Forum Buzz
By da Original S Man & asagiri2040

10/8/03 Edition

Important News

System Update: Review errors
Sean is aware that the website has a running code error in the right "review" column when involving "Alternate Angle" and "Classic" reviews. It's being worked on.

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

And now, onto the forums...

Mouse Licensed
AnimeNext checked in over the weekend with just one title to announce. Media Blasters has picked up the fanservice friendly thief show Mouse. Heir of a vast fortune and a family tradition of stealing (as an art, not for any monetary gains), Mouse takes on all worthy challenges boasting that he never fails & never gets caught. With three lovely assistants, a cover job as being a student teacher, and a cop always ready to put him behind bars... A gentleman thief's life is never easy.

Boys Over Flowers: The Review
The long awaited review for Hana Yori Dango is in. For a series which has only been available previously in Japan as a VHS rental title, fans are in for a true treat. At the same time, an intresting note has popped up. While this is yet Viz another title missing subtitles for songs, we have found out that the only way this will change is if there was a massive outcry from fandom. So if fandom wants its song subs to return to Viz, you may want to politely drop them a note about it.

Best September Release Poll
For something a bit different, webmaster and overlord “Chris Beveridge” ran an interesting poll that asked what everyone thought the best release in September was, not limited to DVDs but including soundtracks as well. With a total of a mere 184 votes, there were some clear standout discs among the many choices. What’s just as interesting as the results is the different ways people interpreted the poll, with many leaning towards purely content as opposed to overall release quality.

Mao-chan Volume 1 Thoughts
That lucky son of a gun “juliant59” has gotten ahold of a copy of Mao-chan volume 1. Somehow, the big question is, “just how cute is this show?” Best advice comes from the lucky son of a gun himself: “Well it’s very hard to talk about this one. I mean you should at least try to rent it first to see if you like it.” At the very least, the Ken Akamatsu involvement and the Love Hina in-jokes may make it a novelty of sorts.

Gekijoban DVD R2 Box Details
News on the Gekijoban DVD front. The dvd set of 3 movies is limited to 20,000 copies at the steal of 9800 yen. The collection comes in a 3 DVD digipak with illustrations by each of the character designers involved. What's inside? Nadesico the Movie: The Prince of Darkness (new high definition 24p telecine anamorphic remaster), Utena the Movie (5.1 Dolby Digital soundtrack), and Cyber Team in Akihabara. And it's all available starting December 21st. This one may give ole St. Nick some trouble on arriving in time before Christmas outside of Japan.

Sugar 2 Replacement Offer Expires 10/31
A special reminder to those out there. The first pressing of "A Little Snow Fairy Sugar 2: Friends and Dreams" contained a mono Japanese track and a stereo dub track. So, if you want to get the fixed version you're going to need to get your dvd (and just the dvd) in the mail by the end of October. The replacement is free but do check your dvd before you send it in. If you've picked it up recently, you may already have the fixed version.

Someday’s Dreamers website now open
Geneon has launched another show-specific website, this time for the rather under-the-radar series Someday’s Dreamers (a.k.a. Mahou Tsukai ni Taisetsu na Koto). The site is simple, but gets the job done wonderfully. Great pictures of box and disc cover art, a glimpse of Geneon’s nicely reworked series logo; no trailer, but it has been showing up on recent discs after all. The artwork seems to have won over some new fans, and reinvigorated others; now all we need is the manga to be licensed.

X Volume Seven FAQs and Explanations
This thread is full of spoilers! You have been warned! With that out of the way, it seems to be a rather helpful thread for those who may have had some questions after watching volume 7 of X, with some interesting discussion and debate going on as well.

12 Kingdoms on 15 discs?!
Yes, it’s true, and confirmed by Media Blasters. However, it’s very likely that this disc count is meant to reflect the inclusion of more than just the current 45 episodes. Still, since the anime staff are reportedly waiting on the author of the original novels to finish the next one so that they may have something to work from, it may be a bit of a wait yet for the remaining 23.

