Category > Press Releases
UK based readers have a chance to win a flight to Tokyo thanks to the Japan National Tourism Organisation UK. There are other great prizes up for grabs too, including a Panasonic 42" Plasma TV, Casio G-Shock watch and vouchers for London's So Restaurant. To enter the competition all you have to do is fill out a questionnaire (remember to say you found out about the competition from Otaku News ^_^).
Standard terms and conditions apply.
Souce: Japan National Tourism Organisation UK
Category > Events
For Japanese culture fans, October began with a bang at Hyper Japan, a new and highly anticipated event on the UK otaku calendar for 2010. Hosted by Eat-Japan (the number one site for Japanese food, sushi and sake), the show was a sensational success, drawing in excess of 15,000 visitors over the 3 days, a remarkable feat for what was the debut of this cultural festival. The event was located in the heart of London's Shoreditch at Brick Lane, an area well known for its offbeat character and for the eclectic, hip and chic. Standing in the line with the eager attendees, the atmosphere was alive with the building excitement as cosplayers, anime fans and the culturally curious all assembled to enjoy a different class of convention. The preshow campaign, organised and delivered by a Japanese enterprise was loaded with ample incentive for any fan of Japan to take a look at what the exhibitors had to offer. I, in my cosplay guise as Queen's Blade's spectral maid Airi, lined up with the happy crowds all eager to meet and greet, eat and shop! After conquering the queue and ascending the staircase in my heels, a veritable treasure trove was to be found, serving the many delights of Japanese culture and cuisine.
Read More... | Souce: Otaku News
Category > Retail
Everyone's getting ready for the London MCM Expo this weekend and T-shirt Company Genki Gear are no exception. They'll be launching 6 new designs at the London Expo.
Read More... | Souce: Genki Gear
Category > Anime
A quick reminder for UK anime fans, the Studio Ghibli classic Nausicaa Of The Valley Of The Wind will be released on blu-ray on Monday 18th October 2010. This is one of those rare instances when UK anime fans get a release before the US.
UK readers can pre-order Nausicaa on blu-ray from Amazon.co.uk.
US readers who can't wait will want to consider the Japanese release which also has English subtitles and is region free.
Update: A reader has noticed that The Digital Fix are running a Nausicaa blu-ray competition.
Souce: Optimum Releasing
Category > Retail
The London MCM Expo is on it's way. Everyone's getting revved up for the weekend of 29th to 31st October 2010, and Genki Gear are no exception. They've just launched the official London MCM Expo October 2010 T-shirt. The exclusive design is available to pre-order now on the Genki Gear Website.
Read More... | Souce: Genki Gear
Category > Events
October is shaping up to be the month for otaku in London. With the London MCM Expo at the end of the month. While at the beginning of the month a new event called Hyper Japan is set to run from Friday 1st to Sunday 3rd October 2010.
The event has a lot to offer with an Otaku Village set to cater to all your retail needs.
Cosplayers will be well represented too (they'll even get a chance to win a trip to Japan). There's also a cosplay talent search, competitions and other fun to be had if you like dressing up.
Japanese fashion magazine KERA will be there with fashion shows and style tutorials (the event is looking for models to take part).
Fans of angel fighting giant robots won't be disappointed either as they have a special Evangelion Store which will be selling some exclusive and hard to find merchandise.
Figure collectors might want to note that Good Smile will be there too! ^__^
As the people behind EAT-JAPAN are organising the event you can be certain that Japanese cuisine will be well represented too. with the EAT-JAPAN food court.
They'll also have lots of culture on stage too. You can book early to get a discount from the standard £8 entry fee. Children under 5 go free. As always we advise to book early to avoid disappointment.
Read More... | Souce: Hyper Japan
Category > Retail
The good folks at Udon Entertainment have sent us details of their 10 year anniversary art anthology - Vent. Due to hit the shelves on September 15th 2010 the art book premiers this summer at the 2010 San Diego Comic-Con, along with an exclusive hardcover edition at the Udon booth.
Vent is available to pre-order from Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk. UK readers should note that Amazon.com currently have it cheaper than Amazon.co.uk even after taking shipping into account.
Read More... | Souce: Udon Entertainment
The good folks from Manga Entertainment UK have sent us details about the up coming DVD release of Naruto Shippuden Box Set 1. The box set contains the first 13 episodes of the adventures of a more mature Naruto.
It's due out on Monday 14th June 2010. You can pre-order it from Amazon.co.uk.
