Category > Anime
UK broadcaster Channel 4 has announced 100 hours of anime content will stream on their UK/ROI catchup service, All 4, from Friday the 25th of October 2019. 10 shows will premiere on launch day with another 4 to join the lineup at a later date.
Titles available now include smash hit anime Cowboy Bebop, kawaii CLAMP classic Cardcaptor Sakura and fantasy Inuyasha. They've also got a nice mix of titles in their line up including Tokyo Ghoul, The Dragon Dentist, Megalo Box, The Vision of Escaflowne and Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin. Plus Charlotte and Durarara!!
Read More... | Souce: Channel 4
Category > Events
It's geek super event MCM Comic Con London this weekend. Anime streaming service Crunchyroll have just revealed that Jonathan Ross will host the UK Premiere of brand new anime at MCM Comic Con London. The premiere is for two anime titles - In/Spectre and Somali and the Forest Spirit.
The screening will be at the Main Stage, Friday 25 October 2019 from 5pm to 7pm.
It's well known that Jonathan Ross is an anime fan. He's made a few shows about manga and going to Japan. Plus he commissioned creepy-artist artist Junko Mizuno to create the logo for his production company Hotsauce TV.
Read More... | Souce: MCM Comic Con London
Category > Events
UK based Theatre Company Whole Hog Theatre have just revealed details of their latest production The Garden of Words. Based on the anime of the same name by director Makoto Shinkai. The play will be performed in London at Park Theatre from 15th July to 15th August 2020.
It will also be performed in Tokyo with Japanese Animation stage production specialists, Nelke Planning (Sailor Moon stage production).
Curiously the performance promises to be an interdisciplinary adaptation visually emotive story using puppetry, movement and projection art. Performed in English with occasional Japanese. The Whole Hog Theatre Company are not new to anime adaptations, having performed Hayao Miyazaki's Princess Mononoke on stage. While Princess Mononoke naturally lends itself to puppetry, The Garden of Words could have been done as conventional play. So we're very interested to see what Whole Hog have up their sleeves.
Anime and manga being adapted for the stage seems to be an on going trend in the west, with Kiki's Delivery Service being adapted by Southwark Playhouse and Urasawa's Pluto getting a performance at London's Barbican.
While popular franchises are frequently adapted for the stage in Japan by theatre companies such as Nelke Planning.
We're excited to see what Whole Hog do and suggest you book tickets soon to avoid disappointment.
Read More... | Souce: The Whole Hog Theatre Company
Category > Events
As autumn fades into winter and the evenings get darker Japan House London have been thinking ahead. They've just announced details a new exhibition to brighten things up. WOW: City Lights and Woodland Shade is set to run at Japan House from Thursday 21 November 2019 until Sunday 22nd March 2020.
The two installations by WOW looking at both the urban future and timelessness of rural Japan.
The installation will offer mesmerising digital displays, images of Tokyo by night projected in a mind-bending 360-degree reimagining of Japan's capital city by night. Plus POPPO is an excursion into the folk art of Japan's countryside.
The exhibition is suitable for all ages and is free to attend.
Read More... | Souce: Japan House London
Category > Events
As far as images of Japan goes, you can't get more Japanese than an image of Geisha. The traditional Japanese entertainers will be making an appearance at Japan House London on Friday 18th October at 12:30 to 13:30.
You'll get a rare chance to meet Geiko (aka Geisha) and Maiko (apprentice Geiko). They'll perform signature dances and also take part in a conversation with Japan House.
The event is free to attend.
Read More... | Souce: Japan House London
UK based fans of Studio Trigger are in for a treat. Anime Distributors Anime Limited have just announced they've acquired the rights to Promare.
Studio Trigger are responsible for TV series Kill la Kill and Little Witch Academia, director Hiroyuki Imaishi was also behind GAINAX's Gurren Lagann. Promare marks the studio's first theatrical outing.
On Tuesday 26th and Thursday 28th November 2019 there will be screenings at select cinemas around the UK and Ireland.
If you're lucky enough to be in Scotland and and get to the Glasgow Film Theatre on Sunday 13th October 2019, you can get to the UK premiere! There will also be a Promare Special Events Screening at Edinburgh on Saturday 19th October 2019, with major creative talent behind this film. Plus there's also a screening at the Edinburgh Filmhouse on Monday 21st October 2019.
Read More... | Souce: Anime Limited
Category > Events
It's October. Which means it's almost time for MCM Comic Con London. The massive geek event is set to to run from Friday 25th to Sunday 27th October 2019 at the ExCel Centre in London.
