Category > Anime
UK fans of Osamu Tezuka's less mainstream work will be interested to hear about Third Window Film's upcoming release of Animerama: A Thousand and One Nights / Cleopatra. This forms the world's first blu-ray and remastered release of Tezuka's more erotic movies from the late 60's and early 70's. The double disc set is due out on Monday 18th June 2018 and is rated BBFC 15.
The extras bundled with the film make it even more temping including Audio commentaries for both films by Helen McCarthy (anime expert and author of The Art of Osamu Tezuka: God of Manga), plus a new hour long interview with director Eiichi Yamamoto.
You can pre-order the collectors edition on blu-ray and DVD from Amazon.co.uk
Read More... | Souce: Third Window Films
Category > Anime
UK Anime distributors Anime Limited have just revealed the release date for Night is Short, Walk on Girl. The movie is directed by Masaaki Yuasa who also directed The Tatami Galaxy, Lu Over the Wall and Devilman Crybaby.
The Night is Short, Walk on Girl is based on the story written by Tomihiko Morimi, who also wrote The Eccentric Family, The Tatami Galaxy and Penguin Highway.
The story revolves around a night out drinking and the crazy adventures that it entails.
The Night is Short, Walk on Girl is due out in the UK on Monday 25th June 2018 on DVD, Blu-ray and Collectiors Edition Blu-ray set.
We interviewed Masaaki Yuasa when the movie hit UK cinema screens and also ask him about his other latest release Lu Over the Wall.
Souce: Anime Limited
Category > Events
It's May! Which means it's almost time for the MCM London Comic Con. The huge UK geek event is set to run from Friday 25th to Sunday 27th May 2018 at the Excel Centre in London.
As always they've got lots of interesting guests. For anime fans they'll have Full Metal Panic! creator Shouji Gatou. As well as creating the original light novels that became the fan favourite anime show Gatou is an anime screen writer having just scripted Full Metal Panic! Invisible Victory, his screen writing credits include Lucky Star, The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya and Amagi Brilliant Park.
He'll be at the comic con to sign autographs along with taking part in Q&A sessions following screenings of the first episode of Invisible Victory.
Read More... | Souce: MCM London Comic Con
UK Anime fans looking to own My Hero Academia Season 2, Part 2 on DVD or Blu-ray will be pleased to hear that Funimation Entertainment have announced that it'll hit the UK on Monday 11th June 2018.
Extras on the Blu-ray include:
- San Diego Comic-Con: IGN Interview
- Inside the Episodes
- Textless opening & closing songs
Don't forget you can always watch My Hero Academia on Crunchyroll for free (with ads) or pay a subscription to watch new episodes first (and remove ads).
Read More... | Souce: Funimation Entertainment
Category > Anime
Anime is always a way of escaping reality, but it's always fun discovering when anime meets reality. We revealed Fosse Farmhouse was used as the real world location for anime Kinmoza. The Cotswold Bed and Breakfast featured as main character Alice's house.
The story behind Fosse Farm was found to be so interesting by the Bed and Breakfast industry it was awarded AA B&B Story of the Year 2018-19 as part of the Bed and Breakfast Awards.
The panel were impressed by B&B owner Caron's cross cultural adventures promoting British Culture in Japan.
Of course you can buy Kinmoza! Season 1 on Blu-ray from Amazon.co.uk in the UK or Amazon.com for the US.
Season Two - titled Hello! Kinmoza! is available to pre-order from Amazon.co.uk in the UK or buy now from Amazon.com in the US.
You can also get the original manga from Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com.
Don't forget to read our feature about Fosse Farm and Kinmoza.
Read More... | Souce: AA B&B Awards
Anime fans in the UK looking for something to watch on the cinema on Friday 4th May 2018 (yes, Star Wars day), will want to head to a cinema near them to catch a screening of Mary and the Witch's Flower. Produced by Studio Ponoc, founded by Studio Ghibli veterans Yonebayashi and Yoshiaki Nishimura the film is clearly made in the Ghibli mould. The film is adapted from The Little Broomstick by Mary Stewart.
