New Audio CD Acts as Your Guide to Akihabara
Source: White Rabbit Press press release
Official Website: www.TokyoRealtime.com

Cover for White Rabbit Press’ Akihabra audio tour.
© 2010 White Rabbit Press

White Rabbit Press is proud to release the world’s first professionally produced audio guided walking tour for Tokyo’s Akihabara district.

With TOKYO REALTIME: Akihabara, visitors and residents alike can experience a unique behind-the-scenes tour of Tokyo’s ‘Electric Town’, a subculture hotspot for anime, games, manga, maids and more. Assisted by his sentient GPS ‘Navi’, Akihabara expert Patrick W. Galbraith, author of The Otaku Encyclopedia, guides visitors through all the must-see places. Patrick provides historical background and cultural insight along the way, as well as breaking down insider jargon such as otagei, moé and itasha.

The release of TOKYO REALTIME: Akihabara marks the second volume in the highly-acclaimed Tokyo Realtime audio tour series. Interweaving narration and interviews within a soundscape of location ambience and music, Tokyo Realtime audio travel guides deliver a seamless mix of adventure and cultural insight while navigating real-world spaces.
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Haruo Nakajima sucker punches Gaira (the monster he played in WAR OF THE GARGANTUAS) during the publishing party for his autobiography Kaiju Jinsei.
Photo courtesy of Daisuke Ishizuka.

Godzilla Suit Actor Celebrates Launch of New Book
Author: Daisuke Ishizuka
Source: Yosensha Co., Ltd.

Cover art for Kaiju Jinsei, courtesy of Yosensha Co.
© 2010 Yosensha Co., Ltd.

A SciFi JAPAN EXCLUSIVE

Today a publishing party was held for the autobiography Kaiju Jinsei (Kaiju Life) by Mr. Haruo Nakajima. Mr. Haruo Nakajima is a pioneer of monster suit acting who is well known as the suit actor who played Godzilla and various Toho monsters. He has often been invited to conventions in America; Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, etc. and he is familiar with Tokusatsu fans in the U.S. I attended the G-Fest convention in Hollywood in 2000 and it was my first time to see him. I had chance to hear about his career at that time. In 2010, we now have a chance to know about him more deeply because his autobiography was published in July by Yosensha Co., Ltd.

In Kaiju Jinsei, Mr. Nakajima details his life, from his youth to the present day. Needles to say, he focuses on his career as suit actor. In addition, he talks about Mr. Eiji Tsuburaya as well as the filmmakers and his friend and co-workers at Toho. The book is valuable resource for Tokusatsu fans.
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Vampires, Soul Reapers, Ninja, Mangaka, and Romance Heat Up the Summer
Source: VIZ Media, MediaLab press releases
Special Thanks to Jane Lui and Erik Jansen

Bakuman。, the new manga from the
creators of Death Note. Photo courtesy of
VIZ Media. © 2008 Tsugumi Ohba, Takeshi
Obata/ Shueisha Inc.

VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), one of the entertainment industry’s most innovative and comprehensive publishing, animation and licensing companies, will delight anime fans with several exciting new DVD and manga releases scheduled for the summer.

Anime titles are scheduled to include the North American debut of VAMPIRE KNIGHT, as well as the latest episodic releases of the popular BLEACH and NARUTO SHIPPUDEN series and a new POKÉMON collection. This summer also sees the launch of brand new manga series set to tantalize the most discriminating manga tastes and features romantic dramas, fantasy driven action, the trials of aspiring manga creators, and a tasty slice of life story set in a romantic bistro in Rome.
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More than 100,000 fans flocked to last month’s Anime Expo in Los Angeles.

Photos from America’s Largest Anime and Manga Convention
Authors: Chris Taylor and Daisy Evans, Not Interested Entertainment
Official Site: anime-expo.org

Anime Expo was held again this year at the Los Angeles Convention Center in downtown Los Angeles, California. The event was, as always, attended by many thousands of fans from across the country (more than 100,000 people attended according to official statements from the Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation). Many of these fans were wearing everything from simple to stunningly elaborate costume creations from a wide range of sources including anime, manga, Japanese culture (such as many Morning Musume and various visual kei bands), as well as those dressed in the style of Elegant Gothic Lolita (EGL).
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Yuji Koseki’s soundtrack to the original MOTHRA is being re-issued in a new 2 CD collection. © 1961 Toho Co., Ltd.

