FUNimation Entertainment and Jyushin Enbu Hero Tales

FUNIMATION ENTERTAINMENT ACQUIRES
“JYUSHIN ENBU HERO TALES”
FROM MEDIA FACTORY

Flower Mound, Texas (January 07, 2009) - FUNimation® Entertainment today announced that it has acquired home entertainment, broadcast, merchandise, and digital rights to the 26 episode action anime series “Jyushin Enbu Hero Tales” Media Factory, Inc.

“Jyushin Enbu Hero Tales” is directed by Osamu Sekita (“Mobile Suit Gundam”). The anime was originally released as a manga written and drawn by Hiromu Arakawa (“Fullmetal Alchemist” TV series) in 2007.

About Jyushin Enbu Hero Tales
Prophesied as the reincarnation of a powerful star, Taitou is unaware of the immense power he welds. After a mysterious man steals a legendary sword, the young man sets out on a journey to recover the weapon. Joined by his two friends, Taitou searches not only for the missing relic, but also for his true destiny.

For more information about the series, please visit http://www.funimation.com/herotales.

FUNimation Entertainment will release the series on DVD in half season sets in Fall 2010.

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FUNimation Entertainment Press Release

FUNimation Entertainment and Master of Martial Hearts

FUNIMATION ENTERTAINMENT ACQUIRES
“MASTER OF MARTIAL HEARTS”
FROM SHOCHIKU

Flower Mound, Texas (January 7, 2010) - FUNimation® Entertainment today announced that it has acquired home entertainment, merchandise, and digital rights to the five episode action anime series “Master of Martial Hearts” from Shochiku Co., Ltd.

Known as “Zettai Shougeki ~Platonic Heart~” in its native Japan, “Master of Martial Hearts” is based on the video game of the same name. The anime is directed by Yoshitaka Fujimoto (“Girl’s High”).

About Master of Martial Hearts
Schoolgirl Aya Iseshima is in over her head. Because of unfortunate circumstances, she finds herself as a registered fighter in a royal tournament. It is not all bad news though. The tournament’s grand prize is the sacred Platonic Heart, a jewel that grants one wish for the girl who possesses it. Now Aya must fight her way to the top to win her special wish.

For more information about the series, please visit http://www.funimation.com/martialhearts.

FUNimation Entertainment will release the entire series in one DVD set in Spring 2011.

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FUNimation Entertainment Press Release

FUNimation and FLCL

FUNIMATION ENTERTAINMENT ACQUIRES
FLCL
FROM PRODUCTION I.G.

Flower Mound, Texas (January 6, 2010) - FUNimation® Entertainment today announced that it has acquired home entertainment and digital rights to the six OVA sci-fi comedy anime series “FLCL” from Production I.G.
“FLCL” is the hugely popular OVA series from powerhouse partners Production I.G. (“The Ghosts in the Shell,” “Tsubasa”), Gainax (“Evangelion” series), and Starchild (“The Slayers” movies). It is directed by Kazuya Tsurumaki.

ABOUT FLCL
Bored with his mundane middle school life, Naota longed for a change from his daily grind. However his life completely changes after a pink haired stranger on a Vespa runs him over. Weird things happen when he is around the mysterious girl known as Haruko. Now not only must Naota deal with regular teenage troubles, but also with this new enigmatic woman.

FUNimation Entertainment will release all six OVA’S on one DVD set and on Blu-ray disc in late 2010.

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FUNimation Entertainment Press Release

YuGiOh TCG Championship Los Angeles January 2010

KONAMI DIGITAL ENTERTAINMENT ANNOUNCES
SIDE EVENTS FOR JANUARY’S
Yu-Gi-Oh! TRADING CARD GAME SHONEN JUMP CHAMPIONSHIP
IN LOS ANGELES
22 Billion Yu-Gi-Oh! Cards Sold Making it the
World’s Best Selling TRADING CARD GAME of All Time!

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. – January 6, 2010 – Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc.’s (KDE) Yu-Gi-Oh! TRADING CARD GAME (TCG) SHONEN JUMP Championship (January 9-10) in Los Angeles offers a plethora of side events for fans attending this premier event.

Over the course of the weekend, Yu-Gi-Oh! video and console game players interested in getting a jump on the competition for the Video Game World Championship in 2010 won’t want to miss the chance to try out Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s World Championship 2010 Reverse of Arcadia. Duelists looking to battle their friends online won’t want to miss the chance to test out the soon-to-be-released Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s game. The online action doesn’t stop there – KDE will also have demos available for the revamped Yu-Gi-Oh! ONLINE – DUEL ACCELERATOR. Be sure to stop by and get an insider’s look at all of these upcoming titles! You can also check out Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s Tagforce 4.

