Anime Industry To Crack Down On Piracy


The wheels of motion against online piracy of Japanese media have kicked into overdrive, or so it seems. Some prominent anime production companies, such as TOHO, Studio Ghibli, and Sunrise have begun collaborating in an effort to reduce the unrestricted distribution of copyrighted video via the internet. Through a large umbrella group of companies and organizations called the ‘Content Overseas Distribution Association’ (or CODA for short), the idea would be to hunt down videos submitted without consent, and then demand the host websites delete the unauthorized media. The whole goal of this association is to ‘stamp out piracy and promote the legal distribution of Japanese content’.

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Doctor Who Gets Animated In Fan-Made Short

I honestly didn’t think I’d see the day when British sci-fi was combined with the stylings of late-80’s Japanese animation, but then Paul “OtaKing” Johnson decided to do just that. Johnson is working on animated short based on the adventures of the third Doctor, played by Jon Pertwee.

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The Teaching Power of Moe

Are you a native Japanese speaker who:

    • Is over 18 years old,
    • Has never had a girlfriend,
    • Wishes to gain entry into the legendary Tokyo University,
    • Has so far failed to gain entry into the legendary Tokyo University,
    • (optional) Made a promise to a cute girl from your childhood that someday you would get married at Tokyo U?

      If so then look no further then your local game shop for a copy of the new DS game “Moe-Sta Moeru Todai Eigo Jyuku”, and you may be one step closer to fulfilling a few of those dreams!

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      Lucky Star Dance Reaches Critical Nerdiness

      Before you comment about it, yes, we are entirely aware that we are late to the party. In the interest of being comprehensive, though, we present to you the Lucky Star opening meticulously re-done with Transformers.

      Ok, everyone can stop making these now. I’m pretty sure kkal won.

      Gundam Unicorn Will Get Simultaneous Dual-Audio Global Release

      Bandai is really pulling out all the stops for Gundam Unicorn. They revealed today that the Blu-Ray version will receive a simultaneous international release, and will include both English and Japanese dub tracks, as well as subtitles in Japanese, English, French, Spanish and Chinese. Those of you without Blu-Ray players, however, will have to suffer through the English subtitles, as the regular DVD release contains only Japanese audio. Bummer, I know how much you otaku hate subtitles.

      As a Gundam fan, I would love to provide you with a detailed analysis of Bandai’s international release strategy… but I’m too busy squealing like a fangirl. SQUEEEEE!!!

      –Via ANN

      4th Annual Seiyu Awards Voting is Open!

      Voting has begun for the 4th annual Seiyu awards, which allows fans to pick their favorite Japanese voice actors and actresses. For the second year in a row, the Tokyo Anime Center is including an English-language Overseas Fan Choice Award category. Last year, that award went to prolific voice actor Jun Fukuyama, who played Lelouch Lamperouge in Code Geass and Luca Angeloni in Macross Frontier, among other roles.

      Who will win this year? That’s up to you! Go to the Seiyu Awards website and nominate your favorite seiyu!

      –Via ANN

      Video Game Review: Brutal Legend

      Tim Schafer, founder of Double Fine Productions and designer of Brutal Legend, is one of the very few people in the industry who could say his resume doesn’t include a single bad game. Unfortunately, those games–particularly Grim Fandango and Psychonauts–are notorious for not selling well. With Brutal Legend, Schafer seemed to be consciously trying to break that tradition. He got a big name voice cast, including Jack Black, Tim Curry, and metal legends Ozzy Osbourn, Lita Ford, Lemmy Kilmister and Rob Halford. He licensed 108 heavy metal tunes for the soundtrack.  And as the game neared release, he and EA proceeded to market the hell out of it with comedic Jack Black ads, several gameplay videos narrated by Schafer and other, less conventional, promos. Of course, the question is whether it’s worth all the promotion. And if you’re okay with the game not being quite like what was advertised, then the answer is yes.
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      Saboten-Con Promo Video Contest Winner

      Saboten-Con, the upcoming Arizona anime convention, recently held a promo video contest on YouTube. The contestants were ranked based how many views their videos. This tounge-in-cheek short by hbi2k, which uses footage from The Vision of Escaflowne, chalked over 3000 views and won the contest.

      A couple of us here at PH are planning on going to Saboten-Con. Anybody else thinking about attending?

      Funimation Virtual Con Panel Video!

      Here’s a video of the Funimation Virtual Con Panel (aka FuniCON 1.0), which was held via live streaming video and text chat at 4:00 Central on Thursday. I was in the chat representing Project Haruhi, and Adam actually answered a couple of my questions! He did have some trouble pronouncing Project Haruhi’s name, though (time index 5:19 on the first video). It’s okay, Adam, we forgive you.

      He also answered my question about Saboten-Con (6:33), a Phoenix-area convention that myself and a few other PH members will be attending at the end of October. Unfortunately, Funimation won’t have a panel there.

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