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A-Kon XIV News & Views
Held at the D/FW Hyatt, A-Kon carried through its 14th incarnation this weekend. Once again we have seen some obvious and not so obvious "pick ups" by the various licensing studios. Highlights this time include the two Gonzo titles of Last Exile (Pioneer) and Yukikaze (Bandai) getting picked up, FUNimation stunned everyone with announcing Kiddy Grade with a release in 2004, and ADV Films grabbing Panyo Panyo Di Gi Charat.

s-CRY-ed Website Launches
"The landscape of the Kanagawa Prefecture experienced a strange environmental phenomenon which caused the land to split and protrude upwards reaching unprecedented heights. After the incident, the Japanese capital was relocated and the dilapidated area was dubbed The Lost Ground. A genetic alteration was then discovered. About 2% of the population born after the incident inherited special powers due to the radiation given off from underneath the Earth’s crust."

Bandai has launched a new website for the upcoming series s-CRY-ed. There you can find out about the characters, storyline, organizations, watch the trailer, and even download some new screensavers. The first DVD hits 7/1/03 with both a standard DVD issue and V.1+Box which includes several additional goodies.

Let's talk about credits, shall we?
What should they do about those opening and ending credits? Should they leave them untouched? Should they all be translated? Is it right to run an English translation on top of or around the original credits if no clean source was available? And just where does everyone stand on replacing the original logo in the opening with an English one? Well, no one opinion will match another perfectly but alot of people seem to be joining the discussion. Where do you stand on the issue?

JoJo's Bizarre Forum Thread Adventure
There's alot of talking going around about Super Techno Arts' first DVD release. And it looks to be very positive. Cindy Yamauchi has been taking on all challengers with great success and dropping notes of the "how & why" everything is done the way it is. Pretty good for a woman who doesn't have a STAND power (and with a chaotic enviroment like the internet, it would be a useful thing to have). We've even been nice enough to point out where you can grab the disc!

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure DVD V.1 Listings

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure DVD V.1 + Artbox Listings

And as an FYI, Sci-Fi Harry (which is featured on page 90-91 of the June '03 Newtype USA issue) will be the next STA title.

Just Boogiepoppin’ around…
Right Stuf’s release of their massively-titled Boogiepop Phantom set gets nearer and nearer, and it looks like the fans are… somewhat divided. People who waited are happy; people who saw the show and didn’t care for it don’t care about this new release; people who like the show are considering the best way to unload the discs they have before buying the new release; and so on. Are you going to buy it?

You’re Under Arrest… again
To add to the year of YUA, David Williams was kind enough to give us a brief update on ADV’s upcoming release of the movie. In order to balance out the “thank you” posts, several fans raised the (quite valid) issue of why only DD2.0 audio tracks are present on the disc, as well as one inquiry as to whether or not an anamorphic version should be expected. And there’s also the yet-to-be-licensed second season as well…

How Off-Topic can you get!?
With a forum like "Off-Topic", you can always expect the funny, bizarre, and scary to pop up. Check out a few of the better ones to come in this week.

A plushie would fill that empty space quite well
It was made known at A-Kon that Bandai will be releasing a box set of the Love Hina “movies” later this year. The obvious question is “will an empty box be available separately”. Jerry loves feedback, so all you fellow fans who already own the first two specials: let him know you want one, and what you want in it as a bonus!

(A note from asagiri2040: I so called this box set last week ahead of the official announcement, not to be all pleased with myself or anything. ^_^ )

Submarine Super 99 - New Matsumoto anime
The legendary Leiji Matsumoto is still at it and his old manga title Submarine Super 99 is now in production to become an anime series. The spry 64-year-old keeps on expanding the Leijiverse to everyone's delight.

