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Crunchyroll Announces Autumn 2020 Dub Slate

Date: 2020 November 14 15:12 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

The good folks from anime streaming service Crunchyroll have just announced their dub line ups for autumn 2020.

It includes the dub of Jujutsu Kaisen, I'm Standing on a Million Lives, Tonikawa: Over the Moon For You and Noblesse

Read More... | Souce: Crunchyroll

Manga Jiman 2020 Competition Reminder

Date: 2020 October 22 20:50 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Events

UK based artists will be very interested to hear about the Manga Jiman competition. The theme this time around is technology. The long running competition lets you submit a short manga entry for the chance to win some amazing prizes, in the past they've included laptops and flights to Japan. The competition is organised by the Embassy for Japan in the UK.

The competition closes on 16th November 2020. So get drawing!

Scotland Loves Anime Festival 2020 Details and Call to Crowdfunding

Date: 2020 October 17 18:18 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

With the ongoing trend of everything moving online due to the constraints of COVID-19, the Scotland Loves Anime Film Festival have teamed up with Screen Anime to bring the 2020 festival online. The collaboration is an obvious choice as the founder of the Scotland Loves Anime is also the CEO and founder of Anime Limited, which runs Screen Anime.

The online festivities will run from 25th October until 25th November 2020. Additionally to help the ailing cinemas industry. Screen Anime will also be supporting the festival's crowdfunding efforts, donating two-thirds of all proceeds made during the festival to its usual hosts, the Edinburgh Filmhouse and Glasgow Film Theatre cinemas.

You can help support their funding efforts by visiting their Crowdfunder page, you can receive some nice goodies for supporting the festival too.

Highlights for the festival include a lot of the lovely Lupin III (try saying that twice as fast), along with some Love Live!, breaking the letter L convention they'll also be showing some upside Patema Inverted, some Penguin Highway, plus Weathering With You with an exclusive optional commentary track featuring Dr. Jonathan Clements. We haven't heard the commentary track, but if it's anything like his other commentaries it will be well worth listening to in order to gain extra insight into the movie and anime production in general.

Plus they'll have the Production I.G. Short Film Collection, and some work in progress features around The Tiger and the Fish and Inu-oh.

Spirits of Action: Japanese Manga and Sports Online Talk

Date: 2020 October 14 19:41 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Events

With COVID-19 still placing restriction on events the good people at Japan Foundation London have got a great range of talks and workshops appearing online soon.

One talk we're excited about is the Spirits of Action: Japanese Manga and Sports . Yoshimura Kazuma will discuss the position of 'sports manga' in Japanese culture and how its contents have evolved to reflect the time. After the presentation anime and manga expert Rayna Denison will join in the conversation.

The online event is set to run at 12:00pm (BST) on Wednesday 28th October 2020. The event is free to attend virtually but places are limited and registration is essential.

Kotatsu Japanese Animation Festival 2020 Details

Date: 2020 September 24 20:36 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

While many events have had to be cancelled this year due to the current COVID-19 crisis a lot of events have been able to shift online. As a result it means there are some great festivals and talks you can go to while staying comfy at home while not having to travel. So the good folks at the Kotatsu Japanese Animation Festival will be celebrating their 10th anniversary with short film screenings and events on their YouTube channel and via Zoom.

We've been told there will be 3 Zoom meetings and 4 short film programmes featuring award winning film makers and emerging talents from various universities across Japan.

All films are in Japanese with English subtitles and everything is free to view. Some events do require booking. Content wise the stream is declared safe for children, the equivalent of a U rating in UK cinema. So will be appropriate for all ages.

The Kotatsu Japanese Animation Festival has always had a great line-up, so now you just need to keep a weekend free to appropriate some truly lovely animation!

Everything is set to run on Saturday 24th and Sunday 25th October 2020.
Check out their festival programme for more details and remember that streaming times are in the UK times.

Screen Anime October 2020 Streaming Line Up

Date: 2020 September 23 19:42 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

The good folks at online anime film festival channel Screen Anime have revealed their October 2020 line up.

As always they've got a bit of something for everyone, movie wise they've got the premiere of Birthday Wonderland from Keiichi Hara (Miss Hokusai), Fate/Stay Night Heaven's Feel 1: Presage Flower (a little something for Fate/Stay fans). They've also got the classic Makoto Shinkai film 5 Centimeters Per Second, this is the Your Name director's earlier film and has a good dose of Shinkai melancholy.

For something a bit different they've got the eclectic Genius Party, which contains an anthology of 7 short films from some of the most celebrated directors in anime including Shinichiro Watanabe (Cowboy Bebop, Carole & Tuesday) and Masaaki Yuasa (Ride Your Wave).

Series wise they'll be showing Bartender, an 11 episode TV series, about a hidden bar in Ginza and it's great bartender who knows just the tipple you'll need.

Screen Anime is available in the UK & Ireland for £3.98 a month or £39.98 for a year. Members can take advantage of benefits including discounts at Anime Limited's online store and more. Currently the service can be access via your web browser, with apps promised for for TVos, iOS, Android & Amazon soon.

