Over the last couple of weeks, a large number of high profile new anime series, sequels and movies have been confirmed as being in-production.

• Leading the list is the long-rumored Trigun movie, which is now due for a theatrical release in Japan during 2009. The movie will reunite the sci-fi western's TV anime director Satoshi Nishimura with animation studio Madhouse for an original story (penned by creator Yasuhiro Nightow) based on the popular premise of seeing "Vash vs. Wolfwood".

Other new anime series\features to have been announced include...:

• ... A third season of the popular high-school comedy School Rumble (the first season of which is currently being released in the UK by Revelation Films).
• ... A fourth season of the fan favourite fantasy/comedy Slayers (which will be based on an anime-only story, not Hajime Kanzaka's original novels).
• ... A theatrical movie version of GAINAX's newest mecha anime Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann. It's not clear whether this movie will be an original story or simply a condensed retelling of the highly rated TV series.
• ... A new one-minute teaser trailer for Mamoru Oshii's forthcoming sci-fi theatrical movie 'The Sky Crawlers' has been released online. Many have compared the movie's cloudy aesthetic to that of Gonzo's air-ship fantasy Last Exile.
• And finally, coming to Japan's late night 'noitaminA' strain of TV anime is an adaptation of Fumi Yoshinaga's dramatic shojo/josei manga Antique Bakery. It's a popular story about a group of four men running a cake shop called "Antique" which was original serialized as manga from 1999 to 2002.