Licensed Anime News

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Bandai Visual USA Picks Up sola Anime

1st DVD to ship in June; Broccoli already announced summer manga release

AnimeOnDVD.com notes that a page and a product description on Bandai Visual USA's website have effectively pre-announced the company's upcoming release of the sola fantasy anime series. The sola fantasy multimedia project features the story writer Naoki Hisaya (Kanon) and the original character designer Naru Nanao (D.C. ~Da Capo~, ef - a tale of memories). Director Tomoki Kobayashi (Rozen Maiden, Ichigo 100% video, Utawarerumono) oversaw the studio Nomad (Rozen Maiden) on the animated version's production.

The story is seen through the eyes of Yorito Morimoto, a boy whose hobby is taking photos of the sky. One day, when he goes to a park to take a picture of the moment when blue skies turn to night at dusk, he comes across an unusual girl named Matsuri Shihou. Matsuri has a lifelong secret that is only hinted by her longing to see blue skies. That secret brings the two together as Yorito protects Matsuri from a pursuer that is intent on harming her.

Broccoli Books had previously announced that it will be releasing the manga version this summer. The manga version ran from December of 2006 until just last week in Monthly Comic Dengeki Daioh magazine. The anime version aired in Japan from April to June of 2007.

Series Info:

Genres:
drama, psychological, romance, supernatural

Plot Summary:
Yorito Morimiya loves taking pictures of the sky so much that one day, he wakes up at 4 am to take pictures of the sunrise overlooking the bay. However, he is deterred when he meets a strange girl trying to force a vending machine that stole her money. Yorito helps her with forcing the machine but when the machine finally vends, the girl has mysteriouslly vanished.

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Bandai Visual USA Confirms sola Release, DVD Details

5 US$49.99 subtitle-only volumes to include full-color booklets, postcard set

One day after the news was revealed online, Bandai Visual USA has officially confirmed its release of the 15-episode supernatural romance series sola. The anime will be released on five DVDs, each carrying three episodes (including the two that never aired during sola's Japanese television broadcast), and there will not be an English dub. The price per volume is set at US$49.99, and the first volume is scheduled for June 10. The first volume's DVD extras will include a full-color, eight-page booklet and four character postcards. A special premium gift item will be offered to those who purchase sola from Bandai Visual's dot-anime.us site.

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Bandai Visual USA New Title Announcement: sola, Voted Best Anime of 2007 in Japan

Torrance, Calif. February 26, 2008 – Bandai Visual USA announced today the release of
sola on DVD, beginning on June 10, 2008. sola was voted ‘Best Anime of 2007’ in Japan with
over two million votes in a poll from the company Spider Networks and will be released in the
U.S. in five volumes with each volume consisting of three episodes and with the last two each
featuring one special episode never aired in Japan. Also starting summer 2008, Broccoli Books
will release the sola graphic novel.

Conceived by the creators of two Japanese blockbuster PC games, Naoki Hisaya (Kanon)
and Naru Nanao (D.C. ~ Da Capo~), sola is an original series, set against a visually appealing
backdrop with a cast of fascinating characters that carries on the tradition of “night people” anime
similar to Vampire Princess Miyu and Witch Hunter Robin. The story is translated into animation
by Nomad, the animation studio which is known for Rozen Maiden series.

sola is a mysterious and fantastic story of Yorito Morimiya, a high school student who
loves to take photos of the sky. Wanting to take a photo of the night turning into day, he sets out
for the park where he meets Matsuri Shihou who longs to see the blue sky. However, she is what
one calls a “Yaka”, the Calamity of the Night, an immortal, ageless existence who has lived
hundreds of years alone in the darkness of night. Matsuri has been involved and witnessed many
tragedies throughout her long life, and now she has to face the past. Yorito and Matsuri's chance
meeting unravels a story that stood still for hundreds of years.

According to Creator, Naoki Hisaya, “The theme of the work is “sola,” or “sky” in
English. It exists above all of us without being noticed, and it only changes its form for those who
look up. I wanted to create a story that changes in different ways, just like the sky.”

For more information on the animated sola, please visit http://www.bandaivisual.us/sola.
For more information regarding the graphic novel sola, please visit
http://www.broccolibooks.com/books/sola/sola_index.htm.

sola Disc Specs & Features:
• Color / MPEG-2 / Region 1 / DVD-9 / NTSC / 16:9 anamorphic / CSS
• Japanese Language Audio (Japanese Linear PCM (Stereo)) with Optional
English Subtitles
• 8-Page Full-Color Booklet and Original Postcard Set (4 Postcards per Volume)
• Exclusive Gift (TBD) for those who purchase from dot-anime.us

Title: sola Vol. 1
Format: DVD
Catalog #: BUDH0167
UPC #: 8 58604 00167 7
Street Date: June 10, 2008
SRP: $49.99

Bandai Visual USA INC. was established in 2005 as a wholly owned subsidiary of
Bandai Visual co., ltd. with a mission to facilitate stronger, more active involvement in
positioning, marketing and distribution of Bandai Visual programs in North America. From
its base in Torrance, California, Bandai Visual USA seeks to form new alliances and
reinforce existing ties in an effort to strengthen Bandai Visual's international presence as a
producer and content provider in the ever expanding and diversified specialty programs market.

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Right Stuf Adds Maria Watches over Us Anime Series

Nozomi Entertainment to start box releases of slice-of-life anime this July

Nozomi Entertainment, the anime production division of Right Stuf, Inc., has announced on Thursday at 2:00 p.m. CST that it has licensed the Maria Watches Over Us (Maria-sama ga Miteru) school slice-of-life anime series for North America. The licensed seasons of "MariMite" — the first two 13-episode television series and the 5-episode video follow-up series — center on the subtle interplay within the student body of the Lillian Girls' Academy. The anime is based on a series of light novels written by Oyuki Konno, illustrated by Reine Hibiki, and serialized in Shueisha's Cobalt magazine. Shueisha's Margaret magazine published a manga version by Satoru Nagasawa that was later compiled into eight volumes, and Cobalt published manga side stories by Hibiki.

The first season will ship in a US$49.99 DVD box with Japanese dialogue and English subtitles on July 29 (with pre-order discounts available), and the other two seasons will follow in DVD boxes at unspecified dates. Right Stuf says it will include the "specials" — comedic shorts that depict the series' characters in "chibi" form — for their respective season. An upcoming fourth season has been confirmed for Japanese television. The stories have attracted a strong following in Japan, and the producers have fueled that interest with everything from a Second Life virtual recreation of the fictional academy's Rose Mansion to official MariMite Pizza Hut delivery boxes.