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manga (Page 101)

Kamishibai — the precursor to manga and anime?

When I first came to Japan, I noticed students using story boards frequently at school. They drew pictures on cardboard with crayon or marker, to assist in skits, plays and telling Japanese folktales. Story boards were especially helpful in English classes because the illustrations helped the audience understand the less-than-perfect translations from Japanese to English. Furthermore, the students could write their translations on the back of each board and narrate rather than memorizing it in English first.

Little did I know that what these students were doing was performing an updated version of a traditional Japanese storytelling format called kamishibai, believed to be the precursor to Japan’s manga and anime.

Find out where Japan’s first superheroes came from and which manga and anime started with from this original, unassuming art form called kamishibai.

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Attack on Titan’s creator estimates manga will end in three years

There are a lot of questions fans of anime and manga mega-hit Attack on Titan want the answers to. Where did the series’ naked, man-eating giants come from? What did protagonist Eren’s father hide away in the locked cellar he gave his son the key to? And when are we going to see the next portion of the story adapted to animation (in more specific terms than “eventually”)?

But series creator Hajime Isayama did reveal something a lot of fans want to know, as he recently told reporters his personal estimate as to when Attack on Titan’s manga serialization will end.

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Handsome Nagano police officers get their own manga

Since 2013, the Nagano Prefecture Police Department has run a 4-panel manga series called Keisatsu-no Oniisan! (literally “Big Brother Policeman”) on its website. It depicts two police officers, one young and the other middle-aged. Now, thanks to their increasing popularity, they’re getting a manga in a magazine, Manga Time Jumbo, devoted to 4-panel manga.

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Ghibli, Star Wars, Breaking Bad: artist carves crayons into amazing characters

As a kid, playing with crayons always guaranteed hours of fun. The array of exciting colours, combined with an ergonomic design perfect for young hands meant endless artistic possibilities on paper, walls, compliant siblings…

Now Crayolas are providing hours of fun for adults too, thanks to a dedicated artist who’s created dozens of unique crayons that are so adorable and true-to-life you have to see them to believe.

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Boys love manga pork: BL anime characters now in the chilled meat section

We’ve been bringing you news of the BL craze in Japan, with cafés, books and even university courses featuring homoromantic male relationships, commonly referred to as Boys Love. With more and more people becoming exposed to the trend, what began as an underground sub-culture is becoming more well-known and popular, with men and women alike.

Now it seems the boys have gone mainstream, as stars of a major campaign for supermarket chain Ito Yokado. Only they’re not advertising beauty products or clothing lines. They’re advertising meat.

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Angry Birds app gets first manga in Nakayoshi Shōjo magazine

Angry Birds, the smartphone game app franchise that boasts 2.3 billion downloads worldwide, inspired its first manga on Wednesday. Hiyoko Hatano launched theStella ~Nana to Mahō no Eitango~ (Stella: Nana and the Magic English Words) series in the October issue of Kodansha‘s shōjo magazine Nakayoshi on Wednesday. The short stories star Stella, a pink bird character from the Angry Birds apps, and a Japanese girl named Nana.

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Revered as “The God of Manga,” the late Osamu Tezuka is simultaneously Japan’s most revered and prolific comic artist. More than 700 manga series sprang from the mind of the tireless Tezuka, but even with that busy schedule, he still found time to draw his version of Japan’s most famous cat, Hello Kitty, combining her with one of his most-used characters.

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Gene Kelly inspires short anime from Japan, captures hearts around the world

If you’re feeling under the weather or just wanting to relax after a hard day, there are two things that can certainly pick you up and remind you of the bright side of life again: a Hollywood musical from the golden era, and a good animated cartoon from Japan. It’s amazing how warm, animated tones and catchy tunes can capture your senses and hug you like an old friend just when you need it the most.

Now, a Japanese animator has melded the two feel-good genres with a short, two and a half-minute animation that pays homage to a Gene Kelly tap dance routine from the 1952 american musical Singin’ in the Rain. It’s proving to be so cute that it’s attracting attention from around the world. We take a look at the video and see why this cute girl is gathering so many admirers.

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【TBT】Amazeballs! Real-Life One Piece Characters Discovered!

One Piece is the hugely successful comic book and animation series about a team of friends who go in search of the famous treasure of the same name. When the writer and illustrator, Eichiro Oda, recently revealed that many of the One Piece characters are based on real-life public figures and celebrities, he created a different type of treasure hunt for his legions of fans. Who was which character? Where did he draw inspiration from? After what must’ve been hours of research, one fan came up with this concise gallery.

But some of these pictures show way more than a passing resemblance. It’s almost as if he sketched every detail of the real-life figure into his One-Piece character, from their pose to their jewellery and accessories. The inspiration for Paulie is even wearing an identical shirt and jacket! Twitter users are now arguing over the fine line between homage and rip-off. What do you think? Check out the characters in more detail below…

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Attack on Titan editor: Manga to end in 3-4 years

The University of Tokyo Newspaper posted an interview with Shintarō Kawakubo, the editor of the Attack on Titan manga, on Wednesday. In the interview, he discusses the popularity of the series, “The serialization is slated to end in three to four years, but Attack on Titan is a work that will be passed down from generation to generation for a decade — no, five decades.”

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Space retro to steam punk: Sailor Moon girls get awesome makeovers

They might appear cute and doe-eyed in the original Japanese animated series, but we all know Sailor Moon girls are bad-ass. From a girl who throws flames to a chick with the power to annihilate an entire planet or star system, this is definitely a group you don’t want to mess with.