Read More... | Souce: Screen Anime

Animex 2020 - International Festival of Animation, VFX & Games

Date: 2020 September 17 20:48 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

With COVID-19 still limiting peoples movements online virtual events have been proving popular. Animex The International Festival of Animation, VFX & Games has moved on-line and is set to run from Monday 21st September to Friday 2nd October 2020. The event is free to virtually attend this year so book now to grab a place.

The event is packed with workshops, screenings, Portfolio Reviews, Talks, exhibitions and much more.

Founded 20 years ago by Teesside University the festival aimed at creating a world-class inclusive festival that would draw some of the games and animation industries' brightest lights and future stars together to share their knowledge with the next generation.

This is event will be of interest to those who want to get into the animation industry, regardless of if you want to work in VFX, video games, animation or something else! Or for those who are curious to see the inner workings of a creative industry.

Burn The Witch to Stream on Crunchyroll in October 2020

Date: 2020 August 24 18:49 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

The good folks from anime streaming service Crunchyroll have sent us details of a new title released in October 2020. Burn the Witch is based on the manga by Tite Kubo, who is best known for Bleach. This anime is set in the same universe, but this time around in London! Not normal London, Reverse London, a special hidden side of city where dragons roam. The story focuses on the adventures of witch duo Noel Niihashi and Ninny Spangcole who are protection agents for Wing Bind (WB) an organisation for dragon conservation and management.

The trailer shows scenes from London, that are all around Westminster. We've got the Houses of Parliament, Westminster Bridge, and other Thames landmarks making prominent appearances, City of London Dragon Crests, a shot that looks like Shad Thames. We really love playing a game of spot the locations with stuff like this! Some artistic liberties seem to have been taken, does that looks like a US style fire hydrant in the trailer (blink and you'll miss it)? But then again Reverse London could indeed have American style fire hydrants as they've also got an Emergency Dragon Blockade System (this is one of the unwritten rules of London, you don't talk about the Emergency Dragon Blockade System, it's just known, like standing on the right and walking on the left on the escalator...).

If you big action and shonen then it looks the Burn The Witch anime will hit the spot. It'll hit Crunchyroll early October 2020.

Read More... | Souce: Crunchyroll

Jujutsu Kaisen Exclusively on Crunchyroll this Autumn 2020

Date: 2020 August 12 19:53 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

The good people from streaming service Crunchyroll have just sent us details of their up coming anime release. Jujutsu Kaisen will stream from October 2020 exclusively on the streaming platform. The show is a dark fantasy horror focusing on a world where Curses can run rampant.

The series is based on the manga by Gege Akutami and is currently being released by Viz in English. You can buy it from Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk if you want to get ahead and see what to expect!

Read More... | Souce: Crunchyroll

Crunchyroll Announces Removal of Sentai Filmworks Titles from Streaming Service

Date: 2020 July 31 21:33 | Posted By: Eeeper

Category > Anime

Crunchyroll's rights to a number of Sentai Filmworks titles have expired, site gives users 24-hours to catch up on series before they leave the service.

Crunchyroll announced on July 31st that over 70 titles, which currently are licensed through Sentai Filmworks, will leave the service on August the 1st 2020. This leaves users less than 24 hours to watch these hours if they don't already subscribe to Sentai's streaming partner site, HIDIVE. Online, users have been vocal in their displeasure of the lack of notice given to them by Crunchyroll. While most of the titles affected are available on HIDIVE for UK and Irish viewers, some are not by virtue of licensing rights.

Read More... | Souce: Crunchyroll

Crunchyroll Hits 3 Million Subscribers

Date: 2020 July 28 20:47 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

The good folks from anime streaming service Crunchyroll have sent us the details of them passing a landmark number. They now have over 3 million subscribers, and over 70 million registered users.

To put this in perspective, when Crunchyroll started in 2006, it took about 10 years for them to hit 1 million subscribers, then it took them 2 years after that to break over 2 million subscribers. These are users who pay to use Crunchyroll and get to avoid ads along with seeing anime ahead of regular registered users.

The press release includes an interesting infographic detailing the growth of the service. It's always interesting to see actual numbers too.

On average subscribers watch 100 minutes of content a day (which works out about 4 25 minute episodes). This is about 35 billion minutes viewed over the past year.

Read More... | Souce: Crunchyroll

Screen Anime July and August 2020 Line Up

Date: 2020 July 23 20:35 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

The good folks from streaming anime film festival Screen Anime have just revealed their July/August 2020 screening line up. This round is set to run from 25th July 2020, it includes two features from the amazing studio Science SARU, including a premiere of Ride Your Wave, keeping on with the watery theme they'll also be showing Lu Over the Wall.

Then to keep it a bit fun and sentimental they'll also be showing the charming Mai Mai Miracle, we discovered the film at it's Barbican Screening in London in 2009 and were immediately fans.

Then they'll be polishing that off with some mecha action with Eureka Seven Hi-Evolution Anemone.

