Friday, April 25, 2003

Lots of anime news today, thanks to Anime News Network.

Rumiko Takahashi (creator of Ranma 1/2, Inu Yasha, and other wildly popular manga and anime series) will be heading up production on a new anime series based on her Rumic World.

Takahashi’s known as the “Goddess of Manga,” and there’s a reason; she draws all her manga herself, which now totals over a hundred volumes’ worth of work. She’s incredibly prolific, and when she’s not working on her series, she’s working on comparatively brief manga. Her non-series works is published under her brand “Rumic World.” Fans suggest that the Rumic World is where Takahashi’s genius shines most brightly, as she’s not beholden to the constraints of a series.

James Cameron has announced that he’s definitely going to direct a Battle Angel Alita movie in the foreseeable future. He’s a huge anime fan and has had his sights on Alita for years now. It’s a perfect vehicle for his style, too; dark, violent, action-packed, stylish, but infused with a twinge of hope. Best of all, if he does this, it’ll bring anime and manga even further into the mainstream.

Also, the first DVD of Haibane Renmei is coming out in August! YAY! That series is just…wonderful in ways I can’t describe.