Manga Entertainment has released a promotional video for the “hip, flashy, funkily fragmented” UK release of the Bleach anime.

Viz Media announced a partnership with footwear manufacturer T.U.K. Shoes to offer a limited edition release of Bleach shoes. Pre-orders for the US$65 shoes are open now on Viz Media’s online store, act fast though - only 360 pairs are slated for production! Full press release after the jump.

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We have a new review up of Viz Media’s September 25th release of Bleach DVD #6.

Top Anime DVD Release
Bleach DVD #6 [ VIZ Media ] - Ichigo and his friends have just made it to Soul Society in their attempt to rescue Rukia; but it’s not going to be easy! Check out this DVD and the rest of the fast-paced and mind blowing Soul Society arc.

Top Manga Release
Tekkon Kinkreet Black & White [ VIZ Media ] - It’s rather rare to see such an offshot manga released domestically, the best way to keep them coming is to support the manga companies by purchasing releases just like this!

Air DVD #2 [ ADV Films ]
September 25, 2007 | $29.98 | 100 min.

The search for the winged girl behind the sky continues. As Yukito’s relationship with Misuzu grows, new complications surface. Whereas Misuzu yearns for a companion closer than ever before, Yukito is forced to choose between what the heart wants and what the heart needs.

Meanwhile, the strain on Minagi’s life at home is bought to light. She lives with her mother, yet remains alone. Only great loss may bring the two of them together. Also, a glimpse of the past answers the queries of the present - but with it, new questions arise; deeper, darker and more dangerous.

Buy now at Rightstuf for only $26.98
Buy now at AnimeNation for only $26.98

Bleach DVD #6 [ VIZ Media ]
September 25, 2007 | $24.98 | 100 min.

Guided by the mysterious talking cat Yoruichi, Ichigo and school friends Orihime, Chad and Uryu make the dangerous crossing over to the Soul Society. They land on the outskirts of the Seireitei, the place where the Soul Reapers live. To succeed in their mission to save Rukia from execution, they must defeat the giant gatekeeper and find some way into the walled city. But it’s not going to be easy!

Buy now at Rightstuf for only $22.48
Buy now at AnimeNation for only $22.48

Ergo Proxy DVD #6 [ Geneon ]
September 25, 2007 | $29.98 | 100 min.

Re-l, Vincent and Pino are back on Romdo to face off against the machinations set in motion by the Creator! Vincent must come to grips with who he is and what he wants to become while Re-l faces the ugly truth behind her own existence. Can these two travelers finish their journey of discovery and enlightenment or will they succumb to the malice implanted by the Creator?

Buy now at Rightstuf for only $26.98
Buy now at AnimeNation for only $26.98

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Fullmetal Alchemist volume 14 has forged its way to rank 148 in the USA Today Top 150 best-selling books for August 6-12. Fruits Basket volume 17 has taken the 99th sot and Bleach volume 20 holds on in its third week, ranking in at 140.

Viz Media has announced they will begin offering Bleach episode downloads starting August 31 on Direct2Drive and TotalVid. These episodes are rumored to have slightly higher quality than the similar Death Note downloadable episodes. Unfortunately, it’s doubtful the quality will rival good fansub rips and the Bleach episodes will only be viewable in Windows Media Player (copy-protection).

Bleach Volume #20 [ VIZ ]
August 7, 2007 | $7.95 | 200 pages

The shocking truth behind the collapse of the Soul Society is finally revealed! The magnitude of the conspiracy is far-reaching, and the perpetrators wield staggering power. Is this the end of the Soul Society?

Buy at Right Stuf for only $5.96
Buy at AnimeNation for only $7.16
Buy now at Amazon for only $7.95

Buso Renkin Volume #7 [ VIZ ]
August 7, 2007 | $7.99

Kazuki’s black kakugane, which powers his Buso Renkin weapon and keeps him alive, will soon advance to the point where it begins draining life from others around him. Teaming up with his partner Tokiko, Kazuki leaves on a mission to find out more about the black kakugane in hopes of keeping this from happening. Meanwhile, they encounter an elite group of Alchemist Warriors that have been assigned to hunt them down and kill them!

