AnimeVice News

     We all know that seiyuu are popular in Japan, but it is hard to guess who is the most popular one of them all. There have been a lot of great seiyuu in the past that one doesn’t stand above the rest, so Oricon decided to ask the public who they though was a legendary seiyuu. So let us take a look at the results.

1. Nobuyo Ōyama / 大山 のぶ代 (Doraemon/Doraemon)
2. Akira Kamiya / 神谷 明 (Kinnikuman/Kinnikuman, Hokuto no Ken/Kenshiro)
3. Masako Nozawa / 野沢 雅子 (Dragon Ball/Son Goku, Ge Ge Ge no Kitaro/Kitaro)
4. Yasuo Yamada / 山田 康雄 (Lupin III/Arsène Lupin III) (RIP)
5. Minami Takayama / 高山みなみ (Detective Conan/Conan, Kiki’s Delivery Service/Kiki)
6. Kōichi Yamadera / 山寺 宏一 (GitS/Togusa, Cowboy Bebop/Spike Spiegal)
7. Noriko Hidaka / 日高 のり子 (Ranma ½/Akane Tendō, Inuyasha/Kikyo)
8. Mayumi Tanaka / 田中 真弓 (One Piece/Luffy, Urusei Yatsura/Ryuunosuke Fujinami)
9. Megumi Hayashibara / 林原 めぐみ (Evangelion/Rei Ayanami, Slayers/Lina Inverse)
10. [Joint] Keiko Toda / 戸田 恵子 (Anpanman/Anpanman, Thomas the Tank Engine/Thomas)
10. [Joint] Aya Hirano / 平野 綾 (Haruhi/Haruhi, Lucky Star/Konata Izumi) 

The results are nothing short of predictable for a person living in Japan. Of course a never-ending show like Doraemon or classic anime like Dragon Ball are the bread and butter of anime culture, so of course they will make it on this list. Just like how Bugs Bunny or Homer Simpson’s voice actor would make it on our list if it was held here. This also shows us that this was more of a poll for the everyday anime viewer, rather than the otaku crowd.

I am saddened. Where is Norio Wakamoto? He rightfully should have the number one, two, and three spot on this list, yet he is no where to be found. Instead we have Aya Hirano taking up the list. Sad days indeed.



[Via Nebs]

Ever wanted to see original Japanese animations out of the Halo universe, but were too afraid of reading subtitles? Well no worries, Warner Home Video has tapped Seraphim Digital Studios to handle the English adaptation and voice direction. Most of you might recognize Seraphim as the artist formally known as ADV. That said, I couldn't be happier to see a major release like this going their way. There's a .01% chance of finanical failure for Halo: Legends, and Seraphim/ADV/Sentai FIlmworks/Switchblade could use a boost in the arm.
 
 
(Via SXAniMedia)

I've said before, in several forums, that I tend to personally classify people into rough 'generations' of American anime fans (just for my convenience). There are the oldest generation who got into Speed Racer and Astro Boy. Quite some time after that came those who got into Star Blazers and Robotech in the late '70s through the '80s, moving into two generations that came around the same time: Akira and Ghost in the Shell fans (who were mostly slightly-older sci-fi/fantasy nerds already) and Sailor Moon and Dragon Ball Z fans (who were somewhat younger and not necessarily as well-versed in geekdom). And then, finally, the Pokemon generation, which fed into and overlaps heavily with the Naruto generation.

Whew. But what's the next big thing, the next show that'll draw in a new generation of viewers? Well, Cartoon Network seems willing to bet that it'll be Bakugan Battle Brawlers, since it's going to start airing Bakugan between Yu-Gi-Oh! and Hot Wheels on Saturday evenings (a prime slot) instead of its usual slot, weekday mornings at 8am.

Like some popular titles-- Yu-Gi-Oh! and Pokemon come to mind --Bakugan bega primarily as a merchandise franchise, with a wide variety of toys and games already available in Japan. A manga, published by Del Rey, is also already being released in the US, and Activision just released a Bakugan video game for pretty much every system ever.

The story, such as it is, is about kids playing Bakugan as a game (which also came out from Sega in 2006, prior to the anime's release), only to find out, of course, that it's much more than a game, with Dan Kuso and Dragon, his guardian Bakugan, as our heroes.

Has anyone here watched any Bakugan? Do you think it'll start to pick up more heavily as the exposure increases?

  
  
Rinpa Eshidan amazes me. Despite the fact that I can't find a link to any articles, I clearly remember discussing them on Vice, but their latest creation "Cube" just came onto the internet.
 
