News - by Ian - March 22, 2010 - 11:15 Europe/London - Be first to Comment!
Sci-Fi-London frequently run a little event called the Anime All-Nighter. Each time the shows that are aired are different and this time around they’ve been confirmed as:
- Redline
- Musashi
- Bleach the Movie – The Diamond Dust Rebellion
- Fate/stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works
This is not a guarantee though as Sci-Fi-London have stated that the running order is subject to change and it’s not unusual for additions to be made last minute.
Running in conjunction with Manga Entertainment, this event is sure to be booked up very early on so make sure you check out Sci-Fi-London’s official website here.
Source: Sci-Fi-London forums via UK Anime Network
News - by Ian - March 5, 2010 - 11:38 Europe/London - 2 Comments
Our friend’s over at the Anime League are always looking into new ways to try and expand the Anime market in the UK and this is generally done in the form of meet-ups throughout the year. Their ambition is to have some form of anime convention or event in every county in the country, this lofty goal will not be met without the help of people like us.
Anime League is a non-profit making entity and requires our help, they recently sent through a press release detailing their ambitions and goals and have asked it to be shared with you – the reader.
MEETS TO BE EXPANDED
We shall be expanding our meet-structure over the next few months. Our plan is to cover every single region in the UK. As you may be aware, we already run a lot of meets (approximately 30 last year). The new plans will see over 50 meetups be run per year. Crucially the meets will happen regularly in EVERY region of the country.
We have split the UK into seven regions – Scotland, North-East, North-West, Midlands, East-Anglia, Wales/South-West & London/South-East.
Each region will have it’s own head-organiser and up to six meetup organisers working underneath them.
These regions will have a meet every two months – Scotland, North-East, North-West, East-Anglia and Wales/South-West
These regions will have a meet every month – London/South-East and The Midlands
Official Meetups will be designed to have between 15 to 50 people attending them. We also welcome people to create their own smaller unofficial meetups.
COSPLAY PICNICS CONFIRMED AS REGULAR EVENTS
On top of all this, we will also be running four free Cosplay Picnics per year in London, and cosplay picnics taking place elsewhere as well (such as the upcoming Cosplay Picnic event in conjunction with AniMedia-East in East-Anglia). We will also be running regular monthly clubs in both London and Birmingham.
The next cosplay picnic for London will be announced within the next week. Expect it to be Easter-themed!
MONEY MADE FROM OUR EVENTS ARE PUT BACK INTO OUR FREE MEETS AND EVENTS
All of our cosplay picnics will have free food and drink (and are free entry), and we are looking toward doing other very fun events for anime fans as well. We can afford to do this thanks to our other larger events. AL is a non-profit making entity, so we always intend to give any money made back to the fans in subsequent events.
WE’RE LOOKING FOR VOLUNTEERS! JOIN OUR CREW!
As part of our major expansion, we are looking for volunteers to help organise meets and events. If you have previously organised a meet/event or have an interest, please do get back to us! We are always looking for more people to bring into the fold, even if they’re currently uninvolved with AL. Signup in this topic here – http://www.animeleague.net/forums/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=107086
MEETS TO BE PLACED ON THE ANIMELEAGUE MAIN-SITE
In future we will be placing links to all of our meetups on the Animeleague Front-page located at www.animeleague.net under Upcoming Meets on the left-hand side. This will be regularly updated, so make sure to regularly check our main site (and hopefully forums as well – we’re a very friendly and fun community) to see if there’s a meetup coming up in your local area!”
So if you’re interested, please contact Anime League directly.
News - by Ian - January 15, 2010 - 10:38 Europe/London - Be first to Comment!
For a long time the North of the UK has lacked many anime and manga events, with the majority of all conventions occurring in the Sout East and London there’s a strong urge of fans in the North of the country to have an event that doesn’t cost hundreds of pounds to get to – this is where the latest convention from the Anime League comes in – NemaCon and the Anime League are working together to create a new event in the North East for anime fans.
This event, that will be for up to 1,000 people will have a Manga Masterclass, Japanese Culture talks, videogame room, Anime screenings, Yu Gi Oh Tournaments, Cosplay and Emma Viceli and Sonia Leong will be appearing as well.
