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

I thought I’d share this with you and get your opinions. I think this character from Wild Ones looks suspiciously like someone from a different series.

Just in case some of the regular readers would rather not see the pic, I’ll break the page here. It is kind of a spoiler, I guess.

(more…)

Just a couple little things I wanted to mention. Things I thought were pretty cool in anime news lately.

The Melancholy of Konata Izumi

As a bonus for the folk that buy the Lucky Star DVD sets in Japan one store is giving away a phone card with the Lucky Star cast cosplaying Haruhi. Freaky. I hope we get something like that over here when it’s released.

Go Speed Racer

Yahoo! has the first few minutes of the Speed Racer movie online. Here it is, but I’d suggest checking it out on the Yahoo! page in full size.

Better yet, see the movie.

Yeah, I need to go see that one. I’m really looking forward to it, but I just couldn’t go this weekend. Maybe I can see it before it comes out on DVD. I’d really like to see it on the big screen.

The movie casting game is still going on. There have been a couple of comments with some interesting casting suggestions for a Bleach live action movie.

Reminder

I’m using this to try out a grab bag giveaway. If you follow a couple of simple rules, you might get some free manga. Just leave a comment with your casting suggestions for a live action Bleach movie.

Repeat answers are allowed. I’m asking for your opinion. If you agree with someone else that’s cool with me. Don’t think you’re out of it because someone listed one of your answers already. This is about having fun after all.

If you want a shot at free stuff, then make sure to cast the following characters. You can also cast any others you want. These are the ones required for the grab bag.

• Ichigo Kurosaki

• Rukia Kuchiki

• Orihime Inoue

• Sado “Chad” Yasutora

• Uryu Ishida

• Kenpachi Zaraki

If you’re not interested in a chance at free manga, then don’t worry about the list. You can still drop in with your suggestions for a Bleach dream cast.

My Favorite Suggestions

A few of my favorite suggestions so far…

• Ikkaku - Jason Statham

• Yumichika - Orlando Bloom

• Urahara - Matthew McConaughey

So far this one has been nearly unanamous…

• Rukia - Christina Ricci

Future Casting Calls

I really hope this works out because I enjoy this kind of game. I’ve enjoyed reading the opinions and casting suggestions, but I’d like to see some more. I hope to do this again.

If you want to suggest an anime for the next Casting Call game, just let me know.

Anime, Opinions, Fun Stuff, Games, 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, Ikkaku, Jason Statham, Yumichika, Orlando Bloom, Urahara, Matthew McConaughey, Christina Ricci

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

Here’s that Death Note wallpaper I promised you. It’s really simple, but I like it. If you have any ideas for other wallpaper you’d like to see on AnimeFansOnline leave a comment and let me know.

Original Image

Sizes:

Just right click the size you want and choose “Save Target As…” to save it to your computer. Or you could just click the one you want, then right click the picture and choose “Set as Background”. Either way works.

800×600

1024×768

1280×800

1280×1024

Anime, Wallpaper, Death Note, 800×600, 1024×768, 1280×800, 1280×1024

Cosplay and Halloween, a match made in Otaku heaven. It’s the one time of year when everyone is expected to cosplay. Even if they don’t know what cosplay is. There are so many options from the very simple to extremely complex. Want a simple one? Carry around a note book and talk to someone that isn’t there. BAM! You’re Light from Death Note.

Wanna try cosplay?

Too embarrassed? It’s the perfect time to try it out. It doesn’t matter if not everyone is in costume. There will be enough people dressed up that you’ll fit right in. If you do stand out, you’ll probably stand out for being original. As long as you’re not Naruto, there will probably be half a million of those in your neighborhood alone. Then again you could just tell people that the rest of them are shadow clones collecting candy for you.

Cosplay and Halloween crossovers.

Mix it up. Take a traditional Halloween costume and add some Otaku flair. Don’t just be Dracula, be Alucard from Hellsing. Don’t just be a kitty, be a catgirl. Don’t just be a pirate, be Gold Roger. Shoot, be Gold Roger after the execution. That’s just a modification on a Headless Horseman costume.

Headless Horseman + Red Coat = Headless Gold Roger.

It’s Show Time

Think Big. Big O that is. Get some cardboard boxes turn yourself into a giant robot. Trust me, you can make anything out of cardboard, masking tape and spray paint. It doesn’t even have to be any giant robot in particular. There are enough animes like that you could bluff your friends into believing that your creation is an anime they haven’t seen.