As always we've highlighted this on The Otaku Calendar, so you can keep up to date with screenings and release dates. It even shows in your Google / iOS Calendars if you like too via iCal Feed.
Read More... | Souce: Mary and the Witch's Flower Film Website
Category > Anime
UK Anime distributor Anime Limited always pick up interesting titles. This time around they've just announced they've acquired the rights for Penguin Highway. Based on the novel by Tomihiko Morimi who has a habit of writing quirky and wonderful stories that get adapted into anime such as The Eccentric Family, Night is Short, Walk on Girl, The Tatami Galaxy. The film is directed by upcoming director Hiroyasu Ishida.
As always it's early days yet, but Anime Limited will release the film in 2019.
Read More... | Souce: Anime Limited
The good folks from Anime Distributors Anime Limited have sent us details about Mamoru Hosoda's latest film Mirai which will receive it's World Premiere at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival in May as part of Directors' Fortnight. Significantly this is the first Japanese animation to ever to receive a world premiere on the Croisette.
The film will receive a UK cinema release later in 2018 via Anime Limited and their cinema partners National Amusements.
We've covered Anime Limited's acquisition of Mirai before.
Read More... | Souce: Anime Limited
Category > Press Releases
Readers heading to London will be interested to hear about Japan House. The new venue is set to open on Kensington High Street in 2018. It forms the London hub of an international project to spread the word about how awesome Japan is.
"JAPAN HOUSE is a project which aims to nurture a deeper understanding and appreciation of Japan in the international community, by creating a number of hubs from which to showcase and communicate Japan as a country of countless charms, able to enrich the rest of the world."
"Each hub features an exhibition space, a multi-purpose space with theater facilities, a retail space, food and drink, books, online connectivity, and a cafe space".
To find out more visit their website and sign up to their mailing list, follow them on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram to find out more.
Read More... | Souce: Japan House
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.
Read More... | Souce: Anime Limited
The good folks from Manga Entertainment UK have just sent us the release details for the Pokémon Movie Collection: Diamond & Pearl. It's due out on Monday 21st May 2018, as always you can pre-order the DVD set from Amazon.co.uk.
Read More... | Souce: Manga Entertainment UK
Category > Anime
The good folks at Manga Entertainment UK have sent us details of the up coming release of Ghost In the Shell: Stand Alone Complex on Blu-ray. The limited edition set comes with the whole of the Stand Alone Complex Series, that's Season 1, 2nd Gig (that's season 2), The Laughing Man OVA, Individual Eleven OVA and Solid State Society (the TV movie).
The blu-ray set is limited to 1,000 copies and is out on Monday 4th June 2018.
It also comes with a ton of extras Interviews with Kenji Kamiyama (director), Yoko Kanno (composer), voice actors, writers, mecha designers, animation directors and more. Bundled in is an 140 page in depth book.
Ghost In the Shell: Stand Alone Complex is in our opinion the definitive version of the franchise, while the movie is amazing and ground breaking, SAC feels closer to the original manga, capturing the humour and spirit. You've got Tachikoma's too, you can never get enough robot spider tanks running around. That and well, Yoko Kanno's amazing score for the series. The show also gave anime fandom the iconic Laughing Man Logo. We interviewed the graphic designer behind this logo a while ago.
The set is available for pre-order from Zavvi, currently it's £99 for the whole thing on blu-ray.
Read More... | Souce: Manga Entertainment UK
Category > Anime
Anime fans in the UK looking for a cinema screening in June will be excited to hear about Maquia: When the Promised Flower Blooms. Anime Limited will be bringing the feature film to the UK on Wednesday 27th June 2018 for a nation wide cineam screening.
The film marks Mari Okada's directorial debut. The story in a fantasy land of Iolph where it's people are known for youthful longevity and peaceful lives weaving tapestry. Invaders want the to learn the secrets of their long life and Maquia's life it turned upside down as a result, she embarks on and adventure with Aliel, an orphaned baby boy.