Witch Hunter Robin LE = Awesome
The first volume of Witch Hunter Robin officially streeted this week, in a disc-only flavor and a disc + box + extras flavor. And the fans were happy. A quality presentation overall, but not without a few hiccups. It seems that some people are not receiving both of the promised “animation cels”; that some people have become the unwitting victims of the cheap disc-popping, disc-scratching keepcases within which the first disc has been packaged; and that it seems all the discs have been shipped with the reverse side of the reversable cover facing out. But all in all, thumbs-up, Bandai!

Covering the world, one disc at a time
Boxes boxes everywhere.. and not a shelf free to fit them on yet.

The Average (Manga) Joe
A bit busier this week. IC Ent's thread ended up locked but you can still gleem intresting details from it. Trigun is getting a large first print to try and grab those Adult Swim watchers.

ADV Manga

Dark Horse

Gutsoon!

I.C. Entertainment

Raijin Comics

TOKYOPOP

Viz

DigitalEyes.net features double points until the 10th
DigitalEyes.net is doubling all frequent buyer points with each purchase through Friday. Now is the time to grab something cheap and new or dive into the bargin bin & relieve them of some 400+ used DVDs.

TechTV adds Banner of the Stars & Geneshaft
TechTV's Anime Unleashed will be adding Bandai series Banner of the Stars and Geneshaft as their new series for fall. Banner of the Stars has already recieved November 4th to premier the first of 13 new episodes for all those Crest of the Stars fans. The shows will, of course, get a rollout of goodies & info on the TechTV website as we approach the airdate.

A new season of anime
New shows are popping up left & right and here's a quick look at want to be celebrating (or not) when they get licensed sometime in the future. Expect even more next week.

Sailor Moon goes live
The first of many live action Sailor Moon episodes has aired in Japan. Comments range from happy to campy on how the first episode has turned out. But whether you followed the anime series or not, you may want to take a glimpse of how it looks for a Japanese girl to fight evil in a Sailor uniform. There's something to be said about needing to add captions to screenshots.

Big O Twenty-Three
Final month of new The Big O episodes on Cartoon Network. Everyone appears to be happy & worried on how it will all end in just 3 more episodes. Side note: Norman is just too cool.

ZOIDS: Fuzor debuts on Cartoon Network
The fourth ZOIDS anime series clawed through the CN line Saturday evening. The first episode centered around R.D. trying to deliever a package and several trying to stop him. VoiceBox (Armada, G.I. Joe: Spy Troops) is behind the dubbing and Tokyo Kids is now animating the series instead of Xebec/Project IG. Will it develop an intresting plotline or fall back on the need of tournaments to go anywhere?

Anime Insider seeks reporter for ParaCon
Wizard's Anime Insider is seeking someone to report on ParaCon this October 19th. If you're available, contact info can be found within the thread.

Got a Mach 5?
If you didn't already know, Speed Racer Autoworks, LLC makes replica versions of famous Speed Racer Mach 5 and are developing one for Racer X's speed demon. Of course, there is a limit. The signature series is limited to 100 cars and each is signed and numbered by Peter Fernandez (Speed Racer & Racer X) and Corinne Orr (Trixie). Also included are close up photos of the Mach 5 & Batmobile which Russ Martin (KLLI's The Russ Martin Show) owns.

Declaration of Q & A!
'nother week, 'nother look at what the people want to know.

Red vs Blue: Season 2
Season 1 of Red vs Blue may be over but many forum users are still reliving the highlights (and classic lines). If you missed the mention of the Halo-based series about two military teams fighting in a box canyon, here's your chance to catch up. Plus, it's free to download the entire series and decide if you want to buy the upcoming dvd version.

Dave Barry takes on the American Teleservices Association
For those who get Dave Barry's weekly article syndicated in their paper, you may be familiar with his warped sense of humour. Well, in August he decided to print the phone number to one of the telemarketer services so people could (for a change of pace) call a telemarketer. They weren't ammused. So he's decided to follow up this week with the ATA's complaints... and their new phone number. ;-)

Quote of the Week

"No use making moral arguments about Triads and such when the basic immorality of theft can't get through to someone." - Donovan

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. The forums seem pretty split on whether wolve or da Original S Man has the most locks nowadays. Sheesh!