Advanced Search

Browsing Articles

Kotatsu Japanese Animation Festival 2024 Details

Date: 2024 September 29 14:24 | Posted By: Eeeper

Category > Anime

Returning for its 14th year, Welsh anime festival Kotatsu has a two-part convention packed with feature films, shorts, music performances, and more running from October 5th to 6th and again on October 25th to the 27th 2024.

United Publications to Exit Anime and Manga Retail Market

Date: 2023 December 06 19:29 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Retail

The goods folks from retailers United Publications have sent us news that they're to retire from the anime and manga retail market.

The UK based retailers and publishers were a regular fixture at UK anime conventions, they also had a presence at the MCM London Comic Con. You may remember them for their bold yellow banners with black text similar to a warning sign. They were a popular source of import anime DVDs and later blu-rays, but also had a big selection of manga and figures.

Anime fans of a certain generation will remember them fondly from the London Anime Club (which ran until 2008) as one of the main two retailers there. Fans would places orders to collect at the club and discover new titles over the dealers table and enthusiastically trade recommendations.

However change and reconciliation in the market has made anime and manga retail impractical for them and they've slowly started to wind down that side of the business.

We're told you should check their website for bargains, as MVM has given them some nice discounts on all titles as they reduce stock for the new year.

Otakuthon Anime Convention 2023

Date: 2023 June 03 16:00 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Events

Canadian anime fans looking for something fun to do in Montréal this August will be interested to hear about Otakuthon Anime Convention. Set to run from August 11th to 13th 2023 at the Palais des congrès de Montréal.

It'll host a wide variety of international guests including a selection of voice actors, music from Orchestre de Jeux Vidéo, along with rakugo from Cyril Coppini.

Kadokawa World Entertainment agrees deal to purchase Anime News Network

Date: 2022 November 09 16:49 | Posted By: Eeeper

Category > Anime

Kadokawa Corporation, Japanese media conglomerate, announces the purchase of Anime News Network's media business, via their US holding company, Kadokawa World Entertainment.

AmeChibi Rescheduled to October 2022

Date: 2021 January 23 13:55 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Events

As we've mentioned before popular fan run anime convention AmeCon's mini con AmeChibi was postponed from April 2021. The AmeCon committee have now announced AmeChibi will be running Friday 14th to Sunday 16th of October 2022.

All bookings for AmeChibi with the venue will be automatically transferred over (as long as it was made by the link sent in AmeChibi registrations email) and your membership for the event will automatically be transferred over too.

We think October 2022 is a realistic date to run, being more than a year in the future hopefully the COVID-19 situation in the UK would be under control and normality would have returned. The AmeCon committee are also being very clear about refunds and other logistics.

We do notice that that weekend is likely to be before MCM Comic Con London based on their previous runs, which means some fans will be able to have two full geek weekends!

Souce: AmeCon

AmeCon Postponed from April 2021

Date: 2020 November 09 20:32 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Events

With COVID-19 still limiting what you can do across the UK, the fan favourite anime convention AmeCon rescheduled their AmeChibi to April 2021. They've now revealed that the April 2021 event has been postponed. The committee are being transparent and clear that it's unfeasible to run the event as it stands in April 2021. They're currently figuring out all the details with the venue about their options and will let everyone know what will happen next in due time.

It should be noted that AmeChibi hasn't been cancelled (as incorrectly reported elsewhere), but postponed until a future date. At the moment there is too much uncertainty so they cannot commit to a date.

Souce: AmeCon

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

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

Category > Culture

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

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

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

Souce: CFP List

Crunchyroll Reveals UK Anime Fans Shun Cosplay in Favour of Books and Boardgames

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

Category > Anime

Anime streaming service Crunchyroll have sent us an interesting press release. They highlight that most UK anime fans would rather read a good book than cosplay. Surveying their premium UK members (who pay for the service to remove ads and get earlier access to titles) they discovered that less 7% are into cosplaying. In comparison 10% write or read fan fiction!

