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In the world of manga, few creators can boast the longevity, cultural impact, and consistent success of Inuyasha and Ranma 1/2 author, Rumiko Takahashi. Dubbed the "Queen of Manga," Takahashi has been shaping the medium for decades, creating stories that resonate with readers across generations. Despite the fast-paced and competitive nature of the manga industry, her ability to craft universally beloved stories and characters has proved her status as one of the most significant figures in modern manga.

From her humble beginnings in the late 1970s to becoming Japan's richest woman, Takahashi's life and work are extraordinary. With three consecutive blockbuster series to her name, an achievement that few can claim, her influence extends far beyond the pages of manga. Her groundbreaking works like Urusei Yatsura, Ranma 1/2, and Inuyasha not only captured the imagination of millions but also redefined the standards of manga and anime adaptations.

Urusei Yatsura Was a Groundbreaking...

From "Nausicaans" to the Akira-class of starships, Star Trek has long shown love to the animated products of Japan. While the current future of Star Trek animation is a bit bleak, fans might find solace in various anime that can find kinship with Star Trek. What follows are 5 anime series that have certain themes or other elements that Star Trek fans would be right at home with.

(These series are listed in alphabetical order.)

Cowboy Bebop (1998)

With jazz music that Will Riker would love, Cowboy Bebop is a space western created by Hajime Yatate. It follows bounty hunter Spike Spiegel and the crew of a ship called the Bebop as they go on various adventures around the solar system.

The world depicted in Cowboy Bebop is much grungier, with a contemplative tone. Nonetheless, it has certain uplifting elements and plays with the idea of space being a Wild West-like frontier,...

Next month, fans can relive the 2022 adaptation of Rumiko Takahashi's Urusei Yatsura at a special exhibition in Tokyo . Themed after a "girl hunt with Ataru," the event will feature rooms celebrating the many ladies (both human and alien) in Ataru's life. And to celebrate, the venue will also be offering a collab menu! Matsuya Ginza's Mg Café has announced a limited run of tasty treats inspired by the series, giving exhibition attendees the quick energy they need to follow Ataru on his quest. Start with Lum and Ataru's "Game of Tag" French Toast for something sweet, or brave Cherry's Ominous Curry if you're in the mood for something savory: Related: Crunchyroll Adds Classic Urusei Yatsura Anime to Catalog Desserts include Ran's Taiyaki Parfait, topped with a variety of traditional Japanese treats: There's also a selection of drinks, including character-themed sips (like the Mendo Family Strawberry Soda) and adorable...

Mappa’s official YouTube channel has released a new trailer for the upcoming Ranma 1/2 anime remake.

The trailer, which focuses on the dynamics between Ranma and Akane, features the opening song “許婚っきゅん” (Iinazukkyun) performed by ano. The J-pop artist is known for performing the theme song of Dead Dead Demon’s Dededede Destruction.

The Ranma 1/2 anime remake is set to begin airing on Oct 5, 2024, and will stream on Netflix. Check out the trailer below.

The trailer also introduced previously revealed cast members who will be joining the series.

Koichi Yamadera as Ryoga Hibiki Tomokazu Sugita as Tatewaki Kuno Ayane Sakura as Kodachi Kuno Mamoru Miyano as Mikado Sanzenin Aoi Yuki as Azusa Shiratori Toshiyuki Morikawa as Tofu Ono

Ranma and Akane’s voice actors were introduced previously. Kappei Yamaguchi and Megumi Hayashibara will voice Ranma’s male and female versions, reprising their roles from the previous adaptation. Meanwhile,...

The hype is building for the return of Ranma 1/2 , Rumiko Takahashi's classic rom-com. Much of the cast from the 1989 anime adaptation will be returning, but today we're getting some fresh blood. Five modern voice actors step into five classic roles! First up is Tatewaki Kuno, the kendo-loving second year who hates Ranma Saotome but has a crush on a certain pigtailed girl. Kuno will now be voiced by Tomokazu Sugita (Skeptic in My Hero Academia ). Playing Kodachi, the Kuno sibling who vies for boy-type Ranma's affection, will be Ayane Sakura (Yotsuba Nakano in The Quintessential Quintuplets ): Related: New Ranma 1/2 World Premiere Planned for Anime NYC 2024 in August Taking over as Tofu Ono, a.k.a. Tofu-sensei, will be Toshiyuki Morikawa (the voice of Leon Kennedy in both games and films): Finally, at least for now, are the ice-skating pair of Mikado Sanzenin (voiced by...

