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An Interview with Anime Directors Shinichiro Watanabe and Motonobu Hori

Date: 2019 November 09 17:06 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

MCM Comic Con London and Anime Limited frequently team up to bring great guests to the event. MCM Comic Con London October 2019 was no exception, with not one, but two guests of honour - anime directors Shinichiro Watanabe (best known for Cowboy Bebop) and Motonobu Hori a rising star in the anime industry.

We caught up with the two directors at MCM Comic Con London to talk about their latest project the fanatic Carole & Tuesday.

Read More... | Souce: Otaku News

The Garden of Words the Stage Play by The Whole Hog Theatre Company

Date: 2019 October 14 21:34 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Events

UK based Theatre Company Whole Hog Theatre have just revealed details of their latest production The Garden of Words. Based on the anime of the same name by director Makoto Shinkai. The play will be performed in London at Park Theatre from 15th July to 15th August 2020.

It will also be performed in Tokyo with Japanese Animation stage production specialists, Nelke Planning (Sailor Moon stage production).

Curiously the performance promises to be an interdisciplinary adaptation visually emotive story using puppetry, movement and projection art. Performed in English with occasional Japanese. The Whole Hog Theatre Company are not new to anime adaptations, having performed Hayao Miyazaki's Princess Mononoke on stage. While Princess Mononoke naturally lends itself to puppetry, The Garden of Words could have been done as conventional play. So we're very interested to see what Whole Hog have up their sleeves.

Anime and manga being adapted for the stage seems to be an on going trend in the west, with Kiki's Delivery Service being adapted by Southwark Playhouse and Urasawa's Pluto getting a performance at London's Barbican.

While popular franchises are frequently adapted for the stage in Japan by theatre companies such as Nelke Planning.

We're excited to see what Whole Hog do and suggest you book tickets soon to avoid disappointment.

Digital Art Exhibition at Japan House London

Date: 2019 October 14 20:07 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Events

As autumn fades into winter and the evenings get darker Japan House London have been thinking ahead. They've just announced details a new exhibition to brighten things up. WOW: City Lights and Woodland Shade is set to run at Japan House from Thursday 21 November 2019 until Sunday 22nd March 2020.

The two installations by WOW looking at both the urban future and timelessness of rural Japan.

The installation will offer mesmerising digital displays, images of Tokyo by night projected in a mind-bending 360-degree reimagining of Japan's capital city by night. Plus POPPO is an excursion into the folk art of Japan's countryside.

The exhibition is suitable for all ages and is free to attend.

Geiko and Maiko Guest Appearances at Japan House London

Date: 2019 October 13 19:13 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Events

As far as images of Japan goes, you can't get more Japanese than an image of Geisha. The traditional Japanese entertainers will be making an appearance at Japan House London on Friday 18th October at 12:30 to 13:30.

You'll get a rare chance to meet Geiko (aka Geisha) and Maiko (apprentice Geiko). They'll perform signature dances and also take part in a conversation with Japan House.

The event is free to attend.

Directors Shinichiro Watanabe and Motonobu Hori to Attend MCM Comic Con London as Anime Guests of Honour

Date: 2019 October 11 20:32 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Events

It's October. Which means it's almost time for MCM Comic Con London. The massive geek event is set to to run from Friday 25th to Sunday 27th October 2019 at the ExCel Centre in London.

They've just announced two very special anime guests of honour. First up we have Shinichiro Watanabe, best known for the major anime series Cowboy Bebop, but he's also done some other great shows including Terror in Resonance, Samurai Champloo, along with Kids on the Slope. You can also see his latest show Carole & Tuesday on Netflix. Shinichiro Watanabe is credited as the supervising director / chief director of the show.,

Guest number two is Motonobu Hori who is the director of Carole & Tuesday. The show marks his directorial debut, while he's worked on n key animation, animation direction and storyboards for a wealth of anime, including Napping Princess, Berserk: The Golden Age Arc, and episodes of Psycho-Pass in the past.

Both guests will be hosting an Anime Guest of Honour panel at the Centre Stage on Saturday, 26th October from 11:15AM, and will also be attending free signing sessions on both Saturday 26th and Sunday 27th October from 14:30-15:30.

As always we're very excited about this as it's a great chance to see some top talent from the anime industry. We look forward to find out what insights from anime production they'll reveal at this panel.

Japan Matsuri in London - Sunday 29th September 2019

Date: 2019 September 25 20:46 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Events

Fans of Japanese culture in London this weekend will want to head to the Japan Matsuri in Trafalgar Square. Now in it's 11th year the free event is set to run from 10am to 8pm on Sunday 29th September 2019. As always there'll be lots to see and do. Including a watching expert martial arts demonstrations, Japanese music and dance performances.

One of the main draws is always Japanese street food. We've also been told that Japanese fast food favourite MOS burger will be making their UK debut. There's always so much good Japanese food there it can be hard to choose what to eat! Yakisoba! Sushi! Hmmm. It's hard not to drool thinking about food while typing this!

There's also a great family activity tent will teach parents and kids alike manga, calligraphy, origami
and more.

This year's Matsuri marks the official opening of the Japan-UK Season of Culture - an exciting and varied programme of events taking place until the end of 2020.

