ALI PROJECT: Soubikakei (薔薇架刑) (2007)

Ali Project

Japanese band with a strong Japanese Aristocrat-style image, consisting of Arika Takarano (宝野アリカ, Takarano Arika) (vocals & lyrics) and Mikiya Katakura (片倉三起也, Katakura Mikiya) (music & arrangement).

In the band's earlier days, their musical style tended towards light, cheerful and/or refreshing songs. However, the sound has changed in recent times to take on a darker and more mysterious tone. Takarano Arika, lead singer/lyricist, has termed this change as a transition from White Alice (白アリ, Shiro Ari?) to Black Alice (黒アリ, Kuro Ari?)[citation needed]. Though there has been a general shift towards performing songs in the "Black Alice" phase, Ali Project has occasionally sung in the White Alice style as well.

They made their indie debut in the charts in 1988 as Ari (Ant) Project (蟻プロジェクト, Ari Purojekuto?) with their album Fantastic Garden (幻想庭園, Gensō Teien?). The album was later included in Tatsumi Takayuki's book Philosophy of Progressive Rock (プログレッシヴ・ロックの哲学, Philosophy of Progressive Rock?), which led to the band being classified under the progressive rock genre.

Four years later in 1992 they changed their name and made their major debut with their single Fall in love, maiden (恋せよ乙女, Koi-seyo otome?).

Most of their records are released by Toshiba-EMI, Victor Entertainment and Tokuma Japan. The band is notable in the anime community for having their songs featured in several anime opening and ending sequences, most notably in the series Noir, Rozen Maiden, and Code Geass.

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring - not a cabbit nor mouse;
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
In hopes that St. Noemi soon would be there...

With Anime goodies packed all in her sack,
Toys, movies, manga, and imported postcard packs...
She had everything the kids wanted - that and much more,
...of the best Anime treats found only at Robert's Anime Corner Store!

We wish you every happiness this Holiday Season and prosperity in the New Year, and we look forward to continuing to serve your Anime needs in the coming year!

All our best wishes to you and your family!

Robert, Jamie, Ron, Fuller, Jenn, and the Rest of the Anime Corner Team

2009 New Year Countdown Clock (FMA)

Full Metal Alchemist New Year Countdown Clock

Full Metal Alchemist New Year Countdown Clock is here. We love these two brothers. We tried really hard to find chibis version of these two brothers. We hope you will like it. Click " Read More " to get the codes.

Feel free to use the flash clock, just remember to link back to Anime Widget. Happy New Year and may all your wishes come true. Please comment if you like our clocks.

Funimation's March 09 Releases Posted

We've just about wrapped up holiday shipping as of this evening, though there is one day left for anyone who wants to bear the expense of FedEx overnight shipping, we can still get an order delivered to you before Christmas as long as you place it before around 4pm (EST) on Tuesday.

You place the order - we'll do the rest. :-)

There will NOT be any deliveries on Dec 25th. I know everyone should already know that, but I want to remind you anyway because a few people always forget and try to get us to overnight something to them on Christmas eve. I also wanted to give everyone a heads up that due to lighter than expected holiday volume (nationally), UPS has decided not to make any ground deliveries on Friday, Dec 26th. FedEx will decide by region if they will be doing ground deliveries that day, but they will be delivering on Saturday the 27th so we'll be funneling ground shipment towards the FedEx truck this week. FedEx Air will be delivering on the 26th, so 2nd Day airs shipping Tuesday and Next Day airs shipping Wednesday will be delivered on Dec 26th.

Now that thing are calming down a bit we've been working on getting a few things done before the break. Today we posted both Funimation's and Media Blaster's March 09 release schedule. Here's what they look like:

Media Blasters March 09:

Ah My Buddha (Amaenaideyo!!) Vol #2 DVD
Doujin Work , Vol #2, Quill & Ink DVD
Kite DVD (Remastered)
Kite (Remastered) / Kite Liberator DVD Double Pack
Voltron: Defender of the Universe DVD Collection #8 Box Set

Funimation March 09:

For the next 10 days Funimation will be announcing one new license per week, but the 'BIG' event isn't all it's cracked up to be as several of the 'new' licenses will be stuff previously released by Geneon. Their first announcement today was for Ikki Tousen - the original series. Well, at least it will be coming back out. What we REALLY want to hear about is Dragon Destiny and Great Guardians, but the re-release of the first season is a start. Maybe they'll surprise us tomorrow?....

Have a great evening everyone!

New Figures In Stock / February and March New Releases

it's xmas and I feel like sharing

It's that time of year again, and in the spirit of the season I figured I'd share some presents with you. Namely, images of Usei Shonen Papi / Prince Planet menko cards that were passed on to me via old-school Prince Planet fan M.E. So if you want your Christmas to be filled with slightly-off register pictures of Prince Planet and his pals printed on thick slabs of cardboard and intended to be slapped onto the pavement with the mighty force of an 8-year old arm, then you are in luck!

Prince Planet is, of course, the 1966 Tele-Cartoons Japan show based on the Hideoki Inoue manga about a young boy from the planet Radion who comes to Earth and with his friends Diana, Dan Dynamo, and Adji Baba, defends peace and justice!!

