~ Animes United! ~

2009-08-26T20:55:00.007+09:00

Sweet Bitter Beauty Song

Sakurakou K-ON Bu

Life's a very Sweet and Bitter Beauty Song
nee kimi nara nani o utau?

Go Ahead or Back... Right or Left
shunkan shunkan sentaku no renzoku
suzushii kao shitetatte igai ni iya, kanari MASHI da shi
Life's a very Sweet and Bitter Beauty Song

inu mitai ni shippo futte kigentori shitari
zuuzuushiku ikirenai donna ni son da to iwarete mo

binkan ga yakkai Teenager kodou ga sugu DOKIDOKI
abarete komaru kedo

onaji SUTEEJI no ue ni iru jan
tte sore dake de nanka yuuki waku ne
teion datte kouon datte
tokui na koe de minna iitai koto Singing So Loud

Choose Friend or Love... Light or Deep
junjou aijou konton de monzetsu
tanoshii kao shitetatte sono ura de kizutsuitetari
Life's a very Sweet and Bitter Beauty Song

neko mitai ni tsume o tatete jibun mamoru you ni
kiyou ni arukenai nando koronde haji kaite mo

sensai ga senbai Teenager komaku ga fui ni FURUFURU
furuete sawagu kedo

onaji NANBAA de naitara ii jan
juunintoiro wa shouchi no ue de
teion datte kouon datte
yakedo shitara minna itai n da shi Shouting So Loud

onaji SUTEEJI no ue ni iru jan
tte sore dake de nanka yuuki waku ne
teion datte kouon datte
tokui na koe de minna iitai koto Singing So Loud
onaji NANBAA de waraeba ii jan
juunintoiro wa shouchi no ue de
teizoku datte kouketsu datte
hontou no kimochi dake dakishimete Shouting So Loud

Life's a very Sweet and Bitter Beauty Song
Life's a very Sweet and Bitter Beauty Song
Life's a very Sweet and Bitter Beauty Song
nee kimi nara nani o utau?

K-On! Music is their PASSION!

2009-08-23T19:13:00.009+09:00

K-ON! is an ongoing Japanese four-panel comic strip manga about four female teenagers who after starting high school come together to join their school’s light music or popular music club in order to save it from being abolished due to the lack of members. The four girls are Yui – an easily distracted bundle of energy who plays lead guitar, Mio – the very cute but shy lefthander who plays bass guitar, Ritsu – the club president with energy levels rivaling Yui’s who plays the Drums and Tsumugi – a dumb but filthy rich blonde that cooks very well and plays the keyboard.

K-ON! is an average series that is not worth your time if you are not interested int his type of anime or have better things to watch. I did like the animation, overall production values and the opening and closing themes but I can’t help but say this series underperformed. Hopefully things will get better in a future season, I am already imagining what will happen when the girls discover something called “boys”.

source: http://www.jamaipanese.com/k-on-anime-review/

THE BAND FORMATION HAPPENS...

It's Yui Hirasawa's first year in high school, and she's eagerly searching for a club to join. At the same time, Ritsu Tainaka, a drummer, and her friend Mio Akiyama, a bass player, are desperately trying to save the school's light music club, which is about to be disbanded due to lack of members. They manage to recruit Tsumugi Kotobuki to play the keyboard, meaning they only need one more member to get the club running again. Yui joins, thinking it will be an easy experience for her to play the castanets, the only instrument she knows. However, the other members think their new addition is actually a guitar prodigy...

Fujiko F Fujio : Doraemon's Best Friend.

2009-08-22T19:40:00.003+09:00

Fujiko F Fujio is one half of one of the most prolific comic writing team of Fujiko Fujio whose volume of works are probably only rivaled by the famous American comic writing team of (Stan) Lee, and (Jack) Kirby. Birth name Fujimoto Hiroshi, he met his future comic drawing partner Abiko Motoo when he was in fifth grade at an elementary school in his native Toyama. He was impressed by the intelligence and thorough nature of Abiko's story writing style even at that age, and started to draw comic together (although only as a hobby at the time) which continued for over the next 40 years.

In 1952 they made their comic debut with a comic titled "Tenshi no Tamachan" and two years later they moved to Tokyo to pursue their professional career. They were mentored briefly by the late Osamu Tezuka (of Astro Boy and Kimba the White Lion fame) after coming to Tokyo like so many young comic artist of the time. Later they recalled seeing a stack of papers few feet high at Tezuka's house which were rejects of his comic pages. Tezuka's standards was so high that even under close inspection they couldn't tell what was wrong with the material. They helped Tezuka pen the last pages of Kimba the White Lion during that period.

In 1956 they formed Shin Manga-To with Fujio Akatsuka, and Ishinomori Shotaro (of Kamen Rider, Kikaida, and Cyborg 009 fame). They were a close knit group of comic writer friends back then who had similar backgrounds of leaving their birth place and coming to Tokyo to start their careers. In the late '50s and early '60s Abiko with Fujimoto mostly penned action adventure comics oriented towards pre-teen boys such as the "Big One", "Silver Cross", and "Umi no Ooji". In 1964 they co-authored "Obake no Q-taro" which later became an animated cartoon series which saw wide spread syndication all over the world including North America, and Hong Kong. They continued their prolific career in the '60s and the '70s by penning other cartoons which saw animated syndication such as Paa Man, Kaibutsu-Kun, and Doraemon. One of their works, Ninja Hattori-kun, became a TV series acted by real live actors.

Later in the '70s Fujiko started writing comics for adults, often depicting the surreal side of society as fiction which included the return of Obake no Q-Taro to the family of now grown up ex-friend Sho-chan. Q-Taro in this episode finds that reality of society robbed the youthful dreams of his ex-friends and returns to his spiritual world disappointed. They also penned a semi-autobiographical comic of their life and career at that time with Fujimoto being depicted as somewhat naive main character.

In 1987 Fujimoto dissolved the partnership with Abiko, and for the first time in over 40 years, they decided to pursue their own careers with Fujimoto taking the pen name Fujiko F Fujio, and Abiko taking the pen name Fujiko Fujio (A). Fujimoto passed away in 1996 when he succumbed to liver failure.

"Doraemon : The Wonder Cat!"

2009-06-08T16:06:00.004+09:00

"Doraemon : The Wonder Cat!"

Doraemon (ドラえもん) is a Japanese manga series created by Fujiko F. Fujio (the pen name of Hiroshi Fujimoto) which later became an anime series and Asian franchise. The series is about a robotic cat named Doraemon, who travels back in time from the 22nd century to aid a schoolboy, Nobita Nobi (野比のび太).

The series first appeared in December 1969, when it was published simultaneously in six different magazines. In total, 1,344 stories were created in the original series, which are published by Shogakukan under the Tentōmushi (てんとう虫) manga brand, extending to forty-five volumes. The volumes are collected in the Takaoka Central Library in Toyama, Japan. Fujio was born in Toyama.

A majority of Doraemon episodes are comedies with moral lessons regarding values such as integrity, perseverance, courage, family and respect for elders. Several noteworthy environmental issues are often visited, including homeless animals, endangered species, deforestation, and pollution. Topics such as dinosaurs, the flat earth theory, wormhole traveling, Gulliver's Travels, and the history of Japan are often covered.

Doraemon was awarded the first Shogakukan Manga Award for children's manga in 1982, and the first Osamu Tezuka Culture Award in 1997. In March 2008, Japan's Foreign Ministry appointed Doraemon as the nation's first "anime ambassador." Ministry spokesman explained the novel decision as an attempt to help people in other countries to understand Japanese anime better and to deepen their interest in Japanese culture." The Foreign Ministry action confirms that Doraemon has come to be considered a Japanese cultural icon. In 2002, the anime character was acclaimed as an Asian Hero in a special feature survey conducted by Time Asia magazine.

"The Story Begins Here..."

Nobi Nobita is a 4th-grade boy in Tokyo. One day, a round, blue cat-style robot (minus ears) pops up in his desk drawer. Nobita's great-great-grandson (or something) lives in the 22nd Century, but thanks to Nobita's mistakes, the entire family is living in poverty. To rectify this, Nobita's descendent is sent Doraemon back to the past, to help prevent Nobita from making mistakes. Of course this is a difficult task since Nobita is the weakest and least intelligent child in his class. Doraemon does, however, have a 4-dimensional pocket on his front, which contains cool gadgets from the future. With these toys, Doraemon will try to help Nobita. Unfortunately, Nobita also has the bad habit of misusing Doraemon's gadgets and landing himself in yet more trouble?

source: myanimelist.net and wikipedia.org (article), google image search (pictures).

