Otaku News

Crunchyroll Commission Anime Mural in London's Shoreditch

Date: 2022 May 18 19:22 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

The good folks from anime mega company Crunchyroll have taken marketing to the next level in the hipster central part of London by commissioning a mural in Shoreditch.

The hand painted artwork features mascot Crunchyroll-Hime along with promos for Spy x Family,
he Rising Of Shield Hero Season 2 and One Piece. The 14.5m x 6.6m mural is on Chance Street, near Shoreditch Overground opposite Box Park.

The mural was done by Global Street Art Agency who also did a great Belle mural in Camden this February to celebrate the cinema release of Mamoru Hosoda's latest film.

Crunchyroll would also like you know that they'll be screening Spy x Family and The Rising of the Shield Hero at MCM Comic Con London this May too.

We hope that anime murals become a regular thing in London! It's great seeing anime getting such prominent advertising in London.

Read More... | Souce: Crunchyroll

Early Japanese Animation at London's Barbican this June 2022

Date: 2022 May 17 19:30 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime > Film

The good folks from the Barbican in London have just sent us details of a very special cinema screening of Early Japanese Animation with live and electronic accompaniment by the Guildhall' School with Benshi narration. The screening and performance is will run on Sunday 5th June 2022 at 15:00 at Barbican Cinema 1.

It's not everyday you get a selection of rarely screened early Japanese animation, showing some of the very first anime films, accompanied by electro-acoustic music with Benshi narration! Tomoko Komura will be performing the benshi narration. The films span from 1925 to 1935.

Crunchyrolll Announces Chainsaw Man Streaming Rights

Date: 2022 May 16 19:01 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

The good folks from anime mega company Crunchyroll have just revealed that they have the streaming rights for the upcoming Chainsaw Man anime series. Crunchyroll state that it'll be shown sometime in 2022 in one of the upcoming seasons simulcast. They've yet to confirm a release date. It'll be released subbed and with dubs in English, Latin American Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, French and German.

The Chainsaw Man anime series will be animated by MAPPA who are best known for Attack on Titan Final Season; Jujutsu Kaisen, Yuri!!! on Ice and many more. The Chainsaw man manga is created by Tatsuki Fujimoto who blends action, horror and violence with the occasional comedic twist. Part of the joy of the series is you can't predict where it's going next. Fujimoto has also created some amazing stand alone one shot manga titles, which suggest you read Look Back and Goodbye, Eri, which can be read on Viz.com.

You can buy the manga from all good booksellers, including Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk.

Read More... | Souce: Crunchyroll

AKIRA - The Architecture of Neo Tokyo Exhibition in Berlin

Date: 2022 May 15 15:21 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

Fans of anime, Akira and architecture in Berlin are in for a treat with the AKIRA - The Architecture of Neo Tokyo at the Tchoban Foundation. Museum for Architectural Drawing. Setup by Riekeles Gallery in co-operation with Tchoban Foundation the exhibition is schedule to run from Saturday 4th June until Sunday 4th September 2022.

It features 59 original production backgrounds, layout drawings, concept designs and imageboards which had been used to create Neo Tokyo in the landmark anime film Akira. Some artworks that have never been presented in an exhibition before and only very few of them have ever been published.

The Riekeles Gallery was founded by Stefan Riekeles, who has curated anime architecture exhibitions in London and elsewhere, published books on anime architecture and more.

Outdoor Cinema Screenings at the Barbican include Princess Mononoke and Mothra this August 2022

Date: 2022 May 13 22:43 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime > Film

The good folks from the Barbican in London have sent us details of their up coming Outdoor Cinema. It's set to run from Tuesday 23rd August until Sunday 28th August 2022. The theme is our connection to the natural world, which ties in nicely with with films our readers will like.

The classic kaiju Mothra film from 1961 will be shown on Wednesday 24th August 2002 at 20:00.

While fans of Studio Ghibli can enjoy Hayao Miyazaki's Princess Mononoke on Saturday 27th August 2022 at 20:30. Miyazaki's action adventure movie is always a joy to catch on the big screen!

It's not everyday you get to see such great movies fantastic location outdoors. As always with events like these we advise booking early to avoid disappointment.

Crunchyroll Announces Release of Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero

Date: 2022 May 10 19:39 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime > Film

The good folks from anime media giant Crunchyroll have just announced that Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero the movie will be released globally this summer 2022. The movie will debut in Japan on 11th June 2022, and then be released in cinemas across the globe in Summer 2022.

The latest offering from the hugely popular franchise sees the return of the Red Ribbon army with new foes for our fighters. This is the second film in the Dragon Ball Super franchise. Dragon Ball Super: Broly was released in 2018 to fans around the globe. It grossed over $120 million at the box office globally and is the 5th highest-grossing anime movie at the box office in the US. We imagine this movie will perform similarly!

Read More... | Souce: Crunchyroll

My Neighbour Totoro The Stage Play

Date: 2022 April 27 20:37 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Production > Studio Ghibli

The good folks from the Royal Shakespeare Company have just revealed they will be performing a live production of My Neighbour Totoro.