Here we see Prince Planet in his "Bobby" disguise, along with Diana, meeting a strange bowtie-wearing man in a park.

On our next card, Bowtie man seems astonished at Dan Dynamo's manly chest and Adji Baba's little beard as Bobby assumes the position to shout "Kazow" or "Kapow" or "Wowee", or whatever the English voice talent decided to have him yell, as he changes into Prince Planet.

Meanwhile, above Diana and her father Pops Worthy, a mysterious white-haired figure hovers in the air like a religious apparition. From the look on his face I don't think he's here to convey holy blessings.

And our assumptions were correct - white haired guy is sending his super robot to go forth and bring destruction to the world! Bad mans!

In a seemingly unrelated card illustration, Bobby and Diana chat while an auto speeds away and evil Martian wizard Warlock watches them from a tree. Warlock has been taking ninja lessons.

When Warlock is around you know evil can't be far off and we see Bobby menaced by chains! Don't worry, he's using his Pendant of Power to change into Prince Planet!

In his Prince Planet identity he's able to evade the chains with ease and in about a minute Warlock is going to get blasted by a lightning-like bolt from Prince Planet's pendant!

And it's back after that car that sped off earlier. Or maybe this is a different car. It's hard to tell.

This could be Prince Planet fighting that giant robot we saw in a previous card, or it may be him just running through fire. Who knows?

Sometimes Prince Planet flies into outer space and battles other super powerful space people including this one who looks as if Kamen Rider V-3 and Space Ace got together and had a baby.

And sometimes Prince Planet likes to dress in his pink outfit. Don't ask, don't tell, that's the motto of the Universal Peace Corps.

Happy Holidays, everybody! See you in 2009!!

Getting It Done / Upgraded Shipments / Coupon Deal Extended

We're two weeks deep into the holiday shopping season - so far so good. In fact, our performance metrics this year have been absolutely excellent. The fill rate for orders has been nearly 98% next business day, and we have broken the 99% complete marker for the first time during a holiday season. In fact, we've only booked 7 backorders out of around 6,600 unit shipments over the past 10 days, so our aggressive stock and inventory plan this year has worked out very well, and I'm glad considering the amount of hours we've all been putting in.

The only two snags have been with that darn Black Mokona and the Lyrical Nanoha DVD boxed set. The Black Mokona has been the most popular 'gift' item under $15 this year (we're out, but more are coming), and you guys have absolutely burned through our more than ample supply of the Lyrical boxes with one (I swear) being on every 4th or 5th order for the past 2 weeks. Funi sent more out to us in an emergency shipment yesterday, so they should arrive right before we run through the last of our stock on them. Having watched about 1/2 of it so far I highly recommend the series myself (hey, I like Lolicon shows...), and Steven Den Beste also liked it giving the show 3 stars, and let me tell you - he's so damn finicky that's about the best endorsement an Anime can get!

I've also been authorizing a lot of product and shipping upgrades when possible. Don't be surprised if you ordered the regular version of something and actually get the limited version, or if they throw in a little Omake with your order. We can't afford to do it for more than maybe 1 in 10 (I wish we could), but still, some of you will have a nice holiday treat when your orders arrive compliments of me and the crew. So far we've had great luck getting orders delivered to you guys very quickly with only a sprinkling of the delivery issues and delays we normally run into this time of year. In fact, we worked out some free ground to air upgrades as part of our contract renewal with FedEx, so a couple hundred of you who ordered using our free Super Saver or FedEx ground methods over the past couple of days will be surprised when those orders are delivered by FedEx air tomorrow instead of next week. Surprise! :-)

Our "Shop Early & Save an Extra 5%" coupon deal was supposed to expire at midnight tonight, and as we move into the 2nd half of the Christmas shipping cycle we'll be transitioning the discount offers into shipping offers. Trouble is we're all so drop dead tired from filling orders that no one has had the time to workup the new graphics for the upcoming shipping promotions, so I've quietly extended the current 5% offer another 48 hours until midnight on Thursday the 11th. That gives us a little more time to get the new offers setup. That also gives you a couple more days to take advantage of the 5% coupon before it goes away.

That's it for me folks, I'm on the tail end of a 16 hour day and I'm pooped. As always - try to get your holiday orders in as early as possible - and enjoy your Anime. :-)

Horikita Maki before Christmas!!!

It`s a Christmas time!!
Yes, the christmas time is so close...there`s so many people celebrate this big event..
Horikita Maki appear in many Japanese Magazine there preparing before christmas.
watch out ! ^^

Other Maki Gallery`s

Horikita on JUNON 0901

It`s taken from Popular Japanese Magazine "JUNON"..look at this...Maki Horikita is very, Very Kawaii!! ^^

Horikita Maki on Nakushita Kioku

Maki Horikita and Kenichi Matsuyama have been cast as co-stars in a new movie directed by American filmmaker Hans Canosa ("Conversations with Other Women"). Although the movie is being made primarily for the Japanese market, there are plans to have the film screened in the U.S., and some of the dialogue will be in English.

