Father Geek here with our latest edition of our weekly Anime & Manga Report...

AnimAICN...

by Scott Green

Manga Spotlight: Flame of Recca Volume 1 By Nobuyuki Anzai

Released by Viz's Action graphic novel line

When it comes to pure, undistilled action, little can complete with a fight manga like Flame of Recca. Don't expect much in the way of intellectual stimulation, but like good fung fu movies, or pro-wrestling, it is an excellent distraction.

There's a niche is anyone's entertainment consumption for stories where a group of people stand up for what they believe, even if its means long and bizarre fights where people jump around a lot, and throw sharp objects or fire. People who argue that anime and manga are art forms ignore or overestimate series like Flame of Recca. It's in an art in the way that anything done reasonable well is an art. What Recca does reasonably well is have people fall into pit traps and get pelted by firecrackers, or dodge ninja throwing knife in after-school fights.

Structurally Flame of Recca works like the better known progressive fight series Yu Yu Hakusho. Initial adversaries become a team, which eventually leads into an extended fighting tournament. In this case the core is Recca, a modern teenage who lives by the code of the ninja (meaning he collects sharp throwing objects, and dedicates himself to accomplishing a job, and serving his master). Even beyond this obsession Recca's life isn't too typical. His father is a fireworks maker who smokes on the job, his hobby is abandoned lot battles with a large pierced classmate, and he ends his ninja services to young girl who can heal stray animals with a touch.

Recca's spate of adversaries in the first volume are friends and school mates instigated by a mysterious black-clad woman who seems to known too much about Recca.

Flame of Recca is simple kinetic fun with likable people who are highly competitive, big attitude, and anti-authority. There are some character moments as teenagers try to figure out their relationship with each other, but the it mostly moves from action scene to action scene.

In a series like Recca the qualitative distinction is whether it is dull, or exciting. While it isn't shooting at a lofty target, Recca certainly hits what it is aiming for.

Anime Spotlight: Lupin the 3rd: The Movie, The Secret of Mama

Released by Pioneer

Lupin III has had more lives and re-inventions that James Bond. The globe trotting gentleman thief, well gentleman with an asterisk Lupin III, his cohorts Jigen (a taciturn gangster gunman) and Goemon (a stoic samurai), his lover/rival Fujiko, and his would-be nemesis Inspector Zenigata, have ranged from goofy Inspector Gadget material to pulp action. Hayao Miyazaki classics, to gratuitous nudity filled schlock. Of that the anime that have adapted Monkey Punch's the original manga (comic) of few capture the creator's design and style as closely as Secret of Mamo. Design is more stylized and reflective of the early Mad/EC Horror comic influences. The characters are edgier uniformly less good natured. Behavior and events are more lethal and less restraint.

Secret of Mamo is the second time that this has domestically been released on DVD. The first was as "Mystery of Mamo" by Image Entertainment. Pioneer's version has the Japanese language track that was missing on "Mystery", 5.1 audio on the English track (the Japanese is mono), and a digitally remastered image.

The movie opens with Lupin III the gallows, and being hung. Zenigata picks up the case, searching out Lupin's body to confirm his death, or finish off the dead. From the meeting of the two, the movie launches into one of its only gag-gadgets sequences, and its not long before Lupin is back together with allies.

After heisting the mythical philosopher's stone, things get drastic for Lupin and his gang. The typical Fujiko betrayal puts them in unusually desperate straits, hunted, stranded, and weaponless they turn on each other before stumbling on Mamo, the elusive 10,000 year old man whose been looking for Lupin.

This brand of action/caper movie has a habit of becoming illogical, or incoherent, but The Secret of Mamo takes it a step further. There has almost been something a calculatingly strange about Lupin's adventure, the car chases where his small vehicle defies physics, but Secret of Mamo crosses a threshold and becomes surreal and psychodelic. One minute he is chasing his adversary, the text he is tracking though paintings, and meeting deceased dictators. It doesn't vere too far from the accustomed Lupin course, or go to the reach the full potential of this path, but up until the movie's bizarre showdown, its is something strange.

Some of the more unpleasant aspects of the character, which can more easily be written off as a gag in the original manga shorts stories, or were toned down in other anime adaptation stand out more starkly in the movie. None of the characters are paragons of virtual, but Lupin's voracious sex drive leads to some uncomfortable situation. Fujiko's lead him and dump him MO, and a brief torture scene get too close to outright misogyny.

