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ANIME-MANGA
The most successful anime adaptations
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Source: 世論 What Japan Thinks
 This ranking survey from goo Ranking asked what is the most successful anime adaptations of Weekly Shonen Jump magazine’s manga. My anime series watching is very limited, but I recently got a free year of Amazon Prime, and it’s got Demon Slayer (Kimetsu no Yaiba if you prefer) included, so I’ll have to give it a watch, once I finish with Taka no Tsume (Eagle Claw), which is 5 minutes of wonderful silliness. Ranking result
DemographicsBetween the 24th of October and the 7th of November 2020 2,270 visitors to the goo Ranking site and associated properties completed a public questionnaire. No further demographics were given. The post The most successful anime adaptations first appeared on 世論 What Japan Thinks.    |
The Young Jump Upstarts – Oshi no Ko and Boy’s Abyss
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Source: Manga Therapy
 Two titles that caught my eye as of late come from Shueisha’s Weekly Young Jump Magazine and both cover adolescents dealing with the reality of how the world operates. Oshi no Ko is about a male hospital doctor who’s into an idol named Ai Hoshino. One day, Ai is entrusted to his care as Ai is pregnant with twins. Trying hard to act like a fan, the doctor tries to do what’s best for Ai despite the world of idol culture being harsh towards any idol that’s not “pure.” (i.e. in relationships, had sex, etc.) The doctor, however, ends up getting killed by a stalker of Ai’s. In a twist of fate, the doctor is reincarnated as one of Ai’s twins. Now reborn as Aqua Hoshino, he grows up into being a performer in the entertainment industry a la Ai and his journey is a introspective look at its workings. The manga is touted as a series created by a superstar duo, Aka Akasaka (Kaguya-sama: Love Is War) and Mengo Yokoyari (Scum’s Wish). Boy’s Abyss is about a male high school student named Reiji Kurose and his relationships with various people in his hometown. The town he goes up is small. There’s not much going on. Reiji feels that he has no purpose in life. While contemplating his future, he meets a woman working in a convenience store named Nagi Aoe. It turns out Nagi is an idol that Reiji loves. The two begin to get to know each other and the story becomes a suspense drama where toxic relationships seem to be the one thing that gives the characters some kind of certainty when life continues to fail them. I feel that these two statements sum up the series best. Oshi no Ko – …continue reading |
Anime masterpiece Akira seemingly banned in Russia due to fears of mentally damaging kids
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Source: soranews24.com
 St. Petersburg doesn’t want people to watch Neo Tokyo EXPLODE.
More than 30 years after its release, Akira is still widely considered a must-see both by serious anime enthusiasts and scholars of theatrical animation. That opinion, though, is apparently not shared by the Russian government. Bounding Into Comics reports that the 1988 anime film classic has been banned in the country, citing a statement from the official Telegram messaging account of what the website calls the “Courts of St. Petersburg.” No judicial body matching that exact name seems to exist, and while St. Petersburg is the location of the Constitutional Court of Russia, the Google-translated version of the Telegram posting shared by Bounding Into Comics references the “Frunzenskiy District Court of St. Petersburg.” ▼ Trailer for Akira According to the translation, the Frunzenskiy District Court issued its ruling in regard to a prosecutor’s request that distribution of Akira be banned on the grounds that its content “can be harmful to the health and mental development of children.” The translation adds that “By the same decision, reference to the Elven Song is prohibited. Another decision was made to ban further references to Tokyo Ghoul and Death Note,” with Elven Song likely being the anime Elfen Lied (which translates from German as Elven Song). However, it is unclear from the quality of the translation whether the statement’s use of “reference” is meant as the court ruling to ban Akira specifically because of the precedent of banning/restricting distribution of other anime series previously, or if it is simply included in the statement to provide historical context. Source: Bounding Into Comics via Yurukuyaru via Jin, Telegram |
New champion for title of longest-running manga ever, creator explains how he’s lasted this long
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Source: soranews24.com
 Golgo 13 has been killing people for over 50 years, and the series’ longevity is due in part to its artist’s rice-farmer mentality.
