Back in 2006, Shapiro Keats and I took our honeymoon with Pop Japan Travel. We went on the February Sapporo Snow Festival tour, and it was amazing. We had great hotels with space-age toilets, a sweet-ass flight on Singapore Airlines (all the flight attendants were way hot, and we had a ton of movies to choose from- I watched Wallace [...]

I don’t have time to properly eulogize him, but I was shocked to learn via Twitter that anime director Satoshi Kon (Paranoia Agent, Tokyo Godfathers, Paprika) died today at age 47. Rest in peace, sir…

Yesterday, our friends at Daily Bento (www.dailybento.com) featured this delicious Gundam fan film from back in the day. It recreates an epic mobile suit battle from the show- with people. But they’re not dressed in Gundam costumes, oh no. They’re just wearing clothes  and wielding cardboard weapons. Which somehow makes it more awesome than if they’d actually constructed costumes. Rad.

There’s a new Youtube series about a college anime club, thoughtfully called Otaku. It’s kind of amusing, especially if you belonged to an anime club in college. Otaku Trailer Episode 1 The railing in their dorm looks just like the railing in my old dorm, but my dorm was 100 years old (seriously) and much, much shabbier. I didn’t belong [...]

I’m not posting this because I am a Supernatural fangirl. I’ve never even seen the show. But about 4 people have told me I need to watch it because I would love it, and they didn’t know each other so I don’t think it is a conspiracy. Supernatural Anime It’s done by my beloved Madhouse, so it should be worth [...]

This is nice: in Tennesee, a group is holding a one-day anime con (creatively called “Daycon”), with all proceeds going to a local cat-specific animal shelter. Daycon This is good since I figure cat shelters probably need lots of help. I mean, why adopt a cat when you can just look under your back porch or under the hood of [...]

Uh, I thought at first it didn’t look as bad as I’d feared, but by the end I’d decided it really was as bad as I feared. Trailer From Tokyo Anime Fair Harlock is a badass, right? But this movie is making him look…too badass. Harlock is badass in a quiet manner. He knows he’s awesome and has nothing to [...]

I was listening to Talk of the Nation today (as you do). It seems Thursday’s pressing and relevant news story- I kid, Neil, I love your show- was the Best Female Action Heroes in movies. Theu discussed Ripley from Alien and Sarah Connor from Terminator (obviously) as well as the Bride from Kill Bill and some others I am too [...]

If you’re heading to anime convention Otakon in a couple weeks, don’t bother bringing your vuvuzela. They’re banned. Banned! I can’t blame the Otakon organizers. Anime congoers are annoying enough without also producing a horrible droning like being trapped under a waterfall of hornets.

Actually it was voice actor Peter Fernandez, who portrayed Greg ‘Speed’ Racer, in the American version of the seminal anime.  Hernandez also voiced Mark Venture in the U.S. version of Space Battleship Yamato, aka Star Blazers. Farewell, Peter – enjoy your final lap.

Anime News Network has a collection of some pretty sweet anime origami. Some of the related links contain instructions for how to fold your own Howl’s Moving Castle or whatever, but I don’t have time for that shit so I’ll just look at other people’s pictures of their hard work. Origami Gallery

Here’s a couple videos about the latest from the revered Studio Ghibli- an adaptation of Mary Norton’s The Borrowers. We’ll definitely be seeing it (Shapiro Keats is all about stories concerning little tiny people, and hey, it’s Ghibli). Teaser Trailer Longer Trailer Although I think the story should be called The Takers because really, they never give your stuff back, [...]

Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God. >hyperventilates< DO WANT They’re wearing…Space Battleship Yamato uniforms. Apparently Kitty and Yamato share a birthday, their 36th, to be exact. ANN Article My current cell phone actually has a place to put a charm or ten…so I am going to go hit up ebay right now.

So Manga and Viz are joining forces to show the first episode of Monster online tonight at 7 (EST) while people chat about the anime as they watch. See it here! Which is kind of neat, but I still can’t forgive Viz for the crappy way they are releasing Monster (see my angry letter to Viz further down the page). [...]

Are you proud to call yourself an otaku, completely ignoring the bad connotations thanks to the “Otaku Killer”? Do you live in your mom’s basement and work in IT and cry every night because Rei from Neon Genesis Evangelion isn’t real and she can’t hold you in her arms at night until you fall asleep? Then you may just be [...]