Archive for 'anime' Category
2009.03.17
Jasper Morello
Jasper Morello is an animated short about Jasper, a disgraced aerial navigator given a second chance, and how his trip goes awry. Done in a brilliant Victorian-futurist milieu, we follow Jasper as he faces the worst monster of all. Very nicely done, and available on YouTube. If you have 26 minutes, watch and enjoy!
No Comments | Catergorized: anime geek2009.01.16
Live Action Cowboy Bebop
Wow. I’ve just heard that Twentieth Century Fox has tapped Keanu Reeves to play Spike Speigel in a live action adaption of one of my favorite Japanese anime shows, Cowboy Bebop. There’s nothing in IMDB about it yet. Who will play Jet, Faye or Ed? How will they manage Ein? Which story line will they use? Eegads, I hope they bring in Yoko Kanno to do the soundtrack. I just won’t be the same otherwise…
2 Comments | Catergorized: anime geek movies2008.04.30
Anime On The Web
(Disclosure: I work for VIZ Media, a partner in this venture).
Almost a year ago Cartoon Network launched Toonami Jetstream, a website where you could watch certain anime titles for free. The problem was that you could only view them using a Windows computer.
Starting today, though, Cartoon Network has changed the format and now viewers from all platforms and watch anime on the web. Awesome! Current titles include Naruto and Hikaru No Go, both of which I recommend.
Congrats Cartoon Network, on being inclusive rather than exclusive. You’ve even added the ability to embed video from your site to ours. Awesome.
No Comments | Catergorized: anime rights technology work2007.10.26
VIZ Media Has a Blog
A little over a year ago I pitched an idea to my CEO here at VIZ Media. “Hey,” I said, “We should have a blog so we can communicate better with our fans!” I thought the pitch went well but because of the nature of my job (I’m already quite busy!) I never had time to push the initiative.
Fast forward to this past week. VIZ Media has just officially launched its blog which is called, cleverly, VIZBlog. There’s not much there yet, but it’s pretty funny stuff. Very informal. I love Urian Brown’s Godzilla post!
I’m really happy they’ve built out this blog but, and I hope my co-workers who worked on this really hard don’t take it personally, it’s going to have problems going forward. Comments look like a disaster (they’re published inline!), the template has most irritating Flash (automatic turn off for most blog readers) and the scaling and layout is, frankly, awkward. That being said I believe this is still a work in progress so I will go talk to a few people and at least give some feedback. They could also make it a little more obvious from the front page on how to get to the blog.
And regardless, if you’re a fan of manga, anime and particularly VIZ Media, check it out regularly!
(Disclosure: I am currently an employee of VIZ Media.)
1 Comment | Catergorized: anime geek manga work2007.06.07
Manga: The Complete Guide
Congratulations to my friend Jason Thompson on completing and publishing Manga: The Complete Guide. I know he’s been working on (and stressing about) this project for a long time and it’s wonderful that he’s completed it. I’m looking forward to picking it up and reading his sometimes dry wit and humor shine through.
He also spoke tonight at the San Francisco Asian Art Museum for the Marvel of Manga exhibition opening featuring manga legend Osamu Tezuka who created Astro Boy and Kimba the White Lion. He also created one of the most interesting twists on a Hitler theme, Adolf.
Congrats, Jason!
1 Comment | Catergorized: anime books friends manga2007.06.05
Naruto: Ninja Clash in the Land of Snow
I just got back from the company screening of the new (to American audiences) Naruto: Ninja Clash in the Land of Snow. I was there with co-workers and Jon E, who is probably the biggest Naruto fan I know. Unfortunately it won’t be going into wide distribution because it’s quite good. Worse, it’ll only be showing to the public tomorrow night, June 6th. If you’re an anime fan check if it will play near you and get your tickets ahead of time because it’s already selling out across the country!
2 Comments | Catergorized: anime friends san francisco2007.01.06
American Anime Awards
Look at that… They have awards for everything these days! The American Anime Awards “showcase the very best anime to make its way to North America. The winners are chosen by anime fans themselves.” That’s actually really cool because without the fans there certainly wouldn’t be any anime here in America. Fans find the best titles *before* anyone in the industry and if they love a show then, even if the title wasn’t huge in Japan, the American rights holders know they have gold on their hands.
I am curious who the “hosts” are (there are only pictures, no bios?). There are a LOT of categories and too many titles I had never heard of. I guess I’m not nearly the anime fan everyone thinks I am. *wink*
If you’re an anime fan go and vote. At the first link you can find the vote link. I know it’s a niche market and even if you’re a fan there is far too much to be truly edumacated on the subject, but it’s a great service to/from the fans and the people who bring anime (legally) to the American markets.
(Disclaimer: I work for VIZ Media and we have several titles up for awards. Don’t let this color your choices!)
Comments Off | Catergorized: anime geek2006.07.24
MSM Covering Otaku?
What is this? Could it be? The main stream media (CBS, in this case) is covering anime and manga in a positive way. Of course they still have to wonder, at the end, if it’s just for nerds. It is, but not for long.
2 Comments | Catergorized: anime manga2005.12.14
Wikipedia on Cowboy Bebop
Wow, Wikipedia has an awesome entry on Cowboy Bebop. I never would have picked up on half the things it mentions! It even links out to Wikiquote, which is a source for various quotations from stuff; something Mookee would find very useful and could contribute quite a bit towards himself.
Comments Off | Catergorized: anime2005.11.30
Anime in Fortune Magazine
I was a little surprised to see Fortune Magazine taking a positive interest in anime. I’ve enjoyed anime (animation) and manga (comic books) from Japan since I was a kid watching G-Force, Star Blazers and Robotech. I’m glad to see it’s come a long way since then. I used to be the geek, now I’m the regular guy… I think hell froze over when I wrote that.
The article really seems to focus on ADV which I found interesting since I’m quite new to the scene. Now I’m working for one of the largest distributors and licensers of this Japanese Invasion, VIZ Media, I should get some perspective on who else is out there, what they are doing, and how it all fits together.
I’ve started a new category here on the site for things like this, plus random Japanese language lessons, observations and thoughts. It seems easier than trying to figure out where to put this particular story in the existing goliath framework.
Comments Off | Catergorized: anime
