Forum Buzz
By da Original S Man

11/19/03 Edition

Important News

System Update: Full Time & Licensing?
Well, Chris is still amoungst the employed for now but you never know when AoD may become a fulltime job. But this still doesn't mean AoD is going to start licensing & distributing anime. ;-)

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

And now, onto the forums...

FUNimation's Kiddy Grade "Starter Kit"
Normally when you mention "éclair", people think of some chocolate French pastry to eat. When you mention "Eclair" to an anime fan, they think of some hotty with a short red dress & a lipstick whip. Whether they'd eat her or do even more etchi things is left to you. ;-) But in the meantime, FUNimation has announced that they will have a 5000 copy, limited edition box with ballcap (velcro strap) to go along with volume 1 of Kiddy Grade in 2004. Later this week FUNi will be posting a two and half minute trailer for the series on the KiddyGrade.TV website.

Bandai's New Release Dates (Feb/Mar 2004)
Bandai-Ent.com has added into their database several new title dates. 2/3 will see Superior Defender Gundam Force (dub only), Infinite Ryvius 3, and the final Kikaider TV series DVD. 2/17 meets the first volume for air fighter series Yukikaze and Witch Hunter Robin's 3rd volume. And 3/2 welcomes the Kikaider 01 OVA, .hack//SIGN 6 (with bonus 27 & 28), and three flavours of Galaxy Angel to enjoy (single, with box, with box + extras). Fans will be happy to now have the option of getting a DVD + artbox without the large price tag for extras they may not want.

ADV January Solicitations
ADV's January titles are up and running. Several series will be drawing to a close, Slayers Great will launch on the 6th, and missing title Rune Soldier 6 will come out on the 13th. It's intresting to note that Janurary also welcomes the "Samurai X OVA Collection" and volume 7 of Saiyuki comes with the option of a 2nd box to go along with your first. According to Janice Williams, Samurai X is 3 discs in a real box with the Trust & Betrayal volumes having been remixed to 5.1 audio.

ADV: Mosquiton and other catalog titles
As ADV continues to keep grabbing more & more series, fans worry how long it will be before ADV's large back catalog is fully released on DVD. Master of Mosquition, Princess Minerva, and Sol Bianca are just a few titles to mention. A long time ago ADV asked fans what they would like to see on DVD sooner raher than later. Maybe it's time for another survey...

Utena VS Last Exile
The R1 forum has been pretty hectic of late between two DVDs. First off, you have the popular Utena series drawing to a close. The ending, the hidden meanings of things, and the relationships of the characters. On the other side of the coin we have the first volume of Last Exile. Another work from the Gonzo brain trust, we follow Claus & Lavie as they enter a world of adventure from trying to deliver a package. Stunning as both are, which will gain your attention this week?

R2 UK News: MVM 2004 proposed release schedule
"Damo" has recently caught up with MVM about what will be upcoming for UK fans. Mini-Goddess has been delayed due to waiting on Madman Ent. but will be looking at Summer 2004 for a release. The UK fans will also be getting several hit titles very soon: Tenchi Muyo! OVA, Fruits Basket, the upcoming Kiddy Grade, and the mind blowing series known as Serial Experiments Lain. The UK boom continues...

Robotech Remastered: Extended Edition
Using the same clean up & restoration methods applied to Southern Cross and Mospeada, ADV has taken on the task of re-releasing all three acts of Robotech again with cleaner footage, additional scenes which were removed before airing, and 3 different audio tracks: English 2.0, remixed into English 5.1, and remixed into Spanish 5.1. January 27th will welcome the first 300 minute box for $29.98.

Yeah, but do you jump in of the Daily Deals, too?
Sure, we all know about TRSI having some big sale every Thursday. But, do you know what are in Shawne's Deals of the Day? Daily our forum users dig through each collection to let people know about the bargins available. So if you haven't been looking at the weekly RightStuf thread because the big sale makes it to the main page.. you need to look again. You wouldn't believe how cheap some items have been of late.

