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Everyone Wants The Totoro House

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

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

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.

Visit Satsuki's and Mei's House

Date: 2005 March 21 17:28 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Events

We've been sent details from renowned anime author Helen McCarthy and journalist Ake Sasaki about the World Expo 2005 In Aichi, Japan, it looks like a dreamland for otaku!

For anime fans the highlight has to be Satsuki's and Mei's House, a replica of the house featured in Studio Ghibli's landmark My Neighbour Totoro. Just like the Ghibli Museum, entry to the house is limited to a set number of special ticket holders each day. Expo attendees must enter a lottery in advance to win the privilege of entering the house. As a result some lucky winners have taken to auctioning their tickets on-line, currently the free tickets are going for around $100 USD.

Comic Expo UK -Tokyopop Rising Stars Competition Opens To The UK

Date: 2005 March 21 13:17 | Posted By: Azure

Category > Events

Comic Expo is a new UK comic convention in Bristol 14th - 15th MAY 2005. Which seems to be making an effort to include manga fans within the convention. The biggest news is that Tokyopop UK will be launching its new 'Rising Stars of Manga' competition which for the first time will be open to UK artists. The convention also lists a "Tokyopop cine-manga night" but there are no details so it's hard to understand what this means.
Tokyopop Cine-manga are comics made out of animation screenshots (which with Tokyopop aren't all based on anime e.g. Disney), so it's unclear if it's some sort of presentation, anime screening or broader animation screening.

Also of interest is a talk by Paul Gravett which is billed as 'PAUL GRAVETT gets Re-Animeted. Celebrating 60 years of the genre.'

London Symphony Orchestra with Ayako Uehara

Date: 2005 March 16 17:36 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Events

The more cultured London based otaku will want to get to Barbican Hall, on Wednesday 23rd March, for a 7:30pm performance by the London Symphony Orchestra of Respighi, Tchaikovsky and Stravinsky which features Ayako Uehara on piano.

I'm sure many of our readers would have heard of young Japanese pianist Ayako Uehara who became the first woman to win the 1st prize at the 12th International Tchaikovsky Competition held in Moscow in 2002. Last year she had great success at her London debut recital at Wigmore Hall. In this concert programme with the LSO, conducted by Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, she plays Tchaikovsky's masterpiece, the wonderfully romantic First Piano Concerto.

Programme:
Tchaikovsky: Piano concerto No 1
Respighi: The Fountains of Rome
Stravinsky: The Firebird - Suite (1919)

Box office: 020 7638 8891

Souce: London Symphony Orchestra

Kyoto Jazz Massive In Edinburgh

Date: 2005 March 16 17:26 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Events

Trendy jazz otaku in Edinburgh will want to get to The Cellar Bar, 1a Chambers Street on Friday 18 March to see Kyoto Jazz Massive -

Kyoto Jazz Massive are two brothers, Shuya Okino and Yoshiro Okino, famous for being DJs, producers, club-runners, label/record-shop owners (Especial) and worldwide re-mixers. They have been among Bossa Electronic Jazz pioneers in Japan since the late 1980s. Older brother Shuya used to be the artistic director of Mondo Grosso and is also part of the Cosmic Village Project. Their work with artists such as Sleepwalker (Masato Nakamura, Hajime Yoshizawa, Tomokazu Sugimoto, Nobuaki Fujii) and legendary American saxophonist Pharoah Sanders is currently exciting audiences across the world.

11pm - 3am, The Cellar Bar, 1a Chambers Street, Edinburgh EH1 1HU
www.getintotrouble.com
Nice!

Souce: Trouble @ The Cellar Bar

Nausicaa To Get Small Scale US Theatrical Release This Summer

Date: 2005 March 10 18:04 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime > Film

Nausicaa.net have discovered from "sources close to Disney" that Nausicaa will receive a small scale US theatrical release this summer. Ghibli films always look great on the big screen and we highly recommend that our US readers catch this move when it does get released!

