Category > Events
The good folks at Hyper Japan have sent us more details about their London based event on Friday 1st October until Sunday 3rd October 2010. Square Enix will be there selling goodies. They've got a cosplay competition too, with a chance to win a trip to Japan. Plus lots of lovely food! Soy sauce experts Kikkoman will be there too, issuing a sushi challenge.
Read More... | Souce: Hyper Japan
Category > Retail
Anime expert and industry insider Jonathan Clements has just posted details on his blog about Schoolgirl Milky Crisis being released on Kindle.
It's available to buy from Amazon.com in the US and Amazon.co.uk in the UK.
Souce: Schoolgirl Milky Crisis Blog
Category > Gaming
We've been sent the details about the UK release of Sengoku Basara: Samurai Heroes, the popular action fighting game featuring historical figures kicking the backsides of whole armies. We've covered cosplayers who like to dress in Sengoku period clothes before.
The Capcom game is due out on Wii and PS3 on 15th October 2010, with Manga Entertainment due to release the anime version on DVD on 8th November 2010. As the in game Date Masamune would say "Let's party"!
Read More... | Souce: Capcom
Category > Events
New York City based fans of maids, moe and cosplay will want to keep Sunday September 19th 2010 free for Reni's Maid Show and Cosplay Cafe. From 12 Midday to 3pm.
2nd Floor of Amber Asian Cuisine on 432 6th Avenue (9th & 10th Street) .
Please note that there's a $12 door charge, which does not include the cost of lunch.
Read More... | Souce: Reni\'s Blog
Category > Events
Are you a UK cosplayer and fancy a chance to win an expenses-paid trip for two to London? Or even the chance to win a luxury trip to Tokyo, including five nights in a 4-star hotel! Well Hyper Japan are offering those things.
(Terms and conditions apply).
Read More... | Souce: Hyper Japan
Category > Press Releases
The good folks at Phaidon have sent us the details of their up coming book Manga Impact.
The book has 500 colour illustrations, 300 illustrated entries, and contributions from anime and manga experts such as Jonathan Clements and Tsugata Nobuyuki.
The book is due out November 2010.
Pre Order From Amazon.co.uk
Pre Order From Amazon.com
Read More... | Souce: Phaidon
Category > Events
London's Barbican has always been a great place to visit for fans of Japanese cinema with their monthly Japanimation screenings, but some fans may want to move into the arts centre from October to December as they'll be shown a whole host of Japanese films, anime and even a cosplay event! There's so much good stuff to see!
Movie buffs will be delighted to with the great range of movies.
There's so much to recommend here, we suggest you take a look at the full listing.
Shojo fans will be interested see the live action version of Nana on Thursday 21st October 2010 at 6pm.
Cosplayers will want to keep Saturday 6th November on 11.00pm – Kamikaze Girls screening and cosplay event.
Fans of cheesy movies will want to keep an eye on the 18 rated RoboGeisha showing at 7:30pm as part of the Halloween Shlockfest on Friday 29th October.
Beat Takeshi fans have a lot to look forward to on Sunday 14th and Monday 15th November 2010. They'll be showing Hana bi, Brother, Dolls and Zatoichi.
Those who enjoy classic Japanese cinema will enjoy the Akira Kurosawa season too.
Anime fans aren't left out either with a CLAMP themed screening of XxxHOLiC The Movie: A Midsummer Night's Dream and Tsubasa The Movie: The Princess in the Birdcage Kingdom – Tuesday 19th October 2010. As always resident expert and author Helen McCarthy will be on hand to introduce the movies.
As always with popular events we suggest booking early to avoid disappointment.
Read More... | Souce: Barbican
Scottish anime fans will have a great selection of anime screenings to look forward to with the Scotland Loves Anime October 2010 Festival. Set to run in Glasgow on Friday, October 8th to Sunday, October 10th and Edinburgh Friday, October 15th to Sunday, October 17th as well as part of the DCA Discovery Film Festival in Dundee October 22nd-26th.