They've just announced two very special anime guests of honour. First up we have Shinichiro Watanabe, best known for the major anime series Cowboy Bebop, but he's also done some other great shows including Terror in Resonance, Samurai Champloo, along with Kids on the Slope. You can also see his latest show Carole & Tuesday on Netflix. Shinichiro Watanabe is credited as the supervising director / chief director of the show.,
Guest number two is Motonobu Hori who is the director of Carole & Tuesday. The show marks his directorial debut, while he's worked on n key animation, animation direction and storyboards for a wealth of anime, including Napping Princess, Berserk: The Golden Age Arc, and episodes of Psycho-Pass in the past.
Both guests will be hosting an Anime Guest of Honour panel at the Centre Stage on Saturday, 26th October from 11:15AM, and will also be attending free signing sessions on both Saturday 26th and Sunday 27th October from 14:30-15:30.
As always we're very excited about this as it's a great chance to see some top talent from the anime industry. We look forward to find out what insights from anime production they'll reveal at this panel.
Read More... | Souce: MCM Comic Con London
Category > Anime
The good folks from Rooster Teeth have sent us a reminder that their latest show gen:LOCK Season 1 will be released on DVD and Blu-ray in the UK on Monday 28th October 2019.
The anime style show from the company behind RWBY. This is another action packed CGI animated series with ROBOTS! Yes, Robots, and famous actors such as Michael B. Jordan, Dakota Fanning, Maisie Williams and David Tennant lending their voices to characters.
Last year we interviewed Gray Haddock the writer and director of the series about the show.
gen:LOCK Season 1 is available to pre-order now on DVD and Blu-ray from Amazon.co.uk.
Read More... | Souce: Rooster Teeth
Category > Manga
We've just been sent details of the release announcements from anime and manga publisher Viz Media. At New York Comic Con Viz revealed that they have the publishing rights for Star Wars: The Legends of Luke Skywalker: The Manga.
It's scheduled for release sometime in early 2020. The anthology will feature a collection of stories by renowned manga artists that include Akira Himekawa, Haruichi, Akira Fukaya, Takashi Kisaki and Subaru. Akira Himekawa is the Japanese duo best known for their work on the official The Legend of Zelda manga based on the smash hit Nintendo game series.
Viz have also got a ton of titles manga due out in the summer of 2020. Including Rumiko Takahashi's Maison Ikkoku. The much loved fan favourite has been eagerly anticipated for rerelease.
Mujirushi: The Sign of Dreams by another legendary manga artist Naoki Urasawa has also been highly anticipated. We were lucky enough to interview Naoki Urasawa when he was in London earlier this year.
We're also excited about action packed comedy Spy x Family by Tatsuya Endo. Along with Ping Pong by Taiyo Matsumoto, the mind behind Tekkonkinkreet and Sunny.
Read More... | Souce: Viz Media
Category > Events
Fans of Japanese culture in London this weekend will want to head to the Japan Matsuri in Trafalgar Square. Now in it's 11th year the free event is set to run from 10am to 8pm on Sunday 29th September 2019. As always there'll be lots to see and do. Including a watching expert martial arts demonstrations, Japanese music and dance performances.
One of the main draws is always Japanese street food. We've also been told that Japanese fast food favourite MOS burger will be making their UK debut. There's always so much good Japanese food there it can be hard to choose what to eat! Yakisoba! Sushi! Hmmm. It's hard not to drool thinking about food while typing this!
There's also a great family activity tent will teach parents and kids alike manga, calligraphy, origami
and more.
This year's Matsuri marks the official opening of the Japan-UK Season of Culture - an exciting and varied programme of events taking place until the end of 2020.
Read More... | Souce: Japan Matsuri
Category > Manga
The good folks at manga publishers Seven Seas Entertainment have just sent us details of their 5 new yuri license acquisitions. They've got 4 new manga titles and one light novel.
Goodbye, My Rose Garden is a period romance between a British noblewoman and her maid. Volume 1 of the manga is due out April 14, 2020.
Syrup is a yuri anthology collecting short manga about adult women in love. It's due out June 9, 2020.
Failed Princesses is a unlikely high school romance manga. Volume 1 will be released on May 12 2020.
Fragtime is a time-freezing yuri love story. The manga will be released on April 14, 2020.
Adachi and Shimamura is a fan-favorite yuri romance that will soon be adapted into an anime series Volume 1 of the light novel series will be released in print on June 2, 2020
Read More... | Souce: Seven Seas Entertainment
Category > Events
London based fans of virtual pop idol Hatsune Miku will want to head to the O2 Academy Brixton on Saturday 11th January 2020 for the London leg of the Hatsune Miku Expo 2020 Europe Tour. This will be her second European tour. Miku will start the tour in London then will jet off to Paris, Berlin, Amsterdam and Barcelona.
