Otaku News

Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX -Beginning- Screenings at Anime Expo in LA and Japan Expo in Paris

Date: 2025 May 14 19:35 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

The good folks from Bandai Namco Filmworks Inc have sent us details of the special screenings and talks of Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX -Beginning-, which is a theatrical film composed of re-edited episodes of the Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX.

Attendees at Anime Expo 2025 in LA can attend a special screening and talk with production staff at the event on Thursday , July 3, 2025. While at Japan Expo in Paris on Sunday 6th July 2025 attendees will also be treated to a screening and talk featuring production staff. Both events require tickets to the main events of Anime Expo and Japan Expo to enter, but the screenings once inside the events the screenings are free to attend.

You can catch Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX on Amazon Prime Video.

BBC Radio 4's Screenshot on Studio Ghibli

Date: 2025 April 26 18:48 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime > Film

BBC Radio 4's Screenshot Programme focuses on movies. This week they've got a special episode dedicated to Studio Ghibli. Ellen E Jones and Mark Kermode explore the world of Studio Ghibli to celebrate it's 40th Anniversary. It forms a great little introduction to the uninitiated or those who want to learn more about the much loved and hugely influential studio. They also interview co-founder of Irish animation studio Cartoon Saloon, Nora Twomey who discusses the emotional impact of films like My Neighbour Totoro, and Grave of the Fireflies.

We're then treated to an interview with Emily Mortimer, who plays the voice of Sophie in the English dub of Howl's Moving Castle. Then they interview the excellent Michaël Dudok de Wit about his animated feature film The Red Turtle, which was produced by Studio Ghibli.

You can listen to the episode for free on the BBC Sounds App, on the BBC Website or on other audio services.

Regular readers will remember we interviewed Michaël Dudok de Wit about The Red Turtle when it was released.

Souce: BBC Radio 4's Screenshot

Manga Mavericks LLC Launches Manga Publishing Division Manga Mavericks Books

Date: 2025 April 26 10:32 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Manga

The good folks from Manga Mavericks have sent us details of their latest endeavour. They've established Manga Mavericks Books a new manga publisher that will work directly with Japanese creators to license, localize, and distribute their stories worldwide.

They intend to launch 6 manga titles this July 2025, which include 3 titles directly licensed by Manga Mavericks LLC, as well as 3 titles licensed by our localization partner Red String.

It's always exciting to see new manga publishers spring up and we hope that they start to gain some traction.

You Talk Too Much, So Just Shut It Already! Volume 1

Date: 2025 April 19 15:21 | Posted By: Joe

Tsukino Hiiragi was born deaf. When her oblivious classmate Taiyo Enomoto suddenly starts talking to her, she's interested. But, as she carefully reads his lips, she starts to wonder: what nonsense is he talking about anyway?

Detectives These Days Are Crazy! Manga Release Details

Date: 2025 April 09 17:58 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Manga

The good people from manga publishers One Peace Books have just sent us the details for their latest release - Detectives These Days Are Crazy! (Mattaku Saikin no Tantei to Kitara). It follows the adventures of the unlikely duo of an old school detective Keiichiro Nagumo who is all washed up and hasn't kept up with the times, he teams up with a high school girl called Mashiro who wants to be his assistant. Volume 1 will be released on Monday 28th April 2025.

An anime adaptation is due out later in 2025.

The Rose of Versailles Anime Movie to Stream on Netflix

Date: 2025 April 02 19:58 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime > Film

Netflix have just revealed some details of The Rose of Versailles anime movie. It's going to be released on Wednesday 30th April 2025. It's directed by Ai Yoshimura and animated by MAPPA. The official trailer makes it look like a lavish big affair.

Anime studio MAPPA have been known to do extremely high budget action packed anime, including Attack on Titan, Jujutsu Kaisen and Chainsaw Man. We don't expect the same kind of level of violence and explosions, but it does help gauge the kind of level of action they could go to for the more action packed scenes.

The original manga is a classic ground breaking title. It's been hugely influential and we hope this anime adaptation does it justice.

Mushishi Collector's Edition Volume 1 Now Available for Pre-Order

Date: 2025 March 31 20:08 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Manga

Kodansha USA have announced that Volume 1 of Yuki Urushibara's Mushishi manga is now available for pre-order from all good book retailers. The fantasy manga will be released in a hardcover omnibus edition which includes Japanese Volumes 1 and 2. It also features a completely original translation and new cover designs. It'll be released on 4th November 2025. It'll retail at $29.99 (USD). ISBN 9798888776346.

