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Human Versus Machine Japanese Translation Mini Battle

Date: 2024 May 09 20:06 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Manga

The manga tech start up Orange Inc recently raised over 19 million USD in funding for machine translated manga. We were quite intrigued because machine translation hasn't always worked out in the past for manga titles. One recent example was the Ranking of Kings Manga that had to be pulled because the quality of the translations were so poor. What's worse was the lack of quality control from everyone involved in the publishing of the title.

As we were curious, we reached out to some professional translators to ask their opinions on the current state of translation.

Read More... | Souce: Otaku News

Manga Tech Startup Orange, Inc. Raises JPY 2.9B (USD 19.5M) in Pre-Series A Financing

Date: 2024 May 09 20:06 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Manga

The people from manga tech start up Orange, Inc have sent us details about their latest fundraising. They've managed to get JPY 2.92 billion (approximately USD 19.5 million* ) fundraising in pre-series A financing.

The company pitches itself as a a manga localization technology company that uses deep learning models to translate manga. In a web comic they explain how it's not cost effective to get humans to translate the bulk of manga published in Japanese. As a result they claim less than 2% of Japanese manga has been translated.

The pitch also says they'll have skilled translators polish the output, while in reality, for a translator it's actually easier to translate directly than to tidy up machine translated text.

Machine translation does have it's place. It's frequently (and successfully) used to translate text with a consistent context, such as instruction manuals and technical documents. This text is often very dry, but also very limited in scope with fixed and repeated text. Once a human has corrected it the machine model can then use the preferred translation for that expression again and again, which makes sense in an instruction manual.

Manga however is a creative endeavour and as a result the translations have a very wide scope. Translators have to be creative, who is speaking? What's their background? What mood are they in? What's the context of what they're saying? Is it a pun? Are they speaking formally? Do they have a regional accent? This and many other factors have to be taken into account words don't always have a one to one mapping, as context and intent makes manga translation an art form unto itself.

We're reminded In an industry where companies are trying to lower translation costs at the expense of translators wages, it can make it difficult to earn money as a freelance translator when companies are trying to race to the bottom.

We're thinking if you gave the Otaku News Team 2.92 billion JPY, we wouldn't publish as much manga as Orange Inc are intending to, but we'd pay our translators, letters and other production staff a decent wage. So if any companies looking to send us almost 19.5M USD to publish, then please do get in touch. We've got a list of manga we'd like to license and translate!

On a more serious note, we reached out to a few professional translators to ask their opinion on the Orange Inc News and machine translation in general. We also got them to do a translation mini battle.

Akira Toriyama Manga Legend and Creator of Dragon Ball Dies at 68

Date: 2024 March 08 07:34 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Current Affairs

It's been announced today on X (the site formally known as Twitter) and on the official Dragon Ball site that Akira Toriyama passed away on 1st March 2024 due to acute subdural hematoma. He was 68 years old.

It's a massive understatement to call Toriyama a legend, the popularity and influence of the Dragon Ball Series by itself is huge. He's also had success with other projects including the artwork and character design for video games Dragon Quest and Chrono Trigger. The up coming game based on his work Sand Land is due to be released on multiple formats this April too.

You can read the official statement from the Dragon Ball Official Website, BBC News, The Guardian also pretty much every news outlet has an obituary of some kind.

Akira Toriyama work was iconic and his passing will surprise many fans around the world. As news of his death spreads around internet many industry professionals are posting condolences and also admit that it's because of him they first got into manga and anime in the first place.

Souce: Dragon Ball Offical

Studio BONES Turns 25! Crunchyroll Produces Documentary to Celebrate

Date: 2024 February 12 19:45 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

The good folks from streaming giant Crunchyroll have sent us details of a new Studio BONES Documentary. The celebrate the anniversary Crunchyroll have produced a new 4 part documentary to capture the history behind such hits including Cowboy Bebop: Knockin' on Heaven's Door (the Cowboy Bebop Movie), My Hero Academia, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, and much more.

BONES 25: Dreaming Forward will be available from Tuesday 13th February 2024 and will coincide with the launch of Studio BONES new anime, Metallic Rouge.