"Takehiko Inoue : Dr. T"

2009-06-08T15:47:00.004+09:00

"Takehiko Inoue : Dr. T"

Takehiko Inoue is the artist of Slam Dunk. He draws himself as a SD character called Dr. T who appears throughout the series introducing new technical terms in Basketball. You can usually see Dr. T's appearance from the official games Shohoku engages in.

Other than the extraordinarily popular Slam Dunk, Inoue also has another manga based on basketball named Buzzer Beater. Buzzer Beater is a story based on a very different setting than Slam Dunk and focus on the universe's greatest basketball team.

Takehiko Inoue (井上雄彦, Inoue Takehiko, born 1967-01-12 in Okuchi, Kagoshima) is a Japanese manga artist, best known for the basketball manga Slam Dunk, which has become a success both in Japan and overseas. Many of his works are about basketball, Inoue himself being a huge fan of the sport, and many Japanese children started to play basketball because they read the manga. This in turn helped make basketball popular in Japan and across East Asia.

Inoue has been drawing manga mainly in male-oriented magazines. Inoue's name is ordered as Takehiko Inoue on his books sold in North America through Viz Media (Vagabond, Slam Dunk, and Real), although Gutsoon! Entertainment's earlier Slam Dunk translations in North America used Inoue Takehiko.

source: animeslamdunk.com and wikipedia.org (article), yahoo and google image search (pictures).

"Slam Dunk: The Court's On Fire!"

2009-06-08T14:57:00.005+09:00

"Slam Dunk: The Court's On Fire!"

Slam Dunk (スラムダンク) is a sports-themed manga series written by Takehiko Inoue about a basketball team from Shōhoku High School. It was first serialized in Shueisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump in Japan from 1990 to 1996. Inoue later used basketball as a central theme in two subsequent manga titles: Buzzer Beater and Real.

"Start of the First Half..."

A famous gangster named Sakuragi Hanamichi entered Shohoku high school along with he's four pals. Together they are notoriously known as the Five-member Sakuragi gang! After getting dumped by fifty girls in junior high, Sakuragi is heart broken, it seems he has fallen deep into some sort of love-depression. Then a cute girl approached the red haired tall gangster and asked in a sweet voice :" Do you play basketball?"

Sakuragi is now known as "sportsman Sakuragi"! The cute girl named Haruko who introduced him to basketball taught him the meaning of "Slam Dunk". By calling himself TENSAI, Sakuragi is determined to learn more about basketball then using basketball as the key to enter Haruko's heart. Then something bad happened that shattered Sakuragi's nice and wonderful dream to billions of tiny pieces. -- Rukawa Kaede entered the scene.

After getting yelled at by Haruko, Sakuragi has now slamed back into he's love-depression. Then, he met up with the captain of the basketball team. Ironically, the gorilla like captain is Haruko's brother! Unfortunately, Sakuragi learned of the truly a step too late.

Sakuragi cleans the gym and makes every effort possible to act all nice and kind before Akagi. Finally, Akagi permits the TENSAI to enter the basketball team. Sakuragi trains very hard in the team. Even though he's only doing basic practices, he's being extra patient, strongly believes one day, he's tensai skill will be known to the world!

source: animeslamdunk.com and Wikipedia.org (article), google image search (pictures).

"Yoshihiro Togashi: Hunter X Hunter Creator..."

2009-06-08T11:52:00.007+09:00

"Yoshihiro Togashi: Hunter X Hunter Creator..."

Yoshihiro Togashi (冨樫義博), born April 27, 1966 in Yamagata Prefecture, Japan; he is a Japanese manga artist. He is most notable for having created YuYu Hakusho, for which he received the Shogakukan Manga Award in 1994, and Hunter × Hunter. According to Shonen Jump, Togashi received the Tezuka Award, the most influential new comic artist award in Japan.

Togashi is married to Naoko Takeuchi, the creator of Sailor Moon (he mentioned their marriage in volume 5 of Hunter x Hunter).

From February 2006 to October 2007 Togashi had been on "sick leave" from his current manga Hunter × Hunter. Hunter x Hunter made its return on October 6, 2007, then quickly went back on hiatus on December 5, 2007. It returned from hiatus on March 3, 2008, only to return to hiatus again on May 8, 2008. After another long break, it was officially announced in Weekly Shonen Jump recently that the series will once again make its return on October 5, 2008, eventually going on hiatus once more December 3, 2008. It is currently unknown when this hiatus will end.

source: wikipedia.org (article), google image search (pictures).

"Hunter X Hunter : The Fight Begins"

2009-06-08T11:40:00.003+09:00

"Hunter X Hunter : The Fight Begins"

Hunter × Hunter (ハンター×ハンター), pronounced "Hunter Hunter", is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Yoshihiro Togashi with an anime adaptation. The first chapter of the Hunter × Hunter manga series was published in March 1998, in Weekly Shōnen Jump.

The story of Hunter × Hunter focuses on a young boy named Gon Freecss, who one day discovers that the father he had always been told was dead was alive and well. He learns that his father, Ging Freecss, is a legendary Hunter. Despite the fact that his father abandoned Gon with his relatives in order to pursue his dreams, Gon becomes determined to follow in his father's footsteps, pass the Hunter Examination, and eventually find his father to prove himself as a Hunter in his own right.

The manga series was adapted into an anime produced by Nippon Animation, along three OVAs as well. It premiered on the Japanese terrestrial television network Fuji TV and the satellite television station Animax on October 6, 1999.

On April 27, 2009, the series made its North American television debut on the FUNimation Channel.

"The Story..."

Gon was just a boy who lived in a world where one of the most dangerous professions is a hunter. Many people aspire to be hunters but few are able to prevail over the numerous trials and ultimately succeed. During a chance encounter with a mysterious man Gon discovered that his father is one of the most exemplary hunters, with his fame and reputation spreading far and wide. Unfortunately, his father had abandoned him at an early age and his whereabouts remain unknown. The only clue he left behind is a picture and stories about his exploits. Thus begins Gon's quest to become a Hunter and ultimately, find his father. Along the perilous road he meets Leorio, a slacker with an inclination to medicine, Curapika, who is myterious and aloof, and a young boy of about his age, Killua, a member of an elite assassin family. Together, thay embark to face challenges to realize their shared dream of being a Hunter. What dangers lie ahead in this dangerous and cruel reality in which secrets are protected with lives, and dreams are the pathway to peril?

source: Wikipedia.org and Minitokyo.net (article), Google Image Search (pictures).

"Satoshi Tajiri : The Real Pokemon Master"

2009-06-08T11:26:00.003+09:00

"Satoshi Tajiri : The Real Pokemon Master"

Satoshi Tajiri (田尻智) born on August 28, 1965 is a Japanese video game designer best known as the creator of Pokémon.

As a young boy, Satoshi lived in Machida, a suburb of Tokyo and loved to collect bugs. In the late 1970s, the forests and fields that Satoshi loved as a child were paved over by apartments and parking lots. This saddened Tajiri, as modern children would not be able to go bug-catching as he did.

Satoshi did not like school. His father wanted him to be an electrical utility repairman, but this is not what he wanted. His ideas for Pokémon grew, as he wanted to give modern children the chance to hunt for creatures as he did. Satoshi got into games when he was at technical school, spending all his time in arcades.

In 1982, Satoshi and his friends James Hanzatko and Yuusuke Santamaria formed a game magazine, called "Game Freak." One of his Game Freak friends was Ken Sugimori, who would go on to draw all of the concept art for Pokémon. In the early 1980s, he won a contest sponsored by Sega involving making a video game. He later had his first video game, Quinty, published by Namco for the Nintendo Famicom, released outside of Japan as Mendel Palace. In 1991, Satoshi discovered the Game Boy. When he first saw Link Cables, he imagined insects creeping along them, and the Pokémon game franchise was born. The game was given some initial funding and concept work from another game design studio, Creatures Inc. Tajiri named his development company "Game Freak" after his early magazine. He also made Pulseman for the Sega Mega Drive.

Tajiri went to work for Nintendo and spent the next six years working on Pokémon. He later became friends with Shigeru Miyamoto, the creator of Mario, Donkey Kong, The Legend of Zelda, Star Fox and Pikmin, who also became a mentor to Tajiri. As a tribute to Tajiri and Miyamoto, Ash Ketchum (the anime counterpart of "Red" in the games) is named Satoshi and Gary Oak (the anime counterpart of "Blue" in the English games, and "Green" in the original Japanese version) is named Shigeru in the Japanese version of Pokémon.

