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An interview with Kari Wahlgren
Date: 2008 September 7th Sunday [11:01] | Posted By: Joe
Category: > Anime
Thanks to go the great folk at AmeCon 2008, we were able to interview their main guest, voice actress Kari Wahlgren. You may have heard her in the American dub of FLCL as Haruko, or Robin in Witch Hunter Robin or Scarlett in Steamboy to name a few of her roles. As well as many video games you've probably played.
Anime Central Vanishes from Sky
Date: 2008 September 6th Saturday [21:08] | Posted By: Joe
Category: > Anime > TV
UK readers with satellite TV may not have noticed the disappearance of UK based anime channel Anime Central from channel 199. For the last few months at least all the channel broadcast was Ghost In the Shell:SAC and Cowboy Bebop in a constant loop, although they are both excellent shows, they're not really something a TV station can exist on alone.
Death Note live action movie US DVD release details
Date: 2008 September 5th Friday [19:04] | Posted By: Joe
Category: > Anime > DVD
The good people from Viz Picture have sent us details of the US DVD release of the live action feature film version of Death Note. Which is due to hit the shelves on September 16th 2008.
Sci-Fi London Oktoberfest
Date: 2008 September 5th Friday [18:45] | Posted By: Joe
Category: > Anime > Film
We've received details about the ever popular Sci-Fi London Event, which returns for a special event scheduled for Friday 3rd October 2008 called Oktoberfest.
It's got a great line up of anime and other Japanese films.
Tickets are on sale now from the Apollo West End box office.
Tel: 020 7451 9944
As always with these events we advise booking early to avoid disappointment.
Free Manchester Anime Screenings
Date: 2008 September 5th Friday [18:00] | Posted By: Joe
Category: > Anime > Film
UK anime fans in Manchester are in for a real treat on Saturday 20th September 2008, where Urbis will be hosting free back to back screenings of 3 feature films from 11am to 5pm. In a nice twist Urbis are allowing people to vote for the final feature.
Seeing these movies on a big screen is great and a must see for every anime fan at least once!
Japanese Cultural Workshop in London
Date: 2008 September 5th Friday [17:48] | Posted By: Joe
Category: > Events
London based fans of Japanese culture will want to head to Orbital Manga in-between Leicester Square and Covent Garden where they'll be having a Japanese Cultural Workshop by Akemi Solloway. The event is scheduled for Saturday 20th September 2008, with two sessions starting at Midday until 2pm, and then 2:30pm until 4:30pm.
Miyazaki at the Venice Film Festival
Date: 2008 September 1st Monday [8:34] | Posted By: Joe
Category: > Anime > Film
BBC News have published an interesting interview with Oscar winning anime director Hayao Miyazaki, focusing on the release of Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea and it's screening at the Venice Film Festival. Oddly they ask about rivialy between Pixar, even though it's well known in fandom that Pixar and Studio Ghibli have strong ties, with John Lasseter and Hayao Miyazaki sharing a great friendship that was even documented on the DVD Thank You, Mr Lasseter.
The article mentions Miyazaki's advancing years, and how he will be over 70 years old when he does his next film.
UK fans will be pleased to hear that the article also mentions Ponyo will get a UK release in April 2009, although it's not clear if this will be a cinematic release or DVD release. Based on our previous experience with Ghibli releases in the UK we're guessing it will have a limited theatrical run first, before a DVD release.
Eye On Anime Interview Helen McCarthy
Date: 2008 August 31st Sunday [13:18] | Posted By: Joe
Category: > Anime
With the upcoming Tezuka Season at London's Barbican, the folks at Eye On Anime have interviewed anime expert and season curator Helen McCarthy.
Tuiteru Cosplay Night in Tokyo
Date: 2008 August 31st Sunday [12:10] | Posted By: Joe
Category: > Freaky Things
Crossplaying readers or indeed those interested in photographing crossplayers in the Tokyo area should be interested to know about a special cosplay event on 2008 September 27th Saturday to promote a new game called TUITERU by C:Drive.
What's also interesting is the venue chosen, Studio Snappy. A venue to photograph cosplayers. It seems that someone in Japan will cater to the every demand of the otaku market!
Fanboys wanted for MTV's True Life
Date: 2008 August 19th Tuesday [16:09] | Posted By: Joe
Category: > Fandom
Our US based readers who like the idea of appearing on TV should consider this request from MTV who are keen to do a True Life episode on Fanboys.
London Lost Girls Signing - Melinda Gebbie and Alan Moore
Date: 2008 August 14th Thursday [16:44] | Posted By: Joe
Category: > Events
We don't normally post articles of this nature, as it's got nothing to do with anime, manga, Japanese culture, but this will be of interest to some of our London readers.
