Astro Boy Returns

Wow, what's up with all the anime properties being snapped up for re-creation this week? First we had the Ishimori properties teaming up with CBM, then news of a Neon Genesis Evangelion relaunch with four animated Japanese flicks, followed by a deal to bring the old favorite Lupin the Third to live-action, big-screen glory. And today brings us yet another, as the long-time popular star of anime and manga, Astro Boy*, is set for a relaunch.

Imagi Animation Studios has snapped up the rights to the famous property from Tezuka Productions. But fear not, traditionalist fans; the plan is not to sell this sucker to a big American company and watch it turn into a live action flick. Honestly, it probably wouldn't sell at all in that form. The plan is more similar to what is being done with Evangelion, as Astro Boy will be brought back to animated life in 3D form, possibly as early as 2009. Oh, and the CEO of Imagi grew up on Astro Boy and considers himself a big fan, so we can at least hope he'll make sure it gets a proper treatment, right?

*For those of you who don't know, Astro Boy is frequently credited as being one of the first -- if not the very first -- "anime" television series.