Golgo 13 is known as a man who never misses, and the famed manga/anime hit man has just hit one of his most impressive targets ever, as this week Golgo 13 became the longest-running manga series of all time. The specific yardstick for this record, officially recognized by the Guinness World Records organization, is number of collected volumes, and Golgo 13’s 201st volume, which went on sale Monday, puts it past the 200 volumes of previous record holder Kochira Katsushika-ku Kameari Kōen Mae Hashutsujo, a.k.a. Kochikame. With Kochikame having come to its conclusion in 2016, and no announcement of any sort of upcoming final arc for Golgo 13 in the near future, it’s likely the assassination saga will be extending its lead in the months and years to come. ▼ Golgo 13’s latest confirmed kill
Golgo 13’s volume-count isn’t its only impressive statistic either, as it’s currently in its 54th year in publication, having debuted in 1968. Also amazing: the series made it all the way to 2020 without ever going on hiatus, and the streak was only broken because of coronavirus pandemic-related health precautions that kept writer/artist Takao Saito from easily meeting with his staff and editors. When asked how he’s been able to produce so consistently, the 84-year-old Saito looked back on his career so far. “First off, it’s a matter of mindset. For me, fundamentally, ever since I became a manga artist, I’ve thought of it as my job,” he explains. “People often ask me ‘Don’t you get tired of having done the same job for decades?’, but what would you think if a farmer said …continue reading |
The Tension of Getting Close
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Source: Manga Therapy
   Reading this part of Komi Can’t Communicate makes me think about what it means to be close to someone today. The more you reveal about yourself to someone, the more chances you have of getting hurt by that same person. Yet the cruel paradox is the more you become isolated, the greater the chances of loneliness. The greater the loneliness, the more likely you start to spiral down a dark path you may not be able to get out of. It’s why I’m not always fond of the “be strong” mentality when it comes to relationships. We’re always going to get disappointed at some point, but it doesn’t mean that’s the end. There’s people out there who want genuine friendships out there and are willing to accept all aspects (good and bad) of them. The context behind this scene is that Shoko Komi’s family took care of a family friend’s daughter, Rei Natsukido. Rei is emotionally distant and doesn’t play along with the Komi family’s quirks. Over time, Rei starts to get along with Komi and her friends. However, during a grocery shopping trip, Rei misunderstands Komi’s intentions when the latter has a communication disorder mishap while shopping. Rei runs away from Komi, proclaiming that she doesn’t want to get close to anyone. Komi then asks her friends to help find Rei and the scene pictured above happens. I do think close friendships are possible today despite what some people say otherwise. Hell, they don’t have to be of someone of the same age in the case of Komi. Now that I think about, having intergenerational friendships is a rewarding experience because there’s so much disconnect and stereotyping …continue reading |
“Full-body experience” Demon Slayer attraction coming to Universal Studios Japan
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Source: soranews24.com
 Fans will get to feel the force of Tanjiro’s Water Breathing and other magical forces from the smash-hit anime.
Universal Studios Japan has been doing a tremendous job team-building with entertainment franchises from outside the Universal Pictures group. A few months ago we saw the opening of the Osaka amusement park’s long-awaited Super Nintendo World expansion, and now USJ is keeping its foot on the accelerator by announcing a team-up with Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, the hottest anime franchise in Japan. An upcoming USJ attraction will recreate the world of Demon Slayer as guests see a fierce battle unfold before their eyes, the designers promise. The highlights will include the chance to experience first-hand the power of the anime cast’s magical sword fighting Breathing Styles, starting with protagonist Tanjiro’s Water Breathing and moving on to the other techniques of his Demon Slayor cohorts. USJ hasn’t yet said what the attraction’s specific format will be, but the announcement boasting that guests will “experience the breathing techniques with their whole bodies” sounds like it could be referring to some sort of 4-D theater or VR attraction, where elemental effects such as sprays of water, gusts of wind, and blasts of heat could synch up with visuals of the various Breathing Styles being brought to the battle. And as always in Japan, there’ll also be a special line of limited-edition Demon Slayer/USJ merchandise, plus an assortment of themed foods (which may or may not include the return of the suggestive-sounding Tanjiro’s Bukkake Udon). The USJ Demon Slayer attraction is scheduled to open on September 17 and run through February 13 of next year. Sources: Universal Studios Japan, PR Times |
Sailor Moon wishes Japan good luck at the Olympics in tweet, sparks backlash from fans
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Source: soranews24.com
 Anime ambassador’s quick message of support doesn’t land right with critics.
There’s less than a month to go until the Tokyo Olympics get started, and with a number of international competitors having already arrived in Japan, the Japanese Olympic Committee is entering its final stage of pre-opening hype. Over the weekend, that included a special message from one of the organization’s special spokespeople: Sailor Moon herself.
“I hope to see medals shining beautifully like the full moon on everyone’s chest,” says the tweet, followed by the hashtag “Ganbare Nippon,” the standard way of saying “Go Japan!” for sporting events. There’s also a link to a JOC website where people can write messages of encouragement to be delivered to the athletes of the Japanese Olympic team prior to the start of the games. With Sailor Moon being about as universally loved as an anime character can be, the JOC probably expected a similarly positive reaction to the magical girl’s message. Instead, though, replies to the tweet have been overwhelmingly negative, with Sailor Moon fans upset for two primary reasons. First, some are upset about what they see as blatant partisanship in Sailor Moon only extending her wish for success to the Japanese athletes. Second, with the pandemic still going on in Japan and vaccinations for the general public yet to start in earnest, many people are still opposed to Tokyo going through with the Olympics at all, and so resent Sailor Moon being used to voice an endorsement of the event in spite of the potential health risks involved. Reactions on Twitter have included:
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日本代表選手団へのエールはこちらから In bid to recruit new talent Japanese government anime-fies its own agencies and ministries
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Source: soranews24.com
 If you can’t get them with higher wages or better work benefits, then it’s time to anime it up!
