Chiaki no Anime Sekai

Aoi Bungaku Series Episode 11 - Kumo no Ito (The Spider's Thread)

2010-07-31T21:34:00.006+08:00

As compared to the previous stories, I was rather lost after watching Kumo no Ito by Akutagawa Ryunosuke. It wasn't because the story was too complicated. On the contrary, the story was too simple and the message was very straightforward. That made me wonder why this story deserved to be covered in the Aoi Bungaku series. After doing some research on this novel and Akutagawa himself, my interpretation and opinion of the story has somewhat changed, although I'm still not pleased with the anime version.

Prior to watching this, I've not read any of Akutagawa's works but I have heard of screen adaptations of his other works like Rashomon and Jigokuhen. It seems like Akutagawa had two distinct categories of works i.e. themes based on classics and the other being children stories. Kumo no Ito happens to be in the latter group. This is probably why the story didn't have subtle themes unlike the earlier stories in Aoi Bungaku. And that could be why, as an adult, I felt that the story was too simple. In addition, the anime left out an integral part of the story and this could have resulted partly as to why I sensed that something was missing.

The novel begins with Buddha looking into Hell through his lotus pond in Paradise and seeing lots of sinful people who are suffering there. Buddha takes notice of a man Kandata, a thief who had done evil deeds without batting an eyelid. The only good thing that Kandata did in his lifetime was to spare the life of a small spider. In view of this act of mercy, Buddha decides to give Kandata a chance to get out of Hell by dropping a spider's thread into Hell. Kandata believes that he can get out of misery by climbing up the spider's thread but is horrified to see that other sinners in Hell are also doing the same. Fearing that the spider's thread will snap, Kandata shouts at the sinners below him to get off the thread. Just then, the thread snaps and Kandata falls back into Hell. Seeing Kandata's behaviour, Buddha puts on a sad expression and leaves the lotus pond.

As you can see, the novel is based on the concept of karma in Buddhism whereby you reap what you sow. Kandata was a bad guy who thought of himself only. As a result, he was put in Hell following his death. The small act of sparing the spider's life gave him a second chance. Although Kandata made use of the chance given by Buddha, the fact that his inner self remained unchanged sealed his fate. However, the anime didn't give the full picture of the story. It began too quickly and ended in the same way as well.

In the anime, we see Kandata's evil deeds as he kills mercilessly and steals whatever he wants. He even dares to make a mockery out of the king who is out on a parade. Unexpectedly, Kandata is wounded by a child whose mother was killed by him. When Kandata tries to hide from the soldiers, he comes across a spider and decides against killing it. Soon, Kandata is caught by the solders because he is unable to run due to his injury. After Kandata is put to death, he goes through hell because of his evil deeds. Suddenly, a spider's thread descends from above and Kandata views it a chance to get out of Hell. As he climbs up the thread, Kandata sees other people also doing the same. Worried that he might lose the chance to save himself, Kandata shouts at and kicks the people below him off the thread. Suddenly, the thread snaps and Kandata falls back into Hell.

There are two major differences between the novel and the anime:

1) The novel depicts Buddha as an onlooker to Kandata's deeds while the anime dives straight into Kandata's deeds.

2) In the novel, Kandata shouts at the sinners in Hell to get off the spider's thread while in the anime, he also kicks them off it.

I'm not too concerned with the second difference because I think the anime wants to reinforce the fact that Kandata is selfish and evil by nature. It's the first point which I think has botched up the story. By potraying Buddha as the onlooker who dropped a lifeline to Kandata, this would have been a more logical way to explain why Kandata was given that spider's thread and who gave it to him. I would prefer it if the anime had adopted a retrospective approach rather than jump straight into Kandata's evil deeds. There was simply too much emphasis on showing the evil side of Kandata.

Another grouse I have would be the graphics. Coincidentally, I dislike the character and set design for this story and Sakura no Mori no Mankai no Shita and they happen to be from the same person. Maybe it's the fantasy nature of the story which warrants such a drawing style or it could be the manga-ka's style which I'm not used to. It's just that after watching refined graphics from some of the earlier stories, the character design and colour balance this time were really an eyesore.

I'm not entirely sure that Kumo no Ito and Jigokuhen were linked in their novel versions but you can see that there are two characters who appear in both stories i.e. the king and the artist Yoshihide. That is probably why Sakai Masato takes on the role of Yoshihide rather than Kandata who is voiced by Miyano Mamoru. No wonder Kandata sounds a lot like Yagami Light. As Sakai doesn't have much airtime, I can't really judge his performance this time.

On the whole, I'm not too pleased with Kumo no Ito so this is how I'll rank the stories now in terms of satisfaction:

1) Ningen Shikaku
2) Hashire Melos
3) Kokoro
4) Sakura no Mori no Mankai no Shita
5) Kumo no Ito

Now, how would Jigokuhen figure in this ranking? We'll see very soon.

Aoi Bungaku Series Eps 9 & 10 - Hashire Melos

2010-06-20T12:12:00.005+08:00

It's been slightly more than two months since my last post and an alarming five months since my last review. I think I've been neglecting this blog for too long so here I am, with a new review of another story in the Aoi Bungaku series. I don't really have a fixed schedule when watching anime these days. Coupled with work commitments, it's getting difficult to write detailed reviews or synopsis as before. I'll just have to make an effort to post more regularly or else this blog will probably go to waste. I can't believe that it's been five long years since I started on this blog...

待つ身が辛いかね。待たせる身が辛いかね。 ~ Is it painful to be waiting? Or is it painful to be the one making somebody wait?

This message forms the basis of Hashire Melos which is written by Dazai Osamu. From what I remember, most of Dazai's stories are about the dark side of humans. This novel is probably one of those with a more "posititve" theme i.e. trust between friends. At the beginning of the anime, Sakai Masato's commentary did mention that this novel was written at a time when Dazai had just got married and was leading a peaceful life. Maybe that's why the mood of his works was different from those which he wrote during the last years of his life e.g. Ningen Shinkaku. According to Kazuo Dan, a friend of Dazai, Hashire Melos was probably written due an incident which happened in Atami.

Dazai was having a holiday in Atami and did not return for days. His wife was worried and asked Dan to go there and have a look. She even gave Dan some money in case he needed to pay for Dazai's bills. However, when Dazai saw Dan, he got his friend to participate in merry-making. In the end, both men used up the money which Dazai's wife had given to Dan. In order to settle the bills, Dazai persuaded Dan to stay behind in Atami as a "hostage" so that he could return to Tokyo and borrow money from another friend Ibuse Masuji. After waiting for days, Dazai did not return. Dan had to promise the hotel in Atami that he would come back to settle payment and rushed back to Tokyo to find out what had happened to Dazai. To his surprise, he saw Dazai playing shogi with Ibuse and had not even broached the subject to the latter. When questioned by Dan, Dazai said the above line which suggested he was also tormented for having to make Dan wait.

In the novel, the story is about Melos, a young man who tries to assasinate the king who kills people due to distrust in others. However, he is caught and faces the death sentence. In order to attend his younger sister's wedding, Melos asks the king to allow his friend to be a hostage while he promises to return in three days. The king doesn't expect Melos to return but Melos' friend agrees to it because he has faith in Melos. Subsequently, after overcoming many difficulties, Melos returns and saves the lives of himself and his friend.

In the anime, this story is relegated to the side in the form of an ongoing play. This is written by Takada, a scriptwriter who also does not believe in people like the king in Melos' story. He was asked to write the script for the play and is forced to come to terms with his past as a result.

Takada used to have a buddy Joushima in school and they arranged to leave their hometown for Tokyo. However, due to unforseen circumstances, Joushima fails to turn up thus causing the latter to be extremely hurt by the betrayal. 15 years on, Takada is still torn over the pain he suffered. However, when he receives news that Joushima is on his deathbed, Takada rushes back to their hometown and finally comes to terms with his past after knowing the reason for Joushima's no-show.

I like the presentation of this story. If it had been solely focused on the Melos story, that would have been a bore. By drawing parallels between Takada-Joushima and the Melos story, it is easy for the viewer to get emotionally involved and feel the pain that Takada is experiencing. In addition, we get a taste of how Joushima feels for not fulfilling the promise he made. The contrast of feelings is central to the theme: is it more painful to wait or is it more painful to let someone wait? By not over-simplifying the story to a mere replication of the novel, I think the anime version has done reasonably well to capture my attention, at the very least.

With regards to character design, this is done by Konomi Takeshi who created the Tennis no Oujisama series. Being a fan of Tenipuri, I find that the characters in Hashire Melos do resemble a mixture of those in Tenipuri. For example, Melos' body look like Akutsu Jin's but his face seems like a modified version of Shishido Ryo plus Ootori Choutarou. I'm not sure how others see it but I just get the feel that there are some similarities between both sets of characters especially the sharp chins. It doesn't bother me that much, just that I get a bit distracted trying to figure out who resembles who. I think I was more irritated to see the character design in Kokoro which had too much traces of Death Note.

It was a pleasant surprise to see some familiar names in the cast like Kiuchi Hidenobu and Takahashi Mikako who were also in Tenipuri. I like Kiuchi's potrayal of Takada very much but Takahashi may need to tone down on her kawaii-ness because it seemed terribly jarring to my ears this time. Sakai Masato did fairly well as Melos but I still like his performance in Ningen Shikaku the best, so far. I've still got two more stories in Aoi Bungaku series to watch so I'll come to a conclusion as to which of his performances was the best.

Based on the four stories I've seen so far, here is how I would rank them:
1) Ningen Shikaku
2) Hashire Melos
3) Kokoro
4) Sakura no Mori no Mankai no Shita

How would this ranking change after I watch the remaining stories? We'll see very soon.

Top 10 anime ratings ranking (4 Apr 10)

2010-04-13T08:46:00.002+08:00

1) Sazae-san (FujiTV) 22.3%

2) Chibi Maruko-chan (FujiTV) 13.5%

3) One Piece (FujiTV) 11.9%

4) Dragonball Kai (FujiTV) 10.8%

5) Meitantei Conan (NTV) 7.0%

6) Heart Puri Kyua! (TV Asahi) 6.9%

7) Pocket Monster DP (TV Tokyo) 6.4%

8) Shin Sanjushi (NHK General) 5.7%

9) Mainichi Kaasan (TV Tokyo) 5.0%

10) Inazuma Eleven (TV Tokyo) 4.6%

Top 10 anime ratings ranking (28 Mar 10)

2010-04-01T20:46:00.002+08:00

1) Sazae-san Haruyasumi SP (FujiTV) 20.0%

2) One Piece (FujiTV) 12.2%

3) Dragonball Kai (FujiTV) 9.3%

4) Doraemon (TV Asahi) 9.1%

5) Crayon Shin-chan (TV Asahi) 8.8%

6) Meitantei Conan (NTV) 8.4%

7) Heart Catch Puri Kyua! (TV Asahi) 6.8%

8) Tamagocchi (TV Tokyo) / Gintama Saishukai (TV Tokyo) / Anime Osaru no George (NHK Education) 3.9%

Top 10 anime ratings ranking (21 Mar 10)

2010-03-29T00:09:00.002+08:00

1) Sazae-san (FujiTV) 18.3%

2) Chibi Maruko-chan (FujiTV) 12.4%

3) One Piece (FujiTV) 12.1%

4) Arigatou! 30 shunen konya kagiri no Haru no Doraemon Matsuri (TV Asahi) 11.6%

5) Dragonball Kai (FujiTV) 10.5%

6) Heart Catch Puri Kyua! (TV Asahi) 8.4%

7) Meitantei Conan (NTV) 8.1%

8) Pocket Monster DP (TV Tokyo) 6.7%

9) Tamagocchi! (TV Tokyo) 5.3%

10) Noitamina Nodame Cantabile Finale (FujiTV) 4.9%

Top 10 bestselling manga for the week ended 29 Mar 10

2010-03-28T00:03:00.002+08:00

1) Fairy Tail Vol 20 (263,106)

