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The First Slam Dunk Movie Review
Date: 2023 August 25 18:41 | Posted By: JoeThe First Slam Dunk Movie is set to bounce into cinemas across the UK from Wednesday 30th August 2023. We were lucky enough to catch it at an advance press screening earlier. We're now able to publish what we think of the film. Is it worth watching? Is it worth watching if you've not encountered any Slam Dunk before? Well read on and out!
Read More... | Souce: Otaku News
The Garden of Words Stage Play Review
Date: 2023 August 22 16:57 | Posted By: JoeCategory > 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
An Interview with Alexandra Rutter Director of the Stage Adaption of The Garden of Words
Date: 2023 July 10 18:59 | Posted By: JoeCategory > Features
Makoto Shinaki's anime The Garden of Words is the story of an out-of-step woman and an offbeat teenager meeting by chance in a Japanese garden. As the kindred spirits bond, the relationship they build could save them or equally ruin them. Melancholy and original the story has just been adapted into a stage play set to run at London's Park Theatre from Thursday 10th August until Saturday 9th September 2023. It's also set to to be staged in Tokyo too.
The play has been adapted by the Whole Hog Theatre who have previously also brought Hayao Miyazaki's Princess Mononoke to stage.
We caught up with Alexandra Rutter, who directed and co-adapted The Garden of Words from the material from the anime and novel. Having been aware of this project since before the COVID-19 pandemic, we were keen to find out more about the production and hear what Alexandra has to say.
Read More... | Souce: Otaku News
An Interview with Makoto Shinkai Director of Suzume
Date: 2023 April 10 19:02 | Posted By: JoeCategory > Anime
Makoto Shinkai's latest movie hits cinemas around North America, UK and Ireland from Friday 14th April 2023. We caught up the with the acclaimed anime director while he was in London to ask him about his new film.
Read More... | Souce: Otaku News
Makoto Shinkai's Suzume Movie Review
Date: 2023 April 10 19:02 | Posted By: JoeCategory > Anime
Makoto Shinkai's latest cinematic offering Suzume hits cinemas from Friday 14th April 2023 in the UK, Ireland and North America. It's released by Crunchyroll. If you're curious about this animated marvel then you'll be pleased to know we've got a review ready for you!
Makoto Shinkai's latest cinematic offering Suzume hits cinemas from Friday 14th April 2023 in the UK, Ireland and North America. It's released by Crunchyroll. If you're curious about this animated marvel then you'll be pleased to know we've got a review ready for you!
If you want to know more about Suzume you can also read our interview with director Makoto Shinkai.
Read More... | Souce: Otaku News
Ballmastrz: Rubicon The Anime An Interview with Christy Karacas
Date: 2023 February 16 19:08 | Posted By: JoeCategory > Anime
Fans of Adult Swim will be aware of Ballmastrz: 9009 an anime inspired animation about THE GAME. The next logical step for the series was to get an anime studio to actually animated it. The result was the special Ballmastrz: Rubicon, animated by Studio 4℃ in Japan (Mind Game, Tekkonkinkreet, Detroit Metal City) with Takashi Nakamura (Robot Carnival, AKIRA, Yatterman, Catnapped!) serving as animation director. Keen to find out more we got in touch with Ballmastrz creator Christy Karacas to talk about this anime space opera.
Ballmastrz: Rubicon arrives Monday, February 20 2023. It premiere at Midnight on Adult Swim and the next day on HBO Max and digital retailers. All episodes of Ballmastrz: 9009 are now available on the Adult Swim hub on HBO Max.
Read More... | Souce: Otaku News
What's on NHK World?
Date: 2023 January 29 13:05 | Posted By: Joe
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
Trigun Stampede Anime Review
Date: 2023 January 06 18:24 | Posted By: JoeCategory > Anime
Highly anticipated new anime series Trigun Stampede hits streaming service Cruchyroll from Saturday 7th January 2023. We were lucky to get a sneak peak of the series and watch the first episode before it's released. So is Vash the same? Is the CGI animation any good? Well read our spoiler free review to find out!
