Winner #1: Alicia R. Thomas
“Though in the beginning my favorite was L, before I knew it, my favorite character became none other than the lead character, Light Yagami/Kira.  He’s my favorite because in watching the series he tapped into the darkest corners of the viewers mind. He showed just how twisted and manipulative a person could become when they possessed unearthly power.Watching his progression from a seemingly noble cause, to pure, power-hungry insanity.”

“With every well-thought plan, every twist, turn, and setback I found my own heart racing and I became rather emotionally attached to the character and his struggle.  You end up asking yourself if you’d be any different if you were in his position.  His character is rich and deep, in the darkest and most forbidden ways… he really draws a lot of excitement from the viewer (or me at least) and therefor, he’s my favorite.”

Winner #2: Faust721
“Amane Misa for me because she is voiced by Hirano Aya. Yes, a very shallow reason, but i was never really attached to the characters but rather the atmosphere of the show.”

Congratulations to the winners, and thank you to everyone who entered. Keep an eye out for more contests from The Anime Blog! Here are a few of our past anime giveaways.

Don’t foget to enter to win tickets to see Death Note II: The Last Name at a theater near you! The contest ends today at 12:00pm CST!

• #14: sabas
• #20: joker341
• #3: Dreamsong

All winners must claim their prizes within a week or we will redraw.

Thanks to all for entering our Tax Day Anime Giveaway and keep reading for more contests!

Uncle Sam might be taking away your cash on April 15th, but we at The Anime Blog know what’ll ease the pain; free anime and merchandise!

That’s right, we’re holding a giveaway with an entry limit of 20 and 3 winners! We’ve got some fun stuff to giveaway so read the rules and take a look at the loot.

The contest is simple:

1. You must register with the site
2. Log in with your user name and password, then choose an item from our list of loot
3. List the item you want in the comments section
4. Your comment will be given a number. If your number is chosen from our random drawing, you’ll win the item you listed!

Additional Details

This giveaway has a 20 entry comment limit. When we reach 20, we’ll randomly draw a number between 1 and 20. If your comment number is drawn, you’ll be the proud owner of whatever listed! For example:

20. Smitty says:
April 30th, 2008 at 7:15 am
“I sure would love a Peach Girl necklace ^_^”

If we draw number 20 and your user name is Smitty, then you’ve just won a Peach Girl necklace.

Contest Rules

• All entrants must be a registered user to win.
• You must post a comment with the name of one of the articles being given away. If you do not list an item in your comment and your number is chosen, you’ll receive the prize of our choice.
• Limit one post and one item request per registered user.
• Flooding the board with multiple posts will result in deletion of your entry.
• If you’ve won in the past four months, you are not eligible to win. We appreciate your participation, but we want everyone to have a chance.
• All entrants must live in the continental United States. Sorry international friends – shipping is expensive these days!

Deadline:

• The winners will be randomly drawn when 20 unique entries have been posted. Any entrant posting after the 20 comment mark is not eligible to win, even if comments are still open.

Winner:

• The winner’s user name (but not your email address) will be posted on the site. We will notify you by e-mail.

Da Loot

1. Boxed Black Lagoon dog tags
2. Peach Girl compact autographed by the series’ English voice cast
3. Boxed Peach Girl bracelet
4. Boxed Peach Girl necklace
5. Glass Fleet, Volumes 4-5
6. Beck, Mongolian Chop Squad, Volume 4-5
7. Tsubasa, Volume 1
8. Speed Grapher 3-4
9. Speed Grapher 5-6
10. Spiral, Complete Series

Good luck and we wish you many happy tax returns!

<h4>Winners</h4>

1. Caitlin

44. Debaser

10. Momo83

Winners have seven days to claim their prizes or a new winner will be drawn!

This is Round Five of The Anime Blog’s Garage Sale Giveaway and we have even more goodies this time around! For those new to our Garage Sale Giveaways, please read the the original post!

