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Sunrise To Present Special Panel at MCM London Comic Con

Date: 2015 October 17 09:33 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Events

The good folks at MCM London Comic Con have just sent use details about an anime panel running at the Cominc Con on Sunday. It'll be presented by Eri Suziki from Sunrise's international department and it'll focus on the Gundam franchise and the next phase of their partnership with UK anime firm Anime Limited.

Sunrise are best known for being the studio behind Gundam, they've also created the anime versions of Cowboy Bebop, Love Live, Code Geass and Tiger & Bunny to name a few.

Anime Limited are also running the MCM Loves Anime Event on the Saturday.

The MCM London Comic Con is set to run from Friday 23rd to Sunday 25th October 2015.

Genki Gear Reveals Their October 2015 T-shirt Line-up

Date: 2015 October 16 15:17 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Events

The good folks from geeky t-shirt vendor Genki Gear have sent us details of their new line up, which conveniently will be available at the MCM London Comic Con. The MCM London Comic Con is set to run from Friday 23rd to Sunday 25th October 2015.

Madness available in Unisex and Women's in Charcoal and Indigo. Fluffy Cat available in Unisex and Women's in Sapphire, Black and Chestnut plus a hoodie and ladies vest top. Octopus Head available in Unisex and Women's in Charcoal, Indigo and Kiwi. All t-shirts in the new range are priced at £15.99.

They've also got a Japan range of 5 shirts - Hentai, Sugoi , Senpai, Kawaii and Yaoi. These shirts are £10 each.

You can find Genki Gear at the MCM London Comic Con on the main walkway in the middle of the show so keep an eye out for their Panda Banner.

Monohon Ramen brings more pop-ups to London this October and November 2015

Date: 2015 October 12 15:19 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Events

Do you like Ramen? Oh nom nom nom. Londoners who do are in for a treat as they can visit some of the up coming ramen pop ups being run by Monohon Ramen. The first appears at 7:15pm on Saturday 17th October 2015 in a traditional pie and mash cafe F. Cooke on Broadway Market.

They'll also be running two sittings at Rouge one at 5:30pm and the second at 7:00pm on Sunday 1st November 2015. Where they'll be serving a lesser known Japanese ramen dish Abura soba. During this event, they will give a demonstration of the dish and customers will get a chance to assemble their own bowl.

All the pop-ups require booking in advance and cost £10 a head, which includes the ramen, plus a side dish. All events are bring your own bottle.

Shigeto Koyama to be anime guest of honour at London Comic Con October 2015

Date: 2015 October 11 10:16 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Events

We keep saying that the MCM Comic Con keep having interesting anime guests at their events. The October run of the MCM London Comic Con is no different. This time around Shigeto Koyama will be the anime guest of honour. He's been responsible for the design of Big Hero 6's robot Baymax, and been involved with Kill la Kill and Hideaki Anno's Rebuild of Evangelion movies. He's got a whole host of credits to his name for A-list anime titles including Gurren Lagann, Space Dandy and Ghost in the Shell SAC: Solid State Society.

The MCM London Comic Con is set to run from Friday 23rd to Sunday 25th October 2015. Anime fans will also be interested in the MCM Loves Anime side event.

Hatsune Miku - The Metamorphosis of Music and Technology - London - October 2015

Date: 2015 October 11 08:24 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Events

The virtual singing sensation Hatsune Miku is well known to fans of Japan. The Japan Foundation have arranged a collection of events to London on Saturday 24th October 2015. The events will be held at Rich Mix in Shoreditch. The events are free and some require booking. As always we advise booking early to avoid disappointment.

They've got the following events:

2pm: Lecture by Hatsune Miku creator, Hiroyuki Itoh.
Booking: hatsune-miku-programme1.eventbrite.co.uk

4pm: Hatsune Miku Live Concert Screening
Booking: hatsune-miku-programme2.eventbrite.co.uk

1:30pm - 5:30pm Hatsune Miku Workshops for Everyone!
No booking required – please feel free just to drop in any time between 1:30pm and 5:30pm.

MCM Loves Anime in London Special Screenings

Date: 2015 October 03 15:04 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime > Film

It's October! Which means the MCM London Comic Con is almost upon us. It's set to run from Friday 23rd to Sunday 25th October 2015. The good folks at Anime Limited will be running a special standalone event, MCM Loves Anime, which has 4 special anime screenings at The Crystal. They'll be screening thee world premiere of Gundam The Origin II: Artesia's Sorrow, along with 3 other mystery anime films. Anime Limited are being tight lipped about what they'll be, but they are letting on they've got a mix of shows that consists of hits from Scotland Loves Anime - most importantly they are all English premieres!

