The official website for Mobile Suit Gundam oo has announced that composer Kenji Kawai will be doing the soundtrack for the series.  They also announced that L'Arc-en-Ciel will be singing the theme song "Daybreak's Bell".

The official website for the Death Note spinoff movie L has announced that it will open in Japan on February 9th, 2008.  The movie will be a live-action spinoff of Death Note focusing on the detective from the series.

On February 15th and 16th, 2008, Genius Party will Premiere at The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in washington, D.C.  They plan to screen all 14 shorts from the omnibus film collections which feature the work of individuals such as Shinichiro Watanabe, Mahiro Maeda, Koji Morimoto, and Shoji Kawamori.

Dark Horse sent us a press release about their partnership with CLAMP that we announced earlier.  It discusses some more of the details about the simultaneous release and the new "Mangettes".  You can use the link above to read the press release for yourself.

CMX has announced that it will be releasing Gaku Tsugano's two volume series, A Girl Who Runs Through Time starting in September 2008.  They also announced Teru Teru x Shonen by Shigeru Takao and The Flat Earth Exchange by Toshimi Nigoshi.  They also confirmed they would not be editting Crayon Shin-chan which is scheduled for early spring 2008.

Del Rey Manga has announced that starting in January 2008, they will begin releasing Fairy Tail, Hell Girl, Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney and Me and the Devil Blues manga.  They have also announced Dark Wars: A Tale of Maiji Dracula, Psycho Busters, and Ganshiken Novels.

Dark Horse has announced that it has signed a deal with CLAMP to create a new manga series to be published simultaneously in North America, South Korea and Japan in 2009.  In North America it will initially be released in monthly 80 page issues. 

Dark Horse has said that CLAMP will have complete creative control over the release in all markets. 

Funimation has announced that it has acquired Vexille - 2077 Nippon Sakoku.  Vexille is a new all-CG film by the production team of the Appleseed movie.  Funimation has gotten both the theatrical and DVD distribution rights to the movie for North America and Latin America and plans to have it shown at various film festivals next year.

At Viz's Shojo Beat panel, they announced that Viz has licensed Ion, Time Stranger Kyoko, and Kanshaku Dama no Yuuutsu by Arina Tanemura.  They also announced the licensing of Ao Mimori's B.O.D.Y.

DC Comics has announced that it's manga label, CMX Manga, will begin releasing Crayon Shin-chan in early 2008.

Yen Press has announced three new licenses.  In January Yen Press will begin releasing Sundome.  Then in April they will begin releasing Kieli and Kaze no Hana.

Seven Seas has announced that they have acquired the rights to Hayate Cross Blade by Shizuru Hayshiya, Akatsuki-iro  no Senpuku Majo by Mera Hakamada, Girls Love, and Girls Revolution.  All four are Yuri titles and no release date has been announced yet.

Broccoli Books has announced the licensing of Nui! by Natsumi Mukai.  The story is about a high school girl's plushies that come to life.

Harmony Gold has officially announced the Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles sequel.  The film will be titled Robotech: Shadow Rising and will be released in about two years.

Viz Media confirmed at Comic Con International 2007 that Shonen Jump will be getting Bleach in November.  They will also be previewing the first chapter of Slam Dunk in the December Issue.  Volumes of Slam Dunk will begin being released in 2008.

DrMaster has announced today via press release that they have released Iron Wok Jan Vol. 25, Puri Puri Vol. 2, and Junk Vol. 3.  All three titles have a retail price of $9.95 and are available now.  You can read full synopsis of the volumes on the press release.

