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
Category > Anime
Los Angeles-based publisher Seven Seas announces licensing of long sought-after manga, Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou, in multiple omnibus volumes.
Read More... | Souce: Seven Seas Twitter Account
Category > Anime
A reminder to anime fans based in the UK and Ireland that Mamoru Hosoda's latest movie Belle will hit cinemas on Friday 4th February 2022. You can find tickets and book a screening via www.bellefilm.co.uk.
The good folks at the film's distributors Anime Limited naturally want to tell as many people about the film as possible. They're placing nice prominent posters on the London Underground at Oxford Circus and elsewhere around the tube network.
Plus they've also painted a huge mural at Camden Lock which is bound to grab some attention!
We've already seen the movie and can confirm it's worth hiring an artist collective to paint huge murals for in London a prime North London location.You can read our review of Belle to find out more! It's one of those rare delights of an anime film. Just go out and watch it.
Read More... | Souce: Anime Limited
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
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
It's that time of year again The Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme is back for 2022. They've got 20 Japanese films and 25 UK cities with more venues being confirmed soon. The theme this time around is What Lies Beneath. Which aims to explore the dark mind in Japanese cinema.
They've got a wide range of new and old movies, so you're bound to find something that'll grab your interest!
Anime wise the film programme will be showing the UK premiere of The House of the Lost on the Cape.
Visit jpf-film.org.uk to find out more.
Read More... | Souce: The Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme 2022
Category > Anime
The good folks at anime company Anime Limited have just revealed the UK cinema release date of Mamoru Hosoda's latest movie Belle. Audiences across the United Kingdom and Ireland will be able to enjoy the movie in cinemas nationwide from Friday 4th February 2022.
We've been waiting for this news since Belle was first announced and we've been tracking it's progress as it hit various film festivals where everyone has been rightly impressed with it. Hosoda's latest cinematic offering can be interpreted as a reimagining of Beauty and the Beast, but brought into a slightly futuristic setting. It tells the tale of Suzu your average rural Japanese school girl in the virtual world of "U" where she becomes a singing sensation Belle.
The movie will be available both subbed and dubbed. Interestingly for the dub they're rerecorded all the songs in English, with the supervision of the original Japanese musical team.
You can find a screening near you and book tickets via www.bellefilm.co.uk.
To be honest, there are lots of reviews of this movie*. Don't read any of them, you don't need to. Just go out and enjoy this film. It's absolute perfection. If you like any of Mamoru Hosoda's previous films you'll really love this one. If you haven't seen any of his other works, this is a great introduction.
*That being said our review will be up soon too, so please do read that.
Read More... | Souce: Anime Limited
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
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
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
Category > Events
UK based fans of Dragon Ball Z are in for a treat! The Dragon Ball Symphonic Adventure is coming to The SSE Arena, Wembley in London on Sunday 7th August 2022.
This one-of-a-kind concert experience combines scenes and sounds of Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z together with live vocals and a live orchestra to create an immersive multimedia event for fans. With special guests the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.
Tickets are due to go on sale on at 10am on Friday 10th December 2021 on www.gigsandtours.com and www.ticketmaster.co.uk.
Read More... | Souce: S.J.M Concerts / GigsAndTours.com
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
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
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
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
Category > Anime
Anime fans across the UK are in for a cinematic treat with the We Love Anime 2021 Touring Festival.
Set to run at the Showroom Cinema, Sheffield between Friday 19th November - Sunday 21st November 2021, then We Love Anime will be at selected Picturehouse and Showcase Cinemas between Saturday 4th - Sunday 5th December 2021.
The spin of from the celebrated Scotland Loves Anime festival, has many great titles for all different tastes. You're bound to find something you like!
For fans in Sheffield Showroom Cinema has joined together with other local independents to host free Japanese-themed events to run alongside the film programme. On Saturday 20th November 2021, Treehouse Board Game Café will be joining the venue to host an afternoon of Japan-themed games from 12pm until 3pm. On Sunday 21 November, internationally renowned graffiti artist Trik 09 will teach the fundamentals of drawing anime characters between 11am to 12pm.
