Funimation has announced that it has entered into an agreement giving them exclusive rights to the U.S. online simulcast of the networks newest animated series “Rainbow“. This collaboration will allow the simulcast and streaming of already aired episodes and the remaining episodes of the 26 part series. Starting June 1, 2010, Funimation will air episode 9 one hour after its premier in Japan.
Looking forward to seeing the series. The storyline seems pretty good.
Source: AnimeNewsNetwork
Anime Expo has announced that host voice actresses Yui Horie and Eri Kitamura at the July 1 – 4 convention in Las Angeles. Both actresses will be promoting their work in the Toradora! anime, which will be released through NIS America in July.
Other characters that these actresses have voiced include:
Sounds like Anime Expo will be an exiting one this year. Does not appear I will get to make it so if you manage to get there, let me know how it was. I wouldn’t mind getting an autographed photo either of either or both of these actresses. (hint)
Source: AnimeNewsNetwork
Continuing on with this Springs Anime releases, here is my list for April. Don’t forget, you can find my March listing here.
B Gata H Ke – April 1, 2010 – HAL Film Maker – Yamada is a high school student that is a virgin. She aspires to have 100 partners but despite this she finds herself pursuing only one boy.
B Gata H Kei
Initial thoughts: Not sure yet, sounds like plenty of fan service in the works… (ANN, Wiki)
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Kaichou wa Maid-sama! – April 1, 2010 – JC Staff – Romantic comedy; Student council head Misaki despises the male population at the once all girl school she attends. Misaki’s most handsome schoolmate discovers her secret job as a maid cafe employee.
Kaichou wa Maid-sama!
Initial thoughts: This might be a fun series. I really enjoyed Ladies x Butlers this past winter and I imagine this might be along similar lines. (ANN, Wiki)
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Ookiku Furikabutte ~Natsu no Taikai-hen~
Initial thoughts: Looks like it may be a good story like to follow. Had not heard of the series and I will probably check out Season 1 first. Wonder how it will compare to Cross Game. (ANN, Wiki)
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Shin Koihime†Musou Otome Tairan – April 1, 2010 – Dogakobo – After losing her family to bandits, Kanu vows to not let others share the pain she had. She becomes a widely known and feared bandit hunter. She meets others in her journeys who wish to join her cause.
Initial thoughts: I’ll give it a shot. This is a continuation of the anime series so this will likely be another I want to catch the first season of. (ANN, Wiki)
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Geijutsuka Art Design Class – April 1, 2010 – AIC Plus -Follows 5 friends through their classes at a specialized art school. (Opening below)
Initial thoughts: This might be a fun series. I tend to like “real life” shows (similar to K-On!) so I’ll give this a shot. (ANN, Wiki)
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To-Love-Ru (Episode 6) – April 2, 2010 – Continuing the adventures that surround Lala Satalin (princess of Deviluke stellar empire) and her unwilling fiance Rito Yuki (a mere human), and friends.
To Love-Ru
Initial thoughts: Never really got into the original series so I can’t give a accurate comment. I suppose fans will enjoy this next OVA episode. (ANN, Wiki)
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Ring ni Kakero 1 (Shadow) – April 2, 2010 – “After defeating Black Shaft’s makeshift Team America, the Golden Japan Jr. team returns to training for the World Tournament that will be held in Tokyo. But during training the Shadow Clan, which uses boxing as an assasination technique, kidnaps Kiku in order to lure Ryuji and the others into a fight to see who’s truly the better representatives of Japan’s junior boxers.”
Ring ni Kakero
Initial thoughts: I’ll give it a look-see. Some how Baki the Grappler comes to mind. Didn’t care much for Baki. (ANN, Wiki)
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SD Gundam Sangokuden – April 3, 2010 – Sunrise – Retelling of the Chinese Literary classic Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Characters are represented as Gundams.
