Anime Fans Online

For details on the (bad) news check out Anime News Network’s post.

Looks like there’s a new and exciting way of making movies n Hollywood. You just find something that’s popular overseas, then cut a deal to remake it. It doesn’t even have to be a good remake. All it needs is a recognizable name on the poster. It’s worked really well for horror movies. Now it’s anime’s turn.

Yes, it looks like the same people that brought us The Grudge have gotten their little claws on Death Note. I can only hope that it’s treated with all the respect it deserves. It won’t be, but I can hope.

In that spirit, I’d like to start up another Casting Call.

Death Note Casting Call

Rules for Free Manga

1. This Casting Call ends June 30, 2008.
2. Cast the full list.
3. Leave a real, valid, E-Mail address so I can find out where to send your manga if you’re selected.

Right now I’m leaning towards asking for humor casting or even the worst cast possible. So which one you decide to do is up to you.

You can cast any of the characters you want to, but there is a list of characters you need to cast to be in the running for free manga. I’ll keep the list short this time. Here is the list of characters I’d like to see cast.

The List

• Light
• L
• Ryuk
• Misa

Cast each of these to be in the running for some grab bag style free manga.

I’m looking forward to seeing who you’d cast.

Anime, Manga, News, Opinion, Contests, Free Stuff, Fun Stuff, Live Action, Death Note, Movies, Cast, Casting, Light, L, Ryuk

Here it is folks. This is the first casting call post. If you missed the explanation of what’s going on here, then check out the previous post.

Everyone have fun with this one. I look forward to seeing your choices.

The anime to cast is…

Bleach

You can cast the role of any extra characters you want, but the characters I’m looking for are…

• Ichigo Kurosaki
• Rukia Kuchiki
• Orihime Inoue
• Sado “Chad” Yasutora
• Uryu Ishida

and because my g/f and I like him…

• Kenpachi Zaraki

These are the characters that you have to use if you want a shot at some free manga. If you don’t care about that, then ignore the list and cast your favorite characters.

Type of Casting

Serious: The actor that you think is best for the part.

Leave a comment with your dream cast for a big budget live action version of Bleach.

Anime, Opinions, Fun Stuff, Contests, Manga, Free Stuff, Free Manga, Free, Live Action Anime, Casting, Bleach, Ichigo Kurosaki, Rukia Kuchiki, Orihime Inoue, Sado “Chad” Yasutora, Uryu Ishida, Kenpachi Zaraki

Quite a few anime are being turned into live action movies, or have been recently. I thought it was about time I got your thoughts on the matter. I could do an opinion poll, but that discourages original answers. I could just ask you what you think, but you could do that on any post. I wanted to do something fun.

Time for a game.

How it works

I’ll select an anime. It may or may not have been made as a live action movie already.

Then I’ll ask you to cast the actors for the live action movie. Not the whole cast, just a few of the main characters. Though you can cast more characters from that anime if you’d like.

There are a couple of casting categories. Serious, Humorous, Hollywood and Anti-Casta

• Serious: The actor that you think is best for the part.
• Humorous: Joke casting, so go for the laughs.
• Hollywood: Who you think Hollywood would cast. This isn’t applicable if there has already been a Hollywood version, like Speed Racer.
• Anti-Casta: The actor that you think would be the worst possible choice.

I’ll let you know which casting category I’m looking for. You can do any of ‘em, but if you play along there might be something in it for you.

Why play along?

Free stuff.

I’ve got way too much manga sitting around that I’ll never read again. Stuff that I bought to review or just didn’t like. I’m not going to be reading it anymore, but you can.

I’ll pick a few of the comments I like best and they get free stuff. The free manga will be randomly selected. That means I just grab something. So don’t bother with “Can I have (random manga name) ?”, because it won’t work. Those clever or insightful enough to receive something will get whatever is on top of the pile.

What do you think?

I think this could be fun. Is there anything missing though? Should I make any changes before I post the first anime to cast?

Anime, Opinions, Fun Stuff, Contests, Manga, Free Stuff, Free Manga, Free, Live Action Anime, Speed Racer, Casting

I’ve got some questions for you. Would you be interested in more giveaways on AnimeFansOnline? I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about contests and giveaways lately. Maybe it’s because I’m doing a book giveaway at Fanatic Space. Whatever got me thinking about it, I’ve come up with a couple of ideas.

