Anime News, News - by Ian - July 19, 2011 - 21:56 Europe/London - Be first to Comment!
Toymation, one of the premier sites for exclusive, rare and limited edition Japanese and anime goods have announced the ceation of Anifest. Anifest is launching on the 11 December 2011; however, they are going to be doing a screening of something, we don’t know, on the 14 August 2011, to a select lucky few who will be able to get a sneak preview of what the Anifest events are going to look like.
If you want to get into the event, all you need to do is join the Anifest’s Twitter page. @UKAnifest will detail all of the changes and things that need to happen. A lot of information will also appear on the Anifest website, available here.
So keep an eye out on the Twitter and websites for updates!
Reviews - by Ian - February 22, 2011 - 13:34 Europe/London - 1 Comment
Life is hard, it’s full of challenges and obstructions that will always be there. It’s how you adjust to these obstacles and who you are that will allow life to either be a pleasurable experience, or one full of regret and woe. 5 Centimetres Per Second is a collection of short stories presented in a feature film that epitomises the challenges that we must all face when it comes to life, love and the pursuit of happiness.
From the outset of the feature, it’s clear what this anime is to become. It’s certainly not a light hearted, happy tale, if anything it’s the reverse. It’s a slow, long winded tale that takes pleasure in being obnoxious and fragmented. However, this method of story telling lends itself well to the subject matter at hand. The tale centres around Takaki Tono and his relationships with girls throughout his life.
We initially see a young Takaki Tono, who is in a close friendship with a young lady and this friendship is seemingly boundless. With correspondence across the country and frequently being split up due to their parents moving to different parts of the country, their passion and friendship looked like it would never end. However, as with everything in life it must come to and end and the reason for this was not made clear. It would appear that the pair fell in love, but neither were prepared to admit it; yet, as time went on the pair grew up and became ever more distant.
In the third part of this tale, it would appear that Takaki Tono’s young love is due to be wed to someone else. Someone who is the exact opposite of what himself. Takaki is neither happy, rich or successful in life and from what we are led to believe the “other man” is and the pair meet up to reminisce about their past.
The actual story itself is nothing new, spectacular or to be honest, all that interesting. Yet, the way the feature is presented is what makes this tale so endearing. There is a clear break between the three tales and this is shown in odd ways, such as an introduction song half way through the feature and credits in unusual places. But this break in the feature clearly shows the fact that there are three separate stories being shown and then that they are all interlinked.
What really sets 5 Centimetres Per Second apart from many anime is the presentation. It has some of the most gorgeous artwork that I’ve seen in any medium in a long time. The level of detail in the scenery is truly stunning; this is why it’s so clear that people are heralding Makoto Shinkai as the next Hayao Miyazaki. Although the storytelling is no where near the standard of a Ghibli production, the artwork is on par if not surpassing the masters of anime feature films.
It’s a real shame that this release is not on Blu-Ray, as it would look simply superb. However, it’s an understandable decision made by Manga Entertainment as it’s appeal is fairly limited. Owing to the unique style it’s presented, a hybrid between individual stories and a feature film and the subject matter at hand – love and distance.
The voice acting on the Japanese side is very good, there’s emotion and passion throughout the entire feature. The English dub isn’t quite as good as the Japanese version, the voice actors, although passable, are a bit flatter and have less depth. However, both are passable and if you’ve got the feature on in the background having it in English is far more convenient.
» Final Score
8
5 Centimetres Per Second is a story about love, distance and regret. It’s presented in a truly beautiful way visually and story-wise it’s unique and a little arty. The feature is certainly not for everyone, as a slow and methodical story can turn many viewers off. Yet, it’s stunning to watch and is certainly worthy of being on the vast majority of anime viewers shelves.
Anime News, News - by Ian - October 10, 2010 - 14:44 Europe/London - Be first to Comment!
Just a few days ago we reported that Manga Entertainment were going to have to delay their release of Summer Wars due to production issues in the USA with their partner Funimation.
