how profitable the genre can be.`" According to the report, though, the impact and true sales figures on anime are up for debate. "According to VideoScan, anime labels are able to track the performance of their own titles, but at the moment, there is no way to identify all titles as a genre. But VideoScan hopes to start tracking the genre in the next few months by giving anime its own identifiable category."

In effect, the American anime industry is still small enough to be considered a niche market in comparison to traditional Hollywood studio releases and sales figures, but the increasing profit experienced by anime labels and mainstream markets such as Tower Records and Virgin Megastores (two sources the article cites), coupled with the influence demanding, vocal anime fans have on the production, quality and content of VHS and DVD are moving anime ever closer toward becoming a legitimate, recognized genre within the Western home-video entertainment industry."

Kenshin hints (04:53 PM EST): Though the press release yesterday clearly labels that the upcoming release of the Rurouni Kenshin OVA #1 DVD would be called Samurai X, there's more than meets the eye, depending on how much you want to read between the lines. Various postings and other net gossip that has been forwarded to me indicates that there's something special planned for this release that would "appease everyone" and that there's a lot of excitement about it. To my knowledge, ADV hasn't done anything really special in terms of packaging in their past releases on both DVD and VHS. Pioneer has been experimenting lately with chromium insert cards and foil covers while Media Blasters had the raise artwork for their Rayearth box set and Central Park Media has done the clear keepcases to provide their inserts. With DVD giving studios a chance to "re-invent" their image, ADV could provide something with this release that they haven't done before. Anyone care to guess anything beyond reversible covers? I'm looking forward to seeing the end product.

Thursday, August 17th, 2000

New title announcement (06:22 PM EST): The folks at ADV Films are continuing their big ramp up of DVD releases with the announcement of the second title for October. On 10/10, not only will you get the first volume of Generator Gawl but you'll be seeing the first Rurouni Kenshin OVA release. The disc (which I believe is being marketed as Samurai X) will have the first two OVA's and will be bilingual. MSRP is 29.99$. Kenshin fans, let your drooling begin. You can read the full press release here.

New next week (06:13 PM EST): A couple of new things next week. Pioneer gives us a double whammy of Sol Bianca: The Legacy: Separation and Tenchi Universe Collection #2: Tenchi Muyo On Earth. Originally slated for next week was Ruroni Kenshin 2: Battle In The Moonlight but it now has a date of 8/29. 

Thank you Pioneer (06:01 PM EST): During Otakon we learned the reason behind the Tenchi Universe delay being that the subtitles were about 2 seconds off when they transferred them to the DVD. Pioneer has thankfully delayed the release to take the time to fix it. Australian fans of Ghost in the Shell however aren't so lucky...

Michael Holman of Anime Aquarium wrote in with this: Seems that they are well aware of the 2 sec lag in the subs and have no plans to recall, re master or re-release the product...

In the words of Niel at Siren Home Ent: "We are aware of the problem, but what it all comes down to is logistics. By not recalling the product, we may upset 2% of the market by leaving it as it stands,"

Australian fans are well encouraged to write to them and voice your displeasure at Siren Home Entertainment Australia.

Wednesday, August 16th, 2000

On the path (04:56 PM EST): The day has arrived and our Toshiba TW40x81 HDTV Ready set has arrived. We've gone over a few things briefly (with pictures) in our latest step on the Path to HDTV!

Site notice (04:51 PM EST): Starting late Thursday or late Friday, we'll be getting our act together here again and getting things running a bit more smoothly in the update department as well as a new contest. This week has been a series of ups and downs for me. I'm still reeling from the loss of Bethany and Justin. The comments made be people in the forum has been truly heartwarming and greatly appreciated. I just want to thank everyone for bearing with me during this difficult time.

Woodhead interviewed (10:44 AM EST): Jeff Kleist has written his latest anime column for DVD Angle with an interview with the alleged CEO of AnimEigo, Robert Woodhead. Click here for Macross goodness.

