Weekly Anime Update: 5/03/2011

This week: K-On movie announcement, Akira issues 1 – 6 re-printed and flying off the shelves, some new Netflix streaming titles, and a new digital manga app. for iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch. (Bonus at the end: Japanese Zelda commercial with subtitles!)

First up: K-On! – a show about a group of high school girls who join their school’s “light music club” in order to save if from collapse – already has a movie in the works. This is no surprise considering the huge popularity of the show (especially in Japan). You can check out the Japanese trailer here. If you watch the show, you’ll get the idea. There’s not really much to translate – Yui introduces the group and explains that they will be back in an upcoming movie in which you’ll get to see some more of their high school adventures. The movie’s release date is currently set for December, 2011 and considering the speedy release that this series got I’m sure we’ll see the movie get subbed and dubbed pretty quickly.

K-On! Movie

Second on the list: The highly acclaimed manga version of Katsuhiro Otomo’s Akira has recently been re-printed by Kodansha comics. Volume 6, which just released on April 12th, has already made its way onto the New York Times Bestseller’s: Manga list. If you’re interested in reading this story in its original form, and getting the rest of the story if you’ve only seen the movie, definitely pick these up before they goes out of print. Volumes 1 – 6 are available at all major stores and Amazon has a deal on Volume 6 for $19.79.

Akira Volume 6

Third: here’s another great chance to watch some more staples of anime if you are a Netflix subscriber! As of this week, both Death Note and FLCL (pronounced: “fooli cooli”) will be available in the “watch instantly” section. FLCL is a title I would highly recommend to anyone new to anime – it’s a strange combination of fun, weird and crazy that works quite well. Allow me to suggest that you watch all six parts in one sitting to really take in the weirdness of the plot.

FLCL

Lastly: if you’re an iPhone or iPod Touch owner and a manga reader, you should know that Viz Media has just announced that their Manga App will now be available on these devices (plus the iPad). It’s a great way to get access to tons of digital manga titles and take them with you (I really enjoy reading manga on the train.). Viz currently has 28 series available in full through the application.

They’re giving away a discount to those who decide to pick up some titles. Download of the application itself is free. Check out more details and available series over at Viz’s website.

To support the launch, we’ve also kicked off a special promotion for 40% off select Volume 1 manga (only $2.99 ea, through midnight May 9th)! This is across all devices – iPhone, iPod Touch AND iPad!

 

iphone preview

Here's a preview of what the app looks like on an Iphone.

 

Well, that’s all for today. Remember to stay caught up with all your anime, manga and geeky news just stay surfing on BSR!

Since this week was a bit light on anime news – I give you this fantastic and hilarious Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past commercial from Japan in the early 90’s. It’s one of my favorite videos on youtube. Enjoy!