Someday's Dreamers dub
While many are still waiting for their copies to arrive and others simply drool over the gorgeous box, a couple of users have posted up their thoughts on the Media Concepts dub for the Geneon title. How does it fare? Pretty positive. The laid back story series has picked up a dub fitting to the nature of the series and keeps in mind the often desired accuracy in script & performance. With Kay Jensen leading the cast as Yume, you can't help fall in love with the series.

C0V3R5 4Da W33k!
mmm... Eclair... ^_^

Manga the 3rd
After several busy weeks, Manga was bound to hit a soft one. Some fans are reacting to Ikkitousen.. err.. "Battle Vixens" to be adapted by the same man working on Battle Royal.

ADV Manga

ComicsOne

Dark Horse Manga

TOKYOPOP

Viz

Second Annual AOD Holiday party: Registration Open
PartyFaerie LadyFae has worked together the registration form for people to use. The party is quickly approaching on Dec. 13th and the room can only hold 50 people so you better get in now if you plan to head on up to Boston. Door fee is only $10 and a Holiday page has been put together if you wish to hotel info or even help donate a little more to make the party bigger & better.

SugoiCon 2003 - Cincinnati, OH (11/21 - 11/23)
Coming up this weekend is SugoiCon 2003. Guests this weekend include actresses Rebecca Forstadt & Monica Rial, actors Doug Smith & Taliesin Jaffe, translator Neil Nadelman, Real Life webcomic creator Greg Dean, and Bob and Emily DeJesus. A few AoD'ers are heading to the show so if you want some friends to hang out with this weekend, you may want to make your travel plans known.

Kimono/Yukata... What's the difference?
Adding yet again to expanding our readerships knowledge, "Hikari no Tenshi" asks about the differences between a kimono and a yukata. It's intresting to explore two articles of clothing which come up in anime so often.

Megami Magazine (or "Life with Fanservice")
Regulars of Forum Buzz should know what "Megami Magazine" is. And the monthly ritual of drooling over the magazine continues as many more fall into its open (and sexy) arms. December celebrates S-Man's favorite goddess of Aoi Sakuraba with more pics from the Ai Yori Aoshi ~Enishi~ series. Can you deny yourself Aoi-chan in a cute little tennis outfit? And releasing next week is a Gakken Mook "Ai Yori Aoshi Visual Collection" from Megami's publisher Animedia. It doesn't matter that you can't read Japanese when all you want to do is look at all the fabulous pictures & posters.

Burn-Up Scramble TV character designs
"AyaReiko" has made a quick scan of the Burn-Up Scramble character designs to be used in the new TV series. The designs are a bit of a change as the fourth Burn-Up series comes out of AIC. Hopefully more will be available soon about the series.

Anime films submitted for the Academy Awards
The Hollywood Reporter has mentioned several anime titles which are being thought of for the Best Animated Film Oscar. Titles include Pkoemon Heroes, Cowboy Bebop, Millennium Actress, and Patlabor the Movie 3. But the odds are against the anime films this year as the big fish known as "Finding Nemo" in the favored heavyweight.

Got Game?
It's a gamers world this week as we round up all the Game news & views you need to know.

Weekly Q n A
Welcome to the survey, feel free to sign up and answer any you like.

Miyazaki's Island
Going where few have gone before, Hayao Miyazaki will be sketching the residential designs for 18 of a 400 hectare man made island in Hakata Bay. The famed Japanese director behind movies such as My Neighbor Totoro, Laptuta: Castle in the Sky, and Princess Mononoke tends to carry a theme of nature in his work which will only make this project that more intresting when the builders try to bring his artwork to reality.

Quote of the Week

"Well, kissing a poster is actually no big deal. What I really want to do is... see, I just bought the December issue of Animage and it has this huge, freakingly gorgeous poster of Sanzo (from Saiyuki). It's about 8 times bigger than the magazine. I had to unfold it many times. Now, I've got it on my floor. All spread out. Sanzo is larger than life. And as I stare at him, I'm getting this urge to lie down next to my poster. Okay. Not next to it. I want to get on top of it. *^U^* Just once. And quickly. For a second or two. Before my husband and kid come home. But I hear this little voice in my head going, ew, don't do that, that's too weird. >_<;" - SkinnyCat

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. Hey you! Yeah, you. Don't you have X-Box Live! yet? We need more players to hang with!