Great Mazinger joins Jumbo Machinder! This Great Mazinger Jumbo Machinder Action Figure measures approximately 23 3/5-inches tall. The second Jumbo Machinder revival project celebrates Great Mazinger on the 50th anniversary of the TV broadcast! Standard equipment includes 2x "Mazinger Blades" and the red wing "Scramble Dash!" It has an atomic punch ejection gimmick on both arms, and can be equipped with a "super rapid-fire missile" unit that ejects three missiles on its arms. Also equipped with a large "Mazinger Blade".
The SILENT MOBIUS manga has a special meaning to us, for it is the one who gave us, near the end of the 1980's, the first chance to see the incredible work of Kia Asamiya. We had already seen some other manga works (such as AREA 88 and NAUSICAA), but Asamiya's cover art for SILENT MOBIUS had a little something that was different. Maybe it is his choice of colors (he often uses a kind of purplish neon blue that we fine absolutely gorgeous) and the way he uses them to create a kind of weird atmosphere. Anyway, it was the cover art of SILENT MOBIUS #1 that made us want to buy this $40 manga at such a price (manga were costing LOADS of money in those days… Well, they still do, but as much as they used to…). The book was wrapped, so we were bracing for the shock of discovering that the interior art was not as good as the cover's. All this worrying proved to be useless, for the interior art, while a little simpler, was just as good as the cover's! Of course, the story was lost on us (we did not even have a basic knowledge of Japanese), but that was not really important to us in those days.
Then Viz decided to release the translated version of SILENT MOBIUS in 1992 and all became clear. However, Viz (in the hope of pleasing a North American readership) had decided to colorize the manga and let's just say that the results was not exactly wonderful, as Asamiya used a lot of Zip-A-Tone in his first works and the colors, applied over the Zip-A-Tone areas of the art, made for an horribly dark mess. Only a few parts were printed in color, then Viz went back to the original B & W. The publication of SILENT MOBIUS then stopped for a few years. It has re-started only a few months ago, but this time, things are as they should have been at the beginning: Graphic Novel format, more than 250 pages each and in black and white. Volumes 1 to 7 are currently available for purchase at http://www.viz.com/.
These GNs are exactly what we, North American Kia Asamiya fans, needed, as they collect the SILENT MOBIUS volumes exactly the same way the Japanese version did (except that the first few pages are not color, which is a shame). Let's just hope that Viz Comics will be able to publish the whole story (more that 10 volumes to date). For those who wonder if the story in the manga is similar to the movies', we are sorry to say that the two SILENT MOBIUS movies were, story wise, not as good as the manga, for they assumed that you had read it (which was not our case when we first saw them…). If you want to read this near-legendary manga, this is the time to do it!
It is well known that Japanese animation has been vastly influenced by the North American high budget Sci-Fi and Fantasy cinema. James Cameron's TERMINATOR, George Lucas' STAR WARS saga, Dino Di Laurentiis's CONAN THE BARBARIAN, the famous HEAVY METAL and Ridley Scott's ALIEN quartet have all had a TREMENDOUS influence on anime. However, none of them has had as much influence on anime writers, directors and designers as the latter director's masterpiece; the now famous BLADE RUNNER, one of the cult movies of the 1980's. Many animations, such as BUBBLEGUM CRISIS, AKIRA, and CYBER CITY OEDO 808, have simply borrowed the spirt of Ridley Scott's classic (Priss's band in BGC was named "Priss & The Replicants"!), but it was Kia Asamiya who borrowed the most from BLADE RUNNER, by making it both the visual AND spiritual inspiration for his own masterpiece, SILENT MOBIUS (we know, it is supposed to be written MOEBIUS, but the Japanese translated it as MOBIUS, so…)
The BLADE RUNNER feel, mixed with Asamiya's beautiful art and cool story, gained SILENT MOBIUS rave reviews from its readers, so much that in 1991, Kadokawa Shoten, the manga's publisher, decided to fund the production of a high quality motion picture, which was a total success at the Japanese box office. Beautiful animation and designs (Michitaka Kikuchi and Yazuhiro Moriki, who both worked on ZEORYMER, were responsible for both), as well as a cool story and an incredible soundtrack (the ending song, "Sailing", won the prize of best anime song of 1991) makes SILENT MOBIUS: THE MOTION PICTURE one of the best anime movies of the decade. A second movie, just as good as the first one (in our opinion, anyway…), was released in 1992, but was not as successful as the first one. Then SILENT MOBIUS sent silent (no pun intended) for years…
However, last year, there was a sudden revival, as the preparative and the arrival of a SILENT MOBIUS TV series were announced. The series was to be produced by Kadokawa and Bandai Visual and would be 26 episodes long. The basic story was going to be this…
At the end of the 20th century, the Lucifer Hawk, horrible creatures from Nemesis, another dimension where what we consider to be magic are natural laws, are trying to invade the Earth by opening a gate to our dimension. A vast secret program, called Project Gaia, is initiated to stop them. However, in 2006, the project fails to totally close the gate…
In 2026, 20 year-old Katsumi Liqueur, daughter of techno-sorcerer Gigelf Liqueur, the man who failed to complete the closing of the Nemesis gate, loses her mother, Fuyuka, and is offered, because of the fantastic magical powers linked to her family, a place in Rally Cheyenne's AMP (Attacked Mystification Police), However, Katsumi's efforts are totally awakened, placing her and her comrades in a dangerous situation. With time, after many adventures and the arrival of her mentor, friend and "assistant" Grosspoliner, the King Of All Swords, Katsumi will be able to face her enemies, the most powerful being Maximillian Ganossa, one of her father's ex-aides, who has now become a human minion of the Lucifer Hawk, and Rosa Cheyenne, AMP Chief Rally's little sister, who wants revenge on the human race for the mistreatments suffered during her childhood...
