Author Archive
Yoshitaka Amano’s Art Returns to California
Yoshitaka Amano, famous character illustrator for the Final Fantasy video game series, is having his art exhibit, DEVA LOKA (USA) return to San Francisco’s NEW PEOPLE cultural center due to the popular demand.
Warner Bros. Now Has Eyes on Bleach
The Hollywood Reporter has announced that Warner Brothers “is in the process of securing the rights to” Tite Kubo’s Bleach manga. Director, Peter Segal (Anger Management, The Longest Yard, Get Smart) is lining up to produce, but not direct the live action film.
Cowboy Bebop Character Designer Attending Anime Expo
Announced on Thursday by Anime Expo in Los Angeles, California, character designer and animation director, Toshihiro Kawamoto, will be this year’s guest of honor. Kawamoto is famous for his creation of the cast of the anime, Cowboy Bebop.
When Expectations Get Thrown Out the Window
Yesterday I read an adult romance manga called, Alcohol, Shirt and Kiss, by Yuko Kuwabara. Since this was the debut comic from the author, my sister and I decided to be lenient with our final review of the story, but first published work or not, this manga was an enormous letdown!
Majin Tantei Nogami Neuro was a Lucky Find
I stumbled upon this anime a few months ago, by such a total chance that had I not been surfing the web instead of being more productive and not seen a small picture of our main character, Neuro Nogami in someone’s forum signature, I’d probably be none the wiser to this story.
Eureka Seven Movie
I attended the one night event screening of the Eureka Seven movie and while it appeared most of the audience disliked the film, I enjoyed it very much. There was also a ‘making of’ bit after the credits, which was a half hour about the transition of the movie from Japanese to English, problems encountered and Q&As…
New York Anime Festival: A Big Hit!
I attended the first and second day of New York Anime Festival this past weekend and I must say, I highly suggest this con for anime and manga fans. While it isn’t very old, it was attended by locals, people on the Northeast Coast and even some from Ohio, Virginia and further west!
Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone is Not for Everyone
So I just returned from one of the last screenings of Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone in New York City and I must say, I am incredibly let down by what I watched. When I say that only the most diehard of Evangelion fans will enjoy this, I mean it.
Akira Anime Review
The last time I watched Akira was in 2005 after my friend, big into sci-fi anime, convinced me I’d love it. Love turned out to be too strong of a word, in fact, I really didn’t like it at all, but I was able to respect the piece for what it has done for the anime community and what it accomplished for its time.
Crayon Shin-chan’s Creator Missing
According to the Japanese newspapers, Mainichi Shimbun and Zaikei Shimbun, an emergency call was received at Sakushi City Fire Department around 10:15AM on Saturday, September 19th, reporting the remains of a body with tattered clothing under a cliff in the mountains of the Gunma Prefecture.
Metropolis: Astro Boy Meets Akira
Do I have you intrigued? Metropolis is based on the comic by Osamu Tezuka (Astro Boy) with the script being written by Katsuhiro Otomo (Akira) and the animation by Madhouse Studios (Death Note, Devil May Cry and Paranoia Agent). The film is a highly imaginative, strange and heartbreaking tale, complete with robots.
Japanese Literary Works to Become an Anime
Recently, manga artist, Takeshi Obata, famous for his work on Death Note and Bakuman, designed a new cover for famous works of Japanese literature, including Osamu Dazai’s No Longer Human and Soseki Natsume’s Kokoro, two of the most popular and highest selling books in Japan.
Angel Sanctuary Anime Review
Angel Sanctuary is definitely both an anime and manga that I’d warn is not for the weak of heart, as the concept deals with, war, angels, demons, incest, blood, cross dressing, resurrection, swords, and underlying tones of shonen ai, to be brief. Despite its heavy load of emotional and physical turmoil, this is an absolutely fascinating show and beautifully animated on top of it.
Trigun Anime Review
I bought Trigun recently on DVD because all I had were vague memories of a good show with an interesting and conflicted blond man as the main protagonist, but little else resided in memory since this was from when the show aired on Cartoon Network, dubbed and edited.
Naruto: Child Characters
What I find particularly interesting is the wide appeal of Naruto to adult anime and manga fans, considering the main characters are all children when the story begins. These boys and girls, not even out of academy when the reader is introduced to Naruto’s world, I feel appeals to such a large community…
Twilight of the Dark Master Anime Review
Twilight of the Dark Master is a forty-five minute anime based off the one-shot manga of the same name created by, Saki Okuse. It is essentially the story of demons and guardians, one side meant to destroy humans and the other meant to protect them. In the year of 2089, Tsunami Shijo is one of the few remaining guardians left on the planet, overlooking…
Paranoia Agent Review
I understand that this show has been available for several years and being a Satoshi Kon work, is quite popular, but could you believe I’ve still met people who’ve never watched Paranoia Agent? Paranoia Agent is a mystery and psychological thriller, created by a wide array of unusual ideas Satoshi said he had left over after his previous pieces…
Powerful Female Character: Sir Integra Hellsing
In my article about Outlaw Star, I went on to explain my adoration for the anime, as it was one of the few in my experience to have such a powerful cast of intriguing and fully fleshed female characters. I went further, saying that my problem with so many anime shows is the girls try too hard and are written off for trying too much to be like one of the guys.
