Archive for December, 2007
The Moviefone website has posted the trailer for the live-action Speed Racer film adaptation in three different high-definition resolutions on Thursday. The American television program Entertainment Tonight premiered the trailer earlier in the day. The film will open in North America on May 9, 2008.
Andy and Larry Wachowski (The Matrix, V for Vendetta film) directed this film remake of Speed Racer, which itself is an adaptation of Tatsunoko Production’s classic Mach Go Go Go car-racing anime television series. The film stars Emile Hirsch in the title role, Christina Ricci as his girlfriend Trixie, Matthew Fox as Speed’s not-so-secret brother Racer X, Susan Sarandon and John Goodman as his parents, and Korean pop star Rain (Ji Hoon Jung) as rival driver Taejo Togokhan.
Popularity: 9% [?]
ADV Films is streaming the trailer of Project Blue Earth SOS, the 2006 six-episode television series that recounts an alien invasion of an alternative-history Earth with classic science-fiction homages. ADV Films announced its acquisition of this title in June. The 1948 “Earth SOS” adventure story by the late Shigeru Komatsuzaki (Thunderbirds model kit box illustrations) inspired the project. It features director Tensai Okamura (Memories’ “Stink Bomb,” Wolf’s Rain), script writer Ryota Yamaguchi (Sailor Moon Sailor Stars, Escaflowne), and Studio A.C.G.T. (Kino’s Journey, Human Crossing).
Popularity: 7% [?]
ADV Films has announced that it will premiere its English version of the Devil May Cry: The Animated series at the New York Anime Festival on Saturday, December 8. The anime distributor’s exhibition hall booth will also host kiosks where attendees can play demos of Devil May Cry 4, the latest installment in Capcom’s supernatural action game franchise that inspired the anime. Both the anime version’s first DVD and the fourth game will ship on February 5.
CAPCOM had previously announced that its Devil May Cry 4 Collector’s Edition will include the first anime DVD volume from ADV Films, along with a Steelbook case and another DVD for extras. The edition will also include a US$5.00 discount coupon for the second anime DVD volume. The second anime DVD will be offered in a limited edition with a box for the series.
Popularity: 9% [?]
A review of the Death Note: DVD Volume One done by Douglas. Enjoy and please comment.
Death Note: DVD Volume One Review
Popularity: 9% [?]
This is the first post of the “Otaku Corner”, a space for Douglas to showcase funny and interesting items he stumbles upon. Here is a hilarious video from the Japanese show “Silent Library”. The point of the show is to have the contestants face off in a card duel, with the loser having to submit to performing a horrible action that usually is disgusting, degrading, or just downright wrong. It’s what the future of American TV should be. Douglas gives it two Otaku thumbs up. Please comment.
Silent Library
Popularity: 7% [?]
The Hollywood Reporter entertainment industry newspaper reports that actress Jamie Chung has signed onto the live-action Dragonball film as the main character Goku’s love interest, Chi Chi. Jamie Chung is best known for her appearance on MTV’s The Real World, the prototype for many of today’s so-called reality television series. In addition to guest television roles, She will also star in the title role in Samurai Girl, a pilot for a possible television series on America’s ABC Family network. (This project is based on Carrie Asai’s Samurai Girl novels and is unrelated to Reiji Saiga and Sora Inoue’s Samurai Girl: Real Bout High School manga.)
The Dragonball movie is based on Akira Toriyama’s hit fighting manga that was published in Shueisha’s Shonen Jump magazines in both Japan and North America. Justin Chatwin (War of the Worlds, The Invisible, Lost television series) has already been cast as Goku, and James Marsters (Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s Spike, Smallville’s Braniac) will play his nemesis, Piccolo. Director James Wong (Final Destination, X-Files television series, The One) and producer Stephen Chow (Kung Fu Hustle, Shaolin Soccer) started principal photography of the film for Twentieth Century Fox last month. The movie is scheduled to open on August 15, 2008.
Popularity: 10% [?]