Imaginary Solutions - Performance in London This November

Date: 2019 September 15 19:03 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

London based culture vultures will be interested to hear about Imaginary Solutions. It's an upcoming collaboration between the Tokyo-based Butoh dancer/martial artist Takahiro Tomatsu, and the acclaimed London-based experimental music ensemble ARCO, led by composer performer Neil Luck. The performance is set to run on Friday 15th November 2019 at The Horse Hospital in Bloomsbury. Tickets are £8 or 6 for concessions.

The performance is an official event of the Japan-UK Season of Culture 2019-2020.

Manga Artist Talk with Keiko Takemiya in London

Date: 2019 August 09 20:17 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Events

Manga fans in London are truly being spoilt with all the guests and events currently available over the last couple of months. This trend is continuing with a Special talk event with legendary manga artist - Keiko Takemiya. Known for her shojo manga, pioneer of the Boys' Love genre and author of the iconic manga including To Terra... and The Poem of Wind and Trees. Comic book expert Paul Gravett will be talking to Keiko Takemiya from 2:30pm to 4:30pm on Sunday 25th August 2019 at Foyles Charing Cross Road.

The talk will be followed by a Q&A and an opportunity for books to be signed bring them along with you!

This exclusive UK event is in partnership with Japan Foundation London.

The event costs £8 per person or £5 for students and Foyalty members.

Anime's Human Machines London Barbican Screening Details

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

Category > Anime

Anime fans in London are in for a treat. The Barbican have got anime expert Helen McCarthy to curate a season of anime screenings. Anime's Human Machines is set to run from Thursday 12th to Monday 30th September 2019.

Each screening will have a special introduction by Helen McCarthy. They've also got super mecha designer Shôji Kawamori. Anime fans will best know him for his mecha designs in Macross. He also co-directed Macross Plus. Other famous designs include a series of Dicalone toys for Japanese toy company Takara. This was a collection of transforming robots. Hasbro licensed these toys and rebranded them as Transformers. Mr Kawamori designed a certain truck called Convoy who was rebranded as Optimus Prime!

Shôji Kawamori will be introducing the Ghost in the Shell Movie (the 1995 animated version), at the Barbican on Wednesday 18th September 2019 at 20:45. Kawamori did some of the mechanical design for this film too!

This season has a whole host of awesome films that are all really worth watching on the big screen (Helen's spoilt us for choice). We suggest booking early to avoid disappointment.

They'll also be showing the mind bending Paprika, Patlabor the Movie, Mamoru Hosoda's Summer Wars, plus a few other awesome films.

Not content with just films, they've got a couple of drawing workshops too!

Origami Soundscapes / The Crane - Avant-garde Performance in London this August

Date: 2019 July 23 20:53 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Events

Fans of Japanese culture in London looking for something a bit different this August are in luck. We've just been sent details about an Anglo-Japanese Theatre/Opera/Live Art Production Origami Soundscapes / The Crane. It's set to run at the arcola theatre in East London on Friday 23rd and Saturday 24th August 2019. The Friday showing will be at 20:00, while there will be two showings on Saturday at 15:00 and 20:00.

The performance folds origami and music together in a multi-media opera installation exploring classical Japanese traditions with a uniquely avant-garde twist. You can always check out the trailer to get more of an idea.

This is supported by Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation and has been recognised as an Official Event of the Japan-UK Season of Culture 2019-2020.

It will be sung in English and Japanese without subtitles.

Tickets range from £12 to £22.

Our Road to Recovery: An Anime Studio in Fukushima - Talk at Japan House London

Date: 2019 June 27 19:57 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

Japan House London have been hosting a lot of great events for anime and manga fans recently. Continuing with this trend they'll be hosting Our Road to Recovery: An Anime Studio in Fukushima. The talk is by Asao Yoshinori of Gaina (formally called Fukushima Gainax). The talk is set on run on Tuesday 2 July 2019 and has two sessions the first at 15:30 to 17:10 and the second at 18:30 to 20:00 (which is followed by a drinks reception).

In this event, Asao Yoshinori explores the role that animation has played in the recovery and revitalisation of Fukushima and introduces a screening of two of his studio's representative works that have been specially subtitled in English for this event at Japan House.

The event is free to attend, booking is required.

What's Michael? Fatcat Collection Volume 1 Cat Manga Release Details

Date: 2019 June 25 20:47 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Manga

Fans of cat manga can rejoice as publisher Dark Horse are re-releasing the classic What's Michael? as a special fat cat collection.

The manga was originally released in English by Dark Horse in 1997 and has been out of print for a long time, with many fans thought a reprint of Makoto Kobayashi's manga in English unlikely. We're massive fans of the comic antics of this cat manga as it blends slice of life tales (or should that be tails?!) along with amusing fantasy incorporating cats. The light hearted title is due out in the US on January 29, 2020.

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

We've also been told that translator Zack Davisson is involved in this project and will write introductions for each volume. Zack is not only a manga translator, but a cat fan so it an appropriate choice for this series.

Why is the cat called Michael? Well Michael is used in Japanese as causal slang for cat, kind of like moggy.