Most recently, Tajiri (along with Nintendo president Satoru Iwata) served as an executive producer for the Game Boy Advance game ScrewBreaker (スクリューブレイカー轟振どりるれろ, SukuryūBureikā Gōshin Dorirurero), released outside of Japan as Drill Dozer. He has been described by Nintendo officials as exceedingly creative but "reclusive" and "eccentric."

source: Wikipedia.org (article) , Google Image Search (Pictures).

"Pokemon : I wanna Catch them all!"

2009-06-07T19:45:00.004+09:00

"Pokemon : I wanna Catch them all!"

Pokémon (ポケモン) is a media franchise published by the video game company Nintendo and created by Satoshi Tajiri around 1995. Originally released as a pair of interlinkable Game Boy role-playing video games, Pokémon has since become the second most successful and lucrative video game-based media franchise in the world, behind only Nintendo's own Mario series. Pokémon properties have since been merchandised into anime, manga, trading cards, toys, books, and other media. The franchise celebrated its tenth anniversary on February 27, 2005, and as of 23 April 2008 (2008 -04-23), cumulative sales of the video games (including home console versions, such as the "Pikachu" Nintendo 64) have reached more than 186 million copies.

The name Pokémon is the romanized contraction of the Japanese brand, "Pocket Monsters" (ポケットモンスター),[as such contractions are very common in Japan. The term "Pokémon", in addition to referring to the Pokémon franchise itself, also collectively refers to the 493 fictional species that have made appearances in Pokémon media as of the recent release of the newest Pokémon role-playing game (RPG) for the Nintendo DS, Pokémon Platinum. Like the words deer and sheep, the word "Pokémon" is identical in both the singular and plural, as is each individual species name; in short, it is grammatically correct to say both "one Pokémon" and "many Pokémon". In November 2005, 4Kids Entertainment, which had managed the non-game related licensing of Pokémon, announced that it had agreed not to renew the Pokémon representation agreement. Pokémon USA Inc., a subsidiary of Japan's Pokémon Co., now oversees all Pokémon licensing outside of Asia.

"Here starts the great adventure..."

In a world much like our own, there exists over 450 creatures of all shapes, sizes, colors, and personalities, called pocket monsters("pokemon" for short.) Some pokemon are Fire types, some are Water types, some are Grass types, and so on. Some live on land, some in the water, and some live underground. But all pokemon are equipped with special attacks that pertain to whatever type of element they are. Certain people, called pokemon trainers, use pokemon for battles. When drawn into the capture device called a pokeball, pokemon become easily portable. The goal of a pokemon trainer is to have their pokemon battle against other pokemon in order for their pokemon to get stronger.

If a pokemon gets enough battle experience, it could evolve into another, more powerful creature. In order to be a good pokemon trainer, you must capture a lot of pokemon, train some of them to be really strong in pokemon battles, and most importantly, you must get your pokemon to love you and trust you, or else they won't obey you! The Pokemon anime follows the adventures of Ash Ketchum, a pokemon trainer from Pallet Town, who travels the different regions of the pokemon world with his friends, meeting all kinds of people and pokemon, stopping Team Rocket from stealing and controlling rare pokemon, battling against other trainers and gym leaders, and all the while, Ash tries to fulfill his dream of becoming a Pokemon Master and befriend all the pokemon he can.

source: Wikipedia.org and www.animeyume.com/pokemon/pksynopsis.html (Article) and Google Image Search (Pictures).

"Hiromu Arakawa : The Alchemist (Creator)"

2009-06-07T19:36:00.005+09:00

"Hiromu Arakawa : The Alchemist (Creator)"

Hiromu was born on May 8th, 1973 in Hokkaido (Japan) with an A blood type. She has stated she was risen at a farm in the country, which probably inspired her cow avatar as well as her "equivalent exchange" theory for her manga Fullmetal Alchemist.Her first work was a one-shot called STRAY DOG, which won the first prize in the 21st Century "Shounen Gangan" 9th Awards. In August 1999, this same work debuted in Gangan.
Her next works were Totsugeki Tonari no Enikkusu and Shanghai Youma Kikai (The Shanghai ghost mistery), both of them one-shots and published in Gangan during the year 2000.

Then, in 2001 (in the August issue of Gangan), the first chapter of Hagane no Renkinjutsushi (Fullmetal Alchemist) was published, becoming her first serialised manga and her greatest hit to date. In 2004, Arakawa-sensei received an award in the Shogakukan Manga Awards (Shounen Section) for it.

Fullmetal Alchemist is still being published, 4 years and 50 chapters after its first appearance, in Monthly Shounen Gangan. It's been compiled in 11 tankoubons (plus some side-stories published in other books, such as Perfect Guides or DX). From 2003 to 2004, the series was loosely adapted into a 51 episodes anime by Studio BONES. On the 23rd July 2005, a movie version titled Hagane no Renkinjutsushi: Shamballa wo Yukumono (Fullmetal Alchemist: The Conqueror of Shamballa) premiered at Japanese theaters, following up the anime storyline (which differs greatly from the manga).

In 2005, in the August edition of Monthly Sunday GX (the latest CLAMP work, Kobato, is published here), she released another one-shot titled RAIDEN-18 as a colaboration for this magazine's 5th anniversary.

source: http://www.roy-mustang.net/arakawa/about_arakawa.html (article).

"Full Metal Alchemist : The Philosopher's Stone? Hehe."

2009-06-07T19:20:00.003+09:00

"Full Metal Alchemist : The Philosopher's Stone? Hehe."

Fullmetal Alchemist (鋼の錬金術師), is an ongoing Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Hiromu Arakawa. The world of Fullmetal Alchemist is styled after European Industrial Revolution. Set in a fictional universe in which alchemy is one of the most advanced scientific techniques known to man, the story follows the brothers Edward and Alphonse Elric, who want to restore their bodies after a disastrous failed attempt to bring their mother back to life through alchemy.

The manga is serialized in Square Enix's Monthly Shōnen Gangan magazine (starting January 2001) and currently has 22 tankōbon volumes. It was adapted into an animated television series of 51 episodes by Bones from October 4, 2003 to October 2, 2004, later followed by a film sequel that concluded the story of the anime. Fullmetal Alchemist would later spawn a second series called Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, which first premiered in Japan on April 5, 2009. A multitude of spin-off novels, original video animations (OVAs), drama CDs, soundtracks, and video games have been adapted from the series. A collectible card game, multiple supplementary books, and a variety of action figures and other merchandise based on the characters of the series have also been released.

"Here Is the Spell..."

The rules of alchemy state that to gain something, one must lose something of equal value. Alchemy is the process of taking apart and reconstructing an object into a different entity, with the rules of alchemy to govern this procedure. However, there exists an object that can bring any alchemist above these rules, the object known as the Philosopher's Stone. The young Edward Elric is a particularly talented alchemist who through an accident years back lost his younger brother Alphonse and one of his legs. Sacrificing one of his arms as well, he used alchemy to bind his brother's soul to a suit of armor. This lead to the beginning of their journey to restore their bodies, in search for the legendary Philosopher's Stone.

source: Wikipedia.org and Myanimelist.net (article), google image search (pictures).

"Nobuhiro Watsuki : The Samurai Legend (Creator)..."

2009-06-07T18:55:00.006+09:00

"Nobuhiro Watsuki : The Samurai Legend (Creator)..."

Watsuki-sensei is best known for Rurouni Kenshin, all four OAVs, the movies, the manga, and the TV series. His other works include the Buso Renkin manga doing the story and artwork, and the Yahiko no Sakabato manga doing story and artwork in that as well. In Tokyo, Japan, on May 26, in the year 1970, a Watsuki-sensei was born. He was a child who practiced Kendo, but never progressed.

Although, when in high school, he won the "Pop Step" award for his manga "Podmark." The inspiration for his passion for drawing manga came from his older brother, Osamu Tezuka (the godfather of anime and Atom Boy), and other artists as well. Nobuhiro Watsuki has collaborated with Takeshi Obata ( The mangaka for Hikaru No Go!). Just the same, he's had his share of having his own assistants, such as Eiichiro Oda (mangaka for One Piece) and Hiroyuki Takei (mangaka for Shaman King). He assisted in the production of Arabian Lamp-Lamp and Chikara Mito Densetsu.

