Anime

Otakon, the anime/manga show held each year in Baltimore, drew a record 31,000 fans. Brigid Alverson runs down the announcements from Viz, Bandai, Funimation and Aniplex .

A growing body of comics observers have jumped on the bandwagon for Naoki Urasawa as the best genre cartoonist currently working with his layered, dynamic storytelling. But not everyone has gotten the religion! His 21st CENTURY BOYS is currently coming out from Viz, but with 15 volumes in print it could be a bit daunting to jump into. For those who prefer a video introduction, MONSTER, based on the manga of the same name, just began streaming from Netflix. The 74-episode series deals with Dr. Kenzo Tenma and his efforts to stop an insane killer whose life he saved as a boy.

With the ongoing tragedy in eastern Japan unfolding before our eyes, it's inevitable that there will be cancellations to many planned Anime/Manga events. Although Tokyo is not affected directly by the quake, given the difficult conditions -- potential blackouts and crisis management-- the Tokyo International Anime Fair 2011, which was to be held March 24-27 has been canceled, according to the website of the venue, the Big Site in Tokyo. According to posts on the Anime convention mailing list, the Big Site venue was damaged in the quake; in addition, air travel to Japan is being limited. The Anime Contents Expo is also expected to be canceled.

Because you can't get enough surreal cartooniness today,. here's the first episode of CAT SH*T ONE, an anime version of the war in the MIddle East starring violent bunnies and camels. It's based on the manga series by Motofumi Kobayashi, which was set in the VIetnam War, but there's plenty of guerilla war to go around for reboots. Sadly, the kitty kat Viet Cong in the original are replaced by camel terrorists here.

A story in The Hollywood Reporter suggests that China is looking to get bigger in the international animation/comics field: Leading the charge is the city of Guiyang, capital of Guizhou province in southwest China. Since...

DC Peter David will be writing episodes of the upcoming cartoon Young Justice, which is based on the comic of the same name that he wrote for an almost five year run.

The New York Times reports on the new manga eye fad, popularized by Lady Gaga, of giant contacts that make you look like an anime freak. These lenses might be just another beauty fad...

Carl Macek, a pioneer of bringing anime to America, died of a heart attack on Saturday, April 17th. He was 58. Jerry Beck, who founded Streamline Pictures with Macek in 1988, has his...

Topless Robot reports that the lackluster new CGI Astro Boy movie tanked in Japan and sticks the knife in a little deeper: PERHAPS YOU SHOULD NOT HAVE TAKEN JAPAN'S MOST BELOVED CHARACTER AND STUCK HIM...

O Japan, you so crazy. Now they are building life size models of the giant robots, Gizmodo reports. This Gigantor stands 60 feet tall and weighs 50 tons. Many more awe-inspiring pics in...

We're hearing that the New York Anime Fest was a big hit. Lance Fensterman, who runs the show, reports: Saturday was by far the most insanely busy day in the history of the New York...

As the New York Anime Fest starts on Friday, tonight Del Rey and the NYAF sponsor a kickoff party. Free! The New York Anime Festival (NYAF) and Del Rey Manga today announced a party taking...