Advanced Search

Browsing Articles

WIT Studio's Kotomi Deai and Hiroshi Shimizu heading to MCM Scotland Comic Con

Date: 2015 September 07 16:15 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Events

Anime fans in Glasgow are in for a treat, we've already mentioned Scotland Loves Anime 2015, however just before that the MCM Scotland Comic Con is set to run on Saturday 26th to Sunday 27th September 2015. The anime guests this time around are are WIT Studio's Kotomi Deai and Hiroshi Shimizu. WIT Studio are best known for the megahit anime Attack on Titan.

Both are experienced in the anime industry, and have been involved in titles such as The Rolling Girls, Silver Spoon, Kids on the Slope, Sword Art Online, Samurai Champloo and Space Dandy.

They'll be presenting panels, meeting fans and signing autographs at the Comic Con.

This is not first time WIT Studio staff have appeared at an MCM Event, we caught up with WIT Studio at the October 2013 MCM London Comic Con. The next MCM London Comic Con set set to run from Friday 23rd to Sunday 25th October 2015.

Shinya Tsukamoto: Filmmaker Talk in London

Date: 2015 September 04 16:20 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime > Film

Fans of Japanese cinema in London will be keen to go to the Shinya Tsukamoto: Filmmaker Talk on Saturday 26th September 2015 at 2:30pm at the Impact Hub Westminster. The talk is hosted by the Japan Foundation London and is free to attend, but booking is essential to avoid disappointment.

When Marnie Was There London Screening Details

Date: 2015 September 01 15:28 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime > Film

UK Ghibli fans will want to head to London in October to catch screenings of When Marnie Was There at the BFI London Film Festival.

The Film will be screened at the Haymarket Cineworld at 14:30 on Saturday 10th October 2015 and 18:15 on Wednesday 14th October 2015 at the BFI Southbank.

This is Studio Ghibli's final film.

The BFI London Film Festival 2015 also has other films of interest, including Mamoru Hosoda's The Boy and the Beast. If you like Summer Wars, The Girl Who Leapt Through Time and Wolf Children, you'll want to catch this feature.

Scotland Loves Anime 2015 Announced

Date: 2015 August 29 12:37 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

Anime fans in Scotland are in for a treat this October as popular anime film festival Scotland Loves Anime returns to Edinburgh and Glasgow for it's 6th consecutive year. They'll also have some screenings in Aberdeen too.

Scotland Loves Anime have just announced the event is set to run in Glasgow from Friday 9th to Sunday 11th October 2015 and Edinburgh from Monday 12th to Sunday 18th October 2015. The line up as always is awesome. They've got all sorts of anime, plus the new live action Attack on Titan movies. Guest wise anime director Keiichi Hara who recently directed Sarusuberi: Miss Hokusai, will be at Glasgow, along with renowned anime expert Jonathan Clements (saying he's an expert is a bit of an understament, as) he's written tons about anime in books and magazines, plus is the co-author of the The Anime Encyclopedia.

Scotland Loves Anime 2015: Edinburgh Line-Up
Monday 12th to Sunday 18th October 2015

Sarusuberi: Miss Hokusai
Empire Of Corpses
Expelled From Paradise
The Case Of Alice & Hana
Dragonball Z: Resurrection ‘F’
Attack On Titan – Live Action Film 1
The Last: Naruto The Movie
Boruto: Naruto The Movie
Love Live! The Movie
Madoka Magica – Film 3: Rebellion
Attack On Titan – Part 1
Attack On Titan Part 2 – Jiyuu No Tsubasa
Ghost In The Shell: The New Movie (2015)

Scotland Loves Anime 2015: Glasgow Line-Up
Friday 9th to Sunday 11th October 2015

Sarusuberi: Miss Hokusai
Empire Of Corpses
The Case Of Alice & Hana
Dragonball Z: Resurrection ‘F’
Attack On Titan – Live Action Film 1
Attack On Titan – Live Action Film 2
Boruto: Naruto The Movie

Anime Pioneer Osamu Tezuka Documentary on NHK World This Weekend

Date: 2015 August 27 11:50 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

Anime fans keen to know about the origins of their hobby will be very interested to tune into NHK World this weekend to catch Artist in Motion: Anime Pioneer Osamu Tezuka. The documentary looks at the famed manga and anime creator who often considered the founding father of modern anime. It focuses on the triumphs and tribulations of an artist driven to new forms of expression.

