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Otaku News Podcast Episode 8

Date: 2013 March 30 15:54 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Podcast

Episode 8 of the Otaku News Podcast is now live! Our intrepid podcasters return with some news on new licenses and online manga closures. We review Persona 4 The Animation, Thermae Romae and Heroman. Cromartie High School takes its place in the hall of fame and then it all goes a bit freeform with mentions of doujinshi and WiiU's new Street View app.

Rumour control - since recording, MVM have confirmed they are putting out Another here in the UK.

Download Otaku News Podcast Episode 8

MP3 File:
16.2 MB
35 minutes

[Direct Download] [Torrent]

Contact the Podcast crew at:
podcast@otakunews.com
or reach us via Twitter at @OtakuNewsCast
Disagree with us? Suggestions? Ideas? Contact us!

Note general site enquiries should go as usual to Joe at webmaster@otakunews.com

You can also get the following episodes here -
Episode 1
Episode 2
Episode 3
Episode 4
Episode 5
Episode 6
Episode 7

Read More... | Souce: Otaku News

On-line Manga Site JManga to shut down it's retail and viewing services

Date: 2013 March 14 17:57 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Manga

On-line and legitimate manga streaming service JManga will be shutting down it's retail and viewing services on May 30th 2013. In other words it's shutting down in it's current form. The site started offering manga to view on-line from 27th December 2010. It was formed by an industry group of 39 Japanese publishers.

They launched in North America on August 17th 2011, and later expanded out globally in February 2012.

They worked on a subscription model, allowing readers to buy points in order to redeem manga.

All JManga Members will be issued Amazon Gift Cards for use on Amazon.com as a substitute the amount of unused JManga Paid Points (terms and conditions apply).

GEN Manga go Manhwa and Sorako release details

Date: 2013 February 19 15:44 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Manga

The good folks Gen Manga have sent us details of their latest publication. The publisher bringing us Indie Manga from the Tokyo Underground has branched out to Korean Manhwa, releasing Gen Manhwa featuring a title called Stone Collector.

Gen also tell us they intend to branch out to monthly one shot tankobon type titles. That and they've just released Sorako as a complete digital collection and intend to publish it as a printed edition with some help from a Kick Starter campaign.

Read More... | Souce: GEN Manga

Otaku News Podcast Episode 7

Date: 2013 February 10 11:35 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Podcast

Episode 7 of the Otaku News Podcast is now live! The Otaku News Podcast gang is back to look at some recent news, cast their eyes over some new anime from the Winter 2013 seasons along with some anime based video games. In a new segement we discuss if simulcasting is helping or hurting the anime industry and Eden of the East goes into the Hall Of Fame.

Download Otaku News Podcast Episode 7

MP3 File:
17.2 MB
37 minutes

[Direct Download] [Torrent]

Contact the Podcast crew at:
podcast@otakunews.com
or reach us via Twitter at @OtakuNewsCast
Disagree with us? Suggestions? Ideas? Contact us!

Note general site enquiries should go as usual to Joe at webmaster@otakunews.com

You can also get the following episodes here -
Episode 1
Episode 2
Episode 3
Episode 4
Episode 5
Episode 6

Read More... | Souce: Otaku News

Johnnys' World: Top of the J-Pops

Date: 2013 January 25 15:36 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Culture

J-Pop fans who can access NHK World will want to tune in for Johnnys' World: Top of the J-Pops.

The documentary focuses on Johnny Kitagawa of talent agency Johnny's Entertainment. The talent agency represents Tsuyoshi Domoto of Kinki Kids and Hey! Say! Jump!.

It'll be broadcast on NHK World on:
Saturday 26th January 2013 - 23:10 (UTC)
Sunday 27th January 2013 - 3:10/ 7:10/ 11:10/ 15:10/ 19:10 (UTC)

NHK World broadcasts content in English and is free to access. It's available in many countries.

In the UK if you have Sky you can access NHK World on Channel 507. If you've got FreeSat you can access it on channel 209.

