:anime: Anime Kibbles 'n' Bits ::03.29.14:: noitaminA 10th Anniversary, Gundam 35th Anniversary, and Macross 32nd Anniversary(?)!!

*rubs hands together* Lots of great anime goodness ahead, so put on a party hat and let's jump right in!

:Fri.03.21.14:

noitaminA Celebrates The Big 1-0!!

2015 marks the 10th anniversary of Fuji TV's lauded noitaminA block, and on Mar. 21st, the producers announced the slate of new works not just for summer, but for the whole year leading into it. Along with the previously-announced spring titles and the PSYCHO-PASS sequel, the list includes a mix of returning favorites, big names and studios, and big surprises…:

:anime: Anime Kibbles 'n' Bits ::04.09.13:: The (Actual) Return of the News Bits…

I may have had some fun a week ago, but this here is the true return of "Anime Kibbles 'n' Bits"!!

:Fri.04.05.13: Crunchyroll Scores Score of Major Simulcast Titles

Crunchyroll, more often than not, manages to obtain the rights to simulcast a good chunk of each season's new anime, but sometimes they have to share the lot of big titles with FUNimation, who doesn't post content on the site (as opposed to Sentai, who will often place them on both their sister company The Anime Network and Crunchyroll). Spring 2013 looks to be a good one on that end for the site, though, as they managed to nab Sunrise's Valvrave the Liberator, Mushi-Shi director Hiroshi Nagahama's Flowers of Evil, and the big Kazuya Murata (Fullmetal Alchemist: The Sacred Star of Milos director)/Gen Urobuchi (Madoka Magica creator) joint project Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet. Death Note director Tetsuro Araki's much-anticipated Attack on Titan adaptation (already settled?) and Yutaka Izubuchi (RahXephon) & Akihiro Enomoto's Space Battleship Yamato 2199 are still up in the air in terms of streaming homes (if any), but with Crunchyroll's quality service and being the only one in the game with 1080p-level streaming, hopefully those good-looking efforts will end up there with the other notable series…

:anime: Anime Kibbles 'n' Bits ::04.01.13:: Return of the News Bits

For the first time in five years, "Anime Kibbles 'n' Bits" makes its return back to HardDoor! If "Boxing Bits" can return, why can't its predecessor?

:Mon.04.01.13:

GAINAX To Develop Fighting Game
Legendary anime studio GAINAX doesn't just dip its feet into animation and merchandise pimping, but they also have a game developing department, as well. Though their catalog mostly consists of sims (one of which inspired 2002's Petit Princess Yucie), they have finally taken the step of developing a fighter, which will feature anime characters from their storied history, hailing from the likes of Evangelion (apparently with Khara's blessing), Gurren Lagann, Mahoromatic, FLCL, Nadia, and Gunbuster. Details on which other properties will be represented and which characters will appear, as well as preliminary game footage, will be revealed at a future event, but I'm fairly certain that they'll indulge on everyone's desire to pound Shinji Ikari in the face…

:anime: Anime Kibbles 'n' Bits ::11.20.08:: Gettin' Straight, GONZO Haet, Broccoli USA Dissipates

It's been a good while since the last "Anime Kibbles 'n' Bits" posting, so here is a smattering of news emanating from the anime side in recent times.

:anime: Anime Kibbles 'n' Bits ::07.05.08:: ~Anime Expo 2008 Edition~

The anime license-a-thon continues at AX '08, though surprisingly, FUNimation has nothing to do with it...

:anime: Anime Kibbles 'n' Bits ::07.04.08:: ~Anime Expo 2008 Edition~

It's only fitting on the Fourth of July that the fireworks at Anime Expo '08 keep going higher and greater today...

:anime: Anime Kibbles 'n' Bits ::07.03.08:: ~Anime Expo 2008 Edition~

Anime Expo 2008, the largest anime convention in North America, got off to quite the bang today...

:anime: Anime Kibbles 'n' Bits ::06.30.08:: The Silent Age...

June's been a relatively quite month, as mostly everyone is holding back on their big announcements for the upcoming Anime Expo convention. Given that, there were a few "bits" of info to be had.

