Funimation Licenses Several anime

The North American anime distributor Funimation has announced at its Anime Expo panel this Friday that it has acquired the following anime and they will be  simulcast later this month.

  • Shiki
  • Kuroshitsuji 2
  • Sekerei Pure Engagement
  • Legend of the Legendary Heroes
  • Sengoku Basara 2

They also announced that they have acquired the following anime for 2011 releases (I assume they will be 2011 releases).

  • Shakugan no Shana (Season 2, OVA’s,Movie)
  • To Aru Majutsu no Index
  • To Aru Kagaku no Railgun
  • Black Lagoon: Roberta’s Blood Trail
  • Hellsing Ultimate vol 5-7
  • Darker than Black season 2
  • Trigun: Badlands Rumble Movie

They also picked up the licenses for the following Geneon Titles.

  • Texhnolyze
  • Ai Yori Aoshi
  • Armitage III
  • Haibane Renmei
  • Hellsing (television series)
  • Serial Experiments Lain
  • Tenchi in Tokyo
  • Tenchi Universe
  • Tenchi Muyo! OVAs
  • Tenchi Muyo! movies.

In addition to those anime titles they also picked up the license of the following live action series.

  • Moyashimon

Yeah I know only 1 live action series but then again remember funimation is a anime company so dont expect that many live action titles.

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Working!!

Comment.

Ok I’ll begin by saying how fun and gratifying it is for me to watch this amine, i’ve never read the manga so when i saw the poster announcing it’s first season i didn’t know what to expect but i have to admit i was looking forward for it and it wasn’t wasted time.

Working!! as you may know is based on the manga of the same name (Working!!) written and illustrated by Karino Takatsu and published on Square Enix’s Young Gangan seinen manga magazine since 2005 and the anime is being produced by A-1 pictures since April of the current year.

Summary.

Ok our story begins with Poplar Taneshima a “chibbi” high school girl working at a family restaurant named Wagnaria and is instructed by the manager to look for a new employee after trying asking strangers to join she meets with a boy from her school Sota Takanashi and since Takanashi is a chibbi lover he quickly agrees to grant the cute little Taneshima her wish.

On his first day of work Taneshima gets quickly adapted to Wagnaria’s environment but starts with the wrong foot with the manager kyoko Shirafuji by making a comment about her age resulting in punishment by getting overworked and a shift together with Mahiru Inami an androphobic girl who punches every man that gets in her way, then he also meets Yachiyo a waitress who carries a katana all the time intimidating Taneshima when they first met and so there’s Jun Sato and Hiroomi Soma they both are Wagnaria’s chefs, by the next day Taneshima comes to work and gets punched in the face in his first encounter with Inami.

Takanashi gets annoyed by Inami’s inability to hold herself and starts making comments about her to get her irritated to the point that she hates him now, Inami has lost of trouble to work around male coworkers and customers to the point of being afraid to attend a table full of male customers Takanashi helps her out and work all the tables with male confusing her as she thought Takanashi hated her, Takanashi starts asking question about Inami’s androphobia she says she wants to get cured and surprisingly he is willing to help her get through it using his body as canyon flesh getting a beat up every day and even cross dressing to avoid Mahiru’s jealous father who’s also responsible for her androphobia.

And so they have to deal with a lot of situations revolving Inami’s androphobia, Sota’s “secret” love for Yachiyo, Soma’s blackmailing techniques, Yamada’s impertinence and Kyoko’s laziness oh, yeah and Takanashi’s drunkie sister and much more. I try to avoid spoilers so if the summary is not so extensive is because i really want you to give this anime a chance and enjoy as much as i do if you have any complaints about the summary please let me know so, thanks.

Review.

Story:Well the story is nothing so deep but is very fun to watch too fun to watch i may say and as mentioned before this is a Seinen categorized anime, there’s lots of surprises and comedy throughout the whole story new characters coming into the picture almost in every episode so it gives that sense of freshness and it’s pretty much like real life when you have that kind of people around you lol.

Visuals/Character design:The opening is very colorful and i believe that applies to the whole thing, the animation is great and so is the character design as a visual matter and also in terms of personality.