The 2022 Urusei Yatsura anime may be over, but Lum's electric love is never-ending! As previously announced , an immersive exhibition in Tokyo this October will celebrate the new take on Rumiko Takahashi's classic rom-com manga. With the theme of "a girl hunt with Ataru," the exhibition will lead visitors through rooms dedicated to each of the show's major characters. Today, we get a peek at the exhibition's key art, featuring Ataru and his many loves (and Mendo and Ten). This art will also be used on event tickets: Related: Dive into the World of Urusei Yatsura at Upcoming Tokyo Exhibition Visitors who buy the special ticket including merch will also get an aluminum bento box emblazoned with the art: Related: New Urusei Yatsura Anime Posts Thank You Visual After the Series' Final Episode The Urusei Yatsura All Stars Exhibition will take place October 2-14 at Matsuya Ginza in Tokyo.

Anime shipping culture is alive and well, with fans engaging in fun yet intense shipping wars. Iconic couples like Lum x Ataru and Lawrence x Holo are celebrated in their respective reboots, sparking excitement from fans. Series like Whisper Me a Love Song feature engaging, adorable, and thrilling romantic dynamics between their characters.

Shipping culture can be found in every fandom, but few are as ravenous and divisive as the anime community. Each season, when new batches of anime are released, community members that enjoy pairing characters together or keeping up with romantic plots in their favorite new series will band together to discuss and sometimes argue over which pairings are the best, which should become canon, and celebrate couples in romance series as they seal the deal.

Despite how abrasive some of these shipping wars can be, it's also something that's infectiously fun for involved anime fans to take part in,...

The rom-com antics of Rumiko Takahashi's classic series Urusei Yatsura began with a game of tag. And now, Lum and Ataru are at it again... but this time they're riding the rails as they play! Central Japan Railway Company is collaborating with the new adaptation of the classic manga to add a spark to your commute. Starting May 31, travelers can register on the collaboration's official website to listen to a new unfolding drama. In it, Lum (voiced by Sumire Uesaka) was meant to be joining Ataru (voiced by Hiroshi Kamiya) on the train for a date. But he's made a run for it... and now she has to find him! Related: Urusei Yatsura Season 2 Anime Continues Rom-Com Antics in Part 2’s Creditless Opening, Ending The drama will play out in three parts. The first will feature Lum and Ataru. For the second, the listener chooses to check in with...

Discotek Media announced a new slate of licenses and releases during their "It's a Very Big Discotek New Years! Livestream" ( Part 1 and Part 2 ) today, including the 1997 TV anime adaptation of Berserk , the final season of Medabots , the Urusei Yatsura Ova series and much more. Announcements made during the livestream are in alphabetical order. Berserk (1997 TV series): Blu-ray release of the original Berserk anime series in Japanese with English subtitles, the original Nyav Post dub, and extras from previous releases and outtakes. Scheduled for March 2024. Futakoi Alternative : Blu-ray release in Japanese with revised English subtitles of the 2005 spin-off anime from the Futakoi series. Scheduled for 2024. Kenichi: The Mightiest Disciple: The Attack of Darkness : Blu-ray release of the 11-episode Kenichi: The Mightiest Disciple Ova series released in Japanese with subtitles and a new English dub for the first time. Lightspeed Electroid Albegas : Sd-bd release in Japanese with...

The official website of Tokyo Anime Award Festival, or Taaf in short, announced the winners of the 2024 Lifetime Achievement awards on Dec 14, 2023. The award recognizes individuals who have made significant contributions to the development of animation industry and culture.