For their TV series offering, they'll be continuing the agricultural adventures of Hachiken with series two of Silver Spoon. Where we're introduced to more farming life and some extra horse riding too. Oh, plus a puppy. Anime is always better with puppies!

You can sign up to Screen Anime for £3.98 a month or £39.98 a year.

It's available in the UK and Ireland via your web browser, with apps for TVos, iOS, Android and Amazon to follow over the coming months.

You can read our review of Lu Over the Wall here.

Read More... | Souce: Screen Anime

New Sci-Fi Manga Japan Sinks 2020 Launches on Mangamo App

Date: 2020 July 09 20:30 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Manga

The good folks from Manga App Mangamo have just sent us details of their latest manga addition. The subscription service has just added the manga of Japan Sinks 2020. It's a reimagining of the Netflix anime which has just been released today, which in turn is based on the best-selling novel written by Sakyo Komatsu in 1973. The anime is from Science Saru, who did the fantastic Keep Your Hands off Eizouken, Lu Over The Wall, Devil Man Cry Baby, and so much more.

The Real World Locations from Sing 'Yesterday' For Me

Date: 2020 July 04 12:57 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

Anime streaming service Crunchyroll have just sent us details of a great article they've put up exploring the real world locations used in the anime Sing 'Yesterday' For Me. It's always interesting to see how detailed and close to real world locations certain anime titles are.

We must admit we've got a soft spot for title, it's a bit of a slow burner gentle slice of life romance. You can catch it now on Crunchyroll.

We've also run similar articles before, including that time we discovered the actual house used in Kinmoza. Kinmoza is currently available to watch on Crunchyroll too.

Souce: Crunchyroll

Manga Jiman 2020 Online Launch Event

Date: 2020 June 30 19:58 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Events

UK based aspiring artists will want to watch the online launch event for the latest Manga Jiman Competition.
The details for the competition will be streamed at 7pm on Wednesday 1st July 2020. Previous winners Katja Hammond, Shangomola Edunjobi and Tori Jones will join the stream for a chat as well.

The manga competition is run by the Embassy of Japan in the UK. The competition often marks rising stars in the UK industry and is a great place to showcase talent.

The live stream is free and you can register here.

You can see more details about the previous 2019 Competition here.

The Embassy have also just posted some fun quizzes on Japan, so give it a go if you want to test your Japanese knowledge!

Souce: Embassy of Japan in the UK

Kotatsu Japanese Animation Festival 2020 Special Online Screening Event

Date: 2020 June 24 20:09 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

With social distancing still in place across the UK virtual events are proving to be a popular alternative. Kotatsu Japanese Animation Festival have just sent us details of their 2020 offerings, which include a free online screening event on Saturday 25th July 2020 at 11am and 6pm (UK time).

They've got a line-up of fun films that range from stop motion to 2D and it's all for free. All people have to do is go to the Kotatsu Festival YouTube channel at either 11am or 6pm to watch the films.

Animators include current names like Miho Yata and Arisa Wakami and veteran animator Fusako Yusaki. So why not tune in on Saturday morning or evening to enjoy some insight into animation?

Screen Anime Bring Weathering With You and Your Name To Their Monthly Online Film Festival

Date: 2020 June 15 20:19 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

The good folks at anime company Anime Limited have just sent us details of the latest line up on their online film festival Screen Anime.

The curated anime experience changes it's screenings one a month. This time around from the 25th June to 25th July 2020 they'll be showing Makoto Shinkai's fantastic Weathering With You, along with his super smash hit Your Name. So you can have a double bill of these amazing movies. If you want something a bit different and emotional they'll also be showing Anthem of the Heart. They'll be showing summer romance movie (with a time travelling twist) Fireworks too.

Plus for their TV line up Screen Anime have Silver Spoon. From the manga creator of Fullmetal Alchemist, this story goes in a completely different direction as it takes us to agricultural college with city boy Hachiken. This sweet slice of life show is a gentle comedy. You'll learn about Japanese agricultural practices and farming life in general.

The service is available for £3.98 a month or £39.98 a year.

Read More... | Souce: Screen Anime

Ascendance of a Bookworm Part 2 and Rent-A-Girlfriend on Crunchyroll

Date: 2020 June 13 10:03 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

The good folks at anime streaming service Crunchyroll have sent us news about Ascendance of a Bookworm Part 2 along with with OVA dub premiere of Rent-A-Girlfriend.

The OVA for Ascendance of a Bookworm (episodes 14.5 part 1 and part 2) will launch on Crunchyroll on Saturday, 13th June 2020, and episode 15 will launch on Saturday 20th June 2020.

Meanwhile Rent-A-Girlfriend will start on Crunchyroll as part of the summer season.
As we've covered before Crunchyroll are also keen to share that their whole dub cast have been working from home recently.

Read More... | Souce: Crunchyroll

Cloud Matsuri Reminder

Date: 2020 May 29 20:49 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

While lock down has impacted events for anime fans around the globe there is a good range of virtual events cropping up. Up this weekend is Cloud Matsuri. Set to run online from Saturday 30th to Sunday 31st May 2020, the event will play host to top Japanese industry figures along with UK based and US anime firms.

