Welcome to the December '04-January '05 Anime Sacramento Newsletter. Meetings of Anime Sacramento are bi-monthly, usually on the 2nd Saturday of the odd-numbered months, at the private residence of Laurine White, Sacramento, California. Email the editor, LVBwhite@concourse.net for info and directions. I enjoy trading non-commercial Japanese-language anime (such as tv episodes), and do limited freebie-dupes of same. E-mail me about trading tapes and some stuff I have for sale. (Please put Subject line something like "Attention Laurine", or it might get accidentally deleted with all the !@#$%&* spam.) Anime Sacramento showings are non-smoking, non-alcoholic and non-hentai, when kids are here. The house has plenty on-street parking in front. It's 5 minutes walk from a supermarket and from the Bus 1 route, 10-minute drive from A-1 Comics and diverse cuisine restaurants. There's no set program schedule; it's a social event. If you have allergies, this house has a cat.

Next meeting, will be on the third Saturday, January 15, from 1pm to 10pm. Thank you kind folks who brought munchies in November. Thank you Terry for helping with clean-up and recommending that DVD player. Thank you Chris and Ashley for the new anime episodes. Thank you Larry and Peter for the pizzas and letting us watch Bubba Hotep. What's with the sodas? 3 summer meetings and only a few cans of soda were consumed. Yet on a cool November day the empty cans filled the recycle bin! Plenty of sodas, chips, and Japanese snacks are on hand for January. Bring munchies to share except chips (4 bags in the freezer already). The schedule for January isn't set. Dinner break is 7-8pm (or whenever). Any anime requests? Bring your favorite new anime DVDs to watch with us. I also have lots of Asian action movie DVDs (and now have a new DVD player that shouldn't stick). Shige Sushi may open some day on the SE corner of Madison and Manzanita, in the former quarters of Sorrento's Restaurant. At least a sign is now up outside the place.

Subscriptions to this newsletter are available, 3 issues for $1.80, 6 issues for $3.60. Make checks payable to Laurine White or send unused postage stamps. If your subscription is expiring, send me an email to be added to the newsletter personal distribution list (it's not an attachment). Remember, if you change your email address, please let me know, to stay on the distribution list. Also let me know if your email is set up to reject distribution list emails. To Unsubscribe, just let me know.

Anyone interested in seeing House of Flying Daggers as a group on Sunday, 16 January? It is a Chinese sword movie set in 859 A.D., directed by Zhang Yimou, starring Zhang Ziyi, Andy Lau, Anita Mui, 79 minutes long. It gets a limited U.S. opening in December, opens 14 January at the Tower Theatre (http://www.thetowertheatre.com) on Land Park Drive in Sacramento.

Latest News: Memoirs of a Geisha will be filming in Old Sacramento on Jan 5-6, parts of which will be made up to look like a Japanese village circa 1920. // http://anime-tourist.com News - International Channel has the rights for 9 Korean films and (from CPM) 8 anime titles (including Lodoss War, Patlabor, Now & Then) to air as part of the "Asia Street" programming.

New Northern California Anime Stores: one opens inside Xtreme Sports (Quik Stop Anime) at the following address: 5405 Pacific St #B, Rocklin, Calif. For info, phone Jason on Mon - Wed - Fri, 2-5pm, 916-625-9027, with website coming soon. Anime 101 opens at 17660 Monterey Rd in Morgan Hill, next to Napa Auto Part, hours noon to 6pm Mon-Sat, ph number (408) 778-5285, or 866-24ANIME. For more info please email Glenn, gschmall@schmall.com

YaoiCon: The problem with Yaoicon (http://yaoicon.com) being next to the San Francisco Airport is that it isn't within walking distance of much of anything. That same weekend in San Francisco Japantown, Spookycon 2004 (http://www.spookycon.com) was going on at the Miyako Hotel, and Super7store (http://www.super7store.com), up the street, had a 50 Years of Godzilla celebration on Saturday evening. And all those Asian restaurants!

Stuff from YaoiCon: Otaku Soap (http://otakusoap.com) made by anime fans at a small company, making soaps inspired by the art of popular anime series, with the highest quality ingredients. The soaps are pretty, they smell nice and they aren't X-rated!

http://www.yaoiattic.com (JC BookHouse in Palo Alto, Calif) has a large selection of Yaoi Manga and Novels (Chinese editions, They're not all "adult only"). For more info email sales@yaoiattic.com

http://JuxtaposeFantasy.com ("your new source for yaoi/slash fiction") has original novellas, comicbooks by Western yaoi artists, posters, bookmarks, blank notebooks with beautiful cover art. Email to Tricia@juxtaposefantasy.com.

