Mail Desk
Once again, into the breech! This month, we hear some questions about Legal Drug, Monster, 20th Century Boys, Submarine 707R, some clarifying information from astute readers, pleads for anime, and we receive some pretty thank you notes.
Drop us an email with your comments, critiques, whatever you want to say! Don’t be shy! We did receive a question this month about people submitting information about their own projects, such as websites and creator-owned animation. We love to hear about pet projects, but we will not advertise or do ‘link banners.’ Thanks. Now onto your emails!
Dear Animefringe,
That was an extraordinarily informed, well-written and knowledgeable review.
Congratulations.
Hi Whispers!
Thank you for your praise for the Victorian Romance Emma feature! I think that it’s a fine series (both anime and manga) that merits further exposure and licensing in the US. Viva the upstairs, downstairs action!
-Janet
Dear Animefringe,
Well, i'm not the type who usually does this, but your review is the best anime
review
i have read and i felt the need to congratulate you for that. It's not only a
review,
but an excellent analysis. The reviews i've read so far were all lame and they
only
discribed the subject. I have to admit that your style is very accurate and you
have
talent, really. I wonder if you graduated a Faculty of humanities or somenthing,
because you definitely know how to write, a skill which seems to become so rare,
especially when it comes to anime.
Well, i'd like to read more of your reviews
Hello ruxiruxi2003,
Thanks for happy thoughts about the Honey and Clover feature, and I’m glad that you found it to be informative and fun. Yes, I hold a Bachelor of Arts honors degree in English Language and Literature. Unfortunately, none of my term papers were on anime. Alas.
-Janet
Dear Animefringe,
Hey man i liked you review of the 707 movie but one thing puzzles me is it a
movie on its own or just an
episode collection because it feels like there is more to come !!! many thanks
Kerim form Denmark
Hello Kerim,
Submarine 707R is a stand-alone OVA, adapted from the Submarine 707 manga, published in the early 1960’s. You’re right about it being incomplete; the second episode ends with a “to be continued” message. Unfortunately, that boat seems to have sunk. I would suggest reading the manga to uncover an actual ending to the OVA.
-Janet
Dear Animefringe,
I can't say enough how I love the magazine. the reviews,
manga shorts,
insightful articles, it's all great :), but now to the matter at hand.
I've been a Legal Drug fan for a while now, and I've began collecting the
manga. After finishing
up the third volume I started wondering when the fourth would make it debut?
Upon further
investigation,( via message boards) I found out that there is possibly not
going to be a fourth
volume. I heard somewhere that CLAMP hasn't actually finished the Legal Drug
manga, so it's been
left hanging until further notice, then I heard the fourth volume wouldn't be
coming out until
January '06. Now I'm really confused. I've learned to take everything I read
on message boards
with a grain of salt, but I'd like to now which is true. So basically my
question is , is there
an actual fourth volume of Legal Drug, and if so when will it be out in stores?
Thanks for taking the time to read my question. Keep up the awesome job, because
I can't get
enough of Animefring!
Sincerly ,Tolu.
Hiya Tolu!
Thanks for the love! As for Legal Drug, TOKYOPOP is showing a fourth volume on their website, but no street date for release. From my experience, that means that they know that the next volume will be coming out... eventually. A January street date is probably being optimistic, but we can cross our fingers!
-Janet
Hello Janet. My name is Timothy Gregory. I have some questions regarding Star
Ocean EX:
1.) Is it still possible to get the series anywhere?
2.) Can I get it through you?
3.) Would it cost me anything to do that, and if so, how much?
Reply whenever you can.
Sincerely Tim
Hi Tim,
In answer to your questions:
1) Yes. Check your local anime convention or an online website such as Amazon.
2) No. I am not an anime supplier.
3) Prices depend on where you go. I’m assuming that New Zealand has the same region-free status as Australia, as in you can play US DVDs. If that is so, I’d guess about $30.00 per DVD. Or do you mean for free? Sorry. The Magic 8-Ball is growing dark. Uncertain. Ask again.
