Archive for 'Manga' Category

The 56 Japan Record Awards Grand Prix “R.Y.U.S.E.I” of J Soul Brothers from EXILE TRIBE(the third genereation)

The 56th Japan Record Awards ceremony was held today Dec.30th in Tokyo.(http://www.tbs.co.jp/recordaward/)  “R.Y.U.S.E.I.” of JSoul Brothers from EXILE TRIBE (/sandaime, the third generation) received the Grand prix. (http://www.jsoulb.jp/)

○The Best Rookie Singer Award/  Mariya Nishiuchi,  ○The Best Singer Award/ EXILE ATSUSHI,   ○The Special Singer Music Award/ Hiroshi Itsuki, ○The Special Film Theme Music Award/ “Anna and The Snow Queen”,  ○The Special Award/ “Youkai Watch”, ○The Best Album Award/ “TRAD” of Mariya Takeuchi, and some other wards ere given to excellent singers, composers, lyricists, and other music artists.

Hayao Miyazaki wins an Honorary Academy Award

Hayao Miyazaki, the top anime film maker and producer received an Honorary Academy Award, announced by Academy of Motion Picture  Arts and Sciences(http://www.interactive.org/) on the 28th.

Miyazaki is a representative of  Studio GHIBLI, the leading anime company and retired from  long-anime film business just after the release of  “The Wind Rises” in 2013.   After all the great works of Japanese animation culture, now he says he wants to bededicated to the business of  running GHIBLI Museum, Mitaka (http://www.ghibli-museum.jp/en/).

Miyazaki is the second Japanese in history to receive the award after late Akira Kurosawa, one of the most famous Japanese film director’s winning in 1990.  The award is given to a film world person who has made a huge contributions through efforts for long years to the film world or its culture, such as Kurosawa,Walt Disney,and other remarkable personages of the industry. Miyazaki’s long- year feats have been recognized thsi time.  The reception ceremony will be held on the coming Nov.8th in Hollywood.

“World Cosplay Summit 2014” in Nagoya

“World Cosplay Summit 2014” is  hosted by the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other bodies Jul.26-Aug.3 in Nagoya. (http://www.worldcosplaysummit.jp/en/)

This WCS is the 12nd and this time representatives join the event from  22 countries or regions. The  event includes several programs such as a coaplay parade, cosplay championship, visitations of the representatives to city offices and MFA, anime-song festival, and so forth. Six representatves of the event from China, Mexico, and Finland officially visited Seiji Kihara, the vice-minister at MOFA in Tokyo giving presentations over attaractions of cosplay. Kihawa made a speech saying, pop culture has power to bind countries together and expect the representatives to support strengthening rapport with Japan. The Chinese representative said cosplay had a role to enhance cultural exchange.

 

“Ju-on; The Beginning of The End”” released

The newest  installment movie of “Ju-on”, the most scary horror work series according to some survey, released at theaters on Jun.28. (http://www.juon-movie.jp/) , (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ju-on_(franchise), (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ju-on:_The_Beginning_of_the_End), (http://eigapedia.com/movie/ju-on-owari-no-hajimari)

The newest work is “Ju-on, The Beginning of The End”(Juon, Owari-no Hajimari) and is the seventh installment to the series.  “Juon” means  a “grudge” and basic story is that people who visit a house where brutal murders took place before are cursed to death by the infuriated vengeful ghosts that were the victims of the murders. A victim of the curse to death becomes a new vengeful ghost to kill other people and stories of those chain reactions of curses and deaths  spreading out are described in such a manner of somewhat independent episodes. Three of the currently released works, “The Grudge”,”The Grudge 2″, and “The Grudge 3 ” were made in Hollywood as US versions and the first two made a huge success as movies run at theaters and the third was released as a dvd software.