Tuesday, August 15th, 2000

Tylor on DVD (05:15 PM EST): We're doing some polling on the whole topic of getting the series Irresponsible Captain Tylor from Right Stuf on DVD. Check out this page and let us know what kind of release you'd like to see. The information will be sent to TRSI.

Region 2 update (07:39 AM EST): Over the weekend we posted a region 0 review of the Memories disc released by Anime International. It has been brought to my attention this this company is essentially a bootlegger and the discs they make are unauthorized. This review has been removed from our listings. Anime on DVD does not support bootlegging.

Monday, August 14th, 2000

Pioneer new announcements (09:44 PM EST): The folks at Pioneer Entertainment updated today with their latest release list with the first volume of Cardcaptors and two more volumes of Pokemon. You can read all the fine details here.

Pioneer goodies? (06:37 PM EST): According to today's update at Right Stuf, we should be seeing some new goodies coming via Pioneer later this year. Official authentic wallscrolls are on their way in the form of Armitage III, Dual, Ninja Scroll and Sol Bianca: The Legacy. Checking out the artwork, the Sol Bianca one is definitely on my to buy list. They also list the Serial Experiments Lain lunchbox (sans DVD's & CD single) which will retail for 17.99. All items are due on 12/1. 

Correction (06:34 PM EST): We've updated our Saturday Otakon report. During the Industry panel, I misunderstood Jeff Thompson of TRSI. I had thought he had said that His & Her Circumstances would be their final subtitled VHS release, but apparently he had said that at the conclusion of that series they'll re-examine their subtitled VHS policy. Considering that the series doesn't start until spring 2001, by it's end I believe subtitled VHS will be almost completely dead in the U.S. anyway, so it's still very likely.

Some Kenshin tidbits (06:17 PM EST): We received some information today from Meredith Mulroney, Chief Designer for Media Blasters. While nothing was said about any kind of return/exchange for those experiencing problems with the Kenshin Japanese audio track, the fix that people should be able to do is to adjust the audio on their setup. This has been discussed extensively on the forums, so take a peek there.

This problem's cause has been determined though, in that the authoring house believed they could do nothing about it. It apparently originated on the original Japanese Digibeta that was sent to Media Blasters. From what I understand, this authoring house is now history. The new authoring house (not named to me) will hopefully have better luck and more experience in providing some of the basics, such as time codes and whatnot. 

Meredith also talks about the inserts, "Up until now we haven't had inserts because of the production schedule. Usually we are working under the gun. I did most of our DVD's while I was still in school, which put further time constraints on production. Its not a matter of being "lazy" or "ignoring" this matter (sorry I put my education first). Now that my full attention is to my design work, YES there will be inserts... I'm sorry it took so long but hey I'm not perfect. So Kenshin disk 2 will be the first to have an insert (Or Shinesman which ever you get first), and from now on ALL of our titles will have them. One side has the chapter marks and the other has a list of our other DVD titles."

On menus, "The authoring house originally did our menus (Rayearth is their fault, not mine). This has changed. Currently I am doing the menus. Now since I don't have Adobe After Effects I cant do animated menus. So simple and fast loading is what you'll have to deal with for the moment."

And in the future? "Doing DVD's is a trial by fire situation, give us a little time and you will get results. The group of us working on Kenshin care about it a great deal and we want to give it the attention and respect that the show deserves. We will continue to strive for superior results but forgive us our short comings, we are human."

Knowing that the authoring house that they've been using is no longer going to be used should hopefully ease some fears, and having had some Media Blasters folks reading and posting on the forums after the first Kenshin came out, they've likely gotten more ideas on how fans are looking for their discs to look. I'm looking forward to the results.

Jubei-chan updated (06:03 PM EST): One thing we forgot to add to the Jubei-Chan review was in regards to the subtitles. We've added this bit to it:

One very nice thing that Bandai did with this release is include a second subtitle track that is automatically played when you select the English language track. What's included in it is are the subtitled bits that are important to know, such as the name of the show and other incidental things. One of the main reasons for it though with this release is for the ever-changing shirt on Bantaro, so dub watchers can understand what his shirt means. Kudos for taking advantage of DVD.