You can access all the streams for the event for free with details to do so via Cloud Matsuri's website.

Anime Limited Launches Screen Anime To Bring The Festival Experience Home

Date: 2020 May 18 20:18 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

The good folks from anime distributors Anime Limited have just announced their latest venture Screen Anime. It's the first online anime film festival! Enjoy curated film & extras, refreshed monthly.

We're impressed with the opening line up which includes PROMARE, Penguin Highway, Patema Inverted and Royal Space Force: The Wings of Honnêamise, along with a to be confirmed TV show. They'll also have bonus content for each feature.

The streaming service will cost £3.98 monthly or £39.98 a year, with yearly subscribers getting a physical membership card that entitles them to further discounts from Anime Limited's shop.

We think they've nailed the pricing options as it'll cost more to rent the films separately or you could save money by paying up front. Screen Anime will be available in the UK and Ireland from Monday 25th May 2020. You can access it from your web browser, with apps for TVos, iOS Android & Amazon following over the coming months.

We're keen for apps so you can watch it directly on your TV with ease. However in our opinion we think the quality of the apps is what will make it and take it to the next level. Ideally you want as many options as possible to watch and enjoy anime. We hope Anime Limited are able to develop high quality apps to support Screen Anime quickly. They already have a excellent track record of acquiring top tier anime titles and always go the extra mile at events, often having something special up their sleeve such as a Japanese guest or exclusive item.

So head over to Screen Anime to register your interest.

Read More... | Souce: Screen Anime

Cloud Matsuri - A Virtual Convention

Date: 2020 May 15 12:31 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

It's the start of convention season, while events are inevitably being postponed or cancelled due to COVID-19 online events are becoming a sensible alternative and Anime Limited are stepping up with their buddies to launch Cloud Matsuri.

The virtual convention is set to run on Saturday 30th and Sunday 31st May 2020. The event is completely free.

The show will feature exclusive interviews and talks with special guest from the world of anime and more.

They're hinting that there will be more guests to announce, but the line up they're showing us at the moment is fantastic with Eunyoung Choi - CEO & Executive Producer, Science SARU (most recently responsible for the fabulous Keep Your Hands off Eizouken). Eiji Inomoto President & Founder, Studio Orange. The CG specialists created Land of the Lustrous and Beastars. Shuzo Shiota president of Polygon Pictures (who are involved in Knights of Sidonia and AJIN: Demi-Human to name a few). They'll also have Yasuhiro Kamimura CEO of GroundWorks Co., Ltd who will talk about his career to date and share stories with managing the Evangelion brand.

Drawing Kimono: Online Session with Kutsuwada Chie

Date: 2020 May 12 21:20 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

While events in the UK have had to be postponed or cancelled due to COVID-19, some event runners have switched to online sessions as an alternative. Japan House London will be running a Drawing Kimono: Online Session with Kutsuwada Chie. It's set to run on Friday 15th May 2020 at 14:00 to 15:00 UK time. Booking is required, but the event is free.

Kutsuwada Chie is a Brighton based Japanese artist who will show people attending the online session how to draw a male figure wearing a kimono.

BFI Japan 2020 Over 100 Years of Japanese Cinema

Date: 2020 May 05 20:04 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

UK readers will be very interested to hear that the BFI have just announced a fantastic new season called BFI Japan 2020.

Starting with Akira Kurosawa and other classics in May, they'll then run different themes every month until October with some J-Horror (just in time for Halloween). We you know you'll want to watch some anime too, which is why they'll be showing anime in July, this will include films from Hayao Miyazaki, Mamoru Hosoda and the late great Satoshi Kon, plus some other top tier titles too.

There is pretty is much something for everyone during this fantastic season. Currently catering for the audience at lockdown at home they aim to bring cinema to you via their BFI Player and BFI YouTube.

When the cinemas reopen (which the BFI anticipates will be late 2020 or early 2021) the BFI will also re-release the Akira Kurosawa classic Seven Samurai, along with monthly seasons at the BFI Southbank in London.

Additionally the BFI will be releasing some DVDs and Blu-ray features too including Ozu's Tokyo Story, The Flavour of Green Tea Over Rice, Toshio Matsumoto's Funeral Parade of Roses, along with a Takeshi Kitano Blu-ray boxset featuring Sonatine, Violent Cop and Boiling Point.

Evangelion, Gunpla and other Anime and Manga T-Shirts at Uniqlo

Date: 2020 April 21 19:39 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Retail

Fans of anime franchise based t-shirts will want to head over to the Uniqlo website to grab the latest Evangelion and Gunpla 40th Anniversary designs.

The Japanese clothes company always has some great t-shirts in their UT Graphic Print range. They intend to release some designs that appeal to all kinds of manga and anime fans including their Manga UT line, which includes Osomatsu-kun, GeGeGe no Kitaro and The Genius Bakabo.

They'll also have Manga UT Ribon 65th Anniversary which includes Chibi Maruko Chan, Tokimeki Tonight, Tenshi Nanka Ja Nai, Gokinjo Monogatari and Marmalade Boy.

