With Studio Ghibli excellent Howl's Moving Castle being released in the UK next week, we thought it would be a nice idea for you to take a look at some of the media trailers available.
Read More... | Souce: Howl\'s Moving Castle
Category > Manga
Tokyopop announces November release of manga series from Rising Stars of Manga entrants.
Read More... | Souce: Tokyopop
Category > Events
Paul from J-Pop Go has sent us the latest details for the event. Apparently it looks like the date for the next London J-Pop Go is going to change. -
"Unfortunately the premiere of the new Ghost In The Shell film is on the same day (I only discovered this today) so the 28th is unlikely to happen."
They plan to push back until October, making sure the event doesn't clash with anything else.
Additionally J-Pop Go will also be providing music at the party for the forthcoming London Expo. - "Following on from the success of last year's event, this year's Expo continues to be a celebration of a variety of pop culture interests including film and TV. The Expo will see special guest stars, displays and a dealer's section. The event will also house a special Anime Village featuring a Cosplay Masquerade and exclusive big screen presentations. The Expo runs on the weekend of 29th/30th October".
It's good to see that the J-Pop Go Organisers are aware of other anime events and are proactively avoiding any calendar conflicts.
Souce: J-Pop Go
Category > Manga
The folks over at Antarctic Press have sent us the details for their new guide to becoming a professional comic book creator. It covers all aspects from writing, drawing and submitting comic book work. We think it's worth a look into since it's only $2.99, and concise at 22 pages long.
Read More... | Souce: Antarctic Press
Category > Anime
Cowboy Bebop sells over one million copies in the U.S.
Read More... | Souce: Bandai Entertainment
Category > Anime
Three hit anime series from ADV Films appearing on G4 this fall.
Read More... | Souce: ADV Films
Those nice people at Optimum Releasing have sent us the details for the UK DVD release of Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind and The Cat Returns, both of which are due out on 26th September just in time to celebrate the 20th Anniversary of the ground breaking Studio Ghibli and just after the 23rd September release of their brilliant cinema release of Howl's Moving Castle.
Both DVDs have their fair share of extras include storyboards, original Japanese Theatrical trailers, Studio Ghibli trailer reel, the Cat Returns DVD has a making of featurette, while Nausicaa has a birth of Studio Ghibli Featurette. Since both titles are Studio Ghibli titles, they're a must see, but if you're strapped for cash and can only get hold of one, go for Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind, since it's truly epic Sci-Fi. Both movies have profiles on fansite Nausicaa.net
Read More... | Souce: Optimum Releasing
Jonathan Clements has sent us details of the Firecracker Showcase 2005 in London, which will be screening Studio Ghibli's excellent Howl's Moving Castle, Appleseed, along with a Sonny Chiba triple bill featuring the live action version of Golgo 13 too (otaku will know Sonny plays Hattori Hanzo in Kill Bill).
Read More... | Souce: Firecracker Showcase 2005
Category > Gaming
It's been recently announced that Square Enix have acquired Taito. Taito was a games brand I grew up with, through the cute 2D Bubble Bobble and Bust-a-Move games. They're also involved heavily in the arcades. And teaming up with CG and RPG kings Square Enix, well, we can only know the outcome will be interesting, overall.
Souce: Square Insider
Category > Anime
VIZ announces a clothing line based on hit anime Zatch Bell with Exquisite Apparel Corp.
Read More... | Souce: Anime News Network
Those nice people from Optimum Releasing have sent us the press release for the UK release of Appleseed the movie, the recent CGI version of Masamune Shirow's popular manga title. The DVD version will be available in a limited edition steel tin as well as conventional DVD from 19th September and also on UMD for the Sony PSP from 31st October.
The press release also mentions a cinema release from 19th of August, we suggest that our readers who can get to the UGC Shaftesbury Avenue and UGC Glasgow check the film out while they can.
Read More... | Souce: Optimum Releasing
Category > Anime
VIZ Media, LLC, has announced that they will be releasing the award winning Japanese film Kamikaze Girls theatrically in several major North American cities. The film follows others such as Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away (which won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature), Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence and most recently Howl’s Moving Castle. Kamikaze Girls will make its debut on September 9 in New York City at the Village East Cinemas, followed on September 16 at Los Angeles’ Landmark’s NuArt Theater, with additional bookings in Seattle, San Francisco and other cities.