Be Beautiful (http://bebeautifulmanga.com), the CPM line of yaoi manga (for adults only) from Japan. Check the website for the latest titles, prices, sample art. Can't find an email, but here's a phone number where you can order (Mangamania Club of America) 1-800-626-4277. A sampler giveaway at Yaoicon is Finder Series 1: Target in the Finder manga by Ayano Yamane, Yaoicon Guest of Honor.

http://shonencomics.com publishes Shonen: An American Yaoi Anthology (mature readers only), and participate in regional events like APE (Alternative Press Expo) in San Francisco, Feb 21-22 '05.

Apparel - Custom-made kimono, yukata, obi, and more, at http://www.literati.org/kimono or you can email Ancatsidhe@chaosring.org. Another URL is http://kawaiinekohat.com. Apparel includes cute kitty- and bunny-ear hats, flower bags, plush-dolls. Order online or you can email angel@literati.org

Sihaya (http://www.sihaya-art.com) still does beautiful original art and prints, bookmarks, t-shirts, doujinshi.

The Yaoi Shoppe has official Yaoicon merchandise. You can order it online at http://www.yaoicon.com à "Yaoi Shoppe" under the navigation bar.

Don't forget the Aestheticism Cybershoppe (doujinshi, manga, Chinese manga, artbooks) at http://www.aestheticism.com. End of "stuff from yaoicon".

The usual Sacramento fan websites: Sacramento Anime (http://www.sacramentoanime.com) - Some of the Anime Sacramento newsletters are archived here, including the most recent ones. Thank you, Ian!

Anime Meetups: info on the monthly meetups in Sacramento and elsewhere can be found at http://anime.meetup.com. The website has been restructured, member list has a lot more (archived?) names, and our Meetup club now has official "organizer" AC. Thank you, AC for taking on that task.

Roseville Main Library Anime Club - No idea what happened to this. It seems to have disappeared.

Sacramento Anime Enthusiasts: another Sacramento anime club's current website (last updated in July 04) is at http://www.jeskola303.net/saneanime. Email jeskola303@yahoo.com for more info about the club.

Fantastic Frontiers (http://www.fantasticfrontiers.com) is the website for the regional Science Fiction club, with barbecues, meetings, Halloween party and other events. They're planning a "Star Struck" SF convention on July 9, 2005, at the Scottish Rite Temple Auditorium.

Anime Overdose (http://www.animeod.com) will be held at the Holiday Inn Golden Gateway, San Francisco, March 4-6, 2005; with guests, dealer room, cosplay, karaoke. For more info or to register online, please check the website.

FanimeCon 2005 (http://www.fanime.com) will be held at the San Jose (Calif) McEnery Convention Center on May 27-30 (Memorial Day weekend), with 24-hour anime programming, dealers room, etc. Registration is $45 until 31 Jan '04. Check the website for registration info.

Star Struck SF convention at the Scottish Rite Temple near CSUS on July 9, 2005. For more info, go to http://geocities.com/fantasticfrontiers/

Recca Con '05 (http://www.reccacon.com) Recca Con '05, scheduled for March 19 '05 at Los Medanos College in Pittsburgh, California. For more info, check out the website.

WonderCon 2005 will be at the Moscone Center, San Francisco on February 18-20, at the door $35 for 3 days, $15 for one day pass. This is Northern California's largest comicbook convention, with dealers, panels, guests. More info can be found at http://www.comic-con.org.

For event info & times (such as anime screenings) at the Metreon, located near the Moscone Center, San Francisco, check the website: http://www.metreon.com/events. For more info about Bandai Entertainment, visit http://www.bandai-ent.com and http://www.bandai.com

For more info on the Kimi No Hanyo Anime Convention (Sierra College Rocklin Campus, Sept 9-11, 2005, off I-80 east of Roseville, Calif), check the website http://kimicon.scarletheavens.com. The convention is in the early planning stages.

http://www.nikaku.com - Nikaku Animart - 615 North 6th Street, San Jose, CA 95112, (408) 971-2822. Recommended for their gift items from Japan, for their anime CDs, books, posters, etc., and the friendly staff. Visit them when you're in the San Jose Japantown area. Eat at the Kazoo. Take the historic walking tour. http://www.japantownsanjose.org Go shopping at Nichi Bei Bussan, open for over 100 years, now with a website, http://www.nbstore.com. I like their Asian t-shirt designs.

http://www.sacramentocomics.com - check the website for more info on the Collectors Shows in Northern California, such as the Sac Anime event scheduled for Saturday, February 12, 2005 (location?).