The following members have won the Taaf 2024 Lifetime Achievement Award;

1. Shunzo Kato

A renowned producer behind numerous works of Tms Entertainment and Telecom Animation. Anpanman, Akira, Space Cobra are some of his well known anime.

2. Akira Toriyama

Mangaka, who is known for Dragon Ball, Dr. Slump – Arale-chan, Sandland, among others.

3. Sukehiro Tomita

He is a scriptwriter, known for his work on Space Runaway Ideon, Macross II, Digimon Frontier, Gall Force, etc.

4. Ryousuke Takahashi

A director, who is known for original works such as Armored Trooper Votoms, Fang of the Sun Dougram, Cyborg 009, Phoenix, and others. Taaf describes him as “a rare creator who has consistently unfolded his unique worlds across a wide range of genres,...

A slew of awesome guests has just been announced for the upcoming Anime Expo 2023. The annual convention is the largest of its kind in North America and attracts big names for its panels every year. This year is no exception, with huge voice actors, manga artists, and other major industry names set to attend.

In a press release, Anime Expo revealed a long list of guests attending the event. One of the most notable guests is Masakazu Morita, the voice actor of Ichigo in Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War, which will be returning for a Part 2 on July 8th. Other voice actors attending the convention include many seiyuus from the game Obey Me! Nightbringer. Major manga creators will also be at the convention, including the mangaka of Soul Eater and Fire Force 'sAtsushi Ohkubo as well as the author of Bungo Stray Dogs Kafka Asagiri. The convention also includes video game creators like Kazutaka Kodaka,...

More manga has become available to fans, as Viz has announced and implemented a new subscription service. Viz Manga is the latest addition to the publisher's offerings. It adds numerous new comics including some simulpub series.

On Twitter, Viz Media's CEO, Ken Sasaki, shared the Viz Manga launch announcement. This subscription provides new offerings, beyond just Shonen manga. Select shojo, horror, slice of life, and titles not specifically under the Shonen Jump brand are now available through the new service. However, it is important to note that this subscription is separate from Viz's current Shonen Jump subscription service app.

Viz Now Has Two Separate Manga Subscription Service Apps Our CEO has news to share! Download the updated Viz Manga app and start reading today! https://t.co/rIOGk0eqN1 #VIZManga pic.twitter.com/EMP4cegXwf — Viz (@VIZMedia) May 9, 2023

Previously, Viz only offered Shonen Jump as a subscription service,...

The Japanese, anime comic "Urusei Yatsura" created by Rumiko Takahashi, is now an episodic TV series directed by Hideya Takahashi and Yasuhiro Kimura ("JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Golden Wind'):

"...when aliens known as the 'Oni' threaten to invade the Earth, they promise to leave under one condition—a randomly-chosen human must win a one-on-one game of tag against 'Lum', the beautiful daughter of the Oni leader. The person selected happens to be unlucky high schooler 'Ataru Moroboshi'.

"Given 10 days, Ataru realizes how impossible the challenge is as he is faced with Lum's extraterrestrial powers. Motivated by a promise of marriage from his childhood friend 'Shinobu Miyake', Ataru manages to catch Lum off guard..."

Click the images to enlarge...

Although mostly known for his work in anime and particularly “Ghost in the Shell”, “Patlabor” and “Urusei Yatsura”, Mamoru Oshii has also directed a number of live-action films, which, although do not reach the extremely high levels of the aforementioned productions, still are quite interesting. “Talking Head” with its meta, surrealistic, intensely nonsensical approach, is definitely one of those films.

A director who was supposed to finish an animated feature titled “Talking Head” has disappeared, and the producer has just hired Rei, a “shadow director” who is known for being able to mimic any style. However, Rei first needs to understand the concept of the movie, and with the previous director having left no elements about what the film is about, he finds himself having to cooperate with the producer, Gen, in order to find out what the film is about and to reconstruct it. Gen suggests...

Kayti Burt Kirsten Howard Sep 8, 2017

Vampire Weekend's Ezra Koenig is bringing a new anime series called Neo Yokio to Netflix this month. Here's the trailer...