Newly reviewed (05:22 PM EST): Catching our breath from a fun filled weekend of spending money on the new HDTV (due in on Wednesday!), we sat down and took in the first volume of Jubei-Chan, the Ninja Girl: Secret of the Lovely Eye-Patch.

Press (03:54 PM EST): The folks at DTS have sent out their latest newsletter, which has some interesting bits in it. Being the DTS proponent that I am, you can find it here.

Digital Omake (02:17 PM EST): Those wily folks at Bandai are at it again and have snuck in some omake on their latest release, Jubei-Chan Vol. #1!

Rank it! (01:51 PM EST): The folks over at Anime Colony on the SciFi website have pulled off a bit of a coup, and one that is good to see available to anime fandom. They now have the top anime videos and their national rankings. The information is supplied by Suncoast but is not limited to Suncoast stores. It does indeed include online retailers such as Express and Amazon. The differences between the VHS and DVD lists are quite stark! Check it out, and in the future, you can find it in our top ten of 2000 listing!

Sunday, August 13th, 2000

Reviews (02:03 PM EST): We've got a bunch of new reviews today for both regions. Nathan Roberts sends in his first review on Tenchi Universe Vol. #1, Andrew Fors takes a look at Jubei-Chan: The Ninja Girl Vol. #1, Joe McCulloch examines the region 0 release of Memories, and Andrew Fors takes a look at the region 2 release of Pocket Monsters: Mewtwo Strikes Back.

The Path (12:59 PM EST): Another bold step was taken yesterday evening... and you can read all about it in Step 4 of our Path to HDTV!

Petitions (12:57 PM EST): While a lot of focus in the past week has been on the massive drive to get the Irresponsible Captain Tylor show on DVD, a new petition has gone up to get a fun fan favorite show licensed here in the US to get the shiny treatment. Check out the petitions page for the HyperPolice petition and help bring more catgirls to the Western shores!

Digest reviews (11:50 AM EST): Cleaning out a bit more of the reviews, we have two digest ones up for Pokemon Vol. #13 and Pokemon Vol. #14.

Saturday, August 12th, 2000

Newly reviewed (10:14 PM EST): We're starting to wade through the backlog of discs we've seen and are settling into a few reviews. We've now got Urusei Yatsura TV Vol. #2, TV Vol. #3 and TV Vol. #4 up and available.

Press (08:46 PM EST): The folks at Viz have sent out their latest missive, which you can read here.

Friday, August 11th, 2000

Bebop rules (06:18 PM EST): The top 15 over at Express.com was updated again, and anime has once again made headway. Cowboy Bebop #4 is now ranked at #2 while Blue Submarine No. 6 #3 is at #15. Congrats again to Bandai! Is it any wonder they're getting so serious about DVD?

Region 2 goodies (06:18 PM EST): The latest series of announcements came in via CD Japan today for region 2 releases. A couple of noteworthy ones in there, including the Southern Cross box set and a box set of Ah! My Goddess for with the first disc of three for 50$ US. Also of note is that there is only one laserdisc announcement this time out. As with most reports I'm hearing lately, LD is definitely getting its swan song in Japan as well.

Petitions (06:18 PM EST): Newly added to the petition section is a new one for the Irresponsible Captain Tylor. Definitely check it out as this show needs to be released.

Thursday, August 10th, 2000

New next week (05:24 PM EST): Next week is a bit light, much like August in general, but there's a few things people might be interested in. Central Park Media is releasing the 180 minute compilation of Genocyber: The Collection while Pioneer unveils Sailor Moon Super S The Movie: Black Dream Hole. Central Park Media is also releasing a few non-anime titles next week in the form of Silk Road DVD Collection (3-Pack), Weather Woman and Weather Woman DVD Collection (2 Pack). 

