Friday, October 22, 2010

Despicable Me

Despicable Me is a 2010 American computer-animated 3-D comedy film from Universal Pictures and Illumination Entertainment that was released on July 9, 2010 in the United States. The film stars Steve Carell, Jason Segel, Russell Brand, Julie Andrews, Will Arnett, Kristen Wiig, and Miranda Cosgrove. It is the first CGI feature produced by Universal, in association with its Illumination Entertainment division. It has been entirely animated in the French studio Mac Guff in Paris, France.
The story is of a supervillain named Gru who plans to use three orphan girls as pawns for a grand scheme, only to find that their innocent love is profoundly changing him.
The film earned positive reviews from critics, and grossed more than $246 million in North America, against a budget of $69 million.

Resident Evil After Life

Resident Evil: Afterlife is a 2010 3D science-fiction action film written and directed by Paul W. S. Anderson, and starring Milla Jovovich, Ali Larter, Kim Coates, Shawn Roberts, Spencer Locke, Boris Kodjoe, and Wentworth Miller. It is the fourth installment in a series of film adaptations based loosely on Capcom's survival horror video game series Resident Evil. It is also the first film in the series to be released in 3D. In the film Alice searches for and rescues remaining survivors in Los Angeles of the T-virus outbreak, who team up against Albert Wesker, the head of the Umbrella Corporation.
In May 2005, producers mentioned the possibility of following Resident Evil: Extinction  with a sequel titled Afterlife. Extinction was released in 2007 and was a box office success prompting Afterlife to begin development in June 2008, with the script being written by Anderson that December. Elements from the video game Resident Evil 5 were incorporated into the film.
Chris Redfield, a primary character from the video games was featured for the first time in the film franchise. Other characters from the games and films who return are: Claire Redfield, Albert Wesker, and Jill Valentine. Filming took place in Toronto from September to December 2009 using James Cameron's 3D Fusion Camera System. The film was released in 3D and IMAX 3-D theaters on September 10, 2010.

Resident Evil Extinction

Resident Evil: Extinction is a 2007 science fiction action horror film also categorized as a doomsday and zombie film, and is the third installment in the series of film adaptations based on the Capcom survival horror series Resident Evil. The film follows the heroine Alice, along with a group of survivors from Raccoon City, as they attempt to travel across the Mojave desert wilderness to Alaska and escape a zombie apocalypse. The film was directed by Russell Mulcahy and produced by Paul W.S. Anderson.
The film was released in the United States on September 21, 2007 and was commercially successful, grossing $147,717,833 worldwide. However, it received many negative reviews from critics. The film was released on DVD and Blu-ray in North America on January 1, 2008

Monday, October 18, 2010

Coyote Ragtime Show

Coyote Ragtime Show  is an anime series directed by Takuya Nonaka and produced by ufotable, which first aired in Japan on July 3, 2006. The storyline consists of the adventures of a group of space-faring fugitives in search of a treasure.
ADV Films acquired the North American rights to the anime Coyote Ragtime Show and has released all twelve episodes in this series on 3 DVDs. In 2008, the anime became one of over 30 ADV titles transferred to Funimation.[1] In Australia and New Zealand, the series is distributed by Madman Entertainment. The manga was picked up by Broccoli Books, which managed to release two of its three volumes before closing its doors; the third volume is still listed on the Broccoli website as TBA. The future of the manga's English translation remains unknown.

Afro Samurai

Afro Samurai , also written AFRO SAMURAI, is a Japanese seinen dōjinshi manga series written and illustrated by manga artist Takashi Okazaki. It was originally serialized irregularly in the avant-garde dōjinshi manga magazine Nou Nou Hau from September 1999 to May 2000. Inspired by Takashi Okazaki's love of soul and hip hop music and American media, Afro Samurai follows the life of Afro Samurai who witnessed his father (owner of the No. 1 headband) being killed by the hands of a gunslinger named Justice (owner of the No. 2 headband) while he was a child. As an adult, Afro sets off to avenge his father's death and kill Justice.
The Afro Samurai dōjinshi was adapted into a 5-episode anime TV series by studio Gonzo in 2007. The same studio also went on to produce a made-for-TV movie sequel entitled Afro Samurai: Resurrection in 2009, which gained two Emmy nominations, for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Animation, which it won, and Outstanding Animated Program (For Programming One Hour or More), which it did not win. After the release of the anime series, Takashi Okazaki remade the original Afro Samurai dōjinshi into a two-volume manga. To be only released in North America, Tor Books and Seven Seas Entertainment licensed the title and published it under their new Tor/Seven Seas imprint.
In addition to the success of the anime series, Afro Samurai has also been adapted into a video game and an upcoming live-action feature film. For the TV series and the film, two soundtracks by the RZA of Wu-Tang Clan have been released as well as a profile book in Japan.

