Lonely Castle in the Mirror is playing in select American theaters June 21 and 22. In the fantasy film, adolescent Kokoro is terrified of going to school, and finds a mirror to a castle where other children are dealing with the same school phobia. Director …Read more »
Media Do International, Clover Press and Shueisha are all working together on a Kickstarter for the English translation and publication of romance novel Love Like the Falling Petals, which has been a bestseller in Japan and received a live-action Netflix adaptation. The Kickstarter is currently …Read more »
Ryo Sumiyoshi, who has worked on the Monster Hunter franchise at Capcom Co., Ltd., has debuted his first manga, the gripping historical fantasy Centaurs (see Otaku USA‘s review here). Sumiyoshi spoke to Otaku USA about his work, his philosophy, and what he hopes people take …Read more »
Drawfest4, brought to us by pixiv and Wacom, will begin June 10 with Study Day from 9:00 AM to 2:30 PM JST, and then come back again for Feedback Day on June 17 from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM JST. This livestreaming event, which is …Read more »
MAN WITH A MISSION and milet are behind the opening and just-announced ending theme songs for the new season of Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, and MAN WITH A MISSION guitarist, vocalist and rapper Jean-Ken Johnny is keen to talk about it. The opening song …Read more »
March 11 marks 12 years since a record-breaking earthquake led to the Fukushima nuclear power plant disaster. Guardian of Fukushima, a new graphic novel from writer Fabien Grolleau and artist Ewen Blain — which includes a foreword from Roland Kelts — tells the story of …Read more »
If you’ve ever wanted to go back to 1999, you can . . . in virtual reality. Nostalgia1999, which showcases what an otaku teen’s room may have looked like in July 1999, is now available on VRChat thanks to Toei Animation’s ONN’ON STUDIOS, with help …Read more »
Ballmastrz: Rubicon, the follow-up to Ballmastrz 9009, will be debuting tonight at midnight on Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim. Its animation is done by STUDIO4℃ with Takashi Nakamura working as the animator director. Ballmastrz: Rubicon creator Christy Karacas spoke with Otaku USA about his early interest …Read more »
Bleach is back with Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War, and composer Shiro SAGISU couldn’t be happier to return to what he calls his life’s work. SAGISU has written the music for dozens of anime—everything from Evangelion to Berserk—and with the relaunch of Bleach, he spoke to …Read more »
Kurokata’s quirky isekai light novel series The Wrong Way to Use Healing Magic began coming out in August, and the manga adaptation by Kugayama Reki will hit shelves this November. Both series are published by One Peace Books, and Kurokata and Kugayama Reki spoke to …Read more »
As part of AX Cinema Nights, A Silent Voice is returning to theaters on October 12, available both dubbed and subbed. Lexi Marman Cowden, a professional actress who plays Shoko in the English dub, is deaf like her character. She spoke to Otaku USA about …Read more »
INU-OH, the surreal and musically-inspired new anime movie by Masaaki Yuasa, mixes a historical setting with sometimes-modern music. After speaking with singer and lead voice-over actor Avu-chan, Otaku USA was able to speak with the film’s composer, Otomo Yoshihide. Yoshihide talked about using classical instruments, …Read more »
GKIDS has licensed the heartfelt movie Goodbye, Don Glees! and just played it in American theaters. Atsuko Ishizuka, the movie’s writer and director, has been working at the prestigious anime studio Madhouse since 2004. Otaku USA spoke to her about her inspiration for this movie, …Read more »
BLITZ, which has been published by Shonen Jump, becomes available in America this month through ABLAZE Comics. The chess-themed series is written by Cédric Biscay and Harumo Sanazaki and illustrated by Daitaro Nishihara, with chess grandmaster and World Chess Champion Garry Kasparov also involved. Biscay …Read more »
Mathew Klickstein calls himself a Multi-Platform Storyteller, and his newest book, See You At San Diego: An Oral History of Comic-Con, Fandom, and the Triumph of Geek Culture, is being released on September 6 by Fantagraphics. The 500-page book has all sorts of information and …Read more »
Danica Davidson