In 1992, Watsuki sent to Shueisha Publications his 31-page start-up chapter for the now super-famous Rurouni Kenshin. This peice was titled Rurouni: The Meiji Swordsman Romantic Story. This is the break that made him famous in Japan, and eventually, world famous.

source: http://fan.koukeisha.net/nw-fanlisting/ (article) , google image search (pictures).

"Rurouni Kenshin: Meiji Swordsman Romantic Story..."

2009-06-07T11:45:00.005+09:00

"Rurouni Kenshin: Meiji Swordsman Romantic Story..."

Rurouni Kenshin: Meiji Swordsman Romantic Story (るろうに剣心明治剣客浪漫譚) also known as Rurouni Kenshin, is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Nobuhiro Watsuki. The fictional setting takes place during the early Meiji period in Japan. The story is about a fictional assassin named Himura Kenshin, from the Bakumatsu who becomes a wanderer to protect the people of Japan. Watsuki wrote this series upon his desire of making a shōnen manga different from the other ones that were published in that time, with Kenshin being a former assassin and the story taking a more serious tone as it continued. Although the tragedy tone was highly expanded as the manga advanced, Watsuki became determinated to give it a happy ending as it is aimed to teenagers.

The manga initially appeared in Shueisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump from September 2, 1994, to November 4, 1999. The complete work consists of 28 tankōbon volumes, while years laters it was reprinted into twenty-two kanzenban volumes. Studio Gallop, Studio Deen and SPE Visual Works adapted the manga into an anime series which aired in Japan from January 10, 1996 to September 8, 1998. Besides an animated film, two series of original video animations (OVAs) were also produced. The first adapted stories from the manga that were not featured in the anime, while the second was also a sequel of the manga. Writer Kaoru Shizuka has authored three official Rurouni Kenshin light novels which were published by Shueisha. Several video games have also been released for the PlayStation and PlayStation 2 consoles.

"A Story of a Swordsman.."

In the eleventh year of the Meiji Era (1878), a vagabond swordsman is found wandering the streets of Tokyo. A strange man, he carries a reverse-bladed sword and has an x-shaped scar on his cheek. He wants only to be left alone.However, a girl named Kamiya Kaoru accuses him of being the man claiming the identity of the legendary Hitokiri Battousai. This man is murdering people in the name of her family's doujo. When he saves her from the real killer, she invites him to come stay at her doujo, since he obviously has no other place to go. This is the beginning of the story of Himura Kenshin.

Before the Meiji Restoration, Himura Kenshin was known as Hitokiri (Murderer) Battousai. He was the top assassin for the reformist group Ishin Shishi. However, when the old government was overthrown and the fighting had drawn to an end, Hitokiri Battousai had disappeared. Kenshin wandered the countryside for nearly eleven years; the world presumed him dead or lost.

When Kenshin meets Kaoru, he is no longer Hitokiri Battousai, for he has sworn never to take another life again. His sword is not a regular sword, but a reverse-bladed sword, meaning that he cannot kill anyone with his sword, but he can defend himself. Kenshin is a man who is trying to escape his past, and create a future for himself. With the help of Kaoru and the others that he meets, he may just have a chance.

source: Wikipedia.org and Ex.org (Article), Google Image Search (Pictures).

"Jin Kobayashi : The Principal of School Rumble..."

2009-06-07T11:22:00.007+09:00

"Jin Kobayashi : The Principal of School Rumble..."

Creator and author of School Rumble. In the anime, he voices the role of Sailor F in Episode 25. He also narrates the prehistoric section of OVA 2. He seems to be interested in keeping a low profile and as such, relatively little is known about him. An interesting point is that Kobayashi-sensei's appearance resembles Harima, a fact that caused some fan speculation on how much of Harima is based off of himself.

Of the few public events he has joined, Kobayashi Jin has been seen at the 6th Comic Exhibition at Taipei and also Kawaii Kon 2006 in Honolulu, Hawaii.

Kobayashi Jin was born on 25th May, 1977. He was either born in Tokyo or Chiba, based on two conflicting accounts.Kobayashi Jin started to draw manga seriously in his college years. In 2001, he won the Weekly Shounen Magazine’s Rookie Award (only open to amateurs), giving him the opportunity to serialise School Rumble in the same magazine in the following year, where he has continued to write for the past 4 years. In 2006, Natsu no Arashi, another manga by him started in GanGan WING.

Favourite Manga: Doraemon

Favourite Idol: Indiana Jones

Favourite Food: Curry

Least Favourite Food: Shrimp

Favorite School Rumble Character: Takano Akira

Hobby: Basketball

Famous Friends: Akamatsu Ken (mangaka - Love Hina/Negima), Arima Keitarou (Tsukuyomi Moonphase).

source: Wannabe Fansubs.info (Article and Picture), Yahoo Image Search (Pictures).

"Let's Get Ready To Rumble with School Rumble!"

2009-06-06T20:33:00.007+09:00

"Let's Get Ready To Rumble with School Rumble!"

School Rumble (スクールランブル) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Jin Kobayashi and serialized in Weekly Shōnen Magazine. The final chapter was released on July 23, 2008, and the 283 chapters were collected in 22 bound volumes by Kodansha. The sequel, School Rumble Z, is published in the monthly Shōnen Magazine Special as well, but the first two chapters (as of late October) have been short, one chapter stories. The series ended in June 2008.

School Rumble has made the transition into other media as well. A 26-episode anime adaptation was broadcast on TV Tokyo between October 2004 and April 2005. In December 2005, a two-part OVA entitled School Rumble: Extra Class was released. Later between April and September 2006 a second season entitled School Rumble - Second Semester was broadcast on TV Tokyo. Finally, another OVA, entitled School Rumble: 3rd Semester was released bundled with volumes 21 and 22 of the Japanese School Rumble manga. Three video games were also produced; Two were released for the PlayStation 2 (PS2) in July 2005 and July 2006 and a PlayStation Portable (PSP) game in 2005. Two light novels written by Hiroko Tokita and illustrated by Jin Kobayashi were published in April 2004 and December 2007 entitled School Rumble: Koi, Shirisomeshi koro ni (スクールランブル～恋、知りそめし頃に～) and School Rumble: Me wa Megalodon no Me (スクールランブル～メはメガロドンのメ～) respectively. In addition, four official guidebooks written and illustrated by Jin Kobayashi for the series has been released: School Rumble: Private File, School Rumble: Official File, School Rumble: Pleasure File and School Rumble: Treasure File.

School Rumble is published in English by Del Rey Manga. Unlike other Del Rey releases, the manga uses the original Japanese naming order (family name followed by the given name) to preserve the puns in the manga. Funimation Entertainment released the first volume and starter box set on August 21, 2007.

"The First day of School..."

Tsukamoto Tenma has long been keeping her love to her schoolmate, Karasumaru, a secret until one day she heard that Karasumaru is going to move within a month. Feeling desperate Tenma tries any possible way to reveal her feelings to Karasumaru, aided by her little sister Yakumo, and fellow classmates.

On the other side, a young delinquent Harima Kenji falls in love to the seemingly innocent Tenma, but all his attempts have been failing at all times. Would Tenma finally realize Kenji's hidden feelings? Would Tenma's burning love reach the cold and flat Karasumaru? School Rumble follows the funny adventures of Tenma and Kenji with their love confession trials, misunderstandings, and laugh-able desperate measures of teen romance.

source: Wikipedia.org and Minitokyo.net (Article)

"Gosho Aoyama : The Number One Detective! (Creator)"

2009-06-06T20:14:00.007+09:00

"Gosho Aoyama : The Number One Detective! (Creator)"

Gosho Aoyama is a mangaka who was born June 21, 1963 in Daiei, Tottori Prefecture, Japan. He is most well known as the creator of the manga series Detective Conan (known in the USA, Canada, and the UK as Case Closed).

Aoyama was a genius at drawing even when he was young. When he was in Grade 1 (in elementary school), his painting of "Yukiai War" won a competition and was displayed at the Tottori Daimaru Department Store. He graduated from high school at Ikuei High School. After finishing high school, he studied to Nihon University College of Art in Tokyo. During his university years (winter 1986), Aoyama joined a comic contest for freshmen and won, which was a stepping-stone for his career as a manga artist (mangaka) and author, as well as a turning point for his life.

Aoyama's maiden work was a manga named Chotto Mattete, which was published in the weekly magazine Shonen Sunday on winter 1987. Shortly after that, Magic Kaito was published on the same magazine.