You can check out a trailer of the documentary on YouTube.

The Garden of Words Stage Play Review

Date: 2023 August 22 16:57 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Features

The stage play adaption of The Garden of Words is now hitting the theatre. Set to run from Thursday 10th August until Saturday 9th September 2023 at London's Park Theatre. We've been following the progress of this play since it was announced a few years ago, so were naturally keen to catch a performance on stage.

Read More... | Souce: Otaku News

The Garden of Words London Stage Play Details Summer 2023

Date: 2023 June 01 19:46 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Events

We've just received details from Whole Hog Theatre and Park Theatre who will present the world premiere stage adaptation of The Garden of Words, which is based the anime by acclaimed director Makoto Shinkai (best known for your name and the just released Suzume)..

We've covered details about the play before, but it's always worth reminding people about this production and that you can catch it this Summer 2023. The more detailed press release reveals information about cast and crew.

Like the anime the play explores the bond between two social misfits in a Japanese garden. It sets out to adapt the story further in a live action setting by combining puppetry, movement, and projection art. The production delves into themes of loneliness and longing, a signature of Shinkai's works. After its London run, the play will have its Japanese premiere in Tokyo. The show will be performed at Park Theatre in Finsbury Park, North London, UK, from 10th August 2023 to 9th September 2023 with ticket prices ranging from £10 to £44.50.

Garden of Words Stage Production To Hit London This Summer 2023

Date: 2023 May 09 19:24 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

London's Park Theatre have just announced their Summer and Autumn line up. Anime fans will be very interested in the stage adaptation of Makoto Shinkai's Garden of Words. Originally it was set to run in August 2020, however COVID-19 prevented it happening. This time it's back and scheduled to run from Thursday 10th August until Saturday 9th September 2023.

Based on the original anime by blockbuster director by Makoto Shinkai (best known for your name and the just released Suzume). It tells the story of a meeting in a Japanese garden, with two people both out of sorts having a melancholy change encounter.

It's been adapted for the stage by Whole Hog Theatre, who are no strangers to bringing anime to theatre. They created a truly excellent stage version of Princess Mononoke.

We've been waiting since 2019 to see the stage version of Garden of Words, so naturally we're very keen to catch this summer in London.

What's on NHK World?

Date: 2023 January 29 13:05 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime > TV

Being a fan of anime, manga and Japanese stuff in general it's always good to find a great source of content. Most fans will hunt on DVDs and blu-rays for those extra features, read magazines and articles and various bonus features included in books and so on. They'll even read websites like this one, but one resource that we find that is frequently overlooked is NHK World.

NHK is the national state broadcaster for Japan. NHK World is it's international arm. It's content is available in a selection of languages including either dubbed into English or in Japanese with English Subtitles. The service is free to access and is available on a wide range of satellite and cable providers in the US, UK and further afield. You can also watch it free and legally on the website or app that's offered on many platforms including iOS (iPhone and iPad), Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Android, Roku and more. You can watch the live broadcast or the video on demand service.

A lot of the content there is excellent for anime and manga fans.

Read More... | Souce: Otaku News

My Neighbour Totoro Stage Play Review

Date: 2022 November 13 14:07 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Features

When The Royal Shakespeare Company announced that they were doing a live action stage play of My Neighbour Totoro, we got very excited. It had all the hallmarks of something great! It was done in collaboration with The Royal Shakespeare Company, Improbable and Nippon TV. Joe Hisaishi, composer and long term Studio Ghibli collaborator, is the executive producer tasked by Totoro director Hayao Miyazaki to bring his much loved and highly influential film to the stage. If this wasn't enough, Jim Henson's Creature Shop was brought in to create all the puppets for this production!

Read More... | Souce: Otaku News

Pantopia - Figure and Animation Project

Date: 2022 September 04 14:15 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Retail

We've just been sent some details about Plantopia a collaboration between Japan's anime figurine makers - Good Smile Company, Max Factory - and anime producers Twin Engine (with credits that include Vinland Saga).

Plantopia is set to be a figure driven anime series, with lots to offer fans who like collecting detailed figures.
They've set up a Kickstarter so you can read more and make a contribution if you like.