Read More... | Souce: We Love Anime
Category > Anime
The good folks from anime distribution powerhouse Anime Limited have just sent us a reminder that Neon Genesis Evangelion will be available on blu-ray in the UK from Monday 6th December 2021. The groundbreaking landmark series caused an anime boom when it was first released and has been hugely influential ever since. The complete blu-ray set includes the complete original series along with the original two movies.
Anime Limited are releasing the complete set in various different editions to cater for all types of fans, from a standard edition for those who just want the content, a collectors edition for those who want some nice extra stuff and finally an Ultimate Edition that has tons of extra content. You can read about the different editions here.
Read More... | Souce: Anime Limited
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
The good folks from anime mega company Funimation UK have just sent us details about their December 2021 release line up. They've got a lot good stuff there, but we're most excited about Nichijou - My Ordinary Life as it's such a fun, silly and under rated series. They'll be releasing it on Limited Edition blu-ray with an artbook and some art cards, along with a separate standard edition blu-ray.
Other limited edition releases include Code Geass: Akito The Exiled - OVA Series and Death Parade - The Complete Series. For those looking for standard edition blu-ray releases they'll be releasing Assassination Classroom: The Complete Series, Code Geass: Akito The Exiled - OVA Series, Fire Force Season 1 (the complete first series), Death Parade - The Complete Series, RoboTech - Part 2 (The Masters), along with some The Rising of the Shield Hero - Season 1 (The complete 1st series), Akudama Drive The Complete Series.
Plus the standard edition of the new 4K Blu-ray release of Akira.
Read More... | Souce: Funimation UK
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
Category > Anime
Anime distributors Anime Limited have just announced that they have the UK rights to Future Boy Conan. The hugely significant and influential show has not had an official English language until now. GKIDS have the US distribution rights and will release it sometime late this year. While Anime Limited intend to release the series early 2022.
The series is significant as it marks Hayao Miyazaki's directorial debut, the legendary director went to co-found Studio Ghibli and make ground breaking titles such as My Neighbour Totoro and Spirited Away.
Anime Limited also mention Keep Your Hands Off, Eizouken's tribute to the show, with characters watching it and it inspiring their love of anime.
Anime Limited will release the title together on Blu-ray and 4K UHD Blu-ray, split across two collectors edition releases. They'll include a 132-page book written by Jonathan Clements (co-author of the Anime Encyclopedia and tons of other stuff) and Andrew Osmond (who wrote the BFI Film Classics: Spirited Away book, along with lots of other stuff).
The 4K Release will be the first anywhere in the world, but we think it's worth it just for the book and a chance to finally get Future Boy Conan officially in the UK is something we've been eagerly waiting for. This title is a must watch for any Ghibli fan.
Read More... | Souce: Anime Limited
Category > Events
The good folks from the Kotatsu Festival have just sent us details for their upcoming 2021 event. Set to run in Cardiff - Chapter from Saturday 25th to Sunday 26th September 2021 and Aberystwyth Arts Centre from Friday 1st to Sunday 3rd October 2021. As always the Japanese animation festival has a great selection of films including The Deer King, Ride Your Wave, On-Gaku along with Studio Ghibli's first 3D CGI offering Earwig and the Witch.
Not to be outdone by the big titles, they'll also be showcasing the talents of independent animators including
cut-out animation called In Full Bloom and a hand-drawn fresh depiction of affection between two girls in The Mark of Emi.
They'll also be a few workshops and some free online events are also being planned.
As always with events like this we suggest booking early to avoid disappointment.
Read More... | Souce: Kotatsu Japanese Animation Festival
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
The good folks from anime company Funimation have just sent us details about Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba- The Movie: Mugen Train which will be streaming on Funimation in the UK & Ireland from Monday 30th August 2021.
The TV series caused a massive spike in the manga sales and a movie was the natural progression of the franchise. The movie did rather well in Japan, becoming highest-grossing film ever at the Japanese box office.