NCM Fathom has announced that they will be holding the Anime Bento Festival in September.  The festival will take place at 250 theatres nationwide.  The schedule will be:

Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles on Wednesday, Sept. 19th
Fullmetal Alchemist: The Movie - Conqueror of Shambala - on Thursday, Sept. 20th
Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro on Wednesday, Sept. 26th
Karas the Prophecy on Thursday, Sept. 27th

Michael Arias' Tekkonkinkreet was named best animated/stop motion film of the year at this year's Fantasia Film Festival.  The Fantasia Film Festival is the leading North American festival of science firction and fantasy cinema.  You can find the full list of awards here

Viz Media announced at Comic-Con International on Thursday that it will be releasing the NANA anime, Honey and Clover anime, Death Note 13: How to Read profile book, and Death Note: Anohter Note: The Los Angeles BB Murder Case novel.  They also announced Viz Big 3-in-1 omnibus as a new format which will have Rurouni Kenshin, Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z in it.

Starz will be premiering "Anime: Drawing a Revolution" on December 17th.  The documentary is hosted by Richard Roeper and will profile leading Japanese animators and show their influence on Japanese culture and Hollywood films. 

Funimation will announce at San Diego Comic-Con International 2007 that it's first Blu-Ray releases will be Dragon Ball Z Broly: The Legendary Super Saiyan and Dragon Ball Z Broly: Second Coming.  The discs will be available November 13th and will contain 5.1 surround sound and "Dragonball Z: A New Look" featurette that will focus on the making of the disc.

Gonzo has posted an English Trailer and an English-subtitled special to promote the upcoming US release of Romeo x Juliet.  These videos were first seen as part of Gonzo's all day Romeo x Juliet screenings at Anime Expo.

ImaginAsian TV has sent out a press release announcing that they will be broadcasting Paradise Kiss, Ayakashi: Samurai Horror Tales, and Kamichu from Geneon Entertainment as part of their Anime EnerG block.  All three will premiere July 31st at 8:00 PM EST/PST and kick off the blocks second season.  They will be joining Law of Ueki and Kyo Kara Maoh! which are returning to the block for a second season.

You can find synopsis of the three series by going to the press release.

AZN Television has announced that it will be broadcasting both Moon Phase and Kakurenbo: Hide and Seek in August.  It will be part of it's Ghost August Fest.  Kakurenbo will be broadcast both with English Dub and Japanese with English Subtitles.  The dubbed version of the movie will air Aug. 16th at 7 PM, Aug. 17th at 12 AM, and Aug 25th at 1 AM EST.  The subbed version will air Aug. 16th at 8 PM, Aug 17th at 1 AM, and Aug 25th at 2 AM EST.  Moon Phase will premiere on Aug. 27th and continue to air Monday through Wednesday at 8:30 PM and 1:30 AM EST.

ADV Films is streaming the first episode of Innocent Venus on IGN.  The first volume of the series will be available on August 21st.

Tokonatsu Anime Festival will be taking place August 3-5th in Woburn, England.  It has the unique distinction of combining an anime convention with camping.  There will be the normal things you would find at an anime con, such as a masquerade and DDR machines, but it will involve camping in tents.  This will be the fifth year of the convention, which was formally known as Wildercon.

JaniCon has posted that they are looking for Interactive Entertainers for their Scavenger Hunt and Show.  They are looking for:

Singers/Actors
Red Coat Cosplayers (Costumed Players)
Villain Cosplayers (Costumed Players)
EGL/EGA & Wonderland Cosplayers (Costumed Players)

For full descriptions and specifics for each type of performer, you can read the announcement here.  Auditions are being held at The Jacksonville Landing outdoor stage from 11 AM - 3:30 PM on Saturday, September 8th.  You can RSVP by emailing mmurray@janicon.org or calling (386)837-2108.

Anyone who is chosen to participate will receive free admission to the convention for the weekend.  The convention itself is taking place Nov. 2-4, 2007 at Wyndham Jacksonville Riverwalk in Jacksonville, FL.

JapanFiles.com  has announced via press release that Budo Grape's new album, Otonatachi x Kodomotachi, is now available on JapanFiles.com.  Included on the album is Budo Grape's hit song "Watashi wa no Message". 

The addition of this album completes Budo Grape's catalog on JapanFiles.com and allows fans to own their entire collection.