Takanashi a 16 year old boy he is a chibbi lover and an unconscious masochist he is the head and only male of a large family, Taneshima Poplar a clumsy short sized girl who was ironically named after the poplar three to grow tall, Mahiru Inami an androphobic, shy, timid but intimidating girl who goes by the life punching every man that makes the mistake to cross her way, the manager is a lazy ass middle age girl Kyoko who keeps on eating all day, the “chief” Yachiyo deeply in love with the manager, treating her like the queen of England and jealous of anyone who tries to get close to her, Soma blackmailing everyone in the restaurant to get his job done or sometimes just for fun, Otoo the top head of the restaurant but is always traveling looking for his missing wife there’s also Yamada who was brought to Wagnaria by Otoo from one of his journeys, she claims her self as a 16 year old orphan girl she quickly gets hired by Kyoko and start working as a waitress and living in Wagnaria attic and Sato the quiet cook who’s in love with Yachiyo but tries hard to keep it from her knowledge since she is so devoted to Kyoko.

Audio:I personally like the sound track it’s very catchy very fresh specially the ending theme i already have it on my playlist lol, sound effects throughout the whole series are very funny voice acting is great specially Taneshima’s voice i just lover her and that’s about it.

Facts.

Name:Kaichou wa made sama!!        Studio:A-1 Pictures

Opening theme:Some one one by Kana Asumi

Ending theme:Heart no edge ni Idomou by Ono Daisuke, Hiroshi Kamiya and Jun Fukuyama.

Visuals:9.5

Audio:10

Fun:10

Punch u on da face factor:10

Overall: 9.8 out of 10

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Railgun OVA Confirmed for October 29

The To Aru Kagaku no Railgun OVA was recently confirmed for a October 29 release, the confirmation came from the 5th Volume of the To Aru Kagaku no Railgun manga. To Aru Kagaku no Railgun is the Spinoff to Kazuma Kamachi’s To Aru Majutsu no Index Light novel series. Also there will also be an extra anime episode bundled on a DVD with the To aru Kagaku no Railgun Official Visual Book on July 24.

This news came from ANN but i condensed it and added some stuff but most of the credit for this news post goes to them.

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Hakuouki Second Season Announced

At the end of the last episode of Hakuouki which aired earlier today there was a announcement for the second season of the series. The second season will reportedly start sometime in the autumn but not much else is known about the second season. Below is a screenshot of the announcement in all its not that glorious glory.

Hakuoki is a historical shoujo manga involving the Shinsengumi and apparently the shinsengumi fight oni and a mysterious organization in this anime.

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Kaichou wa maid sama!!

Summary:

This series is based on the manga of the same name (Kaichou wa maid sama!!)  is a funny romantic story about the Seika high prez’ Ayuzawa Misaki who turns to be a misanthropist (man hating girl), Seika high school recently became a co-ed school, Misaki as the first female student council president is determined to change the ways of the student population specially if not precisely the male students since the majority of the student population are still male, the female students live in fear for the constant abuse from the males, Misaki becomes hated by the male student population except for one Usui Takumi the most popular male student in Seika high, drawn by Misaki’s strength and will power he becomes interested in her.

Misaki comes from a very poor family that’s where she gets all the motivation she needs to overcome her situation. Misaki has a double life on one hand she is the strong and fearless Seika’s student council president and on the other hand she has a part time job as a maid in the Maid Latte Cafe her “dirty little secret”, as the council president she has to maintain a flawless and strong image so nobody at Seika high mustn’t know about her part time job as a maid, with Usui on her back she has to be very careful to keep her secret from being discovered but Usui suddenly appears knocking the door of the Maid Cafe and unveil Misaki’s secret, concerned by this she takes a break and goes to the back side of the Maid Cafe and get spotted by 3 Seikfa “bullies” who immediately want to take advantage of the situation by taking a picture to destroy Misaki’s image as the strong prez’ that’s when Usui comes to the picture and saves Misaki from inevitable perdition, from this point the story revolves around these 2 characters, trying to keep the secret from being discovered and Usui’s efforts to conquer Misaki’s heart.

Review.

Story:Even though this is categorized in the Shoujou genre it’s not your classic Shoujou cheesy story, it has a high dose of laughs and fun throughout the whole series, it can be categorized as a romantic/comical story along with other stuff like cosplay contests, street fights, sport contests, cross dressers and much more.

Visuals/Character design:Following the classic Shoujou Character design with stylized non voluptuous bodies so if you are looking for boobs take a look on my next review about B-Gata H-Kei (wich is the only good thing about that anime), uhmmm our heroine is not the classic shoujou character since she is more of a tomboy lol, dialogue sequences have lots of floating manga-like bubbles with funny faces and classic Japanese signs, people crowds just look hilarious like bunch of funny white silhouettes, the whole thing is a nice piece of artwork.