They've got a great line up films some classics and some new
GLASGOW - Glasgow Film Theatre:
Trigun: Badlands Rumble (UK premiere, HDCAM)
One Piece Strong World (UK premiere, HDCAM)
Summer Wars (Scottish premiere, Digital Cinema Print)
Redline (Scottish premiere, HDCAM)
Professor Layton and the Eternal Diva (Scottish premiere, Digital Cinema Print)
Cowboy Bebop the Movie (Special screening, 35mm)
EDINBURGH - Filmhouse Cinema:
The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya (UK premiere, 35mm)
Evangelion 2.0 (Special screening, Digital Betacam)
Summer Wars (Digital Cinema Print)
Trigun: Badlands Rumble (HDCAM)
One Piece Strong World (HDCAM)
Redline (HDCAM)
Professor Layton and the Eternal Diva (Digital Cinema Print)
Dundee - DCA:
Summer Wars (Digital Cinema Print)
They're all worth watching, but if you haven't seen them already we highly recommend Summer Wars, the Cowboy Bebop Movie and Evangelion 2.0. As always with popular events, we suggest booking as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.
Read More... | Souce: Scotland Loves Anime
Category > Events
Are you in London and like Japanese themed clubbing? Then head over to Proud in Camden on Tuesday 24th August 2010 from 7pm until 2am for the Harajuku! Autumn Ball 2010.
The popular event returns with a selection of live performances. As always with these events we suggest you book early to avoid disappointment.
Read More... | Souce: Criminal Records
Category > Events
October is shaping up to be the month for otaku in London. With the London MCM Expo at the end of the month. While at the beginning of the month a new event called Hyper Japan is set to run from Friday 1st to Sunday 3rd October 2010.
The event has a lot to offer with an Otaku Village set to cater to all your retail needs.
Cosplayers will be well represented too (they'll even get a chance to win a trip to Japan). There's also a cosplay talent search, competitions and other fun to be had if you like dressing up.
Japanese fashion magazine KERA will be there with fashion shows and style tutorials (the event is looking for models to take part).
Fans of angel fighting giant robots won't be disappointed either as they have a special Evangelion Store which will be selling some exclusive and hard to find merchandise.
Figure collectors might want to note that Good Smile will be there too! ^__^
As the people behind EAT-JAPAN are organising the event you can be certain that Japanese cuisine will be well represented too. with the EAT-JAPAN food court.
They'll also have lots of culture on stage too. You can book early to get a discount from the standard £8 entry fee. Children under 5 go free. As always we advise to book early to avoid disappointment.
Read More... | Souce: Hyper Japan
Category > Events
Fans of Japanese culture in Central London will want to head over to the Japanese Art Festival at Conway Hall, Red Lion Square in Holborn. Set to run on Saturday 21st August and Sunday 22nd 2010. They've got kimono designer Yumi Yamamoto, Harajuku kawaii store 6% Doki Doki, along with a party on Saturday night with J-Pop Go!.
Read More... | Souce: Japanese Art Festival
Anime fans in London will want to head over to the Barbican on Friday 24th of September 2010 to see their screening of Eureka Seven: The Movie. Resident anime expert Helen McCarthy will be at hand to introduce the feature.
As always with popular features, we suggest you book early to avoid disappointment.
Read More... | Souce: Barbican
Category > Retail
The good folks at Udon Entertainment have sent us details of their 10 year anniversary art anthology - Vent. Due to hit the shelves on September 15th 2010 the art book premiers this summer at the 2010 San Diego Comic-Con, along with an exclusive hardcover edition at the Udon booth.
Vent is available to pre-order from Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk. UK readers should note that Amazon.com currently have it cheaper than Amazon.co.uk even after taking shipping into account.
Read More... | Souce: Udon Entertainment
Want zombies with your anime? The good folks at Sentai Filmworks and Anime Network are willing to provide you with infected flesh eating monsters! Sentai Filmworks have the license for High School of the Dead. and will be releasing it subbed and dubbed throughout North America.
The Anime Network will also be showing the first and second episode from Monday July 5th to subscribers in North America.