What a time to be alive.

Netflix just dropped a trailer for an anime original series from Vampire Weekend's Ezra Koenig starring Jaden Smith, Steve Buscemi, Jude Law, Susan Sarandon, Desus and Mero, Jason Schwartzman and Tavi Gevinson, amongst others.

From the looks of the trailer, Neo Yokio is part-satire, part homage (a la Hot Fuzz), a series that aims to send-up many of anime's most ubiquitous tropes, while also paying tribute to them.

Neo Yokio, a play off of the 'New Tokyo' setting in anime classic Akira, is "a postmodern collage of homages to classic anime, English literature and modern New York fashion and culture." It follows the adventures of Jaden Smith's Kaz Kaan, a broken-hearted, pink-haired demon slayer who cares more about shopping,...

After rocking the mic in Netflix’s “The Get Down,” Jaden Smith is returning to the streaming giant — in pink-haired, animated form.

Today, Netflix announced “Neo Yokio,” a new original series created by Vampire Weekend’s Ezra Koenig and featuring a voice cast starring Smith, Susan Sarandon, Jude Law, Tavi Gevinson, Jason Schwartzman, and Desus & Mero. Additional members of the voice cast include: Richard Ayoade, Ike Barinholtz, Steve Buscemi, Alexa Chung, Stephen Fry, Katy Mixon, Annet Mahendru, Kiernan Shipka, Willow Smith, and Amandla Stenberg.

According to a release from Netfilx, “the series is a postmodern collage of homages to classic anime, English literature and modern New York fashion and culture.” Set in the ultra-modern city of Neo Yokio, the show focuses on young Kaz (Smith) as he deals with both teenage heartbreak, the legacy of his demon slayer family, and the danger that might be threatening Neo Yokio.

Read More:...

Get ready to hack the ghost.

The groundbreaking anime that lead to countless imitators both live-action and in the realm of animation, Ghost in the Shell has long been thought of as a masterpiece. With the new live-action feature lifting sequences right from the pages of Masamune Shirow’s manga, its the perfect time to ask why has Ghost in the Shell influenced so many? And despite the hotly debated casting choices, how will this new adaptation possibly live up to the legacy of its fore-bearer?

The cyberpunk series first got its start from the mind of Masamune Shirow. Shirow had been writing Manga throughout the 1980’s including one of his biggest hits, Appleseed. Appleseed had all the trademarks of Shirow Manga; philosophical, hard science-fiction stories with adequately sexualized female characters. That played well toward a Western market that was just beginning to have access to Japanese Manga and Anime in the early 90’s. When...

This week, Sketchy discusses one of Matt’s favorite anime films “Urusei Yatsura 2: Beautiful Dreamer.” Yes, it’s a sequel, but it’s not necessary to watch the first film in the series (so says Matt). Enjoy!

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The post Sketchy Episode 152 – ‘Urusei Yatsura 2: Beautiful Dreamer’ appeared first on Sound On Sight.

Lum - Urusei Yatsura Cosplayer: Pamela Colnaghi * Photographer: Cinzia Mele ........................................................................ Psylocke - Marvel Comics Cosplayer: Pamela Colnaghi * Photographer: Marcello ........................................................................ Blue Rose - Tiger & Bunny Cosplayer: Pamela Colnaghi * Photographer: Olivia Gozzano ........................................................................ Elektra - Marvel Comics Cosplayer: Pamela Colnaghi Photographers: Andrea Bonvissuto & Gianluca Bia ........................................................................ Leifang - The Dead or Alive Cosplayer: Pamela Colnaghi Photographers: Rossella Siani & Davide Cattaneo Leifang, spelled Lei Fang in the first Dead or Alive, is a college student and T'ai Chi Ch'uan prodigy from the Dead or Alive series, who made her debut in the original Dead or Alive. Throughout the series, she seeks to fight Jann Lee, who is thought to have saved her life at one stage in her past, to prove herself to him that she too is a strong individual. However, Leifang has lost to Jann Lee in almost every tournament,...