The event is ticketed separately from the MCM London Comic con, as it's a side event, day pass ticket will be at early-bird pricing of £20 until 12th October. From 13th October tickets will be priced at £25. As always with events like this we suggest booking early to avoid disappoint.

Souce: Anime Limited

Monohon Ramen Pop Ups in London this October 2015

Date: 2015 September 24 17:15 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Events

Ramen in on trend for foodies at the moment, which is why the good folks at Monohon are currently popping up over London. They've been running a couple of ramen pop ups in Hackney since August 2015, and are going for another London pop up on Thursday 1st October 2015. It'll be held at Japanese cafe Toconoco near Haggerston Overground.

They'll be open from 6.45pm with last orders 9.15pm. The event requires a ticket, which costs £10 per head, this includes the ramen and some edamame too. It's a bring your own bottle event. So if you fancy a drink you'll need to bring one.

Japan Matsuri in London Saturday 19th September 2015

Date: 2015 September 13 17:43 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Events

Fans of Japanese culture who can get to London on Saturday 19th September 2015, will want to head to Trafalgar Square for the Japan Matsuri. The event free to attend and is set to run from 10am to 8pm with events running pretty much constantly on the main stage, while there are many stalls to interest anyone who's a fan of Japan. They've got a wide selection of food stalls, stalls selling Japanese related merchandise, plus a range of travel agents if you're ever interested in going to Japan, along with a few Japanese cultural organisations and societies.

As always this event is also listed on our sister site the Otaku Calendar.

Souce: Japan Matsuri 2015

WIT Studio's Kotomi Deai and Hiroshi Shimizu heading to MCM Scotland Comic Con

Date: 2015 September 07 16:15 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Events

Anime fans in Glasgow are in for a treat, we've already mentioned Scotland Loves Anime 2015, however just before that the MCM Scotland Comic Con is set to run on Saturday 26th to Sunday 27th September 2015. The anime guests this time around are are WIT Studio's Kotomi Deai and Hiroshi Shimizu. WIT Studio are best known for the megahit anime Attack on Titan.

Both are experienced in the anime industry, and have been involved in titles such as The Rolling Girls, Silver Spoon, Kids on the Slope, Sword Art Online, Samurai Champloo and Space Dandy.

They'll be presenting panels, meeting fans and signing autographs at the Comic Con.

This is not first time WIT Studio staff have appeared at an MCM Event, we caught up with WIT Studio at the October 2013 MCM London Comic Con. The next MCM London Comic Con set set to run from Friday 23rd to Sunday 25th October 2015.

Shinya Tsukamoto: Filmmaker Talk in London

Date: 2015 September 04 16:20 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime > Film

Fans of Japanese cinema in London will be keen to go to the Shinya Tsukamoto: Filmmaker Talk on Saturday 26th September 2015 at 2:30pm at the Impact Hub Westminster. The talk is hosted by the Japan Foundation London and is free to attend, but booking is essential to avoid disappointment.

When Marnie Was There London Screening Details

Date: 2015 September 01 15:28 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime > Film

UK Ghibli fans will want to head to London in October to catch screenings of When Marnie Was There at the BFI London Film Festival.

The Film will be screened at the Haymarket Cineworld at 14:30 on Saturday 10th October 2015 and 18:15 on Wednesday 14th October 2015 at the BFI Southbank.

This is Studio Ghibli's final film.

The BFI London Film Festival 2015 also has other films of interest, including Mamoru Hosoda's The Boy and the Beast. If you like Summer Wars, The Girl Who Leapt Through Time and Wolf Children, you'll want to catch this feature.

AmeCon 2016 Registration Filled in Under an Hour

Date: 2015 August 31 17:04 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Fandom

We've already mentioned earlier that AmeCon registration went live today. The fan run anime convention's registration was filled in under 40 minutes, with all 1,000 spaces booked by 19:38.

Anyone wanting to attend the 2016 event now will have to be added to the wait list and hope that someone else gives up their space for the ever popular event.

Souce: AmeCon

Scotland Loves Anime 2015 Announced

Date: 2015 August 29 12:37 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

Anime fans in Scotland are in for a treat this October as popular anime film festival Scotland Loves Anime returns to Edinburgh and Glasgow for it's 6th consecutive year. They'll also have some screenings in Aberdeen too.

