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London Anime Club is Next Weekend

Date: 2005 August 06 11:39 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Events

A quick reminder to our London based readers, the London Anime Club which is normally held on the first Sunday of every month, will be on 14th August so not to clash with the 63rd World Science Fiction Convention in Glasgow which has an anime events run this weekend.

Souce: London Anime Club

Japan Manga Tour

Date: 2005 August 04 16:44 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Press Releases

UK Travel company Japan Journeys have sent us details of their package holiday Japan Manga Tour a package departing from London to Tokyo. The highlights include a visit to the fantastic Ghibli Museum, the historical Meiji Shrine, the fashionable Harajuku and the Aladdin's cave of an anime store that is Mandarake.

All of the above places are worth visiting for one reason or another from the cultural value, to the outright wacky. The Otaku News Crew suggest you add the locations to your list of places to visit, for when you're in Tokyo next! ^_-

AmeCon 2006 Details

Date: 2005 August 02 17:26 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

With AyaCon about to kick off in a few weeks, the AmeCon Crew have sent us the details of their Leicester based convention. Set to run from Friday 11th August to late on Sunday 13th in 2006 the convention looks like it's going to be good. The press release they've sent us has the full details and covers pretty much all the questions you could ask at this stage. It's great to see they've got the details sorted out even a year before the events set to run.

The guests include Monica Rial who was a real hoot at last years Amecon and interviewed really well, along with fellow voice actor Greg Ayres.

The AmeCon Crew have also decided to host a Cosplay Ball, which sounds exciting and attendees are advised to wear cosplay or formal wear (which basically means cosplay as Tuxedo Mask ^_-). The Otaku News Crew were at the first AmeCon and we've already paid the deposit for next years.

Mechademia Calls Out For Submissions

Date: 2005 August 02 17:21 | Posted By: Jeremy

Category > Fandom

New anime and manga-based academic journal Mechademia is looking for sbumissions for future issues.

Harajuku Styles Go International

Date: 2005 August 02 16:51 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Fandom

Otaku News has watched the Gothic Lolita crazy gain popularity in western otaku fandom and it seems that Japan Today have discovered a group of international girls all based in Japan who love the "Harajuku styles". The article profiles the group and their interest in the fashion crazes. For those wondering purikura is basically photo stickers taken in special photo booths.

Souce: Japan Today

Otaku Could Revive Japanese Economy

Date: 2005 August 02 16:25 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Fandom

According to Mainichi Daily News, Densha Otoko (Train Man as reported previously on Otaku News), has sparked an interest in otaku in Japan and also increased sales of items related to the story. The article mainly focuses on how much the otaku market is worth and mentions "moe sangyo" - products people don't need to have (hobby merchandise), which is worth an estimated 88 billion yen!

Apparently one private think tank believe that Japan's otaku population is about 2.8 mullion. If half of them feel in love the effect on the Japanese economy would be great, dating could make 330 billion yen!

Souce: Mainichi Daily News

Cosplay Parade at Nagoya

Date: 2005 August 01 10:40 | Posted By: Davie

Category > Anime

According to Mainichi Daily News about 100 cosplayers including nine foreign women surprised shoppers at Nagoya when they appeared in a cosplay parade at an Arcade in advance of the World Cosplay Summit 2005 to be held Aug. 7 at the Aichi Expo.

The Cosplayers left shoppers at the Osu Shopping Arcade delighted who gave them a sight they would normally not see everyday.

Ilsa, a 28-year-old woman working at the Expo's Belgian Pavilion and one of the cosplayers who hit the arcade, spoke up loudly for the costume culture.

Ilsa said "cosplay is now a word commonly used throughout the world." She added, "in Europe, cosplaying is not regarded as an activity only for otaku geeks."

Souce: Mainichi Daily News

Adult Swim Announces Evangelion Start Date

Date: 2005 July 30 17:04 | Posted By: Jeremy

Category > Anime

In an update to a recent article, Anime News Network has announced a start date for the hit anime series Neon Genesis Evangelion, which is set to debut on the Adult Swim Network this fall. The show will air on Thursday nights, starting October 20th at 12:30 am. There is no specification as to whether this is Eastern or Central Standard Time.