Orbital Comics, will be hosting a book signing for Lost Girls the new work of Melinda Gebbie and Alan Moore
Date: 13th September 2008
Time: 2pm - 4pm
Location: Orbital Comics
Address: 148 Charing Cross Road, London. UK
Festival of Japan, Durham Botanic Gardens
Date: 2008 August 14th Thursday [14:24] | Posted By: Joe
Category: > Events
UK fans of Japanese culture should head over to Durham from the 5th to the 7th of September 2008 to enjoy the Festival of Japan, which will have lot of fun events including a cosplay masquerade, traditional taiko drumming, koto playing, martial arts demonstrations, butoh dance, and even some geisha and maiko!
Totoro Forest Project
Date: 2008 August 12th Tuesday [17:26] | Posted By: Joe
Category: > Events
Fans of Studio Ghibli and those concerned with conservation will be interested to hear about the project to save Sayama Forest, which is also known as Totoro Forest. The project aims to auction off original artwork and sell a book with the collected art, in order to raise money to protect Sayama Forest.
"A fund-raising exhibition / auction to benefit the Totoro No Furusato National Fund, the Japanese non-profit foundation established by Oscar-winning filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki, which is leading efforts to preserve and protect the Sayama Forest. The auction will feature original art created by internationally-acclaimed artists in the fields of animation, comic books, and illustration."
Fans will have to travel to Pixar Animation Studio in Emeryville, California.
Kami-shibai - Japanese Paper Theatre in the UK
Date: 2008 August 12th Tuesday [16:50] | Posted By: Joe
Category: > Events
We've received some interesting details about a very special Kami-shibai showing in the UK. The paper theatre performances from Japan used to entertain children in an age before television. This is form of story telling had a direct influence on the evolution of manga.
Fans in the UK should keep their September free to attend at least one of these extremely rare events:
Friday 19 September: Chester Beatty Library, Dublin www.cbl.ie
Saturday 20 September: Urbis, Manchester www.urbis.org.uk
Sunday 21 September: Liverpool Biennial 08 at "Atelier Bow Wow" www.biennial.com/content/LiverpoolBiennial2008MADEUP/Artists1.aspx
Monday 22 September: Japan Foundation Language Centre, London workshop for Japanese language teachers
Tuesday 23 September: Barbican Centre, London, as part of "Osamu Tezuka 80th Anniversary Season (18 - 23 Sept 2008)" www.barbican.org.uk/ilm/series.asp?id=600
As always with popular events we recommend booking early to avoid disappointment.
Back from AmeCon 2008
Date: 2008 August 10th Sunday [17:50] | Posted By: Joe
Category: > Fandom
I've just got back from AmeCon. Some of the the other Otaku News Crew are still there, having a great time.
We've got a few juicy bits of information that will make some excellent articles once we type them up.
Spike's just sent us details directly from the closing ceremony. Apparently, there won't be an AmeCon next year (2009), there'll be an AyaCon instead, with AmeCon taking a break for a year, while they plan to return for 2010.
To summarise, it was an enjoyable and successful convention to say the least, with lots of work put in by various members of the anime community. With artists supplying artwork, tons of fans in cosplay, plenty of fans volunteering to run panels and others helping out as gophers. Also don't forget dealers supplying eager otaku with goods (yay for merchandise), and a well organised convention committee putting in a lot of effort in behind the scenes making sure everything runs smoothly.
We'll be interested to hear your convention stories from AmeCon 2008, and will publish the best ones if you e-mail them to us. ^_^
Source: Otaku News
500 Essential Anime Movies by Helen McCarthy - out now
Date: 2008 August 5th Tuesday [18:01] | Posted By: Joe
Category: > Anime
We've received details regarding anime expert Helen McCarthy's new book 500 Essential Anime Movies. It's out now in the UK and will be released in the US in a few weeks. You can buy it Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk.
We've always recommend Helen's books for several reasons - they're well written and they're well researched that and they're enjoyable to read. ^_^
Helen goes to a lot of effort to check the facts and details when writing books and it does show. We also recommend Helen McCarthy's publications when researching anime and manga, especially for academic purposes, you can never go wrong citing her work.
The Pirate Anime FAQ Returns
Date: 2008 August 3rd Sunday [16:31] | Posted By: Joe
Category: > Anime
8 years ago, I wrote an FAQ about piracy in anime, and how to avoid buying pirate goods. It started off as a simple guide as part of a site called Anime Digital, but evolved and improved over the years. It's generally regarded as the most comprehensive guide to pirate goods in anime fandom. A mini version has been printed at many anime conventions and distributed among convention staff to quickly spot pirate goods. The anime industry also use it to make anime fans aware of bootleg goods.
