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Anime Expo (AX), North America’s largest anime, manga, and Japanese pop culture celebration, today announced award-winning voice actor Nobuhiko Okamoto as an Official Guest of Honor when it returns to the Los Angeles Convention Center from June 29 – July 2, 2012.

A Tokyo native, Nobuhiko Okamoto has a rich background in voice acting. His credits include being the voice of Rin Okumura, the hero of “Blue Exorcist,” Eiji Niizuma of “Bakuman,” Ivan Karelin a.k.a. Origami Cyclone of “Tiger & Bunny,” and Accelerator of “Toaru Majutsuno Index” just to name a few. He won the Best New Actor Award on the Third Annual Voice Actor Awards and later received the Best Supporting Actor Award on the Fifth Annual Voice Actor Awards. As an Official Guest of Honor, Okamoto will participate in a meet-and-greet, autograph signing and focus panel

Nobuhiko Okamoto joins the previously announced Anime Expo 2012 line-up that includes composer Yuki Kajiura/”FictionJunction;” anime-inspired heavy metal band ANIMETAL USA; Culture Japan’s Danny Choo; “Fate/Zero” creative team Hikaru Konda, Ei Aoki and Rikiya Koyama; voice actors Ryo Horikawa,Jamie Marchi, Monica Rial and Steve Blum, Japanese pop star LiSA, Lolita fashion designer Cyril Lumboy, Lolita model Misako Aoki and the Gallery of Fantastic Art.

VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), the largest distributor and licensor of anime and manga in North America, notably expands its bestselling YU-GI-OH! manga (graphic novel) brand with the forthcoming release of the newest series in the popular franchise. YU-GI-OH! ZEXAL launches on June 5th under the company’s SHONEN JUMP imprint, is rated ‘T’ for Teens, and will carry an MSRP of $9.99 U.S. / $12.99 CAN. Volume 1 First Editions will also contain a limited edition collectable YU-GI-OH! trading card.

YU-GI-OH! ZEXAL is based on an original concept by Kazuki Takahashi with story by Shin Yoshida and artwork created by Naohito Miyoshi. The new series takes place in a futuristic city where augmented reality Duels are all the rage. Duelists, using devices called D-Gazers, can interact with their environment and their opponents as never before. With more awesome monsters and unbelievable cards, the future of Yu-Gi-Oh! starts right here! No one loves Dueling more than Yuma Tsukumo, but unfortunately for him, no one is worse at it! This isn’t going to stop Yuma from trying though. When Yuma calls on the memory of his parents during the Duel, a strange being called Astral appears, and the encounter is the start of Yuma’s amazing Duel journey!

“YU-GI-OH! ZEXAL is the successor to YU-GI-OH! 5D’s and takes the art of Dueling to the next level in this exciting latest saga of the internationally popular franchise,” says Mike Montesa, Editor. “The manga series, which is ongoing in Japan, closely follows the YU-GI-OH! ZEXAL animated show currently airing on North American television on the CW network’s Toonzai animated program block. With plenty of action and supercharged Duels featuring a colorful new array of monsters, manga readers won’t want to miss a single adventure as Yuma Tsukumo strives to become a famous champion and fulfill his destiny!”

Artist/author Kazuki Takahashi first tried to break into the manga business in 1982, but success eluded him until YU-GI-OH! debuted in the Japanese Weekly Shonen Jump magazine in 1996. YU-GI-OH!’s themes of friendship and fighting, together with Takahashi’s weird and imaginative monsters, soon became enormously successful, spawning a real-world trading card game, video games, and three popular anime series including the two original YU-GI-OH! series as well as YU-GI-OH! GX.

More information on YU-GI-OH! is available at: www.viz.com/yu-gi-oh.

Manga publisher VIZ Media encourages fans across North America to visit VIZManga.com and the VIZ MANGA App for the Apple iPad®, iPhone® and iPod® touch every Monday throughout the first-half of May to take advantage of a special 40% off discount on select Volume 1 digital titles (Reg. MSRP: $4.99, Sale Price: $2.99). Five different opening volumes from various manga series will be offered each week, from the hit debuts of BLEACH and BAKUMAN。, to the non-stop action of DRAGON BALL Z and psychological tension of DEATH NOTE, to the romance of BLACK BIRD and DENGEKI DAISY.