If you like something from Young Jump then Uniqlo have you covered with Manga UT Weekly Young Jump 40TH Anniversary. They'll have tees from Golden Kamuy, Tokyo Ghoul and Kingdom.

While if you want something more tokusatsu to wear then you'll be excited about the upcoming Ultraman t-shirt range.

Genki Gear April 2020 Sale

Date: 2020 April 17 19:58 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

The good folks from geek t-shirt company Genki Gear have just sent us a reminder that they've got a sale on. They've got t-shirts from £4 on offer along with their usual geeky designs. You maybe familiar with their designs as they often have a popular stall at events like MCM Comic Con and Hyper Japan.

Genki Gear also have Tokidoki and BT21 Official Merch too! We're particularly partial to their £10 t-shirt range too.

The geeky clothes company are also reassuring us that they're being extra diligent with all deliveries being made with safety in mind

Souce: Genki Gear

Mangamo The New Mobile Manga Subscription Service

Date: 2020 April 16 19:47 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

We've just been sent the details of a new mobile manga subscription service. Mangamo promises more titles than any other legal mobile manga service.

It's currently on iOS Devices (iPhone and iPad) with subscriptions costing $4.99 USD a month. The Tokyo based company has partnered with 11 publishers to bring the wide range of titles, including Attack on Titan, Battle Angel Alita, Somali and the Forest Spirit, along with Fire Force and many more titles. A full list of current titles can be found here. They also promise regular updates to the titles available.

Mangamo is available on the Apple App Store globally with the exception of Japan, China and Korea. Currently all titles are in English.

As this is a legal service you can be certain that the money goes back to the original creators helping fund the manga industry itself.

Crunchyroll Announces Crunchyroll Originals

Date: 2020 February 27 21:38 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

The good folks from anime streaming service Crunchyroll have sent us some exciting details about their latest venture - Crunchyroll Originals. We're told the shows, produced with respected publishers including Kodansha, animation studios such as MAPPA, and from Crunchyroll Studios, represent Crunchyroll's continued commitment to delight fans and expand the global anime community through fresh stories and unique perspectives from a global slate of creators.

They've got some original anime content that you can watch now, including In/Spectre, which mixes monsters and mystery.

Interestedly they've also sourced some great content from other parts of the world. UK based fans may already be familiar with with the excellent FreakAngels graphic novels from Warren Ellis & Paul Duffield.

Read More... | Souce: Crunchyroll

Studio Ghibli Movies Hit Netflix

Date: 2020 January 20 20:51 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

Streaming service Netflix have just announced that they'll be adding Studio Ghibli films to their list of movies. Fans from Asia Pacific, Europe, Middle East, Africa and Latin America will be able to enjoy films. The films will be subtitled in 28 languages, and dubbed in up to 20 languages.

Studio Ghibli are renowned for creating high quality masterpiece movies. Hugely influential Studio Ghibli is the only Japanese anime studio to have won an Oscar with Hayao Miyazaki's Spirited Away.

The movies release to Netflix will be spread across 3 months, on 1st February 2020, 1st March 2020 and 1st April 2020.

Totoro, Kiki and Porco Rosso will all be in the first wave movies. Up until now Studio Ghibli have been reluctant to allow their titles available for streaming.

All these movies are fantastic in their own right and we can't say in stronger words go out and watch them. With the exception of Tales from Earthsea which was a trouble production, skip that one.

The US, Canada and Japan are noticeably absent from the list of countries the films will be available from. We suspect another company has streaming rights to these countries.

Jonathan Ross on Anime, Manga and Japanese Toys

Date: 2019 November 06 21:54 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Press Releases

The geek event that was MCM Comic Con London October 2019 has ended. One of of the anime highlights was Jonathan Ross introducing two anime shows for Crunchyroll.

During the event, he revealed that he got mistaken for a cosplayer at San Diego Comic-con. He also admitted he enjoyed anime with yokai eating, erm certain parts of people (we'll leave the rest to your imagination).

The good folks from anime streaming service Crunchyroll interviewed Jonathan Ross and he shared his love of anime and Japanese toy lines.

Read More... | Souce: Crunchyroll

Carole & Tuesday Now on Netflix

Date: 2019 August 31 14:01 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

If you like your anime with a musical twist, you can't go wrong to catch Carole & Tuesday on Netflix. From Bones and Shinichiro Watanabe it charts the story of two girls brought together by chance to make music. Watanabe is the supervising director for this show, while Motonobu Hori is also directing.

Music is a constant recurring theme for Watanabe, with the sound track dominating he shows such as Cowboy Bebop, while he's also been responsible for Kids on the Slope anime about two boys coming of age and exploring jazz together.

The 12 episode Carole & Tuesday is out now on Netflix dubbed into English, French, German, Italian, Brazilian Portuguese, Spanish, Castilian Spanish. It's available subbed in many languages too, including English. So yes, you can watch it in the original Japanese and one of 28 different languages.

Catch it now!