For the last 8 years the Pirate Anime FAQ was hosted on the London Anime Club's web server. Unfortunately it's been unavailable since April because of server problems so we have decided to host the guide on Otaku News instead. We'd like to thank the London Anime Club for hosting the Pirate Anime FAQ for the last 8 years.
The Pirate Anime FAQ has been translated into French and German, thanks to the kind help of anime fans. I'll put the French and German translations up soon. However I've made a few small changes to the FAQ to make sure it will fit with the formatting of Otaku News. As a result the translations will need to be updated too.
The old content from Anime Digital is not lost and we're currently deciding if we should integrate the articles into Otaku News, or archive them as a separate site.
So please update your bookmarks, the new URL for the Pirate Anime FAQ is http://www.otakunews.com/piratefaq.php.
London Manga and Anime Art Exhibition
Date: 2008 August 1st Friday [16:22] | Posted By: Joe
Category: > Culture
We've got some details from an Otaku News reader about Manga and Anime Art Exhibition in London, which will run from August to November 2008. The exhibition will be held at at Westminster Reference Library and St John's Wood Library. It's a great opportunity to exhibit work by new an established artists. Highlights include talks by Akemi Solloway on How Manga and Anime's costume is connected with Japanese traditional Culture, plus traditional Japanese dancing, music, and origami.
Naruto PS3 Game Demo Out
Date: 2008 July 31st Thursday [19:55] | Posted By: LittleWoodenBoy
Category: > Gaming > Consoles
A demo of the new Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm PS3 game is now available to download
Read More... | Source: PlayStation Network
British Theme for Fuji Rock Festival 2008
Date: 2008 July 27th Sunday [16:53] | Posted By: Joe
Category: > Culture
BBC News have an interesting article about this years Fuji Rock Festival, which has a British theme, to celebrate 150 years of diplomatic relations between the UK and Japan.
With Union Flags flying everywhere, the article states that many are wearing British themed outfits.
"British acts including The Courteeners, Hard-Fi, Primal Scream and headliners Underworld shared the main stage with Japanese performers on Saturday."
The article also highlights that the Fuji Rock Festival was inspired by Glastonbury.
"We call it the Fuji experience. It is like Glastonbury, but has been perfected in that Japanese way," says the festival's international organiser, Johnnie Fingers (also known as the founding member of The Boomtown Rats).
AmeCon 2008 Competition
Date: 2008 July 20th Sunday [10:54] | Posted By: Joe
Category: > Events
With Leicester based UK anime convention AmeCon less than a month a way, they've decided to launch a great competition where you can win two tickets to the convention, plus free accommodation for the length of the convention.
The press release also details the guest for this year will be voice actress Kari Walgren, who has done a large variety of voice work, including the American dubs for a few anime series - Haruko in FLCL, Scarlett in Steamboy, Robin in Witch Hunter Robin and Lavie in Last Exile.
London Barbican Osamu Tezuka Season
Date: 2008 July 17th Thursday [15:37] | Posted By: Joe
Category: > Anime > Film
We've received some exciting news from the London Barbican about a special Osamu Tezuka Season they'll be running from Thursday 18th to Wednesday 24th of September 2008.
The season is curated by anime expert Helen McCarthy (who's written tons of good books and articles on anime and manga). The line is up a great showcase of Tezuka's work, with The Film Is Alive: Osamu Tezuka Filmography looking especially interesting, as it we're certain Helen will bring an informative take on the panel with the event.
Osamu Tezuka is the granddaddy of anime and manga, without doubt the most influential and inspiration artist, as always with these events we suggest you book early to avoid disappointment.
Manga Artists Design Soul Calibur 4 Characters
Date: 2008 July 10th Thursday [19:28] | Posted By: LittleWoodenBoy
Category: > Gaming > Consoles
The manga artists behind Tenjou Tenge, My-HiME, Keroro Gunsou and more have designed characters for the upcoming Soul Calibur 4 fighting game.
UK division of Bandai announces Blu-Ray titles
Date: 2008 July 7th Monday [20:02] | Posted By: Eeeper
Category: > Anime > DVD
European arm of Namco Bandai announces two titles for release in November 2008 on Blu-Ray format
Video Games Live: Volume One album details
Date: 2008 July 7th Monday [17:47] | Posted By: Joe
Category: > Gaming
We've got some exciting news from Video Games Live, the popular Video Games themed concert with orchestras and choirs will be releasing an album soon. The digital release will be downloadable in the UK from July 7th, 2008 on iTunes, with the CD release staggered to coincide with Video Games Live events, beginning in San Diego, California on July 24th and Leipzig, Germany on August 20th.