Souce: Nausicaa.net

Kimono Wearers Get Free Transport

Date: 2005 March 10 16:29 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Culture

Following on from our earlier story about the kimono making a come back, the Otaku News crew have discovered a rather creative ploy by Kyoto City, who are offering free public transport and free entry to selected tourist attractions for an 11 day period to anyone wearing a kimono! This appears to be a bid to get more people dressing in traditional clothes in the historic city.

BBC News have more details on this story and highlight that Kyoto is an important centre for the textlie industry. Attractions offering free entry include Nijo Castle, Kyoto Tower and some museums.

Souce: BBC News

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!

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.

Competition: Bondi Nami

Date: 2005 February 22 18:04 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Events

Here at Otaku News we love working with people to provide you with free stuff. We've teamed up with the people organising the London Australian Film Festival to give our London readers a chance of winning a pair of tickets to see the first Japanese Road Movie in Australia - Bondi Nami.

Competition: Sci-Fi-London Anime On Tour

Date: 2005 February 22 17:48 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime > Film

For our lucky UK readers we've got a pair of tickets for each leg of the Sci-Fi-London Anime On Tour event around the country. They'll be showing an anime all nighter, which includes Parasite Dolls and RahXephon. Read the rest of this article for full details.

Bondi Nami Hits London's Barbican Screen

Date: 2005 February 21 16:46 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Events

We've just got details in about the London Australian Film Festival screening of Bondi Nami, what's that you cry? Otaku News is supposed to be "News For Fans Of Japan", not "News For Fans of Down Under", well the more clever otaku readers (which is about 99% of our readers) will know that this film is being marketed as "The first Japanese Road Movie in Australia". So if you're in London or can get there, get down to the Barbican Cinema Centre for 9pm Saturday 5th March.

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

Sapporo Snow Festival 2005

Date: 2005 February 15 17:28 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Art

The Mainichi Daily News have some truly fantastic pictures from the 56th Sapporo Snow Festival. Which ran from February 7th to 13th.

The winner this year is the Canadian team who made a carving called Holding Back the Wilderness, featuring a Mountie holding back a bear.

The Otaku News Crew are already looking at how to make these in order to make a carvings of Elfie, Tima and Miyuki at next years event.

Souce: Mainichi Daily News

Sci-Fi-London Anime On Tour

Date: 2005 February 14 18:57 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Events

Following on from the successful Sci-Fi-London Festival at the beginning of this month, the UK's only international sci-fi and fantasy film festival will be on tour throughout February and March.

Lucky otaku in Edinburgh, Liverpool, York and Exeter will get a chance to see the anime all nighter which includes Parasite Dolls and the RahXephon Movie.

London MCM Expo Celebrates Anime - Manga & Cosplay

Date: 2005 February 13 17:18 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Events

The folks over at the London Expo Event have sent us details of their anime and manga lineup. Not only will they have Cosplay events on both days, but they've also arranged sponsorship from MVM and Neo Magazine.

Guest wise, the Expo has Teryleryl Rothery who plays Dr. Janet Frasier in Stargate SG-1 and has been a voice actress in Dragon Ball playing Agent Mai in the 1995 dub and Raven in the first Dragon Ball Movie. She's also played A-ko Magami in Project A-Ko and Kodachi Kuno in various Ranma ½ features.

Shogun: The Life of Lord Tokugawa Ieyasu

Date: 2005 February 10 11:52 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Events

Since our readership pride themselves on being cultured, I'm sure you'd be interested to know about a major Japanese Exhibition held at The Royal Armouries. Their summer 2005 exhibition will be Shogun: The Life of Lord Tokugawa Ieyasu. British otaku better head over to Leeds sometime this year!

IMAF To Announce Winners Soon?

Date: 2005 February 03 13:55 | Posted By: Azure

Category > Events

The folks at IMAF have updated their forums indicating that they intend to announce the winners on the 21st of February. They blame overseas mail for the delay. Good luck to all the artists who have entered!