This is Manga - The Art of Urasawa Naoki

Date: 2019 June 10 21:00 | Posted By: Guest Contributor

Category > Anime

In the window of Japan House in Kensington, a standee of a schoolboy with a baseball cap and backpack beckons. "Hey! Come look at this!" a speech bubble by his head says, inviting you to join him and his two friends inside. The characters have been drawn in the distinctive style of legendary mangaka Urasawa Naoki, and their invitation is for THIS IS MANGA - THE ART OF URASAWA NAOKI, which is open to the public until 28 July 2019.

Read More... | Souce: Otaku News

An Interview with Urasawa Naoki a Master of Manga

Date: 2019 June 09 21:53 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

Japan House London are currently hosting a manga exhibition of Urasawa Naoki's work. His manga is hugely popular with his books having sold over 127 million copies in Japan alone. He's responsible for manga including Monster, 20th Century Boys, Pluto (the re-imagining of Tezuka's Astroboy).

Urasawa himself was in London to set up the exhibition and also was a guest at events run by Japan House, such as QAs and a few live drawing sessions. Urasawa's live drawing performances aren't like anything else we've seen before. The multi award winning manga artist is also a singer/song writer who has released two albums and performed songs that have gone on to be on the live action versions of some of his manga. His live performance at Japan House started with him singing and playing one of his songs on guitar, then he activated his loop pedal so the guitar tune continues and walks over to a drawing desk and draws for everyone to see on a projected screen. Once he finished drawing he returned to his guitar to finish the song!

We caught up with the manga master at Japan House London to hear what he had to say about the exhibition.

Read More... | Souce: Otaku News

Manga Exhibition at The British Museum a Review

Date: 2019 June 03 21:27 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

The British Museum have just opened the largest Manga Exhibition outside of Japan. Naturally being keen manga fans we were curious. What was it all about? Was it any good? We were invited by The British Museum to check out the new exhibition and find out for ourselves.

Read More... | Souce: Otaku News

This is Manga - The Art of Urasawa Naoki in London

Date: 2019 June 03 19:49 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Manga

Japan House London have just sent a reminder that manga artist Urasawa Naoki is in town. He's best known for manga such as Monster, 20th Century Boys, Master Keaton, and Pluto (his adaptation of Tezuka's Astroboy).

He's in London to promote his exhibition This is Manga - The Art of Urasawa Naoki. The exhibition has a wide varity of his artwork on display, from his early childhood drawings to now. It includes a lot of original pages from his manga where you can see all the original details of his art. Along with huge prints of some of his amazing work. The exhibition is free is to ender and is set to run from Wednesday 5th June to Sunday 28th July 2019 at Japan House London in Kensington.

As Urasawa-san is in London he's also hosting a few events including a booking signing on Friday 7th June 2019 (from 16:00 to 17:00), but places are limited. On the same Friday Urasawa will be also hosting a live drawing live signing session All Talking All Singing All Drawing! Urasawa Naoki Live in Concert, this is set to run from 18:30 to 20:00. It's also free, but booking is essential.

Japan House London will also have wide selection of merchandise for sale at their shop. This includes his manga, plus t-shirts, mugs, plastic wallets and other goodies.

Their restaurant Akira have also teamed up with Urasawa to create a Yawara themed dish of fish and chips, with deep fried, bread-crumbed eel topped with umeboshi (pickled plum) tartare sauce, lime and egg yolk shavings. A Monster cocktail will also be available which is made with Dewa no Sato sake from Yamagata Prefecture, Czech spirit Becherovka, ginger liqueur, peppercorns, lime juice, fresh ginger and cloves topped with a white chocolate liqueur foam sprinkled with matcha!

My Brother's Husband Manga Artist Tagame Gengoroh in Conversation with Book Curator Haba Yoshitaka at Japan House London

Date: 2019 May 16 20:03 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Events

London based fans of manga artist Tagame Gengoroh are in for a treat! On Wednesday 22nd May 2019 Japan House London will be hosting Tagame Gengoroh in conversation with book curator Haba Yoshitaka.

The event forms part of their new library display LGBTQ+: Diversity in Manga. Artist Tagame Gengoroh is a superb pick for the event having created the manga My Brother's Husband, a tender story about a single dad meeting his estranged brother's husband.

While My Brother's Husband is known to be a sensitive story Tagame's other work doesn't shy away from more mature and gritty renditions of gay life.

We're very excited about this event, as it's rare you'll get a chance to see a talk like this in London.

The event is free to attend, but booking is essential. As always we advise booking early to avoid disappointment.

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.

Director Yuichiro Hayashi to be Anime Limited's MCM London Guest of Honour

Date: 2019 May 03 21:21 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Events

It's May which means it's almost time for the first MCM Comic Con London of 2019! As is tradition, they've got an anime guest of honour lined up to share great insights about the anime industry. For May 2019 anime director Yuichiro Hayashi will be Anime Limited's guest of honour. The director is best known for GARO the Animation and Kakegurui. He's also be involved in 2012 CGI anime production of 009 Re:Cyborg.

Yuichiro Hayashi will be taking to the Centre Stage on Saturday of MCM Comic Con London to discuss his roles as series director, storyboard artist and episode director over the years, among his involvement in major anime productions.

