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Column by Scott Green

Anime Boston 2011 Impressions

For various reasons, time and inclination being chief among them, Anime Boston is one of the few anime conventions that I attend. More than that it's the only one that I attend on an annual basis. As such, it's my de facto barometer for the state of anime conventions in North America. Every indication suggests that it's a well enough run example of the mainstream of anime conventions that it is by no means an invalid measure.

Anime Boston 2011 attracted 19,136 to Boston's Hynes Convention Center, up from 17,236 the previous year. What does it mean to attract a crowd of anime fans that large? The event turned people away from the door to a panel about Japanese ghost and monster folklore. I wouldn't call Nobuyuki Fukumoto a particularly well known name in North America.. he uses a distinctive, fair to say, at a glance unattractive, style to draw gabling manga like Mahjong Legend Akagi: The Genius Who Descended Into the Darkness and Ultimate Survivor Kaiji - the anime version of which appeared on Joost before the streaming website change its business model - the only Fukumoto incarnation to be available in North America through legitimate means. As such, Fukumoto is a name that I'd figure only a minute fraction of devoted anime/manga followers would know. And yet, I estimated that over a 100 people were sitting in on Anime Boston's Fukumoto panel. This was at the same time as a panel featuring members of the English dub cast for Evangelion 2.22, so, this wasn't in a slot devoid of competition for attendance.
Up 11% from the previous year; packing rooms full of people listening to talks on Japanese culture - pop and otherwise, I'd certainly call Anime Boston a resounding success. Yet, as solid as the event was, I'm still inclined to keep on questioning the role and form of anime conventions; particularly the ones that operate as 501c non-profits.

With the hope of catching some introspective thoughts on the institution, I attended a panel called "Anime Cons: The Big Picture" described as "a look at the world of anime conventions with the staff of AnimeCons.com. Learn about trends and see how anime cons compare to non-anime cons." AnimeCons.com is a site run by Patrick Delahanty, who also happens to be one of the founders of Anime Boston and a former chair - though he's not top a level staffer anymore.
Delahanty's presentation was comprised of spread sheets and charts. Maps showing the concentration of conventions per state... the growing in convention attendance with talk out the different reporting metrics... there's a group of English language voice actors who are pretty much professional convention guests... tables illustrating how many cons those folks are hitting. So, basically it was data and categorization, with some talks to the politics around the data and categorization... making anime conventions look like a real otaku endeavor. This crystallized my view of the goals and identity of anime conventions. There's a template. You slot in the right voice actors and the right musical acts, you manage it right, and you measure the success in attendance growth.

And how is Anime Boston managing that?

The theme for last year's Anime Boston was "Mad Science," and before that, it was "Mystery" and in either case, some panels were fit around the theme. For example, the "Mystery" theme convention had a panel on seminal genre writer Edogawa Rampo. Anime Boston's 2011's theme was "Music", which yielded the catch phrase "Turn in Up to '11" on the event advertising.

Guests this year included localization figures Brina Palencia, Greg Ayres, Chris Ayres, J. Michael Tatum, Richard Epcar, Sean Schemmel, Spike Spencer, Trina Nishimura and Tom Wayland and musical acts Mari Iijima, Girugamesh, Ten ,Odaiko New England, STEREOPONY and MC Frontalot (Robert and Emily DeJesus and Jonathan Klein cancelled). Ten and Odaiko New England new were convention first... the rest have either been featured at an anime convention before or were convention fixtures.

Neither at the event nor online did I catch a high degree of either enthusiasm or disappointment in the guests. Yet, there was some talk that the hallways and panels were remarkably crowded for lack of alternative diversions.

Anime Boston was anything but a badly run anime convention. Yet, because as much as despite that, I'm inclined to fixate on what the event does beyond pack people into a meeting space and showing them a good weekend. Officially, its organizers, the New England Anime Society, Inc. is a non-profit organization dedicated to furthering public education and understanding of the Japanese language and culture through written and visual media. Unofficially, to paraphrase, a significant staff member has stated that the goal is put on the best event possible.