We could speculate as to why this is. Could it be that cosplayers would rather spend their disposable income on cosplaying? Instead using the free access areas of Crunchyroll? Does it reflect fandom in general, are less than 7% of anime fans involved in creating cosplay?

AmeCon returns in August 2020 with AmeChibi

Date: 2019 August 06 20:36 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Events

UK anime fans looking for a nice little convention to attend in the summer of 2020 are in luck. The good folks at AmeCon have announced that they'll be running AmeChibi at Northampton Park Inn on Friday 7th to Sunday 9th August 2020. It's called AmeChibi as it's smaller than their usual university campus events, running in a hotel instead. This means it'll have a different more cosy atmosphere than the larger events.

Registration for AmeChibi 2020 will open on Tuesday 1st October 2019. Pricing details have yet to be revealed.

The last smaller format AmeChibli was held in 2015 and registration sold out in 6 hours. So we advise you to book early on Tuesday 1st October 2019 if you're keen to go.

Souce: AmeCon

AmeCon - Live Stream for Next AmeCon Event Details

Date: 2019 August 01 18:47 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Events

UK based anime fans looking for a convention to go to will be pleased to hear that AmeCon will be announcing details of their next event. On Saturday 3rd August 2019 they'll have a livestream at 8:30pm along with a Q&A.

From what we can gather, they'll be announcing when and where the next AmeCon will be, along with when it opens for registration.

To be the first to find out tune in on either Facebook or YouTube.

You can also submit questions to them in advance via Facebook or @AmeCon on Twitter.

AmeCon is one of the UK's largest Japanese animation, comics and culture conventions. It's run by fans for fans.

Souce: AmeCon

Manga UK's MCM London Fundraiser

Date: 2019 May 08 20:20 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

The good folks from Manga Entertainment UK are getting ready for the May run on MCM Comic Con London. So to get things moving they've set up a fundraiser for the event. This time around they'll be supporting Mermaids the charity that supports gender variant and transgender children, young people and their families.

If you'd like to help you can buy a raffle ticket for a chance to win a nice selection of Dragon Ball Super / Dragon Ball Z goodies.

Photography in Japan Course in London

Date: 2018 August 19 10:47 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

If you're London based and want to know about photography in Japan then you'll be very interested in The Photographers' Gallery's upcoming course on Photography in Japan. Back by popular demand the 6 session course is set to run from Wednesday 12th September until Wednesday 17th October 2018.

Jelena Stojković will introduce the key moments and issues of concern relevant to the history and contemporary photography in Japan.

The course costs £200 (or £180 Members and Concessions).

Manga Jiman 2018 UK Competition

Date: 2018 June 14 19:32 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Culture

The Embassy of Japan in the UK have have just announced the theme for their manga competition. Theme for this year is "home". The competition has been running each year for more than 10 years now. Just by entering you can learn a lot, but this is certainly a competition worth investing time in. This years first place winner will get a flight to Japan, while second prize will get a laptop and third place will a digital camera from Ricoh UK (like Daido Moriyama we're fans of their GR Series cameras).

The competition has 2 distinct categories the Yonkoma Manga for 11 to 13 year olds where they can submit a 4 panel manga. While the main Manga Jiman is open for anyone 14 and over expects a short story told across 6 to 8 pages.

To check out previous winning entries go here.

Otaku News - Out with the old and in with the new!

Date: 2018 March 24 19:55 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

After 14 years you may have noticed we've had a bit of an update here at Otaku News. Our website now has a new look and feel! This is version 2 of Otaku News.

As part of the update URLs for existing articles and reviews have changed, but they'll be automatically redirected so if you've bookmarked them, or mentioned them on a forum, cited them on a paper or whatever you'll be fine to keep the existing link.

The Pirate Anime FAQ address has also changed to https://www.otakunews.com/pirate-anime-faq.

Our RSS Feeds are still available too and existing links still work.

Meanwhile the links we used to have down the side have been trimmed away, as a lot of the anime and manga companies we linked to don't exist any more!