Anime Limited will also be running panels on the Friday and Sunday. No doubt they'll reveal some interesting information about up coming licenses. We're very excited as they've always got something interesting up their sleeve.

Kakegurui is currently showing on Netflix, so you can catch the series before catching the director in person.

MCM Comic Con London is set to run at the London ExCel Centre from Friday 24th to Sunday 26th May 2019.

WIRED in Conversation with Urasawa Naoki in London June 2019

Date: 2019 April 13 11:07 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

London manga fans are in for a massive treat this June as Japan House London will be hosting WIRED in Conversation with Urasawa Naoki. The event is set to run on Wednesday 5th June 2019 from 18:30 to 21:30. The talk is ticketed and costs £10. We strongly advise you to book early to avoid disappointment.

Urasawa is known for many excellent manga works including Yawara!, Monster, Pluto and 20th Century Boys. We've already booked tickets to this event and we know a lot of our other readers are very excited about this. It's rare for manga artists to give talks in the UK and it's exceptional that an artist like Urasawa Naoki will be running a live drawing session and explaining his thought process.

Japan House London will also be hosting This is Manga - the Art of Urasawa Naoki from 5th June to 28th July 2019. This exhibit is free introduces Urasawa's ideas from inception through development, with more than 400 original drawings and storyboards on display. Japan House recently ran this exhibit in the US at Japan House Los Angeles.

Manga Jiman 2018 Competition Results

Date: 2019 February 25 21:28 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

Since 2007 the Japanese Embassy in the UK have been running an annual competition Manga Jiman where you get to demonstrate your skills as a manga artist. The Embassy always takes the competition seriously hosting an excellent awards ceremony and offering generous prizes in conjunction with their sponsors such as return flights to Japan, laptops and digital cameras. 2018 was no different and as always the quality of entrants is high.

Last week at the Japanese Embassy in London they announced the winners. Elizabeth Garwood took first place with A.R.C - 01, Aamir Zaheer won second place with his entry Genie's New Lamp and third place was award to Karen Jiyun Sung with New Home.

You can see all the winners at the Japanese Embassy in the UK in London until Thursday 28th March 2019. It's Open weekdays 09:30 - 17:30, closed weekends. Entry is free, but photo ID is necessary to gain access to the embassy. If you're in London and have the time to pop in it's worth checking out the artwork to see the current crop of up and coming UK based manga artists.

An Interview with Studio Khara's Hibiki Yoshizaki

Date: 2019 February 19 22:01 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

MCM Comic Con London and Anime Limited always team up to bring excellent guests to the twice yearly London geek event. The October 2018 event was no exception where they invited anime director Hibiki Yoshizaki to be the anime guest of honour. You may have seen his work at Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo (aka Evangelion Q), where he directed the Sakura Nagashi music video (we've also interviewed Paul Cater it's composer). He's also responsible for the rather bouncy music video ME! ME! ME! with Teddyloid and DAOKO.

We were very eager to interview Mr Yoshizaki about his career and he did not disappoint. So read on to find out more.

Read More... | Souce: Otaku News

Mamoru Hosoda's Mirai Gets An Oscar Nomination

Date: 2019 January 26 21:17 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

Mamoru Hosoda's latest movie Mirai has been nominated for an Oscar for Animated Feature Film. It made the the list of final nominees which also includes Incredibles 2, Isle of Dogs, Ralph Breaks the Internet and Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.

Mirai's nomination is significant as it's the first anime film to be nominated that isn't from Studio Ghibli. Hayao Miyazaki's Spirited Away was nominated in 2002 and won the Oscar, being to date the only animated movie from Japan to win the prize.

The Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme 2019 Details

Date: 2019 January 08 21:48 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime > Film

It's 2019 and a new year marks a new cinema season from The Japan Foundation. This year The Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme 2019 has the theme of People Still Call It Love, covering Passion, Affection and Destruction in Japanese Cinema.

The screenings will kick off at the ICA in London, then go around the UK. As always they've got an exceptional amount of Japanese cinema to indulge in, whatever you fancy chances are you'll find something you like and discover something new and exciting for your films to watch this year.

Anime fans will want to book tickets for Penguin Highway, the quirky award winning story from the mind of Tomihiko Morimi who also wrote the lovely The Night is Short, Walk on Girl and the fabously enjoyable tanuki family comedy-drama The Eccentric Family. This movie is directed by Hiroyasu Ishida and features a town coping with the sudden unexpected influx of penguins. Just by the description alone it sounds a lot like a story from Tomihiko Morimi.

There are 18 films in total to enjoy, so check out the tour programme and find something that takes your fancy.

As always we advise you book early to avoid disappointment.

An Interview with Paul Carter Composer of Sakura Nagashi

Date: 2018 December 07 22:19 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

At the end of the most recently released Evangelion movie viewers were treated to a special music video for the song Sakura Nagashi. It marked the end of the movie and Hikaru Utada's return. While the film ended, the music stayed with us. We wanted to know more. So we tracked down the song's composer - Paul Carter and caught up with him in his London Studio to find out about the creative process behind the song and geek out over Yoko Kanno.

