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Crunchyroll Hits 3 Million Subscribers

Date: 2020 July 28 20:47 | Posted By:

Category > Anime

The good folks from anime streaming service Crunchyroll have sent us the details of them passing a landmark number. They now have over 3 million subscribers, and over 70 million registered users.

To put this in perspective, when Crunchyroll started in 2006, it took about 10 years for them to hit 1 million subscribers, then it took them 2 years after that to break over 2 million subscribers. These are users who pay to use Crunchyroll and get to avoid ads along with seeing anime ahead of regular registered users.

The press release includes an interesting infographic detailing the growth of the service. It's always interesting to see actual numbers too.

On average subscribers watch 100 minutes of content a day (which works out about 4 25 minute episodes). This is about 35 billion minutes viewed over the past year.

Read More... | Souce: Crunchyroll

Screen Anime July and August 2020 Line Up

Date: 2020 July 23 20:35 | Posted By:

Category > Anime

The good folks from streaming anime film festival Screen Anime have just revealed their July/August 2020 screening line up. This round is set to run from 25th July 2020, it includes two features from the amazing studio Science SARU, including a premiere of Ride Your Wave, keeping on with the watery theme they'll also be showing Lu Over the Wall.

Then to keep it a bit fun and sentimental they'll also be showing the charming Mai Mai Miracle, we discovered the film at it's Barbican Screening in London in 2009 and were immediately fans.

Then they'll be polishing that off with some mecha action with Eureka Seven Hi-Evolution Anemone.

For their TV series offering, they'll be continuing the agricultural adventures of Hachiken with series two of Silver Spoon. Where we're introduced to more farming life and some extra horse riding too. Oh, plus a puppy. Anime is always better with puppies!

You can sign up to Screen Anime for £3.98 a month or £39.98 a year.

It's available in the UK and Ireland via your web browser, with apps for TVos, iOS, Android and Amazon to follow over the coming months.

You can read our review of Lu Over the Wall here.

Read More... | Souce: Screen Anime

Weathering With You UK Blu-ray and DVD Release Details

Date: 2020 July 19 13:31 | Posted By:

Category > Anime

The good folks at anime distributors Anime Limited have just revealed more details about their up coming home video release of Weathering With You.

The Collector's Edition, Standard Blu-ray Edition and Standard Edition DVD will all be released on Monday 28th September 2020.

While the Deluxe Edition with UHD Blu-ray/Blu-ray and soundtrack CD will be released as a Zavvi.com exclusive on Monday 2nd November 2020 (with pre-orders open from Monday 20th July 2020 at 11am).

The collectors edition includes steelbook packaging, the film on Blu-ray and DVD, and the original soundtrack on CD.

While the Deluxe edition includes steelbook packaging, the film on Blu-ray, 4K UHD Blu-ray, 104 page book, poster, art cards and a bonus Blu-ray (contents of the bonus Blu-ray to be confirmed).

The Collectors edition is set to retail for £39.99, but you can pre-order it for less, while the Deluxe Edition is set to retail for £69.99.

Anime Limited also revealed that they've now got the whole Makoto Shinkai back catalogue and will release 5 Centimetres per Second and Children Who Chase Lost Voices From Deep Below (aka Journey to Agartha) in due course.

You can pre-order the Collectors Blu-ray, regular Blu-ray or Standard DVD from Amazon.co.uk.

Why not read our review of Weathering With You?

Read More... | Souce: Anime Limited

Yen Press Previews 13 New Manga Acquisitions For December 2020

Date: 2020 July 05 12:31 | Posted By:

Category > Anime

It's convention season and traditionally a time of big license announcements, but conventions aren't really running in the physical world, however Anime Expo Lite offered a virtual experience and the chance for companies to announce their up coming releases and acquisitions.

Yen Press have just announced 13 new manga acquisition, which include

  • A Witch's Love at the End of the World
  • Strawberry Fields Once Again
  • The Vampire & His Pleasant Companions
  • Slasher Maidens
  • Eniale & Dewiela
  • Mieruko-chan

Plus some new light novels:

  • The World's Finest Assassin
  • Reincarnated in a Different World as an Aristocrat
  • The Place Promised in Our Early Days
  • The Angel Next Door Spoils Me Rotten
  • Unnamed Memory, King of the Labyrinth
  • Reign of the Seven Spellblades

We're very excited about Eniale & Dewiela from Kamome Shirahama who is also responsible for Witch Hat Atelier.

Read More... | Souce: Yen Press

The Real World Locations from Sing 'Yesterday' For Me

Date: 2020 July 04 12:57 | Posted By:

Category > Anime

Anime streaming service Crunchyroll have just sent us details of a great article they've put up exploring the real world locations used in the anime Sing 'Yesterday' For Me. It's always interesting to see how detailed and close to real world locations certain anime titles are.

We must admit we've got a soft spot for title, it's a bit of a slow burner gentle slice of life romance. You can catch it now on Crunchyroll.

We've also run similar articles before, including that time we discovered the actual house used in Kinmoza. Kinmoza is currently available to watch on Crunchyroll too.

Souce: Crunchyroll

Kotatsu Japanese Animation Festival 2020 Special Online Screening Event

Date: 2020 June 24 20:09 | Posted By:

Category > Anime

With social distancing still in place across the UK virtual events are proving to be a popular alternative. Kotatsu Japanese Animation Festival have just sent us details of their 2020 offerings, which include a free online screening event on Saturday 25th July 2020 at 11am and 6pm (UK time).

They've got a line-up of fun films that range from stop motion to 2D and it's all for free. All people have to do is go to the Kotatsu Festival YouTube channel at either 11am or 6pm to watch the films.

Animators include current names like Miho Yata and Arisa Wakami and veteran animator Fusako Yusaki. So why not tune in on Saturday morning or evening to enjoy some insight into animation?