The movie's working Japanese title is "Nakushita Kioku." It is based on the novel "Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac" by American author Gabrielle Zevin, which tells the story of a girl named Naomi who loses the last four years of her memory after falling down a staircase. While Naomi tries to re-establish her identity, she also has to deal with romance in the form of Yuji (Matsuyama), an older schoolmate.

Filming begins this Wednesday. The movie's Japanese premiere is planned for fall 2009, and a U.S. release will hopefully follow in 2010.

from Tokyograph

wears boots, can talk

AROUND THE WORLD WITH PERO, THE PUSS N' BOOTS

(this article originally appeared on Anime Jump.)

Like many of my most amazing adventures, this one begins in the thrift store, where a mint-in-box copy of the Nintendo Entertainment System PUSS N' BOOTS "Game Pak" awaited my feverish little hand one day. Price? One dollar. Now that's what I call VALUE.

Well, actually this story REALLY begins in 1969, when Toei Animation Company released the film that would give Toei its mascot and inspire two sequels. PUSS N' BOOTS is one of Toei's many excellent 1960s theatrical releases. Falling somewhere between the classy quasi-full animation of LITTLE NORSE PRINCE (aka HORUS, PRINCE OF THE SUN) and the wacky limited gag animation of JACK AND THE WITCH, PUSS N' BOOTS is both a retelling and an expansion of the European fairy tale about the talking cat with the surprising taste in footwear. Dubbed and released in America by American International Pictures, it became a staple of children's video for years. And with key animation by a guy named Hayao Miyazaki, it became an object of interest for those same children, now grown up and hooked on them there Japanese cartoons.

The movie begins with a bang as Pero, the talking cat in question, is sentenced to death by the Legion Of Cats for failing to kill a mouse. "I always side with the underdog," Pero nonchalantly explains. Three cat-assassins are assigned to kill Pero, and as he escapes them Pero runs headlong into Pierre, the human half of the cat-boy equation.

Pierre is being squeezed out of his inheritance by his two evil brothers. Thrown into the rain, he and Pero join forces to see the wide world. They stop in the first big medieval town and find out that Princess Rosa has been betrothed to the evil wizard Lucifer, a giant ogre with a perpetual dopey look. Pero figures this is their big chance to score, so Pierre pretends to be royalty while Pero pulls strings behind the scenes. There's lots of slick 60's Toei animation, crazy Eisenstein-style cross-cut editing, and what appears to be a trial run for the finale of LUPIN III: CASTLE OF CAGLIOSTRO as Pero battles Lucifer in Lucifer's castle. Now, I'm not very knowledgeable in the fairy tale department, but as near as I can tell, this isn't too far from the original story, which also featured a evil ogre and unwilling matrimony.

PUSS N' BOOTS is a entertaining hybrid between Toei's full-motion stuff and the limited animation that would become their hallmark in the 70s. The character designs are really stylized, but that only enhances the middle-ages feel of the film, which is further heightened by the use of actual medieval paintings in some scenes. The dubbing - by Peter Fernandez's Titan Studios- is zippy and fun, with Corinne Orr's "Spritle" voice in full effect. There are, however, too many songs. Though it's a slow starter, PUSS N' BOOTS's last third is a full-on actioner, the equal to any of Toei's other 60s offerings. Some of this film is downright frightening and may not be recommended for younger viewers. Thanks to Diskotek Media it was released on DVD here in the United States, in a terrific package that includes subtitles and the original trailer. Toei felt so warmly about Pero that Pero became the company's mascot, a corporate figurehead promising fun and adventure for the children of the world.

Now, there was a PUSS film in 1972, a hour-long film entitled THE RETURN OF PERO, and I've never seen it so I can't say much about it. It does feature the Wild West and it did get dubbed into English as far as I know which in this case isn't too far. However, in 1976 Toei released PUSS N'BOOTS TRAVELS AROUND THE WORLD, and that's what this column is really about.

400 years after the events of the first film, Pero is still a happy-go-lucky talking cat with mice for friends. Only in this film, he's called "Pushty". Anyway, "Pushty" is a waiter in a restaurant in a Victorian-era town full of talking animals. In this furry paradise resides the wealthy pig billionaire (yes, he actually is an actual pig) Sir Rumblehog, who posits the statement that nobody could go around the world in less than 150 days. "Pushty", Puss, Pero, whoever, calls his bluff and bets that he could circumnavigate the globe, not in a piddling 150 days, but in the unheard-of-time of 80 days. The bet is on and "Pushty" sets off in his self-designed little boat, accompanied by his hippo pal and his loyal mice. Oh yeah, and he's being pursued by the same three cat assassins, who apparently have been chasing "Pushty" for 400 years. That's job security for you. Of course this is Jules Verne's AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS starring talking animals, animated with Toei's mid-70s team of slightly-better-than-TV-average animators.