Failing that, you can also watch the show on-line on the NHK Website, JIB TV, or on the NHK World App on iOS Devices (iPhone, iPad, etc) and Android Devices.

Souce: NHK World

Play.com to end first party retail sales

Date: 2013 January 10 16:58 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Retail

We've just heard that popular on-line retailer Play.com will stop "first party retail sales" by the end of March 2013. They intend to focus on it's Marketplace business. Play.com were sold to the Rakuten Group in 2011 for £25m. With the price reflecting the close of the tax loophole that allowed them to sell their DVDs from the Channel Islands, without paying VAT.

This basically means they will not directly distribute goods, but instead act as a market place to allow third party companies to sell stuff.

Otaku News Podcast Episode 6

Date: 2012 December 27 18:27 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Podcast

Episode 6 of the Otaku News Podcast is now live! This episode we talk about some upcoming licenses and new shows, Comikets bomb threat and a live action Dragon Ball trailer. Trigun Badlands Rumble is the focus of the reviews, which also include J Pop Go, a Final Fantasy Concert and GA Geijutsuka Art Design. We celebrate the end of the year with a quiz and induct Gurren Lagann to the Hall of Fame.

Please do download it and let us know what you think!

Download Otaku News Podcast Episode 6

MP3 File:
32.6 MB
1 hour 11 minutes

[Direct Download] [Torrent]

Contact the Podcast crew at:
podcast@otakunews.com
or reach us via Twitter at @OtakuNewsCast
Disagree with us? Suggestions? Ideas? Contact us!

Note general site enquiries should go as usual to Joe at webmaster@otakunews.com

You can also get the following episodes here -
Episode 1
Episode 2
Episode 3
Episode 4
Episode 5

Read More... | Souce: Otaku News

Tentacular! An interview with Toshio Maeda

Date: 2012 December 09 12:17 | Posted By: Priss

Category > Features

October 2012's London MCM expo was the most successful ever. It included a stall by influential and controversial manga artists Toshio Maeda. Creator of the the renowned Urotsukidoji and La Blue Girl. We caught with the manga artist and were lucky enough to interview him at the Expo.

NSFW Content Warning. This article contains content that is not safe for work. This article contains an interview with the creator of a certain tentacle based genre of manga.

Read More... | Souce: Otaku News

GEN Manga Issue 16 out now

Date: 2012 November 27 13:04 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Manga

The good folks from GEN Manga have just release their latest Issue GEN 16.

This issue continues the instalments of Psycho, Android Angels, Stones of Power, Anomal and Alive.

Read More... | Souce: GEN Manga

NHK World at Hyper Japan Christmas 2012

Date: 2012 November 19 17:42 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Events

It's getting closer to Hyper Japan Christmas 2012, which is set to run from Friday 23rd November to Sunday 26th November 2012.

The international arm of Japanese broadcaster NHK will be there to promote their international channel NHK World.

The station broadcasts content in English and is free to access. If you have Sky you can access NHK World on Channel 507. If you've got FreeSat you can access it on channel 209.

Failing that, you can also watch the show on-line on the NHK Website, JIB TV, or on the NHK World App on iOS Devices (iPhone, iPad, etc) and Android Devices.

Fans of Kawaii will be pleased to hear that the station will be looking for people wearing Kawaii Fashion at Hyper Japan for their Kawaii International show. Some stylish attendees to Hyper Japan might be added to the show's Facebook page, or even featured on the show itself!

At the NHK World booth (C6 at Hyper Japan), they'll also be showing Itadakimasu! Dining with the Chef, so you can learn about Japanese cooking techniques.

So if you're going to Hyper Japan this weekend, swing by the NHK World World booth C6.

Otaku News Podcast Episode 5

Date: 2012 November 10 14:14 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Podcast

Episode 5 of the Otaku News Podcast is now live! On this episode of the Otaku News podcast we discuss recent licenses and news, Colin talks forever about some of the new shows in the Autumn 2012 season, the feature topic is shows that defy your expectations, Azumanga Daioh gets the Hall of Fame treatment and we answer some questions.

