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Welcome to our News archive for February 2006 - to see this month's news please click on the button below.
 


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27th February 2006

More Howl's Moving Castle Special Edition Packaging!

Following our earlier news about Virgin's special edition pop-up packaging and HMV's exclusive slipcase and free art cards for the forthcoming Howl's Moving Castle, we have now learned that online retailer Amazon is following suit.  Amazon are selling Howl's Moving Castle with exclusive new cover art for the excellent price of just £11.99, which leaves us spoiled for choice over which version to buy!

Source:  Optimum Asia
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24th February 2006

Cosplay & Anime to Feature at the Birmingham Memorabilia Show

A sure sign that manga and anime culture is breaking out into the public consciousness once again is the increasing presence it is having at trade shows and sci-fi expos.  There are frequently a large number of specialist anime & manga retailers in attendance at the UK's longest running pop culture and cult media fair, The Memorabilia Show, and his year they are also holding a Masquerade and Cosplay Competition due to popular demand, whilst an afternoon of anime is also planned for their Cult DVD Theatre.  The Show's organisers promise this afternoon of anime will include three special screenings of brand new anime titles, plus a few other surprises.  Also (if the anime wasn't enough) Brian Blessed will be signing autographs at the show for £15.  We know this isn't actually anime news, but it's so damn good it deserves a mention.

The Memorabilia Show is held in Birmingham's NEC on the 25th & 26th March, check their website for Cosplay competition entry forms and ticket details, and keep an eye open in the next week for more info on the anime screenings!

Source: The Memorabilia Show
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24th February 2006

HMV Anime Sale & Howl's Moving Castle Freebies

HMV in Bath are currently running an anime sale that will most likely be a country-wide promotion.  Several titles from ADV Films, Manga Entertainment, MVM and Optimum Asia were included, such as Rune Soldier vol 6 (£11.99), Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex (all individual volumes £7.99 each), Tsukihime Lunar Legend vol 1 (£10.99 with artbox) and Spirited Away (£4.99!).  Different branches may have different titles for good prices so get down to your local HMV for a bargain!

Also, following news of Virgin's exclusive pop-up packaging for Howl's Moving Castle, HMV are also offering exclusive freebies.  They will not only have an exclusive alternative cover for the DVD but will also be giving away a set of art cards with every purchase whilst stocks last.  Ah, decisions, decisions...

Source: HMV
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22nd February 2006

ADV to show free anime at Café Manga!

ADV have informed us that free screenings of their titles Elfen Lied and Boogiepop Phantom are to be shown at Café Manga Monday 27th February, with a repeat showing the following day. 

The first evening will begin 6pm and will start with the showing of the first two episodes of Boogiepop Phantom, followed by the first two episodes of Elfen Lied at 7pm and the same times apply to the repeat showings the following day.  As both titles are rated 15 and alcohol is available, be sure to take I.D. if you look young enough to be asked for it! Special Sushi boxes will be also be available just for these two days to enhance the anime experience. 

For details on how to find Café Manga visit their official website by clicking here.

Source: ADV
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19th February 2006

Anime South Bank Show on Tonight!

Yep, the South Bank Show focusing on anime and manga (as reported back at the start of the month) will be shown tonight on ITV at 11.05pm.  Make sure you don't miss it!

Source:  ITV
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16th February 2006

The nature of Monkey is truly irrepressible!

Rejoice!  After a long absence, cult show Monkey! as returned to Japanese TV courtesy of Fuji Television.  Although this is not strictly anime news, Monkey! is based on the classic tale Journey To The West, on which there have been many anime takes including Dragonball and Saiyuki among others.  J-pop fans will also be keen to know that the lead role in the new series as gone to Shingo Katori, a member of mega j-pop boy band SMAP

The British TV have been snapped up to the eleven episode series by an 'undisclosed' British TV company who plan to show it later this year!  If you have never seen Monkey! before just think of it as a live-action anime with bad 70's effects and dubbing and you're there!  For more information visit the official site by clicking here

Source: The Times 
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15th February 2006

Virgin to stock limited edition of Howl's Moving Castle

Due for release on 13/03/06, Virgin Megastore are to stock a limited edition of the oscar-nominated Howl's Moving Castle with exclusive pop-up packaging.  The 2-disc DVD set will contain no extra features on the DVD themselves, but the packaging is a nice exclusive nonetheless. 

Source:  Eyeonanime
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13th February 2006

Manga Release New Ghost in the Shell 2 Clips

Manga have released a series of new clips from the forthcoming Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence, which is out on the 27th February.  The four clips feature the new English dub commissioned by Manga which uses the same voice actors as the superb Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, and fans of the series will know that this means quality.  Check out the links below to view the clips, it's well worth it:

Clip 1 - High / Medium / Low
Clip 2 - High / Medium / Low
Clip 3 - High / Medium / Low
Clip 4 - Quicktime High / Low ; Flash High / Low ; MP4 for Sony PSP

Source:  Manga Entertainment
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12th February 2006

Play also slash UMD prices

Further to our previous new item dated 09/02/06, Play.Com have also slashed the prices on UMD movies Akira and Ghost In The Shell to £6.99 as well as Virgin Megastore.  If we come across any other stores offering this price reduction we will be sure to report it. 