Classic Toho Soundtrack Re-mastered in a Deluxe Edition
Author: John “Dutch” DeSentis
Source: Toho Music Store
Special Thanks to Mike Temple and Ed Godziszewski

Over the last two years, Toho Music has begun reissuing some of their non-Godzilla related special effects film scores in deluxe packaging with re-mastered sound. Joining the already re-released soundtracks to THE THREE TREAURES (Nippon Tanjo, 1959) and THE MYSTERIANS/BATTLE IN OUTER SPACE (Chikyu Boeigun, 1957/Uchu Daisenso, 1959) is Yuji Koseki’s score to MOTHRA (Mosura, 1961), released as a dual disc set at the end of July.
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Disney/Pixar and Toho characters are the focus of the next two waves of figures in Kayodo’s Sci-Fi Revoltech line.
Mogera and Mothra © Toho Co., Ltd. Buzz Lightyear and Woody © Disney/Pixar. © 2010 Kaiyodo Co., Ltd.

The Latest Series Brings Two more Characters from Toho’s Tokusatsu Universe Plus an Exclusive
Author: John “Dutch” DeSentis
Official Site: kaiyodo.co.jp/revoltech

The Kaiyodo Company’s Sci-Fi Revoltech series continues to bring great, super-articulated figures of popular science fiction characters to the hands of collectors. Thus far, the only Toho character represented has been the monster Baragon from Wave 2. Thankfully, that will change on September 1st, as a figure based on Mothra (1961 style) will join Mogera (1957 style). The previous month sees Buzz Lightyear and Woody from the Disney/Pixar TOY STORY movies. Reportedly the Tyrannosaurus Rex from JURASSIC PARK, Jason Vorhees from the FRIDAY THE 13TH series, and a Type-1966 Maser Tank from WAR OF THE GARGANTUAS will follow in the next few months.
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The Best In Critically Acclaimed Japanese Science Fiction And Fantasy
Source: VIZ Media, MediaLab press releases
Official Site: haikasoru.com
Special Thanks to Jane Lui and Erik Jansen

Cover for the award-winning novel Harmony by the
late Project Itoh. Photo courtesy of VIZ Media.
© 2008 Project Itoh. Originally published in Japan by
Hayakawa Publishing, Inc.

VIZ Media, LLC will deliver out-of-this-world summer science fiction and fantasy reading with the release of three new novels under its Haikasoru imprint this summer – Harmony by Project Itoh, Rocket Girls by Housuke Nojiri and Summer, Fireworks, and My Corpse by Otsuichi.

Haikasoru is a unique imprint with a dedicated focus on publishing some of the most compelling contemporary Japanese science fiction and fantasy for English-speaking audiences.
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Source: VIZ Media, MediaLab press releases
Official Site: ShonenSunday.com
Special Thanks to Jane Lui and Erik Jansen

Check out 7 seasons and three films from the hit anime
INUYASHI on iTunes, Hulu and VIZAnime.com. Photo
courtesy of VIZ Media. © Rumiko Takahashi /Shogakukan
Inc. • Yomiuri TV • Sunrise 2009

VIZ Media announces a new promotion for INUYAHSA episodes and feature films (all rated ‘T’ for Teens) available now from the iTunes Store in the U.S. and Canada, as well as the streaming content provider HULU and VIZAnime.com, the company’s premier website for anime.

iTunes will offer the first three INUYASHA feature films (dubbed) – INUYASHA THE MOVIE: AFFECTIONS TOUCHING ACROSS TIME, INUYASHA THE MOVIE 2: THE CASTLE BEYOND THE LOOKING GLASS, and INUYASHA THE MOVIE 3: SWORDS OF AN HONORABLE RULER, for a special Download-To-Own (DTO) sale price of $4.99 (U.S.) each until August 3rd. Additionally, INUYASHA TV episode 1 is available to download for FREE, and episodes 2-167, covering Seasons 1-7, will be 50% off and available for iTunes users to download for only $0.99 each.

HULU will stream INUYASHA: AFFECTIONS TOUCHING ACROSS TIME (subtitled) for free until August 11th; it will also be available during the same period on VIZAnime.com, the free-to-use interactive web destination that is the permanent home to some of the company’s best-loved animated series.

INUYASHA is a hit TV anime series is based on a massively popular manga (also published by VIZ Media, rated ‘T+’ for Older Teens) by famed creator Rumiko Takahashi, who won the prestigious Shogakukan Manga Award for the series in 2002. Many of Takahashi’s titles have been adapted into other media such as anime, live-action TV series, and film. The INUYASHA anime series ran for 167 episodes in total and has also spawned an exciting finale series, INUYASHA THE FINAL ACT (also available on VIZAnime.com), as well as several successful feature films.
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Former Godzilla FX director Koichi Kawakita has been promoting a slew of new Toho-themed collectibles. © 2010 Toho Co., Ltd.