The production will come to London's Barbican stage this autumn 2022. Based on the iconic and highly influential animated feature film by Hayao Miyazaki, the performance is being brought to the by Joe Hisaishi who composed the original music for Totoro and is a long term Studio Ghibli collaborator. The RSC adaption is written by playwright Tom Morton-Smith. The show will also feature various puppetry. It's not clear yet how the furry forest king Totoro will be portrayed, or how they'll handle the catbus!

My Neighbour Totoro will play a strictly limited 15-week season from 8th October 2022 - 21nd January 2023.

Ticket prices range from £20 to £85, with up to two half-price tickets with every full price paying adult. Valid for all performances excluding Saturday evenings. Various discounts are also offered for class bookings, UK schools, colleges and Universities, groups of 10+. There are also special TikTok £10 tickets for 14-25 year olds.

Tickets are available from the 9th May 2022 for top tier RSC Patrons, with tickets being available to the various RSC patron tiers until they're released to the general public on Thursday 19 May 2022. Tickets bookable online from 10am.

We have only seen the preview material, but we have every reason to believe this will be a very special production.

This is not the first time the works of Studio Ghibli and Hayao Miyazaki have hit the stage in the UK. In 2016 the Southwark Playhouse created a version of Kiki's Delivery Service, based on the original book. It was so successful it returned for a second run in 2017. While in 2013 the Whole Hog Theatre Company created a stage adaptation of Hayao Miyazaki's Princess Mononoke.

While more recently a stage adaption of Spirited Away is proving to be a huge it in Japan.

The Rising of the Shield Hero Audio Book Volume 2

Date: 2022 April 21 19:51 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Press Releases

With The Rising of Shield Hero returning to Crunchyroll fans might want even more isekai adventures. The good folks from One Peace Books will be releasing Volume 2 of the audio book version the series on May 3rd 2022. It'll be available wherever audiobooks are sold: Amazon, Apple Books, Audible, NOOK Audiobooks, Spotify, Audiobooks.com, and more.

Mamoru Hosoda's Belle UK Blu-ray and DVD Release Details

Date: 2022 April 12 12:51 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime > DVD

The good folks at anime company Anime Limited have just revealed the UK DVD and Blu-ray release details for Mamoru Hosoda and Studio Chizu's masterpiece Belle. The film is due out on home video formats on Monday 27th June 2022. They'll also be releasing a special feature-packed 4K UHD Blu-ray Collector's Edition that includes the awesome soundtrack to the film, along with a nice book, art cards and an A3 poster.

Pre-orders open on Friday 28th April 2022 at 5PM.

We really enjoyed this movie and if you've already seen it we know you'll be ordering the home video release! If you want to know more about the movie then read our review.

Kotatsu Japanese Animation Festival Presents Free Animation Workshops this April 2022

Date: 2022 April 08 11:49 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Events

Anime fans looking for something to do virtually will be pleased to hear that the Kotatsu Japanese Animation Festival will be hosting free Animation workshop in April 2022.

First up on Saturday 9 April 2022 at 11am - 12:30pm (UK time) they'll be hosting an on-line Anime Education Workshop with Anime critic Ryota Fujitsu. The theme will be Ghibli classic Spirited Away, so watch it beforehand. It's free to sign up, but booking is essential for Microsoft Teams Meeting.

For those who can get to Cardiff Central Library, they'll be a 5-Day Animation Workshop from Monday 25th to 29th April 2022. It's set to run from 10am until 4pm each day and is suitable for those aged 8 and above. As always please book in advance.

Discotek Media Announces Licences for Q2 2022

Date: 2022 March 21 20:22 | Posted By: Eeeper

Category > Anime

Discotek Media announces new, rescued, and existing license info via Twitch livestream.

North American anime label Discotek Media announced on Monday night via their Twitch live stream that they had licensed several new titles as well as providing production updates for upcoming, already announced releases. The new licences in the line-up the 1980's version of Osamu Tezuka's Astro Boy, Symphogear GX (Season 3 of the franchise), a 2k, director-approved re-release of Cyber City Odeo 808, the English dub version of Mon Colle Knights, US animated 90's show Double Dragon, licence rescues, and more.

Invisible Parade

Date: 2022 March 16 20:45 | Posted By: Joe

Invisible Parade collects 13 stories both recent and from over a decade ago. This is the definitive collection of Kyoto-based painter and comic artist MISSISSIPPI's comics work.

BFI Anime Season 2022

Date: 2022 March 15 20:35 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime > Film

London based anime fans are in for a real treat. The BFI have just sent us some amazing news about their upcoming major two month Anime season. Set to run from 28th March until 31st May 2022.

We feel calling it a major anime season is a bit of an understatement. They're pretty much showing every category of anime feature film you can think of. There's something there for everyone regardless of your taste.

They've got a great mix of classics, from old fan favourites such as Royal Space Force: The Wings of Honneamise, Patlabor: The Movie (both 1 and 2), Akira and many more.

