Posts Tagged ‘manga’

Thermae Romae: Live-Action Movie

Here’s the teaser for the upcoming live-action adaptation of the popular Japanese comic series Thermae Romae:

The story is a comedy about Lucius, an architect of public bath houses in ancient Rome. During the manga, he time-travels to various modern-day baths in Japan. Through manga and essay passages, the author explores the two cultures in the world “that have loved baths the most: the Japanese and the Romans”.

There aren’t any well-known Italian actors who speaks fluent Japanese, so it looks like Fuji TV decided to select Hiroshi Abe for the role of Lucius. He sort of looks Italian…maybe? The movie probably isn’t meant to be taken very seriously, so I doubt many people will care that they’ve cast a Japanese guy as an ancient Roman.

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Conan O’Brien & Andy Richter do anime voice-overs

American comedians Conan O’Brien & Andy Richter visit Bang Zoom/Manga Entertainment in California and do voice-overs for “Ghost in the Shell“:

[via Reddit]

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Fans flock to see Tokyo’s giant Gundam

The 1:1 scale Gundam mobile suit officially went on display in the Odaiba area of Tokyo over the weekend, and the “Mezamashi TV” morning news show was there to interview some fans (this video has partially translated into English):

• a cosplayer couple
• a little kid dressed like Char
• a dude who built his own Zaku
• Gundam-obsessed photographers
• a hotel room with a perfect view of the giant mobile suit

And in case you missed it, here’s a high quality video of the giant Gundam from the Asahi Shimbun:

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Draw your favorite anime character!

In this clip, a Saturday morning news program brings up the debate over the construction of an 11.7 billion yen Manga Museum. To keep things entertaining, they skip the details and just ask random people on the street to draw their favorite anime characters:

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Foreign scholars support plan to build 11.7 billion yen Manga museum

The Asahi has been coming down hard on the government’s plan to build an 11.7 billion yen (121 million USD) national media arts center (aka “Manga Museum”), but the Japan Times has interviewed several Western scholars, all of whom seem to think it’s a great idea. Here’s a sample of some of the quotes they included in its article:

“Given their mass audience, their spread globally, and their influence on Japanese culture today, the question is why shouldn’t there be a center dedicated to their study, conservation and exhibition?”
[...]
“The long-term effects of such a center would be useful. Japanese contemporary media arts are renowned for their dynamism and creativity. Having a kind of national clearinghouse, where people could learn about the latest cultural products in that area, would benefit artists and audiences. The center would not only inform audiences and be a useful avenue to promote contemporary Japanese culture, but it would also inspire new creativity in manga and anime artists for generations to come.”
[...]
“I think the kind of research on manga and anime that the center could facilitate will have a great scholarly and critical impact.”

As most of the scholars in question are pop culture experts who study anime and manga, it would be pretty hard for them to bash a plan that would likely bring greater attention to their field of research.

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World War II Manga

Mizuki’s historical perspectives, informed by his own experience of violence and the excesses of Japan’s wartime regime, do not fit comfortably with stereotypical “rightwing” or “leftwing” positions. Sharing elements of both, but with a strong progressive bent in the area of war responsibility, Mizuki has crafted a series of unforgettable war stories.

Have a look at the article/manga translation here, and also be sure to check Mutantfrog Travelogue’s post about Mizuki Shigeru’s war manga.