The DAOS Issue 13--WE’RE BAAAACK!!

After an insane holiday hiatus, the DAOS is back again and we’re opening up with the Winter Otaku Buzz 2008!! James Kyoya-Sempai is back and he’s going to be informing you all about the things that otakus are all talking about while they are stuck ringing up customers at their seasonal jobs for cash! (Cause that’s exactly what Venus Benihime-Sama is doing right now anyway.)

The Otaku Question of the Week!!
We’re starting a new section called the “Otaku Question of the Week” Answer the question below by writing a note to Venus Benihime-Sama over at =MissRedRose. The best answers will be put here in our future issue, along with a ONE-MONTH SUBSCRIPTION and journal features to the best deviant answers at our Deviant Spots! Get thinking and writing Otakus!

Question Of The Week: With the downfall of Geneon USA, what do you think the anime community should do to combat the ever-growing issues of piracy and the even more demanding fan base that is growing?

Reviews Of The Week: By Mike over at

Murder Princess Volume 1
One Volume available from Broccoli books



Plot Summary: The world of politics is treacherous enough. In Foreland, it's deadly confusing. When her royal father is murdered by a greedy drug manufacturer, Princess Alita must step forward to take over the kingdom - but who is the real princess. Don't ask her. A freak magical mishap has trapped her in the body of Falis, the bounty hunter. Now Alita must rule disguised as a servant while the battle-savvy Falis sits on the throne in her body. And as if this weren't enough to juggle, the evil Professor Akamashi and his twin android assassins just HAVE to cause trouble.

Pros to the Manga: From front cover to back cover this manga has some very impressive artwork. The backgrounds are very detailed as well as all the monsters and characters. The character development in this is superb and I found this manga to be quite amusing. I laughed a lot, specifically at the interactions between Jado and Falis. The action was well portrayed and was very easy to follow. Most of the action revolves around two characters: Yuna and Anna. At first, I didn’t like these two, they felt like the obligatory ‘moe’ characters, but I was wrong. Anna is downright hilarious!

Cons to the Manga: Well, I think some of the story was very convoluted. I mean, ok, the princess falls from the cliff, bumps heads with Falis and BOOM! They switch souls. Not the most original idea. And also Dominikov is a shinigami, like this isn’t a straight up play at the current popularity of shinigami’s. He could have just as well been a well-trained assassin or something, but they had to go with shinigami. And I have no idea what Pete is.

Damaged Thoughts: I was hesitant to get this manga. With a name like “Murder Princess” you are just begging to be let down, and hard. I was mistaken. Despite some of the manga’s inherit flaws (like the story line) this is a really fun read. I have not laughed at a manga like this since I read Azumanga Daioh (which you should go read… now!). I think the best line that I read was when Jado said “The bladder loses strength as you get older”. Not sure why, but this really tickled my funny bone. I am anxiously awaiting the second volume, which (according to Amazon) comes out on November 28.

Excel Saga - Complete Collection
Complete collect brought to you by ADV Films



Plot Summary: Hyperactive Excel does anything and everything to try to please her lord, Ilpalazzo, who wants to take over the planet. Excel's misadventures take her and her partner, the ever-dying Hyatt, all over the world, meeting several strange people as they go.

Pros to the Anime: Personally, the biggest pro here is the price. Amazon is only asking for $53.99 for this bad boy and it is worth it. I always like it when I can get a full series for a reasonable price, so I usually wait for the anime to come out with a complete collection (like here). Ok, about the anime, it’s hysterical, period. Excel and Hyatt are great contrasts of each other and Excel’s constant falling-into-the-pit-at-the-hands-of-Ilpalazzo I found to be very amusing. Personally I was also a big fan of how the “genre” changed every episode while still adhering to the story line (yes, unbelievably there is a story line). And if you can’t be sold on the raw humor factor of this series, the I have one word for you: Menchi. Menchi is what made me decide to continue watching this. Menchi is Excel and Hyatt’s emergency food supply. Dog -> Creature -> Food. And make sure you watch the ending theme, which is wicked funny!