Read More... | Souce: Sentai Filmworks
Category > Culture
Fans of Japanese street furniture, retail space and the quirky side of things will want to check out the new book called Idle Idol: The Japanese mascot. The authors have sent details about this book, which collates the plastic mascots found outside shops, restaurants and other places trying to draw the attentions of passers by.
Read More... | Souce: Idle Idol - The Japanese Mascot
Category > Anime
The good people of Crunchyroll have sent us details about their new Bleach Simulcasts. Starting today (Wednesday June 15th 2010), premium members will be able to watch Bleach one hour after it's been shown in Japan on TV TOKYO. Regular non-paying members of Crunchyroll will be able to watch it a week later.
Bleach will be available on Crunchyroll in following countries areas - United States, Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, Central and South America, the United Kingdom, Ireland, the Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Iceland, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa.
Read More... | Souce: Crunchyroll
Category > Manga
Multi-National Manga Anti-Piracy Coalition Formed
We've received some very interesting details from VIZ Media about the formation of a Multi-National Manga Anti-Piracy Coalition.It seems that the industry has grown tired of Scanlations - manga scanned into a digital format and distributed without the copyright holders consent. The coalition include the 36 members of Japan's Digital Comic Association, Square Enix, VIZ Media, TOKYOPOP and Yen Press.
Originally scanlations were manga translated by fans into their native language from Japanese. This can be seen as the manga equivalent of anime fansubs. Some scanlation sites branched out to scans of manga that was already official translated and licensed outside of Japan.
This has cost the manga publishing industry significant amounts of money, not just in lost book sales, but lost opportunities in the relatively new market of eBooks and mobile devices.
The coalition intend to target scanlation sites and aggregators of scanlation sites. They've drawn up a list of 30 sites to targeted for action. First they will ask the sites to cease distributing scanlations. If the sites fail to cease distributing further action will be taken depending on the jurisdiction of each site. Actions include legal injunctions against the sites, reporting the sites to governmental anti-piracy units of law enforcement, including the US Justice Department, local law enforcement agencies and the FBI.
Fans curious about piracy in the anime and manga industry should read the Pirate Anime FAQ.
This is not the first time the anime and manga industry has attempted to stop piracy in the industry, but this is the biggest and most coordinated international effort so far. With many companies in the industry forced to make cut backs, closing down offices, laying off staff, we wonder if this is the start of a new approach? Will more companies pursue legal options? Are fansubbers next?
Read More... | Souce: VIZ Media
Category > Events
Baltimore based fans of Japanese Cosplay singers will be pleased to hear that Reni Mimura will be performing in Club Orpheus on Saturday June 26th 2010 at 9pm. This is part of the Pop Show Japan.
Read More... | Souce: Reni\'s Blog
Category > Events
We've just been sent the attendance details from this weekends London MCM Expo. The 2 day event has surpassed it's previous attendance record, with over 41,000 visitors.
Read More... | Souce: London MCM Expo
The good folks from Manga Entertainment UK have sent us details about the up coming DVD release of Naruto Shippuden Box Set 1. The box set contains the first 13 episodes of the adventures of a more mature Naruto.
It's due out on Monday 14th June 2010. You can pre-order it from Amazon.co.uk.
Read More... | Souce: Manga Entertainment UK
The good folks from Manga Entertainment UK have sent us details about the up coming DVD release of Soul Eater. Part one contains the first 13 episodes of the series. It's due out on Monday 28th June 2010.
You can pre-order Soul Eater Part One from Amazon.co.uk.
Read More... | Souce: Manga Entertainment UK
Category > Retail
We've received details from Manga Entertainment UK about the great bargains they'll be offering over the weekend of 29th and 30th of May 2010 at the London MCM Expo. They'll have 50% off most DVDs including boxsets and Blu-ray titles, along with a £1 manga shop.
You'll also be able to pick up Sky Crawlers on DVD and Blu-ray a bit earlier too.
Read More... | Souce: Manga Entertainment UK
Category > Events
London based anime fans will want to head over to the Barbican on Tuesday 20th July 2010 at 8:30pm for their screening of Mobile Suit Z Gundam: A New Translation - Heirs to the Stars. Resident anime expert Helen McCarthy will be introducing the film. As always, we advise that you book early to avoid disappointment.