Read More... | Souce: Otaku News

Manga Exhibition at The British Museum in 2019

Date: 2018 December 05 21:05 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

The good folks at the British Museum have just announced a major manga exhibition set to run during 2019. Called Manga マンガ it will explore the phenomenon of manga, and will be the largest exhibition of the art form ever to take place outside of Japan.

Why is the British Museum hosting a manga event? Well, it's not a secret, they've hosted events related to manga before such as Hokusai beyond the Great Wave, plus even had manga set at the Museum in the form of Professor Munakata's British Museum adventure. Speaking to some staff there we know they're massive manga fans too.

Many of the objects at the exhibition are loans coming to the UK for the first time. At the moment they're tight lipped about what exactly will be there as they want to keep it a surprise, but the official graphics used with the announcement includes Golden Kamuy's Asirpa. So we're guessing they will have some of Noda Satoru's work. We know very little else about the exhibit yet, but they do tease other things on a blog post accompanying the event. Pikachu himself was also present at Museum for the announcement.

The British Museum normally deliver something special, so we know we'll be in for a cultural treat when the exhibition runs next year.

The event is set to run from 23rd May - 26th August 2019 at Room 30 in the British Museum. The event is ticketed and costs £19.50 for adults, while free for under 16s, plus a 2 for 1 ticket deal for students on Fridays. Members of the British Museum can get in for free. So head to London!

Win a Signed Mirai Poster

Date: 2018 November 02 12:17 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

The latest movie from Mamoru Hosoda Mirai hits cinemas the UK & Ireland from Friday 2nd November 2018. To celebrate the launch we've teamed up with Anime Limited to give away a fantastic Mirai poster signed by the director Mamoru Hosoda! To enter all you have to do is e-mail usmirai@otakunews.com and tell us the name of the little boy in the movie.

A winner will be selected at random on Friday 9th November 2018. Entrants must be in the UK and Ireland to be eligible.

To find a screening near you please visit miraifilm.co.uk. You can also read our review of this lovely film.

Read More... | Souce: Otaku News

Studio Khara's Hibiki Yoshizaki to be MCM London Comic Con October 2018 Anime Guest of Honour

Date: 2018 October 03 20:13 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

It's October already, which means MCM London Comic Con's October 2018 run is almost here. As is tradition they've got a great anime guest lined up. The anime guest of honour will be Studio Khara's Hibiki Yoshizaki (whose notable credits include Evangelion, The Dragon Dentist, Japan Anima(tor) Expo).

Anime Limited have just revealed all the details which include a panel and signing session. They'll also be bringing an exhibition of short film ME! ME! ME! to MCM. The signing and exhibition will be free, but the exhibition is for over 18's only due to the mature nature of the exhibition.
MCM London Comic Con is set to run from Friday 26th to Sunday 28th October 2018 at London's Excel Centre.

Read More... | Souce: Anime Limited

Japan Matsuri 2018 - London Event Details

Date: 2018 September 28 20:37 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Events

Fans of Japanese Culture who can get to London on Sunday 30th September 2018 will want to head over to the Japan Matsuri in Trafalgar Square. The Japanese Culture festival is free to enter and is set to run from 10 am to 8pm. The Central London location will play host to two stages highlighting Japanese Culture. They'll be plenty of stalls selling Japanese goodies, plus a variety of Japanese Street food.

As always, we've had the event listed on the Otaku Calendar to help you keep track of what's going on.

Souce: Japan Matsuri

First Ever UK Exhibition to Celebrate an Anime Director

Date: 2018 September 17 21:22 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Events

The good folks at anime distributors Anime Limited have just sent us details of the first ever UK exhibition to celebrate The Works of Mamoru Hosoda. The exhibition will run for one week only from Saturday 13th October until Saturday 20th October 2018 in Central London just off Oxford Street at Noho Studios, 46 Great Titchfield Street, London, W1W 7PZ.

The exhibition will also feature a shop, where visitors can purchase merchandise that is to be made available for the first time in the UK. This'll be a great chance to pick up a great selection of goodies.

It'll be open from 10:00 to 18:00. The event is free to enter. If you can get to London in that time frame we suggest you give this excellent exhibition a look in.

This is a perfect refresher to Mamoru Hosoda's world before catching a screening. Mirai will be screened around the UK on 2nd November 2018 for subtitled screenings and 4th November 2018 for dubbed screenings. You can find a screening near you by visiting the official Mirai UK film website.

The film also features at the BFI Film Festival on Sunday 14th October 2018 (the Saturday 13th October screenings have sold out).

If you can't get to London then Scotland Loves Anime will be showing it on Sunday 14th October in Glasgow and Saturday 20th October 2018 in Edinburgh and the Kotatsu Japanese Animation Festival will be showing the film at Aberystwyth on Sunday 21st October 2018.

As always for screenings we advise booking early to avoid disappointment. We also suggest catching this movie on the big screen while you can.

Read More... | Souce: Anime Limited

Kotatsu Japanese Animation Festival in Aberystwyth Details 2018

Date: 2018 September 06 19:57 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Events

Anime fans in Aberystwyth will be pleased to hear about the local leg of the Kotatsu Japanese Animation Festival. It's been running since 2010 and is set to return to the Aberystwyth Arts Centre on Saturday October 20th 2018. Attendees are in for a treat, they've got screenings of some truly delightful films, including Fireworks, Lu Over the Wall and Mirai.