In this feature film Tanjiro and the other heroes (plus the annoying Zenitsu) go on an adventure to investigate the death and disappearances on a steam train. Action ensues.
Don't forget Viz will be releasing a complete box set of the original manga on Tuesday 5th October 2021.
Read More... | Souce: Funimation UK
Category > Anime
The good folks from anime distributors Funimation UK have just revealed details of the co-production Sing A Bit of Harmony. The film is set for release in Japan on 29th October 2021, and will be coming soon to the UK and Ireland. The story focuses on a mysterious transfer student Shion who turns out to be an AI. Pandemonium ensues with the new classmate.
The film is written and direct by Yasuhiro Yoshiura, who is also known for the enjoyable Patema Inverted: Beginning of the Day and the excellent Time of EVE.
You can see the official trailer here.
Read More... | Souce: Funimation UK
The good folks from the BFI have just sent us details of the upcoming Japan 2021 Cinema Season. Celebrating 100 Years of Japanese Cinema, coming to cinemas UK-wide from October to December 2021. The season will show case an amazing selection films from Japan.
The screenings mark a continuation of the Japan 2020 season from last year, which was more of a home screening event due to the UK's COVID-19 lockdown situation.
As well as the often imitated Akira Kurosawa re-release of Seven Samurai cinemas UK Wide, there'll be a major two part season of Japanese cinema at BFI Southbank from 18 October - 30 December 2021. Plus screenings and special events at cinemas UK-wide. Along with BFI Japan collection on BFI Player.
Read More... | Souce: BFI Japan 2021
From Wednesday 11th August 2021 Josee, the Tiger and the Fish hits cinemas around the UK and Ireland. To celebrate it's launch we've teamed up with the good people from Anime Limited to give away a limited edition one sheet poster. Want a chance to win it? Then read on.
Read More... | Souce: Otaku News
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
The good folks from anime distribution company Anime Limited have just sent us the latest update about Mamoru Hosoda's latest movie Belle. The film has just received a 14-minute standing ovation at Cannes. The coveted audience endorsement was the the seventh longest in the festival's history!
We haven't seen the movie yet, but we're excited about it, as Mamoru Hosoda has a track record of delivering great movies. Critics are making the right sounds about it too, with Telegraph film critic Robbie Collin saying "there is usually one film per Cannes that emotionally bulldozes me, and this year Belle was it." While Time Out's Phil de Semlyen described it as one of my favourite things at Cannes.
Read More... | Souce: Anime Limited
The good folks from anime distributors Anime Limited have just sent us details of their latest cinematic outing. Josee, the Tiger and the Fish is due to hit cinemas around the UK and Ireland from Wednesday 11th August 2021.
Pitched as beautiful, emotional and uplifting (which is the kind of movies Anime Limited love in their catalogue), it follows the love story between Tsuneo who gets a job assisting Josee an artist in a wheelchair. Animated by Studio Bones, who are best known for hits like My Hero Academia, Fullmetal Alchemist and Eureka Seven, this film marks a change in pace and genre for the studio.
You can find a screening near you on the official UK website Joseefilm.co.uk.
Read More... | Souce: Josee, the Tiger and the Fish UK and Ireland Website
Category > Manga
The good folks from the Embassy of Japan in the UK have just sent us details of the annual manga competition. The 15th Manga Jiman. The competition closes on 15th November 2021. This year around theme is light.
The Embassy of Japan has searched for the best comic creators in the UK since 2007. The search now continues with two competitions, Manga Jiman and Yonkoma, with the aim of providing a platform for aspiring comic artists.
Apart from being a great challenge and opportunity the competition always has a great selection of prizes from it's various generous sponsors. So if you have time and the urge to be an aspiring manga artist then check out the Manga Jiman website on how to enter.
Read More... | Souce: Manga Jiman Website
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
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
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
Category > Manga
Manga publishing giants VIZ Media have just announced The Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Complete Manga Box Set.
The set includes all 23 of the manga as well as an exclusive booklet and a double-sided poster. It's due out on Tuesday 5th October 2021. The list price is $199 USD, but it's available for pre-order on Amazon.com for $119, while Amazon.co.uk have it for £132.