Final Fantasy XIII

Final Fantasy XIII  is a role-playing video game developed and published by Square Enix for the PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360. Released in 2009 in Japan and 2010 in North America and PAL regions, it is the thirteenth installment in the Final Fantasy series. The game introduced a few innovations to the series: a fast-paced combat mechanic, a new system determining which abilities are developed for the characters called "Crystarium", and a customizable "Paradigm" system to control which abilities are used by the characters. Final Fantasy XIII also includes elements from the previous games, such as summoned monsters, chocobos and airships.
The game takes place in the fictional floating world of Cocoon, whose government, the Sanctum, is ordering a purge on civilians who have supposedly come into contact with those from Pulse, the much-feared world below. Lightning, a former soldier from Cocoon, begins her fight against the government in order to save her sister, who has been branded a Pulse l'Cie—unwilling servants to the beings known as the fal'Cie, who maintain order on both Cocoon and Pulse—and thus has become an enemy of Cocoon. Lightning is soon joined by a band of allies, and together the group also become l'Cie after their encounter with a Pulse fal'Cie. Together, they rally against the Sanctum, while also trying to discover their "Focus" as l'Cie—the tasks they must complete before their time comes to an end.
First appearing at E3 2006, Final Fantasy XIII is the flagship title of the Fabula Nova Crystallis collection of Final Fantasy games and is the first game to use Square Enix's Crystal Tools engine. Square Enix describes the theme of the game as "those who resist the world". Final Fantasy XIII received mostly positive reviews from video game publications. Selling over 1.6 million copies in Japan, it became the fastest-selling title in the history of the series. As of May 2010, the game has sold 5.75 million copies worldwide.

InuYasha

InuYasha , full title InuYasha, a Feudal Fairy Tale is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Rumiko Takahashi. It premiered in Weekly Shōnen Sunday on November 13, 1996 and concluded on June 18, 2008. The series follows a time-traveling middle school girl, a half-demon, a lecherous monk, a fox demon, a demon slayer, and a nekomata during the Sengoku period as they seek to find all the fragments of the Jewel of Four Souls and to keep them out of the hands of evildoers, especially Naraku.
The manga was adapted as two anime television series produced by Sunrise. The first, broadcast for 167 episodes on Yomiuri TV in Japan from October 16, 2000 until September 13, 2004, was directed by Masashi Ikeda for the first forty-four episodes and by Yasunao Aoki for the remainder. The second series, called InuYasha: The Final Act, began airing October 3, 2009 to cover the rest of the manga series and ended on March 29, 2010.

Highschool of the Dead

Highschool of the Dead  is a manga series written by Daisuke Satō and illustrated by Shōji Satō. The story follows a group of high school students caught in the middle of a zombie apocalypse. The series has been serialized in Fujimi Shobo's Monthly Dragon Age since September 2006 and has been published internationally in a number of languages. Highschool of the Dead was adapted into an anime television series by Madhouse which began airing in Japan on July 5, 2010. The first season ended on September 20, 2010.

Rosario + Vampire

Rosario + Vampire  is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Akihisa Ikeda. The story revolves around Tsukune Aono, a boy who accidentally gets enrolled in a school inhabited by monsters and demons. He quickly befriends Moka Akashiya, a vampire who soon develops an obsession with his blood, and later meets other girls who soon take a romantic liking to him. The manga began serialization in Monthly Shōnen Jump, from August 2004 to June 2007 (one extra chapter was serialized in Weekly Shōnen Jump in September 2007). A sequel to the first series, Rosario + Vampire: Season II  is ongoing and began serialization in November 2007 in Jump Square. Both mangas are licensed for North American distribution by Viz Media.
A 13-episode anime adaptation of Rosario + Vampire aired in Japan from January 3 to March 27, 2008. A second season titled Rosario + Vampire Capu2 continued the series, introducing more characters from the manga and new anime-exclusive characters, also aired in Japan between October 2 and December 24, 2008. At Anime Central 2010, North American anime distributor Funimation Entertainment announced that they have acquired both anime seasons of Rosario + Vampire for release in 2011.

Angel Beats!

