Screening in London on April 28
Source: Barbican Centre, Sarah Harvey Publicity press release
Special Thanks to Helene Muron

Key art design for DEATH NOTE RELIGHT. Photo courtesy of
Madman Entertainment. ©Tsugumi Ohba, Takeshi Obata/Shueisha.
© DNDP, VAP, Shueisha, Madhouse

The Barbican Centre in London continues their JAPANIMATION event series in April with a promotional screening of DEATH NOTE RELIGHT, the rogue shinigami-eyed view of an epic battle between two great minds. The film is presented courtesy of Manga Entertainment and VIZ Media, and will be introduced by anime expert and author Helen McCarthy (The Anime! Movie Guide, Hayao Miyazaki: Master of Japanese Animation, and founder of the magazine AnimeFX).

DEATH NOTE RELIGHT retells the groundbreaking DEATH NOTE psychological crime drama from an entirely new perspective. The feature-length version of the first half of the original television series tells Death God Shinigami Ryuk’s story of what happens when he deliberately drops his Death Note down to earth in a moment of boredom. Found by genius human high school student Light Yagami, the Death Note kills the person whose name is written in it and Light soon realizes its potential to rid the world of evil. When criminals begin dropping dead one by one, genius detective L steps in to track down the elusive killer known as Kira.
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Pilot Banagher Links activates the RX-0 Unicorn Gundam for the first time. Photo courtesy of VIZ Media. © 2010 Sotsu, Sunrise

New 6 Part Original Video Animation Released Worldwide this Month
Author: Andrew Nguyen
Official Site: gundam-unicorn.net (Japanese), gundam-unicorn.net/en (English)
Special Thanks to Erik Jansen (MediaLab) and Evelyn Dubocq (VIZ Media)

MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM UC (UNICORN ) (Kidō Senshi Gandamu Yunikon, 2010) is the latest chapter in the long-running MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM metaseries.

Created by Yoshiyuki Tomino and produced by the Japanese animation studio Sunrise, GUNDAM, which began in April 1979, is one of the premier mecha anime shows in Japan. GUNDAM was one of the first shows that used giant robots (called mobile suits) as actual military weapons. It has spawned numerous sequels and merchandise, particularly in the form of plastic model kits from Bandai of the numerous mobile suits that appear in the metaseries. Furthermore, as the launch pad for the Real Robot genre boom of the 1980s it served as the influence for following shows such as SUPER DIMENSIONAL FORTRESS MACROSS (better known as the first 3rd of ROBOTECH in the US) and PATLABOR.

The first episode of MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM UC premiered February 20, 2010 on PlayStation Network Japan followed by a Blu-Ray release in Japan and the US from Bandai on March 12th. Also Sunrise has shown previews of the first seven minutes of the first episode in both Japanese and English languages. The US will also have a theatrical premiere of the first episode in San Francisco by VIZ Cinema, running March 19th-25th. Sunrise plans to release the next episode of this series in the fall.
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SJ Championship Tournaments Offer Exciting Experiences For New And Existing Players Beginning April 2010
Source: VIZ Media, MediaLab press releases
Special Thanks to Erik Jansen

The NARUTO SHIPPUDEN CCG SHONEN JUMP Championship
Tournaments begin next month. Photo courtesy of VIZ
Media. © 2002 Masashi Kishimoto /2007 Shippuden

Bandai America Inc. and VIZ Media, LLC are pleased to announce the new NARUTO SHIPPUDEN Collectible Card Game (CCG) SHONEN JUMP Championship Tournaments in North America. There will be multiple tournaments held throughout the United States at select hobby retailers culminating in the National Championships to be held at the Gen Con Indy taking place in Indiana on August 7th and 8th.

NARUTO SHIPPUDEN CCG, Bandai America’s top selling collectible card game, is a game of strategy where players construct card decks of Ninja that use their powerful Jutsu to complete Missions and protect their villages. The NARUTO SHIPPUDEN CCG, currently has hundreds of tournaments held each week at local hobby retailers throughout the United States.

