Scotland Expo Announced!

MCM Group's expansion continues unabated with the announcement today of a new one day event in Scotland!  The new event, called MCM Scotland Comic Con (it seems 'Expo' is being dropped from the title of their events), will be held on the 31st of August 2013 in the SECC Glasgow venue.  Also confirmed is the return of the MCM Birmingham Comic Con, which enjoyed a successful first event earlier this year when it ran alongside the long established Memorabilia show at the Birmingham NEC.  Like this year's event future Birmingham Comic Cons will run in tandem with Memorabilia in the NEC, with tickets allowing access to both.

The full press release is below:

MCM SCOTLAND COMIC CON 31 AUGUST SECC GLASGOW
MCM launch Scotland show, expand Birmingham events

2013 will see the MCM magic head north of the border for the first MCM Scotland Comic Con - a brand new one-day festival brought to you by the organisers of Britain's biggest popular culture event, MCM London Comic Con.

Debuting on 31 August at Scotland's premier national events venue, SECC Glasgow, MCM Scotland Comic Con will feature everything from new movies, much-loved sci-fi shows and top comic creators to the latest videogames, anime and manga ...plus a great special guest line-up, of course!

"MCM are so looking forward to bringing our brand to Glasgow's SECC," said show co-organiser Bryan Cooney.  "Our sponsors and exhibitors have been asking for a Scottish event and in 2013 they will get their wish.  We look forward to visiting the city of Glasgow."

Breda Cruickshank, Head of Exhibition Sales, SECC commented: "We are delighted to be welcoming this exciting event to Glasgow.  Hosting such varied sectors of the entertainment industry, from comics and manga to film and cult fiction will make for an action packed weekend!"

The announcement comes after the huge success of the existing MCM Midlands Comic Con in February and MCM Manchester Comic Con in July, which drew 11,300 visitors on only its second outing.  The launch of MCM Scotland Comic Con means that film fans, gamers, anime enthusiasts, cosplayers and collectors now have the chance to attend MCM events in London, Glasgow, Manchester, Birmingham and Telford.

MCM will also be expanding their Birmingham events during 2013, with the Memorabilia Show now being permanently co-located with the new MCM Birmingham Comic Con at the NEC.  The comic con debuted alongside Memorabilia in March 2012, and the overwhelming positive visitor response means that the show will now be joining MCM's roster of permanent events.

The MCM Group's next event is the Memorabilia Birmingham collectors' show, which takes place at the NEC this weekend, 24-25 November.  To find out more about Memorabilia, please visit www.memorabilia.co.uk

You can discover more about MCM events at www.twitter.com/mcmexpo; www.facebook.com/mcmexpo and www.youtube.com/mcmexpo

Dragon Ball Kai on UK TV!!

Toei Animation Europe has announced that Dragon Ball Z Kai has been licensed for UK broadcast by CSC Media.  Dragon Ball Z Kai is a remastered reboot of the epic Dragon Ball Z anime series which adds some new animation and music, and condenses the storyline to more closely follow the original manga.  CSC have licensed 53 episodes of the English-dubbed series, which should start screening 'this month'.

Although the channel that will be showing it has not yet been revealed, our money is on Kix! - a satellite channel available on both Sky and Freesat owned by CSC Media which currently shows the wrestling anime Ultimate Muscle.

Manga Q1 Releases Confirmed

Manga's latest podcast (which can be found here and is well worth a listen) features an additional bonus for listeners this time with the confirmation of Manga's full quarter 1 release schedule!  The full listings have been added to our Release Schedule, but of particular note are confirmed release dates for both season 1 and 2 of Code Geass on Blu-Ray and DVD (21st January and 11th March respectively), Makoto Shinkai's latest film Journey to Agartha (28th January) and cyberpunk thriller Mardock Scramble: The Second Combustion (25th March). 

Also worth noting is an Eden of the East Complete Collection boxset which is set for release on 11th February, the set is being released on both Blu-Ray and DVD and will include the full series plus all three films, so if you haven't picked up this excellent title already it's a perfect opportunity!

Check out our release schedule for full listings, including MVM's confirmed Q1 release dates.

Castle of Cagliostro Screening in London!

 Mayamada, an anime-inspired brand based in London, are to host a special screening of the classic anime adventure Castle of Cagliostro on Saturday 8th of December!  The film is the first feature directed by Oscar-winning animator Hayao Miyazaki, co-founder of the legendary Studio Ghibli, and is based on Monkey Punch's Lupin III manga series about the world's greatest thief Lupin III and his nemesis in Interpol, Inspector Zenigata.  The screening will be held at the Roxy Screen & Bar near London Bridge from 2pm to 6pm on Saturday 8th December, tickets cost just £5 and the event will include a screening of a short film before the main feature.  Mayamada will also have their own pop-up shop at the event selling their unique style of clothing, and there will also be a raffle to win a copy of Castle of Caglistro on Blu-Ray.  Tickets are first-come, first served on the day, but can be booked in advance.  For full details and booking check out their event page here.

Productio I.G. Release Mercedes Anime Promo

 Leading Japanese anime studio Production I.G. have created a new 6-minute anime film to promote the new Mercedes A-Class car.  The promo, which can be seen below, features three characters using the new car to chase a mythical ramen truck through a futuristic Tokyo.  It is one of the most bizarre things we've seen for a while too...

New Rozen Maiden Anime Announced

 The Japanese manga magazine Young Jump has announced that a new anime project based on the Rozen Maiden manga series has been green-lit.  It will be the first anime based on Peach Pit's long running manga series since 2006's Rozen Maiden Overture, a two-episode DVD special which was released in the UK by MVM earlier this year.  MVM have also released the two previous 13-episode Rozen Maiden series in the UK, and will no doubt be looking at the new project with interest.  More news on this when we get it.

One Piece Z Trailer Streamed

 The trailer for the forthcoming One Piece film, One Piece Z, has been uploaded to YouTube!  The film, which is the 11th based off the long-running One Piece franchise, was overseen by the creator of the original manga Eiichiro Oda and features several new characters and two songs from Canadian singer Avril Lavigne, both of which are covers (one of a Joan Jett song, and the other a Nickleback song).  Check it out below:

Digital Manga Inc Puts All Releases on Hiatus

 It has been reported that Digital Manga Inc, parent company for the Digital Manga Publishing, June Manga, DokiDoki and 801 Media imprints, are putting all of their scheduled releases on hiatus until June 2013.  Company president Hikaru Sasahara was keep to point out that nothing had been cancelled, and cited a temporary shift of focus to digital publications and a re-coordination of their production schedule as reasons for the delay.  Series affected include the Osamu Tezuka classics Unico, Triton and Atomcat, horror series Vampire Hunter D and several yaoi titles including The Tyrant Falls in Love, Blue Sheep Reverie and Hey! Class President.  For a full list of re-schedules dates, check out AnimeNewsNetwork's story here.

Manga License Oblivion Island

 Manga Entertainment have revealed via Twitter that they have licensed the CG fantasy film Oblivion Island: Haruka and the Magic Mirror.  The film, by top anime studio Production I.G., follows the adventures of a young woman who enters a world of lost objects in search of her mother's mirror.  It is slated for release on both Blu-Ray and DVD on 25th March 2013.