Tickets for the vocaloid sensation start at £45.00 and go up to £125.00 for VIP. Tickets are on sale now at livenation.co.uk and ticketmaster.co.uk.
Read More... | Souce: O2 Academy Brixton
Category > Anime
London based culture vultures will be interested to hear about Imaginary Solutions. It's an upcoming collaboration between the Tokyo-based Butoh dancer/martial artist Takahiro Tomatsu, and the acclaimed London-based experimental music ensemble ARCO, led by composer performer Neil Luck. The performance is set to run on Friday 15th November 2019 at The Horse Hospital in Bloomsbury. Tickets are £8 or 6 for concessions.
The performance is an official event of the Japan-UK Season of Culture 2019-2020.
Read More... | Souce: Imaginary Solutions
Category > Anime
Fans of anime who can get to Cardiff or Aberystwyth are in for a treat as the Kotatsu Japanese Animation Film Festival returns for it's 2019 run. As you'd expect they've got a great line up of films, plus other events including an Anime-Themed Disco, a Masterclass with stop motion animators Takeshi Yashiro & Satoshi Akutsu.
Movie wise they've got some great titles that are worthy to catch on the big screen including Birthday Wonderland, Penguin Highway and A Silent Voice. They'll also be showing Tamako Love Story as a nod to KyoAni and their recent tragedy.
The festival is set to run in Cardiff at Chapter from Friday 4th to Sunday 6th October 2019 and at Aberystwyth Arts Centre Saturday 19th to 20th October 2019.
Read More... | Souce: Kotatsu Japanese Animation Festival
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.
Read More... | Souce: Tokyo Cowboys
Anime fans in London looking for a day of films can't wrong by heading over to the first The Anime Film Festival. It's set to run on Saturday 7th September at Picturehouse Central in London's West End. They've got a sterling line up of films that should all really be enjoyed on the big screen.
All films will be shown in Japanese with English subtitles.
They'll be showing the following:
Read More... | Souce: Anime Film Festival
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
The good folks from anime distributors Manga Entertainment UK have just sent us their latest UK DVD and blu-ray release line up for autumn and winter 2019.
They've got a good selection of shonen titles available including more Black Clover, Naruto Shippuden, Boruto, along with Dragon Ball Super.
They'll also be releasing the first parts of That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime and Goblin Slayer Season One. The former is a story about an average salaryman who dies and gets reincarnated as a blob of slime (as one does). While Goblin slayer is set in your regular D&D type world about a hero called Goblin slayer, who takes on the task of killing goblin infestations before they become more troublesome, fan service and violence ensue.
Interestingly enough they've also branched out into some Cartoon Network titles, they'll be releasing Adventure Time as Individual Complete First to Fifth Seasons, along with a 1 to 5 collection on DVD an blu-ray. Steven Universe Seasons 1 & 2 will also be released. Samurai Jack The Complete Series (Seasons 1-5) is due to hit shelves on 2nd December and includes the long awaited 5 season. We must admit we've got a soft spot for these titles. Sure they're not anime, but they're very well done and a pleasure to watch.
Read More... | Souce: Manga Entertainment UK
Category > Anime
Manga fans in London looking for an academic taste into the world of manga will be very pleased to hear about the Manga Symposium: What is Manga? Exploring Japanese Manga and Visual Narratives. The day long event gathers a range of manga academics at The British Library, Knowledge Centre Theatre. It's set to run on Friday 23rd August 2019 from 10:00 to 17:30.
Tickets cost £15 for adults or £8 for students under 18s and other concessions. We can think of nothing better than spending a learning about manga. Visit https://www.bl.uk/events/manga-symposium to book tickets.
Read More... | Souce: The Japan Foundation and The British Library
Category > Anime
Anime fans in London are in for a treat. The Barbican have got anime expert Helen McCarthy to curate a season of anime screenings. Anime's Human Machines is set to run from Thursday 12th to Monday 30th September 2019.
Each screening will have a special introduction by Helen McCarthy. They've also got super mecha designer Shôji Kawamori. Anime fans will best know him for his mecha designs in Macross. He also co-directed Macross Plus. Other famous designs include a series of Dicalone toys for Japanese toy company Takara. This was a collection of transforming robots. Hasbro licensed these toys and rebranded them as Transformers. Mr Kawamori designed a certain truck called Convoy who was rebranded as Optimus Prime!
Shôji Kawamori will be introducing the Ghost in the Shell Movie (the 1995 animated version), at the Barbican on Wednesday 18th September 2019 at 20:45. Kawamori did some of the mechanical design for this film too!