Initial thoughts: Not familiar with the Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Looks like there are a couple of Anime series this season that are following this story. I’ll give it a shot. It sounds as though the intention is to reach a younger audience with an older classic story. (ANN, Wiki)
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MAJOR (Season 6) – April 3, 2010 – Synergy SP – Story of a son following in the steps of his father becoming a baseball star. (Manga Adaptation)
Initial thoughts: Looks interesting. I had not heard of this series until this season. Must be doing well as this is the start of its 6th season. I’ll give this a chance. I’m a fan of Cross Game as well. (ANN, Wiki)
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Arakawa under the Bridge – April 4, 2010 – SHAFT – “Ichinomiya Kou has always lived according to the creed of his wealthy, successful family: never be in debt to anyone. But one day, under the Arakawa Bridge, his life is saved by a homeless girl named Nino. In order to pay her back, Kou promises to be her boyfriend; and thus begins his new life under the bridge.”
Initial thought: Like the premise of the series… I’ll be checking it out. (ANN, Wiki)
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Giant Killing – April 4, 2010 – DEEN – East Tokyo’s football team is nearing the bottom of Japan’s top football league table. Team moral is low and fan support is waning. The ETU is in danger of being finished forever. Only the coach is blamed, but he is ready to prove that the team can win against the nation’s biggest club.
Initial thoughts: Sounds like a feel good anime story line much like Cross Game or other sports shows and movies. I’m gonna give this one a shot. The story line sounds promising. (ANN, Wiki)
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Hime Chen! Otogi Chikku Idol Lilpri – April 4, 2010 – Television adaptation of a trading card game. Centers around 3 elementary girls who can change into idol princesses.
Hime Chen! Otogi Chikku Idol Lilpri
Initial thoughts: Sounds sappy to me. Gonna pass. (ANN, Wiki)
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Ichiban Ushiro no Daimao – April 5, 2010 – Artland – “The story of “love, magic, and battles” revolves around Akuto Sai, a boy who aims to become part of his country’s highest order of magicians and contribute to society.”
Initial thoughts: Reading the full story plot on ANN and watching the preview, looks like it might be interesting. Might be fanservice overkill for some though. The android character at the end of the preview, her face reminds me of another character… Just can’t quite remember. (ANN, Wiki)
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Senko no Night Raid – April 5, 2010 – A1 Pictures – Part of TV Tokyo’s “Power of Anime” project. In 1931, the Imperial Japanese Army is dispatched to mainland China as a result of the recent Japanese wars. There, a special military spy organization exists known as “Sakurai Kikan”, long since buried in history.
Initial thoughts: This looks pretty good to me. Looks to be plenty of action and story to keep me attention. (ANN, Wiki)
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K-On!! (Season 2) – April 6, 2010 – Kyo Ani – Continuation of the widely popular first season of K-On!
K-On!! Second Season
Initial thoughts: For me, no brainer… of course I plan to catch this one… (ANN, Wiki)
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Mayoi Neko Overun! – April 6, 2010 – AIC – “The story revolves around Takumi Tsuzuki, a boy who lives with his older “sister” Otome, although the two have no blood ties between them. Otome manages a run-down confectionary store called Stray Cats. One day, Otome picks up a mysterious beautiful girl off the streets.”
Mayoi Neko Overrun
Initial thoughts: Sounds like a fun series, looking forward to seeing how it turns out. (ANN, Wiki)
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RAINBOW – Nisha Rokubo no Shichinin – April 6, 2010 – Set in 1955, follows seven teenagers who had to live with each other in the same hold of a reformatory in Shio. The story focuses on how they lived their lives after being released.
Initial thoughts: Looks interesting… will check it out. (ANN, Wiki)
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House of Five Leaves – April 15, 2010 – Manglobe – “Akitsu Masanosuke is a timid ronin on his way to Edo from the countryside when he accidentally encounters a playboy named Yaichi, who asks him to be his bodyguard. But it turns out that Yaichi is actually the leader of a group of bandits called the “Five Leaves,” and he’s hoping that Masanosuke will join them. Masanosuke is reluctant to help them, but as grows closer to his eccentric new companions, he learns to relate to them and grow as a person in the process.”