It will be broadcast on NHK World on
Saturday 29th August
23:10
Sunday 30th August
5:10, 10:10 and 17:10
All times are in UTC (as NHK world is a global channel).

NHK World is free to access, and is broadcast on most satellite providers. It broadcasts it's content in English, either dubbed into English, or in Japanese with English subtitles. Details on how to watch it can be found here.

UK based readers can find NHK World on:
Sky Channel 507
Freesat Channel 209
Virgin Media (with certain packages) Channel 625

Australian based readers can catch it on Foxtel Channel 656

American readers can get it with different cable or satellite providers.

You can also watch a live stream on the NHK World Website or download their live streaming app for your tablet or smartphone.

Hatsune Miku at the Photographers' Gallery in London

Date: 2015 August 22 14:24 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Events

London based fans of everyone's favourite Vocaloid will want to head down to The Photographers' Gallery in Central London. Their media wall is currently showing Hatsune Miku as part of the d(^_^)b Exhibit, which runs up until Tuesday 15th September 2015.

Fans will also want to attend the Vocaloids and Alternative Universes talk which is set to run at the gallery at 6pm on Tuesday 8th September 2015. It's set to explore the theme of "How are new forums are being created online through fan and user generated music and images?" It should be an interesting discussion, but we wonder why no-one who is a Japanese Culture expert is on the panel? The talk costs £8 to attend or £5 for TPG members and concessions. It certainly does look interesting and worth attending.

JAPAN NOW - Pop & Modern Art

Date: 2015 August 21 04:00 | Posted By: Dragon

Category > Culture

Mayumi International displays over 100 artworks by 50 artists...

Kamishibai Paper Theatre Workshop in Ashburton, Devon

Date: 2015 August 20 16:26 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Culture

While we normally focus on UK events in London, our readers in Ashburton in Devon are in for a cultural delight this weekend. Graphic novel and comics shop Gnash will be running a Kamishibai workshop in their shop on Sunday 23rd August 2015.

Kamishibai traditional form of paper theatre, where the performer would tell stories, and show accompanying pictures. The story teller would change each picture during the story as the narrative goes along. Most performers uses this as a method of selling sweets. They'd ride along from neighbourhood to neighbourhood telling the stories to local children.

Gnash will be running 2 sessions one at 11:30 am and one at 2:30pm. Priced at £8.50 per attendee.

The Japanese Gallery in London Launches New Anime Cel Website

Date: 2015 August 20 15:54 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

The good folks from the Japanese Gallery in London have sent us details of a new website they've just launched. Cel-ga.com showcases anime cels that the gallery has for sale. You can buy them on-line and get them shipped to you. Alternatively, you can always walk into their London shop and buy it in the real world.

Doraemon Arrives on UK TV

Date: 2015 August 16 15:46 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

Anime fans will be keen to hear that the Japanese cultural icon Doraemon will arrive on UK TV from Monday 17th August 2015. The blue cat from the future will make his UK debut on kids TV station Boomerang at 7:30 am. With new episodes airing after that daily. Boomerang is available on Sky, Virgin Media, BT Vision and other TV services in the UK and Ireland.

In Japan Doraemon is huge, the manga started in 1969 and went on to sell over 100 million copies. He's had anime shows, feature films and (as you'd expect) plenty of merchandise. He quintessentially an example of Japanese children's manga. A true classic you should see.

The version being aired will be the 2005 version of the show.

Doraemon has recently been making inroads in the US since it's been showing on Disney XD.

Souce: Wired UK

Karen's Bridge on Location with Kinmoza

Date: 2015 August 03 16:02 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Features

It's no secret that our editor has a soft spot for moe anime show Kinmoza. We even took a trip to see Alice's house a while ago, revealing the location used to the world.

There are other locations used on the show that fans might be interested in visiting. Caron Cooper of Fosse Farm B&B has just told us about a local bridge featured on the show.

Read More... | Souce: Otaku News

Embassy of Japan in the UK Announce Manga Jiman Competition 2015

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

Category > Art

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

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

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

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

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

Japan: Earth's Enchanted Islands on BBC Two

Date: 2015 June 06 16:42 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime > TV

UK based readers will be pleased to hear that BBC Two will be showing a nature documentary Japan: Earth's Enchanted Islands. The programme starts at 21:00 on Monday 8th June 2015. Each episode will be available on BBC iPlayer shortly after broadcast. Every episode will focus on a different Japanese island, starting with Honshu, then The Southwest Islands and concluding with the icy Hokkaido They'll have lots of interesting things, including monkeys, tanuki and deer.