This season has a whole host of awesome films that are all really worth watching on the big screen (Helen's spoilt us for choice). We suggest booking early to avoid disappointment.
They'll also be showing the mind bending Paprika, Patlabor the Movie, Mamoru Hosoda's Summer Wars, plus a few other awesome films.
Not content with just films, they've got a couple of drawing workshops too!
Read More... | Souce: Barbican
Category > Events
Fans of Japanese culture in London looking for something a bit different this August are in luck. We've just been sent details about an Anglo-Japanese Theatre/Opera/Live Art Production Origami Soundscapes / The Crane. It's set to run at the arcola theatre in East London on Friday 23rd and Saturday 24th August 2019. The Friday showing will be at 20:00, while there will be two showings on Saturday at 15:00 and 20:00.
The performance folds origami and music together in a multi-media opera installation exploring classical Japanese traditions with a uniquely avant-garde twist. You can always check out the trailer to get more of an idea.
This is supported by Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation and has been recognised as an Official Event of the Japan-UK Season of Culture 2019-2020.
It will be sung in English and Japanese without subtitles.
Tickets range from £12 to £22.
Read More... | Souce: arcola theatre
We've just heard from the The Japan Foundation London that they've teamed up with The British Library to present Summer Explorers! Manga Comes To Life - Live Action Japanese Films Based on Manga.
The Japan Foundation always have an interesting selection of films up their sleeves and this time is no different as they'll be showcasing live action films based off manga. Anime and manga fans may already be familiar with some of the titles here from their original manga or even an anime adaptation. They've got Inuyashiki a typical story about a retired salaryman given superpowers, along with lots of other films offering something slightly different.
Screenings are set to run on Saturday, 27 July and Sunday, 28 July 2019 at The British Library, Knowledge Centre Theatre.
Individual tickets are £8, while concessions are £6 and under 14s get in free. Day passes are £20 or £15 for concessions, while again under 14s are free. As always with events like this we suggest booking early to avoid disappointment.
Read More... | Souce: The Japan Foundation and The British Library
Category > Anime
Japan House London have been hosting a lot of great events for anime and manga fans recently. Continuing with this trend they'll be hosting Our Road to Recovery: An Anime Studio in Fukushima. The talk is by Asao Yoshinori of Gaina (formally called Fukushima Gainax). The talk is set on run on Tuesday 2 July 2019 and has two sessions the first at 15:30 to 17:10 and the second at 18:30 to 20:00 (which is followed by a drinks reception).
In this event, Asao Yoshinori explores the role that animation has played in the recovery and revitalisation of Fukushima and introduces a screening of two of his studio's representative works that have been specially subtitled in English for this event at Japan House.
The event is free to attend, booking is required.
Read More... | Souce: Japan House London
Category > Anime
The good folks from anime company Manga Entertainment UK have announced that Okko's Inn will be screened in select cinemas around the UK.
The film is directed by Kitaro Kosaka of anime studio Madhouse. The fantasy follows the adventures of Okko a girl who after losing her parents in a car accident moves in with her grandmother in the countryside. Okko's grandmother runs a traditional Japanese inn. Okko then discovers that the inn is inhabited by spirits only she can see.
The film is pitched as having storybook charm. It'll hit cinemas around the UK at select cinemas on Sunday 14th July 2019.
If you can make it to screening near you ticket holders will also receive a free, exclusive postcard featuring character artwork - available on a first come, first served basis while stocks last.
Read More... | Souce: Manga Entertainment UK
Category > Manga
Fans of cat manga can rejoice as publisher Dark Horse are re-releasing the classic What's Michael? as a special fat cat collection.
The manga was originally released in English by Dark Horse in 1997 and has been out of print for a long time, with many fans thought a reprint of Makoto Kobayashi's manga in English unlikely. We're massive fans of the comic antics of this cat manga as it blends slice of life tales (or should that be tails?!) along with amusing fantasy incorporating cats. The light hearted title is due out in the US on January 29, 2020.
You can pre-order it from Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk.
We've also been told that translator Zack Davisson is involved in this project and will write introductions for each volume. Zack is not only a manga translator, but a cat fan so it an appropriate choice for this series.
Why is the cat called Michael? Well Michael is used in Japanese as causal slang for cat, kind of like moggy.
Read More... | Souce: Dark Horse
Category > Anime
The good folks from Manga Entertainment UK (which is now a subsidiary of Funimation) have just sent us their summer line up.
They've got the enjoyable Steins;Gate 0 Part 1 combi set due out on Monday 29th July. While Steins;Gate 0 Part 2 is due out on Monday 2nd September 2019.
