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J-Pop Go Halloween Special Fright Night

Date: 2006 October 08 15:15 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Events

The vampires from J-Pop Go have sent us the details for their next event, set for Saturday 28th October with a Halloween theme - Kowaiathon night. J-Pop Go will be held at thier regular venue of Cafe Manga, near the Westminster Bridge end of County Hall in London. Tickets will be £5 with discount for cosplayers at their discretion. We suggest Ring and Grudge based costumes for a frightning night!

Read More... | Souce: J-Pop Go

Defending Anime Fans

Date: 2006 October 06 03:46 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Fandom

The trouble with being an anime fan is that people often get the wrong idea, and then start talking about stereotypical stuff about how crazy people are in Japan. Dragon who is the president of the London Anime Club and has also written a shopping guide to anime and electronics in Tokyo has posted a good defence to being called an otaku:

I got into an "arguement" with somebody at work over the term Otaku. They accused me of dressing up in costume and being obssively knowledgeable about the subject. "Fine," I said. "Just like the rest of the perverts who you see dressed up in strange costumes and hanging round in parks on Sundays, or that gather in huge crowds dressed in outlandish gear singing stupid songs and generally idolising over their obessions. Who spend huge amounts of money buying all the latest things. They have pictures on their bedroom walls. They follow the latest news and interviews very great glee. They seek out fellow fanatics and discuss the latest events. Such obsessives like you. Only in this country they are known as football fans."

So note down the otaku are just the same as football fan strategy and use it next time people call you weird for liking those strange Japanese cartoons! ^_-

Souce: London Anime Club

ADV Launches Download Site

Date: 2006 September 29 12:18 | Posted By: Jeremy

Category > Anime

ADV Films has joined the anime downloading craze with the opening of their new digital download store, ADV Universe. Anime fans can now, after signing at the official website, browse and shop for episodes of their favorite ADV releases, including Gilgamesh, Godannar, and Comic Party to watch on their computer through Windows Media Player.

While the price for episode downloading has not been disclosed, signing up for service at ADV Universe is free! And as an added incentive, fans will receive the first episode of Guyver: The Bio-Booster Armor, soon to be released by ADV, for free after signing up. It’s just one more way at how much anime fandom is progressing in this high-tech, digital age.

Souce: ADV Films

All New Evangelion For 2007

Date: 2006 September 18 11:05 | Posted By: Jeremy

Category > Anime

Four all new Evangelion movies are in the works, with the first to be released summer 2007.

Tomo-dachi 2007

Date: 2006 September 15 03:26 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Events

We've been sent some details from the Tomo-dachi Crew about their next convention, set for Friday, August 31st - Sunday to September 2nd, 2007 at the UU Magee Campus in Londonderry, Northern Ireland. Bookings before March 31st are £25 and £30 after. As of yet, they've not released a guest list, however if the last Tomo-dachi is anything to go for they'll have some good industry guests.

Sweatdrop Release Two How To Draw Manga Books

Date: 2006 September 14 14:52 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Manga

We've been sent a press release from the nice people over at UK manga inspired art group Sweatdrop. They're both aimed at beginners, Draw Manga By Sweatdrop Studios and Drawing Manga by Selina Dean. Draw Manga focuses on basics, with a series of tutorials on how to draw character elements such as eyes, hair, hand and clothing, along with step by step projects showing how to put individual elements together to create a manga style character.

Drawing Manga by the talented Selina Dean focuses more on character design with posing characters. It includes tips on drawing people monsters and mascots. In addition it includes comic creation techniques such as developing storyboards, creating layouts, scripting, including backgrounds and colouring and inking techniques.

Draw Manga by Sweatdrop Studios is due out on 15th October 2006, while Drawing Manga by Selina Dean was out on 4th September 2006.

We think it's great that some UK based artist are producing books on how to draw manga, however we're curious as to why they've released two books within the space of two months with the same purpose at the same price (an affordable £9.99), we wonder if the books are significantly different, would it have been better to combine the contents into one bigger book? Perhaps the writing styles are different allowing a potential artist to chose the style they prefer.

Otaku - Japan's Consumer Cult

Date: 2006 September 13 16:48 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Fandom

Otaku - Japan's Consumer Cult.

A syndicated article that appears MSNBC and Business Week focuses on the Otaku, who are Japan's Consumer Fanatics.