Initial thoughts: Samurai Champloo comes to mind at first. I’ll give it a look see..(ANN, Wiki)
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Yojo-han Shinwa Taikei – April 22, 2010 – Madhouse – Follows a nameless protagonist has he looks back on his earlier years of college life and his club adventures.
Initial thoughts: Dunno if I want to watch this one… My college life wasn’t that exciting and sometimes hearing how another person had a blast is a bit depressing. (ANN, Wiki)
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Utawarerumono (Episode 3) – April 23, 2010 -
Initial thoughts: I did see the series and thought it was ok. At the moment I don’t have a description for this particular airing. (ANN, Wiki)
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Nodame Cantabile (OAD) – April 26, 2010 – JC Staff – Continuation of the Nodame Cantabile storyline.
Opening from Finale:
Initial thoughts: At first I did not know what to think of this series. After watching a few episodes of the Finale, I found it surprisingly humorous and serious as well. (ANN, Wiki)
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Super Street Fighter IV – April 28, 2010 -
Initial thoughts:
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Tales of Symphonia Tethe’alla Chapter – March 25, 2010 – ufotable – ?
Initial thoughts: If I go by the trailer alone, this looks interesting… I’ll probably check it out.
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Angel Beats – April 3, 2010 – PA Works – “In a world after death, angels fight for their fate and their future. Yuri, the leader of the Shinda Sekai Sensen, rebels against the god who destined her to have an unreasonable life. On the otherhand, Tenshi, the chairperson of the student council for the world after death, battles against the SSS members. SSS members utilize armed weaponry to battle it out against the angels harnessing supernatural powers.”
Initial thoughts: This one might irritate some people considering its dealings with after life, angels, etc. (ANN, Wiki)
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Hakuouki: Shinsengumi Kitan – April 4, 2010 – DEEN -Chizuru is the daughter of a Dutch-trained doctor who vanishes on a trip to Kyoto. While searching for her father she witnesses a Shinsengumi transform into an ogre. After being captured, she learns that this change was caused by her father. She joins the Shinsengumi in search of her father and the cure.
Initial thoughts: Ogres… hmmm, a twist on the “When They Cry” story line?? I’ll give this one a chance.
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Heroman – April 1, 2010 – BONES – Collaboration with Studio Bones and Stan Lee. Story about a boy who lives on the West Coast of the US. He discovers a toy robot that becomes “Heroman”, a giant robot that he can pilot and fight against evil, alien invaders and other threats.
Initial thoughts: Looks like fun. I hope to catch this one. Kids may enjoy this series. (ANN,Wiki)
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Kiss x Sis – April 5, 2010 – Feel – “Keita has two older step-sisters, Ako and Riko, but since they aren’t related by blood, they love him in a lustful way. After a mishap at school, Ako and Riko finally confess their love to him. Keita dislikes the thought of seeing them other then brother and sister, but as he tries to enter the same school as his sisters, he slowly becomes attracted to them.”
Initial thoughts: If you have seen the OVA version of these then you know what I mean by “naughty”. Good for fan-service… (ANN, Wiki)
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Uragiri wa Boku no Namae o Shitteiru – April 12, 2010 – JC Staff – Sakurai Yuki is adopted after being found in the bushes as a baby. After years of independence he is unable to control his ability to feel the emotions of those he touches, he has made many mistakes in his life. Facing death threats, his life is further complicated by the appearance of a man claiming to be his older brother.