The film is from P.A. Works who are renowned for high quality animation and also the slightly quirky (such as the thoroughly enjoyable The Eccentric Family). You may know their other works Shirobako or A Lull in the Sea.
As always we've already put the details up on the Otaku Calendar to help you keep track of up coming events.
We'll provide further details as and when they're available.
Read More... | Souce: Anime Limited
Category > Anime
The good folks from Funimation Entertainment have given us one copy of My Hero Academia Season 2 Part 1 to give away on DVD. The show hits the shelves on DVD and Blu-ray on Monday 2nd April 2018. So read on to enter our competition!
Read More... | Souce: Otaku News
The good folks from Funimation Entertainment have sent us details of their up coming release of My Hero Academia Season 2 - Part 1. The fan favourite is due out on DVD and blu-ray on Monday 2nd April 2018.
Read More... | Souce: Funimation Entertainment
Category > Cuisine
London foodies in Dalston will be familiar with Jidori the yakitori restaurant. We've just heard they've opened a second branch in Covent Garden. So if you're out in the West End and fancy some high quality yakitori you should have over to 15 Catherine Street, WC2B 5JZ. Why not give their negima a try?!
They also have a karaoke room for private parties!
Read More... | Souce: Jidori
Category > Anime
Netflix have just announced that they'll be showing A Silent Voice. The emotional roller-coaster of a movie adapted from the manga by Yoshitoki Oima it tells the tale of Shoya a boy who bullied Shoko a new deaf girl in his class. As the story unfolds, Shoya realises the error of his ways and seeks out Shoko to apologise and redeem himself a few years later.
We've reviewed the film from it's original theatrical run. If you don't have Netflix you can always get the movie on DVD or blu-ray too.
A Silent Voice is from Kyoto Animation who are renowned for the quality of their output. Their current series Violet Evergarden is currently showing in Netflix in the UK and is proving very popular.
Read More... | Souce: Netflix UK
Anime fans in the UK looking to get some cinematic anime action will want to keep Wednesday 21st March 2018 free. For one day there'll be a special screening of Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion I - Initiation.
The film forms a retelling of the series opening acts and it a great way to get into the series or remind yourself of the series. Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion I - Initiation is the first part of a planned trilogy.
The good folks at Anime Limited are releasing the film around the UK. To find a screening near you head over to http://codegeassfilm.co.uk/.
Read More... | Souce: Code Geass Film Website
Category > Anime
The good folks from UK anime company Anime Limited have just revealed that they will be bringing Mirai to UK Cinemas during 2018. Mirai is the latest film from Mamoru Hosoda the director behind The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, Summer Wars, Wolf Children, along with The Boy and the Beast. The film has yet to be released in Japan. It's early days yet and all the details still need to be confirmed, but Anime Limited intend to release it in UK cinemas sometime during the final quarter of 2018.
We first mentioned the film in May 2017 when the details around the film were first announced.
Mamoru Hosoda are much loved by anime fans. With his productions being of consistently high quality in terms of animation and storytelling. It's probably safe to say, if Mirai is going to be anything like his other features, it's going to be good!
You can already his most recent film The Boy and the Beast on DVD and Blu-ray from Amazon.co.uk.
Manga Entertainment UK have also released a premium Hosoda Collection of his other movies
Read More... | Souce: Anime Limited
Category > Retail
The good people from geeky t-shirt company Genki Gear have just dropped us a line to tell us about their new year sale. Readers can get an additional 15% off using the code happysale in the basket on their website.
Read More... | Souce: Genki Gear
The good folks from Manga Entertainment UK have just sent us their release schedule for Q2 of 2018. They've got a mix of classic shonen action and some new stuff including BLAME!.
April 2018:
Jojo's Bizarre Adventure Season 1
Occultic Nine Volume 1
Dragon Ball Z The TV Specials Double Feature: The History Of Trunks/Bardock The Father Of Goku
Ushio & Tora Complete Series Collection DVD
Naruto Shippuden Complete Series 8 Box Set
Pokemon The Movie 20: I Choose You! Blu-ray Steelbook
May 2018:
Power Ranger Dino Super Charge: Vol 2 Extinction
Naruto Shippuden Box 32
Blue Exorcist: Kyoto Saga Volume 2
BLAME!
Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal Season 3
Read More... | Souce: Manga Entertainment UK
The good folks from Manga Entertainment UK have sent us details of their latest acquisition. BLAME! the CG animated film based on the popular manga of the same name. Originally released as a Netflix exclusive the movie will hit DVD and Blu-ray on Monday 28th May 2018. Manga UK will be partnering with Dybex to distribute the film in the UK, Ireland, France and Benelux.
You can pre-order the DVD and Blu-ray from Amazon.co.uk now.
Read More... | Souce: Manga Entertainment UK
Category > Culture
London based readers looking to get some theatrical culture into themselves will want to head to the Barbican from Thursday 8th to Sunday 11th February 2018 to catch Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui / Bunkamura Theatre Cocoon: Pluto.
The play is based on Naoki Urasawa's manga Pluto, which itself is based on Tezuka's Astroboy. The play combines elements of manga, traditional Japanese Bunraku puppetry, elaborate design and media projection.
It's only running at the Barbican for a few days, so if you're interested we suggest you book now to avoid disappointment.
Read More... | Souce: Barbican
UK Anime fans looking to watch something on the big screen this February will want to find a cinema near them screening Attack On Titan: The Roar of Awakening. The film which is a recap of season 2 will be screened around the UK and Ireland on Wednesday 21st February 2018. The film hits cinemas thanks to the good folks at Anime Limited. To find a screening near you visit Anime Limited's Cinema Screening page.
The film itself is really intended for fans of Attack on Titan as it's a big screen directors cut of season 2 of the show. It's not a stand alone movie. It's great if you've seen season one and want to see the best bits of season 2 or if you just want to enjoy some Titan action on the big screen.
If you can't catch the film on the big screen, you can always get the Blu-ray or DVD of season 2 on Monday 26th February 2018.
Read More... | Souce: Anime Limited
Glasgow based anime fans looking for a premiere film screening will want to go to the Glasgow Film Festival on Sunday 4th March 2018 to catch Maquia: When The Promised Flower Blooms. This is the International Premiere. It'll be coming to cinemas nationwide in March 2018 thanks to the good folks at Anime Limited.
The fantasy anime marks Mari Okada’s directorial debut you may be familiar with her other work she wrote The Anthem of the Heart and the screenplay for Nagi-Asu: A Lull in the Sea. The Anime is produced by P.A. Works who created one of the Otaku News Team's favourite anime series The Eccentric Family.
Read More... | Souce: Anime Limited
UK fans of the Tokyo Ghoul franchise will be interested to hear the news we've been sent from Anime Limited. On Wednesday 31st January 2018 the live action movie of Tokyo Ghoul will be hit select cinema screens. To find out if there's a screening near you visit http://alltheanime.com/cinema.
Read More... | Souce: Anime Limited
UK Anime fans eagerly awaiting to get their hands on the home video release of Attack on Titan Season 2 won't have to wait much longer. The good folks at Funimation Entertainment have sent us details for the UK release on DVD and blu-ray. The hugely popular series will hit UK shelves on Monday 26th February 2018.
The DVD and blu-ray releases are packed with extras including episode commentaries, interviews with original creator Hajime Isayama, plus interviews with staff at Anime Expo 2017.
As always you can pre-order the DVD and Blu-ray from Amazon.co.uk.
Read More... | Souce: Funimation Entertainment
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.
Read More... | Souce: Netflix UK
UK based fans of Japanese cinema looking for something to watch next year will be interested in The Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme. It's set to run from 2nd February to 28th March 2018 around the UK. The theme for this season is (Un)true Colours - Secrets and Lies in Japanese Cinema.
The film programme also includes the anime Sword of the Stranger, which is really worth catching on a nice big cinema screen. If not you can always get it on blu-ray.
There's a great selection of films likely to suit anyone's tastes including Sing My Life a fantasy tale about a 73 year-old grandmother who is magically transformed back to her 20 year old self, so she can pursue her dreams of becoming a singer and make up for her regrets.