SHONEN JUMP Championship Tournaments will be accessible to NARUTO fans, beginners and experienced CCG players. Experienced players will test their skills against other players in the SHONEN JUMP Championship Tournaments to win special prizes. New players may redeem special coupons found in Shonen Jump magazine and receive a free NARUTO SHIPPUDEN CCG demo kit. Bandai volunteers will also be on location to teach new players how to play. NARUTO fans will have the opportunity to receive special SHONEN JUMP promo cards through special promotions and attendance at the tournaments. Finally, one lucky person will win an autographed promo card signed by Masashi Kishimoto, the creator of NARUTO.
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New Murder Mystery from the Director of THE HOST
Source: Magnolia Pictures
Official Movie Site: motherfilm.com (US), mother2009.co.kr (Korea)
Special Thanks to Marina Bailey

US poster for MOTHER, the new film from writer/
director Bong Joon-ho. Photo courtesy of Magnolia
Pictures. © 2009 CJ Entertainment and Barunson

MOTHER (Madeo, 2009), the latest film from award-winning Korean director Bong Joon-ho (THE HOST) is a unique murder mystery about a mother’s primal love for her son. The movie has been picked up for release in the United States by Magnolia Pictures and begins its theatrical run on March 12th. Check magpictures.com/dates for theaters and screening times.

Mother is a devoted single parent to her simple-minded twenty-seven-year-old son, Do-joon. Often a source of anxiety to his mother, Do-joon behaves in foolish or simply dangerous ways. One night, while walking home drunk, he encounters a school girl who he follows for a while before she disappears into a dark alley. The next morning, she is found dead in an abandoned building and Do-joon is accused of her murder. An inefficient lawyer and an apathetic police force result in a speedy conviction. His mother refuses to believe her beloved son is guilty and immediately undertakes her own investigation to find the girl’s killer. In her obsessive quest to clear her son’s name, Mother steps into a world of unimaginable chaos and shocking revelations.
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Source: VIZ Pictures
Official Movie Site: 20thboysfilms.com (US), 20th Boys (Japanese)
Special Thanks to Rieko Fuji

A SciFi JAPAN EXCLUSIVE

Three SciFi Japan readers have each won a 20TH CENTURY
BOYS 2: THE LAST HOPE Gift Pack containing the DVD,
poster, and button. Photo courtesy of VIZ Pictures.
© 1999, 2006 Naoki Urasawa, Studio Nuts /Shogakukan
© 2009 “20th Century Boys” Film Partners

Thank you to everyone who entered VIZ Pictures and SciFi Japan’s contest for a free 20TH CENTURY BOYS 2 DVD Gift Pack. The following randomly drawn entrants correctly answered all contest questions:

Evan Brehany
Joseph W. Whalen
Wilton E. Newman

Congratulations to the winners! Each of you has won a Gift Pack containing the 20TH CENTURY BOYS 2: THE LAST HOPE DVD, button, and theatrical poster. VIZ Pictures will be shipping the Gift Packs shortly so keep an eye on your mailbox.
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Theatre Also Announces Lecture on Anime Icon Hayao Miyazaki, and Screenings for 2010 San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival
Source: VIZ Media, MediaLab press releases
Official Site: NewPeopleWorld.com
Special Thanks to Evelyn Dubocq and Erik Jansen

The new anime movie MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM UC (UNICORN)
will make its US premiere at VIZ Cinema on March 19th.
Photo courtesy of VIZ Media. © 2010 Sotsu, Sunrise

VIZ Cinema in San Francisco, CA, the nation’s only movie theatre dedicated to Japanese film, has announced a variety of notable film screenings, festivals, lectures and other special events to be held throughout the month of March.

Activities kick off on March 5th with Patrick Macias’s new film/lecture series Tokyo Scope: The Wild and Crazy World of Japanese Cult Films. VIZ Cinema will present the NEW PEOPLE Artist Series Festival, a special collection of six insightful documentaries, from March 6th – 9th. The fest includes the U.S. theatrical premieres of several films featuring the Neo-Japanese “Hip-Hop-Samurai” painter Hisashi Tenmyouya, the cynical artistic genius of Makoto Aida, and the life and work of master sculptor Katsura Funakoshi.