Updating the code that runs the website wasn't originally a priority. We've always focused on content. When we first launched in 2004 the website looked up-to-date, then as time went on, the website was good enough, until it drifted into being, erm, well a bit vintage. 14 years is aeons in internet time and a lot has changed on the internet since then! So we've updated the code. It's now more mobile and tablet friendly. Hopefully as time goes on, we'll also add new features a lot quicker than before!

Please do get in touch and tell us what you think. Don't forget you can also find us on Twitter via @otaku_news.

Also we're always looking for new contributors, so if you're interested in contributing then please do get in touch.

Read More... | Souce: Otaku News

Hibanacon 2018 Details

Date: 2018 March 18 15:02 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Events

UK Anime fans looking for a convention in November 2018 will be interested in Hibanacon in Milton Keynes. Set to run from Friday 2nd to Sunday 4th November 2018 the convention returns with fan favourites including panels, games, live acts, cosplay and as every fan run convention demands parties (including a cosplay ball)!

Registrations are now open so we suggest you book soon to avoid disappointment if you want to go to a fan run convention.

Souce: Hibanacon

World's Largest Collection of CardCaptor Sakura Merchandise

Date: 2018 January 04 15:42 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Fandom

If you think your collection of anime merchandise is big then you might want to think again. Is it big enough to get a Guinness World Record? We've just heard from Sofia Pichihua a keen CardCaptor Sakura fan from Peru, who has the world's largest collection of CardCaptor Sakura merchandise with 1,086 items. Sofia writes for the Otaku Press blog (that's a name we like).

There are other collectors out there. Masao Gunji in Yotsukaido, Japan has the world's largest collection of Hello Kitty memorabilia with 5,169 items.

Can anyone else out there beat this? Do you have a large collection of anime merchandise that's worthy of a Guinness World Record?

Japan Matsuri in London September 2017

Date: 2017 September 21 15:48 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Events

London based fans of Japanese culture looking for something to do on Sunday 24th September 2017 will want to head to the Japan Matsuri. The festival is set to run from 10am until 8pm at Trafalgar Square.

The event has a central stage with performances all day long, plenty of Japanese food stalls selling hot street food to eat while you're there, plus lots of other stalls selling Japanese goodies. The event is free to attend, no booking is required. Just turn up and enjoy the celebration of Japanese Culture.

Souce: Japan Matsuri

AmeCon 2018 Announced

Date: 2017 August 20 13:02 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Events

Anime fans looking for a fan run convention in the UK for the summer of 2018 will be excited to hear that AmeCon have announced that they will return on Friday 27th until Sunday 29th July 2018 at the Warwick Arts Centre. The venue has proved a popular location for AyaCon, AmeCon and KitaCon. Registration will be £50 or £95 for premium for the whole weekend. Registration will open on Monday 16 October 2017. Special guest is American Voice Actor Jerry Jewell.

The event has just been announced as the closing ceremony of KitaCon 2017.

Souce: AmeCon

An Interview with Danny Choo

Date: 2017 July 26 15:27 | Posted By: Lee

Category > Features

One of the great things about writing for Otaku News is that you get to meet interesting people. At Hyper Japan we caught up with Danny Choo a professional otaku, entrepreneur, Japanese Cultural ambassador and inventor of the Smart Doll Fashion Doll.

Danny was born and raised in the UK and has been living in Tokyo since 1999. We managed to get an exclusive with interview him at his Smart Doll Booth and he revealed some interesting up products. Read on to find out more.

Read More... | Souce: Otaku News

Hibanacon 2017 UK Convention Details

Date: 2017 May 31 15:33 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Events

Are you looking for an anime convention to go to in the UK in November? The folks behind Hibanacon 2017 have got in touch to tell us about their up-coming convention in Milton Keynes. The new convention is set to run from Friday 10th to Sunday 12th November 2017 at Jury's Inn Milton Keynes.

This new convention is intended for up to 350 people and includes everything you'd expect at a fan run anime convention, including panels, workshops, screenings, a dealers room, a games room and of course, cosplay!