Read More... | Souce: Otaku News
Captain Corinth: The Galactic Navy Officer Becomes an Adventure Manga Release Details and Translator Interview
Date: 2022 December 02 19:34 | Posted By: JoeCategory > Manga
Manga publisher One Peace Books have sent us the details about an up coming release Captain Corinth: The Galactic Navy Officer Becomes an Adventurer. It's an isekai manga with a twist, the space captain Alan Corinth crashes into a world of swords and magic. The manga is based on the popular light novel series. The art for this manga by Tomomasa Takuma while translation is from Laura Egan.
Captain Corinth will be available on December 13th 2022. You can pre-order from Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk and all good booksellers.
Read More... | Souce: One Peace Books
Goodbye, DonGlees! Movie Review
Date: 2022 November 23 20:06 | Posted By: Joe
Goodbye Don Glees is due to hit cinema screens around the UK and Ireland from 30th November 2022.
The anime film is a about a group of friends who have little local adventures they call themselves Don Glees. One day the trio get blamed for a nearby forest fire, so they set off into the woods to prove their innocence. A coming-of-age adventure ensues. We've seen the film and enjoyed it, but enough of that, read our review to find out more!
Read More... | Souce: Otaku News
My Neighbour Totoro Stage Play Review
Date: 2022 November 13 14:07 | Posted By: JoeCategory > 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
One Piece Film: Red Movie Review
Date: 2022 October 30 20:53 | Posted By: JoeCategory > Anime
The new One Piece Film : Red hits cinema screens across the UK and Ireland from Friday 4th November 2022. We've seen it and can tell you all about this great shonen movie. So read our spoiler free review to find out more!
You can also visit onepiecefilm.red to find a screening near you.
Read More... | Souce: Otaku News
Usotoki Rhetoric Manga Release Details and Translator Interview
Date: 2022 October 09 14:11 | Posted By: JoeCategory > Manga
The good people from manga publishers One Peace Books have sent us details of their up coming manga Usotoki Rhetoric by Ritsu Miyako. This shojo manga stars the downtrodden 16-year-old Kanoko, exiled from her village for possessing a curious power - the ability to hear lies. She runs into handsome but down-on-his-luck detective Iwai Soma and together form an unexpected but dynamic duo, capable of solving the towns local mysteries. Set in the 1920's it's something a bit different and fun.
Along with the press release we were lucky enough to interview translator of the manga Molly Rabbitt.
Usotoki Rhetoric is out from October 13th 2022. You can pre-order it from Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk and all good booksellers.
Volume 2 is expected on the romantic February 14th 2023.
Read More... | Souce: One Peace Books
Inu-Oh Movie Review
Date: 2022 September 26 19:36 | Posted By: Joe
There's lots of anime coming out in cinemas in the UK and Ireland this year. Anime Limited have been the driving force releasing the bulk of titles recently. Their latest cinematic offering Inu-Oh hits cinemas on Wednesday 28th September 2022.
The movie is an electric eclectic mix of Japanese History, traditional music fused with a rock musical. That's not something you'd consider everyday! The film is directed by Masaaki Yuasa, whose other works include the brilliant Night is Short, Walk on Girl, Lu over the Wall, Ride Your Wave and Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken!
If you're curious and want to know more about Inu-Oh the read our spoiler free review to find out more!
Read More... | Souce: Otaku News
Fortune Favors Lady Nikuko Movie Review
Date: 2022 August 08 19:41 | Posted By: Joe
It really is a great summer of cinema for anime fans in the UK and Ireland. Thanks to the good folks at Anime Limited their latest cinematic offer will be Fortune Favors Lady Nikuko which hits screens around the UK and Ireland on Wednesday 10th August 2022.
We really enjoyed this movie and suggest you go an catch it on the big screen while you can, but enough of that, read our review to find out why we think it's worth your time.
Read More... | Souce: Otaku News
The Deer King Movie Review
Date: 2022 July 25 18:57 | Posted By: JoeThe Deer King is set to hit cinemas around the UK from Wednesday 27th July 2022 thanks to the good folks from Anime Limited. The movie marks the directorial debut of veteran animator Masashi Ando. Is the action adventure worth seeing? Well read on to find out!
