Source: Warner Bros. Pictures Japan Official Site: warnerbros.co.jp/budori (Japan) Additional Material: Nippon Connection SPOILER WARNING: This article contains plot details and images from a new Japanese movie not yet released in the United States. Following the Japanese theatrical run and several international festival screenings, the anime feature THE LIFE OF BUDORI GUSUKO (??????????, Gusuko Budori no Denki, 2012) made its North American premiere June 16, 2013 at the Toronto Japanese Film Festival and Comic Con International. The film was directed by acclaimed animator Gisaburo Sugii with character designs by Masumura Hiroshi, and is based on the classic fairy tale A Biography of Gusuko Budori by poet and author Kenji Miyazawa, first published in the April 1932 edition of Japan Children’s Literature (??????, Nihon Jido Bungaku). The same creative team was responsible for the award-winning box office hit NIGHT ON THE GALACTIC RAILROAD

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Source: Toei Co., Ltd. Official Site: asura-movie.com (Japan) Additional Material: Nippon Connection Abandoned in the barren wasteland of Kyoto, an abandoned boy does whatever it takes to survive in the wild -- until he is confronted by humanity. Toei`s anime feature ASURA (????, Ashura, 2012) is based on George Akiyama`s legendary banned manga (originally serialized in Kodansha`s Weekly Young Magazine in 1970-1971). Directed by anime veteran Keiichi Sato (TIGER & BUNNY, KARAS) and featuring two legendary Japanese voice actresses, Masako Nozawa (DRAGON BALL, GALAXY EXPRESS 999) and Megumi Hayashibara (COWBOY BEBOP, NEON GENESIS EVANGELION), the film made its North American premiere at the New York Asian Film Festival/Japan Cuts in July 2012 and began its Japanese theatrical run last September 29th. Toei is now offering ASURA for foreign distribution. The following text was prepared by the company for international sales and publicity... SYNOPSIS

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Final Films Announced for Anime Film Festival Touring Australia Source: Madman Entertainment press release Official Site: reelanime.com Special Thanks to Ben Pollock Madman Entertainment are proud to announce the final two films in the REEL ANIME 2013 program -- GHOST IN THE SHELL: ARISE and THE GARDEN OF WORDS. GHOST IN THE SHELL: ARISE (?????ARISE -GHOST IN THE SHELL-, Kookaku Kidootai Araizu -Goosuto In Za Sheru-, 2013) In GHOST IN THE SHELL: ARISE, Motoko Kusanagi -- cyborg and hacker extraordinaire from the military’s 501st Secret Unit -- finds herself wrapped up in the investigation of a devastating bombing. In the first of four all-new OVA (original video animation) installments from the renowned Production I.G. -- caretakers of the GHOST IN

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Aniplex of America and Eleven Arts Partner for Theatrical Run Source: AniplexUSA press release Official Site: madoka-magica.com (Japan), MadokaMagicaUSA.com (US) Special Thanks to Emmanuel Rivera Aniplex of America and ELEVEN ARTS are proud to announce they are bringing the highly anticipated feature length film, PUELLA MAGI MADOKA MAGICA THE MOVIE -REBELLION- (??? ????????????????????, Gekijoo-ban Mahoo Shojo Madoka Magica Shinpen: Hangyaku no Monogatari, 2013), to the big screen across the US this Winter. Aniplex of America and ELEVEN ARTS have brought several popular movie titles to theaters across the U.S. and Canada including the Puella Magi Madoka Magica Movies PART 1 -BEGINNINGS- (??? ??????????? ??: ??????, Gekijoo-ban Maho Shojo Madoka Magika Zenpen: Hajimari no Monogatari, 2012) and PART 2 -ETERNAL- (??? ????????????????????, Gekijoo-ban Maho Shojo Madoka Magika Shinpen: Hangyaku no Monogatari, 2012). Most Recently Aniplex of America

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Promotional Campaign and Exhibit for Upcoming Katsuhiro Otomo Film Source: Shochiku Co., Ltd. Official Site: shortpeace-movie.com (Japan), tokyo-monorail.co.jp Shochiku Co., Ltd. has announced the "SHORT PEACE × Tokyo Monorail" (SHORT PEACE×???????) promotional campaign for their upcoming anime omnibus, SHORT PEACE (????????, Shooto Piisu). Led by Katsuhiro Otomo (AKIRA, STEAMBOY), the film is a collaboration between directors Shuhei Morita (FREEDOM), Hiroaki Ando (TEKKONKINKREET) and Hajime Katoki (MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM). The campaign kicks off with a revised SHORT PEACE poster design by collage artist Kosuke Kawamura (HEAVEN`S LOST PROPERTY, STRIKE WITCHES 2, THUNDERCATS). Previously used for the film`s second theatrical poster, the artwork has been updated with an illustration of monorail. The new posters will be displayed at Tokyo Monorail stations and inside some train cars. An exhibition of SHORT PEACE production materials and