The Track listing is as follows:
1 - Kingdom Hearts
2 - Warcraft Suite
3 - Myst Medley
4 - Medal of Honor (Live)
5 - Civilization IV Medley
6 - Tetris Piano Opus No. 1
7 - God of War Montage (LIVE)
8 - Advent Rising Suite
9 - Tron Montage
10 - Halo Suite
11 - Castlevania Rock (LIVE)
We're looking forward to this release as Video Games live is great fun. ^_^
Celebrity Japanese bloggers
Date: 2008 July 7th Monday [3:31] | Posted By: Joe
Category: > Websites
Wired are currently running an interesting story about celebrity Japanese bloggers. The article states "They're good-looking, they're geeky and they love to blog". It then has a profile of each blogger along with a photo.
Manga Matinee at the Institute of Contemporary Arts
Date: 2008 July 2nd Wednesday [8:31] | Posted By: Voxie
Category: > Anime
The Institute is nicely located, just around the corner from Trafalgar Square, London. Throughout July 2008, there will be a run of the following manga-inspired shows, both animated and otherwise:
Origin: Spirits of the Past (12th-14th July)
Ping Pong (19th July)
Hellboy Animated: Sword of Storm (26th July)
Hellboy Animated: blood and Iron (27th July)
Vexille (20th July)
Tickets: £8 / £7 Concessions / £6 ICA Members.
BFI Spirited Away Book out now
Date: 2008 June 26th Thursday [16:53] | Posted By: Joe
Category: > Anime > Film
Fans of Studio Ghibli will be interested to know that the BFI have just published a new book on Spirited Away, written by Andrew Osmond.
An interview with Makoto Shinkai
Date: 2008 June 22nd Sunday [18:17] | Posted By: Joe
Category: > Anime > Film
Otaku News went to a BFI screening of Makoto Shinkai's 5 Centimeters Per Second and was lucky enough to get an exclusive chance to have a private chat with Mr Shinkai, the writer and anime director.
London anime screenings add more seats for the weekend
Date: 2008 June 20th Friday [19:20] | Posted By: Joe
Category: > Anime > Film
Following on from our article on the BFI Southbank London Anime Screenings for this weekend (20th to 22nd of July 2008), we're pleased to report that due to popular demand they've increased the capacity of some of the screenings by moving them to larger cinema screens in the venue. So in other words, if you tried to book for a screening or were unaware of the screenings, then try booking now if you fancy a seeing some great anime.
PiQ To Stop
Date: 2008 June 17th Tuesday [17:31] | Posted By: LittleWoodenBoy
Category: > Culture
PiQ's July issue to be its last.
Manga Jiman '150'- Japanese Embassy in UK launch manga competition
Date: 2008 June 16th Monday [6:28] | Posted By: Azure
Category: > Culture
Time to get drawing! The Japanese embassy in the UK has launched another manga contest. This time on the theme of '150'. Entrants must be over fourteen and live in the U.K, the manga must be between six and eight pages. The closing date is the 26 September.
Prizes are as follows:
The amazing First Prize is two (2) return air tickets to Japan, courtesy of All Nippon Airways!
The Second Prize is a fabulous TOSHIBA laptop computer.
Third Prize is a superb RICOH digital camera.
Death Note live action movie UK DVD release details
Date: 2008 June 13th Friday [16:14] | Posted By: Joe
Category: > Anime > DVD
Fans of killer stationary supplied by death gods should take a note that we've received the UK DVD release details for the first Death Note Live Action Movie. The DVD will be released on 28th July 2008. 4Digital Media will also be releasing the other two Death Note features, with Death Note The Last Name showing in cinemas from 4th July 2008, and L Change The World coming soon.
Tokyo knifeman blogged killing spree on mobile phone
Date: 2008 June 9th Monday [3:36] | Posted By: Joe
Category: > Current Affairs
On an update on the fatal knife attack in Akihabara, The Times are reporting that the knifeman Tomohiro Kato had apparently been blogging the preparations to the attack on his mobile phone.
Yakuza Man Kills Seven in Akihabara
Date: 2008 June 8th Sunday [11:39] | Posted By: Spike
Category: > Current Affairs
Seven people are dead and another eleven have been injured in Akihabara today as a Yakuza man said to be "tired of life" has gone on a stabbing rampage in the district.
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