Please do download it and let us know what you think!

Download Otaku News Podcast Episode 5

MP3 File:
57.7 MB
1 hour 3 minutes

[Direct Download] [Torrent]

Contact the Podcast crew at:
podcast@otakunews.com
or reach us via Twitter at @OtakuNewsCast
Disagree with us? Suggestions? Ideas? Contact us!

Note general site enquiries should go as usual to Joe at webmaster@otakunews.com

You can also get the following episodes here -
Episode 1
Episode 2
Episode 3
Episode 4

Read More... | Souce: Otaku News

Pirate Anime FAQ Updated - November 2012

Date: 2012 November 03 16:21 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Websites

We've just updated The Pirate Anime FAQ with some more details. We've added details of bootleg bags, bootleg wallets / bill folds and finally included bootleg CD company Miya Records to the Audio CD section.

We've been running the Pirate Anime FAQ for over 12 years now, helping anime fans become aware of bootlegs. Many fans first discover that they've bought bootlegs by reading the FAQ.

As always we appreciate any feedback, so please feel free to get in touch.

We'd like to thank you for all your support over the last 12 years and look forward to the next 12 years! ^_^

Souce: Otaku News

Otaku Calendar - a new site from the Otaku News Team

Date: 2012 October 14 17:02 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Websites

In the Otaku News labs we are always thinking about the best way to spread the latest news to people who love Japan.

A lot of the news we publish is about things that have a fixed date like events and releases, the sort of things that belong in a calendar. So we decided to build an Otaku Calendar, listing what's on and where to help every fan answer that nagging question:
"I'm new to fandom, what can I do in my area this month?"

Otaku Calendar is designed to be a sister site to Otaku News. We'll still cover all the stuff we normally do here, but the events will be organised differently on the Otaku Calendar.

Our ultimate (and somewhat impossible) goal is to list every event and release date of interest to otaku. In order to so we'll need volunteers to populate the calendar with events from around the world! If you're interested in helping out please get in touch by e-mail webmaster@otakunews.com.

If you've got any feedback or suggestions too, please feel free to let us know.

Souce: Otaku Calendar

Otaku News Podcast Episode 4

Date: 2012 September 25 16:17 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Podcast

Episode 4 of the Otaku News Podcast is now live! The fourth podcast sees our otaku views on some recent news and Amecon 2012. Reviews of Planzet, Yurei Attack and Ninja Attack and the first third of Dragon Ball Z Season 2. Overman King Gainer also goes into the Hall Of Fame.

Please do download it and let us know what you think!

Download Otaku News Podcast Episode 4

MP3 File:
42.8 MB
46 minutes 45 seconds

[Direct Download] [Torrent]

Contact the Podcast crew at:
podcast@otakunews.com
or reach us via Twitter at @OtakuNewsCast
Disagree with us? Suggestions? Ideas? Contact us!

Note general site enquiries should go as usual to Joe at webmaster@otakunews.com

You can get episode 1 here, episode 2 here and episode 3 here.

Read More... | Souce: Otaku News

Anime and Manga event for Japanese Language Learners in London and Edinburgh

Date: 2012 September 12 17:49 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Culture

Readers who are in London or Edinburgh and are keen to learn Japanese will be interested in the Japan Foundation's new initiative. They've just launched a new website using Anime and Manga in Japanese to help you get to grips with the language.

They'll be running special workshops on the subject -

"This workshop, hosted by Ms Nanae Kumano (Developer of the Japanese in Anime & Manga website and Language Education Specialist at Japan Foundation Madrid), will introduce learners to the Japanese in Anime & Manga website, and explore how the site can be used to enhance your own Japanese language studies and enjoyment of Japanese culture."

On Thursday 4th October 2012 from 4pm to 6pm at the University of Edinburgh.