Looking for more TCG action? Make sure to check out the brand-new Pegasus League Side Event tournaments! Where else can you show off your creative deck-building skills while winning Turbo Pack 2 boosters? Decks used for Pegasus League Side Events must be constructed to a specific format, so be sure to check out the official Yu-Gi-Oh! TRADING CARD GAME website for the latest Pegasus League format information, at www.yugioh-card.com/en/events/league. Make room in your Dueling schedule for an ATTACK OF THE GIANT CARD!! tournament, too – for the first time ever, KDE is offering four World Premiere cards from Absolute Powerforce as Giant Card prizes. Come be the first to see these cards!

KDE’s SHONEN JUMP Championship in Los Angeles takes place January 9-10 at the Los Angeles Convention Center. The registration fee is $20, and each player will receive five booster packs just for participating. The top three finalists from the SHONEN JUMP Championship will receive the highly sought-after “Dark End Dragon” SHONEN JUMP Championship Prize Card, along with the winners of the Side Event Playoffs held on Sunday.

For more information on SHONEN JUMP Championship Los Angeles, consult the FAQ posted on the official Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG website, at www.yugioh-card.com/en/events.

SHONEN JUMP Championship Los Angeles details: The Los Angeles Convention Center SHONEN JUMP Championship will start promptly at 8:00 a.m. for registration with Round One beginning at 10:00 a.m. The top 16 finalists for the SHONEN JUMP Championship, along with the top Duelists of the Sunday Regional Qualifiers, earn invites to participate in their respective countries’ 2010 National Championships.

The Los Angeles stop in the SHONEN JUMP Championship tour will offer exciting Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG side events for both Saturday and Sunday which include Win-A-Mat tournaments for all ages, and Dragon Duel tournaments for Duelists aged 12 and under. There will also be 2010 Regional Qualifier tournaments on Sunday.

For more information on Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc., the Yu-Gi-Oh! TRADING CARD GAME or the SHONEN JUMP Championship series, please visit www.yugioh-card.com.

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Konami Press Release

FUNimation and RoboGeisha

FUNIMATION ENTERTAINMENT ACQUIRES
“ROBOGEISHA” FROM T.O. ENTERTAINMENT

Flower Mound, Texas (January 5, 2010) - FUNimation® Entertainment today announced that it has acquired home video, broadcast and digital rights to the live-action splatter comedy “RoboGeisha ” from T.O. Entertainment.

Produced by RoboGeisha Film Partners (T.O Entertainment, Inc., Pony Canyon, Inc., Movie Gate Co., Ltd., Kadokawa Pictures, Inc.), “RoboGeisha” was released in Japanese theatres in October 2009. Written and directed by Noboru Iguchi (“Machine Girl”), “RoboGeisha” stars Aya Kiguchi, Hitomi Hasegawa, Takumi Saito, Naoto Takenaka, Matsuo Suzuki, Etsuko Ikuta and Asami Kumakiri.

About RoboGeisha
Yoshie is the younger sister and attendant of a geisha . One day, the sisters are invited to a dinner party by a customer, the son of the president of Kageno Iron Corporation. They are kidnapped and then trained to be assassins by the company president. Yoshie, who shows promise as an assassin, then begins to doubt the motives of the group.

For more information about the series, please visit http://www.funimation.com/robogeisha

ABOUT T.O. ENTERTAINMENT
Since its inception in 2003, T.O. Entertainment has maintained a very internationally oriented focus, with branch offices located in South Korea, the United Kingdom, and Singapore. The company has introduced multiple anime series (“Straight Jacket”, “Polyphonica”, etc) and full-length films (“King Of Tokyo”, “EggMan”, “RoboGeisha”, etc) with the goal of introducing Japanese entertainment to the rest of the world.

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FUNimation Entertainment Press Release

FUNimation and Live Action Kamui

FUNIMATION ENTERTAINMENT ACQUIRES
“KAMUI GAIDEN” FROM SHOCHIKU

Flower Mound, Texas (January 5, 2010) - FUNimation® Entertainment today announced that it has acquired home video, broadcast and theatrical rights to the live-action dramatic epic “Kamui ” from Shochiku Co., Ltd.

Produced by Shochiku Co. Ltd., Japan’s leading studio, “Kamui“ was released as “Kamui Gaiden” in September 2009 in Japan. An adaptation of Sanpei Shirato’s 1965 manga series of the same name, the movie is directed by Japanese Academy Award winner Yoichi Sai (“Chi to Hone”), written by Kankuro Kudo (“Ping Pong”) and stars Kenichi Matsuyama (“Detroit Metal City”, “Death Note”).