The body of Lupin movies is really one that needs to be cherry picked. There are a number of Moonraker's in the franchise. A sizable percent are either strictly by the number, painfully dull, or just not worth seeing. Secret of Mamo is on the upper port of the stack. If you're a fan of Monkey Punch's original manga, Secret is a must see. If you're looking for a good, strange adventure with characters a bit darker than their TV version, it is well worth checking out.

Witch Hunter Robin Volume 1: Arrival

Released by Bandai Entertainment's Platinum Edition line

Several aspects of Witch Hunter Robin leave an impression before even seeing the series. Firstly the name taken two ways, it sounds like a magical girl show (often cutesy-er versions of Sailor Moon), or something regarding dark connotations of "witch hunter" from European history, to Salem to McCarthy. It turns out to be later. Secondly the lead character Robin's hair is really something exceptional. Anime has had some impressive hair styles, but Robin Sena of Witch Hunter Robin has the most memorable fictitious hair since Princess Leia: bangs that creep like gothic ivy, and two short unique braids. In a black dress that looks only slightly too tight for a Puritan, more old world than Goth, she's distinct and striking figure. Style is the hallmark of Witch Hunter Robin and while the story can keep your attention, the design, which doesn't go for the typical anime flash, is even more engrossing.

Witch Hunter Robin keys into several hot cultural threads. It is initially a wizarding police procedural. At least in its early phase, it is more CSI with curses than X-Files. In the modern age where the existence of magic and witches is disbelieved, the STNJ is a small group who investigates crimes involving Celtic circle, or swarms of desiccating scarabs.

The unit's new transfer is Robin Sena, a monastery raised young woman who has the witch craft of creating flames. Robin has a deep rooted history which hasn't been illuminated, but seems at odds with the STNJ's MO of shooting suspects (other witches) with a substance that inhibits their powers, then carting them off alive.

The STNJ are implicitly, and explicitly not pleasant people. They circumvent ongoing court procedure if they believe the accused is a witch. They threaten captured hackers with employment or death. It is a strange organization. Its agents work closely in the field, and even more closely in the office where their work which has little mental or physical elbow room. The officers are also tightly controlled, and to a large degree manipulated by their superiors. Despite being a unit in the field, and on top of each other in the office, there is a sense of impenetrable walls between the agents.

Starting with the lead's hair, Witch Hunter Robin has look that is distinct, and polished to shine. From the opening animation, which is directed more like a music video than the typical attention starved tease, there is a grace to the images. The fashion sense of Witch Hunter Robin is strict quasi-military-fascist vogue style at that was very popular is Neon Genesis Evangelion.

It is attractive, and darkly inviting, painting a picture, rather and setting a mood, rather than just doing cartwheels with the new digital tools.

The series works more through visual keys than exposition. Sometimes this is a mystery, left to explore later, but other times it will show a physical occurrence, and let it stand on its own.

The first volume of Witch Hunter Robin is very stratifying. Seeing how the investigations play out, and what a witch's power is going to look like has been enthralling. It seems that the procedural witch hunt episodes are a prelude that are doing to be abandoned in favor of the STNJ's plans for Robin, like a threat that it will be asking for an investment in the characters rather than a Law and Order detachment.

This Week's Releases

Anime

• Dna2:Crossfire
• Dragon Knight 2: Wheel of Time - Full Circle
• Hades - Project Zeorymer Extinction
• Inu-Yasha:Kikyo's Wandering Soul
• A Little Snow Fairy Sugar - The Bear Pianist (Vol. 3)
• Machine Robo - Revenge of Cronos 2
• Master Keaton - Excavation II
• Patlabor:Mobile Police TV Series V.6
• Project Arms Vol. #06
• Reign the Conqueror Volume 4
• Spirit Warrior Vol. #1: Revival of Evil
• Steel Angel Kurumi 2 Vol. #1
• Beast Wars-The Complete First Season

Manga

• Bastard Vol 4 Tp
• Blade Of The Immortal Shadows One Shot #81
• Castle In The Sky Vol 3 Tp
• Digimon Vol 5 Gn (Of 12)
• Five Star Stories Eng Lang Manga #11
• Five Star Stories Eng Lang Manga #12
• Happy Mania Vol 3 Gn (Of 5)
• Invu Vol 3 Gn (Of 4)
• Oh My Goddess #100 Dr Moreau (Part 1 Of 5)
• Pet Shop Of Horrors Vol 2 Gn (Of 10)
• Ranma 1/2 Tp Vol 4 2Nd Ed
• Ranma 1/2 Vol 23 Tp
• Rave Master Vol 4 Gn (Of 18)
• Super Manga Blast #34

Last weekend the summer's second big anime convention, Otakon took place in Baltamore. For complete coverage see Anime News Network, Anime on DVD and A Fan's View.