Read More... | Souce: Kotatsu Japanese Animation Festival 2020

Anime Limited Acquires Latest Masaaki Yuasa Film INU-OH

Date: 2020 June 19 19:53 | Posted By:

Category > Anime > Film

We're all excited about Anime Limited's latest announcement. They've acquired the rights to the latest Masaaki Yuasa film INU-OH for the UK, Ireland and France.

Anime Limited have previously released Masaaki Yuasa other excellent features including Ride Your Wave, Lu Over the Wall, and The Night is Short, Walk on Girl.

Character design for the film is by manga artist Taiyo Matsumoto, who has worked with Masaaki Yuasa before on Ping Pong. You may also be familiar with Matsumoto's other works Tekkonkinkreet and the slice of life series Sunny.

The movie will be hitting cinemas sometime in 2021.

If you're interested in reading more about his past works we interviewed Masaaki Yuassa a few years ago last time he was in London.

Read More... | Souce: Anime Limited

Screen Anime Bring Weathering With You and Your Name To Their Monthly Online Film Festival

Date: 2020 June 15 20:19 | Posted By:

Category > Anime

The good folks at anime company Anime Limited have just sent us details of the latest line up on their online film festival Screen Anime.

The curated anime experience changes it's screenings one a month. This time around from the 25th June to 25th July 2020 they'll be showing Makoto Shinkai's fantastic Weathering With You, along with his super smash hit Your Name. So you can have a double bill of these amazing movies. If you want something a bit different and emotional they'll also be showing Anthem of the Heart. They'll be showing summer romance movie (with a time travelling twist) Fireworks too.

Plus for their TV line up Screen Anime have Silver Spoon. From the manga creator of Fullmetal Alchemist, this story goes in a completely different direction as it takes us to agricultural college with city boy Hachiken. This sweet slice of life show is a gentle comedy. You'll learn about Japanese agricultural practices and farming life in general.

The service is available for £3.98 a month or £39.98 a year.

Read More... | Souce: Screen Anime

Ascendance of a Bookworm Part 2 and Rent-A-Girlfriend on Crunchyroll

Date: 2020 June 13 10:03 | Posted By:

Category > Anime

The good folks at anime streaming service Crunchyroll have sent us news about Ascendance of a Bookworm Part 2 along with with OVA dub premiere of Rent-A-Girlfriend.

The OVA for Ascendance of a Bookworm (episodes 14.5 part 1 and part 2) will launch on Crunchyroll on Saturday, 13th June 2020, and episode 15 will launch on Saturday 20th June 2020.

Meanwhile Rent-A-Girlfriend will start on Crunchyroll as part of the summer season.
As we've covered before Crunchyroll are also keen to share that their whole dub cast have been working from home recently.

Read More... | Souce: Crunchyroll

Working from Home on Tower of God - An Interview with the Voice Actors

Date: 2020 June 06 11:24 | Posted By:

Category > Features

With parts of the world in lock down many have had to adapt to working from home. The American anime industry is no different. We've mentioned before how Crunchyroll Voice Actors Dub from Home and were curious to find out more about their working from home process. So thanks to the good folks at anime streaming service Crunchyroll we got in touch with the Tower of God's dub slate actors to ask them some questions about the show and working from home.

Read More... | Souce: Otaku News

Neon Genesis Evangelion UK Blu-ray Release Details

Date: 2020 June 01 20:08 | Posted By:

Category > Anime

During the online convention Cloud Matsuri, on their panel Anime Limited revealed that they have the rights for the original Neon Genesis Evangelion TV Series and the original Evangelion movies Neon Genesis Evangelion: Death and Rebirth and The End of Evangelion.

Anime Limited will be releasing the super hit anime as a blu-ray boxset in the UK some time in 2021. They intend to release it as an Ultimate Edition. Generally Anime Limited grade their releases into three tiers, standard (which is a normal release with the disc and maybe a few postcards etc), collectors editions which often have lavish packaging, artbooks and all sorts of extra content. Then their top tier is the Ultimate Edition, which is an over the top collectors edition with as much content as they can gather. Ultimate Editions in the past from Anime Limited have been very special, they've had a Cowboy Bebop Boxset shipped in a special Cowboy Bebop branded vinyl flight case along with tons of soundtrack content and art books. Their Fullmetal Alchemist Ultimate Boxset included a 5kg (yes, five kilogram) of The Gate from the series.

At the moment all Anime Limited are able to say is that it'll be released sometime in 2021. They have not been able to say which dub will be on the discs, if it's the original ADV dub or the new Netflix version or even if it'll include both. It's not even clear which regions the discs will be. They could be Region B only (which will work in the UK and Australia) or also Region A (US and Japan). As of yet It's not certain who will be releasing Evangelion in other English speaking countries.

Normally what the company includes in their editions depends on how much official content they can acquire from the original licence holder. Evangelion has tons of content available, so there can be plenty of speculation as to what they'll release.

The series has been out of print for a long time on DVD, leaving fans to either buy expensive old DVD editions or resort to bootleg copies of the show.

Last year the show was released on Netflix remastered in high definition with a new English dub.

Evangelion is regarded as one of the greatest anime series of all time. It's been hugely influential and cause an anime boom in the mid to late nineteen-nineties. The franchise has caused an endless stream of merchandise. We'll wonder if they'll include any of this merchandise in the the boxset?!

Souce: Anime Limited

Cloud Matsuri Reminder

Date: 2020 May 29 20:49 | Posted By:

Category > Anime

While lock down has impacted events for anime fans around the globe there is a good range of virtual events cropping up. Up this weekend is Cloud Matsuri. Set to run online from Saturday 30th to Sunday 31st May 2020, the event will play host to top Japanese industry figures along with UK based and US anime firms.

You can access all the streams for the event for free with details to do so via Cloud Matsuri's website.