Scotland Loves Anime have just announced the event is set to run in Glasgow from Friday 9th to Sunday 11th October 2015 and Edinburgh from Monday 12th to Sunday 18th October 2015. The line up as always is awesome. They've got all sorts of anime, plus the new live action Attack on Titan movies. Guest wise anime director Keiichi Hara who recently directed Sarusuberi: Miss Hokusai, will be at Glasgow, along with renowned anime expert Jonathan Clements (saying he's an expert is a bit of an understament, as) he's written tons about anime in books and magazines, plus is the co-author of the The Anime Encyclopedia.

Scotland Loves Anime 2015: Edinburgh Line-Up
Monday 12th to Sunday 18th October 2015

Sarusuberi: Miss Hokusai
Empire Of Corpses
Expelled From Paradise
The Case Of Alice & Hana
Dragonball Z: Resurrection ‘F’
Attack On Titan – Live Action Film 1
The Last: Naruto The Movie
Boruto: Naruto The Movie
Love Live! The Movie
Madoka Magica – Film 3: Rebellion
Attack On Titan – Part 1
Attack On Titan Part 2 – Jiyuu No Tsubasa
Ghost In The Shell: The New Movie (2015)

Scotland Loves Anime 2015: Glasgow Line-Up
Friday 9th to Sunday 11th October 2015

Sarusuberi: Miss Hokusai
Empire Of Corpses
The Case Of Alice & Hana
Dragonball Z: Resurrection ‘F’
Attack On Titan – Live Action Film 1
Attack On Titan – Live Action Film 2
Boruto: Naruto The Movie

AmeCon 2016 Registration Reminder

Date: 2015 August 26 16:56 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Events

UK Anime fans planning ahead for the big fan run summer convention in 2016 will already be aware of AmeCon. The event is set to return from Friday 29th to Sunday 31st July 2016. AmeCon will be running for the first time at the Warwick Arts Centre, the venue favoured by AyaCon.

Registrations for Amecon 2016 will be opening on Bank Holiday Monday 31st August at 7pm. This year the convention are introducing two tiers of membership. Standard that costs £48, and premium that costs £85, this gives you many bonus items in your conpack, plus earlier access to the dealers, plus reserved seating at keynote events (along with other privileges).

Generally with fan run events like this, once they're booked out, that's it. They don't sell tickets on the door. So make some time on Monday evening to register.

Official MCM London Comic Com Genki Gear October 2015 T-shirt Design Revealed

Date: 2015 August 25 12:24 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Retail

August isn't over yet, but people are already eyeing up the next big event on the horizon. The MCM London Comic Con. The October run of the major geek event is set from Friday 23rd to Sunday 25th October 2015. From an otaku perspective, they'll be lots of cosplayers there, along with all the UK anime distributors. They've as of yet to announce an anime guest, but in the past they've had famous anime directors, producers, voice actors, and illustrators.

As is tradition, t-shirt company Genki Gear have created the exclusive official t-shirt design to celebrate October London MCM Comic Con. The design this time around has a retro feel with its mix of 8 bit gaming and zombies. Priced at £16.99 this limited edition design is available for pre-order now at both Genkigear.co.uk and the MCM official webshop.

Hatsune Miku at the Photographers' Gallery in London

Date: 2015 August 22 14:24 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Events

London based fans of everyone's favourite Vocaloid will want to head down to The Photographers' Gallery in Central London. Their media wall is currently showing Hatsune Miku as part of the d(^_^)b Exhibit, which runs up until Tuesday 15th September 2015.

Fans will also want to attend the Vocaloids and Alternative Universes talk which is set to run at the gallery at 6pm on Tuesday 8th September 2015. It's set to explore the theme of "How are new forums are being created online through fan and user generated music and images?" It should be an interesting discussion, but we wonder why no-one who is a Japanese Culture expert is on the panel? The talk costs £8 to attend or £5 for TPG members and concessions. It certainly does look interesting and worth attending.

JAPAN NOW - Pop & Modern Art

Date: 2015 August 21 04:00 | Posted By: Dragon

Category > Culture

Mayumi International displays over 100 artworks by 50 artists...

Kamishibai Paper Theatre Workshop in Ashburton, Devon

Date: 2015 August 20 16:26 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Culture

While we normally focus on UK events in London, our readers in Ashburton in Devon are in for a cultural delight this weekend. Graphic novel and comics shop Gnash will be running a Kamishibai workshop in their shop on Sunday 23rd August 2015.

Kamishibai traditional form of paper theatre, where the performer would tell stories, and show accompanying pictures. The story teller would change each picture during the story as the narrative goes along. Most performers uses this as a method of selling sweets. They'd ride along from neighbourhood to neighbourhood telling the stories to local children.