The pattern that's laid out has seen returns in those gate figures and a satisfied attendees, but I see far more metered success in the way of informing those zealous crowds. It takes a lot of work to run an anime convention. For an event like Anime Boston, most do it in addition to a day job, such that many people who run events dedicated to JApanese pop culture don't also have that much time to indulge in it themselves. The narrative, referenced various times by various organizers of the years, is that people with passion for anime/manga get involved in organizing conventions, and as their energies are consumed by the work organizing, the apparent focus drifts from promoting the media to growing the event. I see a lot of effort and a lot of success getting the ducks in a row to give attendees a great show, and as admirable as that is, I wish I saw more creativity and more interest in the anime and manga complementing the organization.

Anime Boston has not had a non-music-related Japanese guest since 2007... in other words, there has been no one with direct experience speaking about how anime is made since the Bush administration. English language voice actors and musical performers are the primary guests at Anime Boston and most other conventions... and it's been said that those are the only guests that crowds turn out for. Yet, it's not as if what makers of anime and manga say at North American conventions disappears into the ether. It might not be a priority for many organizations, but when they do host makers of anime and manga, they fascinate discussions of those media that are preserved and enhance a broader understanding. I didn't attend Baltimore’s Otakon last year, but I appreciate what Madhouse is making and where that anime studio is going thanks to reports on co-founder Masao Maruyama's panel at that event.
It's been said that it's difficult to attract Japanese guests to the east coast. Yet, if the mission is to educate and establish the discourse, it seems like a considerable omission not to make the effort to offer a creator's voice. Less than a month after Anime Boston, the Toronto Comic Arts Festival hosted manga innovators Natsume Ono and Usamaru Furuya, evidently because it had an interest in exploring the art form missing from not just Anime Boston, bust most conventions.

What happened at this year's Anime Boston underscored the importance of panels. A lot of attendees spent a lot of time at them. And Anime Boston generally handles panels well. It facilitates feature panels... people like the hosts of Anime World Order and Mike Toole who can be relied on to put together high quality panels. The approached yields some excellent presentations from those folks. At the same time, while I feel that I got burned by most of the gambles that I sat in on, I hardly blame Anime Boston for throwing open the submissions and blocking out time for other fans who have organized presentations.

The weakness in this is that the convention does not actively foster discourse. It has given a platform for other voices in the industry or academia to speak, but apparently takes a passive role.

For years, Anime Boston's "State of the Industry" panels have been ad hoc affairs, appearing on the schedule, with oversight seemingly ending once the panel had been scheduled. Without any one scheduled to speak... with web commentators or translators taking the podium to rescue the panel once everyone is seated. The North American anime/manga industry has shrunk over the years, but at Anime Boston 2011, FUNimation was in attendance (they have con communication down to a science at this point), as was Sentai Filmworks (ADV was once regarded the master of the North American anime industry. they went out of business, and in its wake, a number of not-ADV companies were formed, including licensor Sentai Filmworks and distributor Section 23 Films) with once-Anime Boston mainstay David Williams back - giving a fairly tight lipped - a bit disinterested tale and anime screening, and Media Blasters and Discotek were in the dealers rooms, but had no panels. Again, the Anime Boston "State of the Industry Panels" came off like an atavistic hold over from the boom days when plenty of companies where trying to look accessible to anime's zealous fans, and like another sign of something in place for the sake of adhering to a template for what anime conventions are supposed to include, this year, the FUNimation folks turned up. No was sure who else to expect, so Anime News Network's Gia Manry stepped up to moderate, and the FUNimation folks did the expected, professional job of giving some impression of the state of the industry from a FUNimation prospective.

So, in this scheme, what happens when there is a subject worth addressing? Bill 156,- regulating the depiction of "virtual youths" in anime, manga and video games for example. Well, there was a panel in which the presenter was disposed to jump to alarmist hypotheticals, such as the possibility of My Neighbor Totoro being banned, and, in the "State of the Industry" the suggestion that Bill 156, passed by the Tokyo General Assembly was referring to as "wasn't even a bill yet." Now, in my experience, American anime industry reps never speak well to Japanese politics, but it would have been nice if a moderator who wasn't just drafted on the spot could question that response. As such, I don't think anyone came away from the event with a better understanding of one the major issue to touch up upon anime and manga over the last year.