The contest is simple:

1. You must register with the site
2. Log in with your user name and password, then choose an item from our list of loot
3. List the item you want in the comments section
4. Your comment will be given a number. If your number is chosen from our random drawing, you’ll win the item you listed!

Additional Details

This giveaway has a 70 entry comment limit. When we reach 70, we’ll randomly draw a number between 1 and 70. If your comment number is drawn, you’ll be the proud owner of whatever listed! For example:

22. Smitty says:
April 30th, 2008 at 7:15 am
I sure would love a copy of Karas: The Revelation!!! ^_^

If we draw number 22 and your user name is Smitty, then you’ve just won a copy of Karas: The Revelation.

List of Loot

Anime DVDs

1. Tetsujin 28, Volume 1
2. Beck, Mongolian Chop Squad, Volume 3
3. Black Cat, Volume 6
4. Karas: The Revelation
5. Glass Fleet, Volumes 1-2
6. Glass Fleet, Volumes 3-4
7. Ikkitousen, Volumes 1-2, 4
8. Nerima Daikon Brothers, Volumes 1-2
9. Ah, My Goddess! Volume 1
10. Peach Girl, Volume 4
11. Red Garden, Volume 1
12. Witchblade, Volume 1
13. Witchblade Volume 2
14. Venus, Versus Virus, Volume 1
15. Vision of Escaflowne: Volumes 2-3
16. Vision of Escaflowne: Volumes 4-5
17. Vision of Escaflowne: Volumes 7-8
18. Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle, Volume 1
19. Samurai X: Trust
20. Sentimental Journey: Disc 1
21. Speed Grapher, Volumes 1-2
22. Strawberry Marshmallow, Complete Series
23. Yu Yu Hakusho, Volumes 5-6

Manga

1. Mars: Volumes 1-5
2. Mars: Volumes 7-8
3. Mars: Volumes: 11-15
4. Blade of the Immortal: Volume 3
5. Descendants of Darkness: Volume 1
6. Crimson Hero: Volume 1

Remember, you must register to enter. After you’ve registered, check out the loot and comment below!

Contest Rules

• All entrants must be a registered user to win.
• You must post a comment with the name of one of the articles being given away. If you do not list an item in your comment and your number is chosen, you’ll receive the prize of our choice.
• Limit one post and one item request per registered user.
• Flooding the board with multiple posts will result in deletion of your entry.
• If you’ve won in the past four months, you are not eligible to win. We appreciate your participation, but we want everyone to have a chance.
• All entrants must live in the continental United States. Sorry international friends – shipping is expensive these days!

Deadline:

• The winner will be randomly drawn when 70 unique entries have been posted. Any entrant posting after the 70 comment mark is not eligible to win, even if comments are still open.

Winner:

• The winner’s user name (but not your email address) will be posted on the site. We will notify you by e-mail.

If you have any questions about registering, please read our privacy policy. Good luck and don’t forget to tell your friends! The more comments we get, the faster you can win!

This is Round Four of The Anime Blog’s Garage Sale Giveaway! There’s even more goodies this time around so take the time to look the list over! For those new to our Garage Sale Giveaways, please read the original post!

The contest is simple: You choose one item or group of items from our pile of loot, and post one comment declaring your desire to be owner of said loot. When we reach sixty comments, I’ll randomly draw a number between one and sixty. If I draw your comment number, you’re now the proud owner of whatever you declared you liked within your comment. For example:

1. Anime Fan
I sure would like me Karas: The Revelation!

If I draw “1″ and your username is “Anime Fan”, then you win Karas: The Revelation, savvy?

One thing to please remember when entering is that you MUST register with the site to enter! Why? Because it makes it easier to contact you if you win, i.e. search the registry for your contact info.

There have been numerous instances when someone lost a prize solely because they did not register. Don’t be “that” guy! Register and actually be eligible to win! If you have any reservations about registering, please read our privacy policy and know we never sell your info nor contact you unless you’ve won.

