douglas.nerad » anime

Relief by the Pint

douglas — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 23:33:19 +0000

On Thursday, March 24th my company, VIZ Media, will be having a fundraiser to help those in Japan after the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear hazards. VIZ imports Japanese manga and anime so it’s our opportunity to help. From the release:

Time: Thursday, March 24th from 4PM – 7PM
Location: Sweetie’s; 475 Francisco Street (between Mason and Powell)
More Info: 21 and over only.
Don’t worry we’ll have more fundraisers soon.

Enjoy a pint and send your good wishes towards the rebuilding of Japan. Share a shot with the people who help bring you your favorite manga and anime AND help rebuild the country that it all comes from.

Sweetie’s will donate 10% of revenue and all proceeds from the prize raffle will go to Artists Help Japan in a partnership with Give2Asia.

Can’t go, but want to donate?
Go to http://give2asia.org/artistshelp to donate to the cause!

If you’re a manga and/or anime fan this will be an opportunity for you to come mingle with some of the folks who bring you your special kind of crack. I have it on good authority that there will be a raffle, too, and given all the toys we get here at work you might enjoy what is given away, too.

Jasper Morello

douglas — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 21:03:28 +0000

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!

Live Action Cowboy Bebop

douglas — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 23:16:48 +0000

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…

Anime On The Web

douglas — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 17:43:28 +0000

(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.

VIZ Media Has a Blog

douglas — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 18:59:46 +0000

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.)

Manga: The Complete Guide

douglas — Fri, 08 Jun 2007 06:17:46 +0000

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!

Naruto: Ninja Clash in the Land of Snow

douglas — Wed, 06 Jun 2007 05:49:44 +0000

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!

American Anime Awards

douglas — Sat, 06 Jan 2007 20:53:59 +0000

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!)

MSM Covering Otaku?

douglas — Tue, 25 Jul 2006 04:32:48 +0000

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.

Wikipedia on Cowboy Bebop

douglas — Wed, 14 Dec 2005 07:58:00 +0000

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.