Fun Stuff, Cosplay, Halloween, Costume, Light, Death Note, Naruto, Shadow Clones, Dracula, Alucard, Hellsing, Pirate, Gold Roger, One Piece, Headless Horseman, Headless Gold Roger, Big O, Giant Robot

Ok, maybe I’m not your little butterfly. It’s from a song. That song keeps running through my head, thanks to my g/f. She found a really good Samurai Champloo AMV and has been playing it a lot. I didn’t really have anything else I needed to write about today so I thought I’d share it. By share it I mean spread the infection to as many people as possible.

If you’re at work when you read this crank up the volume and bug everyone around you.

AMVs are like potato chips, you can’t have just one. Here’s another one that’ll get stuck in your head. The song is kind of similar to the butterfly song above. It’s the opening to Ouran High School Host Club with a different song. It’s kind of freaky the way the song and the opening sync up. I’ve heard that The Wizard of Oz syncs up with the Pink Floyd album Dark Side of the Moon. I haven’t tried that, but I’d imagine it would be something like this.

Take a look and see if you agree.

Just to give you an idea of how well it fits, here’s the real opening to Ouran High School Host Club.

The more AMVs I see the more I want to try making one. Know of any really good video editing software that’s free to download? I don’t mean warez, I’m looking for freeware. You know, something legal.

Have you made any AMVs? Do you have any suggestions or tips on making them?

Fun Stuff, AMV, Videos, Youtube, Samurai Champloo, Butterfly, Ouran High School Host Club, Bumblebee

Photo by: Videogame Visionary

Or else it gets the hose again.

While this may not be anime or manga related I would like to share a very fun site with you. Engrish.com has a lot of very funny pictures of creative language use. Before anyone starts complaining about me, or the site I’m linking to, please read their FAQs. It’s not meant to make fun of anyone. It’s just a great site to find some humorous photos.


Oh, and just a little warning, some of the humor is well, dirty. That’s one of the dangers of using a second language. Sometimes you say something perfectly innocent, and don’t know it’s a euphemism for something nasty.

I wanted to share this with you for a couple of reasons. First, because it is funny. Second, I wanted to point out some differences between English and Nihongo, the Japanese language. You’re probably used to translations going in the other direction, from Nihongo to English. I’d bet there are some hilarious mistakes involved with that. Mistakes most of use don’t even notice.

The differences in our languages can make translation of anime or manga tough. I think a lot of translators take a lot of crap they don’t deserve. I know that the companies doing official translations take crap for it. I’m sure the fan subbers do to. Try to keep that in mind when you see something that doesn’t quite fit. It’s a difficult job and they do the best they can.

Now, all preaching aside. I love that site. Anytime I visit I always come away in a better mood. There’s some great stuff there. Here are a few of my favorites.

• Bottled Water.
• Travel.
• Hair by…
• Something error.
• Here comes Santa Clause.

Fun Stuff, Online, Humor, Funny, Pictures, Engrish, English, Nihongo

I was looking at AMVs on Youtube and came across some pretty good stuff. These stand out because they aren’t set to music. These videos are set to stand up comedy. There are several more, but I picked my favorite AMVs. Not necessarily my favorite comedians, but these are funny.

The anime used is mostly Naruto, though there are others. If you enjoy these I’d highly recommend checking out the rest of them on Youtube.

Comedians posted.

• Dave Chappelle
• Mitch Hedberg

(Ok, so he is one of my favorite comedians.)

• Dane Cook
• Pablo Francisco

Warning: NSFW. These videos contain coarse language.

Do not click this link if comedy offends you.

(more…)

• 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

If you have any interest in voice acting, this panel is for you. Industry insiders tell you what it takes to make it in the voice talent business.

I heard some things about voice acting that had never occurred to me. For instance, did you know that it’s nearly impossible to get work in Canada unless you are a Canadian citizen? So if you want to work on any anime shows that are being dubbed in Canada, you’d better get to work filling out those immigration forms, eh.

Download the MP3 here.

Anime, Fun Stuff, Conventions, Dragon Con, Voice Acting, MP3 Download, Free MP3

This was a good panel. Basically it was Vic talking about Fullmetal Alchemist. What it was like to work on the show. What the show meant to him. Even how rarely a show like FMA comes along. Vic has been talking about the show quite a a bit, so he has some pretty darn good insights into it.

A word of warning. There are spoilers. If you want to avoid some major spoilers do not listen to this.

Download the MP3 here.

Anime, Fun Stuff, Conventions, Dragon Con, Panel, Fullmetal Alchemist, Victor Mignogna, MP3 Download, Free MP3

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