The Allure of Hayao Miyazaki, a lecture given by Fred Schodt and Beth Cary (translators of Miyazaki’s autobiography Starting Point: 1979-1996) will be held on March 10th. VIZ Cinema also partners with the 28th San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival to present DEAR DOCTOR on March 17th.

And anime fans won’t want to miss VIZ Cinema’s just-added week long screening of the MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM UC (UNICORN) feature film (58 min) running March 19th – 25th. The movie makes a special U.S. debut only one month after its original premiere in Japan.
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Eighteen Classics to Screen During Festival at Stanford Theater
Source: Stanford Theater, akirakurosawa.com

Director Akira Kurosawa, ca. 1952. Photo courtesy of the
Margaret Herrick Library.

The historic Stanford Theater in Palo Alto, California reopens this weekend after remodeling and is off to a huge and auspicious start. Beginning February 20 and running through March 30, the theater will feature an Akira Kurosawa Film Festival.

The festival will feature no less than eighteen of Kurosawa’s classic films, starting with THE SEVEN SAMURAI, considered by many to be the greatest film ever to come out of Japan. Also on the schedule are such films as RASHOMON, THE BAD SLEEP WELL, IKIRU, THE LOWER DEPTHS, HIGH AND LOW, KAGEMUSHA, SANJURO, THRONE OF BLOOD, and RAN.
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Burning Godzilla roars over the crowd at Winter WonderFest 2010. Photo by Ed Godziszewski. © 1995 Toho Co., Ltd.

A Look at the Winter Model and Toy Collectors Show Held in Tokyo on February 7, 2010
Author: Ed Godziszewski
Official Site: Wonder Festival

Owing to an accident in 2008 which occurred at the Tokyo Big Sight, former home of Wonder Festival, this biannual mega collectors event was canceled for the year 2009. But after securing a new venue at Makuhari Messe, WonderFest is back and bigger than ever.

Ed Godziszewski presents a look Winter WonderFest with nearly three dozen photos of the latest Godzilla, Gamera, and Ultraman collectibles coming from Japan.
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Get the 20TH CENTURY BOYS 2: THE LAST HOPE DVD and More for Free, Courtesy of VIZ Pictures and SciFi Japan
Source: VIZ Pictures
Official Movie Site: 20thboysfilms.com (US), 20th Boys (Japanese)
Special Thanks to Rieko Fuji

A SciFi JAPAN EXCLUSIVE

VIZ Pictures is offering SciFi Japan readers the chance to
win a 20TH CENTURY BOYS 2: THE LAST HOPE Gift Pack
containing the DVD, poster, and button. Photo courtesy
of VIZ Pictures. © 1999, 2006 Naoki Urasawa, Studio Nuts
/Shogakukan © 2009 “20th Century Boys” Film Partners

The popular 20TH CENTURY BOYS (20-Seki Shonen) live-action movie trilogy is now being released on Region 1 DVD by VIZ Pictures and VIZ Media. The films are based on the critically acclaimed 20th Century Boys manga series created by Naoki Urasawa, which is a national phenomenon in Japan, selling over 20 million copies to date. The 20TH CENTURY BOYS movies were released in Japan by Toho and quickly shot to the top of the domestic box office. The three films made their US premieres at the VIZ Cinema in San Francisco in August of 2009.

VIZ Pictures and SciFi Japan now follow up December’s 20TH CENTURY BOYS 1: BEGINNING OF THE END Gift Pack Giveaway with a new contest for the second film in the series, 20TH CENTURY BOYS 2: THE LAST HOPE. SciFi Japan readers in the United States and Canada have a chance to win one of three Gift Packs, each with the 20TH CENTURY BOYS 2: THE LAST HOPE DVD, the US theatrical poster, and a 20TH CENTURY BOYS button.