Grab Bag

I’ve been buying a lot of manga since I started writing for Anime Fans Online. I kinda have to. I can’t review it otherwise. So far I’m not important enough to get review copies from the manga publishers. If that changes then this idea gets even better.

I’m thinking about starting a regular grab bag giveaway on Anime Fans Online. I’ll take the manga and stuff that I get for reviews and put it in a grab bag. Every so often I’ll write up a grab bag post, all comments on it would be entered to win some free manga. The prize is a random pick. I don’t know what your getting and neither do you, but… hey, free stuff!

Gift Certificates

The old standby, I’ve done it before. Enter and win $XX amount at Amazon, Barnes and Noble or some other online store. This is a no brainer. It’s easy for me to do, and you can buy what you want. If I decide to do this, don’t expect a huge amount. It’ll probably be in the $15 to $25 range. That’s enough to buy a couple manga or an anime DVD. Not bad.

What do you think?

I’d really appreciate your input on this. So I’ve got a couple of questions for you.

• Think the grab bag is a good idea or would you rather get a gift certificate?
• What about doing both on an alternating schedule?
• Do you have any other ideas for giveaways?

Leave a comment and let me know what you think.

General, Opinion, Anime, Manga, Giveaway, Contest, Free Stuff, Grab Bag

The lucky winners have been chosen. I’ve e-mailed all three, but I’ve only received a response from 2 of them.

The Winners

Fullmetal Alchemist Movie Conqueror of Shambala Special Edition DVD Winner



• Kimber Leigh. Kimber’s favorite character is Maes Hughes. I think she put quite bit of thought into her entry. It gave me a perspective on Maes that I didn’t have before. Her thoughts on her favorite episode, Words of Farewell, seemed to be very heartfelt as well.

Fullmetal Alchemist Movie Conqueror of Shambala Regular Edition DVD Winner

• Jenna. Looks like Maes Hughes is pretty popular with the ladies, Jenna is also a fan of his. She also chose Words of Farewell as her favorite episode. Good goin’ Maes! Sorry about the whole, you know, dying thing. Let me tell you why Jenna was picked. Not only is she a fan of Fullmetal Alchemist, she also recruited her sister. Go Jenna!

Vic Mignogna’s CD Metafiction Winner

• Clarissa. The CD winner was picked at random. I think it worked out pretty well. Clarissa likes Vic’s singing, but was having trouble finding his songs. Now she’ll be able to listen to Vic any time she wants. Clarissa’s favorite character is Edward and her favorite episode is House of the Waiting Family. Sorry Maes, but 2 out of 3 ain’t bad.

  Clarissa, please check your e-mail. You need to respond to the e-mail I sent you to claim your prize.

UPDATE:

Clarissa never responded to claim her prize. It might show up as a prize in another giveaway later.

I think this contest has been fun. I’ve enjoyed reading the comments. It looks like Fullmetal Alchemist fans really know their stuff. There have been some pretty insightful responses. I’d highly recommend checking out the contest comments for yourself.

Fullmetal Alchemist, Conqueror of Shambala, Contest, Winners, Maes Hughes, Edward Elric, Words of Farewell, House of the Waiting Family, Vic Mignogna, Metafiction

Today is your last chance to enter the Conqueror of Shambala giveaway. If you haven’t entered, then head over to the contest page. All you need to do is leave a comment and talk about your favorite character or episode from Fullmetal Alchemist.

There aren’t that many entries, so you have a pretty good chance to win.

Once the contest closes I’ll start picking the winners. I’ll make the announcement sometime next week.

Anime, Contests, Giveaway, Last Chance, Ends Today, Fullmetal Alchemist, Conqueror of Shambala, Comment

Just a little reminder that the Fullmetal Alchemist contest ends on September 28th, that’s this Friday. So if you haven’t entered you need to check out the contest page and leave a comment about your favorite character or episode from Fullmetal Alchemist.

Here’s what you could win.

• 1 Music CD signed by the artist, Vic Mignogna. Vic played Edward Elric, the title character, in the English version of Fullmetal Alchemist.
• 1 DVD of the Fullmetal Alchemist movie Conqueror of Shambala, also signed by Vic.
• 1 DVD of the Fullmetal Alchemist movie Conqueror of Shambala Special Edition, once again signed by Vic.

You still have a chance to win, but you need to enter the contest this week.

Anime, Contests, Fullmetal Alchemist, Fullmetal Alchemist Movie, Conqueror of Shambala, Conqueror of Shambala Special Edition, Vic Mignogna, Edward Elric

Well the contest seems to be going well. It’s only been a few days and we’ve already got some strong competition going. Here are a couple of my favorites so far.