Buy at Right Stuf for only $5.99
Buy at AnimeNation for only $7.19
Buy now at Amazon for only $7.99

D.Gray-man Volume #6 [ VIZ ]
August 7, 2007 | $7.99 | 200 pages

A horde of akuma is closing in on Allen, but instead of attacking him they mysteriously head right for another exorcist, Suman Dark! His tragic story and the secret of his unique Innocence are revealed, but in the process Suman’s life is threatened. Allen tries his best to save his comrade by putting himself in grave danger!

Buy at Right Stuf for only $5.99
Buy at AnimeNation for only $7.19
Buy now at Amazon for only $7.99

Fruits Basket Volume #17 [ TOKYOPOP ]
August 7, 2007 | $9.99 | 192 pages

Akito has more than skeletons hiding in the closet. The curse is not the only reason Kureno won’t leave Akito. Who can make Arisa understand Kureno’s devotion to Akito? Kureno must talk with Shigure if he ever wants to be free from Akito. Meanwhile, the dark shadow that hovers over the Sohma Estate has fallen on Tohru. Is there any cure for this curse?

Buy at Right Stuf for only $7.49
Buy at AnimeNation for only $8.99
Buy now at Amazon for only $9.99

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Viz Media confirmed updates for its Shonen Jump manga magazine. A Dragonball Z Collector supplement will begin in October, this will include in-depth character profiles and unique information (including character fusion information and an illustrated hair guide). Bleach will begin serialization in November. December’s issue will feature the first chapter of Slam Dunk and a short “Naruto prototype” story before publishing Naruto Shippuden in January.

Bleach DVD #5 [ Viz Media ]
July 31, 2007 | $24.98 | 100 min.

Rukia the Soul Reaper knows she is on borrowed time, staying in the world of the living longer than allowed. Having transferred her powers to Ichigo, she is in big trouble when two enforcers from the Soul Society come after her. Now Ichigo will have to master his sword and learn to control his spiritual energy if he is to save her from execution!

Buy Now at Rightstuf for $22.48
Buy Now at AnimeNation for $22.48
Buy Now at Amazon for $16.99

Hikaru no Go DVD #9 [ Viz Media ]
July 31, 2007 | $24.98 | 100 min.

Hikaru, Waya and Isumi visit some Go salons to test themselves against a variety of opponents, but the competitive passions they stir up may be more than they can handle. At a local festival, Akira faces his own challenge in the form of a cranky city councilman, who he must let win! But Akira’s not ready to “lose” so easily…

Buy Now at Rightstuf for $22.48
Buy Now at Amazon for $16.99

Naruto DVD #14 [ Viz Media ]
July 31, 2007 | $19.98 | 100 min.

Sakura and Ino go to pay Sasuke a visit in the hospital, only to find he’s disappeared! And in the shadows a sinister plan is hatching that could affect the entire Hidden Leaf Village forever…

Buy Now at Rightstuf for $17.98
Buy Now at AnimeNation for $17.98
Buy Now at Amazon for $13.99

Ranma 1/2 Season 2 : Anything Goes Martial Arts Thinpak Collection [ Viz Media ]
July 31, 2007 | $49.98 | 450 min.

Get to know the infamous Golden Pair of the high school combat figure skating world; Mikado “Emperor” Sanzenin; Azusa Shiratori, the girl who gives anything “cute” a bad name (before taking it home); Sasuke, loyal ninja manservant to high school swordsman Tatewaki “Blue Thunder” Kuno; Cologne, the hundreds-of-years-old-leader of the same Chinese Amazon tribe that introduced the sassy Shampoo; Mousse, the nearsighted master of hidden weapons and all things avian; Happosai, lecherous master of both Ranma and Akane’s fathers; plus a host of others!