At the beginning of the 90's, another story done by Aoyama named Yaiba was out. This 24-volume manga won the Shogakukan Manga Award for shōnen in 1993. He won the Shogakukan Manga Award a second time in 2001, for Detective Conan. Other works were released as tankōbon included Third Baseman No.4, Gosho Aoyama's Collection of Short Stories, and Detective Conan.

On May 5, 2005, he married voice actress and singer Minami Takayama, the Japanese voice for Conan of the Detective Conan anime.

source: Conachi Fansite (Article)

"Detective Conan: The Case Will Be Close!"

2009-06-06T17:36:00.005+09:00

"Detective Conan: The Case Will Be Close!"

Case Closed, also known as Meitantei Conan (名探偵コナン, Detective Conan), is a Japanese detective manga series written and illustrated by Gosho Aoyama and is serialized in Weekly Shōnen Sunday since 1994. The name "Case Closed" for the English language release results from concerns of copyright conflict of the name Detective Conan. As of April 2009, sixty-four volumes have been released in Japan. The story follows the adventures of Jimmy Kudo, a prodigious young detective who was inadvertently transformed into a child due to a poison.

Conan Sketch

Case Closed was adapted into an anime series by the animation studio Tokyo Movie Shinsha, directed by Kenji Kodama and Taiichiro Yamamoto, and is broadcast in Japan on Nippon Television, Yomiuri TV and Animax. The series debuted on January 8, 1996 and has since broadcast 536 episodes as of May 30, 2009. The series has seen high levels of popularity in both manga and anime formats in Japan since its reception, and has also been adapted into twelve Golden Week movies, with the first released on April 17, 1997 and since then followed with a movie released each year. Ten of the movies held a top 10 box office position in the year they were screened. In addition, nine Original video animation have been released.

Case Closed Manga Cover

Viz Media licensed the manga series under the name for English-language publication in North America and released twenty-nine volumes as of April 2009. Funimation Entertainment licensed the anime series for North American broadcast. Both the English adaption went under the name Case Closed. The character names were also adapted into English ones with some names different between the two.The series has been well received in Japan. It has even been used as a mascot to promote citizens to follow the law. Meanwhile, the English adaption has not been as equally popular as in Japan, and has been criticized for the name changes. The show is also very popular in Germany, where it is running at the children's programm block "Pokito" with its original Japanese names and dialogue kept.

"The Case is Open..."

Detective Conan is about a 17 year old boy, Kudo Shinichi 「工藤新一」 who was shrunk into a 7 year old boy by given a specific medicine called the APTX-4869 by a criminal organization. Under Professor Hiroshi Agasa's suggestion he decided to hide his identity and start living at his childhood friend's house, Mouri Ran 「毛利蘭」 whose father is a hopeless private detective. While gathering information about the criminal organization which is known as the B.O he gets through and solves many cases, although his body had shrunk, his brain remains the same.

The Kudos...

There are only a few persons who knows his true identity, those are his parents, Kudo Yuusaku 「工藤優作」 and Kudo Yukiko 「工藤雪子」, his detective mate from Osaka, Hattori Heiji 「服部平次」, his classmate who was also shrunk by taking the APTX-4869, Haibara Ai 「灰原哀」, the world's most wanted thief known as Thief 1412, "Kaitou Kid" and later in the series by a member of the black organization, Vermouth a.k.a Sharon/Chris Vineyard.

One of the Black Organization

Everything is now up to him to track down the black organziation and get his body back...

source: Wikipedia.org, Conachi.com (Article) , Google Image Search (Pictures).

"Takashi Hashiguchi : The Real Owner of Pantasia and St. Pierre..."

2009-06-06T17:20:00.006+09:00

Yakitate!! Japan

"Takashi Hashiguchi : The Real Owner of Pantasia and St. Pierre..."

Takashi Hashiguchi (橋口たかし, born June 2, 1967 in Tokyo) is a Japanese manga artist. He is best known for his manga series Yakitate!! Japan for which he won the Shogakukan Manga Award for shōnen in 2004. Hashiguchi won a newcomer's award in 1987 (published in a magazine), and Combat Teacher debuted the following year in the same magazine.

Takashi Hashiguchi self - portrait. (I can't find true pic of him.)

A prevailing theme seen throughout his manga is the realization of childhood dreams, such as making bread in Yakitate!! Japan or becoming a yo-yo master in Super Yo-Yo (Chousoku Spinner). Hashiguchi mainly focuses on unusual occupations or sports.

He enjoys comedy as well, and took a brief interlude from drawing to try his luck as a comedian.

source: Wikipedia.org (Article and Picture of Takashi Hashigushi) and Yahoo Image Search (Picture).

"Yakitate!! Japan! : Let's Bake!"

2009-06-06T16:57:00.005+09:00

"Yakitate!! Japan! : Let's Bake!"

Pantasia South Tokyo Branch Bakers

Yakitate!! Japan (焼きたて!! ジャぱん) is a manga, authored by Takashi Hashiguchi, serialized in Shogakukan's Shōnen Sunday, which has been adapted into a television anime series by Sunrise. The manga has spanned 25 tankōbon volumes, as of January, 2007, while the weekly serialization of the manga has ended as of January 10, 2007. The anime series, broadcast on TV Tokyo and other local stations from October 2004 to March 2006, spanned a total of 69 episodes. The series won the 2004 Shogakukan Manga Award for best shōnen manga. The manga series was later licensed by VIZ Media for North American distribution.

"This is when the Bread was Baked..."

Azuma Kazuma Baking...

Azuma become obsessed with bread when he was six years old. His sister yelled that their family should start having bread for breakfast sometimes, but their grandfather refused to even consider it, as he would only eat natto, miso soup, and rice for breakfast. Kazuma agreed, saying he didn`t like bread, but his sister kidnaps him and takes him to a bread store to show him the wonders of fresh-baked bread. Not only is Kazuma converted, but the owner discovers that Kazuma has the magical "Hands of the Sun" whose warmth makes them particularly suited to making bread.The owner packs up shop and goes to Tokyo to fulfill his dream of making Japan, but Kazuma continues his bread-baking dream as well, and ends up going to Tokyo himself when he`s sixteen, to compete for a spot at the foremost bread store in Japan - Pantasia!

source: Wikipedia.org and MyAnimeList.net (Article), Google Image Search (Pictures).

"Eiichiro Oda : The Real Captain of The Straw Hat Pirates"

2009-06-06T15:17:00.005+09:00

"Eiichiro Oda : The Real Captain of The Straw Hat Pirates"

Eichiro Oda was born on January 1, 1975 in Kumamoto. During the start of his career he immediately started to berecognized. In 1992 he recieved the Jun-Nyuusen award which was given at the 44th Tezuka Awards for the One shot "WANTED". He won the award at the age of 17. His career kicked off with his piece entitled "Kari Kara Mirai No Present" which was featured in Shuisha Jump's October 1993 issue. Later onwards, he recieved the Nyuusen award, (which was the top notch easily put) at the Hop-Step Awards. In 1994, Oda headed to Tokyo and became an assistant to many popular Jump mangaka's such as Shinobu Kaitani, Masaya Tokuhiro, and Nobuhiro Watsuki. But, he also went to college there for a year and sudied architecture. During this training period Oda published two short stories: Monsters in 1994 and the first two versions of Romance Dawn in 1996. These were featured in the Autumn and Summer Special of the now called Akamura Jump. Finally, Oda got his big break as Jump published the second version of Romance Dawn in 1996, Issue #41. And pretty soon One Piece was on it's way.

Oda-San worked for an assistant for Watsuki-Sensei on Rurouni Kenshin. In the Kenshin Kaden artbook, this drawing of his, along with a note for Watsuki was published.His One Piece sign also appeared on a cannon ball that Sanosuke kicks out of a guy in Volume 19, ch 161 of Rurouni Kenshin.

Oda admires Akira Toriyama a LOT! In the One Piece COLORWALK they had a talk with Oda and Toriyama. In 2003, Shonen Jump licensed One Piece. in Issue #3 of the SJ issue they had an interview with Oda san. The interview had some nice questions, a brief Bio, and some cool images of Oda’s workplace!

source: GumGum.org (Article), and Google Image Search (Pictures).

"One Piece! : Let's Go Treasure Hunting! Arr."

2009-06-06T14:32:00.007+09:00

"One Piece! : Let's Go Treasure Hunting! Arr."