:Mon.06.30.08: FUNimation Licenses Heroic Age
FUNimation pulled off a surprise pre-AX announcement with their acquisiton of the lauded mecha show Heroic Age. A number of people have been clamouring for it, with many thinking that Bandai Ent. would be the one who get it, judging from their site's source code messages. Having seen the first episode, it certainly seems like an interesting tale, sporting some great visuals (Hisashi Hirai's character designs looked very good) and music, as well as an intriguing story. It joins other recent titles Shigurui: Death Frenzy, KenIchi the Mightiest Disciple, Save Me! Lollipop, and Ookiku Furikabutte (Big Windup!) as FUNimation's newest additions to its library.

:Wed.06.11.08: Kadokawa Pictures USA Sends Out Ceist & Desist Letter to Popular Torrent Site
A well-known site that provides torrent links to unlicensed anime recieved a C&D letter from the subsidiary regarding 11 anime titles related to its parent company. None of the works mentioned, including popular fare Spice and Wolf, Rental Magic, and Canvas2, have been picked up or hinted at, though it may only be a matter of time till then.

:Wed.06.21.08: Strike Witches TV Series to Become GONZO's Next Worldwide Streaming Effort
Strike Witches, a TV series version of the 2007 OVA short of the same name, is set to become GONZO's next internationally-streamed show at the beginning of July. YouTube will be among the webcasters hosting it and it is coming on the heels of the first two shows to have garnered such a run, The Tower of DRUAGA -the Aegis of URUK- (which recently ended) and Blassreiter (still airing). I enjoyed the eight-and-a-half minute anime when it first came out, so hopefully its charm will hold over a more standard runtime.

HardDoor Kibbles 'n' Bits ~With Gravy!~ ::05.16.08:: The Site...It Grows!!

With all those papers and essays out of the way, it's back to the grind! :D

:anime: Anime Kibbles 'n' Bits ~Special Unlimited Collector's Edition~ ::04.30.08:: Bandai Ent. Owns All and Sees All~

Yeesh, I couldn't allow a whole month to go without noting some kind of anime-related content! Especially not one as massive as this...

:anime & boxing: Anime 'n' Boxing Kibbles & Bits ::03.09.08:: Belts, Blames, and Big Guys

:Sat.02.23.08: Klitschko Claims The First Stake in the Heavyweight Unification Race
Wladimir Klitschko started off the apparent road towards unification of the heavyweight titles with a non-crowd-pleasing performance at the vaunted Madison Square Garden in New York City in dethroning then-undefeated Sultan Ibragimov. He stands the best chance out of everyone (including his older brother, Vitali) in reaching the end of that path as the undisputed champion and he could feasibly be marketed well to represent the division to the public--given he fights better matches than what was reported that night.

:anime: Anime Kibbles 'n' Bits ::04.13.07:: FUN Piece, Not So Speed Racer, Little Mermaid--Miyazaki Style (sort of...)

:Fri.04.13.07: FUNimation Picks Up One Piece
Sure to bring out a collective cheer from fans, FUNimation licensed the popular-yet-mishandled One Piece months after 4Kids abandoned the property. With both the broadcast and DVD rights in place, the company will be giving it a new dub, which should debut on Cartoon Network sometime in August, with Episode 144, and uncut DVDs. Both entities and animation studio Toei made a joint agreement on continuing the show's broadcast, though it is up to fan interest as to whether they will dub the past episodes later on. I'd gather that will be a resounding yes, another part of a potential happy ending to the saga that is One Piece and its problematic time in the U.S. Very good to see FUNimation step up and pick up the...uhh...pieces (or is that just "piece?")

:Fri.04.13.07: Speed Racer Cast Fleshes Out a Bit More
Christina Ricci will be playing "Trixie" in the upcoming Speed Racer movie, joining a number of other notable thespians for the Wachowski Bros.' new project:

Speed Racer: Emile Hirsch
Pops Racer: John Goodman
Ma(?) Racer: Susan Sarandon
Racer X: Vince Vaughn (who was the main force behind pitching the film for years)

...now if only the Mach 5 were real (totally CG in the film, not even a model!). Hope producer Joel Silver will at least allow for some should he still be up to doing that Last Exile adaptation that he wants to do. Oh, and no CGI Lupin while you're at it, either. :P

:Mon.03.19.07: Studio Ghibli and Hayao Miyazaki's New Project: Ponyo On A Cliff
The master himself, Hayao Miyazaki, announced his new film, Ponyo On A Cliff, about a month ago (making this about a month too late in reporting). The movie will return Studio Ghibli to its cel roots, centering around a young boy and a "goldfish princess," the title character, who wishes to become a human. Sounds a little familiar? It indeed has a Little Mermaid tilt to it, but Miyazaki says that it will have quite a bit of a Japanese style to it. I may hate the Disney movie with a passion, but hopefully this won't be the same case here. Look out for a summer 2008 release.