Gnash will be running 2 sessions one at 11:30 am and one at 2:30pm. Priced at £8.50 per attendee.

AmeCon 2016 Registration Details Announced and Kitacon 2016 Details Revealed

Date: 2015 August 02 14:24 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Fandom

We know UK anime fans like to keep up to date with convention news. As another Kitacon draws to it's end, at it's closing ceremony UK anime convention AmeCon have just announced when it will open for registration.

The AmeCon team revealed that their website will accept registrations on Monday 31st August 2015. The convention is set to run from Friday 29th to Sunday 31st July 2016 at the Warwick Arts Centre.

Kitacon 2016 is also due to run from Friday 1st to Sunday 3rd April 2016, once again at the Birmingham Hilton Metropole NEC. As of yet they've yet to announce when they'll open for registration.

It's normal for fan run conventions like this to take registration in advance, they often sell out quickly, so we advise booking early to avoid disappointment. Tickets are not sold at the door. Once they reach capacity, then anyone else wishing to attend is normally added to a wait list.

Souce: Kitacon

Embassy of Japan in the UK Announce Manga Jiman Competition 2015

Date: 2015 July 30 16:28 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Art

Readers with an artistic streak will be pleased to hear that the Embassy of Japan in the UK has announced the Manga Jiman Competition 2015.

There are 2 categories Manga Jiman for people aged 14 and over (there is no upper age limit), and Yonkoma Manga for 11 to 13 year olds.

Each year has a theme, this years theme is bright young things.

The competition is only open to UK residents, if you are artistic we strongly advise you to enter as the first prize is a return flight for 2 people to Japan.

You can see previous entries here.
Last year's winner was Cogs by Lorenzo Fruzza.

Inside The Industry: Anime Talk - Report

Date: 2015 July 14 16:27 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Features

It's not often you get to see behind the scenes of the anime industry and find out what it's really like. This week the Japan Foundation in London hosted a talk called Inside The Industry: Anime.

The event brought together:
Hirokatsu Kihara who worked at Studio Ghibli before becoming a best selling author.

Michihiko Suwa who works as Chief Producer at the Animation Department of Yomiuri TV and credits include Detective Conan (aka Case Closed) anime.

Aya Suzuki a British/Japanese Layout artist, 2D Character/FX animator and occasional animation lecturer. Projects worked on include (but are not limited to) Hayao Miyazaki's The Wind Rises at Studio Ghibli, plus Mamoru Hosoda's Wolf Children.

Stephen Cavalier acted as chair, bringing his two decades experience in the animation and games industries along with authoring a book on The World History of Animation

The event ran on Monday 13th July 2015. It was free to attend and it was so popular there was waiting list. The audience was a mix of anime/manga fans along with animation students and animation industry professionals.

Space Dandy's Kimiko Ueno to be Anime Guest of Honour at Manchester Comic Con 2015

Date: 2015 July 08 15:47 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Events

The MCM London Comic Con frequently has top notch anime guests of honour. It seems now that the good people at MCM are expanding and bringing an anime guest of honour to their MCM Manchester Comic Con event. Space Dandy's Kimiko Ueno will be the guest of honour at the event which is set to run from Saturday 25th to Sunday 26th July at Manchester Central.

She's a script writer for anime Space Dandy and also written scripts for favourites such as Crayon Shin-chan.She'll be their signing autographs and presenting an on-stage panel on how anime screenplays are developed. This is an interesting part of anime production that will be good to gain insights on!

Space Dandy Season 2 will be available in the UK on DVD and Blu-ray from Monday 3rd August 2015.

Summer Explorers! - Children's Anime Screenings in London

Date: 2015 July 03 15:00 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

Readers with children who enjoy anime will be interested in the UK Japan Foundation's Summer Explorers! Japanese Anime Screenings. The screenings are set to take place on Saturday 1st August 2015 at Bafta 195 Piccadilly in Central London.

They'll be showing a selection of films from 11:30am until 6:30pm. The screenings are free, but booking is required. As always with events like this, we advise booking early to avoid disappointment.

Koma Neko The Curious Cat is a film suitable for children aged 2+, while the other features are either suitable for children aged 8 and above or children ages 10 and above.

Hyper Japan July 2015 Details

Date: 2015 May 27 14:19 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Events

UK based fans of Japanese culture will be interested in Hyper Japan. The regular Japanese Culture event is set to return to London, this time at The O2.

The event is set to run from Friday 10th to Sunday 12 July 2015. As always it's listed on the Otaku Calendar.

