Forum Buzz
By da Original S Man & asagiri2040

9/3/03 Edition

Important News

System Update: A Day at the Races
With the departure of our custom Spring Divi by asagiri2040, we now present Forum Buzz with the desirable Race Queen Divi also by asagiri2040. Doesn't it just scream "make a wallpaper for us already!". ;-)

So, we're a tad curious. For those readers who are good at coloring b/w pics or think you can do an excellent Divi drawing for others to see, we want to see it. We're offering up both b/w images sketched by asagiri2040 for people to color, design wallpapers from, or even try to make a better Forum Buzz logo to send in for everyone to enjoy. And to be fair to all the ladies, we are also a tad curious what a bishi male Forum Buzz guy (or guys) would look like. Drop S-Man an email with either a link or attachment of your pic and we'll start getting a page ready to show off what the people can do.

A special reminder to all who wish to join the forums, be sure to check out:

And now, onto the forums...

BAAF News & Views
NYC got rocked over the weekend for a few pieces of info. FUNi's "Lupin movie announcement" turned out to announce that "Farewell to Nostradamus" & "Dead or Alive" were the next TV Specials which will release of their 10 pack of licenses. MB is busy with SDK & 12 Kingdoms. And Manga Ent. is currently trying to re-establish itself to now be a private company since the sale earlier this year.

FUNi's Lance says that they couldn't get the ADV VAs for the Sakura Wars Sumire Special (now renamed "Sakura Taisen: Memorial Concert") and will be trying to match the voices. We guess that FUNi has completely forgotten that there is also a movie cast with Pioneer using Bang Zoom! which many had been hoping they would actually go after instead of the various ADV cast versions.

Marmalade Boy in 2004
This show has a lot of fans. So do other shows, but this one has been licensed for a while with not much release info forthcoming, and its fans were starting to wonder. Then, suddenly (as these things usually happen), release info was hinted at during the Big Apple Anime Fest, followed shortly thereafter by a detailed press release that described the first set (of several) to be available in April of next year. And the fans rejoiced! Still, no price is set, and the fact that TOKYOPOP seems to be short in their episode count by 4 episodes has some people staying cautious.

Initial D, Second Curve (same as the first)
According to Executive Producer Stuart Levy, Initial D DVDs have the audio options to listen to the original Japanese with Japanese soundtrack, English dub with Japanese soundtrack, or English dub with updated US soundtrack. Now, far be it from us to say "you're wrong!" but it just ain't so, Mr. Levy. The DVDs in reviewers hands have original Japanese and English dub with new soundtrack. It seems somewhere down that chain of command something got changed and you haven't been kept in the loop. Through the menus you can swap between watching either the original video or the Damn it looks like someone ripped off that music video with effects thing from Gran Turismo III! video.

Of course, we should also point out that TOKYOPOP now admits to having toned down the subtitle script regarding child prostitution because they would need to slap a "Mature" label to the DVD. Never mind that the DVD isn't actually being rated by the MPAA or any other organization other than their ownselves. And most Buzz readers are probably already aware that the English dub contains new hipper names & dialogue.

Dig? Shway..

So, fans again are left in the same little row boat trying to decided which shore to swim to. Do you buy it or boycott it.

And even more boxes…
User Andrew Tei brings to our attention some interesting tidbits from Diamond’s Previews catalog that were not included in the online update. First of all, apparently the first Kenshin box is going to be available separately for $25. Second, it appears that Viz is offering a box to hold the two special Ceres collections, purchasable using a coupon that comes with either of the two collections. This is all well and good, but the big question is: will the Kenshin boxes be made of wood?

Ceres Collection #1 thoughts
Thanks to user “drakh,” everyone seems to be focusing more on the minor incestual aspect of Ceres than anything else. :-P Still, the collection is getting some attention for being affordably priced, and thusly more purchasable for those on tight budgets who have some interest in the show. You may as well pick up your own copy and see what everyone is so interested in!

Madman's grade for Please Teacher!
R4 Oz DVD company Madman has released the first volume of Please Teacher! Unlike the US version by Bandai, the DVD covers retain the "mail" style theme of the R2s and a sturdy box + t-shirt option is available for $54.95 (Australia, about $35 US) for those who must have nice cardboard at a good price.

Infinite Ryvius website
Since the usual suspects (or suspect, I suppose) didn’t alert us to the presence of Bandai’s newest website, user “light” was the first to notice that the site for Infinite Ryvius is up and running. Featuring character profiles, a trailer, a small image gallery, cast and staff info, and more, it’s a pretty decent site to check out in order to get a taste of what the show’s all about.

PioneerAnimeMusic.com Updates
Something we keep meaning to mention is that the Pioneer music site has been updated with more albums & samples. The albums aren't everywhere yet but Best Buy and Amazon.com are two good places to be checking out. We here at Forum Buzz can easily recommend grabbing anything Lain, both Hellsing albums, Mahoromatic, and Heat Guy J.

Just another ole robot anime series...
..with a twisted since of humor. You either got this week's The Big O or you didn't. But come on, is there anything better than seeing R. Dorothy get some attention (and screentime) in the series again? We didn't think so. Roger better be careful or he just may get replaced as Paradigm's top negotiator.

Gate Keepers 21… Love it? Hate it?
User “jt_stone” doesn’t like GK21. A lot of other people do. Most of the people participating in the thread like the TV series. So, where did things go wrong, if they even did at all? Weigh in with your own opinions and enlighten us all!

