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Usotoki Rhetoric Manga Release Details and Translator Interview

Date: 2022 October 09 14:11 | Posted By: Joe

Category > 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

One Piece Film: Red Takes Over New York's Times Square

Date: 2022 October 04 19:59 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

The new One Piece Film Red is about to hit the big screens this November 2022. To celebrate in New York, they're going to take over Times Square!

The One Piece production committee have announced that a large-scale takeover ad campaign in New York's Times Square will run exclusively on Saturday, October 8 2022 between 7:00 p.m. -8:00 p.m. (EST). Set to launch during New York Comic Con, this isn't one bill board. This is going to be the whole of Times Square.

Visit onepiecefilm.red to find a screening near you.

Read More... | Souce: One Piece Production Committee

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.

Read More... | Souce: Plantopia Website

My Hero Academia Season 6 comes to Crunchyroll this October 2022

Date: 2022 August 09 18:36 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

The good folks from anime streaming giant Crunchyroll have sent us details about the streaming release of My Hero Academia Season 6. The latest series will arrive on the streaming service from October 2022. Lots of action is promised as Tomura is now in charge of even more villains and is set for some good up coming conflict!

Read More... | Souce: Crunchyroll

Square Enix Manga & Books Reveals New Books Coming Spring 2023

Date: 2022 July 24 14:13 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Manga

The good folks from Square Enix Manga & Books have sent us their upcoming release slate for spring 2023. Headlining their releases is the Chocobo and the Airship: A Final Fantasy Picture Book. The English translation has lots for fans of the series. Along with some nice looking NieR: stuff.

Square Enix will also be releasing My Clueless First Friend a slice of life comedy series with a chalk and cheese element of a gloomy friend and a cheerful friend having a fun and memorable summer together. It's due out March 7, 2023.

While from Hiromu Arakawa, the creator of Fullmetal Alchemis, we have Daemons of the Shadow Realm a fantasy adventure about n a world where certain humans command mighty supernatural duos called Daemons we follow young Yuru as he is unexpectedly whisked away from his village and becomes aware of his supernatural birthright. This is due out on April 25, 2023.

Read More... | Souce: Square Enix Manga & Books

Murasaki Yamada's Talk to My Back Manga Release Details

Date: 2022 July 12 19:57 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Manga

The good folks from publisher Drawn & Quarterly have sent us details about their latest release. Yamada Murasaki's Talk to My Back is pitched as a celebrated masterwork shimmering with vulnerability from one of alt-manga's most important female artists. We're looking forward to reading this one as Drawn & Quarterly always publish interesting manga titles.

The book is out now from all good booksellers. ISBN : 9781770465633

You can also order it from Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com

Read More... | Souce: Drawn & Quarterly

Azuki to Release Idol Manga Hikaru in the Light!

Date: 2022 May 30 19:53 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Manga

The good folks from on-line manga service Azuki have sent us news of their latest manga acquisition Hikaru in the Light! by Mai Matsuda. The exclusive license is a story about pop idols and chasing your dreams. If you're curious about the title you can read a preview on Azuki.

The service costs $4.99 (USD) per month, along with a 30-day free trial and a discounted annual plan are also available. All titles on the service are available worldwide (expect for Japan) in English.

Read More... | Souce: Azuki

Crunchyrolll Announces Chainsaw Man Streaming Rights

Date: 2022 May 16 19:01 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

The good folks from anime mega company Crunchyroll have just revealed that they have the streaming rights for the upcoming Chainsaw Man anime series. Crunchyroll state that it'll be shown sometime in 2022 in one of the upcoming seasons simulcast. They've yet to confirm a release date. It'll be released subbed and with dubs in English, Latin American Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, French and German.

The Chainsaw Man anime series will be animated by MAPPA who are best known for Attack on Titan Final Season; Jujutsu Kaisen, Yuri!!! on Ice and many more. The Chainsaw man manga is created by Tatsuki Fujimoto who blends action, horror and violence with the occasional comedic twist. Part of the joy of the series is you can't predict where it's going next. Fujimoto has also created some amazing stand alone one shot manga titles, which suggest you read Look Back and Goodbye, Eri, which can be read on Viz.com.

