Forum Buzz
By da Original S Man & asagiri2040

1/7/04 Edition

Important News

System Update: New Forum Update Soon
Sean will be installing version 6.4 within the next two weeks. You've been warned.

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

And now, onto the forums...

Cosplay Complex Pushed Back
RightStuf recently listed ADV's Cosplay Complex as now having an unknown date. Never fear, Corey Henson stopped by to let everyone know that ADV is still planning to release the title. It has only been pushed back to correct some recent (but unmentioned) issues.

The Geneon Logo Appears
While the Front & Back cover may read "Geneon", Pioneer has left the spines alone on the recent releases of Chobits V.6 and Someday's Dreamers V.2 to match the existing DVDs. That means all your current Chobits DVDs (or other ongoing series) will still display "Pioneer" on the spine.

Geneon April Announcements
Geneon's April schedule included a surprise. he previously announced Mahoromatic TV Special is being delayed with no new date. On top of that, the options have been reduced to only getting the DVD inself or DVD+Box+Figure. The DVD+Box option has been canceled. 4 more older DVDs are joining the new Signature Series with a MSRP of $14.98. And April 13th will be a happy day for many becuase you get Lupin TV V.6, Mao-chan V.4, and Master Keaton V.6 all released on the same day.

Media Blasters March Announcements
Media Blasters has big plans for March 30th. Twelve Kingdoms V.5, Figure 17 V.4, and Gunparade March V.2 are all slated to release. In addition, the Gun Frontier: Gun Pack (DVD V.1-4) sneaks in for $39.95. The 2nd Rurouni Kenshin set is also coming out and matches the exisiting bento box style as the first season. The artbox will be available seperately, as well, for $19.99.

Bandai's Price Reductions
Since Bandai is changing distributors of their DVDs, they have compiled a new list of UPCs for retailers to use. While doing this, Bandai has also taken the opportunity to drop the MSRP on several older titles. Singles for Gundam Wing, Crest of the Stars, 08th MS Team, and many other titles which have been repackaged later into bricks & boxes are now at a lower price. Anywhere from $5 to $20 less than the original price. How can you deny Fancy Lala at only $9.98 a DVD?

Random bits and pieces of R2 News
An intresting collection of upcoming R2 release details. Includes Jubei-chan, Stratos 4 OVA, PLANETES, and Maria-sama ga Miteru.

Madman website difficulties
Australia's Madman/AV Channel Group is having web trouble at the moment. "slykura" dropped a note on the forums of how to contact Madman Entertainment while they work on the problem.

New Manga UK DVD Release Dates
"GrantM" noticed that Play.com has some new DVD release dates for upcoming Manga UK titles. This includes New Dominion Tank Police, Ninja Scroll: Anniversary Edition, Fist Of The North Star, Iczer 3, and Tokyo Revelation on the list. Date cover February through June 2004.

Does FUNimation have the "home version" of GXP?
A recent check disc version of the Tenchi Muyo! GXP dvd has landed into the hands of one reviewer. A few questions and comparisons later, it looks like FUNi might have recieved the "home version" of the DVD masters for the series. The "home version" is a more suggestive display of characters with cleaned up scenes, more detailed shots, and the towels during those constant bath scenes being removed. No official answer yet but fans are eagerly awaiting an official reply.

Ai Yori Aoshi ~Enishi~
How many episodes? 12. Licensed? Yep. To be released when? Sometime this year, according to the insert in the final volume of the first season. From there the thread turns to discussing whether or not the second season has any merit at all. While the story progression (or lack thereof) may not please some, for others the fanservice is enough. In the end, though, as long as Aoi’s there, then there shall be fans to watch.

Utena the Movie – messed up?
So, just what is so messed up about the Utena movie anyway? The video, according to one particular review. Or more specifically, there’s some odd video encoding issue at hand. It’s an interesting item due to the uniqueness of the problem, but the end result is a disc that, while not progressive (as was noted long ago, and by CPM themselves as a correction after the initial “the movie will be progressive” announcement), looks just fine. Justin Sevakis of CPM also stops by to briefly explain a couple of things.

Aquarian Age
“Malrock” has noted that a trailer for Aquarian Age: Sign for Evolution is present on the Slayers: Great disc, suggesting that we’ll be seeing this show sooner than later. Fans of the series and its card game origins suggest that the show is a bit sparse on details and might be a bit confusing for those new to the Aquarian Age universe, but that shouldn’t stop people from giving it a try. Also, Saki from Broccoli/Synch-Point/etc. pops in to explain a bit about the upcoming Aquarian Age: Juvenile Orion manga release.