Souce: IMAF

Extra Steamboy Showing In London

Date: 2005 January 24 02:59 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime > Film

London tickets sales for Steamboy at the Curzon Cinema on February 5th have sold out already! So the organisers have arranged for an extra screening on Thursday 3rd February at 11pm. Steamboy is being screened as part of the Sci-Fi-London Festival. The Otaku News crew hope that more screenings of the film will be scheduled for London soon, lots of people really want to see Steamboy and since the film is set in London it deserves a bigger screening in it's home city.

Souce: Sci-Fi-London

Anime All Nighter In London

Date: 2005 January 19 18:03 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime > Film

Lucky otaku who can get to London in the first weekend of February are in for a real treat. The Sci-Fi-London event will be running an anime all nighter with support from Redbull and Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream (make mine Chocolate Fudge Brownie) and with free Tea and Coffee everyone's sure to stay awake from the midnight starting time until 9:30 am the next day!
They'll be screening:

- Lady Death
- Parasite Dolls
- Sky Blue (a Korean animation also known as Wonderful Days)
- RahXephon The Movie.

We suggest that hardcore otaku go to the London Anime Club afterwards for a total weekend of anime!

Sweatdrop At The Artists & Illustrators Exhibition 2005

Date: 2005 January 09 15:16 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Events

We've just got news from the nice people at UK manga style art studio Sweatdrop that they'll be representing the UK manga community at the Artists & Illustrators Exhibition 2005 event and also provide workshops, and four 90 minute long presentations covering aspects of Manga-styled art and it's creation.

The event is scheduled for July 21st - 24th at London's Business Design Centre, last years event attracted over 14,000 visitors!

The Sweatdrop crew can be seen regulary at UK anime events, such at the London Anime Club and other UK anime conventions like AyaCon and AmeCon. Recently Sweatdrop also ran a stall at the London Comic Festival, with great success. Regular readers of Otaku News, will also remeber some of our lovely Christmas Desktop Wallpaper created by Sweatdrop artist Wing Yun Man.

Sky Blue LA Ticket Giveaway

Date: 2004 December 28 18:23 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Events

We at Otaku News are offering our readers in L.A. (in the USA of course ^_-) a chance to attend the Sky Blue Screenings. We've got two pairs of tickets to give away!

OK, we know it's Korean animation and not Japanese anime, but Koreans have been doing inbetweening and other outsourcing for the Japanese animation industry for years now.

Final Fantasy Orchestral Performance in Chicago

Date: 2004 December 22 18:05 | Posted By: Voxie

Category > Gaming

The Square Enix website has recently announced news of their latest 'Dear Friends - Music From Final Fantasy' concert. The first of a series of concert performances, the event is to be held for the first time in Chicago at the classy Rosemont Theatre in Rosemont, Illinois. Exciting stuff, a definite event for diehard FF fans and orchestral-heads a-like!

London MCM Expo 2005 Is Interested In Anime/Manga Presence!

Date: 2004 December 15 19:30 | Posted By: Voxie

Category > Events

Following up a post made on the boards at www.anime.org.uk, it seems the organisers are very interested in adding some anime and manga presence to the event, held in mid-May next year.

According to the post, plans are already on the go, with anime/manga distributors MVM due to attend. There are also other plans for cosplay and prizes to be up for grabs.

The post also reads that if you (as in anime/manga fans) have any further ideas in mind, you should email them directly at info@londonexpo.com and it is much appreciated.

The event will be held from 14-15th May 2005, at Royal Victoria, London E16. Advance tickets are now available to buy.

London MCM Expo Website: http://www.londonexpo.com

Souce: Anime.org.uk

AyaCon Five: Launch Announcement

Date: 2004 December 14 18:40 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Events

I've just received the details for AyaCon 5, the next edition of the successful UK anime and manga convention which always proves popular. AyaCon 5 will be held from 19-21 August 2005. Their venue will be the Warwick Arts Centre (University of Warwick near Coventry).

The convention will have use of the entire Arts Centre and extra faclities including a bar, restaurant and additional conference rooms, along with the full nightclub facilities in the nearby Students' Union for two parties on the Friday and Saturday evenings.