Levels: Basic – Advanced (JLPT N5 – N1/Level 1); English explanations will be given. This event is supported by the University of Edinburgh and is free for all participants. The event is free, but you do have to register in advance in order to attend.

On Friday 5th October 2012 from 6:30pm to 8:30pm at The Japan Foundation - Russell Square London.

Levels: Intermediate to Advanced (JLPT N3/Level 3 – N1/Level 1); The workshop will be in Japanese.

Fee: £3.00 (to paid on arrival on the day, cash only accepted)
Limited to 40 participants – First come, first served. Click here to register.

Souce: The Japan Foundation

GEN Manga Issue 14 out now

Date: 2012 August 21 16:02 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Manga

The good folks from GEN Manga have just release their latest Issue GEN 14.

This issue continues the instalments of Psycho, Android Angels, One is Enough, Stones of Power, Anomal and Alive.

GEN will be giving away a short preview version of GEN 14 for free this month.

Read More... | Souce: GEN Manga

Otaku News Podcast Episode 3

Date: 2012 July 31 15:29 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Podcast

Episode 3 of the Otaku News Podcast is now live! This episode our podcasters cover the recent otaku influenced news stories, give a brief round up of some of the new summer 2012 anime, put Dragon Half and Megas XLR into the Hall Of Fame and answer some listener questions.

Please do download it and let us know what you think!

Download Otaku News Podcast Episode 3

MP3 File:
54.9 MB
50 minutes 52 seconds

[Direct Download] [Torrent]

Contact the Podcast crew at:
podcast@otakunews.com
or reach us via Twitter at @OtakuNewsCast
Disagree with us? Suggestions? Ideas? Contact us!

Note general site enquiries should go as usual to Joe at webmaster@otakunews.com

You can get episode 1 here and episode 2 here.

Read More... | Souce: Otaku News

GEN Manga Issue 13 out now

Date: 2012 July 19 17:06 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Manga

The good folks from GEN Manga have just release their latest Issue GEN 13.

They continue the titles Android Angels, One Is Enough, Stones Of Power, Anomal, and Alive, plus issue 13 introduces a new title - Psycho.

GEN will be giving away a short preview version of GEN 13 for free this month.

GEN have also just released Wolf as a single tankobon for $4.99 (USD).

Read More... | Souce: GEN Manga

Otaku News Podcast Episode 1

Date: 2012 June 16 05:22 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Podcast

We're pleased to announce Episode 1 of the Otaku News Podcast. Hopefully this will be the first of many. It features the talents of Azure, Little Wooden Boy and Spike.

Please do download it and let us know what you think!

Download Otaku News Podcast Episode 1

MP3 File:
94.9 MB
41 minutes 28 seconds

[Direct Download] [Torrent]

Contact the Podcast crew at:
podcast@otakunews.com
or reach us via Twitter at @OtakuNewsCast
Disagree with us? Suggestions? Ideas? Contact us!

Note general site enquiries should go as usual to Joe at webmaster@otakunews.com

Read More... | Souce: Otaku News

GEN Manga Issue 11 out now

Date: 2012 May 15 16:03 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Manga

The good folks from GEN Manga have just release their latest Issue GEN 11.

It features Six previously unpublished stories straight from the Tokyo underground. Android Angels, One is Enough, Stones of Power, Anomal, Alive and GB Geist. They've been running for a year now and are still going strong, which shows that there's a viable market in seinen manga, espically when it's not region locked or encumbered with DRM.

GEN will be giving away a short preview version of the GEN 11 for free this month. So any visitor to genmanga.com can download something for free, too.

Read More... | Souce: GEN Manga

Cherry Tree High Comedy Club Release Details

Date: 2012 April 25 16:02 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Gaming

The good folks from Nyu Media have sent us details of their latest gaming release Cherry Tree High Comedy Club (CTHCC).

The light-hearted anime-style adventure game features localization by Tezuka Productions. The game is due for launch on Friday 27th April 2012 directly from it's homepage.

It will then be released on Steam, GamersGate, GameTap and Impulse over the coming weeks.