Anime Boston 2011 was a solid anime convention with no particular failings. It was a bit crowded, but in a way that seemed fairly healthy. With nothing substantial to complain about and attendance figure growth to boast, it makes for a nice line item in a chart. It was a laudably well run event, but apart from some perspective gleamed from the "Anime Cons: The Big Picture" panel, I didn't pick up much in the way or insight or understanding that I'd hope to be quoting in future columns.

And the Award Goes To...

In its second year, Kyoto Animation Award again named no grand prize winners. Honorable mentions were similarly blanked in some categories.

Novel Category

Grand Prize

No winners

Honorable Mention

Machi de Ichiban Chiisana Jiken by Izumi Toka
Kyokai no Kanata by Nagomu Torii
High Speed! by Koji Oji
Katasukunisensu by Hamu Jojima

Scenario Category

Grand Prize

No winners

Honorable Mention

No honorees

Manga Category

Grand Prize

No winners

Honorable Mention

No honorees

Kyoto Animation announced the award program in 2009 and offered 300,000-yen (about US$3,600) grand prizes and 100,000-yen (US$1,200) honorable mention prizes in novel, manga, and scenario (script treatment) categories.

Winners of the latest Kodansha Manga Awards include

Best Children's Manga
Hidekichi Matsumoto - Honto ni Atta! Reibai-Sensei

Best Shonen Manga
Hajime Isayama - Shingeki no Kyojin

Best Shojo Manga
Yuki Suetsugu - Chihayafuru

Best General Manga
Chika Umino - March comes in like a lion

Chuya Koyama - Uchu Kyodai (Space Brothers)

Italy's Future Film Festival awarded Morio Asaka's No Longer Human adaptation the Platinum Grand Prize

Usamaru Furuya's adaptation of Osamu Dazai novel will be released in North America by Vertical

The Japan Cartoonists Association honored Riki Kusaka's Help Man! and Kamakiri Uno's Rakuga with Grand Prizes. Kochi Prefecture received a Special Award for promoting manga. The President of the House of Councilors Award went to Rieko Saibara for her Mainichi Kaasan. The Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Award went to Moto Hagio (A Drunken Dream, A, A', They Were Eleven

Project Itoh's novel Harmony, released in North America by Viz, was honored with a Special Citation at this year's Philip K. Dick Awards

The Asahi Shimbun has announced the manga honored by its 15th Annual Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prizes. Motoka Murakami's Jin (seriliazed 2000 to 2010 in Super Jump) and Issei Eifuku and Taiyo Matsumoto's Takemitsu Zamurai, also known as Bamboo Samurai (2006 to 2010 in Big Comic Spirits) won the Grand Prize. Hiromu Arakawa was recognized with the New Artist Prize for her work on Fullmetal Alchemist. Keisuke Yamashina won the Short Work for "Somehow I do Not Know Dad."

Jin is the story of a modern brain surgeon who slips backs in time to the Bakumatsu ara, where, after casting aside worries concerning changing history, he begins practicing medicine. The manga has been adapted into a popular TV series starring Takao Osawa, the second of initeration of which has recently begun airing, with license deals in 80 countries.

Takemitsu Zamurai teams two established manga creators with Issei Eifuku writing and Taiyo Matsumoto illustrating. The manga follows a strange ronin of pawns his sword, replaces it with a bamboo one and settles down to live with the worried residents of an Edo tenement.
Taiyo Matsumoto's GoGo Monster, Blue Spring, No. 5 and Eisner Award winning TekkonKinkreet: Black and White have been released in North America by VIZ Media.