This is the original manga that spawned the global hit anime and movie. It follows the adventures of Tanjiro who becomes a demon slayer in order to free his sister from the curse of being a demon. Action, adventure, violence ensue.
Japanese Culture expert Matt Alt has also written a great article on the success of Demon Slayer and covers the phenomenon in more detail along with the history of Shonen Jump.
Souce: VIZ Media Twitter
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
Category > Anime
The good folks from Anime publishing company Anime Limited have just sent us details about their most recent acquisition - Belle, the latest film from Mamoru Hosoda and Studio Chizu. Previous works include the absolutely fanatic Mirai, Summer Wars, Wolf Children, The Girl Who Leapt Through Time and The Boy and the Beast.
The movie follows familiar Hosoda themes of other worlds and cyber space with Suzu a 17 year old high school girl who enters the virtual world of U. There she becomes Belle, a world-famous singer. She soon meets with a mysterious creature. Together, they embark on a journey of adventures, challenges and love, in their quest to become who they truly are.
The movie has a top range of talent in production and we're very excited about this. We always enjoy a Mamoru Hosoda movie and we're certain this one will deliver!
Anime Limited have announced they've acquired all distribution rights to the film for the UK and Ireland. They'll have a cinema release, and no doubt a home video release in the not too distant future too.
Read More... | Souce: Anime Limited
The good folks from anime distribution company Anime Limited have just announced a special one day screening of Violet Evergarden: The Movie across the UK and Ireland. The feature film is due to hit cinemas on Thursday 1st July 2021 for a one day only screening. The film will be available in Japanese with English subtitles.
The movie follows on from the hugely successful series about Violet, a former child soldier turned "Auto Memory Doll" scribe, who travels around the Europeanesque world helping her clients write letters from their heart. During the her adventures Violet's clients learn about themselves and in turn so does Violet.
The series available on Netflix and blu-ray has extraordinarily lavish animation. The movie continues that tradition.
Anime Limited will also be releasing the film on blu-ray and are taking pre-orders now.
We're hugely excited about this film and can't wait to see it.
Read More... | Souce: Anime Limited
As things start to open up in the UK cinemas are warming back up too. Funimation UK are getting off to a good start this year by releasing Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba- The Movie: Mugen Train on 26th May 2021 across the UK and soon in Ireland too.
You can find a screening near you on the official UK website.
The TV series caused a massive spike in the manga sales and a movie was the natural progression of the franchise. The movie did rather well in Japan, becoming highest-grossing film ever at the Japanese box office.
In this feature film Tanjiro and the other heroes (plus the annoying Zenitsu) go on an adventure to investigate the death and disappearances on a steam train. Action ensues.
To be honest, we found the TV series incredibility enjoyable (despite the annoying Zenitsu). If you haven't already you can watch the series legally on Crunchyroll. We suggest you watch it before going to a screening (although chances are you've already seen the show so don't need to hear what we think about it). The show itself is a great mix of action, adventure, along with the importance of family and freeing your sister from being cursed to live as a demon.
Read More... | Souce: Demon Slayer Movie Offical UK Website
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
Category > Anime
Streaming curated film festival Screen Anime have just revealed their May 2021 line up.
Headlining this time around is Tokyo Ghoul S, the live action follow up to the original live action movie.
Billed as classic, they've also go some old school anime in the form Belladonna of Sadness.
Under the festival favourite banner we're offered Psychic School Wars, while under curated Screen Anime will be showing The Relative Worlds.
For their TV billing we've got part 2 of Eureka Seven.
This line up is set to run from 25th April 2021 until 25th May 2021. The subscription based service costs £3.98 a month or £39.98 per year. You can also gift a subscription for up to a year.
Read More... | Souce: Screen Anime
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
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
Category > Anime
Venerable UK anime brand to be retired in favour of new parent company's identity, social media idents to be moved over to existing Funimation UK addresses.