This weekend Funimation announced that they will be releasing Summer Wars for a theatrical run across the USA. This is great news as that means there’s potential of Oscar nominations for Summer Wars and whilst we all know that Oscars mean very little as they are always pretty biased, they do look good on a DVD box.
Manga Entertainment, the UK distributor of Summer Wars have also confirmed that they are planning on doing a theatrical release in the UK. News-Anime.com asked if a theatrical run is on the cards and Jerome from Manga Entertainment UK confirmed the below:
That’s the plan. Hopefully around late February if we can get some screens.
Source: Twitter
This is great news as there are very few anime releases that make it to the cinemas, Ponyo and Howl’s Moving Castle are the last two that had any major cinema interest.
So watch this space…
Anime News, News - by Ian - October 10, 2010 - 14:33 Europe/London - Be first to Comment!
The Leeds International Film Festival have finally announced this year’s line-up and whilst the LIFF screens various different films that are noteworthy, we at News-Anime are more interested in their anime offerings. Last year we saw a huge amount of anime films coming from the LIFF and this year is no different, we are going to be able to see:
Redline
Take your seat for the wildest ride of the year! From one of the most exciting animators on the planet comes an exhilarating animated action film that has got to be experienced on the big screen! Fuelled by a mind-blowing hyper-graphic style and a matching high-octane techno soundtrack, Redline roars across space with a cast of thousands as JP sets out to win the wackiest and most extreme race in the galaxy.
Where: Leeds Town Hall/Hyde Park Pictures House
When: 19th – 21.00/21st October 16.45
Price: £6.00
Book tickets for Redline here.
Mardock Scramble: The First Compression
The European Premiere of a striking new anime, part one of the long-awaited cyberpunk noir trilogy based on Tow Ubukata’s award-winning sci-fi novels set in Mardock City. A teenage prostitute Rune Balot is murdered in an explosion by the devious gambler Shell. Under the ‘Scramble09’ ordinance, Balot is miraculously saved by Dr Easter and his self-aware Universal Tool, Eufcoque. Resurrected as a powerfully advanced cyborg and equipped with Eufcoque, Balot confronts the worst of Mardock City’s psychotic underworld as she hunts down the killer who took her life.
Where: Leeds Town Hall/Hyde Park Picture House
When: 19th – 1630/21st 1215
Price: £6.00
Book tickets for Mardock Scramble here.
One Piece: Strong World
Smashing box office records in Japan and selected for animation competitions around the world, this wildly-inventive and whirlwind comic adventure is the tenth anniversary feature based on the phenomenon of One Piece, the manga by Eiichiro Oda. Luffy and the Straw Hat Pirates have set sail on their latest quest when out of the sky appears legendary pirate Golden Lion Shiki, 20 years escaping from the Great Prison of Impel Down. Shiki has a plan to bring down the World Government and next thing they know, Luffy and his gang are fighting for survival against monsters in a strange land…
Where: Leeds Town Hall/Hyde Park Picture House
When: 19th – 1400/21st – 1000
Price: £6.00
Book tickets for One Piece here.
Evangelion 2.0: You Can (Not) Advance
A huge hit in Japan last year, part two of Anno Hideaki’s new Evangelion film series is an outstanding sci-fi anime experience in its own right – a visual feast with striking animation and an electrifying apocalyptic story. In a devastated future Earth, Tokyo-3 is under constant attack from the mysterious shapeshifting monsters known as Angels. Protecting the city are the giant Eva robots of the military organisation Nerv that recruits teenagers as pilots. As the end looms, young pilots Shinji, Reiand Asuka are tasked with the fight to save humanity.
Where: Leeds Town Hall/Hyde Park Picture House
When 19th – 1830/21st – 1345
Price: £6.00
Book tickets for Evangelion here.