You can buy the manga from all good booksellers, including Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk.

Read More... | Souce: Crunchyroll

Crunchyroll Announces Release of Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero

Date: 2022 May 10 19:39 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime > Film

The good folks from anime media giant Crunchyroll have just announced that Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero the movie will be released globally this summer 2022. The movie will debut in Japan on 11th June 2022, and then be released in cinemas across the globe in Summer 2022.

The latest offering from the hugely popular franchise sees the return of the Red Ribbon army with new foes for our fighters. This is the second film in the Dragon Ball Super franchise. Dragon Ball Super: Broly was released in 2018 to fans around the globe. It grossed over $120 million at the box office globally and is the 5th highest-grossing anime movie at the box office in the US. We imagine this movie will perform similarly!

Read More... | Souce: Crunchyroll

The Rising of the Shield Hero Audio Book Volume 2

Date: 2022 April 21 19:51 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Press Releases

With The Rising of Shield Hero returning to Crunchyroll fans might want even more isekai adventures. The good folks from One Peace Books will be releasing Volume 2 of the audio book version the series on May 3rd 2022. It'll be available wherever audiobooks are sold: Amazon, Apple Books, Audible, NOOK Audiobooks, Spotify, Audiobooks.com, and more.

Read More... | Souce: One Peace Books

Crunchyroll and Funimation Merge into One Offering

Date: 2022 March 02 22:10 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

Anime streaming service Crunchyroll have announced that they've merged brands with Funimation. Crunchyroll now replaces Funimation for all global content.

In December 2020, Sony bought Crunchyroll for $1.175 Billion USD. Sony also owned Funimation. Up until now they were running the streaming services separately with fans having to buy subscriptions to both if they wanted to watch exclusive titles on each platform. This issue has now been resolve and merging into Crunchyroll makes sense as they have more brand recognition as a streaming service. As a result all titles that were exclusively available on Funimation will now be added to Crunchyroll.

Funimation will also be rebranded to Crunchyroll for home video offerings. In April 2021, much loved brand Manga Entertainment UK (which was also owned by Sony, via Funimation) rebranded as Funimation. Now the brands will be consolidated to Crunchyroll.

Read More... | Souce: Crunchyroll

Cagaster and Crueler Than Dead Now Available on Azuki Manga

Date: 2022 February 26 19:13 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Manga

We've received a press release from digital manga subscription service Azuki . They've just told us that they've added two new titles to their service. Cagaster is a story about a disease transforms its victims into cannibalistic insects and decimates human society. It follows bug hunter Kidow and his newfound friend Ilie who struggle to survive in this brutal new world. While Crueler Than Dead is about another virus which results in fast-paced and violent zombie action.

With Azuki it should be noted that their titles are available in English worldwide (apart from Japan). The first few chapters of most series are available for free with ads, and for $4.99 (USD) per month users can sign up for a Premium account and read the entire catalogue without ads. A 30-day free trial and a discounted annual plan are also available.

Read More... | Souce: Azuki

E-mail Based Manga Service from Mangasplaining

Date: 2022 January 31 21:19 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Manga

The good folks at popular manga podcast Mangasplaining have just sent us details of their latest endeavour, titled MSX: Mangasplaining Extra its an e-mail based manga subscription. The substack news letter will be delivered to your inbox.

The first projects to be announced are Okinawa by Susumu Higa and These Days by Taiyo Matsumoto. Interestingly the press release credits everyone involved in each manga project, this isn't the standard (but we wish it was). Keen eyed readers will also notice that These Days is translated Michael Arias the director behind the anime version of Tekkonkinkreet (which is based of the manga by Taiyo Matsumoto), so it's clear that the translator is very familiar with the artists work!

Mangasplaining have partnered with Fantagraphics Books and UDON Entertainment as publishing partners, so it's going to be interesting to see what else they've got in the pipeline.

