Gonzo to Reduce Annual Anime Output from 8 to 4
GDH, the corporate parent of the Gonzo anime company, has announced that it will be restructuring, and therefore reducing its annual output of anime from about eight projects to four in the next fiscal year. The decision was made during the board of directors' meeting that was held on Monday. The company currently produces anime through its four internal studios and outsourcing to other companies. It plans to combine its internal studios under one division and "carefully" winnow its output from eight to four titles.
ANN
1st 11 Minutes of Resident Evil: Degeneration Posted
The IGN entertainment news source posted the first 11 minutes of the computer-animated Resident Evil: Degeneration feature. Makoto Kamiya and Digital Frontier are adapting CAPCOM's Biohazard/Resident Evil zombie horror game franchise. The story takes place seven years after the main game storyline and reunites the characters Leon (Paul Mercier) and Claire (Alyson Court). The first eight minutes are available without restrictions, although the next three minutes are age-restricted due to the graphic violence.
Sony Pictures will ship the DVD and Blu-ray version in North America on December 30.
ANN
Drive-Thru Office
Anyone who works in an office knows only too well about the annoyances that come with being in such an environment - eyestrain, backache, petty rules, pointless meetings, smelly food, photocopier fumes, colleagues....
All of the above, however, pale into insignificance as far as the workers of an office in the heart of Osaka are concerned.
These poor souls also have to contend with the risk of being knocked down by speeding traffic - just for taking a walk to the lavatory.
It can't be easy. (nothing to do with anime but only in Japan is this ok)
Japanprobe
This week I got one submission but I love it all the same. Remember guys theOtaku.com Members 2 Cents is a way to get your word out to the masses of theotaku.com I'll post just about anything (I am that cheap) well not really it needs to have some kind of contexts but if you have news, reviews, or editorial I'll post them all.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This week the wonderful Someguy sends in some news articles about the video gaming world
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Valkyria Chronicles for PS3 Being Made Into Anime
Gist: Sega's Valkyria Chronicles for the PS3, a tactical RPG that came out in Japan last April (and in North America just this past week), is getting an anime next spring.
Points of Interest: The game already had a very anime-inspired look and character design to its parallel-universe 1930s Europe. That, along with the unique graphics rendering which basically made things look like they were all painted with watercolours, already gives for a neat look to the game. Also, reviews for the game have been really strong so far (and I can attest that the demo was really fun). Besides, when one of the main characters is a moe-girl with a maid bonnet and a rifle, well . . . doesn't get much better than that.
Links:
http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2008-11-12/valkyria-chronicles-game-to-get-tv-anime-next-spring
http://kotaku.com/5084162/valkyria-chronicles-getting-anime-treatment
MTV, Harmonix, Nail Rights For a Beatles Based Game
Gist: MTV and Harmonix, the people behind the Rock Band games (and Harmonix being the people behind the first couple Guitar Hero games before that particular game turned to evil), are now working with Apple-Corps to make a video game based on The Beatles, one of the most famously impossible rights to acquire in any medium (especially digital).
Importance: Aside from the part where MTV and Harmonix nailed one of the most famously impossible rights to acquire in any medium, especially digital? That's huge. Like, orca-fat huge.
So how did MTV and Harmonix snag The Beatles? Apple Corps. representatives said that it was the fact that they (Harmonix) originated the music band genre, and they were impressed by both companies' passion for music.
Granted, they basically had to pay out the nose to get the rights and to beat out Activision and the Guitar Hero franchise (whose head boss is very specific about his payment-caps he'll give to record labels). Other than that, this is a massive win for MTV and Harmonix, and probably less of a win for Activision.
*Note that this will be an original Beatles-based game, and not a Rock Band expansion/sequel or anything like that.