Souce: BBC Two

An Interview with Hidetaka Tenjin Mechanical Illustrator and Mecha Designer

Date: 2015 June 01 15:36 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Features

As children we've often spent our time drawing giant robots and fighter jets. Many of our readers would still do this for fun now and again. But what if you want to do it professionally? We were lucky enough to meet one such man - Mecha Designer Hidetaka Tenjin. He's does technical illustrations and designs cool mechanical things. He's done technical illustration for Macross Zero, Macross Frontier, Macross Frontier: The False Diva and Macross Frontier: The Wings of Goodbye.

He's got a few art books to his name too. Plus he also does lots of box art for model kits.

We were lucky enough to catch up with Hidetaka Tenjin at the May 2015 MCM London Comic Con where he was invited by streaming service Viewster to be the anime guest of honour.

Read More... | Souce: Otaku News

Hyper Japan July 2015 Details

Date: 2015 May 27 14:19 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Events

UK based fans of Japanese culture will be interested in Hyper Japan. The regular Japanese Culture event is set to return to London, this time at The O2.

The event is set to run from Friday 10th to Sunday 12 July 2015. As always it's listed on the Otaku Calendar.

There'll be lots to see and do there, highlights include as always all the food, plus anime music singer Eir Aoi, best known for her work on Sword Art Online and Kill La Kill. Anime is also well represented with anime director Kobun Shizuno. They'll be lots of gaming goodness too, plus things like Japanese clothes, and music.

Read More... | Souce: Hyper Japan

Harajuku Girls at London's Finborough Theatre

Date: 2015 February 28 12:31 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Culture

Fans of Japanese Pop Culture inspired theatre will be interested in the new play Harajuku Girls which is currently running at the Finborough Theatre in London.

The play focuses on 3 young women who drift into the seedy underworld of Kabukicho. In a place were everything can be bought and sold they have to decide how far their willing to go

The performance is running from Tuesday 24th February 2015 to Saturday 21st March 2015.

Love Hotel Documentary on BBC 4 - Monday 16th February 2015

Date: 2015 February 15 12:34 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime > TV

UK readers looking for something a bit different will be interested to hear about BBC 4's Storyville Documentary on Love Hotels. This documentary explores daily life inside a Japanese 'love hotel' and the people that frequent . The feature will be broadcast at 10pm on Monday 16th February 2015. It'll also be available on BBC iPlayer shortly after broadcast.

BBC 4 can be viewed on:
Freeview Channel 9
Freeview HD 106
Freesat Channel 107
Sky Channel 116
Virgin Channel 107
Virgin HD 164

The Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme UK 2015

Date: 2015 January 29 16:20 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime > Film

UK based fans of Japanese cinema are in for treat for the next couple of months when The Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme 2015 hits the UK. Scheduled to run at the ICA in London from 30th January to 5th February 2015 then 5th February - 26th March 2015 nationwide.

Anime fans can enjoy a screening of A Letter to Momo.

Plus the ICA Screening of Short Peace, will be accompanied with an intro and post-show Q&A with Japanese anime expert Helen McCarthy (she's written lots of books on anime, and given lots of talks on the subject too to say the least).

Live action film Wood Job also features a Q&A with the director Shinobu Yaguchi in London at 6:30pm on January 2015 and 6:15pm 3rd February 2015. The director will also be appearing at the Bristol, Derby and Sheffield.

If you're in the UK, hopefully you can get to one the following locations -

Belfast
Birmingham
Bristol
Cumbria
Derby
Dundee
Edinburgh
London
Newcastle upon Tyne
Nottingham
Sheffield

As always with cinema screenings like this we advise booking in advance to avoid disappointment.

The Giant Ghibli Clock - Nittele Big Clock

Date: 2015 January 01 15:42 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Features

For a Ghibli fan heading to Japan, Mitaka is a the natural place to go for a pilgrimage to the Ghibli Museum. However the modern Tokyo district of Shiodome should not be overlooked for something something interesting and entertaining: the Nittele Big Clock (Nippon TV Really Big Clock).