Subscription to the service costs $5(USD) a month or $50 (USD) a year on Substack . Pricing has been set to be sustainable so they can pay the licensors, creators, publishers, translators, and letterers who do this work. There's been a lot of discussion in manga fandom about fair wages for staff involved in production and the Mangasplaining people are making sure everyone involved in the process gets paid fairly.

We're excited about this project as the people behind Mangasplaining are more than just manga and anime fans, they're manga and anime fans who work in the industry. They've got a track record of successfully delivering various projects. We're wondering what this will grow into!

Read More... | Souce: Mangasplaining

Bonhams Auctions Classic Anime Cels

Date: 2022 January 30 20:53 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

The good folks from international auctioneers and valuers Bonhams have sent us details of their latest online sale The World Of Anime is set to run from 24th January until 2nd February 2022. The auction features various anime classics included Sailor Moon, Urusei Yatsura, Ranma 1/2, Cardcaptor Sakura, Cardcaptor Sakura, One Piece, Evangelion and many more. The sale is being headlines by Studio Ghibli cels including some key scenes from Kiki's Delivery Service and Totoro.

Anime cel auctions are uncommon with traditional auctioneers, but unlike other online avenues you know that they've taken the time to verify the items on sale are authentic.

Highlighting the auction is a Kiki's Delivery service production cel featuring Kiki flying with Jiji. Bonhams estimates this cel will sell for anything between $15,000 - $25,000 (USD). In the same price bracket they've got a cel of Totoro asleep!

We'll be very interested to see what happens with all the cels up for auction. Some have already got some bids in place between the asking prices, while others have yet to gain any attention. As with any auction it's always the last 60 seconds where things get really interesting!

Read More... | Souce: Bonhams

Crunchyroll Announces New Anime for 2022

Date: 2021 December 22 17:17 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

The good folks from anime streaming service Crunchyroll have just revealed details of their new anime for 2022. They headline with Attack on Titan Final Season Part 2, along with anime style FreakAngels (inspired by the works of writer Warren Ellis and artist Paul Duffield), My Dress-Up Darling, Orient, and The Case Study Of Vanitas.

They'll also be continuing to stream Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Entertainment District Arc and Platinum End alongside new episodes of Blade Runner: Black Lotus and of course One Piece.

We're most excited about Ranking of Kings, which will be streaming on Crunchyroll soon. Previously it was a Funimation exclusive but now it'll also be available on Crunchyroll.

Read More... | Souce: Crunchyroll

Funimation Announces 20 New and Returning Shows for 2022

Date: 2021 December 20 19:57 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

We're still processing 2020 and the good folks at anime distributors Funimation are telling is it's almost 2022 and they've got 20 new and returning shows. They'll be showing Attack on Titan Final Season Part 2 from 9th January 2020, while from the 8th they'll be showing My Dress Up Darling. They'll be more Demon Slayer too, as the Entertainment District Arc continues along with lots of other good shows.

But let's be honest the one everyone is talking about is Ranking of Kings, we won't say anything about it. Just head over to Funimation and watch it if you haven't already.

Read More... | Souce: Funimation

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

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba Entertainment District Arc Now on Crunchyroll and Funimation

Date: 2021 December 05 15:45 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

Quick reminder for fans of the anime version of Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba. The Entertainment District Arc has just started on streaming services Funimation and Crunchyroll.

This latest arc follows on from Mugen Train Arc and introduces new demon Daki.

Read More... | Souce: Crunchyroll

Voidol2 Anime Style Voice Changing Software Release Details

Date: 2021 November 25 21:59 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

The good folks from Japanese software firm Crimson Technology have sent us details about their English language launch of Voidol2. This is real time voice conversion software primarily aimed at streamers, v-tubers and people who have the need to change their voice in real time.

The software has many voice modes and can make you sound like an anime character or even a robot and everything else in between. It retails for 13,200 JPY (about $114 USD / £86 GBP), but is currently on offer for 8,800 JPY (about $76 USD / £57 GBP). It's available to download on Windows or Mac via Sendowl.

