A short anime series featuring stamp mascot characters from the popular smartphone app "Line" premiered on Jan. 8 at 1:30 a.m. on TV Tokyo. The five-minute "Line Offline Salaryman" late night comedy anime series airs every Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.

Developed by NHN Japan Corp., the free call and messaging app grew at an explosive pace last year with the help of its original stamp characters that users can attach to their messages. The characters also inspired two manga series. "Line Offline: Bokura Zukan" is currently running in Shueisha Inc.'s Young Jump weekly comic magazine, while "Character Times" is serialized in Shogakukan Inc.'s Shonen Sunday weekly comic magazine.

The new anime series is helmed by Kiminori Tanoue, who serves as head of his own CG production house, Happyproject Inc., based in Fukuoka. A graduate of the Fukuoka campus of Digital Hollywood University professional school, Tanoue has worked on TV commercials and his original animated works. Happyproject has been working on "Line Offline Salaryman" at the request of Shogakukan Music and Digital Entertainment Inc.

It was also revealed that a new 30-minute animated series inspired by Line stamp characters will premiere in April. It will be directed by a different director and produced by another studio.

Source: ajw.asahi

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FUNimation has announced the addition of cutesy iDOLM@STER spin-off PUCHIM@S, which kicks off when the idols of 765 Productions discover the super-deformed Puchidols—mysterious mini-idols with adorable abilities—have invaded the office.

FUNimation plans to post each new simulcast episode Monday through Friday at 12:00 p.m. Eastern Time. Each chapter runs just two minutes, which is presumably plenty of time to feature the wild antics of the unpredictable Puchidols.

Source: crunchyroll

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Lo! Another winter streaming anime announcement from Crunchyroll! This time, Bakumatsu Gijiden Roman, featuring character designs by the creator of Lupin III, gets the spotlight.  In addition to Lupin artist Monkey Punch’s characters, Bakumatsu Gijiden Roman also features voice acting from Eri Kitamura (Black Rock Shooter, Minami-ke, C3) and Kazuya Nakai (xxxHOLiC, One Piece, Gintama).  Bakumatsu Gijiden Roman is set to broadcast every Moday starting on January 7, at 11 a.m. Pacific Time for premium members. Free members will be able to view one week after initial broadcast Story:

“The stage is the close of the Edo period, an age when, not unlike our own time, both natural and man-made disasters left chaos in their wake. Manjiro makes a living helping the people of the troubled capital city, but behind the scenes, he also works in secret to take back precious belongings stolen from the people by unjust political powers and conspiratorial menaces. The people call him ‘Get-backer Roman.’
 
Bakumatsu Gijiden Roman is a novel, action-packed period anime following the activities of Roman and his friends as they strive for the dreams they believe in, despite the great trials and tribulations of their time. The series may even deliver a sharp jab to our own modern generation. The underlying hope is to inspire all those feeling trapped and depressed by modern society to laugh off the despair of this chaotic age and to give them the courage to face anything even when they feel the most helpless.”
 
Bakumatsu Gijiden Roman will be available to the following Crunchyroll audiences: U.S., Canada, Caribbean, Central America, South America, and Latin America.

Source: crunchyroll

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It's been a while since we last got a look at Toki to Towa (Time and Eternity), Imageepoch's fully-animated time-travelling RPG. Unfortunately, there's still no word on whether the game will be coming to North America, but a recent trademark filing from Namco Bandai does give European fans something to look forward to!

Time and Eternity doesn't have an EU release date yet, but we'll keep you posted on any developments. Do you want to see Toki to Towa/Time and Eternity make its way to North America? EU gamers, will you be checking this one out?
 

Source: crunchyroll

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OKALOOSA ISLAND — Sukoshi Con, a company that hosts anime conventions in the Southeast, was founded as a way to give anime fans a more social and interactive convention experience, said James Carroll, its president.