2) Diamond no A Vol 20 (152,197)

3) Hajime no Ippo Vol 91 (142,210)

4) GTO SHONAN 14DAYS Vol 3 (118,472)

5) MAJOR Vol 75 (114,425)

6) ONE PIECE Vol 57 (89,114)

7) Kaiouki Vol 43 (82,367)

8) Chiwayaburu Vol 8 (72,957)

9) NARUTO Vol 50 (61,955)

10) Sutorobo Edge Vol 8 (60,715)

Top 10 anime ratings ranking (14 Mar 10)

2010-03-27T13:57:00.003+08:00

1) Sazae-san (FujiTV) 21.8%

2) Chibi Maruko-chan (FujiTV) 14.1%

3) One Piece (FujiTV) 12.0%

4) Dragonball Kai (FujiTV) 11.1%

5) Crayon Shin-chan (TV Asahi) 10.3%

6) Doraemon (TV Asahi) 10.1%

7) Meitantei Conan (NTV) 8.5%

8) Kaidan Restaurant (TV Asahi) 8.2%

9) Heart Catch Puri Kyua! (TV Asahi) 8.1%

10) Stitch! Itazura Italian no Daibouken (TV Asahi) 6.2%

Top 10 bestselling manga for the week ended 22 Mar 10

2010-03-20T13:23:00.002+08:00

1) ONE PIECE Vol 57 (313,861)

2) NARUTO Vol 50 (187,592)

3) Angel Heart Vol 32 (122,424)

4) Katei Kyoushi Hitman REBORN! Vol 28 (111,140)

5) Chiwayaburu Vol 8 (92,555)

6) Bakuman Vol 7 (78,635)

7) Sutorobo Edge Vol 8 (76,372)

8) STEEL BALL RUN Vol 20 (48,238)

9) Seitoshi Seiya NEXT DIMENSION Meiou Shinwa Vol 2 (47,896)

10) Boku to Kanojo no XXX Vol 7 (45,975)

Top 10 anime ratings ranking (7 Mar 10)

2010-03-15T00:27:00.002+08:00

1) Sazae-san (FujiTV) 23.2%

2) Chibi Maruko-chan (FujiTV) 14.8%

3) One Piece (FujiTV) 13.0%

4) Dragonball Kai (FujiTV) 12.3%

5) 30th Anniversary Doraemon Eiga Koukai Chokuzen SP! (TV Asahi) 11.8%

6) Meitantei Conan (NTV) 10.7%

7) Heart Catch Puri Kyua! (TV Asahi) 8.3%

8) Pocket Monster DP (TV Tokyo) 6.5%

9) Kaidan Restaurant (TV Asahi) 6.2%

10) Stitch! Itazura Italian no Daibouken (TV Asahi) 5.9%

Top 10 bestselling manga for the week ended 15 Mar 2010

2010-03-14T00:20:00.002+08:00

1) ONE PIECE Vol 57 (1,690,932)

2) NARUTO Vol 50 (736,467)

3) Katei Kyoushi Hitman REBORN! Vol 28 (309,558)

4) Bakuman Vol 7 (217,531)

5) Toriko Vol 8 (129,364)

6) STEEL BALL RUN Vol 20 (117,225)

7) Kyou, Koi wo Hajimemasu Vol 8 (101,405)

8) Tajuu Jinkaku Tantei Saiko Vol 14 (83,431)

9) Shingetsutan Tsukihime Vol 7 (68,390)

10) Kanojo wa Uso wo Aishisugiteru Vol 3 (67,511)

Top 10 bestselling manga for the week ended 8 Mar 2010

2010-03-13T11:12:00.003+08:00

1) Soul Eater Vol 16 (212,554)

2) Meitantei Conan Vol 67 (117,994)

3) Kyou, Koi wa Hajimemasu Vol 8 (107,978)

4) Skip Beat! Vol 24 (88,404)

5) Shingetsutan Tsukihime Vol 7 (80,225)

6) Kekkaishi Vol 28 (72,194)

7) Keroro Gunsou Vol 20 (69,913)

8) Kanojo wa Uso wo Aishisugiteru Vol 3 (68,563)

9) Switch Girl!! Vol 11 (65,555)

10) Ahiru no Sora Vol 26 (64,896)

Top 10 anime ratings ranking (28 Feb 10)

2010-03-04T21:18:00.002+08:00

1) Sazae-san (FujiTV) 18.4%

2) Chibi Maruko-chan (FujiTV) 12.9%

3) One Piece (FujiTV) 11.9%

4) Dragonball Kai (FujiTV) 9.8%

5) Heart Catch Puri Kyua! (TV Asahi) 6.3%

6) Kaidan Restaurant (TV Asahi) 6.2%

7) Pocket Monster DP (TV Tokyo) 6.1%

8) Stitch! Itazura Alien no Daibouken (TV Asahi) 6.0%

9) Meitantei Conan (NTV) 5.4%

10) Tamagocchi (TV Tokyo) 5.0%

Top 10 bestselling manga for the week ended 1 March 10

2010-02-27T12:24:00.002+08:00

1) Meitantei Conan Vol 67 (306,456)

2) Ahiru no Sora Vol 26 (199,789)

3) Mahou Sensei Negima! Vol 29 (148,228)

4) Kekkaishi Vol 28 (147,975)

5) Skip Beat! Vol 24 (128,674)

6) BLOODY MONDAY Season 2 Zetsubou no Hako Vol 2 (106,683)

7) Shijou Saikyou no Deshi Kenichi Vol 37 (95,666)

8) DEAR BOYS ACT 3 Vol 3 (95,209)

9) Zettai Karen Children Vol 20 (77,951)

10) Aria no Kishi Vol 19 (76,167)

Top 10 bestselling manga for the week ended 22 Feb 10

2010-02-22T00:34:00.002+08:00

1) WORST Vol 23 (159,193)

2) BLEACH VOl 43 (135,321)

3) Amanchu! Vol 2 (82,012)

4) Hanma Baki Vol 22 (78,155)

5) 7SEEDS Vol 17 (66,042)

6) Umimachi Dairy Vol 3 (60,623)

7) Crows ZERO Vol 6 (51,962)

8) Nurari Hyon no Mago (47,297)

9) Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun Vol 4 (47,152)

10) Bboi! Vol 28 (46,039)

Top 10 bestselling manga for the week ended 15 Feb 10

2010-02-21T00:25:00.001+08:00

1) BLEACH Vol 43 (441,333)

2) Nurari Hyon no Mago Vol 9 (125,105)

3) Tegamibachi Vol 9 (92,004)

4) To Love-ru Vol 17 (88,709)

5) Nagato Yuki-chan no Shissou Vol 1 (84,624)

6) Beruze Babu Vol 4 (75,652)

7) Medaka Box Vol 3 (72,101)

8) SKET DANCE Vol 12 (70,786)

9) Iryu Vol 22 (60,338)

10) Rosario to Vampire season II Vol 6 (58,549)

Top 10 anime ratings ranking (14 Feb 10)

2010-02-20T20:18:00.002+08:00

1) Sazae-san (FujiTV) 21.6%

2) Rupan Sansei the Last Job (NTV) 17.6%

3) Chibi Maruko-chan (FujiTV) 14.9%

4) Dragonball Kai (FujiTV) 11.9%

5) Doraemon One Piece (FujiTV) 11.6%

6) Meitantei Conan (NTV) 8.9%

7) Heart Catch Puri Kyua (TV Asahi) 7.5%

8) Pocket Monster DP (TV Tokyo) 6.8%

9) Stitch! Itazura Alien no Daibouken Valentine SP (TV Asahi) 6.4%

10) Mainichi Kaasan (TV Tokyo) 5.7%

Top 10 anime ratings ranking (7 Feb 10)

2010-02-12T20:42:00.002+08:00

1) Sazae-san (FujiTV) 18.9%

2) Chibi Maruko-chan (FujiTV) 12.9%

3) Meitantei Conan (NTV) 10.8%

4) One Piece (FujiTV) 10.7%

5) Doraemon (TV Asahi) 10.5%

6) Crayon Shin-chan (TV Asahi) 9.6%

7) Dragonball Kai (FujiTV) 8.6%

8) Pocket Monster DP (TV Tokyo) 6.9%

9) Kaidan Restaurant (TV Asahi) 6.8%

10) Heart Catch Puri Kyua (TV Asahi) 6.6%

Top 10 bestselling manga for the week ended 8 Feb 10

2010-02-07T00:14:00.000+08:00

1) Kido Senshi Gundam THE ORIGIN 20 Solomon Hen.Go (92,247)

2) Koibana! Koi seyo Hanabi Vol 7 (80,232)

3) Toradora! Vol 3 (72,700)

4) Iryu Vol 22 (68,761)

5) Tenjo Tenge Vol 21 (58,967)

6) Kimi ni Todoke Vol 10 (57,727)

7) Mahou Senki Ririkaru Na no wa Force Vol 1 (56,613)

8) GIANT KILLING Vol 13 (52,207)

9) Vagabond Vol 32 (48,658)

10) Moteki Vol 3 (45,816)

Top 10 anime ratings ranking (31 Jan 10)

2010-02-06T11:06:00.002+08:00

1) 20th Anniversary Chibi Maruko-chan 1-hr SP (FujiTV) 16.1%

2) Crayon Shin-chan (TV Asahi) 11.0%

3) One Piece (FujiTV) 10.7%

4) Doraemon (TV Asahi) 10.4%

5) Dragonball Kai (FujiTV) 10.2%　　

6) Meitantei Conan (NTV) 8.6%

7) Fresh Puri Kyua! Last Ep (TV Asahi) 6.9%

8) Pocket Monster DP (TV Tokyo) 6.3%

9) Stitch! Itazura Alien no Daibouken (TV Asahi) 5.0%

10) Kaidan Restaurant (TV Asahi) 4.8%

Top 20 bestselling manga in 2009 (Oricon)

2010-02-01T00:14:00.003+08:00

1) ONE PIECE Vol 53 (2,057,528)

2) ONE PIECE Vol 54 (1,963,696)

3) ONE PIECE Vol 52 (1,952,551)

4) ONE PIECE Vol 55 (1,810,410)

5) NANA Vol 21 (1,505,575)

6) Hagane no Renkin Jutsushi Vol 23 (1,277,733)

7) Hagane no Renkin Jutsushi Vol 21 (1,271,340)

8) Hagane no Renkin Jutsushi Vol 22 (1,238,354)

9) NARUTO Vol 45 (1,222,356)

10) NARUTO Vol 47 (1,186,478)

11) Nodame Cantabile Vol 22 (1,184,722)

12) NARUTO Vol 46 (1,119,917)

13) NARUTO Vol 48 (996,398)

14) BLEACH Vol 36 (955,085)

15) BLEACH Vol 37 (944,066)

16) BLEACH Vol 38 (888,622)

17) Sei Oniisan Vol 3 (879,612)

18) BLEACH Vol 40 (850,059)

19) BLEACH Vol 39 (841,028)

20) Kimi ni Todoke Vol 8 (790,656)

Top 10 bestselling manga for the week ended 1 Feb 10

2010-01-31T00:07:00.002+08:00

1) Tenjo Tenge Vol 21 (192,717)