Read More... | Souce: Cloud Matsuri

Anime Special of BFI Sight & Sound Magazine Out This Week

Date: 2020 May 27 21:01 | Posted By:

Category > Anime

A quick reminder to our readers as part of the BFI JAPAN 2020 Season the BFI's magazine Sight & Sound has just published an anime special as it it's latest issue. The June 2020 bumper anime issue includes plenty of articles by anime experts, including Jonathan Clements, Helen McCarthy, Jasper Sharp and many more.

The issue is out now you can buy a print issue, get the digital edition or subscribe to the magazine.

To be honest even though it's packed with great content they had us with the Totoro cover!

Read More... | Souce: BFI Sight & Sound Magazine

Multiple MCM Comic Con Events Cancelled for 2020

Date: 2020 May 19 20:34 | Posted By:

Category > Anime

We've just received a press release from the good folks over at ReedPOP, the group behind MCM Comic Con events. They've told us that due to the COVID-19 virus multiple MCM Comic Con Events are cancelled. The upcoming MCM Comic Con events in Birmingham, London, Manchester and Scotland are affected.

At this stage it's uncertain when the next MCM Comic Con event will be. This doesn't just impact ReedPOP itself, but it's exhibitors. We are aware of a many specialist small business that make the majority of their income from events like MCM Comic Con. If there's a stall like that you enjoy buying stuff from that's normally at your favourite geek event, check out their website and maybe buy something from them. Every little helps.

Read More... | Souce: MCM Comic Con

Anime Limited Launches Screen Anime To Bring The Festival Experience Home

Date: 2020 May 18 20:18 | Posted By:

Category > Anime

The good folks from anime distributors Anime Limited have just announced their latest venture Screen Anime. It's the first online anime film festival! Enjoy curated film & extras, refreshed monthly.

We're impressed with the opening line up which includes PROMARE, Penguin Highway, Patema Inverted and Royal Space Force: The Wings of Honnêamise, along with a to be confirmed TV show. They'll also have bonus content for each feature.

The streaming service will cost £3.98 monthly or £39.98 a year, with yearly subscribers getting a physical membership card that entitles them to further discounts from Anime Limited's shop.

We think they've nailed the pricing options as it'll cost more to rent the films separately or you could save money by paying up front. Screen Anime will be available in the UK and Ireland from Monday 25th May 2020. You can access it from your web browser, with apps for TVos, iOS Android & Amazon following over the coming months.

We're keen for apps so you can watch it directly on your TV with ease. However in our opinion we think the quality of the apps is what will make it and take it to the next level. Ideally you want as many options as possible to watch and enjoy anime. We hope Anime Limited are able to develop high quality apps to support Screen Anime quickly. They already have a excellent track record of acquiring top tier anime titles and always go the extra mile at events, often having something special up their sleeve such as a Japanese guest or exclusive item.

So head over to Screen Anime to register your interest.

Read More... | Souce: Screen Anime

Mizuki Kiyama's Bath House of Whales wins Lotte Reiniger Award in Stuttgart

Date: 2020 May 17 19:13 | Posted By:

Category > Anime

On Sunday, 10 May 2020 at the closing award ceremony of the 27th Stuttgart International Festival of Animated Film (ITFS), this year's Lotte Reiniger Promotion Award for Animated Film - named after the German-born silhouette animator who made the earliest surviving animated feature, and awarded to the jury's choice of the best graduation film by a film student - was awarded to Japanese animator Mizuki Kiyama for her graduation film Bath House of Whales (くじらの湯 Kujira no yu, 2019), produced at Tokyo University of the Arts.

Kiyama, who now stylizes her name as Kiyamamizuki (キヤマミズキ), animated and directed the 7-minute-long short in paint on glass; it was produced by Oscar-nominated indie animator and Tokyo University of the Arts professor Koji Yamamura, along with Yuichi Ito, Mitsuko Okamoto and Taruto Fuyama.The festival has now finished, but the short is still available to view officially on the YouTube channel of Osaka-based organization Knowledge Capital.

Her name was previously written as 木山瑞嬉, and while going by this rendering she made independent shorts including the 5-minute Futatsume (ふたつめ, 2016), 1-minute Metatarō (メタ太郎, 2017) - both on her Vimeo channel - and 3-minute On the way home (かえりみち Kaerimichi, 2018) and worked for Science SARU as an animator and digital animator on episodes of Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken!.

The Lotte Reiniger Promotion Award includes €10,000, sponsored by MFG Film Funding Baden-Württemberg. The jury at this year's festival comprised Jon Frickey (who made the Japanese-co-produced Cat Days, featured in this year's Best of Animation program), Waltraud Grausgruber, Ben Mitchell, Cécile Noesser and Gerben Schermer.

Japanese productions that have won awards at Stuttgart International Festival of Animated Film before include Hayao Miyazaki's Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea in 2010, Makoto Shinkai's The Garden of Words in 2014 and Mamoru Hosoda's Mirai in 2019, all of which won the AniMovie Award for the best animated feature film screened at the festival.

Thanks to Otaku News reader Jordan Scott for bringing this to our attention!

Souce: Stuttgart International Festival of Animated Film

Cloud Matsuri - A Virtual Convention

Date: 2020 May 15 12:31 | Posted By:

Category > Anime

It's the start of convention season, while events are inevitably being postponed or cancelled due to COVID-19 online events are becoming a sensible alternative and Anime Limited are stepping up with their buddies to launch Cloud Matsuri.

The virtual convention is set to run on Saturday 30th and Sunday 31st May 2020. The event is completely free.

The show will feature exclusive interviews and talks with special guest from the world of anime and more.

They're hinting that there will be more guests to announce, but the line up they're showing us at the moment is fantastic with Eunyoung Choi - CEO & Executive Producer, Science SARU (most recently responsible for the fabulous Keep Your Hands off Eizouken). Eiji Inomoto President & Founder, Studio Orange. The CG specialists created Land of the Lustrous and Beastars. Shuzo Shiota president of Polygon Pictures (who are involved in Knights of Sidonia and AJIN: Demi-Human to name a few). They'll also have Yasuhiro Kamimura CEO of GroundWorks Co., Ltd who will talk about his career to date and share stories with managing the Evangelion brand.

