Cel Shaded Jason Yadao

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Looking out for what’s hot in 2007

As wE plunge headlong into this new year, many questions await. What are the new series to watch for stateside? What trends will be hot? Gaze into my crystal ball as I take a look at what to watch for ...

"Afro Samurai" (Funimation): Spike TV, home of professional wrestling, mixed martial arts fighting ... and anime? Who knew? With Samuel L. Jackson voicing a samurai looking to avenge the death of his father, as well as Hawaii-born Kelly Hu among the voice actors, there should be some mainstream crossover interest there.

Blu-Ray vs. HD-DVD: One format could become the next VHS; the other, Beta. Or they could coexist nicely. Either way, we're seeing the beginnings of the future of how we watch our anime.

I suspect a key to Blu-Ray's success will be whether Sony's PlayStation 3, which uses the technology, reaches critical mass. If it does, expect a positive bounce similar to what the PlayStation 2 did for DVDs.

Illumitoon Entertainment: The new kid on the anime block made up of former Funimation executives has already made some noise by picking up "AM Driver," "Beet the Vandel Buster," "Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo" and "BT'X," then turning around and delaying their initial releases by at least three weeks per title.

In any event, those initial releases will go a long way toward determining whether this startup can hang with the big boys or will fall by the wayside.

"The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya" (Kadokawa Pictures via Bandai): Newtype USA has listed that this anime about a universe-manipulating girl as the most popular among Japanese fans for several months running. Oahu Anime Explorer also screened a fan-subtitled version of it last year.

Seven Seas Entertainment's Strawberry line: Yaoi, the anime and manga genre that focuses on certain, umm, relationships between pretty male characters, has gained momentum stateside over the past few years. Seven Seas is betting that audiences will take to yuri -- similar to yaoi, except featuring pretty female characters -- with several titles in this new manga imprint.

While Seven Seas isn't the first publisher to release yuri -- ALC Publishing did -- it is the highest-profile publisher to date to release such material. If Seven Seas proves successful, expect other publishers to hop on the yuri bandwagon.

"Sgt. Frog" (ADV Films): The anime version of the manga, about a group of would-be world-conquering alien frogs, finally begins its American run. Hopefully, this release will be chock full of "AD-Vid Notes" to explain cultural references that often go unnoticed in the Tokyopop manga.

"Shin-chan" (Funimation): A "test run" on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim lineup revealed an English dub that retained little of the original Japanese version's charm. Will island fans finally get the "pure" form they want when the DVDs come out, or will they still have to resort to trading years-old copies of old videotapes?