GEN Manga Issue 10 out now

Date: 2012 April 19 17:03 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Manga

The good folks from GEN Manga have just release their latest Issue GEN 10.

It features Six previously unpublished stories straight from the Tokyo underground. Wolf, Kamen, Sorako, Alive and GB Geist.

The on-line manga publisher distribute their monthly collection of doujinshi using a subscription model. You get to download and keep the PDF file for each issue too.

Souce: GEN Manga

GEN Manga releases Kamen Volume 1

Date: 2012 March 14 16:58 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Manga

We've just been sent details from the good folk at GEN Manga about their latest release - Kamen Volume 1. The title will be available across the US through all good Diamond Comic Distributors and on Graphicly. You can also download the title from the GEN Manga Website.

Fans of comic books will be interested to hear that Marvel artist Harvey Tolibao did the cover for Kamen.

Read More... | Souce: GEN Manga

JManga.com celebrates going global with a second sign-up promotion

Date: 2012 March 09 16:20 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Manga

The good people from JManga.com have just gone international. To celebrate the on-line manga service have launched a sign up promotion for new members.

From the Thursday 8th March 2012 to Wednesday 14th March 2012 if you sign up for a paid subscription you'll receive 5 books worth of bonus points with a $25 monthly subscription and 2 books worth of points a $10 subscription.

JManga.com Extends Access Worldwide

Date: 2012 March 01 16:32 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Manga

Readers outside the US who have been longing to legally get their hands on some digital manga will be extremely pleased to hear that JManga.com have extended their access world wide.

The site allows you to get manga using a points based system. If you sign up by Sunday 4th March 2012, you'll get double the amount of points as a welcome. The subscription costs either $10 or $25 a month. They also have a free subscription.

Shipping $36,000 worth of Japanese candy

Date: 2012 January 14 18:58 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Websites

Every otaku loves Japanese snacks and confectionery, what makes it more interesting is finding out how much some people like it. The owners of Candy Japan have posted an interesting article about how they're selling $36,000 worth of Japanese candy over 6 months. The site has been up and running for a year and has a very simple business model. You subscribe to them for $24 a month and they send you two envelopes with sugary treats each month. Currently they have just under 300 subscribers.

This makes us wonder, is it a viable long term business? Can you get more candy for $24 a month from J-List's Candy section instead? Or is the random element of Candy Japan part of the fun?

Update: J-List have confirmed that they sell more candy than that, around $50,000 worth a month. So it goes to show there is good money in sweet Japanese things.

Souce: Bemmu\'s Blog - I make stuff

GEN Manga Issue 8 out now

Date: 2012 January 14 15:41 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Manga

The good folks from GEN Manga have sent us details of their latest Issue GEN 8.

It features a new story Let's Eat Ramen by Nagumo, the author of the seriesRadio de Go!

The on-line manga publisher distribute their monthly collection of doujinshi using a subscription model. You get to download and keep the PDF file for each issue too.

Read More... | Souce: GEN Manga

Hyper Japan - Cosplay Christmas Competition

Date: 2011 December 21 16:08 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Events

Cosplayers looking for some fun and games this Christmas will want to enter London's Hyper Japan's Christmas Cosplay Competition. To enter all you have to do is upload a photo of you cosplaying to the Hyper Japan Cosplay HQ Facebook page between 9th December 2011 an 15th January 2012. The 3 photos with the most likes on Facebook will make it through to the Hyper Japan Cosplay Team. The team will judge the photos and select a winner.

The winner gets a load of goodies from Tofu Cute, worth £50 along with 2 tickets to Hyper Japan Spring 2012 (for all 3 days). The 2 runners up will also get tickets for all 3 days at Hyper Japan Spring 2012.

GEN Manga Issue 7 out now

Date: 2011 December 20 13:56 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Manga

Fans of seinen manga will be pleased to hear that GEN Manga have just released GEN 7.