Read More... | Souce: Cloud Matsuri

Drawing Kimono: Online Session with Kutsuwada Chie

Date: 2020 May 12 21:20 | Posted By:

Category > Anime

While events in the UK have had to be postponed or cancelled due to COVID-19, some event runners have switched to online sessions as an alternative. Japan House London will be running a Drawing Kimono: Online Session with Kutsuwada Chie. It's set to run on Friday 15th May 2020 at 14:00 to 15:00 UK time. Booking is required, but the event is free.

Kutsuwada Chie is a Brighton based Japanese artist who will show people attending the online session how to draw a male figure wearing a kimono.

Read More... | Souce: Japan House London

Crunchyroll Voice Actors Dub from Home

Date: 2020 May 11 19:48 | Posted By:

Category > Anime

The good folks from anime streaming service Crunchyroll have sent us news about their current dubbing process. Dedicated to bringing you anime under lockdown their current cast of voice actors are currently recording from home to ensure you'll still keep getting English dubbed versions.

They've now switched to a fully-remote workflow. We wonder if this will become the new normal for voice actors? Normally most anime voice actors in the US are based in industry hubs near LA, Texas and sometimes New York, but now will they be able search for new talent further afield?

Read More... | Souce: Crunchyroll

BFI Japan 2020 Over 100 Years of Japanese Cinema

Date: 2020 May 05 20:04 | Posted By:

Category > Anime

UK readers will be very interested to hear that the BFI have just announced a fantastic new season called BFI Japan 2020.

Starting with Akira Kurosawa and other classics in May, they'll then run different themes every month until October with some J-Horror (just in time for Halloween). We you know you'll want to watch some anime too, which is why they'll be showing anime in July, this will include films from Hayao Miyazaki, Mamoru Hosoda and the late great Satoshi Kon, plus some other top tier titles too.

There is pretty is much something for everyone during this fantastic season. Currently catering for the audience at lockdown at home they aim to bring cinema to you via their BFI Player and BFI YouTube.

When the cinemas reopen (which the BFI anticipates will be late 2020 or early 2021) the BFI will also re-release the Akira Kurosawa classic Seven Samurai, along with monthly seasons at the BFI Southbank in London.

Additionally the BFI will be releasing some DVDs and Blu-ray features too including Ozu's Tokyo Story, The Flavour of Green Tea Over Rice, Toshio Matsumoto's Funeral Parade of Roses, along with a Takeshi Kitano Blu-ray boxset featuring Sonatine, Violent Cop and Boiling Point.

Read More... | Souce: BFI Japan 2020

Evangelion, Gunpla and other Anime and Manga T-Shirts at Uniqlo

Date: 2020 April 21 19:39 | Posted By:

Category > Retail

Fans of anime franchise based t-shirts will want to head over to the Uniqlo website to grab the latest Evangelion and Gunpla 40th Anniversary designs.

The Japanese clothes company always has some great t-shirts in their UT Graphic Print range. They intend to release some designs that appeal to all kinds of manga and anime fans including their Manga UT line, which includes Osomatsu-kun, GeGeGe no Kitaro and The Genius Bakabo.

They'll also have Manga UT Ribon 65th Anniversary which includes Chibi Maruko Chan, Tokimeki Tonight, Tenshi Nanka Ja Nai, Gokinjo Monogatari and Marmalade Boy.

If you like something from Young Jump then Uniqlo have you covered with Manga UT Weekly Young Jump 40TH Anniversary. They'll have tees from Golden Kamuy, Tokyo Ghoul and Kingdom.

While if you want something more tokusatsu to wear then you'll be excited about the upcoming Ultraman t-shirt range.

Read More... | Souce: Uniqlo

Genki Gear April 2020 Sale

Date: 2020 April 17 19:58 | Posted By:

Category > Anime

The good folks from geek t-shirt company Genki Gear have just sent us a reminder that they've got a sale on. They've got t-shirts from £4 on offer along with their usual geeky designs. You maybe familiar with their designs as they often have a popular stall at events like MCM Comic Con and Hyper Japan.

Genki Gear also have Tokidoki and BT21 Official Merch too! We're particularly partial to their £10 t-shirt range too.

The geeky clothes company are also reassuring us that they're being extra diligent with all deliveries being made with safety in mind

Souce: Genki Gear

Mangamo The New Mobile Manga Subscription Service

Date: 2020 April 16 19:47 | Posted By:

Category > Anime

We've just been sent the details of a new mobile manga subscription service. Mangamo promises more titles than any other legal mobile manga service.

It's currently on iOS Devices (iPhone and iPad) with subscriptions costing $4.99 USD a month. The Tokyo based company has partnered with 11 publishers to bring the wide range of titles, including Attack on Titan, Battle Angel Alita, Somali and the Forest Spirit, along with Fire Force and many more titles. A full list of current titles can be found here. They also promise regular updates to the titles available.

Mangamo is available on the Apple App Store globally with the exception of Japan, China and Korea. Currently all titles are in English.

As this is a legal service you can be certain that the money goes back to the original creators helping fund the manga industry itself.

Read More... | Souce: Mangamo

Manga Entertainment UK Summer 2020 Release Schedule

Date: 2020 April 12 19:57 | Posted By:

Category > Anime

The good folks from Manga Entertainment UK have just revealed their Summer 2020 release line up.

Highlights include Is it Wrong to Try to Pick up Girls in a Dungeon? Arrow of the Orion, High School DxD HERO, and the very silly (and equally enjoyable) Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid, along with Bungo Stray Dogs.

