RYAAAAAAH! Epic Manga/Comic USAGI YOJIMBO Gets His Own Mobile Game

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Usagi’s one-and-only game thus far has been the 1988 Commodore 64 game, The Legend of Usagi Yojimbo (which wasn’t as bad as it could have been). Safe to say Stan Sakai’s epic samurai sword-wielding, decapitating ronin bunny rabbit needs an update in the gaming world.

Now, however, it looks as though the legendary comic/manga may finally be getting the game treatment it deserves. We hope. Continue reading “RYAAAAAAH! Epic Manga/Comic USAGI YOJIMBO Gets His Own Mobile Game” »

Awesome Dragon Ball Z-Like Space Pods Will Protect You From All Kinds of Disasters

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Okay, so they’re not exactly Dragon Ball Z space pods — but damn if they’re not incredibly similar near-facsimiles. This week Japanese department store Tokyu Hands unveiled their latest set of ‘survival balls,’ aka Life Armour, designed to protect civilians from disasters and potential catastrophes.

Tsunami rolls in, and hey! You’ve got a portable mini-ark — complete with solar-powered GPS that can help, uh, navigate you through the giant flood/pile of rubble that just dropped in. Continue reading “Awesome Dragon Ball Z-Like Space Pods Will Protect You From All Kinds of Disasters” »

Publisher Releases Offensive ‘Mein Kampf’ Manga; Apologizes, Releases Jesus Manga

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Quite some time ago (in 2009 to be exact), independent Japanese publishing company East Press decided to put out a manga version of Adolf Hitler’s autobiography Mein Kampf. Why? No one is exactly sure.

When Israeli Ambassador to Japan Nissim Ben-Shitrit happened upon the manga at a Tokyo bookstore, he was understandably pissed, and wasted no time in writing a letter of complaint to Press. Continue reading “Publisher Releases Offensive ‘Mein Kampf’ Manga; Apologizes, Releases Jesus Manga” »

Missing Sequel to Classic Manga ‘Barefoot Gen’ Found by Creator’s Widow — Will Anything Come of It?

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Misayo Nakazawa, widow to Hiroshima A-Bomb survivor and Barefoot Gen creator Keiji Nakazawa, uncovered something pretty big in the manga/anime world last week.

Apparently Ms. Nakazawa stumbled upon an unfinished draft of a sequel to the original Gen, outlined largely in scribbles and scattered around the house they once shared. Continue reading “Missing Sequel to Classic Manga ‘Barefoot Gen’ Found by Creator’s Widow — Will Anything Come of It?” »

Japan’s Most Wanted Hacker Finally Caught; Really Loves Cats

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Early this week, Japanese authorities finally caught the evasive hacker they’ve been chasing since last year. That’s right, the same guy who threatened to blow up a busy part of Osaka; a guy who pinned (however inadvertently) his crimes on a couple of unsuspecting working joes — one of whom happened to be Mobile Suit Gundam animator Masaki Kitamura.

As of this week, the perpetrator has finally been caught and is in police custody. What cops also got with their suspect: more cat pics. Continue reading “Japan’s Most Wanted Hacker Finally Caught; Really Loves Cats” »

Production I.G. Outlines Convoluted Release Plans for ‘GHOST IN THE SHELL: ARISE’, Drops First Trailer

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A little while back,  Japanese animation company Production I.G. said they were nearing completion on its latest Ghost in the Shell anime, tentatively titled Arise.

Now that a little more light has finally been shed on the anime — courtesy of the project’s YouTube Channel — the full scope of it all may certainly inspire cheers from loyal fans, but for others it will certainly entail more headaches.  Continue reading “Production I.G. Outlines Convoluted Release Plans for ‘GHOST IN THE SHELL: ARISE’, Drops First Trailer” »

Is This Fan-Funded/Fully Moddable ‘Pokemon 3D’ The Best Pokemon Game Yet?

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Never heard of Pokemon 3D? That would be the fan-funded effort to build a completely 3D version of Pokemon, completely moddable and subject to your every (perhaps perverted) whim.