We highly recommend Lu Over the Wall a quirky tail from Masaaki Yuasa (you can read our review here), along with Mirai from popular anime director Mamoru Hosoda, the screening is a week after it's run at the BFI London Film Festival, but also before it get a national screening. So you'll be able to see it before most people!

They'll also be showing Studio Ghibli's When Marnie Was There, something that you should really catch on a big screen. Other titles include Psychic School Wars and Attack on Titan: Roar of Awakening.

As always with events like this we suggest booking early to avoid disappointment, tickets aren't on sale yet for Aberystwyth, but will be soon, so please keep a look out!

Also don't forget you can catch some other great films at the Cardiff leg of the festival too.

Scotland Loves Anime 2018 Film Festival Details

Date: 2018 August 31 22:30 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

Anime fans in Scotland hoping to get their anime fix this October are in for a treat as Scotland Loves Anime 2018 Film is set to return in Glasgow from Friday 12th to Sunday 14th October and Edinburgh from Monday 15th to Sunday 21st October 2018.

The successful film festival has got a selection of treats for all tastes, a lot of them are either UK premieres some are EU Premieres. If you like some shonen action you can't go wrong with the latest My Hero Academia: The Two Heroes movie. If you want something fun for the family Mamouru Hosoda's latest film Mirai fits the bill (they've got other Hosoda screenings planned, but details TBC). Are you after something a bit different and quirky? Then go for Penguin Highway (EU Premiere), which is based on the novel by Tomihiko Morimi, who also wrote The Eccentric Family and Night is Short, Walk on Girl.

We're also very interested in I Want to Eat Your Pancreas, a story of a boy who discovers that his classmate is terminally ill with pancreatic disease. This is another UK Premiere.

They've got so much good stuff, looking for something old school and cyber punk? Then they've also got a special screening of Cyber City Oedo 808. The cult classic introduced many people to anime due to a screening on Channel 4 in the 90s. The cinema website states that this version will be the original Japanese dubbed with English subtitles, however Scotland Loves Animation have confirmed on Twitter it will be the dubbed version with extra profanity.

Oh also don't forget that they've got a special screening of B: The Beginning with a special Q+A the series director Kazuto Nakazawa too.

Mirai - UK Premiere confirmed as Gala Film for Family at BFI London Film Festival

Date: 2018 August 30 19:56 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

The good folks from anime distributors Anime Limited have sent us the latest details about their upcoming cinema release of Mirai. Mamoru Hosoda's newest film will receive it's UK premiere at the BFI London Film Festival 2018.

Gala screenings will take place on Saturday 13th October 2018 at 15:30 and Sunday 14th October 2018 at 17:45.

Mamouru Hosoda's movies are always excellent and enjoyed by fans. If you can't make it to the BFI in October you can always wait until the national screenings around the UK from 2nd November 2018.

Read More... | Souce: Anime Limited

Kotatsu Japanese Animation Festival 2018 Details

Date: 2018 August 24 20:27 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

Anime fans in Wales are in for a treat this September and October as the Kotatsu Japanese Animation Festival returns for another run of great films. Set to run at Chapter in Cardiff from Friday 28th to Sunday 30th September 2018 and Aberystwyth Arts Centre from Saturday 20th to Sunday 21st October 2018.

Japanese animators Tsuneo Goda and Hirokazu Minegishi from dwarf will be in Cardiff for the festival. They're stop motion animation experts. You may have seen their work on NHK World's charming Domo shorts. They'll be there to present a master class and conduct workshops, plus an autographing signing session.

Of course they'll be showing lots of anime on the big screen. They've got an amazing selection of recent anime including the charming Lu Over the Wall (which we've reviewed here), the emotional Maquia: When the Promised Flower Blooms (again you can read our review here), Mary And The Witch's Flower, along with Ghibli classics Arrietty and When Marnie Was There.

There's so much good stuff something for everyone regardless of your taste in anime. If you like a bit more action you can't go wrong with Tokyo Ghoul (the live action version) or Attack on Titan: The Roar of Awakening.

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).

Yuri!!! on Ice UK DVD and Blu-ray Release Details

Date: 2018 August 17 20:03 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime > DVD

UK based anime fans eagerly awaiting the release of Yuri!!! on Ice will be pleased to hear that Funimation Entertainment have announced that the popular figure skating anime will be released in the UK on Monday 24th September 2018. The fan favourite will be released as a DVD and Blu-ray Combo pack. You can pre-order it from Zavvi.com.

The show charts the trials and tribulations of Japanese figure skater Yuri Katsuki and his Russian coach Victor Nikiforov (himself a champion skater) who aims to get Yuri back in top form. There's a lot more to it of course with rivalry and choreography thrown in for very good measure.

In a case of life imitating art real figure skaters at the 2018 Winter Olympics have even used the music from the show in their performances.

This show is a fan favourite if you don't know about it already watch an episode on Crunchyroll.com to see if it's to your liking.