The group is based in Japan, but for a word on their style I will refer directly to them.
How super awesome nerdy is that? As a theatre major I can tell you that my attraction to stage performances comes from that same sentiment. "Cube," is actually a bit different, rotating the cube gives them new canvasses. Thus, a lot of the play comes from being able to intersperse the other works they were creating into the current one. So cool.
 
Under the precaution you are not familiar with their works, I've included the gateway drug, a project where they encapsulated a weeks worth of painting and repainting at a Japanese street corner.

The surprise is...that there are no surprises! HA!

ICv2 has released its top 25 manga properties list for the third quarter of 2009, along with the split versions ( top 10 shounen and top 10 shoujo). It's important to note that the shoujo list is specifically the top 10 shoujo-TYPE manga, not the top 10 best-selling manga among girls (I've seen people get confused on this elsewhere).

Anyway, you won't be surprised at all to hear that Naruto and Fruits Basket are still the top two manga overall. In fact, you have to go aaaaaall the way down to #8 to finally get a difference from the second quarter list: where Chibi Vampire, Maximum Ride, and Negima once rounded out #8, 9, and 10, it's now Maximum Ride, Negima, and Ouran Host Club. While I'm thrilled to see Ouran break the top 10 (Chibi Vampire has been relegated to #12-- it also just released its final volume int the US in September so presumably it will continue to fall off the radar.)

Newer on the list: not a lot, but Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei is a welcome addition amidst the usual suspects, and D.N. Angel is back on the list thanks to the August release of its 12th volume, after a early three-year break from US publication. The typo of VIZ's " Otomen" to "Ottomen" is also kinda funny. (Go ahead, say it out loud. It's an "Ottomen" Empire!)

I suppose it shouldn't be surprising that there's not a lot of shift throughout the year on these things, but it makes it harder to report! The Top 10 Shonen list is even more dull; literally the only change is a swap from Yu-Gi-Oh! to D.Gray-Man and the Chibi Vampire drop from 6 to 8. While shoujo has fewer megahits than shounen, their list is pretty much the exact same 10, shuffled around slightly. The only title change is Captive Hearts is gone and D.N. Angel is on.

What one title do you love and just wish to god would make it onto this top 10 sales list someday? I'd like to see Black Jack on here myself.

We all know and love-- or hate -- moe girls. Their presence in the anime world may not turn out to be eternal, exactly, but it's certainly a force to be reckoned with for the time being.

But just because moe girls are so popular doesn't mean moe boys don't exist. Probably the first boy I think of when I think of moe-boy (or moedanshi) is L from Death Note. Sure, he's brilliant, but he's also very quirky and has a sad past, even if he doesn't mope about it. It just makes you want to take him home and feed him a bowl of chicken soup, doesn't it?

Akibanana has a feature on a special book for fujoushi and other female otaku: MoeDanshi-Gatari, or Stories of Boy-Moe. The stories come from popular mangaka, like Hyouta Fujiyama (author of many DMP titles) and Kazumi Toujou (illustrator of the famous Mirage of Blaze novels), as well as from newbies to the field, and they feature the authors' favorite moe boys.

The mangakas' list of their favorite boys is pretty amusing. There's everything from sort of standard "Beaten-Up Boy" and "Scruffy-Haired Glasses Boy" to the more abstract and unique, like the "Gentle-faced Showa Era Boy," the "Single-edged Eyelid Boy," and the "Half-naked Rucksack Boy." Some of them are outright confusing ("Reptile Boy"? "Gap Boy"?), and others just a bit surprising. Not one but two mangaka liked larger boys ("Big-Boned Boy" and "Chubby Boy"), and I find the fondness for "sluggish boy" kind of amusing.

Those of you who like boys, please submit the boy you are most moe for in the comments. My boy-moe is definitely the ones who try really hard on their own, but need a bit of mothering and/or support. If that makes sense.

And for those of you who ARE boys...what kind of moe would you say YOU are? ;)

You fansub-watchers-- you know who you are --are familiar with the Japanese phrase: "kono bangumi wa Victor Entertainment to, goran no suponsaa no teikyou de, okurishimasu." This program is brought to you by Victor Entertainment.

If you're really keeping in the loop you probably also know that Victor Entertainment is primarily a music distribution company, releasing titles from stars like Maaya Sakamoto (above), Yoko Kanno, and ALI Project, as well as anime soundtracks from Akira to Code Geass to Macross Frontier to Wolf's Rain.