Gintama: The Movie
The European Premiere of the first feature based on the popular sci-fi samurai manga Gintama. In the medieval period of Edo (the old name of Tokyo), an invasion by the Amanto aliens hasbrought future technology and spaceships to the city, and the threat of rebellion is everywhere. The samurai are down and out,banned from bearing their swords, but the trio of fighters known as Odd Jobs Gin are still in action and their time comes when the master sword Benizakura goes missing. Gintama is a blast from the start, when it makes fun of the film itself.
Where: Leeds Town Hall
When: 19th October – 1200
Price: £6.00
Book tickets for Gintama here.
Make sure that you book early to avoid disappointment.
Anime News, News - by Ian - October 10, 2010 - 13:47 Europe/London - Be first to Comment!
Scotland Loves Anime have recently announced two new exhibitions at their exhibit this year. Scotland often gets missed with anime festivals and Scotland Loves Anime is their attempt to try and increase anime output in Scotland. The two new exhibits are:
The Art of Haruhi
There will be 11 images with sketches and full sized shots of the full scenes of the show along with the final product. This is the first time that this has been shown in the UK and only the second time in all of Europe, so it’s well worth checking out if you’re in the local area. This exhibit is free and will be on display between the 8th October to the 17th October.
Anime Merchandise
The final mini art exhibition for 2010 will be held at the Glasgow Film Theatre across the festival dates and will be in two glass cabinets in the main foyer. Over the two weeks come along and see a number of items from the weird and wonderful world of anime merchandising.
Ever wondered how much merchandise for Evangelion 2.0 there was? Or perhaps One Piece Strong World? Or any of the other films in the line-up for Scotland Loves Anime this year for that matter! Then now is your chance to find out, pop along during the weekend and check the displays out.
Featuring merchandise from Trigun Badlands Rumble, The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya, Evangelion 2.0 and One Piece Strong World!
For more information on this and all of the exhibits at Scotland Loves Anime, check out their official site here.
Anime News, Manga News, News, Video Games - by Ian - October 10, 2010 - 13:26 Europe/London - Be first to Comment!
London Anime Con have recently announced their lineup and official dates for their con – we’re just a little late with updating on this one!
London Anime Con will be taking place on the 5 and 6 of February 2011 and will run for 12 hours each day, between 1200-0000 and for just £10 a day or £15 for both days if you order ahead of time.
So far the below has been confirmed:
Watch Anime, Play Video Games, Show off your Artwork/chill with artists in the Artist Alley, dress up and enter our Cosplay Events, buy Anime & Manga from our dealers room, enter events like our DDR Tournament and pub quiz, learn Japanese Culture, go to our cosplay workshops, check out our Trading Card Zone, listen to live-music and party away all night! Go check out http://www.londonanimecon.com/ now!
THE BASICS
Date: February 5th-6th 2011
Venue: The Rocket Complex, London Metropolitian University
Tube: Two minutes from Holloway Road Tube Station (To the North of the Picadilly Line)
It costs £15 for both days (so £7.50 a day) to get in if you prepay, and you need to be 18 years or older. Accommodation is available at just £17.50 a night! On the day entry is £10 (or just £5 if you arrive on the day after 8pm)
You can read all about ALCL on it’s official website at http://www.londonanimecon.com/
SPECIAL GUESTS
Live Bands, DJs, speakers and more guests all to be announced! We shall shortly start announcing them over the months of October and November, so stay tuned!
Martin Billany aka LittleKuriboh – Martin Billany, aka LittleKuriboh, is the creator of the very popular Yu-Gi-Oh: The Abridged Series, a parody of the original Yu-Gi-Oh! anime and is also part of DBZ Abridged.
DarkSideIncorporated – DarkSideIncorporated are the makers of Yu-Gi-Oh GX Abridged. The team consist of xthedarkone and ShadyVox. ShadyVox is also the maker of Sonic X Abridged. You can view their material at http://www.youtube.com/DarkSideIncorporated Akemi Solloway – Akemi Solloway is a lecturer and expert in Japanese culture, the daughter of an old samurai family and learned in the traditional arts and culture of Japan. She will present some talks at London Anime Con (which ones shall be confirmed).