There'll be lots to see and do there, highlights include as always all the food, plus anime music singer Eir Aoi, best known for her work on Sword Art Online and Kill La Kill. Anime is also well represented with anime director Kobun Shizuno. They'll be lots of gaming goodness too, plus things like Japanese clothes, and music.

MCM London Comic Con May 2015 Attendance Details

Date: 2015 May 27 08:40 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Events

They May 2015 MCM London Comic Con has just finished, while many are still recovering from the fun that was had, we've just been sent the attendance numbers. They had 122,634 visitors over the course of the weekend. This beats the previous record of 110,197 visitors from the October 2014 event.

The next MCM London Comic Con will be on Friday 23rd to Sunday 25th October 2015. So keep that weekend free for more geekery!

Mecha Designer Hidetaka Tenjin invited by Viewster to MCM London Comic Con May 2015

Date: 2015 May 14 15:47 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Events

The MCM London Comic Con is almost here for it's May run. They always have top notch Japanese guests, and this time around it's no exception. For the May 2015 London Comic their Anime Guest of Honour is Hidetaka Tenjin the mecha illustrator, sci-fi artist and mechanical designer. He's worked as a mechanical artist on titles such as Macross Zero, Macross Frontier, Macross Frontier: The False Diva and Macross Frontier: The Wings of Goodbye. Other anime credits include Hellsing Ultimate, Gundam Evolve, Genesis of Aquarion and its sequel series Aquarion Evol.

He's been invited by Viewster the on-line streaming service that has a great selection of anime which we've covered before.

Hidetaka Tenjin will be meeting fans on Friday and Saturday at the event. The MCM London Comic Con is due to run from Friday 22nd to Sunday 24th May 2015.

Official MCM London Comic Com Genki Gear May 2015 T-shirt Design Revealed

Date: 2015 April 28 15:54 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Events

It's that time of year again, it's almost time for the big London Convention. The MCM London Comic Con is set to run from Friday 22nd to Sunday 24th May 2015. As always there will be plenty for a good geek to see and do. As is tradition we've received the details about the official event t-shirt. The design from Genki Gear features violent pandas.

AmeCon 2016 Details Announced

Date: 2015 April 12 14:41 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Events

UK anime fans looking for a summer convention in 2016 will be pleased to hear that AmeCon have just announced that they will be running on Friday 29th to Sunday 31st July 2016. This time around they'll be at the Warwick Arts Centre. The last anime convention at this venue was Ayacon in 2013. It proved to be a popular venue, and it's the logical choice for AmeCon to take the baton from AyaCon.

The details of AmeCon 2016 were announced at the closing ceremony for AmeChibi. We spent the weekend enjoying the relaxing convention.

Interestingly we've been told current plans for AmeCon 2016 is that it will have an 1,000 people capacity. UK conventions generally can go up to 1,500 attendees. As any larger you start getting issues finding a suitable sized venue, along with legal complications such as insurance and tax. They don't want a huge convention, they want a good enjoyable convention. The smaller 500 people capacity at AmeChibi could have been seen a dry run, allowing them to get the new committee members up to speed with the logistics of running a convention.

Souce: AmeChibi Closing Ceremony

Seraph of the End UK Simulcasting Coming April 2015

Date: 2015 March 18 16:40 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

The good folks from UK Anime company Anime Limited have sent us details of their latest acquisition. They'll be simulcasting Seraph of the End. They have the rights for the UK, Republic of Ireland, Isle of Man, France, Benelux, Monaco, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Poland, Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Iceland and Norway.

The show is from WIT Studio, the studio behind Attack on Titan and HAL. The show will be directed by Daisuke Toku (who also directed Attack on Titan).

It'll be available for simulcast from April 2015. More details will be revealed by Anime Limited Next week. You can find the English subtitled trailer here.

Otaku News caught up with WIT Studio at the MCM London Comic Con a few years ago.

Rurouni Kenshin 3: The Legend Ends UK Cinema Details

Date: 2015 March 18 16:15 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime > Film

Warner Bros. UK have sent us more details of the cinema screenings for the third and final Rurouni Kenshin movie.
The following Cineworld Cinemas will be showing the feature film from Friday 17th April 2015.

Cineworld Bolton
Cineworld Cardiff
Cineworld Crawley
Cineworld Enfield
Cineworld Glasgow Renfrew St.
Cineworld Sheffield
Cineworld Stevenage
Cineworld West India Quay

As we've already mentioned the second movie is due to arrive on DVD and Blu-ray on Monday 6th April 2015.