Buy Now at Rightstuf for $44.98
Buy Now at Amazon for $34.99

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This update will cover notable anime & manga news from the past two weeks. Sorry, the 17 month gap between these updates is a little too much to cover today. I’m sure I’ll find something to make up for it :sweatdrop:

ICv2 gave some praise for Naruto and a bit of doubt on Bleach’s behalf as the release of Bleach manga volume 1 sold only 52% of the Naruto’s debut. To put it in prospective, volume 1 of Naruto, which was released over two years ago is outselling the first volume of Bleach by 32%. Ouch! ICv2 says it’s “far too early to tell” whether Bleach can come close to Naruto and that they believe Naruto “gives every appearance of being a once in a lifetime phenomenon.” This is in reference to the Naruto manga’s unrealistic success in the US, including ranking 21nd on the USA Today’s best seller’s list back in August.

Anime News Network reports that Blood+ may very well be hitting Cartoon Network soon, but that no broadcasting date has been scheduled. Cartoon Network has yet to confirm this rumor.

Viz has confirmed that two companies will be releasing Bleach merchandise in the US and Canada, including magnets, shoelaces (WTF?!), post cards, jewelry, stickers, patches, pins, buttons, plushes, key chains, wall scrolls, and “arm, hand, and headwear” (ugh…here we go again).

Former up again down again Britney Spears is divorcing that twat Kevin Federline. Holla for prenup! PRENUP!! Oh wait…this isn’t anime news…

Death Note: The Last Name topped the Japanese box office earlier this month. Anyone know if the “spoiler” was in either of the first two death note movies? Will it completely kill all hope for the rest of the entire franchise? :v

The FLCL Ultimate Edition release has been delayed ’til December 26th. Apparently releasing possibly popular merchandise after the holidays is the new craze! Sorry Timmy, you won’t be able to get your fill of wacky guitar whacking anytime soon!

Yesterday, Dragonball returned to television in America on the CoLours TV network. It will air weekdays at 10pm (e/p) and there will also be a six hour marathon on Thanksgiving Day. In December, the series will begin airing on the Funimation Channel. Thank you Funimation for striking deals with cable networks, including yourself, that nobody freaking watches.

The day after I was once again bitching to Atreus about how many different DVD releases Dragonball Z has and how confusing it’s become, ANN reports that beginning next year, the entire series will AGAIN be “digitally remastered” in high definition and released in box sets beginning in February.

4Kids is yet again receiving more than they deserve. They have reported a $256k loss in the last quarter, citing $2 million in a loss of revenue compared to Q3 2005. It just goes to show that relying on a bunch of ninja turtles and an anime that fairs better with youtube parodies will land your ass on a burning fire.

The last volume (36) of Ranma 1/2 was released today, marking the longest running manga released by Viz (unless of course you count Dragonball the way it was meant to be “count”) and it only took them 14 short years. Congrats, Viz.

Yes, yes, I know. We haven’t updated in ages and the entire “New Year’s Raffle” thing fell to pieces (However your forum ‘credits’ will have value sometime in the near future). The moment has finally arrived for Bleach fans - and sooner than many expected!

MediaWeek reports that Adult Swim has picked up the Bleach anime for its Fall 2006 line-up. Sadly, there will be only one other new anime Adult Swim will be airing this year (Eureka Seven starting in April). Many assumed, or rather hoped, that Adult Swim would be attaining the rights to more anime, but it doesn’t look like it will happen this year.

In a wild hypothesis, I predict this move to weaken both Naruto and One Piece, which missed the Adult Swim line-up and have been shoved off on Cartoon Network. I’ve seen fansites for both series drop in popularity over the past few months, and with slow US integration of merchandise, these series will not become the ‘next big shounen hit.’ Bleach on the other hand may finally overtake Naruto in world-wide popularity. Either way, something needs to change in able to head the US into a much-needed appreciation for anime again.

Other than that, Atreus and myself will be working behind-the-scenes on AnimeCorporation for the couple weeks in hopes to revitalize this site. More info soon!