The studio are also lunching a fanart contest. First prize is 100,000 Japanese Yen Prize money!

The Benza - A Comedy about a Quest for a Toilet Seat

Date: 2019 August 15 19:06 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

Not all quests are epic. Which is why we've been sent details about Chris and Kyle, two Americans who share an apartment in Tokyo. One day their toilet seat broke, which leads onto their adventures to find a suitable replacement. The trouble starts when they realise they don't know the Japanese word for toilet seat! Want to know more? Then you can find out by watching The Benza a 6 series comedy on Amazon Prime currently streaming in the US, UK, Germany and Japan.

Made on a budget of 2,000,000 yen (about 18,840 USD) the show explores what it's like to go hunting for a toilet seat in Japan.

AmeCon returns in August 2020 with AmeChibi

Date: 2019 August 06 20:36 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Events

UK anime fans looking for a nice little convention to attend in the summer of 2020 are in luck. The good folks at AmeCon have announced that they'll be running AmeChibi at Northampton Park Inn on Friday 7th to Sunday 9th August 2020. It's called AmeChibi as it's smaller than their usual university campus events, running in a hotel instead. This means it'll have a different more cosy atmosphere than the larger events.

Registration for AmeChibi 2020 will open on Tuesday 1st October 2019. Pricing details have yet to be revealed.

The last smaller format AmeChibli was held in 2015 and registration sold out in 6 hours. So we advise you to book early on Tuesday 1st October 2019 if you're keen to go.

Souce: AmeCon

AmeCon - Live Stream for Next AmeCon Event Details

Date: 2019 August 01 18:47 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Events

UK based anime fans looking for a convention to go to will be pleased to hear that AmeCon will be announcing details of their next event. On Saturday 3rd August 2019 they'll have a livestream at 8:30pm along with a Q&A.

From what we can gather, they'll be announcing when and where the next AmeCon will be, along with when it opens for registration.

To be the first to find out tune in on either Facebook or YouTube.

You can also submit questions to them in advance via Facebook or @AmeCon on Twitter.

AmeCon is one of the UK's largest Japanese animation, comics and culture conventions. It's run by fans for fans.

Souce: AmeCon

Jojo's Bizarre Adventure Give-Away with Crunchyroll

Date: 2019 June 04 21:29 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

We've teamed up with the good folks from on-line streaming service Crunchyroll to offer some Jojo's Bizarre Adventure goodies and 1 month premium subscription to the streaming service for our UK readers. Read on if you're interested.

One-Punch Man Season 2 Now Streaming on Crunchyroll

Date: 2019 April 10 20:19 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

The good folks from anime streaming service Crunchyroll have just sent us a reminder that One-Punch Man Season 2 is now out for streaming for viewers in the UK. Helpfully they've also got a A Super Serious Look Back! episode helping you recap season 1 so you can then jump straight into season 2.

The anime based on the successful manga follows the adventures of Saitama a guy who became a hero for fun. His intense training regime made him bald, but also made him ridiculously strong! So much so he can defeat any opponent in one punch. As a result Saitama is incredibly bored. The whole series parodies the super hero genre so well, with heroes and villains that seem a bit familiar but also hilarious.

Neon Genesis Evangelion to stream on Netflix Worldwide from Spring 2019

Date: 2018 November 27 21:58 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

Streaming Service Netflix have just revealed that they will be showing anime Neon Genesis Evangelion worldwide starting from Spring 2019. Announced on their NXOnNetflix Twitter feed as a teaser trailer of the show.

The original Neon Genesis Evangelion TV Series is generally regarded as one of the greatest anime TV shows of it's era. In the mid 1990's it lit the flames for a new wave of anime that still carries on to this day. Without the anime boom it caused the anime industry itself would be very different. Australian Anime Distributors Madman Entertainment owed their early success to Neon Genesis Evangelion. For many it was the watershed title that helped them discover anime.

Written and directed by the otaku's otaku Hideaki Anno the multi-layered story blends a bleak future mixed with giant robots, nostalgia for 1960's adventure, along with Christian symbolism and nods to Tokusatsu, Thunderbirds, along with a special blend of whiny teenage angst and reasons to hate your father. You'll never listen to Ode to Joy the same way again.

The hugely influential show, spawned some movies, plus the rebuild series of new movies retelling the story with a different take, various manga spin offs, plus an endless stream of merchandise.

Souce: Offical NXOnNetflix Twitter

BBC Wiltshire Covers Fosse Farmhouse The UK Location Used for anime Kinmoza

Date: 2018 May 17 20:17 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

BBC Wiltshire isn't the first place you'd think of going to for anime coverage, but now and again it does pay off to check regional news. They've just published a video of a visit to Fosse Farmhouse, the B&B used as the location for anime Kinmoza.

We've covered details of Fosse Farmhouse winning Best B&B Story of the Year for it's Anime Connection and the original story of the location being used for Kinmoza.