It mentions their geeky tendencies to build their own computers, along with their spending large amounts of money on collectable manga and associated merchandise. Interestingly enough the article also states their raw spending power, around $3.5 Billion dollars (USD), a year on anime DVDs, manga, IT gadgets and other toys. Namco Bandai's Idol Manager idolm@ster gets a mention too.

The article then goes on to explain the Densha Otoko and maid cafes, along with English language websites that track the news. They single out two websites Otaku World and this website Otaku News. ^_^

The article also mentions kakure-otaku (hidden otaku), and the Secret Otaku Support Commission.

It then finishes with Kondo Kagaku, a company that noticed a lot of it's servomotors were being bought buy keen otaku who wanted to produce their own robots, so the company met demand and produced their own robot kit.

Souce: Business Week

Japanorama Episode 2 - Otaku

Date: 2006 September 13 12:18 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime > TV

UK viewers able to access BBC Three, will want to tune into Japanorama on Thursday 14th September 2006 at 11pm. The show will be reporting on otaku the Japanese nerds (if you're reading Otaku News, you should already know what an otaku is ^_^).

It looks like the show will be focusing on the rise of otaku and why so many of them can only feel love for manga, anime and model collecting. Host Jonathan Ross will also be reporting on Cosplay, as well as Maid Cafes. We're guessing Japanorma will also cover Akihabara, Train Man (Densha Otoko) and if we're lucky a convention like Winter WonderFest.

Souce: BBC Three

FLCL: The Ultimate Edition

Date: 2006 September 05 10:07 | Posted By: Jeremy

Category > Anime

Like FLCL, the wacky six-part OAV series from Gainax about a young boy, an alien girl, and the robots that come from his head? Well, get ready to enjoy it all over again when Synch Point releases FLCL: The Ultimate Edition box set on November 21. This new set, going for a SRP of $69.95, will not only include the full series with a director's commentary, but lots of cool free swag. This includes a sticker sheet, postcards, a book (what kind is currently not known, though an art book of some type is likely), and best of all, a coupon for a free T-shirt. Definitely for many to add to their Christmas wish lists.

Souce: Anime News Network

Pirates vs Ninjas at J-Pop Go

Date: 2006 August 31 17:54 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Events

Those nice partying folk at J-Pop Go will be having the final ultimate showdown (of ultimate destiny) to decide who really does rule, ninjas or pirates. The popular London J-Pop event is set to run on Saturday September 23rd at their regular venue of Cafe Manga.

Who will win on pirates versus ninja night? Otaku News will be betting on the ninjas to win, being favourites by far as they have real ultimate power! Although we wouldn't put it past the underdog pirates of having some chance of beating the sneaky ninjas, however ninjas would only lose to trick the pirates into a false sense of security before flipping out and killing all the scurvy sea dogs! ^_-

Souce: J-Pop Go

Toonami Jetstream a Big Success

Date: 2006 August 23 10:37 | Posted By: Jeremy

Category > Anime

Toonami Jetstream reports millions of hits in just first four weeks!

Rare Games Collection Stolen

Date: 2006 August 20 15:36 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Fandom

We've been passed a press release from DDR:uk, a group of hardcore Dance Dance Revolution fanatics, on the 18th of August their equipment was stolen (with the exception of their custom build DDR machine, as it too big to easily move), their £25,000 collection includes a wide variety of rare and sought after games, most of which are no longer in production, along with specialist hardware and games controllers.

Since the items in question are rather unique, we would like to ask community minded otaku to be aware of the items stolen and keep a look out for them on places like popular auction sites, specialist games dealers and other places second hand goods are traded. The DDR:uk crew are offering a reward for any information.

The DDR:uk crew also help run events at anime conventions such as the games room, which was a huge success at AmeCon 2006, with the DDR machine being a huge attraction, along with the more unusual classic games. DDR:uk also put a plea out for hardware and games donation to help replace what was stolen.

On a side note the AmeCon manga library (which is made up of generous donations from Tokyopop and Tanoshimi and is stored with the DDR:uk hardware), was also vanadilised by the same criminals, with boxes of manga thrown out onto the street into the rain, and is now spoiled as a result.

We've deliberatly posted this to all editions of Otaku News, as although the items in question were stolen in the UK, many of the items stolen are rare they're desirable internationally, so all our readers should be made aware.