Discount Manga Titles for May 7th Include:
BAKUMAN。 Vol. 1 • Rated ‘T’ for Teens
DEATH NOTE Vol. 1 • Rated ‘T+’ for Older Teens
DRAGON BALL Z Vol. 1 • Rated ‘A’ for All Ages
ROSARIO + VAMPIRE II Vol. 1 • Rated ‘T+’ for Older Teens
TORIKO Vol. 1 • Rated ‘T’ for Teens

Discount Manga Titles for May 14th Include:
ABSOLUTE BOYFRIEND Vol. 1 • Rated ‘T+’ for Older Teens
ARATA: THE LEGEND Vol. 1 • Rated ‘T’ for Teens
BLACK BIRD Vol. 1 • Rated ‘T+’ for Older Teens
DENGEKI DAISY Vol. 1 • Rated ‘T+’ for Older Teens
HYDE & CLOSER Vol. 1 • Rated ‘T+’ for Older Teens

VIZ Media also delivers a substantial digital manga update during the first-half of May with the announcement of the launch of 4 new series. The new series include the romantic shojo fun of MISTRESS FORTUNE, HIGH SCHOOL DEBUT, and SEIHO BOYS HIGH SCHOOL, as well as the zany sci-fi comedy action of EXCEL SAGA.

The VIZ MANGA APP is available for free through the iTunes Store and all manga volumes are generally available for purchase and download in the U.S. and Canada within the application for $4.99 (U.S. / CAN) per volume. More than 55 series and 500+ volumes are currently available for download.

MISTRESS FORTUNE • by Arina Tanemura • Rated ‘T’ for Teens •
Available May 7th
Fourteen-year-old Kisaki Tachibana has psychic powers. She works for PSI, a secret government agency that fights aliens. She’s in love with her partner Giniro, but PSI won’t allow operatives to get involved. Just when Kisaki thinks she may be getting closer to Giniro, she finds out she’s going to be transferred to California!

HIGH SCHOOL DEBUT Vol. 1 • by Kazune Kawahara • Rated ‘T’ for Teens •
Available May 14th
Hapless Haruna needs help finding a boyfriend! After failing to win the eye of any guy in high school, Haruna enlists the help of cute upperclassman Yoh to coach her on how to make herself more appealing to the male species. Yoh agrees, with one catch: Haruna had better not fall for him!

SEIHO BOYS HIGH SCHOOL Vol. 1 • by Kaeneyoshi Izumi •
Rated ‘T+’ for Older Teens • Available May 14th
Remote, lonely and surrounded by the ocean – this isn’t Alcatraz we’re talking about – it’s Seiho Boys’ High School, where the student body is rife with sexually frustrated hunks! How can these young men get girlfriends when they’re stuck in the middle of nowhere? These are the stories of the students of Seiho High and the trouble they get into as they awkwardly pursue all girls who cross their paths.

EXCEL SAGA Vol. 1 • by Rikdo Koshi • Rated ‘T’ for Teens •
Available May 14th
Question: What happens when you try to act like an anime character in real life? Answer: EXCEL SAGA. Two groups of neighbors in an apartment building lead secret lives. One thinks they’re trying to take over the city of Fukuoka. The other thinks they’re trying to defend it. Only their bosses, would-be conqueror Lord Il Palazzo and obsessed bureaucrat Dr. Kabapu, know the truth behind this increasingly dangerous private game. Too bad neither lets their underlings in on it!

Fullmetal Alchemist: The Sacred Star of Milos as low as $19.99! Was $34.98.
Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood Collection One as low as $36.99! Was $69.98

Bandai Entertainment announced today the availability of two theatrical films Sword of the Stranger (http://www.hulu.com/sword-of-the-stranger) and Jin-Roh (http://www.hulu.com/jin-roh) on the free, ad-supported Hulu and Hulu Plus subscription service.

About Sword of the Stranger
From acclaimed animation studio BONES (Eureka Seven, Cowboy Bebop, Full Metal Alchemist) Sword of the Stranger is the story Kotaro, a young boy hunted by the Mings from China, and his loyal dog Tobimaru. The two meet a nameless samurai who is haunted by his past – a memory so terrible he has vowed to never draw his sword again. Among the Mings is Luo-Lang, a ruthless Western swordsman with the Chinese name who has walked the earth in search of a worthy rival. When both groups clash with a feudal lord and monks torn between faith and survival, the truth behind the Mings’ pursuit of Kotaro tests the bond between the boy and the samurai.

 

 

 

 

 

About Jin-Roh
Originally released in 1999 and directed by Hiroyuki Okiura and written by Mamoru Oshii (Patlabor, Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence) Jin-Roh is set in an alternate history of Japan. Constable Fuse is part of an elite Special Forces team whose mission is to maintain peace during a time of civil unrest. Entangled within a web of intrigue and politics, his decisions will determine the ultimate fate of the Capital Police and those dearest to him…

MangaGamer are proud to announce the release of a demo video for ef!

As our release of ef ~The First Tale~ draws near, we’re proud to present the game’s English demo video so fans can enjoy a look at its artwork by Naru Nanao and animation by Makoto Shinkai. More information about the upcoming release as well as a message from minori to their western fans can be found on our staff blog.