Bay Area Animation Society website: http://www.dotsumi.org, with lots of anime news.

Sacramento Taiko Dan: Their website is http://www.sactaiko.org, but their performance schedule hasn't been updated for 2005 yet. The website for the San Francisco Tako Dojo also needs to have its schedule updated (http://furtype.com) for details. The zine includes numerous anime reviews. // Media Blasters will release 3 new manga and manhwa titles on 16 March: Gunparade, Death Trance, and Volcano High Origin. // 4Kids is getting the rights to Mew Mew and Magical Doremi series. // Critical Mass, a hentai line, plans to release Cool Devices Vol.1 (dubbed) on DVD on Feb 1st. // The official Appleseed move website from Geneon is http://www.appleseedthemovie.com. The movie gets an American theatrical release on January 14. // Del Rey manga releases for spring include Basilisk (May 15) and A Perfect Day for love Letters (June 16). // James Cameron's Battle Angel movie will have a combination of live action and CGI. The release is now planned for 2007, viewable with 3-D glasses.

http://anime-tourist.com News: Future ADV DVD releases include Godannar, Kita e, Papuwa, 5 Sta Stories, Gakkou no Kaiden, and Korean live action movies Guns & Talks, Jail Breakers, No Blood No Tears, Public Enemy. // Stone Bridge book releases of interest for Spring 2005 include Stray Dogs & Lone Wolves: The Samurai Film Handbook (May, $20), jrock, ink: a concise report on 40 of the biggest acts in Japan (J-rock, not J-pop, June $19), The Anime Companion 2: More What's What in Japanese Animation by Gilles Poitras (June, $19). Current Stone Bridge (http://www.stonebridge.com) releases include Mobile Suit Gundam, Yoshiyuki Tomino's novelization, now in one volume, translated by Fred Schodt, $15; Watching Anime, Reading Manga by Fred Patten, $19. // ADV's new fan club program to provide anime preview DVDs to anime clubs at high schools, colleges, and libraries, is called Anime ADVocates. For more info please go to http://www.advfilms.com/advocates or email Kristen at animeclub@advfilms.com

http://www.animenation.net News: Digital Manga (DMP) has translation rights to two yaoi manga series, Yellow (Makoto Tateno) and Bokura no Oukoku (Nazuki Koujima), and will publish Let's Draw Manga Yaoi (how to draw yaoi) in 2005. DMP's new yaoi website is http://www.yaoi-manga.com).

http://monkeypeaches.com News: Zhang Yimou is currently working on Qian Li Zou Dan Ji (Lone ride over a thousand li), a $7.2 million Chinese production. Japanese actors Kiichi Nakai, Shinobu Terajima, and Ken Takakura have been sign up. The movie is set in the 1920s Yunnan province. This is reportedly Ken Takakura's final film. // A movie starting production early next year in China is "Night Banquet" (Ye Yan), based on Hamlet and set in the Tang dynasty. The director is Feng Xiaogang. // The movie version of the novel, Memoirs of a Geisha, is now in production. It stars Michelle Yeoh, Gong Li, Zhang Ziyi, also with Carey-Hiroyuki Tagawa and Ken Watanabe (Tampopo). // Sha Po Lang is a movie set in the present, about two cops and a crime lord, starring Donnie Yen, Simon Yam and Sammo Hung. Its release is delayed to sometime in 2005, for months of needed post-production work. // Disney has author Michael Chabon adapting a variation of Snow White and the 7 Dwarves to be set in 1880s China. The movie will be called Snow and the Seven. // Another project John Woo may get involved in is a film version of the book, Espionage for Dummies. // MiramAxe has scheduled an American release of the several-year-old Chinese fantasy sword film, Legend of Zu (aka Zu Warriors). Don't hold your breath. // A film biography of Peking Opera star Mei Langfang (1894-1961) has been announced, with backing by Columbia Pictures and NHK. He performed many famous roles, including Chinese swordswomen, and was the first to introduce Peking Opera to foreign audiences. // Jet Li has announced on his official website (http://jetli.com) that he will make a film with Ronny Yu about the martial artist Huo Yuanjia (who died in 1910; it was his death Bruce Lee avenged in Chinese Connection (remade with Jet Li in Fist of Legend).