Puss sets off to conquer the globe - Spain, Venice, Arabia, Hong Kong - of course followed closely by the three cat-assassins (cassassins?). Drama ensues when Rumblehog hires the evil inventor Dr. Mysterioso to stop "Pushty" with various evil mechanical devices - a drill car, a submarine, an armored aeroplane. Mysterioso, the character design of which will be lifted in toto for use as the evil genius Moriarty in the 1984 TV series FAMOUS DETECTIVE HOLMES, provides the film with some needed action. After the North Pole battle with Mysterioso's gigantic mechanical wooly mammoth (on loan from LITTLE NORSE PRINCE), it's time for Pero to have a final showdown with Rumblehog in the... clock tower. Yup, if the first PUSS movie was training for CASTLE OF CAGLIOSTRO, then AROUND THE WORLD has to be the final exam, because this one has gear-dodging, stair-climbing, ladder-grabbing, clock-face-perching action galore. Rumblehog becomes definitely homicidal, foaming at the mouth and attempting to hack Puss to bits with an axe. When he's not attempting defenestration, that is. This is for kids? Fortunately "Pushty" foils Rumblehog, wins the contest, and sets out for another trip, again pursued by the three cat-assassins.

AROUND THE WORLD has the sort of animation you'd see in better-than-average episodes of GRANDIZER; slick, stylish, but not exactly stunning. I get the feeling that after the success of MAZINGER Z, Toei figured the kids would watch anything and the frame rates be damned. It is certainly more kinetic than the first PUSS film and while at times it feels like a retread of earlier movies like ANIMAL TREASURE ISLAND, those were great movies, so that's OK.

At any rate that bring us full circle to the wonderful Nintendo Entertainment System, because the NES game PUSS N' BOOTS is basically the story of AROUND THE WORLD. You're Pero - PERO, dang it, none of this "Pushty" nonsense- and you go around the world, dodging the evil drill cars and airships of your enemies -Sir Rumblehog and Dr. Mysterioso, or, rather, Count Gruemon and Dr. Gari-gari - who actually appear in the end of the game, which I have not reached yet because the boss of the London level is a BASTARD. It's a typical 8-bit game, full of cheesy music and the kind of graphics that were really only slightly better than your old Colecovision and bosses thrown in seemingly at random. I assure you there are no giant metal frogs in the original film. The best part about this game is the cool production art; lots of anime style illustrations of Pero's worldwide adventures highlight the instruction manual. There's even a little color poster featuring screen shots and scenes from AROUND THE WORLD. This video game was brought to us by the mysterious and enigmatic "ELECTRO BRAIN CORP and TOEI ANIMATION CO., LTD., a Premiere Animation Company Of The Orient" - at least, that's what it says on the box. It's fascinating that the success of the NES would bring us games based on 15 year old films; in Japan it would count as promotion for Toei itself, but in the States would anybody even remember the PUSS N' BOOTS films? Besides me, I mean? Somebody must have; the glorified TV commerical "Captain N: The Game Master" featured an episode based on the Puss N' Boots NES game (thanks to T.C.!)

It is an entertaining enough game, I guess. So many of the Nintendo-era video games were side-scrolling platformers that they even invented a term ("platform game") to describe them, and this game is no different; a Super Mario Brothers starring a fairy tale cat turned corporate logo travelling around the world gettin' into fights like Russell crowe. You can download it for your NES emulator. Or, you can pick it up in the thrift store for a dollar. Either way, it's an intriguing look at a fairytale cat turned animated movie star turned corporate logo.

Christmas Countdown Clock Widget

Christmas Countdown Clock

A christmas countdown clock for all anime lovers. I decided to bring this to the first post as christmas is coming soon.We used Chopper, the reindeer in One Piece. He may not be as popular but he never fails to bring joy to others. Merry Christmas!! Click " Read More" to get the codes

Countdown to Xmas with Chopper. Please comment.Feel free to use the flash clock, just remember to link back to Anime Widget.

Yawara Coming! + FUNI and ADV Feb Releases Posted

If you've been following some of my newsletter rants you know that we've been back and forth with AnimEigo for about 3 months trying to figure out if we were going to be able to carry Yawara or not. I'm happy to report that Robert W. (who heads up AnimEigo) and I have finally been able to come to an agreement - so we will indeed be carrying the limited edition Season 1 of Yawara! Yeah!

AnimEigo spent quite a bit of time and money producing and mastering this set, and they have to meet a certain number of unit sales at a certain price level to recoup their costs. This was one of the main reasons Robert W. was reluctant to release this series into retail as he was afraid it would put pricing pressure on the sets that would hurt their direct sales. We've agreed to sell it only for MSRP, and he's agreed to let us carry it - so our customers can now buy it directly from RACS. Robert W. and I exchanged quite a few e-mails on this over the past few weeks, and I want to thank him for giving us this opportunity.

Our first batch of sets shipped to us today from North Carolina and should be on our dock no later than Wednesday of this week (12/3), so we'll have it in plenty of time for people who want to give this set as a Christmas gift (even if it's to themselves...-_^). The boxed set includes Eps #1-40, and premium features include stuff like program notes, character bios, and interactive map, image gallery, and a 60-Page Booklet - everything you might expect from a premium AnimEigo release. You can pre-order your set here, and they should be shipping by Wednesday or Thursday of this week.