Read More... | Souce: Otaku News
An Interview with Belle Virtual World Designer Eric Wong
Date: 2022 June 29 19:52 | Posted By: JoeCategory > 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
Pompo The Cinephile Review
Date: 2022 June 23 16:36 | Posted By: Joe
Pompo The Cinephile hits screens across the UK and Ireland next week courtesy of the good folks at Anime Limited. We've been lucky enough to catch this joyous film. So have written up a review for you to decide if it's worth watching (psst, it is).
Pompo The Cinephile it in cinemas on Wednesday 29th June 2020. You can find a screening by visiting pompofilm.co.uk.
Read More... | Souce: Otaku News
Voidol2 Anime Style Voice Changing Software Review
Date: 2022 February 08 21:06 | Posted By: VoxieCategory > Features
After we heard about Crimson Technology's voice changing Voidol2 software we were curious to know more about it. It's aimed at those who want to change their voices to that of a Japanese school girl, robot or something else for whatever reason. It's mainly aimed at streamers, VTubers and other content creators.
Thanks to the good folks at Crimson Technology we were able to get our hands on a review copy to give it a go.
Read More... | Souce: Otaku News
Mamoru Hosoda's Belle Review
Date: 2022 January 27 20:37 | Posted By: Joe
Mamoru Hosoda's latest movie Belle hits cinemas across the UK and Ireland from Friday 4th February 2022. Thanks to the good folks at anime company Anime Limited we've been able to see the movie in advance.
You can find out if the movie is any good by finding screening near you and book tickets via www.bellefilm.co.uk. Or you could read on to find out our thoughts on this fantastic movie with our or own review.
Read More... | Souce: Otaku News
Sing a Bit of Harmony Review
Date: 2022 January 24 20:42 | Posted By: JoeAnime movie Sing a Bit of Harmony will be out in UK and Ireland cinemas from Friday 28th January 2022. The film tells the classic story of Japanese School Girl meets robotic AI with hilarity and pandemonium ensuing. We've been lucky enough to catch it already. So read our review to find out what we thought.
Read More... | Souce: Otaku News
An Anime Steeped in History: Princess Mononoke
Date: 2021 November 27 13:40 | Posted By: Franki WebbCategory > Anime
In a change to our regular scheduled news, we bring you an academic article titled Steeped in History: Princess Mononoke. It delves into historical context of the much loved Studio Ghibli film focusing on how social class, race and religion are depicted. It also looks into the archaeological record, and written sources to understand how the film conveys these aspects while maintaining its fantasy element and pro-environmental message.
Read More... | Souce: Otaku News
My Hero Academia: World Heroes' Mission Movie Review
Date: 2021 October 30 13:05 | Posted By: JoeThe latest My Hero Academia movie has just hit cinemas around the world. We've just seen this third instalment of the franchise. So read on to read our review.
Read More... | Souce: Otaku News
Sakugan Episode 1 Streaming Review
Date: 2021 August 04 19:45 | Posted By: JoeCategory > Anime
New anime Sakugan is due to hit streaming service Crunchyroll in October 2021. If you want to catch episode 1 early , the world premiere of Sakugan will stream at Virtual Crunchyroll Expo.
The good folks at Crunchyroll gave us access to a screening copy of Sakugan to review. So read on if you want to know about the show!
Read More... | Souce: Otaku News
ODDTAXI Voice Actor Interview
Date: 2021 July 07 19:39 | Posted By: JoeCategory > Press Releases
One of the surprise hits for the Q2 / Spring 2021 Anime Season has been ODDTAXI. It's a mystery show set in a world where all the characters are animals. The show follows the adventures of Odokawa a taxi driver who is also a walrus. We thoroughly enjoyed the quirky show and wanted to know more about it's production. The good folks at anime streaming service Crunchyroll obliged and gave us an interview to publish with voice actors Iida Riho who plays Shirakawa the alpaca nurse and Kimura Ryohei who plays Goriki the gorilla doctor.