Source:  Play.Com
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9th February 2006

Virgin Slash Anime UMD Prices

Own a Sony PSP?  Then it may be worth popping to your local Virgin Megastore, as they have reduced the price of Ghost in the Shell and Akira on UMD!  The Bristol branch has both at £6.99 each, which is probably the first time we have seen any of Sony's 'Universal Media Discs' drop below the £10 mark.  UMDs are mini video discs developed exclusively to be played on Sony's PlayStation Portable (PSP) console, unfortunately many buyers have been put off them because of the high price (£19.99 RRP) and the fact that they often contain less content than DVDs.  Hopefully more cheap prices will follow...

Source:  Virgin Megastore, Bristol
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9th February 2006

Stand Alone Complex OAV English details now available

Anime UK News
have reported that Production I.G have posted details in English on their website of Ghost In The Shell: Stand Alone Complex Individual Eleven OAV (Original Video Animation).  Only released recently in Japan on 27th January 2006, there is no news of a UK release yet but given the success of the Stand Alone Complex series, it is almost a certainity that the UK isn't far away. 

Check out the synopsis for Individual Eleven by clicking hereThe political stance it takes certainly makes for interesting reading, given the current immigration debate happening in Japan.  Lets hope it is not too long before Individual Eleven is released in the UK. 

Source: Anime UK News 
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7th February 2006

New Transformers Coming!

April is going to be another good month for Transformers fans, with no less than two new series hitting DVD!  First up is Transformers Cybertron on April 10th, known as Transformers Galaxy Force in Japan, the series is the follow up to Transformers Energon and features animation from anime powerhouse Gonzo.  The second release is actually an old series, with Metrodome bringing us the second series of the Japanese Transformers on April 24th.  This series - Transformers Takara: Masterforce - has never been released in the UK before and Metrodome will be bringing us the entire series in a cut-price boxset.  Great stuff!

Source:  Play.Com
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6th February 2006

The voice of Naruto is coming to the London Expo!

The official MCM London Expo Website has just announced the first confirmed guests for this year's Expo to be held May 27th-28th and among the obligatory Star Trek guests, they have confirmed that Maile Flanagan - the English dub voice of Naruto will be attending both days!  Given the huge number of Naruto cosplayers at last years Expos, Maile is sure to prove popular!

Source: MCM London Expo 
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6th February 2006

Today's Manga Releases

Several new manga volumes hit the shelves today from Gollancz priced at a wallet-friendly £4.99 each!  Pop down your local bookshop or comic shop and you should be able to pick up the following:

Case Closed volume 8 (Gosho Aoyama)
Dragonball volume 8 (Akira Toriyama)
Fushigi Yugi volume 8 (Yuu Watase)
Maison Ikkoku volume 1 (Rumiko Takahashi)
Maison Ikkoku volume 2 (Rumiko Takahashi)
Rurouni Kenshin volume 1 (Nobuhiro Watsuki)
Rurouni Kenshin volume 2 (Nobuhiro Watsuki)
Yu-Gi-Oh! Duelist volume 1 (Kazuki Takahashi)
Yu-Gi-Oh! volume 8 (Kazuki Takahashi)

Source:  Waterstones; Gollancz
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4th February 2006

Go Go To J-Pop Go!

ADV Films have announced that they are to stage the re-launch of the event J-Pop Go! at the refurbished Café Manga in London on Saturday 11th February. 

The event is the premiere venue for j-pop music and will be attended by Ubisoft, who will be launching the PS2 games Drakengard and Tales Of Eternia and ADV will showing a preview of hit anime Elfen Lied and an introduction to Boogiepop Phantom on the café's plasma screens.  Café Manga also houses a manga library which visitors can browse through during their visit.  

Café Manga is located on Westminster Bridge Road near the London Eye, for details on how to get there and further information on the event visit the J-Pop Go! website by clicking here.  You can also book tickets via the website which cost just £4 each. 

Source:  ADV; J-Pop Go!
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3rd February 2006

New Anime Expo for 2007!

The people behind the excellent MCM London Expo have announced that from July 2007 they will be running a dedicated anime and manga event entitled Anime London!  The Anime Village area at the MCM Expos held in May and October last year pulled in huge crowds and whilst the Anime Village will continue to be a part of the main Expo the organisers have felt the demand for a dedicated anime & manga event is sufficient to take this step.  However, they stress on their website that they do not wish to compete with the other fan events, just augment them.  More information when we get it.

Source:  MCM London Expo
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2nd February 2006

Manga & Anime South Bank Show to Screen this Month

As rumoured back in December, it seems that an episode of prestigious arts programme The South Bank Show focusing on manga and anime is definitely going ahead, and moreover will be screened this month!  The South Bank Show will screen on February 19th at 11.05pm on ITV and features interviews with manga authors Kazuo Koike (Lone Wolf & Cub) and Junko Mizuno (Pure Trance); directors Hayao Miyazaki (Howl's Moving Castle) and Katsuhiro Otomo (Akira) plus manga enthusiasts Jamie Hewlett (The Gorillaz) and Paul Gravett (Manga: 60 Years of Japanese Comics).  The show also takes look behind the scenes at Production IG, creators of the anime versions of Ghost in the Shell, and ITV4 will screen the original 1995 Ghost in the Shell film later the same night.  It will be great to see manga and anime given a (hopefully) balanced and in depth examination, so this looks like one show that can't be missed.

Source: South Bank Show website; Teletext 
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1st February 2006

Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence Website Launched

Manga Entertainment's website dedicated to the forthcoming Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence is now online.  Featuring a wealth of information on the creators and philosophy of the film, plus plenty of downloadable content it is certainly worth a look, click here to visit!

Source:  Manga Entertainment
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