There are two freebies this time around:
First, from ANN, the Gaia Online Community is streaming the first two episodes of Kiddy Grade. Here is a synopsis from RightStuf!:
“In Star century Zero-One-Sixty-Five, the Global Union was born. To provide an impartial mediator to the various planetary governments of the G.U., the Galactic Organization of Trade and Tariffs, or G.O.T.T. was simultaneously formed to settle economic disputes amongst the member planets.
Existing in the shadows of the G.O.T.T., the ES Force serves as the G.O.T.T.’s primary law enforcement organization. ES Force members Eclair and Lumiere are on the front line, pursuing all manner of criminals and bringing them to justice.”
The Behind the Scenes: NARUTO The Movie: Ninja Clash in the Land of Snow is still being streamed as well.
If you’re in Japan, you can pick up a couple of free magazines…primarily in Tokyo. Publisher Dejima has been distributing a weekly manga magazine called Comic Ganbo (or Gumbo) at 30 Tokyo-area train stations. Comic Ganbo has been available since mid-January.
A more recent publication is Cospick…Japan’s first free magazine for cosplayers. It was created by media company Cross Bridge (which also operates the online Akihabara information site Ak!ba TV). One major benefit of this magazine for cosplayers is that it is a guide to cosplay-themed events across Japan. The usual way cosplayers learn about events has been through e-mails, blogs, and word of mouth. In addition to listing the events, Cospick also prints ads for hotels and restaurants in the area around each event.Cospick is a bi-monthly publication which started in August. The premiere issue was available at Comic Market (Comiket) 72 and around 6500 magazines were handed out.
Cospick Image: © CosPick, Cross Bridge Inc.
ANN Stories:
Japan’s First Free Manga Magazine Arrives January 16th
Free Magazine for Japanese Cosplay Events Launched
Japanese Sources:
Mainichi Shinbun (Comic Ganbo)
IT Media (Cospick)
There are two sales worth mentioning:
RightStuf! is calling their new sale Prime Time for Bargains. Take 40% off the retail prices on DVDs from ADV Films. For books, CDs, and other merchandise from ADV Films, take 33% off the retail price. This includes pre-0rders. Note: items in the Weekly Specials, Bargain Bin, or Closeout are not eligible. The coupon code is primetime and the sale ends on October 7, 2007 at 11:59 CDT
In recognition of the Geneon situation, AnimeNation is having a Geneon Entire Catalog Going Out of Print! Buy It Now or Never! sale. Actually, it is more of an announcement than a sale. However, they still have the following mini-sales going:
- Hentai CD-ROM Sale – Good news for hentai fans. You can save an extra 15% on the price of all adult PC games.
- Figure Sale – Take up to 43% off a select list of figures…note: limited quantities.
- Risky Safety Closeout Sale – Save 83% on this 3-DVD bundle of the Risky Safety series.
The following is not a sale, rather it is an announcement of a recent agreement between Apple and Tezuka Productions:
The US iTunes Store is now offering three anime series, one movie, and 8 shorts from Tezuka Productions. The three series are Astro Boy (the 1980 color version – 52 episodes):
“2030 AD. After being abandoned by his creator, a young boy robot is rescued by an ‘android advocate,’ Dr. Elefun, who adopts him as his own and guides him in the use of his special powers to aid and protect mankind. Endowed with super strength, rocket-powered flight, a selfless heart and a kind demeanor, Astro Boy fights a never-ending crusade against the forces of evil.”
Black Jack (10 episode OVA from 1993 – 2000):
“In a world where the grim reaper can strike at any time, a brilliant renegade surgeon known only as Black Jack operates outside the law. For the rich and dying, he performs miracles of a macabre medical nature. Unafraid of mysteries that verge on the paranormal, Black Jack is the one man with the power to cheat death… for a terrible price!”
Phoenix (2004 – 13 episodes):
“Throughout time, mankind has chased after the dream of immortality. The Phoenix, in the form of a bird of fire, is said to hold the key to eternal life. Great wars are fought in a vain attempt to possess it and, as a result, civilizations rise and fall. Phoenix is a collection of five stories from the past, present and future. Many will perish because of their desires, and they are the lucky ones. True pain comes for those who find immortality and experience the burden of living forever.”
Synopses from RightStuf!. All are English dubbed.
The movie is Jungle Emperor Leo. This is the 1997 version which uses the second half of Osamu Tezuka’s manga, Jungle Taitei (Jungle Emperor aka Kimba the White Lion) where Leo (Kimba) is now an adult:
“Leo, King of the Jungle, lives at the foot of Moon Mountain. His family life is threatened when a group of humans come in search of Moonlight Stones. Only concerned with money, they have no regard for the jungle. Leo must fight to protect the world he loves, or lose everything!” Synopsis from RightStuf!. The movie is also dubbed.