The on-line manga publisher distribute their monthly collection of doujinshi using a subscription model. You get to download and keep the PDF file for each issue too.

Read More... | Souce: GEN Manga

Cowboy Bebop Movie Script Charity Auction

Date: 2011 November 30 14:50 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Current Affairs

The folks at FrontTowardsGamer.com have got in touch with us to spread the word about their charity auction. They've got a copy of the Cowboy Bebop Movie Script, which has been autographed by the US voice actors.

The charity auction aims to raise money to build video game stuffed care packages for troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Souce: FrontTowardsGamer.com

GEN Manga on Graphicly.com

Date: 2011 November 16 06:45 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Manga

Independent Manga publisher GEN Manga have sent us news that they're now on Graphicly.com.

Graphicly.com distribute comics on Apple, Android, PCs and Macs, along with the Barnes & Noble Nook.

We caught up with GEN Manga in their New York offices earlier this year. One of the things they mentioned was their intention to expand from the main monthly volume. They've just done this releasing the first 6 volumes as a single anthology with over 900 pages of content in one file for $2.99.

They've also release the whole of the moe title VS Aliens as a complete standalone collection for $0.99.

Read More... | Souce: GEN Manga

United Publications November 2011 Sale

Date: 2011 November 04 16:41 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Retail

Popular anime, manga and related merchandise retailer United Publications have sent us details of their explosive 5th of November clearance sale. There are many bargains to be had, with up to 80% off some Manga/Anime books, DVD and figures! We've asked and they've confirmed they're not going mad. It's to clear out their inventory to make room for new stock for the new year. They've got some hard to find items up on the listing too.

Also if you're looking for something exclusive, remember a while ago we interviewed Japanese figure sculptor Momiji? Well the good folks at United Publications are now selling his exclusive Ms Fan Stand figure.

Naruto Shippuden The Movie: Bonds US DVD and Blu-ray release details, plus on-line movie marathon details

Date: 2011 October 21 15:37 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime > DVD

The good folks at Viz have sent us details of the up coming US release of Naruto Shippuden The Movie: Bonds which is due out on DVD and Blu-ray on Tuesday October 25th 2011.

To celebrate US based readers can watch on-line for a limited time a marathon of all five Naruto movies! The stream is avaiable this weekend until Sunday October 23rd 2011.

An Interview with GEN Manga

Date: 2011 September 25 14:04 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Manga

eBooks and eBook readers have taken off, with Amazon's Kindle, the Nook and iPad all popular must have gadgets for reading. Currently there's a lot of attention on digital manga. Several companies have sprouted up offering legitimate manga to download and read. The two big boys are JManga and VizManga. They have been criticised for many reasons, including DRM, complex pricing models and region locking. JManga is run by a consortium of 39 manga publishers, so you can easily say they're the biggest digital manga distributor out there. A lot of people are complaining about these manga companies getting it wrong, but has anyone got it right?

Read More... | Souce: Otaku News

Play.com sold to Japanese group Rakuten

Date: 2011 September 21 16:55 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Retail

Popular UK on-line DVD retailer Play.com have been bought by Japanese group Rakuten. Play.com is the UK's biggest seller of DVDs online with estimated annual sales of about £500m. It has 14 million registered users and a staff of 500.

It was sold to Rakuten for £25m. Play.com have been successful due to a tax loop-hole that allows purchases under £18 to be VAT free when shipped from the Channel Islands to the UK mainland thanks to EU rules drafted almost 30 years ago. In November 2011, the government will reduce the amount for VAT free purchases to £15 and intend close this loop-hole totally by March 2012. The sales tax issues along with declining DVD sales is why Play.com was sold for £25m and not considerably more. The Guardian article states that DVD UK sales dipped 6% last year, while downloading and streaming rose 18%.

Play.com is popular with the UK anime fans and is often the first port of call along with Amazon.co.uk when buying DVDs and Blu-rays.

Rakuten are keen to increase their global presence, which is why they've purchases Play.com along with the French site PriceMinister and German site Tradoria.de.