The Mushishi manga was originally published in English by Del Rey between 2007 and 2010. The manga has long been out of print and as a result became desirable for manga collecting fans. This in turn inflated the price, with a complete collection of the manga being listed for over $1,000 for the whole 10 volume set. It often featured in top 10 lists of most expensive out of print manga titles. Although physical copies of the manga were unavailable, you can still purchase digital editions legally from eBook stores such as Amazon's Kindle store.

There's also a truly excellent anime adaptation (which in turn created interest for the manga), which is currently on Crunchyroll.

It's set in old world Japan, some time between the Edo and Meiji periods, in a world where mushi fungal like spirits manifest with supernatural powers. Sometimes they can curse those who encounter them, other times they can benefit them. The story follows the adventures of Ginko, a travelling Mushi master (almost like a medicine man), who will go from village to village and help the locals or investigate issues around mushi. It's a laid back series, with some horror elements in (especially for those who don't take Ginko's advice). It's a thoroughly enjoyable series and worth your time.

You can pre-order the manga from Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk or at any other good book seller.

Square Enix Manga & Books Team Up With Penguin Random House to Launch Comic Partner Initiative

Date: 2025 March 22 11:25 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Manga

The good folks from Square Enix Manga and Books have sent us details of their collaboration with Penguin Random House on the Comic Partner Initiative. It's aim is to help comic shops to increase manga awareness.

Enrolled comic shops can receive branded promotional materials, educational Support, advanced copies of select manga and more.

We think it's great to see Square Enix Manga and Books and Penguin Random House take the initiative like this and proactively aim to increase manga sales in comic book shops. We've all encountered a particular kind of comic book shop that stocks manga, it's in that corner, and no one goes there, the staff don't really understand it, but people ask about it, so they feel obligated to stock it, then as a manga fan you look and it's an odd patchwork of titles that aren't really curated. We hope that this initiative fixes the issue of the dusty manga corner and helps manga fans and comic book shops alike.

You Talk Too Much, So Just Shut It Already! Volume 1 Manga Release Details

Date: 2025 March 12 20:58 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Manga

The good folks from One Peace Books have set us details of a just released title. You Talk Too Much, So Just Shut It Already! Volume 1 was released on March 4th 2025, it tells the story of transfer student Tsukino Hiiragi, she terrified about starting at her new school as she's deaf. The trouble is Hiiragi has the help from the over enthusiastic Enomoto who talks too fast and is a bit over confident with his sign language.

This is light hearted school life comedy is written by Shunpei Morita, illustrated by Aldehyde, and translated by Jordan Taylor. You can order it from Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk and all good bookshops now.

Nasu: Summer in Andelusia US Blu-ray Release Details

Date: 2025 March 05 20:42 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

The good folks from anime distributors MediaOCD have sent us details for their up coming US home video release of Nasu: Summer in Andelusia. The pro-cycling anime makes it's English language blu-ray debut on Tuesday March 11th 2025.

Interestingly this film is the first anime feature film to ever compete in the prestigious Cannes Film Festival!

Bonus features include a retrospective interview with the film's director Kitaro Kosaka about his career, including his work with Studio Ghibli. The release is in partnership with Synergetic.

You can pre-order the blu-ray from the MediaOCD website now.

Hirayasumi Volume 1

Date: 2025 February 24 20:37 | Posted By: Joe

After developing an unlikely friendship with the grouchy old woman who lives in his neighborhood, Hiroto suddenly finds himself inheriting not just her house but some rather difficult emotions as well. His 18-year-old cousin, Natsumi, moves in with him, but as a struggling art student, she has her own troubles to deal with and may just put Hiroto's easygoing lifestyle to the test.

The Revenge of My Youth: Re Life With an Angelic Girl Volume 1

Date: 2025 February 08 12:08 | Posted By: Joe

Shin'ichiro Niihama works at a job he hates, for a company with no morals, under a boss who detests him. After years of corporate abuse, one day he collapses. He wakes, only to find - he's returned to his high school self! Reunited with his once lost mother, Shin'ichiro realises he's leapt back in time. Given a second chance at high school, he vows to do things right this time. Most importantly, he must get close to the girl he always wished he knew better, Haruka Shijoin, to prevent the tragedy that awaits her!

Lego One Piece Sails into 2025!