For shonen fans they've got Boruto: Naruto Next Generations Set One (Episodes 1-13) due out Monday 5th August 2019.
If you fancy something a darker and grisly they've also got Attack on Titan Season 3 Part 1 due out on Monday 12th August 2019. The limited edition Blu-ray set 2-panel digibook with 24 pages of art, plus space in the box for part 2. You can also get it on regular edition DVD.
We've also posted about Manga's June / July line up in the past.
Souce: Manga Entertainment UK
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.
Read More... | Souce: Otaku News
Category > Manga
Japan House London have just sent a reminder that manga artist Urasawa Naoki is in town. He's best known for manga such as Monster, 20th Century Boys, Master Keaton, and Pluto (his adaptation of Tezuka's Astroboy).
He's in London to promote his exhibition This is Manga - The Art of Urasawa Naoki. The exhibition has a wide varity of his artwork on display, from his early childhood drawings to now. It includes a lot of original pages from his manga where you can see all the original details of his art. Along with huge prints of some of his amazing work. The exhibition is free is to ender and is set to run from Wednesday 5th June to Sunday 28th July 2019 at Japan House London in Kensington.
As Urasawa-san is in London he's also hosting a few events including a booking signing on Friday 7th June 2019 (from 16:00 to 17:00), but places are limited. On the same Friday Urasawa will be also hosting a live drawing live signing session All Talking All Singing All Drawing! Urasawa Naoki Live in Concert, this is set to run from 18:30 to 20:00. It's also free, but booking is essential.
Japan House London will also have wide selection of merchandise for sale at their shop. This includes his manga, plus t-shirts, mugs, plastic wallets and other goodies.
Their restaurant Akira have also teamed up with Urasawa to create a Yawara themed dish of fish and chips, with deep fried, bread-crumbed eel topped with umeboshi (pickled plum) tartare sauce, lime and egg yolk shavings. A Monster cocktail will also be available which is made with Dewa no Sato sake from Yamagata Prefecture, Czech spirit Becherovka, ginger liqueur, peppercorns, lime juice, fresh ginger and cloves topped with a white chocolate liqueur foam sprinkled with matcha!
Read More... | Souce: Japan House London
Category > Press Releases
The good folks from anime distributors Manga Entertainment UK have just sent us some interesting news. They've been acquired by anime distributor Funimation. The details of the acquisition have not been revealed.
It's not exactly clear at this stage what will happen to Manga Entertainment UK in the long term. They're strong anime brand in the UK releasing popular shonen titles including Dragon Ball Z, Bleach and Naruto. They frequently have a big presence at events like MCM Comic Con London. They've always been around in one form or another on the UK anime scene. Clearly the executives at Funimation have a plan for Manga Entertainment UK, but at this stage it's not clear what it'll be. Will they slowly be rebranded and absorbed into Funimation? Or will they remain a subsidiary? Only time will tell.
Read More... | Souce: Manga Entertainment UK
Category > Events
London based fans of Zelda are in for a treat this weekend as Legend of Zelda manga duo Akira Himekawa will be in town for MCM Comic Con London and a special signing at Forbidden Planet (which is handy if you can't make it to MCM over the weekend).
The London branch of the Sci-Fi super store Forbidden Planet will be playing host to the manga duo for a special signing event. The signing event is on Friday 24th May from 6pm to 7:30pm. It's free, but you do need to get a wrist band from Forbidden Planet first in order to attend. No wrist band, no entry. To find out how to get a wrist band visit Forbidden Planet's website for details.
Akira Himekawa will also be at the MCM Comic Con London and attending the event throughout the weekend for signings and panels with manga publisher VIZ. Akira Himekawa's featured spotlight panel will take place on Saturday on the Main Stage at 14:15 and includes a special announcement of new titles, a live drawing session and awesome trivia questions for prize giveaways.
Read More... | Souce: MCM Comic Con London
Category > Events
London based fans of manga artist Tagame Gengoroh are in for a treat! On Wednesday 22nd May 2019 Japan House London will be hosting Tagame Gengoroh in conversation with book curator Haba Yoshitaka.
The event forms part of their new library display LGBTQ+: Diversity in Manga. Artist Tagame Gengoroh is a superb pick for the event having created the manga My Brother's Husband, a tender story about a single dad meeting his estranged brother's husband.
While My Brother's Husband is known to be a sensitive story Tagame's other work doesn't shy away from more mature and gritty renditions of gay life.
We're very excited about this event, as it's rare you'll get a chance to see a talk like this in London.
The event is free to attend, but booking is essential. As always we advise booking early to avoid disappointment.