Ask Luci Christian...
Brady of the dymanic web duo for ADV is gathering questions to be asked for an upcoming website interview. Between now and September 7th you can get in those Qs to be asked of Luci who voices Kaname Chidori in the dub for Full Metal Panic!

When Blogs Attack!
DVD Producer/ADR Director/eVil darklord dlw (David L. Williams) has started to update with ADR Director blog once again. Since Najica is finished you can now start to follow the heavenly tales of CLAMP series Angelic Layer. And he seems to be gathering up some intel photos and details for another little series he's working on called Pretear..

Get you dvd cover on...
We're putting Lupin TV 4 and Mao-chan 1 back up this week with larger versions. And everyone is wondering what cover will pop up on the backside of AYA 5...

Super Reading Fortress Manga
Several new manga titles announced this week. But really your first stop might want to be the "Preference Project" to get your voice heard on how you would perfer your manga in the US. You just never know what companies are listening...

Central Park Media

Del Rey

Raijin Comics

TOKYOPOP

Viz

Recommendations Rundown
That’s right, friends and neighbors! Time for more recommendations! You’ve seen the shows, so let the rest of us know what we’re missing, or help us to save our time and money! I believe in drastic my soul!

User “Kikuchiyo” is looking for some dark, action-packed anime. His inquiry regarding The SoulTaker has yielded less-than-stellar comments thus far, but I know the show has fans somewhere out there! Continuing on, Hellsing was the next potential candidate, and it looks to be a winner so far. Buy it for Seras! You know you want to!

User “BonifaceVIII” may have unfortunately missed out due to a payment SNAFU, but Gasaraki is sure to be on sale again soon enough. Is it worth trying to buy once more? Maybe, maybe not. Everyone agrees that it’s heavy on the politics and spirituality, loaded with subplots, and is really slow. That does it for some people, and simply makes others say, “That does it.”

And lastly for this week, user “rebecca zanello” poses a slight variant on an old recommendation request: the Evangelion manga was good, so will the Evangelion anime be just as good? There are differences between the two, ranging from minor to rather notable, but the general consensus seems to be that some good enjoyment (well, sort of) is to be found in the anime version. And for $130 for the Perfect Collection, how can you go wrong?

Anime Cels (Collecting, Going Broke, and other scary things)
It's funny how people can go gaga over a cel. But like some potato chips, once you start you can't stop. And thus leads any anime fan to an even deeper & darker road to financial ruin. Beware the dark side of desiring a sheet of plastic officially used in a series and featuring your favorite character...

Superior Defender Gundam
SD Gundam is already running on CN and the reactions are fairly mixed. The overall plot (at least according to the packaging for the action figures) is that the Dark Axis is trying to invade 3 different worlds run by different types of Gundam-esque races. Thus, leaders of each group rise to defend against Zapper Zaku & the nitwits he has working for him. Expect mobile suits to pop up from many of the different Gundam series over the years.

New anime on TV
Knights of the Zodiac is Saint Saiya the DiC way, Shaman King (going by what was on FoX BoX Saturday) is running the chance of many complaints, and Sonic X looks like it may get some fans. ABC Family has Daigunder coming September 13th which may mean that it has been given to their dubbing studio Sensation Animation (formerly Saban Entertainment, renamed after Buena Vista bought up Saban/Fox Family Properties) which finished Digimon Frontier earlier this year. Since it's airing on cable and not network TV, we're thinking happy thoughts of little to no editing compared to network TV standards. Now if only Buena Vista could be arm twisted into DVDs of their shows picked up for TV airings.

Takara to buy Broccoli Inc.
(Dejiko to battle Optimus Prime & Megatron in "winner take all" cage match)
Takara (well known for Transformers) is looking to buy Broccoli (known for the Gamers anime store chain in Japan, several series including Sugar & Di Gi Charat, and Japanese parent company to Synch-Point). This could work for both companies strengths giving the toyline side of Takara a wide assortment of series to work with and ways to reach their consumers. Dare we dream of a Transformers/Di Gi Charact crossover? Optimus Prime will always beat Megatron but can he withstand the barrage of flying fists and eye beams which Dejiko is known for when she gets angry?

Satoshi Kon's "Tokyo Godfathers"
"mighty_vespa" has put together a major look at the film Tokyo Godfathers. Kon is known for the mystery/suspence thriller Perfect Blue so you may want to check this out. The review itself is very detailed and spoiler-free so consider this a good chance to wet your appetite.

Gun Parade March to air on Web
Animate.tv will be running Gun Parade March on their webservers from Sept. 1st until Oct. 31st. These episodes are available on demand at 300k and are unsubbed Japanese audio. This may leave it being a tad pointless for some readers but it does give you the chance to take a peek at what Media Blasters will be releasing in the US very soon. Hey, it's free. You should be able to figure out the gist of what's happening enough to decide if you want to buy the DVDs. ;-)

Dare to Be Questionable!
As always, the ever wide range of what's on the asking minds of the forum users.

The h-list (or "Input Wanted")
"jenn rose" has compiled the mother of all hentai lists for anime fans to enjoy. She's done an incredible amount of research on anime titles and is welcoming details for what is missing & general feedback.

Silly 404 Error Messages
We're all familiar with "404" because we see them often on the web. When someone mis-links or we mis-type, we tend to get a little page telling us that what we want is not there. Well some people have taken their own brand of humour to giving you a little more than just an error. ;-)

Quote of the Week

"So, who are the two people in that photo?" - jmarken

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. With all the madness of getting classes arranged and started, we haven't been up to our usual "Looney Tunes" styled opening. We'll try and get back into the groove next week, barring unforseen complications. ;-)