Read More... | Souce: Manga Entertainment UK

Anime Architecture Collector's Edition Art Book Release Details

Date: 2020 April 03 19:31 | Posted By:

Category > Retail

A couple of years ago we covered an excellent exhibition on Anime Architecture: Backgrounds of Japan. It was hosted at House of Illustration. The exhibition focused on the lavish and detailed backgrounds used in anime. It included backgrounds many seminal anime films.

Stefan Riekeles the curator of the exhibition has teamed up with Volume to publish a book based the images from the exhibition. This hardcover 256 page publication promises to be "The definitive visual guide to the cityscapes and buildings of the most celebrated and influential anime movies". "This overdue celebration offers a peerless survey of these cinematic arenas - including material from AKIRA, Ghost in the Shell, Patlabor, Neon Genesis Evangelion and Tekkonkinkreet - through original background paintings, storyboards, drafts, sources of inspiration and film excerpts. Produced in direct collaboration with the original Japanese production studios, Anime Architecture offers privileged views into the earliest conception stages of iconic scenes, through to their development into finished films."

The art book itself is a collectors item and is limited to 1,000 individually numbered copies. It also includes a screen printed acrylic slipcase.

It's available now for pre-order for £75 from Volume and will ship some time in Q4 2020.

If you want to know more about the original exhibition, then why not read our interview with Stefan Riekeles?

Read More... | Souce: Volume

Never-Ending Man: Hayao Miyazaki UK Blu-ray/DVD Combi Release Details

Date: 2020 March 21 22:17 | Posted By:

Category > Anime

The good folks from Anime Limited have revealed the UK release details for Never-Ending Man: Hayao Miyazaki on Blu-ray and DVD (combi). The documentary shot over two years charts legendary anime directory Hayao Miyazaki creating his first CG animation.

We've seen the broadcast version on NHK World and it's certainly worth watching as it shows the behind the scenes creative processes. There's lots of little gems in this. Subtle moments you might miss too. There's a great moment where Miyazaki draws a storyboard for the CG team to use and they're clearly amazed by the quality and draughtsmanship of something that's supposed to be a very rough piece of work.

Miyazaki is famed for founding Studio Ghibli, where he created many of his movies including Spirited Away, Totoro, Howl's Moving Castle, and many more. They can currently be enjoyed on Netflix.

The feature is due out on Monday 13th April 2020. You can pre-order it directly from Anime Limited or from Amazon.co.uk.

Read More... | Souce: Anime Limited

Crunchyroll Announces Crunchyroll Originals

Date: 2020 February 27 21:38 | Posted By:

Category > Anime

The good folks from anime streaming service Crunchyroll have sent us some exciting details about their latest venture - Crunchyroll Originals. We're told the shows, produced with respected publishers including Kodansha, animation studios such as MAPPA, and from Crunchyroll Studios, represent Crunchyroll's continued commitment to delight fans and expand the global anime community through fresh stories and unique perspectives from a global slate of creators.

They've got some original anime content that you can watch now, including In/Spectre, which mixes monsters and mystery.

Interestedly they've also sourced some great content from other parts of the world. UK based fans may already be familiar with with the excellent FreakAngels graphic novels from Warren Ellis & Paul Duffield.

Read More... | Souce: Crunchyroll

Manga Jiman Competition 2019 Winners

Date: 2020 February 26 22:20 | Posted By:

Category > Anime

It's that time of year again! Recently the Embassy of Japan in the UK revealed the winners of the prestigious Manga Jiman Competition 2019. The competition often marks rising stars in the UK industry too. Competition prizes range from an amazing two flights to Japan for the 1st place winner, to lovely A3 scanners for second place and so.

This years first place went to Tori Jones for A Heart of Gold or Some Other Metal, while Alexandra Cook took second place with Kiyomi's Prequel. Third place went to Mina Ghosh with The Last Day of Uther Adriss.

Many of the shortlisted artists were first time entrants, showing that the competition has endured for the 13 times it's been run.

Read More... | Souce: Embassy of Japan in the UK

My Hero Academia: Heroes Rising Review

Date: 2020 February 23 15:28 | Posted By:

Category > Anime

My Hero Academia: Heroes Rising is the latest cinematic offering for the My Hero Academia series. It hits cinemas around the UK and Ireland on Wednesday 26th and Thursday 27th February 2020. Of course you want to know is it any good? Well read on to find out!

Read More... | Souce: Otaku News

Call For Papers - Anime and Manga Fandom Before the Year 2000

Date: 2020 February 09 11:09 | Posted By:

Category > Culture

Readers in academic circles may be interested to hear about this call for chapter proposals. It's for a book devoted to archival research in anime and manga fandom before the year 2000. Co-edited by anime and manga expert Helen McCarthy and Dr. Darren-Jon Ashmore, Professor of Anthropology, Yamanashi Gakuin University.

Helen McCarthy tells us "Independent scholars are welcome to submit, you don't have to be attached to an institution, anime and manga don't have to be your primary areas of study if you are. We're really keen to get new thinking and rigorous archival research"

Details can be found on https://cfplist.com/CFP/25594.

Souce: CFP List

My Hero Academia: Heroes Rising UK and Ireland Cinema Release Details

Date: 2020 January 29 22:12 | Posted By:

Category > Anime > Film

Not content with releasing just one anime feature film in February 2020 in the form of One Piece Stampede Manga Entertainment UK have gone beyond and went plus ultra to also release the new My Hero Academia: Heroes Rising Movie. The move will hit cinemas around the UK and Ireland on Wednesday 26th and Thursday 27th February 2020. The movie will be shown in both subbed and dubbed formats. Cinemas are yet to confirmed, but you register your interest on the official UK movie website.

For this second My Hero Academia cinematic outing Class 1-A visits Nabu Island where they finally get to do some real hero work. Of course where ever Class 1-A go, villains follow! What will Deku and his classmates do?! We'll have to watch it to find out.