Slayers
Not including Pokémon, Slayers was the second anime I was introduced to at the age of twelve, by the same friend who had made the first mistake days before by showing me Fushigi Yugi. (A mistake for her, as it was something I talked about on a constant basis for years.) At the time, only Slayers, Next and Try existed.
5 Great Anime Openings
An opening to a show should be just as beautiful and expressive as the anime itself. Being able to introduce the characters, elude to the story and express the artistic route in which the series will go is a feat which should be praised for its success.
Kaze no Stigma and Midnight Cafeteria Updates
Fujimi Shobo, a Japanese publishing company, has officially announced that the author of Kaze no Stigma, Takahiro Yamato, officially passed away on July 20, 2009. The story, created in 2002, now remains incomplete with eleven volumes.
Spirited Away: No Face
Hayao Miyazaki has moved and effected so many of us in different ways with some of the most memorable films in animation history such as, Howl’s Moving Castle, Princess Mononoke and what will probably be my favorite for the rest of my life, Spirited Away.
The Attraction of Death Note’s Light Yagami
When I first began to read Death Note, I had been under the impression that Light Yagami was not only the protagonist but the hero and I had only heard rumors of who the mysterious L was and what exact role he played, I had been uninterested at the time.
Naruto: The Charm of Minor Characters
My first experience with Naruto was before the show was available in the nifty, uncut box sets, DVDs borrowed by my sister from a friend who managed to get them somehow, in a condition that included poor translations in the subtitles. At the time, I was the only one with a DVD player, so my sister convinced me that I needed to watch this ninja anime with her.
Gravitation: Too Much Chibi
I have always been a fan of the occasional use of ‘chibi’ or ‘super deformed’ in anime. It’s one of those comic staples that makes anime stand out from western cartoons, but too much of it can often be fatal to a show’s well being and I think Gravitation is a perfect example.
Review of Hayao Miyazaki’s Ponyo
I was able to see an advanced screening of Miyazaki’s Ponyo, before the debut of the film to over 800 theatres nationwide in the United States on August 14, 2009. The animation, as expected, was absolutely stunning, the use of color and animals in this film is just as beautiful as the teaser trailers hinted.
Remembering, I’m Gonna Be An Angel
I still have memories of an anime I watched back in 2001 called, I’m Gonna Be An Angel! This absurd, wacky and absolutely adorable anime was produced by Studio Pierrot (Fushigi Yugi, Naruto, Bleach, Yu Yu Hakusho) and was initially distributed to North America by Synch-Point.
Outlaw Star’s Female Cast
I was star-struck the first time I watched the dubbed and edited version of Outlaw Star on Toonami as a kid. I couldn’t imagine how the show could be even more amazing than the Americanized version I was stuck with, but after buying the complete show, including the unaired episode twenty-three, due to nudity, I fell completely in love.
Death Note: The Movie
I was a little late for the Death Note train, but despite my inability to follow the story at the same time the rest of the country was, I nonetheless got on board and thoroughly enjoyed what I read. Really loving L and the team of police, like many of the other fans, I decided to watch the live-action films made in Japan as well, to complete my Death Note trifecta.
Fake: The Anime That Never Was
Sanami Matoh’s shonen ai manga, Fake, is an undeniably great story. A rollercoaster of action, mystery and a well rounded cast of characters, the original manga told such an impressive tale in only seven volumes. While it is about a romance between New York City detectives, Ryo Maclean and Dee Laytner, it features strong assisting characters, both male and female.
Fushigi Yugi’s One Mistake: Miaka is not Interesting
I will admit, for the sake of this article, I am a Fushigi Yugi fan. It was the first anime I ever knew as a child and even now I love it, though I think it’s more for the nostalgia than the story at this point in my life. Fushigi Yugi, to freshen the minds of those who have forgotten or have never been introduced, is a shojo comic by Yu Watase.
Manga Being Considered for American Live-Action Adaptations
Revealed at San Diego’s Comic-Con, Dark Horse publishers are negotiating with Universal Films to gain the right to make a film inspired by CLAMP’s Clover. Clover is the story of a girl named, Su, who lives in a dystopian future. She is known as a ‘Clover’ one of many children who have the special ability to manipulate technology.