Tokyo Police Get Heavy on Otaku Culture

Date: 2006 July 28 09:58 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Fandom

In another interesting article from the Mainichi Daily News reports that otaku culture in Akihabara is under threat. Traditionally every Sunday the main strip through Akihabara is closed to traffic, allowing pedestrians to rule the roads, bands to play in the street and ladies dressed in maid costumes to handout pamphlets for events otaku will be interested in.

But recently the police have been stopping bands' performances and prevented maids from handing out their leaflets causing many otaku to complain that they're being persecuted. On Sundays the street is frequently packed with cosplayers and fans taking photographs. The article reports that the cosplayers and photographers are "they're at least wary, if not afraid, of the cops".

The Secret Otaku Support Commission

Date: 2006 July 28 09:10 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Freaky Things

It may sound like a name of some new romantic comedy anime, but in fact it's a match up service. The Mainichi Daily News are currently running a story about the Secret Otaku Support Commission, a service that allows female otaku who rather hide their nerd like tendencies to rent another female otaku to hangout with. The service is expensive and the MDN discover that the matching service isn't exactly perfect, with their match up as the rented otaku girl was too young to have seen most of the anime the reporter enjoyed.

Souce: Mainichi Daily News

Future of Anime and Manga Looking Bright in the US

Date: 2006 July 24 04:22 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

The Mainichi Daily News are currently running an article about the success of anime and manga in the US. Reporting from Anime Expo, the article focuses on how anime and manga is becoming more mainstream and also more popular with girls. This trend has been seen in the US for a number of years now, with female convention attendance growing strongly each year. Interestingly this trend is also being mirrored in other fan events across the world too, four or five years ago UK anime fandom used to be the sole domain of rather geeky males, now the UK anime scene also has growing female attendance, along with more mainstream acceptance.

Souce: Mainichi Daily News

Free Visual Novel Construction Tool Released

Date: 2006 July 24 03:58 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Gaming > PC

Fans of dating games will be pleased to hear that the nice folks from CuriousFactory and Buredo have released a free game engine and construction kit, designed at making Visual Novels easy to produce in English. In a nutshell this will allow users to create their own interactive stories, anime and manga fans will probably be most familiar with dating games, but the companies are keen to promote that you can also produce other games using their game engine.

A good story is a must, good artwork is always nice too, but there are some crafty ways around this, such as taking photos of things and then using a bit of photoshop magic. It’ll be interesting to see if any otaku take up developing games on this engine. Currently the engine is Windows only.

IMAF 2006 Launches

Date: 2006 July 20 15:48 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Art

The good folks from IMAF have got in touch with us to tell everyone about their third International Manga and Anime Festival, which will run on Friday 10th to Tuesday 14th November 2006, at the usual venue of County Hall, Westminster, London.

If you're like me and can't draw you can go and look at all the lovely artwork submitted. On the other hand if you are artistically talented you can enter for a chance to win part of the $85,000 overall prize fund! Entrants take note, the deadline is 30th September, 2006, no later than 5:30pm. This is a real chance to show how skilled you are and can lead to even things. So get scribbling!

Tokyopop Music

Date: 2006 July 14 10:42 | Posted By: Jeremy

Category > Anime

Tokyopop announces their own music line to release tunes based on hit anime.

An Otaku in Paradise

Date: 2006 July 11 22:56 | Posted By: Queen Of Swords

Category > Fandom

For this middle American otaku finding good anime to rent was like finding an ounce of fat on Paris Hilton. Then along came the brilliant Netflix commercials to lead her to the Horn O' Pleanty.

Manga Summer Reading

Date: 2006 June 30 10:29 | Posted By: Jeremy

Category > Manga

Tokyopop teams up with the Los Angeles Public Library to launch manga summer reading program.

Rennai NEETs a New Kind of Dropout

Date: 2006 June 26 15:15 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Freaky Things

From the country that brought you hikikomori, the Japanese now have a new kind of outcast, Rennai NEETs, (Not in Employment, Education or Training). According to Mainichi Daily News the twist with Rennai NEETs is that they enjoy being single. Apparently a survey of 3000 single Japanese men discovered that two thirds do not have a girlfriend and one third haven't had a partner for three years or more. They state that looking for a girlfriend is too much nuisance and there are limited opportunities for them to meet girls. They also mention Dragon Odawara, an artist who specialises in Rennai NEET manga.

