Lego Group has been given the rights to manufature racing playsets based on the upcoming Speed Racer movie by Warner Brothers.  The movie is set to be released on May 19th.  Lego will be marketing four different Speed Racer sets as part of it's Lego Racers brand.  The sets will run between $19.99 US and $59.99 US.

ADV Films has removed many titles from it's site, including it's store and trailers sections.  They are:

009-1
5 Centimeters per Second
Ah! My Goddess: Flights of Fancy
Air Gear
Air movie
Air TV
Best Student Council
Blade of the Phantom Master
Comic Party Revolution
Coyote Ragtime Show
Devil May Cry
Gurren Lagann
Guyver: The Bioboosted Armor TV
Innocent Venus
Jing, King of Bandits: Seventh Heaven
Jinki:Extend
Kanon
Kurau: Phantom Memory
Le Chevalier D'Eon
Magikano
Moeyo Ken TV
Moonlight Mile
Nerima Daikon Brothers
Pani Poni Dash!
Project Blue Earth SOS
Pumpkin Scissors
Red Garden
Tokyo Majin
UFO Princess Valkyrie
Utawarerumono
Venus Versus Virus
The Wallflower
Welcome to the NHK
Xenosaga

Anime News Network has received a response from ADV Films regarding the removal of these titles which states:

"We know there are a lot of rumors swirling about, and that fans are looking for assurances that ADV will continue to distribute the anime series they know and love.

While we can't go into any detail at this time, please know that ADV is working through a few short-term challenges and fully intends to continue our releases.

We thank you for your patience. "

Adult Swim has agreed to run the next 52 episodes of Bleach.  Episode 53 will be the first of these and will premiere on March 1st.  This will take the story through the end of the Soul Society Rescue story arc and into the Bount story arcs.

Charter Communications has added ADV's Anime Network to their video-on-demand system.  It is being carried on a subscription basis.  There are no details available on how much it costs to get the service, you will need to contact Charter to find out.

IFC plans to broadcast all 26 episodes of the series on their new IFC video-on-demand service.  It is scheduled to premiere in July with a linear broadcast premiere expected weeks afterwards.

Funimation has made all 12 episodes of Black Blood Brothers available for download on their site.  Each episodes is a "download-to-own" video which costs $1.99 US.  You must be running Windows XP or Vista with Windows Media Player 9 and in the US to be able to get the episodes.  The first volume of Black Blood Brothers will be released on DVD February 12th.

Bandai Entertainment is streaming a subtitled trailer for The Girl Who Leapt Through Time.  They have also announced that the film will have a limited teatrical release in North America.

Del Rey has announced that they have teamed up with Myspace and posted a 25-page preview of the Hell Girl manga.  The first volume will ship on January 29th.  Funimation has been releasing the anime version on DVD and IFC has announced that it will be airing it on television later this year.

Funimation Entertainment has posted a streaming trailer for a CLAMP double feature, Tsubasa RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE the movie: The Princess in the Birdcage Kingdom and xxxHOLiC the Movie: A Midsummer Night's Dream.  The two movies will be bundled as a two disc DVD release which will hit stores on February 19th.  In Japan the two movies were played as a joint theatrical release.

IGN.com is streaming an English trailer for the anime version of CAPCOM's Devil May Cry.  IGN also has the trailer available for download in either QuickTime or Windows Media format.  Both Devil May Cry 4 and the first volume of the series will ship on February 5th.  The collector's edition of the game will include the first volume of the anime along with another bonus DVD.

Bandai Entertainment has announced that it is recalling Gundam Seed Destiny Vol. 12, Eureka 7 Vol 11, Flag Vol 2, and My-Otome Vol 4.  These volumes have playback issues which are being blamed on a duplicator's error.  Bandai Entertainment is replacing the discs currently in stores and will have a link on their site, www.bandai-ent.com, starting January 17th for people who bought the affected discs to exchange them.

ADV has announced that the February issue of Newtype USA will be the final issue.  It has not been made clear whether this means the February Issue, or the issue that goes on sale in February (which would be the March Issue).  The company is rumored to be planning to replace Newtype USA with another magazine, although nothing has been confirmed.

Warner Brothers is planning to exhibit the Mach 5 that will appear in their live action adaptation of Speed Racer at this year's North American International Auto Show.  The Auto Show will take place January 19th - 21st at the COBO Center in Detroit, Michigan.  Speed Racer is set to hit theatres on May 9th.

Viz Media has released a statement regarding the discontinuation of MAR on DVD and the rumors that Hikaru No Go may no longer be available in single volumes.

"As in the case with all entertainment companies, we are constantly evaluating the titles we release and how they are released, and at this present time these titles are under evaluation. We do however still have the license to produce these titles, and they are still available for viewing on Toonami Jetstream."

Source: ANN

The Anime Network has announced that it discontinued it's 24/7 linear television channel as of the beginning of this year.  They have also discontinued their two-hour Anime Network block on Propeller TV in the UK.  The Anime Network will continue on as a Video On Demand channel however, as well as continuing their Sprint Mobile stream and Online Player.

