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Weekly Wrapup 23/Oct - 29/Oct

posted on by Georgia Blair
Redline races to an English release, Phoenix Wright's hair is seen in real life for the first time, a survey shows an increase in the number of otaku and manga makes pink undies and Swarovski crystals extra manly.

Anime distributor Manga Entertainment began streaming an one-minute English-dubbed clip of Redline on YouTube. Directed by Takeshi Koike (Animatrix's "World Record", Afro Samurai) at MADHOUSE, Redline follows a daredevil racer in the biggest and deadliest racing tournament in the universe. The film was released in 2009 with limited theater screenings, and Manga Entertainment will release it in the United Kingdom and United States in November and January respectively. Madman Entertainment is releasing Redline in Australia on DVD and Blu-Ray this December.

Footage of the live-action film adaptation of the Ace Attorney (Gyakuten Saiban) video game franchise was played during a segment on the Japanese television show Sōkai Jōhō Variety Sukkiri. The segment showed actor Hiroki Narimiya in his role as Phoenix Wright (Ryuichi Naruhodo), Takumi Saitō as Miles Edgeworth (Reiji Mitsurugi) and Mirei Kiritani as Maya Fey (Mayoi Ayasato) as well as other characters and scenes from the popular series. Takashi Miike is directing the film, and the official website announced that the band Porno Graffiti, which previously provided music for anime including Bleach, Fullmetal Alchemist and Great Teacher Onizuka, will perform its theme song.

A recent survey reported that one out of four Japanese identify themselves as an 'otaku', or have been referred to as an 'otaku' by other people. Yano Research Institute conducted the survey, and reported the number of people identified as otaku has increased by 5.1 percent from last year's figures. The institute cited the increase in the number of otaku and the expansion of the market to include casual fans of otaku-oriented media as the reason for the higher figure. The institute also performed a dedicated study into the otaku industry and reported large rises in a number of areas. In particular, the social gaming, dating sim games and digital comic segments of the industry have grown significantly over the past year.

Finally, a pair of men's underwear designed by City Hunter character Ryo Saeba and women's lingerie retailer Peach John will be bundled with the December issue of Monthly Comic Zenon magazine. Monthly Comic Zenon serialises Tsukasa Hōjō's new series of Angel Heart, the sequel to City Hunter. The underwear is dubbed "Game Underpants", designed with the concept of "underpants that women want on men", and features a pattern made up of Ryo Saeba's signature gun, the Angel Heart logo and Peach John's rose design. A black and silver design of the underwear is available for sale on the magazine's online store. The December issue of the magazine also features a life-size figurine of Fist of the North Star's main character Kenshiro, inlaid with Swarovski crystals valued at 10 million yen (about US$130,000). The figurine will be unveiled at Tokyo's Ginza Hakuhikan store before going on display at Haneda Airport, and will eventually be auctioned for charity. Smaller versions of the figure will be available at the unveiling of the figure and for sale online.


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