Series Synopsis: Yawara Inokuma just wants to be an ordinary high school girl. Unfortunately for her, she's been trained since she was a toddler by her grandfather, Jigoro, to be a judo prodigy. Nothing less than an Olympic Gold Medal and the coveted National Merit Award will satisfy him, and he'll do anything to ensure she achieves it - whether she likes it or not!

Funimations and ADV's February Schedule Posted

Funimation and ADV have sent over their February 2009 release schedules, and we've posted both to the store site so the following items are now available for pre-order:

ADV February 2009

Funimation February 2009

Afro Samurai Resurrection DVD (Uncut)
Afro Samurai Resurrection DVD (Uncut) (BLURAY)
Claymore Vol #3 DVD
DragonBall Z Season 8 DVD Boxed Set (Eps #220-249) (Re-Mastered)
DragonBall GT Season 2 DVD Boxed Set (Eps #35-68) (Re-Mastered)
Dragonball Z Super Android 13 / Bojack Unbound Double Feature DVD
Dragonball Z Super Android 13 / Bojack Unbound Double Feature DVD [BLURAY]
Kurau Phantom Memory Complete Collection DVD Boxed Set
Love Hina Complete Collection DVD Boxed Set
Nerima Daikon Brothers Complete Collection DVD Boxed Set (Thin-Pak) (Re-Issue)
Ragnarok Complete Collection DVD Boxed Set
Shattered Angels Complete Colelction DVD Boxed Set
Shin-Chan (Crayon Shinchan) Season 2 Part 1 DVD (Eps #27-39)
Shonen Onmyoji , Vol #6 DVD
Tsubasa RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE, Vol #11 DVD

Newsletter / Black Friday Promotion

I hope everyone had an excellent Thanksgiving, and is also having a great weekend like we are. :-) Since Jamie and I are taking a full four day holiday, the regular Friday Newsletter had to wait this week, but will go out on 'Cyber Monday'.

I did want to put out a quick post to mention that out Black Friday promotion is on and will be the best deal we run between now and Christmas, so be sure to take advantage:

SAVE UP TO 10% OFF ALL ITEMS + EVEN MORE ON MOST FIGURES & TOYS!

The holiday season is almost upon us, so that means it's time pickup those gifts for your favorite Otaku (even if your favorite Otaku is yourself!), and we're offering our best holiday promotion to everyone that shops early - before the rush! Until midnight (EST) on Monday, December 1st you can save up to an additional 10% off our already low prices. Coupons can be applied to any IN STOCK items, including existing sale items!

The more you order, the more you can save! Just use one of the following coupon codes during checkout for instant savings:

To save 5% off any in stock order over $99 use code: GOBBLEUP5

To save 7% off any in stock order over $199 use code: GOBBLEUP7

To save 10% off any in stock order over $299 use code: GOBBLEUP10

PLUS - We've discounted almost all of our in stock FIGURES & TOYS 10% off the regular low price. Use your coupon code to save even more! That's a combination that can't be beat!

Be sure to take advantage of this. Since it cuts our margins to just about nil, I only allow one 10% promotion to be run per year, and this one won't be repeated for some time.

Have a great weekend everyone! :-)

Space Promotional Captain Harlock

Let's say it's the mid 1970s and you are Toei Animation Company, a Premiere Animation Company Of The Orient. This means you look like Pero from Puss In Boots, mouth frozen in a perpetual grin. Anyway, you're producing an animated TV series based on the popular Leiji Matsumoto manga SPACE PIRATE CAPTAIN HARLOCK, and you have a sneaking suspicion that it would do well in foreign markets. How best to promote this series? Well, there are many ways. But one way is to print up thousands and thousands of English-language booklets about Captain Harlock!

This A4-sized booklet sported a glossy color cover, black and white interiors, and lots of amusingly translated information about Captain Harlock and his crew. There were so many left over after Toei had made the rounds of TV industry gatherings that an enormous load of the things was dumped into the American market in the early 1980s. I found my copy in a comic shop in Philadelphia in 1982, but you could pick them up at your local Star Trek convention or hometown comic book store for what seemed to me a pittance - after all, this is Captain Harlock, in English!!

And an interesting sort of English it is, what with Harlock being in command of the "M/S ALKADIA" and all. The basic plot of the classic 1978 Harlock TV series is here - a depressed, listless Earth menaced by the Mazone plant-women from Andromeda who have come to take back the planet that was once theirs, with only gothy space pirate Harlock and his 40 crewmembers standing in the way of the Mazone fleet.

Most of the illustrations are classy Matsumoto works from a period when he was at the top of his game, accompanied by helpful text.

Daiba in particular is wearing science-fiction fashion that will never go out of style - goggles, light-machine-gun style laser rifle, those giant knobs on the heels of his space boots. As far as I'm concerned, every day I can't dress like this is a day that is wasted. Please note this illustration is from 1976, which means that it's another year before Star Wars brings "space opera" back to the forefront of popular culture.

