Animesou.com

VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), one of the entertainment industry’s most innovative and comprehensive publishing, animation and licensing companies, has announced the conclusion to its epic RUROUNI KENSHIN manga series with the release of Volume 28 on July 5. Fans need not despair - VIZ Media has just announced the release of the first RUROUNI KENSHIN fiction novel, VOYAGE TO THE MOON WORLD, to be released October 17. The novel, written by Kaoru Shizuka and published by VIZ Media, is the first offering in the SHONEN JUMP Fiction imprint and will retail for $9.99. VOYAGE TO THE MOON WORLD features the fan-favorite main character in a brand new adventure. VIZ Media will also release a new fantasy/action manga series, BUSO RENKIN, from RUROUNI KENSHIN creator Nobuhiro Watsuki on August 1. To add excitement to this announcement - it was just confirmed that Nobuhiro Watsuki will be VIZ Media’s guest at Comic-Con International in San Diego this July. (more…)

Synopsis
Densuke Mifune, a junior high student at Zashono Academy, just happens to find himself at the wrong place at the wrong time. Near the end of the semester, he was caught peeping into the school infirmary where by chance the girls were all in their underwear. Among them was Chiharu Shinonome. Because Densuke blew his allowance on Dead or Alive summer time special edition, he enters a schoolwide competition. With the prize money, he can reconcile with Shinonome by buying her a birthday present. The whole Eiken Club members stand by his side lending their support.    

Review
Eiken (pronounced Ehh-ken) is a 2 episode OVA series, more like one whole story subdivided into two parts. Some websites might classify Eiken as a hentai. It is rather a hentai parody since there is no explicit sex scene. Still, the E in Eiken is definitely for Ecchi! But as Strongbad once said in one of his e-mails, ‘Too much of a good thing is an awesome thing. And too much of an awesome thing is…umm…a really bad thing.’ Eiken tends to go overboard on the big-breasted females. It is so unnatural.        
  
The official Japanese website can be found at:
http://www.jcstaff.co.jp/sho-sai/eiken-shokai/eiken-index.htm

The Breakdown
Beware of the banana peel!           

Sushi Twist, one of the best sushi restaurants in New York, and Central Park Media, a pioneer in the distribution of anime in the United States, have teamed up to screen critically acclaimed anime in Sushi Twist’s trendy Manhattan location. Sushi Twist will show the critically acclaimed Animation Runner Kuromi on Sunday, June 11th, followed by the award winning Animation Runner Kuromi 2 on Sunday, June 18th, and the visually stunning Munto on Sunday, June 25th. No admission will be charged for the screenings, which begin at 1:30 PM on each screening day. In addition, attendees that show up between 1 PM and 1:30 PM on each screening day will have a chance to participate in a drawing to win a door prize. (more…)

Not a subscriber? Tired of running to the newsstand, only to see they’ve sold out of the latest issue? Want to guarantee you get that FREE DVD, centerfold and manga insert every month? Newtype USA is offering a special subscription price just for you! (more…)

VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), one of the entertainment industry’s most innovative and comprehensive publishing, animation and licensing companies, has announced that ten of its manga titles have again swept the top spots on Nielsen BookScan’s Adult Fiction Overall Graphic Novel list for the week ending May 28, 2006. This is the second time in the past seven months VIZ Media took the entire Top Ten list - in December 2005 VIZ Media also dominated the weekly sales list. Nielsen BookScan has the best and most comprehensive data in the industry, picking up sales information from over 6,500 retail locations across the country. (more…)

Hey all, I’ve been gone from the States for the last two weeks and as I was vacationing in Hong Kong, I was writing when I had time as well. So here is what I have completed from my trip: ADV Film’s Vermilion Pleasure Night Vol. 1: Optic Erotica and Central Park Media’s Sprite: Between Two Worlds.

Synopsis
Space vixens and manic mannequins. Animation and claymation. J-pop music videos and violently desperate housewives. Sexy assassins and biker babes. You’ve never seen or experienced anything like this rainbow-acid-hued, mind-tripped, sonic and sensual assault. Tokyo pop (and Tokyo pop art) has made Vermilion Pleasure Night an international sensation. From the Tate Modern to MoMa, from college capuses to home computers, this sexy kaleidoscope has captured everyone’s attention. And now you can get off on it. Get ready for pleasure, Vermilion Pleasure.