The Anime Network has signed on with Eagle Communications and Sunflower Broadband in Kansas.  Both systems will begin carrying the 24/7 network in Lawrence, Hays, and Minneapolis.

ICv2 announced that Funimation has reduced it's staff by 10% recently.  A Funimation spokesperson confirmed that there was a reduction, but did not specify how many people were let go.  The Funimation spokesperson said that it was a move "to ensure that we continue to provide the highest quality products for anime fans while maximizing the company's profitability".

This is not the first time a company has reduced it's staff.  In the past three years, ADV Films, Central Park Media and Geneon Entertainment have all had to layoff staff.

Source: Anime News Network

Otakon has announced that Otakon 2008 will take place August 8-10, 2008 at the Baltimore Convention Center in Maryland.

We recieved a press release today announcing that the DC Anime Club will be hosting a Shoujo Day.  This will consist of a marathon showing of Shoujo titles and will take place on September 29,2007 from 2pm-5pm at the Martin Luthur King, Jr Memorial Library at 901 G St NW Washington, DC 20001 in Room A9. There will also be trivia, prizes and more.

For more information about Shoujo Day or the DC Anime Club, you can visit the press release or their website at http://www.dcanimeclub.org/.

After certain events and blog posts at Anime Expo 2007, a lot of fans wondered if Momoi Halko would consider coming back to the US.  The following has been recieved and translated by J!-Ent, Momoi Halko's management company.

To my American fans,
 
Hi, this is Momoi Halko.
 
About 2 weeks have passed since I got back to Japan.  I have talked about ANIME EXPO 2007 in the United States to my Japanese fans on my radio program.
 
The American fans are wonderful and I was moved very much. I appreciate that they accepted my feelings that are from my songs.  The fans were very excited as they held their glow sticks in their hands and I was very happy.
 
On my last day for my live performance, all staff of Anime Expo 2007 worked very hard and did a good job to make my live performance successful.
 
>From the first day, there were was a bit of trouble and I wrote them on my personal blog on my website, but the staff of Anime Expo 2007 understood my feelings, my thoughts and me.

Now I appreciate that I could do a wonderful live performance with their great cooperation.
 
I feel that Anime Expo is a very important place where American fans, Japanese fans and anime producers can hold hands and be closer with one another.
 
I hope that American fans, Japanese fans and all of us could be closer and have a friendly relationship with each other.
 
I am very happy that many people from other countries came to my live performance this time.  I would like to have an exciting live performance for you again!
 
Thank you!
   
Sincerely,
 
Momoi Halko

801 Media has sent us a press release announcing a series of new titles for 2008.  They are:

The Prime Minister's Secret Diplomacy by Youka Nitta (January 2008)
Love Circumstances by Aco Oumi (January 2008)
The King of Debt by Sanae Rokuya (February 2008)
A Foreign Love Affair by Ayano Yamane (March 2008)
The President's Time by Tamaki Kirishima (April 2008)
Weekend Lovers by Kiriko Fuwa (April 2008)

You can find more information about each title and purchasing information on the press release

There were a number of licenses announced, including one much awaited one from Funimation.

ADV Films has licensed Moonlight Mile, Venus Versus Virus and King of Bandit Jing in Seventh Heaven.

Funimation has announced Ouran High School Host Club much to the excitement of many many fans.  They also announced Sasami: Magical Girl Club, a new alternate series in the Tenchi Muyo universe.  They have licensed season 1 and have first refusal to any following seasons (season 2 is already announced).

Bandai Entertainment has licensed Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion, Toward the Terra, Ayakashi Ayashi, and My-Otome Zwei

A 29 year old man from Osaka who was charged with uploading manga magazines was sentenced to one year in prison and three years of probation.  Judge Atsushi Miwa pointed out that it is important to maintain the creative basis for which copyright owners put in their expense and effort. 