An Interview with Belle Virtual World Designer Eric Wong

Date: 2022 June 29 19:52 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Interviews

The amazing anime film Belle is out on home video this week (from Monday 27th June 2022). To celebrate it's release we got in touch with Eric Wong, the designer of Belle's virtual world of "U". Wong, a full time architect, was asked by Oscar-nominated, visionary director Mamoru Hosada to create the virtual world "U" that provides the backdrop for the film BELLE. Wong sketched out his dazzling "U" world during his daily commute, creating a labyrinthine wonder for this timely re-imagining of the classic Beauty and the Beast tale, the story of Suzu, a country girl who becomes a music sensation in the virtual world of "U" with the mesmerising avatar Belle.

Thanks to the good folks at Anime Limited we were able to ask Eric some questions behind what it takes to create a virtual world while existing in the real one.

Read More... | Souce: Otaku News

Mamoru Hosoda's Belle English Language Dub Cast Announced

Date: 2021 December 16 20:49 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime > Film

The good folks from anime company Anime Limited have just sent us details of the dub cast for Belle. The English language dub features the voice talents of Chace Crawford (The Boys, Gossip Girl), Manny Jacinto (Nine Perfect Strangers, The Good Place), and Hunter Schafer (Euphoria). In her first lead role Kylie McNeill is cast as Suzu and her digital alter-ego Belle.

Not only have they got a variety of voice talent for the dub they've who also recorded English-language versions of the film's soundtrack under the supervision from the film's original music team including Taisei Iwasaki, Takayuki Chiyo, and Ludvig Forssell. As singing is a key part of the movie this makes sense. It's great to see that the dub production team are going to these lengths.

Mamoru Hosoda's latest cinematic outing tells the story of country girl Belle, who becomes an online singing sensation in the virtual world of "U". It's a reinterpretation of Beauty and the Beast, with it's own modern digital take. We've been lucky enough to see it, and can only describe it as "perfection".

Read More... | Souce: Anime Limited

Azuki The New Digital Manga Service

Date: 2021 June 18 20:28 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Manga

It's just been announced that from Monday 28th June 2021, a new legal digital manga service will be launched. Azuki, named after the red bean often used in sweet treats promises to be a new digital manga cafe. It'll be launched on Web, iOS, and Android.

The service will deliver hundreds of manga after they hit stores in Japan It will offer content for both free and subscription users. With free users able to access select chapters with ads, while pay monthly subscribers can pay $4.99 (USD) to read the catalogue without any ads.

The service will be available worldwide in English (excluding Japan). They've currently got a publishing partnership with Kodansha USA Publishing. Titles currently include Attack on Titan, Tokyo Revengers, Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card, Chi's Sweet Home, Fairy Tail, Flying Witch, Gleipnir and many more.

At 5 dollars a month, the service pays for itself after reading the first volume. It promises high quality content and it's great to be able to officially support manga publishers this way. We're looking forward to trying out the service in a few weeks.

It's interesting how official manga subscription services are getting more competition. Viz Media has it's own Shonen Jump Manga & Comics app for $1.99 (USD) a month, which is a must if you want some Chainsaw Man or My Hero Academia. While similar competitor Mangamo has a similar partnership with Kodansha and also charges $4.99 (USD) a month.

While anime streaming service Crunchyroll also has it's own official manga service.

Mamoru Hosoda and Studio Chizu's Belle Acquired by Anime Limited

Date: 2021 June 16 19:04 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

The good folks from Anime publishing company Anime Limited have just sent us details about their most recent acquisition - Belle, the latest film from Mamoru Hosoda and Studio Chizu. Previous works include the absolutely fanatic Mirai, Summer Wars, Wolf Children, The Girl Who Leapt Through Time and The Boy and the Beast.

The movie follows familiar Hosoda themes of other worlds and cyber space with Suzu a 17 year old high school girl who enters the virtual world of U. There she becomes Belle, a world-famous singer. She soon meets with a mysterious creature. Together, they embark on a journey of adventures, challenges and love, in their quest to become who they truly are.

The movie has a top range of talent in production and we're very excited about this. We always enjoy a Mamoru Hosoda movie and we're certain this one will deliver!