Monkey D. Luffy and the Staw Hat Pirates

One Piece (ワンピース) is a long-running shōnen manga written and illustrated by Eiichirō Oda, that has been serialized in Weekly Shōnen Jump magazine since August 4, 1997. The individual chapters are being published in tankōbon volumes by Shueisha, with the first released on December 24, 1997 and 53 volumes released as of March 4, 2009. One Piece follows the adventures of Monkey D. Luffy, a 17-year-old boy, who gained supernatural abilities by eating a magical fruit, and his ragtag crew of heroic pirates, named the Straw Hats. Luffy's greatest ambition is to obtain the world's ultimate treasure, One Piece, and thereby become the next King of the Pirates. When creating the series, Oda was heavily influenced by the manga Dragon Ball.

One Piece Shonen Jump

One Piece is licensed for an English language release in North America by Viz Media. The individual chapters are being serialized in Viz's Shonen Jump manga anthology and being published in tankōbon volumes. In the United Kingdom, the series was being released by Gollancz Manga, it is now released by Viz Media along with all of their other manga previously released by Gollancz Manga. Madman Entertainment is releasing the series in Australia and New Zealand.

"The Treasure Hunting Begins!"

Gold Roger

There once was a man named Gold Rodger, a pirate, and he was given the glorious title: 'King of the Pirates' for possessing the legendary treasure, One Piece. He had fame, fortune, and power, until one day, he caught and brought to the execution tower to be executed. These were his last words, “My fortune is yours for the taking, but you have to find it first. I left everything I owned in One Piece”.

From that day on, pirates from all around the world sailed to the Grand Line in search of One Piece the treasure that would make their dreams of fame and fortune come true. But no one has ever found the location of Gold Roger's treasure, and the Grand Line is too dangerous of a place to overcome as they were just pirates without any special skills.

Shanks and Luffy

22 years after Gold Rodger’s death, a boy named Monkey D. Luffy wanted to give a shot at finding the legendary treasure as he had the vision of becoming the King of Pirates ever since he was a little boy. With inspiration of his idol, the deceased Gold Rodger, and the help of from his role-model, 'Shanks' of the Red Hair Pirates, Luffy sets out and finds a crack team of special people to help him on his arduous quest.

source: Wikipedia.org and One Piece Encyclopedia (Article), Google Image Search (Pictures).

"Takeshi Konomi : The Coach of Ryoma Echizen..."

2009-06-05T16:37:00.006+09:00

Ryoma Echizen Sketch By: Takeshi Konomi

"Takeshi Konomi : The Coach of Ryoma Echizen..."

Takeshi Konomi (許斐剛, Konomi Takeshi, born June 26, 1970) is a Japanese mangaka. He owns a cat called Kahluamilk who he uses to assist him in drawing "Karupin", a character in his "The Prince of Tennis". He has said that bathing inspires him to think of new ideas for manga.

Takeshi Konomi

Every year the Japanese National Tax Administration Agencyreleases a list of the highest income tax payers for entertainers in Japan. The higher someone's income tax, the higher their actual presumed earnings, however it is possible for a person to have paid more taxes than another person who made more money. Takeshi Konomi placed number nine on this list in 2002.

source: Wikipedia.org (Article).

"Serve It! : Prince Of Tennis..."

2009-06-05T16:36:00.003+09:00

"Serve It! : Prince Of Tennis..."

Prince Of Tennis Gang

The Prince of Tennis (テニスの王子様) is a popular Japanese shōnen manga series written and illustrated by Takeshi Konomi. The title is often shortened to TeniPuri (テニプリ), a portmanteau of the two parts in the Japanese pronunciation of the words "Tennis Prince".

The manga was first published in Japan in Shueisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump in July 1999, and ended publication on March 3, 2008. A total of 379 chapters were serialized, spanning 42 volumes. As of volume 40, the manga has sold over 40 million copies in Japan. News that a sequel to the manga series was going to be developed was announced in the December issue of the Japanese manga magazine Jump Square. The new manga series, entitled New Prince of Tennis, began serialization in the Jump Square magazine on March 4, 2009, with the story taking place several months after the end of the original manga. Viz Media acquired the license to distribute the series in English in North America.

Prince of Tennis Manga Cover

The manga was adapted into an anime series directed by Takayuki Hamana, animated by Trans Arts and co-produced by Nihon Ad Systems and TV Tokyo. The anime aired across Japan on the anime satellite television network Animax and the terrestrial TV Tokyo network from October 10, 2001 to March 30, 2005, spanning a total of 178 episodes, as well as a theatrical movie. In April 2006, an original video animation (OVA) continuation of the anime began to be released on DVD. The beginning of the second OVA series was released on June 22, 2007, roughly 3 months after the end of the first. The second OVA ended on January 25, 2008, and the third and final OVA started on April 25, 2008.

"This Is Where The Game Begins!"

Ryoma Echizen

Taking place in Tokyo today, it follows the journey of Ryoma Echizen, who is a a tennis prodigy. He enrolled to a school called Seishun Academy Middle School (Seishun Gakuen), or in short Seigaku, a school famous for its strong tennis club and talented players. Because of his cool and apathetic attitude, upperclassmen challenge him to play tennis. However, Ryoma had won the American junior tennis championship tournaments four times in a row, and easily defeated the upperclassmen.

The Seigaku Tennis Club

Making new friends and learning new tennis tactics, Ryoma and the Seigaku tennis club strive to win the All-Japan junior high tennis team championship tournament.

source: Wikipedia.org and Minitokyo .net (Article), Google Image Search (Pictures).

"Nagaru Tanigawa : The Maestro of Haruhi Suzumiya..."

2009-06-05T16:24:00.004+09:00

"Nagaru Tanigawa : The Maestro of Haruhi Suzumiya..."

Nagaru Tanigawa is a Japanese author, best known for his Haruhi Suzumiya light novel series.

After graduating college, Tanigawa actually became the manager for a women's clothing shop, during which time he published his debut in the mangabon Dengeki Moeou in 2003, titled "Dengeki!! Aegis 5 - Shield and Sheep." In that same year he published other works: in Dengeki Bunko he published the first chapter of Gakeou wo Deyou! (Let's Leave School!), and in The Sneaker he published the first chapter of Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuuutsu, or The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, which would become his most widely acclaimed work (so far). As of May 2008, the Haruhi series has sold over 5 million books. The series is still ongoing.

Nagaru Tanigawa

Tanigawa was heavily influenced in his middle school days by sci-fi and juvenile authors, particularly Vampire Hunter D author Hideyuki Kikuchi and Onmyouji author Baku Yumekura. He was also influenced by being a victim of the Great Hanshin Earthquake, which took place on January 17, 1995.

Tanigawa is a fan of the Hanshin Tigers and his hobbies are biking and mahjongg.

source: AnimeVice.com (Article) and Google Image Search (Pictures).

"See the Real Music : The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya..."

2009-06-05T15:59:00.005+09:00

"See the Real Music : The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya..."

The S.O.S Gang

Haruhi Suzumiya (涼宮ハルヒ) is the general name for a series of light novels written by Nagaru Tanigawa and illustrated by Noizi Ito. The first novel was published in Japan on June 6, 2003 by Kadokawa Shoten, with nine individual novels published and a planned tenth as of April 1, 2007. The story follows the titular character, Haruhi Suzumiya, a young high school girl who can unconsciously change reality, and her strange antics with her school club, the SOS Brigade.

Haruhi Suzumiya Manga Cover

The light novels have been adapted into three separate manga series, three video games, and a television anime adaptation. After the anime adaption aired in 2006, publishing company Kadokawa Shoten received various offers licensing both the novels and its various adaptations. The novels are licensed for English language release in the United States by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers and Yen Press and the anime adaptation was licensed for North American distribution by Kadokawa Pictures USA division, which then sublicensed production and distribution to Bandai Entertainment.

"The Start of The Music..."

Kyon

Kyon, your typical high school student, has long given up his belief in the supernatural. However, upon meeting Haruhi Suzumiya, he quickly finds out that it is the supernatural that she is interested in; aliens, time travelers and espers among other things. When Haruhi laments about the lack of intriguing clubs around school, Kyon inspires Haruhi to form her own club.