Cons to the Anime: Ugh, this is one of the worst dubs I have ever heard! Inuyasha still takes the cake in my mind, but I have not been blessed to hear the DBZ dub, though I hear that is brutal as well. Oh the dub is painful! Since Excel screams so much it actually damaged the original voice actor’s voice and she had to be replaced after episode 14. It didn’t matter though, she was just as bad. Watch this in Japanese unless you hate yourself. Some of the jokes I didn’t get and they didn’t explain them, I found this to be annoying. Not as detrimental as you would think because the show comes back with a joke that you will get.

Damaged Thoughts: There are many reasons to quit this anime in the first episode. If you watch it in English, that’s a good reason to quit. But also the theme song takes some serious getting used to and Excel is (at first) annoying. But if you can make it all the way to the end of the first episode you are in for a real treat of an anime. It has so many references that it has something for everyone (like jaws). Menchi is a true selling point in my opinion and the Pedro saga is something that deserves a watch as well. If you like when characters can randomly pull objects out of thin air to get their point across, you will love this series (I do). I could go on for many pages for this show, but I have to keep it brief, so that’s all I got.


The Things Otakus Are Gabbing About
1) Anime Companies Fight Back Against Illegal Fansubbers/Downloaders (FINALLY.)
2) Dragonball Going Live-Action!!
3) Lucky Star, Haruhi Suzumiya, Code Geass, OH MY!
4) The Death Note Mass Hysteria Effect
5) The Anime DVD’s you need to watch NOW! (After reading and faving this issue anyway.)
6) Animes We CAN’T WAIT, to be released on DVD.

As always, because I’m the awesome one, we’re going to start backwards!!!

The Animes We CAN’T WAIT to be released on DVD!!

Romeo x Juliet: This series has caught the eye of many fans as well as sparked some controversy! Although as of publishing time there is no current new lisence for the series, the series is the talk of the fansubs circles. We shall keep you posted!

Ouran High School Host Club--Otaku fan girls all over the world are DYING to hear more news about Ouran High School Host Club. Unfortunately, besides the initial announcement at A-Kon this past summer, there have been no new announcements, news, NOTHING. It’s driving our Chief Editor absolutely bonkers with watching all the OHSHC websites for any shred of news. Sorry ladies, hopefully I’ll have more to report in February when I do the Spring buzz! Also, for the record, THERE IS NO SECOND SEASON BEING DONE OF THIS SERIES!! It has been confirmed by Bisco Hattori (The Manga-ka of the original series.) that she has not given official permission at this time for a second season. So stop spreading that rumor people!!!

Naruto Shippuden--Unfortunately, because Viz Media has STILL not licensed Naruto Shippuden yet, we are going to be waiting for quite sometime before this series comes over the ocean. Sorry all you anti-Naruto cosplayers, you’ll be seeing cosplay groups for a long time to come.

Bleach: The Bount and Arrancar Arcs--Hey VIZ MEDIA!! WE’RE STILL WAITING OVER HERE! Drop some more episodes will you?

For those of you who have no idea about these other two arcs I‘m yelling about, here is the non-spoiler version: The Bount Arc, (Episodes 65-110) is a filler series that was designed to give the original creator Tite Kubo some time to draw and create the manga chapters to continue the story that takes place immediately after the Soul Society/Rescue Arcs. (The episodes currently playing on Cartoon Network) The Arrancar Arc (Episodes 111 to the present) are straight from the newest manga being released in Japan, continuing the story where it left off. (With a few transition episodes to make the Bount/Arrancar arcs smoothly transition into each other.)

Gurren Lagann: Many people are wondering what is going to come from Gainax, since their re-emergence from the dark with the return of Evangelion. For now we will reserve our judgement until we see the series when it comes out later this summer.

The Anime DVD’s you need to watch NOW! (After reading and faving this issue anyway.)

Mushishi-- If you haven’t fallen in love with this series either, then you need to check this one out too. If you’re also a Roy Mustang fangirl, you had better buy it.. And the series is now complete this month with the release of the fourth volume! So be sure to check it out!

5cm Per Second-- It finally came out two weeks ago on DVD. And to describe the movie in one word: BEAUTIFUL. This is probably going to be the best piece of work that Makoto Shinkai has ever done!! Please rent it or buy it outright! It’s SO BEAUTIFUL!!

Welcome to The NHK-- An otaku anime series, based off a manga that was created by an otaku.. Okay parents, this is what happens when you don’t let your children go out and cosplay! Although, I wish I had the massive anime and manga collections that that main characters in the series have on their shelves. Gosh, their collections would put us to shame otakus.

