Yes, for those of us in the southern (and superior) hemisphere, Summer is on its way! Discounting the fact that it is currently summer up there in Japan and those “other” countries, Goodsmile have brought out a new range of Lucky Star Figmas.
The latest volume of Newtype magazine confirms that the controversial Endless Eight arc, which has stretched on for seven episodes of Haruhi’s “second season”, will conclude this week with its eighth and final episode. This development comes as no surprise to Haruhi fans, many of whom correctly predicted E8’s length several weeks ago. The new episode is scheduled to air in Japan in approximately twelve hours.
–Via ANN
This MAD, which combines K-On!’s Don’t Say Lazy with the musical stylings of Bollywood superstar Daler Mehndi, has gained quite a bit of notoriety lately.
The fans have spoken, and they love K-On!
Riding the impressive wave of Blu-ray sales, K-On! has claimed the record for the most opening-day sales from its previous holder, Code Geass. With 33,000 Blu-rays and 8,000 DVDs under its belt, K-On! has topped Haruhi’s best opening-day record by 1000 sales. When taken in the context of equally impressive television ratings and CD sales, it would seem that Kyoani has created another goldmine.
Despite some opinions as to K-On!’s perceived lack of quality, it seems the franchise is here to stay.
–From Sankaku Complex (NSFW)
According to the latest Amazon Japan DVD sales rankings, both the Haruhi and K-On! DVD releases are performing quite well. Of particular interest are the K-On Blu-ray releases, with the Volume 2 Blu-ray (August 19 release) occupying the #2 ranking, Volume 1 at #16, and the Volume 3 (September 16 release) at #21.
The first Endless Eight Haruhi DVD (September 25 release) is currently ranked at #11, but has accrued quite a few negative one-star reviews, for a cumulative score of 1.5 stars. This would seem to indicate that Japanese fans are just as frustrated with Endless Eight as we are, but are still willing to purchase the DVDs.
The SOS Brigade Seitenkan has posted a video of their attempts to make Japanese food. The results are… interesting.
Apparently Kyonko doesn’t like seafood. O_O
ANN is reporting that the Japanese anime industry has shrunk for a second year in a row, with revenues down over $2 billion in 2008. Drops in both box office revenues and DVD sales contributed to this downward trend. Yasuo Yamaguchi, the director of the Association of Japanese Animators, thinks he knows the problem.
“The spread of free Internet downloading is having a deadly effect.”
Of course, that MUST be what’s wrong. I’m sure this industry decline has NOTHING to do with endless moe filler, ill-advised publicity stunts or ridiculously overpriced DVDs. Good call there, Yasuo!
Meanwhile, while the Japanese anime industry is floundering, the American industry is thriving. Must be a fluke.
The eighth episode of the new Haruhi ‘season’ has aired, and (suprise) it’s another repetition of Endless Eight. The common wisdom now is that next week’s episode with be the last E8 loop. We can only hope.
Meanwhile, in even more depressing news, the DVD release details for Endless Eight have been revealed. It seems that E8 will be released across 4 DVDS, with two episodes per DVD. Each release will retail for ¥6,930 (approximately $72 USD).
Yes, you read that right. That’s seventy-two dollars for two episodes. That means buying the entirety of E8 on DVD will cost $288.
I think I’ll wait for the box set.
–Via Random Curiosity and Sankaku Complex (NSFW)
My personal world of figurine worship has just become a whole lot more awesome with the arrival of the Kotobukiya figurine of Haruhi Suzumiya. I have had my eyes on this figurine ever since she was released to the drooling market in October of 2008, and indeed my initial thoughts are “She is awesome”.
Recently at the Tokyo Wonder Festival some new K-ON! figurines were revealed, in particular this awesome rendition of Hirasawa Yui by ALTER. I’m not a huge fan of K-ON! having lost interest in the series as it progressed, but when it comes to the figurines, I’m willing to reconsider…