The S.O.S Brigade

As a result, the SOS Brigade is formed, a club which specializes in all that is the supernatural.Much to his chagrin, Kyon, along with the silent bookworm, Yuki Nagato, the shy and timid Mikuru Asahina, and the perpetually smiling Itsuki Koizumi, are recruited as members. The story follows the crazy adventures that these four endure under their whimsical leader, Haruhi. The story is based on the light novels by Nagaru Tanigawa.

source: Wikipedia.org and MyAnimeList.Net (Article), Google Image Search and Minitokyo.net (Pictures)

"Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata : The Suspects of Creating the Death Note..."

2009-06-05T13:15:00.004+09:00

"Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata : The Suspects of Creating the Death Note..."

"Tsugumi Obata: The Mysterious Author..."

Tsugumi Ohba (大場つぐみ ) is the author/mangaka of the manga series, Death Note. It is widely speculated that this is a pen name. As mentioned in the Death Note panels, he/she was born in Tokyo, has a hobby of collecting teacups, and develops manga plots day and night on a chair while holding his knees in a way reminiscent of a character in Death Note, L.

Tsugumi Ohba

Based on the information page on deathgod.org, it is strongly believed that Tsugumi Ohba is actually Hiroshi Gamou, author of the JUMP series Tottemo! Luckyman. It is speculated that he chose to hide his identity due to the fact that the Death Note series is very different from his past work. Gamou was born on August 17, 1962 in Tokyo Japan and has blood type B. Some of Gamou's previous assistants included Murata Yuichiro (Eyeshield 21) & Nishi Yoshiyuki (Muhyo & Rosie).

Death Note Cover

"Takeshi Obata : The Bicycle Lover..."

Takeshi Obata was born on February 11, 1969. He is 174 cm tall, 53kg (at the time of Hikaru No Go), blood type AB. In general, Takeshi is famous for his art, as he collaborates with writers. Some of his works include Hikaru No Go (with Yumi Hotta from 1998 to 2003/04), Ayatsuri Sakon (with Sharakumaro), and Arabian Majin Bokentan Lamp Lamp (with Susumu Sendo).

Takeshi Obata

He was sensei to Nobuhiro Watsuki ( Rurouni Kenshin ) and stated in an interview, that he has about 5-6 assistants at a time. For coloring, Obata uses Copic (alcohol based) markers, from the lightest to darkest shades. After the completion of Hikaru No Go, Takeshi paired up with Ohba, and worked on Death Note. His brilliant artwork is known almost to everyone, and sadly, not much is known about him… He likes riding his bicycle .

source: Death Note Anime.com and Deathgod.org

"Death Note: With Just One Write, You'll Die."

2009-06-05T12:52:00.004+09:00

"Death Note: With Just One Write, You'll Die."

Death Note Cast

Death Note (デスノート,) is a Japanese manga series created by writer Tsugumi Ohba and illustrator Takeshi Obata.

Death Note

Death Note was first serialized in 108 chapters by Shueisha in the Japanese manga magazine Weekly Shōnen Jump from December 2003 to May 2006. The series was also published in tankōbon (paperback) format in Japan starting in May 2004 and ending in October 2006 with a total of twelve volumes. The series was adapted into live-action films released in Japan on June 17, 2006, on November 3, 2006, and on February 2, 2008. The anime series aired in Japan from October 3, 2006, to June 26, 2007. Composed of 37 episodes, the anime was developed by Madhouse and directed by Tetsuro Araki. A light novel based on the series, written by Nisio Isin, was released in Japan. Additionally, various video games have been publisher by Konami for Nintendo DS.

The Start of Deaths:

The Death Note Notebook Falling...

Light Yagami is a 17-year old kid who's top in his class yet has a pretty normal life aside from his incessant studying. One day his eyes fall over a notebook laying on the ground outside of his school. Reading the English cover, "Death Note," and noticing that the writing inside is also in English, Light decides to take it home to read it. Within the next 5 days, Light has already killed many just by watching and recording names of criminals from the news.

Light Yagami Writing on the Death Note..

The Death Note enables him to kill anyone whose face and real name is known. To know more about the rules of the notebook read the terms of the Death Note. Picking up the notebook once more, a monstrous creature appears and speaks to Light, introducing himself as a Shinigami (God of Death) named Ryuk. Ryuk tells Light that only the owner of the Death Note can see him and that he, Light, is now the owner of it and may use it as he chooses. If Light does not want to keep the notebook, he may give it to someone else and Ryuk will erase all related memories from his mind. The notebook bonds both Light and Ryuk, but any mental pain will be delivered to Light alone. He then decides that no matter what it takes, no matter who gets involved, Light will cleanse the world of evil criminals. Although Light is doing a pretty good job gathering up bad guys, when he is interrupted by a top detective by the label "L."

source: Death Note Anime.com and Wikipedia.org (Article), Google Image Search and Minitokyo.net (Pictures).

"Masashi Kishimoto : Naruto's Real Master..."

2009-06-05T12:30:00.007+09:00

"Masashi Kishimoto : Naruto's Real Master..."

Masashi Kishimoto (born November 8, 1974) is the author of the famous manga "Naruto". He debuted as a mangaka with his work "Karakuri", which was submitted to Shueisha in 1996. Beginning with 1999, his next work "Naruto" was serialized in the Weekly Shonen Jump manga magazine. Kishimoto had received the Hop Step Award, which was an award given to new artists once a month by Shonen Jump.

Kishimoto's first work as a manga artist was Karakuri, which he submitted to Shueisha in 1996. In 1999, Naruto was serialized in Weekly Shōnen Jump, winning its monthly "Hop Step Award". Naruto is still ongoing, with more than 45 volumes and just over 44 released in English, and has sold over 71 million copies in Japan and over 93 million copies worldwide as of volume 36, also being adapted into two successful anime series. The Naruto manga series has become one of Viz Media's top properties, accounting for nearly 10% of all manga sales in 2006. The seventh volume of Viz's release became the first manga to ever win a Quill Award when it claimed the award for "Best Graphic Novel" in 2006. In his interviews and exclusively in the Naruto manga, he commonly mentions his deceased plant, Ukki-kun. According to Kishimoto, the first time he had an office plant, due to missing the country atmosphere, he fed it undiluted plant food. He continued purchasing several other plants afterwards, but many of them perished.

Masashi Kishimoto

In closing, what advice would you give to fans who are interested in becoming artists themselves?

"Creating manga isn't just about drawing well, but writing a good
story. Keep the art and story real, and you can't lose. Also, watch a lot of
good Hollywood movies. Those who rail against the entertainment industry are just being close-minded."

- Masashi Kishimoto (An Interview with the Shonen Jump.)

source: Naruto Central and Wikipedia.org (Article) , Google Image Search (Pictures).

" Naruto : The Welcome To The World of Ninjas!"

2009-06-05T12:05:00.005+09:00

" Naruto : The Welcome To The World of Ninjas!"

Naruto Gang

Naruto is an anime and manga series created by Masashi Kishimoto centered around a loud, hyperactive, young ninja who is in a constant search for both approval and recognition, and with a great aspiration to become Hokage. First published as a manga series in Japan by Shueisha in the 43rd issue of Shonen Jump magazine in November 1999, the Naruto series has risen in popularity exponentially and has since been licensed in the USA (becoming VIZ Media's top selling title) and nearly two dozen other countries, with the anime series currently airing in 18 countries.

Naruto: Shonen Jump Cover

Although the anime series debuted on TV in Japan on October 3rd, 2002 nearly three years after the manga series first appeared it has quickly caught up, as each episode can cover up to two chapters. To prevent the series from being pulled off of the air and cancelled completely with no official story to base it upon, as had been the fate (and death) of other anime such as Rurouni Kenshin, the decision was made to produce original content for the anime series to allow the manga time to get far ahead and keep Naruto fresh in the minds of its many fans. Starting with episode 136 there has been over a years worth of filler episodes which tend to cover the supporting characters of Naruto who may not otherwise be seen often. New episodes of Naruto air every Wednesday night during the Golden Time slot at 7:27PM, and movies based upon the Naruto anime series have been released every Summer since 2004.

The Story of A Ninja:

The Village...

Twelve years before the start of the series, a Kyuubi (nine-tailed fox demon) attacked the Hidden Leaf Village. A swing of one of it's mighty tails could raise tsunamis and flatten mountains, chaos reigned throughout the village as it killed many people, until the leader of the Leaf, the Fourth Hokage, defeated it by sacrificing his own life to seal the demon inside a new born child, that child is Uzumaki Naruto. The Fourth Hokage would forever be celebrated as a hero for sealing the Kyuubi and saving the entire village. It was his wish that Naruto would also be respected in the same way he would be, however, this was not the case. Everybody in the village avoided Naruto, regarding him as nothing more than the evil demon fox. The Third Hokage made it a rule within the village that other villagers were forbidden from mentioning this event to anyone, even their own children, however because of the way their parents treated Naruto, they mistreated him as well throughout most of his childhood.