After you’ve registered, check out the loot and comment below!

*Note: Please read the rules under “To Enter” carefully!!!

To Enter:

• All entrants must live in the continental U.S.
• All entrants must be a registered user to win.
• Post a comment in the comment board below with the name of one of the articles being given away.
• You must list an item in your comment or the comment will be deleted. Saying, “I want to win”, or “I want so and so to win”, will also result in deletion of the comment.
• One post and one item only per registered user. Flooding the board with multiple posts will result in deletion of ALL said user’s posts.

Deadline:

• Deadline is numerical: 60 unique comments (minimum). The winner will be randomly drawn when 60 comments have been posted.

Winner:

• Winner’s user name will be posted on the site and notified by e-mail!

Good luck and don’t forget to tell your friends! The more comments we get, the faster you can win!

Manga

1. Mars: Volumes 1-5
2. Mars: Volumes 7-8
3. Mars: Volumes: 11-15
4. Blade of the Immortal: Volume 3
5. Descendants of Darkness: Volume 1
6. Crimson Hero: Volume 1

Anime DVDs

1. Tetsujin 28, Volume 1
2. Beck, Mongolian Chop Squad, Volume 3
3. Black Cat, Volume 6
4. Karas: The Revelation
5. Glass Fleet, Volumes 1-2
6. Ikkitousen, Volume 2
7. Ikkitousen, Volume 4
8. Nerima Daikon Brothers, Volumes 1-2
9. Ah, My Goddess! Volume 1
10. Red Garden, Volume 1
11. Witchblade, Volume 1
12. Witchblade Volume 2
13. Venus, Versus Virus, Volume 1
14. Vision of Escaflowne: Volumes 2-3
15. Vision of Escaflowne: Volumes 4-5
16. Vision of Escaflowne: Volumes 7-8
17. Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle, Volume 1
18. Solty Rei, Volume 4
19. Samurai X: Trust
20. Sentimental Journey: Disc 1
21. Strawberry Marshmallow, Complete Series
22. Yu Yu Hakusho, Volumes 5-6

Please keep reading for more giveaways starting very soon! Thanks for entering one and all!!

This is Round Three of The Anime Blog’s Garage Sale Giveaway! There’s even more goodies this time around so take the time to look the list over! For those new to our Garage Sale Giveaways, please read the original post!

The contest is simple: You choose one item or group of items from our pile of loot, and post one comment declaring your desire to be owner of said loot. When we reach sixty comments, I’ll randomly draw a number between one and sixty. If I draw your comment number, you’re now the proud owner of whatever you declared you liked within your comment. For example:

1. Anime Fan
I sure would like me Karas: The Revelation!

If I draw “1″ and your username is “Anime Fan”, then you win Karas: The Revelation, savvy?

One thing to please remember when entering is that you MUST register with the site to enter! Why? Because it makes it easier to contact you if you win, i.e. search the registry for your contact info.

There have been numerous instances when someone lost a prize solely because they did not register. Don’t be “that” guy! Register and actually be eligible to win! If you have any reservations about registering, please read our privacy policy and know we never sell your info nor contact you unless you’ve won.

After you’ve registered, check out the loot and comment below!

*Note: Please read the rules under “To Enter” carefully!!!

Manga

1. Mars: Volumes 1-5
2. Mars: Volumes 7-8
3. Mars: Volumes: 11-15
4. Blade of the Immortal: Volume 3
5. Descendants of Darkness: Volume 1
6. Crimson Hero: Volume 1