In an announcement on its official blog, Funimation confirmed that their UK home video division, Manga UK, will rebrand as Funimation. The fan-favourite UK anime label will start changing over to its parent labels identity, starting with their website and social media teams. The post also states that Blue Exorcist and its Kyoto Saga retcon would be available to UK and Irish viewers to celebrate. The change is expected to be completed by May 2021.
Read More... | Souce: Official Funimation blog
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
Category > Anime
We've just been sent some interesting details about the Culture Gate to Japan Art Exhibition. Set around the airports of Japan each exhibition focuses on a different aspect of Japanese art, history and culture relevant to each location. Kansai International Airport will be hosting a manga themed exhibition, which includes new works by artists including Yuki Urushibara (Mushishi), Machiko Satonaka, Yoshihiro Yamada, Yuichi Yokoyama and more.
But you can't get to Japan right now to enjoy this I hear you cry! Well the reason we're publishing this is the official Culture Gate website has lot of interactive content for you to enjoy from each exhibition online. So you don't have to go hopping around each airport of Japan to get exhibition experience.
We've been told "There are high-tech, contemporary artworks by 29 artists installed at eight locations across Japan. Each location's exhibition is inspired by the culture and history of the region of Japan it is located. From the mysterious soundscapes of Hokkaido's indigenous Ainu people to the vibrant history of Okinawa's ancient Ryukyu Kingdom, diverse cultures can be found throughout Japan. Through this project, artists and creators seek to reinterpret and convey the appeal of these rich cultural resources, each molded by the particular regional climate in which they developed. As the gateways to these unique regions, airports are the ideal location at which to exhibit these works, inviting visitors to discover new aspects of Japanese culture."
Read More... | Souce: Culture Gate to Japan
Category > Anime
The good folks from Screen Anime the curated monthly streaming anime festival have sent us the details of their April 2021 showings. As always they've got a great line up.
For April they headline with Makoto Shinkai's Children Who Chase Lost Voices (also known as Journey to Agartha).
Then they've also got the Tiger &Bunny Movie - Tiger & Bunny: The Rising. Set in a world where superheroes get sponsorship from big name brands similar to sports personalties.
They've also got five short films from Production I.G, in the form of Pigtails & Other Short Films.
While for their curated offering, they have RE:Cyborg 009.
For their TV series offering this time around they'll be showing Eureka Seven Part 1.
The shows are available from from 25th March 2021 until 25th April 2021. The subscription based service costs £3.98 a month or £39.98 per year. You can also gift a subscription for up to a year.
Read More... | Souce: Screen Anime
Category > Anime
The good folks from anime company Funimation (who own Manga UK and Cruchyroll) have just sent us details about their Nintendo Switch App. The app is now available on Nintendo Switch in the UK and Ireland. They also plan to expand to other territories in the coming months.
Read More... | Souce: Funimation
Category > Cuisine
We've covered plenty about food for fans of Japan in the past before. With lockdown still underway in the UK people are always looking for something a bit different to eat at home. So some companies have been innovative and created DIY at home cooking kits. This elevates it from a regular takeaway it's an activity you can do at home. Ramen chain Shoryu Ramen with branches in London, Manchester and Oxford have just teamed up with Hatsune Miku to create Miku x Shoryu DIY kit. This limited edition ramen kit is dedicated to fans of everyone's favourite vocaloid.
You can order now for delivery between 16th March - 4th April 2021. Each pack is £44 and serves 2 people. There's a meat eater (which contains pork) or vegan option. Each pack also contains Matcha Detox mocktail for 2, along with 2 white chocolate turquoise cookies a plus Hatsune Miku x Shoryu tote bag.
Read More... | Souce: Shoryu Ramen
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
Category > Events
The good folks from the Kotatsu Japanese Animation Festival have teamed up with Wales One World Festival to Celebrate International Women's Day. Together they'll be hosting free family friendly online event on 13th March 2021. The event will show case works by up and coming female directors. They'll be showing various family friendly short films on the Zoom Stream. The event is free to attend, but registration is required.
They'll also be running a free drawing workshop with the Japanese animator and illustrator Chie Arai.