Anime Limited have announced they've acquired all distribution rights to the film for the UK and Ireland. They'll have a cinema release, and no doubt a home video release in the not too distant future too.

Read More... | Souce: Anime Limited

Key Stateside Crunchyroll Talent Joins UK's Anime Limited in Expansion Move

Date: 2021 April 15 21:05 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

The good folks at anime distributors Anime Limited have just sent us details of their new hire and key leadership promotion.

The anime firm have announced that they've hired Miles Thomas as their new Chief Marketing Officer. Miles was previously at the anime streaming giants Crunchyroll for 8 years making waves as he expanded their social media network and setup the Editorial Programming department. He brings his industry and domain knowledge to an already strong firm.

Internally there's been a bit of a restructure with Jessica Poce having also been appointed Chief Operating Officer and Kerry Kasim has been promoted from her position as VP Marketing to the role of General Manager, UK and Ireland.

The details of the expansion plan aren't fully explained in the press release, they hint at expanding to other territories and verticals. Reading in-between the lines we're guessing they intend to expand their music offerings and maybe their streaming services, but we're just inferring this from their press release.

It's interesting to see the next stage in the anime industry as Manga Entertainment fades away as it gets absorbed into Funimation, which in turn also owns Crunchyroll.

Anime Limited has always had excellently presented releases. Their collectors and ultimate editions always contain a ton of extra content and are fantastically packaged (we're eager to get our hands on their upcoming release of Violet Evergarden). They've also always been good at cinema releases, bringing Your Name and Mirai to name a few to the big screens. Anime Limited have also gone the extra mile at events as they tend to bring guests from Japan to events like the MCM London Comic Con. We hope they continue with these core strengths as they expand and are interested to see what they've got planned.

Read More... | Souce: Anime Limited

An Interview with Sara Linsley Manga Letterer

Date: 2020 December 14 20:51 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

Localising manga is more than just buying the rights and getting it translated, there's also sorts of factors to consider to bring it to market. While people often consider the translation there's another part of the localisation process to consider, the letterer! All the words you read on the page aren't just magically put into place, there's actually a lot of art and craft to lettering a manga page. So we thought we'd catch up with a manga letterer to find out more about the process.

Sara Linsley is a software developer and comic book letterer living in NYC, she has done lettering for manga including Sweat and Soap, Spoof on Titan, LDK and Yamada-kun and the Seven Witches. Recently she's also just released a font of her own intended for manga use! We thought we'd catch up with Sara over e-mail to find out how letterer can make or break a good localisation.

Read More... | Souce: Otaku News

Sony Buys Crunchyroll for $1.175 Billion USD

Date: 2020 December 10 21:14 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

The news is out! Streaming anime platform Crunchyroll have just been bought by Sony for $1.175 billion (USD). In their corporate structure Sony will put Crunchyroll as part of the Funimation Global Group.

This means Sony now own a substantial amount of the English speaking distribution companies, in the UK they own Manga Entertainment UK along with Funimation UK and in Australia they own Madman Anime Group (which was a part of Madman Entertainment) and in the US they own Funimation.

Crunchyroll's General Manager Joanne Waage says:

"We are excited to embark on this new journey. Crunchyroll has built a world-class brand with a passionate fan-base of over 3M subscribers, 50M social followers and 90M registered users. These amazing fans have helped to propel anime into a global phenomenon,

"Combining the strength of the Crunchyroll brand and the expertise of our global team with Funimation is an exciting prospect and a win for the incredible art form of anime."

Lots of people are publishing their own opinion on this acquisition. At Otaku News our own opinion on this is neutral to negative. We've been hearing whispers of this deal for at least a month. Funimation now have a large chunk of the English speaking anime distribution market and a monopoly of anime streaming services. Worldwide their competition includes Netflix which have been releasing some truly excellent and innovate anime recently. Also consider Amazon Video who do have some good titles such as Vinland Saga but is limited and discovery of decent anime on the Amazon platform is difficult at best.