About Kamui Gaiden
It is 17th century Japan and Kamui is a Fugitive Ninja on the run. He despises the lethal laws of the Ninja where he must use his skills to kill others, and is in search for true freedom. However, he is now hunted by his fellow ninjas as they must eliminate him for his betrayal. In order to live, he must constantly fight for his life and distrust others. An incident brings him to a fisherman's family, where he finally starts to open up to other people. Meanwhile, those hunting him are setting their trap.

For more information about the series, please visit http://www.funimation.com/kamui.

About Shochiku
Founded in 1895, Shochiku has established itself as a leading entertainment firm. Shochiku produces, distributes, and exhibits motion pictures as well as TV programs and has also become a symbol of enduring tradition as the exclusive promoter of kabuki theater in Japan. Recent movie productions include "Departures", which was awarded for 81st Academy Award as Best Foreign Language Film. Shochiku's animation lineup includes "VEXILLE", "Summer Days with Coo", "Sketchbook", "Le Chevalier D'Eon", "Sengoku Basara" and more.

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FUNimation Entertainment Press Release

YuGiOh Twilight Edition

Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc. Embarks on a Year of Spectacular Releases with Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s TRADING CARD GAME Twilight Edition

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. – (January 5, 2010) – Looking for a New Year’s resolution that can be kept? No need to give up sweets, caffeine or lose weight. Make a pact to experience the world’s best-selling trading card game, the Yu-Gi-Oh! TRADING CARD GAME, and what better way to keep to that resolve than by playing with cards from Twilight Edition, Konami Digital Entertainment Inc.’s first introduction for 2010.

This Edition combines the booster packs that brought us the best of the game's LIGHT and DARK monsters from the last two years, including Phantom Darkness (the original debut of “Dark Armed Dragon”) and Light of Destruction (which featured “Judgment Dragon,”) and Twilight Edition also allows all fans of the Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's TRADING CARD GAME to have easy access to one of the most recent powerful cards, the Ultra Rare variant card “Honest”! “Honest” was originally released as a Secret Rare card in 2008’s Light of Destruction and quickly became one of the most sought-after cards for Tournament-level play. “Honest” is a key card in many top Decks for today’s competitive tournament scene.

“Twilight Deck” is the term many players have adopted for a Deck mixing LIGHT and DARK monsters such as Lightsworn monsters, “Dark Armed Dragon,” and “Honest.” Twilight Decks recently topped the mammoth SHONEN JUMP Championship tournaments in Austin, Texas, and Columbus, Ohio, in October and November of last year. As many Duelists know, combining LIGHT and DARK together can make for one of the strongest Decks that exist, and Twilight Edition makes building that awesome Deck easy to do with one booster pack of Light of Destruction, a pack of Phantom Darkness and a Tactical Evolution pack included in each box! Twilight Edition is available now for $9.99 at hobby and retail stores nationwide.

The Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s animated series can be seen in the United States Monday through Saturday on Cartoon Network. The original Yu-Gi-Oh! animated series can be seen Saturday mornings on TheCW4Kids block.

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Konami Press Release

FUNimation Entertainment and the Shaw Brothers Film Library

FUNimation Entertainment To Distribute
Select Titles From Famed
Shaw Brothers Film Library

~FUNimation Acquires 15 Films From The King Fu Masters~

Flower Mound, TX – January 4, 2010 – FUNimation® Entertainment announced today that it now has U.S. home video distribution rights to 15 live action films from Celestial Filmed Entertainment, Inc.®’s expansive film collection featuring films by those known as “the Kung Fu masters”: the Shaw Brothers

Hong Kong-based Celestial Pictures has the world’s largest Chinese-language film collection including 760 films produced from the 1950s to the 1990s by the Shaw Brothers Studio founded by Sir Run Run Shaw and Runme Shaw in 1958.

Until Celestial Pictures began digitally restoring the films from their original negatives in 2002, few titles from the Shaw Brothers film archive had previously appeared since their original cinema release. The Shaw films represent all genres, including kung fu, action, social satire, situation comedies, historical epics, horror and suspense, among others.

FUNimation will release “Sword of Swords”, “The Duel”, “The Lady Hermit” , “The 14 Amazons”, “Shaolin Hand Lock”, “Invincible Shaolin”, “Soul of the Sword”, “Life Gamble”, “Shaolin Rescuers”, “Shaolin Prince”, “Bastard Swordsman”, “Opium and The Kung Fu Master”, “The Supreme Swordsman”, “Return of Bastard Swordsman” and “Hong Kong Godfather”.