Initial thoughts: Seems kinda soap opera like. Sounds like it might be interesting just to see how the story starts off. (ANN, Wiki)
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Working!! – April 4, 2010 – A1 Pictures – “Set in a family restaurant in Hokkaido, the northern prefecture of Japan, 16 year old high school student Takanashi Souta works part-time along with his strange co-workers: Taneshima Popura, a high school girl who’s a year older than Souta who’s easily mistaken for a elementary/middle schooler, and Shirafuji Kyoko the 28-year old store manager who doesn’t bother to do any work at all.”
Trailer can be found here.
Initial thoughts: Looks like another fun series… will check it out. Strangely, the characters look like a mix of K-On!, Durarara!! and a couple other series… wonder why that is…
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With Winter trying to freeze some of us into human-cikles, the least we can do is enjoy great anime. With that in mind, Spring is right around the corner. Chartfag has released a version of his chart for this coming season and with that I have decided provide my version of the listing once again. Since this list is long, I am breaking it up into 2 separate posts. Below are the anticipated March releases. I will release my April release version as soon as I have completed it.
ChartFags Spring 2010 release listing v2
I plan to follow the same format that I used for the Winter listing… Name, Synopsis with release company and date (if available) and the trailer. If you would like to suggest changes to the format I am using, please let me know through the contact page.
March
March 2, 2010 – Bakugan Battle Brawlers New Vestroia (Japan Release)
March 6, 2010 – Working! (Episode 1 on Tokyo MX)
March 8, 2010 – Working! (Episode 1 on Yomiuri TV)
March 12, 2010 – Gundam Unicorn
March 17, 2010 – Haiyoru! Nyaru-Ani
March 17, 2010 – One Piece OVA (Recap)
March 24, 2010 – Darker Than Black OVA (Episode 2)
March 25, 2010 – Tono to Issho
March 25, 2010 – Residents of Ashiaraiyashiki
March 26, 2010 – Votoms Phantom Arc (Episode 1)
March 26, 2010 – Sex Pistols (Episode 1)
March 26, 2010 – Umi Monogatari (Special)
March 26, 2010 – Ikkitousen: Xtreme Xecutor
March 26, 2010 – Shin Koihime†Musou Otome Tairan (Advanced Broadcast)
March 2010 – Ai no Kusabi
March 2010 – Yutori-chan (ONA)
Black Rock Shooter – xx/xx/xxxx – Ordet – No Information Yet
Initial impressions: I’m intrigued by this one. The artwork, the figure design. Anxious to see how the story line turns out. (ANN, Wiki)
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D.C. ~Da Capo~ Sequel – xx/xx/xxxx – Feel – No Synopsis Yet
D.C. ~Da Capo~ Sequel
Initial impressions: None yet. I have not seen any of the previous episodes. (ANN, Wiki)
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Hetalia Axis Powers (Season 3) – May 6, 2010 – DEEN – Italy, once home of the strongest empire in the world, has changed. This is the story of Italy, now a cowardly pasta-loving fool, and his friends (other personified countries of the world) as they live through strange moments in world history.
Hetalia
Initial impressions: It’s a pass for me. I tried watching some of the series and something about how it comes across does not appeal to me. I have heard others that feel it is a great series. Looks like Funimation has picked up rights to this series… Here is a link to their site. (ANN, Wiki)
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Iron Man – xx/xx/xxxx – Madhouse/Marvel – First of a four-part project between Marvel and Madhouse. Each season will see Madhouse take a famous comic character and re-imagine them in a bid to bring the characters to a Japanese audience. Summer will see a Wolverine anime adaptation.
Initial impressions: This might be interesting. The trailer makes this look to be promising! It seems a number of the older cartoons are being re-done lately and there are definate changes in how the story is told and how the characters are drawn here in the US alone. While I don’t care for some of the new versions of the classics, I’ll give this a wait and see.