Press (05:19 PM EST): A bit of good news for the Canadian readers here. Check out this press release from Manga on their new deal for distribution in Canada.

Wednesday, August 9th, 2000

Advance review (08:22 PM EST): Though it's only a few days early, there's always a thrill of getting something even a bit early. So we've put down our Urusei Yatsura box set for tonight and settled into watching the Sailor Moon Super S Movie: Black Dream Hole!

Top ten (05:44 PM EST): We've updated our top ten for August today as well as revamping the page itself a bit now. It shouldn't come as any surprise which company is dominating the top half of the chart though.

Outlawed information (05:42 PM EST): The folks at Right Stuf updated their news page today, correctly listing the 10/3 release date for the first appearance of Outlaw Star on DVD. What was incorrect however is that it's 29.95$ and contains episodes 1-5. I contacted Bandai just to make sure, and it is still firmly planned as a double disc collection of episodes 1-9 for 44.95. 

Latest on UY (05:42 PM EST): Robert Woodhead of AnimEigo has sent out this information to UY DVD purchasers today:

Dear UY DVD purchaser,

A couple of weeks ago we emailed you to update you on the status of the UY DVD release, and let you know of the manufacturing problems we had. I'm writing today to give you an update.

After the discovery of the original defects, our replicator repressed and repackaged all the remaining box sets, as well as produced extra DVDs for us to use as replacements for those of you who had already received your sets.

These discs arrived late last week.

To our dismay, while the "bubble" defects were gone, all of the remanufactured UY DVD 2 discs had faint "coffee ring" defects on them. We immediately contacted the manufacturer, who claimed that these were not in fact defects and that the DVDs would play correctly.

In an attempt to discover the truth, we contacted several technical contacts at other manufacturers; they too said that the rings should not affect play. And indeed, the discs seemed to play on our machines.

Still, we wanted to be absolutely sure, so we sent several samples of the discs to one of our technical contacts over the weekend. He has reported back and told us that the discs ARE defective, and that while they will play in most players, their error rates are too high for comfort and will have problems running on some players.

Thus, we have rejected the new UY DVD 2 discs. They are being manufactured yet again and should be in either late this week or early next week.

Because, at this point, we are way beyond the point of paranoia, we then intend to have them checked, not only by us, but also several outside reviewers. Assuming no further screwups, we should be able to resume shipping of box sets in about 2 weeks. And, as soon as possible after the box sets are shipped, we will send out replacement discs to those of you who have told us you've gotten bad discs.

We greatly appreciate your patience, and we hope you'll agree the wait is worth it.

Sincerely, 
Robert Woodhead, 
CEO, AnimEigo.

That's the latest word on what's going on. I picked up one of these sets at Otakon this past weekend (complete with disc two having the "stain" ring on it) and have had no trouble with it. But as mentioned above, they're taking a serious better off safe than sorry approach. Waiting is definitely the hardest thing to do, especially with as long as some of us have waited on this set, but I have to say that it is most definitely worth the wait.

Tuesday, August 8th, 2000

Newly reviewed (03:42 PM EST): We've gotten through two of the volumes in the box set and now our review of the first disc of Urusei Yatsura TV is now up and available. We should have two more volumes reviewed in the next day or two.

Monday, August 7th, 2000

New cover art (10:33 PM EST): With thanks to Raziel, we have 3 new pieces of artwork on the Upcoming Release Gallery  this evening as well as a size-corrected version for Dual. Check out Tenchi Universe 3, Amazing Nurse Nanako 2 and Sol Bianca 2.

New title announcements (09:42 PM EST): Well, formal at least. The Pioneer Entertainment site updated with information on the second volume of Jubei-Chan and the final volume of Cowboy Bebop as well as some VHS information for those interested.

Alternate angle (09:40 PM EST): The first alternate angle for Key the Metal Idol arrived today, this time from Taylor Shann. 

