May 31, 2011 : A New Fullmetal Alchemist Movie… Uh Oh.
In the same vain as my previous post, Funimation has bought the distribution rights to Fullmetal Alchemist: Sacred Star Of Milos. The movie is set to premiere in Japan this summer and will be in America early next year.
So why the ‘Uh-Oh’? Well, according to this article, the movie is a continuation of the series. Now, I love FMA: Brotherhood, and I am stoked to see the remaining 16 episodes of the 64 episode series; however the new movie coming on the heels of the series makes me a little worried that the movie was needed to properly tie it up (look at the FMA movie that followed the original series or even the incredibly confusing ending to Evangelion).
Just about every episode of Brotherhood has been great, and many have been incredible; but it would be a shame if they don’t adequately finish the series within the original 64 episodes. On the other hand, maybe the movie is just an extended prologue; but the skeptic in me will believe it when I see it, which I most certainly will.
posted by Pi Visuals at 3:51 pm
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May 17, 2011 : Trigun Movie Coming To Theaters
As I mentioned last year, Trigun: Badlands Rumble made its way through Japan’s theaters last spring. This summer, it’s North America’s turn. Even better news – it will be dubbed in English. However, it’s worth pointing out that some theaters will show the English-dubbed version, while others will show the original Japanese movie. I suggest finding out in advance which one you’ll be seeing, lest you repeat my mistake with Ghost In The Shell 2: Innocence. The release dates haven’t been finalized, but that should come out within a few weeks.
The English dubbed cast will only have the Vash voice actor reprising his role from the anime series, however it looks like the rest of the cast will have several recognizable voices – except for the guy who’s playing Wolfwood… no idea who that is. Also on the plus side, the dubbing was done by Funimation, who usually does pretty solid work. It might be worthwhile watching this in the theaters.
posted by Pi Visuals at 2:22 pm
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April 28, 2011 : The Reverse Blade Sword Strikes Again… Eventually
The newest issue of Jump Square announced that a new Rurouni Kenshin anime will be put in development soon. While this is cool news, sadly that was the extent of the announcement. Will this be a full series, OVA, remake, leave off where the old series ended? None of that was revealed. Plus, the fact that it’s in development means it will be a while until it’s out… in Japan.
Frankly, I loved Rurouni. The fights scenes, the arcs, the character design, everything. Too bad it wasn’t all that well received in the United States. Cartoon Network barely aired the series (once a week in fact on the now defunct Toonami). They only aired the first two seasons – concluding the Shishio saga. Now granted, this was 62 of the 95 total episodes, and those last 33 did not follow the manga. So who knows how good they were. But something tells me they were still tons better than Bleach’s Bounts Arc.
Either way, I am curious what this new version will contain. And I will probably find out in about three years. Actually, Jump Square is supposed to reveal more information in their next issue. Still, I don’t know how they are going to top Freckles as the intro song.
posted by Pi Visuals at 9:26 pm
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April 19, 2011 : My Fellow Nerds And I Will Retire To The Nerdery
I recently saw an ad on the CTA for this year’s Anime Central – The Midwest Anime and Manga Convention. Over the last five years, I’ve heard about this yearly event but always after it takes place.
After hearing about the convention this time around before it happens, I might actually attend. However, a lot of that depends on the guests and musicians they line up (a few years ago they had the Pillows!). If I find out Steven Jay Blum will be in attendance, that might be all that is needed.
The ball’s in your court, Anime Central.
posted by Pi Visuals at 8:08 pm
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April 6, 2011 : More Archer To Come
Despite the some recent bad news about Titan, Archer has at least received a well deserved greenlight for a third season.
Last year’s season 2 order was for 13 episodes, while this new season is slated for 16. The extra 3 episodes will air in September. FX hopes pairing it with It’s Always Sunny for a month will help garner even more fans. I think it’s a pretty smart move that should pay off.
The remaining 13 episodes will air early 2012 and be paired with a new comedy that was developed by three writers from Sunny (including Rickety Cricket… aka David Hornsby).
posted by Pi Visuals at 12:08 pm
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March 31, 2011 : Say Goodbye To Sym-Bionic Titan
Genndy Tartakovsky has yet another series end prematurely on Cartoon Network. They released next season’s schedule, and it does not have Genndy’s Sym-Bionic Titan on it. While it hasn’t been formally cancelled, the absence of the show on the upcoming season’s schedule shows it has not been renewed – a similar fate as Genndy’s greatest show, Samurai Jack.
According to the article, while Titan received competitive ratings, the decision to not move forward with another season was because “it didn’t have enough toys connected to it”. Personally, this seems like a weak reason, but it obviously contributes to the show’s bottom line. The more pressing question is – how does a show featuring robots not have marketable toys? Not only does each character their own robot, but they form together to create an entirely new one (Titan… the baddest of them all).
That means the remaining two episodes will be the series last, barring any miracles. Sadly, so many cool storylines will not be resolved (or even touched). But I guess at this point, there’s no use crying over spilled milk – all one can do now is make sure they enjoy these last two episodes.
Although, it is disheartening to see another good show end too soon.
posted by Pi Visuals at 12:41 pm
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March 23, 2011 : Venture Bros. Galore
Venture Bros. co-creator, Jackson Publick, announced several cool things on his blog a few days ago:
1)Â DVD for Season 4 (part 2) is now out in stores (cool, but not a big deal).
2)Â Venture Bros. was renewed for two more seasons (again cool, but not too big of a surprise).
3)Â A 60-90 minute Venture Bros. special will be produced (details are not set in stone, but that’s awesome).
4)Â Jackson and Doc Hammer have been working on an independent 11 minute Venture special. It looks to be unrelated to the normal Venture Universe and should air during the summer (now that’s a nice cherry on top).
I’m not sure when the new season will be released, but if I had to guess, it won’t be until mid 2012. Of course, they have had delays in their production in the past.
posted by Pi Visuals at 2:18 pm
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March 14, 2011 : Happy Pi Day!!!
Happy Pi Day, everyone.
Not much else is going on right now. But on the plus side, Illinois is back in the Big Dance – let the disappointment commence!
posted by Pi Visuals at 12:15 am
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March 3, 2011 : More American Dad A-Comin’
Even though it was on the bubble, American Dad has been renewed for another season.
Being my favorite Seth MacFarlane show, I am very pleased to hear this. Its future was uncertain there for a while, and I attribute the renewal to two factors.
1) Seeing as how Seth MacFarlane has two other shows on its Sunday Animation Block, FOX would prefer not to piss him off.
2) Bob’s Burgers hasn’t fared all that well ratings wise.
If I had to bet, I would wager reason #2 had more influence in FOX’s decision – but I don’t care how American Dad got renewed, I’m just glad it did (particularly since Bob’s Burgers wasn’t impressive enough to replace it).
posted by Pi Visuals at 5:54 pm
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February 24, 2011 : Madhouse’s Take on X-Men
Madhouse Studios just released the teaser trailer for its anime version of X-Men, and it looks pretty sweet.
Madhouse has churned out pretty solid products in the past (Death Note, Trigun, and Ninja Scroll to name a few), so I think this will be pretty cool to watch. The series is supposed to be 12 episodes long and set to premiere April 4th in Japan.
This is the third of four Marvel franchises Madhouse is turning into anime (each of which are 12 episodes long). Iron Man aired last year, and Wolverine is currently airing. The fourth part is Blade. G4 has bought the rights to air all four series in the U.S., with Iron Man set to air this year. Out of these four, I am definitely most excited about the X-Men adaptation.
posted by Pi Visuals at 2:15 pm
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