“We do stuff a little differently,” Carroll said. “We don’t like a cookie cutter convention.”The company’s conventions are more about fans mingling, participating in games and sharing their love of not just anime, but other pop culture icons. Destination Anime, the company’s latest event, will be Jan. 4-6 at the Emerald Coast Convention Center. Carroll said the location is perfect: There are a number of people not only interested in the convention but also in enjoying the Emerald Coast.

“It’s a nice place for people to come down,” Carroll said. “A gorgeous location.”Some main events include a “Cosplay,” or costume contest; an anime game show; Homestruck Q&A; a meet-up for My Little Pony fans; a discussion of Steampunk; Asian Beer Tasting; and game tournaments. There will also be a panel of voice actors and opportunities to meet professional Cosplayers.

“It’s just a big event that celebrates cartoon, pop and Japanese culture,” Carroll said. There also will be DJs, artists and dealers selling anime, fantasy, gaming and other items, Carroll said. A video game room will be set up as well. Costumes are not required.

“It’s just as fun to be an observer as it is to participate,” Carroll said. Carroll estimated that more than 2,000 visitors will attend. Visitors can preregister for $45 until Dec. 31. Tickets at the door cost $50.

Source: nwfdailynews

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A Blu-ray of the six-episode original net anime version of Yasuhiro Yoshiura's sci-fi Time of Eve is now being offered directly to consumers in North America and Europe. The future, probably Japan.
Robots have long been put into practical use, and androids have just come into use.

Influenced by the Robot Ethics Committee, it’s become common sense for people to treat androids like household appliances. Their appearance - indistinguishable from humans except for the ring over each android’s head – has lead some people to empathize unnecessarily with androids. Known as “android-holics,” such people have become a social problem.

Rikuo (Jun Fukuyama), a high school student, has been taught from childhood that androids are not to be viewed as humans, and has always used them as convenient tools. One day Rikuo discovers some strange data in the behavior records of his family’s household android.

Rikuo and his friend Masaki (Kenji Nojima) trace Sammy’s (Rie Tanaka) movements, only to discover a mysterious café that features a house rule that “humans and robots are to be treated the same” . . .
A movie version of the anime was also produced.

Source: crunchyroll

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When I speak and write anime and manga, I often talk about its ability to impact reality. I will sometimes, especially after viewing a spectacular series, rant about the psychological and emotional strings that anime can manipulate in viewers through its dynamic and eloquent method of storytelling (Full Metal Brotherhood, Ga rei Zero…).

Now, while I really do love my anime and manga, there is a threshold beyond which I cannot take anime seriously, on account of it all being a work of fiction. And I have always assumed that part of the human logic was the innate ability to make obvious distinctions between fiction and reality.

I have come to learn that this sense might not be nearly as common as I initially assumed. On September 31, 2012, 14-year-old Leonid Hmelev jumped off a 100-foot apartment building in Tchaikovsky, Russia, after his favourite Naruto character died. Apparently after watching this tragic virtual incident, Leonid left home after posting a message on a social networking site saying, he was planning on ending it too.

After his parents involving neighbours and the police in a massive search, the disturbed boy was discovered two days later, dead. Now, the question becomes, how much of an influence was anime in this young boy’s decision to end his life? Many have suggested that this is just one of many examples of just how anime and its violent nature can wreck the lives of young impressionable and possibly disturbed minds.

There is no denying the influence anime has had on the minds of so many young people in the world – and I won’t deny that it can be warped and violent. Just like TV, video games and movies, many teenagers around the world will use anime and its unique elements to create a coherent understanding of the world. Clearly, this child was disturbed.

Leonid’s own father admitted that Leonid spent way too much time watching TV, and that he had exhibited signs of difficulty in differentiating between fiction and reality. It is possible to attach so much of one’s life to the goings-on of an anime to the point where events in the virtual world could have adverse effects on one’s mental state, but this could happen with any other media.

Think of all those kids that donned superman costumes and jumped off buildings, in the belief that they could fly. It is interesting to note that Russia does have the third highest suicide rate among teens, behind Belarus and Kazakhstan – three times higher than the United States.