Kitacon 2017 Details

Date: 2016 August 05 15:24 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Events

UK based anime fans looking ahead for the 2017 anime convention season will be pleased to hear that Kitacon have announced their 2017 event. During the closing ceremony of AmeCon 2016 the KitaCon Team revealed that their next event is called Kita Quest and will be at the Warwick Arts Centre from Friday 18th to Sunday 20th August 2017.

The Warwick Arts Centre was used this year for AmeCon 2016, and has been used many times before by AyaCon. It's a favoured location for anime conventions.

Registration for the anime/geek convention opens on Tuesday 3rd January 2017 at 19:00.

Souce: Kitacon

World Cosplay Summit UK Qualifiers Details

Date: 2016 April 05 14:09 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Events

UK based cosplayers want to make their mark on the global cosplay stage will be interested in The World Cosplay Summit. The UK Qualifiers will be held at the MCM London Comic Con on Saturday 28th May 2016. There a team of two will be selected to represent their country as Britain's best cosplayers. They'll get flown to Japan for over a week of activities and attractions, including the WCS final itself.

So get making! As always, we suggest you check the rules and regulations.

Kitacon Karnival 2016 Opens For Registration on Sunday 3rd January 2016

Date: 2016 January 02 18:27 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Events

Just a quick reminder to those UK readers out there who like going to geeky conventions. Kitacon Karnival 2016 registration opens on Sunday 3rd January 2016 at midday. So get your fingers at the ready to register! There will be 1,000 places, and we expect them to sell out quickly.

Each website can register up to 5 people (which is handy for booking friends). Once all 1,000 places are filled, people will get added to a wait-list.

As always with such events we advise booking early. In August this year when AmeCon 2016 opened for registration they sold out in under an hour.

Souce: Kitacon Karnival 2016

Kitacon 2016 Registration Details - Kitacon Karnival 2016

Date: 2015 December 01 00:01 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Events

The good folks from UK Anime convention Kitacon have just sent us details for their next event. Kitacon Karnival 2016. They've already revealed that it'll run from Friday 1st to Sunday 3rd April 2016 at the Birmingham Hilton Metropole NEC.

Now they've unleashed details about registration, which will open on midday on Sunday 3rd January 2016. The even is limited to 1,000 attendees (100 of which will be premium VIP memberships).

As always with such events we advise booking early. In August this year when AmeCon 2016 opened for registration they sold out in under an hour.

Powerpuff Girls and Love Live! exhibition announced for Parco Museum Japan

Date: 2015 November 13 19:57 | Posted By: Eeeper

Category > Current Affairs

Shibuya-based musuem opens celebratory exhibition for Cartoon Network show's Japanese broadcast anniversary and launches tie mash up with fan favourite anime idol franchise.

AmeCon 2016 Registration Filled in Under an Hour

Date: 2015 August 31 17:04 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Fandom

We've already mentioned earlier that AmeCon registration went live today. The fan run anime convention's registration was filled in under 40 minutes, with all 1,000 spaces booked by 19:38.

Anyone wanting to attend the 2016 event now will have to be added to the wait list and hope that someone else gives up their space for the ever popular event.

Souce: AmeCon

AmeCon 2016 Registration Reminder

Date: 2015 August 26 16:56 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Events

UK Anime fans planning ahead for the big fan run summer convention in 2016 will already be aware of AmeCon. The event is set to return from Friday 29th to Sunday 31st July 2016. AmeCon will be running for the first time at the Warwick Arts Centre, the venue favoured by AyaCon.

Registrations for Amecon 2016 will be opening on Bank Holiday Monday 31st August at 7pm. This year the convention are introducing two tiers of membership. Standard that costs £48, and premium that costs £85, this gives you many bonus items in your conpack, plus earlier access to the dealers, plus reserved seating at keynote events (along with other privileges).

Generally with fan run events like this, once they're booked out, that's it. They don't sell tickets on the door. So make some time on Monday evening to register.

AmeCon 2016 Registration Details Announced and Kitacon 2016 Details Revealed

Date: 2015 August 02 14:24 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Fandom

We know UK anime fans like to keep up to date with convention news. As another Kitacon draws to it's end, at it's closing ceremony UK anime convention AmeCon have just announced when it will open for registration.

