The Prime Minister situation in Japan took up some extra time for me, so here is some older news from last month:
Fuchi no Mori forest protected
In the mid-1990s, an area called the Fuchi no Mori forest, located on the prefectural border between Higashimurayama-shi in Tokyo and Tokorozawa-shi in Saitama Prefecture, had been the target of developers planning housing construction. When he heard of these plans, director Hayao Miyazaki (Spirited Away and My Neighbor Totoro) along with the locals and other volunteers created the Council for the Conservation of Fuchi no Mori. One reason why Miyazaki-sama was so concerned was that he developed My Neighbor Totoro during strolls in the Fuchi no Mori forest.
After more than 10 years, their efforts finally paid off. In mid-September, Miyazak-sama (as chairperson of the Council), met with the landowners and developers. He made the request (from an ANN translation of a quote from the Chunichi Shimbun):
“Stop the development. Let it remain green.”
The following day, the developers agreed to stop their plans. The local government will be purchasing the land from the owners and the primary area (a .37 acre patch of trees) will become public land. The Council will help maintain it using funds received from donations. Miyazaki-sama said:
“I’m glad we could preserve this landscape with the help of so many people.”
Fuchi no Mori image from the Council’s home page.
ANN Story:
Miyazaki Helps Stop Development of “Totoro’s Forest” (Updated)
Japanese Source:
Chunichi Shimbun
Astro Boy Manga In Color
Tezuka Productions, founded by Osamu Tezuka (the “God of Manga”), has begun a project which will digitize and colorize all of Tezuka-sama’s manga (all 150,000 pages). They are currently working at about 1,000 pages per month. The coloring is handled by the company’s Beijing studio and they are using color charts which were reproduced by Tezuka-sama’s former personal assistants from the few all-color works done by him while he was still alive.
The final product will be used for various purposes. One of the early uses is by the Manga no Mushi Deluxe wing of Tezuka Productions. They distribute comics for Japanese mobile phones. They are currently offering six titles: Mighty Atom (Astro Boy), Black Jack, Ribbon Knight, Dororo, Phoenix, and Fushigi na Merumo. This month, they will add Umi no Triton (Triton of the Sea), The Three-eyed One, and Buddha with more to come later.
Images © Tezuka Productions
ANN Story:
Tezuka’s Company to Digitize, Colorize All His Manga
Japanese Source:
animeanime
Story of the First King’s Four Gods Manga
Montage from Innolife.net: © Innolife & Digital YTN & Joynews24 & inews24
Riyoko Ikeda, known for her historical shÅjo manga, The Rose of Versailles (aka Lady Oscar), recently attended a press conference in Korea. There, it was announced she would be creating a manga adaptation of the Korean drama series Story of the First King’s Four Gods (aka The Legend). The drama is currently airing on MBC in Korea and is scheduled to start airing in Japan this month.
The story mixes myth and history. It is set during reign of the 19th king of Goguryeo (the northernmost of the Three Kingdoms of Korea)…391AD – 413AD. It follows the life of the king, Dam-deok (posthumous name – Gwang Gae Toh Dae Wang also known as Gwang Gae Toh the Great) who built Goguryeo into the dominant kingdom on the Korean peninsula.
Ikeda-san may have been influenced by some of her friends to accept the project. She said at the press conference:
“There have been reviews saying the nose and chin lines I draw is similar to Bae Yong Joon. My friends that are fans of Bae Yong Joon told me that if I reject the offer, someone else is going to draw him anyways so to accept the offer.”
Bae Yong Joon is the South Korean actor who plays Dan-deok in The Legend. He seemed to be pleased that Ikeda-san would be drawing the manga:
“It is an honor that Ms. Ikeda is going to draw the manga version. I am looking forward to it.”
The manga started running in late September in Kodansha’s Tokyo Isshukan and Kansai Isshukan magazines.
Image of The Legend Promotional Picture from d-addicts.com
ANN Story:
Rose of Versailles Author to Pen Manga Adaptation of Korean Drama
Sources:
Innolife.net (Japanese)
Asia Pacific Arts
Broasia
Mamoru Oshii’s Shin-Onna Tachiguishi Retsuden
Director Mamoru Oshii (Ghost in the Shell movies) has been working on a sequel to his live action/animation hybrid film, Tachigui: The Amazing Lives of the Fast Food Grifters. That film had mostly male leads. The sequel, Shin-Onna Tachiguishi Retsuden (True Female Tachigui: The Amazing Lives of the Fast Food Grifters), is an “anthology about seven women from different walks of life”.
Unlike the first film, this one is a collaboration. One short is an extra from the original film’s DVD release called a “Female Fast Foot Grifter”. Oshii-san directed two additional shorts. The remaining shorts were directed by Makoto Kamiya (live action Cutie Honey), Kenji Kamiyama (Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex), Takanori Tsujimoto (”Perfect Partner” on Killers), and Hiroaki Yuasa (Mabataki). The soundtrack is by Kenji Kawaii (Ghost in the Shell movies).