Read More... | Souce: Crimson Technology

Crunchyroll Announces Spy x Family

Date: 2021 November 22 20:43 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

The good folks from anime streaming giants Crunchyroll have sent us details of their upcoming titles. The headline announcement is the release of Spy x Family, based on the manga of the same name it follows a master spy working in a cold war European-esque country. His newest mission requires him to build a family in order achieve his objective. This action comedy has been highly anticipated by fans of the manga (this includes us). Kazuhiro Furuhashi (Hunter x Hunter, Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn) on board as Director while Kazuaki Shimada (The Promised Neverland) serving as Character Designer.

Other titles lined up for 2022 include Dance Dance Danseur (it's about dancing if you didn't guess), Aoashi which is based on the football (soccer) manga, plus the second season of the spooky In/Spectre.

Read More... | Souce: Crunchyroll

Attack on Titan Final Season Part 2 Airs on Crunchyroll

Date: 2021 November 19 19:53 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

The good folks from anime streaming service Crunchyroll have sent us details about Attack on Titan Final Season Part 2. It'll stream from 9th January 2022, available subtitled in eight languages and in more than 200 countries and territories worldwide. It'll also appear on Funimation and Hulu.

Keen eyed fans will notice that it's been marketed as "epic continuation" not the epic conclusion. So does this mean that there'll be another part of the final season? Only time will tell. Manga fans will have already had a chance to discover the ending as the final volume of the mega franchise was released in Japanese in June and in English last month.

Read More... | Souce: Crunchyroll

My Hero Academia: World Heroes' Mission Cinema Release Details

Date: 2021 October 11 19:51 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime > Film

The good folks from anime mega firm Funimation have sent us the release details for the latest My Hero Academia Movie. Titled My Hero Academia: World Heroes' Mission, Deku and his classmates have only two hours to save the world! While off internship with the number one Pro Hero Endeavor Agency, Deku and his new friend Rody find themselves wanted nationwide for a crime they didn't commit. Can Deku and his friends stop Humarise's global plans of eliminating all Quirks?

The story promises lots of action from Izuku Midoriya, Shoto Todoroki, and Katsuki Bakugo.

The movie hits cinema screens in both sub and dubbed versions in United States and Canada, United Kingdom and Ireland Australia, New Zealand and Sweden all on October 29th 2021, South Africa October 28th 2021. While
Denmark, Norway, and Iceland from November 11th 2021.

Read on to find out about the exclusive to Showcase is a limited edition My Hero Academia: World Heroes' Mission Vol. W Specialty Manga Booklet.

Read More... | Souce: Funimation UK

Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba- The Movie: Mugen Train Now on Crunchyroll

Date: 2021 October 05 20:07 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

Anime streaming super service Crunchyroll have just sent us details about their latest release. They've just put up Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba- The Movie: Mugen Train. The box office smash is now available to stream on Crunchyroll. Which means if you haven't already you can get on the hype train and see what all the fuss is about.

They've also sent us a reminder that they have the original series that leads up to the events of the movie.

Availability wise the series and film will be available in English, Spanish, and Portuguese in English-speaking countries; and in Spanish and Portuguese in Latin America -- both in subbed and dubbed. The series will also be available in French-, German- and Russian-speaking countries as well as the Nordics. The film will also be available in French- and Russian-speaking countries as well as the Nordics.

Don't forget Viz have just released the complete box set of the original manga which contains the whole story!

Read More... | Souce: Crunchyroll

My Hero Academia: World Heroes' Mission Movie Release Details

Date: 2021 August 25 16:48 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime > Film

The good folks from anime distributors Funimation have just sent us some exciting news about the new upcoming My Hero Academia movie. My Hero Academia: World Heroes' Mission will be arriving cinemas in North America, UK and Ireland on 29th October 2021, while fans in Australia and New Zealand will get the film on 28th October 2021.

The third movie in the franchise, this time around Midoriya, Todoroki and Bakugo crisis in My Hero Academia history, with only two hours to save the world! The action takes place while the trio are at their internship with the number one Pro Hero Endeavor Agency. The villains this time around want to eliminate all quirks!