Fans are now taking the warrior characters out of the Japanese school yard and re-designing them with costumes, expressions and rendered environments that portray them as alternative, post-feminist, pop culture heroes. Take a look at the team as you’ve never seen them before – bruised after a battle or hanging out in cyber worlds, these are girls who fight, love and never run away.

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Grab some tissues, manga fans! First new Rose of Versailles volume in 40 years coming soon

In Japan, the easy access to anime and manga, coupled with the rapid speed at which new content is produced, means fans tend to have short memories. For most series, even relative hits, once they wrap up there’s only about a year, or at most two, until they fade into obscurity.

Which is why it’s all the more impressive when a once-loved series returns after a long hiatus. Last year, boys of all ages got a special treat with a new Dragon Ball Z movie, and this month brings a little something for the ladies, with the first new volume of girls’ comic classic The Rose of Versailles to be released in more than 40 years.

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This Japanese pork is now being sold with its very own sexy manga series: The Four Men of Pigs

Usually when I think of pork, I think of a delicious salty-yet-sweet meat that will one day lead to my first and third heart attacks. I never really took the time to think about the elegant back story that goes on around the slaughterhouses… Excuse me, how gauche; abattoirs of Japan.

Luckily, Japan’s Silky Pork is bringing all the drama and intrigue of the pork product industry to the forefront in a sexy new online manga series. Titled Four Men of Pigs: The Silky Porco Story, it’s kind of like popular soap Dynasty, only with pork, the legendary Pig of Happiness, and a discernible lack of any female characters.

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At long last, Sailor Moon’s Inner Senshi get their own line of pens

Sailor Moon owes a lot of its success to the way the franchise blended earnest drama and self-knowing comedy, plus its generous injection of action into the magical girl formula, but a large part of its appeal also comes from its strong ensemble cast. Because of this, it was a little puzzling that this year merchandiser Bandai has released high-quality pens for its entire group of heroines except Sailor Moon’s first four companions.

So while Bandai had you covered if you were a fan of the titular character herself, if you instead respected Sailor Mercury’s intelligence, Sailor Mars’ fiery determination, Sailor Venus’ air of sophistication, or just had the well-developed taste to realize what an all-round great gal Sailor Jupiter was, you were out of luck. Until now, that is, as Bandai has thankfully filled this hole in its product lineup with a new set of pens that fully represents the Inner Sailor Senshi.

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There are a lot of things people love about runaway anime and manga hit Attack on Titan. Aside from the iconic and unsettling Titans themselves, the series has a unique setting, unpredictable plot, and bouts of intensely visceral action.

Just about the only thing fans don’t gush over is, oddly enough, the main character. Sure, protagonist Eren may have the tragic back story, pure heart, and burning sense of justice that are required of male action anime leads, but in terms of popularity, he ranks far, far behind the coolly efficient Levi.

Whereas Attack on Titan’s narrative often slows down as Eren struggles under the weight of his role as protector of humanity, pretty much every second Levi appears on screen is dedicated to showing what a badass he is. Levi is so awesome, you wonder why he isn’t the star of his own anime. Well, soon enough, he will be.

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Promotion offers perfect one-week living space for otaku: An apartment pre-stocked with manga

The first time I went apartment hunting in Japan, I was shocked by how bare-bones some of them are. The lack of centralized air conditioning means often you have to go to the appliance store and buy your own AC unit, and oftentimes lighting and even a cooking range aren’t included either.

As a result, it’s always a relief to find an apartment that has any sort of amenities already included. And while a mini fridge or ceiling lamp is a nice freebie, neither one is anywhere near as cool as an apartment that comes pre-stocked with a library of manga.

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Fending off unwanted Kabe-don: A guide

As we’ve talked about before, kabe-don is the trendy new way for Japanese bad boys to soft sexually assault their crush. It consists of a guy approaching a girl he (presumably) has a thing for, who is ideally leaning against a wall, then suddenly smacking the wall with their palm and getting in reaaaaalllly close so the girl can smell his garlic breath.

Oddly enough, a lot of Japanese girls go absolutely wild for the idea of the kabe-don, in the same way guys love the idea of owning a Weird Science-esque sexbot; It’s sexy and cool on paper, frightening and creepy in real life.

Luckily for any girls who find themselves the unwilling recipient of an ill-advised kabe-don, someone has created an illustrated self-defense guide:

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  • Aug 1, 2014

Dark manga meets music — It’s Death Note the Musical!

It appears fans of the hit manga and anime Death Note may now have something exciting to look forward to, and apparently it’s going to involve some singing and maybe dancing as well. Yes, while it may not be what you would expect from the visually stunning yet dark-themed series, the world of Death Note will be recreated on stage next year as a musical! Although the popular manga has already been brought to us in several forms, including a TV anime and multiple live action feature-length films, seeing the characters, especially the completely non-human looking shinigami (death gods), come to life and sing on stage should definitely prove interesting.

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Titans attack Lawson convenience stores, bring tons of anime goodies with them

Pokémon fans recently got some good news when word came that Pikachu will soon be taking over the city of Yokohama. It’s not just cute and cuddly anime icons running rampant in Japan this summer, though.

Next month, Lawson convenience stores across Japan are going to be invaded by the remorseless and/or skinless cast of Attack on Titan, and they’re bringing a staggering amount of merchandise with them..

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“Painful” decorations return! It’s time to bring the pain to your entire room!

When it comes to hobby devotion, no one seems to take it to the limit more often than the Japanese. RocketNews24 has brought you stories about super-fans decorating their cars, vans and bikes in honor of their favorite characters and animation series. A company is now making it easier to take that devotion into your apartment, and especially into your bedroom! Buckle up folks, the following images are as disturbing as you are imagining!

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