On this day of last year, a very bored person decided to blog about the Gurren Lagann volume 1 shipments being delayed.  Because of that delay and that decision to blog,  Anime Mahou was born.  And today, it is celebrating its 1st birthday.

Sure, there were many months of no activity, but 427 continued to get many viewers, and I’m very, very thankful for that.  I appreciate you for coming here and reading what 427 has to offer, and I hope you continue to visit us so we can celebrate many more blog birthdays!

The manga Broken Blade has been given the anime-adaptation green light in Japan, and so to celebrate, 427 will offer a glimpse into the manga (and a preview!), which will begin releasing in America this month.

In the world of Broken Blade, everyone can create “quartz,”  an energy that fuels machines.  Well, that is, everyone except Rygart.  A neighboring kindgom, Athens,  is attacking Rygart’s, Krisna, with an army of mechas knowns as golems, and there’s nothing he can do…until he stumbles across an ancient mecha that seemingly only he can pilot.

You can read the Broken Blade preview on CMX Manga’s page.

FOX’s sitcom “Malcolm in the Middle” began reairing of Nick at Nite today.  Now while many people love this series, it really doesn’t have anything to do with anime, manga, or video games.

Well, that’s where you’re wrong.  The opening theme includes a few anime-like clips incorporated into it.  For those of you who don’t know which anime it’s from, that’s because it’s from “Nazca,” an obscure anime that was published in America by Geneon, although the VHS/DVDs are no longer being printed.

Nazca is about a group of people who are actually the reincarnations of Incan warriors.  This drives a few of them to wonder if they are only the Incan warrior inside them, or if they really can be “themselves.”

Originally, clips from Akira were going to be used in the theme, but then the people who were working on MitM found out about Nazca and preffered it.  They also wanted Nazca to be Malcolm’s favorite show and to include it in the show somehow.

Happy 4th day after the 30th of June! (Although technically it’s already July 5th)

This news might be a little too late (heck, it was too late for me, too), but BLEACH has been pushed back to air at midnight instead of 12:30 on [adult swim].  Moribito is also a half an hour earlier, but CG and the others are still at the same time (this was all caused by Star Wars being moved to a different time).

It looks like this change is here to stay, as the [a s] website shows that next Saturday’s schedule is the same.

They will still be airing 2 new BLEACH episodes.

In an attempt to get back onto my blogging feet (I greatly apologize for my long absence) I’ve cooked up a list of somewhat-recent anime titles that I recommend be watched over the course of the summer.

Darker than BLACK//In a futuristic Tokyo, people known as Contractors, those with special powers and no conscience, are used for dangerous missions such as assassination and spying.  Each Contractor is represented by a star (although all of them have been replaced by fakes due to a Hell Gate appearing), and BK-201 (”Hei”) is an Elite who is in search of his missing sister.

Ponyo//This Ghibli film isn’t as serious as Miyazaki’s other films, but it’s just as sweet.  Starring an odd-looking mermaid, a sweet 5-year-old boy who wants to take care of her, and her father with a hate for humans, this movie is great for the family, even if Miyazaki fans might not be as thrilled with it as with his other titles.  It even fits into the summer theme and mood!

Kaze no Stigma//From studio Gonzo (FINAL FANTASY:  Unlimited, Full Metal Panic!, Desert Punk, etc.) comes Kaze no Stigma, based on the light novel of the same name.  Kazuma is from a family with the power to control fire, but he is unable to do so himself.  After being defeated at the hands of sixteen-year-old Ayano, he is disowned.  But four years later he returns, now a master of Fuu-Jutsu, the power to control wind.

Mobile Suit Gundam:  The 08th MS Team//Bandai Ent. brings us an anime classic by studio  Sunrise (Code Geass, Cowboy Bebop, etc.).  The 08th MS Team is considered one of the most realistic Gundam series, but contains all of the Gundam themes we know and love.  All 12 episodes are included in this collection, and you have the choice of English or Japanese voicing.

Summer is a great time to also catch up on anime titles you might not have had time to view during the school year when the workloads are the largest.  I hope you enjoy some (or all!) of these titles.

Today at 12:30am on [adult swim], there will be two episodes of BLEACH and Code Geass airing instead of the usual measly one.  This is good news only for those who missed last week’s episode, however:  the first episode is simply a re-airing of last week’s, and NOT a new one.  Last week, BLEACH 104 aired.  This week, 104 and 105.  Next week, 105 and 106.  Hopefully [a s] will replace the old episodes with new ones so that we’ll be able to see two new episodes a week instead of one.

If you’re looking for a good movie to see and have already exhausted the theatre’s available screenings, don’t fret:  there’s still time to check which theatre near you will be screening Sword of the Stranger.

This interesting samurai epic follows a young boy named Kotaro, and the nameless samuari with a terrible past he meets, as they are hunted down by the Chinese Mings for a reason not even Kotaro knows.

The movie will be airing on the 7:30pm time slot on February 5th in select theatres (check here to see the list of theatres).  Like other Fathom Events, there will be a “behind-the-scenes making-of” featurette airing as well.

This looks to be a very promising movie–I myself really hope I’ll be able to see it (too bad all the theatres are so far away!!).

It sure has been a while, but Bandai has finally updated their catalog again…so get saving!

Yup, this is indeed part 3 and not part 2.

On February 24, we will be graced with Code Geass Part 3 ($40) and the Limited Edition Counterpart ($65).  Yes, I have yet to scour Best Buy for the Part 2 Limited Edition, and I still have yet to figure out why the regular Part 3 is so darned expensive this time around (the DVD extras are basically a bunch of openings and closings, and some Picture Dramas).

Sadly, with the new additions to the Bandai catalog, which is good because now we’re far more up-to-date than before, we lost all of the older catalog entries, so yeah, we never really got to see CG Pt2 LE on the catalog and exactly what it contained.  So even though it’s old news, check back later ’cause I’ll be sure to post some pics when I get my hands on it (like I did last time).

Osamu Dezaki will be directing a new anime based off of The Tale of Genji, the Heian novel written by Lady Murasaki.

Like all amazing literature, it is bound–not by thread–to be transcribed into different mediums.  The Tale of Genji has numerous manga adaptations, Yoshitaka Amano has done paintings and illustrations based off of the characters and story (the art book is available in English from Dark Horse), and now the renowned anime director Osamu Dezaki will be in charge of directing the newest anime adaptation, Genji Monogatari Sennen Ki Genji (translated, “The Tale of Genji Thousand Year Journal Genji”–the final “Genji” is written in English in the Japanese title).  Originally to be an adaptation of Waki Yamato’s Asaki Yume Mishi, one of the many manga based on the Tale, but it’s been decided that Sennen Ki will be based off of the original story itself.  Sennen Ki will premiere on January 15th in Japan.

The Tale of Genji is about the son of the Emperor and Kiritsubo–his forbidden love, who dies before Genji turns 4.  Genki gets cast out as a commoner but rises his way up to power again, but not without bedding many women, some of whom you’d never think a nobleman would bed.  So, in short, the Tale encompass Genji’s life from his birth to his death.  This historical novel was written approximately a thousand years ago, which is where the anime gets its name.  You can watch a short 14-second ad for the anime here.

Miyazaki’s newest film, Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea, will be visiting American theatres this year.

Disney will be releasing this Studio Ghibli film to the American theatres this summer.  Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea is a movie about a boy who befriends a magic goldfish who wants to live with humans.  And, yes, Ponyo is the strange-looking pink thing in the picture below.