Souce: The Guardian

AmeCon 2012 UK registration opens Sunday 25th September 2011

Date: 2011 September 10 07:02 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Events

The UK Summer Convention season is coming to an end, but fear not as AmeCon will be opening their 2012 registration on Sunday 25th September 2011.

AmeCon 2012 is set to run 10th - 12th August 2012, at Keele University, Newcastle-under-lyme. Registration will be on-line using the standard first come first served basis.

Digital Manga version of Neon Genesis Evangelion launches on VizManga.com

Date: 2011 August 16 17:03 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Manga

The good folks at Viz Media have sent us details of their latest title to appear on VIZManga. They've just launched Neon Genesis Evangelion with weekly digital chapters for $0.99. It's available on PC and Mac, iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch and Android phones and tablets.

GEN Manga Issue 4 out now, plus download free indie manga

Date: 2011 August 15 15:55 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Manga

GEN Manga the company bringing us indie manga from the Tokyo underground have sent us reminder that issue 4 is out today.

They've also released issue 2 for free. They're even extending their subscribers discount. What makes GEN Manga interesting is that each issue is published on PDF, so you can download it and read it on any device that'll handle PDF documents. There's no nasty DRM to worry about, or installing extra naggy software, just one file per issue.

Read More... | Souce: GEN Manga

Emma: Victorian Romance streams on-line for free

Date: 2011 August 10 16:55 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

The excellent folks from Right Stuf/Nozomi are now streaming the anime Emma: A Victorian Romance on YouTube. They'll be showing one new episode of Emma per week for the US, Canada, UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. They're showing the episodes subtitled. So if you fancy an anime series set in Victorian England, now's your chance to watch it for free.

You can get Series 1 and Series 2 from Amazon.com. You can also pre-order The Complete Series Limited Edition Bundle, which features Season 1 and Season 2, it's out on September 13th 2011.

Souce: Right Stuf

Japanese Manga Portal Website JManga.com To Launch August 17th 2011 in North America

Date: 2011 July 22 14:57 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Manga

San Diego Comic Con is well under way. This is the event that lots of companies have been waiting for to announce their news.

The Digital Comic Association have just announced a promising new digital manga service JManga. It's set for launch on August 17th 2011.

We've been sent the press release, and others are tweeting live from SDCC.

JManga.com will launch as website first in August, then for mobile devices later.

Sam Yoshiba (Kodansha) "JManga.com will have well-known titles & also the not-so-well-known titles that aren't always available scanlated."

We've been told that the titles will be limited to North America, but they should roll it out to other countries in coming months.

Additional thanks goes to Deb Aoki for Tweeting at SDCC.

Anime on Demand to simulcast [C] - Control - The Money and Soul of Possibility

Date: 2011 April 19 15:48 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

The good folks at legitimate anime streaming service Anime On Demand have sent us details about there latest stream to hit the UK. [C] - Control - The Money and Soul of Possibility. The show will start streaming Thursday 21st April 2011 at 17:45 BST (British Summer Time), just one week after it's Japanese debut. Each week a new episode will be added to the site in the future.

AmeCon seek Events Officer

Date: 2011 March 02 17:54 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Fandom

The great folks at UK convention AmeCon have sent us details of a volunteer role that needs filling. They're looking for a new Events Officer.

Apart from being able to pay something back to anime fandom, this is a great opportunity to participate in a large UK convention, see it's inner workings and meet others who are passionate about anime, manga and all other things otaku love.

Hyper Japan 2011 Details

Date: 2011 February 28 16:33 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Events

The good folks from Hyper Japan have sent us the details for their 2011 event in London. It's set to run from Friday 22nd July to Sunday 24th July 2011 at Olympia Two.

Schoolgirl Milky Crisis now on Kindle

Date: 2010 September 15 14:42 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Retail

Anime expert and industry insider Jonathan Clements has just posted details on his blog about Schoolgirl Milky Crisis being released on Kindle.