Naruto as a baby...

As a result of this Naruto grew up as a lonesome orphan, without friends, family, or acknowledgement of any sort. Nobody would pay any attention to him, so he sought attention in the only way he knew how, through pranks and mischief. However, Naruto's behaviour would come to change after graduating from the Ninja Academy by learning the technique of the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu to save his sensei Umino Iruka from certain death. Naruto learnt two things that day, that the Kyuubi was contained inside him, and that there was someone who cared about him, and understood how he felt. His graduation would become a changing moment and define his world for the rest of his life.

source: NarutoFan.com (Article) , Google Image Search and Minitokyo.net (Pictures)

"Tite Kubo : The Master Behind The Anime, Bleach."

2009-06-05T11:26:00.006+09:00

"Tite Kubo : The Master Behind The Anime, Bleach."

Kubo Tite is the creator of the spectacular manga and anime series called 'Bleach', He also is the creator of the manga series 'Zombie Powder'. Kubo is recognized as being the creating of Bleach as it has sky rocketed to the top and is one of the most popular animes in Japan. He was born on June 26, 1977 and grew up watching Dragon ball and Akira which Inspired not only Kubo to want to be a Manga artist but also Naruto's creator Masashi Kishimoto.

Although hard to believe, it wasn't always easy for Kubo as he wrote Zombie Powder while still in high school but do to lack of popularity Zombie Powder was cut after only 4 volumes which was an emotional blow to Kubo. Shortly after Kubo starting writing a new manga ,as we know now as Bleach, and sent it to the weekly Shonen Jump but all his dreams were crushed after 'bleach' was rejected as it was said to be to similar to Yu-Yu Hakusho. Akira Toriyama, Creator of Dragon Ball, Happened to read the manga that kubo had submitted and had heard that it was rejected. Akira quickly mailed Kubo and with this letter Kubo was able to get confidence back to himself and was once again inspired to write.

Tite Kubo

Shortly after the letter from Akira Toriyama the first volume of Bleach was published in Japan on the 5th of January, 2002. Bleach began to publish weekly (and even now it even does). Bleach is now published in the weekly Shonen Jump with the top manga's in Japan, Naruto, One Piece, Prince of Tennis, Hunter X Hunter, Death Note and where Dragon Ball was once published itself.

source: Bleach Exile, (Article) and Google Image Search (Pictures)

"My BLEACH Review..."

2009-06-05T10:16:00.001+09:00

"My BLEACH Review..."

The Bleach Gang

Storyline:

Soul Society

The story was really fantastic! Especially the story in which the gang of Ichigo Kurosaki were in the Soul Society to save Rukia Kuchiki. The imagination of the creator, Tite Kubo was really wide! The product of his wide imagination is this wonderful anime. What I really like in this anime, is that the story doesn't only focus on one genre, but they uniquely put all in just anime, Comedy, Drama, Action, Fantasy, hmm... some Horror, and the most that I really like is the Romance, meaning, Love Story.

Rukia and Ichigo

Speaking of Love Story, many loveteams were introduced in the series, namely, IchiRuki (Ichigo and Rukia), IchiHime (Ichigo and Orihime), RenRuki (Renji and Rukia), HinaHitsu (Hitsugaya and Hinamori), and UryuHime (Uryuu and Orihime). Some Bleach-lovers also made their own pairings, like, YoruKisu (Yoruichi and Kisuke) and many more.

Rating: 4 Stars. ^-^

Sounds/Music:

Orange Range

Rie Fu

UVERworld

The theme songs were really awesome! The singers of these songs were really huge, in other words popular! Like Rie Fu who sang: "Life is Like A Boat", Orange Range who sang : "Asterisk", and especially UVERworld who sang: "D-Tecnolife", there were many singers so I can't tell them all. The emotions of each song were connected to the series. Some songs were happy, sad, romantic, inspirational, and sometimes can make you dance! The background music were also cool, especially when there is a battle between shinigamis.

My Favorites: D-Tecnolife, Life is Like a Boat, Happy People, Asterisk, and Rolling Star.

Rating: 5 Stars. ^-^

Graphics:

Zangetsu , Zanpakuto of Ichigo Kurosaki

Ichigo Kurosaki

Another thing that makes BLEACH be love by many is the graphics. This was the reason why I always go "Wow!" while watching this anime. The way they drew the Zanpakutos of the Shinigamis were really great! They look real! Ahehe. The looks of the characters really caught my attention. Hmm... I think every episode they change clothes, but in some episodes I think they don't.

Rating: 3 Stars. ^-^

~ Note: The review was written by me, cutiegurl022. I am not allowing anyone to copy my article unless they accredited it to me.

"Osamu Tezuka: Father of Manga and Anime"

2009-06-04T18:04:00.000+09:00

"Osamu Tezuka: Father of Manga and Anime"

When Osamu Tezuka died in 1989, Japan's leading newspaper published a moving editorial remembering the Father of Modern Manga Anime. "Foreign visitors," the editor said, "often find it difficult to understand why the Japanese people like comics so much. One explanation is that Japan had Osamu Tezuka, and other nations did not."

Osamu Tezuka is responsible for the Japanese comics and animation we all know and love. Everything about it - the big eyes, the spiky hair, and the edge-of-your-seat storyline - came from him. He was a doctor by profession, but he made a career out of his childhood hobby instead. In 1947, he published New Treasure Island, which was unlike any comic anyone had ever seen before. His other works, including Kimba the White Lion and Astro Boy, are classics. All in all, he produced nearly 150,000 pages of drawings, and he inspired the next generation of anime and manga artists who would take his art form to a new level.

source: K-Zone Magazine (March 2005 Issue) and Wikipedia.org (Picture.)

"The WorLD of AniMe"

2009-06-04T17:26:00.000+09:00

"The WorLD of AniMe"

Anime (アニメ) , an abbreviated Japanese pronunciation of "animation", pronouned is animation originating in Japan. The rest of the world regards anime as "Japanese animation". Anime originated about 1917.Anime, like manga (Japanese comics), is extremely popular in Japan and well known throughout the world. Distributors can release anime via television broadcasts, directly to video, or theatrically, as well as online.Both hand-drawn and computer animated anime exist. It is used in television series, films, videos, video games, commercials, and internet-based releases, and represents most, if not all, genres of fiction.

History:

Anime began at the start of the 20th century, when Japanese filmmakers experimented with the animation techniques also pioneered in France, Germany, the United States, and Russia. The oldest known anime in existence was screened in 1917 - a two minute clip of a samurai trying to test a new sword on his target, only to suffer defeat. The first talkie anime was Chikara to Onna no Yo no Naka, released in 1933.

By the 1930s, animation became an alternative format of storytelling to the underdeveloped live-action industry in Japan. Unlike in the United States, the live-action industry in Japan remained a small market and suffered from budgeting, location, and casting restrictions. The lack of Western-looking actors, for example, made it next to impossible to shoot films set in Europe, America, or fantasy worlds that do not naturally involve Japan. Animation allowed artists to create any characters and settings.

The success of Disney's 1937 feature film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs influenced Japanese animators. In the 1960s, Osamu Tezuka adapted and simplified many Disney animation techniques to reduce costs and number of frames in the production. He intended this as a temporary measure to allow him to produce material on a tight schedule with inexperienced animation staff.

The 1970s saw a surge of growth in the popularity of manga—which were often later animated—especially those of Osamu Tezuka, who has been called a "legend" and the "god of manga". His work and that of other pioneers in the field, inspired characteristics and genres that are fundamental elements of anime today. The giant robot genre (known as "Mecha" outside Japan), for instance, took shape under Tezuka, developed into the Super Robot genre under Go Nagai and others, and was revolutionized at the end of the decade by Yoshiyuki Tomino who developed the Real Robot genre. Robot anime like the Gundam and Macross series became instant classics in the 1980s, and the robot genre of anime is still one of the most common in Japan and worldwide today. In the 1980s, anime became more accepted in the mainstream in Japan (although less than manga), and experienced a boom in production. Following a few successful adaptations of anime in overseas markets in the 1980s, anime gained increased acceptance in those markets in the 1990s and even more in the 2000s.

source: wikipedia.org (article), google image search (pictures)