Nemacon
Where: Middlesbrough Town Hall
When: Saturday 19th and Sunday 20th June 2010
Age?: 14 years and above
You can check out Nemacon’s official website for further information by clicking here.
News - by Ian - January 11, 2010 - 11:48 Europe/London - Be first to Comment!
Logo © Barbican Centre
The Barbican Centre in London is well known for it’s love of anime. The Barbican has ran a season called Japanimation since 2006, which has been spearheaded by the co-author of the Anime Encyclopaedia – Helen McCarthy. Recently there have been some new developments at The Barbican Centre which has led to many rumours floating around the internet – such as the end of Japanimaion.
These rumours are so strong that they have even managed to penetrate the national, mainstream media such as The Guardian. There is an understandable concern that with these changes at The Barbican that unique cinema experience will be impacted and different cultures’ entertainment will be ignored and fall back away into obscurity.
Fortunately this is not the case and Helen McCarthy has gone on record on her blog saying:
Japanimation, like everything else on the Barbican Cinema schedule, will adapt to changing circumstances. We may have to fit around the builders, but we don’t intend to disappear.
This is great news to the anime community at large as it means we will continue to see Ponyo, Mai Mai Miracle, GitS and various other anime that Helen kindly organises for the viewing populace. The most vital part about the Barbican is that it’s not a seedy, back alley, underneath a huge store indie cinema, it’s a well known, respected and Government funded institute. This means people have confidence in it and what’s being shown.
Source: A Face Made for Radio: Helen McCarthy’s Blog
News - by Ian - December 29, 2009 - 19:53 Europe/London - Be first to Comment!
It’s been announced that on the 6th February that the Anime League Club London will be running a mini-anime convention for just £5. This convention will feature various guests such ash Little Kuriboh and Masako X of Yu-Gi-Oh and Naturo Abridged, DS:London, which is a well known DS Gaming Group and the legendary Akemi Solloway.
With an Artists Alley, Video Gaming, Pub Quizes, DDR Tournament, AMV Showings, Cosplay, Anime Screenings (although no anime’s have been confirmed as of yet) and much more.
Date: Saturday February 6th
Venue: The Slug and Lettuce, 1 America Square, London, EC3N 2LS
Tube: Five minutes from Tower Gateway & Tower Hill tube stations
It costs £5 to get in (pre-pay), and you need to be 18 years or older. Accommodation is available at just £17.50 a night!
Fancy telling ALCL what they should be doing? They want to hear your thoughts on what could be happening at this mini-con here.
News - by Ian - November 23, 2009 - 20:47 Europe/London - Be first to Comment!
The London based Barbican Centre, one of the premier spots in London and the South for anime and all forms of cultural events have today confirmed that their Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone are available to buy today.
Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone
“This epic tale of alien invasion sees the earth under attack from Angels, giant creatures who seek the destruction of the human race. After the second impact, all that remains of Japan is Tokyo-3, and Earth’s last defence is the NERV organization’s and their Evas, giant mechas driven by bio-fused children.
Can reluctant rookie pilot Shinji Ikari, his young colleagues and their mega mechs save the world? An intriguing cast of characters enrich this psychedelic drama emblazoned with spectacular battle sequences. “The end is here…””
Screening:
26th January – 2030
The Barbican have been kind enough to send a couple of screenshots of the up and coming viewing across to us, just to whet your whistle if you have no seen the film just yet:
You can buy tickets from the Barbican’s website here.
News - by Ian - October 20, 2009 - 19:13 Europe/London - Be first to Comment!
Further to the recent announcement from Beez Entertainment, they have decided to open up their poll to everyone, regardless of whether you are attending the London Expo or not. If you live in the UK, France or Germany, you can enter and potentially win some great prizes.
You can vote here.
You’ve got a month from today to vote.
News - by Ian - October 19, 2009 - 15:28 Europe/London - Be first to Comment!
Today it’s been announced that The London Children’s Film Festival is back for the fifth consecutive year in a row and will be bigger and better than ever before. With literally some of the biggest names in Children’s television and the biggest kids film to be released next year – Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea due for showing.
