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movies (Page 41)

Godzilla gets official Tokyo residency papers, copies being given out free to fans

You could make a long list about all the ways Japan is uniquely awesome (and as a matter of fact, we just did), but it’s not like every aspect of life in Japan is more enjoyable than in other countries. For example, taking care of paperwork at city hall or other government facilities is as boring as it is anywhere else in the world.

So why is it that this week people have been voluntarily visiting the Shinjuku ward office in the heart of Tokyo? Because they want to get a copy of the official residency document of the district’s newest resident, Godzilla!

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Japanese toymakers collaborate on amazing Hulkbuster you can call your own

Superhero movies mean big business for toy makers, and whenever Marvel releases a new movie, a slew of action figures are made to fulfill everyone’s toy needs. There are the cheap small figures that anyone of any age can play with, and there are also the larger, more expensive, but extremely poseable figures for those who want to seriously play. Then there are the really expensive versions that boast incredible detail and size. This Hulkbuster is one of those ones.

Many toy makers are producing their own version of the Hulkbuster from Avengers: Age of Ultron, but Bandai is taking its time and attaching all the bells and whistles including LEDs and real metal parts.

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Live-action Attack on Titan films will have theme songs created by equally huge Sekai no Owari

Sekai no Owari is one of the most popular groups in Japan right now. The clown-faced, top hat-wearing rock band is managing to thrive in a Japanese music industry saturated with seemingly endless three-letter-48-style girl groups.

So what better to combine with one of the most popular music groups than one of the most popular manga/anime, Attack on Titan? It was just recently announced that the upcoming live-action Attack on Titan movies will feature two original Sekai no Owari songs produced specially as theme songs for the films.

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Fan unhappy with new Digimon tri. art starts petition for redesign before release of first movie

By giving people a voice that can reach anyone else in the world, the Internet can be a powerful tool for change. Online petitions can draw attention to, and offer solutions for, issues that negatively impact us all, such as unjust laws and inappropriate use of public funds.

And also, as one displeased Digimon fan is doing, call for changes to anime character designs we don’t like the look of.

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Get a look at the Avengers with a floral Chinese twist!

Avengers: Age of Ultron has been a huge hit all over the world, and with ticket sales recently passing US$1 billion, it seems that everyone has been flocking to cinemas to find out how old Ultron really is. Not in Japan though, with the movie – typically late – set to be released on July 4, Avengers fans are desperately trying to avoid spoilers, but also would love to join the rest of the world in seeing the movie.

But fear not, Japanese Avengers fans; this post contains no spoilers so you can click on through and get a look at what the Avengers would look like if they were participating in a Beijing fashion show.

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Anime idols going abroad as Love Live! movie announced for release in U.S., 12 other territories

Not so long ago, being a Japanese idol singer was purely a domestic gig, with even the biggest stars of the genre remaining more or less unknown outside their home country. But thanks to the spread of Japanese pop culture around the world over the last decade and a half, that’s not really the case anymore. These days, it’s not uncommon for J-pop idols, especially those with an anime connection to boost their foreign exposure, to make appearances overseas.

Now, in a case of animated art imitating life, the high school idols of Love Love!, Japan’s biggest current idol anime hit, will be heading abroad as the upcoming Love Live! theatrical feature has been announced for international release.

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Spirited Away and Ghost in Shell’s sound director talks about the human side of working in anime

Many Japanese animation fans can rattle off a list of the animation directors or character designers they admire, but the visuals are only half of the way anime stimulates the senses. For everything that you’re hearing during your favorite show, you can thank the sound director.

It’s a role Kazuhiro Wakabayashi has been filling for decades, and we recently sat in on a talk the industry veteran gave about the unique challenges a sound director faces, what it’s like to work with some of the biggest names in Japanese animation, including Studio Ghibli’s Hayao Miyazaki and Ghost in the Shell’s Mamoru Oshii, and the surprisingly deep human element of creating the audio environment for a fictional world.

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Fan art of new Digimon cast in old style sparks debate on what qualifies as “f***ing disgusting”

With Digimon Adventure tri. representing the first new animation for the franchise since 15 years ago, fans whose passions for the series has continued burning bright for the last decade and a half were no doubt excited by the announcement of the new movie series. But being passionate doesn’t always mesh with being easy-going, and some fans who aren’t enjoying the new art style have taken it upon themselves to redo tri.’s as-yet released visuals in the manner of the original Digimon Adventure. Along the way, they’re also giving more relaxed animation fans an eye-opening lesson in how razor-thin the difference between acceptable and “f***ing disgusting” can be in the eyes of some long-term Digimon fanatics.

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Ghibli Easter eggs are good, but Pixar Easter eggs are even better【Video】

Studio Ghibli and Pixar are two of the most successful movie companies in the world. They’ve released over a dozen memorable movies that can be enjoyed over and over again. The connection doesn’t end there, as Japan loves Pixar movies as much as the rest of the world loves Ghibli.

There are dozens of hidden gems to be found in Ghibli movies, which pay homage to beloved characters, and Pixar is also well-known for having a slew of Easter eggs that not only give a nod of respect to past characters, but also give clues about future characters and movies! Disney has released a new video of some of their favorite hidden treasures, and fans in Japan couldn’t be more excited about it.

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Digimon Adventure tri. anime gets release date, revealed as theatrical feature in six-part series

So there’s some good news and some bad news about Digimon Adventure tri., the follow-up to the phenomenally popular Digimon Adventure anime that’s set 15 years after the events of the original. The bad news is, contrary to early speculation, Digimon Adventure tri., isn’t going to be airing on Japanese TV during either the spring or the summer.

The good news is, the latest installment in the franchise is a theatrical feature, just the first of six parts of the new series, and we now know when we get to see it!