This is a completely fan-made version of the game, different from the upcoming Pokemon X and Y versions that will be emerging soon on the Nintendo 3DS system. Continue reading “Is This Fan-Funded/Fully Moddable ‘Pokemon 3D’ The Best Pokemon Game Yet?” »

Bandai to Celebrate New GHOST IN THE SHELL Movie With Free Streaming Online Event, Feb. 12

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Suffice it to say that the new Ghost in the Shell anime, Arise, has generated its share of promoters and detractors: What the hell is it, exactly? Where does it belong in the GITS universe?

A glance at the forums on sites like Crunchyroll suggests no one’s found any clues as to what’s going on.  Continue reading “Bandai to Celebrate New GHOST IN THE SHELL Movie With Free Streaming Online Event, Feb. 12” »

Print Manga Volume Sales Suffer Huge Losses in Japan; U.S. Digital Manga Takes Hit — Now What?

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Just when everything seemed to be looking up, Japanese print manga volume sales apparently did a total about-face last year, reporting some huge losses. Things haven’t been faring much better in the U.S. Digital Manga market either, unfortunately.

According to Anime News Network via market research firm Oricon, many of the country’s manga volume booksellers reported a 1. 5% dip in profits for the 2012 fiscal year. Continue reading “Print Manga Volume Sales Suffer Huge Losses in Japan; U.S. Digital Manga Takes Hit — Now What?” »

‘Boondock Saints’ Star Reedus to Play Punisher in New Iron Man Anime; Blu-Ray Release Date April 16th

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Marvel Entertainment and Sony Pictures have announced that the official new Iron Man anime, Rise of the Technovore, will officially  be released April 16th, 2013.

Among those lending their vocal talents to the production are Norman Reedus of The Boondock Saints, who will provide the voice of The Punisher, alongside Matthew Mercer (Resident Evil: Damnation) as Stark himself. Continue reading “‘Boondock Saints’ Star Reedus to Play Punisher in New Iron Man Anime; Blu-Ray Release Date April 16th” »

At $30 Million, New ‘Captain Harlock’ Film is Officially the Most Expensive Anime Ever

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Toei Animation, Inc., the original studio behind Leiji Matsumoto’s revered anime of the late 70s/early 8os, will FINALLY be releasing its brand-new film version of Captain Harlock this fall.

According to Anime News Network, Toei made the announcement at a small convention this week, where it officially unveiled its fall lineup. Continue reading “At $30 Million, New ‘Captain Harlock’ Film is Officially the Most Expensive Anime Ever” »

Classic Sega Consoles, Re-Imagined as Hot Anime Girls

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To celebrate the release of its f2P PS Vita game, Samurai and Dragons, Sega will be offering some exclusive DLC to players: colorful anime-style depictions of the main characters, each drawn by some of today’s top anime artists.

Each babe will correspond with a legendary Sega console. Why? Not exactly sure, but it might be enough to get some old school 8-Bit Sega aficionados to dust off their old Master Systems. Continue reading “Classic Sega Consoles, Re-Imagined as Hot Anime Girls” »

KFC’s Colonel Sanders Transforms – Into Dragon Ball Z’s Son Goku!

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It’s rare that Kentucky Fried Chicken ever really does any sort of movie promotions over here in the states. Usually the closest the junk food chain gets is a simple sweepstakes contest, or team-up with Oprah to give away free chicken, which ends in total disastrous calamity.

The last cinema-related thing they did was a tie-in with Transformers: Dark of the Moon, which took place at every KFC in the world. Now, most of the company’s marketing geniuses seem focused on Japan, which is where they’ll be using the chain (especially the Colonel) to promote the newest Dragon Ball Z film release. Continue reading “KFC’s Colonel Sanders Transforms – Into Dragon Ball Z’s Son Goku!” »

The Live-Action ‘Robotech’ is On Again, and Here’s How They Can Get it Right

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As many of you probably heard on Friday, the live-action Robotech is officially back on again, with Warner Bros. now actively pursuing their adaptation of the classic anime (no surprise, since Akira is again D.O.A.)