Audio:The opening theme is the classic j-pop cheesy melody and talks about keeping a secret wich fits perfectly with the main plot, the song is named is “My secret” by Saya Mizuno, i personally didn’t like it that much but it fits the story so it’s ok. The ending theme is a j-rock song played by Heidi is called Yokan

In fewer words Kaichou wa Maid Sama! is a fun romantic not so cheesy story about a poor student with a double life being stalked by the most popular male student in Seika high, and the main plot is to keep Misaki’s secret from public knowledge, if you are looking to have some laughs and also like romantic stories this is exactly what you are looking for if you haven’t given it a chance don’t hesitate to do so, i personally recommend this one not just for girls but for everyone who wants to laugh a lot, thanks for reading my review i hope you liked it if you don’t please let me know so, thanks again, CHEERS!!

Facts.

Name:Kaichou wa maid sama!! Studio:J.C staff

Opening theme:Secret by Saya Mizuno Ending theme:Yokan by Heidi

Episode release times:Friday at 2:00 ET (TBS)

Visuals:9.5

Audio:8.0

Cheesiness:4.0 (good)

Fun:9.5

Overall score: 9 out of 10

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Rebuild of Evangelion 2.0: You Can (Not) Advance

Eva 2.0 poster

DISCLAIMER: First, I am an EVA fan boy, so get over it. Second, I will avoid spoilers at all cost, so do not expect a rundown of what happened/why it happened/what’s going to happen next. Third, this review is also geared towards those who have seen the original series, but I will be gentle to EVA noobs…..maybe. LET THE HYPE BEGIN!

Neon Genesis Evangelion, an anime that will be remembered by all Japanese anime fans for decades to come, and for various reasons. It is either revered as one of the best, or hated as one of the most cryptic and weird. However, there are few things that cannot be denied by either faction. NGE is infamous for its complex story, unanswered questions, and most of all the cult following that came afterwards. With all that said, I believe that Evangelion 2.0: You Can (Not) Advance will not only create a whole new following, but it will awaken fans of the original series and remind them why EVA was so dear to them.

Upon watching the first Rebuild of Evangelion 1.0: You Are (Not) Alone, I was not disappointed in any way, in fact I was quite pleased with some of the remade scenes. I also felt a bit nostalgic with the scenes that were just as I remembered. Going into Eva 2.0, I was expecting the same nostalgic feeling, but then just as fast as that thought came into my mind it was gone and replaced with surprise and shock. This was not the EVA that I remember, this was something else. From the very first moment, I was breathless while trying to comprehend what I was witnessing. A new and true Evangelion rebuild.

From the very first scenes all the way to the last second, everything was redone. With the exception of a couple of events, it is a whole new experience. The art style has been retouched while still keeping the original character style, which I found rather refreshing. The battle scenes have been revamped with the wonders of CG, again while still keeping the same style as the original. The audio effects were brilliant and added impact to every movement and explosion, although not all the original music was used, there were still a few memorable tunes that brought a smile to my face.

Even the characters personalities have been remade to an extent. Shinji is more open about some of his feelings and is not as introverted as in the original NGE. Asuka, while still being the same for the most part, begins to realize things that she probably would not have even thought of much less admit. Rei actually has a real personality this time around and seems a bit easier to approach. Misato, Ritsuko, Kaji, Gendou, all of them have had changes to their characters but nothing as drastic as the main characters.

The story itself also seems to be getting a rebuild, and from how rapid events seem to progress compared to the series, it may even go in a brand new direction. Things may not be explained as into detail as it was in the series, but most people will be able to figure out the basics. It is still as cryptic as ever, maybe even more so because of the time constraints for each film. However, I’m still pleased with the new events, new angels, new EVA units, new EVA pilots, and the memorable brutal events from the original that are just as intense and heartbreaking as ever with a few twists.

Bottom line, if you are new to the EVA universe then prepare for the unexpected. This is not your typical mecha anime, nor do I even want to classify it as such. For those of you like me, this film will bring tears of joy to your eyes, you will be begging for more and hoping for it to never end. Who needs the live action motion pictures that ADV is trying to get started, when you can have an epic retelling from the creator himself? Enter the (new) world of Evangelion!

Story: A-

Visuals: A+

Characters: A

Audio: B+

Crazyness: WTF+

Score: 9.5/10

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This is Katanaless’ first anime review here at Anime Sage so let him know how he did with some comments.

