Late into the evening of December 14, twitter started to spring to life from Japan. The cause? The passage of Bill 156 in the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly. The infamous bill among anime otaku and people who work within the industry was initially proposed back in the spring of this year by Tokyo’s novelist turned governor, […]
Anime & Manga
Change is afoot: Tokyo Govt. Approves New Restrictions to Manga and Anime for Children’s Sake, Part 1
December 18, 2010 by Leave a Comment
By Thor’s hammer! It’s Asano Tadanobu
December 2, 2010 by Leave a Comment
Deciding that no property of theirs is too silly for a feature film adaptation, Marvel Films set about work on an adaptation of Thor, a comic book about a Norse god/alien/superhero who comes to earth to become superfriends with Captain America and the Hulk or something. The teaser trailer wouldn’t be something I’d mention here […]
OBITUARY: Kon
September 2, 2010 by Leave a Comment
Satoshi Kon, the acclaimed director of a number of Japan’s contemporary animated features such as “Tokyo Godfathers” and the anime series “Paranoia Agent,” passed away on Aug. 24 in his home in Tokyo. He had been diagnosed with an advanced case of pancreatic cancer a few months earlier in May. Kon was 46. He did […]
Larry Hama and the making of a ‘real American hero’
July 29, 2010 by Leave a Comment
Every so often, a Hollywood movie studio makes plans to bring a popular property — be it a comic book, toy or TV series — to the big screen. Fans then fervently follow news of project developments, eager to learn the names of the screenwriter, director, and actors, or to glean script details. When Paramount Pictures […]
TOM YASUMI: From Tokyo to SpongeBob in 44 years
July 15, 2010 by 2 Comments
Tom Yasumi has worked in animation for the past 22 years, his entire professional life. He is currently an animation director for the hit cartoon series, “SpongeBob SquarePants.” He’s worked on many of Nickelodeon’s popular shows, including “The Rugrats” and “Rocko’s Modern Life.” He has worked on “SpongeBob” for the past 12 years. He was […]
MANGA REVIEW: Reboot: X-Men goes kawaii
July 15, 2010 by Leave a Comment
X-MEN MISFITS By Raina Telgemeier and Dave Roman Art by Anzu (New York: Del Rey, 2009, 192 pp., $12.99 paperback) “X-men Misfits” ironically describes itself by its title succinctly. The comic is a misfit in itself within the world of Marvel’s hit X-Men series. Through the frame of a shoujo-manga artist, this original English manga […]
MANGA REVIEW: Time to get schooled
July 15, 2010 by Leave a Comment
ROSARIO + VAMPIRE: SEASON II VOL. 1 By Akihisa Ikeda (San Francisco: Viz Media, 2010, 184 pp., $9.99 paperback) School is back in session. “Rosario + Vampire: Season II” is back for its second year. This continuation of the original series starts off with Tsukune Aono returning to Yokai Academy for his second year. All […]
MANGA REVIEW: A walk on the wild side
July 15, 2010 by Leave a Comment
ARATA: THE LEGEND VOL. 1 By Yuu Watase (San Francisco: Viz Media, 2010, 208 pp., $9.99 paperback) Yuu Watase, the acclaimed author of other manga series such as “Fushigi Yuugi” and “Ayashi no Ceres,” is no stranger to fantasy settings, but “Arata: The Legend” serves as her first foray into comics for boys. In “Arata,” […]
MANGA REVIEW: A collection from the legend
July 15, 2010 by Leave a Comment
A DRUNKEN DREAM AND OTHER STORIES By Moto Hagio (Seattle: Fantagraphics Books, 2010, 288 pp., $24.99, hardcover) Moto Hagio is certainly one of the world’s leading artists when it comes to shoujo manga (comics for and about girls). Born in 1949, she is one of “the magnificent forty-niners,” a group of shoujo manga artists that […]
State of the Industry A Q & A with Fred Schodt on the end of the anime and manga boom
July 15, 2010 by Leave a Comment
Fred Schodt is a well-known expert on Japanese popular culture. He was one of the first to write about manga in English, and was Osamu Tezuka’s personal translator for both the man and his comics. His first book, “Manga! Manga! The World of Japanese Comics,” was published in 1983, and is still an invaluable resource […]
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