First off some Funimation news!
The North American anime distributor Funimation has confirmed that it has acquired Gainax and King Record's Shikabane Hime: Aka anime series and will be streaming the 13 episodes within weeks of their airing on Japanese television. The first English-subtitled episode will stream for free on the YouTube, Joost.com, Hulu.com, and funimation.com's video services on Friday, October 24, after having premiered in Japan on October 2. There will also be a US$1.99 download option on funimation.com.
Director Masahiko Murata is adapting the first part of Yoshiichi Akahito's Shikabane Hime manga with scripts by Fullmetal Alchemist script supervisor Shou Aikawa. The Shikabane Hime ("Corpse Princess") of the title is Makina Hoshimura, an undead girl who hunts down 108 corpses in order to go to heaven. Funimaton first revealed that it will be streaming the anime when its YouTube channel's schedule was posted late last week.
Source
ANN
And here is news that caught my eye.
Japanese Parliament Hosts Rival Adult Anime Petitions
Two rival petitions on adult anime and games — one decrying the effects of the genre on society and other asking for illustrations to be exempt from the proposed child pornography ban — have been introduced in the Japanese parliament. Muneaki Murai of the opposition Democratic Party of Japan introduced the "Petition to Enact Legislation Restricting the Production and Sale of Bishōjo Adult Anime Magazines and Bishōjo Adult Anime Simulation Games" on October 3. 10,449 people signed the petition which says that these materials foster a society that poses a danger to young girls, despite concerns of freedom of expression.
On the other hand, Nobuto Hosaka of the Social Democratic Party, another opposition faction, presented a separate petition that called for illustrations and other fictional portrayals to be exempt from a pending legislative ban on the possession of child pornography. It also asked for the definition of child pornography to be clarified. The petition has 225 signatures and raised many concerns about false accusations, abuse of search privileges, invasion of privacy and an extreme shift towards a police state.
Source
ANN
Astro Boy Statue Unveiled at Tezuka's Old Grade School
On Monday, the Ikeda Elementary School
in Osaka's Ikeda City unveiled a statue of the Astro Boy (Tetsuwan Atom) character that was created by the school's most famous alumni, the late manga and anime pioneer Osamu Tezuka. The school is marking its 100th anniversary on November 1; coincidentally, November 3 is the 80th anniversary of Tezuka's birth. Tezuka graduated from the school in 1941. Just before he died in 1989, he made a speech at the school's 80th anniversary celebration and called upon the children to embrace "love for nature and the preciousness of life."
The stone statue stands two meters (about seven feet) tall at the school's entrance. Inscribed on the statue's globe are the English words: "I love the earth and all creatures on it." The statue's base has a plaque that reads, "I love all living things that inhabit this earth. I want to take care of life. I want to bequeath this love to the next generation."
Source
ANN
