Gundam 00
By Andrew Osmond.
The first thing to stress about Gundam 00 is that newbies can most definitely start here. While it’s technically part of the venerable Gundam franchise, it’s also a “new” series, with a new world and characters. Indeed, 00 was perhaps made deliberately to draw in viewers, Japanese and foreign, who hadn’t seen a Gundam show before.
At the same time, 00 has some of Gundam’s franchise fundamentals – young pilots fighting each other in giant robot suits, an epic human conflict between umpteen cultures and ideologies. It also has a clutch of Easter Eggs for fans who have seen other Gundams (for a broader account of the franchise, see here). Continue Reading
MCM Scotland Comic Con to host UK Premiere of Sword Art Online Season 3. Catch the first episode before its simulcast.
A new season of anime is coming up fast once again, and this autumn promises some fantastic riches for fans to enjoy in simulcast form, not least the return of certain series some of you might be aware of called Sword Art Online. Yes, that's right, October sees the return of Sword Art Online to our screens for its third full season, covering the series' Alicization story arc - needless to say, UK fans will be able to catch the latest adventures of Kirito exclusively on Crunchyroll every week once the new series begins airing.
However, if October is far too long for you to wait, then how about an opportunity to be the amongst the first people in the UK to catch the opening, double-length, episode of Sword Art Online: Alicization before it airs in Japan or its simulcast on Crunchyroll? If that sounds like a not to be missed opportunity, then you'd be right!
Thus, we're thrilled to announce that MCM Scotland Comic Con will be hosting the UK premiere of the series on Sunday, 23rd September 2018 at 12PM on the MCM Main Stage.
This special UK premiere event will be open to any attendees with a valid MCM Scotland Comic Con ticket on the day, and will feature not only your first chance to see the opening 50-minute episode of Sword Art Online: Alicization in Japanese with English subtitles before its October broadcast date, but also an exclusive video introduction from member's of the show's voice cast.
UPDATE (13/09/2018): What's more, we can also now confirm that all attendees to this screening will receive a fantastic bonus gift as a thank you from ourselves, MCM Comic Con and our friends at Aniplex. Everyone who attends this screening event at Scotland Comic Con will receive an autograph board featuring an original piece of Sword Art Online artwork, signed by the director of Sword Art Online: Alicization Manabu Ono! It's a must-have item for Sword Art Online fans that is exclusive to this event, so you won't find it anywhere else. We can't reveal the design or look of the autograph board at this time, but rest assured it's an amazing-looking goodie that will take pride of place in your home.
If you haven't booked your ticket to MCM Scotland Comic Con yet, it's not too late! You can still book tickets to the event, which takes place at the Glasgow SEC on Saturday, 22nd September and Sunday, 23rd August 2018, at the link below:
Buy MCM Scotland Comic Con tickets
To give you a taste of what to expect from this third season, here are some details on the new series of Sword Art Online.
ABOUT SWORD ART ONLINE: ALICIZATION
Synopsis: “Where… am I…?”
Before he knows it, Kirito has made a full-dive into an epic, fantasy-like virtual world. With only a murky recollection of what happened right before he logged in, he starts to wander around, searching for clues.
He comes upon an enormous, pitch black tree - the Gigas Cedar - where he encounters a boy. “My name is Eugene. Nice to meet you, Kirito.” Although he is supposedly a resident of the virtual world - an NPC - the boy shows the same array of emotions as any human being.
As Kirito bonds with Eugeo, he continues to teach for a way to log out of this world. Meanwhile, he remembers a certain memory deep down within him.
He remembers racing through the mountains with Eugeo as a child… A memory that he should not have in the first place. In this memory, he sees someone other than Eugeo, a young blonde girl. Her name is Alice...
If you want to catch up on the events of Sword Art Online prior to its third season, you can watch the first two seasons on Crunchyroll, and of course you can pick up both Sword Art Online II and Sword Art Online the Movie: Ordinal Scale on Blu-ray and DVD from our very own online store.
We can't wait to see you at the UK premiere of Sword Art Online: Alicization! Until then, take care.
~Andy
Books: Debating Otaku
By Jonathan Clements.
Debating Otaku in Contemporary Japan: Historical Perspectives and New Horizons will prove to be a vital core text in understanding the history of anime and manga fandom. This is not merely for its incisive analysis of the transformations of the word otaku over the last thirty years, but also for its detailed accounts of incidents that are otherwise mentioned as mere asides in other works. Two of the book’s ten chapters comprise translations from the works of self-styled “Otaking” Toshio Okada, and many other sections contain useful primary source material.