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Bakugan Battle Brawlers New Vestroia (Japan Release) – March 2, 2010 – TMS Entertainment – Drago returns to Earth with a new ally named Mira. The five original Bakugan that helped restore order to New Vestroia have been captured, Drago is now being targeted, and a group of humans known as the Vexos are taking over New Vestroia. With the help of Dan and the Battle Brawlers though, Drago believes he will have enough power to not only free New Vestroia but his friends as well.
Bakugan New Vestroia
Initial impressions: I’ve not watched to many episodes of this series but I can see how it would be and attraction to kids. (ANN, Wiki)
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Working!! – March 6, 2010 & April 2010 – A-1 Pictures – The story is set in a family restaurant named Wagnaria in the northern Japanese prefecture of Hokkaido. A high school freshman named Sota Takanashi works part-time among the restaurant’s high-spirited, yet unusual staffers.
Working!!
Initial impressions: Going by the trailer on the official site, this might be a fun series to catch. (ANN, Wiki)
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Gundam Unicorn (OAV) – March 12, 2010 – Sunrise – The year is U.C. 0096. Three years have passed since the end of the Second Neo Zeon War. It is said that the Vist Foundation manipulates the Earth Federation and Anaheim Electronics from behind the scenes. Hoping to create a new world, the Foundation attempts to hand over a certain secret to the Neo Zeon remnants known as the Sleeves.
Initial impressions: Eh, the Jury is still out. I haven’t tried watching any of the Gundam series since Gundam Wing. (ANN, Wiki)
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Haiyoru! Nyaru-Ani – March 17, 2010 – DLE Inc. – A sci-fi comedy. Yasaka Mahiro is a ordinary high school boy. One day, he is attacked by a monster and saved by a mysterious girl. She introduces herself as Nyarlathotep of Cthulhu Myth. She tells Mahiro that she’s come to protect him from attack by other aliens.
Initial impressions: This looks to be another fun series to watch. (ANN, Wiki)
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One Piece – March 17, 2010 – Toei – Recap
-= Need details =-
Initial impressions: (ANN, Wiki)
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Darker Than Black OVA (Episode 2) – March 24, 2010 – Bones -
-= Need details =-
Initial impressions: Wow! Yeah, I liked the series… Really want to catch more of this one. (ANN, Wiki)
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Tono to Issho OAV – March 25, 2010 – Comedy, History. Manga adaptation.
Tono to Issho
Initial impressions: Not quite sure. This story follows the exploits of 4 generals during Japan’s tumultuoussengoku (Era of the Warring States) period. (ANN, Wiki)
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Residents of Ashiaraiyashiki (Ashiaraiyashiki no Junin-tachi) – March 25, 2010 – “The “battle fantasy” story follows the humans, mythical creatures, and demons that live together in a mysterious apartment called Ashiaraiyashiki.” Manga Adaptation.
Residents of Ashiaraiyashiki
Initial impressions: None yet
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Armored Trooper Votoms: Phantom Arc (Soko Kihei VOTOMS: Gen-ei Hen) – March 26, 2010 – Sunrise – 26 years after the original airing, slated to be the last in the series… “The end of the 100 year war between the planets Bavalant and Melkia does not allow Melkian soldier Chirico Cuvie a moment of peace. His accidental involvement in a clandestine mission places him in danger, requiring him to escape and attempt to survive on what is left of his war-torn homeworld.”
Initial impressions: None at this time… I have not seen the series although the promo video is intriguing. (ANN, Wiki)
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Sex Pistols (Love Pistols) Episode 1 – March 26, 2010 – “The “science love fiction” story revolves around a high school boy who discovers that he is part of a select group of humans who did not evolve from monkeys, but various animals such as leopards and black bears.” This is a manga adaptation.
Initial impressions: Uhhhh, no… Not into the Yaoi thing…. A definite pass for me… (ANN, Wiki)
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Umi Monogatari (Special) – March 26, 2010 – ZEXCS – “The story centers on Marin and Urin, two “pure” sisters who live alongside the fish in the sea, but yearn to be in the world beyond the water and above ground.”
