Several of Hayao Miyazaki’s movies have been made into stage plays: Spirited Away, My Neighbor Totoro, and Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind, and Spirited Away is getting international audiences. Now another Miyazaki project is getting the stage play treatment: Future Boy Conan. The …Read more »
There is sad news coming out of Japan with the report that actor Kenpachiro Satsuma has passed away at age 76. Satsuma played one of the most iconic characters from Japanese pop culture, and his work has been seen around the world — even if …Read more »
Japan gets all the good stuff. This time, it’s a tie-up promo campaign between Godzilla and McDonald’s, complete with a logo that looks right out of a Godzilla film. There’s a nice 30-second add, too. The main object of the campaign seems to be a …Read more »
Variety’s article on “10 Screenwriters to Watch for 2023″ included a reveal on a new screenwriter attached to Hollywood’s live-action Naruto movie: Tasha Huo. “Adapting iconic characters or IP makes the writing of it easier, because the passion for writing it is already there,” she …Read more »
The manga Let’s Go Karaoke! is getting a live-action adaptation, and a trailer has dropped that includes the theme song “Kurenai” (translated as “Crimson”) being performed by Little Glee Monster. It’s a cover of a song originally done by X Japan. Let’s Go Karaoke! received …Read more »
Actor and comedian Beat Takeshi, whose real name is Takeshi Kitano, was recently at Tokyo’s Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan to talk about his upcoming historical movie Kubi, which he wrote, directed, and acts in. He also got to talking about the Japanese entertainment business …Read more »
Netflix has had a mixed history with their live-action adaptations of anime and manga, with titles like Death Note and Cowboy Bebop not doing well, while their One Piece adaptation has been a hit. How will it be with Netflix’s live-action Yu Yu Hakusho? We’ll …Read more »
Japan’s live-action Golden Kamuy film is set to hit screens January 19, 2024. Now the film, based on the manga by Satoru Noda, has released a boatload of stills from the set. The film is directed by Shigeaki Kubo (HiGH & LOW series) and stars …Read more »
Godzilla may be minus one, but he’s also plus 1.04 billion. Godzilla Minus One, the latest Godzilla film and the first Japanese live-action production since Shin Godzilla in 2016, earned 1.06 billion yen (just under 7 million USD) in its opening weekend, which included a …Read more »
There is sad news coming out of Japan as we report on the passing of manga creator Hisaya Nakajo, who is best known for her shojo manga series Hana-Kimi. Her time of passing is listed as 8:52 PM on October 12, one month after her …Read more »
Netflix’s live-action One Piece debuts today, and Eiichiro Oda, the mangaka behind the massively successful franchise, has been heavily involved with the project. How involved? Well, some of his notes to Netflix and Netflix’s response were made public to give an idea. Here’s Oda talking: …Read more »
The launch of Netflix’s live-action One Piece is one day away, and a final trailer has been released. It’s a little under two and a half minutes long. Here is what we know about the cast: Iñaki Godoy plays Luffy, Mackenyu plays Roronoa Zoro, Emily …Read more »
So far the very successful Spirited Away play in Japan has had two actresses rotating in the role of Chihiro, the main character. Next year, however, two more actresses will be added to the rotation, both of whom already have impressive credentials: Rina Kawaei and …Read more »
With the premiere of Netflix’s live-action One Piece series days away, The New York Times spoke with creator Eiichiro Oda. Oda acknowledged that live-action adaptations of manga, particularly by Hollywood, has “a history of failure,” but he thinks this time might be different because of …Read more »
The August 31 premiere of Netflix’s live-action One Piece is drawing ever closer, and the Netflix Japan YouTube shared a video of Luffy actor Iñaki Godoy touring Shueisha, the company that publishes Shonen Jump magazine and the One Piece manga. The video is about three minutes long, …Read more »
Danica Davidson
Matt Schley