To Iscandar we go (05:31 PM EST): After quite a long wait, Voyager Entertainment has announced a 8/18 release date for the first disc of Starblazers with a running time of 112 minutes. And yes, that's a Friday. As for how this will show up on most retailers, I have a sneaking suspicion it will be difficult to find, similar to the Dragonball Z discs from Funimation. Keep an eye on the retail forum for where it shows up.

Bandai on Escaflowne (04:10 PM EST): During the course of the convention, and prominently at the Bandai panel, the Fox Kids release of Vision of Escaflowne was a popular topic of discussion. Unfortunately it seems like many fans cannot quite grasp certain elements. I believe it was asked over a half dozen times during the Bandai panel whether the disc would be uncut or contain the English track, or the Japanese track. While Bandai will be producing both a cut and uncut dub VHS tape, the DVD will contain the uncut dub and the uncut subtitled version. What it comes down to is that the DVD is Bandai's "I love you" to the fans. The Fox Kids version is where they sleep around with mainstream American audiences. This of course either doesn't go over well with some fans or goes over some fans heads entirely. 

Alternate angles (04:01 PM EST): A few new ones today are up. Joshua Carvalho looks at Rurouni Kenshin Vol. #1, Ray Griner talk about Sakura Diaries Vol. #1 and Roman Martel weighs in on Cowboy Bebop: Session 4. In the region 2 area, Roberto Zegarra Frisancho gives talks briefly about the Neon Genesis Evangelion movie.

Pioneer tidbit (03:14 PM EST): One thing that was mentioned during the Pioneer panel that's coming back to me know is in regards to the lunch box set coming out for Lain, hopefully by years end. One thing that was asked is whether those who have the entire series already can get the lunch box by itself. The answer thankfully is yes. You can check out the lunch box here and here.

Urusei Yatsura change (02:46 PM EST): According to a post on the AnimEigo mailing list, the previous plan for releasing the Urusei Yatsura movies and OVA box set next has been changed. With the recent release of the movies in Japan, AnimEigo is hoping to acquire better materials for their release. In the mean time, they're likely to go ahead with TV box set 2.

Media Watch (10:41 AM EST): We've updated our Media Watch page today. From what we can tell, it's nearly official that ADV won't be producing subtitled VHS tapes for any new series coming out starting with Gasaraki and Generator Gawl. They will be finishing existing series (such as BGC 2040 and Lost Universe), but then that's the end.

She's baaaack (10:38 AM EST): LadyCat is back again this week with another packed piece of anime information for those with the burning questions!

Press (09:59 AM EST): On our new post-convention quest, we're cleaning up our mailbox and have added the latest press release from Viz to the site.

AnimEigo clarifies (09:42 AM EST): On their mailing list, Robert Woodhead has clarified a few things regarding their announcements. He had also made a speculative guess at how M2K would be handling the upgrade path for the new Bubblegum Crisis release during the con, but we didn't report on it in detail since it was just speculation. 

Sunday, August 6th, 2000

Tenchi Universe (07:15 PM EST): During the Pioneer panel at Otakon, we learned the reason behind the delay in the Tenchi Universe releases. Apparently when the tracks were transferred over from the masters for the subtitles, they discovered that they were off by about 2 seconds. Essentially they've had to go back and retime things to make sure they synch up. They do hope to have everything back on track by early September however.

Otakon: Saturday Report (12:57 AM EST): Our Saturday report is now up and available. I'm sure I missed a few bits, it's been a long long day!

AnimEigo news (12:51 AM EST): During the Anime on DVD panel today, which had Robert Woodhead and Shin Kurokawa on it as well since they are a DVD only company (and they had no scheduled panel of their own!), made their new title acquisition announcement today. As many expected, they've licensed You're Under Arrest TV and are looking at a spring start date for things. They will be producing dual language DVD's. They do not at this point have TV broadcast rights, as the Japanese licensor is looking to get this on TV themselves, though it appears that they hope AnimEigo will produce a good dub for it. With word that all of the original cast from the OVA's from Coastal Carolina will be involved in the TV series, in my mind a good dub is guaranteed. Congratulations AnimEigo!