Not everybody is happy about this. Eiji Otsuka, a man complicit in the coinage and dissemination of the term otaku in the first place, is furious that it has become such a thing, and regards the attention of researchers and the vainglorious bragging of the Japanese government as an air-brushing of history, cutting Japan off from its connections (good and bad) to East Asia, and turning it into a harmless, fanboy collector in the American orbit. He is so angry, in fact, that his foreword to this book comes with a prolonged translator’s note pleading mitigation and indulgence, like some apologetic youth dragging a drunken uncle away from a bar fight. Continue Reading
Junjo Romantica
By Andrew Osmond.
According to the Anime Encyclopedia, Junjo Romantica has been distributed to China, Korea, Russia and the Arab world. Now, the debut of the TV version in Britain marks perhaps the first UK commercial release of an anime that’s openly and explicitly a sexual love story between men – what’s often called a “Boys’ Love” anime. Continue Reading
[UNBOXING] Kiznaiver. Check out our Ltd Collector's Ed. Blu-ray set, plus the AllTheAnime.com Exclusive Hard Back Deluxe Art Book.
We're very excited to be releasing the series Kiznaiver later this month (on 24th September) and hot off the production line we're delighted to show you what you can expect from our Limited Collector's Edition Blu-ray set, along with the AllTheAnime.com Exclusive Deluxe Hardback Art Book! (If you're not familiar with what that is, have no fear, all will be explained below.)
So sit back, relax, grab a drink and have a look at what we've got for you!
ABOUT "KIZNAIVER"
©TRIGGER, Mari Okada / Project KIZNAIVER
An original TV anime series by acclaimed animation studio TRIGGER (Kill la Kill) and the renowned writer Mari Okada (Maquia: When the Promised Flowers Bloom, The Anthem of the Heart).
Synopsis: "Even within the confines of the futuristic Sugomori City, Katsuhira Agata is a very unique high school boy - someone who simply cannot feel any pain whatsoever. Bullied and isolated, his world is set to shift seismically when he meets a strange girl named Noriko Sonozaki.
Before he knows it, Agata has been linked to a number of his classmates as part of a group created to share any pain each of them feels via a system known as “Kiznaiver”. Tasked with various trials by Sonozaki as they serve as guinea pigs under the Kiznaiver system, could Agata and his new comrades’ experiences be the key to their own self-discovery?"
Check out a subtitled trailer for the series below.
WHAT’S INSIDE? WHAT’S ON THE DISCS?
Our Limited Collector's Edition Blu-ray set comes packed in a rigid case that has an image design wrapping around the box sporting a special spot UV finish on it, making it really pop out in the light. Inside the case you'll find a digipack pack to hold the two Blu-ray discs, and a 40-page art book focusing on artwork from the series. Worth noting here is that an element of the digipack has a spot UV effect on it too!
On the discs themselves you get -
- The complete series of Kiznaiver (12 episodes) in English and Japanese with English subtitles.
- On-disc extras across the two discs are: Clean Opening and Closing Title Sequences, Japanese trailer and commercials.
All the anime online shop Exclusive version
If you're wanting something a little more when it comes to this series, we have a special bundle exclusive to our AllTheAnime online shop!
While the basic format of the Collector's Edition itself remains the same regardless of where you purchase it, this Shop Exclusive bundle will also ship with a substantially expanded, comprehensive white cover art book alongside the black cover 40-page book within the box itself - it's bigger (B5 in size, to be precise, so it will sit on your shelf or coffee table separate to the rest of the package), and contains a vast amount of additional character artwork and illustrations totalling 116 pages overall! The additional book created for this Shop Exclusive release is, in effect, a full-blown artbook similar to those you'll often find sold in Japan, and it's the first and most comprehensive collection of Kiznaiver artwork for a western audience you'll find.
Again, this Deluxe Hard Cover Art Book can only be purchased as part of the bundle available to order now at AllTheAnime.com.
WHERE CAN I ORDER THIS?
You can order your copy right now from the following retailers:
Order at Amazon
Order at HMV Online
Order at Anime-on-Line
**AllTheAnime.com Exclusive Bundle**
Exclusive to our AllTheAnime.com online shop, you can order a bundle that will include the Ltd Collector's Edition Blu-ray and a Deluxe Hard Cover 116-page Art Book! Order your bundle today -
Order All The Anime Exclusive Bundle
WHAT DOES THE FINISHED PRODUCT LOOK LIKE?
Now it's time for photos of the finished product. This will be split into two sections: first the Ltd Collector's Edition Blu-ray set, and then the AllTheAnime.com Exclusive Deluxe Hard Cover Art Book. You can click on all the photos to enlarge them too if you want.
Section 1: Ltd Collector's Edition Blu-ray Continue Reading