-Janet
Dear Animefringe,
First thing I have to say is that this site totally rocks! I'm definitely going
to start coming
here alot. I am a really big fan of Jpop and anime and it all started with anime
back in fifth
grade ^^. I found this site though, when I had been searching for Morning Musume
on line and came
across an older article. I found it really interesting and it made me think of
something. When
people talk about Momusu they tend to mention how hard it is to get away from
them in Japan but
even more than that, people mention how hard it is to get away from Johnny's
and Johnny's Jr.s in
Japan. I don't know which is more all over the place but I am a fan of both
although I'm a bigger
fan of Johnny's and I know that there are alot of things going on all of the
time with Johnny's
Jimusho. As an example, V6's 10th anniversary is this year and earlier this
year, well, so far
they realeased a new single and three different DVDs. One of the members
(Junichi Okada) has been
in two movies recently and will be in another next summer and Another member
(Miyake Ken) is also
starring in a movie to be released next summer. The older half of V6 (20th
Century)have been
working in stageplays lately, Morita Go, The only one I haven't mentioned is
going to be in a tv
Dorama coming out this fall and they filmed a movie during spring that will also
be released this
fall. All this and still almost two months until their actual 10nth anniversary.
That's only V6
though. There's almost always something happening with all of the groups (I
used V6 as an example
because I love them best). There's more too, though. They do seem to be
everywhere including an
especially advertising and tv because of comercials (and I don't have a single
Japanese tv show
on VCD (and I have alot, trust me) that doesn't have at least two commercials
with Johnny's
mamber in them and they weren't the same one either I tried to count them all
and I lost count)
and variety shows that almost every group has and promoting their music all the
time. There are a
bunch of the groups and always the threat of a new one with all of those kawaii
Johnny's Jr.s
dancing behind the groups or singing on tv. The 'Jimusho' has been around
since the early
sixties. They seem to be a really important part of Jpop. The problem being that
no one really
realizes it all that much outside of Asia. Well.. they probably do but I'm not
talking about SMAP
only.
Alot of English Jpop sites or anime sites with Jpop content (and I'm not saying
anything about
this site because I haven't looked around enough so just hear me out) ignore
them. I understand
that the whole pretty boy pop group idea isn't as widely accepted anymore but
when you get past
the image the music isn't as bad as it would seem. Is it just because people
mostly pay attention
to the kawaii girl groups and singers? I think that that's how Jpop is widely
seen outside of
Japan right now (and this is not talking about Jrock either or Japanese music in
general, just
Jpop).
For a while I had it in my head that it was because all of the rumors and
scandel that surround
Johnny's Jimusho so often. With the legal issues in the past and all of those
things that have
happened. So I figured that it was just ignored-like a peaceful boycott or
something-so that
websites wouldn't get a bad name. Now I'm actually asking someone else's
opinion. Yours, more
specifically.
I haven't looked at many issues but I don't think you guys ever did an article
on them... If
there acually was one and I missed it could you direct me to it, please? There
are a few that
I've found but most of them have paragraghs in common with each other and some
are the exact same
thing.There are some paragraghs that I've read in probably three different
articles. There's
never any originality. And I'm not sure if you take requests for articles but I
think it's a good
idea for people who like Jpop or Just Japan in general like me to learn about
this (especially
probably the girls ^_~) The other articles I've seen are quite informative but
rarely tell any
sort of opinion or real point of view and often have multiple errors in the
"facts" that they
state. I don't specifically want more people to be like me but I think that
there are people who
would be interested that don't know much actual information and I think it's
something that maybe
people might like to know about. Let's face it alot of people are kind of nosy.
The rumors and
scandel and all of that won't hurt their reputation that much (it hasn't in
the past).
Anyway, Thank you very much for reading this I hope you will consider maybe
agreeing with some
things I said or looking up more information (alot of the groups sing songs from
anime so they
might be even more of interest ^^)
~hizel
p.s:if you've made it this far, thank you so much again for reading this! hope
to hear from you ^^
Hiya Hizel,
Yeah, that is a long letter, but really informative! Basically, we write about what we know and love. Our J-Pop correspondent(s) left this year, and only recently have we acquired a fan who loves his soundtracks and music! (You know who you are.) While I doubt that we’ll pen an article on this in the new future, at least you got the word out.
-Janet
Dear Animefringe,
Could you guys release a podcast for animefringe (if you don't know what that is, check here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Podcasting) or at least have an RSS feed to put into a news
aggregator like My Yahoo or firefox's live bookmarks.