Miki Ramen Fighter--Only one word can describe this series: HILLARIOUS! Don’t expect any super awesome special effects or a series that has a seriously deep message or any beautiful poetic moments. This series was pretty much designed to make you laugh your ass off. So after watching the ending of Noein, Cowboy Bebop, Ergo Proxy or any other emo-style anime series, brighten you up by watching this series.


Dragonball Going Live-Action!!

Finally Otakus, after all these years and the countless rumors during these years, there will be a live-action form of Dragonball Z! It looks like 20th Century Fox is rushing the long-awaited live-action movie adaptation of Dragon Ball Z into production before the looming industry strikes happen next year. Kung Fu Hustle star Stephen Chow will be producing the live action DBZ, and the 20th Century Fox flick will be helmed by former The X-Files writer and Final Destination director James Wong. Taking the role of Goku will be Justin Chatwin, who was Tom Cruise's son in War of the Worlds. Piccolo will be played by James Marsters. The budget hasn't been announced, but shooting will commence later this year.

It's slated for an August 15, 2008 release. Hope it doesn't suck.

Lucky Star, Haruhi Suzumiya, Code Geass, OH MY!

This past November, Kadokawa Pictures USA, Inc. and Bandai Entertainment, INC., announced that it would be releasing the anime series Lucky Star in North America in 2008. The announcement was made in a unique way – a surprise trailer at the beginning of Vol. 4 of The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, which was just released.

If you don’t already know, Lucky Star is a 24 episode television series from Kyoto Animation, the same anime production company that created the anime series for Haruhi. Lucky Star's main character is Konata Izumi, a lazy high school girl who isn't interested in anything besides anime and video games. The series is described as the ultimate “otaku anime,” -- it pays tribute to anime culture and other series with in-jokes and hilarious references.

“We are pleased to continue our relationship with Kadokawa Pictures USA and release Lucky Star. It is a very funny series and fans are in for a treat,” said Bandai Entertainment, INC. President Ken Iyadomi.

Like Haruhi, Lucky Star has a fantastic soundtrack and the songs and music have been very popular in Japan. “There is a Lucky Star dance, like Haruhi, and at a recent con, we saw it being performed by U.S. fans, so here we go again,” added Bandai Marketing Director Robert Napton. Lucky Star will be released in 2008, with exact dates to be announced shortly.

And on top of the awesomeness that is Lucky Star, in the fall of 2007, Kyoto Animation announced, that there would ;be a second season of The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya. The official Japanese website for The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya television anime series has announced further details about the franchise's next anime project. In the spirit of the first anime series and the Haruhi Suzumiya science fiction comedy light novels that spawned the franchise, the announcement was made in a roundabout, cryptic manner.

In Early December, the site "disappeared" and began displaying a false error message that read, "The page cannot be found." A second message then appears over the first message; it states that a computer program is starting up and prompts the user for a password. If the user enters "K," "N," "S," "A," and "K" (the initials of the family names of the members of SOS brigade, the main characters in the series) into the password fields and selects the radio button to the right, a fake xterm terminal session opens. A series of messages from "YUKI.N" confirms that the key to the "emergency escape program" has been found and asks for a final confirmation before starting the program. If the user hits the enter key, a new page opens that shows the character Yuki and lists the production credits of the new series.

The page reveals that the previously announced second anime season of Haruhi Suzumiya has been "cancelled" and replaced with a new animation project. Yasuhiro Takemoto (Full Metal Panic! The Second Raid, Full Metal Panic? Fumoffu, Lucky Star) will direct the new project, and Kyoto Animation will still be animating as it did for the first anime project. As in the previous anime project, the fictional "leader" of the new anime project is the character Haruhi Suzumiya herself. The "disappearance" of the website on December 18 at 4:00 a.m. (Japan Standard Time) is a reference to the pivotal date in The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya, the fourth volume in the light novel series and an apparent indication of which novel plot the new anime project will adapt. Bandai Entertainment finished its English-language release of the first season anime project in November.

We here at the DAOS however, have been chomping at the bit to see Code Geass-Leouch of The Rebellion! Code Geass, for those who do not know is an anime series that is about an evil opposing force known as “Britannia” that enters Japan and robs it of its freedom and identity. Japan is consequently renamed Area 11. The series focuses on a group of people who use the power of Geass to fight back. From the preliminary looks of the series, it has a wonderful mix of politics, war , awesome mechas, and of course an awesome soundtrack from FLOW and the Ali Project.

