Now, I like to see 4koma turned into anime, Azumanga Daio came out really nicely, so maybe the same will be the case for Hidamari Sketch anime that was just announce by the Manga Time Kirara Magazine. I like that name. In fact, I really like the cover of this magazine. Maybe I should start picking it up. They certainly know a thing or two about… you know… nice covers. Anyway, Hidamari Sketch is a 4koma by Ume Aoki, and other than the base announcement that it's being animated, not a damn bit of info was given.
On that note, I am cutting it early for today, and not doing figures. I have some work to do tomorrow as well, so everything else will be in the Weekend Rollup. Sorry about that, but it's how it is sometimes bitches. If any really important news hits, then I'll put it up tomorrow, but most likely it can wait until Monday.
Ok, well, it's a little confusing, but Namco Bandai is publishing and Atari is distributing a new Saint Seiya game, in Europe only, that goes by the title of Saint Seiya: The Hades. At least, that's what I picked up from reading the press release that I got my hands on earlier today. The game will be a sequel to Saint Seiya: The Sanctuary, and if you are the sort of person who is easily excited by press release garbage talk, then this press release will make you buy about eight copies of Saint Seiya: The Hades. I don't really have anything else to say about it. Press release after the jump. I'll just talk about Anime on My Mind now.
Agatsuma, who I'm only really familiar with from some estranged Biohazard 4 trading figures that I saw sometime ago, has announced that they will be releasing two Onegai My Melody PVCs come this September. The figures are of leading lady Yumeno Uta and the much better looking villain, Kuromi. Both of the PVCs are 1/8 scale, and from the shots provided, they look to be pretty standard sized. The eyes seem a little bit off though. They're almost too big. A bit distracting. On a happier note, they will both be retailing for the same price, unlike those Archer and Rin figures, so you don't have to play favorites. They will hit your payment option of choice for around 5,229 yen each.
Pictures of both after the jump. Only one of Kuromi though, so she gets to go first.
The Frenchies over at DVD Rama, or DV Drama, whichever it is, have posted up two clips showing scenes from Gonzo's upcoming full length movie, Gin-iro no Kami no Agito. They're flash and on the page, so no big deal there. The DVD for this one dropped on the 23rd of this month, so go pick it up. FUNimation will probably realease it stateside in 6 months or so. The clips show off some fun technique they're using in the show, but I'm not terribly excited about it.
NHK's show Top Runner did a profile on CLAMP back in January, and someone caught it and put it up on everyone's favorite video service. I likely wouldn't normally link this, but I am trying to pass this whole thing off as a collection of clips, so shut up. Plus you get to tour their studio and all that fun stuff. They're all lesbians, I heard. They also got some of those nice stackable shelves from Target. I love those!
Also, in completely seperate news, the official PS3 site is pre-opened. I couldn't find the Japanese site, because I can't for the life of me remember what the main domain they use is to check things out. Oh well, no big loss.
Shonen Sunday Magazine, everyone's favorite Shonen magazine on any particular Sunday, has announced that there will be a TV anime made out of Tanabe Ierou's adventure manga Kekkaishi. I'm not entirely sure which name i the family name there, so maybe it should be Ierou Tanabe in stead, in keeping with proper Japanese naming convention. Whatever, you people don't care about that crap. The character designs don't look too shabby, and the world can always use another shonen series. Yep. No other news about the seires is out yet, but there are a few production design shots on the announcement page.
Toys Works has announced a pair of upcoming figures from Kagihime Monogatari - Eikyuu Arisu Rondo. The figures will be of Arisugawa Arisu and Kirihara Aruto. The two lovely, usagimimied ladies come with… you know… keyblades for stripping the pages of Lewis Carroll's lost third chronicle of Alice in Wonderland out of the other bunny girl warriors. It makes sense. Arisu will be out in August, while Aruto is slated for a September release. I can't imagine they will be too far apart, though. Good for collectors, bad for people who hate waiting altogether. Both of the figures will cost 6,090 yen each, stand 200mm tall, and look to be well modeled, if not a bit thick in the hair department.
Pictures of both after the jump. Arisu first. It only seems fitting.
ebCraft has announced some 1/7 scale figures from Fate/stay night. The figures are of Tousaka Rin and her faithful Servant Archer and they stand 220mm and 200mm tall respectively. Both of them are in their traditional clothes from the game, and the poses look pretty dynamic, but the heads just don't seem right at all. They are both sort of odd shaped. Hopefully, it's just the ad sheet's fault, but I sort of doubt it. The smaller shots on the sheet do give some hope though. They are both due out in late September, with Tousaka costing 7,140 yen and Archers costing 9,240 yen. I can't find a good reason for the 2,100 yen price difference. Maybe Archer is wider? I don't know.
Now, I don't know how much copy I will be able to write for these, because these pictures NEED to be seen, but Kotobukiya just sent out the production shots on their standing-upright Witchblade figure, and boy are they well colored. I mean… you know… ahem. Anyway, the figure is set to come out in September and will run you in the neighborhood of 8,190 yen. Although, it looks like a really nice carving, so that shouldn't be much of an issue. Hopefully the old "you get what you pay for" rule will apply to this figure. Her hair is maybe a bit too shiny though.
If you even START to ask me if there are pictures after the jump, I will smack you. They might not be entirely safe for work, though. Just a heads up.
RPG Land has a nice interview with the producer of Disgaea 2 that talks a bit about what you can expect from the game, if you haven't played it already, and mentioned their NIS store for getting Etna figures, if you're some sort of uninitiated jerkoff who doesn't know how to browse the web to find other retailers. the big part of the interview, of course, the thing that will get everyone linking to it, is that the producer confirms Disgaea 3. He didn't go into any detail. but hot damn, that's good news for Disgaea, Etna, or NIS fans.
It just got announced this weekend, but that doesn't mean anything. The new LoveDoll series has a title and a website now! The title is Lovedoll ~New Lyrics~ and the site… is linked back there… so click that. Anyway, I'm not familiar with the games, drama CDs, or all that other jazz, but from the looks of the site these girls are the standard visual novel types and apparently they have a serious, serious affection for bows. Not the shooty kind, the hair-restraint kind. No word yet on a date or anything like that. The character page is enough for a fun visit though. Can you tell this is by the same group that did Shuffle!?