Based on the hit novel by Novala Takemoto, which is set to be translated and released by VIZ Media in February 2006 as part of their Fiction Imprint line, Kamikaze Girls follows the adventures of two mis-matched girls, a Lolita-type named Momoko and a tough high school biker named Ichigo, whose strong personalities initially clash but eventually bind them together as they embark on a quest to find a legendary embroiderer. Starring hot young J-Pop talents Kyoko Fukada as Momoko and Anna Tsuchiya as Ichigo, the film became an immediate cult favorite in Japan with its complex, multilayered plot and eccentric and infectious brand of humor. It has also won several awards: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actress and Best New Actor at the Yokohama Movie Awards, and Best New Director at the Fujimoto Awards. Further information about the film can be found at the website, www.kamikazegirls.net.
Souce: VIZ Media
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! ^_-
Read More... | Souce: Japan Journeys
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.
Read More... | Souce: Amecon
Category > Manga
The folks at eigoManga have sent us the details of their partnership with Viz Media. Apparently eigoManga will produce the English language versions of Basara and Flame of Recca. The press release is very thin on details and doesn't really explain what they mean by producing. It's uncertain if they'll be translating it directly or hiring a third party company or individual to do all the work and if they'll manage the logistics such as printing and so on.
Read More... | Souce: eigoManga
Those nice people at Optimum Releasing have sent us the press release for Barefoot Gen, which gets a UK DVD release on Monday 1st August. We delayed the publication of this press release so we could write a Barefoot Gen DVD Review for you to enjoy. Please note that since the details were sent out the BBFC gave Barefoot Gen a 12 rating.
Read More... | Souce: Optimum Releasing
It's always nice when you mention events before the press release is sent out, as we did with the Japanese Animation: Manga to Miyazaki season at the National Film Theatre.
The films selected are all a real treat, and anime who can get to London are spoilt for choice this August, Satoshi Kon's work is great and almost everyone would have heard about Hayao Miyazaki's superb films.
The Otaku News Crew will be attending a few of the screenings too, so if you see us (and know what we look like ^_-) don't be afraid to come up to us and say hello!
Read More... | Souce: National Film Theatre
Category > Anime
ADV Films UK has sent us their press release concerning their September UK releases. This includes a special edition of Spriggan, which will include a soundtrack CD and new commentaries. September also sees the start of the UK release of Peacemaker. The September releases are as follows:
- Spriggan Special Edition
- Peacemaker Volume 1
- Mezzo Volume 2
- Aquarian Age Volume 2
- Chrono Crusade Volume 4
- Gad Guard Volume 5
- Get Backers Volume 5
The Otaku News Crew recommend Peacemaker if you like samurai anime (with pigs in) and Chrono Crusade since we're finding it enjoyable.
Read More... | Souce: ADV Films UK
Category > Manga
Tokyopop announced it will be producing manga for two classic films from Jim Henson and Neil Gaiman's upcoming new film.
Read More... | Souce: Tokyopop
Those nice folks at ADV Films have sent us the details for their September 15 releases. The line up includes some more Full Metal Panic FUMOFFU, as well as the final part of Peacemaker, both of which are worth getting hold of.
Read More... | Souce: ADV Films
Category > Art
This years IMAF has just launched. They're looking for international talent in the form of artists and animators to identify the best. Entrants have a chance to win some of the $75,000 prize fund which is divided between the categories. The best overall entry will win a generous $30,000!
The Otaku News Crew advise that our talented readers get to work, you've got until the 30th September 2005 to get your entries in!
Read More... | Souce: IMAF
Category > Manga
Newtype USA will be releasing game-based Evangelion manga, Angelic Hearts, as serial starting in August issue.
Read More... | Souce: Newtype USA
Category > Manga
Tokyopop has announced that it will be teaming up with CosmoGIRL!, the fastest-selling teen magazine on newsstands, to produce a monthly manga serial in the magazine’s pages. This August will see the debut of "The Adventures of CG!", a shojo-style manga written and drawn by Svetlana Chmakova, the creator of Tokyopop’s upcoming release Dramacon.
