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The North American anime distributor Funimation is known for releasing their titles in their original, uncut form. Although, after Funimation viewed the uncut version as well as the Japanese broadcast of Dance of the Vampire Bund, they have come to a conclusion that the series contains many controversial elements which could be offensive to some of the audiences. A few days after Funimation announced this, they released this statement:

"In the days since we announced the acquisition of the anime "Dance in the Vampire Bund," we have been following the varied responses from within the anime community to our decision to edit specific scenes from its streaming and later home entertainment release.

First, out of concern for our distribution partners and advertisers, we will continue to make minor edits to the episodes which are available via free streaming and television broadcast due to the readily accessible nature of these platforms. We will be careful to keep such edits to a minimum.

However, FUNimation is — as always — committed to bringing the best anime content to the United States in its unedited form on home video. Therefore, we are evaluating the release of the series in unedited and uncensored form for home video.

According to the Comic's Worth Reading blog, Nick Simmons creator of Incarnate has issued a statement via a representative in response to the allegations of Plagiarism.

“Like most artists I am inspired by work I admire. There are certain similarities between some of my work and the work of others. This was simply meant as an homage to artists I respect, and I definitely want to apologize to any Manga fans or fellow Manga artists who feel I went too far. My inspirations reflect the fact that certain fundamental imagery is common to all Manga. This is the nature of the medium.

“I am a big fan of Bleach, as well as other Manga titles. And I am certainly sorry if anyone was offended or upset by what they perceive to be the similarity between my work and the work of artists that I admire and who inspire me.”

Source: Comics Worth Reading
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The author of this article would like to take this space to analyse and reflect on the above. (Think of it as an editorial of sorts.)

Taking a closer look at this statement: Simmons has attempted to justify blatant plagiarism as an "homage" to the respective artists. However, it can

American Publishing company, Radical Publishing has halted production of the comic Incarnate amid allegations creator, Nick Simmons plagiarized popular manga series. (All images below)

The allegations against Simmons, the 21 year old son of KISS frontman Gene Simmons, emerged on the GameFAQ forum when fans noticed the similarities between Simmons’ work and Kubo Tite’s Bleach manga. Discussions then spread to fan sites such as the Bleach Asylum forums and the LiveJournal community Bleachness.

In addition to panel compositions, character designs and poses, there are also assertions that Simmons lifted dialogue and “plot segments” from other works. Nick Simmons' Wikipedia entry now sports a section regarding the accusations. Prior to editing, the entry listed eight manga including Hellsing, One Piece, Vampire Hunter D and an amateur artist from DeviantArt

An official statement regarding the matter was posted on Radical Publishing’s myspace Page.

"We at Radical Publishing, Inc. and Radical Comics, Inc. are quite concerned to hear the news surrounding Nick Simmons’s Incarnate Comic Book. We are taking this matter seriously and making efforts now to contact the publishers of the works in question in an effort to resolve this matter. We have halted further production and distribution of the “Incarnate” comic book and

This year's 13th issue of Kodansha's Weekly Shonen Magazine has announced on Wednesday that a live-action television adaptation of Miki Yoshikawa's Yankee-kun to Megane-chan manga has been green-lit. Actor Hiroki Narimiya (Gokusen, Akihabara @ DEEP, NANA) will play the title "Yankee-kun" (delinquent) Daichi Shinagawa, while Riisa Naka (The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, Kami no Shizuku) will play the eyeglasses-wearing, overachieving "Megane-chan" or Hana Adachi. The television series will premiere on April 23.

In Yankee-kun to Megane-chan's story, class representative Hana goes all out to drag Daichi into school activities and their high school's social circles. Daichi learns that Hana was secretly a former delinquent herself, and that is why she tries so hard to reform Daichi as well.

The manga launched in Weekly Shonen Magazine in October of 2006, and the 16th compiled book volume will ship next month. The manga has also been published in Singapore under the English title Flunk Punk Rumble.

Source: Directly from anime news network

FanimeCon announced on Sunday, their first musical guests of honor: visual kei band LM.C (Lovely-Mocochang.com). The band will perform at the convention's MusicFest on Sunday, May 30 in the Civic Auditorium. They will also host a Q&A panel and autograph session on Monday, May 31.

FanimeCon 2010 will take place at the San Jose Convention Center on May 28-31, 2010.

LM.C is releasing their third album, "WONDERFUL WONDERHOLIC," on March 3 in Japan, with worldwide release dates scheduled after that. On April 3, they will travel to Moscow to begin their second world tour, which is taking them to nearly a dozen countries in Europe and Asia, before their national tour across Japan in May

Sources: FanimeCon, LM.C official site

The North American, predominately anime distributor, Media Blasters has confirmed the acquisition of the license to Sayonara, Zetsubou Sensei. The first English subtitled DVD volume will ship on May 25th.

Sayonara, Zetsubou Sensei follows Nozomu Itoshiki, who is depressed. Very depressed. He’s certifiably suicidal, but he’s also the beloved schoolteacher of a class of unique students, each charming in her own way: The stalker. The shut-in. The obsessive-compulsive. The girl who comes to class every day with strange bruises. And Kafuka, the most optimistic girl in the world, who knows that every cloud has a silver lining. For all of them, it’s a special time, when the right teacher can have a lasting positive effect on their lives. But is that teacher Itoshiki, a.k.a. Zetsubou-sensei, who just wants to find the perfect place to die?

The manga by Koji Kumeta is licensed by Del Rey Manga, with volume 6 coming in April of 2010.

Source: Anime News Network, Del Rey Manga

Okami Kakushi is a pun on the Japanese phrase kami kakushi, or literally “to be hidden by the Gods.” Generally its meaning translates to “spirited away” in English. However, by placing the honorable “O” in front of the Japanese word for God (kami), one, depending on how it’s written, gets the word for “wolf.” Thus the pun in the title: “Wolfed Away,” as opposed to “Spirited Away.” Isn’t language fun?

This is the most interesting thing about the entire series.

Yoshitaka Amano, the designer of the Final Fantasy role-playing game series and illustrator of the Vampire Hunter D novels, will appear at the opening reception of his solo exhibition, Devaka Loka: Los Angeles.

The artworks highlight American comics, culture, automobiles and other influences that inspired Amano. Similar exhibitions had opened in Berlin in 2008 and San Francisco in 2009.

On his newest exhibition, Amano said, “Between the late 60s and the 70s, and during my early years in the art world, I was greatly influenced by American comic books and pop culture. I'd like to show my gratitude for the inspiration America gave me with this exhibit. With the theme of 'Deva Loka,' all of my concepts and influences are able to come together, centered in one place. I hope everyone enjoys my show."

The exhibition will be held at the LeBasse Projects art gallery in Culver City, on February 20.

Source: Anime News Network

Despite the weather that has buffered the east coast over the last week, Katsucon is still on and going strong, even if not always in a straight line.

This year Katsucon is at a new location, The Gaylord National Hotel and Convention Center, located in National Harbor, MD. The location itself is wonderful. The hotel and convention center are one building, with a very large indoor plaza, with a miniature street inside it, as well as a fountain, and several restaurants and shops.

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Comparative Media Studies Program is hosting director Mamoru Hosoda, of the award-winning film, The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, on March 1st. MIT will also be screening his Summer Wars anime film which opened in Japan in August of 2009.

BothHosoda and a producer of the film will be in attendance for the New England premiere of the free, 35-mm film, which will screen with English subtitles followed by a Q & A discussion session.

Harvard University is co-sponsoring the event as part of the "Cool Japan Project."

Source: Anime News Network

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