Tokyo Anime Fair Announces Its 2008 Anime Awards Rules
The 2008 Tokyo International Anime Fair (TAF) has announced the rules for the Submitted Works section of its annual Tokyo Anime Awards. The section is open to individuals of any age or nationality, as well as groups, but only films that have never been televised, broadcast or made available for sale are eligible for the competition. The jury will award one grand prize of 1,000,000 yen (about US$8,700) and two second prizes of 300,000 yen (US$2,600) each in the general and student categories. Further awards may be presented by TAF's corporate sponsors, and any participating film may also be honored with a special award. Applications for the competition will be open on November 1, and works can be submitted until December 20.

Code-E Anime's Second Season Announced
Avex Entertainment's official blog for the CODE-E supernatural comedy series has reported that a second season was announced at an event. The combined mini-concert and meet-and-greet event marked the debut single of B.B. Girls (Biri-Biri Girls), the group formed by the four main female character voices (Mai Hashimoto, Kaori Nazuka, Risa Mizuno, Halko Momoi) of the anime. The first season's 12th and last episode aired on September 18.

Tachigui Sequel announced at Tokyo Film Fest
Director Mamoru Oshii introduced his latest project on Sunday along with the other directors and cast members involved in the film. All of the directors and most of the main cast of Shin-Onna Tachigui Retsuden (True Female Tachigui: The Amazing Lives of the Fast Food Grifters), the live-action sequel to the experimental animated film Tachigui Retsuden, showed up at TIFF for the premiere. The film is a collection of short films by Oshii and other directors that all deal with the theme of food.

Amatsuki Manga to be Adapted for Anime
The December issue (on sale October 27) of Ichijinsha's Monthly Comic Zero-Sum magazine will announce that Studio DEEN is animating Amatsuki, Shinobu Takayama's fantasy manga about two high school boys trapped in a fully immersive, virtual recreation of 19th-century Japan. According to a Moon Phase blog entry, Kazuhiro Furuhashi (Rurouni Kenshin, Le Chevalier D'Eon, Getbackers) will direct the project, as well as co-write the scripts with Chieko Suzuki. Shinobu Tagashira (Shonen Onmyouji, Hunter X Hunter) will design the characters. Five manga volumes have been published so far.

New Yatterman Promotional Movie
The animation company Tatsunoko Production has posted a new promotional movie to announce its 2008 remake of the 1970s Yatterman science fiction comedy series. The remake will premiere on January 14, 2008. Takara Tomy Group, the umbrella company of Tatsunoko, is projecting 10 billion yen (about US$100 million) in annual sales from the franchise.

Anmitsu-hime Gets Television Drama
Anmitsu-hime, Shuosuke Kurakane's classic shōjo comedy manga series that first ran from 1949 to 1955, is being revived in a live-action television drama special that will air on Japan's Fuji TV next January. Mao Inoue (live-action Hana Yori Dango's Tsukushi) will star as Anmitsu-hime, a headstrong princess who gets into mischief in a fanciful feudal land known as Amakara. The original manga had already spawned a 1954-60 live-action film series, a 1983-84 live-action drama television series starring Kyoko Koizumi, a 1986-87 manga remake by Izumi Takemoto in Nakayoshi magazine, and a 1986-87 anime television series by Studio Pierrot.

Afro Samurai Sequel Confirmed
Afro Samurai creator Takashi Okazaki has confirmed that a second Afro Samurai anime television series, continuing the storyline from the first series, is now in production. The second series will air on the American Spike TV network in early 2008.More at: ANN