Cool Figures News

Kotobukiya
Marvel Bishoujo Collection Ms. Marvel Binary Ver. Bishoujo Statue

The popular Marvel Bishoujo collection (combining iconic superheroines and villains with traditional Japanese stylings) continues to bring you the amazing beauties of the Marvel Comics universe as you’ve never seen them before. Next up in this line is a stunning new variant on an existing heroine, MS. MARVEL BINARY VERSION! With a long history stretching back to the 1960s, Carol Danvers gained superhuman powers from an alien explosion, leading to her costumed identity as Ms. Marvel. After losing her powers for a time, Danvers gained a whole new array of abilities and a new look when she drew upon a white hole’s energy. With her new identity as Binary she would have many adventures on Earth and beyond, later returning to her Ms. Marvel persona. Based on the first Ms. Marvel Bishoujo Statue, Binary appears in the Japanese Bishoujo (pretty girl) style based on an original character reinterpretation by illustrator Shunya Yamashita.

Sculpted by Kouei Matsumoto, Ms. Marvel Binary Version stands slightly over 10 inches tall (in the Marvel Bishoujo 1/7th scale) atop her exclusive rocky display base. As a special bonus, she comes with energy burst effects that you can attach to her hands! Binary will have a limited production run of 2,000 pieces, so don’t miss out on your chance to upgrade your collection with this new version of the classic hero.

srp $59.99
Available in OCTOBER

Marvel, MS MARVEL : TM & © 2011 Marvel Entertainment, LLC and its subsidiaries. Licensed by Marvel Characters B.V. www.marvel.com. All rights

Marvel Comics Presents Kotobukiya Collection
X-Men Danger Room Sessions Gambit Fine Art Statue

Sculpted by Erick Sosa, the “Ragin’ Cajun” stands 11 inches tall, in perfect 1/6th scale with the other Danger Room Sessions members (Wolverine, Psylocke, and Colossus). Also like them, Gambit is poised on a unique Danger Room holographic environment base. The wily and cocky Cajun has never looked cooler, and is the perfect addition to the Danger Room Sessions lineup!

srp $209.99
Available in DECEMBER

Marvel, GAMBIT : TM & © 2011 Marvel Entertainment, LLC and its subsidiaries. Licensed by Marvel Characters B.V. www.marvel.com. All rights reserved

Star Wars Darth Vader Return Of The Jedi Version Artfx Statue

Darth Vader stands 11 inches tall (1/7th scale) atop an exclusive Death Star panel display base. With his fantastic battle pose and light up parts he’ll be the perfect centerpiece to any Star Wars collection!

srp $129.99
Available in OCTOBER

© 2011 Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM. All rights reserved. Used under authorization.

Anime x Games

NIS America, Inc. announced the summer 2011 release of Bleach: Soul Resurrección the PlayStation3 (PS3™) computer entertainment system . The new game is based on the popular animated BLEACH series from VIZ Media, and is the first BLEACH game for the PS3 platform.

GAME FEATURES
•21 playable characters from the hit anime/manga BLEACH
•Massive free-roaming action/adventure game with beautiful anime-inspired cel-shaded graphics
•Various game modes, including: Story Mode, Mission Mode, and more
•Customizable character leveling system: unlock status enhancements and add special abilities through a customized “character map” for each playable character

Namco Bandai has launched a preview site for the upcoming Dragon Ball game, currently known as Dragon Ball Game Project Age 2011.

The game, which is being promoted in the Japanese edition of Shonen Jump, is slated for a fall 2011 release on Xbox 360 and PlayStation platforms. Creators are hyping the new 3D fighter as an introduction of new elements into the often video-game adapted martial arts epic

Nendoroid Generation

Atlus Reveals "Sexy" Catherine Deluxe Edition

Gundam Memories: Memories of Battle for the PSP

VIZ Media licensed the development rights to Egg Ball Games, and is the official North American distributor of Hamtaro: Little Hamsters, Big Adventures for iOS. "Help Hamtaro and his friends collect all the objects they need for their adventures in 3 colorful and original game environments and dozens of levels! Unlock the 9 exclusive HAMTARO wallpapers to customize your iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad! The game is also Facebook enabled, and offers an interactive Game Center for posting personal and worldwide high scores! "

Digital Distribution News

Viz has announced that they are offering "Smile: Pray Through Japan" for the iOS

Takehiko Inoue (Slam Dunk, Vagabond, REAL and more), through the use of his iPad
and an app called Zen Brush, drew breathtaking and touching illustrations as a gesture of support for the victims of the earthquake and tsunami that struck on March 11th.

