Archive for 'Anime' Category

The world’s first Hello Kitty’s dental clinic open

“Hearts Dental Clinic”(http://www.hearts-dental.jp/), which is featured with Hello Kitty, a worldwide super popular kitty character of Sanrio(http://www.sanrio.co.jp/english/index.html) was open on Jan.10th in Koto ward Tokyo.

The clinic is fully supporetd by Sanrio, and Hello Kitty is adopted as its official mascot. The clinic’s building is coverned with a lot of  Hello Kitty’s pictures and its other designs.   The clinic has a basic policy of “full of smiles with bright and pleasant atomosphere”, wiping away a generally negative image of scary and bad dental clinics, and had drastically remodelled since last November.

This is the very first clinic with Hello Kitty as its mascot in the world, and plans to host introductory tours on this Jan. 13,14,and 15th.

 

The 2nd “MOE GUEEN” Grand Prix

The 2nd “Moe Queen” contest final was held in Akihabara, the mecca of “Moe”(sprouting passion or stimulus attractiveness of a character) culture on this Jan. 7th.  Among the 13 finalists who performed singing, dancing, or other kinds of performances, the Grand Prix was given to “Chiu”, a popular “maid” of  Furatto Maid, a Akihabara guide shop. http://f-maid.com/

The primary of the contest whose purpose is to choose “Moe-type cute or beauiful girls” started on Sep.1st 2011 and Chiu says, she is so happy to have achieved such a glorious goal because she had started making intensive efforts for the contest for about two years since the last contest, having been supported by a lot of her fans. Chiu says, “Though I look innocent but actually I like Japanese sake and have tastes of those of middle-age men”.

Chiu was awarded sub-prize money of 100,000 yen and  a right to debut as a singer to produce CDs.  Takuro Morinaga, a currently famous and popular TV commentator who is known as a enthusiastic figures collector as well, made a remark about her, saying, she is overwhelmingly Akiba-like, and so, she  has successfully caught the heart of  Akiba-type geeks”.

“Lucky Star”‘s Washinomiya shrine attracts 470,000 during New Year’s

Washinomiya Shrine (鷲宮神社）, the Tokyo area’s oldest shrine and a real-life backdrop for the Lucky Star anime series, attracted 470,000 over the first three days of the new year.

Washinomiya Shrine
Fans have been flocking to this shrine since the 2008 anime featured Kagami and Tsukasa Hiiragi ― twin sister characters who supposedly work at the shrine as miko （巫女/shrine maidens).

“Miko”cosplayers

90,000 attended in 2007, 300,000 in 2008, 420,000 in 2009, 450,000 in 2010, and 470,00 in 2011. Read the rest of this entry »

First One Piece art exhibition with new artwork by Oda will open

One Piece manga creator Eiichiro Oda (尾田栄一郎)will be the executive producer for the next One Piece film. Viz Media also announced that the film will open in Japan next December, and the first One Piece art exhibition ― with new artwork by Oda ― will open in Tokyo’s Roppongi Hills on March 20, 2012.

Located on 52F just below the Mori Art Museum and Tokyo City View observation deck with its panoramic views of Tokyo, Mori Arts Center Gallery is a 1,000㎡-class gallery. Read the rest of this entry »

Japan Anime Festival in Shanghai

“Japan Anime Festival” was hosted jointly by the Japanese and Chinese governments Nov.23(Beijing) and 25(Shanghai)-29 in Beijing and Shanghai China.http://www.anifes.com.cn/anifes/index.jsp?lan=jp

The event was a part of a series of  cross cultural  collaboration events of Japan and China which started in this June with Japanese movies introduced to China and Chinese movies and anime introduced to Japan in this October.

