Forum Buzz
By da Original S Man & asagiri2040

11/12/03 Edition

Important News

System Update: Nada
Nothing to report this week. If something breaks, Sean probably did it. If you wish to help fund the AoD Christmas Party to make it bigger & better, follow the link below.

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

And now, onto the forums...

Official L a s t E x i l e Website Opens
Geneon is pulling out all the stops concerning Last Exile. The official website has been fully loaded and sports some tight flash use to give an interactive presentation for the upcoming Gonzo series. You can find character profiles, wallpapers, 3 different clips (1 trailer, 2 scenes), and background on the technology featured in the series. The first DVD (DVD, DVD + Box, DVD + Box + Figure) comes out on November 18th so this should help you decide on whether to order or not. (Hint: order it).

Pioneer’s Weekly PDF (03/11/04)
Another week means another PDF sell-sheet from Pioneer/Geneon, with new cover art and disc info to pique our interest even more. This time around, we’ve got Signature Series info, original R1 cover art for Heat Guy J v.4, and more, but the most intriguing bit of info has to do with an apparent 50% price reduction on numerous box sets. “Andrew Tei” raises a good point in that since the PDF is meant for retailers then the price drop may only partially carry over to us consumers, if at all. Still, that means that Shawne could give us one heck of a Pioneer/Geneon Studio Sale over at TRSI…

ADV's Official Prétear Website
The dynamic web duo are back up to their old tricks making some pretty websites. In the mahou shoujo wand is yet another site detailing the who & what of the series just starting to hit stores. You can find character information, lots of design artwork, and a handful of hidden omake pieces. If you check the existing thread, you may notice many people were having trouble this round with the omake so you can also cheat and get the real links. Coming up soon will be a site for Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi to go insane with.

Azumanga Vol. 1?
“redxxii” voices what many of us have probably been thinking: “…any word about when Azumanga Daioh vol. 1 is going to be released?” Well, the most recent bit of info (an ad in the first graphic novel) suggests “Early 2004.” Also, Janice Williams from ADV popped in to let us know that the dub cast guessing game will most likely commence “late next week or early the following week,” which, based on time between past games and releases, suggests that early 2004 isn’t so unlikely. Other posts include shout-outs to favorite AzuDaioh characters and a civil (!) discussion about dubs in general.

R2 Japan News: Wolf's Rain OVA, Ginga Testudô Monogatari, and Sugar Special
To give some info on upcoming/just release R2 titles in Japan. "duckroll" noticed that Bandai Visual has posted the R2 DVD details for the first of two DVDs carrying the OVA episodes. "littleharlock" has the run down for volume one of Leiji Matsumoto's lastest work titled "Ginga Tetsudô Monogatari". And "DigiToast" took some quick snap shots of the Tiny Snow Fairy Sugar Special DVD and intresting bath toy.

The "Nurse Witch Komugi-chan" casting request
One of The Ocean Group's popular dubs, The SoulTaker, has gained a movement on the forums to see them return. ADV's "Nurse Witch Komugi-chan" is the spin-off OVA series to Pioneer's The SoulTaker. In the series, Komugi has gained the lead role a la "Magical Girl Pretty Sammy" and takes a funny look at the SoulTaker cast in the world of "magical girls" and plenty of "fanservice". So it's only natural that fans would like to see the original dub cast continue working on the new series. You can add your voice to one of the two running threads in the hope that ADV will bring them back.

Neon Genesis Evangelion: Director’s Cut PR
An official press release went out last week from ADV regarding the first of two discs that will comprise their release of the Director’s Cut episodes of Neon Genesis Evangelion. The release is scheduled for January 13. As always, confusion runs rampant, although there are a couple of posts that do concisely explain what’s up with all the different versions out there.

Just received Maison Ikkoku box 2!
Thanks to TRSI, “c_julio” and a couple others have already received Viz’s soon-to-be-released second box of Maison Ikkoku. Still no song subtitles (par for the course for Viz), but some other technical issues seem to have been addressed. As for content, “c_julio” has also posted a comprehensive rundown of two of the three discs, but beware of spoilers.

Millennium Actress – anyone?
After a brief burst of discussion a few weeks back, and then a bit of pricing and availability issues, Millennium Actress is finally finding a home in some peoples’ collections. The consensus is that the film is good, and that the release (i.e. disc quality) is good, although some may lament the lack of a dub. Still, that’s no reason not to give it a shot, so then you can pass the good word on to those who’ve not yet seen it.