While if you fancy something a bit more violent there's also The Mole Song: Undercover Agent Reiji a Yakuza story from director Takashi Miike.
Film screenings like this frequently sell out, so we advise booking early to avoid disappointment.
Read More... | Souce: The Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme
UK readers looking for some violent samurai action based on a great manga will want to look around cinemas near them on 8th December 2017 as that's when Blade of the Immortal hits screens around the UK. The film is directed by Takashi Miike, you may have heard of many of his other films like Ichi the Killer and The Happiness of the Katakuris.
The Blade of the Immortal movie is based on the manga with same name, it follows the adventures of Manji who is cursed with immortality until he can kill 1,000 evil men. The film covers the first 2 story arcs of the manga.
To find a screening near you visit BladeOfTheImmortal.co.uk.
Read More... | Souce: BladeOfTheImmortal.co.uk
UK anime fans eager to own Studio Ghibli's TV show Ronja The Robber's Daughter, will be pleased to hear that it's getting a home video release on Monday 4th December 2017. It's available for pre-order on Blu-ray and DVD from the good folks at Studio Canal.
London based fans with children can also visit the BFI on Sunday 19th November 2017 for a special screening event showing the first 4 episodes of the series. Tickets for this event are selling out quickly, so book while you can if you want to go.
Read More... | Souce: Studio Canal
Category > Press Releases
It's almost time for the MCM London Comic Con! It hits this weekend from Friday 27th October to Sunday 29th October 2017 at London's Excel Centre. Traditionally we post news about what's happening at the event, but this time we're going to post something about the MCM Comic Con itself. MCM Comic Con have been acquired by ReedPOP, the world’s largest producer of pop culture events.
ReedPop are boutique group within Reed Exhibitions, part of RELX Group who are behind events such as New York Comic Con. The press release states that its impact will begin to be seen and felt on all 2018 events. What this impact means exactly remains to be seen.
Forbes have an interesting analysis of the acquisition and the article quotes "Right now we are still in the discovery stage of really getting to know the MCM team and their shows so I don't want to make any assumptions [about operational changes]," said Lance Fensterman, Global Head of ReedPOP.
From a business perspective, if you're looking to gain new markets internationally it makes sense to buy an existing established business. If you're looking to set up a Comic Con in the UK why compete with the biggest when you can become the biggest by buying it? It also means you'll get an established team of event runners. You can observe what they do well and fold it into your other operations too.
Having attended MCM events for years now, we've noticed how they will refine and tweak things to make them better for attendees. Last London Comic Con in May 2017 they had to change the whole entry process and include bag and security checks following the tragic attack in Manchester. They did this at very short notice, we believe they made it work well and whoever was working behind the scenes to make this happen did a stunning job.
MCM London Comic had a over 130,000 people attending the event in May 2017 alone. We must admit we're curious what ReedPop will do to the event.
Read More... | Souce: ReedPOP
UK Anime fans looking for a cinematic treat in November will be pleased to hear about Anime Limited's latest offering of Fireworks. Pitched as a coming of age story with a hint of sci-fi from the director of Nisekoi and Monogatari. It hits cinemas around the UK on Wednesday 15th November 2017.
To find a screening near you visit fireworksmovie.co.uk.
As always we've put the details up on the Otaku Calendar.
Read More... | Souce: Anime Limited
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.
Read More... | Souce: Otaku News
Category > Anime
Anime fans heading the MCM London Comic Con will be pleased to hear that they've got the creators of Little Witch Academia as the anime guests. The fan favourite show is available to watch in the UK on Netflix.
Series director Yoh Yoshinari, series producer Naoko Tsutsumi, producer Katsuhiro Takei and video game producer Yosuke Futami will all be at the MCM London Comic on Saturday 28th and Sunday 29th of October 2017.
The MCM London Comic Con is set to run from Friday 27th to Sunday 29th October 2017.