Read More... | Souce: Barbican
Category > Manga
The good folks from Sweatdrop Studios have sent us the details of their new anthology - Telling Tales. The collection of fables, fairy tales and other ripping yarns is bound to be of interest. The book is priced at £6.99 and is due to launch at the May London MCM Expo 2010.
Read More... | Souce: Sweatdrop Studios
Category > Anime
US Anime fans can now watch Vampire Knight on-line as it premiers on VizAnime.com. This streamed anime title is only available to people inside the US.
Read More... | Souce: Viz Anime
Category > Gaming
The count down to the London MCM Expo continues continues. Fans of Yu-Gi-Oh! Will want to keep 29th to 30th May free for the Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG National Championship and the Yu-Gi-Oh! DS National Championship. The national champisionship is the gateway to the European Championship, which in turn lead on to the World Championship.
Read More... | Souce: London MCM Expo
Category > Events
UK based Cosplayers should already have the London MCM Expo on 29th and 30th of May marked on their calendar just for the shear number of cosplayers. As if you need another reason, Euro Cosplay 2010 qualifiers will be held at the London MCM Expo on Saturday 29 May, with the Grand final set for the London MCM Expo in October.
Read More... | Souce: London MCM Expo Euro Cosplay 2010
Category > Events
Anime fans who can get to Brighton from 30th April to 2nd May 2010 will want to go the Asahi Anime Festival. Highlights at the free event include food, drink, Japanese bands and fun activities for all ages.
Other fun and games include a manga drawing competition, a Gothic Lolita fashion show and even a chance to win tickets to Japan (we assume after volcanic activity has ended).
Read More... | Souce: Asahi Anime Festival Brighton
The good folks at the London Barbican have sent us details for their anime line up in May and June 2010. On Tuesday 25th of May anime expert Helen McCarthy will introduce an action packed double bill of Summer Wars at 6:15pm and Dante's Inferno at 8:45pm.
Then on Tuesday 15th June at 8:30pm the Barbican will screen King of Thorn (which is also introduced by Helen McCarthy). As always with popular events we suggest you book early to avoid disappointment.
Read More... | Souce: Barbican
Category > Events
UK based readers will want to head to London next Month for the London MCM Expo on 29th and 30th May 2010. The event has become regular addition to the anime fans calendar. This time around they're going to need your help breaking a world record for largest handheld game console party. Nintendo DS owners will want to be part of the world record!
Read More... | Souce: London MCM Expo
The good folks at Bandai Entertainment have sent details of the up coming US screenings of the new Haruhi Movie - The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya.
An English subtitled version of the film will be shown at the Viz Cinema in San Francisco from May 21st. The film will then be shown in Hawaii by Consolidated Theaters in mid-June.
Bandai also intend to release the film on DVD in the near future.
Read More... | Souce: Bandai Entertainment
Category > Anime
The good folks at Crunchyroll have sent us details of their latest streaming deal. They've started to show The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya. Fans looking for aliens, time travelers, and ESPers will be most pleased to hear that they intend to stream the second series later this year too. Crunchyroll's licence covers the Americas, the British Isles, Scandinavia, the Middle East and Africa.
Read More... | Souce: Crunchyroll
The good folks at the BFI Southbank in London have sent us the exclusive details of their up coming anime season. They've got a special selection of screenings in May along with some speical guests. To get warmed up for the event they'll be having a preview screening of The Sky Crawlers at 8:40pm on Friday 16th April 2010.
The anime season in May is going to be a real treat, it'll have the first and second new Evangelion movies, Summer Wars (a must for fans of the Girl Who Leapt Through Time) along with a whole host of other great films.
They'll also have a special screening of Welcome to the Space Show along with on-stage guests Koji Masanuri (Director) and Tomonori Ochikoshi (Chief Producer of the studio) for a Questions and Answers session!
Booking for the May anime season opens in a few weeks and we really can't stress enough the importance of booking early to avoid disappoint. These screenings are likely to sell out quickly.