Read More... | Souce: Otaku News

Fascinating Tokusatsu Museum on NHK World

Date: 2014 December 19 15:04 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

Fans of all things Tokusatsu will want to tune into NHK World on Saturday 20th December 2014. They'll be broadcasting a special show about the Fascinating Tokusatsu Museum. It's set to feature Hideaki Anno the famed anime director behind Neon Genesis Evangelion.

It'll be broadcast the following times - 4:10, 10:10, 16:10 and 22:10 (all UTC). The NHK World schedule page will allow you to figure out how this converts to your local time.

You can watch NHK in many regions around the world.

UK viewers can catch it on Sky Channel 507, Freesat Channel 209 and Virgin Medial 625. NHK

World generally broadcast in either English or in Japanese with English subtitles depending on the programme and context. They'll also have some great Viewers Choice content during the end of December.

Souce: NHK World

Rurouni Kenshin 2: Kyoto Inferno UK Cinema Screening Details

Date: 2014 November 19 15:16 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime > Film

As we've mentioned before the second Kenshin movie - Rurouni Kenshin 2: Kyoto Inferno will be hitting UK cinemas on Friday 28th November 2014.

Warner Bros. UK have just added the trailer to YouTube.

We can also confirm that the following cinemas will be screening the film:
Cineworld Enfield, Crawley, Sheffield, West India Quay, Glasgow RS, Cardiff, Stevenage, Bolton and Vue Piccadilly

So if you fancy some samurai action head to your nearest cinema screening the Kyoto adventures of Kenshin.

Souce: Warner Bros. UK

The Kingdom Of Dreams And Madness UK DVD Release Details

Date: 2014 November 10 14:58 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime > DVD

UK Studio Ghibli fans looking for something interesting to buy on DVD will be pleased to hear about the UK DVD release of The Kingdom Of Dreams And Madness. The documentary goes behind the scenes of Studio Ghibli focusing on Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata at work at the studio as they prepare for their latest films The Wind Rises (Miyazaki) and The Tale of Princess Kaguya (Takahata).

The DVD is released on Monday 1st December 2014. You can pre-order it now from Amazon.co.uk.

The movie is also showing at London's ICA until Thursday 20th November 2014.

Ghibli Fans looking for something else to get this Christmas would probably want to consider the soon to be released Hayao Miyazaki Box Set Blu-ray.

NEO Magazine Is 10 Years Old

Date: 2014 November 07 16:03 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Press Releases

Ten years ago a new UK anime and manga magazine appeared on the scene. Ten years later that magazine is still going strong. Neo Magazine are celebrating this with the launch of issue 130 which is on sale now. They've got a lot of prizes to give away this month too.

10 years ago we posted about NEO Magazine's launch, and more recently their 100th issue.

Hayao Miyazaki Box Set Blu-ray UK Release Details

Date: 2014 November 04 15:10 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

UK based fans of Oscar winning anime director Hayao Miyazaki will be very pleased to hear about Studio Canal's latest boxset. The Hayao Miyazaki Box Set is due out Monday 8th December 2014, just in time Christmas. The blu-ray collection features 11 of his films from Castle of Cagliostro to The Wind Rises.

The limited edition set comes with an exclusive bonus disc, a booklet plus a box featuring a self portrait of the epic director in his classic pig style. Each disc is also presented in a special art sleeve.

The set is available for pre-order on Amazon.co.uk. It retails at £180.

An Interview With Manga Artist Junko Mizuno

Date: 2014 October 16 16:03 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Features

Renowned manga artist Junko Mizuno is jetting over to the UK. She'll be here to attend Comica Festival and Lakes International Comic Art Festival. She'll also be visiting London to give an exclusive talk. Art gallery Atomica will be exhibiting and selling her original works in London.

Just before jetting off from the United States to the UK we were lucky enough to catch up with her for an exclusive interview.

Read More... | Souce: Otaku News

Junko Mizuno at the London Comica Festival 2014

Date: 2014 October 08 15:50 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Art

London based manga fans will be very excited to hear about a talk hosted manga artist Junko Mizuno. She'll be in London giving an exclusive talk for Comica Festival at popular bookshop Foyles at Charing Cross Road on Wednesday 22nd October 2014. Arrive at 6.30pm for 7.00-8.30pm. Tickets cost £8. As always we suggest booking as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.

There will also be the first ever selling exhibition of her originals, prints and other items in London. Which will run at Atomica Gallery, 29 Shorts Gardens, London WC2H 9AP from October 20th to 28th as part of Comica Festival. With thanks to GB Sasakawa Foundation, Brewery Arts Centre Kendal, and Lakes International Comic Art Festival from Friday 17th to Sunday 19th October 2014.