2) Kimi ni Todoke Vol 10 (146,758)

3) Vagabond Vol 32 (134,435)

4) FAIRY TAIL Vol 19 (129,346)

5) Hayate no Gotoku! Vol 22 (97,603)

6) Daiya no A Vol 19 (88,170)

7) Yami no Matsuei Vol 12 (79,145)

8) Kido Senshi Gundam THE ORIGIN Vol 20 Solomon-hen (72,349)

9) GIANT KILLING Vol 13 (70,674)

10) Hoshi wa Utau Vol 7 (61,261)

Top 10 anime ratings ranking (24 Jan 10)

2010-01-30T19:34:00.002+08:00

1) Sazae-san (FujiTV) 20.6%

2) Chibi Maruko-chan (FujiTV) 12.5%

3) Crayon Shin-chan (TV Asahi) / Crayon Shin-chan One Piece (FujiTV) 10.6%

5) One Piece Dragonball Kai (FujiTV) 9.6%

6) Dragonball Kai Doraemon (TV Asahi) 9.5%

7) Meitantei Conan (NTV) 8.7%

8) Fresh Puri Kyua! (TV Asahi) 7.2%

9) Pocket Monster DP (TV Tokyo) 5.7%

10) Stitch! Itazura Alien no Daibouken (TV Asahi) 5.6%

Aoi Bungaku Series - Kokoro (Eps 7 & 8)

2010-01-26T19:58:00.000+08:00

This is yet another famous classic in Japanese literature and I'm sure most people who had gone through Japanese classes would have heard of the author Natsume Souseki. In my class, what our sensei introduced us to was a light-hearted novel titled "Wagahai wa Neko de Aru". This novel, Kokoro (Heart) is also considered as one of Natsume's signature works and was said to be in a constant bestseller race with Dazai Osamu's Ningen Shikkaku which I had reviewed earlier. Although I have not read the novel yet, I did hear about the storyline previously. If you had read Wagahai and contrast it with Kokoro, you will see a vast difference between the two. Wagahai is a sarcastic look at society from the eyes of a cat but with lots of humour. However, the atmosphere in Kokoro is gloomy and grim. It is not surprising, considering that we are talking about the dark side of humans.

The novel itself is divided into three portions but the first two portions are not covered in the anime. What happened was that Natsume actually started writing the final part and it became longer than he expected. As such, Kokoro was then expanded into three parts with the order jumbled up. Actually, the crux of the story is in Part 3 so it is not surprising that the anime chose to focus on it.

What surprised me was that they finished the whole story within 1 episode and used the other episode for a fictional view of the events from another viewpoint. To put it simply, the first episode was Kokoro in its original form but the second episode was fiction. For people who have read the novel, I wonder how they would feel about this decision.

In this story, we have four main characters i.e. Sensei, K, Ojou-san and Okusan. Sensei is staying at Okusan and Ojou-san's place as he studies in an university. He has a friend K who keeps a distance from people and concentrates on studying only. K seems intent on leading a lifestyle like a Buddhist monk with no desires. Sensei invites K to stay with him in an attempt to get him to warm up to people and because he knows that K's financial situation isn't that good. However, the unexpected happens as Sensei finds out that something is going on between K and Ojou-san. In an attempt to prevent K from getting Ojou-san, Sensei leaps at the chance offered by Okusan and manages to get Ojou-san's hand in marriage. Unable to withstand Sensei's betrayal, K commits suicide. Even though Sensei manages to marry Ojou-san, he feels as if a part of him has died together with K and his marriage is destined to end in tragedy.

Despite the story being dark if not as dark as Ningen Shikkaku, I like it because it offers a very realistic look at humanity. Be it in the old days or in the modern era, something like this could happen to any one of us. It is natural for people to think of themselves. In this case, Sensei felt threatened because of K's appearance. Then again, he was the one who brought it upon himself because things might not have come to such a state if he didn't bring K back home. That is why that although he felt justified in marrying Ojou-san (he thinks that K doesn't deserve her even though it wasn't mentioned explicitly in the story), he also felt bad for betraying K and causing him to commit suicide. Although K may appear very strong and unfeeling, he's actually quite fragile emotionally. Maybe that was why he had to commit suicide after losing Ojou-san. It was probably more unbearable for him to see Sensei and Ojou-san get married as compared to death.

In the first episode, it gives the impression that K was the one who took the initiative to get close to Ojou-san and she was not keen on him initially. The scene when K stood in front of Ojou-san in his underwear gives the impression that he was trying to test if Ojou-san was still going to be friendly to him when he tried to show himself as a scary person. However, the second episode takes on a different view of the situation and depicts Ojou-san as a manipulating and pretentious woman who was leading K on all the time. That scene where Ojou-san literally crept into K's futon was probably the most extreme behaviour you would expect from her. Although the second episode offers a fresh perspective to the situation, I thought it was better if this episode could be used to explain more on Sensei's anguish after K's suicide and how his life and marriage suffered as a result. Nonetheless, K's perspective was enjoyable to watch on its own although I thought it wasn't too relevant to the main storyline because of its make-believe nature. It only complicates things as we are not exactly sure what is going on.

Sakai Masato's voice is more suited for characters with a quiet and brooding charm. The last story was a great disappointment so I'm quite happy to hear him do what he's good at. The biggest difference between Youzou and Sensei would be the development and contrast in their feelings shown through Sakai's voice. Youzou appeared dejected and depressed for most of the story. Even when he was supposedly happy, it felt so unnatural and forced as if he was just trying to show everyone how good his life had become. Youzou seemed very intent on showing his happiness. However, Sensei's feelings are shown like a slow streaming river. At first, he appears like an earnest young man who's truly concerned about his friend (although some people may also feel that he's just trying to make himself feel good and superior because he can extend aid to someone) but if you compare how his voice sounds when he feels threatened by K's presence and when K killed himself, the progression is displayed so gradually that you hardly feel the difference.

With regards to the character design, this is where I'm not too happy about. Seeing Sensei is as if I'm looking at Youzou and Yagami Light at the same time. I know that these manga artists would probably have a distinct drawing style but it tends to get repetitive over time. As for K, I was wondering if Natsume did describe him as someone like that. He looks too huge as compared to the rest of the characters and it's as if the artists are making him out to be a big boor in order to show the contrast between K and Sensei.

On the whole, I like this story pretty much but when it comes to completeness and quality of production, Ningen Shikkaku had an edge over Kokoro. I wouldn't consider Ep 8 as redundant but there is a possibility of a higher level of presentation if both episodes had been dedicated to Part 3 of the novel. Of course, considering that Ningen Shikkaku had four episodes to develop its story, it had an advantage over Kokoro which only had two. If I consider Ep 7 on its own, it is a pretty succint account of events but the ending could have been expanded to increase the viewer's satisfaction.

Top 10 bestselling manga for the week ended 25 Jan 10

2010-01-25T21:23:00.002+08:00

1) Kimi ni Todoke Vol 10 (517,358)

2) Vagabond Vol 32 (239,955)

3) FAIRY TAIL Vol 19 (163,453)

4) NARUTO Vol 49 (128,438)

5) Sukitte Iinayo Vol 4 (102,890)

6) Daiya no A Vol 19 (95,634)

7) flat Vol 3 (63,157)

8) Gintama Vol 32 (60,460)

9) Hayate no Gotoku! Vol 22 (56,226)

10) Hayate no Gotoku! Vol 22 First press version (53,515)

Top 10 anime ratings ranking (10 Jan 10)

2010-01-20T21:00:00.002+08:00

1) Sazae-san Shinshun Fukubukuro SP (FujiTV) 17.1%

2) Chibi Maruko-chan (FujiTV) 12.7%

3) Doraemon (TV Asahi) / Crayon Shin-chan (TV Asahi) 10.7%

5) One Piece (FujiTV) 10.2%

6) Dragonball Kai (FujiTV) 8.0%

7) Meitantei Conan (NTV) 7.8%

8) Fresh Puri Kyua! (TV Asahi) 5.8%

9) Inazuma Eleven (TV Tokyo) 5.0%

10) Mainichi Kaasan (TV Tokyo) 4.3%

Top 10 anime ratings ranking (3 Jan 10)

2010-01-13T21:45:00.002+08:00

1)New Year's Eve Doraemon Eiga mo Terebi mo 30 shuunen! Zenbu misemasu Gentei SP (TV Asahi) 7.0%

2) Fresh Puri Kyua! (TV Asahi) 3.3%

3) Gyakukyo Burai Kaiji (NTV) 2.6%

4) Emmy Awards Kinen Shin Short Tokushu (NHK General) 2.2%

5) Meitantei Conan Shinshun SP (NHK General) 1.9%

6) Uchi no Sanshimai (TV Tokyo) / Jewel Bed (TV Tokyo) 1.7%

8) Anime Erin Tokusen Kemono no Souja Erin (NHK Education) 1.5%

9) Yugioh Duel Monsters GX (TV Tokyo) / Kemono no Souja Erin (NHK Education) / Ashita no Joe (NTV) / Kemono no Souja Erin (NHK Education) 1.4%

Aoi Bungaku Series ~ Sakura no Mori no Mankai no Shita (Eps 5 & 6)

2010-01-12T00:21:00.004+08:00

As I had never heard of this story nor the author Sakaguchi Ango prior to the production of the Aoi Bungaku series, I had no prior expectations about it. This could be good in a sense because I won't be prejudiced against the presentation of the story. However, right from the first three minutes or so, I already felt that this story didn't interest me. Or should I say handled really badly. Although it got better at several points, I still felt that the story left a bad aftertaste.

Compared to Ningen Shikaku, I find myself getting really irritated with this story at many junctures even though it spanned two episodes only. First of all, the character design got me riled up. From the very refined and detailed drawings in Ningen Shikaku, the drawings of the scene and characters are so coarse as if this anime was produced many years ago when technology wasn't that advanced yet. I do not know whether this is supposed to be the drawing style of Kubo Tite (the author of BLEACH) but this style certainly doesn't go down well with me. At the very beginning, it felt as if I was watching the chibi version of an anime. The first few scenes were terribly done and simply set things off on the wrong foot. It's kinda stupid to see Shigemaru fighting in such a manner with the man whom he robbed.

In addition, humour was also added in at the wrong time and in the wrong way. The story is supposed to be set in the 12th century but what's with the IPod and mobile phone camera jokes? If the producers wanted to make the viewers laugh, I'm afraid those jokes were pretty lame. In fact, it spoilt the mood which was building up especially for that part when Shigemaru was lamenting his inability to cope with living in the city. Another eyesore was the sudden fighting scene where Shigemaru's wife, Shoko charged towards him as if she really wanted to kill him. That was really dumb because it failed to add anything substantial to the story.

A lot of detail and effort was put into those scenes when Shoko was singing. I'm sure those background visuals took a long time to produce. However, I didn't really like those scenes and wished that they could end earlier. I didn't know that Mizuki Nana was the VA behind this character though as I couldn't recognise her voice. Nonetheless, I thought her potrayal of the role was pretty good although I thought singing was seriously not warranted for the story to progress. It's not so much to do with whether her singing was good. To think that there were so many songs in just two episodes! The time could have been spent in a better manner.

This time round, I thought Sakai Masato didn't do well. Frankly speaking, a lot of Shigemaru's emotions were not depicted in such a way that it will leave an impact on the viewer. The limited scope of the character development coupled with the fact that he had to do some of those jokes which I mentioned earlier made it difficult for me to like his potrayal of the role this time. He is just not suited for showing the violent, crude or corny sides of Shigemaru. As such, I think it's better for him to steer clear of such "twisted" roles which require him to balance gyagu with the serious stuff.