When it comes to recruiting younger generations, different sectors of the Japanese government tend to lean into a variety of PR methods and tactics in order to reel in fresh faces. From social media campaigns to moe marketing, the gamut runs long, and several agencies such as Japan’s Self-Defense Forces don’t shy away from using even anime mascots. It seems Japan’s Cabinet Secretariat, the government’s leading agency which coordinates the other ministries, is also adopting a similar strategy, especially as it has mysteriously announced a new anime project about working as a Japanese civil servant. ▼ Like Hetalia but make it bureaucratic!
Titled “Us Civil Servants,” the website of the project first alludes to a potential series featuring Japanese government ministries and agencies personified as anime characters. The characters shown so far represent just seven out of the over 30 ministries and agencies, and some are based off sectors with a significant amount of reach, such as the Cabinet Secretariat itself, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, and the Ministry of Defense.
Other characters represent agencies which are familiar to the average Japanese citizen, but may not cover as many institutions as the ministries, such as the National Police Agency and the National …continue reading |
Grab the tissues: Preteens and teens pick the anime that makes them cry the most
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Source: soranews24.com
 Japanese youth between the ages of 10-19 shed light on which series make them shed the most tears.
There are some anime out there that are infamous for bringing on the tears, whether in a bittersweet, melancholy kind of way or a downright depressing way. We’ve also all got our personal picks for whenever we’re in the mood for a bit of a sobfest. For this writer, it’s the last few minutes of Cowboy Bebop episode 24 (“Hard Luck Woman”). That ending scene just absolutely destroys me, even 20 years after initially watching it. However, not all animated works are suitable for all ages. To find out which anime resulted in the biggest number of tears for the younger demographic, Smartphone keyboard app Simeji recently surveyed Japanese youth aged 10-19. The poll took place between May 28-June 9 and received 999 responses–which probably adds up to a small pond’s worth of children’s tears if we were to collect them all… The Top Ten Anime that Make you Cry (ages 10-19) 10. Your Lie in April 5. Crayon Shin-chan Out of all of the series on this list, Crayon Shin-chan is perhaps the most surprising inclusion. The series follows a precocious five-year-old’s (mis)adventures with his family and friends and includes a healthy dose of butt humor. Apparently there are enough touching moments, however, to make younger viewers tear up (or maybe it’s that they laugh until they cry…?). The anime began airing in 1992 and now has over 1,000 episodes, making Shin-Chan a household name in Japan. ▼ Yes, you can make your own Shin-chan butt-shaped pudding, and yes, you’d better believe we tried making it ourselves. <img src="https://soranews24.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2021/06/shinchan.png?w=640" alt="" width="640" height="480" srcset="https://soranews24.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2021/06/shinchan.png 768w, https://soranews24.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2021/06/shinchan.png?resize=150,113 150w, https://soranews24.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2021/06/shinchan.png?resize=640,480 640w, …continue reading |
Superman to star in upcoming gourmet manga series
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Source: soranews24.com
 It’s Superman like you’ve never seen him before…eating Japanese food.
As one of the most enduring characters in comic book history, Superman has gone through an uncountable number of exploits and adventures from the ludicrous to the tragic. There was that time he stepped into the ring with Muhammad Ali, as well as when he learned to shoot rainbows out his fingers.
And yet all this time we’ve never really – I mean really – dug deep into his diet and eating habits. Does he put a napkin on his lap? Is he a picky eater who always wants to alter menu items to his tastes? Does Earth’s yellow sun cause his gut bacteria to produce gas at a superhuman rate, thus producing farts that could fill entire stadiums? ▼ Jeeze, Superman. You’re getting rice everywhere!
Hopefully, an upcoming manga published in the manga magazine Evening and website Comic Days will answer some of these questions. Unlike Supes’ previous titles, this latest series will be a gourmet manga titled Superman vs Food: Superman’s Meals of Solitude (Superman vs Meshi: Superman No Hitori Meshi), written by Satoshi Miyakawa with art by Kai Kitago.
The series will follow the Man of Steel as he flies around Japan and samples its various regional cuisines faster that a regular gourmet manga character would on a speeding train. He may have taken on Darkseid and Doomsday, but can he stomach octopus eggs or or talk a cook out of shaving their …continue reading |