The article goes on to explain the Psychological reasons for Rennai NEETs and then raises concern as half of Japan's men in their 30's are unmarried, and is worried that this figure will grow. Results to the Japanese economy could be disastrous in years to come, especially when you factor in the declining Japanese birthrate.

Souce: Mainichi Daily News

FuyuCon UK Convention Set For October 2007

Date: 2006 June 21 07:45 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Events

The good people from the East Midlands Anime Group have arranged a convention for Friday 19th October to Sunday 21st October 2007. FuyuCon has capacity for 500 members and will be based at the Britannia Hotel Nottingham. Full weekend membership costs £40.

Anime expert Helen McCarthy will be the guest for FuyuCon, it will be her first UK anime convention appearance in a while. Helen regularly attends US conventions such as A-Kon.

FuyuCon is a welcome addition to the UK anime convention calendar. Since the capacity is 500, we suggest you book as soon as possible to avoid any disappointment.

Death Note Manga Proves Popular

Date: 2006 June 18 17:22 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Manga

The Mainichi Daily News is currently running a story about the popular manga Death Note in their national news section, they state it's now established as one of Japan's greatest-ever manga. The 11 volume series of books have already sold a combined total of 18 million issues.

Unusually little is known about the author and artist Tsugumi Oba, not even his/her gender as Tsugumi can be use by a boy or girl.

The story focuses on Raito, a boy who finds a notebook that gives him the ability to kill people by simply writing their name down in it, along with how they die. Anime and video game versions are currently in production.

Souce: Mainichi Daily News

London Barbican Anime Screenings

Date: 2006 June 14 15:25 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime > Film

Following on from our news about Children's anime screenings, it seems that the London Barbican have gone Japanese cinema crazy! Not only will they be showing some great bits of anime, they'll also holding a Toru Takemitsu season featuring films the composer has scored.

Selected shows will be introduced by anime expert Helen McCarthy, I've been to past events at other venues, and often they get so called anime experts to introduce shows, or give talks, and it's clear they don't know what they're talking about, Helen however is a real anime expert, having written numerous high quality books on the subject and many magazine articles.

Anime wise they'll be showing:

Saturday, 8 July at 1.45pm: Akira
If you haven't seen this film on a big screen yet, then get over to London and see the anime classic.

Saturday, 8 July 4.15pm: Tokyo Godfathers
Satoshi Kon's superb film about three homeless people's adventures at Christmas. This charming feature is an all time favourite of the Otaku News crew.

Sunday 9 July, 1.45pm: Paranoia Agent: Episodes 1 To 4
Satoshi Kon's TV series, which proves to be very thought provoking, as a special bonus the series will be introduced by Helen McCarthy. We've got a review of Paranoia Agent here.

Sunday 9th July, 3.45pm: Makoto Shinkai Triple Bill
Shinkai became famous for producing anime from home using his computer! They'll be showing the cute She and Her Cat, along with Voices of a Distant Star (influenced by shows like Gunbuster), with a special UK Premiere of The Place Promised In Our Early Days. The triple bill will also be introduced by Helen McCarthy and is worth attending to hear what insight she has throw on director and his work.

In all cases we suggest you book now to avoid disappointment.

Tomo Dachi Northern Irish Anime Covention Coming Soon

Date: 2006 May 11 14:27 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Events

Those good people at Tomo-Dachi have just sent us there latest press release, it contains more details about the Northern Irish convention set for 7th July to 9th July. Highlight's include US guests Tiffany Grant and Matt Greenfield, they'll both provide an interesting insight into the anime industry. Unfortunately, due to personal reasons anime and manga expert Jonathan Clements had to pull out, but has promised to attend the 2007 Tomo-Dachi.

The convention also promises a great selection of panels, workshops and other cool anime events. They'll also be playing a selection of traditional Japanese games such as Go and Shogi . Booking closes on May 30th, so get moving if you're interested! ^_^

Neon Genesis Evangelion Features

Date: 2006 May 09 17:41 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

The Mainichi Daily News are currently running an interesting set of features about Neon Genesis Evangelion, they contain all sorts of great bits of information. Be warned there a lot of spoilers in each article!

Evangelion Special: From phenomenon to legacy - Forms an overview of the series and how it differs from previous anime titles, along with the impact Eva had on the Japanese media and public.

Evangelion Special: For producer Otsuki, success not always a bed of roses - Interviews producer Toshimichi Otsuki who talks about some of the history of Evangelion and the difficulties in being a producer, along with how influential Eva is.