It still seems too good to be true: in 2007, Tobey Maguire announced some company he was in control of was set to produce the thing. Over time fans probably lost steam; directors kept dropping in and out of the project, Tobey got distracted with other stuff, et.al. Not much of a surprise; if Leonardo DiCaprio couldn’t get it done with Akira, what chance did Macross have? Continue reading “The Live-Action ‘Robotech’ is On Again, and Here’s How They Can Get it Right” »

Japan’s Biggest Manga Magazine Under Investigation for Child Pornography

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Kodansha, Japan’s biggest publishing corporation and longtime printer of manga-rag Young Magazine, is under investigation for suspected  child pornography.

The accusations follow Young‘s most recent issue, which allegedly features photos of all-girl band AKB48 singer Tomomi Kasai as part of its promo for Kasai’s soon-to-be-released photo book, police said Friday. Continue reading “Japan’s Biggest Manga Magazine Under Investigation for Child Pornography” »

Legendary Anime Director Satoshi Kon’s ‘Dream’ Film May Have Died With Him

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As many of you anime fans have long known, Satoshi Kon, revered director of such anime classics as the beloved Tokyo Godfathers and Millennium Actress (as well as an original Roujin Z animator) passed away in 2010 after a long bout with pancreatic cancer.

At the time, Kon was prepping his much-anticipated Machine that Dreams (Yumemiru Kikai), but an untimely death cut his work on the animated film short.

Now Kon’s faithful friends and followers, who promised they would fulfill Kon’s deathbed wish to complete Dreams no matter what, may be unable to finish the film. Continue reading “Legendary Anime Director Satoshi Kon’s ‘Dream’ Film May Have Died With Him” »

‘Fist of the North Star: Ken’s Rage 2′ Gets New Release Dates; Will Officially Explode Heads Next Month

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Yesterday Tecmo-Koei stated that Fist of the North Start: Ken’s Rage 2 will officially be coming to consoles in North America early next month. And there was much rejoicing.

Specifically: February 5th for the Xbox and the PS3. There’s till no word on an official release date for the Wii U, though it will be available for digital download on the console in Europe, starting February 7th. Continue reading “‘Fist of the North Star: Ken’s Rage 2′ Gets New Release Dates; Will Officially Explode Heads Next Month” »

Convention Sexual Harassment Now Commonplace; Here’s How Organizers (and Participants) Are Cracking Down

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For this year’s annual 2013 Anime Los Angeles Convention, an extensive anti-harassment policy/warning was included in the official event programs being handed out, with this key warning:

“Harassment of any kind, including physical, verbal or unwelcoming attention, will not be tolerated.”

While this isn’t the first time that the ALA has featured such anti-harassment policies, similar and extensive harassment notices are now becoming more widespread at such industry events, says the L.A. Weekly. But is this likely to really change anything?

Continue reading “Convention Sexual Harassment Now Commonplace; Here’s How Organizers (and Participants) Are Cracking Down” »

Is a Cat Behind Those Anime Terrorist Threats?

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Safe to say that 2012 was a terrible, no-good, very bad year for Mobile Suit Gundam director Masaki Kitamura. The renowned animator was accused of terrorist threats made towards the Otaroad Shopping district of Osaka, Kyoto’s Nintendo Headquarters, as well as even possibly Japan Airlines.

After taking in Kitamura for questioning, police determined that he was innocent. That didn’t stop the (fruitless) search and multiple suspects…and now there’s a new one. Continue reading “Is a Cat Behind Those Anime Terrorist Threats?” »

“Pokemon” and “Jojo” Join Forces With Famous Fashion Brands

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In an unprecedented melding of pop culture and high-end fashion, Gucci is using anime characters to sell its latest line of apparel.

The legendary Italian fashion company has called upon Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure creator Hirohiko Araki to help design a new anime-conscious fashion campaign, starring its manga heroine Jolyne Cujoh. Continue reading ““Pokemon” and “Jojo” Join Forces With Famous Fashion Brands” »