:anime: Anime Kibbles 'n' Bits ::03.31.07:: Haruhi No-Go, Geass Gold, 4Kids 4 Maids

It's been awhile since the last K'n'B entry, due to all of the busy activity lately. Nonetheless, I managed to make a few contacts along the way, culminating in some rather spicy news details...

:Sat.03.31.07: Haruhi NOT Coming to the U.S.?
The handling of The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya for U.S. release has been a hotly contested one ever since Bandai Ent. had announced its plans for its DVDs and subsequent volumes. Well, for those antsy enough over the Kyon Order discs and pillowcases in the LE sets, you'll have no fear. They won't be coming. None of it. For no divulged reasons, the sets--nor the regular DVDs--will be arriving stateside as planned. "Ryouko," the representative I contacted, said that none of the Haruhi franchise will be coming to North America and that anyone who has preordered it will instead receive an I.O.U. and a box of Love Hina DVDs. "She" wouldn't budge any further from that when I tried to press for more information, sad to say.

:Sat.03.31.07: Harmony Gold Licenses Code Geass?
Through a number of undisclosed sources, it appears as though Harmony Gold has bought the rights to solicit the popular Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion series in the U.S. A formal announcement will most likely be given in the approaching days, meanwhile, the person I spoke to has said that while Carl Macek will not be involved in the adaptation, a few edits will be made "where appropriate" and that HG will "welcome the show warmly into the Robotech family."

:Sat.03.31.07: 4Kids Introduces New Anime Life into Lineup
After probing around 4Kids for comments on the recent stoppage of their One Piece production and their financial issues, I was given a major scoop on their Summer and Fall '07 broadcast plans. In hopes of getting more parents to watch along with their kids (and thereby gaining new attention to its products), the company is set debut a sort of hybrid of what they called "more adult" features. This new show, untitled as of now, will be a re-spliced and localized combination of the likes of He is my Master, Emma, and a third yet-to-be-decided series (said to be a toss up between Monster and a show with the word "maid" in it). Count on there being some major hyping of it hopes of getting 4Kids out of its slump.

:anime: Anime Kibbles 'n' Bits ::01.22.07:: Black Oceans, FUNi Announcements, SSJ7 Jesus

The start of a quick, little news snippet of anime news, and a few thoughts wrapped within, just so that it allows me to keep up with the latest news and comment on anything else without having to totally write out an entire post for it (since this isn't a soley news blog). Of course, I'll expand on something if I have something more to say on it ;) . --HD


:Wed.01.17.07: Ocean to Dub Black Lagoon?
During a somewhat related forum topic on AoD's site, a staff member of English dub database site CrystalAcids.com made an "insider" revelation that Ocean will be supplying the dub for Geneon's upcoming release of Black Lagoon. Sure, it's not Next Generation, but Ocean is a more-than-capable group for a show like this one, just so long as they supply the proper accents.

:Mon.01.22.07: FUNimation Announcement Week Kicks Off
FUNimation kicked off a special week of special announcements with their licensing of Ragnarok: The Animation. Don't be the least bit surprised to see the shows that appeared on their Cease & Desist letter to fansubbers, such as xxxHOLiC and Mushishi, appear on their site this week, or some release dates/site update for School Rumble. "Dark Horse" says two of the next three GONZO shows get picked up: Welcome to the NHK!, Red Garden, Pumpkin Scissors.

:Wed.01.17.07: Jesus to be Animated
An anime version of the classic 1970s film Jesus is currently in the works. The movie will follow the Book of Luke's transcript and use the same dialouge loop as the original, which according to a producers quote, seems as if it will be animated in a way where any of the 900 translated voice tracks can be inserted for worldwide distribution. It is projected to be finished in two years.

:Sun.01.21.07: Live-Action Mushishi Trailer Available
Though another trailer has been available for a while, a new trailer has been posted on Apple's Japanese trailer site in the company's ever-present MOV format. A nice little short montage similar to the earlier one, those familiar with the other properties in the franchise will definently have fond recollections with a few of the images shown in it.