Tokyo Idol Festival 2014 tickets, begun to sell

One of  a popular girls’ idols/idol groups live event, “Tokyo Idol Group 2014” is going to be held on Aug.2-3, and  two types of its tickets, one-day tickets and two-day  tickets started to sell on Jun.28.  (http://idolfes.com/2014/english/)

 

Names of idols/idol groups to perform in the event are being released bit by bit and 117 idols/groups are announced. A trait of Tokyo Idol Festival is that, unlike average idol events, the facilitators focus not only very famous ones but even on less known local idols that have aptitudes as general promotion acitivity of  all corners of the Japanese society as well.

 

Osamu Tezuka’s imcomplete posthumous items found

Osamu Tezuka’s posthumous drawings, manuscripts, and some personal items such as half-eaten sweets were found from a long locked drawers of his desk in his office by  his daughter, Rumiko Tezuka on March 27th.

 

Osamu Tezuka (1928-1989) was one of the top manga artist and thought to have been the greatest pioneer to develop and promote the manga culture not only in Japan but worldwide.  A lot of his works,such as “Atom Astro Boy”,”Jungle Emperor Leo”  have been dramatized, made to be anime, or other measures ,all of which have been loved by people all over the world for long years. His activities and works have influenced innumerable cartoonists, anime staffers, film makers, and other artists.

The desk drawers that had been locked for about 25 years because the key had been long lost after Tezuka’s passing was finally unlocked by his daughter  who said finally she had successfully made a copy of the key. A manuscript written about comments of Katsuhiro Otomo who is the creater of  a popular manga and movie works of “AKIRA” was one of the found items.  Some hand drawings of his are quite arousing which might be a bit different from general images of  his manga works. These newly found works may give us new impressions about Tezuka’s works and his art world.

“LUPIN THE IIIRD Jigen Daisuke’s Grave Marker”

“LUPIN THE IIIRD Jigen Daisuke’s Grave Marker”,” a spin-off  anime work of a popular  anime and manga series of “LUPIN THE IIIRD” is reportedly going  to be released in this coming summer at Shunjuku Wald 9, a huge cinema complex in Tokyo.

Daisuke Jigen in one of the group members of Lupin the 3rd, a grandson of  Arsene Lupin in the manga story created by Monky Punch.  In this latest work of the series, Jigen’s young days and how he came to become Lupin the  3rd’s friend will be described. This new work is the second spin-off of the series following the first one of “LUPIN THE 3RD- A Woman called  Fujiko Mine” released in April 2012, which had been released as one of the works of the series for the first time in 27 years.

AAA “PR Ambassador” of “One Piece”

AAA, a popular music artist group of  young males and females has become a “PR Ambassador” of “One Piece”, the worldwide popular Japanese comic and anime work describing pirates, reported on 14th.  The group is in charge of  the thme music of the anime work  and such a promotion campaign has started commemorating teh 15th anniversary of the great subculture work.

“The 8th Youkai-kentei”(Monster tests) of Ge-ge-ge

“Youkai-kentei”(Monster tests) were held in Sakaiminato city in Tottori pref. and Chofu city in Tokyo on Oct,27th.

These were the 8th tests which started in 2006 by The chamber of commerce and industry of Sakaiminato. The test is for prevailing knowledge of Japanese traditional monsters created by Shigeru Mizuki, a popular cartoonist who is known for the comic series of  “Ge-ge-ge no Kitarou” and other monster -related works . He is from Sakaiminato and lives now in Chofu, so the cities were chosen as the venues of the tests.

Mizuki’s biography written by his wife was dramatized by NHK TV station and that “Ge-ge-ge No Noubo”(Gegege’s wife) also made his works very popular as well.    This time the three levels of the tests,namely, the biginner level, the intermediate level, and the advanced level were taken totaly by about 400 test takers. The successful takers will be given a title of “Youkai hakase”(Doctor of Youkai or  monster master) by the host.  2220 people have received the title since 2006 so far.

TOKYO GAME SHOW 2013 held

TOKYO GAME SHOW 2013 (TGS2013) was held Sep.19-22 in Makuhari Messe in Chiba. (http://expo.nikkeibp.co.jp/tgs/2013/en/)

This time 352 organizations from 33 countries or regions,which is the highest number in the history of this event joined the show. A lot of  new video games, mobile phone games, PCgames and new game hardware. SCE(Sony Computer Entertainment )  released information and demonstrated  PS4 which is planned to be pre-released in US this November.