Date: 2025 February 03 20:48 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Retail

Lego have announced a collaboration with Netflix and Tomorrow Studios to create a brick version of One Piece. The Lego line up will be based on the Netflix live action version of the popular pirate franchise. These sets will feature the main crew as seen in the show in Lego Minifigure Form and will include multiple sets based on the series.

For more information you can visit: LEGO.com/One-piece. The site in question currently hosts a teaser video of Luffy's famous straw hat in Lego form, which is then grabbed by a extra long mini figure arm!

Lego and Netflix have yet to announce a release date for these sets.

Kindle Scribe as a Manga Reader Review

Date: 2025 January 26 18:20 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Features

There's nothing we here at Otaku News like better when the days are short and the weather is cold than to curl up on the sofa with the latest manga releases. Although we love the experience that you can only get reading on paper, we have been on a quest for many years to find a digital alternative for those times when it is just more convenient.

Bubblegum Crisis US Blu-ray Release Details

Date: 2025 January 22 20:44 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

The good folks from MediaOCD have got it touch to tell us about the up coming US blu-ray release of Bubblegum Crisis. The blu-ray will be released on February 11th 2025. The New 2-Disc Perfect Collection Blu-ray features a 50-page booklet containing interviews and staff memories, a new interview with Kenichi Sonoda and lots of other nice bits and bobs.

It's 1080p released with English, Japanese 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio / French, Castilian Spanish, Italian, Catalan 2.0 Dolby Digital audio and English, Spanish, German, French, Italian, Finnish, Japanese subtitles. Keen eyed anime fans will also notice that it's a region free release.

The press release calls it out as a mega-hit among the early American anime scene and we agree. It's impact on anime and manga fandom was huge. It was one of the major titles of era and it's influence still lives on in many ways to this day. It's a seminal work that's worthy to add to your collection. Anime fans that know about the Bubblegum Crisis are already pre-ordering it from the MediaOCD website. While if you haven't heard of it, we strongly suggested you grab a copy and watch some top notch late 80's anime!

The Revenge of My Youth: Re Life With an Angelic Girl Manga Release Details

Date: 2025 January 08 20:52 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Manga

The good folks from One Peace Books have just sent us details for an up coming manga The Revenge of My Youth: Re Life With an Angelic Girl. This manga focuses on the popular anime and manga theme of the do-over. It tackles the theme of if you had another chance, what would you do differently?

It's pitched as a "tearjerker, hilarious school life parody, and motivational tour de force all at once". The manga adaptationis illustrated by Boiru Iseebi and based on the light novel by Yuzi Keino, with translation by Jamie Taber.

It's due out for release on 23rd January 2025.

Asics and Bleach Shoe Collaboration

Date: 2024 December 22 16:07 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Retail

Japanese Sportsware brand Asics have teamed up with the Bleach franchise to create two sets of shoes with Bleach branding. Initially announced at New York Comic Con, the limited edition sneakers will go on sale from December 27 2024 exclusively in the US at Footlocker and Champs Sports. The collection retails at $145-165 (USD) in Men's sizing.

My Happy Marriage Season 2 Streaming Details

Date: 2024 December 12 20:52 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

Media giants Kadokawa have sent us details for My Happy Marriage. Season 2 will hit Netflix globally on Monday 6th January 2025. You can catch season 1 now.

The Legend of Kamui: Volume One Manga Release Details

Date: 2024 December 07 18:02 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Manga

Publishers Drawn & Quarterly have sent us the release details for The Legend of Kamui: Volume One. Due out in January 2025, the classic and highly influential manga will be available in English. Originally serialized between 1964 and 1971 in the alt-manga magazine GARO, The Legend of Kamui is translated by social historian and decorated academic Richard Rubinger with Noriko Rubinger. Additional translation by Alexa Frank.

Drawn & Quarterly always publish interesting manga and have a nice selection of classic gekiga titles.

An Interview with Shinnosuke Yakuwa Diretor of Totto-chan: The Little Girl at the Window

Date: 2024 December 07 12:31 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Features

Scotland Loves Anime visits more than Scotland this time around! In 2024 the popular long running festival decided to have a little adventure south of the border and visited London too. For the inaugural London event they invited Director Shinnosuke Yakuwa as the Guest of Honour. We caught up with him in London to talk more about his latest film Totto-chan: The Little Girl at the Window, which was part of the London leg screenings.

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