Jubei-Chan Follow-up

Director Akitaroh Daichi will be heading a sequel to Jubei-chan, a cross between magic girl and samurai anime. The follow-up will be called Jubei-chan 2: Siberia Yagyuu no Gyakushuu. A placeholder site is online at http://www.j2.bz

Ghost in the Shell TV News

The Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex TV series will now run 52 episodes.

Dragon Ball GT Air Date

According to Animation Insider Cartoon Network will begin showing the final Dragon Ball series, Dagon Ball GT October 3rd at 6:30pm. Like the home video release, they hope to jump start the series by starting it on episode 16.

Yamato Legal Woes Get Complicated Again

After a settlement between manga creator Leiji Matsumoto and anime producer Yoshinobu Nishizaki over the rights to Battleship Yamato, Tohoku-shinsha Film Corporation has stepped in stating that they hold the copyrights to any future anime versions of Yamato. Both Nishizaki and Matsumoto had been working on their own Yamoto series.

According to Anime News Network

A portion of the TFC statement (full text in Japanese) reads, "We own the copyrights for 'Space Battleship Yamato' upon official agreement, and we are perplexed that the reconciliation statements from both the Matsumoto and Nishizaki sides included copyrights that by law are due to our ownership."

Hana Yori Dango Ending

From Natsume Maya The final chapter of Hana Yori Dango, the popular shojo (female audience) manga by Kamio Yoko will be published in this month's edition of the anthology Margaret. The manga Hana Yori Dango (by Kamio Yoko, serialised in the semi-monthly manga. Shueisha's official website for Margaret is now up. The issue will have a HanaDan cover and initial color pages for the final chapter, section with message from Kamio and will come with memorial postcard set (6 postcards and 2 character cards).

A "Hana Yori Dango FF (Flower boys x Fighting girls)" character fan book will be published in October with coverage and background information about the series characters.

Viz recently released the first collection of translated Hana Yori Dango.

Venerable Manga Anthology Ends

Weekly Manga Action, 36 year run. the home of Lone Wolf, Lupin III and Crayon Shinchan will be ending with the October 14th issue after a . The publication whose sales once topped 1 million sites a sales drop below 80 thousand as the reason. Its publisher will be launching a new weekly manga publication next spring.

Madhouse to Animate Tenjou Tenge

Madhouse, whose work ranges from Ninja Scroll to Card Captor Sakura, announced at their Otakon panel that they are working on animating hyper-violent manga Tenjou Tenge.

Production IG Shorts Coming to Cartoon Network

Production IG is producing five 4 minutes shorts of Immortal Grand Prix for Cartoon Network.

Anime Network News

According to Anime News Network's report on ADV's Otakon report, the all anime Anime Network will not be broadcast on Canadian television due to broadcast CRTC regulations. Japanese dubs with subtitles will be available on the Anime Network eventually. A "linear" (non-"Video on Demand") will be premiered sometime in the next year or so for use by Dish networks that cannot or do not provide Video on Demand services.

Evangelion Movie Status

According to Anime News Network's report on ADV's Otakon report, the scripts have been written for the live action Evangelion movie. The search is on for a director. While creator/anime director Hideaki Anno is not directly involved in the creation of the script, he has looked over the scripts and made suggestions.

Anime From Dreamworks

Dreamworks has created "Go Fish" to distribute independent and foreign films. Among the label's released will be Millennium Actress, and next year's Ghost in the Shell II.

Gundam News

From Anime News Network's report of Bandai Otakon convention panel, Bandai has announced that they have licensed the latest Gundam, Gundam Seed.

Zeta Gundam would be released in two parts-the first being a for-fans release as an exclusive boxset, complete with a special Japanese extra. After that, Bandai will release the discs individually. There are also plans to release action figures and models for the series.