As we can see, this series directly follows the two movies, as it begins with Katsumi's enrollment in AMP. One of the most apparent transgressions from the manga is the presence of Mana Isozaki (a character that only appears around volume five of the manga) at the very beginning of the series. The Character designs, although slightly different in details (Lebia and Kiddy have their manga hairdo, etc.), are very reminiscent of the movies', with their small eyes and less complicated uniforms. This however, does not apply to Lum Cheng, who has the big googly eyes Asamiya is known for in his manga works. The animation is very nicely done for a TV series, with fluid movements and well detailed backgrounds. There are also a lot of well integrated CGI scenes (the opening uses these with great efficiency), even if the integration is not as flawless as, let's say, TENKU NO ESCAFLOWNE or COWBOY BEBOP.
The soundtrack, with its techno-like atmosphere, is excellent, even if somewhat different to that or the two movies. The opening song is not bad, but we found the ending song, with its English lyrics, to be rather weak (we are always a little wary of anime songs entirely performed in English…)
The TV series' story is somewhat better than that of the movies, mostly because there is more time for character development, something the two movies were incapable of doing because of time restraints (they were 50 minutes each, hardly enough time to establish proper characterization). In the TV series, each of the main characters gets one or two episodes (except, or course, Katsumi and Rally, who get more) to tell their personal stories and why they were chosen for AMP. In short, the TV series pretty much follows the story pattern of the manga and even gives us an idea of what the manga's ending will be like.
All in all, we are quite satisfied with this series. It develops the world of SILENT MOBIUS in all the points that the movies could not and gives us a rather well presented animated version of the manga. Our fears were that the animation would be low quality, due to Kadokawa's monetary problems, and that the series would only be a remake of the two movies. Thankfully, these fears proved unfounded. If you are a SILENT MOBIUS fan, this series is definitely for you!
It appears the "hottest" news on the 2014 Legendary Pictures Godzilla movie is that licensees have been signed up for movie tie-in products.
According to Licensing.biz:
Warner Bros. Consumer Products (WBCP) has signed master toy partner Bandai America Incorporated for 2014 movie Godzilla.
Bandai will release action figures and play-sets inspired by the film from Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures, which hits cinemas on May 16th next year.
Additional licensees include NECA with gifts and novelties; Jakks Pacific with large scale figures; Bioworld with on-trend apparel; and Sideshow Collectibles with authentic statues.
Hopefully, this time the U.S.-produced Godzilla will be a critical (especially with the fans) and financial success and the licensees aren't left "holding the bag" of unsold merchandise like the last time (i.e., with the Sony/Tri-Star disaster of 1998). If they stray too much away from the look and actions of the Japanese Godzilla, there will likely be a repeat of the 1998 experience.
For this to work, Godzilla has to look and act like Godzilla, besides having a good script.
Turn the heat up on your collection!
Godzilla vs. Destoroyah!
Godzilla Action Figure comes with 2 Maser Cannon Tanks!
From Bandai Tamashii Nations! The popular form of Godzilla as featured in the Godzilla vs. Destoroyah film joins the SH Monster Arts series in burning form! Master crafted by monster sculptor Yuji Sakai, this Godzilla Burning Godzilla Action Figure sculpt faithfully represents the heated-up Godzilla in meticulous detail, features enhanced range of movement, and employs clear parts to portray Godzilla's overheated core. Plus, as a bonus, this action figure comes with 2 Maser Cannon Tanks. Turn the heat up on your collection!
There's a new theme park opening in Tokyo. It's called Gundam Front Tokyo.
According to the Japan Times:
A theme park featuring popular "anime" series "Mobile Suit Gundam" will open on April 19 in Tokyo's Odaiba district.