The 20TH CENTURY BOYS 2: THE LAST HOPE DVD will be available for purchase on February 16th. The suggested retail price is $24.92.
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Special Theatrical Screening Planned for February 9th; DVD Arrives on February 16th
Source: VIZ Media, MediaLab press releases
Official Movie Site: 20thboysfilms.com (US), 20th Boys (Japanese)
Special Thanks to Evelyn Dubocq and Erik Jansen

DVD cover art for the North American release of 20TH
CENTURY BOYS 2: THE LAST HOPE. Photo courtesy of VIZ
Pictures. © 1999, 2006 Naoki Urasawa, Studio Nuts
/Shogakukan © 2009 “20th Century Boys” Film Partners

VIZ Pictures, an affiliate of VIZ Media, LLC that focuses on Japanese live-action film distribution, will release the science fiction feature 20TH CENTURY BOYS 2: THE LAST HOPE (20-Seiki Shonen: Dai 2 Sho- Saigo no Kibo, 2009) on DVD on February 16th in North America through its distributor, VIZ Media. 20TH CENTURY BOYS will carry a MSRP of $24.92 US / $35.99 CAN.

The 20TH CENTURY BOYS saga is based on Naoki Urasawa’s manga series, 20th Century Boys (published in the US by VIZ Media), which has become a national phenomenon in Japan, selling over 20 million copies of the 24 volumes. Urasawa is the creator of many famous works such as the hit manga series, Monster and Pluto also published in the US by VIZ Media.

In 20TH CENTURY BOYS 2: THE LAST HOPE it is 2015, and “Friend” rules a disturbing new world. Kenji has been missing since the Bloody New Year’s Eve of 2000, and his niece Kanna is now in high school. Her history textbook contains a fabricated story about Kenji and his friends being the terrorists behind the horrific events of 2000. Kanna, knowing the truth, openly resents this, and as a result she is marked as a problem child by her teacher and sent to the Friend Land program because of her anti-Friend behavior.
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Astro Boy (voiced by Freddie Highmore) is surrounded by Stingers in the feature film ASTRO BOY, playing February 23rd at the Barbican Centre.
©2009 Imagi Crystal Ltd and Summit Entertainment, LLC. © Tezuka Productions Co., Ltd.

ASTRO BOY and THE SKY CRAWLERS Screenings in London
Source: Barbican Centre, Sarah Harvey Publicity press release
Special Thanks to Helene Muron

The Barbican Centre in London continues their JAPANIMATION event series with screenings of the computer animated film ASTRO BOY (2009) this month and Mamoru Oshii’s THE SKY CRAWLERS (Sukai Kurora, 2008) in March. Both films will be introduced by anime expert and author Helen McCarthy (The Anime! Movie Guide, Hayao Miyazaki: Master of Japanese Animation, and founder of the magazine AnimeFX).
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Romance, Anime, and 20TH CENTURY BOYS 2 in San Francisco
Source: VIZ Media, MediaLab press releases
Official Site: NewPeopleWorld.com
Special Thanks to Evelyn Dubocq and Erik Jansen

JOSEE, THE TIGER AND THE FISH. Photo courtesy of VIZ Media. © 2003 Josee, The
Tiger and the Fish Film Partners

February is the month of love and VIZ Cinema, the nation’s first and only movie theatre dedicated to Japanese film, sweetens this theme with a pair of captivating love stories by director Isshin Inudo, presented in association with Asmik Ace Entertainment. Don’t miss the chance to attend the West Coast premieres of these heartwarming cinematic masterpieces. How far would you go in the name of LOVE?

VIZ Cinema is privileged to present director Inudo’s JOSEE, THE TIGER AND THE FISH, screening February 5th –18th; and LA MAISON DE HIMIKO, showing February 18th – March 4th. To celebrate the spirit of Valentine’s Day for the entire month of February, filmgoers who also bring a date (or a friend) will receive a special 50% discount on the second person’s admission.

Anime fans can also look forward to a special double-feature encore showing of GURREN LAGANN: THE MOVIE 1 & 2 – for one night only – on Sunday February 21st at 5:00pm and 7:30pm respectively. VIZ Cinema will offer special combo tickets for $15.00 to attend both showings.