Lum - Urusei Yatsura Cosplayer: Bambi Buttons * Photographer: AnimazeGuy-photosNXS Photographer: GeekGoddess Lum is the daughter of the Oni invader. She also is the one of the major female characters from Urusei Yatsura. The owner of a very sexy body, she misunderstood Ataru Moroboshi's proposal and has forced her way into his life as his "loving wife". Lum met Ataru when he was randomly selected by a computer to face her in a game of tag with the fate of the earth on the line. Ataru had been promised marriage by Shinobu if he could win, so upon catching Lum he declared "Now I can get married!" Lum mistook this as a proposal to herself and accepted it. On her planet engagements are sacred, she is completely determined to be married to Ataru for the rest of her life, falls completely in love with him,...

Feature Ryan Lambie 1 Nov 2013 - 06:23

Looking for some geek-friendly crowdfunding projects to support? Then here's a selection of worthy things for your consideration...

Nb: The pitch video for Why Horror contains some gory scenes which some bosses might describe as Not Safe For Work. Just thought we'd let you know.

We may have overshot Halloween by 24 hours, but that hasn't stopped us including a couple of horror-themed projects in this week's crowdfunding selection. And on the topic of horror, there's still just about time (if you've read this early enough on a Friday) to get involved in director Stuart Gordon's Nevermore Kickstarter campaign.

A low-budget film which will see Gordon reunite with the great Jeffrey Combs for an adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe's immortal poem, Nevermore still has a way to go before it hits its $375,000 goal - but if there's a last-minute swell of support, Nevermore...

Odd List Simon Brew 20 Sep 2013 - 07:14

They don't make funny movies any more, right? Wrong. If you're looking for a laugh, then here are some you may have missed...

For this list, blame The Hangover Part III. It was whilst walking out of that film that I got into a chat with someone, who was bemoaning the lack of genuinely funny movie comedies. Certainly, big budget Hollywood comedies have no end of problems right now - with the occasional exception - but I couldn't help thinking of the many neglected gems that had gone through my DVD player over the past decade or so.

As such, I started to put this list together. It's inevitably subjective, as one person's comedy is another person's snore fest. But I've tried to dig out a mix of comedies from the past three decades that have either flown under the radar completely, or...

Will you help "Mysterious Cities of Gold: Secret Paths," based on the beloved French-Japanese anime, see an English-language release?

Developed by Paris-based Ynnis Interactive, "Mysterious Cities of Gold" adapts the 30-year-old animated series from Studio Pierrot ("Urusei Yatsura," "Fushigi Yūgi") and Dic Audiovisuel, which tells the story of Estaban, a young orphan in 1532 on a quest to the New World to learn the fate of his missing father and the truth about a fabled city of gold. Viewers of a certain age might remember the 39-episode series which ran here in the U.S. in the mid-80's on Nickelodeon. It received a followup series in France during the 2012-2013 season.

Ynnis's game is firmly set in the continuity of the original series, however, featuring some of the original voice work and music from "Mysterious Cities of Gold '83" for the Wii U, 3Ds, and iPhone/iPad versions of the game.

Satire works best when it focuses its jibes on a target that takes itself seriously. One of the big problems with Scott Pilgrim vs. the World is that it takes aim at video games. And video games are just that: games. They aren’t meant to be heady art. Director Edgar Wright’s previous two films (Shaun of the Dead; Hot Fuzz) were hysterically funny because they were satirizing proper, established film genres. Video games are a hard target because they are so chaotic and over-the-top by design.

The original series of graphic novels by Bryan Lee O’Malley, on which the film is based, was a clever parody on Japanese Manga and Anime. O’Malley’s comics captured the mystique of its targets, which is what made them so good. The nerdy but capable young hero who has a hot girlfriend with a secret that disrupts his life is a standard Manga/Anime plot,...

Viz Media has announced the first simultaneous East/West debut of a new manga series from legendary creator Rumiko Takahashi entitled Rin-Ne. The series launched just yesterday exclusively in Japan in Weekly Shonen Sunday magazine and online for North American audiences on TheRumicWorld.com.