Additionally less competition generally means less innovation and a lower likelihood of beating their rivals offerings. So those nagging issues with video play back on certain versions of certain players might not be prioritised to fix any more. The question remains what will happen now that Funimation has two streaming platforms with their own Funimation offering and Crunchyroll. Will they be merged under one brand? Will they be kept separate and the technology consolidated? When such technology platforms get merged, it isn't always the best platform that wins, there could be other internal considerations that don't always present as a good result to end users.

Will all the Funimation titles be ported across to Crunchyroll now or vis-versa? Will some titles where the streaming rights are owned by other companies be pulled from Crunchyroll now they're owned by a rival? What will happen to staff with duplicated roles in both companies? At this stage it's all speculation and we'll have to wait and see how it turns out.

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.

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.

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

Anime Limited Acquires Latest Masaaki Yuasa Film INU-OH

Date: 2020 June 19 19:53 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime > Film

We're all excited about Anime Limited's latest announcement. They've acquired the rights to the latest Masaaki Yuasa film INU-OH for the UK, Ireland and France.

Anime Limited have previously released Masaaki Yuasa other excellent features including Ride Your Wave, Lu Over the Wall, and The Night is Short, Walk on Girl.

Character design for the film is by manga artist Taiyo Matsumoto, who has worked with Masaaki Yuasa before on Ping Pong. You may also be familiar with Matsumoto's other works Tekkonkinkreet and the slice of life series Sunny.

The movie will be hitting cinemas sometime in 2021.

If you're interested in reading more about his past works we interviewed Masaaki Yuassa a few years ago last time he was in London.

Read More... | Souce: Anime Limited

Anime Special of BFI Sight & Sound Magazine Out This Week

Date: 2020 May 27 21:01 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

A quick reminder to our readers as part of the BFI JAPAN 2020 Season the BFI's magazine Sight & Sound has just published an anime special as it it's latest issue. The June 2020 bumper anime issue includes plenty of articles by anime experts, including Jonathan Clements, Helen McCarthy, Jasper Sharp and many more.

The issue is out now you can buy a print issue, get the digital edition or subscribe to the magazine.

To be honest even though it's packed with great content they had us with the Totoro cover!

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.

Never-Ending Man: Hayao Miyazaki UK Blu-ray/DVD Combi Release Details

Date: 2020 March 21 22:17 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

The good folks from Anime Limited have revealed the UK release details for Never-Ending Man: Hayao Miyazaki on Blu-ray and DVD (combi). The documentary shot over two years charts legendary anime directory Hayao Miyazaki creating his first CG animation.

We've seen the broadcast version on NHK World and it's certainly worth watching as it shows the behind the scenes creative processes. There's lots of little gems in this. Subtle moments you might miss too. There's a great moment where Miyazaki draws a storyboard for the CG team to use and they're clearly amazed by the quality and draughtsmanship of something that's supposed to be a very rough piece of work.

Miyazaki is famed for founding Studio Ghibli, where he created many of his movies including Spirited Away, Totoro, Howl's Moving Castle, and many more. They can currently be enjoyed on Netflix.

The feature is due out on Monday 13th April 2020. You can pre-order it directly from Anime Limited or from Amazon.co.uk.

Read More... | Souce: Anime Limited

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.

Call For Papers - Anime and Manga Fandom Before the Year 2000

Date: 2020 February 09 11:09 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Culture

Readers in academic circles may be interested to hear about this call for chapter proposals. It's for a book devoted to archival research in anime and manga fandom before the year 2000. Co-edited by anime and manga expert Helen McCarthy and Dr. Darren-Jon Ashmore, Professor of Anthropology, Yamanashi Gakuin University.

Helen McCarthy tells us "Independent scholars are welcome to submit, you don't have to be attached to an institution, anime and manga don't have to be your primary areas of study if you are. We're really keen to get new thinking and rigorous archival research"

Details can be found on https://cfplist.com/CFP/25594.

Souce: CFP List

Interview with Eunyoung Choi, producer and co-founder at Science SARU about Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken!

Date: 2020 January 17 07:03 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

We're currently really enjoying anime studio Science SARU's latest show Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken!. It's a delightful series that really captures of the passion, joy and excitement of being anime fan. Not only that, but it enthusiastically explains what makes certain anime titles so great.