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Anime Film Plays in Australia Source: Madman Entertainment press release Official Site: reelanime.com Special Thanks to Ben Pollock Madman Entertainment have announced the launch of one day REEL ANIME special screening events, the first of which will feature BERSERK MOVIE 2: THE BATTLE FOR DOLDREY (????? ?????? ???????, Berserk Oogon Jidai-Hen II: Doldrey Kooryaku, 2012). This sequel to BESERK MOVIE 1: THE EGG OF THE KING (????? ?????? ????, Berserk Oogon Jidai-Hen I: Haoo no Tamago, 2012) sees the bloody adventures of Guts, Griffith and the Band of the Hawk continue as Guts comes to terms with the realization he will have to part ways with Griffith and the Band of the Hawk. Meanwhile, a battle to capture the impenetrable Fortress of Doldrey from the Empire of Chuder is about to begin. Before the

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Fullmetal Alchemist Author and SWORD ART ONLINE Director Bring Award-Winning Coming-of-Age Manga to Life Source: AniplexUSA Official Site: ginsaji-anime.com (Japan), AniplexUSA.com/silverspoon (US) Special Thanks to Joanna Metoki Aniplex of America announced that they have acquired one of the most anticipated titles this season, SILVER SPOON (???, Gin no Saji, 2013). SILVER SPOON will be available for streaming this summer only a few hours following the original airtime in Japan. The series is an adaptation of the popular manga series originally written by author Hiromu Arakawa (Fullmetal Alchemist). The studio bringing this highly anticipated series to life is the equally acclaimed A-1 Pictures, which produced countless hits like SWORD ART ONLINE, MAGI: THE LABYRINTH OF MAGIC, OREIMO 2, and BLUE EXORCIST. Tomohiko Ito will be the director of SILVER SPOON who is highly notable for his recent work with the anime series SWORD ART ONLINE. The Silver

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MONOGATARI SERIES Will Stream Just Hours After Initial Airings in Japan Source: AniplexUSA Official Site: monogatari-series.com (Japan), AniplexUSA.com/monogatari (US) Special Thanks to Emmanuel Rivera Following its recent release of the BAKEMONOGATARI and NISEMONOGATARI Blu-ray Sets earlier this year, Aniplex of America Inc. has announced the acquisition of both the MONOGATARI SERIES SECOND SEASON (???????? ????????, < Monogatari > Shiriizu Sekandoshiizun, 2013) and NEKOMONOGATARI BLACK (???(?) Nekomonogatari (Kuro), 2012). Both titles will be available for streaming this summer. The highly anticipated MONOGATARI SERIES SECOND SEASON will be available streaming just hours after its initial airing in Japan. Immediately following the events in NISEMONOGATARI, the second season of the MONOGATARI SERIESis a collection of stories featuring the entire MONOGATARI cast. With so many questions left unanswered from NISEMONOGATARI, what will Koyomi Araragi, Senjyogahara and the others get into next? NEKOMONOGATARI BLACK will also be available streaming this summer.

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ACCEL WORLD, BERSERK: THE GOLDEN AGE ARC TRILOGY, ‘K’ and NARUTO SHIPPUDEN to be Showcased Source: VIZ Media, MediaLab press releases Official Site: Licensing Expo Special Thanks to Jane Lui and Erik Jansen VIZ Media, LLC, the largest distributor and licensor of anime and manga in North America, returns to Las Vegas for the 2013 Licensing Expo with a robust catalog of some of the world’s top anime properties. The 2013 Licensing Expo is the world’s largest and most influential licensing industry event and takes place June 18th-20th at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas, NV. VIZ Media will be located in Booth # A137. The annual Licensing Expo is the licensing industry`s premier trade event for leveraging properties and brand equity to develop merchandise, Licensing Expo attracts more than 400 exhibitors representing more than