In somewhat related news, new episodes of Full Metal Alchemist, the recent hit that debuted earlier this year, will also be debuting this fall. The new episodes will begin on Saturday, September 17 at midnight. Full Metal Alchemist tells the tale of Edward and Alphonse Elric, two brothers who search for a means to restore their bodies to normal following a failed attempt to restore their mother to life using alchemy.

Souce: Anime News Network

Save ConnectiCon

Date: 2005 July 23 21:41 | Posted By: Jeremy

Category > Events

Anime News Network has announced some bad news for ConnectiCon, the Connecticut-based multi-genre convention dedicated to anime, gaming, webcomics, science fiction, fantasy and more. Thanks to some last minute changes caused by "a series of misunderstandings", the organizers of the convention have incurred over $30,000 of personal debt.

Luckily for ConnectiCon, help is on the way. A group of webcomics, including Apple Geeks, MacHall, VG Cats and more, have organized a drive called "Save ConnectiCon" to help raise funds to help the convention with its financial troubles. The drive is based at a website, which has a members only section for individuals that donate $5.00 or more. This exclusive section includes artwork/wallpapers and other content from the webcomics involved. Also, according to Ananth Panagariya at Apple Geeks, some webcomics will also be putting original art on auction to help in raising money to save the event.

Donations are currently being accepted at the Save ConnectiCon website via Paypal. The drive has already managed to raise over $14,000 in under three days.

Souce: Anime News Network

AOL Radio Launches Japanese Pop Station

Date: 2005 July 22 18:00 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Websites

The people over at AOL have just sent details of their new Japanese Pop Station. It seems that AOL Radio listeners enjoyed the Video Game Scores station so much that AOL have added a Japanese Pop station due to popular demand!

Spirited Away Makes BFI Must See List

Date: 2005 July 20 07:01 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime > Film

According to BBC News, the British Film Institute have complied a list of films that every child should have watched by the age of 14.

The list was put together with help from the public and is intended to spark debate about what children should watch.

Unsurprisingly, The Wizard of Oz, ET and Toy Story are listed, but it also seems that BFI (or perhaps the public in general) know what they're talking about by suggesting Spirited Away, Hayao Miyazaki's tale of a girl drawn into a world of magic after her parents pig out on forbidden food.

The BFI selected 50 films and eventually whittled them down to 10.

Souce: BBC News

Newtype USA to Launch Evangelion Serial Manga

Date: 2005 July 19 22:38 | Posted By: Jeremy

Category > Manga

Newtype USA will be releasing game-based Evangelion manga, Angelic Hearts, as serial starting in August issue.

More Otaku Test Details

Date: 2005 July 17 12:39 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Fandom

Following up on our earlier story on the Otaku Test, The Japan Times Online are running a story on how big the response has been, apparently publisher Biblos expected only 1,000 people would apply, but it seems that the actual number will be much bigger. The article also has example questions for the test and a brief history of the origin of otaku.

Souce: The Japan Times Online

Evangelion To Be On Adult Swim

Date: 2005 July 12 22:12 | Posted By: Jeremy

Category > Anime > TV

Anime News Network has announced that Neon Genesis Evangelion, the hit anime that revolutionized the giant robot genre in particular and anime in general, will be debuting on Adult Swim as part of its late night line-up. No air date has been released, but the show is said to be appearing sometime in the near future.

MinamiCon 12 Registrations Now Open

Date: 2005 July 12 13:50 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Events

London Anime Club President Dragon, has just informed us that registrations for the MinamiCon 12, the Southampton, UK based anime convention are now open. It's set for the 17th-19th March 2006. Registration costs £42 per person for the full weekend, and for an extra £10 you can also get a convention t-shirt.

Souce: MinamiCon 12

J-Pop Go July Still Go!

Date: 2005 July 11 16:56 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Events

Our club bunny readers will be pleased to hear that despite recent tragic events in London, J-Pop Go July is indeed still Go and set for Wednesday 13th July. Tickets are still available at venue on the night.

The Otaku News Crew advise that you allow extra travel time to get the venue Fluid.

Regular contributor Voxie went to the last J-Pop go and has written a report of the event.

