And now, onto the forums...

The secret Mamo doesn't want you to know...
It's been a Lupin the 3rd week. We have praise for getting the old film into a new anamorphic digital master, questions over the changes TMS (Lupin's Japanese licensor) applied to the film before the release, and an assortment of comments for the newest dub of the film. Yeah, its been one of those weeks. But in the end, most people seem to be enjoying the classic film being released to DVD (again). Just make sure your copy has the 12page booklet which is suppose to be inside.

And for those collecting the TV series, it looks like the first 52 episodes of the 2nd series will be spread across 10 discs. Nightjar, LLC currently list under "projects" having worked on 10 Lupin TV2 DVDs for Pioneer. That would make this a 6/5/5/5/5/5/5/5/5/6 release schedule. Since the full series is 155 episodes, here's to hopeful thinking that more will be announced being licensed soon.

ADV disc updates
David Williams from ADV has thrown a whole bunch of disc updates at us over the past week. It’s getting so difficult to keep up with things! Save our poor wallets!

Hey boy, lookin’ for your soul!
The first volume of Heat Guy J has arrived. The few fans purchasing the show are, for the most part, enjoying it a lot. Of course, the obvious comparisons to Escaflowne are being made, thanks to the rather distinctive nature of Nobuteru Yuuki’s character designs, but the story and characters have a flair all their own that seems quite appealing to some. Chad Kime from Pioneer stopped by to confirm the length of the show (it’s 26 episodes) and the number of discs (there’ll be 7), as well as to inform us that this is yet another show where the animation had been redone for the DVD release. Still, the fans are wondering if enough was done to fix the apparently rather significant drop in animation quality in the middle episodes. Whatever the case, check it out and post your thoughts!

Of course, we’ve also got some applicable threads going in Studio Feedback, so be sure to check to see if there’s a better place to post your comments or criticisms:

Pioneer new title announcements
As many have probably noticed by now (since the thread was started when the news went up on the main page a week ago), Pioneer has set dates for several new discs that have been eagerly aniticipated by many. The last volume of X, the penultimate volume of Sugar, further volumes of Master Keaton and Heat Guy J, and the beginning of a new show: Last Exile. As with volume 1 of Chobits, Pioneer is offering the first volume of Last Exile in three flavors to satisfy all the fans. Hooray!

New R3 Company found with English Subtitles
Century Universe, located in Hong Kong, has been discovered as a legitimate source of DVDs which include English subtitles. The catalog of titles on DVD is small now but there is alot of room to grow and see some series not already in the US. Check out the two reviews posted already: Gate Keepers 21 and Sakura Taisen: Sumire Special.

Livin' large with Robots, Alien House Maids, and a future full of monsters
We warned you, now they're here. Adult Swim launched its newest batch of shows starting with the August 3rd showing of The Big O II. The results are in and it looks like good reviews from the posters. FLCL & Blue Gender premiered Monday to the same results (give or take these being weirded storylines to follow).

And coming August 30th will be the DIC version of Saint Saiya known as "Knights of the Zodiac" on the Saturday block.

Twelve Kingdoms V.1 *is* in Stereo
Media Blasters production supervisor Sean Molyneaux stopped by a growing complaint about the Twelve Kingdoms audio tracks. It seems that when the disc is put into Prologic mode on a reciever, the L/R audio tracks on a stereo system go dead and everything is pushed through the center channel. Even with new checkdiscs created, Prologic does not interpret the audio tracks correctly. So the problem is with how Prologic reads the track to upmix to fake surround sound and not the actual disc.

"In short, all my tests and people are telling me that our 12 kingdoms audio is stereo, it's the correct audio and it's no different than any other 2.0 track from any other company. It will play fine on any system set up to play stereo. However, it might not sound good when upmixed using the dolby Prologic setting on your reciever."

Otakon Gathering Details
Otakon is happening this weekend which means there's gotta be a gathering of fans somewhere, right? of course! And here are the details. Shogun Japanese Restaurant, August 7th at 8PM. The bad part about this is that if you're not already on the "confirmed" list, you might not be able to join in the fun. But hats off to ya if you try. =)

Time to break open your piggy bank
Looking to pick up a few DVDs for cheap? Have a few you want to unload? Want to help support AoD and keep it running? Then why not check out the Used Bin on DigitalEyes.net. All the DVDs are checked for problems and backed by their 100% guarantee to work. And by using the affiliate link, a small portion of it goes to help paying the large bill to keep the site up and running for all to enjoy.

DVD Covers found this week
If you don't look at the covers, how will you ever know what "Is that a ferret in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?" means? ;-)

The Big M(anga)
Seems like an odd week. But TP & VIZ came out swinging to keep people busy anyway. Some copies of "Boys Over Flowers" seem to have the wrong pages so keep it in mind when looking. *Hmph* HYH and Tuxedo Gin are out, can't find a copy anywhere still. Typical. ;-)

ADV

Dark Horse

TOKYOPOP

VIZ

Translation of popular advertising phrases
For those always looking to learn a little Japanese, we have a fun one this week. Check out the different ways to say "Good Luck", "Blast Off", and several more.

Wizard World Chicago August 8th-10th
For those not going to Otakon, there's always hitting the windy city of Chicago for the Wizard World comic book convention. And for those not going to Otakon or Wizard World... Don't you have a backlog of anime DVDs to catch up on? =P

Pretty Guardian Sailormoon
The live action Sailor Moon series continues to keep on transforming. October 4th is the start date of the series and the cast of four young Japanese girls has been announced. Most live action series don't get licensed for US distribution, I wonder if that will be different in the case of this show...

Ghost in the Shell 2 promo
A video clip which appears to come from the 2nd Ghost in the Shell movie has popped up online. The scene follows Bateau as he comes across a murder crime scene and gets attacked. It's just over a minute long and features the song "Follow Me".

Neko no Ongaeshi (The Cat Returns)
Studio Ghibli's latest work Neko no Ongaeshi is getting some people curious. Part of the reason why is that unlike some of the other "newer" Ghibli titles which focus more towards life & environment, The Cat Returns is a adventure movie with a dash of comedy and a touch of romance. If you've been lucky enough to see the movie (or are just curious), join in the fun.

Dance Dance Revolution Tournament
The New England Anime Society (aka, the people behind AnimeBoston) have a DDR comp coming to Worcester on August 17th. Reg is only five bills and food & drink are provided. Time for the locals to get down with their bad selves.

The Hollywood Round Up
With several stories coming out of Hollywood, here's a quick look at what to know:

What the people want to know
Net tradition dictates that people will seek out information (needed or not) on message boards, newsgroups, and other resources out of an unknown need to know feeling which is built into the human condition. Keep the tradition alive by participating.. you know you want to..

T-Rex not the "Big Bad" history has made him?
Jack Horner, inspiration for scientist Alan Grant in Jurassic Park, has been taking his theory around for a few years now that T-Rex was not a predator but rather a scavenger. Of course, this little "theory" has sparked a fairly large debate over history's most famous dino. Was the T-Rex really the "Big Bad" or just the bully with a good press agent?

Quote of the Week

"Ever since I first saw that character, something in the back of my head was screaming "MARK HAMIL, DO MORE ANIME DUBS!!!!" " - Galvatron

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. Ever had a Fooly Cooly day? No!? Ya wanna? Yeah, so do we. Everyone needs a live in alien housekeeper, a robot to help with the shopping, and no matter what happens in life... The Pillows have the perfect song for it. That would be so fooly cooly.