Manga Tour of Japan 2005

Date: 2004 December 13 18:08 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Events

Those alert people over at BritAnime have discovered a manga package holiday from 29 March to April 2005 for our British readers.

The price seems good considering the flights and everything, although personally I prefer to go around Japan without a tour guide, discovering things by yourself is a lot of fun! However it is nice to have the option for the less adventurous, or for those who enjoy the convenience of having everything ready for them, especially since many anime fans have a limited Japanese vocabulary, including words such as baka (idiot), which doesn't really go down well when you're trying to book a hotel room!

The 8 day trip includes a visit to the Tokyo International Animation Fair, the fantastic Ghibli Museum, a visit to Akihabara (for all your electronic needs) and also the wonderful Meiji shrine, with huge Tori gates by it's entrance.

Souce: JapanJourneys.co.uk

December 2004 London Anime Club Update.

Date: 2004 December 08 18:47 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Fandom

Following on from our previous article, where we guessed that the Christmas London Anime Club attendance would be higher than their last largest recorded attendance in April, when over 206 anime fans visited for the club's 10th anniversary.

This months LAC attendance was high, but not high enough to beat their previous record with around 165 anime fans showing up. As always Christmas treats were available with free entry to the London Anime Club for December, along with a raffle where people won items ranging from an Xbox to Newtype USA and Neo Magazine. Interestingly, there were lots of new faces at this months LAC. There are always new people showing up, but for some reason this month seemed to have a larger amount of new attendees than normal.

Souce: Otaku News

December 2004 Biggest London Anime Club yet?

Date: 2004 December 04 15:58 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Fandom

The London Anime Club is the largest anime club in the UK, in some ways it's a bit like a mini anime convention, but with fewer a cosplayers. Located in the City of London the LAC's central location means anime fans from around the country make a monthly trip every first Sunday of the month to watch anime and talk to like minded fans.

To date the London Anime Club's largest recorded attendance was 206 people for their 10th anniversary in April 2004. The Otaku News Crew are guessing that tomorrows LAC will be the biggest one yet, since more people are getting into anime and manga all the time and Christmas LACs tend to have high attendances. Fans often like to meet up around Christmas time too, especially since the London Anime Club does not run in January, as the first Sunday of the year is in the Holiday season. The Otaku News Crew will report back with the attendance figures as soon as we get them! Before we do, some of us (as always) will be at the London Anime Club, if you're there too, find us and say hello! We want to know what our readers think! ^_-

Souce: Otaku News

Steamboy At Sci-Fi-London

Date: 2004 December 04 13:21 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime > Film

The keen eyed people at Anime-Europe have noticed that Sci-Fi-London will be screening Katsuhiro Otomo's latest anime film Steamboy. The festival will run in February 2005 and has screened anime with great success in previous years.

The folks over at Anime UK News have also discovered that the latest issue (December 2004) of Impact Magazine has a Steamboy Cover, along with features on Steamboy and Ghost In The Shell 2: Innocence.

Every otaku should already know Katsuhiro Otomo wrote the classic manga Akira and directed the huge smash hit anime version. Steamboy is a steampunk movie set in London just before the First World Expo in 1851.

Apart from being very high quality anime, it is noted for having authentic looking locations around London, with British bobbies on the beat and other landmarks, which makes a change from seeing Tokyo landmarks all the time in anime! ^_-

Souce: Sci-Fi-London

TokyoPop's 5th Rising Stars of Manga Competition Kicks Off Today

Date: 2004 December 01 19:23 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Manga

TokyoPop have just launched their popular manga competition where artists are invited to submit 15 to 20 pages of manga inspired comics for a chance to be in the next Rising Stars anthology, to be published in Summer 2005.

Along with the usual lovely cash prices TokyoPop have added an extra and welcomed twist with the people's choice category where the top 20 finalists will have their entire entries posted on the TokyoPop website and judged by the fans. The Otaku News crew think this is a good idea, the interactive element adds that extra bit of fun to the competition by getting fans to participate (especially the ones that can't draw to save their lives like myself) and also provides TokyoPop with additional market research resolving tricky tie breaker situations with which submission will generate the most fan interest (and hopefully revenue too).