Read More... | Souce: Manga Entertainment UK
The good folks from Manga Entertainment UK have sent us details about the up coming DVD release of Soul Eater. Part one contains the first 13 episodes of the series. It's due out on Monday 28th June 2010.
You can pre-order Soul Eater Part One from Amazon.co.uk.
Read More... | Souce: Manga Entertainment UK
Category > Retail
We've received details from Manga Entertainment UK about the great bargains they'll be offering over the weekend of 29th and 30th of May 2010 at the London MCM Expo. They'll have 50% off most DVDs including boxsets and Blu-ray titles, along with a £1 manga shop.
You'll also be able to pick up Sky Crawlers on DVD and Blu-ray a bit earlier too.
Read More... | Souce: Manga Entertainment UK
UK based anime fans should take note that Ponyo is out in 3 weeks on Monday 7th June 2010. Amazon.co.uk already has pre-orders. There are several editions available. Prices range from about £18 for the deluxe edition down to £11 for the regular edition.
Ponyo DVD – 2 Disc Edition
Ponyo Blu-ray + DVD Combi Pack
Ponyo Deluxe Edition Blu-ray + DVD Combi Pack
Ponyo DVD 1 Disc Edition
The deluxe edition comes with postcards and a sticker sheet.
Play.com also have each edition £1 cheaper than Amazon.co.uk. However, Amazon.co.uk have a pre-order price promise. Meaning that they should match Play's price.
Souce: Otaku News
The good folks from Beez have sent us details about the upcoming release of Gundam Unicorn on Friday 12th 2010 on Blu-ray disc. The release will be worldwide simultaneously in the 7 territorial areas of Japan, US, Canada, UK, France, Taiwan, and Hong Kong.
You can view the first 7 minutes of the OAV on the Beez Website.
Read More... | Souce: Beez
Category > Retail
As we've mentioned before, all lots of anime companies are revving up for the London MCM Expo on the weekend of 24th-25th October 2009. T-shirt company Genki Gear will be launching a new Autumn range at the Expo, along with some Christmas cards.
The new range features designs by Wing Yun Man (who draws our lovely Otaku News wallpaper and postcards), Jess Bradley and our very own Phil English.
Read More... | Souce: Genki Gear
Category > Retail
We've got news from the Japan Centre in London. They'll be moving the food shop from their Piccadilly Circus store to a brand new larger shop on Regent Street from Saturday 3rd October 2009.
The food hall will be greatly expanded with a Japanese Bakery, along with the launch of the umai brand.
The bookshop and home section will remain at their current Piccadilly location. The new shop will be at 14-16 Regent Street (SW1Y 4PH), near Mitsukoshi.
Read More... | Souce: Japan Centre
Category > Retail
London based readers should be aware of Orbital Manga is closing down. The shop was located in-between Leicester Square and Covent Garden. It first opened at the beginning of 2007 and stocked manga and other anime and manga related merchandise.
Luckily all is not lost as it will be merging back with it's sister shop Orbital Comics, which is just around the corner from the old Orbital Manga store.
Souce: Otaku News
UK anime fans who love the adventures of an ace student out to build a new world, will be pleased to hear that the Death Note Complete Boxset is released on Monday 28th September 2009.
The 9 Disc DVD set retails for £60, however both Amazon.co.uk and Play.com have it on a pre-order offer for £43.
Souce: Otaku News
Category > Gaming
The good folks at Square-Enix have sent us details for the European release of Star Ocean: The Last Hope on Xbox 360. It's due to hit the stores on Friday 5th June, 2009. There's also a limited edition collectors box.
Read More... | Souce: Star Ocean Website
Category > Retail
Everyone's getting ready for the London MCM Expo this weekend. T-shirt producers Genki Gear are no exception. They'll be launching their new range at the Expo.
Read More... | Souce: Genki Gear
Category > Anime
London has a some great places for otaku to visit. The trouble is finding them. Using our London Otaku News Correspondents we've assembled a list of good places for anime and manga fans to visit while in London.
Read More... | Souce: Otaku News
The good folks at Beez have sent us details of their plans at the London MCM Expo on the 23rd to the 24th of May 2009. Highlights include plenty of discounted DVDs, as they'll be shifting to a 3 part release model. Along with some Gurren Lagann posters to give away.
Read More... | Souce: Beez
Category > Events
We don't normally post articles of this nature, as it's got nothing to do with anime, manga, Japanese culture, but this will be of interest to some of our London readers.