Anime DVDs

1. Pumpkin Scissors, Volume 1
2. Tetsujin 28, Volume 1
3. Beck, Mongolian Chop Squad, Volume 3
4. Black Cat, Volume 6
5. Karas: The Revelation
6. Glass Fleet, Volumes 1-2
7. Ikkitousen, Volume 2
8. Ikkitousen, Volume 4
9. Nerima Daikon Brothers, Volumes 1-2
10. Ah, My Goddess! Volume 1
11. Red Garden, Volume 1
12. Witchblade, Volume 1
13. Vision of Escaflowne: Volumes 2-3
14. Vision of Escaflowne: Volumes 4-5
15. Vision of Escaflowne: Volumes 7-8
16. Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle, Volume 1
17. Solty Rei, Volume 4
18. Samurai X: Trust
19. Sentimental Journey: Disc 1
20. Strawberry Marshmallow, Complete Series

To Enter:

• All entrants must live in the continental U.S.
• All entrants must be a registered user to win.
• Post a comment in the comment board below with the name of one of the articles being given away.
• One post and one item only per registered user. Flooding the board with multiple posts will result in deletion of ALL said user’s posts.

Deadline:

• Deadline is numerical: 60 unique comments (minimum). The winner will be randomly drawn when 60 comments have been posted.

Winner:

• Winner’s user name will be posted on the site and notified by e-mail!

Good luck and don’t forget to tell your friends! The more comments we get, the faster you can win!

In the spirit of giving, The Anime Blog is having a Christmas Giveaway Extravaganza! We’re giving away one of the following to three lucky readers. And unlike our other giveaways, where we require 60 comments before we draw names, we’re lowering the comment requirement to 20!!

To Enter:

• All entrants must live in the continental U.S.
• All entrants must be a registered user to win.
• Post a comment in the comment board below with the name of one of the articles being given away.
• For this contest you must have a second and third choice of prizes in case the first name drawn wins your first and/or second choice.
• One post and one item only per registered user. Flooding the board with multiple posts will result in deletion of all said user’s posts.

Deadline

• Deadline is numerical: 20 unique comments (minimum). The winners will be randomly drawn when 20 comments have been posted.

Winner

• Winners’ user names will be posted on the site and notified by e-mail!
• There will also be a second mystery prize included with all winnings!

Manga

• My Dearest Devil Princess, Volume 1

Anime DVDs

• Yu Yu Hakusho, Volumes 5-6
• Case Closed, Volume 3
• Kodocha, Volume 13
• Karas, The Revelation
• Glass Fleet, Volume 1
• Ikkitousen, Volume One
• Nerima Daikon Brothers, Volumes 1-2
• Tetsujin 28, Volume 1
• Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle, Volumes 4-5
• Witchblade, Volume 1
• Witchblade, Volume 2

Good luck and don’t forget to tell your friends! The more comments we get, the faster you can win!

On November, 26, a new online service was launched called BOST TV. The service is owned and operated by Tokyo based BOST Digital Entertainment Co., Ltd. What is the goal of BOST TV? BOST Digital Enterainment’s President, Aaron Lai, commented about this on the BOST TV’s About Page:

“We want to bring you anime more quickly than before and titles that see little chance of a DVD release.

We are all anime fans here at BOST and we have all lived overseas. We know how hard it is to get anime outside Japan. We know there’s a lot of cool stuff here and we want to bring a piece of the action as best we can – Direct from the Source.”

BOST TV has signed licensing agreements with Pony Canyon and Milky Cartoon. They will offer titles for rent and for free. These shows will be subbed (English only). There are no plans to offer dubbed versions. Currently, they have three titles (synopses from BOST TV):

• Hanbun no Tsuki ga Noboru Sora (Looking Up at the Half-Moon):

Yuuichi is unexpectedly hospitalised for hepatitis at Wakaba Hospital in the winter of his junior year in high school. As he recovers, Yuuichi constantly escapes from his hospital room and is scolded daily by Nurse Akiko. Then one day, Yuuichi meets Rika, a girl his age, who is hospitalised in the adjoining wing. He is instantly attracted to the beautiful Rika, but discovers she is insufferably spoiled.

Yuuichi is confused by her unreasonable behaviour, but is drawn to her nevertheless. But when Rika confides in Yuuichi about her illness, he understands the reason for her wilful behaviour. Rika doesn’t have long to live.

