New Bleach Episodes Return to Adult Swim Tonight

Episode 168 premieres in U.S. at 1:00 a.m.

Adult Swim, the late-night programming block of the Cartoon Network in the United States, is bringing back new episodes of Bleach to its lineup tonight. Bleach episode 168 will premiere at 1:00 a.m., right after the premiere of Kekkaishi episode 14 at 12:30 a.m. The new episodes of Kekkaishi and Bleach will then repeat at 4:30 a.m. and 5:00 a.m., respectively. The rest of the night's anime programming consists of reruns of Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, Inuyasha, Cowboy Bebop, and Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex.

The anime adaptation of Tite Kubo's Bleach manga launched in Japan in 2004, and it then launched on Adult Swim in the United States in 2006. This past March, Adult Swim posted a schedule which featured no new Bleach episodes for April, effectively putting the series on hiatus. In the meantime, Crunchyroll began simulcasting Bleach with English subtitles as it airs in Japan in June, and the Viz Anime website began "quick-casting" episodes one week after their Japanese broadcast that same month.

Ouran High School Host Club Manga to End in September

Ending marked by art contest, CD of favorite quotes by anime cast

The October issue of Hakuskensha's shōjo manga magazine LaLa has confirmed on Tuesday that Bisco Hatori's romantic comedy manga Ouran High School Host Club will end with a 52-page chapter in the next issue on September 24. The magazine had already announced in June that the series was entering its final story arc.

In the story, high school freshman Haruhi pretends to be a boy so that she can take part in the wealthy school's Host Club, to which she owes a large debt. The manga launched in LaLa in August of 2003, and Viz Media licensed the manga and launched its North American release in July of 2005. The manga has been among the top-ranked titles both in Japan and

In April 2006, a 26-episode anime began in Japan with Maaya Sakamoto as Haruhi and Mamoru Miyano as Host Club president Tamaki. Funimation licensed and released the anime in North America in 2008.

To mark the end of the manga, LaLa launched a "Host Club: The Last Party" fan campaign to give away presents. The campaign included an illustration contest for fan art, as well as votes for the fans' favorite "Title Page Illustration Selection" and favorite quotes from the manga ("The Best Collection"). The cast of Ouran's anime adaptation then recorded the top-ranking quotes for a CD. The CD is being offered to readers via a mail-away offer starting in the October issue.

TV Tokyo Exec: Crunchyroll Broke Even in Month of May (Updated)

TV Tokyo's animation head Akihiko Tamura makes comment on streaming site

Akihiko Tamura, a managing executive officer at TV Tokyo and the general manager of its animation division, revealed during a TV Tokyo meeting on Friday that the media-distribution website Crunchyroll had broken even during the month of May. Crunchyroll, which is best known for streaming anime worldwide, had announced in March that TV Tokyo had made a US$750,000 strategic investment for a minority stake in Crunchyroll. Tamura did not indicate if Crunchyroll has continued to stay in the black since May.

Crunchyroll began streaming TV Tokyo's Naruto anime series in January of 2009 — the same month it stopped accepting user-submitted videos and other content from individuals, and began only hosting videos approved by copyright holders. The site began streaming TV Tokyo's Bleach anime last month.

TV Tokyo established its animation division in April of 2009 to consolidate its existing anime businesses. Among other duties, Tamura is involved in TV Tokyo's ongoing Anime no Chikara lineup of programs with the anime production company Aniplex.

Source: animeanime.biz

Update: Crunchyroll itself had revealed during its Anime Expo panel on Thursday that it broke even in May. Thanks, zetsuie.