Read More... | Souce: MCM London Comic Con
UK anime fans will be pleased to hear that the clever folks at Anime Limited have realised that Perfect Blue would make the perfect Halloween night screening. The psychological thriller doesn't just mess with the protagonist, it also messes with your mind in the late great Satoshi Kon's debut film.
The film will screen (and make you scream) for one night only, the night of Halloween on Tuesday 31st October 2017. To find a screening near you visit perfectbluemovie.co.uk.
Traditionally at Christmas time at Otaku News we watch another Satoshi Kon film Tokyo Godfathers to get into the Christmas Spirit. We hope this becomes some kind of Halloween tradition from Anime Limited.
Read More... | Souce: Perfect Blue Movie UK Website
We've just been sent details about Lu over the Wall from the good folks at Anime Limited. The new movie from director Masaaki Yuasa features a heartwarming and magical mermaid tale.
The film will be at the BFI London Film Festival Saturday 14th and Sunday 15th October 2017. You can read more about it on the BFI LFF Website. Tickets will be on sale from Monday 14th September 2017. We advise booking early to avoid disappointment.
The film will be shown nationwide around the UK on Wednesday 6th December 2017.
Masaaki Yuasa's trade mark style includes quick fire dialogue, eccentric and eclectic mix of style story and animation. You may have seen his work before on the cult The Tatami Galaxy.
Read More... | Souce: Anime Limited
Just a quick reminder to fans of anime director Mamoru Hosoda. Studio Canal will be releasing The Boy and The Beast UK DVD and Blu-ray on Monday 4th September 2017. You can read more details here.
Souce: Studio Canal
Category > Events
Anime fans in Wales looking for some fun at the end of September in Cardiff or the end of October in Aberystwyth will want to head over to the Kotatsu Japanese Animation Film Festival 2017. Set to run at Chapter in Cardiff from Friday 29th September until Sunday 1st October 2017 and at the Aberystwyth Arts Centre on Saturday 28th October 2017.
The festival is in partnership with The Japan Foundation.
As always, we've added the details of this event to The Otaku Calendar to help you keep up to date with all the latest events and release dates.
Read More... | Souce: Kotatsu Japanese Animation Film Festival
Category > Events
London based J-Electronic rock and metal band Esprit D'Air have just sent us details of their 2018 tour. They'll be travelling around the UK for 7 dates in February 2018.
They have just released their new single Ignition from their new debut album Constellations.
It's released under their own label Starstorm Records and peaked at #3 on Amazon UK's Hard Rock & Metal albums upon its release.
Read More... | Souce: Esprit D\'Air
Category > Retail
It's August, but the good folks at geeky t-shirt company Genki Gear are already getting excited about the MCM London Comic Con. So much so they've just unveiled an exclusive design with a horror theme.
The design is available to pre-order until the 20th October and can be collected directly from the Genki Gear stand at hte MCM London Comic Con or posted to your home address so you can wear it at the event.
The MCM London Comic Con is set to run on Friday 27th to Sunday 29th October 2017.
Read More... | Souce: MCM London Comic Con
The good folks from Studio Canal have just sent us details the UK DVD and Blu-ray release of The Red Turtle. It's due out in the UK on Monday 25th September 2017.
The movie is produced by Studio Ghibli and directed by Michaël Dudok de Wit who was head hunted especially for the film with Isao Takahata acting as artistic director.
You can read our review of The Red Turtle and our interview with the director.
To be honest this movie is amazing. There's no dialogue, so you won't need to watch it subbed or dubbed. It's very intelligent, it's well animated, it doesn't talk down to you. Given the choice you can watch a few episodes of a long running shonen series or you can spend the time watching something that'll get you thinking.
There subtle things in this film, although there's no real dialogue apart from the occasional grunt, moan or the main character going "heeeeeeeeeeeeey", the attention to detail is stunning. They decided to record the sound of the characters breathing to make it feel more real. Repeat viewings will make you notice details you didn't spot first time around.
As always you can pre-order the DVD and Blu-ray from Amazon.co.uk.
