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Welcome to our News archive for June 2008 - to see this month's news
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Castle of Cagliostro on Film4 Hayao Miyazaki's directorial debut, Castle of Cagliostro is on Film4 today at 4.30pm! Don't worry if you miss it though, as it is being shown again on Friday (4th July) at 5.10pm. Source: Film4 |
Translated Early Review of Miyazaki's Ponyo We're desperate to see Hayao Miyazaki's forthcoming new film, Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea, so any news on it always piques our interest! The film, which is out in Japan on 19th July, has received an early review courtesy of Japanese industry insider Hashimoto Atsushi, and it seems pretty positive. The review is translated on the Ghibli fansite extraordinaire Ghibliworld.com, and can be read here. It's obvious that Hashimoto is a fan of Ghibli, but it is encouraging to see a positive review at this early stage, as some Japanese reviews of Miyazaki's last feature - Howl's Moving Castle - were not so positive. Source: Ghibliworld.com |
Satoshi Kon Book on its Way Stone Bridge Press, publishers of such classic anime books as Helen McCarthy's Hayao Miyazaki: Master of Japanese Animation and Frederick Schodt's Dreamland Japan: Writings on Modern Manga, have announced that they will be releasing a book about leading anime director Satoshi Kon. The book, Andrew Osmond's Satoshi Kon: The Illusionist, is 96 pages long and will be released on 1st August and will cover the director's TV and film work to date. The author is a contributor to both the Sight & Sound and Animerica magazines, and with only a handful of similar books available in English Satoshi Kon: The Illusionist should prove an interesting read. Source: AnimeNewsNetwork |
Origin Trailer! Manga Entertainment are giving the superb looking film Origin: Spirits of the Past a limited theatrical release at London's ICA cinema on 12th July, and have released a trailer to whet our appetites! Please click on the link below to view: Source: Manga |
UK Manga Exhibition An exhibition of art by UK manga artists has been announced. Hosted by lecturer and leading promoter of Japanese culture Akemi Solloway, the exhibition will take place on 16th August 2008 at The Vestry House in Richmond. Artists can pay to display their works at the event, although artworks of Akemi herself can be displayed for free. Check here for more information! Source: Akemi
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More Manga Screenings! Manga are doing another free screening for those in Manchester, this time a retro-tastic double bill of Lupin 3rd: The Secret of Mamo and Space Adventure Cobra. The screening is at 6.30pm on Monday 30th June in Zavvi in Manchester's Arndale Centre. The event is open to wristband holders only, and the wristbands are available in store on a first-come, first served basis from 9am on Saturday 28th June. Wristbands are free but limited, so get there bright and early! Note that the event is for over-15s only. Source: Manga |
Post-Break News Roundup! We've all been on holiday in the last couple of weeks, so things have been a bit on the quiet side here! However, quite a bit of news has occurred whilst we've been away (typical!), so read on to see what's been going on!
Source: AnimeNewsNetwork;
AnimeUKNews |
Gravitation Invitation! MVM are giving fans the opportunity to pick up the first volume of their forthcoming romantic comedy drama Gravitation a month before it officially hits the shelves! The distributor have put the DVD on sale early through their online shop www.anime-on-line.com, and are selling it at the knock-down price of £11.99. The series focuses on the budding pop star Shuichi who's desperate for success, and finds inspiration in the unlikely form of the famous novelist Eiri Yuki. However is he motivated by a desire to prove the critical author wrong, or is he just motivated by desire for him? Gravitation is a popular and mainstream example of the Yaoi (homosexual romance) genre and if you can't shell out the dosh for the first volume right now, you could always have a go at our competition! Source: MVM |
New UK VIZ Media Releases Announced Five new releases have appeared on VIZ's UK schedule today, consisting of the starts of two manga series, a complete manga collection and a fan book. The first new releases, coming our way on 4th August, are Tekkonkinkreet Black & White - the manga that inspired the critically acclaimed film - and the first volume of Bleach creator Tite Kubo's debut manga Zombie Powder. Following on the 1st September are the Naruto Official Fan Book, and the first two volumes of the eagerly anticipated shojo (girls) manga title Vampire Knight. We personally can't wait! Source: VIZ
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Tokyopop US Split Tokyopop have announced today that they will be splitting their US and Japanese operations into two separate companies. European operations are unaffected by the change and won't be split but in the other territories Tokyopop Inc are to create a new company called Tokyopop Media LLC which will handle film adaptations of their manga as well as digital development. Manga publishing responsibilities will remain with Tokyopop Inc. As part of the change the group will shed 39 staff members and will also cut its publishing production from a current level of around 500 titles per year to 200-225 per year. Although the UK operation isn't affected directly by the restructure, this reduction in titles will no doubt have a knock-on effect here in years to come. However, the amount of titles released here is nowhere near the level the US sees, so it may be some way down the line. Source: ICv2 |
Gentleman's Alliance Cross Ends in Japan The July issue of the manga magazine Ribon, which went on sale in Japan today, saw the end of the popular shojo (girls) manga Gentleman's Alliance Cross. The series, written and illustrated by leading shojo manga author Arina Tanemura, has proven popular worldwide but the series' end means that the release of the collected manga should conclude with either the tenth or eleventh volume. So far six volumes of the series have been released in English. However, Tanemura fans need not despair! The same issue of Ribon magazine that sees the end of Gentleman's Alliance Cross also sees the start of her next series Mistress Fortune. Apparently it's the first time an artist has ended a series and started a new one in the same issue, and it no doubt won't be too long till the new series gets an English language release. Source: AnimeNewsNetwork |
New Event Added We've added a new event to our Events Diary, The Grand International Cosplay Ball which is due to be held in London at the end of November! Set in the elegant surroundings of The Clapham Grand, an ex-Victorian theatre, the evening promises to be one of the most ambitious cosplay events ever held in the UK. For more information check out the website here. Source: Grand
Cosplay Ball |
Gravitation Clips MVM's forthcoming series Gravitation is set to turn a few heads in the UK with its story of a gay pop star who tries to balance achieving success in his band with his feelings for a bandmate. Few anime series focus seriously on a homosexual relationship or characters, although it's common in manga, so it'll be interesting to see how it will do. To get an idea of what the show's all about MVM have sent us through some clips! Please click on the links below to view. Source: MVM |
Latest Reviews! A few new things to check out:
Bleach Series 2 vol 1 (Anime
Review) Source: Various |
Today's New Releases A quiet day with only two releases, the cel-shaded Appleseed sequel Ex-Machina and the retro-tastic Voltron! Appleseed 2 - Ex Machina (Warner Bros) Source: Various |
May News Roundup
Source: Various |