Archives by Tag 'Manga'

The 4th Int’l Manga Award for Xiao Bai’s Si loin et si proche Wins

International Manga Award
Xiao Bai
Si loin et si proche

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan announced the winner and runners-up of its Fourth International Manga Awards (国際漫画賞) on January 12. Chinese creator Xiao Bai won the top award for the graphic novel Si loin et si proche (“So Far, Yet So Close”), which was published in Belgium last year. In the story, a Beijing college freshman named Xiao Tian suddenly meets a boy who calls her “Mother.” The boy, Li Wei, turns out to be her son from the future. Xiao Bai studied illustration and graphic design as a student in Beijing, and this is Xiao Bai’s first full-length graphic novel.

France’s Olivier Martin and Sylvain Runberg (Face cachée tome 1), Spain’s Enrique Fernández (La Isla sin Sonrisa), Thailand’s Verachai Duangpla (”The story begins with ･･･”) won awards of excellence or Silver Awards. America’s Abby Denson (Dolltopia), Belgium’s Little Thunder (Kylooe), Taiwan’s Chang Fung-Chih (The little polar bear), Thailand’s Akekarat Milintapas (Pandora Book), Taiwan’s Yeh Yu Tung and Syu Shu Hao (The passionate sword), and Belgium’s Frédéric Genet and France’s Jean-François Di Giorgio (Samurai) received awards for honorable mention.

Awards of Excellence


Olivier Martin, Sylvain Runberg
Face cachée tome 1

Enrique Fernández
La Isla sin Sonrisa

Verachai Duangpla
“The story begins with …”

International Manga Award is an award established to encourage non-Japanese mangaka in 2007. This award was created by late Foreign Minister Taro Aso, who proposed this award in a policy speech he gave in Tokyo’s Akihabara district in 2006.

This year’s judges were Machiko Satonaka (Lady Ann), Monkey Punch (Lupin III), Takao Yaguchi (Tsurikichi Sampei), Yoriaki Yakubo (former Weekly Shonen Sunday editor-in-chief), and Hiroyuki Yoshidome (former Manga Action editor). A total of 189 entries were submitted from 39 countries — less than the 303 entries which were submitted from 55 countries last year. 368 entries from 46 countries were submitted during the second year, and 222 entries from 22 countries were submitted during the first year of the awards.

Thai creator Jakraphan Huaypetch (a.k.a. Ton Huaypetch) won the Gold Award in 2009 for the basketball story Super Dunker. Hong Kong’s Lau Wan Kit won 2008’s top award for Feel 100%. Another Hong Kong artist, 43-year-old Lee Chi Ching, won the first International Manga Award in 2007 for his Sun Zi’s Tactics comic series.

Japan’s International Manga Award 2009

Japan’s International Manga Award 2010

Shun Oguri,Masami Nagasawa X Movie:Gaku

Manga “Gaku: (岳－ガク－ lit. “Peak)” is going to be turned into a live-action movie. Shun Oguri （小栗旬）and Masami Nagasawa（長澤まさみ） are going to star in this movie, 7 years after their last movie together.
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22. You can spend every waking hour surrounded by comics

At a manga-kissa, or ‘comics cafe,’ a few hundred yen per hour nets you a tiny booth with a reclining chair, internet-enabled PC, an endless supply of all-you-can-read comic books, and bottomless soft drink refills. Read the rest of this entry »

Doraemon X Japan Airlines

Japan Airlines (JAL) will begin operating the “Doraemon Jet”,a Boeing 777-300 decorated with large images of Doraemon characters.

It will fly on domestic routes mainly between Tokyo Haneda, Sapporo, Itami, Nagoya, Fukuoka and Okinawa beginning in mid-February. Read the rest of this entry »

Pikachu in traditional Japanese style of art

Here’s some pretty amazing artwork that’s been making the rounds on the interwebs lately. This set of pics show Pikachu drawn in a traditional Japanese style of art.

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One Piece Theme Park Attraction at Laguna Gamagouri

The Laguna Gamagouri marine resort complex has announced that it will host a “One Piece Memorial Log in Lagunasia” theme park attraction from March 20 to June 27. Read the rest of this entry »

Life-Size Gundam to Bring in 40 Billion Yen to Shizuoka

The Life-Size Gundam will be erected in front of Japan Railway’s Higashishizuoka Station in Shizuoka’s Aoki ward by July.

Shizuoka city calculates that the 1/1-scale, 18-meter-tall statue of the Gundam robot will bring 40 billion yen (US$440 million) into the local economy. Read the rest of this entry »

“Hoshi no Furu Machi” Movie

Hidenori Hara(原秀則)’s manga “Hoshi no Furu Machi (ほしのふるまち）” is being turned into a live-action film. 　Hara(born June 14, 1961)is a Japanese manga artist.

The project was revealed in an announcement that open auditions are being held for various parts, targeting men and women between the ages of 10 and 24.
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Life-Size Gundam to be relocated to Shizuoka

The 1/1-scale, 18-meter-tall statue of the Gundam robot, which was built to mark the 30th anniversary of the Gundam anime franchise, is being relocated to Shizuoka City , central Japan, next July. It is being moved in front of Japan Railway’s Higashishizuoka Station in Shizuoka’s Aoi ward. Read the rest of this entry »

Rough Guide, Manga and Anime

Rough Guides’latest introductions to Manga and Anime are easy-to-read and suitably compact.

Rough Guide series has been helping itinerant travelers navigate foreign destinations for nearly 30 years. Their travel titles cover more than 200 destinations, and are distributed worldwide through the Penguin Group. Read the rest of this entry »

Japan’s International Manga Award 2009

Thai rookie cartoonist Jakraphan Huaypetch won the top prize in this year’s International Manga Award contest. While Chinese, French and South Korean artists bagged the runners-up awards.They will not be given a monetary prize, but he hopes that the award helps the activities of the artists become more publicized overseas. Read the rest of this entry »

Second season for Haruma Miura’s “Bloody Monday”

A second season for the TBS drama series “Bloody Monday (ブラッディ・マンデイ)” has been officially confirmed.　Based on manga series written by Ryuumon Ryou and illustrated by Megumi Kouji（恵広史）,the original drama aired last fall and averaged 11.4% ratings.
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