You can catch the official trailer here.

We're currently enjoying the 5th season of the anime, which is available to watch on funimation.com and Crunchyroll.

Read More... | Souce: Funimation UK

I Belong to the Baddest Girl at School Manga Release Details

Date: 2021 July 26 19:49 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Manga

The good folks from manga publishers One Peace Books have just sent us details about their up coming release. I Belong to the Baddest Girl at School is a manga romcom of misunderstanding. It's Japanese title is Pashiri na Boku. Volume 1 is due out for release on 17th August 2021, the manga follows the mishaps of sensitive Unoki and Toramaru, the baddest girl boss in town.

You can pre-order the title from Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk and all good places that sell books.

Read More... | Souce: One Peace Books

ODDTAXI Voice Actor Interview

Date: 2021 July 07 19:39 | Posted By: Joe

Category > 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

The Rising of the Shield Hero Audio Book

Date: 2021 July 06 19:01 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Retail

The good folks from One Peace Books have sent us details of their latest publication. The Rising of the Shield Hero has now been adapted to an audio book. Narrated by Kurt Kanazawa, the book is available on sites Audiobooks.com and will soon be live on Amazon, Apple Books, Audible, NOOK Audiobooks, Spotify, and everywhere the audiobooks are sold. Volume 1 of the the book lasts for 6 hours 52 minutes.

Read More... | Souce: One Peace Books

Crunchyroll Summer 2021 Line Up

Date: 2021 June 29 19:08 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

The good folks from anime streaming service Crunchyroll have sent us details of their Summer 2021 line up. They've got a mix of new stuff along with continuing popular favourites. This season the very silly Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid, returns in the form of Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid S. They've also got Season 2 of That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime, plus I'm Standing on a Million Lives Season 2.

For new stuff they've got SD Gundam World Heroes for all your international tiny Gundam needs. Along with the intriguing Peach Boy Riverside.

While other stuff still on going includes Tokyo Revengers (it's like Erased, but with more violence),
Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, Case Closed, One Piece and My Hero Academia (Season 5) (with more Hawks).

As always with Crunchyroll there's something for everyone. While there's a great selection of stuff, we just want more quirky shows like ODDTAXI. It's a show that caught us by surprise! If you haven't caught it yet, watch it!

Read More... | Souce: Crunchyroll

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.

Read More... | Souce: Azuki

One Cut of the Dead: Hollywood Edition Blu-ray Release Details

Date: 2021 May 18 19:59 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime > Film

The good folks from Japanese movie distributor third window films have just sent us the release details for One Cut of the Dead: Hollywood Edition

This special limited edition pressing is limited to 2,000 units. It includes One Cut of the Dead featuring 4 hours of content, including the spin-off film One Cut of the Dead in Hollywood.

We have seen the original One Cut of the Dead. All we'll say is watch it. Don't read any reviews, avoid any spoilers or plot synopsis. Just go in and watch it. You'll have the most rewarding experience if you do. It's a clever movie and also has plenty of rewatch value. We're curious to see what the spin off movie in Hollywood is like.

The all region blu-ray is available from Monday 31st May 2021 and will retail for £21.99.

You can pre-order it from Amazon.co.uk.

Read More... | Souce: third window films

Crunchyroll Team up with Anime Limited to Bring Movie Night at Homes Series from 1 May 2021

Date: 2021 April 21 20:21 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

The good folks at anime streaming service Crunchyroll have teamed up with anime distributor Anime Limited (aka All The Anime) to bring Movie at Home to Crunchyroll. The season brings a new film each month to Crunchyroll from Anime Limited's portfolio. From the 1st of each month each film will be up on the service for a month to enjoy.

Some of the shows are restricted to the UK and Ireland, while others are UK, Ireland and the USA.

The showcase kicks off with Penguin Highway from 1st of May 2021. They've got some great stuff lined up. Including Patema Inverted, Promare, Giovanni's Island, the delightful Mai Mai Miracle and some Makoto Shinkai films running from January 2022 until April 2022. This a great way to catch a movie you wouldn't always have a chance to see.