Geneon Music April Releases
Geneon's music division keeps up the monthly pace of 3 titles with their own anime titles and some licensed by others. April sees the 2nd Last Exile soundtrack, the Texhnolyze soundtrack, and the Hinata girls are going to be warming up many cd players with the Love Hina Best Collection.

2003 Dub Year In Review
"bctaris" has started off this year's thread for a round-up of what everyone thought were the highs and lows of dubbing. It's a long list of catagories so you better get crackin'. Which show will end up being your favorite dub?

Missing Najica Dialogue?
Originally mentioned by Rod Su in September, the 2nd volume of ADV's Najica is missing two sections of dialogue during episode 7's dub. This happens when Najica is talking with Rena on the phone. The DVD and recent The Anime Network airing both only feature Najica's side of the conversation while the original Japanese included Rena's replies. Since the original posting, "JeffDM" has noticed some more spots of possible missing dub dialogue in the 8th episode. In late November, dlw said he would check into the original episode 7 problem but no answer has come yet.

DVD Covers for the Week
Including a large picture of one side of the Tenchi Muyo! GXP box from FUNi.

Manga Warriors
See, this is what happens when nothing is good on TV and DVD releases are fairly slim. Everyone goes and reads. Naughty, naughty people. ;-) At least make sure to read Megs' CoaMA thread. You can't help but enjoy the confessions of a manga junky.

Broccoli Books

Comics One

Dark Horse

Doubleday

Media Blasters

TOKYOPOP

Viz

Recommendations Rundown
In this brave new year 2004, what titles are you considering in order to fill your time? “Grant Oldman” is looking for some “fallen angel” anime series, “jarhead” is considering MB’s upcoming Iria (re-)release, “Mana Masa” is in need of a “tragic” anime series or three, and “ZhenJi” and “Anime 26” both need recommendations simply for something new and interesting to watch. As always, this is but a portion of the requests your fellow AoD’ers have, so be sure to browse and help out a fan or two in need! Na na na, century color, na na na, million color, turns!

2nd Ghost in the Shell: Innocence trailer
The official Japanese movie website for Innocence has added a second trailer. It's available in 3 speeds but Windows Media only. Bateau is going to have alot to do in this second film.

Funimation named "Anime Company of the Year"
ICv2.com has handed out their awards for 2003. FUNimation walks away with Company of the Year, Disney's release of the Miyazaki film Spirited Away as Product of the Year, and the sudden rise in intrest for reading manga has made it the Phenomenon of the Year. Keep in mind that these winners are picked by ICv2 and do not exactly reflect what fandom would might pick.

Gundam Official updated
The official US Gundam website has been refreshed just a bit. The Universal Century section covering series like Gundam, 08th MS Team, 0080 & 0083 carries a fresh coat of paint and alot of details. How detailed? It looks like Mark Simmons' Gundam Project website has been fairly merged in (presentation, level of detail in information) to provide a solid base to new section. Still to come are entries for the series Zeta and F91 (both which Bandai plan to release in 2004).

Steve Irwin & the News
Steve Irwin, also known as the Crocodile Hunter, hit a bit of a snag with some of the viewing public. While feeding a crocodile during one of his shows, he carried his infant son in arm. This has caused some outrage and understanding not unlike Michael Jackson's recent incident with his own child. Did he go too far or is he expert enough to know when there's danger?

Sarah Michelle Gellar to star in Ju-On remake
TV's Buffy the Vampire Slayer is taking on a different role. Writer/Director Takashi Shimizu is remaking his movie "The Ring" into an English version with Sarah Michelle Gellar. While being filmed in Japan, The Ring's producer Taka Ichise will be joined by Evil Dead's Sam Raimi as a producer on the English remake.

Questions for the Week
Once again gathering the good, the bad, and the unusual of the forums.

Lego on Mars Rover
Man has yet to touch down on Mars but the child & grown-up's toys have. Attached to the Spirit explorer robot is a DVD and three leg bricks to hold in down. While being an odd way to get some product placement, the 3 colored bricks also act as a color calibration target by using the primary colors Red, Yellow, and Blue. The Opportunity robot which will attempt a touch down on Mars later this month carries a similar attachment.

Quote of the Week

"Comparing, in any way, Steve Irwin to Michael Jackson is like comparing Tiny Snow Fairy Sugar to Urotsukidoji." - Kikuchiyo

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. When, oh when will Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law go to DVD? Must we be under a Blackwatch Plaid alert until they do?

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