Evangelion Special: Genesis of a major manga - Focuses on the history of Gainax and the origins of Evangelion, fans of Gunbuster will already know that this is referred to as it's original Japanese title Top wo Nerae!" (Aim for the Top).

Then they have the episode synopsis which form a brief outline of each episode.

Evangelion Episode Synopsis - Episodes 1 to 5
Evangelion Episode Synopsis - Episodes 6 to 10
Evangelion Episode Synopsis - Episodes 11 to 15
Evangelion Episode Synopsis - Episodes 16 to 20
Evangelion Episode Synopsis - Episodes 21 to 26

Souce: Mainichi Daily News

Learning Japanese with Manga

Date: 2006 May 04 17:11 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Manga

Fed up of reading ill informed badly researched articles by people who think their anime and manga experts we're please to have discovered this article by manga guru Frederik L. Schodt, he's written several excellent books on manga and even translated both Ghost in The Shell manga with Toren Smith (in otherwords, unlike the many bandwagon jumpers out there, he knows his stuff). The article on the Japan Times Online website focuses on American students using manga to learn Japanese.

Schodt highlights that since they're highly addictive and a lot better than forcing adults to repeat infantile passages in textbooks they make a great learning tool. The article has a lot more information, so go and read it! ^_^

Souce: Japan Times Online

J-Pop Events in the UK

Date: 2006 April 30 16:31 | Posted By: Azure

Category > Events

It's a busy time for J-music fans in the UK! Not only is J-Pop Go a regular event but there are also numerous other things happening. This includes a benefit performance for Mika Bomb's drummer Ergi on the 15th of May and the It came from Japan, Japanese music showcase which is running across England from the 16th-20th May.

VIZ and Cartoon Network Go Broadband

Date: 2006 April 27 11:01 | Posted By: Jeremy

Category > Anime

VIZ and Cartoon Network to launch new broadband site, Toonami Jetstream, to feature recent television hits and new shows not yet available.

London Cosplay Cafe at Cafe Manga

Date: 2006 April 21 11:07 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Events

Emily has sent us a friendly reminder about Cosplay Cafe at Cafe Manga in London this Sunday from 2pm-5.30pm, and the first 10 cosplayers who arrive will receive some goodies from a lucky dip. It sounds like great fun, so get your costumes ready and head to Westminster!

Anime Forest.com Closing Down

Date: 2006 April 18 11:31 | Posted By: Jeremy

Category > Anime

Bad news for American anime fans. Anime News Network has reported that Anime Forest.com, the popular on-line rental site, will be shutting down after three years of service. An e-mail was sent out to customers of the site informing them of the closing, though reasons as to why were not given. Per-rental services ceased on April 7th, while subscription services will end on April 30. Anime Forest thanks their customers for their support in the e-mail. They will be missed.

Souce: Anime News Network

MAME 3 now out

Date: 2006 April 14 11:37 | Posted By: Azure

Category > Fandom

Voxie has let us know that MAME issue 3 is now out and available to order for only £1.50. MAME is a fanzine dedicated to chronicling the UK fan scene. The 'zine features two comics one of which was drawn by Rising Stars of manga winner Sonia Leong, as well as a mix of articles including event reports, reviews of both pro and fan comics as well as news.

Souce: MAME

J-Pop Go Update

Date: 2006 April 14 10:52 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Events

The nice folks from J-Pop Go, have sent us their latest news, the last event raised over £200 for Ergi. They've also go a nice selection of events lined up in the future, J-Pop July is set to have a Magical Girls and Boy's theme (here's hoping for naked transformation sequences). We're really looking forward to Ninja's vs Pirates Night, since the battle has been going on for ever, although we all know that Ninja's have real ultimate power. October is set to be Halloween themed, and as you can imagine December is set to be J-Pop Ho-Ho-Ho with a Christmas theme.

Read More... | Souce: J-Pop Go

CLAMP at Anime Expo

Date: 2006 April 13 11:54 | Posted By: Jeremy

Category > Events

CLAMP makes their first US appearance at Anime Expo.

Bleach Debuts in September

Date: 2006 April 11 10:49 | Posted By: Jeremy

Category > Anime

Here's another update to the upcoming addition of the hit supernatural action series Bleach to the late night Adult Swim line-up. Anime News Network has announced that the show will premiere on a September date of this year. An official set date for the series has not yet been announced.