Story
Otowa, a city once razed by a devastating earthquake and the resultant fires.
A beautiful European cityscape now marks the present, as if it were from a fairy tale; almost as if to mask the memories of that calamity…

Prologue: A beginning of the story “ef – a fairy tale of the two.”

The night before Christmas.
A man visited a church in Otowa.
He was to fulfill a promise made in the distant past.
A woman greeted him.
The two of them calmly talked about their bygone days.

“Each step of life would be taken together.”
“That was what we thought.”
“But then…”
“Our hands drifted apart, yet they arrived here through unique paths.”

What happened in the time they were separated?
They were there to find out.

The girl said,

“It was during this time, one year ago.
Those doors opened, and he wandered in from the cold. It was a lone young man.
A part of him resembled you… Yes, there was a pining essence within.
That may be why I acted the way I did.
For a short time, I thought I would involve myself in his fairy tale.”

Chapter 1: Otowa – Winter

Hiro Hirono is not only a full-time student, but also a professional shoujo manga artist. On the night of Christmas Eve, he happened upon two women.
The first, Yuuko Amamiya, was a mysterious lady who continued to wait for someone at the church.
The other, Miyako Miyamura, was a girl who had her purse stolen and snatched Hiro’s bicycle to pursue the culprit.

This winter, Hiro will waver between his artistic dreams and the reality of school.
Upon seeing each other again at Otowa Collegiate, Miyako presented Hiro this question: “It’s all too much for one person. Can’t you just run away from it all?”
He will be charmed by the free-spirited Miyako, who is bound by nothing.
However, there is yet another girl with her eyes on him: Kei Shindou, whom he thinks of as a sister and a childhood friend.
This driven and confident girl, a starter of the basketball team despite her short stature, will try to show Hiro another path.

These students will coalesce within this idyllic school life.
Their relationships will be taken a step further, yet what has tied them together is about to become hopelessly tangled.

The choice between dreams and reality…
His heart torn between two girls…
Hiro must find a single solution for these two conflicts.

Chapter 2: Otowa – Summer

Half a year after the events of the first chapter, the passage of time brings both new relationships and the birth of a new tale.

The girl who became hurt by the events at the conclusion of winter met a young man named Kyousuke Tsutsumi.
A cameraman in the film club, he was usually rather aloof, but the objective view passing through his lens didn’t overlook a fairy tale that hadn’t quite seen its finale.

Hiro Hirono had grown since the first chapter, and Yuuko Amamiya was still waiting.
While watching over everyone, she took it upon herself to take action once more.

The fairy tale was not yet over.

The man with eyes filled with hatred asked her:
“…Who ARE you?”

The truth is revealed in ef – a fairy tale of the two.
Another summer and winter will pass in the next part: ef – the latter tale.
Only then will the tale come to its conclusion.

ef ~The First Tale~
Manufacturer: Minori
Genre: Adventure
Price: €24.95
OS: Windows XP(32bit), Windows Vista(32bit), Windows 7(32bit)
Text Language: English
Voice Language: Japanese
Age Rating: 18 and over

VIZ Media announces its latest manga (graphic novel) licenses with the acquisition of the domestic publishing rights to two new shojo series – STROBE EDGE, by Io Sakisaka, and DEMON LOVE SPELL, by Mayu Shinjo. Both titles are scheduled to begin publication later this year under the company’s Shojo Beat imprint.

Creator Io Sakisaka’s STROBE EDGE (rated ‘T’ for Teens) asks the timeless question, “What is love?” Ninako Kinoshita’s friends tell her it’s one thing, but Ninako wants to discover this mysterious emotion herself. When she meets Ren Ichinose, a handsome, enigmatic guy worshipped by all the girls at her school, she finds her heartbeat quickening with excitement! Is Ninako about to experience the many facets of love?

Celebrated manga creator Mayu Shinjo (AI ORE!, SENSUAL PHRASE) also returns with her new supernatural romance, DEMON LOVE SPELL (rated ‘T+’ for Older Teens). In the series, Miko is a shrine maiden who has never had much success at seeing or banishing spirits. Then she meets Kagura, a sexy demon who feeds off of women’s feelings of passion and love. Kagura’s insatiable appetite has left many girls brokenhearted at school, so Miko casts a spell to seal his powers. Surprisingly the spell works – sort of – but now Kagura is after her!

“STROBE EDGE has been one of the most requested titles that our readers have asked to be licensed, and the romantic coming-of-age story will be a perfect series for young teen readers in particular,” says Leyla Aker, Vice President, Publishing. “Mayu Shinjo’s new series, DEMON LOVE SPELL, will intrigue older teen readers and young adults with its fun mix of comedic supernatural romance and gorgeous artwork. We look forward to launching both series later this year and will be announcing more information on the forthcoming debuts soon!”

