Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles to screen in the Anime Bento Festival

NCM Fathom announced at the San Diego Comic Con that it will host a four-day Anime Bento Festival at 250 theaters nation-wide in September. Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles is scheduled to screen on September 19th! Tickets will be available online beginning August 11th.

To get the full experience, be sure to purchase your copy of The Art of Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles ASAP!


The festival is planned to be an annual event. "We've had incredible success with the anime category in the recent past and NCM FATHOM is excited to debut the first annual anime festival in theatres with the hottest anime titles provided by the top anime studios in the industry..." said Dan Diamond, vice president of NCM Fathom.

Gilles Poitras at the Asian Art Museum!

In an excellent follow-up to Frederik L. Schodt's standing-room-only event last week, this Saturday, July 28, our very own Gilles Poitras will be speaking and showing a video presentation at the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco. Copies of his numerous books will be available!

Anime and Manga for Beginners

Saturday, July 28, 2pm

Samsung Hall

Free with museum admission

more info

Gilles Poitras, known to many anime fans for his books, including The Anime Companion, The Anime Companion 2, and Anime Essentials, presents an overview of the history of anime and its related entertainment manga; what differentiates them from American entertainment; their visual structure; the various categories that appeal to different ages; the artists, companies and fan scene associated with manga and anime. Questions are encouraged and short video clips will be shown. Gilles has two Masters degrees, one in Library Science and the other in Theology. Gilles frequently conducts workshops for librarians, parents, fans at conventions, and has taught an eight week course on anime and manga for the staff at Pixar Animation Studios.

The Astro Boy Essays on ActiveAnime.com

Christopher Seaman recently reviewed Frederik L. Schodt's The Astro Boy Essays: Osamu Tezuka, Mighty Atom, and the Manga/Anime Revolution for ActiveAnime.com. Seaman notes that while the book is great for fans of animation, it is also essential for scholars:

For scholars, the insights in this book are invaluable, and the information about the social/political realities in Japan at the time Tezuka was creating MIGHTY ATOM are key to understanding why the stories developed as they did.

Chinese Fables Remembered in the Asian Reporter

The current issue of the Asian Reporter features Josephine Bridges' review of Chinese Fables Remembered, a delightful book in the Asian Folktales Retold series. Bridges, who previously reviewed China Tells How the World Began for the paper, finds that Fables Remembered presents "a fine exercise for young readers," and that it reaches the series' "worthy goal" of capturing the spirit of Asian folktales and giving them new life.

Fred Schodt interviewed at Anime Today podcast

Anime Today, a podcast from the gurus at Right Stuf International, interviews Fred Schodt about Osamu Tezuka and of course his new book, The Astro Boy Essays, in Episode 45. Find the different ways to listen to the podcast here or just start listening now!

Patrick Macias joins The Japan Times with OTAKOOL

Patrick Macias, co-author of Cruising the Anime City, has joined The Japan Times with his new entertainment column, OTAKOOL. His debut is a feature about Marty Friedman, who also has a mention in jrock, ink.

We'll have to do some research to see if Marty's related to Abigail, author of The Haiku Apprentice!

Original Astro Boy Episodes Online for Free!

So, you've already read The Astro Boy Essays three times, even though it was just released, and you can't wait until IMAGI releases their wild new Astro Boy film in 2009? Well, you're in luck. The kind folks over at Adult Swim are releasing the original Astro Boy episodes online! Check out the first episode, which details Astro Boy's startling origins, here.

Frederik L. Schodt at the Asian Art Museum on Saturday, July 21

If you missed The Astro Boy Essays author Frederik L. Schodt's awe-inspiring tour of the "Tezuka: The Marvel of Manga" exhibit at the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco last month, have no fear!

This Saturday, July 21, Schodt will be giving a talk and then signing copies of The Astro Boy Essays: Osamu Tezuka, Mighty Atom, and the Manga/Anime Revolution, which will be available for purchase at the museum. Already own a copy? Buy another!

Lecture 2:00 pm in Samsung Hall, followed by the booksigning in South Court

Free with museum admission

More info

The Astro Boy Essays on About.com

About.com, a major online source of information on just about everything, recently featured a review and summary of Frederik L. Schodt's The Astro Boy Essays: Osamu Tezuka, Mighty Atom, and the Manga/Anime Revolution, which is being released this month by Stone Bridge Press. The reviewer, Bay Area-based illustrator and longtime manga/anime fan Deb Aoki, notes that it is "a multi-dimensional look at this beloved, yet often misunderstood manga and anime character," and that it "offers a rare glimpse of Tezuka's human side..."