Along the for the imaginative ride it takes us on we were keen to find out more. The good folks at anime streaming service Crunchyroll helped us by sending us an interview with Eunyoung Choi who is producer and co-founder of Science SARU. They've even let us publish the interview ahead of their news letter.

An Interview with Anime Directors Shinichiro Watanabe and Motonobu Hori

Date: 2019 November 09 17:06 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

MCM Comic Con London and Anime Limited frequently team up to bring great guests to the event. MCM Comic Con London October 2019 was no exception, with not one, but two guests of honour - anime directors Shinichiro Watanabe (best known for Cowboy Bebop) and Motonobu Hori a rising star in the anime industry.

We caught up with the two directors at MCM Comic Con London to talk about their latest project the fanatic Carole & Tuesday.

Read More... | Souce: Otaku News

The Garden of Words the Stage Play by The Whole Hog Theatre Company

Date: 2019 October 14 21:34 | Posted By: Joe

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.

Directors Shinichiro Watanabe and Motonobu Hori to Attend MCM Comic Con London as Anime Guests of Honour

Date: 2019 October 11 20:32 | Posted By: Joe

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.

Kotatsu Japanese Animation Festival 2019

Date: 2019 September 07 11:20 | Posted By: Joe

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.

An Interview with Anime Director Yuichiro Hayashi

Date: 2019 August 23 19:18 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

Anime Limited and MCM Comic Con London always team up and bring great anime guests to the event. May 2019 was no different with anime director Yuichiro Hayashi appearing as Anime Guest of Honour. Best known for his recent work as the director of gambling school anime Kakegurui he has also the director of GARO the Animation. He's also be involved in 2012 CGI anime production of 009 Re:Cyborg.

We caught up with Yuichiro Hayashi at MCM Comic Con London May 2019 to hear what he had to say about Kakegurui and the anime industry.

Read More... | Souce: Otaku News

Anime's Human Machines London Barbican Screening Details

Date: 2019 August 01 21:11 | Posted By: Joe

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!

Tragedy at Kyoto Animation

Date: 2019 July 19 22:09 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

On Thursday 18th of July at 10:30am tragedy struck Kyoto Animation. An arsonist started an explosive fire. The resulting fire killed 33 people and injured 35 others, with most of the victims dying from carbon monoxide posing as a result of the fire. This attack is the deadliest in post war Japan, killing more people than the 1995 sarin nerve gas attacks on the Tokyo Subway system.

Kyoto Animation is affectionately abbreviated to KyoAni. They've produced many hit anime titles including The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, K-On, Full Metal Panic, Free!, Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid and Violet Evergarden. They've had success with movie adaptations of various series plus have created popular movies such as A Silent Voice.

KyoAni are renowned for their animation quality and for producing memorable titles with a gentle charm to them. They are a studio with a special relationship with their staff, the staff hired as salaried employees and not paid by frame like some other animation houses.

There's been an outpouring of grief and support from fans all around the world.

US distributors Sentai and Aniplex have both set up crowd funding campaigns help.

You can read more about this story on:

Souce: NHK World

This is Manga - The Art of Urasawa Naoki

Date: 2019 June 10 21:00 | Posted By: Guest Contributor

Category > Anime

In the window of Japan House in Kensington, a standee of a schoolboy with a baseball cap and backpack beckons. "Hey! Come look at this!" a speech bubble by his head says, inviting you to join him and his two friends inside. The characters have been drawn in the distinctive style of legendary mangaka Urasawa Naoki, and their invitation is for THIS IS MANGA - THE ART OF URASAWA NAOKI, which is open to the public until 28 July 2019.

Read More... | Souce: Otaku News

Manga Exhibition at The British Museum a Review

Date: 2019 June 03 21:27 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

The British Museum have just opened the largest Manga Exhibition outside of Japan. Naturally being keen manga fans we were curious. What was it all about? Was it any good? We were invited by The British Museum to check out the new exhibition and find out for ourselves.

Read More... | Souce: Otaku News

This is Manga - The Art of Urasawa Naoki in London

Date: 2019 June 03 19:49 | Posted By: Joe

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!