The magic of My Little Pony comes to this summer¹s most anticipated anime, manga and music event in Southern California-AM2. In addition to bringing the voice of Pinkie Pie/Fluttershy (Ms. Andrea Libman) as an official Guest of Honor, AM2 is collaborating with Equestria LA to bring more pony fun to fans with an official Brony Lounge, panels, dances, games and more. Equestria LA attendees also receive a discount for AM2 3-Day Passports. More info and attendee registration can be found at www.am2con.org

The Brony Lounge ­ Tired from hoofing it all over AM2? Need to give your back a break from carting around saddlebags the size of Tom all day? Come to the Brony Lounge where you can socialize with your fellow Bronies and enjoy an episode of MLPFiM or a game of My Little Rockband. There will be areas to flex your artistic talents, play a game of Ponies & Parasprites or just kick up a cloud and relax. Want pony swag? There will be raffles every day with exclusive pony product. Courtesy of SoCal Bronies & EQLA. Brony on.

Equestria LA Q&A panel ­ Want to suggest what should be on the schedule for Equestria LA 2012? Come to the panel and meet the convention staff. They¹ll be there to answer your questions and hear your suggestions.

Brony artist panel ­ Fanart has always had a large community in animation and it is just as large in the Brony community. Come see some of My Little
Pony: Friendship is Magic¹s fan artists show you what they do best, making ponies! If you want to learn how to draw ponies from the show or just see how the artists create, this is the place to be.

House Pon-3 ­ Vinyl Scratch wants to drop some serious beats at AM2 with a Brony party to remember! Music from all your favorite Brony DJ¹s like Alex S, Pinkie Pie Swear, Acoustic Brony, Mando Pony, The Living Tombstone, So Great and Powerful, Euro Brony, DJ Amaya and more.

Find the Elements of Harmony ­ Nightmare Moon has escaped, the Elements of Harmony are scattered and Princess Celestia has asked for your help! You¹ve been given a button that represents one of the six Elements of Harmony; it is now up to you to find other worthy Bronies who bear the other five elements. Once all six have been discovered, return to the Brony Lounge together to redeem a prize.

3 Day Passport Holders that also stay within the official hotel room block will be treated to a ³private² panel with Ms. Libman during the convention.

Equestria LA organizer, Karen Padilla states, ³We¹re excited to bring a little friendship and magic to AM2 and we¹re looking forward to giving Bronies and fans of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic a sneak peek taste of EQLA with three days full of fun pony activites!²

AM2 representative Chase Wang states, ³Bronies and fans of My Little Pony:
Friendship is Magic will have such fun with all the fun activities being brought by Equestria LA. In additiona to all the MLP cosplay gatherings being put together. Join us for all the fun and excitement and get your Passports today!²

Please note that ALL Guest of Honor activities (i.e. panels, autographs, appearances, etc.) are ALL Passport preferred activities. There will also be a private Meet & Greet event for Anaheim Hilton Room Block Attendees (room key proof is required).

Attendees can avoid the anticipated huge lines at autographs, premiere screenings, workshops, main events, concerts and panels by purchasing a Passport fast pass for the event. The Passport fast pass will also provide holders with premier seating options at Main Events and at Concert events as well as major discounts with theme parks (including Disneyland and the grand opening of Cars Land, Knotts Berry Farm, etc.), retailers and local restaurants. Bypass the lines and get your Passport today and experience the difference!

AM2 current activities include Exhibit Hall, AMV¹s, Arcade, Summer Festival, Behind the Voice Actors Studio, Masquerade, Dances, Fashion Shows, Table Top, Console Gaming, Workshops, Panels, Concerts and more!

Current AM2 Official Guests of Honor include Putumayo, Andrea Libman, Quinton Flynn and Toshihiro Kawamoto.

Brathzo, Icarus Kid, Kazha, Lucid and Momotoma join Summer Festival join other announced performer Ant1Nett

AM2 Premieres, screenings and exclusive screenings include ACE ATTORNEY, FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST: THE STAR OF MILOS, KAIBUTSU-KUN THE MOVIE, KAIJI 2 and more!

The superdeformed anime NARUTO SPIN-OFF: ROCK LEE & HIS NINJA PALS debuts today VIZAnime.com and Hulu – this is NARUTO like you’ve never seen it before! Starring Rock Lee, the ninja who actually can’t use ninjutsu, you’ll fall in love with the cute antics of all your favorite ninja!

Rock Lee may not be able to use ninjutsu, but that doesn’t stop him from aspiring to become a great shinobi! What he lacks he makes up for with his undying passion and training… Under the guidance of his super-awesome sensei, Guy, and with the reluctant support of teammates Tenten and Neji, Rock Lee will make himself known to the world!

New episodes debut on VIZAnime.com and Hulu every Tuesday, two weeks after broadcast debut in Japan! Once you watch, you’re sure to fall in love with Rock Lee and all his ninja friends!

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