About 3,500 fans of the Lucky Star comedy manga and anime franchise converged on Washinomiya shrine, the real-life locale that makes cameos in the anime, for a December 2 event. The shrine’s local township only has 34,000 citizens. The brunch and official shrine visit featured the manga creator Kagami Yoshimizu and four cast members of the anime: Hiromi Konno (Akira Kogami), Emiri Katou (Kagami Hiiragi), Kaori Fukuhara (Tsukasa Hiiragi), and Minoru Shiraishi (playing a character named after himself). Katou and Fukuhara played fictional twin sisters who work as miko (shrine maidens) at the shrine.
According to the local chamber of commerce, fans began arriving on-site at around 5:00 a.m. By about 7:30 a.m. (four hours before the start of the event), the number of people in line already exceeded 200, the capacity of the Ootorichaya Washinomiya restaurant at which the event would begin. All 2,100 mobile phone straps that the restaurant brought out for advance sales were sold. The straps were fashioned to look like ema, the traditional wooden plaques that contain written wishes from shrine visitors.
The event began with a brunch with Lucky Star’s signature cornet-shaped, chocolate-filled pastries, Blue Hawaii drinks, and other dishes. (Unlike the file photo at left, the event’s exclusive chocolate cornets were topped with a large yellow star.) Yoshimizu and the four cast members then led a procession to the shrine to pray “for a bright future for Lucky ? Star.”
Kadokaa Pictures USA and Bandai Entertainment announced that they will be bringing the Lucky ? Star anime series to North America.
Popularity: 8% [?]
The Japanese satellite channel BS-Fuji announced on December 2 that it will premiere Moegaku*5 a hybrid anime/live-action television series based on the Moegaku language-learning software, on January 14. The software version’s original voice cast members will reprise their roles for the television series, and Aya Hirano (Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya’s Haruhi , Lucky Star’s Konata) will play a new character named Megami-sama (”Goddess”). The series will air every weekday from 5:00 to 5:15 p.m. and cover a different language each day (Monday: English, Tuesday: Korean, Wednesday: Spanish, Thursday: Chinese, Friday: French).
For the original Moegaku software kit, the developer Idea Factory used a romance adventure game (with the traditional choose-your-own-adventure format) and English voiceovers to teach English to fans of cute girl characters. The software was first released for personal computers in 2005, but it was later ported to the Sony PSP portable game console. A trailer of the PSP is available in high and low quality RealVideo format.
While the original software only taught English, the Moegaku*5 television series adds four more languages. The television series will add another twist by having a live-action segment in each episode. Each live-action segment will put the cast members (including Hirano) and a jump-roping performance group called Nawatobist before the camera. The staff includes director Nobuhiro Takamoto (Sasami: Magical Girl Club, Tenchi in Tokyo), scriptwriter and translator Akira Watanabe (Aa Megami-Sama: Tatakau Tsubasa, Girls Bravo), and character designer Koji Watanabe (Blue Gender, Phantom - The Animation).
http://www.if-vivi.com/moe_high.ram (high)
http://www.if-vivi.com/moe_low.ram (low)
Popularity: 7% [?]
Here are some of the new trailers I added to the OtakuCrave Youtube page . You can find the page HERE
New Trailers Added:
Yugo The Negotiator
A Tree of Palme
Shuten Doji
Rahxephon
Peacemaker
Noir
Misaki Chronicles
Madlax
Maburaho
Gravion Zwei
Gilgamesh
Get Backers
Gatchaman
Full Metal Panic Fumoffu
Neon Genesis Evangelion Platinum Edition
E’s Otherwise
Divergence Eve
Colorful
Area 88
Saiyuki
Kekko Kamen
Elfen Lied
Chrono Crusade
Mezzo Forte
Tokyo Majin
Red Garden
Pani Poni Dash
Air
Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade
Gundam Wing - Endless Waltz
Mobile Suit Gundam: Char’s Counterattack
Popularity: 10% [?]