Sort of at a loss for words…
Wow! Fruits Basket volume 4 contains “over 6 episodes”! Like, seven! I must have it! Anyway, comment on the silliness and other similarly-odd marketing blurbs in Studio Feedback:

Anime Unleashed brings 3 New Shows
Under "quickie news", TechTV is adding three new anime series to their Anime Unleashed airing catalog. The stylish The SoulTaker which won over fans, the six episode OVA series Gate Keepers 21, and the creepy & mind altering Boogiepop Phantom.

Building the hype
Is there a show you’ve seen or heard about that others should want to be licensed as desperately as you do because it’s simply that neat? Then tell us about it!

Rant: Boxes Must Die!
No, this isn't another rant started by the mods because the topic comes up so much. If it were, we would have employed Kawaii's "Box Handling" skills and a video to show (read: scare) all. But with a world so "Box Happy", do you have a true explanation for the "why" of the craze? Everyone is trying to list off their own reason for the cardboard obsession.

Full Forum Panic!
Gonzo series and new ADV Films title Full Metal Panic started quite a stir this week. Between the review, arrival of the first few boxes, some lucky contest winners (I wanna Hilary Haag & Allison Keith signed box!!!), and the word of this going to be a seven disc release.... YEESH! Much like the show, it all seems to be a blur of action, intrigue, and hot-blooded passion over all things FULL METAL PANIC!

Remaster or Die? Probably not, but still…
Many were expecting problems on "Read or Die" in some form or another, but that didn’t make actually discovering those problems any less annoying. Video glitches in two places and audio and subtitle menu selections that won’t hold. The (inconsistent) black subtitles aren’t really a glitch per se, but they’re still something that shouldn’t have occurred.

*Clean* Dating Sims for R1 market
While the news was announced a little while back, it's always nice to refresh & take another look. Hirameki International has taken up the banner of bringing some anime games to the DVD market. The Dating Sim market in the US is largely untapped so this does bring an intresting look into the future. Many anime shows are based off of dating sims so could we see some fully translated & adapted series with Japanese & English dubs in the future for shows like To Heart & Comic Party?

Popular in Japan = Popular in US?
Damn that Chris Beveridge for making people think! An ICv2 article has brought much comment from the forum world. Can popular shows in Japan make it America? Are there shows in the states that do better than in Japan? We all know that Cartoon Network and the vocal fandom helped push Sunrise into a second season of The Big O but what else is out there?

Voice Actor & Actress for the Month of May
Ahh, the tradition continues. Fighting, name calling, acts of violence (and this is just in the recording studio). The month of June welcomes asagiri2040 taking over the reigns for the award series. Time for everyone to cast their votes and to help break the tie from last month.

Manga Manga Manga News! (Not the anime company!)
They're small, covered with drawings, and people go gaga over them. What is it? No, not a new Anime Pocky line but rather those "Japanese comics" we like to call "manga". Lots of titles have been picked up and announced over the last week or so with something for everyone.

Your favorite bishounen (or "Girls Gone Wild over Bishi Men")
Anime just isn't for guys alone. After all, *somebody* has to be buying Knight Hunters for more bishounen titles to be coming to the Media Blasters line-up like Samurai Deeper Kyo & Mirage of Blaze. And now the ladies (and guys, if willing) have a chance to list off their favorite bishies for all to drool over.

R2 News: Lupin III DVD Box (24th October)
Four discs, all in delicious anamorphic 16:9 and some seriously nice extras to boot. Lupin fans can rejoice and should pre-order early if they want to have a chance of snagging this release.

Quote of the Week

"Where the heck am I??!?!" - Chris Beveridge

When not stopping trouble (or starting it) on the AoD Forums, S-Man can be found working on the database project at Crystal Acids and asagiri2040 can be found not updating his Rising Sun Alternative website. All work and no play makes S-Man a dull boy. To whoever in the control booth at Cartoon Network who slipped up and ran the full Lupin the 3rd opening from the master tape: Hi! Tell J to get a new jeep already and give up on that old work horse of hers. Oh! And ask if she ever got that apartment window fixed. Downtown Atlanta is noisy at night.