Bandai America, which has already brought toys, figures, and models from G Gundam, Escaflowne, The Big O, and Cowboy Bebop to the States, introduced toys based on four hot new anime properties at the 2003 Toy Fair in New York. 

 

Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam

Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam is one of the most recent series to feature the giant mechas known as 'Gundams.'  Bandai Entertainment will release the 50-episode Zeta Gundam series on DVD, while Bandai America is producing Zeta Gundam toys with the latest cutting edge toy technology.  In addition to models, Bandai is producing a 4.5' line of action figures with 14 points of articulation, deluxe 4.5' figures with more than 20 points of articulation, and 7.5' figures with more than 25 points of articulation.

 

s.CRY.ed

Produced by Sunrise Animation (Cowboy Bebop), s.CRY.ed takes place in a world devastated by a mysterious environmental catastrophe, which has altered some individuals, giving them special powers.  Fans of the X-Men can imagine the dynamic between the 'Alters' and those who wish to eliminate them.  Bandai Entertainment is planning a series of extra-filled s.CRY.ed DVD releases.

 

.hack//SIGN

Bandai has already announced 'dot-hack' anime DVDs (see 'Details on Dot Hack Limited Edition'), the show is on Cartoon Network (see 'Dot Hack Debuts on Cartoon Network in February'), and the 'dot-hack' video game for PS2 is being released with a DVD enclosed (see 'Dot hack DVD with PS2 Game').  Other merchandising elements surrounding this multi-platform, media-savvy property include a series of versatile action figures based on character designs by Yoshiyuki Sadamato.

 

Kikaider

Shotaro Ishinomori who was, along with Osamu Tezuka, one of the founding fathers of manga created this saga of a human-like robot -- as well as other classic properties including Kamen Rider and Cyborg 009.  Kikaider was a hugely popular live-action 'kaiju' series that ran for years before the development of the recent Kikaider anime series, which Bandai is bringing to the U.S. in the summer of 2003.