Read More... | Souce: Studio Canal
Category > Anime
We've just heard from the good folks at StudioCanal that Mamoru Hosoda's The Boy and The Beast will finally be heading to DVD and Blu-ray in the UK on Monday 4th September 2017. The movie follows the adventures of Kyuta an abandoned boy who stumbles into the mythical world of beasts where he meets Kumatetsu the brash warrior. Kumatetsu takes Kyuta under his wing (shouldn't that be paw?) and adventure ensues.
You may be familiar with director Mamoru Hosoda other works, which include Summer Wars, The Girl Who Leapt Through Time and Wolf Children. We've seen this film and confirm if you like anything else by Hosoda you'll know exactly what to expect. You'll enjoy this!
As always you can pre-order the DVD and Blu-ray from Amazon.co.uk.
It should be noted that Manga Entertainment UK have announced that they'll be releasing a premium Hosoda Collection of his other movies.
Read More... | Souce: Studio Canal
Category > Events
Fans of 1980's manga in London will want to head over to Orbital Comics from Tuesday 1st to Monday 14th August 2017 to catch an exhibit of original 80's Manga artwork. They'll be showing selected manga originals from the 1980’s slice of life manga series Dokudami Tenement for the first time in the UK.
This is to celebrate the release of the first volume of Dokudami Tenement in English from Black Hook Press. They'll also have a special limited edition Aizoban print for sale during the length of the exhibition.
Read More... | Souce: Orbital Comics
Category > Events
Fans of cult Japanese Cinema and anime in general will be very pleased to hear the news from Manga Entertainment UK that they'll be releasing the new Godzilla Movie - Shin Godzilla across the UK on Thursday 10th August 2017. It's co-directed by Hideaki Anno who is most famous for creating Neon Genesis Evangelion, (but is also know as being a massive tokusatsu fan) and Shinji Higuchi (director of Toho’s 2015 Attack on Titan live action movies). The film was a box office smash in Japan in 2016.
Hideaki Anno's involvement in the film is a perfect choice, as someone who has had giant monsters smash cities before in previous work (even his student films have this element) to join forces with Shinji Higuchi who used traditional tokusatsu speical effects combined with CGI to create the Attack on Titan Live Action movies.
Shin Godzilla literally translates as New Godzilla and will be screened nationally across the UK. To find a screening near you and book tickets, visit shingodzillamovie.co.uk.
Read More... | Souce: Shin Godzilla Movie UK Website
The good folks from Manga Entertainment UK have sent us their Q4 2017 release dates. The release list includes their sister label Animatsu.
There's some good stuff coming up for the end of the year. They've got a great Hosoda Collection in which the works of excellent director Mamoru Hosoda get's a premium release. They'll be releasing The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, Wolf Children and Summer Wars as blu-ray separate sets with various extras deluxe packaging and companion books all bundled in. It's due to hit the shops at the beginning of November 2017 and each box costs about £30. They've yet to release any examples of the box art and packaging (although it's early days yet).
The 20th November 2017 marks the date when Haven't You Heard? I'm Sakamoto hits the shelves, it's a silly and enjoyable comedy.
On 27th November 2017, they'll be releasing fan favourite JoJo's Bizarre Adventure.
Our favourite in the line up is Kinmoza due out 9th October 2017 and the second series Hello! Kinmoza which is due out on 18th December 2017. The show based on a four panel comedy manga follows the very light adventures of Japanese school girl Shino and her English friend Alice who lives with her. We had a world exclusive reveal visiting Fosse Farm, the real life location used for Alice's House, when the show first aired in Japan.
Read More... | Souce: Manga Entertainment UK
Fans of Japanese Cinema in London are in luck, for the Japan Foundation will be hosting a special summer film programme all about food. Over two Saturdays in London, they'll be filling the cinema screens with Japanese movies to get your mouth watering.
This is the third year in a row the Japan foundation have hosting free movies for all, so they've called it Summer Explorers 3. The movies are all free to attend, but booking is required. To book visit www.jpf.org.uk.
Part One is on Saturday 15th July 2017 at the Prince Charles Cinema which will be showing Oyster Factory and Akanezora.