Watch the trailer on FUNimation’s official blog spot, http://blog.funimation.com , or the official web site www.funimation.com/hongkongconnection : Your link to the legacy of the Shaw Brothers, the original masters of martial arts cinema who influenced many of today’s filmmakers.

FUNimation Entertainment is bringing these films to DVD in 2010 and 2011.

About Celestial Pictures
In the year 2000, Celestial Pictures was established to acquire the Shaw Brothers film library. At present, Celestial Pictures is involved in the production of new movies and television programming (primarily in the Chinese, Korean, Indian and Bahasa languages). With its unique film library, distribution capability, and new productions, Celestial Pictures is already one of Asia's leading motion pictures studios. Celestial Pictures also manages the first global Chinese movie channel aimed at Chinese audiences and Chinese movie lovers across the globe. Other TV channels are also being developed.

About FUNimation Entertainment
FUNimation® Entertainment, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Navarre Corporation, is the leading company for Japanese animation in the United States. FUNimation is known for acquiring top-rated anime series from Japan and for being the market share leader for home video sales of anime in the United States. The company has a proven formula for launching and advancing brands, and manages a full spectrum of rights for most of its brands including broadcasting, licensing, production, internet, and home video sales and distribution.

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FUNimation Entertainment Press Release

Anime comes to the iPhone and iPod Touch

APPLIYA ANNOUNCES A PARTNERSHIP
WITH FUNIMATION ENTERTAINMENT
TO BRING ANIME APPS TO THE iPHONE AND iPOD TOUCH

A Japanese iPhone app developer partners with North America’s premier anime licensor to distribute apps based on a variety of anime titles including Fullmetal Alchemist, Shin chan, and Afro Samurai.

Tokyo, Japan, January 1, 2009 - Appliya Inc., a leading Japanese iPhone app publisher, is proud to announce a partnership with FUNimation Entertainment to create iPhone and iPod Touch apps for anime fans across North America. The first app in the series is Fullmetal Alchemist: State Alchemy Exam, which is now available exclusively on the iTunes App Store. The State Alchemy Exam app features 130 questions that quiz your knowledge of physics, chemistry, and the events and characters of the original Fullmetal Alchemist TV series—one of the world’s most popular anime. Being an anime expert won't be enough to master this challenge; you'll need good knowledge of the fundamentals of science to earn the prestigious title of Alchemy Sage.

Fullmetal Alchemist: State Alchemy Exam
Application for: iPhone, iPod Touch
Price: $1.99

App Features:
· Beautiful art taken directly from the series, including rarely seen concept art

· Each exam question has a time limit, so players will have to think fast

· 12 reward wallpapers specially designed for the iPhone and iPod Touch

· Unlock certificates to mark your progress, and earn the title of “State Alchemist”

· Social networking features that let you post your best scores and achievements to compete with other players for bragging rights, or share your progress with friends on Facebook or Twitter

· More questions will be added via updates to give players new challenges

FUNimation and Appliya are planning many more exciting app releases for anime fans, including a Fullmetal Alchemist action game, apps based on the hilarious antics of comedy anime Shin chan, and apps featuring the highly popular Afro Samurai anime series, which aired exclusively on North American cable network Spike TV, featured the voice of Samuel L. Jackson, and was ranked as the best-selling North American anime DVD of 2007.

About Fullmetal Alchemist
Legend tells of a mystical artifact that when used will increase its possessor's power a thousand fold. Anyone possessing this artifact could in theory produce an elixir of extraordinary power that would heal all injuries, and give them everlasting life. It is rumored to be red; a brilliant, sparkling crimson rivaling the most precious jewel in any museum. The stone's power is equal to the greatest of Nature’s fury and beauty alike.

Many have sought out the stone's power; all have failed. But a new adventurer has taken up the quest. A young State Alchemist seeks to right a most horrific wrong. His quest will determine the ultimate fate of an entire nation...and for himself. To seize the stone would allow him to restore life to those he loves, but it will also make it possible for the State Military to obliterate countless more. It is this burden that the young Alchemist bears. The power to create is but a breath away from the power to destroy. His name is Edward Elric. And he seeks the Philosopher's Stone.

Learn more at: http://www.fullmetalalchemist.com/

About FUNimation Entertainment
FUNimation® Entertainment, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Navarre Corporation, is the leading company for Japanese animation in the United States. FUNimation is known for acquiring top-rated anime series from Japan and for being the market share leader for home video sales of anime in the United States. The company has a proven formula for launching and advancing brands, and manages a full spectrum of rights for most of its brands including broadcasting, licensing, production, internet, and home video sales and distribution.

