A.D. Vision 's Newtype USA magazine has been sending the following email message to subscribers who inquire about the status of their subscriptions, in the aftermath of the magazine's reported ending:
Thank you for your email to Newtype USA !We will be launching a new magazine that will be on sale in mid-March. Titled PiQ , the magazine will cover anime, manga, video games and other aspects of pop culture of keen interests to you. All existing subscribers will have their remaining issues fulfilled at a two-to-one ratio, meaning you will get double the number of magazines delivered straight to your doorstep! We hope you stick with us and give the new magazine a shot. We're sure you'll love it!
If you're not interested in receiving double the value for your remaining subscription, you can opt out at anytime.
Newtype USA Editor-in-Chief Gary Steinman has confirmed the contents of the email message, but has declined to comment further.
The Japanese anmation company Production I.G has announced on Monday Real Drive ( RD Senno Chosashitsu ) , the newest "near-future suspense" anime that it and its Ghost in the Shell creator Masamune Shirow will premiere in April 2008 on Japan's Nippon Television.
The story takes place in 2061, 50 years after humanity developed the "Net society" that depended on information networks despite their security issues. To improve security, a new network called Meta Real Network — or "Metal" for short — was developed. People's personal memories are reduced to information and placed within "protected virtual stand-alone organic cyber enclaves called bubble shells" online. The result was a virtual "explosion" of creative freedom as people felt safe enough explore instincts and desires on Metal that they would not otherwise explore in real life. This "friction" between the Metal's alluring lack of restrictions and rules-bound reality led to trouble and incidents that investigators known as "cyber divers" must handle. Masamichi Haru is one such cyber diver.
CROSSROAD ( Ghost Hound , Appleseed: Ex Machina ) will contribute to the story's creation with Production I.G . and Shirow. Kazuhiro Furuhashi ( Le Chevalier D'Eon , Rurouni Kenshin , Zipang ) will direct the series with scripts supervised by Junichi Fujisaku ( Blood+ director and co-writer of Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex , Tsubasa RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE The Movie: Princess of the Birdcage Kingdom , xxxHOLiC the Movie: A Midsummer Night's Dream ). Manga artist Tetsuro Ueyama ( Metal Guardian Faust ) will design the characters.
Japanese, US Companies Fund Live-Action King of Fighters
Date: 5/28/07
As the Cannes Film Festival comes to a close, Variety has reported that a live-action
feature film based on SNK's King of Fighters series of videogames is confirmed
for production.
Japan's Micott & Basara and the American distribution company Arclight Films will be jointly financing the project. Joseph Chou (who is also currently working on the Appleseed sequel Ex Machina) and Tim Kwok (Wicked City) will co-produce the film, with Hong Kong film industry veteran Gordon Chan (most familiar to Western audiences as the director of Jackie Chan's 2003's The Medallion) signing up to direct. Shooting is scheduled to commence in the first quarter of 2008 in Asia.