Official Synopsis:

As a child Sakura Mamiya mysteriously disappeared in the woods behind her grandma’s home. She returned whole and healthy, but since then she has had the power to see ghosts. Now a teenager, she just wishes the ghosts would leave her alone! At school, the desk next to Sakura’s has been empty since the start of the school year, then one day her always-absent classmate shows up, and he’s far more than what he seems!

Rumiko Takahashi has won the prestigious Shogakukan Manga Award twice in her career, once for Urusei Yatsura in 1981 and the second time for Inuyasha in 2002. A...

Tokyo International Film Festival

TOKYO -- Stripping naked, shooting the sheriff, trafficking drugs, humping in the cornfield, spouting conspiracy theories or blowing a giant mecha-robot off the galaxy... there's nothing these famished femmes wouldn't do to get a free bite in "Eat and Run -- 6 Beautiful Grifters," this easy-to-swallow food-themed omnibus cooked up by Japanese animation guru Mamoru Oshii and four other up-and-coming directors.

This is the sequel to the tour de force animation "Tachigui -- the Amazing Lives of the Fast Food Grifters," which was in turn an expanded riff from his TV anime series Urusei Yatsura. In that film, Oshii (Ghost in the Shell, Patlabor, Avalon) charted the socio-political changes in post-war Japan through the culinary compass of her evolving tachigui (stand-and-eat) culture. With only one fully animated segment, this sequel has no unified style, nor the incisive sociological angle and the sullen poetry of its predecessor's Edward Hopperesque image texture. Eat and Run is more of a digestible TV dinner for mass consumption. As a result, it is less academic or idiosyncratic, and has more chance for limited theatrical release abroad. Festivals Will Love to have this on their list, and Oshii's fans will still acquire the DVD for collection purposes.

Eat and Run comprises six stand-alone segments featuring legendary women who perfected the art of fly-by-night dining. The first, Princess Goldfish, directed by Oshii, is the most sensuous. Recreating nostalgic streets and furnishings of Showa-era Japan, it uses gorgeous CGI and exhibits a woman's seductive tattoo with tantalizing cinematography.

The Drunk and the Dead features John Woo-like gun-slinging choreography and a pesky sharp-shooting heroine with a weakness for vintage bourbon. But it's just another pastiche of Spaghetti Westerns that's all sauce and no meat. Dandelion makes some mockumentary analysis of the economic context of the Japanese "family restaurant" (chain diners) and its rise to become flagship of the food industry, but the story is weak and handling amateurish.

Whispers in the Grass is luscious to look at, but the heroine Kumi's seduction of men just to get her lips on kakigoi (strawberry frappe) is the skimpiest pretext for vacuous soft porn. Closest in kindred spirit to Tachigui is The Pop Music Angel, which spins an incredible yarn about the government's conspiracy to turn the nation into morons by TV mind-control and promoting idols. Last segment, Assault Girl, directed by Oshii, is a VFX fantasy that sends up sexy female space warriors in sci-fi films while making a cheeky homage to KFC. Keeping it short and fast, the effects are finger-licking good.

EAT AND RUN -- 6 BEAUTIFUL GRIFTERS

Geneon Entertainment Inc/Deiz Co Ltd

Credits:

Directors: Mamoru Oshii (Supervisor), Makoto Kamiya, Kenji Kamiyama, Takanori Tsujimoto, Hiroaki Yuasa

Based on an original concept by: Mamoru Oshii

Producer: Atsushi Kubo

Executive producer: Yuki Mori

VFX Supervisors: Nobuki Sato, Makoto Kamiya

Music: Kenji Kawai

Cast:

Bekko-Candy Yuri: Yuriko Hishimi

Quickdraw Miki: Mizuno Miki

Cafeteria Mabu: Mabuki Ando

Kumi the Strawberry Frappe: Yoko Fujita

Mami the Crepe Mania: Yuko Ogura

Hinako the Kentucky: Saeki Hinako

Running time -- 123 minutes

No MPAA rating...