The AmeCon team revealed that their website will accept registrations on Monday 31st August 2015. The convention is set to run from Friday 29th to Sunday 31st July 2016 at the Warwick Arts Centre.

Kitacon 2016 is also due to run from Friday 1st to Sunday 3rd April 2016, once again at the Birmingham Hilton Metropole NEC. As of yet they've yet to announce when they'll open for registration.

It's normal for fan run conventions like this to take registration in advance, they often sell out quickly, so we advise booking early to avoid disappointment. Tickets are not sold at the door. Once they reach capacity, then anyone else wishing to attend is normally added to a wait list.

Souce: Kitacon

Embassy of Japan in the UK Announce Manga Jiman Competition 2015

Date: 2015 July 30 16:28 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Art

Readers with an artistic streak will be pleased to hear that the Embassy of Japan in the UK has announced the Manga Jiman Competition 2015.

There are 2 categories Manga Jiman for people aged 14 and over (there is no upper age limit), and Yonkoma Manga for 11 to 13 year olds.

Each year has a theme, this years theme is bright young things.

The competition is only open to UK residents, if you are artistic we strongly advise you to enter as the first prize is a return flight for 2 people to Japan.

You can see previous entries here.
Last year's winner was Cogs by Lorenzo Fruzza.

Channel 5 Documentary Seeks Single Male Anime Fans

Date: 2015 May 26 12:54 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Fandom

It's unusual to ask our readers this! Are you a UK based single male anime fan, looking for romance? A production company making a documentary for Channel 5 are looking for eligible bachelors who are interested on going out on a date for the documentary with another anime fan. The lady in question is an anime fan and loves attending conventions.

So if you're looking to find a like minded individual, a bit of romance, while on TV, now's your chance!

AmeCon 2016 Details Announced

Date: 2015 April 12 14:41 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Events

UK anime fans looking for a summer convention in 2016 will be pleased to hear that AmeCon have just announced that they will be running on Friday 29th to Sunday 31st July 2016. This time around they'll be at the Warwick Arts Centre. The last anime convention at this venue was Ayacon in 2013. It proved to be a popular venue, and it's the logical choice for AmeCon to take the baton from AyaCon.

The details of AmeCon 2016 were announced at the closing ceremony for AmeChibi. We spent the weekend enjoying the relaxing convention.

Interestingly we've been told current plans for AmeCon 2016 is that it will have an 1,000 people capacity. UK conventions generally can go up to 1,500 attendees. As any larger you start getting issues finding a suitable sized venue, along with legal complications such as insurance and tax. They don't want a huge convention, they want a good enjoyable convention. The smaller 500 people capacity at AmeChibi could have been seen a dry run, allowing them to get the new committee members up to speed with the logistics of running a convention.

Souce: AmeChibi Closing Ceremony

MCM Comic Con Plans for 2015

Date: 2014 December 03 15:12 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

Anime fans looking for geeky events will already know about the MCM Expo Group's Events. They've sent us details for their 2015 plans. They include the MCM London Comic Con, which is set to return for it's 25th run from Friday 22nd to Sunday 24th May 2015. As well as regional events in Birmingham, The Midlands, Manchester, plus Belfast. They've also started to expand into Europe with the MCM Ireland Comic Con and Stockholm Comic Con. They'll also be starting a new event Swedish show, Comic Con Malmö.

Tickets for the May 2015 MCM London Comic Con are now on sale. They also have interesting anime guests. Last time it was the creator of Cowboy Bebop and Space Dandy Shinichiro Watanabe.

Hyper Japan Christmas Market 2014 Details - Reminder

Date: 2014 October 29 17:44 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Events

Are you looking for Christmas Japanese Culture fun in London? Well Hyper Japan have got something for you! on Friday 14th to Sunday 16th November 2014 they'll be running the Hyper Japan Christmas Market at National Hall, Olympia, London.