Why bring them up all of a sudden? Because word is that game-maker Konami may take over the music subsidiary from JVC, according to Kotaku and the Daily Yomiuri-- and that Japan's music industry "will realign itself better with online distribution." Hopefully that will mean easier access to Japanese music in the US, which we've already seen some move towards thanks to JapanFiles, iTunes (those of us with Japanese accounts), and other endeavors.

What artists would you like to listen to more from, if it was easier or less expensive to import? I'd buy every Ken Hirai album ever, and I keep meaning to pick up more Orange Range someday...

Need to Catch Up?

Saki episode 1 Saki episode 2 Saki episode 3 Saki episode 4 Saki episode 5

Saki episode 6 Saki episode 7 Saki episode 8 Saki episode 9 Saki episode 10

Saki episode 11 Saki episode 12 Saki episode 13 Saki episode 14 Saki episode 15

Saki episode 16 Saki episode 17 Saki episode 18

 

Today's Episode

GOOOO Kana! I find her kind of irritating, but I sort of bonded with her in sympathy for her frustration last episode, so I'll cheer for her now. And awww, how cute, Saki's really just another character from a broken family who fantasizes about putting it back together again! But this is anime, not an after-school special, so maybe she actually can. Meanwhile...oh god, do you think this match will finally end this episode!?
 

We're pretty used to our role-playing games becoming massively multiplayer, but first person shooters tend to take place with smaller groups of players...until MAG. Check out Brad's interview with Zipper Interactive about the game, which will feature up to 256 players in a fragfest of doom. DOOOOOOOOOM.
 
 

Tony totally kicked my ass at video speed-- he got the office tour up today, while I'm still dawdling on my video (which consists mostly of us building desks, or failing at it). I still take pride in the office itself though. Go ahead, watch it. You'll want to hang out here too.
 
 

I might not have our office video up just yet, but we DO have an interview with Yoshiyuki Tomino, the man, the legend, the man behind the Gundam. So there!
 
 

That enough video for you yet? And to those of you watching from work or other locations where you can't watch video: sorry!

I had the honor of interviewing Yoshiyuki Tomino at this year’s New York Anime Festival. He is the famous anime creator, director, novelist, and song writer who created Mobile Suit Gundam, among other popular anime like Brave Raideen, Space Runaway Ideon, Overman King Gainer, and many more. He is the father of the “ Real Robot” genre of mecha anime, a man who once held the title of “Kill ‘Em All Tomino”, a founding father of anime as we know it.

So as you can imagine, I was pretty nervous talking to this legend, being a Gundam otaku and all. Tomino was my first interview ever, so I had to hit the ground running as they say. I did not want this to be a normal interview though, I would not ask the same questions every single interviewer had asked him in the past. To help find the best of the best questions I went to the internet, to get questions from the fans themselves. My thanks go out to the men of /m/ who were nice enough to provide me with a great deal of these questions.

Even though I was nervous, this interview turned out great. I am extremely honored to be able to have this experience, and have learned a great deal more about this legend in the process. You can either watch the video above, or read a cleaned transcript below.
 
________________________________________________  
Anime Vice: Given how popular Gundam is in America, if given a chance would you consider working with an American studio instead of a Japanese one?

Tomino: No, thank you.

Anime Vice: Your most recent project was the Ring of Gundam short film, many fans are wondering what kind of message you are trying to convey with that short film?

Tomino: Ring of Gundam is actually a small preview of what Gundam would be like if we continued making Gundam, and what fans could expect. It’s like a trailer.
Anime Vice: Would you like to continue telling that story in the future then?

Tomino: If I could find financial backers, absolutely.

Anime Vice: Fantastic! I know one of the reasons why you wanted to make the Zeta “A New Translations” trilogy was so that you could change the ending, are there any other parts of the Gundam universe that you would like to go back and change?

Tomino: No.

Anime Vice: That’s good.

Tomino: Why is that good?

Anime Vice: I love the original, and the New Translation movies as well, but I think the original is perfect the way it is.

Anime Vice: Now on that note, do you have any plans on directing a double zeta “A New Translations” trilogy as well?

Tomino: I haven’t heard anything about any sort of possibility of me directing one.

Anime Vice: Ok, it’s probably never going to happen then. How are your American fans different than your Japanese fans?