It is tragic that a medium of such joy and entertainment like Naruto can become a tool for death and pain.  It is interesting to note that this particular death occurred in the anime as early as 2008; it is difficult to believe that this child only learnt about it in 2012.

Anime characters are meant to go through tragic circumstances to allow for better character evolutions and for deeper stories to develop.  I would advise anyone still hung up over these fictional tragedies to get over them, or eject themselves from the fan base. I for one have no intention of quitting anime over this one tragic incident. Let me know what you think.

Source: observer

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Next summer, Studio Ghibli is releasing two films in Japan: Kaze Tachinu (The Wind Rises) and Kaguya-hime no Monogatari (The Tale of Princess Kaguya). Hayao Miyazaki (My Neighbor Totoro, will direct Kaze Tachinu, while Studio Ghibli co-founder Isao Takahata (Grave of the Fireflies) will helm Kaguya-hime no Monogatari, Eiga reports (via tsk06 and ANN).

As previously mentioned, Kaze Tachinu is centered around Jiro Horikoshi, the designer of the World War II fighter plane, the Mitsubishi A6M Zero. Kaguya-hime Monogatari, on the other hand, is an anime retelling of the famous Japanese folktale about a princess who discovers a baby inside a bamboo plant. Both films open next summer at theaters across Japan. Check out their posters in the above gallery.

Source: kotaku

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Real life anime girl Anastasiya Shpagina posted some of her latest photos yesterday showing off her porcelain-like skin and miniscule waist.

In her new photos, she posed wearing a Japanese school girl outfit, sporting a red curly hair in the woods. She did the photo op with a huge bear stuffed toy.

Her photos received various reactions from fans and commenters. Many of them complemented Anastasiya for her good looks, milky white skin and petite frame.  Others questioned if the photos are altered or if she have gone surgery to achieve her looks.

Early this month, Anastasiya met another human doll, Venus Palermo, or popularly known as Venus Angelic in Poland. The two spent a day together enjoying the scenery of the place and dancing the Gangnam Style.

Anastasiya Shpagina or also known as Fukkacumi is a Ukranian native who gained attention recently because of her freaky image that seemed to come from the pages of a Japanese manga. She is friends with another human doll, Valeria Lukyanova.

However, apart from the admiration for their appearance, the girls also received criticisms about their health because of their miniature bodies. Moreover, they are criticized for undergoing surgery to achieve their looks. For example, Anastasiya said that she would like to undergo a surgery to further decrease the size of her waist.

Many are also concerned that these living dolls may transcend the wrong message to young girls that surgery is the essence of good looks. See the slideshow for the photos of real life anime girl Anastasiya Shpagina.

Source: au.ibtimes

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U.S. anime distributor Crunchyroll Inc. has begun offering Japanese anime with subtitles in Portuguese, the language of Brazil. The website has since November been streaming more than 30 anime titles and pushing them to potential viewers in Brazil shortly after the titles air in Japan.

The current offerings include "Naruto Shippuden," "Bleach," "Hunter x Hunter," "Sword Art Online" and "Bottom Biting Bug." The new service aims to meet existing demand by Brazilian anime fans and to expand their numbers.

Crunchyroll largely focused on English-speaking viewers until April 2012, when it launched a Spanish subtitle service for viewers in Latin America. With the addition of Portuguese, the company now spans the Americas almost entirely.

Brazil is seen as a nation of high potential growth, thanks to its population of 200 million and strong economy. Crunchyroll said it had decided to enter the market there because of strong cultural links with Japan.

Brazil's population includes about 1.5 million people of Japanese origin. Mainstream Anime conventions held each summer in Sao Paulo attract around 120,000 people.

As of September 2012, Crunchyroll had more than 100,000 paying subscribers. It continues to grow, partly because of an expansion in the range of supported devices and platforms. Users can access Crunchyroll shows via its website and platforms such as iPad, iPhone, Android and Windows Phone devices, and Google TV. In October the company added the PlayStation3 gaming console to the list.

Source: ajw.asahi

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