For years afterwards Kei Yuki could never appear on our television screens without a ritualistic intoning of the phrase "She helps Harlock biologically." Also we meet Doctor Zero, one of the archetypical Matsumoto doctors who drinks a lot but is a super excellent medical doctor. One wonders if Leiji had a traumatic experience with his pediatrician. I believe I will be getting my yearly checkup somewhere else, Doctor Zero.

And rounding out our look at the cast is the always glam Queen Lafresia of the Mazone, looking extra-funky in outer-space hip-huggers .

Whether you're leading an intergalactic invasion fleet or hitting the dance floor at Studio 54, you'll always be in style when Matsumoto's your designer! Matsumoto - because giant bell bottoms never go out of style.

Seriously though, one of the most interesting things about this book devoted to selling a Captain Harlock TV series is that it really doesn't have a lot to do with the Captain Harlock TV series. Most of the cast is missing - where's General Kiruta? Where's Mimay, Harlock's alien girlfriend who has no mouth and yet must drink? Where's Tochiro Oyama and Emeraldus, even though they only show up in flashbacks? And where's the linch-pin of the entire series, the little girl who bravely faces the trials of being orphaned and then being kidnapped to another star system, the daughter of Tochiro and Emeraldus - Maya? She's nowhere to be seen. In fact, one might posit that this book was put together before the TV series even went into production.

The episode guide (such as it is) bears no resemblance to what got broadcast on the TV. There are points of reference - the pyramid at the bottom of the Bermuda Triangle wound up in episode 13 and became the basis for the Toei "Manga Matsuri" short film "Secret Of The Arcadia" - but slinky Mazone spy Shizuka Namino does not appear in episode 3, and she is definitely not found breathing "carbiniferous air" in a "dome that comes rushing down to Earth." This book's episode guide seems to be following the story of the Captain Harlock manga that was running in Akita Shoten's Play Comic at the time ('77-'79). Which makes it really interesting for obsessed fanboys such as myself, but a useful guide to the TV show it is not.

However, it must have done some kind of good, as Toei's Space Pirate Captain Harlock was a worldwide hit in Asia, Europe, South America, Francophone Canada... everywhere but the United States, in fact. It would be almost a decade before this show would wind up on American television, shoehorned in with Queen Millenia for a season of confusing afternoon confusion. In the meantime, American fans had to make do with a badly dubbed Z.I.V. home video release, a even more poorly produced Malibu Graphics re-release of the Z.I.V. video... and this book.

Oh yeah, Toei ALSO did a book like this for Galaxy Express 999.

Code Geass In Stock / ADV Fill In Volumes Available for Pre-Order

Just a couple of quick notes from today:

Code Geass Part #2 (Vol #3-4) Is Now In Stock!

Bandai decided last week (strangely enough) to close their warehouse from Nov 24 to Dec 3, and this caused the street date for Code Geass to get bumped from Dec 2 to Dec 9. Even so, we received our copies of Code Geass part #2 in today, about 2 weeks ahead of schedule and in time for the long weekend.

Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion Part #2 DVD
Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion Part #2 DVD Limited Edition

We shipped 90% of the pre-orders for them today, with the goal of getting it in as many hands as possible over Thanksgiving weekend.

If you haven';t already ordered and you want either of these by this weekend, an order placed before noon (EST) on Tuesday shipping via Priority Mail should have it in your hands by Friday or Saturday, even with the holiday. If you want to be sure, FedEx 2nd Day air will get it to you Friday guaranteed (or Overnight for Wednesday delivery if you want it for Thursday).

Fill in Volumes for Previously Unfinished ADV Titles Available for Pre-Order Only

Of the two options available (buy new release or finish old release) for the unfinished licenses previously held by ADV (Red Garden, Scissors, and NHK) the majority of you have told us that you intend to rebuy the two thin-paks under our current special offers:

Pumpkin Scissors Season 1 Part #1 DVD Boxed Set (Esp #1-12)
Pumpkin Scissors Season 1 Part #2 DVD Boxed Set (Esp #13-24)

Red Garden Season 1 Part 1 DVD Boxed Set
Red Garden Season 1 Part 2 DVD Boxed Set

Welcome to NHK Season 1 Part 1 DVD Boxed Set
Welcome to NHK Season 1 Part 2 DVD Boxed Set

For those of you who already have the individual DVD's that were previously released by ADV and just want to complete your art box rather than purchase the new thin-paks, we are now (per your request) offering the previously unreleased DVD's for pre-order:

Pumpkin Scissors , Vol #6, Final Countdown DVD
Red Garden , Vol #6, To Die Forever DVD
Welcome to NHK , Vol #5, 5th Conspiracy DVD
Welcome to NHK , Vol #6, 6th Conspiracy DVD

These DVD's are being done as a one time release by Funimation trying to offer fans both alternatives (they are only making a few hundred of each). We will not be stocking these, but we will be offering these disks on a pre-order only basis between now and Dec 10th, for delivery during the 3rd week of December.

Cover of the Latest Geek Magazine Is Simply Brilliant

There are only 3 print magazines that I (actually) read - Otaku USA, Protoculture Addicts, and Geek. And it's no wonder, because the cover of the latest issue of Geek is absolutely brilliant! What better could sum up the current financial crisis than the beautiful Sarah Silverman plunging money down Wall Street's toilet:

Outstanding! :-)

That's it for now, have a great evening everyone!