National Unified Otaku Proficiency Exam

Date: 2005 July 11 16:43 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Fandom

Who is the biggest otaku? Is your friend Steve a bigger otaku than you? If so why? Well publisher Biblos are going to solve this question finally by holding the first Japanese national unified otaku proficient exam in their August 5th Edition of Elfix Magazine.

They claim they want to nurture an "otaku elite to carry the otaku culture through the 21st century".

The Mainichi Daily News explain that the magazine will even grade their otaku awareness level if readers write their answers down on a postcard and send it to the Elfix staff. The best results will be printed in the October 5th edition of the magazine.

Japan University Forms New Manga Department

Date: 2005 July 05 17:54 | Posted By: Jeremy

Category > Manga

Going to school to learn about art just got a whole lot cooler. At least in Japan it has. Anime News Network has announced that the first ever Manga Department will begin next spring in 2006 at Kyoto Seika University in Japan. The school's already existing manga art courses will be merged together to form the new department. 200 students will have the option to take classes that not only include how to produce manga, but also animation courses as well. No details have yet been provided on exactly what classes will be available.

Souce: Anime News Network

Nippon Airways Dolls attract hundreds of fans

Date: 2005 July 05 08:51 | Posted By: Davie

Category > Retail

According to Mainichi Daily News, hundreds of fans gathered to buy dolls with baby faces and dressed in Nippon Airways female flight attendant's uniforms.

VIZ Media Makes Licensing Deals for "Naruto"

Date: 2005 July 01 21:29 | Posted By: Jeremy

Category > Anime

VIZ Media, LLC has announced on its website that it has made licensing deals with Bandai America and Hot Topic, Inc. for one of its most popular titles, "Naruto", the action-comedy about a young ninja, infused with the spirit of a powerful fox-demon, who strives to be the greatest ninja of all and learns life lessons along the way. This comes following the announcement of the "Naruto" anime, currently one of the highest rated shows in Japan, debuting on Cartoon Network this fall. VIZ Media currently publishes the "Naruto" manga in the monthly anthology "Shonen Jump", as well as in graphic novel format.

Looking For a Japanese Girlfriend? Then Get The T-shirt!

Date: 2005 July 01 19:51 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Fandom

At any anime convention apart from cosplayers, you'll notice another popular fashion with otaku, t-shirts. The most common seem to be standard series specific t-shirts with large prints of characters on them, over the last couple of years at anime conventions the more fashionable anime fans has been wearing t-shirts a bit different.

One had kanji and hiragana characters and took me a second to figure out what it said "Looking for a Japanese Girlfriend", I wondered if the guy wearing it actually knew what it meant, since I've seen many Japanese people wearing Engrish t-shirts, it makes sense that gaijin would also make similar mistakes! But apparently he did know what it said, and I've even heard cases were the t-shirts in question work. ^_^

I first noticed these t-shirts a few years ago, when I saw them at a UK anime convention, since them I've seen them at US and even Japanese anime conventions too. Where ever there is fandom, these t-shirts appear. We've been able to track down the makers of these t-shirts - Japan and US based J-List. Not wanting to miss out on a chance to get more information about this current trend the Otaku News Crew too the opportunity to interview J-List's founder Peter Payne to discover what other t-shirts they sold and why!

Aichi To Keep Satsuki's and Mei's House

Date: 2005 June 27 14:10 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

Following on from several stories about Satsuki's and Mei's House, Anime News Network cite Yahoo! News Japan, stating that the popular attraction at the World Expo 2005 In Aichi, Japan will stay in Aichi. Previously several other groups and cities all took a keen interest in hosting the replica house from My Neighbor Totoro.

Apparently the house will be transferred to the Aichi prefecture in September, they will not have to pay to buy the house, however they have been concerned about it's high cost to maintain. The Otaku News Crew believe that the building must attract a lot of soot sprites!

Souce: Anime News Network

J-Pop Go July!

Date: 2005 June 23 17:12 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Events

The funky people over at J-Pop Go have just told that that their tickets are now available for their next event. It'll be on Wednesday 13th July at Fluid in London. This time around you can buy their magazine separately from the tickets, so even if you can't go you can read up about all the latest J-Pop events.