Japan Matsuri in London Saturday 27th September 2014

Date: 2014 September 21 05:57 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Events

In London on Saturday? Looking for something Japanese Culture related to do? Well don't forget about the Japan Matsuri in London. The Traditional Japanese festival returns to Trafalgar Square. It's set to run on Saturday 27th September 2014 from 11am until 9pm. As expected, they'll be lots of food stalls, along with stalls selling all sorts of Japanese related goodies plus shows on the main stage. There is no entry fee, it's open to all.

Regular readers would have first heard about this years event on the Otaku Calendar as it's the best way to organise your otaku lifestyle! ^_^

Souce: Japan Matsuri

Gekiga: Alternative Manga Exhibition in London

Date: 2014 September 16 16:27 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Manga

London based readers looking to discover a different side of manga will be very interested to hear about the Gekiga: Alternative Manga From Japan. This will run at Cartoon Museum on Little Russell Street (which is near the British Museum). It's set to run from Tuesday 23rd September to Saturday 29th November 2014.

It's not every day you get a chance to see manga like this on exhibition, so go and visit it while it's on!

The Japan Foundation will also be hosting a talk on Gekiga in London on Thursday 25th September 2014 (we've had this on the Otaku Calendar for a while).

Thanks to the good folks at The Japanese Gallery for telling us about the exhibition.

Hyper Japan Christmas Market 2014 Details

Date: 2014 September 03 15:23 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Events

UK fans of Japanese culture will be pleased to hear about Hyper Japan's next event. The Christmas Market is set to run from Friday 14th to Sunday 16th November 2014 at National Hall, Kensington Olympia in London. We visited their last event in July and had lots of fun. So it's worth setting a date in your calendar or even your Otaku Calendar, as it's a great place to get some Christmas shopping done in advance.

Read More... | Souce: Hyper Japan

Haruki Murakami Book Signing Report

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

Category > Fandom

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

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

Read More... | Souce: Otaku News

Haruki Murakami London Book Signings - August 2014

Date: 2014 August 29 16:58 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Events

UK based fans of cult writer Haruki Murakami will want to head to Waterstone's Piccadilly Circus Branch on Saturday 30th August 2014 at 11:00am where the author will be signing his latest book Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage.

Sensibly due to the authors huge popularity Waterstone's are advising people to turn up early to avoid disappointment. They will be operating a wristband scheme. Customers will receive their wristband for this event when they purchase Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage on Saturday 30th August at 8.30am, or when they bring a valid Waterstones receipt/Waterstones.com despatch note with their copy on the day of the signing. They'll be limiting the wristbands to the first 200 people, and they are non transferable. Those who are not lucky enough to meet Haruki Murakami on the day, will be guaranteed the opportunity to buy a rare pre-signed edition. These will be limited to 200 copies only, one per person.

Souce: Waterstones

Hello Kitty Is Not A Cat

Date: 2014 August 28 17:36 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Freaky Things

Every so often in the news you hear something that takes you by surprise. This week The LA Times found out that Hello Kitty is not a cat.

While researching Sanrio's super star character for a museum retrospective at the Japanese American National Museum in LA Christine R. Yano an anthropologist from the University of Hawaii (and currently a visiting professor at Harvard, as well as a Hello Kitty expert) discovered that Hello Kitty is not a cat.

Hyper Japan 2014 Report

Date: 2014 August 07 15:04 | Posted By: Lucy

Category > Features

So Japanese Culture event Hyper Japan was the 25th -27th July 2014 this year, a few of us went & this is a run down of the goings on at this awesome event!

Read More... | Souce: Otaku News

The Daiwa Scholarship - Spend 19 Months in Japan

Date: 2014 July 28 15:45 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Culture

UK readers will be very interested in a scholarship offered by the Daiwa Anglo Japanese Foundation.

"The Daiwa Scholarship is a unique 19-month programme of language study, work placement and homestay in Japan. Daiwa Scholarships offer young and talented UK citizens with strong leadership potential the opportunity to acquire Japanese language skills and to access expertise and knowledge relevant to their career goals. No previous experience of Japan or Japanese is necessary."

So if you're a British Citizen about to graduate, or have graduated and are aged between 21 and 35 years of age as of 1 September 2015 you should investigate further!