Updates - November 23rd, 2008

Thanksgiving Holiday Coming Up

Just as a reminder, we'll be closed from Nov 26 to Nov 30 for the thanksgiving holiday, though we will bein over the long weekend processing orders, there will not be any outgoing shipments on Thursday or Friday of next week. All orders placed over the holiday weekend will be shipped out when we reopen on Monday, Dec 1st.

Schedule Updates, Delays & Cancelations

At long last, the Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit Art Box finally arrived this week which put it about two weeks late but welcome none the less. :-)

Bandai gave us some rather interesting news this week (more on that in my state of the market section below). Both Ghost Slayers Part #1 and Clamp School Detectives have been bumped again, this time from early December all the way out to February 3rd. They also pushed Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion Part #2 back one week from Dec 2nd to Dec 9th, and I don't think we'll be getting that one as early as we would have liked this year.

Aside from those changes, everything else looks good to go and we've already gotten in just about all of the releases scheduled to street before December, so you'll have plenty of new stuff to watch on turkey day! :-)

2008 Holiday Delivery Schedule Posted - Reminder

Just as a reminder, our holiday delivery schedule has been updated for the 2008 holiday shopping season. Be sure to check it out because this holiday season is a week shorter than it was last yearso we've layedout the real deal for shipping date cut-offs (some of which are only a couple weeks away)that you'll need to know when doing your Holiday Anime gift shopping here at the Anime Corner Store.:-)

Just for Fun - How Do You Know It's Christmas In Japan?

The Japanese don't celebrate Christmas in Japan quite the same way we do,and as always you can expect the unexpected. Like what you ask? Like these cute Santa Biker Gals making trouble in Akiba:

These gals are from the the infamous Cos-Play biker gang 'The Ladies', who have previously made a nuisance of themselves blocking traffic and making noise while riding dressed in Maid and other light fetish wear. I wish they would make a nuisance of themselves around my neighborhood -I could show em my Harley... -_^ You can see more here and here.

State of the Industry

I spend a lot of time commenting about the 'industry' as a whole, and considering the times I'm thinking about just making a 'state ofthe industry column' a semi-permanent feature here. This week I've got several items that might interest you:

Broccoli Books Shutting Down

Shizuki Yamashita announced this week that Broccoli International USA will be shut down and dissolved at the end of the year. This includes Broccoli Books and the Shonen Ai imprint Boysenberry, which previously published the Manga titles Aquarian Age: Juvenile Orion, Digi Charat Theater, Galaxy Angel, Galaxy Angel II, Disgaea, Kamui, Sola, Nui!, Murder Princess, Es, and several others. This also finally puts their defunct DVD division Sync-Point to bed, and eliminates the possibility that there will be any future re-presses of FLCL unless another firm picks up the license.

Yamashita made an appeal in a blog post saying that the US rights to their books will revert back to Japan, and some of these titles could be rescued by the other US Manga companies if they move quickly. Personally, I wouldn't bet on it, the market is just too soft. Broccoli's wholesale division will also be closed, and was one of the last US based sources of rare imported books and unique Japanese merchandise sold by many small (um, that's not us) Anime retailers. They have been busy liquidating their inventory since the beginning of September, sending us daily e-mails offering us blocks of unsold merchandise priced as low as .05 cents on the dollar, so this announcement was not unexpected.

Couple of Comments on the US Anime Studios

As I travel in both fan and retailer circles, I get to hear a lot of things not intended for public disclosure, and I'm also very careful about what I write here always trying to let you know what's going on, but not harm anyone in the industry by repeating clueless forum gossip.

ADV Films is currently the weakest studio in the R1 industry having been virtually decimated over the past year by business mis-steps. I think the folks running ADV really thought that the Anime gravy train was going to run non-stop coast to coast, and had gotten aboard for the long ride not knowing the trip would require stops and lay-overs at all major destinations in between. Because ADV has so much business exposure to the failing mass market retailers, I'm currently putting ADV's survival at only about 50/50 into next year, and the only reason I'm commenting on this is that a lot of people are e-mailing in asking us about it. I am currently recommending that you fill in any ADV titles you want in your collection before the end of this year, and I would also recommend that you try to purchase any ADV titles complete and be wary of committing money to promised future releases. I'm just trying to give it to you straight, which no one else seems willing to do these days.

I am also a little concerned about Bandai. While I have no information that they are in any way having financial problems, they did inform us this week that they will be shutting down their warehouse for 10 days between Nov 24th and Dec 3rd - right in the middle of the Christmas season. This is what caused the the 2nd volume of Code Geass to get bumped up a week, and seems like an odd time to close down as I'm sure it will cause sporadic stock outs during the first and second week of December. Most retailers like us have already taken in their holiday inventory (and trust me, many are buying lite this year), so my feeling is that Bandai is trying to save some money prior to the end of the year. Bandai has been spreading out their release schedule, taking what they had originally slated for Oct to Dec, and stretching it out between Oct and Feb, and has recently informed us to make sure we pre-order 100% of our estimated sales for all future releases - meaning that they are no longer going to print and warehouse overages in case we need more copies of something quickly. None of this points to any 'problems' at Bandai, but it does indicate that they are making changes that they feel appropriate based on current market conditions. Expect more of this sort of thing to come in the near future.