Buy your copy today!

Here's a recent comic strip by Deb Aoki, just because (click to enlarge):

Waiting on the Weather reviewed by Japan Visitor

Japan Visitor, one of the most popular websites for anyone interested in learning about Japan, recently posted Suzanne Kamata's review of Teruyo Nogami's Waiting on the Weather: Making Movies with Akira Kurosawa. Kamata writes:

This memoir – actually a collection of essays, many previously published in Japanese cinema magazines – presents as intimate a look at the film-making of the great director Akira Kurosawa as any reader is likely to encounter.

The Astro Boy Essays in the Nichi Bei Times

In an article about Osamu Tezuka in this week's special manga/anime edition of the Nichi Bei Times, Ben Hamamoto quotes from Frederik L. Schodt's The Astro Boy Essays numerous times. Hamamoto makes the interesting observation that "Tezuka’s most famous characters are largely mediators; Astro Boy mediates between robots and humans and Kimba mediates between humans and animals. Astro Boy was even originally to be titled 'Ambassador Atom.'" I guess that makes Schodt the ambassador's ambassador's ambassador . . .

Author Part of 3 Generations of Yogis in NYC this Weekend

Reema Datta, co-author of Sacred Sanskrit Words for Yoga, Chant and Meditation, joins her mother and grandfather in New York at The Three Jewels this Saturday afternoon.

Bapuji (seated left) will discuss the philosophy and history of yoga, Reema (seated center) will guide participants through a rigorous but meditation "8-limb flow," and Lata (seated right) will lead everyone through beautiful Sanskrit chants.

Tickets are $35 in advance and $40 at the door. Part of the proceeds will go to the Usha Yoga Foundation. Call 212-475-6650 or visit The Three Jewels announcement for more information.

Japanese Yoga is still available!

Unable to find a copy of Japanese Yoga: The Way of Dynamic Meditation? So were we! Thankfully, author H.E. Davey has now made it available on his foundation's website:

http://www.senninfoundation.com/davey_yoga.html

Japanese Yoga is an amazing combination of Japanese and Indian spirituality to lead to healthier and fuller lives. Yoga Journal wrote that the book "Will make many yogis feel right at home... Davey's readable, friendly guide is definitely worth a look."

Jina Bacarr returns from Venice

Jina Bacarr, author of The Japanese Art of Sex, was invited to Italy for the historic La Biennale arts festival in Venice. Here are two photos from the panel, including when she demonstrated traditional Japanese dance. You can also check out her video podcasts in both Paris and Venice!

Astro Boy to Blast Off at the Asian Art Museum on Saturday, July 7

Tomorrow is 07/07/07, and this numerical convergance is matched by one thing and one thing only: the Asian Art Museum's all-day Blast Off! event in San Francisco! Frederik L. Schodt, author of The Astro Boy Essays (in wide release this month!), and Gilles Poitras, author of numerous Stone Bridge titles, will be participating in a special panel:

11:30 am–12:30 pm: Manga and anime experts Fred L. Schodt and Gilles Poitras discuss the historical influences which inspired Tezuka Osamu, and his impact on today’s manga and anime artists.

The day includes everything from exhibition tours to Dance Dance Revolution.

Design Japan in the Daily Yomiuri

Stone Bridge recently released Design Japan: 50 Creative Years with the Good Design Awards, by the Japan Industrial Design Promotion Organization. Tokiko Oba just reviewed it in The Daily Yomiuri, also looking at a new book from Kodansha International, Origins: The Creative Spark Behind Japan's Best Product Design.

Gilles Poitras in the Press-Telegram

The Press-Telegram in Long Beach ran a nice article by staff writer Phillip Zonkel last week in support of the Anime Expo. Discussing the massive populatiry of "Fruits Basket," Zonkel quotes Stone Bridge author and anime/manga expert Gilles Poitras, and also cites The Four Immigrants Manga as the first manga published in the U.S.A. Check out the story here.

Fred Schodt Mangajin article now online

Mangajin has started a new program to republish online some of the articles that are no longer available in print. Today's article, the 1991 "Sex & Violence in Manga" from Vol. 1, Issue 10, is written by Fred Schodt, author of the new book The Astro Boy Essays. Other free articles are found at the Mangajin site.

Not familiar with Mangajin or missing a few issues? Check out the website! Former Mangajin guy Wayne P. Lammers is also the author of the Stone Bridge bestseller Japanese the Manga Way.