 

Ghibli’s latest anime “The Wind is Rising” amazing record

Studio Ghibli’s  latest anime work “The Wind is Rising”(/風立ちぬ, Kazetachinu) made a remarkable record within the first nine days of its release on Jul.20.

The movie made a record of  2,200,000 visitirs to the theatrers along with mora than 2.8 billion yen revenue just in the first nine days., according to study on 29th. That has made the work win two continuous weeks’ No.1 movie in the weeks in Japan.

Thermae Romae’s Yamazaki’s Steve Jobs Manga

The manga begins in 2004 with the late Apple company co-founder Steve Jobs travelling to Colorado to surprise author Walter Isaacson with a request: to pen his life story.

Isaacson muses if Jobs is comparing himself with Benjamin Franklin and Albert Einstein, the subjects of two Isaacson biographies. The author puts off writing Jobs’ story until he receives a call from Jobs’ wife Laurene with shocking news: Jobs has cancer.

The entire first chapter debuted in the May issue of Kodansha’s Kiss magazine on Monday.

Yamazaki ended her historical comedy manga Thermae Romae in Enterbrain’s Monthly Comic Beam magazine on March 12. The manga inspired a television anime mini-series, a live-action film starring Hiroshi Abe and Aya Ueto, and an upcoming live-action film sequel. Yen Press publishes the manga in North America, while Discotek licensed the anime in North America.

Evangelion Manga to Resume With End in 2013 Planned

The April issue of Kadokawa Shoten’s Young Ace magazine confirmed on Monday that Yoshiyuki Sadamoto （貞本義行）will resume his Neon Genesis Evangelion manga in the next issue on April 4 after a one-month break.

Sadamoto had said in the author’s note section of the previous issue that he is “working hard until the very end of the manga … this year.”

The 13th and most recent compiled volume of the manga shipped in Japan, the United States, and other countries worldwide on November 2.

Prime Minister Abe promises to keep supporting “Cool Japan”policy

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe gave his governmental policy speech at the Plenary Session of the House of Representatives of the Diet on Feb.28. In that address he referred to the importance of  Japan’s remaining a tourism-oriented country.

 

Today  Thomas Yayi Boni, the president of  republic of  Benin in Africa was invited and observed the session. Yayi Boni currently serves as chairperson of Africa Union ,and  now, TICAD5 (Tokyo International Conference on African Development 5) is planned to be hosted in Yokohama Kanagawa Pref.  Jun.1-3.

Abe  declared in his remark that Japan Government will retain the tourism-oriented country policy and  said, “Japanese contents, fashion, and the strength of our culture and tradition has got much attention all over the world. Anime and other items’ booms should not end up  temporary fads, and let us enhance Cool Japan as our business that we can take pride in so that it should become something we can boast to the world with us promoting tourism-oriented country policy that attracts people in the world. “.

“N-dimensional original tourism anime pilgrimage/Contents-tourism/possibilities of the sociology of tourism”

A book “N-dimensional original tourism anime pilgrimage/Contents-tourism/possibilities of the sociology of tourism” (/「ｎ次創作観光　アニメ聖地巡礼/コンテンツツーリズム/観光社会学の可能性」), an academic work written by Takeshi Okamoto, a researcher of  the sociology of tourism at Kyoto Bunkyo University  was issued by bouken book store(http://bouken.thebase.in/).

“N-dimensional tourism” is a new concept produced by the author who is a professional of sociology of tourism that fans of anime works create flows of tourism like the way  they create their own “applied works” of the original works in “two-dimensional work” to “three-dimensional work” or others as “original developments”.  fans’ visiting “the holy place” of manga or anime works’ settings(“the pilgrimage of  the anime sanctuaries”) is a typical development of this kind, he explains.  He states about his theory of  possibilities of  developments of tourism industry making much of the huge influences of  such fans’ psychology , mentality,and acts tendencies.