The Superior Defender TV series will start airing on Cartoon Network in December. Different from the SD Gundam that was shown in Japan before, this new series was produced and animated entirely by Sunrise. The American broadcast will take place before the Japanese one, with DVDs planned for next year. To follow up this news, Chu showed the fifth episode of SD Gundam, which has already been dubbed. There are plans to make a collectable card game for the series, as well.

Shinichiro Watanabe's New Anime

Images of Samurai Champloo, the upcoming anime from Cowboy Bebop's Shinichiro Watanabe are online at manglobe.net

Official Sites

Sony has opened an English Astro Boy site here

ADV posted a placeholder for their music division's site here

A site for the live action Cutey Honey (spelled Cutie Honey) has gone online at www.cutiehoney.com/

Gainax/Broccoli/Nitroplus/Takara has posted design images on the site for their upcoming Neppuu Kairiku Bushilord

The home page for upcoming samurai anime Kyogoku Natsuhiko Kousetsu Hyaku has gone online here

The site for upcoming anime Peacemaker Kurogane can be seen at www.pm-kurogane.com/

The site for the Read or Die TV series, which will airing in Japan starting in October can be seen here

Inu Yasha, Dragon Ball, DBGT on YTV

Anime News Network reports Inu Yasha, the original Dragon Ball, and Dragon Ball GT are all scheduled to premiere on the Canadian station this fall.

TechTV Canada denied Anime

Anime News Network reports TechTV Canada's request to have its programming expanded to include dramatic content (fiction) has been denied by the CRTC. As a result TechTV Canada will not be able to air Anime Unleashed, for now at least. According to TechTV Canada, "[W]e are presently looking at our various options and next steps with legal counsel."

New Voltron anime

Anime News Network reports WEP has announced on the Voltron Force website that work is in progress on a 4th Voltron TV series. The series is tentatively named named "Voltron Interactive," and said to be "a return to the classic look, yet spiffed up by today's technology and trend toward anime." WEP has informed Anime News Network that the new series is in the "very preliminary" stages and that no additional information is available just yet. See here

Gungrave News

An anime version of Gungrave, the video game based on character design by Trigun creator Yasuhiro Nightow, will begin airing in Japan in October 2003.

A sequel to the Playstation 2 game, named GunGrave Overdose(or OD) is being developed by Sega with revised character designs, new atmosphere and the "manga dimension graphics" from the last game. Magic Box has images here.

Upcoming Box Sets

The following box sets were announced at Otakon, firm and official dates have not been announced.

CPM will be releasing the final Revolutionary Girl Utena box set collection around Christmas of this year.

Media Blasters has announced that the first box set collection of Rurouni Kenshin will be released this November.

Media Blaster's Manga Related News

From Anime on DVD's Otakon convention report, Del Rey has licensee the novels for Twelve Kingdom, a series of which Media Blasters is releasing the version. Media Blasters is also thinking about releasing the manga versions of anime titles they release.

Media Blasters Looses Rights to Mezzo Forte TV Series From Anime on DVD's Otakon convention report Media Blasters has lost the rights to the Mezzo Forte TV series, which have been picked up by another company.

Mezzo Forte is Yasuomi Umetsu's stylishly violent, and more light heart and silly tangent to his popular tragedy Kite.

A review of the Mezzo Forte OAV can be read here

New ADV Licenses

ADV announced at the Otakon anime convention that they has licensed anime titles Cyber Team in Akihibara and Divergence Eve.

New manga

Licenses include:

• Aria
• Blue Inferior
• Chrono Crusade
• Desert Quarrel
• Jenki Extended
• Kagura
• Louie the Rune Soldier
• Rise R^2
• Your and My Secret

Marvel's Tommy Ohtsuka Project Announced

The hinted additon to Marvel's manga inspired Tsunami line from Slayers illustrator Tommy Ohtsuka and writer Andi Watson will be titled 15-Love (a tennis pun).

CPM Licenses

Anime on DVD reports that they are rumors that a CPM representative indicated that they have licensed Arcade Gamer Fubuki, and the remainder of Blackjack.

Upcoming Right Stuf Releases

Right Stuf will be starting Comic Party and Gravitation next Spring.

New TOKYOPOP Manga Licenses

TOYKOPOP announced at WidardWorld Chicago that they have licensed Candidate for Goddess, Girl Got Game, One and Mink.

Direct to Video Wolf's Rain

Bandai has confirmed that Studio Bones will be producing four episodes of Wolf's Rain beyond what was shown on Japanese television.

