An anime adaptation of the seinen manga Shigurui, written by Norio Nanjo and drawn by Takayuki Yamaguchi, has been announced and is planned to be aired in September.

Last month Shogakukan requested a doujinshi artist to cease publication of his work, a doujinshi titled Doraemon - Final Episode. The doujinshi was released at Comiket 69 (Winter 2005). The work was drawn and written so well that many fans thought it was the official conclusion to Doraemon.

Although the doujinshi's author has stopped distributing the work, the Mandarake store in Akihabara has put up a poster that says: "Doraemon - Final Episode for 8,000 yen."

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According to Japan Economic Times, Kadokawa Group Holdings has announced its plan to establish a new content management division, which will handle content copyrights.

From a translation by ANS:

The new company will handle the copyright of about 500 titles, including Tokikake, to start off with. A game unit spin-off will produce the first ever Haruhi Suzumiya video game adaptation as its initial project.

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On March 14th, 11 manga artists filed a 22 million yen lawsuit for "illegally distributing copyrighted works without permission." against the 2 men who operated the manga download site 464.jp.

The website, 464.jp, hosted manga scans that amounted to over 17,000 volumes, including 1,300 titles by nearly 700 authors. In February 2006 the men were arrested and later found guilty of copyright infringement. In June 2006, 464.jp was relaunched as a website that aims to raise new manga artists.

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Manga top 10 according to Tohan.

1. One Piece Vol.45
2. Gintama Vol.17
3. Katekyo Hitman Reborn! Vol.14
4. The Prince of Tennis Vol.37
5. Kiniro no Corda Vol.8
6. Steel Ball Run Vol.11
7. Shin Say Hello to Black Jack Vol.1
8. Gyagu Manga Biyori Vol.8
9. One-Pound Gospel Vol.4
10. Rurouni Kenshin Perfect Edition Vol.17 + 18

Ken Akamatsu wrote in the 2/27 entry of his online dairy that a Negima-related surprise will be announced in April.

Recently Japanese fans discovered a post on actress Ai Tanimoto's blog (currently unavailable), which mentions that a Negima! live-action drama is planned for the upcoming year, and that she will be playing the role of one of the girls.

There has been no official confirmation regarding a Negima! live-action drama.

ICv2 reports that famed video game company Namco Bandai Holdings, publisher Kadokawa and animation house Toei have recently completed a series of cross-investments. The deal is seen as a effort to strengthen the relationship among all three content producers.

Source: ANN

A new manga titled My-Otome Arashi will begin serialization in Akita Shoten's Weekly Shonen Champion issue 18 (3/29). The new manga is written by Higuchi Tatsuhito & Yoshino Hiroyuki and drawn by Sato Kenetsu, the same team that worked on My-Otome.

Also a new series titled Shiritsu Sousei Gakuen by Nikuboshi will begin serialization in issue 17 (3/22) of Weekly Shonen Champion.

Source: Ultimatum Chat

Adult TV star Ai Iijima (34), author and star of the hentai manga Time Traveler Ai, has announced on her TBS "Sunday Japon" program her plan to retirement from the show business.

Shogakukan has announced the suspension of its BL (Boy's Love) light novel label Palette Bunko. The last light novels published under the Palette label were released in December 2006. The Palette Bunko will be replaced by two new light novel labels, Gagaga and Lululu, from Shogakukan in Fall 2007.