Read More... | Souce: Tokyopop
Category > Manga
Gollancz Manga have sent us the details for their UK Manga releases. Starting August they'll be releasing manga on the first Monday of every month. Gollancz entered into an exclusive arrangement with VIZ to publish their titles in the UK. The titles available will include Yu-Gi-Oh!, Fushigi Yugi, Dragon Ball and Case Closed.
Many UK manga fans would have already got these titles from certain retailers offering the American import versions, but since these are the official UK versions it means that they'll be more easily available. Libraries for example will be able to order manga if they so wish through their distributors. The Otaku News Crew are excited to hear about this and look forward to seeing even more manga in the UK.
Read More... | Souce: Gollancz Manga
Category > Manga
EigoManga have just sent us a press release of their latest announcement.
Read More... | Souce: EigoManga
Category > Manga
We've just got a press release from ICE Kunion, a joint enterprise between Korean publishing companies Sigongsa, Seoul Cultural and others. They mention their October line up, which includes Angel Diary, Chocolat, The 11th Cat and Bring It On, which have sold a combined total of almost a million copies in Korea alone.
The Otaku News crew note that this press release is interesting, since Korean comic books are normally incorrectly marketed as manga to people who automatically assume it is from Japan. ICE Kunion are marketing their titles are Korean and are taking pride in it claiming that "Korean Manhwa has taken over Japanese Manga to be the hottest books in the market".
Read More... | Souce: ICE Kunion
Those folks over at ADV Films have sent us the details for the launch of Samurai Gun on DVD. As with most major releases ADV are offering the first volume as a standalone DVD ($29.98) or with a collectors artbox ($39.98) to put the whole series in.
Read More... | Souce: ADV Films
Category > Art
Sweatdrop's Hayden Scott-Baren has announced a new how to draw book entitled 'Digital Manga Techniques', the UK edition will be out August 1st and the US edition October 1st –the only difference is the cover illustration. The title also features art from several other Sweatdrop artists.
Read More... | Souce: Sweatdrop Studios
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.
Read More... | Souce: VIZ Media
To remind our readers about the UK 8th July release of Sky Blue (the English name for Korean animation Wonderful Days), we're hosting a little eCard for you to feast your eyes on.
Read More... | Souce: Sky Blue UK Movie Website
Central Park Media has announced that it will be re-releasing a select number of its classic titles at the lower, more affordable price of $9.95 Suggested Retail Price. CPM joins fellow distributors ADV Films and U.S. Manga Corps in offering anime titles at such prices.
Read More... | Souce: Central Park Media
Those nice people at ADV have sent us the details for their July 19th US DVD releases. They'll be releasing DNAngel Volume 6 and Peacemaker Volume 6 for anime fans. They're also rather keen to tell us about the Korean cinema titles too - Jail Breakers and Jungle Juice.
Read More... | Souce: ADV Films
Those nice folks over at ADV UK have sent us the release details for their August titles. The following should be hitting the shelves:
- D.N.Angel 1
- Divergence Eve 1
- New Fist of the North Star 3
- Gravion 2
- Neon Genesis Evangelion Platinum Edition 4
- Last Exile 5
Hopefully we'll have reviews of the above titles soon. In the meantime, the Otaku News crew recommend Volume 4 of the Eva Platinum Series (because it is Eva after all) and also DN Angel 1.
Read More... | Souce: ADV Films UK
Category > Anime
Manga Entertainment has announced that they will be releasing the two movies based on the hit anime series "Neon Genesis Evangelion", "Death & Rebirth" and "The End of Evangelion", in a special edition box set. The set is set to be released on July 26, 2005 with a suggested retail price of $49.98.
Read More... | Souce: Manga Entertainment
Category > Events
Sonia Leong over at Sweatdrop Studios has just sent us some details about a special discount at The Artists & Illustrators Exhibition (21-24 July, Business Design Centre, London, UK). For more details read the full press release.
Read More... | Souce: Sweatdrop Studios
Category > Press Releases
Following on from last year’s competition, IMAF have announced a 2005 event and competition. The event part will this time will run for 5 days. The details have yet to be confirmed please click ‘ Read More’ for the press release.