Read More... | Souce: Crunchyroll
Small Totoro Honnori Lamp Review
Date: 2021 June 01 18:13 | Posted By: JoeCategory > Anime
At Otaku News HQ, we don't often buy that much merchandise any more, mainly due to space limitations. With so many great items out there, it's easy to get carried away and we've become very selective.
Just by luck when browsing Twitter something caught our eye. It was this brilliant little lamp.
Read More... | Souce: Otaku News
An Interview with Sara Linsley Manga Letterer
Date: 2020 December 14 20:51 | Posted By: JoeCategory > 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
My Hero Academia: Heroes Rising Review
Date: 2020 February 23 15:28 | Posted By: JoeCategory > Anime
My Hero Academia: Heroes Rising is the latest cinematic offering for the My Hero Academia series. It hits cinemas around the UK and Ireland on Wednesday 26th and Thursday 27th February 2020. Of course you want to know is it any good? Well read on to find out!
Read More... | Souce: Otaku News
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: JoeCategory > 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.
Read More... | Souce: Crunchyroll
Weathering With You - Makoto Shinkai's Latest Movie - Review
Date: 2020 January 07 20:50 | Posted By: JoeCategory > Anime
Makoto Shinkai's latest cinematic offering Weathering With You is about to hit cinemas around the UK and Ireland from Friday 17th January 2020. We were lucky enough to catch the movie beforehand at a special press screening. Want to know if it's any good? Then why not read our review?
You can find a screening near you by visiting weatheringwithyoufilm.co.uk.
You can also catch a special double bill screening of Your Name and Weathering With You at selected cinemas on Wednesday 15th January 2020.
Read More... | Souce: Otaku News
KitKat Chocolatory - Japanese Style KitKats Arrive in the UK
Date: 2020 January 01 20:27 | Posted By: JoeCategory > Anime
While wandering around John Lewis we discovered KitKat Chocolatory. Apparently there had been a pop up shop earlier where you can make your own KitKats. Having experienced the premium KitKat Chocolatory before in Tokyo, we wanted to see how the UK version weighs up.
Read More... | Souce: Otaku News
An Interview with Anime Directors Shinichiro Watanabe and Motonobu Hori
Date: 2019 November 09 17:06 | Posted By: JoeCategory > 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
An Interview with Anime Director Yuichiro Hayashi
Date: 2019 August 23 19:18 | Posted By: JoeCategory > 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
This is Manga - The Art of Urasawa Naoki
Date: 2019 June 10 21:00 | Posted By: Guest ContributorCategory > 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
An Interview with Urasawa Naoki a Master of Manga
Date: 2019 June 09 21:53 | Posted By: JoeCategory > Anime
Japan House London are currently hosting a manga exhibition of Urasawa Naoki's work. His manga is hugely popular with his books having sold over 127 million copies in Japan alone. He's responsible for manga including Monster, 20th Century Boys, Pluto (the re-imagining of Tezuka's Astroboy).
Urasawa himself was in London to set up the exhibition and also was a guest at events run by Japan House, such as QAs and a few live drawing sessions. Urasawa's live drawing performances aren't like anything else we've seen before. The multi award winning manga artist is also a singer/song writer who has released two albums and performed songs that have gone on to be on the live action versions of some of his manga. His live performance at Japan House started with him singing and playing one of his songs on guitar, then he activated his loop pedal so the guitar tune continues and walks over to a drawing desk and draws for everyone to see on a projected screen. Once he finished drawing he returned to his guitar to finish the song!
We caught up with the manga master at Japan House London to hear what he had to say about the exhibition.
Read More... | Souce: Otaku News
Manga Exhibition at The British Museum a Review
Date: 2019 June 03 21:27 | Posted By: JoeCategory > 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
An Interview with Studio Khara's Hibiki Yoshizaki
Date: 2019 February 19 22:01 | Posted By: JoeCategory > 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: JoeCategory > 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.
