Tag - manga

 
 

MANGA

People visit the "Dragon Ball Daimatsuri" event, to mark the 40th anniversary of Akira Toriyama's Dragon Ball franchise, at the Tokyo Big Sight convention center in Tokyo.
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Nov 20, 2024
Japan's manga powerhouse 'Dragon Ball' turns 40
The anniversary comes months after the death of series creator Akira Toriyama.
Manga artist Kazuo Umezu
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Nov 5, 2024
Japanese manga artist Kazuo Umezu dies at 88
Kazuo Umezu started drawing comics from his childhood and made his debut as a manga artist in 1955, when he was a high school student.
Tetsuya Chiba
JAPAN
Oct 25, 2024
Tetsuya Chiba becomes first manga artist to receive Order of Culture
The other six include cellist Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi and environmental risk management expert Junko Nakanishi.
“Patlabor: The Movie” keeps the fun and irreverence of the small-screen series while adding a more contemplative touch.
CULTURE / Film / Wide Angle
Sep 20, 2024
At 35, ‘Patlabor’ now looks awfully prescient
The robot-centric film is back in theaters across Japan in celebration of its 35th anniversary, and the future it paints looks mighty familiar.
An ambitious high school student (Gordon Maeda) devotes all his waking hours to making art in “Blue Period,” Kentaro Hagiwara’s live-action adaptation of an ongoing manga series of the same title.
CULTURE / Film
Aug 15, 2024
‘Blue Period’: Gordon Maeda paints a subtle picture of internal struggle
The actor’s performance as an ambitious student pursuing his dreams of being an artist is a highlight in this live-action adaptation of an ongoing manga series.
A Goku balloon from the “Dragon Ball” anime series takes part in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in Manhattan in November 2018. Japan’s creative industries are under threat as AI tools make it easy to mimic anime, manga and other forms of the nation’s artistic output.
COMMENTARY
Aug 9, 2024
Japan’s soft AI stance is betraying its anime artists
From Studio Ghibli to Pokemon, the country’s creatives have driven its influence and must be protected.
The judge and last year's winner, Lettie Shiels, sits in the dressing room during the World Cosplay Summit in Nagoya on Saturday.
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Aug 4, 2024
Transformative hobby: Going for gold at Japan's World Cosplay Summit
The three-day event in Nagoya drew thousands of fans — many keen to show off their own costumes.
Japan's Yuki Kawamura goes to the basket in the men's preliminary round group B basketball match between Japan and Brazil during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at the Pierre-Mauroy stadium in Villeneuve-d'Ascq, northern France, on Friday.
OLYMPICS / Basketball
Aug 3, 2024
Japan's 'Slam Dunk' fans upstaged by 'Brazilian chapulines'
The Brazilians crushed Japan 102-84 in men's Group B to end the Asian side's Olympic dreams.
Horror artist Junji Ito adds just a dash of comedy to his work, though he aims for it to be understated. “If it’s truly a horror story, the humor must be restrained and more veiled,” he says.
CULTURE / Art
Jun 29, 2024
Fear still matters to Junji Ito
Currently on view at Tokyo's Setagaya Literary Museum is an extensive collection of the horror master's work, the first large-scale exhibition of it's kind in Japan.
American sprinter Noah Lyles poses with a "Yu-Gi-Oh!" card after winning at the U.S. Olympic track-and-field finals on Sunday. The image went viral, once again showing the popularity of Japanese cultural exports like manga.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 28, 2024
Blackstone sees billions in manga. You should too.
Investment firm Blackstone's move to buy manga platform Mecha Comics, betting on the strength of Japan's soft power, looks further ahead than other players have.
Blackstone will look to grow original content from Infocom’s network of manga artists, developing more works around themes enjoyed by its reader base of women.
BUSINESS
Jun 18, 2024
Blackstone taps steamy romance manga fans in $1.7 billion deal
The deal will allow the world’s largest alternative asset manager to tap into Japan’s digital manga market.
The government plans to increase support for the export of anime, manga and other Japanese content while helping content creators expand overseas.
JAPAN
Jun 8, 2024
Japan to boost support for anime and manga exports
The government will draw up a strategy to boost the content industry and promote efforts under the strategy through public-private cooperation.
People wear Dragon Ball Z costumes, as they attend Comic-Con International in San Diego, California, in July 2023.
BUSINESS
Jun 5, 2024
Japan aims to quadruple overseas market for anime, games
Combining anime and game sectors with related industries such as fashion, cosmetics and inbound tourism, Japan is targeting an economic benefit of ¥50 trillion by 2033.
Nippon Television Network in Tokyo.The publisher of manga series "Sexy Tanaka-san" has criticized Nippon Television Network for its alleged "insincere" attitude over the television drama adaptation of the manga.
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Jun 4, 2024
Publisher raps Nippon TV over 'Sexy Tanaka-san' adaptation
Distrustful of the scriptwriter on the Nippon TV side via Shogakukan, Ashihara wrote the last two episodes of the series herself.
People take selfies at a pop-up shop for the Japanese volleyball manga series "Haikyu!!" in Tokyo on April 19. Men's volleyball is flying high in Japan with the national team ranked fourth globally ahead of the Paris Olympics.
CULTURE / Books
May 22, 2024
'Haikyu!!': Comic heroes fuel Olympic volleyball manga mania in Japan
"Haikyu!!" has sold 60 million copies since its 2012 inception, and has been turned into an anime series and a film.
Only about 2% of Japan's annual output of 700,000 manga volumes are released in English, according to a startup working to translate manga using artificial intelligence.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 8, 2024
Japanese startup to use AI to translate manga
With its technology, Orange aims to produce 500 English-language manga per month.
Ryohei Suzuki is plays assassin and detective Ryo Saeba in a new live-action "City Hunter" remake from Netflix.
CULTURE / Film
Apr 25, 2024
'City Hunter' manga hero drops the sexism for new live-action film
Lead actor Ryohei Suzuki says production had to strike a balance between his character's reputation and modern sensibilities.
Private detective Ryo Saeba (Ryohei Suzuki) goes beyond the call of duty to protect a client at a cosplay convention in “City Hunter.”
CULTURE / Film
Apr 25, 2024
A star turn isn’t quite enough to make ‘City Hunter’ soar
Ryohei Suzuki is in peak form as a lecherous private detective in an otherwise middling Netflix live-action manga adaptation.
Manga titles that have been uploaded onto Manga-Mura, a manga piracy website, on display in Tokyo in 2022
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 18, 2024
Manga piracy website operator ordered to pay ¥1.7 billion to publishers
Kadokawa, Shueisha and Shogakukan said they hoped the lawsuit would help deter other manga piracy site operators from uploading content illegally.
Cute characters like Pikachu are deeply ingrained in Japanese culture. The global reach of kawaii has contributed to Japan's soft power and international appeal.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 26, 2024
What does the global power of kawaii say about us?
Kawaii is one of Japan's greatest cultural exports. But cuteness is more than just a fad or a commercial success story: It's part of our evolution.

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Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
A boom for business tourism in Japan?