Viz Media has confirmed that it will be discontinuing it's MAR DVD releases beginning with the fifth volume to make room for other new releases.  MAR Volumes 1 - 4 were released last year between June and December by Viz Media and the series has been running on Toonami Jetstream since it's opening.  At this time, Toonami Jetstream is still carrying the series.

ADV Films has posted a streaming version of it's trailer for Moonlight Mile.  The first episode of the series will premiere on Anime Network On Demand on January 31st.  The first DVD will ship on February 19th.

Sci Fi Channel has announced that it will run a 2 hour anime block on Tuesdays in addition to it's current block on Monday.  This new block will begin February 5th at 11 PM ET.

Starz Edge has announced that it will be moving it's Animidnight block to Monday evening at midnight.  This will put it in competition with Sci Fi's AniMonday block.

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has announced that Blood+ will become available on DVD on March 4th.  They will release a $119.95 US collectors set of the first 25 episodes and a single volume for $24.96 US with 5 episodes.

The Anime Mid-Atlantic convention has annonced that it's 2008 convention has been forced out of it's hotel outside of Washington DC due to double booking.  It will be moving it's convention to the Holiday Inn Executive Center in Virginia Beach, VA instead.  It will still take place on June 13th-15th as scheduled.

ADV Films has made a correction to the original statement that it would stream all of Gurren Lagann via The Anime Network site.  They are instead only going to be streaming the first 3 episodes of the series.  ADV Films comment was "Not all programs would be broadcast in their entirety in subtitled form. For example, at this time only three episodes of Gurren Lagann are scheduled for subtitled broadcast. Other series in the pipeline will receive longer runs, and even full series broadcast, through First Look. ADV regrets the misunderstanding."

It has been announced that Son Goku, Naruto and Luffy will be making a two-day appearance in Second Life.  Second Life is an online virtual world by Linden Lab's and the appearance will coincide with Jump Festa.  It will take place Devember 22nd and 23rd on Impress Island.

Anime Network has begun streaming Gurren Lagann online for free with English subtitles.  Gurren Lagann is part of the official opening of Anime Network's online streaming service.  Also included is Anime Network's First Look which presents new series that have yet to be released in North America.

IGN.com is now streaming the new English version trailer of Appleseed: Ex Machina.  It is also available for download in QuickTime and Windows Media formats.

Funimation has notified retailers of a recall of Itsudatte My Santa! that was released on December 11th.  It was recalled on December 10th due to an age rating misprint that had it marked as TV-PG.  It should have announced it's rating as TV-MA due to nudity and other content.  Funimation plans to re-release the title for the 2008 holiday season.

The Live Action Dragonball movie has now cast Bulma, Mai, and Yamcha.  Emmy Rossum will play the part of Bulma, Eriko Tamura will play the part of of Mai, and Joon Park will play the part of Yamcha.

Viz Media has announced that Eyeshield 21 has debuted on Toonami Jetstream.  It will be made available for free via the website owned by Cartoon Network and Viz Media.  There has been no further information regarding an earlier announcement by Viz that said that Eyeshield would also be showing on NFLRush.com.

Toonami Jetstream requires Microsoft Windows Media player and an American IP address.

I have posted a new featured review.  I have reviewed the Starz Inside special "Anime: Drawing a Revolution".  The special will be airing on Starz on December 17th at 9 PM ET.  I thought it was a very good special and recommend that everyone try to watch it if you can.  For a full review of the special though, you can find my review here.

JapanFiles.com leaked via press release that tokyo pinsalocks will be appearing as musical guests at Anime Boston 2008 on March 21-23, 2008. 

"Formed in Tokyo in 2000, tokyo pinsalocks fuse fresh rhythms with the psychedelic vocal stylings of singer/keyboardist Naoko to create a retro-futuristic new-wave meltdown. Since their formation, tokyo pinsalocks have toured all across Japan, including Sapporo's revered Rising Sun Rock Festival. In February 2007 they took their music to England for a week-long tour, gaining them an instant British fanbase."

You can check out some YouTube videos as well as their myspace page from the press release.

Funimation has announced that they will be releasing limited edition Fruits Basket lithographs.  The lithographs will feature Tohru honda, Yuki Sohma, and Kyo Sohma.  They will be signed by the English voice actors of these characters, Laura Bailey, Eric Vale and Jerry Jewell.  John Burgmeier, who played Shigure Sohma, and Justin Cook, ADR director, will also sign the lithograph.  Only 250 will be made and they will be sold by Right Stuf for $99.

Atari and Funimation have come to an agreement that will let Atari continue to sell Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3, as well as future Dragon Ball Z games, in the US.  In October, Atari announced that it had been served notice from Funimation that their agreement to produce the games would be terminated.  This put the release of Budokai Tankaichi 3 in jeopardy.  Atari will now pay Funimation $3.5 million US and will be able to continue releasing games in the franchise until 2010.

Viz Pictures has announced that they will be releasing the live action film Maiko Haaaan!!! by screenwriter Kankuro Kudo in the US.  They plan to open the film in New York, San Francisco and three other cities in March.