Souce: BBC Wiltshire Facebook Page

Anime Ltd Acquires Full Metal Panic! Invisible Victory rights for Streaming and Home Video in the UK and Ireland

Date: 2018 April 13 19:49 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

The good folks at Anime Limited have just revealed that they have the rights to Full Metal Panic! Invisible Victory for the UK and Ireland. It's not secret that the company are all massive fans of the mecha show having already released the first three seasons (Full Metal Panic, Full Metal Panic: Fumoffu? and Full Metal Panic: The Second Raid).

Anime Limited have the streaming and home video rights so will release in the future (they hint it'll be 2019 as it's still early days yet).

The show is out now on streaming service Crunchyroll.

United Publications Spring Clearance Sale 2018

Date: 2018 April 09 18:38 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

The good folks from anime and manga retailer United Publications have sent us details of their spring clearance sale for 2018.

Managing Director Martin Dudman tells us - "Chance to try new series or help fill gaps in your collection.
Spring Clearance Books, DVD & Figures, limited quantity first come first served.
All orders will be posted ASAP and can not be held waiting on other items"

United Publications are a retailer you may have met before on the UK convention scene, as they regularly have stalls at London Comic Con and fan run conventions around the country.

Souce: United Publications

Sword Art Online the Movie: Ordinal Scale Now on Netflix

Date: 2018 February 15 17:09 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

UK based anime fans with streaming service Netflix will want to check out Sword Art Online the Movie: Ordinal Scale. It follows on from the TV series where Kirito and Asuna get involved with the latest augmented reality game Ordinal Scale. Mild peril ensues. We posted a review when hit the cinemas last year.

Souce: Netflix UK

Violet Evergarden on Netflix UK from 11th January 2018

Date: 2018 January 03 16:41 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime > TV

UK Anime fans looking to get into the latest anime from Kyo Ani, the studio behind A Silent Voice and K-On will want to get onto Netflix from Thursday 11th January 2018 as the streaming service will be showing a new series Violet Evergarden. The fantasy series follows the story of Violet Evergarden, known as "the weapon" she's recovering from the recent war and has to find her place in the new post war world. It's based on a series of light novels written by Kana Akatsuki.

We were lucky enough to see the first episode at the MCM London Comic Con in October 2017 thanks to an official screening run by Anime Limited.

The production values are lavish. The first episode was like watching a feature film. We've also heard it described as opulent and wouldn't disagree with this description. It's like someone has just given Kyo Ani a truck full of money and said "Take this huge truck full of money and use it to make anime". Although this is the first episode, we'll be very curious to see if the production values remain throughout.

Your Name DVD Competition

Date: 2017 October 18 16:13 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

UK anime fans keen to get their own copy of the smash hit anime Your Name will want to set the date of Monday 6th November 2017 for the DVD, Blu-ray and Blu-ray Steelbook and Thursday 23rd November 2017 for the Deluxe Edition exclusively to Anime Ltd and Zavvi.

We've teamed up with the good folks from Anime Limited to give one lucky reader a copy of the film on DVD.

Netflix Announce New Death Note Live Action Series

Date: 2017 March 22 17:32 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime > TV

Fans of killer note books will want to write down the date Friday 25th August 2017, as that's when Netflix will release their live action adaptation of the cult manga title Death Note.

Light Yagami becomes Light Turner (Nat Wolff), L is still L (Lakeith Stanfield), Misa Amane "Misa-Misa" becomes Mia Sutton (Margaret Qualley), Ryuk is still called Ryuk and will be voiced by Willem Dafoe. We want to know, will Mia Sutton dress like Misa Misa? Will this version's L walk around barefoot and drink tea? The teaser trailer hints that it's big budget and the action has moved from Tokyo to Seattle in this adaptation. We also get a tease of Ryuk only seeing his eyes shortly after spying a bright red apple. It ends with the tag line - Shall we begin?

The show is a Netflix Original, so we expect it'll be made available to all Netflix subscribers in any territory.

Some fans are quick to point out that it's not Japanese! Why isn't it Japanese? Well there is already a Japanese Drama Series along with 3 live action Death Note Movies, you can buy them all at bargain prices from Amazon.co.uk (less than £20 for all 3 on DVD) -

- Death Note Live Action Movie
- Death Note 2: The Last Name
- Death Note: L Change The World

Netflix subscribers can watch the whole anime series on the service.

You can also get the complete original manga in a jumbo box set from Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com. Alternately they're available to buy separately, or the even more gothic Black Edition from Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com.

Crunchyroll and Anime Limited Team Up to Stream Dragon Dentist

Date: 2017 February 18 15:04 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

The good folks from Anime Limited have just announced that they're partnering with anime streaming service Crunchyroll to bring Studio Khara’s new title Dragon Dentist to the UK, Ireland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Finland and Denmark.

The first part of the two part Dragon Dentist will be available on Crunchyroll on Saturday 18th February at 21:45 UTC / GMT.

It was originally part of the Japan Animator Expo.

The title is by Hideaki Anno's Studio Khara, it's best know for doing Rebuild of Evangelion movies. Just so you know, this story focuses on a dentist for dragons, rather than a dragon that is a dentist.