Author: Ed Godziszewski
Official Site: KK DeAgostini Japan

Enjoy some Godzilla Wine. © 1954/2010 Toho Co., Ltd.

Although retired from filmmaking, Koichi Kawakita (FX director of the Godzilla series from 1989-1995) has managed to find a new way to stay in the public eye these days, promoting a series of products related to Toho special effects films. In January he appeared at Super Festival, introducing two new books concerning the Godzilla films, the DVD of ZERO FIGHTER (Ozora no Samurai, 1976), and some miscellaneous goods. Then in February he was at Wonder Festival promoting a garage kit replica of the Oxygen Destroyer from GODZILLA (Gojira, 1954).

And since late last year, he has been doing interviews in the booklets for each of DeAgostini’s DVD book releases of Toho special effects films. In Volume 18 of this Toho SFX DVD Collection series (DESTROY ALL MONSTERS), issued during May, Kawakita appears promoting even more goods related to Toho films.
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The Final Box Set in the Series is Released
Author: John “Dutch” DeSentis
Source: Toho Music Store
Official Website: Toho Music

Advertisement for the GODZILLA SOUNDTRACK PERFECT
COLLECTION, including the newly released sixth and
final volume. © 2010 Toho Co., Ltd.

Back in 2004, during Godzilla’s 50th Anniversary, Toho Music Announced they would be reissuing all the Godzilla soundtracks remastered in a series of box sets, each limited to 1,954 pressings of each (to commemorate the year of the original Godzilla). What fans didn’t know was just how long it would take for them to be released. The first set went on sale September 20th, 2004 and was highly regarded for its improved sonics, especially on the 1954 disc. Box 2 came a short few months later in December, during the release of GODZILLA FINAL WARS. Box 3 followed in April of 2005, around the same time as the release of the GODZILLA FINAL BOX which contained all 28 movies on DVD.

What followed then was a wait of nearly a year and a half as the fourth box didn’t hit the streets until October, 2006 and it took only slightly less time for the fifth box to come out in January, 2008. Fan speculation ran high as to whether or not the final set would ever be released at all. But after a wait of over two years (the longest stretch between two sets), Box 6 was finally released in Japan on March 25th, and the collection is now complete.
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A menagerie of Japanese monsters and heroes are on display at Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens’ new KAIJU! MONSTER INVASION Exhibit.
Photo by James Bonney.

Japanese Monster Vinyl Figures on Display at the Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens
Author: James Bonney
Official Site: Kaiju! Monster Invasion!

Fans of the kaiju tokusatsu, or rather, their plastic counterparts in South Florida are in for a treat. The Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens is hosting a brand new exhibit showcasing the various figures from the world of Japanese kaiju film and television entitled KAIJU! MONSTER INVASION!
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Friend comforts Friend (!?) after learning that they did not win VIZ Pictures’ 20TH CENTURY BOYS 3: REDEMPTION Gift Pack.
Photo courtesy of VIZ Pictures. © 1999, 2006 Naoki Urasawa, Studio Nuts/ Shogakukan. © 2009 “20th Century Boys” Film Partners

Source: VIZ Pictures
Official Movie Site: 20thboysfilms.com (US), 20th Boys (Japanese)
Special Thanks to Rieko Fuji

Thank you to everyone who entered VIZ Pictures and SciFi Japan’s contest for a free 20TH CENTURY BOYS 3: REDEMPTION Gift Pack. The winning entry is:

Nathan Bishop

More contests are planned for 2010 so keep checking back with SciFi Japan for more chances to win some cool stuff!
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Get a Bundle of 20TH CENTURY BOYS Goodies 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

VIZ Pictures is offering SciFi Japan readers the chance to win
a free 20TH CENTURY BOYS 3: REDEMPTION Gift Pack. Photo
courtesy of VIZ Pictures. © 1999, 2006 Naoki Urasawa, Studio
Nuts /Shogakukan © 2008 “20th Century Boys” Film Partners

A SciFi JAPAN EXCLUSIVE

20TH CENTURY BOYS 3: REDEMPTION is the third and final chapter of the mega hit 20TH CENTURY BOYS sci-fi action film trilogy from Japan. Attracting attention as the biggest film project of the century in the Japanese film industry, the production of the trilogy cost over $60 million, stars over 300 all-star cast members, with shooting taking place for an entire year.