Only just release in Japan on 20th December 2019, this is a speedy turn around to UK cinemas!

Read More... | Souce: Manga Entertainment UK

The Garden of Words Stage Production To Hit London This Summer 2020

Date: 2020 January 22 21:05 | Posted By:

Category > Culture

While everyone is talking about Makoto Shinkai's latest smash hit Weathering With You, we can't help but wonder what the next Makoto Shinkai offering will be. Whole Hog Theatre have got in touch with to reveal that they'll be performing a stage adaptation of The Garden of Words.

The official stage production is set to run from 16 July - 15 August 2020 at Park Theatre in Finsbury Park, London.

Whole Hog Theatre are not new to adapting anime, having run a mesmerising stage version of Princess Mononoke.

We're excited to see what creative ideas Whole Hog Theatre will bring to life.

Read More... | Souce: Whole Hog Theatre Company

Weathering With You To Expand To over 250 Screens Across UK and Ireland

Date: 2020 January 21 21:35 | Posted By:

Category > Anime > Film

The good folks at anime distributors Anime Limited have just sent us some more details about the current screenings of Weathering With You. Due to popular demand they'll be expanding massively from the current 40 screens to over 250 on 30th January 2020.

Screening times and venues can be found on the Official Weathering With You UK Cinema Website.

The opening weekend for Weathering With You was a strong one for anime with weekend box office (including previews) of £221,320 - almost 10 times that of Your Name's £22,274 opening according to Screen Daily.

If you want to know more about the movie then why not read our Weathering With You Movie review?

Souce: Anime Limited

Studio Ghibli Movies Hit Netflix

Date: 2020 January 20 20:51 | Posted By:

Category > Anime

Streaming service Netflix have just announced that they'll be adding Studio Ghibli films to their list of movies. Fans from Asia Pacific, Europe, Middle East, Africa and Latin America will be able to enjoy films. The films will be subtitled in 28 languages, and dubbed in up to 20 languages.

Studio Ghibli are renowned for creating high quality masterpiece movies. Hugely influential Studio Ghibli is the only Japanese anime studio to have won an Oscar with Hayao Miyazaki's Spirited Away.

The movies release to Netflix will be spread across 3 months, on 1st February 2020, 1st March 2020 and 1st April 2020.

Totoro, Kiki and Porco Rosso will all be in the first wave movies. Up until now Studio Ghibli have been reluctant to allow their titles available for streaming.

All these movies are fantastic in their own right and we can't say in stronger words go out and watch them. With the exception of Tales from Earthsea which was a trouble production, skip that one.

The US, Canada and Japan are noticeably absent from the list of countries the films will be available from. We suspect another company has streaming rights to these countries.

Read More... | Souce: Netflix

Interview with Eunyoung Choi, producer and co-founder at Science SARU about Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken!

Date: 2020 January 17 07:03 | Posted By:

Category > Anime

We're currently really enjoying anime studio Science SARU's latest show Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken!. It's a delightful series that really captures of the passion, joy and excitement of being anime fan. Not only that, but it enthusiastically explains what makes certain anime titles so great.

Along the for the imaginative ride it takes us on we were keen to find out more. The good folks at anime streaming service Crunchyroll helped us by sending us an interview with Eunyoung Choi who is producer and co-founder of Science SARU. They've even let us publish the interview ahead of their news letter.

Read More... | Souce: Crunchyroll

Weathering With You - Makoto Shinkai's Latest Movie - Review

Date: 2020 January 07 20:50 | Posted By:

Category > Anime

Makoto Shinkai's latest cinematic offering Weathering With You is about to hit cinemas around the UK and Ireland from Friday 17th January 2020. We were lucky enough to catch the movie beforehand at a special press screening. Want to know if it's any good? Then why not read our review?

You can find a screening near you by visiting weatheringwithyoufilm.co.uk.
You can also catch a special double bill screening of Your Name and Weathering With You at selected cinemas on Wednesday 15th January 2020.

Read More... | Souce: Otaku News

KitKat Chocolatory - Japanese Style KitKats Arrive in the UK

Date: 2020 January 01 20:27 | Posted By:

Category > Anime

While wandering around John Lewis we discovered KitKat Chocolatory. Apparently there had been a pop up shop earlier where you can make your own KitKats. Having experienced the premium KitKat Chocolatory before in Tokyo, we wanted to see how the UK version weighs up.

Read More... | Souce: Otaku News

The Japan Foundation - Touring Film Programme 2020 Screening Details

Date: 2019 December 27 19:28 | Posted By:

Category > Anime

UK Fans of Japanese are in for a great treat. The Japan Foundation have just revealed the line up for their Touring Film Programme 2020. The theme for this year is Happiness is A State of Mind: Joy and Despair in Japanese Cinema. Films will be screened all around the UK from 31st January to 29th March 2020.

There's plenty of excellent films to choose from too:

  • My Love Story!!
  • Our Meal for Tomorrow
  • Her Sketchbook
  • A Banana? At This Time of Night?
  • Organ
  • The Actor
  • Little Nights, Little Love
  • Jesus
  • Another World
  • Bento Harassment
  • My Dad is a Heel Wrestler
  • Lying to Mom
  • Shadowfall
  • And Your Bird Can Sing
  • Sea of Revival
  • The House Where the Mermaid Sleeps
  • Kakegurui - Compulsive Gambler
  • Ten Dark Women
  • I Go Gaga, My Dear
  • Ride Your Wave
Anime fans will be interested in Ride Your Wave from director Masaaki Yuasa (Lu Over The Wall, Night is Short, Walk on Girl and DEVILMAN crybaby). It's a tale of romance with a twist.

If you've caught the anime of Kakegurui on Netflix you're sure you be interested in the live action version which will be screening at the festival.

If you've seen the anime or read the manga of My Love Story!! You can also catch the live action version. Takeo looks like his jumped directly out of the anime/manga version!