Samuel L. Jackson to Have Cameo in Astro Boy Movie
The newest adaption of Osamu Tezuka’s famous Astro Boy will be hitting theatres in North America on October 23, 2009 and at San Diego’s Comic-Con International Panel, Summit Entertainment announced that Samuel L. Jackson would have a cameo voice-acting role. Further details regarding the self-proclaimed manga fan’s character were not released.
Live Action Space Battleship Yamato
Announced at Otakon by Noboru Ishiguro, original director of the series, Space Battleship Yamato, the show will be seeing a revival after twenty-six years with a new anime film and live-action feature. Space Battleship Yamato, or Space Cruiser Yamato or Star Blazers, as it has been translated in the past, is the story about Earth in the year of 2199.
August September Releases from VIZ
Shojo manga, Black Bird, by Kanoko Sakurakoji, will have volume one released on August 4, 2009. Black Bird is about a teenage girl named, Misao Harada, who can see the magical world that intersects the normal realm. Despite trying to ignore her powers in exchange for a normal, high school life, she is one day attacked by a vicious demon and saved only by friend, Kyo.
Animator Yoshinori Kanada Reportedly Passes Away
From the news source, Anido, famous Japanese animator, Yoshinori Kanada has reportedly died of a heart attack at the age of fifty-seven. Yoshinori’s influential animating style, having inspired others for over thirty years, has touched some of the most well known and industry changing anime shows and films.
Anime Accepted Into the Guinness Book of World Records
An anime entitled, Soreike! Anpanman, was just accepted into the Guinness Book of World Records for highest number of characters in an animated franchise. The children’s superhero comedy show is listed with having 1,768 different characters appear on the show’s first 980 episodes. Originally airing on October 3, 1988, Soreike! Anpanman has stayed strong for over 20 years.
Second Bleach Movie to Screen in San Francisco
On August 18th and 19th, they will have the American, theatrical debut of the second feature length Bleach movie, Bleach the Movie 2: The DiamondDust Rebellion. Tickets go on sale on July 31, 2009 at vizcinema.com and fans are urged to buy their tickets soon, as VIZ Cinema is expecting it to be completely sold out for each show.
Life Size Gundam Unveiling in Japan
Yoshiyuki Tomino, creator of the original Gundam show, is celebrated this summer with a Gundam convention. The 30th Anniversary Project has been broken into three main segments, Real-G, Feel-G and Soul-G. Real-G, which happened on Friday evening at Tokyo’s artificial, was the unveiling of a 18 meter or 59 foot tall, life size Gundam, the RX-78-2.
Naruto Shippuden Updates From Viz
During Anime Expo in California, representatives of Viz announced the latest news regarding Naruto: Shippuden, the ongoing sequel to the hit manga and anime, Naruto. With Cartoon Network recently making changes to their programming by no longer licensing content and looking to develop new shows internally, they will not be airing Naruto: Shippuden on television.
Hollywood Plans Another Live Action Anime
Joshua Long, the executive producer of 20th Century Fox’s live-action Cowboy Bebop, has just announced at Anime Expo in California, that they are planning the re-make of another anime. This is a short film, twenty-five minutes in length called, Kakurenbo, literally translated as, Hide and Seek.
Embracing Love’s Last Installment Will be Published
In July of 2008, manga artist, author of the yaoi series, Haru o Daiteita, or Embracing Love in English, was accused of tracing an ad from a highly popular Italian fashion brand called, Diesel. Nitta confirmed the accusations last summer, saying that she did indeed trace the ad for the opening of Embracing Love, chapter 49, Stand on Vessel.
Anime Based Video Games Craved Outside of Japan
The popularity of the Death Note series has spread from Japan to the rest of the world, including such major countries as the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, and Australia. Death Note’s renowned manga and hit anime have sparked three live-action films with academy award nominated actors as well as five video games.
Otakon’s Cast of Guests Just Keeps Getting Better
On June 29th, Otakon announced three more guests that will be joining them for the sixteenth year of the East Coast’s largest anime convention. Otakon was proud to present, Hidenori Matsubara, character designer and animator, best known for his character work on Oh! My Goddess OVA series, The Count of Monte Cristo and the game series, Sakura Wars.
New Anime DVD Releases for June and July
Out on June 23, 2009 is Death Note Re-light: Visions of a God, Volume 1. When Ryuk, a God of Death, drops his death note in the human world, Light Yagami, a high school student finds it and with its ability to kill anyone who’s name is written in the book, Light takes justice into his own hands and begins to rid the world of criminals at his own accord.
Which Anime Will Become An American Live Action Movie ?
Akira, a manga created by Katsuhiro Otomo, was released initially in 1982 and ran until 1990, during which time an animated film came out in 1988, based upon the original source, though shortened in plot for running time. Set in the year of 2019, Akira is the story of a post-apocalyptic Neo-Tokyo where the police, politicians and scientists are not trusted by a motorcycle gang.