Haruki Murakami Book Signing Report

Date: 2014 August 31 11:23 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Fandom

Yesterday cult best selling author Haruki Murakami was in London for a book signing. Being fans of his work the Otaku News Team decided to go along and see if we could get a signed copy of his book. It turns out, we're not hardcore Murakami fans.

Waterstones were running the book signing and advised fans that they would be giving out wrist bands for the event at 8:30am. The first 200 people would be able to buy a copy of the book and get it signed by the man himself. The next 200 would get a pre-signed copy. We got to the Piccadilly branch of Waterstones at 7:30am, already the queue had hit the 400 people capacity. The security guard for the event was politely turning people away. It was inevitable if you cap the number of people at an event, that there will be some people disappointed.

Read More... | Souce: Otaku News

AmeChibi Sells Out In 6 Hours

Date: 2014 August 25 14:51 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Events

UK anime fans will not be surprised to hear that Mini Anime Convention AmeChibi 2015 has hit it's registration limit of 500 people in 6 hours of opening their website for registration. The website enabled registration at midday on 25th August 2014, and by 6pm on the same day the limit had been reached.

We did say to book early to avoid disappointment. Those who have not yet registered can be added to the wait list, and put in the queue for any cancelled registrations.

The convention is going to be a smaller less crowded affair, with the event highlighting "the smaller size means a cosier venue, with less of that pesky walking around".

Souce: AmeCon Website

AmeChibi 2015 Registration Details

Date: 2014 August 16 07:21 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Events

UK based anime fans will be pleased to hear the news sent to us from the good folks from AmeCon. They've already announced that AmeChibi will be running from Friday 10th to Sunday 12th April 2015 in Nottingham. Now they've just revealed when registration will be open/

On Monday 25th of August 2014 at midday, they'll accept registrations. So get ready, as with events like this once they've sold out, that's it. We advise on booking early to avoid disappointment.

Update: AmeCon have confirmed the mini con will be limited to 500 places. So do book early.

Manga Jiman 2014 Competition Details

Date: 2014 July 12 15:06 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Art

UK based artists should get drawing as the Embassy of Japan in the UK have just announced details of the 2014 Manga Jiman competition. The manga competition is now in it's 8th year. The theme this time around is "ichi-go ichi-e", which can be translated as "once-in-a-lifetime meeting" or "a chance encounter".

We've covered previous Manga Jiman competitions before. The top prize this year is 2 return tickets to Japan, second prize is a laptop, and third a rather nifty digital camera.

They've also got an interesting category for 11 to 13 year olds, Yonkoma Manga covering 4 panels.

An interview with Japan Camera Hunter

Date: 2014 July 09 14:15 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Features

Normally on Otaku News, when we talk about otaku we mean fans of anime and manga. There are plenty of other areas worth exploring. Today, we'll introduce you to someone who loves cameras.

With the world going increasingly more digital, the photography scene around the world is seeing a resurgence of film and there is a demand among amateur and professional photographers alike for good film cameras. Film photographers enjoy the tangible nature of the photos and the fact that film slows the whole process down. Developing the picture is something to look forward to, it doesn't give instant gratification like a digital camera.

Certain cameras are now regarded as classics of their era. Japan is the natural place to go if you want a nice film camera because the country is ubiquitous for photography and cameras with so many camera brands being Japanese. While in other countries things are going on-line, physical camera shops both for new and second hand goods are a thriving business.

Bellamy Hunt lives in Tokyo. He runs a website called Japan Camera Hunter. He's passionate about photography and film. If you want a decent camera sourced from Japan, he's your man.

Our editor Joe caught up with him over a coffee in Shinjuku.

Read More... | Souce: Otaku News

Con Report: MCM Comic Con Ireland 2014

Date: 2014 April 29 17:09 | Posted By: Eeeper

Category > Fandom

Our report is nearly derailed by con flu but here's the rundown from MCM Comic Con 2014 in Dublin!