Orbital Comics, will be hosting a book signing for Lost Girls the new work of Melinda Gebbie and Alan Moore
Date: 13th September 2008
Time: 2pm - 4pm
Location: Orbital Comics
Address: 148 Charing Cross Road, London. UK
Souce: Orbital Comics
European arm of Namco Bandai announces two titles for release in November 2008 on Blu-Ray format
Read More... | Souce: Beez Entertainment
Category > Events
Fans of the graphic novel version of Heroes who can get to London next week will want to head to Orbital Manga, just in-between Leicester Square and Covent Garden, where they'll be having a signing with graphic artist Jason Badower.
Read More... | Souce: Orbital Manga
Category > Retail
Japanese clothing firm Uniqlo have brought over several batches of their manga inspired t-shirt designs to the U.K. The women's range seems centred around Astro Boy whilst the men's is focused around celebrating fifty years of Shonen Mangazine and Shonen Sunday.
Shirts are £12.99 each or 2 for £20 for a limited time.
Read More... | Souce: Uniqlo
Category > Retail
We've been sent details from London based manga shop Orbital Manga about a book signing and art competition they're running.
The artists from the graphic novel Demon Prince: Children of Gaia will be at Orbital Manga on 26th April 2008, from 1pm to 3pm. Along with limited edition pre-release copies of the graphic novel you'll be able to pick up limited edition A1 size posters too.
Read More... | Souce: Orbital Manga
Classic anime fans in the UK who can get to their local HMV are in for a treat. HMV have an exclusive deal on the Mysterious Cities of Gold DVD Box set. It's in stock in their stores, and on the HMV website too. Fans should note that the official release date for this DVD is 23rd June 2008, but the highstreet shop seem to have made some sort exclusive deal with the distributors. As far as we're aware, no other retailer has the DVD yet.
We are certain that this is not an error on their website, as we have visited our local HMV and seen copies on shelves to buy.
Many current anime fans will remember the French Japanese co-production with great nostalgia, and have been screaming for a DVD release for years, every so often a rumour would crop up, but never actually amount to anything, years of waiting many fans just assumed that the series would never get released in the UK, but finally it has. ^_^
Souce: HMV
Amazon UK are currently running a sale on anime DVDs.
Play.com are also have an Anime DVD sale, with many titles cheaper than Amazon (as Play already factor in postage).
Titles include:
- Cowboy Bebop
- Millennium Actress
- Read or Die
- Steamboy
With many titles going for under £5, it's worth looking around for a bargain or three.
Souce: Amazon UK
Category > Art
The folks at Don't Panic are currently running a competition to design your own Momiji message doll. Manga style artists are popular with these designs and Joanna Zhou created her own Momiji set last year.
Anyone one can enter this competition, and our artist chum Wing Yun Man has entered too, so please show your support and vote for her.
Souce: Don\'t Panic
We've received a press release from LDMS who will be now be distributing ADV DVD titles in the UK, after ADV closed their UK offices. The press release details the release schedule up until May 2008.
After ADV UK closing down it's good to see that their titles will be still be distributed, but it's sad to see that ADV UK had to shut shop, the UK staff there were more than just people doing their jobs, they were actual anime fans with a passion for what they were doing which does make a difference. ADV UK's presence at anime events will be sorely missed. They were more than just another company, they were actually part of the UK anime scene. It was a shame to see these people lose their jobs. We wish them the best of luck in finding a new careers.
It will be interesting to see if LDMS will be active in anime fan circles as ADV UK was.
Read More... | Souce: LDMS
Category > Retail
It seems that opening anime and manga themed stores in London are all the rage at the moment with Tokyo Toys opening a retail store at the back of Trocadero in Piccadilly Circus, design firm Terratag have now opened a store in Brick Lane.
Read More... | Souce: TerraTag
Category > Events
Our chum Emily has sent us the details for an event at Tokyo Toys store in Trocadero in central London.
It's a romantic maid cafe event, with speed dating for anime fans! You can be served by cosplayers dressed up as maids too, just like in Akihabara.
The event will be held on Saturday 16th February 2008, from 5pm to late. You don't have to take part in the speed dating to go along and participate in the maid cafe either.
Read More... | Souce: Tokyo Toys
Category > Retail
The good folks at ADV Films UK have sent us details of their sale, due to "streamlining" they'll be having a stock clearout. Prices start from £1 while stocks last. So grab those titles while you can.
