International sales agent Megafilms.net has signed FreeTV and Home Video rights with MICO-NHK (Japan); FreeTV rights with ARD/NDR (Germany) and SVT (Sweden); TFO (Canada); DTT and Cab/Sat. rights with YLE (Finland), NRK (Norway) and Raisat (Italy) to air the first season of preschool stop motion animation "animal edutainment" (52x3) RIBBIT’S RIDDLES.
Sample episodes online screening on www.megafilms.org/popup.php?p=archives&vid=61
The hit anime series BAKUGAN will make its U.S. debut Feb. 24 on Cartoon Network.
Airing first in Japan and Canada, the series follows the adventures of Dan and his fellow Battle Brawlers as they use strategy and skill to save the Earth from destruction.
BAKUGAN begins with kids around the world discovering cards with different characters.
They create a battle game with them, not realizing the cards correspond to an alternate universe called Vestroia, where Bakugan warriors are waging war.
Gonzo's AFRO SAMURAI feature film will be released in theaters in Japan on Oct. 27, 2007, reports VARIETY. Featuring the voice of Samuel L. Jackson, the film is based on Takashi Okazaki's manga, which chronicles the tale of a samurai's quest to find the people who murdered his father.
The five-episode TV series aired on Spike TV in January. It was broadcast on Wowow in Japan in May.
Jackson, who also produced the TV series and feature, leads the voice cast, which also includes Ron Perlman and Kelly Hu. The hip-hop soundtrack was composed by RZA.
The U.S. VOD premiere of THE GUYVER, a sci-fi anime legend, starts Oct. 26, 2006, on Anime Network.
The Japan Foundation decided to donate an Arabic-dubbed version of a popular Japanese soccer animated cartoon, CAPTAIN TSUBASA, to an Iraqi television station, reported KYODO NEWS.
Japanese Foreign Ministry officials said the program will be provided to the Iraq Media Network by the foundation, with the cooperation of the ministry and Animation International Middle East.
Yohan Inc. of Tokyo has purchased Stone Bridge Press, an English-language publisher based in Berkeley, California, specializing in books about Japan and Asia. Founded in 1989 by publisher and editor-in-chief Peter Goodman, the company has more than 85 titles in print and has received numerous awards for publishing excellence.
The Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) has released an updated report on the status of the Japanese animation industry. Surprisingly, the anime market sales in Japan declined from a high of 213.5 billion yen in 2002, to 191.2 billion yen in 2003 (a 10.4% drop). There are about 430 anime production studios in Japan, with 264 of them concentrated in greater Tokyo and 70 of those are in the Suginami district.
FanTasia, a festival showcasing contemporary international genre cinema with an emphasis on unveiling films very rarely seen in North America, wrapped up on July 25, 2005, in Montreal, awarding Yuasa Masaakis MIND GAME the prize for best animated film. The film also took home the silver prize in the most groundbreaking film category as well.
For its ninth edition, FanTasia jury was of the following members:* Érik Canuel (creator of films LA LOI DU COCHON, LE DERNIER TUNNEL and LE SURVENANT)
The Japan Business Federation proposed June 21, 2004, holding an animation and robot exhibition to help boost the number of foreign tourists to Japan to 10 million by 2010, reports Yahoo.com.
The nation's biggest business lobby, known as Nippon Keidanren, recommended Japan host an animation and robot exhibition as early as 2009 between the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing and the 2010 World Exposition in Shanghai to introduce Japanese pop culture and state-of-the-art technologies to the world.
This spring the Japan Society and the Public Art Fund will collaborate on an exhibition that will fill the society's galleries on East 47th Street and spill out into the city.
It is the first collaboration between the two institutions, the first time the nonprofit Public Art Fund will be involved in an indoor exhibition and the first time the Japan Society will have input on outdoor projects. It will also be the first time any part of the Japanese artist Takashi Murakami's SUPERFLAT series will be shown in New York.
Chorion has secured an agreement for the distribution of a NODDY TV series in Japan. A distribution agreement between Chorion and OLC/Rights Entertainment Japan (ORE), the Tokyo-based intellectual property rights subsidiary of theme park owner Oriental Land Co. Ltd, will see Chorions 100x10 CGI-animated series, MAKE WAY FOR NODDY, debut in Japan on no fewer than three major television networks, starting in the second half of 2005.
In an effort to help its local industry produce another global sensation, the Japanese government is offering financial support to cash-strapped animation houses, reports THE JAPAN TIMES.
Anime imports into the U.S. has grown from 23 in the 1980s to 42 in the 1990s and has already reached 40 during the four years through 2003, according to a survey by the government-affiliated Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO). The organization also found that the anime market in the U.S. is worth $4.36 billion, which is 3.2 times the value of Japanese exports of steel products.