Mirai UK Cinema Screening Details - Tickets are now on sale

Date: 2018 July 25 19:28 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime > Film

The good folks from UK anime distributors Anime Limited have just sent us details of the UK and Ireland Cinema release details of Mamoru Hosoda's latest movie Mirai. Tickets are now on sale!

Mamoru Hosoda's Mirai will open on 100 screens across the UK & Ireland from November 2nd 2018.

-Subtitled screenings on 2nd November 2018.
-Dubbed screenings on 4th November 2018.

Please visit miraifilm.co.uk for more information on subtitled and dubbed screenings. Don't forget to use the hashtag #miraifilm when mentioning the movie too!

Read More... | Souce: Anime Limited

Summer Explorers! 2018 London Japanese Film Screenings

Date: 2018 July 22 21:08 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

After announcing a first wave of free film screenings, The Japan Foundation in London have just revealed more for August 2018 in in London.

They've got some great films showing, including an often overlooked aspect of Japanese history in Giovanni's Island, a film featuring a samurai projecting a cat Cat Samurai, plus many more.

Booking in advance is required. As always we advise booking early to avoid disappointment.

Pre-Summer Explorers! 2018 London Japanese Film Screenings

Date: 2018 July 17 19:41 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime > Film

The good folks from the Japan Foundation in London have sent us details of their up coming film season. As is tradition they have a series of screenings called Summer Explorers, but this year it's been so successful they've decided to have a Pre-Summer Explorers! cinema season too. Set to run on Saturday 4th, Sunday 5th and Saturday 11th August 2018 around Central London.

They've got some really good movies including Ghibli classic Only Yesterday, fan favourite Summer Wars by Mamoru Hosoda. Along with other classics such as Beat Takeshi's Kikujiro.

The screenings are free to attend, but booking in advance is required. As always we advise booking early to avoid disappointment.

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.

toco toco interview Yoshitoshi ABe

Date: 2018 June 04 21:00 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Websites

I am falling, I am fading, I have lost it all. Well we haven't really, but we've got that theme song from Serial Experiments Lain in our heads thanks to the folks from the team behind toco toco - a short documentary series showcasing Japanese creators and the places that inspire them. They've just told us that their latest video interviews Yoshitoshi ABe, illustrator, mangaka and character designer of various animation series like Serial Experiments Lain, NieA_7 or Haibane Renmei. While practising photography in Tokyo parks, his latest hobby, he recalls his 25-years drawing career.

You can watch the interview free (and legally) on toco toco's YouTube Channel.

Souce: toco toco

BBC Wiltshire Covers Fosse Farmhouse The UK Location Used for anime Kinmoza

Date: 2018 May 17 20:17 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

BBC Wiltshire isn't the first place you'd think of going to for anime coverage, but now and again it does pay off to check regional news. They've just published a video of a visit to Fosse Farmhouse, the B&B used as the location for anime Kinmoza.

We've covered details of Fosse Farmhouse winning Best B&B Story of the Year for it's Anime Connection and the original story of the location being used for Kinmoza.

Souce: BBC Wiltshire Facebook Page

Animerama: A Thousand and One Nights / Cleopatra UK Blu-ray and DVD Release Details

Date: 2018 May 12 20:15 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

UK fans of Osamu Tezuka's less mainstream work will be interested to hear about Third Window Film's upcoming release of Animerama: A Thousand and One Nights / Cleopatra. This forms the world's first blu-ray and remastered release of Tezuka's more erotic movies from the late 60's and early 70's. The double disc set is due out on Monday 18th June 2018 and is rated BBFC 15.

The extras bundled with the film make it even more temping including Audio commentaries for both films by Helen McCarthy (anime expert and author of The Art of Osamu Tezuka: God of Manga), plus a new hour long interview with director Eiichi Yamamoto.

You can pre-order the collectors edition on blu-ray and DVD from Amazon.co.uk

Fosse Farmhouse wins Best B&B Story of the Year for it's Anime Connection

Date: 2018 May 01 21:36 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

Anime is always a way of escaping reality, but it's always fun discovering when anime meets reality. We revealed Fosse Farmhouse was used as the real world location for anime Kinmoza. The Cotswold Bed and Breakfast featured as main character Alice's house.

The story behind Fosse Farm was found to be so interesting by the Bed and Breakfast industry it was awarded AA B&B Story of the Year 2018-19 as part of the Bed and Breakfast Awards.

The panel were impressed by B&B owner Caron's cross cultural adventures promoting British Culture in Japan.

Of course you can buy Kinmoza! Season 1 on Blu-ray from Amazon.co.uk in the UK or Amazon.com for the US.

Season Two - titled Hello! Kinmoza! is available to pre-order from Amazon.co.uk in the UK or buy now from Amazon.com in the US.

You can also get the original manga from Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com.

Don't forget to read our feature about Fosse Farm and Kinmoza.

Mary and the Witch's Flower UK Cinema Screening Details

Date: 2018 April 30 20:06 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime > Film

Anime fans in the UK looking for something to watch on the cinema on Friday 4th May 2018 (yes, Star Wars day), will want to head to a cinema near them to catch a screening of Mary and the Witch's Flower. Produced by Studio Ponoc, founded by Studio Ghibli veterans Yonebayashi and Yoshiaki Nishimura the film is clearly made in the Ghibli mould. The film is adapted from The Little Broomstick by Mary Stewart.