Our very own resident club bunny Voxie has written a report on the first J-Pop Go too. ^_^

Only 49 Places Left at AyaCon

Date: 2005 June 21 19:07 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Events

Popular UK Anime convention AyaCon are now down to their last 49 places. The convention always proves a hit and once it has sold out getting a ticket to the event is very hard, normally people have to wait for registered members to cancel.

AyaCon 5 is set to be the biggest UK anime convention to date with 1200 fans in attendance. Currently hosting an anime convention of this size is tricky and it's always nice to know that the people running the convention have experience and a proven track record at organising anime conventions. So book now to avoid disappointment.

What will be interesting to see is where will anime conventions go after this. Anime and manga is getting increasingly popular in the UK and more events are being held all the time. Surely more people will want to go to anime conventions run by anime fans like AmeCon, AyaCon and MinamiCon, however there are a only a limited number of venues that can cater for a fan run anime convention in the UK larger than 1200 people, anything bigger and all sorts of logistical factors kick in making organising an event a lot more complex. The Otaku News Crew wonder what will happen next, will these conventions continue with the same capacity, or will they be able to find even bigger venues to hold larger events? Whatever happens we certainly look forward to future fan run anime conventions.

Souce: AyaCon

Geeky Girl Otaku

Date: 2005 June 19 16:07 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Fandom

Here at Otaku News, not only do we cover anime news, manga news and news for fans of Japan, but we also like to run stories on otaku! We have to, otherwise we would have to search for another name! ^_-

The Mainichi Daily News are currently running a story about Female Otaku in Japan and fandom from their perspective. It certainly makes an interesting read. You'll also learn that Ikebukuro is the otaku girls paradise, while Akihabara is the guys (but everyone probably already knows about Akihabara, the electronic district in Tokyo).

Souce: Mainichi Daily News

J-pop Go Returns

Date: 2005 June 06 13:26 | Posted By: Azure

Category > Events

Following on from its recent success J-pop Go is back at Fluid on the 13th July. Please click Read More for the latest press release.

IMAF Winner Featured on BBC

Date: 2005 May 24 12:14 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

Those alert people at UKAnime.com (who seem unable to hyperlink to us correctly when mentioning our articles) have discovered an article on the BBC Birmingham Website which reports on the talented Asia Alfasi, winner of the Kids Character Design in the IMAF 2004 competition, who drew on her heritage to create Monir a feisty young Arabian. Details of the other winners can be found on this previous Otaku News article.

Souce: BBC Birmingham

Blood At AyaCon

Date: 2005 May 19 17:57 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Events

The popular UK anime convention AyaCon have announced that their guests for this year will be visual kei band Blood. The last AyaCon had MegaTokyo artist Fred Gallagher who proved to be an excellent choice (a detailed report can be found here).

This seems like an interesting choice for guests, since Blood do not have a direct connection to Anime fandom, unlike MegaTokyo which is read by many anime fans. The Otaku News Crew wonder if more Visual Kei, J-Pop and J-Rock fans will register for the convention, who have no real interested in anime, with just over 300 places left at the time of writing this article AyaCon is selling out fast normally the last 200 or so places tend to go very quickly. We also wonder if the popular J-Pop/Rock party at AmeCon last year had any influence on the committee members.

It's good to see that UK anime conventions are experimenting with the type of guests they have and also take the standard anime convention in a new direction. This is the fifth AyaCon, and based on our previous experiences there the convention is normally very well run and certainlly well worth attending.

Interaction to Preview Howl's Moving Castle

Date: 2005 May 12 18:47 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime > Film

We've just received some very exciting news about Interaction, the 63rd World Science Fiction Convention, which will be previewing Howl's Moving Castle. It's the long awaited latest movie from Studio Ghibli director Hayao Miyazaki, who is also responsible for Spirited Away (the first anime film to have won an Oscar).

They'll also be showing anime musical Interstella 5555, with music from Daft Punk, it's directed by Leiji Matsumoto & Kazuhisa Takenôchi, and has the distinctive Matsumoto character designs, even if they are blue aliens instead of humans! The convention are even screening Appleseed, a CGI movie based on the popular manga by Masamune Shirow (who is best known for Ghost In The Shell).