SMILE: PRAY FOR JAPAN Volume 1
Includes illustrations numbered 34 through 100
Price: $9.99

SMILE: PRAY FOR JAPAN Volume 2
Includes illustrations 101 to 120
Price: $1.99.

As Inoue creates additional pieces, VIZ Media will continue to make them available in sets of 20 for $1.99.

All VIZ Media proceeds from these purchases will be donated directly to the Japanese Red Cross Society

Sony's streaming service Crackle has added Ultraviolet: Code 044 and Viper's Creed. Both 12 episode sci-fi series can be watched online for free in English dubbed format.

Ultraviolet: Code 044 is based on the 2006 Kurt Wimmer directed "gun fu" dystopian sci-fi starring Milla Jovovich as its vampire-like heroine. Recently departed luminary Osamu Dezaki directed Madhouse's 2008 production, with singer/songwriter Becca providing the theme songs and English lead voice.

ANIMATE USA is offering boys love manga Self Love on Kindle

Titles from the Blu imprint of Tokyopop's shutter manga publishing operations have been removed from eManga.com

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Crunchyroll is now carring Danny Choo’s series: CULTURE JAPAN

CULTURE JAPAN is the TV show that brings Japanese Pop Culture to the world. The show is broadcast on Tokyo MX TV in Japan and across Asia on the Animax Network. Due to popular demand from around the world, Culture Japan is now filming season 2 due to be broadcast later this year.

Culture Japan is directed and presented by Danny Choo as he visits anime studios such as Production IG; figure and doll manufacturers such as Good Smile Company; and also looks at technology such as underground bicycle parking silos. More about Danny Choo can be found on http://dannychoo.com/profile

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Sony Music Direct (Japan) Inc.,has announced the U.S. release of the first single – “THE WORLD IS MINE feat. Hatsune Miku” – by the Japanese pop group Supercell. The track is available now on Amazon (www.Amazon.com) and iTunes (www.iTunes.com).

Supercell is composed of a group of innovative multimedia creators for the 21st Century that blends catchy pop sensibilities, technology-inspired vocals, and captivating anime-influenced imagery. For the new single, “THE WORLD IS MINE,” the group employs the electronic vocals of Hatsune Miku, the world’s first virtual pop idol. Hatsune Miku, whose name means, “first sound of the future,” is a digital female avatar and the most popular of the Vocaloid Character Series software originally created by Crypton Future Media using Yamaha’s Vocaloid 2 engine to create synthesized vocal tracks.

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VIZ Media is now offer the tense psychological crime drama of NAOKI URASAWA’S MONSTER on VIZAnime.com , as well as through the streaming content provider HULU
(www.Hulu.com).

NAOKI URASAWA’S MONSTER (rated TV-MA, subtitled) is presented uncut and will launch with Episodes 1-15 available immediately. Fifteen new episodes will debut each week, with the concluding episodes 61-74 streaming June 3rd.

What would you do if a child you once saved grew up to be a monster? An ice-cold killer is on the loose, and Dr. Kenzo Tenma is the only one who can stop him! Tenma, a brilliant neurosurgeon with a promising future, risks his career to save the life of a critically wounded young boy named Johan. When the boy, now a coldhearted and charismatic young man, reappears nine years later in the midst of a string of unusual serial murders, Tenma must go on the run from the police, who suspect him to be the killer, to find Johan and stop the monster he set loose upon the world.

Conspiracies, serial murders, and secret government experiments set against the grim backdrop of the formerly communist Eastern Europe are masterfully woven together in this compelling work of suspense. The critically acclaimed NAOKI URASAWA’S MONSTER manga series is also published in North America by VIZ Media and was nominated for the prestigious Eisner Award.

Shonen Jump title Reborn is also being offered on Hulu.

Viz announced that starting on May 18th, Season one of the hit sports anime, THE PRINCE OF TENNIS, will be available on Amazon Instant Video.

Created by Takeshi Konomi, the popular manga (graphic novel) tells of Ryoma Echizen's journey from tennis prodigy to Japan's best teen player.