To celebrate the new Region 1 DVD release of this film, VIZ Pictures is giving SciFi Japan readers in the United States and Canada a chance to win a free 20TH CENTURY BOYS 3 Gift Pack. The pack includes a 20TH CENTURY BOYS 3: REDEMPTION US theatrical poster, a ‘Tomodachi’ T-shirt featuring the infamous Friend symbol, a mini-flag, and a 20TH CENTURY BOYS 3 button.

All three films in the 20TH CENTURY BOYS movie series are now available on DVD in North America from VIZ Pictures. The suggested retail price is $24.92 each.
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Nicely Packaged but Disappointing Volume Fails to Live Up to Its Title
Author: Ed Godziszewski
Official Site: harpercollins.com/books/Killer-Kaiju-Monsters

Drazoran, an original toy creation by Mark Nagata,
graces the cover of the new book Killer Kaiju
Monsters: Strange Beasts of Japanese Film. © 2010
HarperCollins Publishers

A year ago, New York-based publisher HarperCollins announced their upcoming release Godzilla and Friends: The Art of the Japanese Monster. After various delays, the book finally went on sale this past week with the revised title Killer Kaiju Monsters: Strange Beasts of Japanese Film. The hardcover volume was written and edited by Ivan Vartanian (Full Vinyl: The Subversive Art of Designer Toys) and features illustrations by Mark Nagata (Max Toy Company), Shoji Ohtomo (An Anatomical Guide to Monsters), Ryohei Tanaka (Panic Attack!), and a cut-out paper toy by renowned paper engineer Keisuke Saka.

Killer Kaiju Monsters: Strange Beasts of Japanese Film at first looks to be typical of what we come to expect from mainstream published books on Japanese movie monsters. The Japanese studios prohibit the use of the names or any likeness or their characters on the cover (hence the change from Godzilla and Friends), so a more generic title is used and any monster design is by necessity an original one, i.e. not of a movie monster. So ordinarily, the cover belies its contents. However, in the case of Killer Kaiju Monsters, the cover is oddly emblematic of what the rest of the book delivers.
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Special Promotion To Celebrate the Domestic Broadcast Launch of the Shonen Sunday Animated Series
Source: VIZ Media, MediaLab press releases
Official Site: shonensunday.com/series/kekkaishi
Special Thanks to Jane Lui and Erik Jansen

Photo courtesy of VIZ Media. © 2006, 2010 Yellow Tanabe/ Shogakukan, Yomiuri
TV, Sunrise

VIZ Media invites fans to explore the demon-battling action adventure of popular Shonen Sunday KEKKAISHI anime series with a FREE Download-to-Own (DTO) episode through VIZ Media partners iTunes, Xbox Live’s Zune Marketplace, PlayStation Network and Amazon Video on Demand. KEKKAISHI Episode 1 will be available for free download now through June 17th to celebrate the recent domestic broadcast launch of KEKKAISHI on Adult Swim.

KEKKAISHI is based on the hit manga series by Yellow Tanabe (also published in North America by VIZ Media). A story of mystical forces powerful in the region known as Karasumori. For over 400 years, it has been the duty of a clan of “kekkaishi”—barrier masters—to guard this land and exterminate the supernatural creatures that are drawn to it night after night.
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Latest Instalment in the Hit Series Brings New Features and Multiplayer Action to PAL territories in Summer 2010
Source: NAMCO BANDAI Games Europe, Indigo Pearl press release
Special Thanks to Holly Barnes

Cover art for the European release of DRAGON BALL: ORIGINS 2 on Nintendo DS.
Photo courtesy of NAMCO BANDAI Games Europe. © Bird Studio/ Shueisha, Toei
Animation. © 2009 NBGI

Goku’s adventures have only just begun, with the news that NAMCO BANDAI Games Europe is bringing the next chapter in the Dragon Ball saga to fans across PAL territories in summer 2010, exclusively for Nintendo DS. Continuing Goku’s adventures from the first game for DS, DRAGON BALL: ORIGINS 2 throws in so many new features and cunning touches that Goku will barely be able to contain his Ki energy.

With Dragon Ball-busting side-on boss battling and heart-stopping aerial fights shown on the upper screen, the game comes even closer to reproducing the signature intense aerial assaults of the DRAGON BALL anime. If you want authentic Dragon Ball fun, action and adventure, coupled with a full serving of dazzling gameplay improvements and multiplayer co-op, then look no further. Can I hear a ‘Kamehameha”?