As always we've highlighted this on The Otaku Calendar, so you can keep up to date with screenings and release dates. It even shows in your Google / iOS Calendars if you like too via iCal Feed.

Japan Matsuri 2018 - London Event Details

Date: 2018 April 19 19:53 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Events

Fans of Japanese Culture in London looking for something to do at the end of September will be very excited to hear about the Japan Matsuri 2018. The regular festival held at Trafalgar Square brings Japanese Culture in the form of performances, stalls, street food and other entertainment to anyone who get to Central London on Sunday 30th September 2018. The event lasts from 10am to 8pm and is free to attend.

Of course September is a while away, so you might not remember, which is why we've added it to the Otaku Calendar which forms an easy to to keep track of all your otaku events.

Souce: Japan Matsuri

Mirai - the first Japanese animation to receive a world premiere at Cannes Film Festival

Date: 2018 April 18 20:11 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime > Film

The good folks from Anime Distributors Anime Limited have sent us details about Mamoru Hosoda's latest film Mirai which will receive it's World Premiere at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival in May as part of Directors' Fortnight. Significantly this is the first Japanese animation to ever to receive a world premiere on the Croisette.

The film will receive a UK cinema release later in 2018 via Anime Limited and their cinema partners National Amusements.

We've covered Anime Limited's acquisition of Mirai before.

Read More... | Souce: Anime Limited

Japan House will be opening on Kensington High Street in 2018

Date: 2018 April 14 13:34 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Press Releases

Readers heading to London will be interested to hear about Japan House. The new venue is set to open on Kensington High Street in 2018. It forms the London hub of an international project to spread the word about how awesome Japan is.

"JAPAN HOUSE is a project which aims to nurture a deeper understanding and appreciation of Japan in the international community, by creating a number of hubs from which to showcase and communicate Japan as a country of countless charms, able to enrich the rest of the world."

"Each hub features an exhibition space, a multi-purpose space with theater facilities, a retail space, food and drink, books, online connectivity, and a cafe space".

To find out more visit their website and sign up to their mailing list, follow them on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram to find out more.

Studio Ghibli co-founder and animation director Isao Takahata passes away in Tokyo

Date: 2018 April 07 11:31 | Posted By: Eeeper

Category > Anime

Isao Takahata, the co-founder of the legendary Studio Ghibli, has passed away in Tokyo at the age of 82. The animation director who worked alongside fellow director and studio founder Hayao Miyazaki was an integral part of the studio as well as being one of the major directors throughout its history. Among his many personal accomplishments were the animated films My Neighbours the Yamadas, Pom Poko, Grave of the Fireflies, Only Yesterday and the Oscar-nominated The Tale of the Princess Kaguya.

Read More... | Souce: Otaku News

Ghibli Movies to Air on Film4 in the UK this Easter 2018

Date: 2018 March 29 19:58 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

UK based Studio Ghibli fans can catch 4 Miyazaki classics over Easter 2018. Film4 will be showing:

My Neighbour Totoro - Monday 2nd April (1.05pm) & 8th Sunday April (11am)
Kiki's Delivery Service - Tuesday 3rd April (12.50pm) Monday 9th April (11am)
Howl's Moving Castle - Wednesday 11th April (12.40pm)
Spirited Away - Thursday 12th April (12.35pm)

All screenings on the free to air channel will be dubbed in English, with a screenings of Howl's Moving Castle and Spirited Away shown on later slots on Monday 16th and Tuesday 17th April in Japanese with English subtitles.

Film4 have a lovely habit so showing Ghibli Films during school holidays and such screenings of these amazing movies often get many people into anime. We suggest you catch these delightful films.

If you fancy watching some Ghibli on the big screen in London this year, the BFI will be screening some classic Ghibli titles this May.

Souce: Film4

BFI May 2018 Anime Screening Details

Date: 2018 March 27 20:08 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

London based anime fans will want to get over to the BFI in May 2018 to catch an Anime Weekender.

They'll be screening a range of titles including the soon to be released Maquia: When the Promised Flower Blooms, along with the box office giant Your Name. One Your Name screening will be on IMAX, we caught it on the colossal screen last year and suggest you can catch it if you can.

There's so much good stuff in this season, including the charming Lu Over the Wall. We saw it last year and loved it.

Tucked away on the listings (and easily missed) is a complete run down of the BFI Animation 2018 Season. This includes a delightful screening of Ghibli Classics My Neighbour Totoro and two screenings of Spirited Away, plus a screening of Princess Mononoke.

Satoshi Kon's masterpiece Paprika will also be shown.

Fans keen to see Akira can also catch two screenings of 30th anniversary screening: Akira, including one on IMAX.

History buffs and historic anime fans alike will be interested in Momotaro's Divine Sea Warriors a World War II propaganda film thought to be destroyed after the war.

Basically we suggest you catch one of these fantastic films on the big screen. Nothing beats watching a great anime film on a huge cinema screen. We also suggest you book early to avoid disappointment.

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