Umi Monogatari
Initial impressions: Looks interesting, have not seen any of the series or the Manga. (ANN, Wiki)
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Ikkitousen: Xtreme Xecutor (Battle Vixens) – March 26, 2010 – TNK – Fourth in the tournament-style show. Battles between academy clans escalate. It is time to unleash the true powers of all the fighters. (Trailer may be a bit to “revealing” for younger audiences)
Initial impressions: Haven’t seen any of the series so I can’t say. Looking at the preview, I’d say there is plenty of fan-service to be had. (ANN, Wiki)
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Shin Koihime†Musou Otome Tairan – March 26, 2010 (Advanced airing) – Dogakobo -Continuation of the series based upon a video game.
Initial impressions: Going by the brief trailer… might be interesting to check out. (ANN, Wiki)
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Ai no Kusabi – March 2010 – AIC -Land in the future where all are ruled by a super computer called Jupiter. Class is determined by hair color. One person has been rumored to have taken a black haired mongrel as a pet.
Initial impressions: Um, another pass for me… More Yaoi (ANN, Wiki)
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Yutori-chan (ONA) – March 2010 – The story centers around a high-school girl named Yutori-chan. She has been assigned a part-time job at a medium sized toy company called Popu as part of a marketing team. She must overcome the generation gap between her and her fellow employees.
Yutori-chan
Initial impressions: Looks cute… hope to catch some of the episodes.
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From the official K-On!! website.. The official air date looks to be April 6, 2010. Don’t know about you, but I’m excited.. The new season has a title change from K-On! to K-On!! (extra exclamation mark)
K-On!! Second Season Release Date
A while back I posted about a series I had not heard of and only recently watched called “Ride Back“. While cruising the Internet tonight I came across this video. Enjoy…
I stumbled on this video by following a link from Chibi’s Blog.
NIS America who normally focuses on game distribution has announced that it will be distributing “Toradora!”, “PERSONA -trinity soul-”, “PandoraHearts”, “Our Home’s Fox Deity” in the US. Here is an excerpt from their official news release.
“…with the growing demand for Japanese pop culture, NIS America will provide quality anime contents along side with video games.”
No release date other than mid-year. So looking forward to the releases!
Aisaka Taiga, Toradora!
I’ve not seen Persona, Fox Diety or Pandora Hearts. Toradora is one I can recommend and a fun series to watch.
So while I, like thousands of others of others were desperately try to snag the ultimate in cute Nendoroid Nakano Azusa, I stumbled on this bit on the Neko Magic blog. It appears Alter has turned their eye to Azusa and plans to relsease a version of poison just in time to kill my wallet. This is an automatic must have.
K-On Azusa Prototype Scale
Since I had the day off today, I did some browsing and catching up on my viewing list. Didn’t really get caught up on my list though because I stumbled on a series that I was not aware of, Ride Back. I don’t know how it slipped past my radar but I thought it was pretty good for action and story. This series started airing on January 11, 2009 and is 12 episodes long.
The story is about a ballerina who suffers an injury during a performance. She soon discovers a new passion, Ride Back. A Ride Back is a combination motorcycle and robot that allows its rider to perform some pretty radical riding stunts. Being a former ballerina, the main character, Rin, adapts to the Ride Back better than expected by those in the school club.
She eventually becomes entangled in issues between the government anti-terrorist group and a terrorist cell opposed to the new government by simply rescuing her friend from a hostage situation. From then on she is perused by both sides as a terrorist and as one with great Ride Back skill.
Ride Back - Rin Ogata
If you get a chance to check this series out, let me know what you think.
AzusaNyan
Exciting news for K-On! fans… a second season has been greenlighted… Don’t know about you but I am looking forward to another season of their antics!
From ANN:
The second season of the K-ON! anime franchise was announced after the “Let’s Go!” live concert in Yokohama on Wednesday.
Sources: ANN, Official Site.
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