Hello all,

As you may have read, both MegaVideo and MegaUpload were shut down today by the United States federal government (more info). You may have noticed that a large amount of content that JustDubs linked to was hosted by MegaVideo and MegaUpload. What this means to you is that you can no longer access any of the videos that were being hosted by MegaVideo. The JustDubs staff, however, is committed to you and we are working to replace these links so that you can get access to those videos again. Please be patient with us as we try to resolve this issue as quickly as we can.

Thanks,
Zyklon and all of JustDubs and the Just Anime Network Staff

The official Code Geass website has revealed that a new Code Geass original video animation is coming sometime this year. The spin-off, titled Code Geass: Nunnally in Wonderland, will be released straight to Blu-ray and DVD and will be bundled with a 40-page book which recounts the story.

Returning to the staff from the original Code Geass are character designer Takahiro Kimura, composer Notaro Nakagawa and scriptwriter Yuuichi Nomura. Kimura will also take on the role as animation director. Makota Baba will be directing the project.

[Anime News Network]

The North American anime distributor Media Blasters confirmed that they laid off 60% of their full time staff, dropping from 15 to around 5 or 6. They have stated however that they will continue to keep releasing the same amount of anime as they have previously. Instead of having a larger full time staff they now plan to have more done by freelance workers.

To see a full list of their licenses go here.

Source (ANN):
http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news...t-of-its-staff

Fresh from hollywoodreporter.com the Akira project is being shut down due to casting, script and budget issues. The production offices in Vancouver are being closed and crews told to stop working. According to an inside source, “Everybody is being sent home.”

Jennifer Kiloran Davisson (Appian Way’s) and Andrew Lazar (Mad Chance’s) will get together with director Jaume Collet-Serra for the next two weeks to fix and smooth out the script. It’s unclear if Steve Kloves (Harry Potter), who did a very pricey rewrite a year ago, will be brought in to help. If the issues that came up cannot be resolved, the project could end up being scrapped.

The goal, says an insider, is to bring the budget down to between $60 million and $70 million. However, another source close to the production says the script, rather than the budget, has skidded the production. The project, this person says, will remain in the $90 million range. As everyone can see it’s not a clear issue what the problem is.

Sources close to the project say Akira isn't dead yet. “It’s a very resilient movie,” says one insider. “Warner Bros. just won’t let it die.”

Source: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hea...er-bros-278729
Source2: http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news...tion-shut-down

Ken Iyadomi announced on January 3rd, that Bandai will stop producing new DVD and Blue-ray releases. This will end their market which lasted 13 years. All releases scheduled after the first week in February have been cancelled.

Bandai Entertainment made this decision last October only now releasing it to the public. The corporate parent at Namco Bandai Holdings made the decision to exit the American home video business. Iyadomi stated "The decision was made in Japan by the contents SBU (Strategic Business Unit)." It has been apparent for some time that the business in North America has shrunk a lot over the last half decade. There are huge doubts that the market will return to its glory days.

"The pricing range for our products kept dropping in Western countries, and people tended only to buy sets with very reasonable prices, which we understand is what fans want, but it lead us to a different strategy than what Japanese licensors wanted," he remarked. "So we always had a problem [with licensors wanting something different than what consumers wanted]."

Series still being released: Star Driver, Tales of the Abyss, The Girl Who Leapt Through Space,
Mobile Suit Gundam (the new release of 0079 with Japanese audio)

All releases after February 2012 have been cancelled. To include: Turn A Gundam, My Ordinary Life, Gosick, Gundam UC (episode 5-6)

The above series will not be released and their rights will go back to their licensors.

Manga being cut short: Kannagi, Gurren Lagann, Code Geass: Renya of Darkness, Mobile Suit Gundam OOI, Lucky Star Boo Boo Kabagoo, Tales of the Abyss: Jade in My Memories

--Update--
ANN added a interview with Ken Ken Iyadomi found Here going into more detail about the downsizing.