The 8 shorts are experimental films by Osamu Tezuka.
Muramasa (1987):
“The story is about a haunted sword called “muramasa,” which was found stuck in a wara-ningyo (straw figure). The Samurai who obtained it cut at wara-ningyo every time he found any in order to test the sharpness of the sword. But whenever he cuts, the figures immediately turn into humans. The story symbolizes a warning to protect the current state of peace that rests solely on nuclear deterrence.”
Tales of the Street Corner (1962):
“The scene is set with a poster on a street corner, a girl who cherishes her teddy bear, a street lamp and a playful moth that is drawn to the lamp. These creatures and inanimate objects, each with their own dramas, get involved in a war and the story ends in a tragic climax. This is a private animated piece that expresses feelings rather than telling a story. It can be said that Tezuka Osamu, frustrated with working for big companies, made an attempt here to depict what he really wanted in his animation. This work illustrates that even a poster on the wall can have a vivid drama behind it, and brings the magic of animation alive for us.”
Drop (1965):
“A man adrift on the sea finds three drops of water on his raft’s mast. He desperately tries to get at these drops to quench his thirst, but they will not fall into his mouth. This is a simple animation with a gag theme, just like the chasing in ‘Tom and Jerry.’ It is one of Tezuka Osamu’s independent films, made in no more than a week. He even drew all the backgrounds himself.”
Broken Down Film (1985):
“A scene from an American animated piece called ‘Dudley Do Right‘ shows a scene in which a queen is tied to a railroad track with ropes and shouting, “Help!” This image was often used in serial action films of the silent comedy period. In this short film, a western-style hero fights a villain and saves a beautiful woman in the same situation. This classical scene, however, is marred, blurred and smudged because the film itself is very old. Not only does the hero have to fight the villain, but he also has to struggle hard against the bad condition of the film.”
The Legend of the Forest (1987):
“Inspired by Tschaikovsky’s fourth symphony Op. 36, “A Legend of the Forest”, Tezuka Osamu worked through the concept for more than ten years in order to complete four episodes. Only the first and fourth installments were actually completed. The original idea was to review the entire history of animation ranging the pre-Disney, Disney, and post-Disney TV animation era in four episodes. The first installment was an animated version of the Manga “Mosa, the Flying Squirrel” which was published as one of the Lion Books series. For this work, a very primitive method of animation was used — it employed a certain editing trick to make still drawings look as if they were moving. For the fourth installment, the story developed around forest destroyers presented in the limited made-for-TV animation style scattering forest nymphs presented in Disney-style full-animation. Tezuka Osamu thus expresses the rich “forest” of animated art being driven out by TV.”
Mermaid (1964):
“Tezuka Osamu told us through this story that imagination, the power to fantasize, is a wonderful wing given to humans, who cannot fly. He proceeds to accuse our controlled educational system of robbing us of this natural wing. Around the time of this production, Japan’s fiercely competitive examinations were criticized for producing average children with no individuality all over Japan. Tezuka Osamu suggested in his animation that society might be headed in the wrong direction. The story begins in a fictional country where imagining is prohibited. When a boy saves a fish, which transforms itself into a mermaid and astonishes everyone, he gets arrested for imagining and producing such nonsense. Then he is robbed of his imagination. The story depicts the frightening side of a controlled society and escape from that kind of society, a theme similar to that of Terry Gillium’s science fiction film ‘Brazil‘.”
Pictures at an Exhibition (1966):
“This is an omnibus animated work unfolding along with a famous work of classical music, like a Tezuka Osamu version of “Fantasia.” It consists of ten episodes inspired by Mussorgsky’s “Pictures at an Exhibition” Suite.”
Jumping (1984):
“As a boy skips down a street, his stride becomes bigger and bigger, and he then jumps over towns, a forest, the sea, going higher and further. Finally he reaches a country in wartime. This work is very interesting in that the boy’s jump turns to a god’s jump, to a point where he is watching over human destiny. This work surprised the entire world because the whole film was shot in one cut with 4,000 motion pictures. It received many awards.”
Synopses from Tezuka Osamu @ World. The shorts are not dubbed.
iTunes image: © Apple, Other images: © Tezuka Productions
ANN Story:
Tezuka Anime Downloads Added to American iTunes Store (Updated)
Japanese Source:
Tezuka Productions (pdf)