Read the rest of this entry »

“K-ON!” live event in USJ Osaka

A special live performance event of a popular anime series “K-ON!” (http://www.tbs.co.jp/anime/k-on/)was held at USJ  (Unversal Studios Japan http://www.usj.co.jp/e/)  in Osaka on this Nov.27th. The five popular voice actors,namely, Aki Toyosaki,Yoko Hikasa, Satomi Sato,Minako Kotobuki,and Ayana Taketatsu, playing the parts of the five main characters of the work appeared wearing the characters’ costumes on the open-air stage in front of the zealous audience of more than 5,000 most of whom were huge fans of the work or the actors.

Read the rest of this entry »

The first cosplay nationwide contest in Russia held

The first nationwide contest of cosplay of Japanese subculture in Russia was held  on Nov. 20-21 and a girl group of 23-year-old girl and 25-year-old girl won the grand prix.  This event was a program of  “J-FEST”, a promotion event of  various aspects of contemporary popculture of Japan, such as music, anime, fashion,and so forth hosted by the Japan Embassy in Russia.http://www.j-fest.org/

More than enrusiastic 800 people visited the J-FEST ,which was beyond the capacity of the venue in Moscow. At the cosplay event , 30 groups that had passed the preliminary contest out of 80 groups showed their Japanese popculture-related costumes. The winners were given tickets to take a travel to Japan, which made them quite happy and excited as they are interested in the anime and its related  cosplay culture’s “mecca” in Japan.

Doraemon Live-Action Ads stars Jean Reno and Satoshi Tsumabuki

Actor Jean Reno plays the robot cat Doraemon himself in the live-action commercial from Toyota Motor Corporation. The ad campaign depicts the characters of the classic children’s manga Doraemon in live-action, two decades after they grow up. The second ad, “Nobita’s Barbeque,” begins airing.

Jean Reno (Doraemon)

To play Doraemon with his handy four-dimensional pocket, Reno dons a white T-shirt, a blue suit, a blue cap, and a small bell around his neck.

Satoshi Tsumabuki (Nobita)

Since the first ad, actor Satoshi Tsumabuki (妻夫木聡）has been playing Nobita, the hapless owner of the manga’s title robot cat. Read the rest of this entry »

Rumor on live-action film adaptation of Akira manga

The Hollywood Reporter entertainment trade magazine reported about Warner Brothers’ live-action film adaptation of Akira manga.

It says Ezra Miller and Alden Ehrenreich are among the top contenders for the pivotal role of Tetsuo.

Ezra Miller

18-year-old Miller starred in the independent thriller We Need To Talk About Kevin and co-starred in The Perks of Being a Wallflower, the 2012 film that Stephen Chbosky is directing from his own novel. He also appeared in recurring roles in the television series Californication and Royal Pains.

Alden Ehrenreich

21-year-old Ehrenreich starred in Francis Ford Coppola’s drama film Tetro in 2009. He also appeared in television guest roles in CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and Supernatural.

Tetsuo

The magazine describes Tetsuo as “a young man with telekinetic abilities who becomes a dangerous weapon.”

Akira manga

In 2002, talks that Warner Brothers had acquired rights to the create a live-action Akira film surfaced. Since then, a number of directors, producers and writers have been reported to be attached to the film.In 2009 Leonardo DiCaprio and Joseph Gordon Levitt were the rumored stars in the film.

One Piece Anime Gets New 3D Event Anime Short in December

The Toei Animation announced it will release a new 3D anime short called “One Piece 3D Gekisō! Trap Coaster” at events starting December 1.

Poster of “One Piece 3D Gekisō! Trap Coaster”

The short will run about 12 minutes long and play at stereoscopic 3D theaters at Aichi Prefecture’s Lagunasia theme park, Nagasaki Prefecture’s Huis Ten Bosch theme park, Kanagawa Prefecture’s Yokohama Landmark Tower, and Hiroshima Prefecture’s NTT CRED Hall.