• Ballad of a Shinigami: momo the girl god of death:

Momo, a girl dressed in white. In her hand is a scythe, glowing dimly. By her side is Daniel, a winged black cat.

She is a “shinigami” — a god of death — who carries the souls of humans to the other side.

Every time a human heart is touched by the white shinigami, the world is filled with kindness, and sadness…

• Keitai Shoujo:

Hiro Aida is a second-year high school student. Christmas is approaching, and he is uneasy since he cannot seem to get a girlfriend. Out of boredom, he visits a web site on his cell phone called “Gal☆Mode” and downloads a wallpaper for his phone.

The instant the download is finished, his phone emits a bright light, and transforms into a little girl the size of his palm.

“My name is Rin. What’s yours?”
“The fact that you were able to download me must mean that you don’t have a girlfriend… Am I right?”
“It’ll be a bit of a problem for me if you don’t become happy by Christmas. To put it simply…”

…If Hiro does not get a girlfriend by Christmas, Rin — and Hiro’s phone — will vanish, and Rin will be unable to return to her world.

The first two have been available for rent since Nov. 26 and the third was made available for free (through Feb. 26, 2008) on Dec. 3.

The only major caveat is that due to licensing issues, there are geographical limitations for the availablility of the titles. Hanbun no Tsuki ga Noboru Sora and Ballad of a Shinigami are currently available to Australia and New Zealand, while Keitai Shoujo is available to North America, Oceania, and the United Kingdom.

The recommended requirements for viewing include Windows (2000 or newer), Mac OS X (10.3 or newer), Linux (only Fedora distribution tested), Flash Player 8, modern browser (e.g., Firefox 2 or Safari 3), Fast internet connection (500 kb/s or faster), and a screen resolution of at least 1024 x 768.

Anime Anime Article (via Katana Xtreme translation):
BOST TV launches for direct on-line anime delivery from Japan to abroad

__________

RightStuf! will be streaming (via IGN.com), for a limited time, the first episode of Ninja Nonsense, which will allow fans a chance to sample the series. The Ninja Nonsense Complete DVD Collection – Limited Edition will be released on December 4. Here is a synopsis from RightStuf!:

“Take one totally cute (and naive) ninja-girl trainee, add a ninja horde under the tutelage of a perverse headmaster – a strange, yellow, spherical, pudgy… creature… named Onsokumaru – and you get the kind of ’super-explosive ninja insanity’ that can only be found in what’s been called ‘the runaway nuclear reactor’ of anime comedies!”

__________

A.D. Vision’s 24-hour anime channel, The Anime Network, has started streaming episodes from 12 different series. There are advertisements which appear before, during, and after each episode, but the player will allow you to jump around within the episode. There are 3 episodes for each series that are currently being shown. New episodes will be added every Thursday and each episode will be available for 28 days. The current crop of titles:

• Ah! My Goddess: Flights of Fancy
• Air Gear
• BASToF Syndrome
• Chance Pop Session
• Comic Party: Revolution
• Gilgamesh
• Jinki:Extend
• Kurau: Phantom Memory
• Magical Play
• Pani Poni Dash!
• Saiyuki
• Utawarerumono

Requirements are a fast internet connection and Adobe Flash 9. The only major caveat is that this is a regional service. It is good only for the US and Canada.

ANN Story:
The Anime Network Streams Episodes Online for Free

__________

This next piece is not a freebie or a sale. It does involve A.D. Vision again. ADV Films has just announced that they are dropping the prices on their video downloads. The standard downloads (with a resolution of 320 x 240) are priced at $1.99/episode. You can also get the episodes in premium resolution (632 x 480) for $3.99/episode. Their original service offered episodes at $4.99 each and feature length works at $19.99 each.

Two caveats…downloads are limited to US residents and they require Windows (2000 or XP) with Windows Media Player 10 or higher.