Read More... | Souce: Crunchyroll

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

Crunchyroll Spring 2021 Line Up

Date: 2021 March 28 14:19 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

The good folks from anime streaming service Crunchyroll have revealed their line up for Spring 2021.

It includes the return of old favourites such as the highly anticipated latest season of My Hero Academia, some new Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, Digimon Adventure and of course One Piece. Along with the conclusion of Fruits Basket, titled Fruits Basket: The Final Season (hmmm, a bit like Attack on Titan there).

New seasons include To Your Eternity, which we're curious to see how the anime adaption will compare to the manga. The intriguing ODDTAXI, plus a whole crop of different titles such as Tokyo Revengers, Zombie Land Saga Revenge (Season 2), The Slime Diaries, JORAN THE PRINCESS OF SNOW AND BLOOD, Don't Toy with Me, Miss Nagatoro, Osamake: Romcom Where The Childhood Friend Won't Lose, Those Snow White Note.

Read More... | Souce: Crunchyroll

I Hear the Sunspot: Limit Volume 3 Manga Release Details

Date: 2021 March 11 20:59 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

The good people from One Peace Books have just sent us the release details I Hear the Sunspot: Limit Volume 3. The final volume of the manga is due out on 13th April 2021. The publishers promise us that "The moving love story between two young men, the hard-of-hearing Kohei and the eternally-optimistic Taichi, reaches a tear-jerking finale".

They also tell us it's "Praised for its nuanced representation of disability, and named a best graphic novel for teens in 2019 and 2020 by the American Library Association's YALSA division, I Hear the Sunspot: Limit showcases the protagonists' immense emotional growth while continuing its thoughtful exploration of disability representation and issues."

One Peace Book always publish an interesting range of manga, and this one is certainly worth adding to your reading list.

You can pre-order the book from all the usual places including Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk, US Bookshop.org, UK Bookshop.org.

Read More... | Souce: One Peace Books

Crunchyroll Announces International Slate of Anime Dubs for Winter 2021

Date: 2021 January 06 20:02 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

For those anime fans out there that enjoy a dub, you'll be pleased to hear that anime streaming service Crunchyroll have revealed their anime dub line ups for some of the top shows of the latest seasons of Dr Stone, Jujutsu Kaisen and Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World.

Read More... | Souce: Crunchyroll

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.

Read More... | Souce: AT&T

Mangamo Releases Android App

Date: 2020 November 26 20:58 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

The good folks from manga subscription service Mangamo. They've just released their app on Android, so you can grab it from the Google Play Store. The app is already available iOS (iPhone and iPad) on the Apple App Store.

The app itself has a great collection of top tier manga titles including Attack On Titan, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
Fire Force, In/Spectre and Fairy Tail. A subscription costs $4.99 USD a month and is a great way to read manga officially. The service is offering a 30-day free trial for new Android users and is also available globally for iOS and offering a 30-day free trial for new iOS users. So you can try before you buy.

Sony have also just invested in Mangamo via the Sony Innovation Fund. Sony have a large interest in the anime industry already owning 95% of Funimation, in turn also own Manga Entertainment in the UK and Madman Anime Group via Aniplex. So it looks like Sony is also expanding into manga distribution!

Read More... | Souce: Mangamo

Crunchyroll Announces Autumn 2020 Dub Slate

Date: 2020 November 14 15:12 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

The good folks from anime streaming service Crunchyroll have just announced their dub line ups for autumn 2020.

It includes the dub of Jujutsu Kaisen, I'm Standing on a Million Lives, Tonikawa: Over the Moon For You and Noblesse

Read More... | Souce: Crunchyroll

Farming Life in Another World Manga Release Details

Date: 2020 September 27 13:34 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

The good folks from One Peace Books have sent us details of their latest manga acquisition - Farming Life in Another World. The isekai manga is pitched as guy gets transported to fantasy world, but instead of fighting monsters and villains he sets up a farm and gets involved in agriculture. It forms part of that isekai sub-genre of getting transported to another world and doing normal things (we're thinking of The Hero and His Elf Bride Open a Pizza Parlour in Another World, amongst others). This is the manga adaptation of the popular light novel of the same name by Kinosuke Naito.