MCM Birmingham Comic Con March 2015 Details

Date: 2015 March 14 10:24 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Events

UK Anime fans who can get the Birmingham next weekend will want to head over to the MCM Birmingham Comic Con. It's set to run from Saturday 21st to Sunday 22nd March 2015 at The NEC. They'll be the expected amount of geekery happening, with Films, video games, cosplay and so on being well represented there.

We've also just recived details that voice actor Quinton Flynn will be at the event. You may know him as Raiden from the Metal Gear series, or Iruka Umino from Naruto or even as Kon from Bleach. He's done a lot of voice acting in video games, anime and western animation, so you're bound to have heard him in one of his many roles.

Harajuku Girls at London's Finborough Theatre

Date: 2015 February 28 12:31 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Culture

Fans of Japanese Pop Culture inspired theatre will be interested in the new play Harajuku Girls which is currently running at the Finborough Theatre in London.

The play focuses on 3 young women who drift into the seedy underworld of Kabukicho. In a place were everything can be bought and sold they have to decide how far their willing to go

The performance is running from Tuesday 24th February 2015 to Saturday 21st March 2015.

MCM Midlands Comic Con 2015 Details

Date: 2015 February 10 15:30 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Events

UK people who can get to the Midlands this weekend and are looking for something geeky to do, will want to head to the MCM Midlands Comic Con at The International Centre Telford. There'll be anime, cosplay, gaming and other such sci-fi fun.

The event is set to run from 9:30am to 5pm on Saturday 14th February 2015. This kick starts the MCM events for 2015.

As always we've got the details on the Otaku Calendar.

The Wind Rises on Film4 Saturday 7th February 2015

Date: 2015 February 03 15:39 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime > TV

UK based fans of Studio Ghibli will want to tune into Film4 on Saturday 7th February 2015, as they'll be showing The Wind Rises at 3:25pm. This will be the first UK TV screening of the film. It's Hayao Miyazaki's latest (and most likely last) feature film since the famed Oscar winning director announced his retirement.

The Wind Rises was the highest grossing film in Japan for 2013. It tells the story of a fictionalised biography of Jiro Horikoshi, real life designer of the notorious Mitsubishi A6M Zero fighter aircraft. In the film, Jiro is forced to abandon his dream of being a pilot and becomes an engineer, spurred on by vivid dreams and the love of a woman.

Film4 have confirmed that it will be the English dubbed version which features the voice talent of Joseph Gordon-Levitt.

Film4 can be viewed on:
Freeview: Channel 15
Free Sat: Channel 300
Sky: Channel 315
Virgin: Channel 428
Virgin HD: Channel 429

Also don't forget Film4 +1, to watch it an hour later.
Film4+1 can be viewed on:
Freeview: Channel 45
Free Sat: Channel 301
Sky: Channel 316
Virgin: Channel 430

If you're interested you can read our review of The Wind Rises.

You also can buy the film on DVD, Blu-ray and DVD or Collector's Edition Blu-ray and DVD.

Regular readers will be aware of our review of The Kingdom of Dreams & Madness a documentary that follows the production of The Wind Rises.

Souce: Film4

The Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme UK 2015

Date: 2015 January 29 16:20 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime > Film

UK based fans of Japanese cinema are in for treat for the next couple of months when The Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme 2015 hits the UK. Scheduled to run at the ICA in London from 30th January to 5th February 2015 then 5th February - 26th March 2015 nationwide.

Anime fans can enjoy a screening of A Letter to Momo.

Plus the ICA Screening of Short Peace, will be accompanied with an intro and post-show Q&A with Japanese anime expert Helen McCarthy (she's written lots of books on anime, and given lots of talks on the subject too to say the least).

Live action film Wood Job also features a Q&A with the director Shinobu Yaguchi in London at 6:30pm on January 2015 and 6:15pm 3rd February 2015. The director will also be appearing at the Bristol, Derby and Sheffield.

If you're in the UK, hopefully you can get to one the following locations -

Belfast
Birmingham
Bristol
Cumbria
Derby
Dundee
Edinburgh
London
Newcastle upon Tyne
Nottingham
Sheffield

As always with cinema screenings like this we advise booking in advance to avoid disappointment.

MCM Comic Con Plans for 2015

Date: 2014 December 03 15:12 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

Anime fans looking for geeky events will already know about the MCM Expo Group's Events. They've sent us details for their 2015 plans. They include the MCM London Comic Con, which is set to return for it's 25th run from Friday 22nd to Sunday 24th May 2015. As well as regional events in Birmingham, The Midlands, Manchester, plus Belfast. They've also started to expand into Europe with the MCM Ireland Comic Con and Stockholm Comic Con. They'll also be starting a new event Swedish show, Comic Con Malmö.