The official announcement for the show came at Otakon, and the localization of the series is being done by Zero Limit. Mr. Goro Taniguchi, the show's original director, helped select the English voice talent for the dubbed release.

The English Language cast is as follows:

Lelouch: Johnny Yong Bosch
C2 (CC): Kate Higgins
Kallen: Karen Strassman
Suzaku Kururugi: Yuri Lowenthal
Lloyd: Liam O'Brien
Tohdoh: Steven Blum
Bartley: Peter Spellos
Clovis: Dave Wittenberg
Emperor: Michael McConnohie
Shirley: Amy Kincaid
Milly: Julie Ann Taylor
Nina & Sayoko: Kim Mai Guest

Bandai has also licensed and will sell the three separate manga series (Lelouch of the Rebellion, Suzaku of the Counterattack, and Knightmare of Nunnally) and one light novel series. Figures and product goods will also be sold in the US. Among the merchandise planned are a Lelouch jacket, pendants, bracelets, and notebooks. The new website for the show will be going live at [link] is now up and running. The Adult Swim network will be airing the Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion military robot anime series in the United States in the spring of 2008. President Ken Iyadomi of the anime distributor Bandai Entertainment and the company's marketing associate Marti Rivera made this announcement at the New York Anime Festival this past December!


The Death Note Mass Hysteria Effect

So even though Death Note for many fans is officially a mainstream series now, there are still a lot of things that are coming out for the series in 2008! The official website for L change the WorLd, the spinoff from the two manga-based Death Note films, has announced on Saturday that another spinoff special centering on the To-ta Matsuda character will be broadcasted in Japan. The theatrical L change the WorLd spinoff itself focuses on the iconoclastic detective L and a case he tackles during 23 crucial days in his life. Actor So-ta Aoyama reprised his Death Note role of Matsuda, the eager and naïve police detective who works with L, for the shooting of the theatrical spinoff. However, all of his scenes will be cut from the final print. Instead, those scenes will be combined with additional scenes shot later to create the tentatively titled "Spinoff Matsuda" special for television.

The official website also posted the second full trailer for L change the WorLd. Unlike the first one-minute trailer, this new two-minute trailer reveals more of the origin of the threat that L confronts and features the "I'll Be Waiting" theme song sung by American rocker Lenny Kravitz. It also reveals many of the characters who will return in one form or another for the film.

Actor Ken'ichi Matsuyama reprises his role of L, but the reins of the spinoff film have been handed over to Hideo Nakata, the director best known for the Ringu film franchise. The film opens in Thailand, a country that hosted some on-location shooting for the film, on February 9 — the same day it opens in Japan, South Korea, and Hong Kong.

Death Note, has slowly but surely, changed the entire mainstream anime and manga community. But it has also been making news in the real world as well. It’s been banned in China for fear of its message, while in the US and Japan, it is being nominated for countless awards.

The Franklin Military Academy in Richmond, Virginia suspended a senior this week for reportedly having a list of his classmates' names in a book called "Death Note," a reference to the Japanese suspense manga and anime of the same name. NBC12, the NBC affiliate in central Virginia, quotes a student at the public high school who said that she is friends with the suspended senior and that she was not on the list. The suspended student's friend said that neither she, nor her friends who were actually on the list, fear the suspended student.

Death Note has been the subject of scrutiny by schools in other countries such as China and Taiwan. School officials in the Chinese city of Shenyang have banned the manga and replicas of the Death Note notebook, and the educational bureau in Taiwan's Pingtung County warned parents about it. On the other hand, the manga's Taiwanese publisher and a non-profit Taiwanese watchdog group supported the work for raising issues, and a Washington state librarians' group nominated it for a young adults' book award.