Read More... | Souce: ADV Films UK
Category > Manga
UK fans of Ghost in The Shell will be pleased to hear the details Titan Books have sent us about the release of Ghost In the Shell 1.5 Human-Error Processor. The manga is due out in the UK on 23rd November 2007. It bridges the gap between the Ghost in the Shell 1 and 2 manga (hence the 1.5 name). We've been waiting for this to come out as one book ever since we heard about it and highly recommend it to Ghost in the Shell fans.
Read More... | Souce: Titan Books
Category > Manga
The Sweatdrop crew have always been inventive with the titles they've released and they've sent us details for some titles due in April 2008 and June 2008 (that's a while away isn't it? We don't normally get details for titles that are 6 months ahead anyway...).
They'll be releasing 4 books next year:
- Be creative by R. Bevan, J. Middleton & T. Wright
- Find true love by S. Dosani, L. Helmanis and P. Cross
- Beauty secrets for babes by L.Helmanis
- Sort out your money by J. Middleton
All the lovely artwork will be done by Sonia Leong, and we'll be curious to see how they do this.
Will they have an otaku take on things? Eg: Sort out your money - buy less DVDs and manga to save money. Beauty secrets for babes - wear cat ears. Be creative - draw more stuff. Find true love - ermmm, otaku aren't exactly good at that, erm, join a relatives house which happens to be populated by lots of hot babes and enjoy the hilarity that ensues.
We look forward to seeing what these guides will look like next year.
Read More... | Souce: Sweatdrop Studios
UK Anime fans will be pleased to hear that Satoshi Kon's latest masterpiece Paprika will be released on DVD on 24th September 2007, Tekkonkinkreet also hits the shelves too and we look forward to catching it.
To be honest, we can't recommend Paprika highly enough, it's the best English language anime release of 2007. This is one you must simply add to your collection, especially if you like Kon's other works (Perfect Blue, Millennium Actress, Tokyo Godfathers and Paranoia Agent), then you'll really get a kick out of Paprika, Kon's on top form here (as always), and uses animation in his usual mind bending ways.
Read More... | Souce: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
I just got an e-mail from Amazon UK telling me that they are having a studio Ghibli DVD sale. After looking closer I've dug up a plethora of other anime DVDs on sale, because we're nice people we've listed a few titles you might have missed on sale.
Why Amazon leave all the hard work to us I don't know, aren't you glad we're here?
Read More... | Souce: Amazon UK
Category > Retail
The good folks from ADV Films UK have sent us details about the HMV Anime sale day next week on Monday 20th August 2007, from 1pm until 6pm at the Oxford Street branch in London. ADV Films UK also mention there competition where two lucky anime fans can win lots of anime DVDs for the rest of the year. There will also be spot prizes and give-always throughout the day.
Along with live performances from Japanese bands Electric Eel Shook and Miso Soup. The British Kendo Association will be there too. Fun can also be had at the video game tournaments, with Atari, Sega and Ubisoft also showing off some new games.
Read More... | Souce: ADV Films UK
Our UK readers who caught Afro Samurai on Bravo, or perhaps even didn't catch it, but want to see it anyway, have a chance to get the Samuel L. Jackson anime title on DVD, known as the Afro Samurai Bravo Numbered Limited Edition DVD, it is an exclusive to Amazon.co.uk. The 18 rated DVD contains the following:
- Individually Numbered DVD Case
- Babes, Blades, Blood and Beauty trailers by GONZO
- RZA Soundtrack Promo
- RZA Music Production
- Spike US TV Promos
- Five Collectible Art Cards
The details don't say how many are being produced, only that they are individually numbered.
Souce: Amazon.co.uk
Category > Anime
For anime fans with the animator in them, the online community site Bebo are inviting users to invent the ending to a volume of Guyver, the clip can be seen on thewir website.
Souce: Bebo \'U DIRECT\' Guyver Competition
Category > Gaming
Just a quick reminder for our Final Fantasy loving readers in the UK. The nice folks at Square Enix have sent us details for the new Nintendo DS game Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo Tales, it's due out in UK this Friday 25th May 2007.
Read More... | Souce: Square Enix
Category > Events
Following on from our article on the Naruto Uncut Boxset Volume 2 UK release details, we've received some more news from Manga Entertainment.We've been informed that Dave Wittenberg, the US voice of Kakashi will be making an appearancelaunch event on Monday 21st May 2007, at the Oxford Street, London, Branch of Virgin Megastore, where fans will be able to meet Dave and get their copy of Naruto Unleashed Series 2 Part 1 signed from 4.30pm onwards.
We've also go more details for Cosplayers and the prizes you can win.
