Anime Zen Blog

As announced in a press release through MarketWire, all Bandai Visual USA titles released after March 1 will now be distributed by Geneon Entertainment USA. The first titles covered by this two-year agreement are Gunbuster 2, Demon Prince Enma, The Wings of Rean, Freedom, and Galaxy Angel Rune. Neither Freedom nor Galaxy Angel Rune had previously been mentioned as Bandai Visual licenses. Specific launch dates for these, as well as further Bandai Visual series will be announced shortly.

Previously, Bandai Visual’s distribution was handled by Image Entertainment.

Source: MarketWire

Geneon Entertainment will release When They Cry - Higurashi on June 5; there will be a regular edition and a limited edition with box release. The 26-episode series was originally known as Higurashi no Naku Koro ni when it was released in Japan, however the creators have always referred to it as “When they Cry” in English. Higurashi no Naku Koro ni 2 is set to be released in Japan this April.

Central Park Media is continuing to work through its back catalog and announce release dates for many of its older titles. Fencer of Minerva and Sins of the Sisters, both which had previously been released for $19.95, will be available starting May 22 for $9.95.

The first trailer for Appleseed 2, the Shinji Aramaki-directed and John Woo-produced sequel to the 2004 theatrical feature, has been released as a bonus with the Appleseed EX game for the PS2. Several screenshots from the trailer have been uploaded to Shirowledge.com and can be seen here

Source: TwitchFilm.net

Four anime features (and one live-action adaptation of a manga) were among the top 10 in the Japanese Motion Picture’s Society’s list of the top grossing Japanese-language films released in 2006. Studio Ghibli’s Tales From Earthsea was the number one Japanese-language motion picture, fourth in the overall Japanese box office ranking.

According to figures released by the Japanese Motion Picture Society, Tales From Earthsea was the most popular Japanese film of 2006, with a box-office gross of 7.65 billion yen (~US$65 million).

Other anime that reached the top ten were Detective Conan: The Private Eyes’ Requiem (at number 10: 3.03 billion yen/$26 million), Doraemon: Nobita’s Dinosaur (3.28 billion yen/US$28 million, at number , and Pokemon Ranger and the Temple of the Sea (3.40 billion/US$29 million, number 7). The second live-action Death Note movie placed fifth, at 5.20 billion yen/US$44 million.

Although it led the Japanese films, Tales From Earthsea was not the top grossing movie at the Japanese box office. Overall, Earthsea was 2006’s fourth most popular film, behind three foreign movies; Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, and The Da Vinci Code.

For comparison, in 2005, the top-ranking movie overall was Howl’s Moving Castle, at 19.6 billion yen. The next film on the list, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, grossed 11.5 billion (US$98 million). And, although Howl’s Moving Castle was released in November of 2004, it also took the number one spot in 2004, with 20 billion yen (US$170 million)

Source: Japanese Motion Picture Society