Here you will find a run down of today's anime and manga news! If anything sent waves through the anime and manga world today, you'll find it in this post! By the way, I'm saladesu, one of the translators and global moderators of MH, and I'll be posting a post like this every day (as much as possible, anyway). Look forward to them ;)
Gundam Moped Inspired by Char's Zaku Robot Auctioned 
Motorbike customized to resemble main antagonist's unit gets US$1,300+ bid. The Yahoo! Auctions Japan website is hosting an auction by the user "katsudouka" for a moped customized after the MS-06S Zaku II from the Mobile Suit Gundam anime. The MS-06S Zaku II robot with the distinctive red color scheme served as the personal unit for Mobile Suit Gundam character Char Aznable, the nemesis of the Gundam protagonist and pilot Amuro Ray.
Katsudouka launched the auction on May 23 and it will end on May 30. At press time, the auction had attracted three bidders, and the top bid price was 112,000 yen (about US$1,380). The moped is a Suzuki Address V100 Alba model with a custom sponge rubber antenna and other decorations, and it is located in Yokohama City in the Kanagawa Prefecture of Japan. Katsudouka apologizes as someone who is not an evolved "Newtype" human, and therefore could not push the moped beyond its normal capabilities. (Thanks to a line of dialogue in the first Gundam series, Char's MS-06S Zaku II is well-known among fans for being "three times faster than" a regular Zaku II.)
The Zaku II — in Char's red color scheme or the more typical green of the regular mass-produced variants — is an iconic mobile suit unit dating back to the original Mobile Suit Gundam series. It has recently appeared on Hawaiian-style shirts and standing alongside the "life-size" Gundam RX-78-2 via an augmented reality application for mobile phones.
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4 Anime Selected for 2011 Young Animator Training Project
Answer Studio, Shirogumi, Telecom Animation Film, I.G win 38-million-yen bids
On Friday, the Japan Animation Creators Association (JAniCA) announced the four anime works that will each receive 38 million yen (about US$470,000) from the "2011 Young Animator Training Project." Just like last year, the animation labor group received 214.5 million yen (US$2.65 million) from the Japanese government's Agency for Cultural Affairs, and it will distribute most of those funds to studios who will train young animators on-the-job this year.
11 production companies submitted proposal bids for the funds, and Answer Studio, Shirogumi, Telecom Animation Film, and Production I.G were selected.
The following projects will each receive 38 million yen:
Answer Studio
Director: Hiroshi Kawamata (Otona Joshi no Anime Time's "Kawamo o Suberu Kaze")
Producer: Yukari Kiso
Title: "Nankai no Juju" (tentative)
Telecom Animation Film
Director: Pon Kozutsumi (episode director for Rita et Machin)
Producer: Kenichiro Hayafune (Beyblade - The Movie, Coji-Coji, Les Misérables - Shoujo Cosette)
Title: "Shiranpuri"
Telecom Animation Film
Director: Kazuhide Tomonaga (animation director for Cybersix, Little Nemo - Adventures in Slumberland, Sherlock Hound)
Producer: Koji Takeuchi (Chiko, Heiress of the Phantom Thief, Cybersix, Lupin III: The Fuma Conspiracy)
Title: "Buta" (tentative)
Production I.G
Director: Toshihisa Kaiya (character designer for Immortal Grand Prix, Ruin Explorers)
Producer: Hidekazu Terakawa (Immortal Grand Prix, Jin-Roh - The Wolf Brigade, Tales of Vesperia ~The First Strike~)
Title: "Wasurenagumo"
Production on the four 24-minute original shorts, each with 38 million yen (about US$400,000) for expenses, will launch this month and last until January. The animation production for each short is required to be based in Japan, and professionals will impart their know-how to the young animators through on-the-job training. One of the reasons that the Agency for Cultural Affairs is supporting this initiative is the concern that more of the Japanese animation process is being outsourced overseas — thus leading to a decline in opportunities to teach animation techniques within Japan.
The trailer for last year's four anime projects is streaming online:
original source~~~~~~~~~
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