A hi-res version photo and three new promo photos (Goku, Chi-Chi and Mai) have surfaced online for James Wong’s Dragonball. As neat as this all sounds I’m going to stick to the anime and manga versions of Dragonball. Live action movies based off of cartoons don’t usually do all that great. I’ve got a bad feeling this will be another Garfield. What other good cartoons were made into bad live action movies?

I was lucky enough to watch this while at the Anime Expo last weekend. You may ask why did they show Batman at an anime convention. Well, it’s sort of like what Animatrix was to The Matrix; an anime rendition of Batman and it’s a nice treat. So if you love anime, appreciate change and are a Batman fan, you’ll really enjoy this DVD. The writers weave six interlocking stories together, each with their own artistic style. Even though I’m not a huge Batman fan, I enjoyed it and would recommend it.

The nation’s largest anime and manga event was a ton of fun at the Los Angeles Convention Center. With over 43,000 unique attendees, this show was the biggest on record. I saw so much anime and so many happy people, I wanted to share with you some of my pictures from the show. I hope you enjoy them.

The Anime Expo was a lot of fun and there was so much to see and to learn. One thing is for certain, with all those involved in cosplay, they were ecstatic about being at the show and they put a lot of work into dressing up. Their big smiles said it all.

Anime Expo 2008 was held from July 3-6, 2008 at the Los Angeles Convention Center in Los Angeles, CA. Next year’s convention will be returning to the Los Angeles Convention Center July 2-5, 2009.

It was one of the greatest TV shows of my childhood and I couldn’t remember what it was - until now.

Thirty years later and here I am, up until yesterday, trying to solve the mystery. My memory kept telling me it was Voltron, but that didn’t make it to the U.S. until the 80’s. The only thing I could really remember from the show was the five heroes and their various sizes, colors and shapes. I guess if I had just kept searching or asked a crowd at Comic-Con, I would’ve had my answer years ago.

(Read on …)

Don’t forget that Anime Expo 2008 is coming up next week in LA (July 3rd to 6th)! I’ve never been to AX before, but it I’m looking forward to a lot of fun! I imagine it’ll be a sort of cosplay paradise of sorts. I’ll take lots of pictures and report back on the show for those of you who couldn’t make it. It’d be cool if I can find some One Piece and Dragon Ball stuff. (Not that I’ve got much room to put it all). I’ll see you there!

A Dragonball and One Piece crossover is a phenomenal thing. When you put the collaborative work of Akira Toriyama and Eiichiro Oda together you get: Cross Epoch. I’d heard about this last year when I picked up some of the mixed manga (One Piece: Treasures Special to be exact), which celebrated the 10th anniversary of One Piece.

Well, it seems there’s an upcoming release of some super figures and Arlong Park has snapshots of these ‘Cross Epoch’ figures. Goku/Luffy and Nami/Bulma. I’m not sure when they’ll be released in the states, but I will find them and add them to my collection. (If you hear anything let me know.) I enjoy how Luffy and Goku are such titans, but they’re two of the silliest, most carefree and coolest characters around.

(via Topless Robot)

The Anime Expo is the nation’s largest anime/manga convention, with the largest collection of import and domestic anime and manga merchandise anywhere in America. AX 2008 will be held July 3 – July 6, 2008 at the Los Angeles Convention Center in Southern California. I’ll be attending for my first time this year, so I’m pretty jazzed. If you’re planning on going, don’t forget to sign-up early for your tickets and hotel. If you’re not attending, stayed tuned and I’ll keep you informed.

I hope you’re ready for the show next week and I hope you have fun. If you’re like me and can’t make it, you can check out their free audio and video podcast coming from the event (April 18-20, 2008). Remember that the show is more than just comic books. It’s the East Coast’s largest pop-culture event with comic and graphic novels, anime and manga, toys and games, movies and TV, video games and art. If you’re going, don’t forget to say hi to Stan Lee, Dan Goodsell and get your Official Iron Man Toon Tumbler!

It’s also only a few months before the San Diego Comic-Con. So you better get ready!

As a big fan of Akira Toriyama and his popular Dragon Ball manga and anime, I’ve got mixed feelings about this Dragon Ball Z movie. Sure Stephen Chow is producing the movie and I was simply blown away when I watched Kung Fu Hustle on the opening weekend in Hong Kong a few years ago, but I worry about how this movie will turn out. They always tame stuff down for American audiences, because we scare more easily or something. That and the cast (so far) is from the WB.

Update: As many of you have noted it’ll be a Dragonball movie, which is a good place to start. The movie will be released August 15.

Update 2: No Dragonball Movie this Year… 20th Century Fox has pushed back the date. It is now scheduled for release on April 3, 2009.

A feature film of the long-running anime series Astro Boy will be released in 2009. Imagi Animation Studio released a poster for the film, which you can view here! Thankfully this action film will be done entirely in CG animation and not with a Culkin brother.

Astro Boy tells the story of a powerful robot boy created by a brilliant scientist in the image of the son he has lost. Our hero journeys to find acceptance in the human world, and ultimately discovers true friendship as he uses his incredible powers to help others and save Metro City from destruction.

I imagine this will be the best movie of 2009, animated or otherwise, and I’m looking forward to it as I imagine Gabe is too.

Who knows if this game will make it to the U.S., but One Piece: Unlimited Adventure for the Wii looks sweet! On Bandai’s (Japanese) site, they’ve got some great character art and other game info that will make you wish you were in Japan. Luffy and the gang look great in this game. I can’t remember, is the Wii region-free?

More great (Japanese) info on the company’s official site.

Update: Now with cool TV commercial action.

It’s time for the Tokyo Anime Fair! Be sure to visit DannyChoo’s and Akihabaranews for some great snapshots of the largest anime show on Earth, which is held every year in Japan. It’s open to the public this weekend and if you’re in Tokyo you’re probably going. Lucky ducks! If you can’t tell, I’m a big One Piece fan!

Yet another Tokyo Anime Fair that I’m not going to.

Update: More great snapshots from the show.

With this years show coming to a close, be sure to catchup on everything that happened. Some of the of the best coverage I’ve found on the web has got to be Comic Book Resources, Newsarama and Vinyl Pulse. I’ll make it there someday…

If you’re one of the lucky few folks able to make it to the show next week, I hope you have fun (please take pictures). For everyone else, you can check out their free audio and video podcast coming from the event (February 23-25, 2007). Remember that the show is more than just comic books. It’s the East Coast’s largest pop-culture event with comic and graphic novels, anime and manga, toys and games, movies and TV, video games and art.

It’s also only a few months before the San Diego Comic-Con. You better get ready!

The Simpsonzu was originally drawn with the intention of scaring her friends and now her artwork is all over the Internet. I’m a big fan of the Simpsons and of anime and think she did a super drawing. She’s mentioned that (Matt Groening’s) Bongo Comics and 20th Century Fox just contacted her to do work for them. Congrats!

She did a Futurama drawing too!