It appears that the event coordinator David 'Dragon' Cotterill has been a busy man, not only has he helped to secure the film screenings, but he has also managed to get leading anime experts like Jonathan Clements (co-author of the Anime Encyclopedia and the Dorama Encyclopedia: A Guide to Japanese TV Drama since 1953), to step onboard to run panels and discussions.

The Otaku News Crew are pleased to report that this makes the convention worth while for anime fans, since the film line up is interesting, and being the first to see Howl's Moving Castle in the UK makes it worth the visit alone! It's also refreshing to see that they've got established and experienced anime experts who actually know what they are talking about, more recently we've noticed that there are quite self declared experts appearing at smaller events who have only really got into anime because it's "cool", in reality such people jumping on the bandwagon know little and often turn events into disasters. We've seen Jonathan at previous events and found him to be entertaining and informative.

Manga Art Competition At London Expo

Date: 2005 May 10 18:20 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Events

Sonia Leong from UK manga style art group Sweatdrop Studios has just sent us the details of a Manga Art Competition which will be held at the London Expo this weekend. The competition is sponsored by Letraset who will be giving the winners some highly desirable colour professional Letraset Tria Marker collections, worth over £70 each.

So if you can draw and will be at the London Expo then why not give it a shot? ^_^

Su Doku Newspaper Wars

Date: 2005 May 10 18:09 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Current Affairs

BBC's Newsnight show, have just run a TV version of this BBC News article about Su Doku. The article basically explains that a news paper war has broken out in the UK over the Japanese number puzzle Su Doku, an addicting game that can be solved using logic, so those with a phobia of mathematics can play! The game is becoming so popular it's actually now a selling point on newspapers front pages. Su Doku can be computer generated, so if you want to play take a look at Sudoku.com.

Souce: BBC News

Otaku News Adds DVD Reviews

Date: 2005 May 08 18:45 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Websites

Here at Otaku News we listen to you, our readers comments and will always try to improve the site based on what we hear. The most common request we've had so far is for a review section. So the Otaku News Crew started to work away, writing reviews and also writing the code for you to navigate the reviews. At the moment we've put up some DVD reviews for you to read, over time we intend to add a lot more. Currently all editions of Otaku News will show all DVDs, regardless of their region. Eventually once we have a substantial number of reviews the UK and US Editions will only display reviews from their region.

We've also adopted a policy of being honest, so far one review already has a rating of 2 out of 10! We hope you find this addition to the site helpful and enjoying reading our opinions, of course if you don't like it and think you can do better, then by all means tell us, we are always looking for talented contributors to write news articles, reviews and anything else of interest to otaku!

Souce: Otaku News DVD Review Section

J-Pop Go Report - A Successful Night!

Date: 2005 May 05 07:13 | Posted By: Voxie

Category > Culture

J-Pop Go, possibly the first night of its kind in London town – a club night dedicated to pleasing its crowd with Japanese pop and rock sounds! And that it was, with popular classics from the likes of J-rockstars L’Arc En Ciel, to some of the latest from J-pop groups HALCALI and Puffy.

The night was held at the Japanese-themed social spot Fluid, and the best of its kind I’ve seen so far! Coloured in striking red shades, two floors/bars, with artwork, katakana and anime clips playing across the walls, it proved a perfect venue for the night! The catering was in check, there was Asahi beer and sushi on the menus, as well as some interesting cocktails, including a ‘wasabi martini’! You could only get away with it in a bar like this one!

Anime Costumes Required For WorldCon

Date: 2005 May 02 16:56 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Fandom

We've had news from Miki Dennis who is currently organising an international costume display at Worldcon 2005. Currently she is looking for top quality anime costumes, only one or two will be selected, with no money, or prizes involved, but plenty of prestige. She promises transport and secure safe display for the costumes. If you want to take part, e-mail one full length photo per costume to Miki Dennis. The winners costumes will be seen by thousands of people, so cosplayers get submitting! ^_^

Souce: Miki Dennis

The Recent Phenomenon Of 'Sexy' Japanese Otaku

Date: 2005 April 29 14:40 | Posted By: Ash

Category > Culture

The UK Times newspaper this week carried a two page article of at Bridget-Jones style blogger Artesia, who has written a document of her relationship with an Otaku man which has fascinated the Japanese and has asked serious questions about the conflict between old-world Japanese beliefs and the massive Otaku culture.