Tickets for the May 2015 MCM London Comic Con are now on sale. They also have interesting anime guests. Last time it was the creator of Cowboy Bebop and Space Dandy Shinichiro Watanabe.

Viral sensation Riusuke Fukahori Exhibits in London 11-21 December 2014

Date: 2014 November 27 15:51 | Posted By: Voxie

Category > Art

For the internet-inclined, you may have seen Riusuke Fukahori's work already, it went viral a few years back. Well, if you're in London between Thursday 11th and Sunday 21st December 2014, it's your chance to see his work in person.

Fukahori himself will also be holding a special talk on Tuesday 9th December, where he will be talking about his art, his process and will perform a LIVE demonstration. The event is also free. Don't miss it!

NEO Magazine Is 10 Years Old

Date: 2014 November 07 16:03 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Press Releases

Ten years ago a new UK anime and manga magazine appeared on the scene. Ten years later that magazine is still going strong. Neo Magazine are celebrating this with the launch of issue 130 which is on sale now. They've got a lot of prizes to give away this month too.

10 years ago we posted about NEO Magazine's launch, and more recently their 100th issue.

Rurouni Kenshin 2: Kyoto Inferno Live Action Movie UK Cinema Release Details

Date: 2014 November 03 15:59 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime > Film

The good folks from Warner Bros. UK have sent us details about their latest cinema release Rurouni Kenshin 2: Kyoto Inferno.

The second live action movie follows the Kyoto arc of the popular franchise. Kenshin must face the demons of his past and fight opponents as ruthless as he used to be before taking his vow never to kill again.

The films arrives in UK cinemas on Friday 28th November 2014, so check your local cinema.

If you've missed the first movie you can grab it from Amazon.co.uk in it's special Steelbook blu-ray edition.

Hyper Japan Christmas Market 2014 Details - Reminder

Date: 2014 October 29 17:44 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Events

Are you looking for Christmas Japanese Culture fun in London? Well Hyper Japan have got something for you! on Friday 14th to Sunday 16th November 2014 they'll be running the Hyper Japan Christmas Market at National Hall, Olympia, London.

Record numbers at MCM London Comic Con as attendance tops 110,000

Date: 2014 October 29 15:54 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Events

Last weekend was all about the MCM London Comic Con, which ran from Friday 24th to Sunday 26th October 2014. The good folks running the event have just sent us details of the attendance, with over 110,000 people visiting. This is up from over 101,000 people in May 2014 and 88,000 in October 2013.

To take the increasing numbers into account the show as 12,000 square metres bigger than in May 2014.

The next MCM London Comic Con is scheduled for Friday 22nd to Sunday 24th May 2015.

MCM Comic Con UK Licence Round up

Date: 2014 October 26 12:11 | Posted By: Eeeper

Category > Anime

Anime Limited and Manga UK formalise licence announcements at MCM Comic Con London 2014 along with MVM's already announced titles.

Toyota to launch Manga Inspired Adventures at the MCM London Comic Con

Date: 2014 October 14 16:12 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Retail

The MCM London Comic Con is almost here! We've just been sent details of an interesting product launch. Toyota will be revealing a manga styled adventure story to promote their new Aygo.

They've commissioned British based professional comic artist and illustrator Sonia Leong to create the artwork along with an original story. Sonia is no stranger to the UK anime and manga scene she is a member of popular UK artist collective and publishers Sweatdrop.

More details about the Aygo and it's manga inspired story will be revealed at the MCM London Comic on on Friday 24th October 2014 at the Toyota booth.

The MCM Expo is set to run from Friday 24th to Sunday 26th October 2014 at the ExCel Centre in London.

A Brief History of Manga Talk in London November 2014

Date: 2014 October 14 15:16 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Events

Manga fans wanting to know more about the history of sequential art will be pleased to hear about Helen McCarthy's A Brief History of Manga Talk. Helen McCarthy has written and co-written many books on anime and manga. She's London's resident anime and manga expert. She also edited the first UK Anime Magazine - Anime UK.

The talk is set to run in London at the Cartoon Museum from 6:30pm to 7:30pm on Tuesday 4th November 2014. The event is free, but as always we advise booking to avoid disappointment.

Please e-mail shop@cartoonmuseum.org or call 0207 580 8155 to book a ticket.

Ticket holders can also visit the Gekiga Exhibition for a special price of £2. We've covered the exhibition before here. It's a rare chance to see a great range of alternative manga. It's not every day you get to see such great artwork.