As this story isn't straightforward (in terms of relaying its message), I would have preferred spending more time trying to understand what the author was trying to convey rather than seeing senseless pranks. Actually, right till the end, I was kind of puzzled as to what the story was driving at but after thinking through for a while, here are my conclusions and views about the various parts of the story:

1) Why Shigemaru was scared of the sakura tree and why he moved to the city
Unlike the modern era when people marvel at the marvellous sights of sakura in full bloom, the sakura tree was viewed with awe and fear at the same time. People loved the beauty of the sakura tree but they were also scared since there was a common belief that the sakura tree was masked in some mysterious veil unknown to them. This could be why Shigemaru was so scared of the tree. Then again, why did he keep going to see the tree despite his fear? This seems to reflect human nature. Sometimes, we know that someting is wrong and yet we still go ahead to do it. Likewise, Shigemaru knew he wasn't suited for city life yet he was tempted by Shoko's description of that unknown place. People are all curious and greedy but sometimes, when something is not suitable for us, we still hang on to it. I get the feeling that this could be the main message in the entire story.

Although I am not convinced that there is anything in the city which is so important to Shoko that she wanted so much to return there, I think it could be partly due to her desire for control. In the mountains, she was totally reliant on Shigemaru for her survival. However, in the city, she took on the role of a master. Shigemaru's inability to adapt to a change in environment switched the tables this time. And since Shoko isn't the typical traditional type of Japanese woman depicted in that era, it is of no surprise that she wants to do something unlike the norm i.e. controlling her man instead of letting him call the shots.

2) Why Shoko told Shigemaru to kill his wives
Actually, I didn't know the woman's name until I checked the official website. Either they did not mention her name at all or I was not paying attention. Anyway, on the surface, it may seem like jealousy. However, I think Shoko's motive for doing this wasn't so much of wanting sole attention from Shigemaru. She knew that he was already eating out of her hand when she wanted him to find that hairpin and carry her back home. No matter what she said, he would listen. Or I should put it this way, he would fall for her bait whenever she taunted him. I feel that Shoko's reaction of disdain when she saw the wives was because she felt that the wives were in a lower class than her. She didn't think that they deserved to be living in the same place with her especially when she saw people who were dressed shabbily, looking unhygenic and behaved rudely. Her princess complex was probably what drove Shoko to instigate Shigemaru to kill.

3) Whether Shoko was a ghost
I'm inclined towards the view that she wasn't a ghost. Shigemaru might have been hallucinating when he was standing below the sakura tree thus he killed Shoko. In any case, Shigemaru's obsession with the sakura tree was the primary driving factor for his life which had gone awry. Coupled with the fact that he had been suppressing himself so much when he was in the city, the sakura tree or rather his imagination took over and caused him to kill Shoko. Maybe deep down in his mind, he feels that Shoko is the biggest cause for his unhappiness. And the sakura tree was merely the trigger for the explosion of his emotions.

4) Why Shoko left a note saying that she would be back soon
Shoko was very confident that Shigemaru would listen to her. She had absolutely no intention to return to the mountains because that wasn't what she wanted. She pretended to be understanding towards Shigemaru and expected that he would be persuaded to return to the city with her. However, her biggest problem was that she underestimated Shigemaru. She expected that Shigemaru would not be able to live without her but in fact, I feel that she's the one who cannot live without him. She needed Shigemaru to bring back the heads for her pleasure. That was why she bothered to pacify him. If Shigemaru was totally useless to her, Shoko would have let him go when he wanted to go back to the mountains. And this in turn resulted in her murder.

I'm very disappointed with the presentation of this story especially when I contrast it with what Ningen Shikkaku had to offer. I can only hope that the remaining stories will turn out well and not fall short of expectations given their reputation as literature classics.

Top 10 anime ratings ranking (27 Dec 09)

2010-01-11T00:42:00.002+08:00

1) Sazae-san (FujiTV) 20.5%

2) Chibi Maruko-chan (FujiTV) 14.8%

3) One Piece (FujiTV) 10.5%

4) Dragonball Kai (FujiTV) 10.0%

5) Meitantei Conan (NTV) 6.3%

6) Pocket Monster DP (TV Tokyo) 5.8%

7) Tamagocchi! (TV Tokyo) 4.9%

8) Inazuma Eleven (TV Tokyo) 4.4%

9) NARUTO (TV Tokyo) 4.2%

10) Metal Fight Beyblade (TV Tokyo) 4.0%

Top 10 bestselling manga for the week ended 4 Jan 10

2010-01-10T00:20:00.003+08:00

1) Hagane no Renkin Jutsushi Vol 24 (886,135)

2) HUNTERxHUNTER Vol 27 (488,446)

3) Ookiku Furikabutte Vol 13 (301,130)

4) XXXHOLiC Vol 16 (281,589)

5) Kekkaishi Vol 27 (98,347)

6) Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai Minagoroshi Hen 4 (87,398)

7) Umineko no Naku Koro ni Episode 1: Legend of the golden witch 4 (85,847)

8) Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai Matsuri Bayashi Hen 3 (85,259)

9) Kei-on! Vol 3 (81,252)

10) Suzumiya Haruhi-chan no Yuutsu Vol 4 (79,549)

Higashi no Eden Gekijouban 1 The King of Eden breaks JPY 100m mark!

2010-01-09T10:53:00.002+08:00

Higashi no Eden's movie version Part 1, The King of Eden started screening on 28 November 2009 and has broken the JPY 100m mark in box office takings within 38 days. The movie is screening in 10 cinema complexes nationwide and has attracted 75,647 movie-goers as of 4 January 2010. Despite opening in just 7 cinemas initially, this was an extremely good result given the scale of the screening.

The movie will be shown in other cities such as Niigata from 16 January, Yamagata from 23 January, Ibaraki, Mito, Kyoto, Fukuoka and Ogura from 30 January. Nagasaki will start screening the movie from 13 Feburary while Hiroshima will start in spring. As such, box office takings look set to rise further.

Part 2 of the movie "Paradise Lost" will be shown in March.

Review of Aoi Bungaku Series ~ Ningen Shikaku (Eps 1 to 4)

2010-01-04T22:25:00.005+08:00

It's been ages since I last posted a review and this marks the first in 2010. I've been neglecting this blog for so long and it's time to get things going again. For the past 1 or 2 years, I've not had the urge or interest to check out the newer animes because the genres tend not to be my cup of tea. I think the last series which I followed faithfully was Higashi no Eden but that was kinda disappointing at the end.

As such, getting started on the Aoi Bungaku series was a step back into the anime world for me. Based on the fact the anime is based on the signature works from some of the best Japanese authors, I was assured that the story wouldn't be too bad. Coupled with the fact that Sakai Masato was chosen as the navigator and main voice actor for the series, it gave me a boost of confidence about the quality of the series. People who have seen his dramas and movies would probably agree that this guy can act. Of course, voice-acting is different and more challenging because we can't see the voice actor's facial expressions. However, this also shows us the depth of acting one can achieve just by relying on the voice. In addition, looking at the cast list which consists of many notable names in the seiyuu world like Park Romi and Noto Mamiko so this series did looked like a sure-win on paper.

After finishing the first story Ningen Shikaku which spans four episodes, I'm impressed.

Ningen Shikaku was written in 1948 by Dazai Osamu and is one of his signature works. The novel was actually released in three parts and just before the final installment was published, Dazai committed suicide with his lover. As such, this novel was seen as a suicide note by him. In addition, as there were some parts of the story which seemed to reflect Dazai's real life e.g. the names of the women whom he was involved in appeared as women in the lead character Youzou's life, there was talk that Dazai was potraying his own life through Youzou.

As the general atmosphere in the story was rather gloomy and pessimistic, the colour scheme in this anime wouldn't be considered vivid or impressive given today's standards. I can accept that since this is consistent with the storyline. If you are looking for light entertainment, you might want to give this a miss. Another point to note is that whenever I look at Youzou, I'm reminded of Yagami Light in Death Note. I guess this is largely due to the fact that the revised version of the novel has a brand new cover drawn by Obata Takeshi thus the resemblance is striking.

The story weighs heavily on the viewer because Youzou's life is simply like a tragedy played out before your eyes. Although he was born into a rich family, being sexually abused by his caregivers made his personality twisted. Coupled with his father's expectations, he was forced to retreat behind a socially-acceptable but unreal facade which he had to create in order for him to live on. He started to put on a pretence before people and gradually found it difficult to show his true self. He was constantly haunted by his past and he could never find a way to break free other than drift along in life. Coupled with the fact that he didn't have anyone to accept him for who he was, Youzou suffered. Time after time, just when he thought he had got over a hurdle, another challenge came his way. It was as if he was trapped in a maze and could never find a way out. However, when you come to think of it, Youzou didn't really try to do anything to get out. He was merely riding on the kindness that people showered on him and when things went awry, he started to blame everyone except himself.

I like Sakai Masato's potrayal of Youzou especially in the first two episodes. Without even looking at his facial expressions or what Youzou was doing on screen, the despondent and resigned attitude showed through Sakai's voice. It does bring out the sadness in Youzou's life. This has made me more excited to see how he will potray the other roles for the remaining stories. On the other hand, I thought the BGM and ending theme were quite lacking so I was a bit disappointed about that.

On the whole, this anime shows a lot of promise and I hope the other stories will be handled as well, if not better than what Ningen Shikaku had displayed. At the very least, the anime has sparked my interest in trying to find the novel so it is considered successful in this sense.

Bestselling Anime DVDs of 2009 (Oricon)

2009-12-26T00:08:00.002+08:00

General DVD Category:
Most number of units sold: Kake no Ue no Ponyo (841,000)
Highest sales in yen: Kake no Ue no Ponyo (4.15 billion yen)

Anime Series / OVA Category Top 5:
1) Gintama Jump Anime Tour 2008 & 2005 (76,000 units)
2) Pieces of love vol.1 Tsumiki no Ie (54,000 units)
3) Kido Senshi Gundam 00 Second Season 1 (34,000 units)
4) Usabicchi Season 2 (30,000 units)
5) Usabicchi Season 3 (29,000 units)

Anime Movies Shown in Theatres Category Top 5:
1) Kake no Ue no Ponyo (841,000 units)
2) Biohazard The Generation (121,000 units)
3) Wall E (96,000 units)
4) Tonari no Totoro (87,000 units)
5) Wall E Special Edition (69,000 units)

General Blu-Ray Disc Category:
Most number of units sold: Evangelion Shin Gekijouban Jo (96,000 units)
Highest sales in yen: Evangelion Shin Gekijouban Jo (590 million yen)

Anime Series / OVA Blu-ray Disc Top 5:
1) Bakemonogatari Daiikkan Hitagi Blub (51,000 units)
2) FINAL FANTASY VII ADVENT CHILDREN COMPLETE (49,000 units)
3) Bakemonogatari Mayoi Mai Mai (47,000 units)
4) Bakemonogatari Daisankan Suruga Monkey (44,000 units)
5) Kei-on! (1) (40,000 units)

Anime movies Blu-Day Disc Category Top 5:
1) Evangelion Shin Gekijouban Jo (96,000 units)
2) Biohazard The Generation (42,000 units)
3) Wall E (29,000 units)
4) Koukyou Shihen Eureka Seven Pocket ga Niji de Ippai (Limited Edition) (17,000 units)
5) Lupin Sansei Kariosutoro no Shiro (11,000 units)

Top 10 anime ratings ranking (20 Dec 09)

2009-12-25T13:02:00.002+08:00

1) Sazae-san (FujiTV) 17.5%

2) Chibi Maruko-chan (FujiTV) 13.9%

3) One Piece (FujiTV) 10.4%

4) Dragonball Kai (FujiTV) 8.9%

5) Meitantei Conan (NTV) 8.7%

6) Fresh Puri Kyua! (TV Asahi) 7.2%

7) Stitch! Itazura Alien no Daibouken Christmas SP (TV Asahi) 6.4%

8) Tamagocchi (TV Tokyo) 5.5%

9) Inazuma Eleven (TV Tokyo) 5.2%

10) Pocket Monster DP (TV Tokyo) 5.1%

First day screening of "Nodame Cantabile Saishusho Part I"

2009-12-21T00:45:00.001+08:00

The first day screening of "Nodame Cantabile Saishusho Part I" was held on 19 December 2009 at Yurakucho's TOHO Cinemas Nigeki 1 where cast members including Ueno Juri, Tamaki Hiroshi, Wentz Eiji, Yamada Yu, Yamaguchi Sayaka, Fukushi Seiji and Takenaka Naoto made appearances. The screening was attended by 950 fans. Toho had also confirmed that Part I will be screened in Hong Kong and Macau on 4 March 2010, 5 March 2010 in Taiwan and 11 March 2010 in Singapore. As for South Korea, the screening date has not been confirmed.