Souce: Anime News Network

Lucky Eureka SeveN

Date: 2006 April 07 15:15 | Posted By: Jeremy

Category > Anime

Bandai Entertainment announces major plans for TV and online release of Eureka SeveN in America.

Sweatdrop Studios to Attend Bristol Comics Expo

Date: 2006 April 06 17:01 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Events

Our chum Sonia has just sent us details of Sweatdrop's appearance at the Bristol Comics Expo on May 13th - 14th.

Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children DVD Details

Date: 2006 April 06 16:49 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime > DVD

Otaku rejoice! The popular RPG game series Final Fantasy has stolen many hours of our lives, especially Final Fantasy VII, which is why a CGI movie was made. It's set two years after the events of the game, and features everyone favourite Cloud and Sephiroth. It's due for UK release on DVD and UMD on April 24th and April 25th in the USA, it looks like it's going to be good.

Update: We now have a review of Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children.

Cosplay Cafe at Cafe Manga

Date: 2006 March 29 17:54 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Events

Emily has just sent us some details about an event she's organising in London next month, Cosplay Cafe at Cafe Manga. Aimed at Cosplayers kameko (photographers) and their chums. It's set for Sunday 23rd April, 2pm-5.30pm, and includes fun activities like a photoshoot, a talk/workshop, a quiz, anime and live action screenings, along with a swap table. They'll even have goodies to give away too! ^_^

Tokyo Anime Center, Yet Another Reason to Visit Akihabara

Date: 2006 March 27 16:45 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

Akihabara has always been a dream for every otaku with it's electronics and anime stores, but now there is another reason to visit. The Tokyo Anime Center promises to be the worlds first anime information outpost opened March 15th. The industry backed center is aimed for Japanese and overseas fans alike to get the most up-to-date information and also participate in events and even public radio recordings with industry figureheads like creators and voice actors! They'll also be selling merchandise! *drools*

The Akiba 3D Theater looks like a real treat too, which will screen popular titles and also preview the "latest visuals" too.

Souce: Tokyo Anime Center

J-Pop Go April

Date: 2006 March 26 08:51 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Events

London J-Pop fans should get out their Sailor Suits and Gakuran and head over to J-Pop Go this Saturday, where they'll be having a Japanese School Disco theme at the Cafe Manga Venue. The nice folk at ADV Films UK are sponsoring the events and as an appropriate tie in will be promoting Cromartie High School. The venue opens at 7pm and the party goes on to 1am. It sounds like fun and will certainly make a great anime weekend, with the London Anime Club the next day.

Read More... | Souce: J-Pop Go

Otaku News Launch T-Shirt Shop

Date: 2006 March 19 15:12 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Retail

When we go to conventions and other anime relelated events, we always tend to wear Otaku News T-shirts, they've generated a lot of interest with people asking where can they buy them, we always felt bad telling people that they can't. So after a lot of hunting around we've found a good on-line t-shirt seller to team up with to sell t-shirts for both guys and gals, along with other items.

We've set up two seperate shops, one for our US Readers, and another for our readers in the UK and Europe, so if you're interested select and shop and have a good, look. We've also produced some t-shirts with witty slogans on, which are ideal for anime conventions!

Otaku News US Shop

Otaku News UK / Europe Shop

Souce: Otaku News Shop

Naruto Makes Top 30

Date: 2006 March 14 12:23 | Posted By: Jeremy

Category > Manga

Latest volume of Naruto cracks the Top 30 of USA Today's best seller list.

Howl's Moving Castle Out This Week

Date: 2006 March 12 18:37 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime > DVD

While our US readers where treated to the DVD release of Howl's Moving Castle last week, our UK and Australian readers might want to take a look at our review of Howl's Moving Castle. Optimum and Madman really have put a nice lot of extras on this release, and it's good to see that along with a sub and a dub version they've also supplied subtitles for the English Language track.

The gap between the Japanese and US/UK release of this title was less than 5 months instead of 2 years compared to the UK DVD release of Spirited Away, it really shows you how much more mainstream anime has now become! It's also impressive to note that the US/UK/AU DVD releases are in the same two weeks, a first for a Ghibli English language DVD release! UK fans might want to hunt around for cut price bargains online and also consider that Amazon UK have an exclusive cover.