Bandai Skips Several DVD Releases

According to Anime Nation's report on Bandai's Otakon convention panel, the original Saber Marionette R OAV series and CLAMP School (Clamp Campus Detectives) TV series released on VHS will not be re-released to American DVD.

November CPM Manga Releases

CPM Manga will be releasing Dark Angel Book One and Aquarium this November for $9.99 each.

Aquarium

Story and Art by Tomoko Taniguchi. Naoka's life isn't going so well. She was turned down by the prestigious high school that she wanted to attend and she feels like nothing is going right for her. To try and cheer herself up, she starts going to the aquarium where she finds beauty, serenity...and romance.

Dark Angel Book One

Story and art by Kia Asamiya, the artist of Uncanny X-Men and Batman: Child of Dreams. Dark is a young man destined for great things. He's next in line to be the magical guardian of his country, but before he can assume that responsibility, he'll have to confront demons, angels, friends and his own insecurities.

Record of Lodoss War - The Lady of Pharis Collector's Edition: Book One

Will be released November 19th for $15.95. Story by Ryo Mizuno. Art by Akihiro Yamada, the character designer of RahXephon. The Birth of evil! There was a time when Lodoss Island was pure and the forces of light and darkness were in balance. It only took the greed of one man to change the face of Lodoss forever. Now it's up to the warriors of legend to restore the tenuous balance.

Gunslinger Girl Manga Start

ADV indicated at the Otakon anime convention that they will start releasing the Gunslinger Girl manga this October.

FUNimation Conan Licensee Update

From Anime on DVD's Otakon convention report, FUNImation has all of Detective Conan, rather than the previously indicated first 104 episode of Detective Conan, and the two movies of the over 300 episode series.

FUNimation on Prince of Tennis?

Anime on DVD has discovered that FUNimation has registered the domain theprinceoftennis.com, indicating that they may have licensed or intent to license the popular sports anime.

Super Milk Chan Postponed Indefinitely

ADV Films announced that the firm's planned release of The Super Milk Chan Show, with the first volume previously scheduled for an October 14, 2003 release, has been postponed.

No future release date has been set; a formal rescheduling announcement will be made when the title returns to the ADV Films release schedule.

ADV Manga Sets Street Dates For Two New Manga Releases

ADV will be releasing the first volumes of manga series Full Metal Panic! on September 9th, and Azumanga Daioh on September 16th.

Full Metal Panic! Mission 01

A tie-in to the smash-hit ADV Films anime release of the same name, the Full Metal Panic! manga skillfully balances high-school comedy and hard-hitting action with the story of gung-ho young secret agent Sosuke Sagara, assigned to go undercover and protect high-school honor-student Kaname Chidori from a band of international terrorists. Needless to say, Sosuke's background as a counterinsurgent guerilla isn't the best possible preparation for high-school. Full Metal Panic! appeared serially in Newtype USA magazine, helping to build an enthusiastic audience for this ADV Manga release.

Azumanga Daioh Vol. 1

It's not manga, it's Azumanga (and it's smart, fun and totally addictive)! Created by the iconoclastic Kiyohiko Azuma (hence the name), Azumanga Daioh is strongly character driven, telling the story of the precocious Chiyo (promoted to high-school at age 12), a group of her classmates, and their hilarious daily tribulations. Azumanga Daioh boasts exceptionally strong name recognition, including overwhelming fan enthusiasm about the anime series (forthcoming 2004 from ADV Films).

Saint Seiya Manga From Viz

Viz has announced that Knights Of The Zodiac (aka Saint Seiya) will become part Viz's Shonen Jump graphic novel line. The first volume will be released January 2004.

From the press release: Knights of the Zodiac is a fast-paced, futuristic action-adventure series that pits the forces of good against evil as the Knights of Athena battle the Knights of Aries for control of the sacred Golden Armor of Sagittarius and the world. Already an international mega-hit in Asia, Europe and South America, KNIGHTS OF THE ZODIAC (SAINT SEIYA) is expected to have the same success and anticipation here in the U.S.

A sneak preview of the first chapter is scheduled for the December issue (on sale November 4) of the monthly SHONEN JUMP Magazine, available at all major retailers and newsstands.

This famed Japanese property formerly known as SAINT SEIYA will also be airing on Cartoon Network beginning in August 2003. Cartoon Network will be airing 40 episodes of this property, Bandai has been awarded the master toy license for the U.S. and Canada, and ADV has the distribution rights for home video.