Friday, August 4th, 2000

Otak(08:51 PM EST): We've survived our first full day of Otakon, and have our report up here.

Otakon: Urusei Yatsura (08:51 PM EST): Check out this little report on the recently released Urusei Yatsura DVD Box Set 1. May not be appropriate for those who have not received theirs yet.

Sinfully updated (08:51 PM EST): The folks at ADV have updated their SiN website, which now has screenshots of the DVD menus as well as some screen captures. Keep up the good work Dan, we'll toss back a few more drinks for you!

Otakon: Media Blasters tidbit (08:51 PM EST): While browsing through the dealers room today and chatting with various studio reps who were there, we talked a bit with Media Blasters (who are very happy with the way their DVD sales are going). It looks like during December and January they'll be doing DVD-only releases of older back catalog titles on compilation discs. Very sweet way to build up your collection!

Otakon: Gundam Wing dates (08:51 PM EST): We got our press pack of material from the Bandai folks today, and within there was a nice one-sheet for Gundam Wing. The back side lists each disc and its release date (which we've updated here) as well as pictures of the action figures you can send in for. I can't wait to get those 5 bad boys on my shelf!

New title announcement (08:51 PM EST): According to the Right Stuf site, Rurouni Kenshin Vol. #4 will arrive on 11/21. Just in time for Kenshin to slice up your Thanksgiving turkey!

Thursday, August 3rd, 2000

First Otakon report (10:47 PM EST): For those interested, we've got a brief piece up on the gathering that the #animedvd channel had this evening.

Jubei where are you? (10:47 PM EST): I received word from my Express.com contact today that retailers are now expecting their Jubei-Chan shipment in on Monday or Tuesday. This appears to be a distribution issue from what I can tell, but it may have been backed up in replication as well.

ADV new title announcements (10:47 PM EST): The folks at ADV have lined up a few new release dates in what promises to be a good sign for the future. Gasaraki Vol. 1 on 9/26 with 4 eps. Lost Universe 2 is coming out the same day as the first volume and the second VHS, 9/12, also with 4 eps. And Generator Gawl 1 will hit street on 10/10 with 3 eps.

TRSI new title announcements (10:47 PM EST): The formal announcements for Flint the Time Detective arrived today. You can check out the details here.

Alternate angles (10:47 PM EST): Couple of new submissions in today. Jeff Green tackles Rurouni Kenshin Vol. #1 and Dragonball Z: Captain Ginyu Vol. #2. Justin Emerson looks at Blue Submarine No. 6 Vol. #3, Julian Tacher takes a peek at Ruin Explorers, Roman Martel signs off on Sakura Diaries Vol. #1 and Steve Brandon goes into Neon Genesis Evangelion 0:1.

Wednesday, August 2nd, 2000

A quick note (05:47 PM EST): I've seen this question come up repeatedly lately, and I do make mention of it in my reviews. Media Blasters' releases do not contain inserts. None of their titles to date have had one. You're not missing anything if your Kenshin doesn't have an insert.

Advance review, part 2 (04:44 PM EST): In an attempt to clean up a bit before our trip this weekend, we've completed our review for ADV's 9/12 release of the first volume of Lost Universe.

Advance review (03:16 PM EST): We've been toiling over a hot DVD player to watch our early review copy of Bubblegum Crisis 2040 Vol. #1 and now have our review up and ready for you to read. ADV has a serious winner with this release I think, barring a few minor problems.

Tuesday, August 1st, 2000

Fooled you (05:01 PM EST): Well, not me. I've gotten in several reports from UK readers today that the newly released UK edition of Perfect Blue is not all that it was promised to be. For many months, folks were told that it would have more extras than the US release and it would be anamorphic. By all accounts, the disc is the exact same as the US release in terms of extras and content, it's still widescreen, but it's not anamorphic. The only apparent difference is that it's in PAL format and not NTSC. Sorry UK!