Whats your longest series you own on DVD?
A quick and simple inquiry from “jun”: “…how many other people also collect long series and not be put off by their volumes.” There’s enough diversity amongst the AoD community that pretty much all the longer-than-26-episode series get covered, from Ranma ½ to Fushigi Yugi to DragonBall Z, and let’s not forget Rurouni Kenshin, Sailor Moon, and Slayers, as well as numerous other longer series.

Sheets for the Week
Look! A DVD cover for IGBAA! It's coming!!

Manga Revolutions
Another busy week in the manga forum. Even Cyber_3 stopped back by to post up some CPM reviews during her busy schedule.

ADV Manga

Central Park Media

ComicsOne

Gutsoon! Entertainment

Raijin Comics

TOKYOPOP

Viz

Recommendations Rundown
I’m at a bit of a loss as to how to intro this week’s Rundown, so we’ll just get right to it! “BobDoleX” is wondering if the CardCaptor Sakura TV series is essential viewing before the two movies, and also contributes a recommendation for that panty-ful fanservice-fest known as Najica. “Schmavid” wants to know if .hack//SIGN can be enjoyed on its own without the games or the rest of the anime. Thanks to a query by “Air Of Benevolence,” we’ve got a nice list of shoujo titles for people to use as a start. Responses to a post by “DvDAddiCTo” suggest a strong reason why TRSI is offering all of Nazca at such a bargain price. And this is just a small sampling of the fun and happy goodness going on in Recommendations! Throw in your opinion and add to the fun! Don’t you surrender, Angel Blue!

Tales from the Glitch Disc
Well, it seems that the number of glitches on DVDs has recently been rather low, which is certainly a good thing. Still, there always seems to be something, but confirmation is helpful in determining whether or not it’s simply a matter of a bad disc or something as widespread as an entire bad batch. Apparently volume 4 of Please Teacher! doesn’t care for the Pioneer DV-440 player, and a bad batch of the fourth disc in ADV’s recently-released Southern Cross set has been identified with replacements being offered by ADV. There are some other issues with other discs as well, so make sure your copies don’t have the same problems!

Japanese Voice Actors sue Anime Studio
Nippon is paying out 87 million yen across 360 seiyuu after a Tokyo District Court ordered the ruling. The studio had failed to pay the additional money owed to the actors from sale of animation videos.

KidsWB/Sony Astro Boy Website updated
The newer version of the classic "Astro Boy" series is coming to the KidsWB. Sony Pictures has updated their website with a few images, descriptions of the characters, and a little background on the series & its history.

Maid Shows are Good Shows
Idea stealing "martialstax" ( see what ya get for borrowing from one of the Forum Buzz writers... ;-) ) is celebrating something than many FB readers should be familar with: The love of "maids" in anime. From Mahoro to May, Mare to Mariel, and all the lovely hardworkers who go unmentioned so often.. how can you not love a maid series?

When Forums Go Etchi!
Been an odd week around the forums and all the etchi thinkers.. which seems to be a large potion of the forum.. have come out with some truely off the wall thoughts.

X-Box Live Tags
With several new X-Box Live games out, we're once again collecting a list of forum users looking for fellow friends to play with. So whether you fly with Crimson, burn rubber in the Midnight Club, or just beat people up in Capcom VS SNK 2.. we are always looking for a few more gamers to play with.

.week//QUESTIONS
Beyond those etchi thoughts, we have another round of the curious for the week.

Media Blasters celebrates piggies, tacos, and conquering Earth!
No, they're not borrowing ADV's secret plans. Instead, Media Blasters has managed to get the DVD rights to fan favorite US series "Invader Zim" which aired on Nickelodeon. And don't worry, with both Meredith & Franky being major Zim fans AND on the Media Blasters payroll, only good things can come from this. Franky has posted the episode list and MB has the masters for all the finished aired & unaired episodes. It's still early but they're brainstorming on what to do and what other extras they may be able to dig up. The invasion starts in 2004.

Quote of the Week

"Underwear will change on its own, over time." - GanChan

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. BUUUUURRRRRRIIIIITOOOOOS!!!!