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With the spring season nearly upon us, we will have a lot of new shows that we will be announcing in the near future! Stay tuned to the newsletter and front page news to find out which shows will be on CR for the 2010 Spring season. Don't forget to voice your opinions on what you'd like, as it let's us know what you want so we can do our best to try and get it! |
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Written by Rikun
 On March 18th, news was released surrounding the loss of a promising new artist in the hip hop scene in the Japanese music industry. Jun Seba, aka Nujabes, was found in a fatal car crash on February 26th near the Shuto Expressway in Shibuya. Nujabes was best known for his work on the soundtrack of Samurai Champloo. He was 36 years old.
He was born in Adachi on February 19th 1974. Little is known about his childhood or his teenage years, but what is known is that in 2003 he founded the independent label Hyde-Out Productions. He was also the owner of T Records and Guinness Records in Shibuya.
 During his time as a DJ, he collaborated with Japanese artists Shing02 and Minmi as well as American artists CYNE, Apani B, Five Deez, Substantial, CL Smooth, and Terry Callier. British rapper Funky DL and R&B singer Dwele were also artists he collaborated with in his career. At one point he was one half of the duo Urbanforest, the other half being Nao T.
Before his passing, Nujabes produced two solo albums: Metaphoric Music in 2003 and Modal Soul in 2006. His music is best known for mixing hip hop beats with cool jazz, creating a wholly unique sound unlike anything heard before.
 Despite his rather short career his trademark sound has resonated with fans all around the world, especially through his work in Samurai Champloo. Through his music, the hip hop-influenced art of Samurai Champloo meshed perfectly his style and literally brought the animation to life. Moreover, Nujabes' ability to compose a song that not only was in sync with the actual action occurring through the animation, but was able to infuse classic Japanese music elements and break beats was unparalleled.
A private burial was held shortly after his passing with only his family in attendance and Hyde-Out Productions has announced that his unreleased tracks will be released in the future. While his name may not be known throughout the music community, his spirit will live on through his sound and through his loyal fans.
R.I.P. Nujabes (1974-2010)
Written by TokyoPop
 Fandom may never be the same …
What do the creator of Macross, a Japanese Star Wars manga-ka, an incredibly kawaii i-pop idol, Sasuke of Naruto, and the founder of TOKYOPOP all have in common?
VAN VON HUNTER!!!!!!!
Van Von Hunter is TOKYOPOP's latest film project which will is scheduled to makes its public premiere at this year's SakuraCon on April 2-4.
This shocking true story follows the exploits of an unknown unemployed evil-vanquisher from his home in Dikay, through an ill-fated gig in Hollywood, to his surprising ascent to superstardom in Japan, and his equally baffling disappearance. It’s all here, documented by Stu Levy and Steven Calcote, and starring voice actor extraordinaire Yuri Lowenthal (Ben 10, Naruto) as Van Von Hunter.
 Co-director (and founder of TOKYOPOP) Levy said “Fandom hasn’t seen a movie this silly, this quirky, this ridiculous since, well, ever! I’m honored -- and slightly embarrassed -- to finally reveal the truth about Van Von Hunter, vanquisher of evil stuff.”
What makes this particular show so special? Well, when leading man Yuri Lowenthal was asked what makes his performance as Van ‘special’ responded, "Well, the directors managed to convince me to get naked -- except for a ridiculous black ‘80’s heavy metal wig and a couple of swords across my back (and in once scene, a strategically placed pop-up book) -- in front of large groups of people. So there’s that."
 As if that's not enough to sell you, co-director Calcote jumped in for the the last word in describing the appeal of Van Von Hunter saying, “Our movie has almost the exact same running time as The Hangover. Coincidence? You be the judge …”
Whether you love anime, manga, Japan, or just plain ol’ evil and the vanquishing thereof, then this movie will change your life. Otherwise, it will at least make snot come out of your nose, all sticky and gooey, but, you know, in a good way.
If you can't make it up to SakuraCon that weekend, never fear! During the weekend of 4/2-4/4 come to CR and see the world online premiere of TOKYOPOP’s Van Von Hunter, starring voice actor extraordinaire YURI LOWENTHAL (Naruto, Ben 10) in his debut as a live-action feature film honest-to-goodness movie star!”
Become a FAN of VAN: www.facebook.com/vanvonhunter. <http://www.facebook.com/vanvonhunter.>
Written by Rikun
 Hyakko Manga Listed by Amazon
Amazon.com has recently listed the first volume of the Hyakko manga for release on October 19. The manga by Haruaki Katoh will be published through CMX. The story revolves around the day to day lives of four high school girls in Kamizono Academy and all of their misadventures. The manga series was originally serialized in 2007 through Flex Comics, and the first anime series ran from October 2008 to December 2008, which included a 10 minute OVA. The anime is currently available on Crunchyroll.
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 Toei Plans for CG Harlock and Gaiking
On March 23, Toei announced its plans for CG animated films based off two of their series: Space Pirate Captain Harlock and Daikuu Maryuu Gaiking. Production is planned for 2011 with a budget of several billion yen per film. A theatrical release throughout the US, Europe, and Asia is scheduled for 2012.
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 A Bleach Movie From Warner Brothers?
According to the Hollywood Reporter’s Heat Vision blog, director Peter Segal is in negotiations to produce an American adaptation of Tite Kubo’s Bleach. Viz Media and Michael Ewing will also be producing the film. Bleach is set to become another of Warner Brothers’ anime-to-film adaptations, a list that includes Death Note, Ninja Scroll, and Akira.
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Maplestory and FMA in Japan
Starting on March 31st, Maplestory will be featuring official Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood tie-in items for players as phase one of a promotional campaign in Japan. The second phase of the promotion will run from April 26 to May 26. The items in question will include costumes, weapons, and items directly associated with the cast of Fullmetal Alchemist. A special item coupon will be bundled with the 9th DVD and Blu-Ray volume of Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood. As of this writing, the 23rd volume of the original manga will be released in July.
Did you know that Gatchaman is credited as starting the superhero trend of a 5-man team in Japan, the most notable being the Super Sentai series which would later become Power Rangers in the USA. The Super Sentai series Choujin Sentai Jetman is a direct homage to Gatchaman.
DQN (pronounced: do kyun) This particular word describes people with limited or no decency, education, delicacy, etc. People who cause disturbance in society. An obviously derogatory term.
Ex: あいつ超ＤＱＮなんだけど(aitsu cho- dokyun nandakedo). This means "That guy is such a DQN."
Naruto Shippuden ©2002 MASASHI KISHIMOTO / 2007 SHIPPUDEN All Rights Reserved., Hyakko © 2008 Haruaki Katoh, Flex Comix Inc./Project HYAKKO, Fairy Tail © Hiro Mashima·KODANSHA/Fairy Tail Guild·TV TOKYO.All Rights Reserved. © Kodansha et al, Durarara © Ryohgo Narita/ASCII Media Works/Ikebukuro Dollars/MBS, Captain Harlock © Reiji Matsumoto, Toei Animation
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