Auchinawa Glasgow Convention for Otaku

Date: 2004 November 29 08:53 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Events

One of our contributors Voxie from MAME has just discovered plans in Scotland for Auchinawa which "strives not to be an "Anime Convention" but an "Otaku Convention". Our Mission is to create a Convention/Expo in Scotland, the first of its kind, which caters for your needs and wants as fans."

They plan to screen anime, have DDR machines and will also be catering for J-Music fanatics and furries.

It's not set to run until the summer of 2006 so many of the details aren't finalised yet. However it's always good to plan ahead and conventions in the UK often get booked out quickly, so go take a look and get saving to get to Glasgow, if you're not near there already.

Souce: Auchinawa

Manga Animates New Millennium

Date: 2004 November 14 17:00 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Manga

The Japan Times Online has a very interesting article about anime and manga, it starts talking about Astroboy and then goes on to Garo, an underground manga magazine with "dark, satirical narratives and weird, surrealistic imagery".

The article then continues to talk about Psionic Distortion a multi-media exhibition which runs at the SuperDeluxe event space in Roppongi, Tokyo, which from Nov. 10-30 a 5-minute walk from Roppongi Station on the Hibiya Line.

Souce: The Japan Times Online

J-Pop Go In London

Date: 2004 November 07 14:35 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Events

Otaku News have learned about an event scheduled soon in London. J-Pop Go promises to be an evening celebrating a broad range of popular Japanese music, from J-Pop to J-Rock and everything in-between! The event is planned for a central London venue and they'll post up more information regarding tickets, pricing, playlists etc in due course. If you have suggestions, ideas or queries then you can always contact them too. If you're interested in attending then you add yourself to their mailing list for future updates.

We've seen posters, flyers and spoken to the even organisers and they've got lots of cool ideas about this event, so if you're into the Japanese music scene then go take a look.

Souce: J-Pop Go

International Manga and Anime Festival Launches

Date: 2004 October 27 18:20 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

We've just got a press release from a group called IMAF, who will be holding an international competition to find the best manga and anime talent in the world, entrants stand a chance to win big bucks with a total prize fund of $75,000!

The entrants work will be shown at London County Hall from 16th - 19th December. Judges include Koike Kazuo who is best known for writing Lone Wolf and Cub and Crying Freeman.

TokyoPop and Sweatdrop Attract Interest At London Comic Festival

Date: 2004 October 23 17:51 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Manga

The Otaku News Crew have just returned from the London Comic Festival, an event that focuses on the British Comic Book industry, it consists largely of underground/independent UK comic book publishers. Representing the UK manga/anime scene were professional manga publishers TokyoPop UK and original UK manga studio Sweatdrop. It was nice to see the interest and enthusiasm both groups generated. All the exhibitors there had a fair number of visitors to the their tables, I didn't do a proper count or survey, but throughout the day it was clear that both TokyoPop and Sweatdrop generated a large amount of interest, more so than any of the other comic book publishers.

Souce: Otaku News

Animex 05 Bookings Now Open

Date: 2004 October 22 18:22 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Production

Those of you in the animation industry should pay a visit to the next Animex International Festival of Animation. This will be the sixth Animex now, and every time it just gets bigger and better. Animex will run from 31st January to 4th February at the University of Teesside in Middlesbrough in the North East of England.

This year the emphasis on animation in gaming seems to have increased and as always attendees get a chance to discuss details with industry professionals such as Robin Linn, Director of Animation Production for the Digital Character Group at Sony Pictures Imageworks.

Souce: Animex

Cosplay Photographic Exhibit in LA

Date: 2004 October 20 17:42 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Art

LA otaku are in for a treat from October 28 to November 26 The Perfect Exposure Gallery will be hosting an exhibit on cosplayers or "Photographic portraits of costumed anime fans" to be more exact. Shot at anime conventions around the US and Canada in 2003 and 2004, it sounds a bit like A Fans View only off-line!