Souce: Otaku News Howl\'s Moving Castle Review

Mixed Reactions Over Manga Panties Giveaway

Date: 2006 February 28 13:05 | Posted By: Spike

Category > Freaky Things

According to the Daily Mainichi News, Japanese magazine Cyzo has lashed out over a new manga that is being promoted with the gift of a pair of what they are describing as being "commonly worn by pre-schoolers".

Adult Swim Fix

Date: 2006 February 20 10:33 | Posted By: Jeremy

Category > Anime

Adult Swim to start featuring classic and new shows on website, seven days a week.

The Nature of Monkey Was Irrepressible

Date: 2006 February 13 16:47 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Culture

British, Australian and New Zealand readers of Otaku News especially may remember a TV show called Monkey based on Journey to the West a classic tale by Xi You Ji, known as Saiyuki in Japan. Yes, we're talking about the same Monkey famed for his Monkey Magic (Born from an egg on a mountain top, The punkiest Monkey that ever popped), according to the Daily Yomiuri On-line Fuji TV have started to air a new version of Monkey. Ratings are already high and Fuji TV have stated that they've received enquires for this new version of the cult TV show from the UK and Australia. We're pondering how long it will take for a TV studio to rollout a great cheesy dub.

Our UK readers who can view ITV 4 can catch the original Monkey TV show on Thursdays and Fridays at 6pm.

In the mean time we suggest our Brisbane based readers head over to Roma Street Parklands to see Monkey at the theatre! ^_-

Souce: Daily Yomiuri On-line

PC Case For Real Otaku

Date: 2006 February 13 14:49 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Freaky Things

Even here at Otaku News, every now and then we find something that just screams hardcore otaku. It's normally something odd that only an otaku would want, but not just a everyday otaku, someone who wants to scream out to the world that they are a more extreme breed of otaku. Shuttle PC cases are cool, but can you image one with an anime paint job on the case? The example here is based on the hentai game Gift (although you wouldn't guess it's hentai from looking at the case), retailer Fast Online have a few other models too.

Shuttle have a good reputation for producing barebone systems with a smaller form factor, and have excellent build quality. Looking at the photos the artwork looks really nice and we're actually tempted to buy one since they're 39,800 JPY (which works out at $340 USD or £195 GBP), but then again, we're not into hentai.

Souce: Fast Online

Sweatdrop Shop

Date: 2006 February 12 14:45 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Fandom

Those artistic people from Sweatdrop Studios have dropped us a line to tell us about their new on-line shopping system. They take Paypal too, which is useful for those who don't have or want credit cards. We recommend you grab a copy of Sugardrops if you haven't already, since it contains artwork from a selection of the Sweatdrop Crew. The press release they sent us also has a discount coupon. ^_-

The New Anime Encyclopedia

Date: 2006 February 09 10:42 | Posted By: Jeremy

Category > Anime

Want to know more about your favorite anime series, or about ones you haven’t heard of yet? Anime News Network has announced that Stone Bridge Press will be releasing The Anime Encyclopedia 2 later this year. The new volume will contain new entries as well as updated information and added reviews to the already massive book. And given all the anime that has been released in the last five years, from Miyazaki’s latest film Howl’s Moving Castle to TV series such as Blood+ and Negima, it’s sure to be a lot.

Written by Jonathan Clements and Helen McCarthy and released in 2001, the first Anime Encyclopedia is a 545 page tome featuring information on every anime film, television series and OAV series ever released, including titles that have never been licensed and released in America. The information for each entry included the release date, original Japanese title, production studios and crew, story plot and a short review. Its been considered a must-have for any American otaku who has ever wanted to learn more about their favorite titles and about ones they’ve never heard of before. And with the new volume and its updated information on the way, they’ll be able to find out even more.

Souce: Anime News Network

J-Pop Go February - The Lurve Is Go

Date: 2006 February 02 17:57 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Events

The nice folks from J-Pop go have just sent us the details for their February event, this time it's at a new venue, the Cafe Manga (near to the London Eye, which is a great location). Set for Saturday February 11th tickets are available via the J-Pop Go Website. It seems they've also teamed up with evil games company Ubisoft, "Why are they evil we hear you cry?", well the answers simple Ubisoft distribute the most addictive game ever on the PSP - Lumines, a game so truly hypnotic it will suck days of your life in the blink of an eye. ^_- They've also teamed up with ADV Films UK for some goodies

Read More... | Souce: J-Pop Go

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