News

Weekly Wrapup 12/Jun - 18/Jun

Australian anime distributors Madman Entertainment and Siren Visual announced new acquisitions during their panels at Supanova Sydney (taking place this weekend). Both Madman and Siren Visual have released a list of announced titles on their respective Facebook accounts with more information to come.

The Japan National Tourism Organisation (JNTO), which previously published maps of Hakone with ties to Neon Genesis Evangelion and an Animation in Japan guide, has published a "Japan Anime Map" in English covering the whole country. As well as anime-related museums and theme parks and informaton on shopping districts, the map features real-life locations featured in anime, and information on otaku-related events such as the World Cosplay Summmit and Comic Market (Comiket). The map is available for download in PDF format, as well as in print.

Studio Ghibli attracted attention for hanging an anti-nuclear power banner on the roof of its building in Tokyo. The banner read "Studio Ghibli Wants to Make Movies With Electricity That Isn't From Nuclear Power" and can be read from passing trains. In the three-month anniversary of the Great Eastern Japan Earthquake disaster and the resulting threat of nuclear meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, thousands of people held demonstrations against nuclear energy in Tokyo. In a press conference shortly after the earthquake Hayao Miyazaki compared the accident at the power plant to the uncontrollability of the fire that mankind received from the Greek deity Prometheus. However when contacted about the banner Studio Ghibli had no official comment.

One of the many ongoing projects to support victims of the earthquake is Pikachu Project's planned fireworks show based on the Pokémon franchise. The two-minute fireworks display will open in Akita Prefecture on July 23 and will tour prefectures badly affected by the earthquake. The two minute display will feature fireworks in the shape of Pikachu and the character Victini, who is a major character in the two latest Pokémon feature films and a firework described as 'the world's largest Pokéball'.

Finally, the trading card game Yu-Gi-Oh! has beaten its own world record as the best selling trading card game to date, as recognised by the Guinness World Records. As of March 31, 2011, the game has sold over 25,175,567,833 cards. The card game, created in 1999 and originally based on a manga by Kazuki Takahashi that ran from 1996 to 2004, first applied for the record in 2006 when 15.8 billion cards had been sold and earned the record in 2009 with 25 billion cards sold. The latest Yu-Gi-Oh! cards, tying in with the new anime series Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal, were released in Japan in March, and will also be distributed internationally.