Part II of the movie is slated to be shown from 17 April 2010 in Japan.

Source: Sanspo

Top 10 bestselling manga for the week ended 21 Dec 09

2009-12-20T00:05:00.002+08:00

1) ONE PIECE Vol 56 (398,550)

2) BLEACH VOl 42 (162,299)

3) D.Gray-man Vol 19 (156,739)

4) Katei Kyoushi Hitman REBORN! Vol 27 (149,210)

5) Nodame Cantabile Vol 23 (115,047)

6) Hanma Baki Vol 21 (77,385)

7) Souten no Ken Vol 21 (76,934)

8) Vampire Knight Vol 11 (72,522)

9) Chiwayaburu Vol 7 (70,790)

10) Toriko Vol 7 (64,500)

Top 10 anime ratings ranking (13 Dec 09)

2009-12-19T18:49:00.002+08:00

1) Sazae-san (FujiTV) 21.7%

2) Chibi Maruko-chan (FujiTV) 14.5%

3) Doraemon Christmas Xmas (TV Asahi) 12.3%

4) One Piece (FujiTV) 10.9%

5) Dragonball Kai (FujiTV) 9.0%

6) Meitantei Conan (NTV) 8.3%

7) Kaidan Restaurant (TV Asahi) 6.6%

8) Stitch! Itazura Italian no Daibouken (TV Asahi) 6.4%

9) Fresh Puri Kyua! (TV Asahi) 6.0%

10) Pocket Monster DP (TV Tokyo) 5.6%

Top 10 anime ratings ranking (29 Nov 09)

2009-12-06T21:04:00.002+08:00

1) Sazae-san (FujiTV) 22.9%

2) Chibi Maruko-chan (FujiTV) 16.0%

3) One Piece (FujiTV) 12.2%

4) Dragonball Kai (FujiTV) 10.7%

5) Crayon Shin-chan (TV Asahi) 10.2%

6) Doraemon (TV Asahi) 9.6%

7) Meitantei Conan (NTV) 8.6%

8) Kaidan Restaurant (TV Asahi) 7.9%

9) Fresh Puri Kyua! (TV Asahi) 7.6%

10) Pocket Monster DP (TV Tokyo) 6.7%

Top 10 anime ratings ranking (22 Nov 09)

2009-11-27T11:26:00.002+08:00

1) Sazae-san (FujiTV) 18.9%

2) Chibi Maruko-chan (FujiTV) 13.7%

3) Crayon Shin-chan (TV Asahi) 12.1%

4) One Piece (FujiTV) 11.3%

5) Dragonball Kai (FujiTV) 10.4%

6) Doraemon (TV Asahi) 10.3%

7) Meitantei Conan (NTV) 8.3%

8) Kaidan Restaurant (TV Asahi) 7.2%

9) Fresh Puri Kyua! (TV Asahi) 6.5%

10) Stitch! Itazura Alien no Daibouken (TV Asahi) 6.2%　　　　　　　

Top 10 bestselling manga for the week ended 23 Nov 09

2009-11-24T00:26:00.002+08:00

1) NARUTO Vol 48 (150,481)

2) Angel Heart Vol 31 (130,195)

3) Gintama Vol 31 (83,337)

4) Bakuman Vol 5 (59,070)

5) CLAYMORE Vol 17 (49,572)

6) STEEL BALL RUN Vol 19 (41,064)

7) LIAR GAME Vol 10 (40,623)

8) Bokura ga Ita Vol 13 (39,110)

9) Sengoku Tenshoki Vol 7 (38,857)

10) Kiss yori mo Hayaku Vol 6 (36,878)

Top 10 bestselling manga for the week ended 16 Nov 09

2009-11-23T00:22:00.002+08:00

1) NARUTO Vol 48 (781,619)

2) Gintama Vol 31 (264,895)

3) Bakuman Vol 5 (218,751)

4) CLAYMORE Vol 17 (146,022)

5) STEEL BALL RUN Vol 19 (128,814)

6) To Love-ru Vol 16 (102,242)

7) Beruze Babu Vol 3 (87,761)

8) LIAR GAME Vol 10 (85,014)

9) Kiss yori mo Hayaku Vol 6 (84,448)

10) Bokura ga Ita Vol 13 (81,627)

Top 10 bestselling manga for the week ended 9 Nov 09

2009-11-22T00:17:00.002+08:00

1) Sei Oniisan Vol 4 (239,767)

2) Bokura ga Ita Vol 13 (230,711)

3) Kyou, Koi wa Hajimemasu Vol 7 (157,015)

4) To Aru Majutsu no Kinsho Mokuroku [Index] (123,144)

5) To Aru Majutsu no Kinsho Mokuroku Gaiten Vol 4 (121,777)

6) Suki desu Suzuki-kun!! Vol 5 (77,911)

7) Saiyuki RELOAD Vol 10 (74,092)

8) Kinou nani tabeta? Vol 3 (72,324)

9) Kido Senshi Gundam-san Itsutsume no Kan (52,456)

10) Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu Vol 10 (51,581)

Top 10 anime ratings ranking (15 Nov 09)

2009-11-21T10:55:00.002+08:00

1) Chibi Maruko-chan (FujiTV) 16.5%

2) One Piece (FujiTV) 11.9%

3) Doraemon (TV Asahi) 11.4%

4) Crayon Shin-chan (TV Asahi) 11.0%

5) Meitantei Conan (NTV) 10.9%

6) Dragonball Kai (FujiTV) 10.8%

7) Pocket Monster DP (TV Tokyo) 7.5%

8) Stitch! Itazura no Alien no Daibouken (TV Asahi) 7.1%

9) Kaidan Restaurant (TV Asahi) 6.6%

10) Fresh Puri Kyua! (TV Asahi) 6.2%

Top 10 anime ratings ranking (8 Nov 09)

2009-11-12T21:58:00.003+08:00

1) Sazae-san (FujiTV) 21.4%

2) Chibi Maruko-chan (FujiTV) 15.0%

3) Dragonball Kai (FujiTV) 10.4%

4) Doraemon (TV Asahi) / Crayon Shin-chan (TV Asahi) / One Piece (FujiTV) 10.3%

7) Meitantei Conan (NTV) 9.6%

8) Fresh Puri Kyua! (TV Asahi) 7.6%

9) Pocket Monster DP (TV Tokyo) 7.0%

10) Anime Osaru no George (NHK Education) 5.3%

Top 10 anime ratings ranking (1 Nov 09)

2009-11-10T22:06:00.002+08:00

1) Crayon Shin-chan (TV Asahi) 10.6%

2) One Piece (FujiTV) 10.3%

3) Doraemon (TV Asahi) 8.4%

4) Meitantei Conan (NTV) / Dragonball Kai (FujiTV) 8.0%

6) Kaidan Restaurant (TV Asahi) 7.9%

7) Stitch! Itazura Alien no Daibouken (TV Asahi) 7.2%

8) Pocket Monster DP (TV Tokyo) 6.2%

9) NARUTO (TV Tokyo) 5.1%

10) Inazuma Eleven (TV Tokyo) 4.8%

Top 10 bestselling manga for the week ended 2 Nov 09

2009-10-30T09:40:00.002+08:00

1) Sei Oniisan Vol 4 (320,529)

2) BLACK LAGOON Vol 9 (251,187)

3) Skip Beat! Vol 23 (198,297)

4) GANTZ Vol 27 (153,779)

5) Hayate no Gotoku! Vol 21 (105,717)

6) Kinou Nani Tabeta? Vol 3 (103,606)

7) PEACE MAKER Vol 4 (103,489)

8) Kindaichi Shounen no Jikenbo Kenmochi Keibu no Satsujin Part 2 (83,178)

9) Kindaichi Shounen no Jikenbo Kenmochi Keibu no Satsujin Part 1 (82,888)

10) ZETMAN Vol 13 (79,593)

Top 10 anime ratings ranking (25 Oct 09)

2009-10-28T19:34:00.002+08:00

1) Sazae-san (FujiTV) 21.7%

2) Chibi Maruko-chan (FujiTV) 15.4%

3) Crayon Shin-chan (TV Asahi) 11.3%

4) One Piece (FujiTV) 10.4%

5) Meitantei Conan (NTV) 10.0%

6) Dragonball Kai (FujiTV) 9.4%

7) Doraemon (TV Asahi) 9.1%

8) Fresh Puri Kyua! (TV Asahi) 8.1%

9) Pocket Monster DS (TV Tokyo) 7.2%

10) Kaidan Restaurant (TV Asahi) 6.5%

Merchandise launch in conjunction with movie version of "Higashi no Eden"

2009-10-25T00:30:00.002+08:00

In conjunction with the impending launch of Higashi no Eden's movie (Part 1: The King of Eden begins its roadshow on 28 Nov), there will be an official merchandise site launched from 23 Oct where goods of the movie can be bought. This site is produced in conjunction with Parco City Online Mall and will offer limited edition goods which cannot be bought elsewhere e.g. clear folders and notebooks. Books like the essay "Kamiyama Kenji no Eiga wa totta koto ga nai" or the blue-disc DVDs of the anime series will also be available. There will also be special-edition T-shirts and handphone straps produced to mark the launch of the website.

Meanwhile, there will also be a real-life shop, "Higashi no Eden Premium Shop" opened from 20 Nov to 13 Dec in Kichijoji, Tokyo (6th floor on Kichijoji Parco) where fans can visit the experience zone to feel the movie's atmosphere and buy limited edition goods which are launched before it is available at other shops. There will also be an exhibition of the original drawings of the anime. When the 2nd part of the movie "Paradise Lost" goes on roadshow next year, the shop will be reopened from 6 Jan 10 to 24 Jan. Opening hours of the shop will be from 10am to 9pm daily.