With special events such as [Tim] Burton’s bedtime stories – Pyjama Party, Inside the world or Merlin (BBC show) and a Q&A with Frank Cottrell Boyce about the TV adaptation of his book Framed.
As mentioned, Ponyo will be making an appearance and so will Mai Mai Miracle and Snow Prince.
So between the 21-29 November, these events will be taking place. For even more information, check out their site here.
News - by Ian - October 17, 2009 - 12:11 Europe/London - Be first to Comment!
Beez Enterainment have announced that there’s a number of changes happening at the London Expo for them this year. The first is actually where they are going to be, rather than theri usual block they’ve joined forces with their parent company Bandai, so they will be at the Namco Bandai Partner’s area right next to the gaming area.
The biggest points for Beez this year are summarised below:
In conjunction with London MCM Expo we are proud to bring you two of the best creative minds from Japan – the President of Studio BONES and Producer of Sword of the Stranger – Masahiko Minami and the Director of Sword of the Stranger – Masahiro Ando.
Signings from both guests will occur on the Beez stand once on the Saturday (11:00-12:00) doing a second signing each day too while Mr Minami signs on the Manga stand (Saturday: 16:00-16:30 approximately for Ando-san on Beez stand and 16:30-17:30 for Minami-san on the Manga stand Sunday: Ando-san on Beez stand at 13:00-13:45 and Minami-san on Manga stand at 14:00-14:45__)!
There will be both a Studio BONES panel held by Minami-san and a Sword of the Stranger panel looking at how feature length animes are made.
We’ll be holding some giveaways in conjunction with the Namco Bandai Partners as part of their Iron Fist Tournament over at the Tekken stand across from Beez/NBP’s block.
In another amazing giveaway we will be including one full-priced Beez DVD from our back catalog (sorry no Gurren Lagann’s!) in just over 3000 of the goodie bags going out to early arrivers at London Expo in October. So best get there early to get in on it – which one will you end up getting?
Plus – looking to do your Christmas shopping early? Well we’ll be selling most of our remaining titles for 2009 at Expo including:
- Sword of the Stranger (2-DVD edition)
- Cowboy Bebop Remix set (6 DVDs)
- Code Geass Part 1 (3 DVDs)
- Code Geass Part 2 (3 DVDs)
All will be going for discounted prices (you guys know the rough pricings already, think half-way between the Gurren LE and RE prices at Expo in May for Bebop + Geass sets and far less for SotS, in limited quantity though so best come get them while you can!
So if you’re going, make sure you swing by and say Hi to Andrew and the team!
News - by Ian - October 17, 2009 - 12:03 Europe/London - Be first to Comment!
Beez Entertainment will be working alongside the Bandai Channel during the London Expo and a little afterwards online to ask some basic questions around a secret and upcoming project from the company. As a way of saying thank you, Beez will enter all people who answer their survey in a question where you may win:
1 x Signed Gurren Lagann artbook and pencilboard by the Japanese voice actress of Yoko from Gurren Lagann
2 x Sword of the Stranger movie
Prize winners will be selected at random and will be emailed after the survey’s processing is complete (we’ll also post when we’ve drawn the winners too)!
To take part all you have to do is come to the Beez stand, we’ll have it set up there, ask one of the staff otherwise for details about it and they’ll direct you to where it is!
News - by Ian - October 15, 2009 - 09:00 Europe/London - Be first to Comment!
A London based Japanese restaurant are in need of help and the only people who can help them are cosplayers. Moshi Moshi, the aforementioned Japanese restaurant, requires 100 or so people to help them out with a promotion.
Calling all cosplayers! London-based Japanese restaurant, Moshi Moshi, is planning a flash-mob style promotion in Liverpool Street station and is looking for 100 cosplayers to take part.
Everyone taking part will be rewarded with tickets to a cosplay party at the restaurant on the evening of Saturday 7th November, including free buffet style food and drink!
What do the cosplayers have do?
It’s easy! You just have to walk around Liverpool Street station in groups of 2 or 3 and ask members of the public ‘Where’s Moshi Moshi restaurant?’
There will be two sessions on Friday 6th November, from 12 – 2:30pm, and 5 – 7:30pm; and one session on Saturday 7th November from 2:30 – 5pm. We’ll meet at the restaurant 45min before, for a briefing on what to do.