Links:
http://www.gamespot.com/ps3/puzzle/beatlesharmonixproject/news.html?page=1&sid=6200313
http://kotaku.com/5070885/mtv-and-apple-corps-join-forces-for-beatles-music-game
http://kotaku.com/search/beatles/
thank you so much Someguy
More Anime on Hulu.com And With There Own Anime Channel
Here is another hulu.com update hulu.com has over 20 anime show for free viewing. New show include xxxHolic, Season 2 of Bleach, Kiddy Grade, Slayers, Galaxy Railways, School Rumble, Black Blood Brothers, Shuffle, Moon Phase, Shibane Hime, Rumbling Hearts, Blue Gender, and Mr. Stain on Junk Alley.
(small note not all these show have are the full series some only have 4-12 episodes of each series with others coming out later on.)
Check out these and some other great anime at hulu.com/anime
Deep Cuts in U.S. Holiday Graphic Novel Sales Expected
The ICv2 retail news source reports that Barnes & Noble and Borders, the two largest book chains in the United States, have cut their graphic novel orders for November and December. According to an unnamed "major graphic novel publisher," these two retail groups have cut 30% to 60% of their graphic novel buys for this holiday season. ICV2 also notes that the Wall Street Journal newspaper posted an internal memo that Barnes & Noble Chairman Leonard Riggio sent to his employees about "bracing for a terrible holiday season." While Riggio noted his own company is well-positioned in terms of debt and credit to survive the season intact, he predicted “many once famous retailers will shut their doors.”
ANN
In the World of Crunchyroll
(because I know Ichigo cares so much)
The video-sharing website Crunchyroll and Japan's Toei Animation studio have announced that four Toei anime titles will be available on the site in streaming, subscription, and downloading options starting today. The titles are Digimon Adventure 02, Fist of the North Star, Pretty Cure, and Slam Dunk (pictured at right). Currently, the first episodes of all the titles except Pretty Cure are online. Toei posted these same four titles to IGN's Direct2Drive online video service.
ANN
http://crunchyroll.com/
YAY more people sent news (does happy dance) keep it up people!!!!!! This is a great start I would like to thank everyone who sent news. This week 2 cents is something I like to call Stupid Otakus in Action.
This first piece of news is from The Mask
_______________________________________________________________________________
Could Manga Inspire A Murder?
An Italian prosecutor's argument that the brutal slaying of Meredith Kercher was inspired by a violent manga comic has thrown a spotlight on the Japanese animation genre.
Miss Kercher was found in her bed with her throat slit open - a day after she wore a bloody vampire costume to a Halloween party in Perugia.
Giuliano Mignini claimed the gruesome murder was carried out after student Raffaele Sollecito, one of the suspects in the case, acted out a dark fantasy stemming from his manga collection.
The prosecutor made specific reference to a comic found in Sollecito's possession called The Last Vampire, that featured scenes of a naked female body slashed with a sword.
Mr Mignini's theory was ridiculed by the defendents' legal team - but it is not first time manga has been associated with vicious crimes.
Manga has been directly linked to a death in Belgium, in which a note found next to the victim's mutilated body referred to a Japanese comic called Death Note.
The animation genre was also connected with the murder of Tokyo-based British teacher Lindsay Hawker, after piles of pornographic comics were found at the suspect's flat.
With graphic violence and explicit sexual content depicted in many of the Japanese comics, manga is perhaps a sitting target when an explanation is sought for a violent crime.
However, the cause and effect link between violence and manga made by some commentators frustrates and angers fans of the comics.
They point out that within manga there are numerous subtypes and that many are highly respected forms of art.
And while being a something of a cult interest in Europe, manga reading in Japan is a mainstream hobby - the Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso is said to find time to read 10 manga comics a week in between carrying out official duties.
Manga expert Helen McCarthy, who has written reference books on the subject, argues that manga "carries a mythology that is more to do with us than with Japan".
She told Sky News Online: "The argument always hinges on the same issue: finding excuses for our own innate violence and lack of self-control so we don't have to face up to the fact that all human beings, ourselves and our children included, are capable of terrible things.