According to Bandai Co., the new theme park, named Gundam Front Tokyo, will have a huge dome-shaped screen showing images of Gundam, the venerated fighting robot in the popular series, and rare documents related to the series' production will be on display.
The most "Gundam" I've ever done was to pose in a Gundam uniform on the Gundam Lift at the old Bandai Museum (below).
Written By: Ken Hulsey Source: Aussie-Nintendo.com
Not much of a story here, and no new details on the game itself, but I thought that all of you fans of "Ultraman" and Japanese monster movies would like to see the new cover design for Namco Bandai’s new "Daikaiju Battle Ultra Coliseum DX: Ultra Senshi Daishuketsu."
The game is slated to hit store shelves in Japan on February 25th.
The game itself, will feature a whole slew of characters from Ultraman's 40+ year history, including Ultraman, Ultraman Mebius, Ultraman Dyna, Ultraseven, Ultraman Leo, Astra, Ultraman Zero and Ultraman Belial.
At this time "Ultra Coliseum" is only being produced for the Wii gaming system......and only for Japan.
No word yet if this one will, somehow find it's way over to this side of the Pacific.
Written By: Ken Hulsey Sources: Nintendolife / Siliconera
One title on Namco Bandai’s list of early 2010 releases that should be of interest to Monster Island News readers is the new Ultraman fighting game, "Daikaiju Battle Ultra Coliseum DX: Ultra Senshi Daishuketsu."
The game, which is being produced for Nitendo's Wii system, will hit Japanese shelves February 25th.
"Daikaiju Battle Ultra Coliseum DX" will reportedly feature many forms of the hero, "Ultraman", along with a menagerie of classic monsters.
Here is a list of the Ultramen featured:
Ultraman Ultraman Mebius Ultraman Dyna Ultraseven Ultraman Leo Astra Ultraman Zero and Ultraman Belial
No mention yet of any of the monsters, and no mention of any overseas releases for "Daikaiju Battle Ultra Coliseum DX: Ultra Senshi Daishuketsu."
The game was designed to be a tribute to the popular Japanese superhero, whose series originated as a follow-up to the 1966 Tsuburaya production, "Ultra Q", and has become a world-wide sensation......especially in Asia.
After numerous television series, movies, games, action figures and the like, the "Ultraman" franchise is still going strong. Both "Mega Monster Battle: Ultra Galaxy Legends - The Movie" and "Ultraman Mebius Gaiden: Ghost Reverse" were released in Japan this past December.
Bang Zoom! Entertainment recently helped prepare Lucky Star, the latest new anime series from Bandai Entertainment, Inc. and Kadokawa Pictures USA, for its North American release. Bang Zoom! provided critical Japanese-to-English translation, voice casting, scriptwriting, ADR (Automated Dialogue Replacement), and final mixing for the 24 episode series which made its North American debut on May 6th.
Lucky Star is based on a popular manga comic by Kagami Yoshimizu and was turned into an anime series by Kyoto Animation, the renowned studio that created the widely acclaimed series The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, which was also dubbed by Bang Zoom!. Lucky Star focuses on the lives of four girls attending a Japanese high school. The series’ main character is Konata Izumi, a lazy high school girl who isn’t interested in anything besides anime and video games. The zany comedic situations that ensue evoke comparisons to Seinfeld. The series is often described as the ultimate “otaku anime,” and is notable for a variety of references to popular past and present manga and anime series, which has made its debut highly anticipated by legions of domestic fans.
Having provided the English dubs for Bandai Entertainment’s The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, Bang Zoom! was immediately prepared to ready Lucky Star for its domestic debut. Casting included several well-known anime voice talents including Wendee Lee, who played the lead in The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya and portrays Konata. She is joined by other veteran anime voice talents such as Kari Wahlgren (Kagami Hiiragi), Michelle Ruff (Tsukasa Hiiragi), and Karen Strassman (Miyuki Takara).
A vast amount of work went into Lucky Star before the first word was ever uttered in the recording booth. Bang Zoom! Casting Director Kaeko Sakamoto explains, “For example if Konata is pouty or being petulant, these subtleties must translate accurately from Japanese to English. The series is a comedy but there are a lot of jokes that don’t necessarily translate literally into English so we had to pay careful attention to ensure the puns remained faithful to the original Japanese intent but were still intelligible to English viewers.”
Bandai Producer Taku Otsuka delivered the Japanese stereo music and effects tracks that would serve as the basis for the English mix. Once the translation was complete and approved, the script was “spotted,” or assigned a time code, to help ensure that the new English dialogue synced exactly to the movements of each character’s mouth without changing the meaning or context of the original Japanese.
