Gunota has compiled all the new info for the second season of Gundam 00 coming out. Most of it is pretty simple stuff, but there’s a couple things that really caught my eye:
The second season will revolve around an independent security enforcement organization within the Federation called “Arrows” that suppresses anti-Federation elements.
And
Most people aren’t aware of the severe oppression of Arrows due to the Federation’s complete control of information.
Oh lord it’s the Titans all over again. It also looks like Lockon’s twin brother will be joining the group, so would he be the Quattro?
Akihabara Channel reports that a new site, MangaGamer.com, has popped up claiming to release downloadable english translations of visual novels. Already the site features D.C. Da Capo and Suika A.S.+, both titles from the developer Circus. Obviously the real question is how good are the translations going to be. The translations already on the site are a bit clunky, but very readable none the less. If all this works out well then this is very exciting news for visual novel fans. The site says it’s going to open on July 3rd, so more information should come in then.
Is it finally time for a solo adventure of the most hot-blooded store clerk in Akihabara? Not quite. Variouspeoplereport that the new Lucky Star OVA, slated for release this summer, will focus on the rivalry between Anime Tenchou and his great enemy Legendary Girl A, or Konata, which could only be called a rivalry if the Roadrunner’s constant duping of Wil E. Coyote could be called a rivalry. I don’t really care if Konata is there, as long as Anime Tenchou gets the majority of airtime and lines. Now the ideal OVA would be an Anime Tenchou vs. Minoru Shiraishi epic animated by Go Nagai, but that’s a bit of a stretch. Go Nagai has to give us the Mazinger Z remake first anyways.
Meta: comments are still broken, so anyone can go ahead and try to comment, I just can’t gurantee if it will go through or not. We’re working to fix it and hopefully everything will be fine soon.
Wait, what? ANN reports that the Haruhi novels are finally coming to the English world - officially, that is - via Little, Brown Books for Young Readers. I’m going to take a shot in the dark here, but I’m guessing they don’t handle translating super popular Japanese novels much. On the other hand, this is a joint acquisition with Yen Press, which is a bit better I guess, though the only thing I really know about Yen Press is that they’re publishing Hidamari Sketch this summer. Frankly I’m shocked someone like Tokyopop, Viz, or even Seven Seas didn’t get them. Though, with a more official publisher with more money behind them, maybe we won’t have to worry about insane wait times and shoddy post-modern covers. Still have to wait a year, though.
So, Clannad is indeed getting its sequel with the After Story being animated. Never doubt the power of fanboys and Kyoani. The format for the After Story is unknown right now, but a twelve to thirteen episode season is most likely. I enjoyed Clannad enough and everybody does say After Story is the best part, so I’ll have to check it out. What I’m wondering now is, when the hell is Kyoani going to do Haruhi 2? Was that ever confirmed for summer?
The Gurren-Lagann movie will be in September. Having just finished watching DVD episode 27 - no ghosting makes for fuckawesome animation - I’m very excited about this. Still no idea what the plot is. Could be sidestory, alternate universe, lovelove highschool romance, or all three knowing Gainax.
Madhouse will be doing a remake of the seventies series Casshern. I’m really starting to like Madhouse as a studio and am hoping they can reinvent Casshern into something incredibly badass, much like Bones’s reinvention of Skull Man.
Speaking of Bones, they unveiled their new mecha series, Bounen no Xamdou. Getting some very big Eureka 7 vibes here, along with some King Gainer vibes. I could never actually watch Eureka 7, started too slow and Renton is an annoying protagonist, but I’ll keep an eye on this when it comes out.
There was other TAF news today that isn’t relevant to my interests, so check out Moetron for more complete coverage.
The anime blogosphere now has its very own award show: The Anime Blog Awards. It’s an interesting setup, where only actual bloggers can nominate other bloggers. I’ve already put in my nominations for several sites I admire. I would give myself a bit of self-promotion here and ask for someone to nominate me, but I have no idea what category this blog falls under since I talk about so many different things. I would say I’m eclectic at my best and rambling at my worst. Oh well, this hopefully will be fun anyways. Nominations run from now until April 22nd.
The leaked cover of Young Jump reveals that Peach Pit will be drawing a Rozen Maiden one-shot focusing on how Shinku was made for the magazine. There’s also news of a big announcement in the next issue, which all conjecture right now is pointing to a continuation of Rozen Maiden after its abrupt and disappointing end in Comic Birz. More Rozen Maiden manga isn’t a bad thing, especially if it leads to a third season, but I’ll have to admit I find the manga impossible to read. The story is alright, but Peach Pit’s artwork is all over the place. I have no idea what is going on most of the time. Looks like we’ll have to wait to the end of the month for any real confirmation on this news.