Genki Gear MCM London Comic Con October 2014 T-shirt Line Up

Date: 2014 October 08 15:26 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Retail

The MCM London Comic Con is almost here. It's set to run on Friday 24th to Sunday 26th October 2014. The good folks from geeky t-shirt company Genki Gear have sent us details of their new October line up.

Japan Matsuri in London Saturday 27th September 2014

Date: 2014 September 21 05:57 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Events

In London on Saturday? Looking for something Japanese Culture related to do? Well don't forget about the Japan Matsuri in London. The Traditional Japanese festival returns to Trafalgar Square. It's set to run on Saturday 27th September 2014 from 11am until 9pm. As expected, they'll be lots of food stalls, along with stalls selling all sorts of Japanese related goodies plus shows on the main stage. There is no entry fee, it's open to all.

Regular readers would have first heard about this years event on the Otaku Calendar as it's the best way to organise your otaku lifestyle! ^_^

Souce: Japan Matsuri

Top Anime Director Shinichiro Watanabe to star at MCM London Comic Con October 2014

Date: 2014 September 05 16:50 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Events

The MCM London Comic Con returns this October 2014. As always UK based anime fans are in for a treat.

The good folks running MCM London Comic Con got in touch with us to tell us that this time around the Anime Guest of Honour is renowned anime director Shinichiro Watanabe. The man is well known for fusing anime with different musical styles. His work is highly regarded (and rightly so). He's the force behind Cowboy Bebop, Samurai Champloo and Kids On The Slope. More recently, he's also directed Space Dandy and Terror In Resonance.

He'll be appearing on stage, plus attending the Anime Limited stand to sign autographs (exact times will be announced closer to the date), he's also here to promote the UK home video launch of Space Dandy and Terror In Resonance.

We were lucky enough to interview him last year at the MCM London Comic Con in May 2013.

MCM London Comic Con October 2014 Exclusive Pre-order T-shirt from Genki Gear

Date: 2014 September 05 16:20 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Retail

It's that time of year again! This October from Friday 24th to Sunday 26th geeks will descend on London for the MCM London Comic Con. 3 days of fun for all the different kinds geek spectrum, otaku, gamers, film fans, cosplayers, will all be well represented. As is tradition the good folks at Genki Gear will have an MCM London Comic Con Exclusive Official T-Shirt. It will be available for pre-order and features a sweet monster design.

The t-shirt is available from www.genkigear.com or the official MCM Store.

Hyper Japan Christmas Market 2014 Details

Date: 2014 September 03 15:23 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Events

UK fans of Japanese culture will be pleased to hear about Hyper Japan's next event. The Christmas Market is set to run from Friday 14th to Sunday 16th November 2014 at National Hall, Kensington Olympia in London. We visited their last event in July and had lots of fun. So it's worth setting a date in your calendar or even your Otaku Calendar, as it's a great place to get some Christmas shopping done in advance.

Haruki Murakami Book Signing Report

Date: 2014 August 31 11:23 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Fandom

Yesterday cult best selling author Haruki Murakami was in London for a book signing. Being fans of his work the Otaku News Team decided to go along and see if we could get a signed copy of his book. It turns out, we're not hardcore Murakami fans.

Waterstones were running the book signing and advised fans that they would be giving out wrist bands for the event at 8:30am. The first 200 people would be able to buy a copy of the book and get it signed by the man himself. The next 200 would get a pre-signed copy. We got to the Piccadilly branch of Waterstones at 7:30am, already the queue had hit the 400 people capacity. The security guard for the event was politely turning people away. It was inevitable if you cap the number of people at an event, that there will be some people disappointed.

Haruki Murakami London Book Signings - August 2014

Date: 2014 August 29 16:58 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Events

UK based fans of cult writer Haruki Murakami will want to head to Waterstone's Piccadilly Circus Branch on Saturday 30th August 2014 at 11:00am where the author will be signing his latest book Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage.

Sensibly due to the authors huge popularity Waterstone's are advising people to turn up early to avoid disappointment. They will be operating a wristband scheme. Customers will receive their wristband for this event when they purchase Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage on Saturday 30th August at 8.30am, or when they bring a valid Waterstones receipt/Waterstones.com despatch note with their copy on the day of the signing. They'll be limiting the wristbands to the first 200 people, and they are non transferable. Those who are not lucky enough to meet Haruki Murakami on the day, will be guaranteed the opportunity to buy a rare pre-signed edition. These will be limited to 200 copies only, one per person.

Souce: Waterstones

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