Parco City Online Mall: here

Top 10 bestselling manga for the week ended 26 Oct 09

2009-10-24T00:47:00.002+08:00

1) Hayate no Gotoku Vol 21 (160,433)

2) Kindaichi Shounen no Jikenbo Kenmochi Keibu no Satsujin Part 1 (87,125)

3) Kindaichi Shounen no Jikenbo Kenmochi Keibu no Satsujin Part 2 (86,683)

4) Hotaru no Hikari Vol 15 (81,056)

5) BLEACH Vol 41 (64,742)

6) GTO SHONAN 14 DAYS Vol 1 (62,525)

7) DEAR BOYS ACT 3 Vol 2 (61,347)

8) Lucky Star Vol 7 (59,807)

9) Otoyome Katari Vol 1 (59,181)

10) Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun Vol 3 (58,274)

Top 10 anime ratings ranking (18 Oct 09)

2009-10-23T19:40:00.002+08:00

1) Sazae-san (FujiTV) 19.0%

2) Chibi Maruko-chan (FujiTV) 12.7%

3) Crayon Shin-chan (TV Asahi) 12.0%

4) Meitantei Conan (NTV) 11.6%

5) Doraemon (TV Asahi) 10.9%

6) One Piece (FujiTV) 9.7%

7) Pocket Monster DS (TV Tokyo) 7.7% / Dragonball Kai (FujiTV) 7.7%

9) Fresh Puri Kyua! (TV Asahi) 6.6%

10) Kaidan Restaurant (TV Asahi) 6.2%

Top 10 bestselling manga for the week ended 19 Oct 09

2009-10-16T16:16:00.002+08:00

1) BLEACH Vol 41 (186,166)

2) Katei Kyoushi Hitman REBORN! Vol 26 (166,534)

3) Lucky Star Vol 7 (96,863)

4) Eyeshield 21 Vol 37 (74,501)

5) Hanma Baki Vol 20 (68,219)

6) Toriko Vol 6 (62,631)

7) Nurarin Hyon no Mago Vol 7 (60,476)

8) Drop Vol 8 (59,997)

9) Tegami Bachi Vol 8 (46,608)

10) Himea Nooru Vol 4 (41,500)

Top 10 anime ratings ranking (11 Oct 09)

2009-10-14T19:18:00.002+08:00

1) Sazae-san (FujiTV) 15.5%

2) One Piece (FujiTV) 12.0%

3) Chibi Maruko-chan (FujiTV) 9.8%

4) Dragonball Kai (FujiTV) 9.0%

5) Meitantei Conan (NTV) 7.1%

6) Fresh Puri Kyua! (TV Asahi) 5.8%

7) NARUTO (TV Tokyo) 5.0%

8) Inazuma Eleven (TV Tokyo) 4.4%

9) Oasaru no George (NHK Education) 4.1%

10) Gintama (TV Tokyo) 3.9%　　

Top 10 bestselling manga for the week ended 12 Oct 09

2009-10-09T19:13:00.003+08:00

1) BLEACH Vol 41 (414,722)

2) Katei Kyoushi Hitman REBORN! Vol 26 (235,476)

3) Ooku Vol 5 (124,456)

4) Detroit Metal City Vol 8 (119,606)

5) Iryu Vol 21 (113,337)

6) Eyeshield 21 Vol 37 (109,645)

7) Toriko Vol 6 (95,058)

8) Nurari Hyon no Mago Vol 7 (85,323)

9) Berserk Vol 34 (80,629)

10) Sekai Ichi Hatsukoi ~ Onodera Ritsu no Ba-ai~ (71,913)

Top 10 anime ratings ranking (4 Oct 09)

2009-10-08T19:56:00.002+08:00

1) Sazae-san (FujiTV) 19.8%

2) Chibi Maruko-chan (FujiTV) 12.8%

3) One Piece (FujiTV) 9.3%

4) Meitantei Conan (NTV) 8.8%

5) Pocket Monster DP (TV Tokyo) 7.8%

6) Dragonball Kai (FujiTV) 7.2%

7) Fresh Puri Kyua! (TV Asahi) 5.8%

8) Inazuma Eleven (TV Tokyo) 5.5%

9) Oasaru no George (NHK Education) 5.0%

10) Battle Splitz Shounen Gekihadan (TV Tokyo) 3.9%

Top 10 bestselling manga for the week ended 5 Oct 09

2009-10-02T10:26:00.002+08:00

1) Berserk Vol 34 (183,755)

2) Soul Eater Vol 15 (117,158)

3) Vinland Saga Vol 8 (85,092)

4) Kekkaishi Vol 26 (77,343)

5) Ahiru no Sora Vol 25 (77,163)

6) FAIRY TAIL Vol 17 (72,854)

7) Kimi ni Todoke Vol 9 (71,496)

8) Yozakura Quartet Vol 7 (69,699)

9) Atashinchi Vol 15 (68,641)

10) Otomen Vol 9 (65,655)

Top 10 anime ratings ranking (27 Sep 09)

2009-10-01T19:33:00.002+08:00

1) Sazae-san (FujiTV) 17.9%

2) Chibi Maruko-chan (FujiTV) 12.9%

3) Meitantei Conan (NTV) 9.8%

4) One Piece (NTV) 9.7%

5) Dragonball Kai (FujiTV) 7.9%

6) Yatterman (NTV) 7.5%

7) Fresh Puri Kyua! (TV Asahi) 7.2%

8) NARUTO (TV Tokyo) 5.6%

9) Inazuma Eleven (TV Tokyo) 4.5%

10) Mainichi Kaasan (TV Tokyo) / Shin Majinga Shougeki Z Hen on television (TV Tokyo) 4.4%

Top 10 anime ratings ranking (21 Sep 09)

2009-09-28T19:32:00.002+08:00

1) Sazae-san (FujiTV) 14.2%

2) Crayon Shinchan (TV Asahi) 13.0%

3) Doraemon (TV Asahi) 12.2%

4) One Piece (FujiTV) 9.2%

5) Meitantei Conan (NTV) 9.0%

6) Chibi Maruko-chan (FujiTV) 8.9%

7) Dragonball Kai (FujiTV) 7.9%

8) Fresh Puri Kyua! (TV Asahi) 7.1%

9) Pocket Monster DP (TV Tokyo) 6.4%

10) Mainichi Kaasan (TV Tokyo) 5.8%

Top 10 bestselling manga for the week ended 28 Sep 09

2009-09-25T09:05:00.002+08:00

1) Kimi ni Todoke Vol 9 (178,612)

2) Ahiru no Sora Vol 25 (166,689)

3) FAIRY TAIL Vol 17 (164,980)

4) Mahou Sensei Negima! Vol 27 (149,143)

5) Kekkaishi Vol 26 (145,212)

6) Soul Eater Vol 15 (142,798)

7) Air Gear Vol 26 (139,508)

8) Hajime no Ippo Vol 89 (133,627)

9) ONE PIECE Vol 55 (110,067)

10) MAJOR Vol 73 (108,255)

Aoi Bungaku Series starting from 10 Oct 09

2009-09-23T10:40:00.003+08:00

NTV will be showing an animation series titled "Aoi Bungaku Series" which comprises of 6 famous literature works from various leading authors. The series will begin from 10 October at 1.20am (1.50am for the first OA) on Saturdays.

The idea for the series began when Shueisha re-published the 6 novels in a new version with covers drawn by famous manga artists Obata Takeshi (Death Note), Kubo Taito (BLEACH) and Konomi Takeshi (Shin Tennis no Oujisama). Based on their drawings, MADHOUSE will be in charge of producing the anime series.

Actor Sakai Masato will be playing the lead characters for each story as well as take on the role of a narrator. The six stories include works from Daizai Osamu - "Ningen Shinkaku" (4 episodes), "Hashire Meros" (2 episodes), from Sakaguchi Ango - "Sakura no Mori no Mankai no Shita" (2 episodes), from Natsume Souseki "Kokoro" (2 episodes) and from Akutagawa Ryuunosuke "Kumo no Ito" (1 episode) and "Jigokuhen" (1 episode). This is the third time that Sakai Masato tries his hand at voice acting and he has re-read the novels so as to prepare for the recording.

Crayon Shinchan's author, Usui Yoshito passes away

2009-09-22T08:25:00.002+08:00

"Crayon Shinchan" author Usui Yoshito passed away after slipping from a cliff at Mount. Arafune and his body was found on 20 Sep 09. Crayon Shinchan's publisher, Futaba held an emergency press conference where they revealed that the last picture in Usui's digital camera was a topdown view of the cliff. It is believed that Usui slipped and fell down the cliff while taking this picture.

Usui had always loved to go on hiking trips in the mountains alone while taking pictures. However, this was the first time he visited Mount. Arafune and it turned out to be his last as well. According to police investigations, Usui had taken about 30 pictures of the scenery at Arafune. As the camera was still in the "on" mode when the body was found, it is said that Usui could have fallen right after taking this picture. In addition, there were no letters found on Usui thus the police has ruled out suicide or murder since it is highly likely that this is an accident.

With regards to the future of Crayon Shinchan's TV anime and movies, Futaba said that they are in the midst of negotiations with the related parties and Usui's family. Meanwhile, Usui's funeral will be held soon where only family members will attend. There are also talks going on as to whether to hold a farewell ceremony for Usui. As for the monthly Crayon Shinchan manga release, the publisher said that they have enough material until the Dec issue which will be published on 5 Nov. However, it is uncertain what they will do after that. Meanwhile, there will be a commemorative feature in the Nov issue which goes on sale from 5 Oct.

Top 10 bestselling manga for the week ended 21 Sep 09

2009-09-19T00:49:00.002+08:00

1) ONE PIECE Vol 55 (366,160)

2) Kimi ni Todoke Vol 9 (355,500)

3) Ouran Koukou Host Club Vol 15 (154,506)

4) Gintama Vol 30 (130,932)

5) WORST Gaiten (128,792)

6) Vagabond Vol 31 (104,924)

7) Kaichou wa Meido-sama! Vol 8 (66,322)

8) Chihayafuru Vol 6 (61,089)

9) 7SEEDS Vol 16 (59,099)

10) Garasu no Kamen Vol 44 (48,189)

Eden of the East Compilation SP Air Communication

2009-09-17T22:10:00.002+08:00

In conjunction with the upcoming launches of the "Eden of the East" movies i.e. "The King of Eden" from 28 Nov and "Paradise Lost" from 9 Jan 2010, there wil be a compilation SP titled "Air Communication" shown during the morning and late-night slots at selected cinemas from 26 Sep onwards. This is in response to requests from fans and they may catch the screening at Theatre Shinjuku and Theatre Diamond in Tokyo and Osaka's Theatre Umeda. This SP is not a mere compilation of scenes from the anime series but rather contains new revelations which were not explained in the series.

On the first day screening, cast members like Kimura Ryouhei who plays Takizawa Akira and Tamagawa Sakiko who plays Juiz will make appearances with the director Kamiyama Kenji.