Read More... | Souce: Otaku News

Otaku News Podcast Omake 1

Date: 2014 January 20 15:33 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Podcast

Spike and Colin try a different kind of podcast in the first Omake Podcast. We didn't want to record a proper show without Rebecca (who is relocating for work) so we decided to just talk for a while about a few different topics. Colin bores the pants off Spike talking about the newly announced Persona games, we look at the first episode of Seitokai Yakuindomo* and then theres a long discussion about mech shows. As this is the first time we've done this, we would like some feedback. Maybe you preffered this to the normal structured podcast. Let us know at podcast@otakunews.com or on Twitter at http://twitter.com/Otakunewscast

MP3 File:
43.3 MB
47 minutes 01 second

[Direct Download] [Torrent]

Contact the Podcast crew at:
podcast@otakunews.com
or reach us via Twitter at @OtakuNewsCast
Disagree with us? Suggestions? Ideas? Contact us!

Note general site enquiries should go as usual to Joe at webmaster@otakunews.com

Read More... | Souce: Otaku News

Looking back over 2013 with Otaku News

Date: 2013 December 31 11:39 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Current Affairs

We don't normally do retrospective articles like this, but we thought it would be interesting to look back over the year that was 2013. February 2014 will mark 10 years of Otaku News. The last 12 months we've managed to cover a lot of interesting things and it'll be fun to go over all the events we were able to bring you in 2013.

Read More... | Souce: Otaku News

Otaku News Podcast Episode 12

Date: 2013 November 05 16:48 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Podcast

The Podcast crew is back for a bumper episode covering recent news, licenses and cake. Being reviewed we have Gatchaman Crowds, Beyond The Boundary (Kyoukai no Kanata) and the so far rather awesome Kill la Kill. Rebecca has just returned from a trip to Japan, so we get to hear her take on Toyko. The podcast wraps up with a new feature called Stream Run where Colin tries to talk about all the new shows he's been watching on Crunchyroll as fast as he can.

MP3 File:
77.9 MB
1 Hour 25 minutes 02 seconds

[Direct Download] [Torrent]

Contact the Podcast crew at:
podcast@otakunews.com
or reach us via Twitter at @OtakuNewsCast
Disagree with us? Suggestions? Ideas? Contact us!

Note general site enquiries should go as usual to Joe at webmaster@otakunews.com

Read More... | Souce: Otaku News

Otaku News Podcast Episode 11

Date: 2013 October 31 17:29 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Podcast

It's live podcast time! Here is most of our live episode from Ayacon 2013. Sadly technical problems cut off the beginning of the show but to make up for it we made a video version including the slides that the audience saw during the show. We cover our usual topics such as news and licenses. The feature is spread throughout the show and are our Top 3 "What the!?" shows. We review that swimming Free as well as C3-Bu and take some questions from the audience (who were rather awesome).

I don't believe its stated in the show itself but Spike and myself are playing a drinking game. Any time someone mentions Persona or Bakemonogatari we have to drink. That explains some of the random pauses and laughter.

If you like the video format and want more of it, let us know at podcast@otakunews.com or tweet us @otakunewscast. Also, look out for episode 12 which is coming soon and features highlights of Rebecca's recent trip to Japan!

Souce: Otaku News Podcast Episode 11

Konami Cosplay Challenge at the October MCM London Comic Con

Date: 2013 October 09 15:21 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Events

The good folks from Konami UK and the MCM London Comic Con have got in touch to tell us about a cosplay competition they'll be running at the Konami UK stall. UK Cosplayers cosplaying as Konami characters have a chance of winning a Dracula statue from CLOS2.

The MCM London Comic Con is set to run from Friday 25th to Sunday 27th October 2013.

REZtron - Otaku News Event Review - Wednesday 18th September 2013

Date: 2013 September 23 16:37 | Posted By: Guest Contributor

Category > Events

Written by Voxie and Franki Webb.

What does a gamer look like? Today this is an impossible question to answer. It's 7:45 pm, and as we walk into REZtron, we see a crowd ranging from 20s to 40s, male and female, from a range of backgrounds. It's clear that a gamer as no specific look.