Availability: Eps. 1-13
Rated ‘A’ for All Ages
Price: $1.99

New manga on Viz's iOS platform (now available on iPhone/iPod Touch in addition to iPad)
Natsume Ono's HOUSE OF FIVE LEAVES and not simple
Shonen MAOH: JUVENILE REMIX and HYDE & CLOSER
Shoujo FUSHIGI YUGI: GENBU KAIDEN and ARATA: THE LEGEND (technically shounen)

Viz has begun offering Death Note on Netlix streaming.

Through their arrangement with FUNimation Netflix has begun offering FLCL through their streaming service. The streaming content presents the six-episode OVA series in its English audio dub format.

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Sentai Filmworks' cute girl action series Needless has also been added to Hulu

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Yen Press is offering volumes 1 and 2 of Yotsuba&! on their iOS app for $8.99 each

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Kindle has removed a selection of yaoi/boys-love manga from Digital Manga, including its explicit 801 Media and Juné labels and rejected additional manga.

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Anime News Network has Evan Stone, the lawyer who handled FUNimation's recent One Piece copyright case

Event News

Eleven Arts and FUNimation Entertainment have announced that they will be bringing the feature length followup film to the popular Trigun anime series, Trigun: Badlands Rumble, to the big screen in theaters across North America in Summer 2011.

The 1998 Madhouse anime adapted Yasuhiro Nightow's sci-fi western manga concerning "human typhoon" Vash: The Stampede—a pacifist who left a trail of destruction in his wake. 2010's Badlands Rumble revives Vash and the rest of the series' popular cast for a new adventure.

Specific release dates for the theatrical run have not been published.

Cast for the movie includes
Johnny Yong Bosch as Vash The Stampede
Luci Christian as Meryl Stryfe
Trina Nishimura as Milly Thompson
Brad Hawkins as Nicholas D. Wolfwood
Colleen Clinkenbeard as Amelia
John Swasey as Gasback

Japan: Tradition. Innovation. will be presented at Gatineau, Quebec's Canadian Museum of Civilization
May-October 2011. Opens May 20th, 2011.

JAPAN: Tradition. Innovation., presented by Subaru Canada, Inc., is an exploration of the astonishing ways in which Japan’s cutting-edge technology and design are rooted in the traditions of the past.

In the aftermath of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, we see once again the resilient, enterprising spirit that has moved Japan beyond darkness before.

By revealing the unexpected parallels between old and new in a land that has simultaneously remained connected to the past and rushed headlong into the future, JAPAN: Tradition. Innovation. provides rare insight into the creative character of Japan.

The exhibition compares contemporary designs with historical artifacts from the Edo Period (1603–1867). Five themes—travel, automation, social status, consumer culture and entertainment—demonstrate how traditional influences have shaped contemporary Japan and touched the world at large.

Juxtapositions of the old and new celebrate Japan’s centuries-long cycles of invention. We see 21st-century comics books (manga) as descendants of the 19th-century woodblock prints (ukiyo-e). Avant-garde outfits, samurai armour and elegant silk kimonos share uncanny similarities. A portable carriage (norimono) embodies characteristics found in a compact, fuel-efficient car. The inspiration for complex industrial robots can be traced back to 200-year-old mechanized dolls (karakuri ningyo). Painted screens created hundreds of years ago continue to provide inspiration for 21st-century artists.

X Japan's Yoshiki and Hetalia anime director Bob Shirohata and producer Mika Nomura will be appearing at Rosemont, Illinois' Anime Central (May 20 to 22 )

Northern California's Kintoki-Con (June 18 to 19 ) will be hosting Ryusuke Hamamoto (Petit Eva) and drummer Teruki

San Jose Canifornia's FanimeCon (May 27 to 30) will host Hangry and Angry designer Gashicon, Gainax co-founder Hiroyuki Yamaga, animator/illustrator Fumio Iida aka SUEZEN, voice actor Tohru Furuya and voice talent Halko Momoi

Singing trio Kalafina and vocaloid Hatsune Miku will perform at this year's Anime Expo (July 2)

Baltimore's Otakon will be hosting Japanese R&B duo Chemistry, localization figures Lisa Ortiz, Tom Wayland, and Tony Oliver