Bandai Visual USA has launched a North American dot-anime website.  It is based on the original Japanese dot-anime site which allows fans to download many different titles as well as purchase DVDs and CDs from distributors.  The English version currently sellse Bandai Visual USA and Broccoli titles.  Bandai Visual has said that they will be adding multimedia content this fall.

Funimation has announced that the company has licensed the Baldr Force EXE Resolution series.  Teh series is a game-based anime that combines cyberterrorism with mecha.

Animate.tv is hosting a teaser trailer for Clannad.  The are also hosting three song clips.  The movie is based on the Clannad game and will open in Jpan on September 15th.

Oricon is now hosting a trailer for Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone.

Biglobe is now streaming the first 23 episodes of Code Geass for free until July 27th.

A Totoro Plushie Exhibition is currently being held at the Izu teddy Bear Museum in central Japan.  The exhibit will run until the end of August and recreates scenes from My Neighbor Totoro using plushies of the characters.  It also shows rare prototype toys that were based on original sketches.

I just wanted to remind everyone that they can still enter to win a signed copy of GAME.  Once you have a site account, just head over to the entry form and enter your information.  The drawing will be held on July 30th, so get your entry in soon.

YTV in Canada has announced that it will be premiereing Death Note on Friday September 7th at 10:00 PM.  The series will appear as part of YTV's Bionix late-night block. 

YTV has also announced that it will be showing Naruto episodes during their The Zone afternoon block.

Media Blasters has announced the specifics for some of the titles they announced as licensed at Anime Expo.  They are:

Golden Boy - October 2nd
Angel's Feather - October 30th
Step up Love Story - November 27th
No Money! Vol. 1 - October 30th
Phoenix Vol. 2 - December 4th

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has announced that it will be releasing Tekkonkinkreet on Blu-ray in the US on September 25th for $38.95.  The release will have both Japanese and English audio in 5.1 surround sound, interviews with Arias (director) and the band Plaid (soundtrack), director's commentary, and Arias's production diary. 

A standard DVD release will also be released on September 25th.

The J-Rock band Back-On is scheduled to perform at Anime USA 2007 on November 16th-18th in Crystal City, Virginia.  Back-On is best known for performing the themese to Air Gear, Murder Princess and the opening and closing to Eyeshield 21.

Funimation will be running free screenings of the first four episodes of Mushi-Shi in New York and Texas on July 23rd and 24th.  In New York City the screenings will be heald at the ImaginAsian Theater on July 23rd.  In Texas the screenings will be at Studio Movie Grill on July 23rd and San Antonio's Alamo Draft House on July 24th.

Miki Imai, one of Japan's biggest idol singers in the 80's, will be singing the series theme for the 40th anniversary Lupin III sepcial on July 27th.  In addition, her version of the theme will appear on the soundtrack cd released on August 1st, and she will sing the love theme on the compilation cd released on August 22nd. 

Lupin III: Foggy Elusive is the 19th television special over the series long history.

We recieved a press release from JapanFiles.com today announcing the debut of Head Phones President.  Head Phone President is an alternative heavy rock band consisting of ANZA (vocal), MAR (guitar), HIRO (guitar), and NARUMI (bass).  Their debut includes 6 cds as well as many english songs.  In Japan their first single "escapism" along with their first full album "VARY" topped the indie charts in their first weeks.  Many fans have compared Head Phone President to Evanescence in similarity of music.

Megaman Star Force, an adaptation of Ryusei no Rockman by Viz Media, will premiere on Cartoon Network in August.  It will also begin streaming on Toonami Jetstream on July 23rd.  Ryusei no Rockman has been showing in Japan since Ocrober 7th, 2006.

Funimation has announced that it is "in the Blu-ray camp" according to an article on IGN.  Funimation said that the Playstation 3 was a definite factor in it's decision but it also was influenced by Blockbusters recent Blu-ray collection expansion.

Meanwhile Geneon is waiting for the dust to settle before picking sides as it does not feel the next gen formats are profitable enough yet.