Read More... | Souce: Japan House London
Category > Anime
The good folks over at anime distributor Manga Entertainment UK have just revealed their DVD and Blu-ray UK release schedule for June and July 2019.
We've also got My Hero Academia Season 1 out on Monday 27th May 2019.
Monday 1st of July 2019:
Read More... | Souce: Manga Entertainment UK
Category > Anime
The good folks from Manga Entertainment UK are getting ready for the May run on MCM Comic Con London. So to get things moving they've set up a fundraiser for the event. This time around they'll be supporting Mermaids the charity that supports gender variant and transgender children, young people and their families.
If you'd like to help you can buy a raffle ticket for a chance to win a nice selection of Dragon Ball Super / Dragon Ball Z goodies.
Read More... | Souce: Manga Entertainment UK
Category > Events
It's May which means it's almost time for the first MCM Comic Con London of 2019! As is tradition, they've got an anime guest of honour lined up to share great insights about the anime industry. For May 2019 anime director Yuichiro Hayashi will be Anime Limited's guest of honour. The director is best known for GARO the Animation and Kakegurui. He's also be involved in 2012 CGI anime production of 009 Re:Cyborg.
Yuichiro Hayashi will be taking to the Centre Stage on Saturday of MCM Comic Con London to discuss his roles as series director, storyboard artist and episode director over the years, among his involvement in major anime productions.
Anime Limited will also be running panels on the Friday and Sunday. No doubt they'll reveal some interesting information about up coming licenses. We're very excited as they've always got something interesting up their sleeve.
Kakegurui is currently showing on Netflix, so you can catch the series before catching the director in person.
MCM Comic Con London is set to run at the London ExCel Centre from Friday 24th to Sunday 26th May 2019.
Read More... | Souce: MCM Comic Con London
Category > Manga
The good folks from manga publisher Seven Seas Entertainment have just sent us a load of details about their recent license acquisitions. They've got pretty much something for everyone, including Haruka Takachiho and Hisao Tamaki's Dirty Pair Manga Omnibus which is a manga retelling of the first Dirty Pair Light Novel.
We're very curious about the very interesting sounding My Father Is a Unicorn which tells the tale of Issei who's Mum has remarried to a shape shifting unicorn (as one does), so now Issei's step dad is a unicorn and hilarity ensues. We've not been as excited about a title like this since Seven Seas licensed My Girlfriend is a T-Rex (which you can also buy on Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com.
Read More... | Souce: Seven Seas Entertainment
Category > Anime
UK anime fans eager to see the second part of The Ancient Magus Bride will be pleased to hear that Manga Entertainment UK have announced a release date of 3rd June 2019 for the UK and Ireland.
You can read our review of part 1 (we really enjoyed it). You can also pre-order The Ancient Magus Bride Season 1 Part 2 on DVD and Blu-ray from Amazon.co.uk.
Part two continues the adventures of Chise and Elias with more dark fairy tail / folklore magic along with a revelation about about Joseph / Cartaphilus. If you enjoyed part one, you will enjoy part two as well!
Read More... | Souce: Manga Entertainment UK
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.
Read More... | Souce: Crunchy Roll
Category > Anime
Manga Publisher Seven Seas Entertainment have just announced 3 new license acquisitions that'll arrive in shops in the final months of 2019. They've got Dance in the Vampire Bund: A.S.O. Volume 1 which will hit shelves on October 8th 2019. ASO stands for Age of Scarlet Order and continues the adventures of Mina and Akira. They'll also be re-releasing the original Dance in the Vampire Bund manga volumes in digital format in 2019.
If you fancy some fashionable cooking manga with a twist then Gal Gohan could be the title for you. Volume 1 will be out on December 10th 2019 on print and digital.
Finally they'll also be releasing the Kickstater hit ROADQUEEN: Eternal Roadtrip. The manga-style Girls' Love/yuri graphic novel about motorcycles and romance will be released in print and digital on October 8th 2019.
Read More... | Souce: Seven Seas Entertainment
Category > Anime
The good folks from anime distributors Anime Limited have announced that they'll be releasing an Ultimate Edition of Satoshi Kon's psychological thriller Perfect Blue. Anime Limited normally have different grades of releases, for them a collectors edition generally has a nice artbook and maybe a soundtrack, all nicely packaged in a special box of some kind. While to earn the badge of ultimate edition, they generally go a lot further. This release includes a 48 page companion book, the complete storyboard book (which is a huge 384 pages), plus a CD soundtrack. Both books are A4 size which means the box will also be A4 size.