Read More... | Souce: Otaku News

Wolf Girl - The Princess Mononoke fan film

Date: 2013 September 14 11:05 | Posted By: Franki Webb

Category > Fandom

Any filmmaker will tell you that producing a movie is- hard work. The time, effort and sometimes budget issues can get in the way of making a vision a reality. That challenge is only intensified when it's a fan-based film, reaping no financial rewards at the end and with only the love of the story to keep them going. But that's exactly what filmmakers, Nate Drake and Georgie Donovan are doing, currently in the works is Wolf Girl, a movie about a modern teenage girl struggling to save the forest she calls home from humans, who are cutting down the trees for their own needs. She then joins forces with wolves in a bid to defend her home.

Cosplayers Unite - A Kickstarter Project

Date: 2013 August 25 07:01 | Posted By: Priss

Category > Fandom

Cosplay photography circle SCG have launched a gutsy project Cosplayers Unite on crowd funding web platform Kickstarter. The project seeks to immortalise some of the world’s finest female cosplayers in a series of portraits to provide a unique "multi-media cosplay experience" for backers.

Otaku News Podcast Episode 10

Date: 2013 July 29 15:36 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Podcast

The Otaku News Podcast team braved the heat trap that is Colin's flat to bring you the latest installment of podcast goodness. We discuss some of the news to come out of Anime Expo, review The Eccentric Family and Yuyushiki and discuss the 3DS and the Final Fantasy 14 Beta. As Rebecca is off to Japan soon, Spike and Colin tell tale's of their previous trips to the land of the rising sun.

Download Otaku News Podcast Episode 10

MP3 File:
27.9 MB
1 Hour 0 minutes 59 seconds

[Direct Download] [Torrent]

Contact the Podcast crew at:
podcast@otakunews.com
or reach us via Twitter at @OtakuNewsCast
Disagree with us? Suggestions? Ideas? Contact us!

Note general site enquiries should go as usual to Joe at webmaster@otakunews.com

Read More... | Souce: Otaku News

An interview With Anime Director Shinichiro Watanabe

Date: 2013 July 27 16:38 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Features

It's not every day you meet an anime director, yet alone one from one of the most highly regarded anime series of all time. Thanks to good folks at Anime Limited we were able to catch up with Shinichiro Watanabe, who is best known as the director of Cowboy Bebop. He has also directed the hip-hop samurai mash-up Samurai Champloo and more recently the jazz anime Kids on the Slope.

We caught up with Shinichiro Watanabe at the May 2013 London MCM Comic Con. He was in town to promote the new release of Cowboy Bebop on Blu-ray along with the DVD and Blu-ray release of Kids on the Slope.

Read More... | Souce: Otaku News

Hyper Japan 2013 seeks volunteers

Date: 2013 July 18 15:48 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Events

The good folks from London based Japanese Culture Festival Hyper Japan have got in touch to say that they're still looking for volunteers for the event. It's set to run from Friday 26th to Sunday 28th July 2013.

They are looking for people to help out at the Reception area. This includes queue control, ticket scan, workshop area and so on. You won't be able to choose what you do in this area, so just e-mail volunteer@hyperjapan.co.uk and mention that you'd like to help out at the reception area.

They're also looking for people to help out at the Sushi Awards as Serving staff. If you're interested contact eri@hyperjapan.co.uk.

Souce: Hyper Japan

Evangelion Store Tokyo 01 - Harajuku

Date: 2013 July 17 16:17 | Posted By: Priss

Category > Features

In the April of 2013, I made my first visit to Japan. On my many travels, the second excursion to Harajuku was not for the stores featuring Japan's most iconic and eccentric fashion trends. It was not even to torture myself with the price tags in Lolita fashion wonderland. I passed the stores and sparklingly sweet crepe stands by. I was on a reconnaissance mission to visit The Evangelion Store - Tokyo One.

Read More... | Souce: Otaku News

Advanced Search

@otaku_news

@otakunews.com

Browsing Articles

Recent News

Recent DVD / Blu-ray Reviews

Recent Manga Reviews