Anime Classic Lupin III Turns 40 – and a new series marks the anniversary TOKYO (majirox news) — Take a master criminal, throw in his loyal sidekicks, a love interest who continues to baffle and defeat the villain’s gang, and an Interpol detective who spends his life chasing them, and you have Lupin III....
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TOKYO (majirox news) — Japan’s best-known baseball comic, Kyojin no Hoshi, is trying to crack the Indian anime market. The only problem is that they don’t play baseball in India. They play cricket. Kodansha, one of Japan’s largest publishers, said, “We’ll be adapting the story of Kyojin no Hoshi (Star of the Giants) to...
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TOKYO (majirox news) – This week, One Piece, written and illustrated by Eiichiro Oda, was Japan’s best-selling manga series, according to Torico, operator of the Mangazenkan.com Web site. One Piece topped the best-sellers list for the first half of 2011. One Piece has a huge following not only in Japan, but also among international...
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TOKYO (majirox news) – All-girl band exist†trace’s screaming, growling, heavy guitars and pounding drums have caused a wave of excitement in Japan’s male-dominated visual kei music world. The sub-culture of visual kei among Japanese (jrock) musicians is distinguished by the use of striking make-up, intricate and flamboyant costumes, elaborate hairstyles and an androgynous look....
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TOKYO (majirox news) – Doujinshi. Misunderstood. It does not mean anime sex comic books, although much of it is sexual in content. Doujinshi means self-published. It is the Japanese version of what the West calls a Vanity Press. Doujinshi allows unknown artists and fans the means to pursue their creative dreams via the world...
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TOKYO (majirox news) – Several people of the defunct Parco Gallery in Tokyo were arrested and fined about $2,200 in 1993 for selling Nobuyoshi Araki’s controversial photo book, which was called Erotos, according to Photoguide. The photos were called “obscene.” Araki is conceivably Japan’s greatest living photographer. Last month a group of cartoonists comprising...
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A bitter fight is brewing between the Anime Content Expo on March 26-27 and the Tokyo International Anime Fair, TIF, hosted by the metropolitan government, on March 24-27. The argument is about censorship of a Tokyo government bill that regulates anime that glorify or exaggerate sexual or pseudo sexual actions for those under 18...
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TOKYO (majirox news) – In the early 1970s children in Italy were glued to their television sets watching Japanese cartoon series like Devilman, Mazinger Z, and Grendizer. The creator of all of these, Go Nagai (Kiyoshi Nagai) from Wajima, Japan, was an exceptionally brilliant and talented manga artist. Go Nagai had caused an uproar...
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UPDATE: January 14 – As of today in Tokyo there were 39 new Tiger Mask donations, one of $5,600, sent to a local district office. There are countless others now taking place throughout Japan. A side effect of this is that since January 13 the publisher of the Tiger Mask series, which started publication...
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TOKYO (majirox news) – Anime writers, publishers and storeowners are crying foul over the approval of a revised bill amending the Youth Healthy Development Ordinance by the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly, passed on December 15. At the root of the issue is the increasingly bitter argument about censorship of the multi-billion dollar anime industry. The...
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