News for Your Weekend (July 18)

There has been a lot of happenings since our last post and we are excited to share the news!


KWEH!

There is much for you to read this weekend so let’s get going, shall we?

Konami has pretty much taken the reigns of the upcoming Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain. The Japanese voice actor for Solid Snake, Akio Otsuka, has claimed that Kojima Productions has been disbanded. What a mess. Sources: gematsu.com and kotaku.com

An artist by the name of Ryota Tahashi has beautifully created many sceneries of Tokyo using colored pencils. Kotaku has some images of the drawings.

For Studio Ghibli fans, there is an upcoming exhibition to celebrate the studio’s 30th anniversary. It is going to be held from September to November. Visit Crunchyroll for more info.

Man At Arms: Reforged recently tried forging Kill Bill‘s Hattori Hanzo katana using a lengthy traditional method. We posted a katana swordsmith’s story about his craft and life but never really got to look at the process. The video above details the painstaking processes of making a katana almost from scratch. It is simply, beautiful.

Who are the top 20 most beloved manga artists in Japan? Kotaku has you covered. Honestly, the number one on that poll was rather unexpected for me.

The Japan News wrote a new article about how Lolita fashion has started to spread around the world. It is very surprising even for Misako Aoki, one of three ambassadors of kawaii culture who has been traveling around the world witnessing the popularity of the fashion trend.

I have been waiting for an interesting Gundam series to begin ever since I finished watching Gundam Unicorn and this seems like the next one to look out for. It is titled Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans and it will begin airing early October. Unlike other Gundam from the previous series, Barbatos, the main gundam for Iron-Blooded Orphans, does not seem that overpowered. The series creators indicated that Barbatos will be upgraded by scourging parts from other mechas. Sources: g-tekketsu.com and Siliconera.

How good is Mamoru Hosoda’s new movie, The Boy and The Beast? Anime News Network reported that it trumped Japanese box office by debuting at number 1. I really want to see this movie. Bring it to the US already!

Some people say a truly creative person will never stop creating until death approaches. Hayao Miyazaki said that he has retired from the studio but that does not mean he has stopped working and creating. The news is, Miyazaki is set to make his first CG movie for the Ghibli Museum. I am sure this is something to look forward to because of the transition from his fluid hand-drawn animation to computer generated one.

JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure‘s recent anime adaptation is uber great and fabulous! As such, I really enjoyed this interview with the director, Naokatsu Tsuda. The director talked about what went into the production and artistic choices that separated and bridged the anime adaptation and the original manga.

One Piece will apparently be adapted into a kabuki play. I am intrigued by how they would portray fights and the interactions between devil fruit users. Also, who is going to play as Robin and Nami because a kabuki troupe usually consists of only males?

That is all I have for this weekend’s read. Have fun and I will see you next week!

Big thank you to our supporters

From their continous support, we are able to pay our team for their time and hard work on the site.

We have a Thank-You page dedicated to those who help us continue the work that we’ve been doing.

See our thank you page

About the Author

Astra W

I am a Chocobo mug who loves puns and is driven by the thirst for nostalgia. You will usually find me writing about days past like an old person. Other than that, I usually gawk at different visual arts or exercising my fingers on games. Or napping in the kitchen cabinet.

Read more from this author

Join our Patreon

With your support, you help keep the lights on & give back to our team!

Check out our Patreon!