Souce: The Daiwa Scholarship

Hyper Japan Event Reminder - July 2014

Date: 2014 July 24 17:04 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Events

Fans of Japan looking for something to do this weekend will want to head over to Earl's Court for Hyper Japan. The Japanese Culture event is set to run in London from Friday 25th to Sunday 27th July 2014. As we've mentioned before, there's lots to see and do this weekend.

Souce: Hyper Japan

New Directors From Japan - third windows Films Kickstarter Campaign

Date: 2014 July 21 15:25 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime > Film

The good folks from UK based Eastern movie distributor Third Window Films have got in touch with us to tell us about their Kickstarter Crowd-Funding Campaign. They plan to fund a Dual Format 3-disc Limited Edition release of New Directors from Japan. Basically this release will cover up and coming talent from Japan, with a unique and entertaining edge.

Update At the time of writing the goal has been met, and the campaign has been closed. We want stretch goals!

Manga Jiman 2014 Competition Details

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

Category > Art

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

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

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

An interview with Japan Camera Hunter

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

Category > Features

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

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

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

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

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

Read More... | Souce: Otaku News

Ambassadors of Cute

Date: 2014 July 06 04:43 | Posted By: Lucy

Category > Culture

What are these strange cute mascots, who are they, and what do they do?

Read More... | Souce: Otaku News

Hyper Japan Event Details - July 2014

Date: 2014 July 03 15:28 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Events

UK based fans of Japanese culture including anime, manga, food, J-Pop, cosplay and more traditional things will want to head to London on Friday 25th to Sunday 27th July 2014 for Hyper Japan.

The annual J-culture event returns promising to be it's biggest Hyper Japan yet.

It'll have all sorts of fun things to see and do. Including a game and anime park, fringe market, a section of pure kawaii, plus much more!

Read More... | Souce: Hyper Japan

Artist talk: Seiichi Hayashi in conversation with Ryan Holmberg in London July 2014

Date: 2014 June 15 13:30 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Events

The good folks from The Japan Foundation in London have got in touch to tell us about an up coming event that'll be of interest to manga fans. They'll be hosting Artist talk: Seiichi Hayashi in conversation with Ryan Holmberg on Tuesday 1st July 2014 from 6:30pm at their London Office.

Seiichi Hayashi is know for his highly regarded alternative manga. If you think manga is all shonen and want to expand your horizons. There is so much to manga and different forms of sequential art.

The talk is free to attend but booking is essential. To book e-mail event@jpf.org.uk

ShootTokyo Kickstarter Photo Book Campaign

Date: 2014 May 18 14:04 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Art

Tokyo is an iconic city, and many amazing photos of have been taken there. Tokyo based photographer and blogger Dave Powell runs the website ShootTokyo. He captures moments in the city and does lots of street photography. He's well known in the photographic blog scene and his site regularly attracts thousands of visitors daily. A photo speaks a thousand words and his photos speak for themselves.

Create your own Kaburimono headgear at the Japan Foundation in London

Date: 2014 May 06 16:05 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Events

The good folks from the Japan Foundation in London have sent us details of an upcoming event set to run at the end of May 2014.

Details as follows:

At the end of this month, The Japan Foundation will be hosting three workshops with Japanese artist Norio Nishihara, renowned for making bizarre and outlandish headgear known as "kaburimono". In the workshops, participants can make their very own Kaburimono similar to Nishihara's creations, using newspaper and coloured tape. They can also take their inspiration from almost anything - even their favourite anime or manga characters. The workshops will be held at the Japan Foundation in Russell Square, on the 30th May (3:00pm) and the 31st May (11:00am and 3:00pm).

This event is free, but booking in advance is essential to avoid disappointment as there are a limited number of places.

Explore the East at MCM London Comic Con - JapanEx expands and rebrands as PopAsia

Date: 2014 April 25 14:19 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Events

The big London event the MCM London Comic Con is a month away. It'll run at the Excel Centre from Friday 23rd to Sunday 25th May 2014. The good folks running the Comic Con have just got in touch to tell us that their JapanEx section is expanding to include Korean Pop hits and Indonesian films such as The Raid. As a result they're going to rebrand it to PopAsia.

They'll also have extra sections to temp people including the cute sounding Kawaii Alley. As always they'll have tasty food from the Far East on sale in PopAsia.