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Rainbow: Nisha Rokubou no Shichinin

This newcomer comes to teach us what storytelling is about, incredible visuals and smooth narrative. It dates us in the 1950′s in Japan 10 years after the Hiroshima attack, showing us how the Japanese people had to go through really hard times, the story is about six young men who get into a hellhole correctional (Mario, Cabbage, Turtle, Baremoto, Soldier and Joe) get thrown in the same cell and that’s when they meet Sakuragi an older inmate who immediately beats them to the ground right after that the prision warden Ishigara comes into the cell just to beat Sakuragi to a near death then they all share a smuggled cigarette, Sakuragi and the others become really close after this forming a strong brotherhood then they go out to do public service and they all carve their names on a tree promising to meet under that tree 1 year after they do their time in the cell 6 their new home, the plot begins when Ishihara and Dr Sasaki the correctional director acknowledge that  Sakuragi is the only one who knows their darkest secret, knowing this Sasaki and Ishihara must not let Sakuragi be released at all costs but the unity between Sakuragi and the guys is stronger than anything and they are determined to save Sakuragi from his deadly future.

Brutal tortures, countless beatings and sexual abuse is what awaits for our 7 protagonists in their stay in the hellhole. So if you like, amazing animation, good character design, breath taking storytelling and gory action you might want to take look at this anime on this spring season.

Hope you enjoy it…

P.S: One thing i didn’t like about it is the opening theme, don’t get me wrong i love metal but they could have chosen something more metal than this emo s**t.

Shinji’s score:8.5 out of 10

Your score:

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How is Tamashi’s Review in your opinion leave a comment telling him what you think.

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Anime Sage Looking for Staff

Alrighty folks this is the official announcement stating that we here at Anime Sage are looking for some people willing to join our staff. The positions as of right now are unpaid positions  but that may change in the future once the site gets some traffic. You might ask what the benefits of helping out Anime Sage; I shall answer that question once we get to a decent number of news posts, reviews, and convention reports. Here are the positions that we here at anime sage  are currently looking for:

  • Anime Reviewers
  • Manga Reviewers
  • News posters
  • Information Gatherers
  • Convention Reviewers ( basically someone who goes to conventions and talks about all the panels and stuff)
  • Interviewers
  • People who know how to work wordpress
  • People who can use photoshop with a reasonable ability
  • Chat mods ( not currently but in the near future probably)
  • People who are good at making a forum look badass and professional
  • Random Article Writers

If you are interested in applying for any of those positions please reply to this post with your contact email so that we here at anime sage could talk to you about that position. Also if you have any other skills that you think we could use let us know but you must tell us why that skill would be helpful.

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To Aru Majutsu no Index Season 2 Greenlit

I know this news is a bit late almost a whole week late to be honest but even late news is news especially when the news is something awesome like this.

The July issue of Square Enix’s Monthly Shonen Gangan is announcing that production on To aru majutsu no index’s second season has been greenlit. The picture that was provided pretty much confirms that Touma, Misaka, and Index will be returning for the second season even though that was already obvious to many of the readers of the light novels. Also in the same page as the announcement of the second season of index a separate announcement for a to aru majutsu no index psp game was included. The game will be coming out this winter in japan so everyone get ready for the surge of index mania.

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Anime News June 4th

Alright time for some random anime news

    Bibliotheca Mystica de Dantalian Novel gets an Anime

More info will be provided by the publisher on June 30 in the sneaker magazine.
Bibliotheca Mystica de Dantalian is about a young man named Huey who inherited a musty old estate, as well the entire book collection contained within, from his grandfather. Huey meets Dalian, a girl in a black dress who is quietly reading in the basement piled high with books. Dalian controls the gateway to the Bibliotheca Mystica de Dantalian, the forbidden books of demonic wisdom.
Bibliotheca Mystica de Dantalian was written by Gakuto MIKUMO is also the same person who wrote the Asura Cryin’ Light Novel Series.

    Mardock Scramble Movies in the works

The Anime studio known as GoHands will be making a trilogy of Movies based off of Tow Ubukata’s Science Fiction novel series. The first movie will launch this fall and it will be called Mardock Scramble: The First Compression. Susumu Kudo will be directing the movies, Kudo also directed Kimi ga Aruji de Shitsuji ga Ore de, and Mirage of Blaze. Ubukata also created the following anime and manga projects Soukyuu no Fafner: Dead Aggressor, Le Chevalier D’Eon, Heroic Age, and Pilgrim Jäger.

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