History of Anime - Presentation by Jonathan Clements

Date: 2004 October 19 16:17 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Events

We've got a tip off from one of our Welsh readers who suggests we take a look at the Swansea Animation Days 2004 Festival. Apart from covering the nuts and bolts of the animation industry, Jonathan Clements will be giving a speech under the SAND Film strand on "A History of Anime". A few otaku will know that Jonathan has given talks on this subject before and that they have gone down very well with attendees.

Souce: Swansea Animation Days 2004

Leeds International Film Festival Has Anime and Live Action Treats

Date: 2004 October 09 13:21 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Events

Anime-Europe has brought to our attention the Leeds International Film Festival. They mention the official UK premier of Ghost In the Shell 2: Innocence (Sat 6th Nov - 8.30pm, Sun 7th Nov - 6.15pm) and Steamboy (Sat 6th Nov - 6.15pm, Sun 7th Nov - 8.15pm), both of these films are hotly anticipated by anime fans, myself included.

Also recomended is the Fanomenon Film Strand, with some other top notch cult live action Japanese cinema.

The Otaku News crew suggest you check out:
- Electric Dragon 80,000V
- The Live Action version of Cutie Honey (directed by Hideaki Anno of Evangelion fame).
- Doppleganger
- Izo
- Ju-on: The Grudge 2

Then there's Otakus In Love the film title explains what it's about, I'll have to put that on my to watch list for the title alone! ^_-

Also if you liked Hero, you will really want to see House of Flying Daggers.

Souce: Leeds International Film Festival

Yuri Revolution Tokyo

Date: 2004 October 05 19:11 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Events

The good girls at Yuricon have just sent us their press releasing detailing the Yuri Revolution event in Tokyo

"We'll be touring the anime and manga centers of Tokyo, visiting Tokyo Tower, museums and other Tokyo attractions.We'll top it all off with an all-yuri event in the home of yuri manga, the Nichoume in Shinjuku, where we can embarrass ourselves by trying to speak Japanese with well-known yuri mangaka." This is just for starters.

To attend all you have to do is get to Tokyo on April 12-17, 2005, remember you have to sort out your own flights and accommodation though.

Miyazaki & Moebius Exhibition In Paris

Date: 2004 October 04 13:45 | Posted By: Azure

Category > Events

From December 1st, 2004 until March 13th, 2005 there will be a joint exhibition from Miyazaki and French artist Moebius at the Monnaie de Paris. The joint exhibit will feature more than 300 works from the two artists. Tickets may be purchased from the site for 9 Euros (with some youth concessions).

Souce: Anime News Network

V&A Exhibit - Encounters: The Meeting of Asia and Europe 1500-1800

Date: 2004 October 03 16:54 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Events

I've just found out that the Victoria and Albert Museum in London are running an Exhibition called Encounters: The Meeting of Asia and Europe 1500-1800. It will have some great Japanese items, including:

- a six panel gold leafed paper screen
- an elaborate painting with gold on silk
- armour from the shogun Tokugawa Hidetada
- a Portable Christian Altar
- Two Dutchmen and two courtesans Hanging scroll
- Food Box (surely they mean bento box?)

Many items are being shown for the first time, so we recommend a visit.

UK Conventions Set For 2005 And 2006

Date: 2004 September 29 18:32 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Events

It seems at almost exactly the same time, both AyaCon and AmeCon have officially announced more details regarding their next conventions!

It was announced at AyaCon 2003 that there would be no AyaCon in 2004, but now they've updated their website saying that "We are currently planning to stage our latest event, AyaCon Five, in Summer/Autumn 2005. We're aiming to make AyaCon bigger and better than ever!" As yet, they haven't revealed a venue for the convention.

AmeCon have also just updated their website. Stating that "The Convention will not be running in 2005, but will be running at Aston University, Birmingham, in 2006. Registrations for 2006 will open shortly."

Read More... | Souce: AyaCon / AmeCon Websites.