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Japan gets heartfelt message of thanks from the main bad guy in Commando

Thirty years ago a landmark event in cinema took place when the movie Commando first hit the silver screen. It taught an entire generation to believe that a guy could have “Matrix” as a last name and that you should always kill the guys you like last…unless they get in your way.

The film also showcased the acting chops of several greats such as Arnold Schwarzenegger, Alyssa Milano, Dan Hedaya, and Rae Dawn Chong. But often overlooked is Australian actor Vernon Wells who played the role of Bennett, the Edmund to John Matrix’s Edgar.

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Takashi Miike’s live-action Terra Formars anime adaptation casts its lead actor

As Japan’s biggest anime and manga hits become increasingly mainstream in their popularity, more and more of them are getting live-action adaptations. One of the latest series tapped for the transition is Terra Formars, the sci-fi action manga from writer Yu Sasuga and Kenichi Tachibana.

The first major news about the project came in February, when it was announced that Takashi Miike will direct, and now the live-action Terra Formars has found its star.

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Evangelion creator says even Hayao Miyazaki anime don’t have enough Miyazaki

How much of a Hayao Miyazaki purist are you? Have you never once set your Spirited Away DVD to the English-dubbed audio? Do you cringe at the thought of watching Castle in the Sky Laputa with its reworked soundtrack? Do you actually pronounce warrior princess Nausicaa’s name with the “shi” sound it contains when rendered in Japanese text?

Even if you answered yes to all those questions, it’s unlikely you’ve got as much love for the Studio Ghibli cofounder as Evangelion creator Hideaki Anno. Why? Because for Anno, even movies directed and written by Miyazaki himself don’t have enough Miyazaki-created content.

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Naruto’s son speaks in new teaser for Boruto –Naruto the Movie- anime film 【Video】

With less than four months to go until the film’s premiere, more and more information is trickling out about Boruto –Naruto the Movie-. Just last week, the voice cast was announced for the latest installment in the smash hit manga/anime ninja saga, and it turns out we didn’t have to wait long for lead performer Yuko Sanpei show her skills, as the newest teaser for the movie lets us hear the voice of Naruto’s son.

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Attack on Mega Shark? New foe for American B-movie icon looks suspiciously familiar to anime fans

American film studio The Asylum is the “creative” team behind some of the movies with the closest names ever to blockbuster hits. The company’s catalogue features standouts such as Snakes on a Train, The Da Vinci Treasure, Transmorphers, The Day the Earth Stopped, and, in perhaps its greatest feat of coming as close as possible to just outright copying another movie’s title, The Terminators.

There’s a point at which imitation gets to be so blatant it stops being flattering, and ordinarily we’d be appalled at The Asylum’s lack of artistic integrity. We’ll give the studio a pass this time, though, since it’s about to give us an unofficial crossover as compelling as Mega Shark fighting an obvious copy of an Attack on Titan giant.

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R-rated movie “Chappie” gets severely nerfed for Japan release, director knew nothing about it

Chappie, an R-rated science-fiction film directed by Neill Blomkamp (of District 9 and Elysium fame), has been out in U.S. theaters for over a month now, but it still hasn’t been released in Japan due to the time it takes to be translated and dubbed.

During that time a storm has been brewing over the film, starting a few days ago when Sony Pictures Japan released a controversial statement: the movie will be censored and edited down to a PG-12 rating.

Japanese netizens who were looking forward to the film are upset over the watered-down version they will be getting, and even though Sony claims to have the support of the director, Neill Blomkamp himself insists he knew nothing about any such cuts.

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Naruto’s son gets a voice as lead roles cast for Boruto –Naruto the Movie-

Along with throwing shuriken and climbing sheer rock walls, the art of seeming to disappear is an invaluable skill for a ninja. So maybe we shouldn’t be so surprised that even though you’ll no longer find Masashi Kishimoto’s hugely successful Naruto manga in the pages of comic anthology Weekly Shonen Jump, the franchise isn’t really entirely gone.

This summer, the ninja action continues, but previous lead character Naruto has earned a well-deserved rest. Instead, his son Boruto will be in the spotlight in a new theatrical feature. If you’re going to star in an anime movie, you’ll need a voice, and producers have just announced who will play Boruto, while also confirming that the new hero’s ninja father will also make an appearance in the film.

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Anime fans around the world were disappointed in February when The Tale of Princess Kaguya, which all signs point to being the final directorial effort from veteran filmmaker Isao Takahata, failed to capture the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.

Still, it’s unlikely the low-key Takahata himself got too worked up over the result, given the many accolades he’s received over his almost 50-year career. Besides, this week Takahata had another honor bestowed upon him, as he was given the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres from the French government.

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Attack on Titan gets live-action streaming miniseries with new character taking turn as lead

As immensely popular as Attack on Titan is, it’s easy to forget that the last new episodes in the series aired on Japanese TV over 18 months ago. Sure, creator Hajime Isayama keeps plugging away at the manga that started the franchise, and there’re also those two movies to look forward to. But for more than a year and a half now, fans have been unable to plop down on the couch and watch a brand-new installment of everyone’s favorite fully-clothed humans vs. naked giants saga.

In August, though, the draught will finally be over, as Attack on Titan is getting a three-part live-action miniseries, with a shift in protagonist and one completely new character.

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The jury is still out on whether or not the Rebuild of Evangelion movie series is a reboot, sequel, or some hybrid of the two. What we do know is that certain things that happened in the original Evangelion TV series and the franchise’s first three movies are repeating themselves. Protagonist Shinji gets press-ganged into piloting a giant robot to fight space monsters. His close friend Kaworu has a mysterious past and tragic fate.

And in the real world, working on the series casts creator and director Hideaki Anno into yet another a state of depression.

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