The film will open in Japan from November 10 through November 30. There was a September 3 preview and there will be a screening at the upcoming Tokyo International Film Festival (October 20).
DEIZ and Orca Vision have posted a trailer. It is available in small and large resolutions.
Image © 88mm, DEIZ/Geneon Entertainment
ANN Stories:
Oshii Serves Up Female Tachigui Sequel This November
Oshii’s Female Tachigui Sequel’s Trailer Posted Online
Japanese Source:
animeanime.jp
World Cosplay Summit – Australia
© Aichi Television Broadcasting Co., Ltd.
Australia will soon be participating in the World Cosplay Summit. An announcement was made at Animania Sydney (held at the end of September) that Animania will be hosting the Australian qualifiers for the 2008 WCS. Incidentally, Animania is an umbrella title for a trio of conventions…besides Sydney, the other conventions are held in Melbourne and Brisbane.
There have also been negotiations for the WCS to again have a US qualifying round. There was a recent announcement at cosplay.com that the inaugural New York Anime Festival will be the site for that round. The Festival will be held December 7 – 9. Check the NYAF website for entry details and rules.
The US has not had a representative at the WCS since 2005. Apparently, there were problems at the US qualifier (held at Anime Expo) which continued through that year’s WCS final. This “bad blood” kept the US from holding a qualifier for the next two years.
ANN Story:
World Cosplay Summit 2008 adds Australian Leg (ANN Australia)
World Cosplay Summit 2008 Adds Australian Leg
Highlights of the 2007 WCS:
World Cosplay Summit 2007 Highlights
Update: World Cosplay Summit 2007: Osu Cosplay Parade and the World Cosplay Championship Report
Crayon Shin-chan Amusement Game Center
© Yoshito Usui/Futabasha, Shinei, TV Asahi, ADK
Banpresto (a subsidiary of Namco Bandai) is known for developing games (Super Robot Wars and Summon Night series). They will soon open an amusement game center with a Crayon Shin-chan theme in Kasukabe City, which is Shin-chan’s “hometown”. It will open on November 11.
Crayon Shin-chan is a manga written by Yoshito Usui. Here is part of a Publishers Weekly (via Amazon.com) review of the manga
“Sometimes called the Bart Simpson of Japan, cartoon character Crayon Shinchan has his own TV show and manga series. Readers shouldn’t be fooled by the flat line drawings and the cover’s primary colors, or by the innocent-looking little kid, because five-year-old Shinchan relentlessly sasses the adults around him and pulls perverted pranks that would make even Bart blush…Still, those who want a peek into Japanese popular culture, and who enjoy light, family-based (if not family-oriented) comics, might want to keep this on the bathroom shelf next to Calvin & Hobbes.”
It was also made into an anime. Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim had a couple of runs of the FUNimation dub.
Here is a description of the amusement center from the ANN story:
“The 710-square-meter facility in the new Lala Garden Kasukabe shopping center is designed around the motif of a movie studio, and it will include game machines, memento photo areas, and stores for original goods. With no entrance fee, 1 million attendees are expected to visit annually.”
One has to wonder what sort of games will be featured at the center.
This isn’t Banpresto’s first venture into amusement centers. They opened one in Tokyo’s Ario Kameari shopping center with a Kochira Katsushika-ku Kamearikouen-mae Hashutsujo theme (a police comedy manga by Osamu Akimoto) in March of 2006. They also opened a childern’s museum dedicated to Anpanman (an anime character created by Takashi Yanase) in Yokohama on April 20, 2007.
ANN Story:
Crayon Shin-chan Theme Park to Open in His ‘Hometown’
Japanese source:
Ultimatum
This last piece actually is from October 2:
Are You an Otaku? Contest
US publisher Seven Seas Entertainment and Japanese publisher Square Enix are teaming up for a contest called “Are You an Otaku?” as part of a promotion for Jiro Suzuki’s I, Otaku: Struggle in Akihabara manga.
If you are interested, you have to take two good pictures of your collection (see example below) and e-mail them to gomanga.com. If you win, you will receive an autographed “one-of-a-kind” original full color I, Otaku illustration plus 10 of the latest Seven Seas manga (including, of course, I, Otaku: Struggle in Akihabara Vol. 1). There will be 10 runners up who will receive a copy of I, Otaku: Struggle in Akihabara Vol. 1. Entry deadline is October 14 and the winners will be announced on October 22. Go to the gomanga website for the complete rules and details.
Example image: © Seven Seas Entertainment
ANN Story:
I, Otaku Manga Contest Looks for Best Otaku Collections
“I, Otaku” looks pretty interesting, but that room…it’s like…the same size as my apartment. Where do people get that kind of money?!
Assuming that the room in the picture is real and not a construct by Seven Seas, it does have a fairly impressive collection of DVDs, tankobon, figures, etc. It represents a decent investment (using the term rather loosely). That said, I have seen some bloggers showing off their rooms and some of them are close to what you see in that example picture.
Where do they get the money? Well, they probably just have different spending priorities…otaku probably don’t do much clubbing for example. Also, they may have doting parents with deep pockets.