Read More... | Souce: Manga Entertainment
Category > Manga
UK publisher Titan Books have sent us details about the UK release of the Akira Club artbook. It's one of those nice additions for fans of the movie and manga collection. It's due to hit the shelves on the 27th July 2007 and is priced at £24.99. Hunting around Play.com have it on pre-order for £14.99.
Read More... | Souce: Titan Books
Category > Anime
We've received details regarding a book signing in London. Jonathan Clements and Helen McCarthy will be signing copies of the new updated version of the Anime Encyclopedia next week on Tuesday 24th April 2007 at Farringdons book store in the Barbican from 19:00-19:45. Then from 20:30, Helen will be giving a talk, on "Urban Mythmaking Tokyo Style", followed by a screening of Karas: The Prophecy.
So if you want to get a signed copy of the Anime Encyclopedia and meet the authors then swing by.
Souce: Barbican
We've received some details about the UK launch of Naruto Uncut Boxset Volume 2, from Manga Entertainment UK. On Monday 21st May 2007, fans should go to either the Virgin Megastore on Oxford Street, London, or Virgin Megastore in Arndale Centre in Manchester. Apparently there'll be tons of freebies and goodies for the first 100 people to arrive in costume! So get those costumes ready cosplayers! They'll also have a nice selection of goodies, give aways and prizes too. So get to the simultaneous launch from 6pm!
More details can also be found on the Official Naruto Unleashed UK Website.
Read More... | Souce: Manga Entertainment UK
We've been sent some details from Revelation Films about the UK DVD release of the Gunslinger Girl boxset. All three volumes will be released in a collectors boxset on 21st May 2007, Catalogue Number FUN72700. It retails for around £29.99, but if you hunt about Play.com are taking Preorders for £23.99.
Souce: Revelation Films
Category > Art
The nice people at Abrams have sent us details of a new book they're publishing Hokusai, the artist who created one of the most famous bits of Japanese artwork, often called Tsunami by Hokusai or The Under the wave off Kanagawa. The book is printed excellent quality paper. At £15.95 it's superb value for money especially considering it's all in colour. It's due out 30th April 2007. We only wish the book was bigger so that they could print the artwork larger, but I guess we've been spoiled by looking at anime artbooks all these years. The book has some great examples of Japanese culture in the period and come highly recommend by the Otaku News crew.
Read More... | Souce: Abrams Books
Category > Manga
We've got news from Titan Books that they'll be releasing the hugely popular Oh My Goddess! manga in the UK. On April 27th 2007 Volume 1 and 2 should be released. We think it's great that Titan Books are doing this, we just hope they pick up the rights to What's Michael? too.
Read More... | Souce: Titan Books
Category > Manga
We've been sent a press release from the folks at Titan Books, detailing the release of MegaTokyo Volume 4 in the UK. Why should we care when volume 5 is almost out in the US and most bookshops stock it volume 4 already? Well this is actually great news as some places like libraries and their book suppliers will only deal with books that have an official UK release. Now that MegaTokyo has an official UK release you should be able to pester your local librarian to get a copy in. ^_- This also applies to the other Titan books we've put press releases up for as they've already had US releases, but would be hard to stock in some places.
MegaTokyo Volume 4 is due to hit the bookshelves on 27th April 2007.
Read More... | Souce: Titan Books
Category > Anime
We've been sent a press release from the folks at Titan Books. They'll be releasing a new updated edition of the Anime Encyclopedia for the UK on 27th April 2007. This edition has a black cover, along with over 40% new material. The Anime Encyclopedia is a must for otaku, as it's a accurate and well researched guide to the subject unlike a few other books which are nowhere near as good. Jonathan Clements and Helen McCarthy know their stuff and we highly recomend this guide. Hunting around on Amazon.co.uk will produce a bargain price below the suggested retail price. You'll save money by reading about the type of anime you'd want to avoid, but the only trouble is you'd want to watch more of the titles you've discovered by reading it.
Read More... | Souce: Titan Book
Category > Manga
We've been sent a press release from the good folks at Titan Books. They've aquired the rights for the Dark Horse version of Eden. It's due to hit the bookshelves on 27th April 2007.
Read More... | Souce: Titan Books
Category > Manga
We've received a details from publishing house Hodder and Stoughton regarding the Manga Bible. We're not talking about some sort of ultimate must have guide to manga, but the New Testament produced in a manga style. Using the TNIV (Today's New International Version) as the basis, London based artist Siku, who is best know for his work on 2000AD.
Read More... | Souce: The Manga Bible