If you’re interested, all you need to do is e-mail: info@moshimoshi.co.uk, with your name, age and picture of yourself and when you’re available.
Note: You must be 16 years and over to attend, and IDs will be required as alcohol for the over 18s will be available.
News - by Ian - October 13, 2009 - 22:07 Europe/London - Be first to Comment!
The Anime League are a group of people trying to push anime, manga and Japanese culture in more events around the UK. To keep up the momentum of the popular London Film and Comic Con this year, the Anime League in conjunction with Showmasters are pushing some of our favourite shows and mediums at the Collectormania event in London this November.
“As usual for a Showmasters event, there will be dozens of star-guests including Dave Prowse (Darth Vader), Robert Englund (Freddy Kruger) and John Barrowman (Captain Jack). Starring for anime and manga will be Steve Blum; well known for his voice-acting on over one hundred animated shows and video games including Orochimaru from Naruto, Spike Spiegel from Cowboy Bebop and Vincent Valentine from Advent Children! As for Video Gaming – from Tomb Raider to Halo to Metal Gear Solid; he’s voiced in pretty much everything there is! A real must for gaming fans!
Finally, even more exciting news for Cosplayers! The Cosplay Zone will not only have talks and contests, but will also be offering tables for cosplayers to sell their work! If you are a up and coming Cosplay costume designer or maker and want to offer your services to other fans that cannot do what you can do, then this is for you! A 6ft table costs just £45 which includes a velcro-friendly wall to place art-work up on and a manikin torso to put an outfit on to help display your work! The price also includes two dealers passes for the show. If you are interested in signing up, please email info@showmastersonline.com!”
Dates:
28 November 2009 – 0900-1800
29 November 2009 – 0900-1700
Location:
Earls Court
Olypmia
Hammersmith Road
London
W14 8UX
Fees:
Before 1100 – £5
Post 1100 – £10
Under 12, then it’s just £3.
News - by Ian - September 26, 2009 - 21:06 Europe/London - 2 Comments
Update:
SFL have updated their site with one more title: Eureka Seven – Good Night, Sleep Tight, Young Lovers. For more information see the very last film description.
Sci-Fi-London have recently announced their new line up for the Sci-Fi-London Oktoberfest.
This well known and interesting anime all-night event starts at about 2230 with the DJ’s in the bar and the MANGAWALL for everyone to attack with their mark. Lots of goody-bags and Redbull will be on hand everywhere.
The animes that will be featured this time around are:
King of Thorn
“During the pandemic outbreak of the mysterious Medusa virus, Kasumi and her twin sister Shizuku become infected. They are separated when Kasumi is chosen to be one of a select group of 160 people to be placed in cryogenic suspension until a cure can be found.
After an indeterminate amount of time Kasumi awakens from her deep-freeze hibernation, only to discover that she and a handful of other survivors are in a desolate and treacherous world populated by vicious creatures.
Although Kasumi wants to learn the fate of her twin sister, she and the other survivors want to unravel much larger mystery of what happened while they were sleeping, and if, and how, they are going to survive in this post-apocalyptic world.”
The Sky Crawlers
“Although most of us seem to be living the lives of eternal adolescents it is a lifestyle choice of our own and not one forced upon us like the Kildren in this film.
Set in an alternate history where the world is at peace, but in order to ease the tension of those accustomed to war and aggression, private corporations contract fighter pilots to stage combat operations against each other for show.
The Kildren are genetically designed humanoids who have the blessing/curse of eternal youth but are also conscious that every day could be the last, because they have to take part in the staged battles. Rather than being typical maudlin teenagers, they embrace the reality of their situation and live their day-to-day lives to the full.
Directed by GHOST IN THE SHELL maestro, Mamoru Oshii, from the manga of the same name.”
Time of Eve
“It’s the near future and androids are in common usage. One day Rikuo, who has taken robots for granted all his life, discovers that Sammy, his home android, has been acting independently and coming and going on her own.
He finds a strange phrase recorded in her activity log, “Are you enjoying the Time of Eve?” He, along with his friend Masaki, traces Sammy’s movements and finds an unusual cafe, “The Time of Eve”. Nagi, the waitress, informs them that the cafe’s main rule is to not discriminate between humans and androids.