While Part Two is on Saturday 22nd July 2017 at 195 Piccadilly and features Silver Spoon, There Is No Lid on the Sea and A Drop of the Grapevine.
As always we suggest booking early to avoid disappointment.
Read More... | Souce: The Japan Foundation
Category > Cuisine
We've just discovered a crowd sourcing attempt to get a London Sake Brewery going! The catchy named Kanapi London aim to raise £12,500 by Thursday 29th June 2017. They've already hit their original target of £10,000 with 129 supporters.
The sake microbrewery in Peckham intend to make clear and cloudy sake in 330ml bottles.
They're crowd funding to get the first batch to market, scale up and produce more varieties of sake in the future. Pledge tiers include more than booze, you can t-shirts and hot sauce made with the sake.
For the £1,000 top pledge the brewery will visit your house (if it's in London) and host a sake-paired 3-course sake themed meal for 8 people including an award winning sake bomb dessert! If you break it down to a luxury top notch meal for £125 a head that they'll make at your house, that's good value for money. Plus you get to to start up a London sake brewery.
Souce: Kanpai London Craft Sake Brewery Crowdfunder
The good folks from Anime Limited have just revealed that Sky and Now TV Channel Viceland will be airing anime.
They'll be showing Anime Limited titles Cowboy Bebop, Tokyo Ghoul and Eureka Seven, along with MVM Entertainment licensed Samurai Champloo. The block will show anime from midnight. So set your Sky+ Box to record it if you're not a night owl. They'll start airing anime from Monday 17th July.
Viceland is currently available on Sky Channel 153 and Now TV.
Read More... | Souce: Anime Limited
In This Corner of the World wins the Feature Film Jury Award at the 41st Annecy
The good folks from Manga Entertainment UK have sent us details about one of their latest titles. The feature film In This Corner of the World has won the Feature Film Jury Award at the 41st Annecy International Animation Film Festival.
Recently Manga Entertainment UK sent us details announcing that the film was going to compete at the Annecy. Now they're please to announce that it's won one of the coveted awards. The film first caught our interested when we heard it was directed by Sunao Katabuchi who also directed the excellent Mai Mai Miracle.
The film opens in the UK on Wednesday 28th June 2017. If you want watch to catch the movie yourself, you can visit www.inthiscornerfilm.co.uk to find a screening near you.
Read More... | Souce: Manga Entertainment UK
UK based anime fans who missed the super smash hit movie Your Name will want to set a date of Wednesday 23rd August 2017 to catch the movie on the big screen. This time we mean really BIG screen, as they'll be IMAX Screenings of the feature film too.
The Makoto Shinkai movie won critics praise around the world and become a surprise box office smash in Japan and beyond. The IMAX screenings will be in Japanese with subtitles, as currently that's the only version that exists in the colossal IMAX format, while regular sized cinemas will be showing a mix of screenings dubbed into English and in Japanese with English subtitles. We urge you to watch this movie on a cinema screen while you can. It was the anime movie of 2016 and should be seen on a cinema screen to do it justice. An IMAX screening is incredibility rare for an anime title, so if you can catch it there, it's an insanely rare treat. As always we advise you book early for these screenings to avoid disappointment. We also suspect those who have caught it before at the cinema will want to catch it again while they can.
If you want to know more about the film you can read our review of Your Name and our interview with the film's director Makoto Shinkai.
The movie is not out on DVD or blu-ray in the UK yet. As we've mentioned before distributors Anime Limited have set the provisional release date for Monday 30th October 2017. They do however state that this date is likely to change and hopefully they'll be able to release it earlier.
You can pre-order one of 3 editions via Amazon.co.uk.
Your Name on DVD from Amazon.co.uk
Your Name on Blu-ray from Amazon.co.uk
Your Name Collectors Edition on Blu-ray and DVD Combi-pack from Amazon.co.uk
Anime Limited have confirmed at this time they are uncertain if there will be an Ultimate Edition. All editions will contain the movie dubbed in English and in Japanese with subtitles. They've yet to clarify the contents of each edition as it's still early days yet.
Read More... | Souce: Anime Limited