EVENTS A-Z – ALL THESE CONFIRMED AND FAR MORE TO COME!
(Read event descriptions at http://www.londonanimecon.com/events.php )
AMV Contest
Art Arena
Battle of the Werewolves Live RP
BJD Workshop & Doll Meet
Cosplay Auction
Cosplay Masquerade
Cosplay Stars
Cosplay Workshops
Cosplay Showdown
DDR Tournament
Dub That Anime
Glowstick Rave
J! Party
J-Culture Talks
The Karaoke Factor Contest
LittleKuriboh Q&A
Manga Masterclass Workshops
Open Mic Evening
Origami Workshop
Art Portfolio Sharing Session
Pub Quiz
Rock Band Tournament
Team Battle
More Parties, Video Gaming Tournaments, J-Culture Talks, Events, Cosplay/Art, Workshops and Talks to be confirmed!
If you want to book your tickets early, please register here.
For further information on the London Anime Con, please click here.
Anime News, News - by Ian - October 4, 2010 - 18:56 Europe/London - 1 Comment
It’s Monday! That means only one thing, Monday Anime Update! Now this week there’s really not a lot to choose from if you want some brand new anime, with the only offering coming from Manga Entertainment is:
- Naruto Shippuden – Box Set 3
That’s it! Next week has a couple of better offerings to non-Naruto fans…
News - by Ian - July 11, 2010 - 19:46 Europe/London - Be first to Comment!
Anime and bartending aren’t two subjects that normally sit hand in hand. However, a team of anime fans with a passion for bartending and coding have come together to create the latest iPhone application – Nimble Strong: Bartender in Training.
“Nimble Strong takes fast-paced arcade-style game play, wraps it around a dark, neo-noir storyline, and then focuses everything toward the goal of teaching you how to authentically make over 70 of the most classic and influential cocktails ever devised,” said Adam Ghahramani, the game’s director, “This is a far better, more fun, and more hands-on method to learn foundational mixology than spending hundreds of dollars on crowded and often highly suspect classes.”
Available in the UK on all iPhones for £2.99GBP, this little game will teach the player how to mix drinks in a story based mode with anime characters to keep you going along the way. To make the title replayable there are multiple endings, dialogue branches and 15 unique characters. To purchase this title just search Nimble in the AppStore and hit download.
News - by Ian - June 29, 2010 - 20:31 Europe/London - Be first to Comment!
The British Film Institute is well known for it’s diverse range of cinema, as it rightly should be. This diversification of film is not limited to live action, but also includes anime. On the 11th July 2010 at 1800 there’s a lecture about anime being delivered at this year’s BFI.
The Anime Machine: An Illustrated Lecture by Thomas Lamarre will explore how Japanese animation differs from other media, by looking at technology and philosophy.
This will be shown alongside Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence and will be priced at a joint ticket of £12.90.
You can click here to book tickets and find out more information.
News - by Ian - June 20, 2010 - 20:20 Europe/London - Be first to Comment!
Logo © Manga Entertainment
Anime is a dodgy business in the UK, with DVD sales rarely reaching four figures in it’s entire life-cycle let along reaching five figures in it’s life-cycle; however, there are a few exceptions to this rule. Naturally Ghibli is the first exception, other than that, well Manga Entertainment seem to have the rights to them.
One such right is the Naruto series – Manga Entertainment recently confirmed via Twitter that in one day alone Naruto Shippuden Box 1 sold 1330 copies.
Who knows the total series’ figures, but based on those sales it’s safe to assume that Manga are making an awful lot from the Naruto series.
Source: Twitter
News - by Ian - May 24, 2010 - 09:00 Europe/London - Be first to Comment!