It's available to buy from Amazon.com in the US and Amazon.co.uk in the UK.

Souce: Schoolgirl Milky Crisis Blog

New Purikura Wallpaper

Date: 2010 July 28 16:23 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Websites

We've just put up some new wallpaper based on the Purikura post cards we gave out last year. As is tradition the artwork was created by the talented Wing Yun Man.

Souce: Otaku News Wallpaper

High School of the Dead hits North America

Date: 2010 July 02 19:41 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime > DVD

Want zombies with your anime? The good folks at Sentai Filmworks and Anime Network are willing to provide you with infected flesh eating monsters! Sentai Filmworks have the license for High School of the Dead. and will be releasing it subbed and dubbed throughout North America.

The Anime Network will also be showing the first and second episode from Monday July 5th to subscribers in North America.

Crunchyroll to stream Bleach an hour after Japanese Broadcast

Date: 2010 June 16 16:40 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

The good people of Crunchyroll have sent us details about their new Bleach Simulcasts. Starting today (Wednesday June 15th 2010), premium members will be able to watch Bleach one hour after it's been shown in Japan on TV TOKYO. Regular non-paying members of Crunchyroll will be able to watch it a week later.

Bleach will be available on Crunchyroll in following countries areas - United States, Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, Central and South America, the United Kingdom, Ireland, the Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Iceland, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa.

News in manga format

Date: 2010 June 11 08:58 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Current Affairs

Wired have an interesting article about news in manga format. The website newsmanga.com has current affairs explained in manga. The site employs more than 100 manga artists to cover breaking stories, updating 10 or 15 times a day. The site is in Japanese, but the Wired article has some translated and mirrored examples when you wave the mouse over the image.

Souce: Wired

Multi-National Manga Anti-Piracy Coalition Formed

Date: 2010 June 08 16:47 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Manga

Multi-National Manga Anti-Piracy Coalition Formed

We've received some very interesting details from VIZ Media about the formation of a Multi-National Manga Anti-Piracy Coalition.It seems that the industry has grown tired of Scanlations - manga scanned into a digital format and distributed without the copyright holders consent. The coalition include the 36 members of Japan's Digital Comic Association, Square Enix, VIZ Media, TOKYOPOP and Yen Press.

Originally scanlations were manga translated by fans into their native language from Japanese. This can be seen as the manga equivalent of anime fansubs. Some scanlation sites branched out to scans of manga that was already official translated and licensed outside of Japan.

This has cost the manga publishing industry significant amounts of money, not just in lost book sales, but lost opportunities in the relatively new market of eBooks and mobile devices.

The coalition intend to target scanlation sites and aggregators of scanlation sites. They've drawn up a list of 30 sites to targeted for action. First they will ask the sites to cease distributing scanlations. If the sites fail to cease distributing further action will be taken depending on the jurisdiction of each site. Actions include legal injunctions against the sites, reporting the sites to governmental anti-piracy units of law enforcement, including the US Justice Department, local law enforcement agencies and the FBI.

Fans curious about piracy in the anime and manga industry should read the Pirate Anime FAQ.

This is not the first time the anime and manga industry has attempted to stop piracy in the industry, but this is the biggest and most coordinated international effort so far. With many companies in the industry forced to make cut backs, closing down offices, laying off staff, we wonder if this is the start of a new approach? Will more companies pursue legal options? Are fansubbers next?

Vampire Knight Anime Online at VIZAnime.com

Date: 2010 May 08 09:27 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

US Anime fans can now watch Vampire Knight on-line as it premiers on VizAnime.com. This streamed anime title is only available to people inside the US.

Crunchyroll streams Haruhi

Date: 2010 April 09 19:44 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

The good folks at Crunchyroll have sent us details of their latest streaming deal. They've started to show The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya. Fans looking for aliens, time travelers, and ESPers will be most pleased to hear that they intend to stream the second series later this year too. Crunchyroll's licence covers the Americas, the British Isles, Scandinavia, the Middle East and Africa.

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