Review
From the director of The Fuccons, come Vermilion Pleasure Night, a show that is borderline crazy and at points make you question the reason why you got yourself involved with it in the first place. Like what The Fuccons was meant to do, ADV Films is trying to deliver a new flavor for this otherwise pretty general audience. What I mean by this is that, most of the people who watch anime, believe that anime is all that Japan has to offer, other than porn. Err… yeah, anyways; Vermilion Pleasure Night is a show that tries to show you things so wild that you would wonder if Excel Saga just turned real life. For those who understood the Excel analogy, good for you, but for those who did not, what I meant was that it seems like this show here is a compilation of random wackiness. It is like, Vermilion Pleasure Night does not have to make sense at all, but at the same time there would be followers of the show, just like Excel Saga did, due to the fact that it is random and crazy.

It is very difficult to compare an animation with a live action, for the most part. And after watching Vermilion, I am still trying to collect my thoughts to put together something that makes sense to my mind. But nope, I still got no picture. Maybe that is what the goal of this show is all about. While obviously there is no story, there is a plot. What that plot is, is to try the hardest to entertain the viewers. I honestly felt that at times the show was trying too hard to be funny or ridiculous, and because of that, it had an opposite effect for some sequences.

A title such as Vermilion Pleasure Night is a hit or miss title; it either falls into your outstretched arms or face first onto the concrete pavement. If you liked The Fuccons, then you would definitely like how this piece plays out. The replay value to my surprise exists. Why? Well, after finishing up the screener, there is this feeling inside me that wanted to re-watch it again. Maybe out of curiosity or trying to make sense of the show, but to put it simply, I felt that I had to see it again to make certain that what I saw happened really happened. Yeah, I was in disbelief at some parts of the show.

The Breakdown
Whether you liked The Fuccons or not, if you are a fan of pure random, crazy and wacky entertainment that features a cast that consists only of Japanese females (… well, males were in the cast as well, but they were only there vocally, not physically, except maybe that lovesick alien heh), then Vermilion Pleasure Night is a perfect fit for you. It satisfies a lot of people’s guilty pleasures, while bringing you some laughter. That is not a bad combo in my book.

Synopsis
Lately, shy Manami has been flirting outrageously and sparking vicious catfights! Afterwards, she remembers nothing. Can it be that another personality seethes beneath her own - a wild woman who’ll do anything to find trouble?

Review
I requested this title from Central Park Media a while ago, and I just could not find the time to toss it in the player, and since I am kind of on my vacation right now, what better time to enjoy this sweet title than now right? Anyways, when you hear Sprite (no not the soda) and see the DVD cover of Sprite, I cannot fault you for just passing it on and going onto something else at the video store. In reality, if I was shopping, I would most definitely not have picked this title up due to how it looked and sounded in my head. STOP!!! Newsflash, when I do that assumption thing (not sure about you), I am usually wrong, and in the case of Sprite, I was wrong.

Manami Sakumoto is smart, not to mention, the hottest girl in school, but when her distant relative Toru Takamura transfers to her school, she begins to feel weird, it is like something or someone is trying to come out from within her. As a shy and quiet spoken girl, she is the perfect target for bullies. And as expected from her school, jealous girls find their way to pick on Manami. Toru is your average perverted guy, who tries to put up a good front. This was proven on the first meeting between Manami and Toru. While this was not the first time they met, it has been a good couple of years since they last saw each other. Now they are all grown up, going to ‘college’ (I will explain the quotations around the word later), and shares a secret between each other… the fact that Manami has another personality within her; the complete polar opposite of the shy, kind and cute Manami, Nami is a cool, no nonsense, ‘will kick your ass’ chick who has her charms as well.

Before I forget to mention, let me just throw it out there that Sprite is not a title that you would like to watch with your parents. There is nudity and some sexual content. While there may not be anything too hardcore… I just had to let this point be known so that the pervs out there will bite ^_^. Throughout the show you will go between Manami and Nami. We get to see their differences and how Manami’s alter ego can help her in some situations. Sprite plays out exactly like a teen love drama, but with more flavor. The incorporating of that mature stuff really gave this title a nice touch; it makes it less boring. I was a hundred percent attentive to everything that was going on. There was never a dull moment to this gem.

The Breakdown
Sprite is truly a show that embodies all there is to embody in a show that yearns and deserves your view; especially if you are into that teenage romance genre. I have never felt such excitement (no, not down my pants, hardy har har) as I am watching a teen drama. Sprite delivers a gripping story that has you choosing between Manami, Nami… or both. But at the end, this title is nothing short of an amazing accomplishment. I will definitely make time for seconds!