Anime Zen Blog

Conqueror of Shambala picks up honors at Amazon.com and Newsrama

Anime Boston has announced that it will hold a black-tie, invitational ball, the “Cherry Blossom Ball” at the April Convention. Source: AnimeCons.com

Viz Media has announced that it is moving it’s European office from Amsterdam, to Paris and promoting John Easum to president/gérant (manager) of Viz Media Europe , S.A.R.L (VME), a new European subsidiary that will officially open on January 15. Easum was previously vice president of licensing & sales at ShoPro USA and the Executive Vice President of Viz Media.

iaTV has announced that, starting on December 30, they will run an anime block every Tuesday night. The two hour block, titled “Anime EnerG,” will feature shows from Geneon, starting with Elemental Gelade, Kyo Kara Maoh!, Law of Ueki and Gankutsuo.

As mentioned in ANN’S interview with Mike Bailiff, ADV Films has acquired the second season of the Oh! My Goddess TV series (season one was released by Media Blasters). No details regarding the cast or the release are available yet.

Yoyogi Animation Gakuin, the largest animation institute in Japan, has applied for corporate rehabilitation under Japan’s Civil Rehabilitation Law. The law, enacted in 2000, allows a company facing financial difficulty to restructure under the protection of a court, similar to Chapter 11 bankruptcy in America. The company reportedly owes more than 2 billion yen in debt.

Anime Expo is now accepting registrations for its 2007 convention (June 29-July 2 in Long Beach). Pre-registration is $45 (25% off the door price) through the end of the year

Starting with the current issue of Protoculture Addicts, the magazine is now distributed to bookstores in the United States by Disticor and to specialty shops by AAAAnime (in addition to all previous forms of distribution). At this time we do not know what stores are stocking the magazine; if you see it in a location that didn’t previously carry it, please let us know

Geneon has launched their official website for Paradise Kiss. The website includes a streaming trailer, various downloads, DVD release info, etc…

JASRAC, the Japanese Society for the Rights of Authors, Composers and Publishers, has sent YouTube founders Chad Hurley and Steve Chen a letter, on behalf of 23 Japanese TV stations and entertainment companies, requesting that YouTube improve its anti-piracy measures.

Following an earlier complaint from JASRAC, YouTube removed close to 30,000 files from its website. However in the new letter, JASRAC states that the problem persists regardless of the previous deletions, and that a new system must be put in place to prevent the upload of pirated materials. JASRAC requested that YouTube implement a process to screen uploads for pirated material, require users to register (and delete their accounts if they upload pirated material) and place warnings, in Japanese, about illegal uploads.