A second season of the Hidamari Sketch anime has been announced, planned for a 2008 Japanese premiere.

Media Blasters has announced it has the North American distribution license for the Lone Wolf and Cub live action television drama. The series is 79 episodes long and ran from 1973 to 1976.

Del Rey has posted a preview showcasing the first 21 pages of Shin Midorikawa’s Aventura manga on Myspace’s Comic Books blog. The first volume debuts in North America on November 30, pre-order it today.

Warner Bros. in Japan has announced they are adapting Masahito Soda’s Subaru manga into a live action film. The movie is already in production and is expected to debut throughout Asia in 2009.

The official Japanese website for the Death Note live action spinoff L Change the WorLd has posted a streaming trailer for the movie (in theaters February 9, 2008).

Bandai Visual USA has posted an English (subtitled) trailer of the Mobile Suit Gundam MS IGLOO anime. The first DVD releases on November 27, pre-order it today!

The official Japanese Gunslinger Girl website has posted a few initial character design sketches from the 2008 anime sequel titled Gunslinger Girl -Il Teatrino-.

With contradicting reports ranging from production in Canada to Mexico, variable premiere dates, script and director changes, AnimeCorporation.com will hereby halt further Dragonball Z Live Action (20th Century Fox) news coverage indefinitely. We went through all this crap years ago - valid sources backed fabricated rumors in official press releases wasting everyone’s time with a frenzy of misinformation.

Please note I am not attempting to debunk any information already released. We will resume Dragonball Z Live Action news coverage when something fruitful, physical, and undeniably true is revealed.

Bandai Visual USA launched the official website for their English release of SOS! Tokyo Metro Explorers: The Next. The film will be released in North America on Blu-ray and DVD on December 11.

Viz media announced that the Naruto anime series is now available for download at IGN Entertainment’s digital media store Direct2Drive. The first 25 Naruto episodes are now available, retailing for $1.99 each. Full press release after the jump.

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Viz Media announced the release of Naruto Shadow Box Limited Collector Set, containing the first 27 manga volumes neatly housed in an attractive wooden display box. This special release includes the Naruto “proto chapter,” a sneak peak of volume 28, a two-sided color poster, stickers, a Viz Media-exclusive Naruto trading card, and advanced copies of volumes 25-27 (releasing December 4). This collector’s set is available at Viz Media’s online store, with limited production run of 5,000 and retail price of $189.95. Full press release after the jump.

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ADV has posted a promotional trailer for its English DVD release of Kanon, due out in January 2008.

Nico Nico Douga has posted a 17 minute video from the first episode of Yawaraka Sangokushi Tsukisase!! Ryofuko-chan, due to release on December 26, 2007.

Atari announced that their CEO, David Pierce, has left the company amidst a total corporate restructure. The company will completely stop its gaming production and primarily focus on the distribution. Atari’s North American gaming production has been thought to be defunct for many years; this coupled with their current Dragonball Z legal dispute with FUNimation and recent report of a $12 million loss in Q1 2007 puts the company’s future in a dubious state.

The city of Osaka, Japan revealed plans to host a new Japanese pop-culture industry festival, named Animix, beginning next year. The Animix 2008 event aims to gather anime, manga, apparel, food, game, and toy companies alike.

IGN has posted a streaming trailer for the English release of the Appleseed: Ex Machina film.

Makoto Shinkai’s 5 Centimeters per Second (Byousoku 5 cm) anime film won in the Best Animated Feature Film category at the 2007 Asia Pacific Screen Awards. Other nominees for the category included Summer Days with Coo and The Big Fighting Between Wukong and God Erlang.

Nitroplus has posted a promotional video of Blassreiter -genetic-, a new project with animation from Gonzo, directed by Ichiro Itano (Gantz) and written by Yasuko Kobayashi (Claymore).

The January 25, 2008 Japanese DVD release of Kite Liberator has been delayed due to “production issues” until further notice.

The adult manga magazine Comic PAPIPO has ceased publication as of it’s December 2007 issue. The magazine began distribution in 1991 and has been known for its serialization of Coyote by Hirano Kouta.