Mark says:
I couldn’t tell you what my favorite episode is, because I love the whole story. It’s one of life and what you’re willing to give up for it. At least, that’s what it is to me, in a sense.

Syldoran said this about Ed:
Then, he’s still tough enough to pull through everything he’s done. All the stuff he’s been put through doesn’t deserve to go on a fifteen-year-old’s shoulders, yet he always manages to buck up and pull through for the sake of his little brother. I’ve always wished I could be just a fraction as tough and caring as he is.

Ally says:
My favorite character would defiantly be Alphonse! We both have many things in common. To name a couple, we are both shy and we adore kittens! (:

Red Daaaaawwwwwwnnnnnnn!!!!!!!!

Looks like we even have a few Risembool Rangers in the running. In the interest of full disclosure I have to say that I signed up for the Rangers. Vic is just that darn cool.

We may even have a member of the Miniskirt Army in the contest. What do you think?

Colleen says:
My favorite FMA character is definetely Roy Mustang! Sure, he can be quite a meanie to Edward and Al, but he has to doesn’t he?

If you don’t see your comment here, don’t worry. It doesn’t mean you haven’t won. I’m just highlighting some of the posts. Seriously, there are some great comments over on the contest page. I think it shows just how much this anime has meant to a lot of people.

There’s still plenty of time to show how much FMA has meant to you. The contest runs until the 28th of September. Head over to the contest page and let us know who your favorite character is. If you can’t pick a favorite character, just write about one of your favorite episodes.

Anime, Fullmetal Alchemist, Contest, Comments, Risembool Rangers, Miniskirt Army

• 1 Special Edition DVD of the Fullmetal Alchemist movie Conqueror of Shambala.
• 1 regular DVD of the Fullmetal Alchemist movie Conqueror of Shambala.
• 1 Music CD by Vic Mignogna, the voice actor who plays Edward Elric in the English version.

All three are autographed by Vic Mignogna.

To enter, just leave a comment on this post and write about your favorite episode or character from Fullmetal Alchemist. I’ll select 2 entries that will each win 1 of the DVDs. The CD winner will be picked at random from all eligible entries.

Rules:

• You can’t win if you don’t enter. So leave a comment on this post about your favorite episode or your favorite character from Fullmetal Alchemist explaining why it’s your favorite.
• Comments left on other posts are not eligible. Comments on other posts can not win.
• Comments must be left between the dates of September 10th 2007 and September 28th 2007.
• Since the DVDs are region 1, this contest is open to residents of the United States of America and Canada.
• All decisions are final, all decisions are mine.

That cool with everyone?

Anime. Contests, Fun Stuff, Fullmetal Alchemist, Conqueror of Shambala, Win Fullmetal Alchemist DVD, Win Conqueror of Shambala, Autographed by Vic Mignogna

I just got back from Dragon Con, and I’ve got some great stuff to share with you. It was a blast. This year was one of the better Dragon Cons I’ve been too. Lots of stuff I wanted to do, everyone was friendly and I am now a full on fan of Victor Mignogna. When I’m done with the reports from the con, I’m sure a lot of you will be fans of his as well. If you’re not Risembool Rangers already. Here’s a little taste of what’s coming.

Audio.

The recorder I bought worked pretty well. One of the panels was recorded in low quality though, so it my not be usable. I hope it is because it was great. I’ll do everything I can to clean it up so you can listen to it.

Pictures.

I’m sad to say that almost none of the pictures I took turned out well at all. I’m gonna have to break down and buy a decent camera. The one I have now is just too darn cheap to be of any real use. All of the indoor pictures are pretty bad. A couple of outdoor pics turned out ok, I just couldn’t seem to catch any anime cosplayers outside in the sunlight. I know they were there, it was just bad timing on my part. I should have just stayed outside and ambushed a few of ‘em. My ninja photography is weak.

I do know other people that were there, and I have permission to use their photos. So I’ll have to check Flickr and see if they have any good cosplay photos.

Anime track critique.

I’m also planning on writing up my thoughts on how the anime track was handled, with examples. I’ll give you the one sentence version now though.

The anime track staff did an amazing job with what they were given, but the higher ups tremendously underestimate the anime track’s popularity.

Voice actor profile.

