ANiNews? Yes!: New Blu Spec CD format!; Tezuka’s 80th year; Doraemon’s Abiko Awarded.

In today’s news…

1. Sony’s new Blu Spec CD!

From PC Pro,

Sony is once again launching a new disc format, this time dubbed Blu-spec CD. Doubtless buoyed by the success of Blu-ray in the high-def format war, Sony looks set to adopt the technology for audio CDs.

The company has found a way of burning discs using Blu Laser Diode technology whilst maintaining compatibility with existing CD drives.

A roughly translated Japanese press release about the new technology claims the new CD cutting machines “eliminate vibration”, thus improving the quality of the laser beam and bringing sound quality closer to that of the master tape.

The company claims it will have 60 titles ready for launch on Christmas Eve, including albums from Miles Davis and ELO. Sony says the Blu-spec CDs will cost between £16-£27, although there’s no mention of when or if the technology will be released in Europe.

It’s also unclear whether the new format will have any computing applications.

What it means is that anime song cds are going to get better, with crystal clear sound quality and etc. Best of all this new technology is competitable with the CD players that we already own, YEA~!

But it’s going to be expensive… well everything at first is… and 16-27 pound is around 45 to 90 SGD… but it is unknown if the VAT is included in the estimate… which without will be alot cheaper…

2. Tezuka’s 80th Year

From ANN,

Special video from dark suspense story marks Osamu Tezuka’s 80th birthday

To mark the 80th anniversary of the birth of manga pioneer Osamu Tezuka, the official Japanese website for the live-action adaptation of Tezuka’s MW manga began streaming a new special video on Tuesday. The Oricon market survey firm also posted the same video at a different resolution. In this dark suspense story, Michio Yūki (live-action Nodame Cantabile’s Hiroshi Tamaki) survived a deadly nerve gas tragedy as a child, but this “MW” incident left his damaged brain without a conscience. Yūki grows up to become a handsome bank executive by day, and a mass murderer by night. On top of that, Yūki aims to acquire the MW nerve gas, which leaves his longtime confidante Garai (Densha Otoko film’s Takayuki Yamada) struggling with the right decision.

Director Hitoshi Iwamoto is adapting the MW manga for release in Japan next year. Vertical is publishing the manga in North America.

Master Osamu Tezuka is now 80 years old. For those that don’t know, Tezuka is the commonly acknowledged creator of modern manga.

The video streamed can be found here, and it seems like it’s going to be interesting, featuring stars from Nodame Cantabile and Densha Otoko. And adapted from Tezuka’s MW, a manga from 1976… Hmm… Interesting~

3. Doraemon’s Abiko Awarded

74-year-old co-creator of iconic children’s manga character

On Wednesday, the Japanese government will award the fourth highest Order of the Rising Sun to Motoo Abiko, the co-creator of the Doraemon robot cat that has become one of the most popular characters in Japanese children’s literature. Working under the pseudonym Fujiko Fujio, Abiko and his childhood friend Hiroshi Fujimoto created the Doraemon manga and anime, Q-Taro the Ghost (which was adapted into three separate anime series in 1965, 1971, and 1985), and other works. They later wrote the The Way of Manga autobiography about their early careers as manga artists in the 1950s. The two split up as a creative team in 1987; Abiko took on the pen name “Fujiko Fujio (A)”, while Fujimoto, who passed away in 1996, wrote as “Fujiko F. Fujio.”

The Order of the Rising Sun was founded in 1875 as Japan’s second highest state decoration. The Order’s eight classes, of which the Gold Rays with Rosette is the fourth, are awarded to Japanese citizens for civil and military merit, and to eminent foreigners for contributions to relations between Japan and other countries. “God of Manga” Osamu Tezuka was decorated with the order posthumously in 1989. Other Japanese recipients include writer Eiji Yoshikawa, whose novel served as the basis of the Vagabond manga, and Akira Ifukube, who composed the music for the 1963 anime film The Little Prince, The Eight-Headed Dragon, and the original Godzilla movie. Among the foreigners honored with the order this year are former United States Vice President and 1984 presidential candidate Walter Mondale and Los Angeles Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda.

Doraemon is the first anime character to become the ambassador of Japan for the international scene, after Japan acknowledge that Anime and Manga is a very important export of Japan.

The current Japanese Prime Minister, Prime Minister Taro or the Otaku PM of Japan, is the one that setup Doraemon as the ambassador, when he is the foreign minister.

Looks like Anime and Manga is going to be playing more active part in the promoting of Japan, so look forward to it!

That is all for today… see you tomorrow! I hope…