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The Students of True Cross Acadamy Hit the Big Screen this August Source: AniplexUSA Official Site: ao-ex.com (Japan), BlueExorcist.com/themovie (US) Special Thanks to Emmanuel Rivera This August, BLUE EXORCIST fans will be treated to something special. Following their release announcement of the entire television series on video, Aniplex of America has announced that BLUE EXORCIST THE MOVIE (??? ?????????????, Gekijoo-ban Ao no Futsumashi, 2012) will debut in the US this August with English dialogue. Rin Okumura, Yukio Okumura and the rest of their friends return in this original story by Kazue Kato. The movie features Rin and his friends in the midst of preparing for a festival which is celebrated once every 11 years in True Cross Academy Town. As everyone in town is busy arranging for the festival, a “ghost train” goes berserk

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Source: Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation press release Official Site: anime-expo.org Anime Expo proudly announces character designer Ryohei "huke" Fuke as a Guest of Honor for AX2013! Best known for works such as BLACK?ROCK SHOOTER and STEINS;GATE, he has also contributed character designs to METAL GEAR SOLID: PORTABLE OPS and METAL GEAR SOLID 4. After huke graduated from an animation college, huke started his career as a professional illustrator in the gaming industry, and then moved into freelance work in order to focus on more original art, creating the wildly popular character Black?Rock Shooter, and collaborating with the doujin group supercell. huke will be participating in the panel “huke, Good Smile Company, Ultra Super Pictures and Max Factory", where he will be live drawing for the audience!

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Source: Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation press release Official Site: anime-expo.org Anime Expo proudly announces Voice Actor Vic Mignogna as a Guest of Honor for AX2013! Known for popular roles including Edward Elric in FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST, Tamaki Suou in OURAN HIGH SCHOOL HOST CLUB, and Zero in VAMPIRE KNIGHT, Mr. Mignogna has also voiced many video games roles and is active as a producer, director and musician. Mr. Mignogna has been acting for stage and screen since he was eight years old. He started his career in anime a little over ten years ago as Vega in STREETFIGHTER II. Since then, he has been in more than two hundred shows and video games, with additional credits including Yoshimori in Adult Swim’s KEKKAISHI, Death Scythe in SOUL EATER, Fai in TSUBASA CHRONICLE, Dark in DNAngel, Kurz

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Source: Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation press release Official Site: anime-expo.org Anime Expo proudly announces GHOST IN THE SHELL: ARISE Director/Character Designer Kazuchika Kise and Producer Mitsuhisa Ishikawa as Guests of Honor for AX2013! Mr. Kise started his career at Anime R immediately after graduating high school. He debuted as a key animation supervisor on Episode 23 of RED PHOTON ZILLION. He then worked for Studio Mu, and is currently one of the main character designers and animation supervisors at Production I.G., Inc. He made his directorial debut on DRAWER HOBS in 2010. His credits include GHOST IN THE SHELL, GHOST IN THE SHELL 2: INNOCENCE, BLOOD +, xxx HOLIC, EVANGELION: 1.0, MIYAMOTO MUSASHI: THE DREAM OF THE LAST SAMURAI, BASARA – THE LAST PARTY, BLOOD-C THE

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Source: Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation press release Official Site: anime-expo.org Anime Expo proudly announces Producer and Coordinator Nobuhiro Kikuchi of the animation production company P.A. Works as a Guest of Honor for AX2013! Known for P.A. Works anime such as ANGEL BEATS!, TRUE TEARS and HANASAKU IROHA ~ BLOSSOMS FOR TOMORROW ~, Mr. Kikuchi’s works often feature beautiful real-life landmarks throughout Japan, inspiring fans to visit the natural beauty of Japan, as well as developing an interest in the countless cultural traditions of the Japanese people. The festival in the anime Hanasaku Iroha actually inspired an annual event in the original location in Ishikawa Prefecture, drawing countless fans. The “Bonbori Festival” drew about 5,000 attendees its first year, and around 7,000 in its second year. This year, they are planning to have

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It’s Time to Chow Down on Gourmet God Acacia’s Special Menu in New Feature-Length Anime Film Source: Toei Co., Ltd. Official Site: toriko-movie.com (Japan) Translations: Elliot Gay Food tastes better when you have to gather it with your blood, sweat and tears! Toei has provided information and several high-res images from their upcoming anime film, TORIKO THE MOVIE (?????? ???????, Gekijoo-ban Toriko Bishoku-shin no Choo Shoku Takara), opening in theaters across Japan on July 27th. The movie is based on the Toriko (???) manga series by Mitsutoshi Shimabukuro, which been serialized in Shueisha`s Weekly Shonen Jump since 2008. Toriko quickly became a fan favorite, ranking alongside such long-running hits as Dragon Ball and One Piece. The series is set in a savage world ruled by the pursuit of the most delicious foods, where it`s either eat or be eaten. Toriko is one of