After seeing him at Dragon Con, I have become a fan of Victor Mignogna. So I’m going to try to do a little bit of research and write up AnimeFansOnline’s first Voice actor profile, if anyone deserves to be first it’s him. Hopefully it’ll be an ongoing category. Feel free to suggest your favorites.

Contests!

Yep, I have stuff to give away. Some good stuff, and some great stuff. This time I’m going to ask you to tell me why you should win it.

• Two Fullmetal Alchemist DVDs autographed by Victor Mignogna, the English voice of Edward Elric.

I have 2 copies of the FMA movie Conqueror of Shambala to give away, both autographed. One is a standard DVD, the other is the special edition 2 disc set with lots of extras.

• One music CD by Victor Mignogna, also autographed.

After hearing one of his songs played at a Q&A, I had to buy the CD Metafiction. I also bought an extra so I can share it with the AnimeFansOnline readers.

Here’s a little info about how the contest will work. Check back later for full details on how to win and when the contest will start. To win the DVDs you’ll need to write about your favorite FMA episode or character. The one that I think is best will win the Special Edition DVD, and the runner up will win the normal version. So start thinking about your favorites and why you like ‘em. The winner of the CD will be randomly chosen from the entries received.

It looks like I’ve got lots of work to do. I just hope you enjoy the posts as much as I enjoyed Dragon Con.

Anime, Dragon Con, Anime Track, Critique, Victor Mignogna, Fullmetal Alchemist, Fullmetal Alchemist Movie, Conqueror of Shambala, Contest, Free Stuff

The first contest prize has been sent. Since the first winner didn’t respond to validate their e-mail address I had to select someone else. The second drawing worked much better. I received a response and have just now, as I’m writing this, sent off the $50 prize from J-Box.

That lucky person is Keith. The winning comment is here.

I have to say, I’ve learned quite a bit about contests. In the future I will set a definite deadline for responding. It will be posted with the rules when the contest is announced. Other than that, I think the contest went pretty well.

Make sure to keep reading Anime Fans Online for a chance to win in our next contest.

We have a winner. Lissete was randomly selected to receive a $50 gift certificate to J-Box. Now Lissete’s daughter can shop for lucky cats on J-Box. Fifty bucks should buy a few. I’ve sent an e-mail to confirm the e-mail address. As soon as I get a response I’ll e-mail the gift certificate.

Congratulations Lissete.


If I don’t receive a response before the next post, I will select a different entry.

Update: I’ve received no response at the e-mail address given. I will be drawing a different name.

I hope this will be the first of many contests run by Anime Fans Online. If you have any ideas for future contests please let me know. I appreciate any input I can get.

Here is the list of entries for the $50 J-Box gift certificate. I’ll be using a random number generator to select the winner. Check back tomorrow to find out who won.

Thanks to everyone that entered.

• amber
• Jo
• Whapoo
• kailani
• Lissete
• Edman Chavez (loud music on site, check your volume before clicking >.< )
• rose
• Linsey Knerl (Parked site, just ads right now)
• Linda
• Keith
• Genjuu Mugon
• rechelle

Just a little reminder that today is the last day to make a comment and be entered to win a $50 gift certificate to J-Box. I’m glad to see people commenting, even though that means I can’t spend the fifty bucks myself. I’ll be randomly selecting a winner tomorrow. If you’ve made a comment then keep an eye on your e-mail.

comment, win, gift certificate, J-Box

I’m running a contest. To win all you have to do is leave comments on the blog. The prize is a $50 gift certificate to J-Box.

J-Box has a huge assortment of items from Japan including bento boxes, school uniforms, traditional items and things that are just plain strange. I’d suggest spending a little of your winnings on the snacks. Miyazaki fans might want to check out Sakuma Drops Candy seen in Grave of the Fireflies or Kompeito ~ Five Colors seen in Spirited Away.

Here are the details.

• Contest will run from June 18th to June 30th.
• All comments posted during that time, with a valid e-mail address are eligible. Please try to make the comments relevant to the post.
• Drawing will be random.
• Winner will be announced July 2nd.
• I will try to verify the winner’s e-mail address before sending the gift certificate. If they do not respond I will draw another name.
• If you leave a comment, please check your mail on July 1st. If you’ve won, please try to respond as soon as possible so I can send you your prize.

contest, win, comments, prize, gift certificate, J-Box, bento, uniform, traditional items, winning, snacks, Miyazaki, fans, Sakuma Drops Candy, Kompeito, random drawing, Grave of the Fireflies, Spirited Away