South China Morning Post News (http://photo.scmp.com/index.php): Chow Yun Fat is signed up to play famous Chinese pirate, Cheung Po Tsai, in the sequel to Pirates of the Caribbean. Keith Richards will play Jack Sparrow's father. (Thank you, Jeff, for the news)

http://www.comicsone.com News: Comicsone now has (in its online store, under "Official Comicsone Merchandise") t-shirts, a cap, messenger bag, teddy bear, lunch box, wall clock, with the "Comics One Kung Fu Comics" logo, and a "Got Manga" t-shirt.

http://www.comicsbuyersguide.com movie news: Sin City (Miramax/Dark Horse) stars Mickey Rourke, Bruce Willis, Elijah Wood, Michael Clarke Duncan, Jessica Alba, gets an April 1st '05 release. Batman Begins (http://www.batmanbegins.warnerbros.com) stars Christian Bale as Batman, Ken Watanabe (Tampopo) as Ra's al Ghul, Michael Caine (Alfred), Morgan Freeman, Gary Oldman, Liam Neeson, Rutger Hauer, opens 17 June. (I'm only going to see this movie if Joel Schumacher had nothing to do with it.) Hellboy 2 has been announced. Spider-Man 3 has an announced 4 May '07 release date. Nicholas Cage will star in a Ghost Rider movie, which starts filming in 2005 in Australia.

http://www.rightstuf.com News: Toei releases DVDs Vol.1-2 of Air Master and Slam Dunk in February.

http://www.aintitcool.com News: More Yaoi news - CPM will be releasing the yaoi manga, Embracing Love (Haru wo Daiteita), Volume 1 in May. // TokyoPop has the rights to the Sokora Refugees manga, from Segamu and Melissa DeJesus. Volume 1 will appear in April. // Giant robots inserted into famous paintings can be found at http://www.somethingawful.com/articles.php?a=2470&p=2 // The Blade: Trinity ST CD specials will include a short manga by Takashi Okazaki. // It appears that Takeshi Kitano will make a 2nd Zatoichi movie.

Websites of interest: For an guide to bootleg/pirate/unlicensed/counterfeit goods, check the Pirate Anime FAQ at this website: http://www.digital.anime.org.uuk/piratefaq.html

http://www.baubo5.com/asianstuff.com - I've listed this website before. It was updated in October and now has a gazillion links to Asian films (general, studios, directors, actors, official sites), Asian pop & rock, Asian culture and literature (links to 3 Kingdoms, not China, Japan & Korea!) and links to esoteric stuff (like Danger Mouse and Comic Book Legal Defense Fund).

Galen Jang's wonderful Swords, Spirits and Romance: The Legends of China Page is long gone, but is archived (includes an essay on fox spirits, ghost stories from Liao Tsai Chi Yi, and info on literary works of Jin Yong) at http://web.archive.org/web/19970413070130/www.best.com/~zhuge/index.shtml

http://www.blacksaltfilm.com (Ratti Entertainment Group) is producing a martial arts film about a father's honor and an ancient and powerful style of martial arts practiced at Shaoline for centuries. The Black Salt film project hopes to restore the martial arts to the popularity it enjoyed in the 1970s and early 80s. There will also be a Black Salt product line with apparel, comicbooks, video games, toys, and martial arts tournaments to be held around the U.S. For more info, check out the website.

If you remember the Shaw Bros. sword movies of Ku Lung/Chu Yuan, on Amazon you can find: The Eleventh Son: A Novel of Martial Arts and Tangled Love by Long Gu (that's Ku Lung), translated by Rebecca S. Tsai. The novel, published in English Aug '04, was the basis for SB's "Swordsman and Enchantress" movie. If you want more Ku Lung, and can read French, Amazon also has "Les Quatre Brigands du Huabei" by Long Gu.

Release dates for Howl's Moving Castle - still no release date announced for the US, but opening dates for other countries can be found at http://www.nausicaa.net/miyazaki/howl/faq.html#release.

Has anyone checked out the Anime Network on Comcast on Demand in Sacramento yet? More info at the Anime Network website: http://www.theanimenetwork.com/vodschedule.asp?VODSub=comcast

What follows is just a small selection of the Diamond anime-related offerings.