In March, Toei released the One Piece 3D: Mugiwara Chase anime short in a double-billing with Toriko 3D: Kaimaku Gourmet Adventure!! in theaters nationwide. The Lagunasia marine resort complex hosted a “One Piece Memorial Log in Lagunasia” attraction last year, and Huis Ten Bosch built a replica of the Thousand Sunny pirate ship from the anime and Eiichiro Oda’s original manga this year.

●Lagunasia theme park(Japanese website)
Gamagori, Aichi Prefecture
2011/12/1～2012/2/27
●Huis Ten Bosch theme park(Japanese website)
Sasebo, Nagasaki Prefecture
2011/12/10～
●Yokohama Landmark Tower(Japanese website)
Yokohama, Yokohama Prefecture
2011/12/9～2011/12/14
●NTT CRED Hall(Japanese website)
Hiroshima, Hiroshima Prefecture
2011/12/23～2012/1/9

Disney streams trailer for Studio Ghibli’s Arrietty film

Disney began streaming a trailer for the North American-dubbed version of Hiromasa Yonebayashi and Studio Ghibli’s Arrietty film. The film, which will be titled “The Secret World of Arrietty”, will receive a theatrical run in North America starting on February 17.

The Secret World of Arrietty

The movie originally opened in Japanese theaters in July 2010 with supervision by Ghibli co-founder Hayao Miyazaki(宮崎駿）. The film also received a different English dub in the U.K. and ran in theaters there in August.

The Secret World of Arrietty

The film re-imagines Mary Norton’s 1952 novel The Borrowers by moving the story to a Tokyo suburb. The story revolves around Arrietty, a member of the “little people” who live under the floorboards of a regular human family’s home, and their struggle to remain hidden from the human “beans.”

Bridgit Mendler

Producer Frank Marshall revealed in January that Bridgit Mendler is voicing the title
character. Joining her in the cast are Amy Poehler, Will Arnett, David Henrie, and Carol Burnett.

EVANGELION STORE opening in Harajuku

“NEON GENESIS EVANGELION”, one of the most popular anime work series both in Japan and the world, is going to open its first “real ” or “physical” store of related items, “EVANGELION STORE” in Harajuku Tokyo on this Nov.23rd. http://www.evastore.jp/real/index.html

So far, that store chain has widely and successfully developed popular items and goods related to the anime work and prosperous as an online store chain. http://www.evastore.jp/pc/

The name of the new real store is “EVANGELION STORE TOKYO-01 ” , jointly operated by GroundWorks (http://gworks.biz/) and MOVIC (http://www.movic.jp/index.html), both of which operate the online store chain as well.

The location of the new store (1-8-23, Jingumae, Shibuya-ku,Tokyo) is in the quite popular and well-known area of  cosplay and subcultural fashions as well as a traditional Japanese culture where Meiji Shrine, one of the most popular Shinto shrines is located.  The area is popular the young and old or even foreign tourists with interesting harmonized atmosphere of  old and new aspects of Japanese culture.

This first real Evangelion Store is to be two-storied, whose first floor is featured with apparel an fashion sorts, and second floor is of  various kinds of Eva’s items expected to meet  requirements of  both ordinary fans and great lovers of the anime work series. The first floor also includes an event hall where various events of Eva series are to be hosted, such as some special events to promote the new anime movie “Evangelion new theatrical version:Q” which is planned to released in autumn 2012.

The management say they intend to enhance  more firsthand communications with fans and expect the fans to view and touch the items to feel the attractions more intensively. The store plans to host special presale events of related items  occasionally.

 

Chichibu City becomes holy site for “Anohi Mita Hana no Namae wo Bokutachi wa Mada Shiranai” anime fans

The city of Chichibu in Saitama has been attracting anime fans from throughout Japan since an animation series set there was broadcast on TV earlier this year.

©ANOHANA PROJECT

Young anime fans have flocked to the city since the airing from April to June of the animation “Anohi Mita Hana no Namae wo Bokutachi wa Mada Shiranai (あの日見た花の名前を僕達はまだ知らない)” (We still don’t know the name of a flower we saw that day).

