The Goddess Project.net

It looks like Diamond Comic Distributors are showing some real antipathy toward anime and manga publishers and the makers of toys releated to both egnres. Dismissing it off by classifying that it costs Diamond $2500 to list each item. While I sympathize with the distributor, how much can it cost to use ink to print an item on the page? This is just Diamond’s way of trying to get publishers to guarantee huge orders and greater profits for Diamond.

Diamond Comic Distributors should be ashamed of themselves for placing unreasonable burdens on anime and manga publishers. After all, if more and more comic book publishers start deciding that dealing with outfits like Diamond just isn’t worth it anymore and work instead on dealing directly with comic shops and bookstores/booksellers, then Diamond could be setting off a firestorm that could have real hard implications for their company.

Source: Anime News Network

Since the debut of legal anime streaming first hit with sites like Crunchyroll and Anime News Network, I had decided to post links to these sites so that our visitors and members can find them easily. While the Funimation Video Channel is currently down (probably due to the recent pre-release attempts by hackers) the other sites should pose no problem. Please remember that Crunchyroll may have a membership fee to view newer released episodes such as Dragonball Z and Natuto.

While we have no information on whether or not Veoh is a legal streaming wesbite, we’ll try to clarify that at a later date.

Well, it looks like the two-part Akira Live Action movie that Warner Brothers was producing is dead in the water. According to a post over at Bloody Disgusting, Ruairi Robinson is no longer working on the project and that Warner Brothers may have started having second thoughts since the abysmal failure of Watchmen to draw in moviegoers.

Check out the full story here: http://www.bloody-disgusting.com/news/16472

Anime News Network is reporting that Eleven Arts and the anime distributor Funimation have announced that they are screening the Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone (Evangelion Shin Gekij?ban: Jo) film on at least 77 screens in North America this summer. The film is the first one in Hideaki Anno and Khara’s ongoing four-part remake of Gainax’s Evangelion science-fiction anime series. Funimation is now streaming a trailer with its English dub.

The high-definition theatrical rollout of the 98-minute PG-13 film will begin in Los Angeles at Anime Expo on July 2. It will continue in Seattle, Houston, Phoenix, Riverside, Boston, and San Diego — where the film will play at both Comic-Con International and in various local theaters. The film will finally head onto 67 screens in Canada on September 30.

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Evangelion 1.0, You Are Not Alone, the remastering of the first film in Hideaki Anno and Khara’s four-part theatrical remake of Gainax’s Neon Genesis Evangelion television anime, sold 49,000 Blu-ray Discs in its first week in Japan. It took the number one spot, beating out the sales of Warner Brothers “The Dark Knight,” the sequel to Batman Begins.

This is a first time that an anime release has beat out a blockbuster movie in home video sales.

Source

Robert’s Anime Corner Store Blog is reporting:

“The street dates for Code Geass Lelouch of the Rebellion R2 DVD Bundle #1 (DVD #1-2) and Code Geass Lelouch of the Rebellion R2 DVD Bundle #1 (Limited Edition) have been moved from July 21st to August 4th, and the Ghost Slayers Part #3 DVD Bundle (Eps #21-30) has been moved from July 7th also to August 4th.

Bandai did not specify this time what prompted the bump in dates.”

Funimation has dropped their prices on two upcoming boxed sets.

Baki the Grappler Season 1 & 2 box dropped from $69.98 to $49.98 and the 4th DBZ box from $49.98 to $34.98. This is great news for anime fans. Perhaps even the sign of things to come.

For those of you who didn’t know, AnimEigo is still running their massive clearance sale. Whether you’ve been waiting to purchase the Riding Bean OVA, the Urusei Yatsura series (TV Series, Movies, OVA’s), Oh My Goddess (Single Release DVD’s) or any of their library titles, you may wish to point your web browsers over to their site. Not only do they offer free shipping and no taxes on your purchases, but every single-release DVD is still on sale for $7.99.

What better way to fill out your collection than by heading over to AnimEigo and order those anime DVD’s you’ve been anxiously waiting on.

I felt that it was about time I address this personally.

Funimation is a great company with some great titles but they’re starting to act like Microsoft by trying to monopolize a certain market. Recently, it was announced that the Anime Network would no longer be offered from Comcast and that the cable giant would be replacing The Anime Network with anime titles offered by Funimation through their catalog of licensed anime.

This is bad news for the anime industry in North America. With very few anime companies licensing and distributing anime in the United States, they are effectively eliminating various anime distributors with only Bandai Entertainment, USA, being the final  major licensor of anime. Bandai Entertainment, USA, is associated with Bandai Visual, Japan and operates and distributes anime in North America.

While we applaud Funimation for their efforts in expanding the number of anime titles available for anime fans in the United States, we cannot support a monopoly of the industry where anime prices can be controlled by one company. They currently control a majority of anime in the United States as well as replacing an anime network that previously enjoyed a decent life on a cable network.

While most of the reporting that we do here is basically on North American anime licenses and releases, for those of you who are in the United Kingdom, if you’re not aware of it, there is a fan-based anime website that reports on anime releases and licenses for distribution in Europe. Just point your web browser to Anime News U.K. Decent website that deserves a look.