Angel Beats! is a 13-episode Japanese anime television series produced by P.A. Works and Aniplex and directed by Seiji Kishi. The story was originally conceived by Jun Maeda, who also wrote the screenplay and composed the music with the group Anant-Garde Eyes, with original character design by Na-Ga; both Maeda and Na-Ga are from the visual novel brand Key, who produced such titles as Kanon, Air, and Clannad. The anime aired in Japan between April 3 and June 26, 2010. Key worked in collaboration with ASCII Media Works' Dengeki G's Magazine to produce the project into a media franchise. Two manga series are serialized in Dengeki G's Magazine: one illustrated by Haruka Komowata, which began serialization in the December 2009 issue, and the other drawn by Yuriko Asami, which started in the May 2010 issue. A series of illustrated short stories written by Maeda and illustrated by GotoP were also serialized in Dengeki G's Magazine between the November 2009 and May 2010 issues. Two Internet radio shows were produced to promote Angel Beats!.

Bleach

Bleach  is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Noriaki "Tite" Kubo. Bleach follows the adventures of Ichigo Kurosaki after he obtains the powers of a Soul Reaper   a death personification similar to the Grim Reaper - from Rukia Kuchiki. His newfound powers force him to take on the duties of defending humans from evil spirits and guiding departed souls to the afterlife.
Bleach has been serialized in the Japanese manga anthology Weekly Shōnen Jump since August 2001, and has been collected into 47 tankōbon volumes as of October 2010. Since its publication, Bleach has spawned a substantial media franchise that includes an ongoing animated television series that is produced by Studio Pierrot in Japan, two original video animations, three animated feature films, seven rock musicals, and numerous video games, as well as many types of Bleach-related merchandise.
Viz Media obtained foreign television and home video distribution rights to the Bleach anime on March 15, 2006. Cartoon Network began airing Bleach in the United States as part of its Adult Swim block on September 9, 2006. Viz Media has licensed the manga for English-language publication in the United States and Canada, and has released 32 bound volumes as of September 2010 as well as published chapters of Bleach in its Shonen Jump magazine since November 2007. Viz Media released the first Bleach film, Bleach: Memories of Nobody, on DVD in North America on October 14, 2008. The second film, Bleach: The DiamondDust Rebellion, was released on September 15, 2009.
Volumes of the manga have sold over 61 million copies in Japan, and have reached the top of manga sales in the United States. The anime adaptation has been similarly received; it was rated as the fourth most popular anime television series in Japan in 2006 and held a position amongst the top ten anime in the United States from 2006 to 2008. The series received the Shogakukan Manga Award for the shōnen demographic in 2005, and is among the best-selling manga properties in both Japan and the United States.

Naruto Shippuden

The episodes of the anime series Naruto: Shippuden are directed by Hayato Date and produced by Studio Pierrot and TV Tokyo. They are based on Part II of the Naruto manga series by Masashi Kishimoto. Naruto: Shippuden is a continuation of the Naruto manga series by Kishimoto, and continues the same storyline after the passing of two and a half years in the fictional Naruto universe. The episodes began airing on February 15, 2007 and have all been shown on TV Tokyo in Japan.
On January 2, 2008 Viz Media and Crunchyroll began providing eight English subtitled Naruto Shippuden episodes on the official Naruto website every week until it caught up to the Japanese anime. Also, starting January 15, 2009, Viz began providing subtitled versions of the latest Naruto: Shippuden episodes a week after they first air in Japan, with a new episode being added to the Naruto website each subsequent Thursday. Viz had stated the English dub will air sometime in the near future though at the Anime Expo 09, it was revealed episodes of Naruto: Shippuden can only be seen on DVD releases. The English dub of Naruto: Shippuden began airing on the United States in October 2009, where it continues to air weekly. Episodes 1-64 of the English dub are now available at the iTunes Store. The first DVD release of the series in North America was released on September 29, 2009.  Episodes 1 through 53 were made and broadcast in 4:3 standard definition fullscreen, while episodes 54 onward were made and broadcast in 16:9 high definition widescreen.
The series is being released to Region 2 DVD in Japan with four or five episodes per disc. There are currently six series of DVD releases divided by arc. The first covers episodes 1 through 32 over eight DVDs, the second covers episodes 33 through 53 over five DVDs , the third covers episodes 54 through 71 over four DVDs, the fourth covers episodes 72 through 88 over four DVDs, the fifth covers episodes 89 through 112 over six DVDs, and the sixth is currently being released from episode 113 onward. There is also a special feature included with the seventh Naruto: Shippuden compilation DVD based on the second ending of the series called Hurricane! "Konoha Academy" Chronicles.  Limited edition of Seventh DVD of "Master's Prophecy and Vengeance" comes with special DVD Behind the Scenes of UCHIHA containing interview mixed with footage from episodes. You can visit page at http://www.naruto.viz.com/