When Marnie Was There UK Screening Details

Date: 2016 June 07 17:11 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime > Film

UK anime fans will want to check cinema listings for the latest (and sadly last) Studio Ghibli Film to hit the big screen. When Marnie Was There is due for a cinema release from Friday 10th June 2016. Some cinemas will show it on a day early on Thursday 9th June 2016. Cinemas have already declared that they'll be showing both the subtitled version and the English dubbed version, so check the screening, to make sure it's the one you want.

The anime is based on Joan G. Robinson's novel, but the location has been changed from Norfolk (in the UK), to Sapporo. It's directed by Hiromasa Yonebayashi, who also directed Arrietty.

For details of a screening near you, check out the Studio Ghibli Forever Website.

As always with events like this, we can't stress enough, book early to avoid disappointment.

Souce: Studio Ghibli Forever

Tezuka and Toriyama Artwork Auction Sale Results

Date: 2016 June 01 17:03 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Manga

We've already mentioned the Sotheby's auction that contained artwork from Osamu Tezuka and Akira Toriyama. What we haven't covered is how much each item went for.

The prices listed below are the hammer price with the buyer's premium.

The Tezuka artwork went mostly within the estimated prices.

Lot 231 was estimated to sell for 8,000 to 10,000 EUR. It went for 8,750.

Lot 232 was estimated to sell for 3,000 to 4,000 EUR. It went for 3,625.

Lot 233 was estimated to sell for 2,000 to 3,000 EUR. It went for 1,750.

Lot 234 was estimated to sell for 2,500 to 3,000 EUR. It went for 2,750.1

Akira Toriyama's drawing was Lot 235 with an estimated sale price of 2,000 to 3,000 EUR. It sold for 15,000. That's 5 times the original estimated price.

Souce: Sotheby\'s

Sotheby's to Auction Tezuka and Toriyama Artwork

Date: 2016 May 05 15:37 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Manga

Manga fans with cash to splash will want to head over to famous auctioneers Sotheby's for their bandes dessinées auction (drawn strips). The collection of sequential art is mainly European and American artists. However manga fans are in for a treat with manga master Osamu Tezuka artwork for sale with prices ranging from 2,000 to 10,000 EUR. They've also got an original Akira Toriyama drawing too, which is estimated to sell from 2,000 to 3,000 EUR.

The auction will take place on Saturday 14th May 2016 at 2pm in Paris. You can bid on-line, but note that first-time bidders must pre-register 24 hours in advance of the sale in order to be approved by Sotheby's.

Thanks to Deb Aoki for the tip off on this story.

United Publications May Madness Sale

Date: 2016 May 02 10:43 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Retail

The good folks at United Publications have just sent us details of their latest special sale.

Their May madness sale has up to 60% off on selected books, DVD and figures, so it's the perfect chance for you to fill in the gaps in your collection. The sale will end on Tuesday 31st May 2016, while stocks last.

Souce: United Publications

FUNimation Now announces new launch date, adds countries

Date: 2016 February 22 14:52 | Posted By: Eeeper

Category > Anime

US anime label FUNimation announces delay to UK launch date and adds Republic of Ireland to its territories list.

Omakase Announces Limited Edition Hatsune Miku Subscription Box

Date: 2016 February 03 15:35 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Retail

We've just got news from the good folks at Viewster about their latest Omakase goody box. The concept is simple, every two months they release a new themed box with merchandise from that series / theme. Along with a box of stuff, you also get access to Viewster's high definition ad-free streaming service. They'll ship to the United States, Canada and the UK.

The next box which is due out in March will feature Vocaloid Hatsune Miku and include exclusive Piapro Character Items. The box will retail for $29 USD (plus shipping and handling, which does vary where it's sent).

Previous themes have included Naruto and Kill La Kill.

MCM Event List for 2016

Date: 2016 January 30 14:25 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Events

As 2016 has just started it's time to plan ahead for those geek events. We've got a list of the MCM Comic Cons for 2016.

The MCM Event Calendar kicks off on 13th February with the MCM Midlands Comic Con. There's plenty more to follow throughout the year. The events always have something good to offer for anime fans too and often feature a guest or two from the anime and manga industry. The schedule is as follows:

13 February: MCM Midlands Comic Con
12-13 March: MCM Liverpool Comic Con
19-20 March: MCM Birmingham Comic Con
27-29 May: MCM London Comic Con
25-26 June: MCM Belfast Comic Con
2-3 July: MCM Ireland Comic Con (Dublin)
30-31 July: MCM Manchester Comic Con
23-24 September: MCM Scotland Comic Con (Glasgow)
28-30 October: MCM London Comic Con
19-20 November: MCM Birmingham Comic Con

The folks at MCM have also sent us details of two new events in Germany and Brussels. MCM Hannover Comic Con coming to Hannover Messe on 4-5 June 2016 and MCM Belgium Comic Con taking place at Brussels Expo on 11-12 June.

Also don't forget Comic Con Copenhagen 24-25 September 2016 and Comic Con Stockholm on 4-6 November 2016,

As always we've also updated the Otaku Calendar with details of these events.

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