Newly reviewed (04:45 PM EST): Just when we thought we were going to get caught up... Today we've got our review up for the latest does of Bandai goodness in the form of Cowboy Bebop: Session 4. We also got in our two uncut Dragonball Z discs today and were planning to queue them up next, but we got in a package of love from ADV in the form of Bubblegum Crisis 2040 and Lost Universe. We'll be watching those next, but in the meantime we've posted some initial thoughts on these releases to our general forum.

Big delay (04:36 PM EST): Just when I thought we were close to not having to watch the hideous Cardcaptors show anymore and simply enjoy the subtitled uncut edition of Card Captor Sakura, Pioneer has delayed it from it's 9/21 release date to a 11/14 release date, according to Animenation's news. No reason was given, but my guess is that's when the dub version will come out and they want them to retail together. 

ADV on Sakura Diaries (12:32 PM EST): Over the weekend, it was learned that there are two version of the newly release Sakura Diaries in Japan. The version which ADV has released is the TV version, which had things toned down from what many fans had seen in the Japanese released laserdisc version. One of the "big" debates on the forum about it is why ADV ended up with the TV version, which many claimed came after the laserdisc release. ADV has gotten the information from the Japanese licensor, which is as follows:

"There are two different versions. Of course I think we'd all guessed that by now. ADV has the TV version which is different than the LD release. So if you want to see it as it was originally broadcast, this is the only way to get it. The TV version was put together BEFORE the LDs were done. At the moment it appears that at the time they hadn't decided to change it for the LDs yet. We are talking to them about the other version."

For the most part, this hasn't happened in anime releases to date. While not common, it has happened in mainstream releases. Definite kudos to ADV for responding to the many posts on the topic (which is over 250 posts now!) and for their getting the information from the original licensor and posting it for everyone to know. Personally, this doesn't affect my buying of the series at all, as there is nothing actually cut from it. You can get all the details in the main forum though.

More on Mononoke (11:56 AM EST): The folks at Animenation have a bit of information about the cancellation of the Princess Mononoke DVD as well as it's resolicitation later this year:

"Disney Blinks" is the title to a center front page article in the current Video Store Magazine industry mag. The article suggests that Buena Vista home video executives were not aware that there was interest and an actual demand for a Japanese language version of Princess Mononoke in the US before they were presented with the results of a fan organized letter-writing campaign and internet petition that garnered "4,500 signatures in the first week." The article confirms that the Princess Mononoke DVD has been delayed, but not canceled. "`We were pleasantly surprised by the interest in a Japanese soundtrack,` [said] Buena Vista marketing senior v.p. Robert Chapek. `It`s a fairly recent development, and with an August 29th street date [for the dub-only VHS version], there was no way we could accommodate that [due to the inability to conclude soundtrack negotiations with the Japanese producer in time]. So we had to push it off. We`re fairly confident the [special edition] DVD will be out sometime before the holidays.`"

With luck, we'll be watching bilingual Mononoke for Christmas, which would tickle me and plenty others pink. I've been reading in the newsgroups that a lot of people are upset over the cancellation, which just boggles the minds of many. Part of the problem is that these folks, for whatever reasons, tend to read only anime news and information and no actual DVD sites, where more information is available. Having talked with both retailers and other folks involved with authoring, Mononoke was never planned to be outright canceled and never resolicited after they learned of the amount of interest in the Japanese track. With this new knowledge, we may see more dual releases theatrically of their Ghibli movies as well.

The squeaky wheel gets the grease again.

End of contests (09:53 AM EST): Well, for July at least! We've obviously concluded our new logo contest, with a tip of the hat and a hefty thanks to Brian LaShomb who created a very striking and eye-catching logo. Of course, nobody who entered is truly a loser though, as later this month we'll be highlighting many of them for a day or two to show them off!