The animation, “Ano Hana” (That flower) for short, tells the story of a group of youngsters who reunite as friends several years after one dies in an accident during primary school.

©ANOHANA PROJECT

The tourism facility Hot Spot Chichibu-kan said it has been enjoying a 10-fold increase in visitors, thanks to Ano Hana fans.

Chichibu, known for its Buddhist temples for pilgrimage, previously attracted mainly middle-aged and elderly visitors.

Jorin Temple

But since Ano Hana, the make-up of those visitors has changed along with their reasons for making the pilgrimage to Chichibu.

Chichibu Shrine
Jorin Temple, one of the pilgrimage temples, appears as a scene in Ano Hana. It now has a shop selling wooden plaques and Japanese fans illustrated with characters from Ano Hana.

聖地巡礼マップ

In July, the Chichibu city government began distributing maps of spots where scenes in Ano Hana take place.

View Chichibu City in a larger map

Gundam AGE Anime’s TV CM

The official website for Sunrise’s Gundam AGE television anime series began streaming a 15-second television ad for the series.

Gundam AGE

Gundam AGE’s story will cover a century and three generations of Gundam pilots.

In the year A.G. 101 (Advanced Generation) ― several hundred years after human have migrated into space ― an Unknown Enemy (UE) suddenly attacks the space colony Angel and destroys it. This tragedy later became known as “The Day the Angel Fell From the Skies.”

In A.G. 108, the war with the UE comes to the home colony of seven-year-old Furitto Asuno. After losing his mother to the war, he is entrusted with the “AGE Device,” a memory unit which has been handed down from generation to generation in his family. The device contains blueprints for “Gundam,” an ancient mobile suit known as a savior. Furitto resolves to build the Gundam.

In the year A.G. 115, 14-year-old Furitto is at the Earth Federation base Arinsuton on the space colony Nora. For seven years, Furitto has continued developing with the base’s engineers, and at last the “Gundam” is complete. The Gundam is equipped with the AGE System, which allows the unit to automatically evolve. However, the UE has arrived at Nora, and Furitto must fight in the very Gundam he built himself.

Gundam AGE is set to premiere on October 9 in Japan.

Dragon Quest Ⅰ,Ⅱ,and Ⅲ are put in one game software of Wii to be released on Sep.15th

 ”Dragon Quest”, one of the most prevalent and popular video RPG series now is celebrating its 25th anniversary, and in one of the relevant momorial events, Nintendo will release “reprinted editions” of the first three games- Ⅰ，Ⅱ,and Ⅲ in one game software of  Nintendo Wii on this Sep.15th.   http://www.dragonquest.jp/25th/

 The original Dragon Quest Ⅰwas released as a Nintendo Famicon(FC) games in 1986 and Ⅱwas in 1987,and Ⅲwas in 1988. And Those three games were also released as reprinted editions of Nintendo SuperFamicon(SFC) game softwares in 1993 (ⅠandⅡ) and 1996 (Ⅲ).  Most of the game series’ works have been reprinted in several game machines even other than SFC, such as MSX, PlayStation and so forth.  

This newest “Wii edition” of  Ⅰ,Ⅱ, andⅢ in token of the 25th anniversary includes  both the three games of the original FC editon’s design and those of the SFC edition’s design.  The  original FC editons of Ⅰand Ⅱ 24-25 years ago did not have the saving system of the game data and they had so-called “the Spell of Rebirth/魔法の呪文”(password) to resume playing the game  after a switch-off.  However, a player can choose either the password system or the game data saving system with this Wii editon. And You could use even an old, old password 25 years ago, which will stimulate the nostalgic emotion full of  zeal of the huge fans who led their childhoods in those days and now are adults.  　

The Wii edition will also include reprinted edition of  a set of guidebooks that totally sum up to 130 pages , and only for the first pressing ones- a “Small Medal/ちいさなメダル”（a special small token coin）in its real scale.