To find a screening near you visit https://www.jpf-film.org.uk for more details.

Read More... | Souce: The Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme 2020

One Piece Stampede UK Cinema Release Details

Date: 2019 December 19 21:33 | Posted By:

Category > Anime > Film

2019 isn't over yet, but Manga Entertainment UK have started to look forward to 2020 and revealed that they'll be releasing the One Piece Stampede Movie in cinemas around the UK on Sunday 2nd February 2020. The screenings of the latest One Piece cinema outing will be at select cinemas for one day only, both subbed and dubbed.

To find out more and to register your interest on the booking site visit onepiecefilm.co.uk.

Read More... | Souce: One Piece Stampede UK Movie Site

Crunchyroll Reveals UK Anime Fans Shun Cosplay in Favour of Books and Boardgames

Date: 2019 December 11 21:01 | Posted By:

Category > Anime

Anime streaming service Crunchyroll have sent us an interesting press release. They highlight that most UK anime fans would rather read a good book than cosplay. Surveying their premium UK members (who pay for the service to remove ads and get earlier access to titles) they discovered that less 7% are into cosplaying. In comparison 10% write or read fan fiction!

We could speculate as to why this is. Could it be that cosplayers would rather spend their disposable income on cosplaying? Instead using the free access areas of Crunchyroll? Does it reflect fandom in general, are less than 7% of anime fans involved in creating cosplay?

Read More... | Souce: Crunchyroll

Your Name and Weathering With You - Double Bill Feature UK Cinema Screening Details

Date: 2019 November 29 23:20 | Posted By:

Category > Anime > Film

The good folks at Anime Limited have just announced they'll be some special double bill screenings of Your Name and Weathering with You.

Your Name is Makoto Shinkai's smash hit movie is a must to see on the big screen, while his latest film Weathering with You is on the path to prove just as successful.

As a special treat on Wednesday 15th January 2020 you can the double screening around the UK. They'll first show Your Name, then after a short interval you'll get to see Weathering with You. We've seen both films and can confirm you really must see them on the big screen for maximum enjoyment.

They'll be screenings all around the UK. So we suggest you book now to avoid disappointment.

You can also catch Weathering With You by itself from Friday 17th January 2020.

Read More... | Souce: Offical Weathering With You UK Film Website

Manga Entertainment UK Additional Q1 2020 DVD and Blu-ray Release Details

Date: 2019 November 22 21:49 | Posted By:

Category > Anime

The good folks from anime distribution company Manga Entertainment UK have just revealed even more releases for 2020. This includes the fan favourite I Want to Eat Your Pancreas. Which isn't a zombie movie, but a story about terminal illness. We're excited about this title as it's won the coveted audience award at Scotland Loves Anime. It's due out on 27th January 2020.

They'll also be releasing some Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion, One Punch Man (episodes 1-12 + OVAs), along with Black Clover Season Two Part One and JoJo's Bizarre Adventure.

Read More... | Souce: Manga Entertainment UK

An Interview with Anime Directors Shinichiro Watanabe and Motonobu Hori

Date: 2019 November 09 17:06 | Posted By:

Category > Anime

MCM Comic Con London and Anime Limited frequently team up to bring great guests to the event. MCM Comic Con London October 2019 was no exception, with not one, but two guests of honour - anime directors Shinichiro Watanabe (best known for Cowboy Bebop) and Motonobu Hori a rising star in the anime industry.

We caught up with the two directors at MCM Comic Con London to talk about their latest project the fanatic Carole & Tuesday.

Read More... | Souce: Otaku News

Jonathan Ross on Anime, Manga and Japanese Toys

Date: 2019 November 06 21:54 | Posted By:

Category > Press Releases

The geek event that was MCM Comic Con London October 2019 has ended. One of of the anime highlights was Jonathan Ross introducing two anime shows for Crunchyroll.

During the event, he revealed that he got mistaken for a cosplayer at San Diego Comic-con. He also admitted he enjoyed anime with yokai eating, erm certain parts of people (we'll leave the rest to your imagination).

The good folks from anime streaming service Crunchyroll interviewed Jonathan Ross and he shared his love of anime and Japanese toy lines.

Read More... | Souce: Crunchyroll

Kiki's Delivery Service 30th Anniversary Collector's Edition UK Release Details

Date: 2019 November 05 21:43 | Posted By:

Category > Anime

UK fans of Hayao Miyazaki's delightful classic witch movie Kiki's Delivery Service will be very interested to hear news about the special Kiki's Delivery Service 30th Anniversary Collector's Edition. Released by Studio Canal.

It's due out on Monday 16th December 2019.

The collectors edition includes:

The DVD and Blu-ray Doubleplay edition of the film.

The Art of Kiki's Delivery Service book.

Plus tons of extra goodies:

- Exclusive oversized 8.5' x 11.75' art cards.
- Exclusive 23.5' x 32.5' poster featuring original Japanese theatrical artwork from 1989
- Exclusive premium cotton Jiji tea towel. Yes, this isn't a typo, it's a very British extra for the UK edition.
- Exclusive recipe card set (of what recipes? We don't know).
- Exclusive embroidered sew on patch featuring the anniversary logo

The set comes packed in a oversized rigid box, with brand new exclusive artwork.
They'll be limited to 1,000 units and holographically numbered

The double play DVD and blu-ray set have already been released in the past, as has the artbook, but they haven't all been bundled as a set before this way. This set is just out in time for Christmas and is an Amazon UK Exclusive. It's priced at £75.

Alternatively you can get the DVD and Blu-ray double play edition for £14.00 Just the DVD for £11. The Art of Kiki's Delivery Service Hardcover artbook is available by itself for £25. So you could have the core content for £39, but without the lavish extras and tea-towel. It's worth it for the the tea-towel by itself to be honest.

We've also just covered news that the original book of Kiki's Delivery service is going to re-released in 2020.