Caitlin Glass has reported that fellow voice actor Randy Tallman passed away on November 20th.  He voiced numerous roles for Funimation productions including Ryuuhei in MoonPhase and Fei Wong Reed in Tsubasa: RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE's.

Bandai Entertainment has announced that it will be releasing The Girl Who Leapt Through Time.  They will also be giving the movie a limited teatrical run in LA and New York, and possibly other select cities.

Tokyopop has announced that it will be releasing the manga adaptation of Kyo Kara Ma no Tsuku Jiyuugyou! in the third quarter of 2008.  They will also be releasing Fate/stay night at the same time.

Viz Media has announced that it will be releasing the first 13 episodes of Buso Renkin on DVD in North America.  The box set will be released on April 29th and will cost $49.99.  A second box set will contain the last 13 episodes and will be released later in 2008.

Adult Swim has announced that it will be airing Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion in the US in the spring of 2008.  The announcement was made by Bandai Entertainment at NYAF this past weekend.  The english cast was also announced.  It is:

Lelouch: Johnny Yong Bosch
C2 (CC): Kate Higgins
Kallen: Karen Strassman
Suzaku Kururugi: Yuri Lowenthal
Lloyd: Liam O'Brien
Tohdoh: Steven Blum
Bartley: Peter Spellos
Clovis: Dave Wittenberg
Emperor: Michael McConnohie
Shirley: Amy Kincaid
Milly: Julie Ann Taylor
Nina & Sayoko: Kim Mai Guest

Media Blasters announced at NYAF that they have the rights to Genshiken 2.  John Sirabella was not present for the announcement, but he gave the go ahead to the reps to announce it.  He had made some strong hints in the past that this annoncement was coming.

Go! Comi announced at NYAF that they will be publishing Ultimate Venus, Kurogane Communication, Three in Love, Bogle, Yggdrasil, and Song of the Hanging Sky.  Some of these titles were revealed early last week when listings for them appeared on Amazon.com.

At the New York Anime Festival on Friday, Del Rey announced that it will be releaseing Papillon, Kamichama Karing -chu-, the Gankutsuou manga, and the Mao-chan manga.  They also announced that they will be releasing collections of short stories set in the XXXHOLiC universe.

ADV Films is streaming a trailer for Project Blue Earth SOS.  The original series was inspired by the 1948 story Earth SOS by Shigeru Komatsuzaki.

ADV Films has announced that it will premiere the English version of Devil May Cry: The Animated Series at the New York Anime Festival on December 8th.  ADV's distributor's hall booth will also have kiosks where attendees can play demos of Devil May Cry 4.

8 frames from the live-action Speed Racer film were published in USA.  A trailer for the film also recently appeared on Entertainment Tonight.   An online version has also been made available.  The movie will star Emile Hirsch as speed and Christina Ricci as Trixie.  The movie is scheduled to open in North America on May 9th, 2008.

It has been reported that Jamie Chung has been cast in the role of Chi Chi in the live action Dragonball film.  Jamie Chung is best knwon for appearing on MTV's The Real World.  She is also set to star in the title role in Samurai Girl, which is a new series currently being considered by ABC Family.  It is based on Carrie Asai's Samurai Girl novels.

Tokyopop has announced that it will debut the Princess Ai:Broken Leash music video at the New York Anime Festival on December 8th.  It will feature live-action footage, 2D animation, and computer graphics. 

Viz Media has announced that it will have a panel at NYAF as well as sponsering the manga lounge.  The Viz Media panel will take place on December 8th.

Tokyopop has announced that the quartly magazine/book Gothic & Lolita Bible will begin publication in February.  The periodical will contain translated material from it's Japanese counterpart, as well as have new material.

The Anime Network will be adding the first episode of Kanon to it's video on demand service on December 28th.  The first DVD is scheduled for release in North America on January 1st.  The Sci Fi Channel will be starting Tactics on January 7th in the 11:00 PM slot in their Ani-Monday block.  Two episodes will air every Monday in January. They will also be resuming Noein that same day at midnight.

Del Rey Manga is planning to host an industry penl as well as a spotlight on the editor of Faust in Japan and making an announcement with Marvel Comics at New York Anime Festival.  The company panel will be on Dec. 7th, the panel with Katsushi Ota will be on Dec. 8th, and the joint panel with Marvel Comics will be on Dec. 9th.

Anime Selects, the free anime On Demand service of Comcast, will be holding auditions for Tokyo Reporter 2008 at the convention.  Last years Tokyo Reporter was sent to Japan to report on life in Tokyo and cover the Tokyo International Anime Fair.

BOST Digital Entertainment had begun streaming the first episode of Keitai Shoujo to North America, Australia, New Zealand, New Guinea, and the United Kingdom for free.  BOST will stream a new episode every Monday for the next six weeks.  The episodes will continue to be free until February 2008.

Right Stuf and Nozomi Entertainment have announced that the entire first episode of Ninja Nonesense is now streaming on IGN.com.  The series has finished it's run on individual DVD's, but Right Stuf is releasing a limited edition complete collection on December 4th.  The collection will include a mini-manga, squeeze toy, and ninja trainee headband.