ANN Story:
ADVFilms.com Lowers Prices on Episode Downloads

__________

AnimeOnDVD is sponsoring two contests. First, they have a daily contest called the 44 Days of Christmas. They will be giving away a prize a day for 44 days. Since the prizes are different each day and a new prize is announced as the old one has been won, I cannot give you a list of what is available. You will just have to visit their contest page and see. The first 3 days featured Hellsing Ultimate, Vol. 2, Zegapain Vol. #1 w/box, and Tekkaman Blade Collection 3.

Second, AnimeOnDVD is partnering with ADV Films on a contest called Magic, Mayhem and Pretty Boys from ADV Films. The winner will receive Vol. 1 of three series…Magikano, Tokyo Majin, and The Wallflower. This contest runs until 8am, Monday, December 24.

Both contests are random drawings. Check their site for rules and details.

__________

Publisher Dark Horse has a contest. The prize is the complete trade set of Blade of the Immortal (Vol. 1 – 17). This contest will be more of a challenge than the one above. It is an essay contest. From their contest page:

We’ve drummed up a great essay contest with some sweet prizes–all you have to do is tell us how the popular manga series Blade of the Immortal has affected YOU. Tell us your story. Who’s your favorite character and why? How has studying Hiroaki Samura’s techniques changed your own work? In short: tell us how Blade of the Immortal has made an impression on you in 400 words or less. The top four selected essay winners will receive our grand prize–complete trade sets of Blade of the Immortal (Vol. 1 – 17). So read the fine print, put on your thinking caps, and have fun writing. Good luck!

Submissions must be made by midnight (PST) on Dec. 20, 2007. Go to their contest page for the full rules.

__________

Now on to the sales:

Rightstuf! has a new sale called 12 Days of Anime. From December 3rd through December 25th, RightStuf will be posting a list of holdiay bargains…adding one item to the list each day. This will actually be 12+ days of savings on DVDs, box sets, and bundles.

The first day features an Eureka Seven DVD bundle. You can get Volumes 1 – 10 for $89.99 which is 63% off the retail price of $249.80. Here is a synopsis from RightStuf!:

“Eureka Seven tells the story of a young boy named Renton, whose life just plain sucks. That is, until a giant robot crashes into his house. Piloted by a girl named Eureka, this encounter will lead Renton to be pursued by the military and pulled into a web of drama, intrigue, and non-stop action. Renton’s time to daydream is over.”

They have made things even easier this time. There are no coupon codes needed for this sale. Sale ends December 25, 2007 at 11:59pm CST.

__________

AnimeNation is no longer running their Holiday Studio Sales. But, they do have a new sale called the Red Hot Holiday Overstock Sale.

For a limited time, you can save up to 60% off a select list of items.

Plus, AnimeNation is offering a couple of coupons as added incentive:

• Get free economy shipping on orders over $49. The coupon code is SHIPPING49.
• Get 10% off any order over %99. The coupon code is ANHOLIDAYS.

Also, AnimeNation will be having a Holiday Giveaway:

All through the holidays, when you take advantage of the great deals and specials at AnimeNation, and place an order on our website, you’ll be automatically entered in a contest to win 1 of 5 complete AN Entertainment collections! That’s 16 discs in all, a $369.00 value! Get Risky Safety, Miami Guns, and of course the Hare+Guu TV and OVA series!

Winners will be selected on December 30th.

__________

Robert’s Anime Corner Store has a Holiday Specials List which offers up to 50% off the MSRP on select DVDs and figures. You may also be able to get additional discounts if there are any sale coupon offers running…the Holiday Madness Sale is an example (though it ends Dec. 4).

__________

Finally, here are a couple of coupon offers:

Barnes & Noble.com has one coupon. You can take 25% off any 1 item. The coupon code is T4N3B6W and it expires on December 10.

Target.com is offering one coupon. You can get 10% off any purchase (no minimum). The coupon code is TCTARGETWELC. It expires on December 31.