SCANDAL and visual kei band Sadie will be performing at Anaheim's AM2 (July 1-3)

Shinichi "Nabeshin" Watanabe will be a guest at San Antonio's San Japan Anime Con (August 5 to 7)

Marking the 20th anniversary of band formation as they release a new single “GOOD LUCK MY WAY” on 6/29, L'Arc~en~Ciel is broadcasting their 20th anniversary lives on 5/ 28(Sat) and 29(Sun) held at Ajinomoto Stadium, Tokyo in domestic theaters in Japan (40 theaters) and designated theaters in 6 cities around the world (Paris, London, New York, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Korea).

Venus include
Paris (CGR Cinemas)
London (Apollo Piccadilly Circus )
New York (Big 59 Manhattan)
Taiwan (Vie Show Hsin Yi)
Hong Kong (MCL Cinema)
Korea (Cinus)

A King of RPGs Launch Party will be at Seattle's Green Lake Games (7509 Aurora Ave N) on Thursday, May 26, 2011, 6:30 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.

Composer Joe Hisaishi, known for his Ghibli work, will be holding concerts in Tokyo, Osaka, Paris and Beijing to benefit children effected by Japan's earthquake.
Tokyo: June 9
Osaka: June 18
Paris: June 23
Beijing: July 9

The Business

Former Go! Comi creative director Audry Taylor confirmed that the relaunched Go! Comi site is fraduluently amusing the defunct manga publisher's identity to collect donations

Micott & Basara, a producer on Appleseed XIII has file for bankruptcy

Gonzo will be working on three joint-Chinese productions slated for 2012 and 2013.

On April 14, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government presented the first specific list of titles that are being considered for restrictions under Tokyo's recently revised Youth Healthy Development Ordinance.

Oku-sama wa Shogakusei (My Wife Is an Elementary Student)
By Seiji Matsuyama
Publisher: Akita Shoten

Aki Sora
By Masahiro Itosugi
Publisher: Akita Shoten

Lovers & Sharing (Kareshi Sharing)
By Yashi Natsuba
Publisher: Shobunkan

Koibito 8-go (Lover No. 8)
By Makoto Ojiro
Publisher: Shonen Gahousha

Hanamizawa Qtaro Jisenshu Hana-Hiyori
By Qtaro Hanamizawa
Publisher: Mediax

Midori no Kisetsu (Blue-Green Season)
By Maako
Publisher: Moerl Publishing

Arc Productions, recently acquired by a Canadian ownership group from Starz Media US, is reshaping the studio management team. After four and a half years as Executive Vice President and Head of Studio, David Steinberg is leaving Arc Productions to pursue the creative development of his own projects. The new management restructuring will include the appointment of Jeff Young as President and C.O.O.

Starz, LLC, President and CEO, Chris Albrecht has promoted Film Roman’s Dana Booton to the newly created position of General Manager, Head of Production for Film Roman.

With more than 20 years of executive experience in the business of animation production, Booton steps into the lead executive role for the top animation studio following her previous position as Film Roman’s vice president of production. In this role, she was most recently the executive in charge of Film Roman’s current Marvel Entertainment production projects, “Ultimate Spider-Man,” “The Super Hero Squad Show“ and “The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes.”

Industry Passings

Toei president Shigeru Okada passed away on May 9th at age 87. Okada was known for shepherding in genre films, especially yakuza movies, including the Yakuza Papers series, and later a boom in exploitation movies.

Seichiro Uno, based known as the composer for the beloved anime adaptation of the Moomin stories, passed away on April 26th at age 84.

Art director Mitsuki Nakamura passed away on Monday, May 16 at age 67.

He was responsible for the background art, visuals, and mechanical designs for many classic anime, including Mach Go Go Go (Speed Racer), Hakushon Daimao, Gatchaman, Casshan, Hurricane Polymar, Uchuu no Kishi Tekkaman, the first Mobile Suit Gundam series and movie trilogy, Gold Lightan, Densetsu Kyojin Ideon, and Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind.

Nobuhiro Aihara, an independent animator who also worked on Moomin, passed away on April 30 at age 66