Read More... | Souce: Amazon UK

Manga Entertainment UK DVD and Blu-ray Release Details for Q1 2020

Date: 2019 November 01 21:40 | Posted By:

Category > Anime

The good folks from anime distributors Manga Entertainment UK have revealed their release schedule for the first quarter of 2020.

Key titles include the epic head banging zombie idol show Zombie Land Saga, which is due out 13th January 2020. SSSS.Gridman which is for release on 3rd February 2020. While on 30th March 2020 The popular isekai anime The Rising of the Shield Hero season 1 part 1 is out.

Read More... | Souce: Manga Entertainment UK

Channel 4 UK To Stream Over 100 Hours of Anime Online on All4

Date: 2019 October 25 18:58 | Posted By:

Category > Anime

UK broadcaster Channel 4 has announced 100 hours of anime content will stream on their UK/ROI catchup service, All 4, from Friday the 25th of October 2019. 10 shows will premiere on launch day with another 4 to join the lineup at a later date.

Titles available now include smash hit anime Cowboy Bebop, kawaii CLAMP classic Cardcaptor Sakura and fantasy Inuyasha. They've also got a nice mix of titles in their line up including Tokyo Ghoul, The Dragon Dentist, Megalo Box, The Vision of Escaflowne and Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin. Plus Charlotte and Durarara!!

Read More... | Souce: Channel 4

Jonathan Ross to Host Crunchyroll Anime Premiere at MCM Comic Con London

Date: 2019 October 21 20:52 | Posted By:

Category > Events

It's geek super event MCM Comic Con London this weekend. Anime streaming service Crunchyroll have just revealed that Jonathan Ross will host the UK Premiere of brand new anime at MCM Comic Con London. The premiere is for two anime titles - In/Spectre and Somali and the Forest Spirit.

The screening will be at the Main Stage, Friday 25 October 2019 from 5pm to 7pm.

It's well known that Jonathan Ross is an anime fan. He's made a few shows about manga and going to Japan. Plus he commissioned creepy-artist artist Junko Mizuno to create the logo for his production company Hotsauce TV.

Read More... | Souce: MCM Comic Con London

The Garden of Words the Stage Play by The Whole Hog Theatre Company

Date: 2019 October 14 21:34 | Posted By:

Category > Events

UK based Theatre Company Whole Hog Theatre have just revealed details of their latest production The Garden of Words. Based on the anime of the same name by director Makoto Shinkai. The play will be performed in London at Park Theatre from 15th July to 15th August 2020.

It will also be performed in Tokyo with Japanese Animation stage production specialists, Nelke Planning (Sailor Moon stage production).

Curiously the performance promises to be an interdisciplinary adaptation visually emotive story using puppetry, movement and projection art. Performed in English with occasional Japanese. The Whole Hog Theatre Company are not new to anime adaptations, having performed Hayao Miyazaki's Princess Mononoke on stage. While Princess Mononoke naturally lends itself to puppetry, The Garden of Words could have been done as conventional play. So we're very interested to see what Whole Hog have up their sleeves.

Anime and manga being adapted for the stage seems to be an on going trend in the west, with Kiki's Delivery Service being adapted by Southwark Playhouse and Urasawa's Pluto getting a performance at London's Barbican.

While popular franchises are frequently adapted for the stage in Japan by theatre companies such as Nelke Planning.

We're excited to see what Whole Hog do and suggest you book tickets soon to avoid disappointment.

Read More... | Souce: The Whole Hog Theatre Company

Promare UK and Ireland Cinema Screening Details

Date: 2019 October 12 19:07 | Posted By:

Category > Anime > Film

UK based fans of Studio Trigger are in for a treat. Anime Distributors Anime Limited have just announced they've acquired the rights to Promare.

Studio Trigger are responsible for TV series Kill la Kill and Little Witch Academia, director Hiroyuki Imaishi was also behind GAINAX's Gurren Lagann. Promare marks the studio's first theatrical outing.

On Tuesday 26th and Thursday 28th November 2019 there will be screenings at select cinemas around the UK and Ireland.

If you're lucky enough to be in Scotland and and get to the Glasgow Film Theatre on Sunday 13th October 2019, you can get to the UK premiere! There will also be a Promare Special Events Screening at Edinburgh on Saturday 19th October 2019, with major creative talent behind this film. Plus there's also a screening at the Edinburgh Filmhouse on Monday 21st October 2019.

Read More... | Souce: Anime Limited

Directors Shinichiro Watanabe and Motonobu Hori to Attend MCM Comic Con London as Anime Guests of Honour

Date: 2019 October 11 20:32 | Posted By:

Category > Events

It's October. Which means it's almost time for MCM Comic Con London. The massive geek event is set to to run from Friday 25th to Sunday 27th October 2019 at the ExCel Centre in London.

They've just announced two very special anime guests of honour. First up we have Shinichiro Watanabe, best known for the major anime series Cowboy Bebop, but he's also done some other great shows including Terror in Resonance, Samurai Champloo, along with Kids on the Slope. You can also see his latest show Carole & Tuesday on Netflix. Shinichiro Watanabe is credited as the supervising director / chief director of the show.,

Guest number two is Motonobu Hori who is the director of Carole & Tuesday. The show marks his directorial debut, while he's worked on n key animation, animation direction and storyboards for a wealth of anime, including Napping Princess, Berserk: The Golden Age Arc, and episodes of Psycho-Pass in the past.

Both guests will be hosting an Anime Guest of Honour panel at the Centre Stage on Saturday, 26th October from 11:15AM, and will also be attending free signing sessions on both Saturday 26th and Sunday 27th October from 14:30-15:30.

As always we're very excited about this as it's a great chance to see some top talent from the anime industry. We look forward to find out what insights from anime production they'll reveal at this panel.

Read More... | Souce: MCM Comic Con London

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