About Appliya Inc.
Appliya specializes in the production and publishing of iPhone and iPod Touch applications. The company has recently partnered with Japanese mobile industry giant Softbank Mobile Corp. to bring the unique elements of Japanese culture to an international audience through mobile applications. Their efforts include exclusive licensing deals with major anime and manga producers. Appliya also offers custom application development options through the APPLIYA STUDIO service, which allows any artist, company, or content owner to easily build free or paid iPhone apps using pre-built, out-of-the-box application templates.
Learn more at: http://appliya-inc.com/en/ and http://appliya-studio.com/en/

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FUNimation Entertainment Press Release

Personal Review: Spice & Wolf vol.1

Review By Jong Chung

Spice & Wolf is Isuna Hasekura's debut work, which was first published by ASCII Media Works under their Dengeki Bunko imprint in Feb 10, 2006. Since then, there have been a total of 13 volumes in print . We are able to enjoy the Spice & Wolf series in English thanks to Yen Press' ever-impressive efforts.

Many images may run through one's head simply by reading the title and looking at the cover. Couple that with the tagline “Merchant meats spicy wolf” and I can imagine it may be of one of the most violent acts of wolf consumption yet.

Among other things, Spice & Wolf is a very charming story of a young (or old, depending on your perspective) veteran merchant named Kraft Lawrence, the mysterious (and self-proclaimed) Holo the wisewolf and their travels. Now... readers here may or may not have seen the book at their local bookstore. For the uninitiated... one might wonder, having seen the cover, what it could possibly have to do with Anime and Manga. Well first, the work is considered a light novel in Japan. It had a distinct cover that one could even mistake for a manga. That is, save for the fact that light novels are printed in a tiny book-format in Japan, roughly the size of one's hand. So how did this change occur?

While we may think otherwise due to the size of the communities of English speaking Anime/Manga fans online, it is not all that widely known in the US. Not enough so that light novels sell well without any assistance, in any case. The cover change is one such support that Yen Press felt was necessary in order to not alienate the non-fan. For those of us that have seen and loved the original cover, Yen Press kindly put the original cover as a dust jacket insert in the December issue of their print magazine, Yen Plus. If it is still available, these can be found where your bookstores stock magazines if not the manga section.

Since the Haruhi Suzumiya series, the trend of giving popular light novel series anime adaptations has boomed over the past few years. Spice and Wolf is no exception, and rightfully so. The series, for all intents and purposes fall under the familiar genre of fantasy. However, it fits neither extremes of high fantasy or grim/macabre fantasy, while yet keeping away from the expected “swords and sorcery” type of stories, one would expect from any other fantasy sub genre. Spice and Wolf follows the tale of a merchant and his newly found companion in the form of a wolf-turned-woman and their journey to the ultimate destination of Holo's homeland, Yoitsu. While they do run into troubles along the way via various forms, (rival merchants, travels through dangerous woods in an escort “quest,” or even the church) the story finds action is a more unique fashion than most of us are used to: economics.

I cannot make any bold claims that one will enjoy Spice & Wolf if they did not like economics classes in high school or college. Volume one follows one story “arc” of Kraft's run in with another merchant's information about profit to be had in a change of currency in the near future. To clarify, the information has to do with the change of purity found in one of the coin currencies in the world of Spice & Wolf, known as a Trenni coin. Kraft goes through several venues and with the aid of Holo's ability to discern lies from the truth, tries to find out whether he could truly make profit off of this or not. If your heads are tilted sideways with tongues lolling out, I would not recommend this series to you. At least not in the light novel form, in any case. The anime (in Japanese dub) does offer what the novels are unable to. Obviously, the most important thing would be visual action. If one considers the type of trouble Kraft goes through in the first volume, most of the action is to be had in the conversations and interactions between characters, which is rather intriguing, at least for myself. Another important point is the manner of speaking. Literally.

This is a bit of personal preference, but one can only truly enjoy Holo's archaic manner of speech through the anime more so than the translated novels. It is difficult to portray the same kind of language in English I would think. Thus, in the English version of the novel, Holo's manner of speech only sounds like a half way point between modern and Shakespearean language.

For the impatient, the review can be summed as such: For those looking for high-flying, sword-swinging, bow-slinging action–sit this one out, it most certainly does not cater to those tastes. For those who can appreciate depth of character interaction and the general lack of physical action (Oh! And can appreciate a bit of economics here and there) then this book is more than worth a read by any account.
Look forward to more volumes of Spice & Wolf to follow in 2010 from Yen Press.
© 2009 Linda Thai