Katherine's Anime Blog

The year was 1995. Toy Story, Braveheart and Batman Forever were lighting up the big screen while Hootie and the Blowfish were dominating the radio. And on the anime horizon? Ronin Warriors came to town. Take a walk down memory lane with a look at Ronin Warriors from 1995.

TOKYOPOP has announced a new partnership with GoComics that will put new manga right on your cell phone.

GoComics has expanded their mobile content to include popular TOKYOPOP manga titles. To start reading your favorites, just visit the new manga download site at GoComics. Plug in your cell phone number and you'll receive a text message with a link to access your manga. Alternatively, users can also visit m.gocomics.com from their cell phone web browser.

Happy Mother's Day to all you anime mommies out there - hope you had a great one! :) Here's what's happening in anime this week:

Lots of new anime and manga coming at you this month: From TOKYOPOP, new manga titles include Chibi Vampire - Volume 8, Trinity Blood - Volume 6 and Kingdom Hearts II - Volume 2. And while you're browsing TOKYOPOP's website, check out Sgt. Frog and get some free Japanese lessons online :)

What about some new anime DVD's? Check out What to Watch for upcoming releases.

IGN is streaming a full episode of Shin Chan for your viewing pleasure. One of FUNimation's newest series, Shin Chan is the story of five year old Shin and his daily adventures with family and friends. Funny? Yes. Family-friendly? No, no, no. Despite its seemingly innocent appearance, Shin Chan is crude and raunchy - definitely not for the kiddos. If you like Family Guy and Southpark, then you'll probably like Shin Chan. But this one is for mature audiences ONLY.

And speaking of FUNimation, a recent press email indicates that a big announcement is on the way. Apparently, FUNimation has made some choice acquisitions and will be announcing new anime shows each day next week. Stay tuned - I'll have more on this as the week progresses.

And finally, to celebrate the new redesign of their online store, VIZ Media is offering a special Bleach or Naruto Mystery Box with any purchase over $25 bucks. Your box will include one of several 2 1/2" collectible figures designed for the two series.

After Japan is invaded by the Britannia Empire, its rights and honor are stripped away. Renamed "Area 11", the land is ruled by Britannia's military using robot weapons called "Knightmares". A young Britannian - Lelouch - has seen enough destruction and vows to take revenge on the Britannian Empire with the help of a magical power called the "Geass".

Want more? Get the scoop on Code Geass from Bandai Entertainment here.

If you're counting the days until the live-action Speed Racer movie hits your local theater, then this post is for you: IGN Entertainment is streaming a 3 minute sneak peek just for its devoted fans.

The Speed Racer live-action movie is a remake of the original classic anime done by none other than the Wachowski brothers. Featuring Emile Hirsch as Speed himself, plus Christina Ricci (Trixie), John Goodman (Pops), Susan Sarandon (Speed's mom) and Matthew Fox as the mysterious Racer X, the live-action Speed Racer movie promises to deliver an old anime favorite in some new, high-tech CGI digs. And let's not forget the Mach 5 - its the best thing for car fans since Knightrider's "Kit".

For more Speed Racer info, check out the official Warner Bros. website. Speed Racer opens in theaters across the States on May 9th.

In a recent press release, VIZ Media announced that it has teamed up with NCM Fathom to present a special two-night event in over 300 theaters at multiple cities around the U.S. The feature? A live action Death Note movie.

The English-dubbed film will include a behind the scenes look at how the popular manga was translated into a live-action movie. Tickets are currently on sale at FathomEvents.com where you can also search for a participating theater near you.

The live action Death Note movie will show for two nights only - May 20th and May 21st, 2008.

If you haven't checked out Bandai's website lately, then you may not know that they're apparently revamping things. But even more interesting is the cryptic placeholder that they've put up until the new site is ready. After clicking around, here's what I've found out:

• Bandai has acquired the North American rights for Gundam 00. The latest installation in the Mobile Suit Gundam series, Gundam 00 will have an English dub DVD release as well as a spot on North American television. When will Gundam 00 hit the States? That remains to be seen.
• Bandai has also acquired Aniplex's Gurren Lagann. The 27-ep sci-fi action series won "best television series" and "best character design" at the 2008 Tokyo Animation Fair. While the English dub won't hit the States until 2009, Bandai isn't insensitive to the needs of their fans and are releasing a subtitled release in three parts, with the first volume hitting the streets on July 8, 2008. The pricetag? $29.98.
• And last but not least, Bandai will be releasing Ghost in the Shell 2:Innocence on Hi-Def Blueray and DVD. No release date has been set.

And since we're talking about acquisitions, VIZ Media has announced the debut of Buso Renkin, a fantasy action series based on the popular 10-volume manga series by Nobuhiro Watsuki. If you think you know that name, you do - Watsuki is also the brains behind Rurouni Kenshin and Gun Blaze West. Buso Renkin is expected to grace your favorite DVD stores on April 29, 2008. The 3-disc box set contains the first 13 episodes, rated T+ for older teens and is priced at $49.98.

And on a side note, you may have noticed About's new look - in keeping with this fun, new design, I've been doing some re-arranging of content to make your navigation just a little bit easier. The Music & Lyrics category for example, has been moved to the Download Directory under the "Fun Stuff" tab. I've also added a "Getting Started With Anime" for new fans just getting into the anime craze.

You'll see more of these changes but rest assured... all the anime content you're looking for will still be here - now its just going to be a little easier to find :)

Wondering where you can grab the latest anime episodes for download? Wish you had a sharp new anime wallpaper to spruce up your desktop?

Well here you go. I've collected all the various freebies and download links and put them into one, convenient directory for your enjoyment :)

My collection of Anime Music Video Picks has grown substantially and it occurred to me that it would be great if we could go back and revisit our favorites without scrolling through the blog to find them. So, with that in mind I created a separate section devoted solely to anime music videos on the web. I've already add most of the amv's featured in the blog and will continue to update over the next few days. So, if you've missed some or would just like to see them again, now you can with just a few clicks! :)

I actually found this amv while browsing non-anime stuff on YouTube. I took it as a sign that I should watch and I'm glad I did. Cool song, great lyrics and a choice selection of clips from DBZ. Enjoy :)