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There’s been a lot of bad news and vibes around the US anime industry recently – with some rather major players taking a hit – but for once here in the UK things seem to be ticking over quite happily. Sure we might be a few months behind our American cousins, but judging by the amount of screeners and press releases that have been jamming up my mailbox over the last month it looks like the UK distributor’s schedules show no easing up at the moment. It’s certainly more than I can review in detail before they hit shops, so in the first of what will be a regular feature here’s a run down of stuff that’s due to drop next month – keep an eye on the site over the next few weeks for more in-depth analysis of the pick of the crop.

Genius…I’m speechless.

UPDATED: Displaying a staggering sense of humour fail, Ghibli have told Youtube to pull the video. Shame. Seems some people still don’t get this whole internet marketing thing yet. Ah well.

UPDATED AGAIN: And it is back – thanks to NoDeath below in the comments, who has found the video hosted elsewhere. Good work man!

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Long time readers may recall my girlfriend’s love for making things Totoro related – including my Valentines Day card and some Halloween pumpkins – and after a busy few months she finally got round to adding something new to the list. These Totoro cupcakes where made for a little friend of ours – a four year old fledgling Ghibli fanatic – who broke her arm right at the begining of the summer break. Look great don’t they? Trust me, they actually tasted even better. More pics after the jump.

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If you’ve been lucky you may have missed – buried away amongst all the other media hype and internet buzz – the controversy over Disney’s decision to re-record the Ponyo theme tune. I first found out about it over at The Ghibli Blog, and I have to say I was pretty shocked. The original is a cheerful, simple nursery rhyme sung by a child – reminiscent in many ways of the My Neighbour Totoro ending theme – and always makes me smile when I hear it, if for nothing more than it reminds of visiting Japan last year, where it was still being played wherever you went.

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One of the most common misconceptions about us Brits is that we don’t indulge in displays of emotion. It’s not true – in fact it’s a trait limited only to our gangly, socially-inept ruling classes – you know, the ones we would have eradicated if we’d had a proper revolution – and spread around the world by the constant stream of Jane Austen adaptations we shit out and the inexplicable popularity of ’stars’ like Hugh Grant. Anyway. I can assure you right now I am displaying emotions – several in fact – but actually the dominate one is so typically British. It’s disappointment.

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With the English language release of Ponyo imminent, and his recent promotional and speaking visit to the US causing a stir, there’s no denying that there’s a buzz around Hayao Miyazaki at the moment. And it’s a buzz that’s not just getting the attention of anime fans, but also grabbing the interest of the wider mainstream media and audiences – something that is, arguably, long overdue. As such it’s either luck or great timing that Manga Entertainment have just released Panda! Go Panda! on DVD here in the UK, and while it’s been out in the US for several years, this was the first time I’d had a chance to sit down and watch this early chapter in Miyazaki-san’s career.

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Regular readers will know about my fanatical love for the animated works of Mamoru Oshii (Ghost in the Shell, Sky Crawlers), but they might not realize how much I also bug-out for his live action films. His last feature length work Avalon came out in 2001, and became an instant favourite in my household, the film getting played so much by me and my better half that we nearly wore out the DVD. Which is a good thing, considering how much I paid to import it from Japan. Anyway, with that in mind you can imagine how excited I got today when the first details were announced about his latest work, due to hit Japanese cinemas in December.

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More sad news about a terrible loss to the anime industry – one of it’s true legends and artists Yoshinori Kanada passed away yesterday, after suffering a heart attack at the age of just 57. After making a name for himself in the 1970s working on sci-fi and giant-robo series, he eventually ended up at Studio Ghibli, working closely with Hayao Miyazaki on such monumental works as My Neighbour Totoro, Porco Rosso and Princess Mononoke among many others, and his face will be familiar to anyone that’s sat enthralled watching the extras on Ghibli DVDs. His work was so distinctive and influential that ‘the Kanada style’ became a term commonly used by Japanese animators, and if you want to see just a tiny selection from his massively impressive CV check out the report over at Anime News Network.

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I’m off on my travels again – not Japan this time, but the sun soaked Socialist republic of to Havana. Ten days of snorkelling, rum, fat Cuban cigars and blissfully internet free chilling awaits me. As a result there will be no updates here for a while – and my ninja-like accomplice Flotsky will be moderating comments here – and I’ll reply to them all when I get back. Apologies in advance.