VIZ Cinema will also host a one night only DVD Release Screening of 20TH CENTURY BOYS 2: THE LAST HOPE on Tuesday, February 9th.
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A Look at the International Model and Toy Show Held in Tokyo on January 10, 2010
Author: Ed Godziszewski
Official Site: Super Festival

Prototypes for the new Marmit Destoroyah and Burning Godzilla figures. Photo
by Ed Godziszewski.

In years past, it used to be a big deal to attend toy shows such as Super Festival— each show yielded not only its share of exclusive items, but they were a expeditious way to accomplish a good deal of shopping all in one place. Rather than spending time and train fare scurrying about Tokyo, Super Festival offered one-stop shopping where you could find not only most every current item, but also a nice selection of vintage (and sometimes otherwise unheard of) items.

Due to a change in my business trip schedule, it had been almost 6 years since the last time I attended Super Festival, so attending this most recent incarnation this past January 10 impressed upon me just how much times have changed.
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The blind swordsman Zatoichi is back on the big screen this month in ZATOICHI, THE FUGITIVE, one of nine chambara classics playing Japan
Society’s “The Double-Edged Sword” film series. Photo courtesy of Japan Society. © 1963 Kadokawa Pictures, Inc.

Japan Society Presents the Second Installment of “The Double-Edged Sword” Chambara Film Series
Source: Japan Society
Special Thanks to Sean Levine

New York – Japan Society’s latest Monthly Classics film series “The Double-Edged Sword: The Chambara Films of Shintaro Katsu & Raizo Ichikawa” pays tribute to two Japanese screen legends in their most respected, representative and stylish chambara (sword fighting) films. Curated by film expert and author Chris D. (Outlaw Masters of Japanese Film), the series screens monthly through May 2010. Having opened in December, the second installment in the series is ZATOICHI, THE FUGITIVE on Friday, January 22 at 7:30 pm. Tickets are $11/$7 Japan Society members, students and seniors.

ZATOICHI, THE FUGITIVE (Zatoichi kyojo-tabi)
Friday, January 22, 7:30 pm
1963, 86 min., 35 mm, color, in Japanese with English subtitles. Directed by Tokuzo Tanaka. With Shintaro Katsu, Miwa Takada, Masayo Banri, Junichiro Narita, Katsuhiko Kobayashi.

As the iconic blind masseur Zatoichi, Katsu enters this fourth episode of the saga— one of the most acclaimed— with a bounty on his head. Soon, he is up to his neck slicing and dicing through a throng of yakuza thugs, fending off a long-lost love and battling a ruthless ronin for hire.
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DVD Release and Special San Francisco Screening on January 26
Source: VIZ Media, MediaLab press releases
Official Site: VIZ Pictures
Special Thanks to Evelyn Dubocq and Erik Jansen

DVD cover art for DAIDO MORIYAMA: STRAY DOG OF TOKYO.
The documentary will play the VIZ Cinema on January 26.
Photo VIZ Media. © 2001 B.B.B. Co., Ltd

VIZ Pictures will release the newest volume of its ongoing NEW PEOPLE ARTIST SERIES – DAIDO MORIYAMA: STRAY DOG OF TOKYO (Near Equal Moriyama Daidou, 2001) on DVD January 26th. This intriguing documentary profiles the life and art of Japan’s foremost photographer and highlights his unorthodox style and technique. The DVD will carry an MSRP of $24.92 U.S. / $35.99 CAN and will be distributed by VIZ Media.

Daido Moriyama has been a major force in artistic photography since the late 60’s, but his true persona has been hidden behind a veil of mystery since he has refused any major media appearances – until now. This new documentary follows the charismatic Moriyama as he displays his trademark photographic technique of taking quick snapshots without looking in the viewfinder. Often shot in black and white, out of focus and dramatically cropped or tilted, the themes of Moriyama’s images have been said to convey a sense of the disordered human condition and the conflicting realities of modern urban life.

In celebration of this new release, VIZ Pictures has scheduled a special one night only theatrical screening of DAIDO MORIYAMA: STRAY DOG OF TOKYO on January 26th at VIZ Cinema. Tickets are $25.00, which includes a pass to the film screening, a copy of the DVD, a postcard and a NEW PEOPLE original pin button.
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