Audio elements were digitized by Bang Zoom’s Chief Engineer Pat Rodman from digibeta into ProTools/HD and recording commenced using Avalon VT-737SP vocal channels paired with Neumann U87 microphones.
Sessions ran three weeks for the first volume of Lucky Star alone, and it would prove to be a daunting project as each episode contained nearly 600 lines of dialogue. Pressure was on as Recording Engineer Marco Bustos recalls, “There were three almost four weeks of recording with a bunch of weekends and late nights. There was a lot of material.” Accurately translating and representing a variety of subtle Japanese vocal nuances would be essential. Bandai Producer Otsuka worked closely with Bang Zoom! to make sure every reference would meet both requirements as much as possible and remain true to the artistic integrity of the series.
For many die-hard fans, Lucky Star’s numerous jokes and references about a variety of loved anime and video game titles make it fun to watch. The first four episodes alone contain references to Full Metal Panic!, The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, and Shuffle!, in addition to To Heart, Gunbuster, Sgt. Frog, Getter Robo, Wedding Peach, Case Closed, Cromartie High School, Pani Poni Dash!, Crayon Shin-chan, Galaxy Angel Rune, Star Blazers, Blade of the Immortal, and The Girl Who Leapt through Time. Bang Zoom! writers further screened many of these titles to fully understand the references and make sure they were communicated properly.
Another especially challenging aspect of dubbing Lucky Star proved to be dubbing the ending sequence, which is a karaoke scene that features a different character singing the closing theme with each episode. The song is in Japanese but characters often speak over the music playing in the background and Bandai wanted to have the dialogue in English while the song remained in Japanese. “It was critical to have the English dialogue remain coherent and intelligible but not have the music sound too muffled or too overstated, but I think we got the balance right in the mix.” Rodman remembers.
“Lucky Star offers a variety of challenges,” says Bang Zoom! Entertainment President Eric P. Sherman. “The sheer amount of dialogue in each episode, combined with a variety of cultural and emotional nuances portrayed by the characters and the many inside jokes about other anime series demands a thorough understanding of not only the anime genre, but Japanese culture in general. Our knowledge of both make this an ideal project for Bang Zoom! and we look forward to fans discovering this fun series.”
Just like the figures sold in Japan! Durable vinyl construction! Wonderful monsterous detail!
Much less dangerous than full-size, city-crushing monsters as seen in the movies. This is one crabby monster! Since his first appearance in Godzilla vs. Destroyah, he's been freaking out kids all over the world. He's huge, and in the movies he grows into a giant winged terror bent on crushing everything he sees. This roughly 6-inch tall vinyl figure has an articulated neck and arms, and is ready to crush the cities beneath his scaley feet. It's not wise to make a giant monster angry, so be sure to bring him home and make sure he's comfortable. You wouldn't like it when he gets angry!
Bandai Entertainment Inc. announced today that it has launched my space pages for two of its new series Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion and Lucky Star.
“There’s so much talk going on about both these series we wanted a place for fans to come and really express their interest,” said Director of Marketing Robert Napton.
“There’s going to be some announcements in the coming weeks about a special event related to both series, so stay tuned to both websites as those will be the first to have the information,” Napton continued, “and there’s are lot of upcoming convention news fans will want to hear about.”
Lucky Star is a 24 episode television series from Kyoto Animation, the same anime production company that created the anime series for Haruhi. Lucky Star’s main character is Konata Izumi, a lazy high school girl who isn’t interested in anything besides anime and video games. The series is described as the ultimate “otaku anime,” -- it pays tribute to anime culture and other series with in-jokes and hilarious references.
Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion features animation studio Sunrise and a story by Goro Taniguchi (s-CRY-ed, Planetes) and Ichiro Okouchi (Eureka SeveN, Planetes) and character designs by the legendary manga creators CLAMP. The story is a military drama with intricate plot lines and robotic action about the character Lelouch and his journey to overthrow a totalitarian regime that has invaded Japan.
Bandai Entertainment Inc. announced today that a number of its January titles were defective as a result of a duplicator’s error which created playability issues on some DVD consoles and personal computers. The titles in question are: Gundam Seed Destiny Vol. 12 regular and special editions, Eureka Seven Vol. 11, Flag Vol. 2, and My Otome Vol. 4.
Bandai Entertainment Inc. would like to apologize to its customer base – despite the approval of perfect check discs, the error was made at the manufacturing level and product shipped to stores before the error was discovered.
As a result, the titles are being recalled from stores to be replenished with newly replicated DVDs and an exchange program has been instituted for customers who are experiencing difficulties with items already purchased.
A special link on the www.bandai-ent.com site will be active beginning 1/17/08. Customers who purchased the above mentioned titles and are experiencing difficulties should click on the link and follow instructions for the replacement program. This link is only for replacement discs of the above listed titles.