Two messages left in a Belgian crime scene have been associated with Death Note, but police in that case have yet to identify a suspect or any further link to the manga. La Dernière Heure, a French daily newspaper in Belgium similar to United Kingdom's The Sun or America's New York Post, reports that two identical messages linked to the Death Note manga were left near severed body parts that were discovered Friday afternoon in the forest of Belgium's Duden Park. According to the newspaper, the two paper sheets both say "Watashi wa Kira dess," an apparent misspelling of the Japanese phrase "Watashi wa Kira desu," and "I am Kira (Killer)." This is a catchphrase from writer Tsugumi Ooba and artist Takeshi Obata's Death Note suspense manga series, in which a high school boy discovers a notebook, which allows him to kill people by writing their names in it.

The lower abdomen and two thighs of an unknown Caucasian male were discovered by walkers in the park Friday at 5:30 p.m. local time, and police sources for the newspaper said that the body parts were left no more than six hours before the discovery. There was no clothing, personal effects, or identification besides the two paper sheets. The two paper sheets reportedly had the same message, but were written in two different colors with no apparent signs of aging. Duden Park is located on east side of the Senne River Valley.


Anime Companies Fight Back Against Illegal Fansubbers/Downloaders (FINALLY.)

As you know, The DAOS, has been currently watching the news concerning all fan subbing and downloading legal and illegal. So let’s update you guys.

The unofficial anime subtitling group Shinsen-Subs reported that it had received a letter Thursday, which requested that Shinsen-Subs cease and desist its subtitling of Romeo × Juliet, an anime series by the Japanese studio Gonzo. The distribution company FUNimation Entertainment sent the letter on behalf of Gonzo. Shinsen-Subs stated it has "already complied with the requests in the letter, and this project is hereby dropped."

FUNimation has confirmed that it did send the letter on behalf of Gonzo and that the series has not yet been licensed to a distributor in North America. In a statement to ANN, FUNimation said, "…It is important to note that the rights owned by Japanese producers are still applicable, and enforceable, worldwide even before the anime is licensed for local distribution."

In a situation similar to Gonzo's, the Japanese anime distributor Media Factory's law firm requested that several websites and subtitling groups stop the unauthorized distribution of Media Factory's titles in December of 2004. The titles included ones that did not have a local distributor in North America at the time. Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex scriptwriter Yoshiki Sakurai asked American fans to buy anime, instead of downloading without authorization, in a December 2002 post on the Production I.G forum. At the time, the Stand Alone Complex series was still running in Japan, and had been effectively licensed but not yet released by Bandai Entertainment and Manga Entertainment in North America.

FUNimation's statement added, "FUNimation Entertainment, along with others in the industry both in Japan and North America, have long understood that unauthorized distribution of anime, especially prior to localization, is very harmful to Japanese producers because it lowers the value of the anime on the worldwide market. For this reason, Japanese producers are highly motivated to stop unauthorized distribution. We believe there will be a strong trend toward these types of anti-infringement actions being taken more regularly and systematically."

At the New York Anime Festival this past December, many heads of the US Anime distribution company came to meet and discuss the future of the anime community here in the US. So far, they have come up with a few ideas that they plan to implement in order to beat piracy. Of the speakers on the panel, Funimation's Fukunaga was the one whose company is most affected by online distribution of fansubs. He argues that simultaneous Japan and US launches of new series would be the most ideal way to deal with this issue. However, the only way Japanese companies can be forced into accepting this strategy would be via co-production. Aggressively pursuing action against digital fansubs distribution groups is the other viable solution to this issue.

As a media representative, Macdonald again was able to bring a different perspective to talking about this question. He argued that the only real way to stop piracy is to make it unnecessary by providing fans with quick access to free and accurately translated anime. Even simultaneous releases will not entirely defeat bootlegs because the "core" fans of anime in the U.S. are now into split into one group that is interested in actually collecting physical products (DVDs), and another — which is actually the majority — that looks only to watch anime at the lowest possible price, and if at all feasible, for free.

(Author’s Note: Sounds like our issue on Fansubbing! You can check that issue out here: )

Al Kahn reminded all those assembled for the session that publishing does not have to be about transferring physical objects, but that the entire anime industry has not yet figured out the best way to monetize digital content and embrace the technology of online distribution. To him, one of the greatest contributions of the popularity of anime in the West has been the fact that as Western animators and producers have been learning new techniques and honing their skills, Japan may be less and less relevant to the most cutting-edge popular culture products throughout the world.
Okay everyone! That’s it from me! Tune in next week, when we get ready for “The Way Of The Cosplayer” series! See you then!

James Kyoya-Sama!!

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-- Is the magic site!