Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Email | RSS
Show Notes
0:00: Justin and Helen chat about what they’ve been up to, though that involves Helen prepping for Katsucon (and watching Boogiepop and Others), and Justin watching that tidying show on Netflix.
News
6:10: Madman Group (Australian anime distributor) sold its anime division to Aniplex, which Sony has, and well, we already know Sony has Funimation. What will this mean?
8:00: Gen Fukunaga’s stepping down as Funimation’s GM, which makes you wonder what’s going to happen to them.
8:54: Cinedigm finalized its acquisition of Viewster, so now we’ll have to see how this will impact streaming in any way down the road.
11:50: Code Geass is gonna be in theaters this May, and Justin doesn’t know what’s gonna happen, and if he wants to actually see it….
13:18: Penguin Highway and Okko’s Inn will be having a big next few months, as it’ll be in theaters in April, and screen at the NYICFF.
14:58: Manga getting adapted into anime news! To the Abandoned Sacred Beasts, Astra: Lost in Space, and Beastars is getting an anime.
17:46: NOTE — This probably should’ve also been in the weird news section: Chiitan is having an issue. And that issue involves getting sued by a city. You can also bet this story will only get stranger.
20:45: Perfect World is getting a live-action series!…That’s gotta lead up to an anime eventually right?
21:06: If you purchased Re:ZERO Season 1 in BD, you likely got a bad product! Funimation realized that and opened up a program so you can get it replaced.
22:50: Hard to miss the Vic Mignogna story that’s been happening if you’re an anime fan, and with accusations from multiple people (and conventions banning him even more in 2019), Justin and Helen definitely had to talk about this. Since the two did chat about it (which covered everything up to him being removed from the casting for Morose Mononokean II), more news came about from Funimation to Vic himself with his second statement on Twitter.
28:32: There’s going to be an anime film for Ni No Kuni. We got a trailer for Vinland Saga. And Mamoru Hosoda’s Mirai film won an award for Best Animated Independent Feature at the Annie Awards.
Licensing News
30:49: Yen Press went out and announced some stuff randomly on a Friday. So in no order:
- Do You Love Your Mom and Her Two-Hit Multi-Target Attacks? manga
- Overlord a la Carte anthology manga,
- Reborn as a Polar Bear: The Legend of How I Became a Forest Guardian (LN)
- Phantom Tales of the Night (LN)
- The War Ends the World / Raises the World (LN and manga)
- Combatants Will Be Dispatched! (LN and manga, Konosuba creator).
- The Genius Prince’s Guide to Raising a Nation Out of Debt (Hey, How About Treason?) LN
- The Art of Sword Oratoria art book.
35:05: SuBLime licensed Scarlet Beriko’s Fourth Generation Head: Tatsuyuki Oyamato. Justin mostly just remarked about how lewd the SuBLime Twitter account was that day. More than others!!! And the gun placement.
36:56: And finally, Kodansha Comics finally announced their digital releases this month! My Sweet Girl, World’s End and Apricot Jam, and The Tale of Genji: Dreams at Dawn.
Main Topic: Manga Plus
41:13: Yes, MANGA Plus is a real thing. A real thing that got announced about two hours after we recorded Episode 70. Shueisha, why???
Lame pettiness aside, you’ll want to read the exclusive announcement on ANN, who interviewed one of the main people overseeing the app, then take in the fact that the app is free to read. It’s also available globally, with a Spanish version in the works for March. There are some issues for the app…but for real…everyone who’s been saying they’ll pirate because it’s not available in the region…it’s time to put up or shut up basically.
The two also wonder if this will make any money, and compare it a bit to the Shonen Jump app from VIZ, which has a competitor…from itself? Among other things. Justin has read all of the new titles. (One of them was dropped.)
Weird News
52:27: Helen found this cute story involving a Chinese Zoo naming their servals after Kemono Friends‘ catchphrase.
53:40: After they weren’t sure what DeNA would be up to since Media Do brought MAL, Justin notes that they’re working on something with Shueisha.
55:29: Finally, the podcast couldn’t end without talking about Alita. That’s one of the biggest films for anyone in the anime and manga industry, since Hollywood’s tackling it. This is not us saying Justin and Helen saw it. They just talk about how this dumb company is suing Fox over the name…which was trademarked a while ago! And it’s been a long while.