Top 10 anime ratings ranking (13 September 09)

2009-09-16T19:17:00.002+08:00

1) Sazae-san (FujiTV) 18.3%

2) Chibi Maruko-chan (FujiTV) 13.1%

3) Doraemon Tanjou (TV Asahi) 11.2%

4) One Piece (FujiTV) 11.1%

5) Dragonball Kai (FujiTV) 9.1%

6) Meitantei Conan (NTV) 8.7%

7) Pocket Monster DP (TV Tokyo) 8.0%

8) Fresh Puri Kyua! (TV Asahi) 7.6%

9) NARUTO (TV Tokyo) 5.7%

10) Lilo and Stitch (TV Tokyo) 5.6%

Top 10 most anticipated manga sequels (Oricon)

2009-09-14T10:28:00.003+08:00

1) SLAM DUNK

2) Hana Yori Dango

3) Dragonball

4) DEATH NOTE

5) Hikaru no Go

6) Touch

7) Itazura Na Kiss

8) Love Complex

9) Candy Candy

10) Rurouni Kenshin

Top 10 bestselling manga for the week ended 14 Sep 09

2009-09-12T00:07:00.003+08:00

1) ONE PIECE Vol 55 (1,121,685)

2) Vagabond Vol 31 (288,225)

3) Gintama Vol 30 (203,750)

4) Ouran Koukou Host Club Vol 15 (170,016)

5) Kaichou wa Maid-sama! Vol 8 (85,971)

6) Garasu no Kamen Vol 44 (84,957)

7) Beruze Babu Vol 2 (68,072)

8) Junjou Romantica Vol 12 (62,146)

9) Kyou wa Nekomura-san Vol 4 (53,966)

10) Nodame Cantabile Vol 22 (46,428)

Top 10 anime ratings ranking (6 Sep 09)

2009-09-10T20:11:00.002+08:00

1) Sazae-san (FujiTV) 16.8%

2) Tezuka Osamu's 80th birthday commemoration - Jungle Emperor (FujiTV) 13.1%

3) Crayon Shin-chan (TV Asahi) 12.6%

4) Doraemon (TV Asahi) 12.0%

5) Chibi Maruko-chan (FujiTV) 11.8%

6) One Piece (FujiTV) 11.1%

7) Dragonball Kai (FujiTV) 9.3%

8) Meitantei Conan (NTV) 8.4%

9) Fresh Puri Kyua! (TV Asahi) 7.2%

10) Pocket Monster DP (TV Tokyo) 6.8%　　

Top 10 bestselling manga for July 09 (Mangazenkan.com)

2009-09-06T00:32:00.002+08:00

1) ONE PIECE

2) 20 Seiki Shounen

3) SLAM DUNK

4) NARUTO

5) Hagane no Renkin Jutsushi

6) Fujiko F Fujio Complete Collection

7) Cross Game

8) Sora no Ma ni Ma ni

9) Gintama

10) Hana no Keiji

Top 10 bestselling manga for the week ended 7 Sep 09

2009-09-05T00:32:00.002+08:00

1) Garasu no Kamen Vol 44 (241,633)

2) Mei-chan no Shitsuji Vol 10 (158,414)

3) Meitantei Conan Vol 65 (102,917)

4) Clover Vol 22 (89,308)

5) Nodame Cantabile Vol 22 (83,326)

6) Bokutachi wa Shitte shimatta Vol 7 (77,051)

7) Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai Minna Goroshi Hen Vol 3 (67,459)

8) Hagane no Renkin Jutsushi Vol 23 (65,700)

9) Suki desu Suzuki-kun! Vol 4 (64,362)

10) Fate / Stay night Vol 10 (59,710)

Top 10 favourite music-themed manga (Oricon)

2009-09-04T19:25:00.003+08:00

1) Nodame Cantabile

2) NANA

3) Kei-on!

4) BECK

5) Detroit Metal City

6) Piano no Mori

7) Tenshi no Uta

8) Pride

9) Soranin

10) Itsumo Pocket ni Chopin

Top 10 anime ratings ranking (30 Aug 09)

2009-09-03T00:03:00.002+08:00

1) Sazae-san (FujiTV) 14.3%

2) Crayon Shin-chan (TV Asahi) 12.3%

3) Chibi Maruko-chan (FujiTV) 10.8%

4) Doraemon (TV Asahi) 10.1%

5) One Piece (FujiTV) 8.9%

6) Meitantei Conan (FujiTV) 8.1%

7) Dragonball Kai (FujiTV0 6.6%

8) Pocket Monster DP (TV Tokyo) 6.3%

9) Atashinchi (TV Asahi) 5.8%

10) NARUTO (TV Tokyo) 5.5%　　　　　　

20th Century Boys' movie adaptation Part II Blu-Ray Disc breaks sales records

2009-09-02T19:51:00.002+08:00

The Blu-Ray Disc version of "20 Seiki Shounen - Chapter 2 - Saigo no Kibou" released on 28 August 09 by VAP broke DVD sales records as announced in Oricon's latest DVD / Blu-Ray Disc charts dated 7 September. The title's BD version sold 7,717 copies between the period of 24 August to 30 August thus breaking the highest record for Japanese Blu-Ray Disc movie releases so-far (not taking anime releases into consideration). The previous record holder was a related title, "20 Seiki Shounen - Chapter 1 - Owari no Hajimari" which sold 7,251 copies. As for the DVD version, 32,000 copies of the normal version and 12,000 copies of the deluxe version have been sold so far, thus making "20 Seiki Shounen" the No.1 title on the weekly DVD charts.

Top 10 bestselling manga for the week ended 31 August 09

2009-08-28T11:55:00.003+08:00

1) Meitantei Conan Vol 65 (383,086)

2) Hagane no Renkin Jutsushi Vol 23 (222,823)

3) Nodame Cantabile Vol 22 (195,975)

4) Daiya no A Vol 17 (172,154)

5) Azumanga Daiou 3nen sei (119,534)

6) Sangatsu no Lion Vol 3 (106,419)

7) Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei Vol 18 (87,381)

8) Aria no Kishi Vol 17 (85,139)

9) LIAR GAME Vol 9 (84,583)

10) capeta Vol 20 (80,702)

Top 10 anime ratings ranking as of week ended 23 Aug 09

2009-08-26T20:43:00.002+08:00

1) Sazae-san (FujiTV) 13.6%

2) Doraemon (TV Asahi) / Crayon Shin-chan (TV Asahi) / One Piece (FujiTV) 11.0%

5) Chibi Maruko-chan (FujiTV) 9.8%

6) Dragonball Kai (FujITV) 9.2%

7) Pocket Monster DP (TV Tokyo) 6.1%

8) Meitantei Conan (NTV) 6.0%

9) Fresh Puri Kyua! (TV Asahi) 5.2%

10) Anime Osaru no George (NHK Education) 5.0%

Monster's anime version to shown in the US from Oct 2009

2009-08-25T20:39:00.002+08:00

VIZ Media, an American manga and anime distribution company, announced that the anime version of "MONSTER" is to be shown via the Sci-Fi Channel from 12 October 09 onwards. This cable channel is targeted at youngsters and is owned by a major broadcasting station, NBC. "MONSTER" will be shown during the timeslot of "Ani-Monday" at night. This is considered a feat as major US TV channels rarely show Japanese anime except for specialized channels.

The manga version has received lots of accolades in Japan including the Tezuka Osamu Cultural Award and the Shogakukan Manga Award. All 17 volumes of the manga have been released and sales of the manga are expected to climb higher with the launch of the anime which spans 74 episodes and was produced by Madhouse. In addition, DVD releases of the anime are also being planned.

Top 10 bestselling manga for the week ended 24 Aug 09

2009-08-22T00:20:00.000+08:00

1) Hagane no Renkin Jutsushi Vol 23 (849,067)

2) Nodame Cantabile Vol 22 (733,157)

3) Sangatsu no Lion Vol 3 (275,213)

4) NARUTO Vol 47 (177,698)

5) BLEACH Vol 40 (126,979)

6) Sukitte Ii na yo Vol 3 (96,205)

7) Shin Tennis no Oujisama Vol 1 (83,145)

8) Amanchu Vol 1 (68,948)

9) Bakuman Vol 4 (66,110)

10) Monster Hunter Orage Vol 4 (58,485)

Hanbun no Tsuki ga Noboru Sora's real-life movie adaptation

2009-08-21T10:40:00.002+08:00

The real-life movie adaptation of "Hanbun no Tsuki ga Noboru Sora" will be shown in spring next year. Kutsuna Shiori who gained fame through her appearance in the Pocky CMs will be starring as the lead character, Rika who is hospitalised due to a heart ailment and meets Yuuichi played by Ikematsu Sousuke. The story is based on the same-titled novel by Hashimoto Tsumugu. Other cast members include Ooizumi who plays a doctor in the hospital while the theme song, "15 no Kotoba" is sung by Abe Mao.

Top 10 anime ratings ranking for the week ended 16 August 09

2009-08-20T20:42:00.003+08:00

1) Sazae-san (FujiTV) 14.1%

2) One Piece (FujiTV) 9.7%

3) Chibi Maruko-chan (FujiTV) 9.2%

4) Dragonball Kai (FujiTV) 8.8%

5) Doraemon (TV Asahi) 6.7%

6) Crayon Shin-chan (TV Asahi) 6.5%

7) Meitantei Conan (NTV) 6.2%

8) Fresh Puri Kyua! (TV Asahi) 5.2%

9) Pocket Monster DP (TV Tokyo) 5.0%

10) Yatterman (NTV) 4.9%

Top 10 bestselling manga for the week ended 17 August 09

2009-08-14T20:48:00.002+08:00

1) NARUTO Vol 47 (783,827)

2) BLEACH Vol 40 (589,661)

3) Bakuman Vol 4 (242,745)

4) Shin Tennis no Oujisama Vol 1 (223,834)

5) Eyeshield 21 Vol 36 (165,014)

6) Toriko Vol 5 (139,650)

7) To Love-ru Vol 15 (129,490)

8) Nurarihyon no Mago Vol 6 (126,714)

9) Monster Hunter Orage Vol 4(125,381)

10) Majin Tantei Nougami Neuro Vol 23 (85,874)

Top 10 anime ratings ranking for the week ended 9 August 09

2009-08-12T21:15:00.002+08:00

1) Sazae-san (FujiTV) 17.3%

2) Chibi Maruko-chan (FujiTV) 11.8%

3) Crayon Shin-chan (TV Asahi) 10.6%

4) Doraemon (TV Asahi) 9.0%

5) One Piece (FujiTV) 8.6%

6) Meitantei Conan (NTV) 6.5%

7) Dragonball Kai (FujiTV) 6.4%

8) Fresh Puri Kyua! (TV Asahi) 6.1%

9) Pocket Monster (TV Tokyo) 5.5%

10) Yatterman (NTV) 4.8%

Top 10 favourite baseball manga of all time

2009-08-08T20:14:00.001+08:00

1) Touch

2) MAJOR

3) Dokaben

4) ROOKIES

5) H2

6) Kyoujin no Hoshi

7) Captain

8) Ookiku Furikabutte

9) Samurai Giants

10) Daiya no A

Top 10 bestselling manga for the week ended 10 Aug 09

2009-08-07T22:53:00.002+08:00

1) Pandora Hearts Vol 9 (119,155)

2) Moyashimon Vol 8 (107,679)

3) Saki Vol 6 (94,426)

4) Saiyuuki Gaiten Vol 4 (89,565)

5) GUNSLINGER GIRL Vol 11 (72,944)

6) Otomen Vol 8 (69,086)

7) Initial D Vol 39 (52,820)

8) Keroro Gunsou Vol 19 (51,644)

9) Aozora Eeru Vol 3 (47,830)

10) Kiyoku Yawaku Vol 10 (45,407)

Top 10 anime ratings ranking (2 Aug 09)

2009-08-05T21:54:00.002+08:00

1) Sazae-san (FujiTV) 17.6%

2) Chibi Maruko-chan (FujiTV) 11.6%

3) Crayon Shin-chan (TV Asahi) 10.3%

4) Doraemon (TV Asahi) 10.2%

5) One Piece (FujiTV) 10.1%

6) Dragonball Kai (FujiTV) 8.2%

7) Meitantei Conan (NTV) 5.9%

8) Yatterman (NTV) 5.0%

9) Fresh Puri Kyua! (TV Asahi) 5.0%

10) NARUTO (TV Tokyo) 4.7%

Top 10 bestselling manga for the week ended 3 August 09

2009-08-01T00:05:00.002+08:00

1) Moyashimon Vol 8 (194,146)

2) Hayate no Gotoku Vol 20 (112,193)

3) Cross Game Vol 15 (102,200)

4) FAIRY TAIL Vol 16 (93,159)

5) Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu vol 9 (88,092)

6) GIANT KILLING Vol 11 (84,448)

7) Saki Vol 6 (83,430)

8) Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu Vol 3 (76,794)

9) Aa Megami Sama Vol 39 (74,711)

10) Keroro Gunsou Vol 19 (60,562)

Top 10 anime ratings ranking (26 July 09)

2009-07-31T00:32:00.002+08:00

1) Crayon Shin-chan (TV Asahi) 10.5%

2) Doraemon (TV Asahi) 10.2%

3) Pocket Monster DP (TV Tokyo) 6.9%

4) Meitantei Conan (NTV) 6.5%

5) Fresh Puri Kyua! (TV Asahi) 5.6%

6) NARUTO (TV Tokyo) 5.4%

7) Inazuma Eleven (TV Tokyo) 4.5%

8) Anime Osaru no George (NHK Education) 4.1%

9) Anime Kawa no Hikari (NHK General) 4.0%

10) Mainichi Kaasan (TV Tokyo) 3.9%

Top 10 bestselling manga for the week ended 27 July 09

2009-07-30T00:05:00.002+08:00

1) Hayate no Gotoku Vol 20 (160,108)

2) Cross Game Vol 15 (106,249)

3) FAIRY TAIL Vol 16 (101,480)

4) Azumanga Daiou Ninensei Shinsouban (79,812)

5) Shijou Saikyou no Deshi Kenichi Vol 34 (75,959)

6) Zettai Karen Children Vol 17 (71,091)

7) Sakurahime Kaden Vol 2 (58,509)

8) Gakuen Alice Vol 19 (57,917)

9) Kami nomizo Shiru Sekai Vol 5 (56,837)

10) Angel Heart Vol 30 (54,576)

Nodame Orchestra to hold 6th concert in conjunction with the movie's screening

2009-07-28T12:57:00.002+08:00

The Nodame Orchestra will be holding their 6th concert at The International Forum located in Tokyo on 31 October and 1 November. The orchestra was formed in 2006 when the drama adaptation was shown on TV and consists of musicians who were selected through a public audition. The upcoming concerts are held in conjunction with the impending release of the Nodame Cantabile movies as Part 1 is due to be screened from 19 December. Fans will get to hear the music pieces from the movie first through the concert. Tickets go on sale from 5 September.

Zoku Natsume Yuujin Chou DVD Vol 5

2009-07-26T00:13:00.002+08:00

Title: Zoku Natsume Yuujin Chou DVD Vol 5
Catalog number: ANZB-3745
Number of discs: 2 (+CD)
Date of release: 26 August 2009
Price: 6,615 yen (inclusive of tax)
Total running time: 48 minutes
Contains: Episodes 12 and 13
Premium: original drama CD (first press only), 4 flower cards and 2 illustration cards

Higashi no Eden Radio CD - Eden Side

2009-07-25T22:08:00.001+08:00

Title: Higashi no Eden DJCD "Eden of the East Housou-bu" Eden Side
Artistes: Various including Kimura Ryohei and Hayami Saori
Catalog number: FCCM-284
Produced by: Geneon Entertainment
Number of discs: 1
Date of release: 26 August 2009
Price: 2,940 yen (inclusive of tax)

Top 10 anime ratings ranking for the week ended 19 July 09

2009-07-24T20:36:00.002+08:00

1) Sazae-san (FujiTV) 15.2%

2) Chibi Maruko-chan (FujiTV) 11.2%

3) Crayon Shin-chan (TV Asahi) 10.8%

4) One Piece (FujiTV) 10.6%

5) Dragonball Kai (FujiTV) 10.3%

6) Doraemon (FujiTV) 9.5%

7) Fresh Puri Kyua! (TV Asahi) 5.6%

8) Atashinchi (TV Asahi) 5.2%

9) Meitantei Conan (NTV) 5.0%

10) Yatterman (NTV) 4.6%

More information on "Higashi no Eden" 2-part movie sequels

2009-07-23T20:37:00.002+08:00

As announced previously, the first part of Higashi no Eden's movies titled "Higashi no Eden Gekijouban I The King of Eden" will be screened from 28 November this year. The 2nd part, "Higashi no Eden Gekijouban II Paradise Lost" will then be screened from 9 January 2010 which is straight after the New Year holidays. Both parts of the movie will be screened first in cinemas like Theatre Shinjuku, Theatre Diamond, United Cinema Toyosu before moving on to other nationwide cinema networks. With the screening date of Part 2 now decided, the pre-sale tickets will be made available from 1 August and contain premiums which differ from each other. Sales of the combined pre-sale tickets to Part 1 and 2 have been very good so far since the launch on 27 June with Theatre Shinjuku selling 1881 sets on Saturday and 3762 sets on Sunday during the first weekend while United Cinema Toyosu had fans queueing up as early as 5am for the tickets which ran out in just one hour. The individual tickets are selling at 1200 yen (inclusive of tax) each and will come with a free mobile phone screen cleaner.

Top 10 bestselling manga for the week ended 20 July 09

2009-07-21T20:37:00.002+08:00

1) Katei Kyoushi Hitman REBORN! Vol 25 (154,234)

2) Gintama Vol 29 (138,670)

3) Angel Heart Vol 30 (111,839)

4) Natsume Yuujin Chou Vol 8 (88,645)

5) PLUTO Vol 8 (86,472)

6) Initial D Vol 39 (83,074)

7) Hanma Baki Vol 19 (74,142)

8) Kuroshitsuji Vol 7 (66,954)

9) STEEL BALL RUN Vol 18 (64,344)

10) Masuda Kousuke Gekijou Gyagu Manga Vol 10 (55,918)

Top 10 manga to pass on to future generations (Oricon)

2009-07-17T11:25:00.002+08:00

1) SLAM DUNK

2) ONE PIECE

3) Dragonball

4) Doraemon

5) Sazae-san

6) Meitantei Conan

7) Kochira Katsushika-ku Kameari Kouenmae Hasshutsujo

8) Chibi Maruko-chan

9) Hagane no Renkin Jutsushi

10) Hana Yori Dango

Top 10 anime ratings ranking (12 July 09)

2009-07-15T20:34:00.002+08:00

1) Sazae-san (FujiTV) 16.8%

2) One Piece (FujiTV) 11.7%

3) Crayon Shin-chan (TV Asahi) 11.6%

4) Chibi Maruko-chan (FujiTV) 11.3%

5) Dragonball Kai (FujiTV) 10.4%

6) Doraemon (TV Asahi) 10.0%

7) Fresh Puri Kyua! (TV Asahi) 6.3%

8) Meitantei Conan (NTV) 5.9%

9) Tokyo Magnitude 8.0 (FujiTV) 5.8%

10) Pocket Monster DP (TV Tokyo) 5.1%

Nodame Cantabile Part 3 ~ Finale to be shown from Jan 2010

2009-07-13T22:13:00.002+08:00

The final installment in the anime series of "Nodame Cantabile" will be shown in the Noitamina slot from Jan 2010. This is in conjunction with the upcoming screenings of the real-life 2-part movie starring Ueno Juri and Tamaki Hiroshi to be shown at the end of 2009 and early 2010. The first part of the series was shown in 2007 and Part 2 was shown in 2008. Ep 9 of Part 2 holds the record of the highest rating for a Noitamina anime's single episode at 6.6% which is considered a feat because the Noitamina slot is near 1 am in the morning.

Top 10 bestselling manga for the week ended 13 July 09

2009-07-11T01:08:00.002+08:00

1) PLUTO Vol 8 (351,144)

2) Katei Kyoushi Hitman REBORN! Vol 25 (260,432)

3) Kuroshitsuji Vol 7 (256,164)

4) Gintama Vol 29 (204,432)

5) Natsume Yuujin Chou Vol 8 (130,397)

6) STEEL BALL RUN Vol 18 (99,842)

7) Ookiku Furi Kabutte Vol 12 (84,332)

8) XXXHoLiC Vol 15 (80,962)

9) Tomehane! Suzuzato Koukou Shodoubu Vol 5 (79,850)

10) Kyou, Koi wo Hajimemasu Vol 6 (78,288)

Top 10 anime ratings ranking (5 July 2009)

2009-07-09T22:19:00.003+08:00

1) Sazae-san (FujiTV) 15.3%

2) Crayon Shinchan (TV Asahi) 10.7%

3) Dragonball Kai (FujITV) 10.7%

4) One Piece (FujiTV) 10.6%

5) Doraemon (TV Asahi) 9.4%

6) Chibi Maruko-chan (FujiTV) 8.6%

7) Pocket Monster DP (TV Tokyo) 6.8%

8) Meitantei Conan (NTV) 6.7%

9) Fresh Puri Kyua! (TV Asahi) 5.7%

10) Inazuma Eleven (TV Tokyo) 4.9%

Nodame Cantabile movies' filming underway in Europe

2009-07-08T00:09:00.000+08:00

"Nodame Cantabile", the hit manga which has released 21 volumes to date and boasts of a high sales figure of 29 million copies so far, will be made into a 2-part movie to be shown at the end of this year and next year. The author, Ninomiya Tomoko released her comments after the production press conference in Vienna, Austria on 27th and 28th June. She reminded the cast and staff to take good care of their health and wished them luck during the filming.

Ninomiya was on maternity leave for a while when she gave birth to her son. Shortly after she resumed the serialization of Nodame's manga, she was struck with acute appendicitis in June and had to be hospitalized. This led to a delay in the publication of Lesson 132 of the manga. As a result of her experience, she was very concerned that the tight schedule may take a toll on the production crew. She also expressed anticipation and excitement about seeing the classical concert scenes being brought to life in Europe's big and famous concert halls.

The movie, "Nodame Cantabile Saishu Gakusho Part 1" and "Part 2" are scheduled to be screened in cinemas from 19 Dec and next year's spring respectively. Currently, filming is going on in France, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Austria.

Nodame Cantabile Notebook

2009-07-07T00:23:00.002+08:00

Title: Nodame Cantabile Notebook
Price: 525 yen (inclusive of tax)
JAN Code: 4543112236289
Dimensions: 145mm x 250mm x 5mm

Higashi no Eden Official T-shirt

2009-07-06T00:18:00.002+08:00

Title: Higashi no Eden Official T-shirt
Produced by: graniph
Price: 2,625 yen (inclusive of tax)
JAN Code: 2009061810000
Available sizes: SS, S, M & L
Description: The reverse bears the logo of the CELECAO
Material: 100% cotton

Zoku Natsume Yuujin Chou DVD Vol 4

2009-07-05T21:51:00.002+08:00

Title: Zoku Natsume Yuujin Chou DVD Vol 4
Catalog number: ANSB-3744
Number of discs: 1
Date of release: 22 July 2009
Price: 6,090 yen (inclusive of tax)
Contains: Episodes 9 to 11
Total running time: 72 minutes

Top 10 bestselling manga for the week ended 6 July 09

2009-07-03T00:24:00.002+08:00

1) Ookiku Furikabutte Vol 12 (301,945)

2) XXXHOLiC Vol 15 (258,048)

3) Kuroshitsuji Vol 7 (167,692)

4) Minamike Vol 6 (146,701)

5) BILLY BAT Vol 1 (145,120)

6) Kido Senshi Gundam THE ORIGIN Vol 19 Solomon-hen Zen (118,494)

7) Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai Minagoroshi-hen Vol 2 (110,898)

8) Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai 2 (109,767)

9) Umineko no Naku Koro ni Episode 1: Legend of the golden witch 3 (96,191)

10) BAMBOO BLADE Vol 11 (93,688)