"Do computer games incite violence? Does rap music, or James Bond? They're more prevalent in Western culture than manga.
"I expect that the suspects also had in their possession other books, possibly some computer games, certainly different kinds of music.
"Most of the European and American stuff would be things the prosecutor's - and jury's - own children might have in their possession, so it's important to find something that marks out this person as different."
She added that the fact that Japan is "still widely perceived as an alien culture" could have made it more likely for manga to be singled out as a menacing influence.
On the many web forums that exist to discuss manga, the suggestion that manga could inspire an act of violence was greeted mixed responses from fans.
"That is one of the worst stereotypes out there!" wrote one user.
Another said: "Every reporter and every politican knows the answer to this garbage. Killer games/action movies and manga are just excuses used by politicans since working on the real problems is to much effort for them/costs to much/would imply that the system is not working."
"Manga or cinema or any books CAN'T CREATE MURDERERS. They may influence mentally ill persons but not create murderers," echoed another user on a popular forum.
However, one fan suggested that a distinction could be drawn between comics and violent films.
"Collections of static graphic images like manga are more visceral than words on a novel, quicker at gratification than video games where you have to slog through to get to the "good stuff", and are more portable / easier to download than movies and TV series," the user wrote.
"But then again, that speaks about the accessibility of manga as a medium of communication, not about the message/values that the manga conveys."
Elsewhere, one manga reader pointed out that the comics could have a positive effect.
"I have been reading mangas for more than 6 years now and you may be surprised if I say it helped me.
"Reading such mangas like Fruits Basket (major theme: the loss, the loneliness, the difference) helped me to go on," he said.
Ms McCarthy said that while many fans will not see how an unproven link between the comics and a death affects them, others could become distressed by the news.
"...some will come under social and parental pressure to reconsider their choice of reading so as to conform with the group idea of what 'normal people' do and don't do," she said.
"Most, I imagine, will feel very sorry for the victim, because most people - regardless of how they dress or what they read - are basically sympathetic human beings."
Source
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This next article is from shiroDragon in what I like to call WTF?
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Japanese Man Petitions To Marry Comic Book Wife
A JAPANESE man has enlisted hundreds of people in a campaign to allow marriages between humans and cartoon characters, saying he feels more at ease in the "two-dimensional world".
Comic books are immensely popular in Japan, with some fictional characters becoming celebrities or even sex symbols.
Marriage is meanwhile on the decline as many young Japanese find it difficult to find life partners.
Taichi Takashita launched an online petition aiming for one million signatures to present to the government to establish a law on marriages with cartoon characters.
Within a week he has gathered more than 1000 signatures through.
"I am no longer interested in three dimensions. I would even like to become a resident of the two-dimensional world," he wrote.
"However, that seems impossible with present-day technology. Therefore, at the very least, would it be possible to legally authorise marriage with a two-dimensional character?"
Befitting his desire to be two-dimensional, he listed no contact details, making it impossible to reach him for comment to explain if his campaign is serious or tongue-in-cheek.
But some people signing the petition are true believers.
"For a long time I have only been able to fall in love with two-dimensional people and currently I have someone I really love," one person wrote.
"Even if she is fictional, it is still loving someone. I would like to have legal approval for this system at any cost," the person wrote.
Japan only permits marriage between human men and women and gives no legal recognition to same-sex relationships.
Japan's fans of comic books, or "manga," sometimes go to extremes.
Earlier this month, a woman addicted to manga put out an online message seeking to kill her parents for asking her to throw away comic books that filled up three rooms.
Source
_______________________________________________________________________________
thanks guys for you 2 cents if you like your 2 cents in pm me fallenangel8 with a write up of your article and or a source link of the article or if you wrote a review or anything I'll post it with a link to your theotaku.com page. Keeping theO full of fan made material his is fallenangel say bye and telling you to vote tomorrow. 