Two Potential Issues that Could Impact Imports

Two things happened recently that may effect imported goods from Japan. A recent ruling by a US District Court that the '1st Sale Rule' does not apply to Imports gives US companies more leeway to block the sale of Japanese imported goods here in the US - if they choose to. Icarus Publishing has already commented that this could 'potentially' effect the sale on imported Japanese goods here in the US - things like Art Books, CD's, and merchandise. We all remember back in 2005 when Funimation sent a cease and desist letter to Akadot asking them to stop selling the legit Japanese Imported Full Metal Alchemist CD's.I don't think this will effect our business, but it might limit the amount of some imported merchandise available from other US based retailers. It's all 'coulds' and 'maybes' right now, so we'll have to see how it pans out.

On another front, and in a virtually unreported story, the US Consumer Product Safety Commission has implemented new rules for the importation of toys which may effect the Japanese figure trade here in the US. Starting a few weeks ago, all toys coming into the US intended for children aged 14 and under will come under strict customs inspection. While most Japanese produced Anime figures are intended for audiences of 16 and over, the US Customs dept has a tendency to be indiscriminate with their classifications (trust me, we know) and it will now fall to the Japanese producers to certify compliance of each product with the US Government that 'X' product does not fall into the 'childrens toy' category and thus would not have to be ASTM tested prior to entry into the US. What does this all mean? We'll, it doesn't mean that figures are going to go away, however, some of the smaller makers in Japan have told us that if US customs starts to require expensive testing and certification they would most likely just not make those products available for export to the US market. These new rules not only apply to retailers like us bringing in big wholesale shipments of toys and figures, but to individuals that order figures on a one off basis directly from Japan. More figures may end up on 'not available for export' lists in the future. At any rate, it's probably not going to be that big a deal, and nothing on our upcoming list has been effected (yet), but I'm sure there will be plenty of near term import delays as each Japanese manufacturer gets their paperwork in order to comply with the new rules.

Coupon Corner - 5% Discount Offer Extended thru Thanksgiving Day!

The 5% coupon has been a huge hit, and so many of you have written in (again) and asked that we've had no choice but to extend our pre-holiday coupon offer one more time!

You can now take advantage of the great savings across the entire store for another week! No limits, and no restrictions - and that's a good thing considering all the new stuff we have plus all the new items we've just added for pre-order! From now until Thursday, November 27th you can save up to an additional 5% off our already low prices on every product on the store. Coupon can be applied to any items on the store, including pre-order and sale items. The more you order, the more you can save!

US customers can also combine this offer with our super saver shipping option to save even more!

To save 5% off ANY ORDER, just use the following coupon code during checkout:

HOLIDAY08TAKE5

Coupon code is valid ONLY for NEW orders and is only good through Thursday, November 27th so don't wait!

Pumpkin Scissors and Welcome to NHK

We have been working with Funimation regarding the final volumes of Pumpkin Scissors and Welcome to NHK, but so far their buy in requirements and order terms have been a little steep for my taste. Most people have expressed interest in rebuying thethin-paks anyway (and just trade in the old single DVD's they might have), so while we are continuing to work withFuni on this,we have decided to go ahead and make the new boxed sets as affordable as possible by discounting the first box in each seriesnearly 40% off retail:

Pumpkin Scissors Season 1 Part #1 DVD Boxed Set (Esp #1-12)
Pumpkin Scissors Season 1 Part #2 DVD Boxed Set (Esp #13-24)
Welcome to NHK Season 1 Part 1 DVD Boxed Set
Welcome to NHK Season 1 Part 2 DVD Boxed Set

For a limited time you can order the new boxed sets above in pairs for only$81.96 (MSRP $120), and if you use our current coupon you can bring that down further to only $77.86. This will help out all you folks who really just wantto own one or both of these series entirely asthin-paks.

Just In and Hot off The Truck!

Just when I thought we were in the clear on Friday, Ron buzzed me and told me that they do have one new arrival that came in on the late morning truck:

Death Note, Vol #8 DVD

Vol #8 wasn't due to street until Dec 23rd, but we've got it in stock now and will begin shipping it today. The LE version hasn't arrived yet, but that won't stop me from taking a copy home to watch this weekend! :-)

New Arrivals in Stock this Week

Again, we have tons of new early arrivals this week, some more than a month in advance! We've got 28 new DVD arrivals including the 11th Naruto DVD Collectors Box and the previously AWOL Moribito Art Box. We also have restocks on the hard to find Scrapped Princess Boxed Setfrom Bandai - not sure when we will get more, so get em while they last! We also have some great new manga arrivals, and while we did not get any new figure in this week we still have some stock on most of the new arrivals from our last two updates, so be sure to check them out before they are all gone!

That's it for now! Have a great Thanksgiving everyone, and enjoy your anime!

Mami Lucky