Read More... | Souce: The Oscars Website
Mamoru Hosoda's Mirai Review
Date: 2018 October 23 21:00 | Posted By: JoeCategory > Anime
Acclaimed director Mamoru Hosoda's latest movie Mirai hits UK screens on Friday 2nd November 2018 (subtitled) and Sunday 4th November 2018 for the dubbed version. The good folks at Anime Limited are distributing it in the UK and had even set up an exhibition dedicated to the director's work in London. If you want to catch the movie then find screening near you by visiting miraifilm.co.uk.
Before you do you'll want to know is it any good?! There's a lot of anticipation around this movie we feel this marks a turning point in Hosoda's work, so read on for our review of the anime film.
Read More... | Souce: Otaku News
Maquia: When the Promised Flower Blooms Review
Date: 2018 June 21 21:03 | Posted By: JoeCategory > Features
Anime feature film Maquia: When The Promised Flower Blooms is due to hit UK cinemas nationwide from Wednesday 27th June 2018 thanks to super-duper anime distributors Anime Limited. This finely crafted film marks Mari Okada directorial debut and is certainly worth catching on the big screen while you can.
To find a screening near you visit www.maquiafilm.co.uk.
You can catch Maquia in cinemas across the UK from Wednesday 27th June 2018. To find a screening near you visit www.maquiafilm.co.uk.
The film will also be released in the US and Canada on July 20th, 2018 via Eleven Arts. Visit their website to find out screening details.
We were lucky enough to catch it before hand. So read on if you want to know more about this lavish title.
Read More... | Souce: Otaku News
An Interview with Shouji Gatou Writer and Creator of Full Metal Panic!
Date: 2018 June 10 13:24 | Posted By: JoeCategory > 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
Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion I - Initiation - Review
Date: 2018 March 19 22:19 | Posted By: Guest ContributorCategory > Anime
Thanks to the good folks from Anime Limited Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion I - Initiation hits UK Cinemas on Wednesday 21st March 2018 for a special screening. You want to know is it any good? Well we sent Nes Long occasional Otaku News contributor and Lelouch cosplayer to find out.
Read More... | Souce: Otaku News
Ichibuns - Japanese Burgers and more in London
Date: 2018 January 29 15:58 | Posted By: JoeCategory > Features
The restaurant scene in London is vibrant. No matter what you like to eat, there's a restaurant that caters for you. Japanese cuisine is no different. There are all kinds of Japanese places to eat, from cheap and cheerful Japanese home-style cooking to the decadent, creative and experimental nuvo cuisine.
Recently we discovered Ichibuns, a Japanese inspired restaurant like no other. Influenced by Hokkaido cuisine, it's a Japanese Rock and Roll American diner from the creative minds of Robin Leigh (who is best known for the legendary Nobu and Busaba Eathai) and Endo Kazutoshi (of Zuma).
On hearing about this we didn't really know what to expect. On visiting it was clear that Ichibuns is something a bit special.
The first thing that hits you is the design, which is a love letter to Japanese popular culture. When you walk in, the faces of popular shonen manga character stare down at you from the entrance. There are pages of manga all over the ceiling and Pachinko machines on the wall. You start looking and there's all sorts of interesting Japanese memorabilia like Oni (demon) masks on the walls, and adverts from old times. The staircase wall is made of whole telephone book sized weekly editions of manga. The eclectic style works because it isn't a restaurant designed by someone trying to copy Japanese concepts, it was designed by Noriyoshi Muramatsu of Tokyo’s Studio Glitt.
After eating there we wanted to know more about this place. It's like a portal into Japan. We don't normally do articles on restaurants, but were intrigued and eager to know more about this place. So we got in touch with Brendan Fong, Executive Chef at Ichibuns to find out more.
Read More... | Souce: Otaku News
Tokyo Ghoul Live Action Movie Review
Date: 2018 January 22 16:21 | Posted By: Guest Contributor
UK fans of Tokyo Ghoul will want to keep Wednesday 31st of January free and find a cinema near that that'll be screening the new Tokyo Ghoul Live Action Movie. You can find a screening near you by visiting http://alltheanime.com/cinema.
But is it any good?! We sent Christine off to review the movie to find out.