Within the cafe androids do not display their status rings, and, when patrons depart, the door is automatically locked for two minutes to prevent anyone from following them to discover their true nature.
There are plenty of references to Asimov’s Three Laws of Robotics to keep it interesting.”
Evangelion 1.0
“This is a rebuild of the hugely popular, Neon Genesis Evangelion series. Tokyo-3 is all that remains of Japan after the second impact. The city is being attacked by giant creatures called Angels that want to eradicate humankind.
Shinji Ikari, who has not seen his father for more than eight years, receives a phone call in which he is told to urgently go to the NERV Headquarters, an organization that deals with the destruction of the Angels using giant mechs called Evas. Shinji’s objective is to pilot the Eva Unit 01, while teaming up with the Eva Unit 00 pilot, Ayanami Rei.”
Eureka Seven – Good Night, Sleep Tight, Young Lovers
“
Renton, son of scientists, and Eureka, a girl who can’t live under the sun, are raised together when very young and become very attached to each other.
One day, Eureka is taken away. Powerless at the time, Renton vows to rescue her. He enters the military and is soon assigned to the Independent Youths Unit 303 of the First Mobile Forces thanks to his exceptional performance alongside his Nirvash, a bio-mechanical armor/control system.
Unknown to Renton, lies a plot to extinguish the alien invasion that is currently happening. It involves not only him, but Eureka too.”
No actual date for this has been organised yet, but as soon as there has we’ll let you know. You can check their site out here.
Thanks to Manga UK for the tip.
News - by Ian - September 23, 2009 - 09:00 Europe/London - Be first to Comment!
The Barbican theatre in London is a keen supporter of the UK Anime industry and frequently holds events that should tickle the taste buds of many an anime fan. With Ponyo due to be shown very soon (official date of viewing will be out shortly) and many other films and events hosted in the past it’s obvious that they are trying to keep all anime fans happy.
So to bridge the gap for Ponyo there are two events waiting for people to attend. Those events are:
Devil May Cry
29th September 2009
Preview of new episodes from the Devil May Cry Television series.
Sword of the Stranger
26th October 2009
A screening of Sword of the Stranger with both the director, Masahiro Ando and the producers, Mashiko Minami both in attendance for a open forum after the screening.
These events will also been attended by Helen McCarthy, one of the UK’s leading experts on anime and the co-author of The Anime Enyclopedia and many other anime novels.
News - by Ian - September 10, 2009 - 14:02 Europe/London - Be first to Comment!
From October 14th to the 29th, the 53rd London Film Festival hosted by The Times in London will screen hundreds of different films that many people may have missed in the past. Yesterday it was announced that a number of Live Action Japanese films based on anime shows will be shown this year, as part of the latest onslaught of major films to be shown in the UK.
The three films that will be:
Air Doll
“Kore-eda’s unexpected fantasy is both a charming love story and a fragile parable: an inflatable sex doll suddenly acquires a soul and starts to discover what ‘life’ really is.”
Viewing:
Date: Sat 24 October
Time: 21:15
Screen: Vue Screen 9
Date: Sun 25 October
Time: 13:45
Screen: Vue Screen 9
More information on this can be found here.
Astro Boy
“The robot boy from Metro City gets a CGI makeover in this updating of the anime classic.”
Viewing
Date: Sat 17 October
Time: 15:30
Screen: Vue Screen 5
Date: Sat 17 October
Time: 15:45
Screen: Vue Screen 7
More information can be found here.
Kamui
“Probably the best ninja movie ever made, Yoichi Sai’s adaptation from the legendary manga blends folk-tale, action fantasy and parable; with hot young star Kenichi Matsuyama as the hero.”
Viewing:
Date: Thu 22 October
Time: 18:15
Screen: NFT2
Date: Fri 23 October
Time: 16:00
Screen: NFT2
More information can be found here.
This event is being funded by various different sources, but the principle funder is the National Lottery, who have funded many recent anime/Japanese film releases such as Howl’s Moving Castle, Blood The Last Vampire and The Curse of the Golden Flower.
For more information on the BFI, please click here.