First Ever UK Tokyopop 'Rising Stars Of Manga' Competition

Date: 2005 April 28 17:09 | Posted By: Ash

Category > Manga

Following on from our earlier story Tokyopop are to offer a chance for UK creators to earn prizes and receive a chance to have their own Graphic Novel.

Garnier Release Manga Hair Styling Product In UK

Date: 2005 April 26 18:03 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Freaky Things

Anime and manga fans in the UK have always dreamed of their favourite hobby becoming more mainstream, without doubt over the last year or so this has happened. What key indicators are we using for this? Sales figures in highstreet retailers? Availability of manga in bookshops? No, we're using hair products. Anime and manga characters have always been noted for having very distinct hairstyles and beauty products company Garnier have just released Fructis Style Manga Head styling putty in the UK. It seems that either their marketing department are cool and hip or Garnier have found a niche market of otaku who want to emulate their favourite characters.

Tokorozawa City Campaign On-line for Totoro House

Date: 2005 April 26 16:10 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Fandom

Following on from our coverage of Satsuki's and Mei's House and how lots of local Japanese governments want to get the house moved into their area, it seems that some of these groups are actually now campaigning on the internet targeting English speaking anime fans!

Tokozawa Junior Chamber Inc Sent us an e-mail, which basically says the same as this page on their site. This is interesting because to our knowledge it's the first time a Japanese organisation has directly targeted anime fans for a political matter like this. The e-mail and webpage want people to fill out an on-line petition, here at Otaku News, we're always cynical of such things, since they don't often carry much weight in the real world and because it's so easy to automatically generate fake results.

J-Pop Go - Wednesday 4th May

Date: 2005 April 19 16:14 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Events

The people over at J-Pop Go have just sent us an update. The event is scheduled to take place at Fluid in Charterhouse Street, London from 7:00pm to 12:00am on Wednesday 4th May. Tickets are priced at £8 each and are now available online.

Souce: J-Pop Go

IMAF Announce Winners

Date: 2005 April 19 13:51 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Events

The International Manga and Anime Festival have just announced the winners of their first international competition. The London based event started last year as a trial run and has proved very successful indeed. The entrants work was displayed in London County Hall in December. This was a very high profile event, located near the famous London Eye, with a $75,000 prize fund which even ran adverts in national newspapers. We covered the story originally here.

The Otaku News Crew would like to congratulate all the winners in this competition, especially talented artist Wing Yun Man, who is well known in UK anime fandom as part of the Sweatdrop Team, she is also a member of the Otaku News Crew and finds time post the occasional story and draw lovely artwork for us!

Connichi 2005 The Big Anime Convention In Germany

Date: 2005 April 14 16:39 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

The folks running Connichi an anime convention being held in Kassel, Germany have sent us their press release for their 2005 convention which will run from Friday the 16th to Sunday the 18th of September.

Last year they had over 7,500 visitors. They plan to have competitions, cosplay, trading card games, an eating contest (yum), a dealers room and even a Go Tournament too! Otaku News have also discovered that like many other European conventions the video programme will have English subbtitles, with one video room in German only. This convention is well worth visiting, so you can even stick around for a week before or afterwards and check out out some of the local tourist sites. The convention will be held in the luxurious Kongress Palais, which quite frankely looks like one of the best venues to host an anime event!

Everyone Wants The Totoro House

Date: 2005 April 12 15:29 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Production > Studio Ghibli

According to the Daily Yomiuri On-Line the Totoro House at the Aichi World Expo 2005 has many local Japanese governments staking their claim to the property.

Many local authorities are keen to get Satsuki's and Mei's 1950's style house from the anime classic Tonari no Totoro (My Neighbor Totoro) moved to their prefecture, not only will it prove a big hit with locals, but it will surely make a major tourist attraction too. The house is already one of the most popular features at the Expo and has been covered on Otaku News before. The Youmiuri article has more details such as "The wooden house was built using joints, not nails, and the glass used in the windows is not new, as the panes were all salvaged from old buildings."

The Otaku News Crew are currently considering collecting signatures so they'll let us live in it! ^_^

Souce: Daily Yomiuri On-Line

Idols Everywhere!