Read More... | Souce: BFI Southbank
Category > Anime
Watching anime on-line is all the rage these days, with services like Crunchyroll leading the way. Viz Media have launched their own anime streaming service on VizAnime.com. Currently the site uses Hulu.com as a backend (which means that readers outside the US can't watch it).
They've got some great titles on there divided into 3 brands - Shonen Jump, Shojo Beat and Shonen Sunday. Highlights include Bleach, Death Note and Naruto, Honey and Clover and Nana. They've got something for everyone on there.
Read More... | Souce: Viz Anime
We've been sent the details about the Clannad English Dub from Sentai Filmworks. Up until now they've only been producing subtitle only titles. We don't have a release date yet. They also plan an upgrade offer for those who purchased the original subtitle only DVD. Sentai Filmworks intend to release Blue Drop, Ghost Hound, Legends of the Dark King - A Fist of the North Star Story and Tears to Tiara.
Read More... | Souce: Sentai Filmworks
The good folks from Beez have sent us details about the upcoming release of Gundam Unicorn on Friday 12th 2010 on Blu-ray disc. The release will be worldwide simultaneously in the 7 territorial areas of Japan, US, Canada, UK, France, Taiwan, and Hong Kong.
You can view the first 7 minutes of the OAV on the Beez Website.
Read More... | Souce: Beez
This months SFX has a nice cover mounted taster DVD with the following full episodes from MVM:
- Romeo X Juliet Episode1
- Fate Stay Night Episode 2
- Rozen Maiden Episode 1
The UK magazine dedicated to all things Sci-Fi and Fantasy can commonly be found in WH Smiths and your friendly news agents, plus the odd supermarket that stocks magazines too.
You want issue number 193 which is dated April 2010.
Souce: SFX
Category > Events
Romantic cosplayers in London should head over to Peter Parker's Rock 'n' Roll Club, just three minutes away from Tottenham Court Road. The Grand Cosplay Ball will be hosting a special Valentine's Day Prom on February 14th.
The venue will be decorated for the romantic day. Tickets are £4 online or £6 at the door.
Read More... | Souce: Grand Cosplay Ball
Category > Events
UK anime fans should mark the dates Friday 13th to Sunday 15th August 2010 in their diaries. As this is when AmeCon will return. The successful UK anime convention will open for registration on Monday 15th February 2010. They'll be at a new location this year - Keele University in Staffordshire.
Registration will cost £45 for the full 3 days. The registration fee does not include accommodation, food and drink. They'll take payment through Credit and Debit Card using Google Checkout, alternatively you can also post a cheque to them.
As always with popular conventions we advise you book early to avoid disappointment.
Souce: AmeCon 2010
Category > Events
Fans of Akiba culture in NY should head over to Top Tunes Karaoke Bar on January 24th 2010 where Japanese Copsplay Singer Reni will perform anime songs and J-Pop.
Read More... | Souce: Reni\'s Blog
Category > Events
London based fans of J-Pop, game and anime music mixes will want to head over to WOTA London on Friday 18th December 2009. The otaku party is all set for a Christmas special. They're at a different venue this time, Juno Shoreditch which is a 5 minute walk away from Liverpool Street Station.
It's set to run from 9pm until 3am, with a great line up of DJs.
Price is £4 (advance online) or £6 on the door.
Dress code is casual (cosplay optional).
Over 18's only (ID may be required).
Read More... | Souce: WOTA London
Category > Current Affairs
A keen eyed Otaku News reader has sent us details about ATM services in Japan that will impact MasterCard users visiting the country.
Carrying cash is often very useful in Japan. Getting money out from an ATM can be difficult as not all banks accept western credit cards for cash withdrawal. The best place to withdraw money is often 7-Eleven using their Seven Bank ATM machines.
Due to changes in the terms and conditions from MasterCard, Seven Bank will no longer accept overseas-issued MasterCard brand cards as of December 14th. The bank is still accepting Visa, American Express, JCB, China UnionPay, Discover and Diners Club.