They've also included a new remaster of Perfect Blue on blu-ray. Anime Limited say "this Blu-ray is different as it's a brand new remaster of the film! This remaster - which you won't have seen in any cinema or other home video release before - improves on the overall visual quality of the film, giving you a new viewing experience that really show off its direction and composition as is befitting of such an important film."
The release is due out on Monday 29th April 2019.
The set retails for £99.99, but is exclusive to Anime Limited and Zavvi who both have it pre-order for £89.99.
Pre-order from Zavvi.com
Pre-order from Anime Limited
If you're curious about this amazing classic you can read our review of the 2017 cinema screening too.
Souce: Anime Limited
Category > Anime
UK based fans of Mamoru Hosoda's latest hit movie Mirai will be pleased to hear that Anime Limited have made the title available for pre-order on Amazon.co.uk. The Oscar nominated movie will be available from Monday May 27th 2019. The film follows the domestic life of 4 year old Kun and the upheaval that occurs when his little sister Mirai arrives, as a new born baby and then as a time traveller from the future!
It'll be released as a special Collectors Edition Combi, Standard Edition Blu-ray and Standard Edition DVD.
If did get a chance to catch the movie when it was in the cinemas last year, then now's your chance get it on DVD or Blu-ray. We really enjoyed Mirai and think it's an excellent family film. It's a rare joyful movie that has plenty of rewatch value. We've said it's an instant classic, and we'll say it again. If you want to know more then why not read our review of Mirai?
Souce: Anime Limited
Category > Anime
Since 2007 the Japanese Embassy in the UK have been running an annual competition Manga Jiman where you get to demonstrate your skills as a manga artist. The Embassy always takes the competition seriously hosting an excellent awards ceremony and offering generous prizes in conjunction with their sponsors such as return flights to Japan, laptops and digital cameras. 2018 was no different and as always the quality of entrants is high.
Last week at the Japanese Embassy in London they announced the winners. Elizabeth Garwood took first place with A.R.C - 01, Aamir Zaheer won second place with his entry Genie's New Lamp and third place was award to Karen Jiyun Sung with New Home.
You can see all the winners at the Japanese Embassy in the UK in London until Thursday 28th March 2019. It's Open weekdays 09:30 - 17:30, closed weekends. Entry is free, but photo ID is necessary to gain access to the embassy. If you're in London and have the time to pop in it's worth checking out the artwork to see the current crop of up and coming UK based manga artists.
Read More... | Souce: Embassy of Japan in the UK
Category > Anime
The good folks from Manga Entertainment UK have just announced that their latest cinema offering Dragon Ball Super: Broly has broken the £1 million box office mark. This significant milestone means that only Spirited Away has achieved a greater UK box office.
You can still catch the movie in a cinemas around the UK or you could pre-order it on DVD or Blu-ray.
Read More... | Souce: Manga Entertainment UK
Arrow Films are keen to tell us about some classic nightmare fuel they're releasing. To celebrate the 20th Anniversary of Ring a special restoration of the film will be showing across the UK from Friday 1st March 2019. They've also got a showing at London's Prince Charles Cinema 21st February 2019.
The iconic horror movie has so many classic elements, urban myths and a more modern take on the chain letter. The iconic image of Sadako crawling out of a TV is burnt into Japanese pop culture on it's release.
You can find a screening near you by visiting the official UK Ring website.
If you want to watch it at home Ring will also be released on Monday 18th March 2019 on Digital, DVD, Blu-ray, Limited Edition Steelbook, and Limited Edition Collection featuring Ring, Ring 2, Ring 0 and Spiral.
You can pre-order the Limited Edition Collection Blu-ray now from Amazon.co.uk, which features a ton of content featuring Ring, Ring 2, Ring 0 and Spiral, plus a limited edition 60-page booklet containing new writing by Violet Lucca, Alexandra Heller-Nicholas, Jasper Sharp, Kieran Fisher and Kat Ellinger. They're also got Limited Edition Blu-ray Steel Book of Ring.
If you don't like Blu-rays in Steelbooks they've also got the regular blu-ray (that's currently priced the same as the steel book) or the film on DVD.
Read More... | Souce: Arrow Films
Category > Anime
While the latest Dragon Ball Super Movie - Dragon Ball Super: Broly movie is doing well at cinemas around the UK, it's distributor Manga Entertainment UK have just dropped us a message to tell us about the UK blu-ray release. The movie will be released as a special Limited Edition Blu-ray in the UK on 27th May 2019.
You can pre-order the title from Zavvi.