They've got Makoto Shinkai movies, including Your Name, Weathering With You, The Place Promised in Our Early Days, 5 Centimeters Per Second and The Garden of Words.

They'll also be showing the delightful Mamoru Hosoda from The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, Summer Wars, Wolf Children and of course his most recent hit Belle.

You can't have a full anime season without some of the late great Satoshi Kon, so they'll be screening Perfect Blue (that'll mess with your mind), Millennium Actress, Tokyo Godfathers (an excellent Christmas movie) and the dreamlike Paprika.

Of course as well as looking back they'll be looking forward with some previews of some new releases including Summer Ghost. We're very excited about the preview of Masaaki Yuasa's INU-OH.

Now any of this by itself makes for an amazing anime season, but not wanting to be outdone, the BFI have also thrown in some Studio Ghibli films, including Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke, Grave of the Fireflies, My Neighbour Totoro, Castle in the Sky and so much more!

There's so much more, you should read on to find out all the other amazing films they've got lined up!

Crunchyroll and Funimation Merge into One Offering

Date: 2022 March 02 22:10 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

Anime streaming service Crunchyroll have announced that they've merged brands with Funimation. Crunchyroll now replaces Funimation for all global content.

In December 2020, Sony bought Crunchyroll for $1.175 Billion USD. Sony also owned Funimation. Up until now they were running the streaming services separately with fans having to buy subscriptions to both if they wanted to watch exclusive titles on each platform. This issue has now been resolve and merging into Crunchyroll makes sense as they have more brand recognition as a streaming service. As a result all titles that were exclusively available on Funimation will now be added to Crunchyroll.

Funimation will also be rebranded to Crunchyroll for home video offerings. In April 2021, much loved brand Manga Entertainment UK (which was also owned by Sony, via Funimation) rebranded as Funimation. Now the brands will be consolidated to Crunchyroll.

Read More... | Souce: Crunchyroll

MangaPlaza - Online Digital US Manga Service

Date: 2022 March 01 20:18 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Manga

We've got news from new online digital manga service MangaPlaza. The service offers nearly 50,000 manga Chapters from 2,000 titles including Attack on Titan, That Time I got Reincarnated as a Slime, Wotakoi: Love is Hard for Otaku and Obey Me! The Comic!

The web based service is currently US only. It's yet to offer an offline reading mode.

The service costs $6.99 (USD) per month for $0.45 to $3.99 you can purchase chapters individually without a subscription. Most titles also have a free chapter.

MangaPlaza is created by NTT Solmare Corp., a subsidiary Nippon Telegraph and Telephone West Corporation.

Digimon Adventure Last Evolution Kizuna UK Cinema Release Details

Date: 2022 February 27 20:07 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime > Film

The good folks from anime distributors Anime Limited have sent us news that they'll be releasing Digimon Adventure Last Evolution Kizuna in UK cinemas. Due to hit the big screen on Wednesday 9th March 2022 at cinemas around the UK.

The movie is set 10 years after the events of the original TV show and follows what could DigiDestined's final adventure, becoming adults.

You can find a screening near you by visiting the official UK website.

Cagaster and Crueler Than Dead Now Available on Azuki Manga

Date: 2022 February 26 19:13 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Manga

We've received a press release from digital manga subscription service Azuki . They've just told us that they've added two new titles to their service. Cagaster is a story about a disease transforms its victims into cannibalistic insects and decimates human society. It follows bug hunter Kidow and his newfound friend Ilie who struggle to survive in this brutal new world. While Crueler Than Dead is about another virus which results in fast-paced and violent zombie action.

With Azuki it should be noted that their titles are available in English worldwide (apart from Japan). The first few chapters of most series are available for free with ads, and for $4.99 (USD) per month users can sign up for a Premium account and read the entire catalogue without ads. A 30-day free trial and a discounted annual plan are also available.

Miyazaki's Shuna's Journey get's an English Language Release

Date: 2022 February 22 20:36 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Manga

It's just been announced that Hayao Miyazaki's Shuna's Journey will be getting an English language release. Alex Dudok de Wit revealed on Twitter that he is translating it. The 1983 graphic novel will be released by First Second Books on 1st November 2022.

Oscar winning anime director Hayao Miyazaki is best know for his feature films including Spirited Away, My Neighbour Totoro, Kiki's Delivery Service and Howl's Moving Castle.

Seven Seas licences Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou manga in omnibus form

Date: 2022 February 18 22:42 | Posted By: Eeeper

Category > Anime

Los Angeles-based publisher Seven Seas announces licensing of long sought-after manga, Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou, in multiple omnibus volumes.

Voidol2 Anime Style Voice Changing Software Review

Date: 2022 February 08 21:06 | Posted By: Voxie

Category > Features

After we heard about Crimson Technology's voice changing Voidol2 software we were curious to know more about it. It's aimed at those who want to change their voices to that of a Japanese school girl, robot or something else for whatever reason. It's mainly aimed at streamers, VTubers and other content creators.

Thanks to the good folks at Crimson Technology we were able to get our hands on a review copy to give it a go.

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