Read More... | Souce: Seven Bank
Category > Events
UK anime convention Kitacon, have come up with a clever idea for a Christmas present - limited edition tickets to the event. Kitacon is set to run from the 26th to the 28th of March 2010 in Northampton UK. The gift of an anime convention sounds like a good idea to us! Although we do question their taste in bad presents. What's wrong with Tom and Jerry boxer shorts?!
Read More... | Souce: Kitacon
Category > Events
Fans of Akiba culture in NY should head over to Top Tunes Karaoke Bar on December 6th 2009 where Japanese Copsplay Singer Reni will perform anime songs and J-Pop.
Read More... | Souce: Reni\'s Blog
We've been sent a reminder by nice the people at the Barbican in London about their Ponyo screenings. We've mentioned it before, however due to demand they've added another subtitled screening to the Saturday 28th of November at 5:30pm to the London Children's Film Festival 2009. The other two screenings sold out quickly, so we suggest you book as soon as possible to avoid disappointment. Please note that as it's a children's film festival, all adults must by accompanied by a child.
Those who can't take children to watch Ponyo with them will want to consider the screening on Thursday 26th November 2009 at 6pm. It sold out initially, but it seems that a few seats are now available again.
Excitingly the Barbican have also revealed their up coming 2010 anime screenings, which aren't yet on their website. The biggest highlight is Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone, which is scheduled for Tuesday 26th January 2010 at 8:30pm. Again we advise booking as soon as the tickets are available.
We're also keen on seeing The Sky Crawler, but that's not going to show in the Barbican until February. ^_^
Read More... | Souce: Barbican
Category > Retail
The good folks from YesAnime.com have sent us some details about a new range of Cospa t-shirts made in collaboration with renowned otaku Danny Choo.
The t-shirt designs can be seen on Danny's website, and US readers can get them along with other great cospa t-shirts from YesAnime.com.
We only wish that Cospa had a UK stockist. Still you can always get TerraTag or Genki Gear t-shirts if you want to support UK anime inspired designs.
We must admit we're a bit jealous of Danny, we wish Cospa would make t-shirts with our mascot Miyuki. Still you can always download wallpaper of her instead.
Read More... | Souce: YesAnime.com
Category > Events
The good folks at the Grand Cosplay Ball have sent us the details for their 2009 event. It's set in the Clapham Grand in London. The special one evening event is set to run on Sunday 29th November 2009 from 7pm until 1am.
They've got a great line up of guests including cosplayer and Eurobeat singer Giorgia Vecchini, along with renowned cosplayer Yaya Han.
It's over 18's only, Tickets are £18. As always with these events we advise on booking early to avoid disappointment.
Read More... | Souce: Grand International Cosplay Ball
Category > Events
Manga fans who can get to London will want to visit the British Museum from 5th November 2009 to 3rd January 2010 where in Room 3 they'll be a free exhibit of an exclusive manga title - Professor Munakata's British Museum adventure. It's great that the museum are doing this and it's an appropriate title as it's set in the venue that's showing it.
There's even a nice reading area where you can enjoy some manga.
Read More... | Souce: British Museum
Category > Fandom
Otaku Dating sites seem to be all the rage at the moment. So we've discovered another dating site for anime fans MaiOtaku. They're pitching themselves as the OKCupid for anime lovers.
Read More... | Souce: MaiOtaku
Category > Anime
Fans of Osamu Tezuka, the founding father of modern anime and manga will be pleased to hear that a new book is due out November 2009. Written by prominent anime and manga expert Helen McCarthy the hardcover book published by Ilex Press reveals what makes Tezuka one of the key figures of 20th century pop culture.
It includes 350 colour illustrations and a 45 minute DVD documentary never aired outside of Japan before.
The publication coincides with the annual Comica Festival.
Buy from Amazon.co.uk
Buy from Amazon.com
Read More... | Souce: Ilex Press
Category > Culture
Fans of Akiba culture, especially singing maids based in New York will be pleased to hear that Reni Mimura’s new songs and CD are on sale at http://www.renireni.com/.
Read More... | Souce: Reni\'s Blog