Read More... | Souce: Manga Entertainment UK
Category > Anime
Manga publisher Seven Seas Entertainment have just sent a reminder about I Want to Eat Your Pancreas. The movie hits cinemas around the US soon. They're keen to remind us that they've recently released the original light novel and it's manga adaptation in print and digital platforms. The weepy romantic story has a legion of fans and we're eager to see it too.
As always you can buy the original light novel from Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com. The manga is also available from Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com.
If you want to keep track of other release dates we suggest you check our out sister site the Otaku Calendar, which lists events and release dates of interest to anime and manga fans.
Read More... | Souce: Seven Seas Entertainment
Category > Anime
UK fans of Dragon Ball Super, will be very excited to hear about the Dragon Ball Super: Broly movie. The good folks at Manga Entertainment UK have gone all super saiyan and have told us the movie will be now be screening on giant IMAX screens around the UK from Friday 25th January 2019. If you're into the anime adaptation of Akira Toriyama's smash hit then you'll want to find out if your nearest IMAX is showing this shonen anime feature film.
Just a quick word of warning, some keen fans have been very enthusiastic about sharing their movie experience on social media. This is a good thing. However please don't take photos (or video footage) during a cinema screening as this can get you removed from the venue. If you want to share your love for this movie, please take a photo by the movie poster, or of your ticket (maybe covering your seat number) or by the screening listings cinemas have.
Read More... | Souce: Manga Entertainment UK
Category > Anime
A new year marks a new load of releases from manga publisher Seven Seas Entertainment. They've sent us a ton of press releases telling us all about them. Rather than spread them across a dozen pages, here's the full list:
Read More... | Souce: Seven Seas Entertainment
Category > Anime
The good folks from Manga Entertainment UK have sent us the release details for Overlord II. The title will be avaiable as a special collectors edition exclusively from Zavvi. It's out from 25th February 2019. It includes content on DVD and Blu-ray along with a 40 page artbook, some art cards and a fabric poster.
Overlord forms part of the whole reincarnated/transported in another world (isekai) genre. Momonga is a player for a MMORPG soon to be shutdown, staying on-line as the game servers are shut down he finds himself reborn as the skeletal lich character he used to play. Trapped in this new world the comedy adventure begins and season 2 continues the adventures. If you like D&D or a good RPG and want something like that with anime, comedy and adventure Overloard is a good start.
Read More... | Souce: Manga Entertainment UK
It's 2019 and a new year marks a new cinema season from The Japan Foundation. This year The Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme 2019 has the theme of People Still Call It Love, covering Passion, Affection and Destruction in Japanese Cinema.
The screenings will kick off at the ICA in London, then go around the UK. As always they've got an exceptional amount of Japanese cinema to indulge in, whatever you fancy chances are you'll find something you like and discover something new and exciting for your films to watch this year.
Anime fans will want to book tickets for Penguin Highway, the quirky award winning story from the mind of Tomihiko Morimi who also wrote the lovely The Night is Short, Walk on Girl and the fabously enjoyable tanuki family comedy-drama The Eccentric Family. This movie is directed by Hiroyasu Ishida and features a town coping with the sudden unexpected influx of penguins. Just by the description alone it sounds a lot like a story from Tomihiko Morimi.
There are 18 films in total to enjoy, so check out the tour programme and find something that takes your fancy.
As always we advise you book early to avoid disappointment.
Read More... | Souce: The Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme 2019
Category > Anime
Manga Entertainment UK have just sent us the home video release details for My Hero Academia: Two Heroes. The movie is due out on DVD, Blu-ray and Limited Edition Blu-ray Steelbook from Monday 8th April 2019.
The movie follows Deku and his classmates as they're invited to hero expo on a special research island fortress city called I-Island. Of course being My Hero Academia and such an important event, villains show up and All Might's protégé has to save the day.
As always you can pre-order it from Amazon.co.uk now.
You can also read our review of the movie from the recently cinema screenings.
We're very amused with Manga's genius tag line for this "Go Plus Ultra from your sofa!".
Read More... | Souce: Manga Entertainment UK
Category > Manga
The good folks from manga publisher Seven Seas Entertainment have sent us a little reminder about their release of the Dragon Half Omnibuses. As of this week, they've released the third and final volume of the series for print and digital. This completes the manga adventures of half dragon girl Mink. The anime is well known in certain circles of anime fandom. It's held dear by a generation of fans who were captivated by it's ridiculous version of Beethoven's Symphony No. 7, 4th movement as ending song My Omelette, along with a wacky story overall.
Mink has a crush on dreamy idol Dick Saucer (this is not a typo), who happens to be a dragon slaying knight, which happens to be a problem when you're a half dragon girl. Hilarity ensues.
As always you can order the books from Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk
Read More... | Souce: Seven Seas Entertainment