Farming Life in Another World comes out on Wednesday October 28th 2020 in print and digital. You can pre-order it from Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk.

Read More... | Souce: One Peace Books

Burn The Witch to Stream on Crunchyroll in October 2020

Date: 2020 August 24 18:49 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

The good folks from anime streaming service Crunchyroll have sent us details of a new title released in October 2020. Burn the Witch is based on the manga by Tite Kubo, who is best known for Bleach. This anime is set in the same universe, but this time around in London! Not normal London, Reverse London, a special hidden side of city where dragons roam. The story focuses on the adventures of witch duo Noel Niihashi and Ninny Spangcole who are protection agents for Wing Bind (WB) an organisation for dragon conservation and management.

The trailer shows scenes from London, that are all around Westminster. We've got the Houses of Parliament, Westminster Bridge, and other Thames landmarks making prominent appearances, City of London Dragon Crests, a shot that looks like Shad Thames. We really love playing a game of spot the locations with stuff like this! Some artistic liberties seem to have been taken, does that looks like a US style fire hydrant in the trailer (blink and you'll miss it)? But then again Reverse London could indeed have American style fire hydrants as they've also got an Emergency Dragon Blockade System (this is one of the unwritten rules of London, you don't talk about the Emergency Dragon Blockade System, it's just known, like standing on the right and walking on the left on the escalator...).

If you big action and shonen then it looks the Burn The Witch anime will hit the spot. It'll hit Crunchyroll early October 2020.

Read More... | Souce: Crunchyroll

Yen Press Announces 13 New License Acquisitions

Date: 2020 August 18 19:41 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Manga

The good folks at manga publishers Yen Press have just announced a fresh batch of licensing acquisitions. They've got the rights for 13 new titles in print and digital. Release dates are not yet detailed.

The releases include the following:

• Cirque Du Freak: The Manga Omnibus Edition
• Grim Reaper and Four Girlfriends Omnibus Edition
• Interspecies Reviewers Comic Anthology: Darkness
• The World's Finest Assasin Reincarnated Into Another World
• Adachi and Shimamura
• Dear NOMAN, Golden Japanesque - Yokohama Karentan -
• Mama Akuma
• Mint Chocolate
• Sasaki and Miyano
• The Dark History of the Reincarnated Villainess
• The light novel and comic adaptation of the highly-anticipated, Solo Leveling.

Read More... | Souce: Yen Press

Jujutsu Kaisen Exclusively on Crunchyroll this Autumn 2020

Date: 2020 August 12 19:53 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

The good people from streaming service Crunchyroll have just sent us details of their up coming anime release. Jujutsu Kaisen will stream from October 2020 exclusively on the streaming platform. The show is a dark fantasy horror focusing on a world where Curses can run rampant.

The series is based on the manga by Gege Akutami and is currently being released by Viz in English. You can buy it from Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk if you want to get ahead and see what to expect!

Read More... | Souce: Crunchyroll

The Sky is Blue with a Single Cloud Gekiga Manga Release Details

Date: 2020 July 15 20:09 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Manga

The good people from Drawn & Quarterly have sent us details of their latest release The Sky is Blue with a Single Cloud by Kuniko Tsurita.

Available for the first time in English this book collects the best short stories from gekiga manga artist Kuniko Tsurita.

Tracking bohemian culture, the politics of late 60's and early 70's Tokyo, along with other experimental works and an early exploration of gender fluidity with gender ambiguous protagonists.

The manga is out from July 2020 (so it's out now).

You can order it from Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk or any other bookseller using the ISBN: 978-1-77046-398-1.