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New Workplace Comedy Series from the Studio that Brought You SWORD ART ONLINE and BLUE EXORCIST Source: AniplexUSA Official Site: servantservice.org (Japan), AniplexUSA.com/servantservice (US) Special Thanks to Joanna Metoki Aniplex of America has announced that they have acquired the highly anticipated animation series SERVANT × SERVICE (?????×????, Saabanto × Saabisu, 2013), and will be streaming it as part of their summer line-up. SERVANT × SERVICE is the newest animation series produced by A-1 Pictures, the studio that produced numerous internationally acclaimed anime titles such as SWORD ART ONLINE, BLUE EXORCIST, and OREIMO 2. In addition to their streaming plans, Aniplex of America is also planning on a home release version of SERVANT × SERVICE on disc. Details about the physical release will be announced at a later date. Originally a popular four-panel manga series, SERVANT × SERVICE is a story following Lucy Yamagami, an employee of

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Source: Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation press release Official Site: anime-expo.org Anime Expo proudly announces Producer George Wada as a Guest of Honor for AX2013! Mr. Wada has produced a number of recent hits, including the wildly popular ATTACK ON TITAN. His credits also include SENGOKU BASARA: SAMURAI KINGS, KIMI NI TODOKE, GUILTY CROWN, ROBOTICS;NOTES and PSYCHO-PASS. Mr. Wada is also the founder and the president of WIT studio, a subsidiary production and development studio established under IG Port, the parent company of Production I.G. Anime Expo is excited to welcome George Wada as a Guest of Honor to AX 2013, where attendees can connect with their favorite artists, voice actors, and musicians from Japan, display their amazing cosplay and other artistic creations, and enjoy the best in Japanese anime and pop

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Source: Toei Co., Ltd. press release Official Site: daisuki.net DAISUKI Inc., the Japanese Animation official distribution site, announced that it has successfully launched DAISUKI.net with the goal to become the preeminent destination for legal anime content on the Internet as well as a robust e-commerce platform. DAISUKI.net is comprised of several major players in the anime and advertising world that have partnered to form this new website and enterprise: Aniplex Inc., SUNRISE INC., TOEI ANIMATION Co., LTD., TMS ENTERTAINMENT CO., LTD., NIHON AD SYSTEMS INC., DENTSU INC. and ASATSU-DK INC. “Our goal is to create a place where creators and fans can have a direct dialogue and where creator’s works can be legally enjoyed by fans around the world,” said Kunihiko Shibata, President of DAISUKI, “We want to grow and expand the Japanese Animation industry by offering authorized content and an online shop

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Top Anime Creators Depict Japan`s Unique Culture, History and Future Source: Shochiku Co., Ltd. Official Site: shortpeace-movie.com (Japan) Shochiku Co., Ltd. today released a new theatrical poster for SHORT PEACE (????????, Shooto Piisu), the upcoming anime omnibus film headlined by AKIRA (???, 1988) creator Katsuhiro Otomo. SHORT PEACE (????????, Shooto Piisu) features four short stories by top creators and up-and-coming talents in the anime field. In addition to Otomo, the creative team includes Koji Morimoto (THE ANIMATRIX), Shuhei Morita (FREEDOM), Katsuhito Ishii (FUNKY FOREST: THE FIRST CONTACT), Yoshiyuki Sadamoto ( SUMMER WARS), Hiroaki Ando (FIVE NUMBERS!), Hajime Katoki (MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM) and Tatsuyuki Tanaka (TOJIN KIT). SHORT PEACE opens in theaters across Japan on July 20, 2013. For more information on SHORT PEACE, please see the previous coverage here on SciFi Japan: Katsuhiro Otomo Headlines Anime Omnibus SHORT PEACE

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Source: Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation press release Official Site: anime-expo.org Anime Expo proudly announces Director Kazuhiro Furuhashi as a Guest of Honor for AX2013! Born in Hamamatsu City in Shizuoka Prefecture, Mr. Furuhashi began his career as an animator, and then moved to directing with the series RANMA ½. His directorial debut was the RANMA ½ NETTO UTAGASSEN OVA. Since then, he has worked on numerous other titles such as RUROUNI KENSHIN: MEIJI SWORDSMAN ROMANTIC STORY, HUNTER x HUNTER, LE CHEVALIER D`EON, REAL DRIVE and AMATSUKI. In 2010, he began directing MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM UC (UNICORN) and is currently working on episode 7, the final episode, for that series. ?Anime Expo is excited to welcome Kazuhiro Furuhashi as a Guest of Honor to AX 2013, where attendees

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