Funimation has a knack for kicking off the new year on a busy note.

The anime publisher's “;New Show A-Go-Go”; initiative in December 2008 welcomed 2009 with announcements of 12 new anime.

This year's event, held last week and dubbed “;The 2010 Roll-Out Riot,”; wasn't quite as busy. In fact, it seemed early on that the only rioting would be started by anime fans disappointed that only live-action films were being licensed.

Granted, there were 15 Shaw Brothers movies to make fans of Chinese films happy and “;Kamui Gaiden”; to please fans of action-adventures starring ninjas. There was also “;RoboGeisha,”; featuring robotic scantily clad geishas, mechanized buildings that slice other buildings in half (causing them to spurt geysers of blood), fried shrimp used as lethal projectiles and sharp objects piercing areas I dare not mention lest this column lose its self-imposed PG-13 rating. (The target audience for that movie, I'd imagine, would be the 5 percent of you who weren't horrified by that description. And perverts.)

But for those who prefer their entertainment in 2-D animated form, there wasn't much to get excited about. And then the announcement of the return of “;FLCL”; came along, and all was lollipops and roses with the world once more.

Ever since the show aired in Cartoon Network's Adult Swim lineup in 2003, fans have grown to love its crazy story about a boy living in a town with a giant steam iron-shaped structure on a hill, a Vespa scooter-riding pink-haired alien girl wielding an electric guitar as a weapon and a robot with a TV set for a head bursting out of the boy's head. Its solid English voice cast and its rocking soundtrack by Japanese band the Pillows were also selling points.

The problem is that the DVD license belonged to Synch-Point, the anime branch of Broccoli International USA that released five series in its seven-year history before sinking into bankruptcy with the rest of Broccoli in 2008. While “;FLCL”; was its brightest star, the company didn't publish many copies of it; consequently, copies of the 2006 “;Ultimate Edition,”; considered until now the definitive DVD collection of the six-episode series, have been fetching anywhere from $81 to $272 on eBay. (The set originally cost $69.99.)

Funimation's announcement might be the bane of eBay entrepreneurs, but it'll likely help fans still looking for the set. The new editions, to be sold as a complete set in DVD and Blu-ray, will arrive in stores later this year.

While “;Jyushin Enbu Hero Tales,”; “;Master of Martial Hearts”; (known as “;Zettai Shougeki ~Platonic Heart~”; in Japan) and “;The Sacred Blacksmith”; were also picked up by Funimation, the other series I'm keeping my eye on is “;Axis Powers Hetalia.”; Cosplayers in the know have already adopted this series as one of their own, and for good reason: Never before has international conflict between the two world wars looked so stylish. Each of the major players — Germany, Italy, Japan, etc. — is represented by a single character, and those characters have comic adventures based on world history.

That 52-episode series, which seems substantial until you realize that each episode is only five minutes long, will be released in two parts later this year.

MEETING ROLL CALL

» Kawaii Kon: Volunteer staff meeting and potluck to be held at 11 a.m. Saturday at Kakaako Waterfront Park. Newcomers are welcome. For more information, sign up for the forums online.

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Jason S. Yadao is the author of Rough Guides' “;The Rough Guide to Manga,”; now available. For more anime and manga news and commentary, check out “;Otaku Ohana”; at blogs.starbulletin.com/otakuohana. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/jsyadao or e-mail him at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).