Terratag London Exhibition - 'Pornograffiti'

Date: 2004 September 29 17:49 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Events

We've just got an e-mail from Paul over at Terratag. Terratag t-shirts have been sold at most of the UK anime conventions and Paul even had a stall at the Japanese Food Festival in London this August.

Terratag are also very naughty and as a result, I've always debated if I should add them to the Pirate Anime FAQ. The more astute otaku will know there is a range of Terratag t-shirts with Gundam designs on, Terratag have not paid for a license from Bandai to use any Gundam images, or their likeness. Technically this is a copyright violation, and that generally flags them as a bootlegger. This could land Paul in trouble with Bandai's lawyers, and he could face a hefty fine at least.

Anyway, Paul wanted to point out that he's holding an art exhibition at the Notting Hill Arts Club, his show runs until November 1st, he helpfully points out on the night of October 4th there are going to be 4 scratch DJ's from Tokyo playing live. The crew is called En and features Mc Raita with Dj's Jif Rock, Kiccio and Kaitaro. There will also be a jazz/hip-hop dance crew. So fans of the Japanese music scene will want to get over there!

Tokyo Game Show 2004

Date: 2004 September 27 13:37 | Posted By: Azure

Category > Gaming

This year’s annual Tokyo Game show has been and gone with a massive 160,096 attendees. Highlights included the new Sony PSP handheld, as well as a plethora of games for the new Nintendo DS.

Japanese Swords in the British Museum

Date: 2004 September 26 17:46 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Culture

Fans of sharp pointy things will want to pay a visit to the British Museum in London, from 30th September 2004 until 17th February 2005 they have the "Cutting Edge: Japanese Swords in the British Museum" exhibition, which focuses on history of swords in Japan, including Koto (old swords), Shinto (new swords) and Shinshinto (new-new Swords). The British Museum is always a great place to visit, so we suggest you visit this exhibition while you can, especially since Japanese swords are really works of art.

For a more details visit the British Museum's Department of Asia Exhibitions page.

Souce: British Museum - Department of Asia Exhibitions

Japanese Films at The 12th Raindance Festival

Date: 2004 September 26 17:16 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Culture

London cinema otaku as always are in for a treat with the 12th Raindance Film Festival, which is dedicated to fostering and promoting independent film in the UK and around the world. For fans of Japan, check out their Way Out East strand, they'll be showing films like:

- After The Apocalypse
- Antenna
- Arakey
- Dead End Run
- Doppelganger
- Lunch Box
- Marebito
- Ramblers

If South Korean flicks are more your thing, check out Arahan and Oldboy. If you're into Chinese gothic shockers then go for Night Corridor.

Souce: Raindance Film Festival

Akita Kanto performance at the Thames Festival

Date: 2004 September 11 17:30 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Events

London otaku better get themselves to the the Thames Festival which "closes busy streets and transforms the river, parks and open spaces with a rich programme of new creative commissions, a riverside bazaar and night market, family oriented activities, street theatre, music, and more."

This year artistes balancing Kanto poles will be demonstraiting their skills in London while accompanied by traditional Japanese music of the taiko drum, bamboo flute and bell. On the 18th September they will be supported by taiko drummers from Gyosei International College.

Manga Live! At The ICA In London

Date: 2004 August 30 14:14 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Events

I've just found out about an event at the ICA in London. It's called Manga Live, and is divided into two events Manga Live (Fri 03 Sep) and will discuss if Manga can take off in the UK.

The second event (Sat 04 Sep) is the Manga Live! Manga Masterclass which forms a practical demonstration and workshop. The masterclass will also have a special preview screening of Rogue Farm.

Toronto Film Festival Gets Canadian Premiere Of Ghost In The Shell 2: Innocence

Date: 2004 August 27 12:48 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime > Film

We've just heard the following from the folks at Dreamworks and GoFish Pictures:

We are happy to report that writer/director Mamoru Oshii's long-awaited sequel GHOST IN THE SHELL 2: INNOCENCE will have its Canadian premiere this September in the Midnight Madness section of the
29th Toronto International Film Festival (www.bell.ca/filmfest).

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