Japanese Archives | Page 69 Of 86

Sailor Moon Crystal Figures Coming in 2017 from Tamashii Nations

By James Robert Shaw (The Wind up Geek)

SailorMoonCrystal1

Tamashii Nations will be expanding their S.H.Figuarts Sailor Moon license in 2017 by releasing figures from the animated reboot Sailor Moon Crystal.

Sailor Moon has been the first of the Crystal figures announced and should make it to consumers’ hands by January of next year. Tamashii has been faithfully recreated by Sailor Moon in every detail right down to her Cosmic Heart compact. Fully poseable, Sailor Moon comes with interchangeable hands, facial expressions, and accessories.

Continue reading “Sailor Moon Crystal Figures Coming in 2017 from Tamashii Nations”

Japanese Rock Group VooDoo Hawaiians to Play Tokyo’s Club251 with Doberman

VooDooHawaiians By James Robert Shaw (The Wind up Geek)

Tickets are now on sale for VooDoo Hawaiians latest concert at Tokyo‘s popular Club251. The venue is located in the basement of the office building owned by Two Five One Co, Ltd in one of the most interesting and lively districts of Tokyo, Shimokitazawa. The area is known for its hungry bands and it’s loud and flashy nightlife. Club251 has hosted a variety of acts that one would consider the underdogs of the music industry, or to put it another way, artists that haven’t given in to the mainstream. SpecialThanks, Thee 50’s High Teens, Broken Doll, Earth Crisis, and The Monochrome Set are just a few groups that have played to the excitement of patrons in this sub-level venue .

Continue reading “Japanese Rock Group VooDoo Hawaiians to Play Tokyo’s Club251 with Doberman”

Discotek Licenses Urusei Yatsura: Beautiful Dreamer, Lupin III and More!

YatsuraBeautifulDreamer By James Robert Shaw (The Wind up Geek)

Discotek Media announced today their upcoming Japanese anime releases during their panel at Otakon in Baltimore, Maryland. Among some of the titles announced are Urusei Yatsura: Beautiful Dreamer, Lupin III: Island of Assassins, Captain Harlock: Arcadia of My Youth, and Chargeman Ken.

Urusei Yatsura: Beautiful Dreamer was the 2nd feature outing for characters based off the Urusei Yatsura manga series by Rumiko Takahashi. Written and directed by Mamoru Oshii, Beautiful Dreamer was ranked number 38 on a list of the top 100 anime by Animage Magazine and was number 9 of the Top 50 Anime Released in North America by Wizard’s Anime Magazine. Beautiful Dreamer will be released on DVD and Blu-ray with both English sub and dub available. The The dubs were pulled from the original master tapes. According to Discotek, the subs are to get a new “polish”. Extras are to be announced at a later date.

Captain Harlock: Arcadia of My Youth was different version of the retelling of Leiji Matsumoto’s Space Pirate Captain Harlock television series. Arcadia was also the last role of acclaimed Japanese actor Yujiro Ishihara before his death at 52 years old. Discotek’s Arcadia will be released on DVD and Blu-ray and will be from the Japanese master. The dub however is extremely old and is from the international Vengeance of the Space Pirate version. Vengeance was previously released by Celebrity Home Entertainment under the “Just for Kids” banner. But according to Discotek the edited version of Arcadia has the best master available. Extras are to be announced at a later date but what has been revealed is the Japanese trailers will be included in the release.

Continue reading “Discotek Licenses Urusei Yatsura: Beautiful Dreamer, Lupin III and More!”

Japan’s Best, Headlines Visual Kei Music Festival in October

VisualJapanSummitLogo By James Robert Shaw (The Wind up Geek)

We are less than three months away from one of Japan’s most exciting rock concerts of the year. Announced four days ago on their official site, j-rock group Glay along with groups X Japan and Luna Sea will be performing on day 1 of the Visual Japan Summit 2016 Powered by Rakuten. Visual Japan Summit is a visual kei music festival to be held indoors at the Makuhari Messe International Exhibition Hall 9-11 in Chiba Prefecture. This event takes place October 14-16, just one week apart from events like the Nihonmatsu Lantern festival (October 4-6) and the Kurama Fire Festival (October 22).

Continue reading “Japan’s Best, Headlines Visual Kei Music Festival in October”

Band Maid Announces First European Tour!

BrandNewMaid By James Robert Shaw (The Wind up Geek)

Japanese group Band-Maid whose appearance in cute, maid aesthetics while serving skillfully played powerful music onstage, is continuing their world domination. In the past year alone they have appeared at Sakura-Con in Seattle, MCM London Comic Con in England and had multiple videos go viral (“Thrill” hit 2 million views within the first two weeks). Now in a global push Band-Maid announced a European tour to coincide after their Latin America debut in Mexico City on October 9th.

The dates are to promote their first international album “Brand New Maid” that saw release June 17, 2016. Brand New Maid is available across the UK and Europe through JPU Records. The CD version contains an exclusive bonus track as well as an extra booklet containing lyric translations and transliterations into English.

Continue reading “Band Maid Announces First European Tour!”

[Torrance, CA] MacrossWorld 2016 is Here!

MacrossOriginal By James Robert Shaw (The Wind up Geek)

MacrossWorld’s official Facebook page has announced the return of MacrossWorld in 2016. This event will be held at the Torrance Cultural Arts Centre in Torrance, California on Saturday, October 15th. There will be cosplay performances, an amazing dealer’s room, special guests, and lower registration prices. There will also be tasty Japanese comfort food available from the Okamoto Kitchen food truck.

No official invitations have gone out yet for this event but that hasn’t stopped voice actors Brett Weaver and Richard Epcar from expressing interest in attending.

We’ll keep you posted.

MacrossWorld2016