Soichi Negishi is your basic mellow guy who wants to sing pop love songs and be a kindergarten teacher. The fact that he has problems with a lady friend named Yuri Aikawa is rather cliched, but the real problem is that he lives a double life as Johannes Krauser II, song writer and front man of the becoming famous death metal band, Detroit Metal City, where the title of this OVA and the manga that spawned it comes from. What could have been rather stale romantic comedy is pushed aside by the over-the-top ridiculousness of Krauser, his band members, and their music.

Set on the Eastern Front of World War II? Interesting.

Features a katana-wielding Russian girl? Well, that is slightly different.

Produced by Studio 4°C? Now you have my attention.

Nazi zombies? Wait.... let me try that again: Nazi zombies?!? I'm sold!

Studio 4°C is working with the Russian-Canadian animation company Molot Entertainment to produce this World War II action OAV series.

Big thanks to Steven for the heads up!

By the looks of it, Media Blasters has acquired Mahou Shoujo Tai! This series is also called Tweeny Witches1, which will most likely be the official title as released in the U.S.

1. 1. This looked to be an alternate title from the start, since the official site for the series was http://www.tweeny-witches.com/

Am I crazy enough to drive a bit over a thousand miles to this?

Hmm...

Koji Morimoto is a name I only became familiar with in the anime world in the past couple of years, when I first stumbled on a copy of the high-energy short Noiseman Sound Insect. This was when I thought "Ah ha! There are people out in the anime world that really understand how to use 3D computer graphics as an aid, not as a replacement to 2D hand-drawn art!". This was when I started seeking out more works from Studio 4°C, the animation studio behind that amazing short film.

So when I saw this Anime New Network "Buried Treasure" article on Bobby's In Deep (Official English title: Bobby's Girl), the note about Koji Morimoto's 3-minute sequence at the end of the movie caught my immediate attention. Bobby's Girl was one of Madhouse's early works made in 1985 about a underachieving teen who is obsessed with motorcycles. Because it's long out-of-print, it will be extremely difficult to find a copy (legal or otherwise) of this 44 minute film.

One of the biggest things that intrigued me about Tekkon Kinkreet is not just the reception it already received in Japan, nor the fact that it was produced by Studio 4ºC (Though that is the major reason I first took notice of this movie), but the fact that it was directed by an American. A rookie American director, at that. Though Micheal Arias has lived in Japan for 15 years and has worked with Studio 4ºC in the past on projects like the Animatrix, this is the time a westerner was at the helm of a Japanese animated feature.

And, more importantly, AniPages Daily has an excellent interview with the man! There's also information after the interview about the premier of the movie in New York City on April 25-30 for those who are in the area.