Tomino: I personally haven’t been to many of the events in America, so I don’t think I can comment on the difference between the fandoms. What I can say about having attended Gundam anniversaries ten years ago and twenty years ago is that anime is definitely reaching a wider audience here in America, Gundam in particular. In addition to that manga and anime is becoming more mainstream here as well.

Anime Vice: What do you see are the greatest advantages of using animation as a storytelling medium? What do you see as the greatest disadvantages?

Tomino: It is possible using anime to do the story creation in a much more logical stepwise fashion than live action. But I have to say, given that how there are a lot of Hollywood movies that use CG techniques, one might think that they picked up a logical “anime-like” production process. However, that is not, unfortunately, true. I think they attempt to imitate animation as a production process, but they fail.

There are two main disadvantages to animation. One in particular is due to hand-drawn cells, because you can not move the cells easily without going over budget. The budget constraints really limit what you can do with hand-drawn cells. I think the other main disadvantage is that animation gives off the illusion of freedom. The freedom to do anything you want, the freedom to create any type of environment, creatures, ect; but it is very hard to achieve control over the process. I believe a lot of people have lost sight of the fact that the beauty of animation is that you can control the production process in a very logical manner, and unfortunately, a lot of that has now been lost.

Anime Vice: Speaking of Hollywood, what would you say to a Hollywood director who says he/she wants to make Gundam into a live-action film?

Tomino: I would not be able to accept such an offer, because I don’t believe there is someone who has more talent than I do in the Gundam franchise. They might understand Gundam as a concept, but Gundam is more than just robots. That is where I think a lot of people fail to see the true deeper meaning of the work.

Anime Vice: If given the opportunity, would you direct it?

Tomino: In the process of creating the Ring of Gundam short film, I realized I do not work well with the live-action filming process, nor do I have a lot of experience working with live-action, so I can not accept the position. Although I do have one director in mind.

Anime Vice: Who would that be?

Tomino: Stanley Kubrick.

Anime Vice: Very nice, though I have faith that you would be able to direct it.

Tomino: Actually, Ring of Gundam is CG, however we actually did have elements of live-action filming that were later transformed into CG; and through that I discovered that there are certain live-action techniques that I do not have, willingly, because I do not work with this medium. Because of that, I do not believe I would be the best choice for a live-action Gundam film.

Anime Vice: What company or creator would you like to work with if given the chance, be it in America or Japan?

Tomino: There is really no one studio per say I would want to work with. What is more important to me is that I am able to retain the creative control, so if there is any studio that has the technological ability or techniques that I use in my films, then it does not matter where I work.

The only one qualification that I require is that I hope that there would be a staff of people that truly understand the cinematic process and the cinematic feel of animation, which I do not believe is possible anywhere.

Anime Vice: Yeah, that is very hard to come by.

Tomino: So if it is possible, it really wound’t matter where I work.

Anime Vice: Now back to Gundam, how do you feel about Char, the antagonist, being more popular than Amuro, the hero?
Tomino: I do not have a comment either way on that. It’s fans personal freedom and opinion who they choose to like. What pleases me is that I succeeded in creating characters that people could feel so drawn to, and not just one character, but multiple characters.

Anime Vice: Would you ever make a story as dark as Victory Gundam, or Runaway Space Ideon again?

Tomino: The longer time passes, the more I do not feel the need to create such darker works, in fact right now my goal is to create entertainment for the masses. The very medium of anime lends itself to cheeriness, in converse to that I do not feel the need to produce anything that is too mature or for adults only.

I find it rather disappointing that worldwide animation and movies in general are becoming more serious. I want to continue seeing works that inspire events such as the ones today that bring people together in celebration of the medium. So even if it’s a horror movie, I want it to be a happy horror movie!

Anime Vice: I agree 100%, there are enough bad things that go on in the world already that we do not need to be bombarded with it on the television.

Anime Vice: Other than working on animation, what do you like to do for fun?

Tomino: I do not have any free time at all. Though two or three times a week I do go to the pool to swim some laps, but that’s about it.

Anime Vice: A lot of fans have asked me this question, and I probably already know the answer, but have you ever assembled a model from one of your shows?

Tomino: I believe there might have been two that I assembled.

Anime Vice: Do you know which ones they are?

Tomino: The first couple of models when the series just came out. The very first Gundam model, and maybe the second one, something like that. And unfortunately the more Gundam kits that came out, the more complicated they became, so they became a little bit beyond my capabilities.

Anime Vice: Do you still have them?

Tomino: Of course!

Anime Vice: Thank you so much for your time here with me.

Tomino: Thank you.