(By the way, love the site.)
Thank You
Dearest Anonymous,
Animefringe isn’t a newsfeed site, so there’s no real point to having an RSS feed that gets updated once a month. As for podcasting... We played with the idea once, but it would take so much time and expense in purchasing recording equipment. Better to keep doing what we do best: writing a monthly magazine.
-Janet
Dear Animefringe,
I Like the story. it is better than on Gundam Seed(1). the story is dynamic
and very complicated. i never see this kind of story in the rest of gundam
that i watch and read. Pls make Athrun And Cagalli together or in other
words make them marry to each other. Are you gonna make another saga or series.
Hi Marlaleg15,
Unfortunately, Maria is not the creator of Gundam Seed Destiny, but she wishes that she was. Then she would be rich.
-Janet
Dear Animefringe,
HI
Has anything changed regarding the subject I discussed before?
Is Monster still coming out from VIZ and when?
Thanks
Hello Jesse,
I’ll repost two of your original questions, as Maria answered your third one before.
1. Does VIZ have the rights to the anime and the manga of Monster? When are
each coming out?
Well, there are reports of the first volume of manga coming out on either October 4th, or December 31st. It seems that no one currently has the rights to the Monster anime.
2. The other title that you mentioned along with monster that you said was
only a manga series and had yet to be animated, when is VIZ releasing the
manga for that one?
That’s 20th Century Boys. ANN reports that VIZ Media originally wants to release both Monster and 20th Century Boys at the same time, but the manga-ka, Naoki Urasawa wanted Monster published first, then 20th Century Boys, as he felt it would be a disservice to his art if the manga were release out of chronological order. So I think I can safely say that 20th Century Boys will be appearing sometime in 2006.
-Janet
Dear Animefringe,
I know that the creator ended Inuyasha with nothing resolved as far as
situations and what happens with the characters
in the end. She left things the way they were, and that nothing was completed.
Four Inuyasha movies have been made and I have
seen the first three. Do you know if the creator is planning on making a movie
5 where she gives the characters and fans
closure on what happens?? I think that would be a wonderful idea. I fell in
love with the series when it first was released
in the United States, and was very disappointed when I found out that the series
ends with no closure and nothing resolved.
So what I decided to do to give myself some closure of the series was that I
pictured how the ending would happen and decided
writing it out. Before I knew it, I had a complete story of what happened to
who and how it occurred. When I read it, I can
actually see the images in my mind, like watching it on TV, and it fits the
ending of Inuyasha perfectly. I would love to
email my ending to the creator (not to say that my writing is better than hers,
or that she couldn't think of an ending and
left everything unattended to)but one never knows, she might want to make a
fifth movie to end the series and give the
characters, as well as fans the closure that's been anticipated. If you can
help me with any information, it'd be greatly
appreciated. I anticipate your response at your earliest convenience. I
appreciate your time.
Sincerly,
Nancy
Hello Nancy,
Everything has a purpose, even unfinished anime. I’m sure that the manga-ka appreciated your enthusiasm, but there’s a reason why many Harry Potter fanfiction writers are so scary. Besides, Inu-Yasha movies are still being made, so it’s not like the series has *really* finished telling its tale.
-Janet
Dear Animefringe,
"People can not gain anything without first giving something in return. To
obtain, something of equal value
must be lost. That is Alchemy's first law of equivelent echange. In those days,
we really beleived that to be
the worlds one, and only, truth."
Alphonse Elric
Full Metal Alchemist
Thats how al says it in the american version.
Hi Kyorge198,
Thanks for letting us know.
-Janet
Dear Animefringe,
Hey, i am a new reader and my friends wanted to know who you thought was
better? Sesshomaru or Inuyasha and why you think so. Thanks for your time.
~Madison
Hello Madison,
I’m not an Inu-Yasha fan, so I’m not the person to ask. However, the Inu-Yasha fans at Animefringe seem to favor Inu-Yasha. Don’t ask me why. Maybe it’s the ears.
-Janet
And yet again, we’re at the end of an issue. Come back next month for our penultimate issue and another round of letters and random email spam, or tasty Pocky and questions.