Funimation Acquires UK Anime Distributor Manga Entertainment Limited

Date: 2019 May 29 21:00 | Posted By: Joe

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.

My Brother's Husband Manga Artist Tagame Gengoroh in Conversation with Book Curator Haba Yoshitaka at Japan House London

Date: 2019 May 16 20:03 | Posted By: Joe

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.

Director Yuichiro Hayashi to be Anime Limited's MCM London Guest of Honour

Date: 2019 May 03 21:21 | Posted By: Joe

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.

WIRED in Conversation with Urasawa Naoki in London June 2019

Date: 2019 April 13 11:07 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

London manga fans are in for a massive treat this June as Japan House London will be hosting WIRED in Conversation with Urasawa Naoki. The event is set to run on Wednesday 5th June 2019 from 18:30 to 21:30. The talk is ticketed and costs £10. We strongly advise you to book early to avoid disappointment.

Urasawa is known for many excellent manga works including Yawara!, Monster, Pluto and 20th Century Boys. We've already booked tickets to this event and we know a lot of our other readers are very excited about this. It's rare for manga artists to give talks in the UK and it's exceptional that an artist like Urasawa Naoki will be running a live drawing session and explaining his thought process.

Japan House London will also be hosting This is Manga - the Art of Urasawa Naoki from 5th June to 28th July 2019. This exhibit is free introduces Urasawa's ideas from inception through development, with more than 400 original drawings and storyboards on display. Japan House recently ran this exhibit in the US at Japan House Los Angeles.

An Interview with Studio Khara's Hibiki Yoshizaki

Date: 2019 February 19 22:01 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

MCM Comic Con London and Anime Limited always team up to bring excellent guests to the twice yearly London geek event. The October 2018 event was no exception where they invited anime director Hibiki Yoshizaki to be the anime guest of honour. You may have seen his work at Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo (aka Evangelion Q), where he directed the Sakura Nagashi music video (we've also interviewed Paul Cater it's composer). He's also responsible for the rather bouncy music video ME! ME! ME! with Teddyloid and DAOKO.

We were very eager to interview Mr Yoshizaki about his career and he did not disappoint. So read on to find out more.

Read More... | Souce: Otaku News

Mamoru Hosoda's Mirai Gets An Oscar Nomination

Date: 2019 January 26 21:17 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

Mamoru Hosoda's latest movie Mirai has been nominated for an Oscar for Animated Feature Film. It made the the list of final nominees which also includes Incredibles 2, Isle of Dogs, Ralph Breaks the Internet and Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.

Mirai's nomination is significant as it's the first anime film to be nominated that isn't from Studio Ghibli. Hayao Miyazaki's Spirited Away was nominated in 2002 and won the Oscar, being to date the only animated movie from Japan to win the prize.

Studio Khara's Hibiki Yoshizaki to be MCM London Comic Con October 2018 Anime Guest of Honour

Date: 2018 October 03 20:13 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

It's October already, which means MCM London Comic Con's October 2018 run is almost here. As is tradition they've got a great anime guest lined up. The anime guest of honour will be Studio Khara's Hibiki Yoshizaki (whose notable credits include Evangelion, The Dragon Dentist, Japan Anima(tor) Expo).

Anime Limited have just revealed all the details which include a panel and signing session. They'll also be bringing an exhibition of short film ME! ME! ME! to MCM. The signing and exhibition will be free, but the exhibition is for over 18's only due to the mature nature of the exhibition.
MCM London Comic Con is set to run from Friday 26th to Sunday 28th October 2018 at London's Excel Centre.

Read More... | Souce: Anime Limited

First Ever UK Exhibition to Celebrate an Anime Director

Date: 2018 September 17 21:22 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Events

The good folks at anime distributors Anime Limited have just sent us details of the first ever UK exhibition to celebrate The Works of Mamoru Hosoda. The exhibition will run for one week only from Saturday 13th October until Saturday 20th October 2018 in Central London just off Oxford Street at Noho Studios, 46 Great Titchfield Street, London, W1W 7PZ.

The exhibition will also feature a shop, where visitors can purchase merchandise that is to be made available for the first time in the UK. This'll be a great chance to pick up a great selection of goodies.