Date: 2005 March 31 16:58 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Current Affairs

Japan Today have just published an article that explains the inner workings of the Japanese Idol industry. This fascinating read highlights the fact that the Japanese industry is the reverse of the "western" industry, where Japanese Idols are hired and trained by agencies who give them a percentage of their earnings. It mentions a selection of agencies each with their own speciality in the market place. Interestingly enough agencies also teach their employees something that many western celebrities should have lessons in "things like how to hold their alcohol, how to spend money wisely".

Souce: Japan Today

Travels For The Otaku

Date: 2005 March 26 19:00 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Fandom

Asahi.com have a very interesting article about the Japanese tourist industry and western otaku who are willing to go to all sorts of lengths to go to the home of anime and manga. Tour companies are now featuring things to please hardcore fans with their primary packages and even local governments in Tokyo are keen to promote anime attractions. Studio’s Pierrot and Ghibli are mentioned in the article.

Souce: Asahi.com

Sweatdrop At London Expo

Date: 2005 March 24 12:14 | Posted By: Azure

Category > Press Releases

UK manga style art group Sweatdrop Studios has announced that they will be attending the London MCM Expo and will be running the artists alley section of the 'anime village'. The MCM Expo is running on the 14 & 15th May.

Manga Collector Required

Date: 2005 March 09 17:57 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Manga

The Otaku News Crew have been sent this request from a Publisher who requires someone with a large manga collecton -

Publisher seeks manga collectors in South East England with collections of 75-100 plus translated titles, mostly non hentai. Author and publisher would like to visit you and look at your titles as part of picture research for new book. Small fee and thanks in book. If interested send your list of titles/authors and your address to

chippymouseuk@yahoo.co.uk

Souce: Publisher

A Last Minute Anime Convention for London!

Date: 2005 March 06 22:07 | Posted By: Voxie

Category > Events

I say last minute, because anime conventions are usually given advance notice months in advance. However with the RHUL Anime & Manga convention, it's being held in little over two weeks from now! Held by the society at Royal Holloway University, the event is open to the public. And despite the late notice, it seems they've got everything set up, including anime showings, gaming, a cosplay competition, a raffle, and on-site games including 'Hunt the Mews Mews!' and 'Find the Chibi'..! Representatives of ADV, TokyoPop and Manga Entertainment will also be there. And did we mention the on-the-door entrance fee is just a mere £1.50?? What more reason do you need?

There are rarely any events like this in the London area, so I'd recommend this to anyone who doesn't 'do' conventions becuase they're too far!

Channel 4's 100 Greatest Cartoons Results

Date: 2005 March 04 14:56 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime > TV

Following on from our previous stories reporting on Channel 4's 100 greatest cartoons as voted for by Channel 4 viewers, it was revealed last Sunday that The Simpson's was the voters favourite cartoon.

Here are the results for anime titles:

8th - Spirited Away
16th - Akira
21st - Princess Mononoke
37th - Transformers
45th - Pokemon
72nd - Legend of the Overfiend

It's good to see that Spirited Away proved popular with lots of voters, beating lots of very popular mainstream cartoons that are more well known in the UK.

J-Pop Go Update!

Date: 2005 February 27 08:00 | Posted By: Azure

Category > Events

The folks at J-PopGo! have updated their site and given an updated date Wednesday May 4th for the event.

Metrocon Seek Human Chess Pieces

Date: 2005 February 20 12:46 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Events

Florida anime convention Metrocon are currently seeking Cosplayer volunteers to participate in their Anime Human Chess Match. So if meet all their terms and conditions and can cosplay as one of the characters listed on their site why not give it a shot? It's also interesting to note that they've got ninja and pirate pawns.

The Otaku News Crew are pondering which anime characters are going to be which pieces, we suspect that Gendo Ikari will be a king for one side, while Rosette Christopher will be a bishop!

Souce: Metrocon

Young Americans Revel In Japanese Pop Culture

Date: 2005 February 20 11:19 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Fandom

A syndicated article that appears on Designerz.com covers anime fandom in general and explains that fandom is on the rise with young Americans. It also mentions Katsucon and states how some Japanese exports are edited to local tastes, such as the Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers, which had footage refilmed with American Actors.

Souce: Designerz.com

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