Hyper Japan 2014 Event Details

Date: 2014 April 17 17:07 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Events

UK based fans of Japanese culture will be excited to hear about the return of Hyper Japan. The popular event which celebrates everything J-Culture related, including Japanese street fashion, cosplay, anime, manga, Japanese cuisine and of course the more traditional side of Japanese culture is back at London's Earl's Court One.

The event is set to run from Friday 25th July to Sunday 27th July 2014.

Read More... | Souce: Hyper Japan

Japanese Theatre at artsdepot in North London

Date: 2014 April 14 16:53 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Culture

Cultured readers in North London will be interested in hearing about the latest performances at the artsdepot in North Finchley. On Sunday 18th May 2014 at 11am and 2pm, there will be performances of Tales from Old Japan. The family performance has been created for children aged 5+ and their families. It focuses on 3 traditional Japanese tales.

While on Tuesday 10th & Wednesday 11th June 2014 the artsdepot will host the UK premiere of Super Premium Soft Double Vanilla Rich, a darkly humorous look at Japanese consumerism.

Babymetal make UK debut at Sonisphere

Date: 2014 April 08 14:43 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Events

UK based fans of kawaii metal group Babymetal will be pleased to hear that they'll be making their UK debut at Sonisphere. The metal festival is set to run from Friday 4th to Sunday 6th July 2014 at Knebworth Park. Headline acts at Sonisphere include The Prodigy, Iron Maiden and Metallica. Babymetal will be playing at the Bohemia tent on the Sunday.

UK's First Cat Caf

Date: 2014 April 05 10:58 | Posted By: Voxie

Category > Culture

You may have already heard in the Metro or Guardian about London's first "cat café", elegantly named Lady Dinah's Cat Emporium. This otaku dream was originally crowdfunded through IndieGogo.

Cat cafés are a known trend in Japan, and it being brought over to the UK was such huge news, it needn't be put here on Otaku News. But here's a reminder just in case you did miss it: You'd want to book a table soon if you want to see it before Summer is over!

Lady Dinah’s Cat Emporium is open now. Book a table through their website.

Souce: Lady Dinah\'s Cat Emporium

The Embassy of Japan Announce Manga Jiman 2013 Winners

Date: 2014 April 02 16:03 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Art

The Embassy of Japan in London announced on Friday 21st March 2014 the winners of the prestigious Manga Jiman Art Competition. 10 winners were selected for the main category, winning prizes ranging from gift vouchers to a return flight to Japan.

1st place winner is Katja Hammond with Oh Crumbs! This was her third time entering the competition. Having read her submission, it's clear that this was something special, it could have been easily published and enjoyed as a children's book. She joined with other artists to form the Cross#atch Manga and Comics collective.

2nd place winner is Rachel Dunn with her story The Apocalypse and Key, an imaginative sci-fi tale of a pub that forms a hub to other dimensions.

3rd place winner was Selina Dean with her story A Beautiful World, a tale of travel water and romance. Readers familiar to the UK fan scene will know her from her work at Sweatdrop Studios.

Megan Brennan-Dent deserves a special mention, she won the prize for the most impressive Manga by an entrant aged between fourteen and sixteen. She also won 6th place overall, competing against everyone! This has not happened before at the Manga Jiman. Megan is indeed an up and coming talent and one to watch.

The Wind Rises Review

Date: 2014 March 05 03:03 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

While Hayao Miyazaki's latest offering The Wind Rises awaits it's special UK preview on Wednesday 23rd April 2014, it is currently being shown in the US and Australia. We were lucky enough to catch a screening in English recently.

Here's our review of the film.

Read More... | Souce: Otaku News

BFI Southbank launch complete Studio Ghibli feature film retrospective, including a preview of The Wind Rises.

Date: 2014 February 20 15:34 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

UK fans of Studio Ghibli will be very pleased to hear the news we've been sent from the good folks at the BFI. From April to May 2014 the BFI Southbank will launch complete Studio Ghibli feature film retrospective, including a preview of The Wind Rises. They'll be celebrating the Studio's 30th Anniversary.

They'll also be showing a preview of Hayao Miyazaki's The Wind Rises. The latest film he's directed and likely to be his last as he says he's retired from film making. The Wind Rises will be screened on a special preview on Wednesday 23rd April 2013.

If you haven't seen a Studio Ghibli feature on the big screen before, we strongly suggest you do. It's a special treat to see these films as they're intend on the big screen!

Browsing Articles

Recent News

Recent DVD / Blu-ray Reviews

Recent Manga Reviews