Diamond PREVIEWS (http://www.diamondcomics.com) November 2004 for January 2005 delivery (except as noted). Comics - Dark Horse - SAMURAI: Heaven and Earth #2 (of 5) by Ron Marz & Luke Ross, color, 32 pg, $2.99; RING Vol.0 Meimu, 160 pg, b&w, $12.95 (Feb); SAMURAI EXECUTIONER Vol.4 by Kazuo Koike & Goseki Kojima, 304 pg, b&w, $9.95. DC CMX - all are $9.95, b&w, FROM EROICA WITH LOVE Vol.2 by Aoike Yasuko; LAND OF THE BLINDFOLDED Vol.2 by Tsukuba Sakura; MADARA Vol.2 by Sho-u Tajima & Eiji Otsuka. Antarctic - HOW TO DRAW MANGA: The Next Generation #1, 32 pg, b&w, $4.95; I HUNT MONSTERS Vol. 2 #1 by Rod Espinosa, 32 pg, b&w, $2.99; SHOUJO Pocket Manga Vol.2 by various, 120 pg, b&w, $10. Broccoli - UNTIL THE FULL MOON Vol.1 by Sanami Matoh, 180 pg, b&w, $10; DI GI CHARAT THEATER: Dejiko's Adventure Vol.2, 180 pg, b&w, $10. ComicsOne - LUNAR LEGEND TSUKIHIME Vol.1 by Type-Moon & Shyonen Sasaki, 200 pg, color, $9.95; PRETTY MANIACS Vol.1 by Shinsuke Kurihashi, 200 pg, b&w, $9.95. CPM manhwa - ARMAGEDDON Vol.2 by Hyun Se Lee, 192 pg, b&w, $10 (mature readers); NAMBUL: War Stories Vol.3 by Hyun Se Lee, 256 pg, b&w, $10 (mature readers); manga - OVER THE RAINBOW by Keiko Honda, 208 pg, b&w, $10 (mature readers). HK - CROUCHING TIGER HIDDEN DRAGON Vol.9 by Wang Du Lu & Andy Seto, color, $14.

Ironcat (alas, suffering financial difficulties, http://www.ironcat.com) - MANTIS WOMAN by Sen'no Knife, 180 pg, b&w, $12.95 (mature readers); VAMPIRE DAHLIA Vol.1 by Narumi Kakinouchi, 200 pg, b&w, $17. Infinity - ANIMAL PARADISE Vol.1 (of 3) by Sue Mi Yu, 176 pg, b&w, $9.95; BAMBI Vol.1 by Young Ha Park, 176 pg, b&w, $9.95; MISSING WHITE DRAGON by Young Ha Park, 176 pg, b&w, $9.95; WITCH CLASS Vol.1 by Ru Lee, 192 pg, b&w, $9.95. Radio Comix (furry titles) - FURRLOUGH #145, 32 pg, b&w, $3.50; HAVOC, INC. Digest Vol.2 by Mark Barnard & Terrie Smith, 120 pg, b&w, $13.95. Shanda (furry titles) - FURRY NINJA HIGH SCHOOL TWILIGHT #1 by Murphy, Curtis & Dunn, 40 pg, b&w, $5. TokyoPop - ALICHINO Vol.1 by Kouyu Shurei, 192 pg, $10; GUNDAM SEED ASTRAY R Vol.1 by Yatate, Tomino & Chiba, 192 pg, $10; LILING PO Vol.1 by Ako Yutenji, 192 pg, $10; PLANET BLOOD Vol.1 by Tae Hyung Kim, 192 pg, $10. Viz - WOLF'S RAIN Vol.1 and 2 by Toshitsugo Iida, each 184 pg, b&w, $10. Zines - PROTOCULTURE ADDICTS #82 (restructured, with Animenewsnetwork), $4.95.

Apparel - $15 cosplay caps for Kaleido Star (Jonathan the Seal), Excel Saga (Menchi, Puchu), Peacemaker (Saizo Pig) (cosplay caps are available at DC CMX - (each is $9.95) MUSASHI NUMBER 9 Vol.2 by Takahashi Miyuki; SWAN Vol.2 by Ariyoshi Kyoko; GALS! Vol.1 by Fujii Mihona; TENJHO TENGE Vol.1 by Oh! Great. Antarctic - HEAVEN SENT Pocket Manga Vol.1 by Ben Dunn, 144 pg, b&w, $10; HOW TO DRAW MANGA: Next Generation #2, 32 pg, b&w, $4.95; HOW TO DRAW SHOUJO Supersized, $20; HOW TO DRAW MANGA: Toning Techniques Revealed, $20. Anime Works ' PILGRIM JAGER Vol.2 (of 3), 200 pg, b&w, $10. Comicsone - IMPERFECT HERO Vol.2 by Nankin Gureko, 200 pg, b&w, $9.95. CPM - DUCK PRINCE Vol.4 (of 6) by Ai Morinaga, 184 pg, b&w, $10; MASCA Vol.1 by Young Hee Kim, 192 pg, b&w, $10; ZZIM Vol.1 by Sook Kim, 192 pg, b&w, $10. Del Rey - TSUBASA Vol.4 by CLAMP, 200 pg, b&w, $10.95; XXXHOLIC Vol.4 by CLAMP, 200 pg, b&w, $10.95. DH - HINO HORROR Vol.1 and 2, by Hideshi Hino, each 192 pg, b&w, $9.95.