Software tester by day, gamer by night. Christine's top three anime titles are Attack on Titan, Tokyo Ghoul and Parasyte (There seems to be a pattern here...). She also often enjoys cosplaying as characters from obscure games that she's never played.
Read More... | Souce: Otaku News
Lu Over The Wall Review
Date: 2017 November 29 16:42 | Posted By: Joe
The good folks from Anime Limited are releasing Masaaki Yuasa's latest film Lu Over The Wall in cinemas across the UK on Wednesday 6th December 2017. You can find a screening near you by visiting LuOverTheWallMovie.co.uk.
We recently interviewed the director asking him about the film and his other feature Night Is Short, Walk On Girl.
If you're curious about the Lu Over The Wall then read on to enjoy our spoiler free review.
Read More... | Souce: Otaku News
An Interview with Little Witch Academia Creators
Date: 2017 November 06 14:46 | Posted By: JoeCategory > Features
The October leg MCM London Comic Con has been and gone, we caught up with the anime guests of honour from Little Witch Academia. They were in town to promote the new game from Bandai Namco - Little Witch Academia: Chamber of Time.
We interviewed series creator and director Yoh Yoshinari, series producer Naoko Tsutsumi who worked for Gainax and has worked at Studio Trigger since it started. Joining them was Yosuke Futami producer of the new game.
Read More... | Souce: Otaku News
Perfect Blue UK Halloween Cinema Screening Review
Date: 2017 October 24 16:40 | Posted By: Guest ContributorCategory > Features
UK Anime fans can catch the Satoshi Kon Classic Perfect Blue at UK Cinemas Nationally on 31st October 2017. Visit perfectbluemovie.co.uk to find a screening near you.
We sent James and Lee to review the movie. Our editor found them after the screening rocking back and forth in the corner of the room, muttering about perception of reality and something about an unreliable narrator, he didn't care that this movie freaked them both out, he just wanted his 500 word review. So after some special counselling involving a unicorn chaser of both seasons of K-On (plus the movie) we managed to get a coherent review. Although they are still on edge a bit when they see J-Pop Idols for some reason...
Read More... | Souce: Otaku News
An Interview with Masaaki Yuasa
Date: 2017 September 29 16:51 | Posted By: Guest ContributorCategory > 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
My Experience of seeing Your Name at the IMAX
Date: 2017 August 17 13:38 | Posted By: VoxieCategory > Features
As I leave Cineworld Leicester Square, trying to pull together the memories of what I had just watched, I smile and sense a melancholic joy well up inside of me. Watching Your Name reminded me of all the subconscious thoughts, moments and dreams we might have all forgotten through the motions of everyday life, an inevitable cycle of the human mind... and yet there I was, trying not to let go of what I had just seen, trying to fathom the beauty of the film’s meaning and put it into words. Makoto Shinkai had done it again!
But I'm not here to review the film today (you can read our earlier, spoiler-free review here). Instead, I'm here to talk about the experience of watching the world’s first anime to be released in IMAX format!
Read More... | Souce: Otaku News
Napping Princess Movie Review
Date: 2017 August 12 18:47 | Posted By: Guest Contributor
Napping Princess hits the UK Cinemas on Wednesday 16th August 2017. You can find a screening near you by visiting NappingPrincessMovie.co.uk. It's being distributed by good folks at Anime Limited. We sent Otaku News contributor James off to a sneak peak of the film.
James is a full-time cynical geek who's probably getting too old for all this. Although he hates to admit it, the reason he's still watching anime after all these years is because some of it is actually pretty good.
Read More... | Souce: Otaku News
An Interview with Michaël Dudok de Wit Director of The Red Turtle
Date: 2017 May 22 15:49 | Posted By: JoeCategory > Anime
In a change of production the much loved Studio Ghibli decided to look overseas for a director to create their latest film - The Red Turtle. They teamed up with Oscar winning director Michaël Dudok de Wit who wrote and directed the animated feature. We caught up with him for an exclusive interview to talk about the film, which hits UK cinema screens from Friday 26th May 2017.
This interview is spoiler free.
Read More... | Souce: Otaku News
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