As with every Monday there are a number of releases, this Monday is no different with without any further adue, here’s what we’re getting this week:
- Afro Samurai Complete Murder Sessions Directors Cut – Standard Definition
- Afro Samurai Complete Murder Sessions Directors Cut – Blu Ray
- Anime Legends: The Melancholy Of Haruhi Suzumiya
So that’s a lot of decent anime for you all to go out and buy, now of course Haruhi has already been released, but this time it’s much cheaper so get your socks over to Amazon or hmv and get buying.
News - by Ian - May 16, 2010 - 15:40 Europe/London - Be first to Comment!
Terratag is one of the UK’s premier anime clothing retailers, with a diverse range of clothes with anime and non-anime themes their clothes are often spotted in various places in the world, Hollyoaks and many stars as well.
Every so often they create a brand new range of clothing and as with most major outlets they need to clear some stock so that they are able to get their new ranges of clothes out.
That means that there are 58 t-shirts and designs with up to 50% off of the normal price and for all orders over £30GBP you will also be sent a poster worth £10GBP as a nice little extra.
There’s no end date in sight for this offer, but buy up fast as it’s only available whilst stocks last.
You can view their website here.
News - by Ian - May 10, 2010 - 10:00 Europe/London - Be first to Comment!
Ouran High School Host Club Members
Yeah, it’s Monday. The prospect of the end to the hung parliament may be in sight and frankly it’s just not as important as this week’s anime release…. well, that’s a slight exaggeration but something’s got to take our minds off of it. This week there is only one new series being released and that series is:
Now of course, this series has already been released in two box-sets, but if you’ve not already got the two single releases this anime is well worth the buy. We reviewed the two single releases and you can see the reviews here and here.
News - by Ian - May 9, 2010 - 10:47 Europe/London - Be first to Comment!
Copyright Beez Entertainment
Code Geass is an eagerly anticipated anime which is going to be released by Beez Entertainment and has recently been delayed slightly due to the BBFC. What was not confirmed at the time was why this delay was occurring, it has now come to light thanks to the eagle eyed work of Sheentaku and UK Anime News Network that the BBFC have demanded a 1 second cut to Episode 10 of the UK edition of Code Geass.
The justification of this removal from the BBFC is as follows:
Company [Beez Entertainment] was required to remove a shot likely to encourage an interest in underage sexual activity (in this case a young girl in the background of a shot suggesting sexual activity). Cut made in accordance with BBFC Guidelines, policy and the Video Recordings Act 1984.
Beez Entertainment have made this cut and have agreed to the terms of what the BBFC have advised. However, it has since come to light that this cut is far less than one second and is likely only to be a single frame. The offending frame has been confirmed by Andrew Partridge, the UK representative of Beez Entertainment as:
…what was cut was one second and was a static image on Anya’s phone in a scene. It’s not integral to the plot and we’re as annoyed as you are as it delays the release a little!
On the Anime UK News forums.
Thanks to the joys of the internet, the offending image has now surfaced and can be found here. This cut is causing a bit of a stir on the many UK based anime forums in relation to censorship.
The BBFC’s website has full information regarding the cut here.
Source: UK Anime News Network and Anime UK News
News - by Ian - May 4, 2010 - 11:22 Europe/London - Be first to Comment!
Sky Movies recently published a list of 50 Anime Films You Must See, I’m guessing that they can’t say before I die, just in case it affects their stock. Anyway, more importantly than that, the list is actually a very comprehensive list of interesting and varied anime from across the years. From the usual Studio Ghibli fare, straight through to Angel Egg and Tekkonkinkreet.
The list is available here.
Now the question begs to be asked, will Sky ever actually show any of these movies and if they have in the past, will they show them again? Angel Egg on national TV – I doubt it somehow.
Toymation, one of the premier sites for exclusive, rare and limited edition Japanese and anime goods have announced the ceation of Anifest. Anifest is launching on the 11 December 2011; however, they are going to be doing a screening of something, we don’t know, on the 14 August 2011, to a select lucky few who will be able to get a sneak preview of what the Anifest events are going to look like.