It'll be open from 10:00 to 18:00. The event is free to enter. If you can get to London in that time frame we suggest you give this excellent exhibition a look in.

This is a perfect refresher to Mamoru Hosoda's world before catching a screening. Mirai will be screened around the UK on 2nd November 2018 for subtitled screenings and 4th November 2018 for dubbed screenings. You can find a screening near you by visiting the official Mirai UK film website.

The film also features at the BFI Film Festival on Sunday 14th October 2018 (the Saturday 13th October screenings have sold out).

If you can't get to London then Scotland Loves Anime will be showing it on Sunday 14th October in Glasgow and Saturday 20th October 2018 in Edinburgh and the Kotatsu Japanese Animation Festival will be showing the film at Aberystwyth on Sunday 21st October 2018.

As always for screenings we advise booking early to avoid disappointment. We also suggest catching this movie on the big screen while you can.

Read More... | Souce: Anime Limited

Kotatsu Japanese Animation Festival 2018 Details

Date: 2018 August 24 20:27 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

Anime fans in Wales are in for a treat this September and October as the Kotatsu Japanese Animation Festival returns for another run of great films. Set to run at Chapter in Cardiff from Friday 28th to Sunday 30th September 2018 and Aberystwyth Arts Centre from Saturday 20th to Sunday 21st October 2018.

Japanese animators Tsuneo Goda and Hirokazu Minegishi from dwarf will be in Cardiff for the festival. They're stop motion animation experts. You may have seen their work on NHK World's charming Domo shorts. They'll be there to present a master class and conduct workshops, plus an autographing signing session.

Of course they'll be showing lots of anime on the big screen. They've got an amazing selection of recent anime including the charming Lu Over the Wall (which we've reviewed here), the emotional Maquia: When the Promised Flower Blooms (again you can read our review here), Mary And The Witch's Flower, along with Ghibli classics Arrietty and When Marnie Was There.

There's so much good stuff something for everyone regardless of your taste in anime. If you like a bit more action you can't go wrong with Tokyo Ghoul (the live action version) or Attack on Titan: The Roar of Awakening.

An Interview with Shouji Gatou Writer and Creator of Full Metal Panic!

Date: 2018 June 10 13:24 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Features

The MCM London Comic Con always has interesting anime guests of honour. This May 2018 was no exception with Shouji Gatou the creator of Full Metal Panic! visiting London as the anime guest of honour. Mr Gatou wrote the original Full Metal Panic! Light Novels and also works as an anime screen writer having worked on the anime version of Full Metal Panic!, Hyouka, The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya and Lucky Star. He also created Amagi Brilliant Park as a light novel, which also became a popular anime series.

We caught up with Shouji Gatou on the Saturday of MCM London Comic Con May 2018 to ask him some questions about his career and his works.

Read More... | Souce: Otaku News

Mamoru Hosoda's Mirai UK Cinema Release Details

Date: 2018 May 24 19:31 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

While the good folks from Anime Limited are getting ready for the MCM London Comic Con this weekend they've still found some time to tell us the UK cinema release date for Mamoru Hosoda's latest movie. Mirai is set to open nationwide around the UK on 2nd November 2018. That date is a while away so details will still be confirmed. They've put all the details up on their new official website www.miraifilm.co.uk.

Read More... | Souce: Anime Limited

Mirai - the first Japanese animation to receive a world premiere at Cannes Film Festival

Date: 2018 April 18 20:11 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime > Film

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

Little Witch Academia Creators to Appear at MCM London Comic Con October 2017

Date: 2017 October 15 15:37 | Posted By: Joe

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.

An Interview with Masaaki Yuasa

Date: 2017 September 29 16:51 | Posted By: Guest Contributor

Category > Features

Cult anime director Masaaki Yuasa was in the UK recently, being eager to quiz him about his two upcoming films Night is Short, Walk On Girl which hits cinemas on 4th October 2017 (visit the official website to find a screening near you) and Lu Over the Wall on 6th December 2017.

Rather than just send anyone to interview this great director, we wanted to send someone we knew who is one of Masaaki Yuasa biggest fans. So we sent Katy.

Read More... | Souce: Otaku News

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