Read More... | Souce: Drawn & Quarterly

New Sci-Fi Manga Japan Sinks 2020 Launches on Mangamo App

Date: 2020 July 09 20:30 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Manga

The good folks from Manga App Mangamo have just sent us details of their latest manga addition. The subscription service has just added the manga of Japan Sinks 2020. It's a reimagining of the Netflix anime which has just been released today, which in turn is based on the best-selling novel written by Sakyo Komatsu in 1973. The anime is from Science Saru, who did the fantastic Keep Your Hands off Eizouken, Lu Over The Wall, Devil Man Cry Baby, and so much more.

Read More... | Souce: Mangamo

Yen Press Previews 13 New Manga Acquisitions For December 2020

Date: 2020 July 05 12:31 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

It's convention season and traditionally a time of big license announcements, but conventions aren't really running in the physical world, however Anime Expo Lite offered a virtual experience and the chance for companies to announce their up coming releases and acquisitions.

Yen Press have just announced 13 new manga acquisition, which include

• A Witch's Love at the End of the World
• Strawberry Fields Once Again
• The Vampire & His Pleasant Companions
• Slasher Maidens
• Eniale & Dewiela
• Mieruko-chan

Plus some new light novels:

• The World's Finest Assassin
• Reincarnated in a Different World as an Aristocrat
• The Place Promised in Our Early Days
• The Angel Next Door Spoils Me Rotten
• Unnamed Memory, King of the Labyrinth
• Reign of the Seven Spellblades

We're very excited about Eniale & Dewiela from Kamome Shirahama who is also responsible for Witch Hat Atelier.

Read More... | Souce: Yen Press

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

Ascendance of a Bookworm Part 2 and Rent-A-Girlfriend on Crunchyroll

Date: 2020 June 13 10:03 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

The good folks at anime streaming service Crunchyroll have sent us news about Ascendance of a Bookworm Part 2 along with with OVA dub premiere of Rent-A-Girlfriend.

The OVA for Ascendance of a Bookworm (episodes 14.5 part 1 and part 2) will launch on Crunchyroll on Saturday, 13th June 2020, and episode 15 will launch on Saturday 20th June 2020.

Meanwhile Rent-A-Girlfriend will start on Crunchyroll as part of the summer season.
As we've covered before Crunchyroll are also keen to share that their whole dub cast have been working from home recently.

Read More... | Souce: Crunchyroll

Cloud Matsuri Reminder

Date: 2020 May 29 20:49 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

While lock down has impacted events for anime fans around the globe there is a good range of virtual events cropping up. Up this weekend is Cloud Matsuri. Set to run online from Saturday 30th to Sunday 31st May 2020, the event will play host to top Japanese industry figures along with UK based and US anime firms.

You can access all the streams for the event for free with details to do so via Cloud Matsuri's website.

Read More... | Souce: Cloud Matsuri

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.

Read More... | Souce: Cloud Matsuri

Crunchyroll Voice Actors Dub from Home

Date: 2020 May 11 19:48 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

The good folks from anime streaming service Crunchyroll have sent us news about their current dubbing process. Dedicated to bringing you anime under lockdown their current cast of voice actors are currently recording from home to ensure you'll still keep getting English dubbed versions.

They've now switched to a fully-remote workflow. We wonder if this will become the new normal for voice actors? Normally most anime voice actors in the US are based in industry hubs near LA, Texas and sometimes New York, but now will they be able search for new talent further afield?

Read More... | Souce: Crunchyroll

Mangamo The New Mobile Manga Subscription Service

Date: 2020 April 16 19:47 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

We've just been sent the details of a new mobile manga subscription service. Mangamo promises more titles than any other legal mobile manga service.

It's currently on iOS Devices (iPhone and iPad) with subscriptions costing $4.99 USD a month. The Tokyo based company has partnered with 11 publishers to bring the wide range of titles, including Attack on Titan, Battle Angel Alita, Somali and the Forest Spirit, along with Fire Force and many more titles. A full list of current titles can be found here. They also promise regular updates to the titles available.

Mangamo is available on the Apple App Store globally with the exception of Japan, China and Korea. Currently all titles are in English.

As this is a legal service you can be certain that the money goes back to the original creators helping fund the manga industry itself.

Read More... | Souce: Mangamo

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