Read More... | Souce: IMAF
Category > Manga
TokyoPop has announced that they will launch a new branch of their successful Cine-Manga line. This July, they will release the first of the new Jr. Cine-Manga books that will, they predict, revolutionize the children’s book market by bringing beloved characters and storylines from the screen to an original exciting visual format.
Read More... | Souce: TokyoPop
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.
Read More... | Souce: AyaCon
Those nice people at ADV Films have just sent us the details of a new title they've acquired - Samurai Gun, it looks like a interesting mix of Samurai and firearms. It doesn't seem to be for the faint hearted, since their marketing it as "Rurouni Kenshin With A Better Body Count", well Kenshin, was never keen on killing in his later years, since he did use a reverse blade sword after vowing never to kill again, but I digress, it looks like an interesting title and perhaps on to consider. The Otaku News Crew were cracking up at the last line on the trailer.
Read More... | Souce: ADV Films
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.
Read More... | Souce: Interaction
Category > Anime
With the London Expo this weekend, the anime village is beginning to sound more exciting the more we hear about it. Sweatdrop will be there, and ADV Films UK have just revealed that they will screening some of their titles in exclusive first showings! This includes Gravion, DNAngel and Mezzo.
Read More... | Souce: ADV Films UK
ADV UK DVD Releases For June 2005
Those nice people at ADV Films UK have sent us the details for their June DVD releases.
They've got a good selection this month with:
- Gravion: Divine Steel (1 of 3)
- New Fist Of The North Star Volume 2: The Forbidden Fist (2 of 3)
- Neon Genesis Evangelion - Platinum Edition: 03 (3 of 7)
- Last Exile: Breakthrough (4 of 7)
- Azumanga Daioh: Graduation! (6 of 6)
- Puni Puni Poemy
The Otaku News suggest you get your hands on Last Exile and the concluding volume of Azumanga Daioh. If you really liked Excel Saga, then you'll want to see Puni Puni Poemy, however we cannot be held accountable for what it does to your brain. ^_-
Read More... | Souce: ADV Films UK
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? ^_^
Read More... | Souce: Sweatdrop
Category > Culture
We know Otaku News readers are a very cultured group, which is why we've just been sent details about the Yellow Earth Theatre, who will be performing Typhoon 4 - International East Asian Playreading Festival. Billed from Tuesday 17th to Saturday 21st May 2005 at the Soho Theatre in London, it looks like an entertaining showcase for fans of the Far East.
Read More... | Souce: Soho Theatre
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.
Read More... | Souce: Tokyopop.com
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!
Read More... | Souce: IMAF
The gentle softly spoken people over at ADV Films have sent us the details of their latest DVD release - Elfen Lied, a violent, gruesome anime, with a surprisingly cute main cast. Appropriately they're marketing it as "an orgy of violence wrapped in pink satin". This anime won't be to everyone's taste, and is sure to be used as ammunition for those complaining that anime is all violent. Combined with Gantz, it seems that ADV has recently had a more darker streak than usual.
Read More... | Souce: ADV Films
Following on from their May 10 release of Full Metal Panic? FUMOFFU ADV Films have sent us the details of the other titles they will be releasing on that day. These include Chrono Crusade Volume 5 and Cromartie High School Volume 2.
Read More... | Souce: ADV Films
Those nice folks over at ADV Films have just sent us the press release for Full Metal Panic? FUMOFFU, the DVD series follow up to the popular Full Metal Panic series, which is due to hit the US on May 10.
Read More... | Souce: ADV Films
Category > Manga
Following on from our story about Viz being distributed in the UK, we now have the offical press release from Gollancz.
Read More... | Souce: Orion Books
Those nice people over at ADV Films UK have sent us the details for their May DVD releases. They plan to release the following:
- Bubblegum Crisis Tokyo 2040 Collection
- Chrono Crusade Volume 2
- Gad Guard Volume 3
- Get Backers Volume 3
- Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi Volume 4
- Rune Soldier Volume 6
The Otaku News Crew recommend the Bubblegum Crisis Tokyo 2040 Collection, since it's it's good to watch, plus it's the whole series at a reasonable price along with Chrono Crusade Volume 2, since some of us just can't get enough of Nuns and Guns. ^_-
Read More... | Souce: ADV Films UK