Developed by Game Republic, DRAGON BALL: ORIGINS 2 is scheduled for launch across PAL territories in summer 2010.
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NARUTO SHIPPUDEN Saga to Debut in European Territores on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3
Source: NAMCO BANDAI Games Europe, Indigo Pearl press release
Special Thanks to Holly Barnes

NAMCO BANDAI Games Europe S.A.S. has announced the forthcoming launch of NARUTO SHIPPUDEN: ULTIMATE NINJA STORM 2 for the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and PlayStation 3, the first game based on the global hit Naruto Shippuden manga and anime to appear on the consoles. Packed with new features and enhancements, a comprehensive character line up and stunning graphics, NARUTO SHIPPUDEN: ULTIMATE NINJA STORM 2 is scheduled for launch across PAL territories in autumn 2010.
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Retailer solicitations for Kaiyodo’s Sci-Fi Revoltech Wave 3, coming in June. Photos courtesy of Anime Jungle. © 2010 Kaiyodo Co., Ltd.

The Special Effects Line Continues
Author: John “Dutch” DeSentis
Source: Anime Jungle
Official Site: kaiyodo.co.jp/revoltech
Special Thanks to Tetsu Shiota and Jim Ballard

As previously reported on SciFi Japan, the Kaiyodo Company in Japan has begun a new series in their Revoltech figure line called Sci-Fi Revoltech. There will be three figures released for Wave 3 on June 1st. First up is a figure based on the character Jack Skellington from Tim Burton’s THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS (1993). The other two figures, which will be of more interest to kaiju fans no doubt, are Gamera and Gyaos from 1995’s GAMERA: GUARDIAN OF THE UNIVERSE (Gamera: Daikaiju Kuchu Kessen). If the advance photographs are any indication, the high level of quality set forth in the first two waves will be carried over here.

Wave 4 is due for release on July 1st and will feature figures based on the DC Comics icon Batman as he appeared in the blockbuster film THE DARK KNIGHT, and the classic Japanese tokusatsu superhero Giant Robo from the show of the same name (released in the US as JOHNNY SOKKO AND HIS FLYING ROBOT). Both figures will come with the usual array of interchangeable parts.
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New US Edition of Classic Japanese Folktales
Author: Dan Ross
Source: Lexington Books
Official 100th Anniversary Site (Japanese): tono100.com

Cover for the Japanese folktale collection The
Legends of Tono: 100th Anniversary Edition. Photo
courtesy of Lexington Books. © 2008 The Japan
Foundation/Fumiko Yanagita

The Legends of Tono (Tono Monogatari) is a book with a complicated history. In the prefecture of Iwate in the village of Tono a local folklorist, Kizen Sasaki (1886-1933), had been collecting the folktales of the region at the turn of the 20th Century. He was the sort of person who you might imagine walking from house to farm to field just conversing with the people of the land and mentally cataloging their reminiscences and anecdotes.

In 1908 Sasaki had a chance meeting with Kunio Yanagita (1875-1962). Already an active writer in Tokyo, Yanagita was a fan of ghost stories ranging from Chinese folktales and Japanese classics to the Western stories of Grimm’s Fairy Tales. Meeting with Sasaki and hearing some of his local stories inspired him to take a trip to Tono and then finally to write this collection. Yanagita’s method was to listen to Sasaki’s reports and then visit the locales where they took place and then write the tales in his own words.

So the book comprises the individual accounts of the people of Tono collected by Sasaki and then codified into a cohesive whole by Yanagita. Plus consideration of the careful translation by Ronald A. Morse, this was quite an enterprise.
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New Novels By Some Of Japan’s Best Sci-Fi Writers Set To Debut This Spring
Source: VIZ Media, MediaLab press releases
Official Site: haikasoru.com
Special Thanks to Evelyn Dubocq and Erik Jansen

Cover for the Japanese sci-fi novel Loups-Garous.
Photo courtesy of VIZ Media. © 2001 Kyogoku
Natsuhiko.

VIZ Media, LLC has announced the upcoming release of four new science fiction novels under its Haikasoru imprint. Slum Online, by Hiroshi Sakurazaka, and The Stories of Ibis, by Hiroshi Yamamoto, will hit stores on April 20th. Loups-Garous, by Natsuhiko Kyogoku, and The Next Continent, by Issui Ogawa, will be released on May 18th.

Haikasoru publishes some of the most compelling contemporary Japanese science fiction and fantasy stories for English-speaking audiences. The imprint launched in North America with a dedicated focus on Japanese science fiction.
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