In further belt-tightening, the Walt Disney Co. plans to shut down Walt Disney Animation (Japan) in Tokyo. Part of DisneyToon Studios that specializes in DVD-premieres (101 DALMATIANS II: PATCH'S LONDON ADVENTURE) and smaller-budgeted theatrical releases (PIGLET'S BIG MOVIE, THE TIGGER MOVIE), the Japanese facility employs about 100 animators and will cease operations after completing the WINNIE THE POOH spin-off, THE HEFFALUMP MOVIE. Work for 2004 and beyond will quickly segue over to Walt Disney Animation (Australia), which recently made JUNGLE BOOK II.
The American Cinematheque at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood will present the 1st Festival of Japanese Anime from May 2-14, 2003. It features a cross-section of the newest and most challenging work from Japan, including the U.S. premieres of THE CAT RETURNS, the mondo-insane TAMALA2010 A PUNK CAT IN SPACE, the lovely fable PRINCESS ARETE, the long-awaited three-part anthology film MEMORIES, and Miramax Films POKÉMON 5, plus sneak previews of as-yet-unreleased episodes from cult-hit series including CRUSH GEAR TURBO, AURA BATTLER DUNBINE, BRIGADOON, SCRYED, PLEASE, TEACHER, YOURE UNDER ARREST, DNA2, READ OR DIE, RAHXEPHON, PARASITE DOLLS and a very special sneak peak at THE MATRIX-inspired THE ANIMATRIX, with all nine episodes shown for the first time.
Three months after its North American debut, the Xbox video game system launched in Japan on February 22, 2002. Bill Gates was on hand to present the first Xbox sold, and many gamers camped out overnight in the Shibuya District of Tokyo to make sure they were among the first in the country to get their hands on a console. Xbox is now on sale at thousands of Japanese retail outlets, and 12 game titles are available including PROJECT GOTHAM RACING, TENKU, JET SET RADIO FUTURE and DEAD OR ALIVE 3. A total of 22 titles are scheduled to be available in Japan by the end of March.
Microsoft has announced that it will delay the launch of its next-generation console Xbox in Japan until 2002. Xbox will still release 800,000 units in North America on November 8. The Japan launch will now coincide with the launch in Europe. Japan represents one third of the US$20 billion videogame market. Insiders say the delay is due to difficulties in developing games for the Japanese market, which favors simulation and role-playing games, as well as problems ensuring that all tech components work together correctly. Xbox will sell for US$299 in North America.
Japanese software developer ExpressionTools, Inc. has released ExpressionToolsShade Professional R4/E (ETShade Pro R4/E), an English language version of their high-end 3D graphics application. With a fifteen-year history behind it, Shade offers an outstanding and intuitive user interface, leveraging Bezier curve modeling and high speed/high quality rendering. In Japan, Shade has been the leading tool for professional graphics, 3D design, industrial design and architecture, with user-base numbers in excess of 200,000.
Over the weekend beginning Friday, March 10, 2000, TOY STORY 2 made history in Japan by grossing US$3.8 million on only 364 screens to become the biggest opening for a U.S. animated film in Japan and finishing #1 at the box office. The Buena Vista International release crushed the old record set by Disney's THE LION KING by nearly 80%. Woody and Buzz more than doubled this weekend's debut of the 21st installment of the Japanese animated feature series, DORAEMON.
In its first weekend on the market in Japan, Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.'s PlayStation 2 has reached 980,000 units sold. This initial sales milestone blows away the original PlayStation's three-day mark in 1994 by nearly 10 times. A total of 26,400 retailers in Japan, including 18,500 convenience stores, approximately 7,900 retail stores, current PlayStation retailers, as well as PlayStation.com (Japan) Inc., began selling the PlayStation 2 units on March 4.
This month Animation World Magazine is taking a special focus on AsianAnimation, especially Japan. Kosei Ono profiles Japanese artist, TadahitoMochinaga, and Gigi Hu introduces us to two of Japan's leading independentfilmmakers. A group of key creative talent from Blue Sky Studios recentlytoured Japan and have provided us with a scrapbook of photos and stories.Andrew Osmond takes an indepth look at the impact Japanese animation ishaving on animation made outside of Japan and we begin the first in a
This month Animation World Magazine is taking a special focus on AsianAnimation, especially Japan. Kosei Ono profiles Japanese artist, TadahitoMochinaga, and Gigi Hu introduces us to two of Japan's leading independentfilmmakers. A group of key creative talent from Blue Sky Studios recentlytoured Japan and have provided us with a scrapbook of photos and stories.Andrew Osmond takes an indepth look at the impact Japanese animation ishaving on animation made outside of Japan and we begin the first in a
Four lucky staffers from Blue Sky Studios visited Japan to give presentations, meet and greet, and uncover some of the secrets behind the beautiful and often mysterious tradition of Japanese animation. AndrMazzone recounts.
Representing a new breed of Japanese animator, Keita Kurosaka and Koji Yamamura, have not chosen the beaten anime path, but rather an independent life. Gigi T. Y. Hu introduces us. Includes a Quicktime movie clip!
Karen Raugust takes us to Japan where animated merchandise can produce huge profits in a very competitive marketplace.
Wondering what animated shows are being watched in Brazil? Germany? And More? This compilation will take you on a mini-tour around the world. Who knows, maybe they are watching what you are.
